Subaru and Homura walked into Homura's apartment building. It was a brick building, on a plot where two streets merged at an angle. The building had a sort of a tiered layout, with a medieval aesthetic, almost looking like a building inside a castle.

Subaru: "This almost reminds me of the architecture back home. Especially in the capitol."

Homura refrained from commenting. She led him into the room with her name on the plate. Inside, however, was a completely different environment.

Subaru: "Woah… that's… different."

Homura: "I suppose I'll take that as a compliment."

Subaru: "Well, I mean… it looks fine, it's just such a contrast from the rest of the building, it's like a different world in here."

Homura: "You'd know about that wouldn't you."

Subaru: "Yeah, guilty as charged."

Homura: "I'm going to make tea, please don't be rowdy, Subaru."

Subaru: "Yeah yeah, I got it."

Subaru looked around as he sat on the semi-circular couch. There were screens, moving like grass swaying on a plain. If he looked above him, there were gears that looked straight out of a clock tower.

Subaru: "The screens, the gears, the furniture… this place isn't coordinated at all!"

Homura frowned as she was making the tea.

[I thought I told him not to be rowdy. We must have different definitions of the word."

But, as the tea was done, Homura made her way back to the center of her apartment where Subaru was sitting, and put the tea on the table in front of him.

Subaru: "Thank you. The tea is good, though I don't think it can compare to Rem's tea."

Homura: "I see. Is she a friend of yours?"

Subaru: "Um, well… I guess? When I met her she wanted to kill me, then she fell in love with me, and then she fell into a coma, and now I have reason to believe she's out of it, but I don't know what state she's in. I miss her a lot."

Subaru looked pensive as he finished his statement. It was obvious that he was in turmoil over the way things transpired, but couldn't do much about it now.

Homura: "How do you have magic? I saw you use that grief seed the other day."

Subaru: "Well, it's a long story…"

Homura: "We have time."

Subaru: "Okay, well, it started when I walked out the door to go get some food. I was a bad hikikomori then, I didn't even say goodbye to my mother then. When I went to the convenience store, I got some stuff, and on crossing the street, I suddenly was in another world."

Homura: "Another world?"

Subaru: "Yep. I tried to use magic almost as soon as I got there, but I didn't have a clue. I just explored for a while, went to places I shouldn't go, and fell into a canal. Eventually I was resting in an alley when these three dude, who were a stereotypical bandit trio, couldn't have been more so if they tried, walked up to me. I would've been able to fight them and win, but the last one pulled out a knife, and I wasn't gonna fight that."

Homura: "So you must be pretty strong to fight three bandits till they pull out a knife."

Subaru: "Well, my dad was such a horseplayer, I had to keep up with him, ya know. I may have been a shut-in, but I worked out a lot and kept in shape well."

Homura: "But you lost the fight. How did you get out of that?"

Subaru: "Luckily, I met the strongest girl I know that day. Love of my life, even."

Homura: "Strong, huh?"

Subaru: "Yeah, she could put up a fight against the strongest dudes in that world, those three guys weren't anything to her. To be honest, I shouldn't have been anything to her, but, I was."

Homura: "What are you to her?"

Subaru: "I'm her knight. She's a princess kind of, there's a royal selection being done by a regency council, and she's a candidate. Oh, and her name is Emilia-tan."

Homura: "But how did you become her knight? She obviously must have been way stronger than you, I don't think you've shown any extraordinary ability so far."

Subaru: "Trial and error, I guess you could say. I love her to the ends of the earth, and Luginica, oh, that's the country this is in is Lugunica."

Homura: "Trial and error? I doubt there's much room for error in being a knight."

Subaru: "You'd be right. That world was vicious, especially for someone almost powerless like me, but I think I improved from it."

Homura: "But how did you get back to Japan? Were you summoned again like the first time?"

Subaru: "I had just finished clearing this tower we were in of enemies. I had to see where each person would do their best, but after so many times I figured it out. However, the witch had other ideas."

