Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Mirai Nikki or Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Chapter 14: Castling

Kazumi felt mesmerized by the portal. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep her eyes focused on it, like her gaze was water sliding across glass. She was vaguely aware of someone calling her name.

"Kazumi!"

She jolted back to reality and turned to face Homura. "Sorry about that. Not sure what came over me."

Homura looked at her coolly. "We need to prepare," she said before turning away.

Right, prepare. Kazumi shook her head to clear it and resisted the urge to look at the portal again. She looked over at Kaoru instead. She was busy weaving her magical energy into a pattern using her staff. Kaoru had been completely silent since they had arrived and was thoroughly uninterested in the portal or anything else around them for that matter.

Kaoru... It always saddened Kazumi to see her like this. The happy, energetic girl she once knew was gone and she wasn't sure there was any way of getting her back. Thinking back to when her grandmother died, she knew everyone dealt with grief differently and everyone needed time. Even she had needed some time despite her wish giving her a few more moments with her grandmother. I'm here for you Kaoru, and I'll wait however long you need before you can move past this trial.

She walked over to Homura who was surveying the area.

"We don't have a lot of time," Homura said without looking. "We need to get this place as fortified as possible."

"Even three verse one? Seems excessive."

"If we underestimate this girl we die."

Kazumi crooked an eyebrow. "That strong huh." She sighed and looked around. Maybe a defensive perimeter there. Should have enough time. She realized the edge of the dome around them was pretty defensible but once that was breached, it would become a level fighting ground. Then we'll see how strong this Yuno Gasai is. "How long do we need to hold her off? When will the portal be ready?"

She sensed Homura growing a bit uneasy but her expression didn't change. "I'm not sure...this is the first time I've ever dealt with a portal. I just know it will open naturally and there is no way to speed it up."

"Can she destroy it?"

Homura remained silent for a moment. "Potentially. It would require a lot of magical energy, but I think it is possible. I'm sure she wants to use the portal herself, but we should be ready in case she simply decides to destroy it."

Kazumi nodded thoughtfully. "Alright. Let's hope the portal opens soon then. We can then all go through."

"No!" Homura's eyes flashed before she quickly regained her composure. "No, you two mustn't go through. Only I can handle this."

"But it could be dangerous in-"

"I'll be fine. I know what to do once I'm inside. I want you two to escape as soon as I enter. Inside, I can shut it off and prevent Gasai from entering so your job will be done."

Kazumi didn't like this idea, but it wasn't her portal so she supposed she had no right to object. "Very well. I trust your judgment. If you change your mind though, just tell us."

Homura didn't answer and went to the edge of the dome. Kazumi sighed and began to head over to make a defensive perimeter before noticing Kaoru. I should tell her what Homura told me. She jumped over to her.

"Hey Kaoru!" She noticed Kaoru holding two glowing orbs. "What are those?"

Kaoru looked up and threw one of the orbs high in the air where it exploded in a huge blast of magical destruction. "Bombs," she said, her voice flat.

Kazumi clapped. "That's amazing Kaoru! When did you learn to do that?"

"Practicing with 'em for awhile. Try 'em out here. Traps."

"Wonderful idea! Those will be a big help. By the way, about the portal and this Gasai girl." She filled her in on what Homura had said. Kaoru listened while forming another bomb.

"So once she enters and if Gasai isn't incapacitated, we don't have to keep fighting."

Kaoru placed the bomb next to her and rested her chin on her knees. "Three verse one. She's still worried."

"Yeah, but remember what she said about her. She's fast, deadly with a sword, and can summon hundreds of knives. We need to always be prepared for an attack."

Kaoru stayed silent for a moment. "I don't trust her."

Kazumi frowned in confusion. "Don't trust her? Gasai?"

Kaoru looked to the edge of the dome. "Homura."

"Homura? Why?"

Kaoru was silent again before standing up. "Not sure. Something feels off."

Feels off? Kazumi looked back at Homura. She didn't feel like Homura harbored bad intentions for them. She had, after all, come seeking their help and had explained her reasons. Sure, she was a bit reticent about the portal, but it was something none of them had experienced before. Homura was probably just worried about what it might do and was unsure of exactly what would happen when she used it.

"I feel we can trust her. She came asking for our help, and we agreed to assist her, so the least we can do is trust her intentions."

Kaoru stood and wiped her hands on her jersey before picking up her bombs. "Just be careful." She walked away.

Kazumi rubbed her arm unthinkingly before going to make preparations. I suppose that's the most we can do.

/人◕‿‿◕人\

Homura gathered them all together. They'd only had about twenty minutes to fortify their position before she had felt they needed to be alert and ready for an attack.

They had magical barriers, traps, and defenses all prepared in addition to the charm barrier that had already been around them. Kazumi was thankful for that because she would hate to accidentally harm an innocent person. She felt they were quite well fortified now. She had been very surprised when Homura had pulled claymores and land mines from seemingly nowhere, but she couldn't argue that they wouldn't be just as effective.

"We probably only have a little time now before she arrives," Homura said. "We need to be constantly on guard. When we start fighting, I assume you two are familiar with fighting together." Kazumi nodded. "I'll fight when the opportunity presents itself, but otherwise, I will avoid getting in your way. Gasai is bound to do most of the attacking anyway given her speed."

