A/N: An ambitious Collab, designed and written by the Foxborough Five (Azuki Rose, Foxtrot0220, Larkabel, XP Flipside, and myself).
...Well, it really went more like:
- Foxtrot0220 came up with the initial idea, but then his free time died because of college and work. R.I.P. Except we don't feel sorry for him because he goes to Harvard and works at Google.
- Azuki Rose also had some good ideas, but she was then eaten by a Southern Style Chicken Sandwich.
- Larkabel wrote the first scene, but then she literally transformed into Homura. Rumors say that to this very day, she works in a grocery store, occasionally using her time-stopping powers to stock shelves in the blink of an eye.
- XP Flipside expanded the plot from what was originally planned to be a one/two-chapter Collab into like a ten/fifteen-chapter one. Then he succumbed to his weakness for girls with short hair and was never heard from again.
- And I think I might be masochistic, because I can't stop myself from writing new stories even though I have yet to finish a bunch of other ones.
...it's been an interesting few months among us, to say the least. But we, the members of the Foxborough Five, a ragtag team of aspiring writers and unique personalities, without further ado present to you:
(credit goes to "BlazingWarlord" for the cover art)
HEARTACHE
Chapter 1 - Promise of Tomorrow
Don't forget.
Always. Somewhere.
Someone is fighting for you.
As long as you remember her.
You are not alone.
(Thursday Evening)
It started as a simple chance encounter. But things always start that way, don't they?
The idyllic stretch of slow, warm days between the spring and summer seasons was especially prone to unique happenings, because when the gang all got together, interesting experiences were abundant. And in a city like Mitakihara, the girls were frequently sprinkled with reminders that the impossible was just a little more tangible among the twinkling city light constellations and the thrill and wild danger of darkness that spanned districts.
As the last of the labyrinth evaporated, Homura stood and brushed strands of her long hair away from her face almost lazily. As soon as the tranquil night scene of Mitakihara City swam into view, she flicked on the safety of her gun and tucked it back into her shield before transforming back into her normal clothes. She paused momentarily, glancing up at the deep amber and amethyst-shaded evening sweep of sky to think.
It surprised her how fast the witch had fallen - she had barely expended any energy nor broken a sweat. This was a witch whose name she didn't know from previous timelines, and therefore whose battle movements were unpredictable. Unseen, unheard of until now. Normally an ambiguous enemy like that would have made her apprehensive. But quickly vanquishing it was all still like a routine - just one in which the future was unknown.
As a friendly medley of sounds reached her ears, Homura noted that it also helped that she was no longer fighting alone. Calmly brushing away her hair, she took a step... and then promptly tripped over Kyouko's prostrate body.
"Ow, watch it Homura!" Kyouko growled, pushing herself up from the asphalt as her spear disappeared with a quick flash of iridescent light.
"You watch it." Homura snapped back with just as much indignation. She grudgingly rose to her feet, brushing off the dirt and dust that had promptly collected on the front of her skirt. "Where were you looking when you ran into me during the battle?"
"Well excuuuuuuuse me for heroically jumping in to save you from the familiar that was about to ambush you from behind," Kyouko huffed, crossing her arms.
Homura stared at the redhead in utter disbelief, growing indignant from the fact that she had the nerve to be indignant herself. "I ended up having to finish it off for you anyways."
Haughtiness quickly morphed into realization on Kyouko's face. "...Oh."
"You jumped in front of me and ended up making me cover for your mistake." Homura testily pointed out.
Kyouko flung up her arms in a look of pure innocence once the argument had been turned on her. "Look, it all worked out in the end-"
"Are you kidding me? We're lucky no one got hurt."
"Aw c'mon," Kyouko pouted. "What more do you want?"
"Not jump in front of me and take care of the familiar." Homura firmly stated.
Kyouko mulled it over for a second. "…that's asking too much."
Sighing in resignation, Homura just rolled her eyes and turned to find her other companions recovering in a similar manner. Mami had already transformed back into her school attire and was busy fixing one of her drill-shaped pigtails. Next to her, Sayaka had just started a heated-but-not-really debate with Kyouko about... well, Homura wasn't really paying attention, so she wasn't entirely sure, but she did nod in affirmation when the blunette placed a hand on her shoulder and demanded an ally against the unreasonable terror that was Sakura Kyouko. Kyouko then stuck her tongue out before she and Sayaka scurried off into the alleyway, betting who could find the grief seed first.
The battle had been fought on the outskirts of the city, amid the winding alleyways and other shadowy side roads that were usually avoided by people who weren't looking for trouble. Metal latticeworks extended above them to form crude balconies and stairs that led from one story to another until finally dropping onto the fire escape. Spools of silver moonlight dripped through the metal frameworks onto the hard concrete below. It was a sort of maze, and the grief seed could have fallen anywhere.
Homura hadn't even been intending to join this fight, but she had been intercepted by Mami, Sayaka, and Kyouko on her way home from school. They had been hunting a particularly elusive witch who, according to Kyouko, had been evading them for the past couple of days. This had perked Homura's curiosity. Although at first, she had been hesitant about joining fights against witches she'd never encountered before, she slowly began to convince herself that there was an element of enthrallment in the unknown. This was enforced by the fact that no real danger lay in fighting witches as long as all four of them were present. In addition, it was interesting to see how everyone adjusted to each new battle with new tactics and formations that took advantage of the cover and magical power everyone else provided. And the repetition of improvisation made it easier for Homura to formulate strategies in the moment, standing back to calmly observe the situation before relaying instructions to everyone else that led to a quick, decisive victory.
Of course, there were some things that still took time getting used to, like fighting in a formation that limited the chance of collision between two or more of them and accidental friendly fire (that had almost gotten them in a lot of trouble once), but Mami, Sayaka, and Kyouko had come to accept the idea that Homura would take a while getting used to working with others. The same was true for Kyouko to an extent, although Mami and Sayaka understood why in her case. Homura was still, for the most part, a mystery.
