Kirika Kure

""I don't want to. I don't want to return to my old self.""

- - Kirika Kure

Kirika Kure is a character from Puella Magi Oriko Magica. She is a magical girl who has a close relationship with Oriko. Kirika is the protagonist of the extra episode Mahou Shoujo Oriko Magica: Noisy Citrine.

Kirika in Oriko Magica
She is a school friend of Oriko. Though they went to different schools, Oriko was one of the only people to ever be nice to Kirika, and this, in addition to Oriko's charisma, leads her to be very attached to her.

Kirika's first appearance is at the end of Oriko Magica chapter 2, where she is seen talking to Oriko on her cell phone. Oriko asks her to do something, and Kirika says that she would never turn down one of her requests. She asks that her friend give her a little time to do it, though, as she is covered in blood and wants to clean up.

While in Oriko's father's rose garden, the two prepare to have tea. Kirika names all the different kinds of roses she sees in an attempt to impress Oriko, but is told that it was Oriko's father, Hisaomi Mikuni, who liked roses. Kirika says there's no point knowing anything that doesn't pertain to her friend, causing Oriko to comment that such thinking would make Kirika an ignorant child. A witch attacks them, and as Kirika fights it, Oriko prepares the tea. Kirika comments about the witch daring to try to come between herself and Oriko. Kirika ends up smashing their table and ruining it, so the two just sit together after the battle, Kirika resting in Oriko's lap.

Later, she loses something important: a stuffed toy she wears on her hip that was a gift from Oriko. Mami finds and returns the toy to Kirika, who claims that Mami is her "savior." As thanks, Kirika treats Mami to a crepe. When Mami asks about the present, and makes the mistake of asking if Kirika likes the person who gave it to her. Kirika's attitude changes swiftly. She says that Mami throws such words around too easily, and that real love is "infinitely finite." While saying this, Kirika is suddenly surrounded and attacked by a witch. Mami resolves to save Kirika, but Kirika is fine. She says that she devoted herself to "her," meaning Oriko, and is willing to even kill her savior for that cause. When she transforms and attacks her, Mami realizes that this is the black magical girl responsible for the recent murders of the other magical girls in the city. Kirika confirms this. Mami defends herself as best she can, but Kirika is too fast to shoot or restrain with her ribbons. Eventually, Kirika wears her down until Mami is wounded on her leg. Mami manages to escape into the witch's barrier, away from Kirika, and sets a trap for her based on the deduction that Kirika's speed is actually an illusion. Kirika is actually slowing her enemies down with a spell, letting her seem faster and more agile than she really is. Mami shoots at her, but Kirika slows it down and dodges it. She didn't account for it to go off after it had past it, however, and the blow wounds her back (where her Soul Gem sits) quite deeply. Mami demands an explanation for the murders, but Kirika refuses to give one. Mami prepares to shoot Kirika through the head, but is stopped when Oriko appears and causes a huge explosion. In the confusion, Oriko saved Kirika and took her back home to be healed.

As Kirika searched for her target, she remembered her first meeting with Oriko, and how she was formerly a quiet loner who had no friends. Oriko helped Kirika collect her things that had spilled onto the ground. Kirika tracked Oriko down after that, but was too afraid and timid to call out to her, thinking that there's no way Oriko would remember her. She wished to "change [herself]", a wish that is granted by Kyubey and changes her personality quite drastically. When she tells Oriko the truth, her friend responds that what Kirika's done in unforgivable and she'll have to make it up to Oriko. Kirika agrees, even as they both realize how little time is left when Kirika's cracked Soul Gem is revealed.

Kirika and Oriko take over Mitakihara Middle School's broadcasting room some time later, sending out a short message to the students that tells Mami and Homura that this will be the final battle. A witch's barrier then mysteriously forms around the school.

Oriko and Kirika are confronted by Homura at the heart of the barrier world. Kirika transforms into a witch, revealing that the barrier is in fact hers. Even as a witch, she helps Oriko attack Homura, who has been joined by Mami, Yuma, and Kyoko. She is defeated by them and killed. Oriko's Soul Gem is close to exhaustion and before she dies, she uses a shard of Kirika's witch body, hitting Kyubey, and dies.

However, it turns out that Kyubey was not her target. Instead, Oriko hit Madoka, who had been coming to help Homura in the fight. Madoka is struck in the heart and killed instantly, causing Homura to create a new timeline. The last shot of the manga is Oriko feeling sad about what she had done, but she believes it was the best. Kirika notices that Oriko carries a big burden about that and offers to take half of her burden. Then Oriko joins Kirika, holding hands in what is implied to be the afterlife or another timeline since Kirika vaguely remembers Oriko or the previous events.

Kirika in Noisy Citrine
After making a contract with Kyubey and becoming a magical girl, Kirika goes to the train station to meet Oriko, feeling that she is more worthy of her. However, after Oriko appears on the station, Kirika finds herself unable to do it, realizing that despite she contracted with Kyubey and changed her personality, she still doesn't have the courage to talk to Oriko. The next day, she tries to retry her meeting her Oriko but she rushes on her ex-friend Erika on the way. Upon remembering how she was betrayed by her in the past, which caused their friendship to crack, Kirika pushes her and runs away. She is later seen fighting a witch and defeating it. Kirika and Erika met some time later, but Erika was depressed due to her divorced parents. They later got caught in the barrier of a witch. Kirika went to rescue her and in the process their past together was uncovered. She is able to overcome it and defeats the witch. After this, she is able to forgive Erika and have the courage to meet Oriko.

Powers, Weapons & Abilities
Kirika's weapons are long, curved claws worn on her wrists and hands. There are three blades on each hand usually, though she can manifest more and have 5 on each hand. With these, she is able to slice open her opponents with six separate cuts, as well as tear apart restraining magic like Mami's ribbon.

She also exhibits the ability to slow her enemies down, giving the illusion of her having exceptional acrobatic agility and speed. Kirika's ability can also be used on herself, as she shows when she slows down her own transformation into a witch. Noisy Citrine revealed that she has named two of her attacks. "Stepping Fang" is an attack in which Kirika releases her claws and throws them, in order to hit targets she cannot reach herself in time. "Vampire Fang" is a powered-up version of her normal attack, able to split a witch in half with one hit.

Trivia

 * The Mahou Shoujo Oriko Magica: Noisy Citrine extra chapters, which focus on Kirika, revealed that her Soul Gem is citrine colored, thus the title.
 * Her last name means "give" or "do something for". It also means "crimson".
 * Her last name can also be used as a first name.
 * Her first name is written in hiragana which has no particular meaning. When written in kanji, it can be read two of ways, some of which are as follows:
 * perfumed mist (霧香)
 * mist of fire (霧火)
 * When images of Kirika first surfaced, many fans thought she was Sayaka.
 * Some fans have noted similarities between Kirika and Touhou Project character Renko Usami.
 * Kirika and Oriko are exactly 121 days and 3 hours apart in age. Kirika is the younger of the two.
 * Kirika commented that she often skipped school, which could explain her absence in the anime.
 * Her stuffed toy bears a resemblance to Kyubey.