Puella Magi American Sensei

26

Friday, June 22.

It was late into the night when the city of Kamihama came into view. Yachiyo and I were the only ones in the Castle at the moment, and we stood on the edge of the barrier, looking down at the city below. From this high up, it was a sprawling collection of lights, filled with veins and arteries of the white and red lights of traffic moving through it.

"It looks so peaceful from up here," Yachiyo murmured.

"Is it really that bad, down there?"

"Mm." She pointed towards one part of the city in particular, and I watched lights dance across rooftops. "Open magical girl warfare in the streets. They're all fighting over territory—over witches and grief seeds. They don't know that they are becoming the witches they want to use to stay alive just another day."

"And you don't think it would be worth it to approach them?"

Yachiyo shook her head. "No. At least, not now. You can't trust any of them, save for the Puella Care. The only ones I trusted are dead."

Humming quietly, I asked, "How did Homura and the others find you? Why you, specifically? Out of all the potential enemy magical girls, why was it you?"

Sighing, the bluenette turned a small smile on me as she leaned against the railing, the wind making her long hair dance and ruffling her thin dress. It was cold up here and it showed, as she was obviously poking through her dress, but Yachiyo didn't seem to care. "Because I've been watching the most likely points for girls coming from the east, in order to intercept them before they truly get into the city." She pointed down below us, drawing out a line between three large highways and the main rail line into the city. "That's my patrol route. It's easy to find other magical girls, when you know how. You can feel out their magic. Also… they have patterns."

"High places and straight line travel," I summarized, and she grinned and nodded.

"They're particularly vulnerable to attacks from below coming from the sides, or above. Because they try to travel on the highest buildings, they don't expect someone to come at them from above. And because they're that high, if they miss an ambush on the first pass, they tend to believe whatever area they've just passed is safe." She hummed, before quietly adding, "The only ones I've seen who weren't fooled were this group. Well, some more so than others."

"The girls have been working hard."

Turning back to look out over the city, she murmured, "A month…"

"Haven't decided whether you want to give up on it or try again?"

She sighed. "I think I'll cut my losses. Collect the few I want to save, bring them to you, and have them join. Then abandon Kamihama, until after the loop ends. When we can come back in force with enough magical girls to force the others to come to a peaceful agreement. The problem is that, once they know about you, many of them will likely want to attempt to take you for themselves instead of accepting the offer to join forces."

I laughed quietly. "That's going to go over poorly for them." I opened my mouth to say more, but something cut me off. A feeling running up my back. The hairs on the backs of my arms and neck briefly standing up. I turned and Yachiyo frowned, doing the same. A moment later, light flared as the Castle apparently teleported the girls in. But my eyes were already focused right on the spot where Homura was standing as she appeared.

"That's new," I murmured as Homura, Tsubaki, Mami, Kyoko, and Kazumi approached, mostly wearing happy expressions. Save for Homura, who saw my confusion and raised an eyebrow in silent question. I brushed it off for now and asked, "How'd it go, girls?"

"Just as planned," Tsubaki beamed, and I turned a knowing look on her, silently mouthing 'nerd' and earning a poked out tongue in answer.

Meeting Homura's eyes, I held out my hand. She produced her gem and handed it over. It tingled in my hand more than usual. Seeing it wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be, I handed it back and inspected the others. None of them were more than half down, so we could wait for a few on a full recharge.

"So, what happened? Why'd we get blasted?"

"Kyubey laid a trap!" Kazumi gushed, latching onto my arm and starting to pull. I allowed myself to be dragged into the castle as the others followed, filling me in on their parts. But given what I had seen… I suspected I knew what happened.

"They don't usually go hard like this. It's not their thing," Kyoko frowned. "So what changed? Is Madoka that valuable?"

""Yes,"" Homura and I answered at the same time. I continued, "But I think this one's directly our fault. The heist? They couldn't hide it. Too many people. Too many cameras. It's on the internet and news now. International news. It's gone global. So, with magical girls and magic now public, I think it may be less averse to holding back. Especially if it can blame any damage on magical girls, if one asks. Or, if it actually tells the truth, it could truthfully say that it was trying to aid in the capture of criminal rogue magical girls. There are lots of ways it can twist things around to its benefit. It could even just theoretically come right out and admit everything to the world right now. Claim to be a benevolent alien race here to help humans fight the eldritch abominations that are witches."