Maybe this was why Mami, Sayaka, and Kyouko always seemed to seek her out before a witch battle. They wanted to see how she fought. They wanted to learn about her. They wanted her to get used to them.
Homura couldn't blame them. It wasn't like she minded this new routine.
But one thing still troubled her - she still couldn't bring herself to tell them the truth of this world. After all, despite the optimistic situation, there was still a chance that something could go wrong. Witches could start manifesting faster (and to a slight extent, they had already). Someone could die.
Or, in the worst case scenario, Madoka could contract.
And then everything would be torn away from Homura, spiraling away into another hopeless timeline - another attempt that had failed. Homura knew that resetting this timeline would be the hardest. When she thought about the consequences the doubts in her mind whispered to her, it was all she could do to keep her composure. Resetting this timeline could destroy her - crush any resolve she still had to continue.
She wouldn't lose this world.
This was the closest she had ever come (and most likely – hopefully – would ever come) to perfection. Sure, Sayaka and Kyouko still quibbled time to time, there was the threat of Mami discovering everything and breaking, and Kyubey was still urging Madoka to contract. But the point was nobody was dead. Madoka hadn't contracted. They had plenty of grief seeds to last. Everyone was happy.
Of course, being magical girls, everyone knew deep down that their future was bleak. Fighting for survival with no end in sight was enough to crumble the willpower of anyone. But they had beaten Walpurgisnacht. And they were all here together, working in perfect tandem with each other. They were all friends, more or less, so they all had hope, and Homura knew that that was the key to ensure their prolonged survival.
All of the pieces had finally fallen into place, and Homura was deadset on maintaining the status quo. She was slowly learning to live outside of the month she'd trapped herself in for an eternity too long.
Time was moving forwards towards the promise of tomorrow.
"Got it!"
Homura's ears perked up to a shout and the welcoming sound of returning footsteps as a few seconds later, a sufficiently smug Kyouko came racing back with the grief seed clasped in her hand. Sayaka trailed right behind her, her face shadowed in a bitter scowl.
"She cheated." Sayaka immediately complained once they were back.
"Nuh-uh," Kyouko retorted, sticking her tongue out at the blue-haired girl. "I'm just faster."
Mami chuckled in amusement, her eyes merrily twinkling. "Now I'll take it. Unless anyone is running low?" When she received no response, she held out her hand and waited for the grief seed to be dropped into it before pocketing the dark orb.
"I dunno about you guys, but I think this calls for a celebration!" Kyouko declared as soon as the grief seed was out of sight. She grinned, her cheeks flushed with triumph, and stretched her arms above her head with a satisfied sigh. "That witch couldn't avoid us forever. After beating Walpurgisnacht a few weeks ago, it's like we've all leveled up! Nothing can hurt us now! Oh, and uh… I'm sorta out of pocky."
"Dear god, what is the world coming to?" Sayaka muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.
Mami chuckled again. She went up to Kyouko and put a hand on her shoulder, ignoring the redhead's jolt of surprise. "Well we can't have that, can we? You're in luck though. I have some cakes left over from the other day. Why don't you all come over to my place? I'll make some tea too." She smiled around at them all, her gaze lingering on Homura. "It's been a while since we've done something like this. We can invite Kaname-san as well."
That grabbed Homura's attention. Before, she had been content to just stand and observe, as she did after mostly every battle. But in this case, she had to intercede.
"Actually…" she began, unconsciously playing with the hem of her amethyst-colored skirt - one of her nicest piece of clothing. "I'm busy right now, so I won't be joining you. My apologies."
"Huh?" Kyouko raised an eyebrow, giving her a studying look. "You got someplace better to be?"
"I'm supposed to be somewhere…" Homura trailed off, unsure of how to put it. They were all curiously staring at her now, and she felt strangely self-conscious. "I'm a little late now." She didn't say it accusingly.
"Ah, well if that's the case, then you should hurry and go," Mami quickly said. The expression that crossed her face quirked her lips up in a knowing smile, and Homura wasn't sure she liked being looked at with such ill-concealed endearment. "But you're welcome to join us next time. You're welcome to join us anytime."
Her gaze was so soft, so fond. Homura hoped it would always stay that way. She nodded her thanks, letting out the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.
Just as she was walking away, Sayaka spoke up. "So…" she said, and her voice held an unmistakable edge of mischief. "I guess we won't be calling Madoka to invite her either, huh?"
Homura had to concentrate very hard to keep from tripping. As she rounded the corner of the alley onto the street, she was thankful for the thickness of her hair, which had concealed how red her ears had become.
Luckily for her, the stars above shone like glowing beacons for the lost souls of this world, lighting her path.
"C'mon Kyouko," Sayaka nudged the redhead once Homura was gone. "We need to go pick up the ingredients for dinner on the way home. Oh, and we need to go shopping for your clothes this weekend."
"Ehh... wait, I wanna know where Homura's going-"
"Come on Kyouko. Leave her alone."
(Thursday Night)
In some ways, it was a little like fate.
While Homura retained all of the memories from the timelines - the shrouded pasts, personalities, quirks, and desires of Mami, Kyouko, and Sayaka - they knew next to nothing about her, other than her connection with Madoka. Sure, they had been convinced by Homura to work together to defeat Walpurgisnacht. Homura had even helped Mami and Kyouko mend their past. But there was still an invisible divide that remained between her and everyone else, largely due to her mystique.
After spending so much time getting to know the other Mitakihara girls in order to determine the best route, Homura realized that it would take time for them to get to truly know her - destined to be a mystery even in this "timeline".
Even though the other girls were aware of her as another fellow magical girl attached to Madoka, she was still merely the oddly mysterious transfer student that liked to linger in the library in the hours after school. Perhaps they'd occasionally notice the jet-black hair fluttering by down the hallway or the calm aura that emanated from the same corner of the classroom, but certainly nothing out of the ordinary.
