Scar Tissue

Chapter 5

Kyouko's legs began moving before she even thought about it, propelling her towards the collapsed girl. She skid to a halt and quickly knelt by her side, gripping her shoulders and shaking her.

"Homura! Oi, Homura, wake up!" The dark-haired girl squirmed slightly, face scrunching as she groaned, but her eyes remained closed. Kyouko's eyes darted down to the Soul Gem on her hand, and gasped. It was almost completely consumed by darkness, only the slightest hint of violet peeking through at the top.

"Shit!" She looked around frantically. It was still night, and the ward had formed in an alleyway, hidden from the glow of the streetlights. It was only the headlights of a passing car reflecting briefly of its surface that allowed her to finally locate the fallen witch's Grief Seed, lying near a large garbage bin.

She snatched it up and rushed back to Homura. Holding up her wrist, she prepared to press the Seed against her Gem, but stopped suddenly. Hesitating, she took a look at her own Gem; it wasn't as severely tainted as Homura's, but was still growing dangerously dark.

She looked back and forth between them. If she cleaned her Gem first, the Seed would barely affect Homura's. Cleaning Homura's first would surely drain the Seed completely. She had to make a choice quickly.

Gritting her teeth, she pressed it firmly against the smooth surface of the Gem and watched the darkness drain away.

Homura felt like she was weightless. Rather, she didn't feel like a physical form at all. She had the vague sensation of floating while images and sounds whirled around her, bits and pieces of memories coming in and out of focus as they drifted past.

She sat in seclusion in the back corner of the classroom, coughing quietly into a handkerchief. The teacher silently placed a paper on her desk as she walked past, her gaze remaining fixed forward.

She sat on her knees, hands clasped in prayer. The massive crucifix that seemed to take up the entirety of the wall loomed over her as the voice of the abbess droned on in the background.

A multitude of blurred faces swarmed over her vision. She had the vague sensation of movement as a man's tense voice called for a defibrillator, shortly before everything went white.

She felt numb as she looked over the list of medications, barely hearing the doctor's explanation of side effects and new routines. She started tuning him out when he mentioned life expectancy.

Madoka, glowing arrow drawn back, looked over her shoulder and smiled - "Keep this a secret from everyone as school, 'kay?" - and whatever fear that had so gripped her instantly melted away, replaced by awe. For the first time, Homura truly understood what her teachers meant when they spoke of angles.

As she gazed at Madoka's face through eyes blurred with tears, her chest hurt worse than it ever had from her heart condition.

Kyouko, teeth bared in a confident, vicious grin, propelled herself forward like a streak of fire. Homura discovered that after all that she had seen, she could still be awed by another magical girl.

She pressed a Grief Seed against the Gem on Kyouko's chest, and hoped silently that her cheeks weren't the same color as her friend's.

With each heartbeat it seemed, she was thrust into another memory, reliving it while still vaguely aware it was only a recollection.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Kyouko's look of shock and disappointment as she was demanded to leave.

If she could have, Homura would have grit her teeth. 'Stop thinking about her. The plan failed – she's just collateral now.' Even before she finished thinking it, she felt wracked with guilt.

If she's collateral, why were you so upset when she left? The voice came out of nowhere, as close as if spoken right in front of her, or from within her very head. There was nothing to be seen, but in her current state, physical senses hardly seemed to exist. Something in the back of her mind told her she was dreaming or hallucinating.

'Maybe... I'm dying.' To her mild surprise, it wasn't a terrifying thought. If anything, it brought some comfort with it.

She's your friend. The voice again. Homura wasn't sure if it was her own internal voice or a hallucinated entity.

"I don't need friends." Homura felt her emotions swirling. "Madoka... Madoka is my friend. My only friend. As long as she's safe, that's all I need. That's all that matters."

A pause.

'No one will believe me. They never did."

The voice had a strange lift to it; sad, almost pitying, but with a hopefulness to it. Things are different this time. You said so.

"I thought it was different."

It is different. This isn't your end, Homura.

Homura was suddenly aware of the sensation of her body. Her many memories, faded to an indistinct blur and buzz in the background, faded away completely. She opened her eyes.

Homura stared at a familiar ceiling – her own – blinking a few times to allow her eyes to adjust. She was laying one of the curved couches in her living room.

She sat up, propping herself with her hands, and looked around. Her head throbbed with the movement and she groaned at the sharp pain, bringing a hand up to feel a hard lump on the side of her head. What happened? I was… looking for a Grief Seed… no, a witch…

Her eyes grew wide and she quickly summoned her Soul Gem. It was clean and bright, shining violet from top to bottom. Homura sighed in relief, returning it to ring form. But how…? I was fighting the witch… Her hand returned to the seat as she prepared to stand up and something soft brushed against it, in harmony with a low groan. She gave a sudden start and snapped her head down.

Kyouko lay curled awkwardly against the side of the small couch, looking uncomfortable and unusually still. Her face twisted as she squirmed.

"Kyouko?" Homura reached down to grip her shoulder. Kyouko's half-lidded eyes met hers. "Homu…ra… you're alright…" She gave a weak smirk. Her eyes were glossy and distant, her whole body limp and

"Kyouko? What's wrong?" Homura's eyes grew wide. "Show me your Soul Gem!" She grabbed the redhead's wrist and brought it up just as she summoned her Gem. At first glance it was entirely black; only the slightest hint of color peeked through.

Homura leapt up, almost bounding over to the opposite couch. Pushing against the outward-facing side, it opened up to become a drawer. Among the contents were several unused Grief Seeds. She snatched one up and darted back over to Kyouko, shoving the Seed against her Gem.

