AN: This one was...very, very difficult. I apologize for the delay. Just couldn't get this one to work quite like I hoped, so I'm not entirely happy with the result.
But hey, an update!
"Are you okay Madoka?"
"I'm fine!"
"You sure? Seem kinda out of it right now."
"I'm fine Sayaka-chan."
To be totally fair, Kriemhild wasn't fine. She hadn't seen Homura since mentioning the chance other Magical Girls might be around. And that worried her more than she would readily admit, even to herself. She didn't like the idea of Homura going after those girls alone. No matter how strong the Magical Girl was, that was still dangerous. And Kriemhild was still wanting to protect the other girl however she could, as well. So not knowing where Homura was or what she was doing...was more than a little frustrating for her. Nothing for it though, but to wait and see what happened.
Because if she started skipping school- something Madoka would never do -the Witch would have too much attention focused on her. Attention she most certainly didn't need, all things being equal. She'd rather not have people other than Sayaka watching her like a hawk. It was difficult enough just keeping the bluenette off her case, something made much more difficult by the familiar ring on her finger. Her friend- Madoka's friend -hadn't mentioned making a wish though, so she probably didn't want the pinkette to know about it.
Why, was an open question.
"If you say so," Sayaka shrugged, stretching her arms over her head, a satisfied smile on her face, "Man, I never thought working after school could be so much...work."
"Isn't that the point, Sayaka?" Hitomi airily pointed out.
"Uh..." the bluenette blushed, realizing her unfortunate phrasing, "Yeah...that. Anyway, what have you two been up to?"
"My lessons are winding down," Hitomi replied, looking like the weight of the world was falling off her shoulders, "I may finally have time to go with you and Mami-san again soon."
"I hope so, it's been a bit boring not having you around Hitomi!" Sayaka grinned at her friend, before turning to Kriemhild, "What about you Madoka? I haven't seen you a lot lately...you better not be cheating on me!"
Joking tone aside, at least she wasn't insulting Homura again.
"I've been catching up on homework, Sayaka-chan," Kriemhild lied through her teeth, "Not everyone slacks off on it."
Sayaka held a hand to her heart, sending a wounded look at the pinkette, "Right in the heart Madoka."
"Well it is the truth," the Witch replied, letting out a Madoka-esque giggle at the insulted look on the other girl's face.
"Fine, see if I help you with anything," Sayaka groaned into her hand, though there wasn't any real bite to her words.
Kriemhild got the feeling that the other girl was just happy that Homura wasn't around. Which annoyed her somewhat, but there wasn't anything to do about that. Getting Sayaka to like Homura was arguably more difficult than convincing her not to kill the pinkette on sight once the truth came out...
And now she was depressed again.
Hitomi-chan is the only one left who isn't a Magical Girl. I'm surrounded by Magical Girls, and while Oriko and Kirika-chan don't want to kill me, Kyoko and Yuma-chan aren't going to do anything and I sort of trust Homura-chan...
Well, Sayaka and Mami were a totally different story. Kriemhild didn't want to fight them by any means. Really, she didn't want to fight any Magical Girls. Her secret was her shield, and just about the only thing keeping her safe. In her current condition, she was at risk if anyone else knew the truth- and if Oriko were to be believed... -and no Witch liked that feeling. Being exposed without the ability to create a Labyrinth just shot that feeling into the stratosphere.
"We should be getting to class," Hitomi spoke up, as the crowd around the girls began to thin up.
"Man, I'm not looking forward to this," Sayaka sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping as she looked up at the building.
"You didn't do your homework, did you Sayaka-chan?"
The bluenette blushed again, "...no...?"
Hitomi sighed fondly, shaking her head as she walked towards the school with a despondent- and probably exaggerating -Sayaka following along. Kriemhild moved to follow, before she felt the mental equivalent to a tap on her head. Snapping around, her pink eyes narrowed, looking for the source of the communication. The narrowed eyes narrowed further, when she saw a newly familiar head of dark hair. Kirika Kure grinned cheekily at her, flashing a peace sign as she walked lazily into the school. The grin didn't reach her orange eyes though, as she looked directly at Kriemhild.
Why is she her...
Other than the fact her uniform was customized, it was still abundantly clear why Kirika was there. Because she was wearing a Mitakihara uniform, and Kriemhild was kicking herself for forgetting that.
"Nice seeing you Kriem!" the perpetually- when someone wasn't on her bad side -cheerful voice sounded in the Witch's head.
Kirika certainly had no problems mentally communicating with a Witch. Granted, she wasn't entirely right in the head herself...