But after defeating Walpurgisnacht, it wasn't long until they became close friends. The first time Homura had really come on friendly terms with them had been one Friday afternoon when she gathered her belongings and left after school ended - leaving behind one rather thick-looking book on her desk.
It had taken only a few minutes for her to come barreling back through the classroom door, breathless as she searched all around for her missing book because how could she have forgotten something so important? When Madoka had shyly offered it to her, Homura had all but wrapped the pinkette into a hug - which elicited a surprised squeak and warm laughs from the other girls - before proceeding to properly reintroduce herself to the rest.
When school resumed on Monday, Homura suddenly found those same girls had somehow managed to convince the students surrounding her to switch seats with them.
So that was how Homura had found herself in a group of friends, spending countless school hours and afternoon walks in the company of the other girls. It was hardly something she was accustomed to – and the other girls swore that they'd never met such an interesting and mysterious personality as her. Perhaps Kyouko would wander closer with a daring gleam in her eyes and have a little too much fun poking fun at her formal way of speech, or Mami had taken a little too much pleasure in inviting her over for tea, letting her taste the first batch of cookies from her oven, but it had all been done with a laugh and smile, and Homura far from minded.
It was those events that cemented Homura's place with Mami, Kyouko, and Sayaka.
But it was a separate event that drew Homura even closer to Madoka.
It had been absolutely pouring the day when Homura noticed Madoka alone after school – with the pinkette's coat tightly wrapped around herself, she had been a surprising interruption to an otherwise sleepy day. Her hair was matted against her face, and she was already shivering from the cold of the rain seeping through her drenched uniform. As fate would have it, they were the only two waiting under the overhang of the school's front doors, neither of them having brought umbrellas. Homura had intended to leave for home right away, but when the weather proceeded to thunder even harder, she had no choice but to accept defeat and wait out the rainstorm.
So they began to exchange a few friendly words, but Madoka had a talent for pulling people easily into conversation, and Homura was no exception. With a naturally sweet and friendly charisma, the two effortlessly found themselves in deep conversation, jumping from one topic to another. Madoka admitted she had always wanted to talk with Homura alone like this, but could never find the right opportunity. And as Homura relaxed under Madoka's charm, she couldn't believe how suddenly it was six o'clock already? Madoka had to laugh in surprise as well, apologizing that they had talked so late unawares of the time.
From then on, their afternoons walking home from school together turned into a daily thing - something Homura always looked forward too, even if it wasn't something she intended to happen in the first place. But Madoka would always approach her with a smile that warmed her insides, and Homura would feel herself being drawn even closer. Granted, their conversations usually only lasted an hour at most, but it left Homura more than happy.
For Homura, a recluse in a world that was too busy, the place she had among her friends who would always look out for her was like a dream come true.
She must have been thinking about it too intently, because when she walked into the restaurant, Madoka giggled at her and asked, "What are you smiling about, Homura-chan?"
"Ah, it's nothing…" Homura slid into the booth and buried her face in the dessert menu to partially hide her now-blushing expression. "I apologize for being late. I was busy fighting a witch with everyone else."
"No, no, don't worry about it," Madoka hurriedly assured her. "I asked you to come here today, so I'm sorry if it was inconvenient."
"I wanted to be here with you, so it's not a problem." Homura replied with a smile, before glancing around the interior. They were in a small family restaurant tucked away at the end of the main street. It had recently opened and was supposedly very popular with other girls from their school due to the extravagant dessert selections. But it was still new, and even on a Thursday night, there were few other customers besides the two girls. Still, Madoka had wanted to check it out, and Homura was more than happy for an excuse to accompany her without the distraction of the other magical girls.
Homura slid down the menu, casting furtive glances out the window and hoping that neither Kyouko nor Sayaka would have to pass by this area. The last time Homura had planned to be with Madoka alone in a restaurant, the meddling duo had coincidentally decided to eat there... and Homura wasn't sure she would ever live that experience down, in-between Sayaka's and Kyouko's knowing looks and smirks she felt burning into her cheeks from across the restaurant. And when an oblivious Madoka had offered to feed Homura a bite of her parfait, the guffaw from Kyouko as a furiously blushing Homura chomped down on Madoka's spoon still rang in her ears to this very day.
"Is something wrong?" Madoka asked as Homura snapped her attention back to her.
"N-No, sorry," Homura shook her head to dispel the embarrassing memories. She mentally chided herself for already spacing out during her precious time alone with Madoka. "Did you decide what you want to order yet?"
"Actually, since I wasn't sure when you were going to be done, I already ordered the ultra-jumbo parfait special so we could both share it," Madoka apologetically smiled. "It's supposed to be this restaurant's specialty though, so I'm sure you'll love it!"
"I don't mind Madoka, but the ultra-jumbo parfait special is designed to be shared among a family of four. Are you planning to eat a three-person serving in one sitting?" Homura thought incredulously, but didn't say aloud. Instead, she replied, "It's fine, I don't mind sharing with you."
In a few minutes, the aforementioned parfait was brought to their table in front of a beaming Madoka and a stunned-into-silence Homura, the latter of whom felt like she had to strain her neck just to look at the top of the dessert.
"Madoka," Homura began, staring in awe at the fields of fruit and glaciers of ice-cream, not even sure which mountain to begin scaling first. She half-expected the table to begin caving in under the colossal dessert's weight. "Did you happen to skip your other meals in lieu of this?"
"Hmm?" Madoka peered around the parfait at Homura in confusion, her spoon already eagerly digging into the ice-cream. "No, don't you know? A girl always has a separate stomach for sweets!"
"Ah, is that so..?"
Despite Homura's astonishment, the parfait was soon finished between them - a feat even Kyouko would have to recognize. Once Madoka set down her spoon, she immediately leaned closer over the table, wide eyes brimming with curiosity to hear Homura's heroic tales of witch fighting. She'd initially accompanied the rest of the gang on their battles, if nothing but from a need to do something and act as morale support, but a close encounter with a witch the other day forced Mami to put that at an end. Now, Madoka kept herself content by eagerly listening as Homura patiently recounted the events of their most recent fight. As Homura meticulously explained how she had improvised her battle tactics around the infamously spontaneous and combustible duo of Kyouko and Sayaka, Madoka gave an occasional nod, fascinated by the story.
