AN: Next chapter is up. This one fought with me a bit, I'll admit. It was difficult to do the Homura/Madoka conversation right. Hopefully I did well there.

Sayaka Miki, Kaname Residence

Sending a look over her shoulder as Madoka's door shut, Sayaka sighed before shaking her head. The tension with those two was obvious enough that she noticed it. And as Hitomi liked to point out in more out-of-character moments...she wasn't the type to notice said tension normally. But with Homura and Madoka, it was kinda...really obvious. Maybe not with the stoic girl, but her old friend wasn't hard to read at the best of times. Madoka always did wear her heart on her sleeve, and it was easy enough to see how worried she was about Homura.

"Man, those two need to figure out whatever it is that's bugging them," the bluenette sighed again, looking down on Rukia, "Right?"

"No argument here," Rukia replied.

"You don't know what's bugging them either do you?"

The other girl shook her head in the negative, "Not at all, no. I know that Homura values Madoka's happiness more than her own, but I couldn't tell you why."

Sayaka frowned, "She does? Huh, you wouldn't be able to tell with how she acts."

"Homura is just...a bit..."

"Bad with emotions? Dull?"

Rukia smacked her friend's arm, "Really?"

All she got back was a grin, Sayaka laughing a bit at the look on Rukia's face. She couldn't help it...it was amusing to see the other girl practically pouting at her after all.

"Anyway, enough about those two. You ready to lose Rukia?"

A dull look was the answer to that question, "No."

"Well let's see how well you do then! To the game room!"

In all honesty, the bluenette had moved the discussion along for a different reason. Talking about Homura and Madoka without them around felt bad to say the least. Better to focus on beating Rukia senseless at video games. Because it was not an understatement to say that Sayaka really wanted payback for losing in their training duels. If she couldn't touch the shorter girl at that, then she'd at least win at this!

Well...that and it would keep her mind off the missing member of the group. Even if she didn't show it, Sayaka was still hurting badly from what had happened to Mami. About the only way she could keep her mind from wandering in that direction was the sparring with Rukia and trying to one up the other girl. It was a band-aid in a way, but at least it worked somewhat. Only somewhat though...

Mami...you should be here too...

Shaking her head, Sayaka forced her mind away from such depressing thoughts.

"So what game are we going to play anyway?" Rukia's question also helped to be fair.

"Who knows," the bluenette shrugged, "Let's see if Madoka got any new ones first!"

Rukia just shrugged, "If you say so. I never played any games with Ichigo so I wouldn't know where to start."

"You poor soul," Sayaka held a hand over her heart, "You've really never played games?"

"No."

"Well we'll just have to pick something easy then..."

Putting a finger on her chin, Sayaka walked to the relatively small collection of games the Kaname family owned. Madoka wasn't much of a gamer herself, so most of these were here explicitly for her use. As such, Sayaka already knew what to expect. Now, picking something out for Rukia would probably not be as easy. Especially if the other girl really had never touched a game in her life. Which seemed odd to the bluenette, but hey, not everyone out there was a gamer after all.

"Hey, Sayaka."

"Huh?"

Turning away from the games, the teenager blinked blue eyes when she saw Rukia looking at her with a serious expression. Outside of their spar, such an expression was much more fitting on Homura's face than Rukia's so Sayaka stopped what she was doing. If her friend was being serious, it was probably important after all.

"Are you okay?" the shorter girl asked out of the blue.

"Eh?" Sayaka blinked, a light blush coming to her face, "I'm totally fine Rukia! What, you hoping I'll not be good enough to beat you?"

"Not at all," Rukia smiled slightly, "I didn't have a chance to ask earlier, but are you really okay? After what happened?"

She's asking this now?!

Keeping her panic off her face by some minor miracle, Sayaka scratched her head nervously, "I...I..."

"I know it has to be hard on you," the shorter girl walked forward, sitting on the ground next to her friend, "Losing Mami like that."

Sayaka sighed softly, falling to the ground next to the other teen, "It is. I mean, I know there wasn't anything I could have done...but I'm getting nightmares all the time now. Seeing that happen to Mami...I still freak out whenever I think of it y'know? I'm weak but...I just can't stop thinking about it. If I had just wished sooner..."

