"My name is Tomoe Mami. Like you, I'm a senior at Mitakihara Middle School…but not only that, I'm also a magical girl who made a contract with Kyubey!"

"And I'm Kyubey! I want you to form a contract with me and become magical girls!"

They made it sound like a good thing. What a joke.

The Rose Garden Witch had been dealt with shortly and elegantly, and shortly afterwards she and Sayaka were led to Mami's apartment. While her heart condition gradually managed to recover, mentally, she'd been so exhausted that the next few hours had passed by in a rush. She didn't even notice the crack on one of the lens of her glasses.

"Since the two of you have been chosen by Kyubey, you're not strangers to me anymore, so I'd like to explain some important things."

The person sitting before them now was called Tomoe Mami. With fair skin and long, blonde hair stylized into drills, she had a sort of warm aura around her. She was a veteran magical girl who had fought plenty of Witches in the past.

However, she didn't really understand what it meant to be a magical girl. Not yet. Even though she'd been one for years, she knew nothing of the horrible truths that lay beneath the surface.

"This is a Soul Gem. It's a precious stone, made from the contract formed between Kyubey and a chosen girl. It's a source of magical power and proof of a magical girl's identity."

She didn't know what a Soul Gem really was, or how exactly it was related to the nature of a magical girl.

"I can grant a single wish. It can be anything, and I'll be able to grant it how matter how miraculous it is!"

It took all of Homura's energy to keep herself from shoving her fist into Incubator's face, and she despised every moment of seeing him talk. Every single second this abomination existed was a second he might use to make Madoka's life more miserable, and the way he gazed at her with those mocking crimson eyes made it clear he was aware of how she felt.

"But in doing so, a Soul Gem will be made."

He didn't care.

"The receiver of the stone then has to fight Witches as a magical girl."

Manipulating little girls, corrupting their innocence and dooming them to a fate of nothing but darkness.

The emotionless bastard really didn't care at all.

The apartment they were in had always been a nice, comfortable, and spacious place with a nice view and delicious food, but as time passed on and dusk settled in the sky, the light coming in through the window had an orange tint that made the atmosphere somewhat eerie to Homura, making it difficult for her to contain herself throughout the flawed explanation. The feeling was so strong that she couldn't even bring herself to drink the tea and cake in front of her.

No one else could possibly understand what she was feeling.

"What are Witches? Are they any different from magical girls?" asked Sayaka, having seemingly let go of the whole grenade thing by then. Compared to all these recent fantastic events, magic and wishes, she must've forgotten.

"What are Witches? Are they any different from magical girls?" asked Sayaka, having seemingly let go of the whole grenade thing by then. Compared to all these recent fantastic events, magic and wishes, she must've forgotten.

"If magical girls are born from wishes, then you could say that Witches are born from curses," answered Kyubey. "Magical girls spread hope, while Witches spread despair. What's more, they can't be seen by normal people. They're pure evil. Doubt and suspicion, rage and hatred, they bring seeds of catastrophe to the world."

"Unreasonable suicides and killings usually stem from the curses of Witches. This unseen enemy is moving against the hearts of the people," Mami continued on in a grim, serious voice.

"If such dangerous monsters exist, then why doesn't anyone know about them?"

"Witches always remain hidden and would never reveal themselves to anyone. The maze-like structure you were trapped in earlier was a reality marble, a barrier of theirs."

"It was really dangerous, wasn't it? People who are swallowed by that world never return alive, and I was only able to reach you two in time because of Kyubey."

Homura reconsidered her opinion. Actually, it isn't that she doesn't understand. She knows how dangerous it is better than anyone. It's just that she doesn't know the true nature of a magical girl, she thought. If she ever learned the truth, then it would be too much for her. It's all she has left.

"When you were fighting that butterfly monster, you made it look easy. But all the same, isn't it really terrifying?" asked Sayaka.

"Yes. Every time I go out, I put my life on the line. That's why the two of you should think this over carefully. Since you've been chosen by Kyubey, having been given the opportunity to fulfill any dream, would you be willing to face death at any given moment?"