"What did you do today?" Homura asked in return once she was done talking.
"Well," Madoka began. "I..."
As Madoka launched into recounting her events of the day, Homura tilted her head and listened. She just enjoyed listening to Madoka talk. Something about her mellifluous voice just made her feel so... calm. "I see," Homura murmured through smirking lips as Madoka finished explaining how she was absolutely sure she had just failed the pop quiz in class earlier today. "I might have given you the answers had you asked me telepathically."
"That's cheating, Homura-chan!" Madoka quickly responded, eyes going wide at the indecent notion. "I wouldn't do something like that!"
Homura slowly nodded at Madoka's honorable display of integrity. "Alright, but don't change your opinion when you see your grade next week."
"My grade? Oh right, you had to help grade the quizzes today..." Madoka trailed off as realization dawned on her face. She sprang to her feet. "You saw it, didn't you? You saw what my grade was!"
Homura turned a sideways glance at the suddenly fidgety, red-faced Madoka. "Perhaps I did."
"What did I get?" Madoka asked, anxiously leaning across the table.
"Madoka, I can't tell you in advance," Homura couldn't help a sly smile from spreading on her lips. "That would be cheating."
"That's not cheating!" Madoka pouted, puffing out her cheeks in protest. When she realized that Homura wasn't planning on saying anything anytime soon, she let out a disappointed sigh. "Fine, you know what? I'm not talking to you anymore, Meanie-Homura-chan."
"Meanie-Homura-chan?" Homura thought with amusement. She tilted her head. "You're not?"
"Nope!" Madoka crossed her arms and scooted around to face away, stewing in her seat.
Homura raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Nope! ...I mean yes!"
"Even though you're still talking to me right now?" Homura asked, smiling again at the pinkette's cute reactions.
"..." Madoka didn't budge, defiantly continuing to stare at the other side of the restaurant away from Homura.
"Fine, I'm sorry Madoka," Homura said, though her amused expression belied her sincere apology. "It's just easy to tease you sometimes."
"I don't like being treated like a little kid though..." Madoka reluctantly turned her gaze back towards Homura, giving her a sad puppy-look.
This time, it was Homura's turn to quickly avert her gaze to hide her blush. "S-She's too cute..." Homura thought, feeling infinitely lucky for possibly being the only one to see this side of Madoka.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Madoka suddenly exclaimed. "I had something to show you!"
Homura watched as Madoka reached into her pocket and pulled out a long string of red yarn. "What is that for?" she asked.
"For this," Madoka reached across the table and grabbed Homura's hands, wrapping the red yarn around them. Then, she gently began to skillfully weave it around Homura's fingers until it had created a heart-shaped design. "Ehehe, see," Madoka smiled, proud at her own newly learned talent. "Isn't this really amazing?"
"Mm, but you can also do this-" Homura took the string and knotted one end of it to her pinky finger. Then, she gently tied the other end of it to Madoka's pinky finger. "See," Homura looked up at Madoka and held their hands close together. "Now we're tied together by this red string of fate. It symbolizes our undying connection to each other."
Madoka blushed. "B-But this is really embarrassing, Homura-chan..." she struggled to say, though a warm, happy smile turned the corners of her lips upwards.
Yep, Homura silently amended. This girl really is too cute for her own good.
"Homura-chan, um... we'll be together forever, right? I mean, of course we will. But..." Madoka trailed off with an expression close to troubled disappointment. It was cozy and bright inside of the restaurant, but her eyes held none of that warmth. "I..." she began and stopped, her voice quivering with an emotion Homura could not identify.
Homura glanced at her, studying her expression with a perplexed frown. For a little while, neither of them said anything, the silence mounting, until: "What's the matter, Madoka?" Homura finally asked.
Madoka looked up, and shrugged. "It's nothing. Well, it's not really that important. I was just thinking about how amazing you are..."
Homura blinked. "Ama... zing?"
Madoka vigorously nodded. "Yeah, you and everyone else! You're all so amazing... I can't even begin to comprehend everything you do. Sometimes, I get a little disappointed in myself about how I can't be there with you-"
"I think you're amazing Madoka."
Madoka blinked. "Huh?"
Homura stared into Madoka's eyes, never once breaking eye-contact. "You're amazingly calming. You're amazingly kind. You're amazingly fun to be with."
With faint circles of red coloring her cheeks, Madoka frantically waved her hands. "W-What are you saying, Homura-chan?"
"The amount of sweets you eat is amazing-"
"Aah, I get it!" Madoka leaned over the table and tried to stifle Homura's mouth with her hands, hurriedly sitting back down when a few other customers glanced over to see what the commotion was all about. "Jeez, you don't have to say anymore!"
As Madoka fidgeted in her seat, Homura cast her a warm smile. "You shouldn't feel down thinking about the things you aren't doing," Homura reassured the pinkette, affectionately placing a hand on hers.
Madoka reluctantly nodded. "I just wish I could help somehow..."
"Just the fact that I can spend time with you and relax like this is already immensely helpful."
"...really?"
Homura nodded. "Really."
"O-Okay, if you say so..." Madoka trailed off with a small smile. Homura knew that it wasn't as bright as she knew it could be, but the happy expression put her thoughts at ease nonetheless. A few moments of silence were shared between them when Madoka suddenly glanced at the clock on the wall. "Ah, is it this late already?" She panicked, hastily gathering her belongings and rising to her feet. "I'm sorry, I promised Mama that I'd be back home before she came back from work."
"I understand. It's about time I head home for tonight too."
"Oh, and um," Madoka hesitated right before leaving. She beamed again, and Homura felt her heart growing unbearably warm. "Thank you for tonight, Homura-chan! I really enjoyed it!"