"That's not your fault though," Rukia placed a hand on her friend's leg, "If anything, it's my fault for not being there to help. I know that Mami didn't want me along anymore, but I could have forced the issue."

"Nah, then she'd just hate you."

A small laugh came from both girls at the thought of Mami glaring at the short girl, hands on her hips as she scolded her for pushing matters. It seemed like something she would have done.

"Still, I am sorry I wasn't there to help."

"Not your fault Rukia. Not anyone's fault other than mine for getting caught in the first place."

Rukia just sighed, "Not really. If only I could have done more to help her than I did."

There was way more than a little guilt in Rukia's tone, getting Sayaka to stare at her. Sure, she had been late. But she did everything she could, didn't she? Questions aside though, talking about Mami was the last thing she wanted to do. As such...

"Okay, enough about that. Let's get to the games!"

She could focus on other things for now.

Two girls sat in awkward silence, neither able to form words for the other. If one were just looking in from the outside, it might seem like the two were having problems with a relationship or something similar. The awkwardness pervading the atmosphere would certainly have lent credence to that idea. But in the end, that was...actually fairly accurate. Not in the romantic sense like one would expect, but for Homura Akemi at least, this very much was a problem with her relationship...with Madoka Kaname. The only person alive or dead who could break through her mask without even meaning to do so. And she knew...Madoka had seen her sad enough times now, that she was going to want answers of some form. Even though her dear friend was kind and would never pry into a private issue, she was also the type to always want to help, even if her help wasn't necessarily wanted. Which meant...

That Homura was going to have to tell her something, even if she wasn't by any means ready for that. Understandably, she didn't know how to proceed. She couldn't admit to being a time traveler...that was too much, far too fast...wasn't it? But on the other hand, Madoka would want some sort of answer. So she had to give something, even if not the full truth. Homura just didn't know what to do.

"Homura-chan?" nor would Madoka give her enough time to think about it, "Why did Sayaka-chan say we needed time alone?"

Her innocence is...a blessing, and a curse.

"I believe that she wants me to talk to you. Or that you had questions for me you couldn't ask in mixed company," the Magical Girl replied.

"Questions?" her friend tilted her head, "Um...I am curious why you seem so sad all the time."

Evidently her mask wasn't working well on Madoka at all then.

"Sad?" not that Homura would admit to that, of course.

Madoka nodded, "Yeah. I...don't know if anyone else noticed, but when you look at me it looks like you want to cry. Di...did I do something?"

"No, you didn't do anything!"

It was, if nothing else, a sign of just how ludicrous the idea was to her that Homura actually raised her voice slightly. Madoka could never do something that would upset her friend. Frustrate her? Certainly, as Homura got frustrated quite often with Madoka's selflessness and willingness to put herself in danger despite everything she did to protect her. But she could never do something to upset her...other than dying, which was beyond the pinkette's control. Of course, that wasn't to say she didn't feel like crying when looking at Madoka.

Because, even now, Homura still had nightmares of the earlier timelines. And seeing Madoka, still brought those horrible feelings to the front of her mind.

"Then why are you so sad, Homura-chan?" Madoka asked, seemingly ignoring the slight raising of her friend's voice.

"I..."

"You can talk about it with me, you know?" the pinkette continued, gentle smile on her face. A smile that still melted all walls Homura tried to put up.

"Madoka..." she spoke softly, "Are you certain you want to know? No matter what it is?"

There was that grin again, "Of course! You're my friend Homura-chan, and I don't want you to be sad. No matter what it is."

She always did care too much...Madoka...

Homura took a breath to fortify herself, and ran through ideas on what she could tell her friend. But no matter how she thought about it, and what she could do...it all came down to one simple thing.

She was tired of lying to her friend. She had not told Madoka the truth this early since the third timeline...so, so long ago.

"Take my hand," Homura finally spoke, a flash of purple surrounding her as she transformed...shield already on her arm.

The other girl nodded, though a confused expression was on her face, "Homura-chan?"