As more the darkness drained away, Homura felt the weight in her chest disappear along with it, replaced by relief. Kyouko showed immediate change; her eyes regained their usual clarity, and the lethargy that had overtaken her was gone. She looked around, blinking a few times, before turning to face Homura. "Uh... thanks for that." Homura nodded, but said nothing. Kyouko sat up, stretching awkwardly. Both girls remained silent for what seemed like several minutes, but in reality wasn't more than one.

Homura was the first to speak. "So… what happened?" Kyouko turned to her and grimaced. "I should be askin' you that. What was up with you an' that witch?"

Homura flinched slightly. She took a breath. "My Soul Gem grew tainted faster than I expected. I thought I could find a Grief Seed in time to-"

"Yeah, I get that." Kyouko interrupted a deep frown now on her face. "Lemme rephrase; why the Hell did you go out and look for a witch when you had a whole drawer full of 'em right here!" She slammed her hand on the seat, the slap echoing throughout the living room. Homura flinched again, but only grew defensive. "Those are for emergency situations. I-"

"Well, clearly it'd gotten pretty bad before you found the witch!" Kyouko stood up. "Do you always wait until the last minute to clean your gem?"

Homura's voice rose in response. "I told you, it progressed faster than I expected." It wasn't even a shout, but compared to her usual monotone, it was enough to startle Kyouko in temporary silence. Homura sat down, not wanting to escalate the argument any further.

Once recovered, Kyouko grunted angrily and turned away, staring at nothing in particular. A few moments of tense silence passed. Kyouko opened her mouth to speak again, but Homura spoke first. "I was trying to clear my head. I knew it was becoming tainted too quickly. I thought it would slow down if I was focused on something else." Her head was down, her eyes shielded by her bangs.

Kyouko looked at her, processing her words, unsure of what to say next. "Uhh...focus on something else? Instead of what?" Homura didn't reply. She simply raised her head to look at Kyouko, her expression as unreadable as it always was. Kyouko fidgeted under her gaze. Her anger had dissipated, so she sat down across from Homura, not meeting her gaze.

Once again the room was silent. Homura replayed what she remembered in her head, filling in the gaps with her inferences. Despite what had happened, Kyouko had risked her life to save her. She could have let her be killed and taken the Grief Seed for herself, especially since her Gem had been darkening at an almost equal rate to her own.

That was the most significant element. Both of their Gems were feeding off a sudden and unusual increase in negative emotion. Kyouko had been just as upset as she had. Homura realized then that her being affected as much as she had been was even more unusual. She and Kyouko had never been close in previous loops. The time they had been working together hardly compared to how long she had been fighting on her own. Yet their fallout had upset enough to rapidly accelerate the tainting of her Gem. Vaguely, she thought that Kyouko would have easily left her to die in another timeline.

Things are different this time. You said so. The words came back to her, and this time, she believed them.

Kyouko wasn't sure how much time had passed when Homura finally spoke again. "Thank you." Kyouko blinked, and looked up in surprise. Homura stared straight into her eyes as she continued. "For coming to help with the witch. I would be dead otherwise."

Kyouko felt herself becoming more and more flustered. This was the last thing she had expected. "Ah…no, no, I should be thankin' you. You took it out in the end. And you cleaned my Gem. You saved my butt twice."

"So did you. You did the same thing. So, thank you." Homura smiled. Kyouko stared, hardly able to believe what she was seeing or hearing. "Ahh, no, no, it's fine." She scratched the back of her head. "I'm just glad you're alright." She felt her cheeks heat up as she spoke.

Homura closed her eyes and breathed in. She remained like that for a few moments; Kyouko stared, confused, wondering if she should say something. Then, as if nothing had happened, Homura's face had returned to its usual expression, or lack of. Kyouko blinked a few times, wondering if she had imagined things. Something was different, though. There was something new in Homura's eyes that she hadn't seen before. Homura had already turned away, closing the drawer. "Are you still tired?"

"Huh? Ah, no, I'm fine." Kyouko shook her head. "Uh…why?" Homura didn't turn around, simply replied as she picked up a remote on the coffee table and pressed a button. Several holographic panels flashed into life, showing various detailed graphs, blurred photographs, and scans of text, among other things. Kyouko recognized them as the information Homura had gathered about Walpurgisnacht, along with tactics on how to take it down. She had seen them several times before, and still wondered where and the dark-haired girl had acquired some of it. Homura had never told her, and she wasn't going to ask again.

There were more panels than usual though, she noticed with some curiosity. Diagrams of Soul Gems and Grief Seeds; new charts and graphs, photographs of witches, and of magical girls she didn't recognize. She glanced from panel to panel, her interest piqued.

"Kyouko." Homura's voice came from right behind her, and she jumped slightly. She turned around, face to face with the shieldmaiden. Her face was its usual inexpressive mask, but it seemed harsher, as if it was strained. "Sit down."

Kyouko sat, still confused. "Homura, what's going on?" Homura sat across from her; she seemed…nervous? Frightened even? "Oi…" Kyouko trailed off, unable to find any words.

Homura swallowed. Things are different. Tell her… "Kyouko… what do you think happens to Soul Gems when they become fully corrupted?

I have no excuse for how late this chapter is. I can only hope you enjoy it.

I had a hard time with this one, but I think I'm over the hump. From this point on, things will progress more seriously. There will also be more chapters that are devoted solely to developing the characters and their relationship.