Author's note: Hi there! It's been a while since I updated. I had to take care a few things and work and writer's block are getting on the way too. A lot of suggestions had been given by great people and I had to do a lot of manga reading and rewatching of the anime during my free time in order to have ideas for this chapter. I'm very happy on how this turned out, but I had to divide the entire piece into two chapters. This chapter is the first part of the piece I've been writing for 3 months now, and the other part which will be the next chapter is still in the works. Ideas and suggestions given to me had been quite a handful in making this chapter possible. The order's just mashed up a bit, but most of the things you'll see in this chapter were all from suggestions by a very good friend, fortunelestion. The rest came from my own boggled mind and a little bit of help from my other Puella Magi loving friends. Anyways, here's the latest chapter of the story. It's been more than a year since I published this story and I thank all the people who've followed the story up to this point. The next chapter is already in the works and I intend to finish it sometime soon. As long as writer's block doesn't get in the way. Thanks again and more Homu X Mami goodness!

Dreizehn: What We Are To Each Other

Mami-san, Mami-san!

Homura frantically thought of Mami as she ran. Sensing Mami's magical trace to be fading slowly, her heart was beating heavily, an aching sensation thumped in her chest. That lingering fear began to resurface—along with that feeling of dread…

It's the same feeling she faced during her repeated battles with Walpurgisnacht.

The feeling of failure…

Failing to protect the only person who cared for her was the most dreadful feeling for Homura. There was no time to even question that feeling. All she knew from that point on…

All that she knew was she cared for the blonde girl, too, after all.

Please Mami-san, please hang in there.

The streetlights turned on as the sunset crept the night sky. Homura kept running, eventually making a left turn until she ran into a dark alley. The light from the flickering lamppost wasn't giving that much help. Homura's soul gem glowed brighter, sensing that Mami was nearby. She slowed her pace down a little and saw bloodstains on the stoned pavement.

Oh no…

As she followed the stains, it dawned on Homura that the battle here was an intense one. The presence of residual smoke and ash could tell her that much. Broken trash containers were all over the place. The cement walls were filled with bullet marks. The bloodstains were becoming thicker as she was getting closer.

A right turn.

Homura's purple eyes widened as she saw what appears to be Mami's arm. She rushed to that dark part of what appears to be another street, and through that darkness she saw the blonde girl slumped against the wall. Her lower body was bathed in blood and Mami's soul gem was black. She held the blonde girl in her arms and used the grief cubes she got to cleanse the blonde girl's soul gem. The corruption in Mami's soul gem slowly dissipated, somehow that gave Homura relief that she came in time. Homura shook Mami's shoulder a little—an effort to somehow check whether she was still in fact—alive.

"Mami-san…" The black-haired girl's voice was soft, barely above a whisper. "Please, Mami-san…please be okay…"

Mami's eyes were slowly closing; her right arm went limp and finally gave out, hitting the stoned floor gently. Homura shook her shoulder again, this time she shook with desperation…

No, this can't be…

The thought of it all came back, the same moment when she had her in her arms—lifeless. Kaname Madoka died after defeating the dreaded Walpurgisnacht…

And now, it had to happen again…to that only person in this new world who cared for her. Tears had begun trickling down her cheeks.

"Don't leave me, Mami-san! I—!"

Holding Mami's left hand, she made a whisper: a soft, yet an audible one for her to hear.

"…love you…"

Mami thought she was in delirium…that what she heard was just an effect of her being too weak. The way the words echoed in her mind somehow made her feel that they were real. Mami felt calm…with warmth blossoming in her heart.

If it's really true, then I don't have any regrets anymore.

Everything went black.

The corruption in Mami's soul gem was all gone, so Homura was certain her blonde friend was safe from harm. Mami was unconscious, but she was very much alive. Her wounds were beginning to heal. Homura thought of having her rest at her place for the healing process to speed up. Her place wasn't too far from where they were, so she got Mami on her back, secured her arms and have them wrapped around her shoulders. And though Mami was a bit heavier, Homura managed to carry her friend and walked out of that dark street. The main road isn't really far off, so they'd make it out there within a few minutes.

As Homura made the turn to her left, she pretty much could see the light at the end of the alleyway leading to the main road. Finally, it won't be long enough and she could easily get a cab to get to her apartment. As her foot stepped into the main road, instead of feeling relieved that they made it, she felt that fine hairs rose on the back of her neck. This was pretty strange…she seemed to have that feeling that someone was watching. Homura's eyes moved from right to left, her brows furrowed as she tried finding out who or what could be watching them. There was nothing on both directions and the sound of the busy main road only populated her ears. After standing idle for a few moments, a cab stopped and took the two of them as passengers and left the scene after a few seconds.

In a hotel room across the street, two girls watched as the cab left. Both of them each wore a ring with a glowing gem.

One of the girls wore a Shirome school uniform, her face had such a peaceful expression and her hair was white like the clouds. The other girl wore a Mitakihara Middle School uniform, the same one Homura and Mami wear. And her hair was dark brown…no, it was darker than that…it can be mistaken for black. This girl had her head rested on the white-haired girl's lap, with a smile on her face as fingers ran through that dark brown hair.

