A shaky, ragged breath resounded through the snowy skies.

There, down on the ground lay the blonde, forever in a cold sleep, blood pouring from her fair-skinned neck; gold eyes lifeless, silent tears streaming down her cold cheeks. The snow landed gently on Tomoe Mami's school-uniform clad corpse, no longer melting upon touch now that the magical girl was no longer emitting body heat. The weapon that did her in, the sharp blade of the spear, dragged noisily along the concrete as its wielder, the redhead bathed in her victim's blood, stepped back in shock. A shimmer of topaz caught her eye; the remains of the blonde's source of power.

"Mami…san…" She breathed out, staring with wide, shaking eyes at the blonde who had been her mentor, her friend…her sister. What had she done?! Scarlet eyes trailed unblinking at the crimson pouring from the senior's neck, still registering that it was, in fact, her that had done Tomoe Mami in. Any more damage and the girl's neck would have been completely detached from her shoulders. "I didn't mean for…why did I…" The words caught in her throat, a sob threatening to slip out.

She could vaguely recall, in the midst of the snowy night, that she had promised no mercy toward the older girl. It was dangerous for them to work together since their ideals had clashed. Sakura Kyouko no longer had the luxury to hunt down familiars alongside witches. In fact, she had stated to her mentor that it was a better idea to let the familiars evolve into witches, and create more grief seeds.

Grief seeds…

When the Ice Witch had come close to killing her, she thought that it would be all over for her. If she hadn't created a shield as a last resort, she would have surely been done for. Back then, as she lay numb in the snow, it appeared that the grief seed she obtained from the lucky kill was her only solace.

"Once you rejected your wish, you rejected the power that came alongside it. In this condition, your battles are going to be much more difficult from here on out…"

If what Kyuubey said before was true, she was now a faulty magical girl. She couldn't use her magic to save her mentor, nor could she use it to save herself. So what else did she have going for her; her uncanny knack for survival? And how did she always manage to survive in these dire times?

Why, she went out and hunted for food, just as an animal might!

Her grip tightened on the spear's shaft as she slowly, cautiously took another step back, her expression darkening as she shut off all compassion she'd once had for her remaining family.

Tomoe Mami had been an obstacle; plain and simple. Animals would always kill each other in a moment of urgency, even their own kin. If it came to killing or being killed in the wild, one would always choose survival. That's how it worked there, and that's how it worked here. A cruel smirk made its way to the redhead's lips. "You were a fool, Tomoe Mami…" She spat out, her breath still shaky, yet her composure was eerily calm. "Can I help it? After all, grief seeds don't exactly grow on trees." At her snide remark, she heard the pitter-pattering of paws behind her, causing her to whip around, eyes narrowed with mistrust. Oh, she thought as she glanced down at the creature, it's just the creature that caused all her suffering in the first place. "Whoops. Sorry about that, Kyuubey." She sneered at the creature, removing the scarlet attire she donned, reappearing in the winter coat and shorts with worn sneakers she normally wore, coated with her old blood instead of her mentor's, save for the speckles of crimson on her face. "I went and killed one of your tools. Guess grief seeds aren't gonna be in as high demand as they would've been, hmm?"

"Indeed." The creature responded, blinking in surprise at the spectacle before it. But on the other hand, this shouldn't have come across as a surprise to the cat-like creature. After all, it was common for magical girls to hunt each other down for the sake of grief seed supply. Sakura Kyouko was no different. "This does mean that you will be on your own when hunting down witches, of course. And as I had previously stated, with your current magic situation your battles will be quite difficult from here on out." A soft cackle escaped the redhead's lips. "See if I care! I'll get stronger in time. In the meantime, all those grief seeds are mine for the taking!" She glanced down at the soul gem located on her finger. Although she'd cleansed it not too long ago, a dark swirl was beginning to gather up in it. She didn't like it. "And speaking of…" She murmured in irritation, scarlet brows furrowing at the sight. "I'd best get this cleaned. Don't want to grow too sluggish, right?" Kyuubey nodded in agreement. "You are correct. The key to being a strong magical girl is to have a clean soul gem."

The redhead stared into the dark swirl for a moment more; just for a moment, a look of uncertainty flitted across her features before she glanced back up, eyes cold and emotionless once more as she shoved her hands in her pockets, trudging down the path as she made her way out of the murder scene. It wouldn't have been good to be seen by anyone, after all. In retrospect, she noted, she probably should've thought to kill Tomoe Mami in a witch's barrier; less evidence, plus it would make the grief seed stronger.

Oh, well. No point in regretting that now. There's bigger stuff to fry.