Homura's eyebrows peaked at the mention of a witch.

Subaru: "Not the kind of witch you'd know of. I kind of have a… special relationship with this one, that I am pretty sure is under a non-disclosure agreement."

Homura: "And if you break that agreement?"

Subaru: "Death. For whoever she decides needs it. Instantly."

Homura: "How do you know?"

Subaru: "Honestly, I'm surprised I've been able to say this much, so I don't think I should go any further."

Homura: "So what did you do there? You had to have become a knight somehow that wasn't asking nicely."

Subaru: "Hah… actually, the first thing I did pertaining to knights was trash them all… publicly, at a big event, with all of them present. Then there was a duel and one of them, who I already wasn't happy with, kicked my ass."

Homura: "Wow. But you still became a knight?"

Subaru: "Yeah, I made a bet with Emilia's sponsor, Roswaal. He is the most scheming, conniving clown there ever was. Oh, he was a Lord too."

Homura: "You won the bet then?"

Subaru: "Yeah, I won. Could've lost big, but my friends got me to pull my shit together and I won. Fought a great beast there too. There's three of them, and I had already beaten one. But that's enough about me, I wanna hear what your deal is."

Homura: "I want to protect Madoka Kaname. Specifically, I want to keep her from making a contract with the Incubator."

Subaru: "The Incubator has to be Kyubey, right?"

Homura: "Yes. He has the goal of turning magical girls into witches in order to "Prevent entropy", so he says."

Subaru: "I figured that was how that worked. Witches are magical girls, huh?"

Homura: "Yes. And I don't want Madoka to go through something like that."

Subaru: "Are you sure you aren't just trying to make sure the most powerful magical girl doesn't just overshadow you? That's what Mami said anyway."

Homura: "It has nothing to do with power, I just want to keep Madoka safe for the foreseeable future."

Subaru: "And what are you keeping her safe from? I know you said Kyubey, but he isn't going to harm her as such. What would harm her?"

Homura: "There is a very, extremely powerful witch coming soon, and it is powerful enough that it can come out of its labyrinth, and destroy Mitakihara itself."

Subaru: "Woah… that's crazy… how are people going to react when they see something like that?"

Homura: "To people that aren't in the magical girl world, it will be a natural disaster. A tornado, or a typhoon."

Subaru: "I see, well, my specialty is punching way above my weight, so I'd love to help you!"

Homura: "Thank you. I look forward to working with you."

Homura finally decided to end the conversation, and showed him where he would be sleeping. It was getting late, so Subaru went to bed right then.

In the morning, Homura was getting ready for school when Subaru got up.

Subaru: "Hey, how do you even pay for a place like this. Do your parents pay or something?"

The thought had crossed his mind that this place was extravagant, and probably beyond a middle schooler's means.

Homura: "I'm an orphan. I have my ways, so don't worry about the money. You don't need to pitch in any money either, just prepare yourself for the coming few weeks."

Subaru: "Uh, yeah…"

Subaru was thinking about how he should do that, when he told Homura:

Subaru: "I'm gonna go over to Mami's to watch Nagisa while she's away. I doubt Mami is already sending her back to school."

Homura: "Alright, but don't forget to prepare yourself."

Subaru: "I'm as ready as I'll ever be!"

Subaru walked out of the building and to the middle school, hoping to see Mami there and talk with her. He was walking towards the school, when he saw Madoka and Sayaka, but no Mami.

Subaru: "Hey, what's going on guys? Where's Mami?"

Madoka: "Oh, hi Subaru. I haven't seen Mami today."

Sayaka: "Nope, haven't seen her. I might go see her after I go see Kyousuke."

Madoka: "I'll go with you. I hope she's okay."

Subaru: "I think she's fine, though if that's what's happening, she might be out of school for a few days."

Madoka: "Really? Is there something wrong, are you sure Mami's okay?"

