Author's Note: Damn, woke up this morning and I still don't own Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Maybe that's what I should contract for! Well here you go: an early release of the next chapter. When I beat writer's block, I beat writer's block. Special thanks to DappledKarma and company for helping me edit this to make sure it's yet another quality read. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: This is boring! When can I be in the story?

Two figures, cloaked in shadows, sat atop a crate in the empty warehouse. The taller one sat still, twiddling thumbs. The shorter one leaned back on two arms and sighed.

"Do we have to keep wearing these? I mean come on, there's nobody here who'll recognize us! If you ask me this is a lame excuse to appear all mysterious and majestic," the shorter figure complained with a young, shrill female voice. The taller one sighed in irritation. It was true the secrecy was a bit over the top. The only one who really needed it was their resident colleague, but meeting near and inside the warehouse made that point somewhat moot.

"You know what? Screw it. Off goes the robes," the young girl declared, proceeding to remove the unnecessary layer of clothing. The taller figure watched the girl as she revealed her form.

"Auburn…" she warned, using an alto voice that sounded several years older.

"It's Mariko. That's it, I'm done. I haven't even been in this city before!" the younger girl screamed. She appeared twelve years old, with luscious locks of curly lime strung out in every direction. Despite her messy appearance, she had the looks of an adorable child. Her outfit was that of a maid, if one were made for a child her age.

"Oh Mariko, you're so childish," the other girl chuckled, stripping off her robes as well. She was a head taller than her friend and sported a cropped magenta haircut. Her magic garments were similar themed to Mariko's, a masculine butler outfit. Any outside observer would take them as childish cosplayers squatting in the warehouse. They weren't.

"What's taking her so long?" Mariko complained, leaning back further. She began kicking her legs in impatience.

"Patience dear, we're not expected until tomorrow. The least we can do is allow her to enjoy her time off," her friend reasoned.

"Pft, what could she possibly be doing? Ogling over melon-"

"Mariko, that's enough! Geez, you can be so childish sometimes…"

"Rena… don't be so mean!" Mariko replied, giving her friend a raspberry. Rena responded with a surprise slap to the back of her head. Caught by surprise, the little maid fell off the crate and landed flat on the ground. As she pulled herself up Rena lightly jumped down.

"I don't like this city very much, and the comfort is minimal at best. But perhaps we can enjoy the time we have to spend waiting?" Rena suggested, holding out her hand. Mariko took it and allowed her friend to bring her to her feet. Without letting go of her hand, Mariko stood up on her tiptoes and…

"Um, hope I'm not interrupting anything…" a nervous voice apologized behind the two. Walking out from behind the crate was a blue haired girl, the one they call Sayaka.

"Oh, you must be Miki-kun. Did you come for something?" Rena asked, irritated. Sayaka froze in her steps, confusion setting in.

"How'd you know my name? Are you a stalker?" Sayaka's question caused Mariko to laugh shrilly.

"Hah, that was funny! No, no, you're just a friend of Mami and Aki, are you not?" Mariko laughed, somewhat answering her question. Sayaka didn't know what was funny, but a feeling of worry took hold of her.

"Wait, how do you know them?" Sayaka asked. Mariko stopped laughing, and wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Rena here once lost an improv competition to Mami a few years ago in middle school. They've never talked, but you can hardly forget a voice like that!" Mariko answered teasingly, punching Rena in the arm. Rena was not amused.

"Yes, as Mariko-chan put it," Rena started, causing Mariko to flinch shamefully, "I've seen Tomoe-san before. That was years ago though and I've been studying at a different school since. I respect her superior skills; she is a rather nice singer. We've never formally met, however. As for Orenji-san, we met under somewhat unusual circumstances-"

"Cosplay café," Mariko bragged, flashing a peace sign. Figures, Sayaka thought. After all they were dressed for the part.

"Well, what about you? What are you here for?" Rena asked, motioning at Sayaka. Sayaka smiled awkwardly, covertly hiding a grief seed in her sleeve.

"I was just going to drop by and go over some classwork that Aki missed over the last couple days," Sayaka responded. It was a half-truth: Aki had missed the last two days of school, but Sayaka hadn't done much but sleep during class. Botan was the one who had kept hand-written notes to give to Aki, as neither of them owned a laptop.

