Homura watched Mao, who was clearly rather deep in thought. Rukia had left to give a report to the Soul Society on the information she'd acquired, so the two were alone.
The ravenette had used the opportunity to let her friend know about her wish, and her current mission. Of course, she stopped time when she did so to prevent any incubators from eavesdropping. The maroon-haired teen had yet to say anything. So she waited; it was a lot to take in despite the fact that she apparently already had a hunch about her being a time-traveler.

"...you said Sayaka-chan usually contracts in a few days, after Mami-chan dies like an idiot, right..?"

Homura blinked at the girl's blatant disrespect for Mami's fate, but decided not to make a comment.
"Yes. She always contracts to heal Kyosuke Kamijo's hand."

Mao nodded, giving a toothy smile. To anyone who didn't know her well, she'd look friendly, but Homura resisted the urge to lean away.
This was the smile Mao used to give Homura's former bullies before promptly sending them to the infirmary with bleeding noses and black eyes when they were younger... But this time, it was much more intense.

"Sooooo... What do you think her reaction will be if I were to, say, remove him from the equation...?"

The time-traveler's eyes widened a fraction, already seeing visions of a devastated Sayaka cradling the boy's dead body in her arms.
"...It never happened, so I can't say for sure... But I doubt it's a good idea..."

"Why? She doesn't need to know who killed him, and the Incubators can't afford to resurrect an individual since that would mean dragging their soul out of the Soul Society. I told you they're against the Shinigami, but that doesn't mean they want to be spotted. Results? If he's gone, he's gone for good!...Is the mess what you're worried about? I'll clean up any blood and just make his body just look like he's sleeping if you want... Or is it any noise he might make? Don't worry, I'll make sure he can't scream or struggle..."

The ravenette just stared as the other teen kept making more suggestions to try to ease her worries, each as horrendous as the last. She knew it wasn't like she never killed anyone herself... But it felt wrong to talk about someone's life like it didn't matter, let alone messing with their corpse among...other things.
...This was a side of her supposed 'childhood friend' she hadn't thought could exist. As far as she'd known, she wouldn't resort to violence unless the situation forced her into it (or anyone lay a hand on the ravenette herself), yet here she was happily discussing a possible murder. It rubbed her the wrong way.

"Mao...stop it."

"...eh?"

"...just...how long have you been a Puella Magi?"

"Uh... About nine years, give or take?"

"And... Did you ever become allies with anyone...? Anyone to support you at all?"

"Yep! Of course! I met Yumi-chan, Mikan-chan, Ayano-chan, Seiko-chan, Gin-chan, Hana-chan -"

"Where are they? Are they still in Tokyo?"

The maroon-haired girl tilted her head, probably wondering why she was asking so many questions.
"They've all been dead for a while now Homu-chan. The only Puella Magi I'm allied with at the moment are you, Mami-chan, and two others in Karakura; I met them a couple of months ago."

Homura sighed. That long? And losing everyone she knew to the system? That had to have had some psychological effects. There was no way around it - her morals were definitely skewed. Not that the ravenette herself could talk; she's had an unhealthy obsession for Madoka's survival for a while now. She just didn't really care.
Because of the girl's morals (or lack thereof), though, she was glad she wasn't against her - it'd be a real pain to have to deal with her, not to mention she wasn't sure she could actually being herself to harm her to begin with.

"Homu-chan, I want you to meet those I'll be working with. They're in Karakura. They could be useful both for Walpurgisnacht and for getting at least a few Shinigami on your side..."

"...I see.. "

Mao came up close, stars in her eyes.
"Pleeeaaase? Rukia-chan and Mami-chan will be here to protect Madoka-chan, and we even told her about how much harder it becomes for there to be enough grief seeds for everyone each time another Puella Magi contracts. I told her as many ways as I could think of that any potential wish could go wrong. I told her we'd all have to use precious time and magic to train her, and with her nonexistent self-esteem, that should be more than enough to discourage her! If she contracts even with all this preparation, Homu-chan, then I'm sorry to tell you she's the idiot of the century."

Homura definitely wasn't happy with how the other girl had pretty much destroyed whatever self-esteem Madoka had, but she had to admit she made a valid point.
"...Fine."

Beaming, she immediately went on her phone.
"Awesome! But first, I'm calling everybody! We're gonna have a girls night out!"

"Mao are you serious? I have a mission and I -"

"Will have an easier time fulfilling it if Madoka-chan's in your sight!"

"Mao -"

"Plus, you'll meet Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan in advance!"

"Mao, listen to me -"

" Hello? Hey, Sayaka-chan, Homu-chan really wants to have a girls night out but doesn't have the balls to say it! Huh? Yeah, she'll pay everything... Yep, we'll definitely have another slumber party after... Great! Tell Madoka-chan, I'll call everybody else!"

Homura sighed, resigned. Once Mao was set on doing something, there was no stopping her... When was the last time she just let loose and had fun anyway? Plus, it wasn't like something would happen to Madoka while she could keep an eye on her. Not if she had something to say about it.

0.0

Mami smiled at her phone, happy she'd be spending some more quality time with her new friends. Sure, it was just a few hours since she'd actually left Akemi's house, but, if anything, it just gave her more energy.
The blonde looked back up and turned off the tea kettle, looking towards her guest. Yasutora seemed to be a rather quiet person, like Akemi. They'd already had a bit of small talk - though, to be honest, she was the one doing the most of the talking. Apparently, he was an eighteen year old student in University. When she asked, he let her know that no, he wasn't a Shinigami; he was a human with more reiatsu than most others: a Fullbringer. He was familiar with quite a few Shinigami though.

To be honest, she probably would have been intimidated by his height and obvious strength if she wasn't capable of just shooting him in the head, but he turned out to be more of the 'gentle giant' type.
Silence, with him, was more comfortable than awkward.