The blunette sighed. "It's a pretty hard decision to make, huh?"

"Therefore, I have an idea. Why don't you accompany me in vanquishing Witches for a while?" Mami suggested calmly. At that, Sayaka stood up from her seat in surprise, while Homura kept herself under control. "In doing so, you will come to understand exactly what it means to be a magical girl. Use your very own eyes to verify, whether fulfilling your dream is worth risking your life. You need to consider this seriously."

Having not spoken a single word throughout the whole thing, Homura reached to pick up her own now-cold cup of tea, only to realize that her hand was shaking. Why was that? It wasn't characteristic of her.

Was she frustrated at being unable to set right all of Kyubey's lies? Was she scared of facing Witches as a normal human? Was she worried about failing?

No.

She was relieved.

After all, right now, Kaname Madoka was still oh so far from this cycle of endless torment...!

When Mami was done with her introduction to the world of magical girls, they exited back out into the second floor of the apartment, it was already late, the sky dark with a waning gibbous moon up above. Presumably, the time was around six or seven o'clock. Not stopping to look behind at Mami's waving figure, she continued on, with Sayaka following from a distance.

Once they were outside, the raven-haired girl gazed past a long, ominous street as it stretched all the way towards a bridge, on the other side being their homes. The natural river that ran alongside the path was calm, but unsettling all the same, as it reflected the last weak moonlight and was contrasted by the many tall buildings on the other side.

She considered saying something to the girl behind her, perhaps to ask her if she planned on making a wish, or perhaps to talk about magical girls. Small talk. Surely, there was enough time to do so before they reached an intersection.

Perhaps if she just made an effort, then their friendship could still be salvaged, somehow.

"Hey. Akemi."

Or perhaps not.

Sayaka's footsteps stopped in their tracks, and her tone had a certain edge about it.

"What is it?" Homura asked, slowly turning around to face the girl in question.

The air was filled with tension.

"Back then, while we were in that Witch's—er, a barrier, was it? I'm really grateful that you saved my life and all, but I just wanna know. What were you doing with hidden grenades in your bag?"

It was obvious that neither really wanted to hold this conversation, but at the same time, there was no way it could've gone by ignored.

"I can't see how someone who just came out of the hospital would have such dangerous things. And when we entered that barrier, and while Mami-san was explaining everything, you didn't look all that surprised... I know being calm and collected is your thing, but isn't that a little too much? How are you taking all this so much calmer than me?! Now that we've learned about magical girls, and all this stuff, it seems kinda obvious that there's a bigger picture. There is, right? You're Madoka's friend, so I wanna trust you, Akemi. I really do, so... Please. Tell me, why the hell do you have grenades on you?"

The type of tone she used was sharp, and far closer to the tone she was used to hearing. In some timelines, the two of them had been allies, albeit ones who struggled to trust each other. There'd always been a void between the two that neither of them seemed able to cross no matter how hard they tried, conflicting even when they agreed on the same thing, and Homura never once believed that it was worth getting close to her again after all the trouble she caused for Madoka and the others.

And now she saw that this void would always be there, that neither of them would ever be able to have the same connection they had a long time, and that a partnership between the two was no longer possible. Sayaka was currently making a big effort to try and trust her, as Madoka's friend, but the problem was that she just couldn't be trusted.

The weak ideals and the emotions of this girl would always get in the way, no matter what, and she would never understand about what was importantly, until it was too late. That was why she couldn't know, and why Homura couldn't answer.

The next few moments went by without a sound, as though silence had fallen onto the city around them.

"I see," Sayaka said after a long while, her face darkening. "So that's how it is."

"I- I apologize," Homura began, starting to panic. "But it's just, that I can't—"

"Save it."

Even after having gone through this kind of thing over and over, it still felt like a dagger piercing into her heart. She was losing control of herself, and a headache was beginning to beat in her mind. Without even giving so much as a glance, Sayaka walked past her, the wind blowing against them coldly.

"Are you... going to... make a contract with Kyubey?" she asked dryly, finding it difficult to say anything else.