"Oh, how nice of you. Well, feel free stay awhile. This isn't exactly the nicest place to meet a girl, but whatever's out of the public's eye is better I suppose," Rena commented sitting back down on a crate. Her words left a perplexed effect on Sayaka.

"Uh, I think you have the wrong idea. Aki and I aren't like that…" she trailed off, not really wanting to confront the misunderstanding with a stranger.

"Oh I wasn't talking about you. From what I've heard, all a boy has to do is pluck a few strings to get your attention," Rena retorted, angering Sayaka. Before she could respond with something crude, her phone rang. Sayaka sighed and released her anger before answering.

"Hello? Oh, hey Madoka. Why do you ask? Did you see her? She's in what? By what? Oh alright, I'll handle it. Don't worry about it," Sayaka finished her conversation and hung up the phone. She wanted to insult Rena and make her pay for her cruel joke, but they probably had a job to get to.

"That was my friend. Apparently she saw Aki running away from a flock of pigeons in a princess outfit by the music store. I assume you know something about that?" Sayaka asked dryly. Of course, Aki had to be a princess, she acted like nothing but. Rena and Mariko exchanged amused glances and shrugged.

"Well, can't be too surprising. She does have a big appetite," Rena commented. Mariko gave a strong nod in agreement.

"Well toodles. Maybe we'll see you around?" Mariko waved goodbye to Sayaka and dashed off. It finally dawned on Sayaka that she had several questions for the strange duo, some not very polite, but the two had confused and rattled her to a blank. A certain sense of déjà vu settled in the back of Sayaka's mind, one she couldn't shake away.


Mami was currently sipping tea with her guest Madoka on a fine Thursday afternoon. The latter was somewhat rattled after accidentally wandering into a witch's barrier, but was completely unharmed thanks to Homura and Sayaka's quick intervention. The idea of getting lost scared her, but her exposure was so short that the witch did not have enough time to personally terrorize her. She didn't even get a proper look. Mami, having heard about her little misadventure, had invited her to tea that weekend.

"How is it Madoka? Too hot? Need any sugar?" Mami asked gently, wary that Madoka might be somewhat jumpy. Her research on witches had been put on hiatus for the meanwhile; it was true that witches and magical girls were connected, but that may be because Kyubey granted magic specifically to counter them. After witches were the embodiments of despair; magical girls were hope. She had hit a wall after running out of grief seeds to inspect and decipher and was forced to turn them in to Kyubey before they overloaded and hatched again.

"No, it's perfect," Madoka replied, sipping her tea. She attempted to lift her pinky (a common mistake many people make), but Mami gently corrected her. Madoka was slowly gaining experience in the real world, but she still had a measure of naivety like everyone else. Mami chuckled. A common mistake many people make.

"Have you thought about your wish?" Mami inquired, curious to see if Madoka had put any thought into it. She knew that business was delicate at the moment, but she wanted to see a more mature response from her junior now that she's seen it's not all fun and games. Madoka wasn't anywhere near the festival a few days ago, and although Mami would never admit accidently shooting her apprentice, albeit accidently, she was was secretly glad Madoka had a less-than-fun experience.

"Wouldn't being a magical girl be enough? There's not a lot I want," Madoka admitted. This wasn't the first time Mami had heard such musings from her juniors, and it sure wouldn't be the last. She set her teacup down.

"Power for the sake of power… there's plenty of things to wish for Madoka. You could wish for the perfect boyfriend, or to be lucky with money," Mami suggested. Those were superficial wishes and Mami knew that the potential would never give much thought for such wasteful wishes. She thought about suggesting cake as well, but now that Charlotte was around…

"SISTER!" Charlotte leaped through the window and jumped on Mami's head. Ever since Mami had tamed the miniature witch, she could barely shake it off. It was Charlotte's favorite pastime to lie on Mami's head and nibble on her locks. One time she needed help to pry off the witch after it had unhinged its jaw and wrapped its mouth around the crown of her head. Sayaka joked that a witch hat could easily become the latest fashion. She was quickly punished with ribbons.