"So, we're fucked," Kyoko grunted.

"It does seem like the loop is a loss," Tsubaki murmured. "At least, the rest of it, anyway. Homura, could you go back to day one now?"

"Yes."

"Alright," the (physically) oldest magical girl nodded. "Then… we'll take care of this business in Kamihama. Pick up the others. Then put it to a vote."

"Really wanted to see Walpurgis," I sighed, "But the risk now with the rat acting openly is too high."

"We could still spend a few days gathering other magical girls, sensei," Mami suggested, and I looked to the others to see how they felt about it. Homura shook her head, along with Kyoko. Kazumi nodded. Tsubaki winced and shook her head, while Yachiyo shrugged.

"I'd say no," I decided. "We'll talk to these 'Puella Care' girls and see how they feel about it, then gather everyone up and put it to a vote. Personally though, yeah, I'd say call it a wash and start over. We should do a review before we do, so we know where we stand and where we're picking up on the next loop. Day one plans and so forth."

"Yeah, yeah. More planning and crap." Turning to Homura, Kyoko gestured towards me. "Come on, let's see it already. We risked all our asses for this, so bring her out."

Homura frowned, but nodded. Space warped around us and we were suddenly shifted to somewhere I hadn't been before. The room was open and full of beds and little pedestals beside them. "Homura?"

"Med-bay," she explained. "Emergency storage for soulgems. It uses the same spells the Pleiades used to put them to sleep, so they don't continue to accumulate grief."

"Oh, that's good," I murmured, as she reached under her shield and pulled out a pink soulgem filling with black. She placed it on a pedestal and a small magic circle flared over it. Immediately, the gem stopped accumulating grief. Reaching out, I laid my hand on it—only for a spark to jump straight to my hand before I even touched it. Homura conjured a chair and I sat down. "This could take a while, girls. Why don't you go get some sleep? I'll let you know when it's done and we're ready to wake her up."

The others departed, though Homura took a seat on my lap and made herself comfortable, before dropping her transformation. Humming quietly as I petted the girl in my arms, I said, "You should redesign the place. Connect the pedestals to the beds. Or a central one like the Pleiades had, and have it all connected with Mami's power so I can just sit here and touch one thing and get them all. Or, you know, sleep. Also, tie it into the rest of the Castle, so I'm passively draining them as long as I'm inside and don't actually have to hold them."

Homura hummed, and a moment later, the room shifted around us—restructuring to have beds lining the walls, a central 'fountain' style pedestal for storing soulgems, and a curtained off bed in the back. She got up and pulled me up to my feet. Looking down at the gem in my hand, I found it was still stable for now.

We made our way to the bed in the back and Homura closed the curtains, before we got undressed and climbed into bed. Homura handed me her gem before tucking herself into my chest, making me spoon her as she looked down at the gems held in my hand. Her fingers trailed over the pink one and I felt her sigh. Pulling her hair away from her neck, I leaned in and kissed her. "It's fine. Trust me."

Homura sighed, then nodded once. "I still feel like I failed."

"I know. She begged you not to let her wish. But ask yourself this. If she knew then what she knows now, would Madoka have made the same request?"

"Nn."

I squeezed her tighter in my arms. "Situations change. I know you don't like it, because you've been living so long where nothing changed that didn't change in response to your own actions—and then later, to mine. But adapting to changing situations is part of growing up. And outside of Tsubaki and now Yachiyo, you're the one with the most experience. The most time lived. I need you to grow, to mature—not stay stuck as you are."

Homura turned around in my arms, her legs twining with mine as her purple eyes stared up into my green. Her hand came up and stroked my face, scratching through my beard. "You need me to mature." When I said nothing, she nodded. "That's it, then."

"Half of it," I admitted. "The other half relies on Madoka. And she has to do her half first. That is, if you want to break out of the loop and destroy the Incubators' system. I think we're already on the right path, if she made the wish she told us about."

"She did."