"Likewise. Be careful on your way home," Homura said as she smiled back and waved goodbye. The first glimmer of stars had begun to dot the night sky canvas by the time the pinkette disappeared into the distance, vaguely illuminated by the owl light before fading out of view.
Homura sighed happily. Spending peaceful nights like this with Madoka was like a dream come true. Homura opened her palm and glanced down at the red string, cheeks growing warm at the recollection of her words.
We're tied together by this red string of fate. It symbolizes our undying connection to each-
"Akemi Homura."
Homura recognized the familiar voice before she saw the small white creature perched on the windowsill of the family diner. Seconds that felt like hours passed as incubator and magical girl stared at each other - Homura trying to figure out what Kyubey wanted underneath that placid vermilion-red-eyed stare of his. It wasn't a rare sight to see Kyubey, even though he had become slightly less involved (and therefore less of a threat to Homura's plans) with Walpurgisnacht gone and no real danger left to goad Madoka into contracting.
But tonight... for some reason, his sudden presence felt slightly more disconcerting and ominous than usual.
"Do you have something to tell me?" Homura asked, stepping closer and then icily glancing down at her unwelcome visitor.
Ignoring the glare aimed in his direction, Kyubey licked his paw, as if to show that he had come with no ill-intentions. "I was simply passing by to check on the general state of the magical girls in this vicinity."
"Of Madoka?" Homura demanded.
"Of you." Kyubey looked up at Homura with his beady eyes, his calm smile seeming to smirk at her. "I noticed you were able to defeat that witch quite easily."
"If you're here for the grief seed, Tomoe-san is the one who has it-"
"That can come later. I was merely interested in observing how you fought with the other magical girls so efficiently. The four of you work well as a team, which is surprising when considering that other magical girls can be very territorial... but the fact that you all share a large stockpile of grief seeds certainly helps-"
"So what? What are you trying to say?" Homura impatiently asked.
"Defeating that witch Walpurgisnacht is an accomplishment, but you should not succumb to complacency from a naive sense of security." Kyubey calmly stated. Maybe it was just Homura, but his eyes seemed to glow an ominous red in the dimness of the evening owl light. "I wonder how long your alliance will stay intact or when you won't be able to stand against the witches. No one ever knows what the future will hold, and your troubles may have only just begun."
Do you ever wonder why things turn out the way they do?
(Friday)
I love her.
Homura had always been aware of her feelings towards Madoka, but they had all come rushing up last week on a Sunday morning when she really shouldn't have gotten out of bed. Her head was pounding against her skull and every step felt like she was walking through sludge, but she just swallowed down some pills and gritted her teeth.
"It'll go away," she had assured herself, taking a moment to sit on the edge of her bed and let her alarmingly dizzying vision refocus. "It's just a bad morning," she muttered to herself, squeezing her eyes shut. "I'll be fine."
Remembering that she had gotten Madoka's number from the other day, Homura decided to text her that she wasn't feeling so well and wouldn't be able to make their daily meeting. As soon as that was done, Homura limped downstairs and barely managed to collapse into her living room couch, surrounded by white-washed walls and a searing migraine that wouldn't go away no matter how much she willed it to.
Honestly, Homura wasn't expecting anything. She knew that Madoka had no obligation to comfort her - that it wasn't strange for Madoka to say nothing more than "I hope you're feeling better today," the next day at school and not even cast her a second glance.
But Madoka had been right by her side, literally, as Homura stumbled to open the front door not ten minutes later. She was the support Homura needed when she limply fell into her soft arms; wrapping Homura in a tight embrace and affectionately chiding her for not staying in bed.
Homura, on her part, had to resist the temptation to nuzzle even deeper into Madoka's warmth and compliment the pinkette on how pleasant she smelled.
Madoka had then offered to stay with Homura the entire day after seeing the state she was in. Homura tried to refuse the offer because she had already taken enough of Madoka's time and couldn't ask for anything more than that. But when she tried to pull away and was unable to support herself on her own two feet, Madoka promptly helped Homura back upstairs into bed, drawing the covers to her chest as she tenderly watched over the sick girl like a guardian angel. Under Madoka's tender gaze, Homura had peacefully fallen asleep, with her last thoughts about how she wanted nothing more than to be with Madoka all the time.
I love her.
Homura had realized it as it all crashed down on her at once. Or maybe she hadn't realized it in any particular moment – no, it was a combination of little things. How she began to cherish the way Madoka talked and smiled, how her heart ached and longed to see her face again as soon as they parted, how a blush would rise to her cheeks whenever their hands accidentally brushed, and how she found a smile – once foreign to her – effortlessly brighten her face whenever Madoka was around.
The admiration and love for Madoka continued to bloom within Homura's heart, and she found herself drawn even closer to the kind girl.
Madoka stayed by Homura's side until parting late in the evening, after making Homura promise to take better care of herself. When Homura skipped school the next day to finish recovering, Madoka, worried for Homura's well-being, began texting her back. Texting turned into longer conversations and walking together after school, which consequently turned into talking over the phone late into the night to the point where both girls had to reluctantly tear themselves away so they could get a decent night's sleep. And before Homura knew it, a blush would feather itself upon her cheeks as Madoka's gentle touches would last a little while longer upon her hands, shoulders, and hips with approaches that didn't seem quite as shy and innocent as before.
She loved Madoka and longed for deeper intimacy. But she was still happy with the late afternoon walks by her side that continued until the sun was low in the sky and lit Madoka's skin as warm as summertime-
"Earth to Homura!"
Homura blinked open her eyes, nearly dropping the broom she was holding as she came to, and realized that she had been in the middle of daydreaming while helping Kyouko and Sayaka clean the classroom on after-school duty. Everyone else had already left on this Friday afternoon, eager for the weekend, leaving the three girls behind in the empty sunset-stained classroom.
Homura didn't know how long she had been standing in place, lost in thought, but one quick glance around the room at the minimal progress made in her temporary absence suggested that it hadn't been long.