"Yes Charlotte, I see you," Mami laughed, trying to pull off the witch from her head. Apparently she bore a striking resemblance to cheese, the witch's favorite food. Everyone thought the witch's obsession was all talk and a memento of her wilder days, until one day Mami woke up to an empty fridge. Charlotte even ate the cheesecake Mami had saved for Madoka's eventual celebration. There was only one person she knew that could eat more than the witch, but even then she figured it would be a close finish.

"Should I get the pliers?" Madoka asked, closing her eyes in amusement. The atmosphere was somewhat melancholic, but the witch seemed to be lightening the mood. Before Mami could reply, a door slamming open was heard.

Madoka quickly sprung up and helped Mami pry the witch off her head. Before Botan could turn around after locking the door, Madoka thought quickly and merely tossed the witch out the window. After all, she could fly.

"I'm home! What are you in the mood for Mami? I can cook some mean ramen," Botan asked, skipping to the living room table and sitting with the girls. The two had gotten used to living together after a week; Botan was used to Mami spending long periods out for unexplained reasons. She got good grades and never got into trouble, so Botan figured she had no reason to worry. As far as living arrangements went, Botan volunteered to cook every night and Mami made sure both had clean uniforms for the next day.

"That would be nice actually. Are you staying for dinner, Madoka?"

"Um, I'll have to call mother first. I've been out a lot lately." The pink haired girl proceeded to pull out her phone and dialed her mother's phone. Mami waited patiently, understanding. She felt a pang of loneliness in her heart, remembering how her own mother used to supervise her in that modern fashion.

"Hey Mami, are you alright?" Botan asked, shaking Mami on the shoulder. Mami shook her head, driving out old memories. Those days were long gone, and there were other girls she still needed to attend to. There was no time for reliving the past.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about a test I took," she lied. Botan bought it and smiled.

"I'm sure you did fine. Studying for next year's college exams?" She asked. It was common knowledge Mami was the scholarly type, keeping up with her studies both mundane and magical. Madoka finished her phone call and hung up. Having permission to stay, she and Mami chatted idly while Botan whipped up a simple meal. She wasn't the greatest cook, but her ramen smelled tantalizing after a few minutes.

Bang!

Mami jolted. Her conversation with Madoka was cut short as something had hit her window. It sounded like a pigeon had missed its mark, but what if…

Whump!

"You have got to be kidding me…" Mami muttered, quietly enough for Madoka not to hear. It was a slight slip in her usual demeanor, but enough was enough.

"What was that?" Botan cried from the kitchen, referring to the noise everyone had heard. Choosing to investigate rather than answer, Mami walked up to the window Madoka had shut. Outside was Charlotte, throwing herself against the window. For some reason she didn't say anything to Mami, instead opting to throw herself yet again.

"Botan, what exactly are you putting in that ramen?" Mami shouted to the kitchen. Botan paused and turned around, wielding a large metal spoon.

"The usual: Noodles, mint leaves, slices of brisket, and just a pinch of cheese."

"How much cheese?" Mami asked curtly.

"Oh, just a little."

"How much is 'just a little'?"

"Remember that cheese wedge in the fridge? I was planning on having leftovers you know…" Botan replied, causing Mami to sigh. Fortunately she had planned for this moment after bonding with the witch, and being chewed on as a result. She walked into her room, searched a box for a small wrapped bundle, and returned to the main room. Before Charlotte could react, Mami threw open the window and flung out a small piece of cheese and shouted,

"THERE!"

Charlotte, in frenzy, dived after the falling cheese cackling like a hyena. Mami wondered if the witch would survive such a long fall, but figured the thing could fly decently enough. As long as nobody found out, there was no problem. Mami made a mental note to research a twelve-step program.

"What was that about?" Botan asked, serving up the ramen to the ravenous ladies. She had ditched her school uniform and changed into a more casual outfit before cooking, and was wearing Mami's apron to boot. Mami mused that Botan was a girl who looked much better in an apron than her, a girl more used to an elitist appearance. Shrugging her shoulders to fake a similar confusion, Mami ensued to consumer her ramen.

They were quite delicious. Someone had been practicing.

"Wow! This is amazing Botan! I'm jealous! You'll make a better wife than me someday," Madoka giggled, enjoying her meal. It's been awhile since she had a proper laugh at something other than her expense. Even if it was funny, she did get tired of Sayaka and Hitomi's teasing. The bridal jokes lately have been more frequent since Homura's arrival. What made it worse was Homura's lack of denial. She didn't say much of anything trivial, but Madoka wished she would at least say something.

