Homura opened her eyes to the sound of the radio playing Time by Pink Floyd. She sat up and scowled at the radio. Moving on, she climbed out of bed and took off her glasses, quickly taking the braids out of her hair. She had a tight schedule for the day, as it was the first day of the new loop. She went through the motions, getting to school and waiting for the day to finish, then initiated the meeting with Madoka.
"Madoka Kaname. My name is Homura Akemi. I have made a contract with Kyubey, and as a result we are all trapped in a time loop that seems to be endless. The only way to break out of the loop is to find a way for you to survive the month. If you die, the time loop resets."
Madoka was taken aback, but oddly laughed it off quickly. "That sounded cool. Did you rehearse that?"
Homura blushed and nodded. "Yeah, I did."
Unfortunately for Homura, others had been listening in while gathered around Madoka's desk. She hadn't really thought to hide the conversation from them, so it was no surprise. Sayaka jumped in. "Well, I for one have some criticisms. First of all, it comes off as a bit creepy, you predicting that she's gonna die. Second, we have no reason to believe all that crap you just said was anything more than an attempt to impress Madoka."
Homura shrugged. "True, but you have no proof that I'm lying."
Sayaka bit back a retort. "Ah... crap, she's right."
Hitomi added a bit herself. "Well, the way I see it, whether she's lying or not, Madoka should probably be careful not to die. Right?"
Madoka looked to Hitomi. "I'm pretty careful not to die all the time, but okay." She looked back to Homura. "Okay... so, how many times have you been through this loop?"
Homura shook her head. "Not sure. I think about forty now."
Sayaka asked the next question. "And she dies every time? So, then, you have to have tried different ways of keeping her alive. What's the most common way for her to die?"
Homura thought for a moment before answering. "She might have died differently once or twice, but it's almost always been in battle against the giant witch Walpurgisnacht."
Hitomi asked next. "How long before this Walpurgisnacht thing happens?"
"Around the end of the month. It'll probably be better if we can get Mami and Kyoko to help us." Homura thought a bit more. "Come to think of it, I wonder why it's always Walpurgisnacht. The other witches appear at random throughout the different timelines..."
Madoka stood up. "Well, let's all go to my place, and we can make plans to avoid me dying. Sound good?"
They all agreed and went home to Madoka's house. Her father was out, so Homura made some snacks for them. It was part way through the snack, with them all up in Madoka's room, that Madoka asked Homura a further question around a mouthful of taco.
"So, what's this, the first day of the loop?"
Homura nodded. "The first few times I had to wait before joining you all in school, but then I decided it was better for me to make contact a lot sooner."
Sayaka finished off her second taco. "Hmm, so I have a question. In all the times you've gone through this loop, have you noticed anything that we normally do every time?"
Homura looked up. "Hmm? Uh, yeah... well, I think... by this point, you and Madoka were always over at Mami's place and talking to her. Hitomi would be back at her home doing her private classes. I would be waiting to see what the conclusion of Sayaka and Madoka's meeting with Mami would be."
At the mention of her classes, Hitomi looked at the clock. He mouth dropped open. "Oh, shit! I'm late!" She ran out the door and down the stairs.
Madoka jumped up, racing after her. "Wait, it's getting dark, we should all walk home with you!" From Madoka's room, Homura and Sayaka heard the pink-haired girl make a short startled scream, followed by the sound of someone tumbling down the stairs.
Sayaka stood up. "Oh, geez, I think she tripped."
The two of them stepped out and looked down the stairs to see Madoka laying motionless at the bottom. Hitomi knelt beside her, trying to wake her up.
Homura opened her eyes to the sound of I Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher. She closed her eyes again. "Oh... fuck it."