"Trust me Madoka," her friend replied.

"I've always trusted you Homura-chan."

Those words, spoken with such conviction, had Homura's hand shaking as she took Madoka's in it. Hearing that Madoka trusted her and always had...it would take a stronger girl than her to not be effected by those simple words. She hadn't heard them from those lips in so long though...that hearing them all over again made her heart constrict again. The pinkette was so caring...so nice. Homura had pushed her away so often that she had almost forgotten that when she was close to Madoka, the other girl would trust her with her life.

Perhaps, Kuchiki-san was correct in the end...the easiest way to protect Madoka was to be her friend. Because if she was her friend, Homura could be close to her. And, deep down, the one thing that she desired more than anything else was to be close to Madoka. In the end...this might work in her benefit.

"Watch carefully Madoka," Homura spoke, her voice softer than it normally would be.

Her friend tilted her head, "Watch wha...Homura-chan! What's happening?"

Madoka's confusion was understandable, considering what had happened. The shield on her friend's arm had opened up, sand flowing and gears turning in a rhythm as familiar to Homura as her own heart beating. If it were just that, it wouldn't have confused Madoka though. No, what confused her was the way the world ground to a halt. Kuchiki-san and Sayaka's excited shouting stopped mid-shout, as the computer at the pinkette's desk suddenly froze in the middle of whatever it had been doing.

"Everything stopped," Madoka breathed, voice awed, "Homura-chan! Is this your power?"

"Yes," the girl answered, unable to hide a small grimace at the awe in her friend's voice. She still didn't believe she was worthy of Madoka's awe...especially not for her curse.

Of course, her friend didn't notice. She was too busy being awed by the power...even if it wasn't half of what Homura Akemi could really do.

"You can stop time?" the pinkette asked, looking at her friend for confirmation.

In response, Homura gently pulled Madoka to her feet, "Follow me."

With that, the two girls walked out of the room. The first destination in the unnaturally quiet house was, of course, the main room. When they entered said room, Madoka gasped, letting go of Homura's hand to go run to her other friends. Because Sayaka and Rukia had been frozen in the middle of a game, Kuchiki-san with a look of frustration on her face, as the bluenette jumped to her feet, wide grin as she pointed at the screen.

The problem with that was fairly obvious though. The moment Madoka's hand left Homura's, she froze as well. Until the dark-haired girl grabbed hold of it again anyway.

"Homura-chan?" Madoka blinked, "What...?"

"If you are not touching me, you will freeze as well," the time-traveler explained, "It is why I have to hold your hand."

"Oh..."

Casting a look back at the other girls, Homura pulled her friend back to her room.

"But why would this make you sad, Homura-chan?" she continued, confusion lacing her tone.

It wasn't until they were back in the room that the dark-haired girl was willing to answer that question. And even then, only for a certain value of 'willing'. She still didn't feel comfortable telling...telling Madoka the truth. But if she didn't do it now, she would never do it. And the part of Homura that wanted to keep her secrets and do everything alone was being drowned out by the part that wanted...no...the part that needed Madoka's approval. Needed the comfort of knowing that her dear friend would know the horrible truth. No matter how it went.

So, with that in mind, she resumed time, and looked Madoka directly in her pink eyes.

"That is not all my power can do," she spoke, voice admirably stoic.

Madoka tilted her head in confusion, "It isn't?"

"No. I...i..." though when it came time to actually tell the truth, Homura's voice began to crack, "I'm not from this time. I'm from the future...that is my true power."

"From the..." Madoka clearly didn't know how to react to that statement, her eyes widening in shock, "Homura-chan...what do you...how..."

Homura wanted to answer that question with every fiber of her being. But still, something held her back...the worry that Madoka would hate her. It was illogical and should never have even entered her head as such. But the cold vice on her heart remained, and it refused to leave. Homura Akemi valued nothing more so than Madoka Kaname's affection and opinion.

The thought that she might hate her was too hard to bear.

"Wait," the pinkette's voice still sounded confused, but there was a curious hint to it now, "you said that Sayaka-chan's powers are the way they are because she wished to heal Kyouske-kun, right? You said that a Magical Girl's wish influences...Homura-chan, what did you wish for?"