"I guess… what do you think Mami? Would I make a good bride?" Botan asked, blinking her eyes rapidly for comedic effect. Mami choked on her noodles and laughed. Perhaps her duties could be balanced with a normal life after all; it was nice talking and laughing about subjects that didn't have the potential to maim and possibly kill her. It took a minute before she could compose a proper response.

"I don't know, I hear Madoka's shaping up pretty nicely," Mami joked, referring to Sayaka's antics. Even if she had to set an example, she couldn't resist poking a little fun at her novice. Madoka grinned and cringed, having felt relief too soon.

"Oh woe, looks like I have competition!" Botan cried dramatically, and then ruffled Madoka's hair against her will. Madoka put up a rather lackluster resistance, giggling as her pigtails were gently tugged.

I wonder where Kyubey's been, Mami pondered. The contracting cat had been away for several days now, not appearing since the day with the close battle against the pragmatic witch. Mami didn't think he was out recruiting, Madoka was currently their focus and the city couldn't handle any more girls than that. Then again even a magical creature might feel the need to wander.

"Oh, it's getting late," Botan observed, noticing the sun dipping in the sky. The girls briefly cleaned up and helped Madoka prepare to walk home before dark. Madoka said her farewell as she stood in the open doorframe.

"Hey! What are you doing Saturday?" Botan asked. Madoka gave it a quick thought.

"Nothing that I can think of," she answered truthfully. Other than with Sayaka, she rarely made plans ahead of time. Botan clasped her hands and became excited.

"Perfect! How about a girls' night out?" Botan exclaimed. Madoka's mouth twitched in uneasiness.

"What do you mean? We're always hanging out…" Madoka trailed, glancing at the ground nervously. It was true, she barely knew any guys at school despite her mother's advice about popularity.

"No, I mean like a night out. A slumber party! Mami already approved of it," Botan smiled cheerfully, having finally invited her new friend to something. The other girls haven't been around her for very long, and she wanted to feel accepted into the group and get to know everyone. Mami understood her roommate's need for socialization and allowed it, knowing her previous arrangement hadn't allowed any room for such behavior. After all, it'd be heartbreaking telling the wallpaper girl she couldn't have friends over.

"Eh, okay!" Madoka cheered in return, reverting to her usual encouraging self. She had always felt talentless in comparison to her friends, but she could never let someone feel down if she could help it.

"Would you like us to walk you home, Madoka?" Mami offered out of courtesy. Her friend politely declined and returned home, having enjoyed tea and dinner.


Kazuki was taking a stroll through the park at sunset, trying to clear his head. After the festival, there was a big commotion. Inside the abandoned shack that was scheduled to be torn down (sooner or later), bloodstains were found all over the walls by a couple teenagers looking for a place to discreetly make out. Nobody knew exactly what happened, but officials swarmed over the place looking for evidence. Obviously there were no leads, causing an air of suspicion to lie over his school.

Of course he didn't care for that. What he was wondering was why that cute girl he met hadn't called him yet. The only girls he regularly socialized with were either too concerned with their studies or boys in general to be of any interest in him. The way he saw it, that girl was playing flustered and hard to get at the same time. Like most boys, he loved a challenge.

Undeniably, short of stalking, there was no way to be challenged if he couldn't find the challenge. Which, he supposed, was a challenge in itself.

Amidst his thoughts, he didn't notice a pink flurry approach him at running speed. Before he knew what was happening, he was laying on his back sprawled beside a girl a couple years his junior. They groaned in unison, and slowly got up. He was glad she didn't land on him, like several girls before her. It was a cheap way to meet someone and a sure sign they were an otaku. He didn't mind otaku, in fact he was into a certain anime himself, but he didn't like it when they applied it to real life.

The pink haired girl rubbed her head. Kazuki stood up and offered his hand to shake and apologize. The girl took it and apologized as well, explaining that she was late and needed to get home before her mother got upset.

What a strange girl, not looking where's she going. Even when running, it's always important to keep your eyes ahead, Kazuki thought. He didn't pay her any heed as he continued on his walk. This city was full of weirdoes, much weirder than a clumsy girl running home. Being weird wasn't a bad thing, being too normal was much worse. Kazuki was a full believer in diversity, and believed normality was only in the eyes of the beholder. After all, this city held more secrets than most cared to admit.