"How long are you gonna just stand there?" Kyouko demanded, tossing a damp washcloth at Homura. "Help us clean up. This is already taking forever without you daydreaming every ten seconds."
"Right," Homura mumbled, bringing the washcloth up against the window and putting her mind to the task of vigorously scrubbing away the stains. She sighed, silently bemoaning the fact that this had cut short her afterschool time with Madoka. Instead, the pinkette had apologetically excused herself and shop for groceries.
But even meticulously picking out ingredients sounded far more enticing than the task at hand. Homura wondered how much bad karma she must've stockpiled to be stuck cleaning the classroom on a Friday afternoon with these two.
As if having heard her thoughts, Kyouko seemed to agree. "You'd think a high-tech school like ours would have it's own self-cleaning system, but no, that would be too easy," Kyouko grumbled under her breath as she swept away a particularly large clump of dust from the corner into the portable disposal system. "Instead I'm stuck here with 'Apathetic Akemi' and the 'Knight of Nothing Ever Gets Done With Me Around'."
"My side of the room is cleaner than yours, you stupid spear-girl!" Sayaka indignantly exclaimed, whirling around.
Kyouko glared at her, fed up enough with cleaning to viciously lash out. "Who're you callin' stupid, you caped coward?"
Sayaka returned the irritated look with equal venom. "You are, you redheaded Ramen-eating rock-head."
Homura rolled her eyes. "Here we go..."
Kyouko frowned, and slowly advanced towards Sayaka, balling her hands into tight fists. "I'm stupid? Y'know, if your brain was made out of chocolate, it wouldn't even be enough to fill an M&M."
"I'm sure you know a lot about chocolate, you Pocky-eating pig." Sayaka remarked, edging closer to Kyouko until they were mere yards away, glaring daggers at each other.
Kyouko's lips curled up in an acerbic smirk. "Yeah? Well if laughter is supposed to be the best medicine, then the way you fight must be the cure for the whole world."
Sayaka let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah? Well I could drink a bowl of alphabet soup and spit out a sentence that makes more sense than half the things you say."
Ignoring the crescendo of commotion, Homura continued scouring away at the window, trying her hardest to focus on the heavenly prospect of finishing quickly and escaping the increasingly sour mood. "Why me?" she sighed to herself. Maybe if Mami was here, things would be different. Or even Madoka. Neither Kyouko nor Sayaka would dare fight as much in front of either of those two. "Why do I end up having to put up with this?"
"You're the only person who could take an IQ test and have the results come back negative!" Kyouko shouted.
"You can try speaking your mind, but then you'd just be speechless!" Sayaka retorted with equal volume.
"Well, you're so dumb that the realtors called and asked about renting out the empty space in your head!"
"Well, you're so ugly that I'd have to stay with you all the time, otherwise I'd get a fine for littering!"
On the verge of delivering another insult, Kyouko choked on her words and blinked at Sayaka in confusion. "...You want to stay with me all the time?" she asked, making a face.
"What?! I didn't say that!" Sayaka sputtered, her cheeks burning bright red at the idea. "Are you stupid?!"
"You're the stupid one here!" Kyouko shot back. She hefted the end of her broom up and leveled it towards Sayaka like a spear. "You wanna go?"
"Yeah, you know, I've finally had it with you!" Sayaka tightly gripped her own broom with two hands, holding it like a Kendo stick ready to strike.
"Are those your last words?" Kyouko spat, eyes glittering with menace. "In that case, I'll-!"
She was stopped short in the middle of swinging her broom when an empty metal bucket appeared out of thin air and bonked her quite forcibly on the head. A loud 'clank' nearby indicated that Sayaka had been subjected to the same punishment.
"Wha- Hey, Akemi! You're not supposed to use your time-stopping powers like that!" Kyouko snarled at the ravenette across the room, who was noticeably missing two of her buckets.
"Both of you, shut up." Homura glared at both of them. "Or do you want me to tell Tomoe-san about your idiocy?"
Both Kyouko and Sayaka exchanged worried glances and reluctantly put down their respective brooms, meekly returning to their tasks of sweeping the classroom floor. In a matter of seconds, a heavy silence hung over the classroom once again.
"Hey, Akemi," Kyouko chanced to ask after a few minutes, gingerly rubbing at the red mark on her forehead.
"What?"
"So... whaddya think about what I was saying earlier?"
Homura frowned. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Kyouko let out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head. "Seriously, do you ever pay attention?"
"You're one to talk." Sayaka idly quipped from the other side of the classroom.
Kyouko whirled around to shoot the blunette a frosty glare before turning back to Homura. "Earlier today, Mami was telling me how she might've found a way to predict when and where a witch will appear. Obviously it wouldn't be perfect, but you know how we're able to sense magical signatures from a witch's miasma? It's kinda like that, only it also deals with sensing population stress. And when people despair, there's bound to be a witch nearby."
"So you're suggesting that Tomoe-san has found a way to apply her magic to sensing and pinpointing population distress?" Homura asked.
Kyouko nodded. "More or less, yeah."
Homura tilted her head in thought. It was true that Mami's magic was intermixed with her feelings of loneliness and longing for friendship, so that might help her understand and sense weak-willed people better than others. "Still, it doesn't sound quite right," Homura thought to herself. Sensing magical signatures from a witch and strong feelings of despair from human beings were still largely different. But she didn't say it aloud.
"If that's true, it'd help a lot since it feels like there's more and more witches to fight every week." Sayaka remarked, interested by the concept. "That's our Mami-san alright!"
"If it's true," Kyouko echoed. "But something like that still seems pretty far-fetched to me."
"I don't doubt that she's managed to apply her magic like that to a certain degree, though," Homura added. She locked eyes with Kyouko. "On similar note, you mentioned that you had been tracking the witch we fought last night. Did Tomoe-san use this "method" to track that witch?"