"Then yeah. We're on the right track. Folding 'creating magical girls' and 'releasing magical girls from bad wishes' into her domain would go a long way towards helping."

Homura raised an eyebrow. "Her 'domain?'"

I shook my head. "I won't lie to you, Homura. But don't ask me to explain."

The girl let out a frustrated sigh and buried her face in my chest. "Can we win without the 'perfect wish?'"

"Maybe."

"Nng," she grunted. "But making more wishes and growing her power that way will help?"

"Also maybe. Not sure," I admitted. "I mean, if we're doing it right, we're going to be doubling her already ridiculous power with each new loop. We need to see what different wishes do when you merge soulgems—if one power overwrites the other, if they merge and she gets both, or what. We're going to be storing everyone's gems and bodies though, so they have spares and can get the power boost. Sayaka is going to be the real test. We just have to have her wish for something else this next loop."

"Alright," Homura nodded. Pulling back, she studied my face for a few moments. Finally, she asked, "What changed?"

"Hm?"

"When we came back."

"Oh, that," I murmured. "I'm not entirely sure, but… hang on."

Closing my eyes, I reached for that feeling again. And found it, immediately, right in my arms. I could feel Homura's presence—both her body and her gem. But more than that, I could feel what must be Madoka's presence, in my hand. Beyond her, I felt… five other magical girls very nearby—or at least, what felt like nearby. With a bit of thought towards them, I realized I could even determine which was which. Below, I felt… so many more, moving about the city.

But not only could I feel the girls themselves, it felt like I could determine their rough level of 'corruption' and their emotional state. All of my girls in the castle, aside from Homura and Madoka, were back down to normal. Homura's state was complex, but that was about what I expected. Tsubaki was sleeping peacefully, with Kazumi apparently. Yachiyo was sleeping more fitfully, in her own room. Mami and Kyoko were both… horny as fuck and apparently going at it. And below us, a veritable miasma of malaise drifted up from the city.

"I can feel magical girls now."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Not sure what changed, or when. I know I only really noticed it when you came back."

"Useful," Homura murmured. "We should experiment more."

"Later," I agreed. "For now, sleep time."

Homura shook her head. "No."

"No?" She leaned in and her lips found mine. I grinned. "Ooh, you want attention."

"Yes. I want your attention. I was… afraid. I felt powerless. I would like some… reassurance."

I pulled her tighter against me, reaching down and cupping her muscular little ass. Leaning down, I kissed her forehead. "You did good today, Homura. I'm proud of you. Now, let's make that soulgem shine, hm?"

"Yes~," she sighed out, her lips again seeking mine.

When morning rolled around, we got up and got ready for the day. After checking on Madoka's soulgem and finding it completely clean, we met the others in the dining room and took a moment to bring Madoka's body out of Homura's storage. Dishes were set into place and places set while we propped Madoka's body up between myself and Homura and the others took their seats. Everyone seemed to be on the same page as we started talking about the plan for today before I slipped Madoka's gem into her hand.

We felt it when Madoka came to, suddenly sitting up in her seat. She blinked and looked around and I very carefully ignored her as I talked with Yachiyo about what we could expect from the Puella Care girls. After a moment of confusion, Madoka shook her head. "D-did it work?!"

"Hm? You say something?" Homura asked, looking over at her and raising an eyebrow. "Did you fall asleep at your seat?"

"Ueh?!" Madoka looked confused. "Homura-chan, what?"

"Must have," I agreed, before reaching out and picking a piece of rice off of the corner of her mouth that we'd put there just for evidence. "Maybe next time don't stay up so late."

"Wha—?! Sensei, don't you remember?"

"Remember what, Madoka-chan?" Tsubaki asked, a smile on her face as she sipped her coffee.

"I, I made a wish to become a magical girl!"

"Pretty sure we'd know if you did. Musta been some dream," Kyoko hummed.

Mami leaned over the table, reaching out and placing the back of her hand on Madoka's forehead. "Hm. You are a little warm…"

Madoka looked completely confused. Looking down, she gestured at herself. "Wha? No~! I'm wearing a magical girl outfit!"

"Do you like it? I made it myself," Mami beamed a smile at the pinkette.