Subaru: "Yeah, I just saw her last night. She got a bit of a surprise though. I think I'll let you guys figure it out when you come over. I'm gonna go there now since I don't have school."

Sayaka: "Lucky! You look like you should be in high school though."

Sayaka brought back bad memories within Subaru. His high school days were not the most glamorous.

Subaru: "Let's just say I'm glad to be out of there. I'm gonna go over and see Mami, I'll see you guys later."

Madoka/Sayaka: "Goodbye!"

?: "Who was that?"

Sayaka: "Oh, no need to worry about him, Hitomi. He's a new friend of ours."

Hitomi: "He looks like a delinquent, why are you hanging out with him?"

Madoka: "Hey, don't judge a person by their eyes alone! They are pretty scary though. But he saved us when we were in a tight spot, so he's a good person."

Hitomi paused as she wondered what kind of tight spot they could be in at all.

Subaru made his way to Mami's house, still getting the stares because he was dressed like a cosplayer.

[I seriously need to get a tracksuit since I'm back in Japan.]

As he neared, he thought he would see if she was in fact home before knocking on the door.

Subaru: [Mami, are you home?]

Mami: [Yes, I am. I decided I should watch over the little one until she improves enough.]

Subaru: [Alright, well, I'm almost at your door, do you think you could let me in?]

Mami: [Of course, just one moment please.]

Subaru walked to the door and it was already opening with Mami a little bit more bedraggled than usual.

Subaru: "Is Nagisa here then?"

Mami: "Yes, she's just in the living room, eating breakfast. Would you like some too?"

Subaru: "Actually, I would appreciate it, I didn't eat anything at Homura's. I don't think she cooked anything today."

Mami: "The way she is, she is probably an underwhelming host."

Subaru: "She has her reasons. Anyway, I'd like to see how the kid's doing."

Mami: "I'll fix you a plate while you do that."

Subaru: "Thank you, Mami."

Subaru found Nagisa at the table eating her breakfast of pancakes. They were done like a fancy restaurant, with whipped cream and strawberry.

Subaru: "Hey Nagisa, how is it here?"

Nagisa: "It's fine. There's not enough cheese though. I need cheese at least once a day, or I'll die."

Subaru: "Woah, really? Well, I'm the same with Mayonnaise, so I totally understand."

Nagisa: "I can't stand the stuff! It's gross if you ask me."

Subaru: "How could you! You… cheese gremlin!"

Nagisa: "If I'm a cheese gremlin, you're a mayo monster!"

Subaru: "I take pride in being a mayo monster!"

Mami: "You guys look like you're having fun. Here's some pancakes, Subaru."

Subaru: "Thank you Mami. Hey, do you have any cloth around here, like for sewing?"

Mami: "Yes I do, why do you ask?"

Subaru: "I want to make something, do you think that would be alright?"

Mami: "Sure, just take what you need. What do you plan on making?"

Subaru: "Something for your little partner there."

Mami: "I didn't know you could sew. When did you learn that?"

Subaru: "Oh, it's just one of the many things I dabbled in when I was a shut-in."

Mami: "You seem a lot more… active than most shut-ins."

Subaru: "Well, I didn't have anything to do, so I learned things. I can play guitar too."

Mami: "Wow, you have a lot of different skills. I look forward to see what you make."

Nagisa: "Yeah, me too!"

Subaru got to work making his stuffed toy after he was finished eating. It took him most of the day, but he was able to finish it.

Nagisa: "It looks adorable!"

Mami: "It does. It almost looks like a familiar though. Did you see something that looked like that?

Subaru: "Ehm, kind of. I don't think you guys will have seen it though. Anyways, I hope you like it."

Nagisa: "What should we call it!"

Subaru: "It isn't based off an animal or anything in particular, so I don't know what you'd call it."

Mami: "How about bebe?"

Subaru: "Uh, sure, anything works."

Nagisa: "Yeah! That's a great name, thank you Mami for coming up with it."