"I never knew there were other magical girls who went to Mitakihara Middle School like you do. Very interesting, isn't it, Kirika?" The peaceful girl's face wore a sweet smile as she continued entwining her fingers at those dark brown locks.

"Indeed, Oriko. This'll be a fine competition." Kirika got up and kissed Oriko's neck lustfully. The white-haired girl shuddered as Kirika ran fingers on her back, the warmth of her hands let out a soft gasp of air. As they made their way to bed, they playfully shoved each other and Oriko made her way on top of Kirika, their hands clasped together, both of them smiled as they looked into each other's eyes.

As Oriko turned the light off, a soft giggle could be heard from the room, with rustling sounds following suit.

Mami's eyes opened slowly. Blurry and uncertain, she moaned painfully…realizing that her right leg got injured during that battle. When her vision cleared, the first thing her eyes saw was the murky lighting of a small bedroom.

"How…are you feeling?"

Mami turned to her side and saw Homura sitting near the bedside table. She tried getting up…slowly, yet surely. Mami still felt pain on her body, and it made her frown. Homura came to her aid, their faces close to each other as she put a pillow against Mami's back. The blonde girl felt stunned…she couldn't explain this feeling, but it seemed that her own eyes kept locked into Homura's purple orbs. Those purple irises…always never failing to give her awe by simply looking at them.

"There," whispered Homura. "Is this better?"

An awkward silence. It took a few seconds before Homura whispered out.

"Mami-san…?"

"I-I'm sorry." The blonde girl stuttered. "W-where…are we?"

"My place." Homura replied. The blonde girl looked around. The bedroom's lighting was murky…a lampshade made the light bulb from the lamp quite darker than it is. She noticed the younger girl's study table…a laptop turned on as well as a little desk lamp. A first aid kit and rolled bandage were on top of the bedside table, with a little basin of lukewarm water and white towels. Mami lowered her head and noticed she wasn't wearing her school uniform. This realization made her yelp softly.

"Is…something wrong?" asked Homura, in a concerned voice.

"You…?" Mami couldn't figure out how to say it. Her upper body was bandaged, as well as her right leg. She felt a warm sensation under the bandages, realizing that Homura used magic on them to make the healing faster. The blonde girl pulled the blanket to cover herself, almost reaching her shoulders.

"You…mended my wounds…" Mami blushed. A nervous feeling welled inside the blonde girl as she thought of the possibility of Homura seeing her naked while treating her injuries.

The black-haired girl noticed the blush on her senpai's cheeks. Feeling shy, Homura bowed her head and replied, "Umm…yes."

Another awkward silence—at least for Homura, it was. She felt her own heart pounding against her chest. She couldn't understand why that was happening.

Homura tried breaking the silence. She lifted her head to say a word. And just when she was about to, she got caught off-guard by the blonde girl who smiled at her.

"Thank you, Homura. It seems that I owe you twice now."

It was a beautiful smile of gratitude and appreciation. Images of a smiling Madoka flashed in her mind the moment she saw this. The look on Mami's smiling face made her shy away and turned to the opposite direction. Please…don't look at me like that… Homura couldn't help herself. She remembered the words she uttered before Mami lost consciousness earlier. The black-haired girl couldn't understand. She felt scared of losing someone important…

Someone important to me. Homura thought. The words came right out of her mouth. Up until this point, she isn't sure whether the blonde girl heard it or not. Homura shook her head to will the distraction away. She felt now was time to settle this…her true feelings. If she was indeed, feeling love for Mami.

The blonde girl gasped softly, with her index finger pointed towards Homura's soul gem.

"Your soul gem..."

Homura shook her head. "It's okay, Mami-san." The gem's purple light was dim and it was dark almost halfway. The blonde girl took something out of her skirt's pocket. There were several grief cubes…and she handed them over to Homura.

"It's…not much, I know. But…please do take them." Mami said as she took Homura's gem into her hand and the grief cubes started absorbing the corruption in it.

"M-Mami-san…" Homura caught herself. She wanted to make sure she mustered enough courage to bring the subject up. The blonde girl stared at her intently, waiting for the raven-haired girl to say another word. Homura thought it wouldn't be fair to keep Mami waiting—given the fact that the blonde girl showed enough bravery to admit her feelings to her awhile back. Taking a deep breath, Homura spoke again.

"I…" Is it this hard? Even in her thoughts, Homura felt quite uncertain.

"Yes?" Mami was still staring at her.

"I…" Homura closed her eyes. "N-No…"

"Homura?" Mami felt concerned now.

"I… I'm…sorry…" The younger girl apologized. "This…is all new to me. I…"

"Is it about that thing earlier?" The blonde girl asked.

A loud explosion lit the sky in the city of Kazamino. Kyoko landed on the ground, her spear disappearing as her transformation dropped. After collecting the grief cubes, she cleansed her soul gem and the used ones were thrown to the Incubator's mouth-like back. Kyoko really never bothered asking it about what happens to the grief cubes once it's eaten by the cat-like creature. I guess at this point in time, it would never matter. After a few minutes, she and the Incubator parted ways. Lately these days, their interactions were just pretty casual. Kyoko would defeat the wraiths, collect grief cubes and use them. Once they're used up, Kyuubey will arrive and take those used cubes into its care.