She stopped short, raising a hand to her head, eyes shaking in confusion. Did she just…hear something? A moment of silence passed, with no incident. Assuming she had just imagined it, Kyouko continued down the path, reaching up and pulling the worn hood over her head to protect herself from the bitter cold. She wanted to tell herself that she didn't mean to kill Mami. She wanted to say that the corruption in her soul gem was simply going to her head. But that didn't excuse what she did. Now, she truly was alone, with no family. "And no competition, either…" She hissed, reminding herself before shaking her head fervently. She needed a grief seed; that much was certain. She was never herself without a grief seed.

The magical signature coursing through the air picked up through her soul gem, pulsating softly, signaling the direction of the barrier. The blood-soaked girl grinned with delight; sharp fangs making her appear more predatory. "One grief seed…coming right up!" She quickly dashed towards the barrier, lunging into its realm with no hesitation. She could sense its power; it was a pretty strong one. As a magical girl that was still regaining her ability of combat, it probably wasn't the best fight for her to be picking. But there was a grief seed; a strong one. That alone was enough to motivate her.

It didn't take long to find the witch; the labyrinth itself hadn't been that large, and she wasted no time with the familiars, ducking expertly around corners until she sensed the dark aura of the labyrinth's creator. Licking her lips in anticipation, the redhead donned her scarlet magical girl attire, the familiar spear manifesting in her hand. Once finished, she stepped cautiously from around the corner, eyeing the witch with wary scarlet pools.

Who cares about caution? That's a grief seed!

She grit her teeth, eyes widening into a more feral appearance as she took on a battle stance, spear at the ready. She didn't really know how she was going to take down the witch with only a spear and some shaky defense magic she'd manage to scrape together, but what choice did she have? Her soul gem was in bad condition; if she didn't do anything, she'd die! Throwing caution to the wind, she lunged forward with the spear as she let out a battle cry, lodging its blade into the creature's side. It looked a bit like an octopus, the redhead vaguely noted amidst the bloodlust. The creature roared out in pain, throwing its tentacles towards her and taking hold of her in its grasp, slamming her into the wall, dislodging the spear's blade in the process. "GUAHH!" The redhead cried out in pain from the impact, her spear held loosely in her grip as she recovered. What could she do? The barrier move she'd done on that Ice Witch before might help her out of immediate danger, but how was she supposed to take down the witch overall? Her spear may have been more dangerous when there was more than one of her, but she'd lost that power. She was useless.

Don't think. Act! Let the animal inside you out, idiot!

The redhead stopped short again, expression darkening. Right; she had never been one for strategy. She'd always acted on instinct. This time would be no different. Glancing down at the spear by her side, she noted how strong and solid it looked hanging from her grip, as if it would never break under the most strenuous of circumstances.

Just like her foundation: That so long as her Father was happy, she could handle any rough spots.

A grim sneer made its way to her face as her lithe figure emanated a deep scarlet glow; diamond shapes linked together, forcing the witch back and away from her. The creature cried out in pain from the defense attack, retracting its tentacles as it proceeded to nurse its wounds. None of the familiars seemed to care one way or the other about what happened to the witch, going about their own business as their master cried for help. "Tch, pathetic." The redhead quipped, swinging the spear's shaft around like a baton before holding it steady. It felt strong, yes…but just like her foundation, it felt shaky. As if…with any wrong movement, it could come apart. Pulling experimentally on both sides of the handle, the shaft came apart into segments, startling the redhead as she stared in disbelief, looking over her transformed weapon. "…Things aren't as they seem…" She mused softly, giving an experimental whip; the blade swung with force into the witch. The piercing cries of agony sent shivers down the magical girl's spine, a morbid sense of delight she never thought she'd feel. The bloodlust was always there in battle, but for it to be so strong… "That's it, monster." She grinned maliciously, pulling the spear-whip back towards herself, eyes wide with a sick sense of excitement. "Just hand over your grief seed! We both know how this will end!" As if in protest, another tentacle shot out towards her, causing her to quickly jump out of the way, all her natural senses peaked. "Oh, wanna play it that way?! Well, I can play hard, too!" She leapt up into the air, spear-whip at the ready as she swung blow after blow at the creature, leaving it helpless against her ruthlessness.

Slowly, Kyouko noted, she had begun to lose sight of everything around her. She could still hear the cries for mercy in the back of her mind, yet nothing was in focus. All she could sense was that, for once ever since the tragedy…

She felt alive.

Holding the grief seed deftly in her hand, Kyouko rolled it around along her fingers for a moment, staring into its obsidian shell before bringing her other hand against it, draining the corruption from the soul gem and returning it to its original fire-red glow. Releasing a heavy sigh, the redhead threw her head back against the wall of the alleyway, taking in everything around her. She could feel. It seemed to be just for a moment, but the numbness that had suffocated her had passed. She could feel the cold biting at her exposed fingers, could feel the exhaustion seeping into her system, and she knew she was in pain.

