Chapter One
Homura walked Kyouko and Mami home, clutching the pair of ribbons in her hand. It was the only thing she could do. Mami was in a state of shock, without a doubt unaware of her surroundings. Kyouko was acting only a little odd, teasing Homura about calling out the name of a person who didn't exist with a constant trickle of tears down her cheeks. When they reached Mami's apartment, Kyouko went to the fridge and tore into a slice of cake. Mami sat down and stared out the window.
When she was sure that Kyouko and Mami would be safe, Homura left them in the room and went out on the hunt. This was the world that Madoka wanted. She would protect it with all of her being until they could see each other again.
It was the fate of every magical girl to disappear now. In another world, one made impossible now, that fate had been much worse: death, or turning into a foul perversion of being followed by death. Madoka had changed that, and as far as Homura understood, she came to each magical girl individually to take them… somewhere far away and safe.
When Sayaka had disappeared, Madoka had been there. Homura had almost, almost felt it.
It was completely dark outside as she walked down the sidewalk. She kept an eye on the soul gem in her ring. Apparently, Madoka had brightened it after the battle in the other world, but there was enough cloudiness to it that she could tell there was work to be done. Even in a world without witches, there would be despair, so there would always be work for magical girls.
While she didn't know just what she was looking for, when she smelled it, she knew she was close. The street reeked of burnt trash and rotten meat. She didn't falter. She'd smelled worse things in witches' barriers. She'd watched Sayaka and Kyouko and Mami and Madoka die, and sat with corpses for what probably added up to weeks over all this time.
The streets weren't empty, but it felt like no one could see her, or anyone else. Homura clutched the ribbons tightly in one hand and held her soul gem out with the other. It was clear that no one would notice her. She could have transformed, but something held her back. Whatever was here might or might not know what she was. Perhaps it would be safer with a bit of stealth. Perhaps she wouldn't even have to do this anymore Madoka needed her to do her job and do it well. So she had to be careful with herself. It wouldn't be loyal to die right after returning to fight for her again.
A few blocks later, more easily pinpointed by the stench than with her Soul Gem, Homura located what was clearly some kind of barrier. There was little resemblance to a witch's barrier. It was a simple figure, all straight lines, divided into fragments. But her Soul Gem reacted to it, and she could feel something beyond it.
"All right," she said to herself. "I suppose it's time."
Homura placed a hand on the barrier and stepped through.
"So no matter how much time passes, the story of the two of us remains in our hearts…"
Haruka clicked the button to stop recording and smiled. This was only the sixth take, but she felt good about it. She thought her manager would like it. Still, it was always important to check over the recording for flaws. She switched from her clearly-expensive headset to a clearly-expensive set of headphones, leaned back in her chair, and listened to the recording she'd just made.
"—nee-chan? Haruka-onee-chan? It's time for dinner…"
Haruka sighed and paused the vocal track. Her parents had sent Hina up again, hoping that her younger sister would draw her down from her room. They'd probably told her something like "if you do it, Hina, of course she'll come!" And Hina was only nine and would probably cry if she didn't. It really wasn't fair of them to put her in the middle like this.
"Onee-chan…"
"I'm coming, Hina-chan," Haruka replied. "I'll be right down…" Just this once, she'd let it work.
She drew a deep breath and rose to her feet. Going downstairs in her pajamas would just cause more trouble than what she was already setting herself up for. She pulled out a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a bra. Hopefully that would do.
After changing clothes, Haruka yanked a brush through her hair and gave herself a quick look in the mirror. She thought she looked acceptable. Her clothes were hopelessly out of fashion, but that wasn't something that her parents paid attention to. She played with her hair for a few moments, considering putting it up rather than leaving it down, before realizing she was just stalling. It was time to go downstairs.
Haruka could hear the conversation downstairs go silent as her door opened. She swallowed and took a single step back into her room. No. As unpleasant as this was going to be, she'd told Hina that she would come down. She walked into the hall, closed the door behind her, and proceeded down the stairs.
"Good evening," Haruka said, and bowed formally. There was a full plate sitting at the table between her mother and Hina. She sat down. "Thank you for the meal," she said, and dipped her chopsticks into the rice.
"Onee-chan, you came!" Hina bounced in her seat. "I helped make dinner! Is it good?"