"What? But, that, I—" Surprisingly, it was Homura who lost it first, with a quiet snort of laughter. Madoka's head slowly turned and she eyed Homura… who giggled. That set off the rest of us and Madoka blushed, making a cute angry face as she pouted. "Mou~! That was mean~!"

"I think you mean 'hilarious,'" I countered, reaching out and laying my hand on her bare thigh.

"Eep!" Madoka yelped, shivering from head to toe. If she were an anime character, this is the point where her hair would be standing out.

The other girls shared knowing looks, along with a few not-so-innocent giggles. Feeling like teasing her a bit, I asked, "Is there a problem, Madoka?"

"N-no," she answered quietly. Reaching down, I took her soulgem from her hand. Her eyes went wide as I held it up… then slowly ran a finger down its length, from top to bottom. "Ahn~!"

"So cute~!" Mami laughed, hopping over the table and pulling Madoka into a hug.

Homura eyed the blonde with annoyance for just a moment before returning to her breakfast. Kyoko, meanwhile, leered. "Wow. That was a good noise. I think she liked it, sensei. See if you can get another!"

"N-no~!" Madoka wailed, before summoning her soulgem back onto her finger as a ring, then cupping it protectively to her chest. I sent her a raised eyebrow and she quietly amended, "Not, not at the breakfast table~!"

"So anywhere other than the breakfast table is fine?" Tsubaki asked, grinning behind her coffee mug.

Kazumi gasped. "How lewd~!"

Seeing Madoka's blush had spread up to her ears, I gently stroked her thigh. "It's alright. We're just teasing. How do you feel?"

Madoka cleared her throat. Still blushing, she answered, "I feel… good. Great, even! Like I don't weigh anything at all and I can do anything!"

"Yup. You get used to it," Kyoko nodded.

Turning to Homura, Madoka reached out and pulled the dark haired girl into a hug, to Homura's widening eyes. "Thank you, Homura-chan! I know this wasn't easy for you. But now, I can help out!"

Homura sighed and nodded once. After that, the girls got back on track, discussing what they would be doing that morning.

After we finished breakfast, Homura sent me to the Castle's control room. I held up a hand to stop her before she do anything more. "Let me try something…"

"Alright."

Reaching for that feeling, the one inside me that had been there since that first spark jumped from Homura's gem to my hand, I focused on making the Castle respond…

Oh, it responded alright. Holograms sprang into being with views from every one of my magical girls. The magical girl map came to life, showing two maps, one of Japan highlighting the locations of every one of of my girls, while the other showed the city below. An entire list of options popped up for things I could have it do, including movement controls so I could direct its position from here. About the only thing that was marked unavailable was chronoprohibiris, with a note beside it reading missing equipment.

I whistled while Homura let out a quiet, "Huh." She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "I can feel you touching it. It's… strange."

"I think you should be fine leaving me here alone," I said, before summoning up a clone of Homura, who simply nodded to herself. "Yeah, I think I've got this."

Homura considered for a moment before nodding. "We'll be back."

Space warped and she was gone, placing herself back with the others so they could teleport. "Now, how do I make myself a seat?"

"Let me show you," the clone of Homura smiled, walking over and digging through the menus, showing me how to manipulate item creation and placement.

"Nice. Thanks," I sent her a smile, before reaching out and cupping her ass, pulling her against my side as I sat down and brought the panes showing the view from the girls going down to Kamihama front and center. The control interface was an odd mix of mental and physical gestures, but I was getting the hang of it. The clone shifted and leaned against my side, sitting quietly.

I watched through the girls' eyes as they teleported down into the city. Following Yachiyo's directions to look for a camper trailer, Homura used the Kazumis' magic keyed to the Castle to teleport them only a block away and roof hopped the rest of the way. There, they found four girls sitting around outside. Two sat at a table, working on laptops. A third sat in a lounge chair, sipping at a glass of iced tea and reading a book. The last lay on a second lounge chair, seemingly napping.