Every time…

Every time she would cleanse her soul gem, even if for a brief moment before she grew corrupted again, she felt alive and full of energy. She needed to feel it more; that sensation of strength and empowerment.

She needed more grief seeds, or else she would grow numb again. She hated the feeling of going numb. She hated that feeling of helplessness. This time, she would be the one to strike out; this time, she would be the predator, not the prey.

With grief seeds, you can easily conquer! This whole city is your playground.

Conquer? She didn't want to conquer. She just wanted to survive. Even in dealing with competition, all she'd wanted really was to steer clear of them, and fight on her own.

But where there's competition, there's bound to be grief seeds. And with grief seeds, you don't have to feel numb anymore!

That's right…she didn't want to feel numb. She was tired of that bitter sensation. It would be much better if she'd just lived as an animal, and not worry about pesky human emotions to drag her down. She was the hunter, and she lived for the hunt! Tossing the used up grief seed to the side where she knew the cat-like creature was lurking, she straightened herself up before continuing in a stride down the sidewalk. She needed food.

And after all, grief seeds were food, right?

Far off in the distance, yet not too far, a fair-skinned hand reached weakly out toward air as topaz remains disappeared from sight, reappearing on the figure's shaky finger. Tomoe Mami gurgled weakly, the wound in her neck still a danger to her overall health. "K-Kyou…ko…" She whispered with a raspy breath, slowly rising to a sitting position, gold eyes shaking as the blonde stared off into the horizon. "W…Why would you…"

Unbeknownst to her, the once-topaz jewel on her ring had been reduced to a murky brown, the corruption rising along with her sorrow. The black mist swirled ominously, a warning of the danger soon to come as the girl cried out in betrayal, a dark aura surrounding her soul gem completely as it formed the makings of another realm.

One year later…

"Here, please introduce yourself!"

The petite schoolteacher chirped cheerily to the new transfer student, a long-haired raven girl with pale skin and piercing royal-blue eyes. She stood in front of the class, noting how they eyed her like some new attraction. The transfer student swept her eyes along the classroom with a calm, almost vacant expression before she straightened up, preparing to introduce herself. "My name is Akemi Homura. It's a pleasure to meet you all." She gave a polite bow before straightening up again, everyone's eyes still on her.

Of course, she knew this experience. She'd already gone through it countless times, each slightly less suffocating than the last one was. She seemed to be growing used to the daunting gazes the class displayed, which was both a relief and a chore; she couldn't believe it, but at times Homura was actually starting to miss the times when she would shy away from the other students. Now they were nothing but background objects.

It was the beginning of April again, as it always was when Akemi Homura awoke in a new timeline. As per usual she would cast off her old self, preparing for the inevitable fight at the end of the month as she stocked up on the military's artillery. Now, here she was again, playing the role of the new girl in school. What had started out overwhelming now felt like nothing more than routine.

She swept her eyes across the classroom once more until her eyes rested on a particular individual; a petite rose-eyed girl with pink hair held up by red ribbons into puppy tails. The girl flinched and shied away when she sensed Homura's gaze on her. Good, it didn't seem like Madoka was showing any recollection of her. She glanced back over to the rest of the classroom, taking in her environment once more before she made for her seat in the front.

If she'd stopped to linger on the pink-haired girl a little longer, she would have recognized a familiar ring on her finger. Kaname Madoka fidgeted nervously in her seat, glancing warily at the raven-haired girl in the front. 'Why?' She thought to herself before glancing over to her blue-haired friend just a little ways over. 'Why was she staring at me? And why did she look so familiar?' She stared at her friend a few minutes longer before class officially started, at which point she quickly readjusted herself to face the front of the classroom, her full attention on the subject.

"What school did you go to before?"

"A catholic school in Tokyo."

"Were you part of any clubs or activities there?"

"Not particularly."

"Your hair is so silky and beautiful! What type of shampoo do you use?"

Lunchtime, again. It was always the same questions, each timeline. Akemi Homura sat neat and proper in her place, listening to the background girls prattle on with their questions, as they'd always done. It would soon be time for her to approach Madoka, however, she noted as she glanced sidelong at the pink-haired girl, watching as she conversed with her blue-haired and green-haired friends.

"I'm sorry, my head feels a little fuzzy…could I get the nurse's aide to assist me to the nurse's office?" The raven-haired girl rose from her seat, stepping past the crowd of middle-school girls without another word, making her way over to the pink-haired girl she intended to speak with. "Kaname Madoka," She commanded the shorter girl, staring down at her as if she were preparing to interrogate the second-year. "I need you to accompany me." Rose eyes blinked in surprise as Madoka straightened up in her seat, clearly flustered at being approached so soon. "Eh! Ah, um, okay…" The pink-haired girl rose from her seat, stepping away from her friends and out into the long halls with the new transfer student.