Kyouko shook her head. "No, that one caught us all by surprise, since we had just finished taking care of another witch. We weren't prepared for it, so the first time we tried fighting it got sloppy. It summoned a familiar that escaped us, but it split up and we abandoned it for the bigger prey. We ended up taking care of the witch though, so all's well that end's well-"
"You... abandoned a familiar?" Homura quickly interrupted her. "Where is it now?"
Kyouko wrinkled her nose at the sudden question. She shrugged, obviously not having put much prior thought into it. "Probably still roaming, I guess. Mami said she'd take care of it though."
Homura narrowed her eyes. "...Where did you see this familiar last?"
"Near the shopping district, I guess?"
"The shopping district?" Homura frowned, her mind racing. Where had she heard that destination before, earlier today? An icy feeling suddenly gripped her chest as her heart sank into her stomach. "Madoka..."
"Homura-chan-!"
"Madoka!" Homura dashed out of the room as soon as she heard Madoka's panicked squeak ring in her mind.
It took exactly six seconds for her to reach the stairs - another eight to sprint down and out the front doors of the school.
The amber sunset of Mitakihara hung on the horizon to greet Homura as she raced past the school gates and out into the bustling city streets. Over here, the gentle late-spring breeze seemed to beckon. Come over here. Your fate awaits.
"Your troubles may have only just begun." Kyubey's voice rang at Homura from inside her head.
Gritting her teeth, Homura momentarily paused on a street corner, adrenaline thrumming in her veins, and eyes desperately flickering back and forth across the jungle of buildings as her mind raced to catch up to her torrent of panicked thoughts. Where? Where was Madoka? Where was the fastest route? There!
She took off again. By now, exhaustion was catching up to Homura, her legs feeling heavy and breaths coming out in short pants, but she willed herself to run even faster. Her feet pounded against the sidewalks as she desperately tried not to think about the scene that might await her. She was foolish, so foolish to leave Madoka alone. Praying hard for Madoka's safety, Homura unapologetically dashed through a crowd of pedestrians, pushing her way through a faceless sea of bodies that soon became a faded swarm in her peripherals.
Not more than half a minute later, Homura spotted the miasma forming by the wayside of an alleyway up ahead. Jumping and quickly transforming on the run, she raced into the half-formed lair. Her eyes went wide as she immediately saw Madoka trembling on the ground, trying to shield herself from an approaching dark, humanoid-coffin-shaped mass.
"Homura-chan-!" A wide-eyed Madoka tried to shout before Homura calmly placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Stay put. I'll deal with the rest."
As Madoka wordlessly nodded, Homura allowed herself a brief sigh of relief before readying herself. She took a few steps and stopped in front of the familiar, amethyst eyes dangerously narrowed and lasered in on her target.
Upon noticing Homura's presence, the familiar loudly shrieked in frustration and reached out, grabbing towards her. Never once taking her eyes off of the enemy, Homura deftly sidestepped and pulled a gun from her shield, aiming and firing at the enemy.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Her bullets struck home, their effectiveness exponentially increased due to the almost point-blank distance. Through a cloud of smoke, the familiar screeched and reeled backwards from the impact, grasping at thin air. When it cleared, Homura recognized that although the familiar had a fairly thick and sturdy outer shell, there were three telling craters in the midsection of the coffin.
As the familiar recovered from the blow, Homura took a quick step back to assess the situation with a clearer mind, and grimaced. Her arsenal was unfortunately slightly limited in close quarters, but when it came to close combat, there was someone who was more useful-
"Hya-ah!" In one swift and fluid motion, Kyouko appeared through the haze like a burning flame and acrobatically propelled herself upwards. From the apex of her jump, she then slashed down at the familiar with her spear. Metal sliced through thick darkness with astonishing efficiency, leaving a gaping cut in its wake. As Kyouko landed on the other side of the flailing familiar, she whirled around and gave a thumbs-up at Homura. "The cavalry's arrived, Akemi! Don't go having fun on your own without the rest of us!"
"This isn't supposed to be fun," Homura briskly remarked, but she allowed herself a small smile after remembering that thankfully, despite Kyouko's loud mouth, the redhead packed a serious punch in a battle.
"Don't forget about me either!" Sayaka yelled as she sprang forward and sliced through the stunned familiar's midsection, jumping away to safety before it had a chance to counterattack.
Homura wordlessly nodded, with barely enough time to acknowledge her companions before having to dodge another attack. More long, thin arms sprouted from all sides of the coffin-like familiar and shot towards the magical girls.
"Too slow!" Kyouko taunted as she brandished her spear, slicing away a few arms that had strayed too close to her. Once the familiar started to advance on her, she glanced and Homura and nodded.
Homura immediately activated her shield as time came screeching to a halt. She had done it many, many times before, but the sudden transition from full-fledged chaotic battle to eerie silence was still slightly unnerving. Quickly estimating the distance from the familiar to Kyouko and Sayaka and deeming it sufficient, she pulled out a grenade, tossed it right next to the familiar, and then willed time to start ticking again.
In a bright explosion, the familiar howled and was immediately enveloped by the flames, disintegrating away into nothingness.
Normally, Homura would have secured the area to make sure that no other stray familiars escaped. But right now, she had higher priorities. The instant the familiar had faded away, Homura immediately rushed to Madoka's side and gently touched her neck, cradling her face. She wanted to comfort her, and tell her how frightened she had been. Instead, she settled upon looking into her brilliantly pink eyes, and asking, "Are you alright?"
The words seemed paltry when compared with the depth of her emotion. A surge of intimacy swelled within her, quelled only by the fact that everyone else was watching.
Madoka shakily nodded, still trying to swallow down the fright from the close encounter. She blinked rapidly, and gave Homura a comforting smile. "I am now. Thank you, Homura-chan..." she trailed off and glanced down at the ground. "I was just walking home when all of a sudden I was attacked. I'm sorry I caused you trouble..."
"These witches and familiars are getting awfully aggressive lately..." Kyouko muttered, hefting her spear over her shoulder and surveying the area to reaffirm that the present danger was gone. A dark look crossed her face. "Not to mention there's just more and more."