"Hello Kirika-chan," Kriemhild replied warily, "Is something wrong?"
"Nope! Just saying hi, and letting you know that Oriko wants to talk later today!"
"Okay?"
The Witch almost wondered what Oriko could want to talk about, but then decided that it had to be important whatever it was. Oriko wouldn't risk her cover if it wasn't important on some level. It was an open question what it was, but Kriemhild wasn't going to take chances. There was too much risk to her own plans as it was. It could only get worse if she wasn't careful.
And understandably, she didn't want that.
For now though, Kriemhild just cut the connection with Kirika and went to her class. She probably considered school even more of a waste of her time than Kyoko did, but again...Madoka Kaname was a model student. So the girl's Witch would put up with it, if only because she didn't have a choice in the matter. After school though...the gloves were off. She was going to find Homura, even if it had to wait until after she talked to Oriko.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Or, as it turned out, she would be accosted by Hitomi as she tried to leave the building. The green haired girl- missing Sayaka who had probably left with Mami -had a rare serious expression on her face, as she pulled Kriemhild along with her. The Witch, not liking being touched at the best of times, tried to pull away. But Hitomi was stronger than she looked, and clearly had something gnawing at her. Why else would she have done this?
"What's going on Hitomi-chan?" and for once, the Witch didn't have to fake the Madoka-style confusion in her voice.
"I have a serious question to ask you, Madoka," the other girl replied, as the pair moved out of sight of the school.
"Eh?"
"Are you a Magical Girl too?"
Green eyes stared directly into pink, as Hitomi asked that question. Kriemhild was brought up short by that question, blinking slowly. It wasn't often that she was stunned silent, but this...why did the other girl even ask that question? The Witch was so very paranoid about hiding her powers, that it was almost ridiculous. How could Hitomi even think that she was a Magical Girl?
"Why do you think that Hitomi-chan?" she finally got out, eyes narrowing on instinct.
If Hitomi figured it out...and told someone else...
"You're always with Akemi-san, Madoka," the green-haired girl replied, "I was only in a Labyrinth with her once, but Akemi-san doesn't hold back or move slowly. I also don't think you're spending time with her and not doing what Sayaka does with Mami-san. I know you couldn't keep up doing that with her if you weren't one yourself..."
Here Hitomi smiled slightly, as she shook her head bemusedly.
"And when Mami-san was attacked, Akemi-san mentioned it was only because she had been attacked first. You've been very protective of her with Sayaka, remember Madoka?"
Really, Kriemhild had to reevaluate her knowledge of Hitomi Shizuki. The girl could be quite insightful when the mood struck her, and this was just one of those cases. It was rather unfortunate though, because she didn't want to tell the truth here. If she did, the problems were rather large to say the least.
"That's interesting Hitomi-chan!"
And something I really don't want you digging into. For everyone's sake.
"Madoka..." Hitomi sighed softly, "Please don't lie to me. We're friends, right?"
"I'm not lying though!"
Kriemhild felt uncomfortable at this line of discussion. It reminded her entirely too much of her first meeting with Homura. Only it was her in the time-traveler's place now, not Hitomi. To say that it made her wary would be an understatement. She didn't want to be drawn into this...
Wait. Oh damn it, not now!
"Madoka..."
The Witch lashed out, grabbing Hitomi's arm in her own, "Run!"
"Wha..."
"There's a Witch coming!"
We don't move like this! Is a Grief Seed hatching? But I don't remember any other Magical Girls in Mitakihara!
'You didn't know Kirika, Oriko or Yuma...' a voice whispered in her head.
Shaking herself, Kriemhild avoided the voice, her own self-doubts. She had a lot of pride in her ability to sense Witches and Magical Girls...how could she have possibly missed this? How had Kirika missed this? Or Mami? Or hell, even Kyoko. Something wasn't right here, and she most certainly didn't like it.
"How do you know that?" Hitomi's voice was admirably calm, considering, "You are a Magical Girl?"
"Questions later! Damn it, this is the worst time..."
Clearly, the Witch could care less if she wasn't acting like Madoka. She could feel the Labyrinth of her counterpart taking shape all around her. The cloying feeling, the hatred and grief, everything that was the hallmark of a barrier not her own. If she could get out fast enough, it would snap shut behind her and other than awkward explanations, everything would be fine. If she couldn't move fast enough...
Well. Cross that bridge when she came to it.
"Kirika!"
"Kriem? Something wrong?"
"We've got a Witch!"
"...you?"
"NO!"
There was a slightly unhinged giggle on the other end of the mental link, "Sorry! Where are you?"