"...hmm?"

Mami blinked. Crap, she'd been staring. Turning back to preparing the tea, she answered:
"It's nothing, I was just thinking..."

Just then, a thought occured to her, and she asked:
"Do you know a Shinigami named Rukia Kuchiki by any chance?"

"Yes. She's a good friend of mine."

Mami's face lit up with joy. "Really? I'm friends with her too! Maybe I could have you meet the others? I'm sure they'd be thrilled to meet you! Oh, I could prepare some flan for the occasion... And Suzuki-san seems to like turkish delight, I'll need to get some of those...it will be fantastic!"

Out the corner of her eye, Mami saw Kyubey on her windowsill.

"Kyubey! Don't just stay there!" she opened her window, missing how Yasutora tensed up upon seeing the creature and hearing it's name. "Yasutora-kun, this is Kyubey, a good friend of mine!"

"...he's the one you made a contract with?"

She beamed, holding the cat-like creature a little tighter.
"Yes! He saved me! He's been there for me ever since... I couldn't ask for a better friend!"

'It's nice to see you as well, Mami! Hello Yasutora, it's a pleasure to meet you.'

The older teen didn't answer, but the blonde suddenly recoiled.
He was angry. She wasn't quite sure how she knew, she could just pick it out of the air. His eyes burrowed into Kyubey's, and if looks could kill, she was pretty sure the poor creature would be burning in the core of the earth.

"A friend...?"

"U-um...Yasutora-kun...? Do you... Know him...?"

'I do not recall ever coming into contact with him. His anger is irrational, as far as I know.'

He looked up at Mami, seeming to have temporarily calmed down, the air around them returning to normal.
"...He didn't tell you about any catches to the contract, did he?"

Her brow twisted in confusion at his intense gaze, wondering why that would be so important. As far as she knew, being a Puella Magi wasn't all that bad...

"...Fighting witches...?"

He shook his head and sighed, getting up.

"I need to leave now; I have several unfinished assignments due rather soon. You have my number. Call me if you ever need help", he said, giving her a serious look before opening the door.

"I'll see you soon."

Bewildered, Mami just watched as he left the apartment.
She looked down at Kyubey.

"...Did I give a bad first impression?"

He didn't answer.

0.0

At 8:30 pm, Homura's doorbell rang. Mao, who had changed into her favourite oversized fuschia blouse and black leggings, went to open the door. Homura was still getting ready, so she wasn't available.

The Kurosaki twins, along with their older brother, were on the other side. Karin wore a black t-shirt and loose cargo pants while Yuzu had a white sweater and a short brown skirt on. Both wore sneakers.
The two immediately greeted her, to which she answered accordingly, before she looked towards their sibling. She extended a hand to him for a handshake.

"I already know who you are, but we never actually met, right? I'm Mao Suzuki."

"Ichigo Kurosaki. I know it's a bit late for this but... Thanks for protecting them", he said a bit awkwardly.

"Anytime, carrot top!"

The older teen blinked while his sisters chuckled. Of course she'd find a nickname for him on the spot. Most people did.
Turning to leave, he told the twins to go straight to Chad's once they were done; the rest was drowned out by a thought Yuzu unconsciously sent to Mao.

"I know he's worried, but I'd appreciate it if we didn't have a bodyguard to go everywhere now. This is becoming a little annoying..."

Once he wasn't in sight, Mao promptly let the brunette know she let her thoughts slip again, to which Yuzu apologized, slightly embarrassed.
The maroon-haired teen led them to the living room before obnoxiously banging on Homura's bedroom door, telling her to hurry up. An annoyed Homura came out just then, accidentally getting bashed by her friend in the process, causing Mao to receive a scathing glare. Not that it fazed her . The ravenette wore a simple purple dress that stopped just above her knees.

Homura blinked owlishly at the two Puella Magi she found in her living room as her childhood friend introduced them to each other.

"Ah... Hello..."

"Akemi-san! Mao-san told us so much about you! I'm sure we'll get along, we'll be besties in no time!", declared Yuzu with a grin, as Mao pouted in the background while mumbling something about stealing her place.
Homura just blinked.
"...I suppose."

"Heeeey! Shut up and grab your stuff already! Mao wouldn't stop talking about that nice restaurant and now I'm starving!"

...The personality Kyoko supposedly had was uncannily similar to Karin's, Mao noted.
Thanks to a certain ravenette's insistance, they left rather quickly, and walked - or rather, jogged - towards their destination, where they had agreed to meet up with the other girls. Karin teased Homura here and there, and decided to nickname her 'Homurun'. She still brainstormed others, like 'Raven Rapunzel' though. Yuzu was bubbly and talkative, determined to know literally everything about her without having to just read her mind.

The maroon-haired teen watched the happy expressions on her friends' faces as they enjoyed themselves (at least, as happy as Homura would let herself look, in her case). They were just a couple of blocks away from the restaurant, and she could already sense that Mami, Sayaka, Madoka and Rukia were waiting for them.

It was sad to know there was a good chance none of them would have a happy end, either dying in action, falling into despair, or committing suicide.

Puella Magi were cursed with their grim fates, never knowing if they'd live to see the next sunrise. They were never entirely sure if they'd say hi to their loved ones - if they even had any. Never able to determine what kinds of nightmares would await them the next day.
Never truly safe.
Every single one of them was unconsciously aware of this, but most would ignore it.
And they'd struggle to stay alive, many of them plastering a smile on their faces to avoid worrying their others as they'd journey down the downward spiral. But the effort was always useless, ending with their tragic deaths.

Yes, the end was the saddest part...

...But she'd at least make sure they had a happy beginning.