Mami then grabbed it and looked at it, when it flew out of her hands.

Mami: "Ah!"

Subaru: "Woah, I didn't make it to do that!"

Nagisa: "It's walking around!"

It jumped into Nagisa's lap and sat on her shoulder.

Mami: "I'm sorry, I had to do that, it was too good not to do."

Subaru: "I see, yeah, that was a good one Mami!"

They both got a good chuckle out of it, but Nagisa was left clueless.

Nagisa: "Hey! What did you do Mami!"

Mami: "Nagisa, ribbons are my power, so I grabbed it with my ribbons and made it move around. It was just me. If you want me to do it again though, I can."

Nagisa: "Oh."

Subaru: "You remind me of another loli that looks cuter when she's pouting."

Then, there was a knock on the door.

Mami: "Coming!"

Mami: "Oh, it's good to see you all, come in."

Subaru saw Madoka, Sayaka, and even Homura file through the door.

Subaru: "Wow, the neighbors will think she's having a party if anyone else shows up!"

Madoka: "I'm glad to see Mami is okay. Wha-"

Madoka saw the white haired little girl sitting on the couch with Subaru and her plush.

Sayaka: "What's your name, kid?"

Nagisa: "My name is Nagisa Momoe. I've been staying at Mami's since yesterday."

Homura: "She is going to stay with Mami for a while, until the situation is better."

Mami: "Yes. I'm glad to have her though, she's as sweet as could be."

Subaru: " I can confirm what she says. But don't say anything bad about cheese, or she may just go super saiyan on you."

Nagisa: "As is right!"

Mami: "Well, why don't you guys sit down too, I'll go make tea and cake."

Subaru: "I'll go help you."

Mami: "Thank you Subaru."

They all had a good time discussing whatever came up. Magical girl things, Madoka's brother, Subaru's eccentricities. A while into it though, Sayaka piped up:

Sayaka: "I should probably get going, I'd like to see kyousuke before the day is over."

Madoka: "I'll go too, I wouldn't want her to be walking alone."

Mami: "Alright, I hope you two have a good night."

Madoka: "We will, thank you!"

With that, they walked out the door. Subaru fidgeted a bit, as the atmosphere got slightly tense in the room. Nagisa, for her part, ate the cake in front of her like nothing was happening, ignoring the tense air.

Mami: "So, Subaru, you can't just be a really good crossdresser and good at sewing. Why don't you tell me a little more. I'm sure Homura's heard all about it."

Subaru: "Ah, yes, I did tell her, she seemed pretty eager to know my motives and what not."

Mami: "So, go on."

Subaru: "Okay, so-"

He gave the same spiel he had given Homura. Homura was there, and she nodded her head every so often to corroborate what he said.

Mami: "So, you were summoned to another world, met girls, and got powers? Are you a light novel protagonist?"

Subaru: "Yeah, maybe. It'd have to be one sadistic writer though."

Mami: "But you sure got a lot during your time there. It seems like a life anyone would want to live."

Subaru: "Listen, I went through hell to get what I got, alright! I made that happen with my own two hands, my own mind!

Mami: "And what powers did you have, you had to have had some, right?"

Subaru: "Yeah, I have a few. But they're nothing fantastic. They're downright evil, even."

Mami: "I'd like to hear it, in case we have to fight together."

Homura: "That's a good point, because we will end up fighting together, I'm sure of it."

Subaru: "Well, I did have magic from that world at one point, but I kind of blew it."

Mami: "How so? Did you lose your magic?"

Subaru: "Yeah. In that world, you used magic through an organ called a "gate". I had a gate that hadn't been used for 17 years of my life, so it blew open from the amount of magic that was in my od. That's like the container for it."

Mami: "So did you lose your magic in that explosion?"

Subaru: "No, I was able to use it a few more times. Eventually though, my gate broke permanently."

Homura: "And what kind of spells did you have?"