Sayaka stopped in place, just for a moment. "I'll have to think about it, but probably, yeah. There are so many people in the world who really deserve this opportunity more than we do, and at the same time, I'll be able to protect my friends as a hero of justice. That's good enough for me."

"I see." She knew what she was referring to, about that disabled boy in the hospital whom she had a crush on, but it was pointless to attempt to dissuade her, nor was it worth trying. Things were exactly the same as they were before.

The girl moved to walk further on ahead.

"W- wait!" Homura yelled, maybe a bit louder than necessary. A tiny bit of panic had poured into her tone. Sayaka stopped once more. "Just promise me one thing. Please."

"Oh?"

"Keep Madoka out of this." The blunette's expression faltered at the mention of that name. Surprise? "I don't want her to risk her life or become a magical girl. Don't tell her anything about this, and don't let Kyubey get anywhere close to her. Please. For her sake."

After a passing silence, Sayaka turned around one last time to give Homura a cold, sideways look.

She said only a single thing before leaving.

"You creep me out."

Saturday, March the 26th

The winds were a bit stronger today, and the sky wasn't quite as clear as it was a few days ago, with clouds here and there. Even so, it may have been relaxing had there not been so much tension in the air. It was midday, and she was currently sitting at the large, pearl-white school rooftop, having lunch with Madoka by her side.

She should've been able to enjoy it, but after yesterday, it wasn't very easy to do so.

"Hitomi-chan and everyone else were really panicking when you turned up with a broken lens, Homura-chan! And wasn't it embarrassing to go through the whole day like that, wehehe~?" Madoka asked lightly, trying to lighten up the atmosphere, but her words didn't do much.

"Yes, Shizuki-san said she'll take me out shopping later tomorrow," replied Homura.

"Oh, okay, um… Oh, Sayaka-chan! I just realized something! Since we have two friends who are model students now, don't you think we should study harder?"

"I guess so," replied Sayaka.

As Madoka looked here and there between the two, a worried expression crossed her face, and all of her efforts weren't doing much. Homura wanted to comfort her, but it wasn't easy to laugh after having very nearly escaped death, and if she did anything, it might set Sayaka off even more.

"U- um, Homura-chan, did something happen between you and—"

"We're fine!" Sayaka breathed out, from the opposite end of the bench, sitting as far away from Homura as possible without falling off.

"Did you two fight? If so, you should make up, you know! It's not good to—"

"Nothing happened," Homura maintained in as calm a voice as she could muster.

"Homura-chan, Sayaka-chan, I'm kinda worried—"

"Madoka, if you had one wish that could be granted, what would it be?" Sayaka asked right out of the blue, a blank look on her face as she stared up at the sky.

"Eh?" Surprised, it took her a little while to understand the question. Homura looked towards Sayaka as if to convey a telepathic message saying 'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING', but with Kyubey having been pushed out of the way, she was unable to do anything of the sort. "U- um, I'm not really sure, I've never really thought about it. I dunno, um, but maybe…"

Homura drew in a sharp breath.

"I don't think making a wish is worth it," she cut in. "If you cherish the life you have now, and if you consider your family and friends precious, then you shouldn't try to change it. Otherwise, you might end up losing everything you love."

"I guess that's true," muttered Madoka.

"But what if there's someone who really, really needs it?" Sayaka said harshly, standing up.

"Such as?" asked Homura.

"What if he have an injury or something? What if he can't do the things he used to anymore?"

"Then that person should learn to enjoy what he does have, and what he can do."

"Well, what if he's unable to enjoy his own life?!"

"Then he should cherish what he has, instead of risking it all on something he doesn't even fully understand."

The truth was that everything Sayaka believed in was flawed. No doubt she'd put some thought into making a contract and the potential consequences a night before, but she lacked the understanding to do so properly.

Whether they knew it or not, all human beings are inherently selfish - that is what Akemi Homura believed in.