Kazuki wasn't an otaku in the classic sense, but he was obsessed with a certain subject: the occult. Ever since he was a child he dreamed of being an exorcist. Of course his parents laughed at such an audacious dream, but compromised by paying for kendo lessons. Even if he couldn't fight the monsters under his bed, he at least would be able to keep on the lookout for real ones. He often scoured the forums on the internet for any recent evidence of anything supernatural, but never found anything.

However, things were starting to get weird. Wind storms have picked up lately without any rain, which was unusual in early spring. Suicide rates were on the high rise and people mysteriously vanished without a trace. In the real world nobody paid any heed, but his friends on the internet were all over it, trying to discover the meaning of these developments. He had recently began chatting with a newbie to their website, a girl (supposedly, this IS the internet) by the handle "elly". He didn't get very much from her, as the conversation was controlled by "elly" who repeatedly asked him mundane questions like how his school was and what he ate for meals. It came off as creepy, but Kazuki persisted until he managed to get a word in edge-wise.

doerayegon: any idea what the hell is happening in this city?

elly: lolz maybe.

doerayegon: … that doesn't really help… I don't have time for trolls. Bye.

elly: wait! mB i do. but first

doerayegon: for the last time, girl scout cookies are not made from real girl scouts.

elly: damn. Nope. if u wanna know… u hve to catch us 1st!

doerayego: us? who's us?

elly: wich one? lolz. XD g2g3

elly logged out.

It was rather frustrating. There will always be trolls on the internet…

"Hey, careful. You're about to trip on a rock," a boy's voice warned. Kazuki snapped out of thoughts and dodged the devious boulder. Thankful, he turned to face the boy and express it. Sitting on a bench was a grey-haired boy with a dreamy look on his face. He was dressed in casual clothing, muted colors, and was listening with a pair of headphones. Kazuki usually didn't interact with many juniors, but he was surprised to see someone seemingly distracted warn him from a painful fall.

"Thanks man, I owe you one," Kazuki said, plopping down on the bench beside him. The other boy didn't mind and merely scooted over to make room. Kazuki continued to sort through his thoughts as his companion listened to his music. A few minutes passed before he could brave a conversation.

"So, what are you listening to?" He asked, curious enough to compare their taste in music. The boy paused his music, reached for one of his ear buds, and handed it to Kazuki. The senior stuck it in his own ear and listened. The song was of a violin playing to the rhythm of a piano in the background, or at least that's what he thought he was hearing. He was no musician, but he recognized that this was quality classical music.

"That's pretty classy, didn't know there were guys my age into that. Who's playing?" Kazuki inquired.

"David Oistrakh's Vocalise," the grey boy replied. Kazuki raised an eyebrow at his minimalist response. A boy playing hard to get? Some people are just hard to please.

"Oh come on, you can do better than that. Name's Kazuki, what's yours?" he introduced, holding out his hand. The boy looked at it, and then took it with his own.

"Kyousuke. Nice to meet you," he greeted. As his shoulder moved, Kazuki swore he saw a flash of what might be a tattoo on his neck. His collar covered it on its own before he could get a better look.

"So Kyousuke, why are you into classical?"

"I play the violin; it is my inspiration after all."

"Ah, I see. A musician, very nice," Kazuki complimented. Kyousuke nodded in agreement. Kazuki suddenly stood up.

"Well, it's getting late. Feel like getting a bite to eat?"

The two boys left, in search of food.


School was rather boring the next day. For the last couple weeks Mami had gotten used to using telepathy and conversing with her juniors, but without Kyubey that wasn't possible. Instead, she was stuck in class with absolutely no distraction. Even Botan, her new friend, was in a different class with Sayaka and Madoka. Aki, the only one who could possibly find an excuse to barge into her classroom, was still skipping school. She hadn't been home for the last few days either. The only one keeping her company was Charlotte, who entertained herself quietly by gnawing on Mami's head. This scared someone behind her when her drills began waving around on their own, but Mami hand waved this as nerves.