Subaru: "I used dark magic, thought there was more than that. My first and favorite was shamak. It is total sensory deprivation. You can move, but you don't know a thing about where you are, or your surroundings."

Homura: "That does seem very useful. What else?"

Subaru: "Well, that's all I used out of my own gate, but I got a contracted spirit, Beatrice, that I could use magic through again. With her, I used minya, which is like an arrow of magic. Murak, which makes things have no weight, completely turns off gravity. Then there was the opposite spell, which greatly increased it."

Homura: "But you can't use them now that you don't have your spirit?"

Subaru: "Yeah, I miss her a lot. She's still alive though, I can feel it."

Mami: "So are there any powers you have that are your own, or are you simply a normal human now?"

Homura: "No, he has other powers."

Subaru: "I got these from killing these people known as Sin Archbishops of the Witch Cult. They are evil incarnate, simply unacceptable to let live."

Homura: "So what's the first one?"

Subaru: "I call it invisible providence. It's an invisible hand that comes out of my chest and can reach a few meters. Mine can also go through objects, though I'm pretty sure the other users couldn't do that."

Homura: "Do you think you can demonstrate?"

Subaru: "I would really like not to, it makes me sick almost to the point of throwing up…"

Mami: "Please."

Subaru: "Okay. Nagisa, you may want to look away in case I throw up."

Subaru: "Invisible Providence."

Subaru felt his soul cringe at the feeling of using his power, but he brushed it aside for this. On the table, a cup of tea started levitating to the others' views, and made its way to Subaru's hands. He put it in his hands, and the invisible one disappeared, Subaru breathing a sigh of relief.

Homura: "Interesting. Now what else do you have?"

Subaru: "I have two other witch factors, though I've only gotten the authority for one. Cor Leonis is the authority. Lion's Heart. It lets me feel where my allies are, like I have a little light in my soul telling me where they are."

Homura: "That's useful if you're leading a battle. Though, magical girls can have a general sense of other magical girls."

Subaru: "Well, that's not all. What Cor Leonis also does is take burdens from other willing allies, and puts those burdens onto me. Pain, mental damage, injuries, all of it."

Mami: "Oh… I see. I can see why you described your powers as evil."

Subaru: "There's one more power, but I don't know what it is. I have one more beyond that, but I can't really speak on it."

Mami: "I think you all know what my powers are, so what about you, Homura?"

Homura said nothing, and transformed then and there. She reached her hand onto the underside of the shield, and pulled out a knife.

Mami: "So you can put things in your shield, hmm?"

Homura: "Yes. There may be a limit on how big things can go in there, or how much, but I have not found it yet."

Subaru: "So, what do you have in there?"

Homura: "Firearms and explosives. Anything else that may be of use too."

Subaru: "Man, I wish I had an inventory like that. I wouldn't be carrying my whip on my belt. But anyway, how do you get things like firearms and explosives to put in there?"

Homura: "I make or steal them."

Subaru: "Uh huh… and how do you do that without being put on a watchlist?"

Homura: "Hmmm… That part is going to have to stay a trade secret. I should get going now, I have something that needs my attention."

Subaru: "Do you want me to come with you?"

Homura: "That will not be necessary. You may do as you wish."

Subaru: "Well, I think Imma head back to her place too, I've been here long enough as is."

Mami: "Okay, have a good night you guys."

Subaru: "We will, see ya!"

They walked out the door, though both ended up going separate ways.

Subaru: [Hey, do you want me to make something for dinner?"

Homura: [I'll find something while I'm out.]

Subaru: [Okay, well, goodnight.]

Subaru went to Homura's, and went to bed, not wanting to pry into Homura's business too much.

Sayaka: "I had a change of heart, heh… Don't worry I'll be okay, I did pretty good on my first time out."

Sayaka waved her hand in dismissal at Madoka's worries.

Madoka: "yeah, but…"

They were cut off by footsteps, and non other than Homura Akemi.

Homura: "How could you."

Sayaka: "Hah, you're late, transfer student."