"Near the school. I have Hitomi with me, so I need you here now!"
Whatever the other girl may have said was cut off, as Kriemhild felt the Labyrinth snap into place around her. She hadn't been fast enough then. And this wasn't like if Hitomi were with Sayaka or something. Hiding was going to do zero good...because Kriemhild knew the Witch was going to be coming right for her. It was what they all did when one of their kind managed to intrude on their home.
"Damn..."
Hitomi blinked when Kriemhild let go of her arm, looking at her friend...or at least, what she thought was her friend.
"Madoka?"
"You wanted to know how I knew?" the Witch replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice, "This is how."
The dark energy laying dormant at her chest shot out, covering Kriemhild for a split second, before it faded. Her bow was already in hand, her Grief Seed prominently displayed on her chest where a Soul Gem should have been. If Hitomi knew as much as any Mami-trainee did, she would recognize it in a heartbeat. And torpedo any chance of passing herself off as Magical Girl of some kind.
With all that entailed.
"Stay behind me," she didn't give Hitomi a chance to talk however, all the Witch's attention focused on where she could feel the roiling rage of her counterpart, drawing ever closer.
"Mado..."
"Don't move."
Knocking an arrow of black-red energy on her bow, Kriemhild's crimson eyes narrowed as the doors, the familiar doors, snapped into place. They soon rushed to open, as the Witch who owned this barrier moved towards her. And it was an ugly one, even by Witch standards. A misshapen bird, four wings spread wide as it dived down on her, not even waiting for a single moment to judge its opponent. Kriemhild rolled out of the way, firing off a spread of arrows while drawing it away from Hitomi. The Witch screeched in pain, as burned gashes were cut through its wings.
Kriemhild grimaced, the screech cutting through her in a way no other sound could.
"Intruder! Monster!"
It was the first time she had heard words from a Witch, all the others being silent right up to when she or Homura killed it. And she knew...only she could hear this. Trying to push that from her mind, the pinkette rolled again, as feathers were shot at her like her own arrows. She came up upon a rotting tree, fallen leaves crunching underfoot as she jumped up to land on a branch. The Witch followed her every movement, continuing to screech it's anger at her.
"Leave! My home! Traitor!"
Doing her best not to let those words get to her- and really, she was proud to be a 'traitor' to Witches -Kriemhild placed another arrow on her bow, jumping out of her perch as the Witch cut it to pieces. Taking a breath to steady her aim, she fired the newest arrow, directly at where the Witch's heart should have been.
"Monster!"
"Shut up! Shut up!" Kriemhild shouted back, as the Witch crashed into the ground, dark black blood flowing from the wound in it's chest.
Landing next to it, she fired more and more arrows into the twitching body, not caring at all what it looked like to Hitomi. All the girl's attention was focused on the Witch in front of her, and her attempt to put it down for good. It was tougher than normal...her arrows were hurting her. They were punching through her wings, making the Witch cry out in pain with each hit. But it wasn't. Killing. It.
Why? Why?
Forcing herself to focus, Kriemhild put more of her magic into one final arrow, as she stepped right next to the the twitching Witch's head. A single blue eye, filled with madness, stared up at her. The Witch opened her beak, as Kriemhild aimed directly at it's forehead.
"Murderer..."
And without a second thought, Kriemhild fired the arrow. That accusatory, mad, eye fell shut, as the Witch's body slumped to the ground and began to fade away. A Grief Seed appeared above it, floating silently down to the human-Witch's hand, as the Labyrinth joined its master in fading away. Kriemhild let her own transformation go...though she could feel her eyes stay stubbornly red. Her emotions, something she had difficulty controlling at the best of times, were too jumbled to fully let go of her powers.
And so it was, with a heavy sigh, that she turned back to Hitomi. Kriemhild fully expected the other girl to run away from her. To scream and go after Mami and Sayaka, forcing the fight that the Witch so desperately wanted to avoid. But instead...
All she had was a shocked look.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
"What...Madoka," Hitomi blinked slowly, trying to comprehend what she had just seen. And failing, but the girl standing in front of her could hardly blame the green-haired girl for that.
If their roles were reversed, she would be acting much the same.
"I told you, I'm not a Magical Girl," Kriemhild sighed heavily again.
"If you're not a Magical Girl..." it was here, that Hitomi's eyes trailed to Kriemhild's chest, where her Grief Seed was once more hidden under her blouse, "You have a Grief Seed."
The Witch nodded, "Yup. I do. If Mami hasn't been slacking, you should know what that means."
"You're...not Madoka?"
