Kyoko trudged through the streets of Mitakihara, feet dragging as she walked closer and closer to her doom.

There was barely more than an hour before she was scheduled to meet Madoka, and she was prepared to shoot her down, possibly before being literally shot down by Homura.

She had decided to spend her last minutes on earth in a depressive spiral, as is magical girl tradition, when she ran headfirst into Mami Tomoe. Unfortunately for her, she technically ran throat first into Mami's Mamis, bouncing off and coughing as she tried to catch her breath.

"Oh, Kyoko," said Mami, surprise evident on her face. "I didn't expect to see you here. It sure seems that everybody is out and about today. Did you want to talk, or.."

Kyoko's face lit up, and she wasted no time in grabbing the opportunity presented to her.

"Actually, I was wondering if we could talk. I'm in a bit of a sticky situation, and I want-no, need your help."

Mami chuckled, amused at her junior's antics.

"Kyoko, you make this sound like a matter of life or death. Surely-"

"It is." said Kyoko, not caring that she had cut Mami off. "Depending on how badly I fuck this up, Homura may or may not kill me. If I'm lucky, she'll do it while I sleep, but I wouldn't bet on it."

Mami blinked, thinking over what Kyok had just said. It seemed to her that her junior was having relationship trouble with Homura. Well, she may not be very experienced in the ways of the heart, but what kind of mentor would she be if she left her junior out to dry?

"Well Kyoko, what kind of trouble are we talking about?"

Kyoko sighed, running a hand through her hair. Idly, Mami noticed that she seemed rather stressed out. Well, this was probably the first time her relationship with Homura had been in any serious trouble, so it was only natural that Kyoko was worried.

"Well," said Kyoko, tension slowly leaving her as she told Mami of her troubles. "Say you've got two people, and they really like each other. I mean, really like each other. The kind of couple who make you want to puke and squee at the same time.

Mami tilted her head, wondering what Kyoko meant by that. She knew that the orphaned girl had...issues with intimacy, but she didn't see how the two of them could be described as lovey dovey.

"And the two of them would be all sweet and adorable, but then a third girl comes into the mix. Oh yeah they're all girls by the way, welcome to Mita-gay-hara, population all the lesbians. Well this girl raises some...complications with the relationship the other two have. So… what do you do?

To Mami's sharp mind, it seemed as though this third girl would be Madoka. Didn't Sayaka say something about Madoka having a crush on Homura? She thought to herself.

If so, that could strain things between Kyoko and Homura. And what's more, Kyoko must have absolutely no idea what to do with the fact that one of her friends has a crush on her girlfriend! The poor thing must have no idea what to do when she meets Madoka later today, so she's coming to me for advice! It all makes sense now..

Nodding to herself, she turned back to her old protege.

"Well, the way I see it, you either need to make it clear that the third girl can't interfere with the relationship of the other two, or you need to reach some sort of...compromise."

Kyoko looked towards the sky, pondering what the older girl had just said. Either she should make it clear that she would stay well away from the relationship between Madoka and Homura, or she should… what, start a threesome? She didn't like Homura like that, and she didn't particularly like Madoka that way. Could it work between them? Maybe, but she was far more interested in Madoka's blue-haired bestie.

But what if Sayaka joined and made it a foursome? That… that would be far more acceptable. She didn't like her chances of staying away from Madoka when the girl had a crush on her, but she would be willing to see if a foursome worked out. It would mean that Homura and Madoka were together, and she would also be with Sayaka. Sure, there may be a few more people, but what's the worst that could happen? Most likely scenario was that Madoka got over her crush on her and decided that Homura was way better, Sayaka saw that she was the neatest thing since light-up sneakers, and the foursome split into two boring old twosomes. Like some sort of cell reproduction, if cell reproduction were gay as hell.

Kyoko smiled at Mami, having now seen the way to true dating paradise.

"Thanks for the advice, Mami. You've been a huge help, and I can't tell you how much grief you saved me. Not magic grief, just the regular, crying over ice cream kind. See ya later."

She sauntered off, thinking ahead to her meeting with Madoka.

If I brought it up with her, she thought, I could probably convince her to hop on the foursome train. Homura would be all for it the moment I mention Madoka, but Sayaka will probably need some work. Good thing her best friend's got a crush on me, then.

A few feet behind her, Mami smiled at a job well done. Internally, she couldn't help but be a bit envious at how much Kyoko seemed to care about her relationship with Homra, but that feeling was overwhelmed by happiness for the loving girlfriend they had found in each other.

Even so, she couldn't help but remember the surprise she had felt when she had put two and two together. Seriously, who could imagine that Homura was a lesbian? Even now, it was still such a shock to her…


Homura sat on the park bench, slowly sipping her coffee as she contemplated her magnificent success. She would talk to Madoka tomorrow, and then she would be able to observe the effects of her flirtations. Depending on how Madoka had reacted to the events of earlier, she would either keep pushing, slow down, or back off.

