Chapter 4

At around six in the afternoon, Homura heard a knock at her door, which was another irregularity. She groaned. Was this timeline supposed to be even more messed up than the last? First Oriko, than the Sojus, now this weird person – apparently named Kuchiki – that was sure to cause yet another disruption in her plans. Frankly, the only positive thing that happened in the entire timeline up until this point was the fact that Madoka and Sayaka were still in the dark about the Puella Magi system. The person knocked a second time, interrupting her train of thought. Should she open that? What if it made things worse? But wouldn't leaving it closed bring problems later on as well? What if – she crushed her anxiety and went to open the damn door…. And wondered if she should have just ignored it afterall. There, standing on her doorstep, was one of the aggravating anomalies of the timeline. Rukia Kuchiki.

"Can I help you?, Homura asked, keeping her voice as level as possible.

-I'm pretty sure we don't really need to introduce ourselves since we already kinda know each other. Your apartment looks nice.

-Get to the point.

-Fine, fine, sheesh. Thing is, I was wondering if I could stay at yours for a while?

Homura raised a brow. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but it definitely wasn't this.

–And why would I let someone I don't know stay here?

-I don't have anywhere to stay…"

Homura bit back the urge to say that she couldn't care less, and paused. Yes, it'd be very unwise to just let a complete stranger who was perfectly capable of killing her in her house. But then again, would it be the best idea to turn her down? Here was the perfect opportunity to keep an eye on her; plus, if she was strong enough, she could help against Walpurgisnacht. She'd also get more information and would know whether or not to scout her should another timeline be necessary. She'd just have to be cautious then.

"Very well. Come in."

Rukia turned out to be curious about Homura's ability, but Homura refused to explain anything even after she explained her power, along with a Shinigami's purpose…. With the most craptastic kindergarten-level drawing Homura had ever seen. Well, at least she understood. Homura, after a little mental debate, explained the Puella Magi system (except for the soul gem's final form after going completely black; she sugar-coated that and said that the girl's soul gem would break). To her delight though, Rukia was furious – to the point of being completely speechless and red in the face.

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Karin's daggers cut through yet another cloud with bat wings and teeth before dashing into a horde of them. She didn't really need to worry about any that may have been behind her; Yuzu's blasts took care of them, and in the case that they were too close for her to blast without hurting her sister, she'd give her a telepathic warning.

They had finally managed to find that slippery witch they'd been hunting for about three weeks, and they weren't about to leave without it's grief seed. But, really did it have to be a strong one with so many damn familiars and such a long labyrinth? They were finally getting close but it had been more than half an hour since they entered! Half an hour that could've been used for something more interesting like, say, some video games! Her lifespan may as well have been limited with the whole Puella Magi shit she had gotten herself and her sister into, so why the hell did she have to waste more than half her time with this? Ugh. Heck, she was hungry on top of all that –

"Karin, focus! I can't deflect them forever!

-Huh? Oh, crap! I zoned out didn't I? How long have you been holding up that barrier?

-About five minutes. Not much but it's still a waste of magic! Do I need to tell you how many times you nearly got yourself –

-Yuzu WATCH OUT!"

Yuzu had taken down the barrier while lecturing Karin (an incredibly stupid and perhaps fatal move) and didn't see the missile heading towards her in time.

What happened next was something they hadn't quite expected. One moment Karin was seeing Yuzu's impending death, too shocked to truly react, and the next all the familiars around them were gone, sliced to ribbons. And their mentor was currently scowling at them – which was pretty much the equivalent of yelling her head off at them since she usually had a calm expression, even when annoyed. In other words, she was furious. Crap. But she simply shook her head and told them to get out of the barrier, using a tone that left no room for argument. Did Mao always have to be so serious? Well, then again the twins nearly died in a pretty stupid way considering how much they'd been trained. Still, she wasn't looking forward to the lecturing they'd be getting for this one.

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It was nearing 10 p.m. Back in Tokyo, Mao sighed as she entered her apartment, took off her shoes, washed her hands and face and started to comb her hair. Puella Magi in general didn' t need to do so since they could just use her magic, but she liked to do so since it helped her calm her nerves sometimes. She had already dropped off the Kurosakis in their house after explicit descriptions of what would have happened if she hadn't come around – which had Karin cringing and Yuzu going to the bathroom – so she was confident that they'd be focusing a little more when in battle for at least the next few days. One would think that they'd be more careful about three months after contracting but nope! Still approximately the same rookies she had first met! She swore her hair would go white someday.