And there it was...the question she dreaded. The answer to everything related to Madoka Kaname.

"Madoka..." Homura's voice cracked further, the harsh sting of tears in her eyes now, "I've redone this month so many times. Every time I...I've watched you die. Every time, no matter what I try, I...I..."

The widening of her eyes showed that Madoka was beginning to understand. Homura just continued speaking, pushing through the raging emotions that were finally free from her mask. Even as it felt like a knife to her heart with each syllable.

"My wish...was to protect you, Madoka. I wished that...that I could come back and...meet you again. Protect you, like you protected me. But every time I redo this month...you keep getting further away! I don't know what to do...every time I try, it gets harder. Every time I feel like I'm losing you more and more. It hurts so much..." Homura felt tears running down her face, her hands shaking slightly, "you don't even really know me anymore...I just started at your school. But I know you, Madoka. You're...my..."

As she finished, the Magical Girl looked at the floor, hands clenched into fists as she tried to reign her emotions in once more. She hated feeling weak. Especially in front of Madoka, who might as well think she was crazy now. How else could she react...

"Homura..."

Before she knew what was happening, Madoka's arms were thrown around her. Homura froze in place, eyes widening in shock, even as tears still fell. She didn't know how to react...Madoka was hugging her tightly. And this wasn't like when Mami had died. There was no desperation in this hug. No shaking and wetness from the pinkette. All that Homura felt was her friend's arms...her warm arms, holding her close. She could feel Madoka's heart beating against her chest, feel the warmth of her body against her own. Feel her breath against her neck, as the other girl squeezed gently. It was...

Madoka...I...

...soothing. That was the only word that Homura could use to describe the feeling. Like a blanket draped over her body. This was nothing like the hugs she had received in earlier timelines. Those had...always been brief, or joyful. This...was soft and kind, so much like Madoka herself. So much so, that Homura began to shake when her body finally registered what was happening. Conflicting joy and sorrow raged through her body, and she didn't know how to feel.

"You have to hurt so much," Madoka finally spoke, arms tightening slightly, "Homura...how long have you been doing this?"

"So long..." she replied, voice low and broken, "I...I don't even know how long it's been anymore."

"All of this for me," the pinkette still spoke softly, not judging in the slightest, "why? I'm nothing special Homura. You shouldn't put yourself through all of this just for me."

That was enough to shock Homura out of her stupor, if not enough to make her move out of her friend's gentle grip.

"Madoka, you're worth everything. I don't care how many tim...times I have to go through this. It will all be worth it in the end, when you're safe and happy. It doesn't matter to me what it takes, so long as you're okay."

"But why me? Homura-chan..."

It didn't surprise her that her friend couldn't comprehend it. Madoka never believed she was special, no matter the fact that she was. She was the most important thing to Homura, and that wasn't for no reason.

"There isn't anything about me worth putting yourself through this," the pinkette continued, pulling away slightly to look in her friend's eyes.

Homura felt her breath catch in her throat. There were tears in Madoka's eyes now, a watery smile on her face. It made her want to hug her friend back...she hated everything about seeing Madoka sad. Especially when it was herself doing it to the girl.

As such, "You saved me."

"What?"

The time-traveler continued, her voice gradually growing stronger, "Madoka, I was so weak. It was me who had nothing special about myself...I was just a weak girl who didn't have any friends."

"But you're so cool Homura-chan!" Madoka protested.

I'm not at all. You're seeing more of my true self than you ever have...at least in this timeline.

"No I'm not," Homura shook her head, "I...if you hadn't saved me from a Witch..."

Madoka's eyes went wide, "Sa...a Witch? I was a Magical Girl?"

It was remarkable just how accepting the other girl was of this...all of this. Homura had expected more disbelief, if not Madoka pushing her away. Instead, there was only disbelief at the idea she could be a Magical Girl...not at the fact that her friend was supposedly from the future. Maybe the girl hadn't been lying after all, when she claimed that she trusted the time-traveler implicitly. Even so, it still felt too good to be true.