Selfishness itself wasn't bad, and the selfish desire to achieve a goal or desire a person was perfectly natural. It was normal to act selfish, and therefore, a lot of people would wish for money or prosperity. Yet, this would rarely turn out to be a good thing. Some people had lives that they never realized was perfect, and thus by making a wish, they threatened to ruin it by introducing a factor that should've stayed within the realm of imagination. If anyone had to be given such an opportunity, it would have to be someone whose wish was either completely selfish, or completely selfless. Otherwise, they would be betrayed by their own desires and fall into Incubator's trap.

No matter how the details varied between each timeline, this sort of thinking had always been what led to her downfall.

"Alright, let's say that he's trapped in a hospital room, unable to leave or do anything, he has a talent he loves to do but can't do it anymore, and people rarely ever visit him. Shouldn't you know what that's like, transfer student? More than anyone? To be alone like that, never able to live a normal life?!"

Did she...

Did she honestly just say that?

For a moment, Homura just stared at her in bafflement. This was another of Sayaka's flaws. She always let her emotions get ahead of her. Always saying things without thinking. Always thinking of herself, her own priorities, her own life. Anger started to bubble up inside of the raven-haired girl, stepping forward, raising her voice to meet this aggressiveness in kind. "Damn it, Sayaka! Why, why are you always so-"

"Stop it!"

Madoka interjected sternly, standing up from her seat.

"Just stop, RIGHT. NOW!"

The expression on her face looked extremely distressed.

"Sayaka-chan, Homura-chan, please, both of you, cut it out! Fighting over a wish like this... It's NOT RIGHT!"

Silence fell upon the rooftop.

Then, Madoka added with a pout,

"Now apologise to one another."

The pinkette made sure to stand between the two of them, crossing her arms. When faced with the sight of their closest friend so disturbed, any motivation either of the girls had to fight withered away.

U- um, okay," stuttered Homura. While she appeared calm on the outside, her heart had nearly stopped in fright.

"Y- yeah," replied Sayaka, also shocked by Madoka's sudden outburst.

...

Over the next ten minutes, the two opposed Puella Magi candidates ended up having to make themselves work together to try and convince her that there was nothing wrong and constantly apologizing, as well as continuously pleading for her forgiveness. In the end, they were forced to smile and shake hands with each other. While this didn't actually accomplish much in terms of mending their friendship, at least Madoka was satisfied with it.

Shortly afterwards, a familiar figure walked out from the shadows of the entrance.

"I see that the two of you are getting along," Mami said warmly, and Homura couldn't help but frown.

Had it been a coincidence that she appeared then, or had she watched the whole event unfold? Judging by her instincts, Homura had a feeling that it was the latter.

The blonde was holding a yellow jewel in front of her as she approached. Judging by the faint glow coming from it, there was either a familiar nearby, or a Witch some distance away from the school. She turned to face Madoka.

"Excuse me for intruding, but can I borrow Miki-san and Akemi-san for a little while?"

"Uh, ummm, did they do anything wrong, senpai?" Madoka asked, looking really worried and trying not to make herself look as if she'd almost cried.

"Well, not really," chuckled Mami.

"It's alright, Madoka," Homura reassured her as she got up and put away her lunchbox. "We'll be fine."

"Okay, but..." Madoka glanced at Mami for a moment with a wary expression. "That doesn't make me feel any better…"

"Don't listen to her! We'll be back before school ends, I promise you that!" Sayaka exclaimed, giving her a thumbs-up as she ran off to Mami's side, in direct contrast to her attitude not too long ago. "See ya later, Madoka! Now, let's go and kill some witches, Mami-san!"

At that, the pinkette seemed to freeze. "W- w- witches?!"

"Miki-san, you have to make an effort to be more secretive," The blonde reminded her lightly.

As the duo walked off, leaving a very puzzled girl, Homura stayed a little while longer to ease her mind a little.

"Don't worry about Miki, it's only an expression. We just need to do an errand for the third-year students."

"Oh. That so?"

Madoka let out an uncertain sigh, before looking up to face Homura directly with what seemed to be a serious look, surprising her.

"Homura-chan, I know this might be a bit abrupt but... can you take care of Sayaka-chan? I know she can be rash sometimes and say things without thinking, but she's a really nice person! That's why, if you have the chance, don't let her do something stupid. Promise?"