Homura paused for a moment. "If you are going to have a chance of defeating her though, you need to know about her magic."

"Speed and knives right?" Kazumi said.

Homura shook her head. "Those are peripheral to her true ability. She has a limited control of time, which is surprisingly defensive given what I've seen of her personality."

"What do you mean?"

"She is able to sense any attack made against her right before it happens."

Kazumi frowned. "You mean, if I were to make a surprise attack against her she would know about it?"

"More than that. Any attacks made against her she will sense their power and direction and be able to dodge or deflect it, even in the middle of an intense fight."

Kaoru spoke up. "Traps?"

Homura shook her head. "Even traps."

"That sounds...unbeatable. How can we possibly hurt her if she can dodge or avoid any attack we make against her? Why make traps if she can just avoid them?"

Homura held up a hand and curled it into a fist. "Overwhelming force. Even if she can sense attacks, if there are too many from all different directions, even she can't avoid them all. We attack from all sides to overwhelm her. We place traps to limit her motions and overwhelm her. We don't relent in our attacks to overwhelm her. Anything short of this is useless. Any one-on-one fight is hopeless. Only all of us fighting her at once has a chance of defeating her, or at least delaying her for as long as we need."

Kazumi felt a chill of fear run up her spine. This magical girl sounded too powerful to exist. Homura had told them Gasai was strong enough to kill a demon in one strike, and now she knew Gasai had a defensive power to match. She understood why Homura had waited until now to tell them. Any sooner and she may have lost her nerve to fight

She looked at Kaoru to make sure she was okay and give her any support she needed. She couldn't see her face though. "Hey Kaoru?" Kaoru turned and Kazumi was surprised. A gleam of light was shining out of her eyes. A gleam of excitement, even...lust. Battle lust. Blood lust. It was the most animated Kazumi had seen her in months. "Kaoru?"

She grinned at Kazumi. "A virtually unstoppable enemy. Can you feel it Kazumi? Can you taste it?" Her eyes were out of focus and she bit into her knuckle hard with a smile.

Kazumi couldn't understand what had gotten into her but noticed Homura nodding. She understood. Kazumi wondered about that. Had she faced this kind of opponent before?

A feeling passed over her. Magic. Somewhere in the distance and approaching fast. The others had noticed too.

Homura summoned her bow and dark energy wings formed on her back. "Be ready."

Kaoru summoned a magical ball of energy and balanced it on her foot. Kazumi summoned her staff and tried to sense where the magic was coming from. The west. No wait, now...up?

"Get down!" she yelled and brought up her staff to make a defensive ball just as a huge shock wave smashed into them. The spell deflected most of the force, but she could feel her staff trying to wrench free from her hand. The other girls crouched down near her, eyes alert and ready. When the dust cleared, Kazumi looked over to see a shallow crater fifty yards away with a girl in pink and black standing at the center. Kyubei was at her side.

Kyubei's ears twitched. "What have we here? Miss Maki and Miss Kazusa? How unexpected."

Yuno folded her arms. "More magical girls Homura? Why do you keep dragging more people into this?"

Homura glared at her. "Why are you even here? You don't belong in this world!"

Yuno laughed. "Oh that is rich coming from you! Now tell me that I shouldn't travel in time to change things."

Homura shot at her, which Yuno casually deflected into the sky.

Kyubei eyed Kazumi. "Miss Kazusa, this does not concern you. I am not sure what Miss Akemi told you, but there is no need for hostilities between you and Miss Gasai. The same goes for you Miss Maki."

Kazumi hesitated. Maybe Kaoru was right and Homura was deceiving them. She needed answers. "How does this not concern us? Isn't this about the demons that have shown up?"

Kyubei's ears wiggled. "In a way, yes."

Kazumi frowned. "In a way? Can this portal stop the demons?"

"It can."

"But only if I go in," Homura said. "These two have no intention of stopping them."

Kazumi turned her attention to Yuno. She could feel the magical energy streaming off her. It was powerful and...alien was the best way Kazumi could describe it. As if it was completely different from other magical energies physically and mentally. It chilled her. She had no doubt Yuno could destroy a demon with ease. Maybe she could stop the demons if we could convince her. But then she remembered her primary motivation for coming.

She pointed her staff at Yuno. "Did you kill Mami Tomoe?"

Yuno held up her hands and shrugged. "It was a means to an end."

Kazumi felt tendrils of anger and hate enwrap her heart. "Then there is nothing more to say. Are you ready Kaoru?" She looked over.

Kaoru's cheeks were flushed and her pupils dilated. "Let's get this started."

All three of them readied to fight. Yuno grinned and readied her sword. Kyubei cocked its head. "I suppose there is no other way." It hopped behind Yuno.

No one made a move, both sides gauging the other, looking for any openings. Kazumi tried to formulate a plan. Overwhelming force. Sense attacks. Need to pressure her...from the left then an above attack where Kazumi will... She realized Homura was telepathically communicating an initial attack plan. She tried to listen when Kaoru launched herself in an attack against Yuno.

"Kaoru!" The battle began.