A negative shake of the head, "No, I...it's complicated. I am Madoka. But I'm not really Madoka Kaname. My name is Kriemhild Gretchen, Witch of Salvation. Madoka Kaname's Witch."
Frankly, at this point, there was very little reason to lying. Hitomi had proven herself intelligent, and lying would just ruin any chance- however slim -of her not running to Mami. Kriemhild wanted to avoid that at all costs for as long as possible. It would never last forever, but the last thing she wanted to do was force a fight like that. Possibly force Homura to try and reset the timeline...reset her. Whatever self-preservation instincts were left over from her old self, would never allow something to endanger her like that.
And, of course, there was the emotional side of things. Kriemhild hated the idea of Homura wiping her from existence like that. If avoiding fighting Mami helped drag things out until she could get the other girl to trust her, then that was what the Witch would do. She would do anything and everything, if only it would get Homura to accept her for what she was. To make Homura acknowledge that while she wasn't Madoka, she was worth living for.
It drove her almost as much as her desire to save the people who deserved saving, in this horrible, ruined world.
"You're Madoka's...Witch?" Hitomi was remarkably calm, all things considered.
"Yes. Mami hasn't told you because she doesn't know...but all Witches are Magical Girls. If a girl gives into despair, this is what they become. I'm...not the same as the others, but the general situation is the same," a humorless chuckle came from the pinkette, "For what it's worth. I hate the other Witches. They're the reason I exist, the reason I fight. I want to make the world a perfect place free of grief, while they exist to spread that grief."
The green-haired teen frowned slightly, "But if you're a Witch..."
"Why haven't I killed you yet? I told you Hitomi-chan, I'm not like the others. I don't want to kill people. I want to kill the other Witches, because they spread the grief that I hate with every fiber of my being."
Kriemhild sighed again, looking away from her...Madoka's...friend, as she held the new Grief Seed up to her eyes. A wan smile crossed her face, weak and small. The Witch shook her head, still avoiding looking at the other girl.
"I won't hurt you. I can't hurt you, you don't spread despair. You'll probably go tell Mami or Sayaka about me though, it's what I..."
"No."
"Eh?"
Turning her head sharply, the Witch felt her red eyes widen as Hitomi had a stubborn expression on her face. The girl shook her head, green hair swaying slightly.
"This is the 'secret' that Akemi-san could tell us, isn't it?" she asked, an accusatory tone to her voice, "That you're a Witch and what Witches are?"
"Yes...?"
"Ma...Kriemhild," Hitomi shook her head slowly, "I believe that you won't hurt me. You are clearly friends with Akemi-san, and I know she doesn't let Witches go. You could have killed me, killed Sayaka or Mami-san, so many times. But you haven't even hurt us. Other than Mami-san, and that was only because Akemi-san was attacked first."
Kriemhild tried to get a word in, but the other girl narrowed her eyes, clearly not finished.
"And I am very good at noticing when someone is lying to me, after being friends with Sayaka for so long," the bit of humor fell rather flat, but it served it's purpose all the same, "And I can tell you aren't lying. I...don't know how to feel about this, but you're still Madoka, somewhere in there. You're still my friend."
To say the Witch didn't know how to react, would be an epic understatement. The very last thing she had expected- even if she wanted it -was Hitomi being accepting. This girl really wasn't like anyone else. Homura accepted her because she didn't want to hurt Madoka's body, though Kriemhild wanted it to be so much more. Oriko and Kirika worked with her because of her power, same with Kyoko. Yuma was the only other one who seemed to genuinely like her, despite what she was.
It was...nice, in a way. That Hitomi still considered her a friend. Even if it was because she had latched onto the fact that Kriemhild was Madoka...Madoka's darkside, her grief, her despair, all condensed into one being. Kriemhild didn't really consider herself to be Madoka Kaname...but if it worked.
It worked.
"So I don't have to kill her?"
And speaking of the yandere Magical Girl...
"Kirika," Kriemhild sighed, "No, you don't."
"Oh well," the Magical Girl dropped into view, her claws fully formed, "Oriko warned me about the Witch, but I wasn't fast enough! Sorry about that Kriem!"
"Speaking of her, when are we meeting?"
"As soon as possible," Kirika replied, an eager expression on her face, "It's so nice to go see her again!"
Only in her life, could the Witch hold a cordial conversation with someone holding sharp enough objects to eviscerate her with prejudice, like it was talking about the weather. Hitomi seemed to have been totally lost and forgotten too, though the green-haired girl seemed somewhat relieved to know something about her friend now.