Just as Kyoko was about to walk away, she sensed someone was coming. Sounds of footsteps were getting louder by the second.

"It's been a while." The voice sounded icy-cold, with no emotion whatsoever.

Kyoko's brows furrowed and immediately recognized who it was.

"I never thought I'd see your face again." Kyoko's tone was quite sarcastic.

"But I survived, it seems." There was no change in the mysterious person's voice.

"What brings you here…?" The redhead never let her guard down. She made a swift turn and within a second her ring flashed and her long spear came spinning in her hand. The sharp end of it eventually aimed at the mysterious girl's chin, finally revealing her face under the moonlight.

"Kanna Nico!" Kyoko shouted. Her feeling of disgust was evident.

"Still being that smug I know, yes?" Nico's voice was cold. There wasn't any trace of emotion in her voice. She just reluctantly stared at spear's sharp end.

"Like you know anything, Kanna!" Kyoko's anger escalated, her spear ready to take Nico on. The platinum-haired girl takes a hold of the spear with her left hand and spun it in the opposite direction—pointed towards its red-haired wielder.

"I don't understand why you're feeling disgust towards me, Sakura." Nico's eyes stared at Kyoko's coldly, her left hand tightened its grip at the spear. To Kyoko's surprise, a bright silver light shone and the spear dissolved into red specks.

"I only came here to give you a little warning." Nico said, barely above a whisper.

Kyoko's eyes widened as a tablet appeared on Nico's hand. The platinum-haired girl stared at the gadget intently for a few seconds and spoke again, "Watch out for forces we don't know of. They're nearby and we honestly don't know what they're up to."

"Kanna…?"

"This is troublesome." Fierce green orbs were fixed at Kyoko's red ones. "The others faced them but couldn't match their combined strength. I doubt if your strength can even defeat those two."

"Those two..?" Kyoko wondered. "Oi, Kanna, what are you…?"

"Take my advice. You best be on your guard." The platinum-haired magical girl walked away and disappeared into the darkness.

Those two. I wonder what that smug is talking about? Kyoko thought.

Homura was stunned. Her heart beat harder against her chest. "You…?" She couldn't finish her sentence. She wasn't sure what words to say. Mami closed her eyes and nodded simply.

"I did." Mami held on to Homura's hand and looked at her purple eyes. "And if…if ever I did…die back there…then…"

The sudden hug caught Mami off-guard.

"I was scared." Homura whispered. "I was really scared. All this time, I've thought of betraying her memory…"

"Homura…"

"A lot of times I feel confused," continued Homura. "Feeling this way, caring for you…it's so different from how I cared for her." She lifted her hand, her fingers brushed against the red ribbon in her hair. "I don't—"

An awkward pause.

"I don't know how to do this." Homura's eyes closed and tears trickled down her cheeks. "It's all new to me. Whenever I'm around you, or when you're so kind to me…I feel guilty that I've been holding my feelings back…"

Mami's hand gently rubbed the younger girl's back and whispered to her, "I understand."

Homura looked up and gazed onto Mami's yellow eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mami-san...for not realizing it sooner."

"It's okay…" The blonde girl whispered. "Don't be too hard on yourself."

Homura nodded meekly, her head rested on the older girl's shoulders.

"Are you all right?" Mami whispered to her ear. Homura's sobs finally came to a stop and she let the older girl go. The black-haired girl nodded and smiled.

"So…?" Mami could feel the warmth on her cheeks.

"So…?" Homura wondered.

"What…are we now…?" Mami asked softly, the blush on her cheeks persisted.

That's right. Homura thought. What are we now? Partners? Maybe. They've been that for a while now, since they've been fighting the wraiths together.

Friends? Homura frowned at the thought. Sure they have been…in this new world—if not for Homura's constant attempts of making herself distant. But they've never been this close in the past timelines.

Lovers? Homura's cheeks blushed at the thought. Apart from the love she felt for Madoka, there's another person whom she feels the same kind of emotion for now. That person who was always kind and friendly to her. The last few days gave it all away. Mami's friendship was something she'd now treasure. And knowing her true feelings—that Mami loved her all this time. Homura felt warm, her heart felt light as she realized that Mami was there…cared for her and loved her with all her heart.

Homura suddenly heard a soft giggle, one that jolted her out of her reverie.

"Still in deep thought, huh?" Mami pressed her index finger gently at the younger girl's forehead. "Don't worry about that for now."

"Mami-san…?"

Mami gave Homura a warm embrace—making the black-haired girl's cheeks blush deeply. "What we are to each other is something we only both know. That's enough for me."

What we are to each other…

Something we only both know… Homura closed her eyes as she felt herself melting into the warm embrace.

Ahai, characters from Oriko and Kazumi Magica made their appearance in this chapter. Someone will also make a comeback (hopefully) in the next chapter so just stay tuned for it. :D