"Yes, you were," she answered, voice growing weak again at the memories of the first three timelines, "you were one of the most powerful Magical Girl's I've ever seen."

And she wasn't even lying. Madoka may not have been as strong as Mami or Kyoko, but she was not weak.

The pinkette's eyes stayed wide, as she stared at her friend, "Then why don't you want me to be one now, Homura-chan?"

There was the one thing that Homura couldn't bring herself to answer, even now. Madoka herself had made her promise that she never became a Magical Girl, once the truth about Witches was revealed. It was true that this Madoka had not had the same experiences and may have a different view on the situation. It was equally true that thanks to Inoue-san and perhaps even Urahara, they had a way to return a Magical Girl from her Witch form. So in the end, turning into a Witch may not be the ultimate fate of a Magical Girl any longer. That made the idea of being one significantly less worse than it had been before, where turning into a Witch had seemed like the end of her life no matter what happened. She had accepted that fate so long as Madoka was happy, but still.

Even so, she had no idea of what a Magical Girl brought back from that state would be like. Would she be the same as before and not remember being a Witch? Or would she remember everything and still have the desire to cause despair and destruction wherever she went? Homura had no idea which was the case, and that was one reason she still didn't want her friend to be a Magical Girl. Of course, the most important reason was the promise...and the desire to keep Madoka safe from everything that may harm her.

"I want to protect you," Homura answered, not telling a lie but not the full truth either, "that's all I wished for...all I've ever wanted Madoka. To keep you safe and happy. Please...don't become a Magical Girl. I can't protect you if you are."

Madoka nodded seriously, "Okay, I won't then Homura-chan. Unless you need my help. I don't want you to fight alone if you don't have to."

"I have Rukia and Sayaka," the Magical Girl pointed out.

"Yeah, but they can't be with you all the time right?" her friend countered, small smile on her face, "I won't let you fight alone anymore if something happened to them. Homura-chan...I want you to be happy too."

The time-traveler didn't know how to react to that statement, "Madoka..."

"You're my friend, Homura," the other girl continued, "And I want my friends to be happy. Please, don't push me away...okay?"

"I won't," Homura answered...and that answer was surprisingly truthful in the end.

Her friend smiled widely, pulling the time-traveler into a crushing hug, "You're not alone anymore Homura-chan. You have me...you have Rukia-chan and Sayaka-chan. We're all here for you. We're all here to help you. Just...remember that, for me?"

Homura nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She still hadn't told her friend everything...she hadn't told her about Walpurgisnacht. But right now...it didn't matter.

"Now, let's go see if Dad's done cooking," Madoka continued, pulling away...leaving her friend feeling cold without the comforting feeling of her arms around her.

Though that feeling didn't last long, as the pinkette grabbed her hand and pulled Homura behind her. The two girls soon arrived at the main room, where Ku...Rukia...was sitting sullenly, looking in any direction but at a smugly grinning Sayaka Miki. Considering the television showed some variety of video game- Homura didn't know or particularly care about details -with one player at a significantly higher level than the other, it didn't take much to guess why they looked like that. It was amusing to be sure...the shinigami was by far the better swordsman, but she was clearly outmatched at what Sayaka was good at. And on top of that...

Such a normal view was a sign of what Madoka had been saying. Homura Akemi wasn't alone any longer. Mami may have still died in battle, but she had Rukia and Sayaka here to help against Walpurgisnacht. And Madoka was safe...while still being her friend. This was the first time in what felt like years that Homura had been this close to her friend...even longer since she had been close to any others. It was...

Nice...well and truly nice.

"About time you two got out here," Sayaka broke in, per usual, "Rukia's not very good at this, so I kinda want to see if Homura's any better."

"Well excuse me for not being used to video games," the shinigami scowled, still refusing to look in the bluenette's direction.

Sayaka just grinned at her, "Well it's nice that I'm better than you at something Rukia!"

"Whatever."

Clearly, the shorter girl was a sore loser. Homura cracked a small smile at that...she didn't think her 'cousin' was like that. It was amusing, to be sure.