And not one of the girls noted the flash of someone moving from the roof above them.
Far, far away from the school, Homura Akemi frowned. She was standing atop a building, deep in thought as she tried to figure out which girls were trying to hide from her. It had been a simple matter with her power to find out there were other Magical Girls in Mitakihara. Even the addition of Kyoko and Yuma to the population wouldn't have resulted in as many Witches being hunted as there were. The stock...restocked...from Familiars and migration, but it was still a noticeable dip in the Witch population. Such a drop could only be caused by rogue Magical Girls.
The problem was, they were annoyingly good at hiding themselves. She had yet to catch a glimpse, despite her searching. Homura knew she was skipping school to do this, but that hardly mattered to her. School was a distraction, when she needed to let this timeline last at least to Walpurgisnacht. She could test the addition of Yuma again, and see if it was worth pushing her to contract. For that though, she had to find the mystery girls.
And right now, she had no leads beyond the dip in Witches. Nor were the girls immediately familiar to Homura, even with her long experience. It was not the Asunaro girls, whom tended to stay in their own town beyond one very strange timeline that had made her swear off ever intervening with them. It wasn't Mikuni...if it were her contracting, Magical Girls would be dying in droves and Kriemhild would have been attacked by now.
So...who was it?
"I can't ask the Incubator," Homura muttered to herself, "He would never tell the truth. And I know for a fact that he is the reason for their presence here. He must have informed them of Gretchen."
Shaking her head, the Magical Girl jumped to another rooftop, thoroughly unworried about being seen by humans below her.
"And he would have used this as a way to test me, or remove me from the equation as well," the Magical Girl frowned slightly, "I am likely as much a target as Gretchen. Kyoko and Yuma Chitose as well."
She knew Kyubey well enough, to know he would have 'just told the truth' about her 'working' with the Witch. And about Kyoko and her little tag along actually working with Kriemhild. Which meant that whoever these mystery girls were, they would be after her, as much as they were after the Witch.
Hm...perhaps...
That thought gave her an idea. Twisting her body, Homura redirected herself towards downtown Mitakihara. If these girls were likely after her and Kyoko as well as Kriemhild, they may be stalking the redhead. It was a long shot, but it may give her some idea of who she was dealing with.
And any idea was far and away better than no idea.
This timeline continues to change. I...am no longer certain what will happen. I must continue however. I have to use this, to prepare for similiar situations moving forward.
Because if she was going to save Madoka, she needed to be prepared for anything. Even something as strange as this situation...
AN: And there we go. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, even if I wasn't entirely happy with the end result.
Also, Hitomi is still fun to write. She's probably nearly as understanding as Madoka is, with a hint of less naivety. It's worth noting she saw clean through Sayaka on the Kyosuke subject, after all. Hopefully that worked out.
We'll have more Mami/Kyoko/Mystery Girls next chapter.
Reviews:
Arararararararagi Rage: Glad that worked! And glad you enjoyed the chapter.
wolfdude16: Yeah...her little list is (until now sans Hitomi and still sans Sayaka) people who know what she is, and aren't trying to kill her for it. It's less she likes Kirika or Oriko, and more they aren't actively hating her or trying to kill her.
Which, unfortunately, she can't say with any confidence Mami would act like.
Nobody Smurf: Yup, but you are correct. Our Witch protagonist doesn't quite understand how it works, though it's not really her fault.
laryssa1234: Yeah, Sayaka's always the stubborn one.
EliteSlayer103: Confusion will reign supreme, that's for sure.
X the Reaper: To be fair to Kriem-chan, she's still adjusting to human train's of thought. But yeah...tempting Murphy is never a smart idea. As...
Kokuyoseki no tsubasa: Pointed out here. Yeah, tempting Murphy isn't smart.
MWkillkenny84: Oh yeah, if they attack Homura first, they aren't going to be in a good situation to say the least.
VegetaPrinceofDarkness: Not so much the instability, as the knowledge that Mami isn't likely to take a Witch running around as a good thing.
Guest-Chaaaaan: My main problem with including Kazumi- and I do admit the interesting dynamics -is the cast size. At least while the OCs are around, there's just too many girls running around. Maybe after the current arc, depending on how things develop.
Can't really guarantee anything, but I do appreciate suggestions.
Guest: Hey, it doesn't need to be a long review, I'm just glad you're enjoying the story.
Yoru no kodomo: Things are certainly going to be fun moving forward, that's for sure.
Dr. Archimedes: Heh.
reality deviant: Glad you like it.
Cloudedguardian: Don't worry, I'm not about to stop writing it.