"It's very good," Haruka told her.
"I made the fish all by myself," Hina continued.
Their mother nodded. "Hina-chan brought it home from school. She's been doing a lot of cooking in her home economics class."
Her father gave Haruka a penetrating stare. She directed her eyes back to her plate. It is polite to pick up a small clump of rice with your chopsticks, not huge amounts.
"It was really fun!" Hina added. "Mayu-chan burned hers and she was really upset, but I didn't! Sensei said mine was the best in the class."
Haruka nodded her head. "I'm sure you were. You're very smart."
"Hina-chan is third in her class now," Haruka's father said. "She works very hard."
"I'm not that good…" Haruka could see Hina's puzzled frown out of the corner of her eye.
Haruka drew a breath, released it, and brought a square of fish to her mouth. It had too much sauce, but her sister had always preferred things drenched in condiments. Eat neatly and don't get sauce on your face or clothing.
"Your homeroom teacher has been asking about you, Haruka," her mother murmured. "He says that your classmates miss you."
That probably wasn't true. Haruka only had one friend at school, and they saw each other all the time. Chew each bite thoroughly before swallowing to prevent indigestion.
The unspoken question stared at Haruka, waiting for her to respond.
There had been enough shouting matches that one didn't even need to happen now. The silence was enough to hold all the bangs on the table and shrill voices.
Haruka rose to her feet and bowed. "Thank you. It was very good. I'm going back to my room now." She could pick up some more food at the convenience store when she went out that night. She'd go to sleep until her parents went to bed and then call Sumiko. The way her chest fluttered told her that there were Magical Demons somewhere close, anyway.
THE WARRIOR'S HAND TOUCHES OUR STRONGHOLD.
THE WARRIOR APPEARS IN OUR STRONGHOLD AND STANDS BEFORE US. SHE SHOWS US HER TRUE SELF WITHOUT HER KIND'S EMBELLISHMENTS. SHE CONTEMPLATES OUR FORM.
THE WARRIOR'S WORDS: What are you?
THE WARRIOR DISPLAYS HER JEWEL TO US AND ASSUMES THE GUISE OF A WARRIOR. HER WEAPON RESTS IN HER HANDS.
THE WARRIOR'S WORDS: My shield… where is it…?
THE WARRIOR RAISES THE BOW. SHE AIMS IT AT ONE OF US. SHE DRAWS THE STRING BACK. SHE RELEASES AN ARROW. WE ARE HIT.
SHE IS NO SIMPLE WARRIOR.
WE DECIDE TO SACRIFICE THIS STRONGHOLD IN ORDER TO STUDY HER.
WE GIVE ONLY ENOUGH RESISTANCE THAT THE WARRIOR CONTINUES TO FIGHT US. HER MOTIONS WITH THE BOW ARE FLUID BUT LACK GRACE. SHE CAN ONLY SHOOT TRUE DUE TO THE INFLUENCE OF THE JEWEL. THE ENERGY THAT RUNS ALONG THE BOWSTRING AND ARROWS IS ALSO OF THAT ORIGIN.
THE WARRIOR'S WORDS: Madoka…
THE WARRIOR DEFEATS EACH OF THE BODIES IN THE STRONGHOLD INDIVIDUALLY, PREFERRING TO REMOVE A SINGLE THREAT AT A TIME RATHER THAN ATTEMPT TO FIGHT ALL AS A BATCH. SHE REACTS IMMEDIATELY TO OUR ACTIONS. SHE HAS CLEARLY BEEN A WARRIOR FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
WE RECALL THAT WE HAVE SEEN HER BEFORE. SHE FOUGHT US ONLY HOURS AGO IN A LOCATION VERY NEAR THIS ONE. YET THERE SHE LACKED ANY SINGULAR TRAIT.
THE WARRIOR'S BREATHS COME RAPID AS SHE ELIMINATES US. IT IS THE REMOVAL OF THE FINAL BODY AND THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR STRONGHOLD THAT PROVIDE THE MOST INFORMATION. EVEN WE CAN RECOGNIZE THE BREAKING AND REFORMING OF SPACE AND TIME.
THE ARCHITECT HAS COME.
Note: Translated line from "Kimi to Futari" from Awesmoe at Wordpress, by Blah1234.