Her thoughts then drifted to Homura. She wasn't too surprised she had contracted, and had a pretty good idea what her wish was considering how she was acting and the fact that the incubators had no idea who she was, where she contracted or what her wish was. That didn't change the fact that she was disappointed though. She dearly hoped she'd survive, as none of her other Puella Magi friends had.

In an afterthought, she decided to go visit Homura and at least make sure she was stable. Most time travelers weren't, though. If she used a reasonable amount of magic (she'd be using the Puella Magi version of flash-step), she'd arrive within about ten minutes. She slipped on her favourite oversized dark pink blouse, some black leggings and a pair of slightly heeled platform boots.

After making sure she had indeed locked the door of her apartment, she zoomed across the rooftops towards Mitakihara.

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"Oriko, I need to talk to you.

-…Kyubey? If this is about the irregular, I already have a few plans for her –

-No, I'm here to inform you of a potentially dangerous spirit that has come into contact with Madoka Kaname.

-A spirit? I have yet to have a vision of her…

-It would be best if you dealt with her, as she will likely become an obstacle to your goals.

-I think we both know that you aren't here for my goals.

-Well, ultimately whether you listen to me or not is ultimately your choice"

Oriko sighed once the incubator left, and pulled some magic from her soul gem. She was well aware of the Shinigami, as they'd appeared far too often to be ignored, but she didn't think it'd be a good idea to let the incubators know. She needed to see if this individual could be swayed into switching sides, and if she could distract the incubators from contracting Madoka. They didn't seem to like the idea of Puella Magi being anywhere near Shinigami without having control of them, so she had a few candidates in mind.

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Rukia stared at her phone numbly. The Kurosaki twins had gotten to their house, but judging by their behavior, such as going out in the evenings and early in the morning, once caught sneaking out in the middle of the night or missing classes but refusing to explain why or changing the subject… They were probably Puella Magi. Well, at least they weren't dead yet. Even their father and brother had no idea what was going on when asked, but the twins obviously wouldn't budge. Joy. When she got her hands on that swindling rat she swore it would wish it had gone to hell instead.

But alas, dwelling on these thoughts wouldn't help anyone, so she managed – with difficulty – to push them to the back of her mind and looked up. Homura was shuffling around the house arranging things. It looked like someone was coming over, though she couldn't fathom who could possibly come around at this hour. Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask…

"Hey, Akemi.

-What is it?

-Who's coming? Is it a Puella Magi?

-No. It's just an old friend of mine. She's probably worried because she noticed a change. There are many ways to describe her, but stupid isn't one of them. She knows that something is going on.

-Oh… ok, when exactly?

-She'll be here any minute."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Homura set down a plate of cookies before going to answer. Rukia decided to just wait at the table. She heard Homura and another fairly quiet but slightly high-pitched voice exchange greetings before facing the visitor a good twenty seconds later. She had tan skin, was even shorter than Rukia (not by much though), had burgundy colored round eyes, and just past shoulder length wavy maroon hair. She seemed to be around Akemi's age. Akemi introduced her as Mao Suzuki. Akemi left for a moment to prepare some chocolat milk, and Suzuki suddenly took on a rather serious expression.

"What is your objective here, Shinigami?"

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Toshiro headed towards Urahara Shop. He was supposed to be back in Soul Society now, and he was impatient to get back to work. In fact, if it was up to him, he'd already be back in his office. The problem? He couldn't. Literally. When he tried to open the Senkaimon, in blinked and then wobbled out of existence. On the second try, and it didn't even appear. He tried to communicate with someone, anyone within soul society, but the devices just glitched and stopped working. So, going to Urahara turned out to be his last alternative; if he couldn't open even a garganta for him, then he'd be stuck in this world for quite some time.

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"…A dangerous spirit?

-Yes. I don't know what she wants, but considering that her kind has eliminated humans with powers in a brutal war, your friends could be in grave danger."

Hitomi stared skeptically at the catlike creature before her. Sure, it wouldn't be there if nothing supernatural existed, but that still wasn't a reason for her to believe a single word it was saying. It came to offer a contract, then tried to push her into it by giving her this information. Whatever it wanted, it definitely had nothing to do with the well-being of her friends, and that angered her. There was definitely a trap in this contract. She'd say no to this one. There was no way she'd accept this 'offer' unless she had no other choice. So for now…

"Get out of my room."