This was odd. Even though she knew nothing about magical girls, even though she didn't know about all the lives that were on the line, she was still requesting such a thing. Even though they spent almost all of two weeks talking on the phone to each other and establishing a friendship, they'd only met in person the day before. Were there ever previous times when she got this close this quickly?

"Why... why are you telling me this?" she asked, stunned.

"Huh?" Madoka blinked in confusion, as if it were obvious. Then, upon realizing that Homura really didn't know, she grinned and said, "Because we're friends, silly~"

Once again, Homura's heart almost stopped.

Sunday, March the 27th

A few things to note.

First off, the enemy Mami showed them turned out to be a familiar. While no Grief Seeds were dropped, she'd used the chance to cleanse her Soul Gem of the energy she used with the one she obtained from the earlier Witch, as well as explain some more things to her two apprentices.

Second, Sayaka now acted nice towards her whenever Madoka was around, but would promptly revert back to an aloof persona once she was gone. Mami had definitely noticed this odd behaviour.

Third, Hitomi had taken her to the shopping mall to find a new pair of glasses, and somewhere along the lines she ended up being dragged along to buy unrelated things such as dresses, hats, and other fashion accessories for her to go with it. Since it all went by in a blur, at the moment, she had yet to determine who'd spent most of the money.

Homura was standing in front of a mirror, with somber, silky long hair flowing behind her, and on the other side was a girl of intelligence and determination. The glasses that she now wore were nothing like the childish, squared red frame she had before. They were black and had a sort of classic feel, being firm, well-rounded and fitting her perfectly, as well as better when it came to correcting her vision, as the previous one had unknowingly been a bit off by a few feet.

Appearing like this, she felt more confident. If Madoka were here, then she would definitely call her 'cool'.

Speaking of which, even though it was absolutely ridiculous in this situation, she decided to uphold that promise she made.

True, there were various obstacles in the way, first and foremost being the whole dilemma with her crush, the violin kid Kamijou Kyousuke. He had a seriously paralyzed hand, and the only way to heal it was with a wish - the standard healing magic of magical girls didn't work, as she'd already tried out more than several dozen times in the past. Realistically speaking, it was extremely unlikely that she would be able to make him just accept his cripple and drop playing the violin altogether.

But even so, Madoka must be right, about there being a chance to save Sayaka. There had to be some way, something she hadn't thought of yet. She just needed to make the effort to find out what that way was, then do it.

It can't be helped. I'll stop her.

Without my powers, she might listen to me better, and if I can avert the future somehow, then a large amount of pain for Madoka might be averted!

"I won't let Sayaka make a contract," she affirmed to her reflection.

"I don't understand you," Kyubey's voice rung through her head, as he entered in through an open window and settled on an empty desk by it. "I assumed you planned on allowing me Miki Sayaka in place of Kaname Madoka. Have you changed your mind?"

Disgusted by his presence, Homura didn't respond at first. She'd been expecting him to appear, yet all the same, made a mental note to keep all windows and doors shut tightly to prevent him from entering like this again.

"You won't leave her alone, and you never will. It's just another one of your lies," she spat out. "Isn't that correct?"

"Well, yes. While I cannot lie, I did suggest to you that we had a deal, thereby allowing me to approach her without any more hindrances. It's safe to say that you're aware of her unusual potential as a magical girl. I'm currently wondering if you were a factor in it."

Instead of replying to this blatant, inhuman statement, Homura turned to shove her fist into the white creature's face, only for her to stumble down as a sudden, throbbing wave of pain coming from her chest spread throughout the rest of her body, her vision getting blurry and her senses failing her.

Dammit!

Writhing on the floor, her breath escaped her, and trying to take in more oxygen only made the pain hurt even more. Her consciousness was threatening to black out.

Why is this happening here of all places?! What's with this bad timing?!

But as she mustered the strength to look at him again, she saw that his eyes were glowing—and then she realized what he was doing to her.