"Om nom nom," the witch mumbled as she chewed on Mami's head. It was painless, more annoying than anything, probably because her fiercer form with the actual teeth was sealed away. Mami worried that Aki's distance might weaken the magic and lead to a bad accident. What would she say? Mami mogu? Mami thought, trying to be amused. Funnily enough, the only Japanese her friend knew translated to English. Apparently the translation magic switched her words around and make English into Japanese, and vice versa.

Mami was a model student, one who knew the importance of studying, but that didn't mean she had to enjoy her classes. Why bother with Japanese history when she can be battling witches and saving kissed victims? But if she slipped up and degraded to that flawed mindset, other girls would follow suit and lose faith in her. Therefore, Mami refused to digress and paid attention to her teacher, who was rambling about some war.

Eventually, with what felt like an eternity, school finally ended. In the locker room Mami was retrieving some belongings when a piece of paper floated out. Before any other girls could grab it and make a scene, Mami snatched it and hid it in her book from prying eyes.

"So how was the hunt with Homura?" Mami asked, genuinely curious. She only got a brief look at Homura's fighting ability, which mostly consisted of shooting actual guns. At least her muskets had an aesthetic appeal and didn't need to reload. Sayaka stretched and pulled her arms behind her head.

"It was weird. One minute she was there, the next she was someplace else. I don't know, maybe she can teleport or something. When the witch tried to eat her, she threw a grenade. I hate to admit it, but I like her style. Stuff blowing up is awesome," Sayaka reported, grinning. Of course, after all the training Mami put her through, Sayaka was slowly improving. Familiars were almost flies to her.

"Interesting… spatial distortion? Maybe her wish was to be someplace else?" Mami theorized, wondering about her unusual colleague. Mami abruptly snapped her fingers.

"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot. Just when we were leaving school I found this in my locker," Mami told her friends, pulling out the letter from her bag. Sayaka and Madoka squealed at the sight of it. It was pink envelope, closed with a heart wax seal. A confession?

"Wow! Mami is incredibly popular!" Madoka exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. Like Hitomi, Mami was a girl used to regularly being confessed to. Unlike Hitomi, her reasons for turning them down were solely business rather than personal taste.

"What are you going to do?" Sayaka asked earnestly. Even if her friend was used to be idolized by the boys of their school, it was still exciting to see someone confessing. Girls will be girls.

"Same thing I always do. I'll hear him out, and turn him down gently. A magical girl has no time for a boyfriend," Mami recited, proud of her conviction. As much as she'd like the companionship, she's heard of failed relationships due to random witch encounters. Nothing ruins a date more than your girlfriend disappearing for twenty minutes and returning disheveled.

"Um, Mami. I don't think that's a 'him,' " Sayaka pointed out as Mami opened her letter. A waft of strong odor arose from its depths. Someone had applied heavy perfume to the letter, and alongside the signature was the unmistakable mark of a kiss etched with emerald lipstick. Well, there was always time for a first.

"Wait a minute," Sayaka snatched the letter from Mami. She tried to protest, but was quickly silenced by Sayaka's revelations.

Dear Mami Tomoe…

… regret to inform you…

… league of…

… a challenge to…

… fight to the death.

"This is, this is, this is…" Sayaka breathed in apprehension.

"What is it?" Mami asked gently, but annoyed.

"This is boring! Scrap!" Sayaka announced, crumpling the piece of paper, "A letter of challenge? What kind of school does she think this is? Who writes a letter of challenge anyway? Did you start dating a boy with a mysterious past or something? Might have pissed off an ex."

"I suppose this is somewhat immature. But it'd be foolish to ignore it. I wouldn't want any of you getting in the crossfire," Mami reasoned to her blue friend.

"Mami never loses, right Sayaka?" Madoka piped up, elbowing her friend in the ribs. Sayaka laughed.

"What's she gonna do? Pull Mami's hair? I know you can't pull out any of you muskets, but I'm sure you can pack a punch!"

"Yeah," Mami answered, smiling. She was glad her friends supported her, but she didn't want to resort to violence if she could avoid it. She began to walk again with her friends, but staggered.

"Hey Mami, what's wrong?" Madoka asked, supported her friend with her shoulder.

"Blood… to brain… lost… get it off," Mami panted, having nearly fainted. Sayaka sighed, pulled out pliers from her backpack, and proceeded to remove Charlotte from Mami's cranium.