"Everyone-!" Mami raced into the alleyway, before stopping to catch her breath. She stared at them, not bothering to conceal her surprise as her worried gaze lingered upon Madoka. "Akemi-san, Kaname-san, I'm sorry, if I had just-"
Homura shook her head. "No, don't apologize. It's not your fault. We were all careless."
She had been careless to let this happen. She had gotten complacent and overconfident after a few weeks of relative inactivity. Homura mentally kicked herself, silently vowing that there would be no second slip-up.
"So..." Kyouko began.
"So?" Homura echoed in confusion.
Kyouko tilted her head towards Homura and Madoka, a sly grin spreading across her face. "Are you two gonna let go anytime soon or what?"
The proximity to Madoka suddenly hit Homura in a rush of heat to her cheeks that she was happy to blame on the adrenaline from the close encounter with the familiar. Both she and Madoka jerked away and started to frantically wave their hands to dispel the misunderstanding, but knowing smiles had appeared on all of the other girls' faces before they managed to verbalize their thoughts into coherency.
"Hey, don't let us interrupt your private time together," Kyouko snidely remarked, which seemed to alleviate the dour mood hanging over everyone else. She walked over and promptly placed her hands on Homura's shoulder before the latter had a chance to react, starting to deeply massage them. "But I want in on this action too sometimes, y'know?"
Homura winced under the sudden massage, although she knew she'd be lying if she said it felt unpleasant. Instead, Homura satisfied herself by frowning at Kyouko. "What are you doing?"
Kyouko innocently grinned. "I'm just loosening your shoulders, Homura. You're our ace after all. With your time-stopping powers, we can beat any witch. All of our hopes and dreams rest upon these shoulders. So I want to make sure they're feeling well rested for the next battle."
"I don't understand you at all..." Homura muttered, shaking her head. "Next time, you need to make sure you deal with any remaining familiars as quickly as possible," she added, tossing a look over her shoulder at the rest of the magical girls. Her expression was grim, and her tone was no less solemn.
"Says who?" Kyouko asked.
"Says common sense." Homura firmly stated.
"Common sense isn't a person. Therefore it can't talk." Sayaka smugly chipped in, and Kyouko snickered.
A resigned sigh escaped Homura's lips. "I'm surrounded by idiots..." she muttered to no one in particular.
"Idiots?" Kyouko feigned a look around. "Where?"
Instead of continuing the pointless banter, Homura merely rolled her eyes.
"So with Homura-chan, you can beat any witch, right?" Madoka asked, staring at Homura with eyes full of awe.
Homura wilted under such an innocently admiring gaze. "W-We can certainly try, at least," she managed.
"But we always succeed 'cuz we're awesome!" Kyouko grinned, clapping a hand on Homura's back as the latter doubled over. Homura shot Kyouko an icy glare, but the redhead was already looking away innocently.
"It's worrisome that this familiar managed to escape our detection for as long as it did, though..." Homura trailed off into uncertainty, her words lost in the wind soughing through the alleyway.
Her thoughts were cut short when she felt someone tugging on her sleeve. Madoka. Homura glanced at her to see an expression mixed with forced confidence and slight apprehension.
"It's alright for now." Homura calmly reassured her. "You're safe now."
Madoka shook her head. "I'm worried about you, Homura-chan," she said, her voice soft and unsteady. Her cheeks were flushed and eyes brimming with worry, just a mere matter of inches away from Homura's own face. "I don't want a witch to ambush you like it did to me."
Homura had to fight back a blush from spreading across her own cheeks. S-She's so cute... How can someone be so kind and innocent?
"That aside," Sayaka began, jabbing a thumb in the general direction of the school. "Someone still needs to go finish our job."
Realization sunk in for Homura like being splashed with a bucket of cold water. Wordlessly, she glanced at Sayaka, then at Kyouko. "You-"
Kyouko jumped away and held up her hands. "Hey, we're idiots, remember? We'll just get in your way."
And before Homura could stop either her or Sayaka, they had already escaped down the street, their teasing laughter ringing through the cityscape.
Mami sighed along with Homura. "I'm sorry they're so irresponsible sometimes," Mami said, shaking her head in disappointment. "Don't worry, I'll accompany Madoka-san back home."
"I'll help you with cleaning if you want!" Madoka offered, but Homura shook her head.
"It shouldn't take long. We were almost done anyways."
Madoka gazed at her, as if trying to read her inner thoughts. "Are you sure?"
Homura nodded. "I'm positive. Thank you for the offer, though."
"Come on now, Madoka-san," Mami said as she began leading the way for Madoka. "Let's hurry home before we worry Akemi-san any longer."
Madoka gave Homura once last wistful glance over her shoulder, before following after Mami. For the second time in under a day, Homura found herself waving goodbye to Madoka, watching and waiting until the pinkette had disappeared around the next intersection.
Should I… confess?
It wasn't the first time Homura had thought about it. The thought had appeared quietly in the back of her mind one day after school.
But it was justified, wasn't it? Because she had gotten even closer with Madoka these past few weeks… right? Homura knew for certain that Madoka didn't talk for hours on end with anyone else. Madoka didn't treat anyone else with the same attentive care as she did for her. Perhaps that was just a part of her ego showing through, but Homura desperately hoped that there was a chance for her.
Dating was obviously a foreign concept to Homura. But then she had met Madoka, and everything changed. Madoka was an entire spectrum of color. She kept Homura's life interesting, kept her on her toes with unpredictability in love, making her heart skip at the sight of her soft smile and sound of her gentle voice. It was only natural to want to be even closer...
Homura knew that she was never going to get anywhere if she didn't make a move.
By the time Madoka had waved goodbye and hurried home with Mami, a plan was already formulating in Homura's mind. School was out on Monday for a holiday. Perhaps if she stopped by the park on Sunday evening, the same time she always met up with Madoka, she could probably convey her feelings then. Homura nodded.
Yeah, that sounded good.