"I haven't approached Madoka in quite some time, so you can relax. Instead, I have spent my time researching you. No matter how you look at it, it isn't logical for a human to randomly kill an unsuspecting unit, and demand that we avoid a specific target," he continued with an unchanging tone, his voice as obnoxiously clear as ever, but it was difficult to listen what with the heart attack that was KILLING HER and all.

"You have met Tomoe Mami only recently, and as you rarely seem to use the internet, an online magical girl friend is out of the question as well. You spent a long time in the hospital due to an unusual case of arrhythmia, and you've been ignored by your family as an disgrace. We never encountered you while you were conscious, so there is no plausible way for you to have ever known about our existence and the nature of Madoka at the point in time you chose to attack me, and even if you did, the amount of violence used was unprecedented."

She didn't want to hear anything, and she couldn't even muster enough energy to try and decode whatever he was talking about. His words only muddled up as a pressure exerted its force onto her mind. Everything was fading away.

It hurt, it really, really hurt to concentrate upon anything, anything at all, and numbness was starting to take over from all the pain. It almost was like relief, as all her senses drained away and stopped her from feeling anywhere. However, it was also even scarier, as it felt as though she was disappearing into nothingness.

"But it seems that your medical records weren't a fabrication. You do have an irregular heartbeat brought about by multiple symptoms, and it's easily triggered, considering that both your physical and your mental state are in poor condition."

She mustered the strength to ask, "Why don't you just . . . kill me now?"

She hated him.

SHE HATED HIM SO, SO MUCH.

"Don't misunderstand, Akemi Homura. While your potential doesn't even come close to Madoka's, it's still unusually high. Normally, we only get levels like that from places such as Afghanistan and India. Do you honestly think I'll let you go?"

And then it stopped.

Taking in large gasps of air, Homura's head started to clear up, but she still struggled to pick herself up with an even weaker body, mentally cursing and yelling swear words at the one responsible all the while. She should've known before that since she wasn't a magical girl, opposing Incubator would be almost impossible.

Without the power to stop time, gather guns, or even cure herself of her arrhythmia, an ordinary girl couldn't possibly hope to stand against the design of an alien race.

But she would still try. She didn't need to save the entire human population—just one girl. All she needed was for that one girl to be saved.

"Don't you dare come close to Madoka!"

"I still cannot determine the cause of your behaviour." Then, "Do you want to make a contract with me and become a magical girl?"

"Out, NOW!" As soon as she could stand, Homura gripped one of Kyubey's long ears and hurled his body out of the window, though instead of falling, he gave her a glance before floating away. One of the many things he was capable of was levitation.

Once he was gone, she took out her phone with hands even paler than before. The device felt heavy.

Madoka needed to be called right away, and they were going to have a long, important discussion about making wishes and avoiding creepy rabbit-like cats with ruby eyes that could talk. More important than anything was preventing her from making a wish.

Then, with all of her accumulated knowledge, she would utilize it to successfully prevent Sayaka from making a contract.

Afterwards, once Kyoko inevitably visited Mitakihara, she would somehow arrange for her and Mami to team up for the eventual appearance of Walpurgisnacht in just over a month, and prepare them for it.

If even that wasn't enough, then Homura would have no choice but to form a contract herself and have her wish granted. This was her trump card, her final back-up plan.

As much as she wanted to use it to protect Madoka, to make it so that she wouldn't be able to see Kyubey or something along those lines, the possibility remained that she might end up in a dangerous situation, and if that were to happen, then there wouldn't be any way to save her. Moving Madoka into another town wouldn't help, because then, she would still be targeted by the Incubators.

There didn't seem to be any clear way out of this.

That was why, all she could do right now was hope. Hope that everything went smoothly, and hope that they could make it past the dreaded First of May safely.

Not that hope ever did anything for her in any of the past, countless times she had to repeat this cycle.

Please, let it be different this time.

.

.

.

Look, finally, another update!

Anyway, as promised, more Homusuffering. Right now the plot's moving really slowly, but this is all just the build-up to something greater. Just angst and suffering alone is boring, I know.

Oh, and would you like to wish for a Merry Christmas, and a happy new year? ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼Of course you would! Here, consider this my present to cheer you all up for 2014~