As they rounded the corner leading down the long halls of the corridor, Kaname Madoka watched the student leading her – why was she doing that if she was supposed to be the one led? – with suspicion. She was a magical girl; that much the pink-haired girl could sense. And even if she hadn't learned to sense magical signatures from other girls, the ring on the raven-haired girl's finger gave her away. What did she want? Did she plan to take care of the competition in the area? As the raven-haired girl came to a stop, Madoka stood her ground, lips pursed in anticipation.

She was quiet, Homura noted with concern. Normally Madoka would be attempting to make conversation, yet this time around she was eerily quiet. Turning on her heel, Homura looked back at the pink-haired girl, royal blue eyes scanning her for any change. What was causing the difference this time around?

"Excuse me…" Pink eyes narrowed in concern. "Is there something that you want with me? You don't really need to go to the nurse's office, do you?" Madoka stepped back a couple steps. She never expected to run into a challenger in school, of all places! "Are you…one of us?" Homura frowned in confusion. What did Madoka mean by 'one of us'? "That depends on your definition," The raven-haired girl replied calmly, not allowing any emotion to show through. Madoka's frown deepened. So she intended to make HER speak out, did she? "Are you an ally?" She asked cautiously, glancing toward the outside displayed from the glass window. "Or…are you an enemy?" She could sense eyes on her. She knew she was being watched.

"What are you implying, Kaname Madoka?" Homura tilted her head to the side, genuinely confused about what the shorter girl was going on about. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific than that." The pink-haired girl grit her teeth; this new girl was dead set on playing ignorant. "Where…did you get my name?" Had this girl already been staking out the competition? Was it possible she was even working with the other one? "What do you want with me?"

Homura's frown deepened. Something was really different about the pink-haired girl. She was more…suspicious. That was highly unusual, whatever the timeline. "Saotome-sensei told me, when she told me you were the nurse's aide…was there some other reason that I would find out your name? I don't quite understand what it is that you are implying." Madoka nodded slowly, taking in the information. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe it was coincidence that the other girl was a magical girl, and she wasn't a danger. "…Sorry, Akemi-san." She smiled apologetically, as if a switch had been flipped. "I guess I've just been a little restless lately; what with studies and my nurse's aide duties." She giggled nervously, scratching the back of her head.

"…Homura is fine." The raven-haired girl watched her warily. That moment of suspicion…what warranted that? What was so different this time around that would cause Madoka of all people to approach someone with caution? "And it's fine, I perfectly understand. I'm the new girl at school, after all." Madoka's smile widened, almost as if it was forced. "O-Of course…Homura-chan, then. I hope we can become good friends." Royal-blue pools shook with uncertainty. It sounded like Madoka meant those words, but…it felt like she was alienating her, at the same time. "Yes...I hope we can become friends, as well." The pink-haired girl nodded, stepping along after the girl. "So…d-did you really need to go to the nurse's office? Because if so, we're actually heading the opposite direction." She giggled, causing the raven-haired girl to fight back a blush of embarrassment as she continued walking. "You've got me. I mainly just wanted to get away from the crowd."

This Madoka…was surprisingly more perceptive.

"Hnn…" Scarlet eyes peered through binoculars, taking in the interior of the school corridor, easily spotted through glass windows. "So, it looks like we've got even more competition on our hands…"

"This one is truly an irregular." Red, beady eyes stared at the horizon, a white paw scratching an itch as its fluffy tail swished lackadaisically behind it. "I do not recall ever contracting her." Scarlet locks swished back as a shadowed-out female glanced back at the creature, her expression unreadable. "Wow, so not only competition…but a mystery?" Sharp fangs glinted in the sunlight. "I love a good mystery! All the excitement and thrill…not to mention there's always a good chance of violence." Brown boots turned on its heel, the female stepping away from the binoculars, allowing them to revert back into its regular form as opposed to the enchanted upgrade it had prior. "That Kaname Madoka has been interesting enough; truly a good challenge. But now…" She fingered a flower-shaped grief seed in her hand, oblivious to its source as she placed it back in her pocket.

"Now we've got some new fish to fry!"

A/N: And so, here we start.

Homura has entered into a most dangerous timeline, indeed. It seems that Madoka's already really on edge, plus she's already contracted, as Homura will quickly discover later. And what of Kyouko? What will happen to her and her obsession? And will she ever discover the origin of the flower grief seed? What will it do?

We will see what the future holds for the girls.

As always, comments and suggestions are accepted and loved. If you have an idea you want to run by me, I would love to hear it.

See you next chapter!