Personally, she felt that her success was all but guaranteed. After her amazing performance at the park, Madoka had clearly been enamoured with her. The cute girl had even needed to step back, unsure of how to react to such a mysterious beauty flirting with her so charmingly.

Homura had initially been doubtful of her capability to charm anyone, but Kyoko's reassurance that she would be fine had kept her on track. And a good thing, too, she thought to herself. I was a bonafide Casanova back there. Smooth as glass, according to Kyoko.

A rumble from her bag shook Homura out of her self-congratulations. Sighing, she took out the phone to see who was calling her.

Ah, she thought upon seeing the name on her phone. Sayaka Miki. She must be calling me about Madoka.

Hitting accept, Homura brought the phone to her ear.

"Hello, Sayaka Miki. What is it you wish to speak to me about?"

"Hey, uh, I know we aren't really super-close, but do you think you could give me some advice?"

Homura paused, wondering just what had gotten Sayaka to sound so contemplative, almost sad.

"If you so request it. What sort of conundrum have you found yourself in?"

Sayaka sighed. If she was being entirely honest, Homura was starting to get a bit concerned for her. The last time she had heard the other magical girl so downtrodden and unsure, it had been only days before she had to face Oktavia von Seckendorff.

"Well, it's...It's a dating thing..."

Well, that would explain it. The question now was who had her so upset. Was it Kyosuke? If so, why bother calling Homura of all people?

A few blocks away, Sayaka sighed, and wondered how she should phrase her situation. After all, how exactly did you ask someone what to do when your best friend had a crush on said person, and they were in a stable relationship? Taking a few seconds to compose herself, Sayaka continued.

"Well, say there's two people, and, well, I guess you could say they're sort of dating."

Homura's brow furrowed as she went over what Sayaka was saying. Who in the world could she be talking about? No one in our group is dating anyone… Mami's single, Kyoko would have been screaming in joy had the two of them hooked up, and Madoka and I...Could she be talking about us?

"But," said Sayaka. "Then this other girl arrives. Now, this other girl has a huge crush on one of the other two, but they're happy together. And I mean really happy together. They're the kind of lovey-dovey couple who does everything together, and who spend all their time thinking about the other and all that romantic stuff. But back on topic, what should this other person do?"

Yeah, thought Homura, scratching her chin in thought. She's definitely talking about Madoka and I. Mami doesn't spend much time with anyone outside of our little group, and no one in their right mind would describe Kyoko and Sayaka as lovey-dovey, so she must be talking about Madoka and I. But who could the third girl be? Kyoko's too focused on Sayaka to seriously consider Madoka or I, so that just leaves her and Mami.

If it were Mami, I doubt she would be calling me for advice. That just leaves her as the third girl. But then who does she have a crush on? She's comfortable enough around Madoka that she wouldn't call me for advice, which means…

She wouldn't seriously call someone she has a crush on to ask for advice on how to steal them away from their crush, would she?

Oh God, she would.

"Hey, Akemi? You still there?"

Eyes hardening, Homura turned her attention back to the blasted device in her hand.

"Well, Sayaka Miki, it seems that the third girl has one obvious course of action ahead of her."

Sayaka leaned towards her phone, buzzing with anticipation. Soon, she would know how to help her friend!

Voice hardening, Homura went on.

"I think that the third girl needs to give up on her feelings. Her source of affection already has someone to love, so she should simply leave them be."
Sayaka's face fell as she took in the advice given to her. Was Homura right? Should Madoka just.. Give up on her crush? It was depressing, but maybe it was for the best. What really alarmed her was how hostile Homura had sounded. Was it possible that she had figured out who Sayaka was talking about? If she had, and this was her reaction to finding out Madoka had a crush on her, the the pinkette would definitely have to give up.

Meanwhile, a thought crossed Homura's mind that made her smile (but only internally, of course).

"Though if this girl is looking for someone to call her own, maybe she should keep looking. Perhaps she could find happiness with someone else, someone with-oh, I don't know, hair that is one of the primary colors?"
Sayaka froze, confused at what exactly Homura was implying. The primary colours were what, red, blue, and yellow? So was Homura saying that Madoka should start dating Mami, or even Sayaka herself? But she didn't like Madoka that way! She didn't even like girls! Right?

Homura checked to make sure no one was watching, before allowing herself a brief smile at a job well done. She had expertly planted the the idea of a relationship with Kyoko in Sayaka's sexually confused brain, most likely without Sayaka even realizing it. She truly was the master of social interaction.

"Well," she said, smile disappearing. "If you have nothing more to ask me…."

"No." Said Sayaka, now confused about her sexuality as well as relationships. "Well, uh, thanks for the help, I guess. See you later.."

"And you too, Sayaka Miki."

Homura prepared to turn off her phone when she heard a murmur from the infernal device.

"Man, Madoka won't be happy about this."

She finished turning off her phone, thinking over that last statement in her head. It didn't mean anything particular, but it just doesn't make any sense. Why on earth would this turn of events disturb Madoka? It's probably just Sayaka being herself.

But despite her rationalizations, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with this situation…...