"So, you up for some games Homura?" the bluenette turned back to the taller girl, grin on her face.

"..."

Resisting the urge to turn to Madoka for assistance- something that wouldn't help since she had gone to talk to Rukia about something anyway -Homura just sighed softly. She had no idea what she was being roped into. But maybe...just maybe...this might be fun.

"Very well," she finally agreed.

"Yes!" Sayaka pumped her fist, "I hope you're better than your cousin Homura, or this is going to be quick!"

A long-suppressed competitive urge came up at that statement. She couldn't lose to Sayaka Miki could she?

"It will not be that easy," the time-traveler countered, sitting down next to...her friend.

Sayaka grinned again, "You say that now. But I'll have you know I'm an expert at this."

The way the other girl popped the word 'expert' showed how cocky she was. At one point, Homura might have been frustrated and annoyed by that. Now? She just took it as one of the best signs she could possibly have. Because a happy and cocky Sayaka Miki was one that wouldn't turn into a Witch. The longer she was like this, the better in her opinion. Even if it was still a bit annoying. She just had to show her classmate that the girl wasn't as good as she thought. Because Homura never lost at anything...other than Walpurgisnacht. But thinking about that horrible Witch was better saved for tomorrow.

Tonight, she just wanted to relax.

This...this is what I wanted, the Magical Girl reflected, as she began creating a character in whatever game Sayaka had selected, Madoka is happy and carefree. She has become my friend once again, and despite Walpurgisnacht still looming, the situation is...peaceful. Mami Tomoe may have fallen, but Sayaka Miki is still happy and indeed, happier than usual as she is my...friend. Rukia is proving to be a good influence in that regard. Perhaps...

The timeline had quickly become exactly what Homura had always wanted. Hearing Madoka laughing merrily as Rukia told some form of story about Kurosaki-san. Seeing Sayaka next to her, biting her lip as she tried to resist the urge to look at what Homura was doing with her character. Hearing the elder Kaname's talking quietly in the kitchen, unable to know exactly what they were saying but hearing the contentment in their voices. All of this made the Magical Girl realize one thing.

She was happy. It had been so long since she had felt anything but sadness and resignation, mixed with the determination to take just one more try to finally save Madoka. Happiness, contentment, joy...all of those feelings were as foreign to her as whatever constricted her heart when she had Madoka smile at her. And yet, it could be said that Homura felt all of those at this moment. Happiness that Madoka herself was happy. Contentment in the knowledge that at least until Kyoko Sakura showed up things were going to be peaceful and quiet, beyond the occasional Witch hunt. And joy...joy at how this timeline seemed to be going remarkably well, beyond losing Mami.

I have to defeat Walpurgisnacht this time. I will not lose this timeline. I cannot lose it.

But for now...

"Bring it on Akemi, you're going to get creamed!" Sayaka boasted, as the screen finally turned to the game itself.

She could just enjoy life, for the first time in what might as well have been years.

"I believe it will be you who loses, Sayaka Miki."

And make sure that her new friend didn't get too cocky with her skill. After all, Homura refused to lose at anything from now on. No matter how childish it may have been.

AN: That's what I meant. It's rather difficult to keep Homura in character while she's breaking out of her shell somewhat. I hope I did well there.

Reviews:

Krazyfanfiction1, GGFBank: Thanks for the reviews!

Belletiger BT: Kyoko's next chapter actually.

SilverstormXD: I did make an original Witch back in the first chapter...I'm just focusing more on the characters than the conflict right now, since I find it more fun to write. *shrug*

I put that they assume Kyubey only has a fragment of his soul in each body. Really, they don't have the slightest clue where Incubators keep their souls to allow for the theoretically unlimited bodies.

Ikiizie: Well, Homura's slowly breaking out of her shell.

Guest: Glad you liked the interactions there.

AN: And there we go. Difficult as this chapter may have been, I hope everyone enjoys it. It's hard to believe we're nearly at 80 reviews and 100 followers...I didn't expect this much when I started, that's for sure.

Again, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.

Now, to get back to writing that new Madoka/Nanoha story that won't leave my brain...