At the table were a (short) brown haired girl wearing a dark jacket and pants and a (long) silver haired girl wearing blue and white. The one laying face down on the lounger had short and fluffy pink hair and wore a black and red cape. The last was a deeply tan woman, with long purple hair and matching eyes, wearing a white and purple outfit and a pair of glasses. They all had a sort of theme going, really—that is, they looked sort of like a group of stage magicians.

All four of them looked up as my seven magical girls, counting Yachiyo, dropped down to the ground in the small parking lot only a short distance away from them. The one with the purple hair put her glass and book down and stood up, revealing a sexy, adult form on par with Tsubaki (though Tsubaki had her beat in the chest department). "Ara~. What have we here? Yachiyo-chan, what'd you bring me?"

"Some new friends," Yachiyo began, apparently about to make introductions.

All of my girls, save for Homura, were focused on the woman and the other magical girls behind her as she stepped smoothly between the two groups. Homura, on the other hand, was engaged in Madoka-watching. In this case, it turned out to be a good thing.

"Oh no~. No, no, no, no, no!" Madoka whispered as she looked over the four girls, her pink eyes going wide as she shook her head. She shot forward, past Yachiyo, and moved up to clasp the dark skinned woman's hand. "You can't! You just can't!"

That caused a mutual rustling between both groups as magical girls tensed. The Puella Care girls, aside from the one speaking for them, summoned their weapons but none of them made any sudden movements. My own girls had yet to summon or draw their own weapons.

"Hm? Oh my. Can't what, dear?"

"That's a horrible wish! How can you live like that?!" Madoka cried, her pane going blurry with tears.

Yachiyo sighed. "I apologize, Livia-san. She's… very new."

"It's fine, it's fine," Livia waved Yachiyo's apology off.

Yachiyo nodded. "Livia Medeiros, these are… friends, from Mitakihara, Hohzuki, Asunaro. Tomoe Mami, Kyoko Sakura, Mikoto Tsubaki, Subaru Kazumi, Akemi Homura, and Kaname Madoka. Everyone, these are Puella Care. The neutral faction of Kamihama. Livia Medeiros," the sexy tanned woman, "Yozuru Sasame," the brunette, "Sudachi Sawa," the pinkette, "and Mitama Yakumo."

"Tomoe Mami? Sakura Kyoko? I've heard of them," the dusky woman smiled. "To think, we'd get celebrities here."

"Haha~! We're really not," Mami beamed, bowing at the waist.

"What she said," Kyoko nodded.

Turning back to the girls behind her, Livia said, "It's alright, girls! You don't need to worry." With introductions out of the way, Livia shifted her attention to Madoka. "What did you mean, dear?"

"Your wish! You, you can't just—!"

"Shh, shh," Livia shushed her. "What do you know about my wish?"

Madoka bit her lip. She hesitated, before murmuring, "You wished to become evil itself. Why would you do that?"

I picked up my phone and speed dialed Homura, who was already reaching for her shield. All eyes fell to the girl with her hand behind her shield as her phone rang, suddenly looking very much like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Frowning, Homura pulled out her phone and checked the caller ID. She answered a moment later, turning slightly away from the others not not letting them out of her line of sight. "Yes?"

"Hold off on making any rash decisions."

"I don't know what you mean."

"You were going for a gun," I accused, and she turned to Kyoko, who was focused fully on her, and glared—in effect glaring at me through Kyoko. "Just stand there and look sexy, while you let Madoka, Mami, and Tsubaki talk to them."

That mollified her only somewhat as she perked up and preened just a bit. "Fine."

"And keep me on the line."

"Mm."

"Hoh?" Livia murmured, from where she stood. "That doesn't sound like a girl…"

Tsubaki grinned at that. "That's because it wasn't."

"Mm. I see…" Livia nodded. She looked down at Madoka with curiosity. "What wish did you make, that you can tell what wishes others make?"

"I—"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Kyoko cut her off. "No."

"But—!"

"No," Kyoko repeated. "Sensei wouldn't have called for no reason. Considering he told Homu to stand down, I wanna hear what it is."

Mami sighed, moving up and laying her hands on Madoka's shoulders, before pulling her back a bit. "Let's all sit down and talk about it. Kyoko-chan could have worded things better, but she's right. Homura, please put sensei on speaker." With that, Mami used her ribbons to produce some particularly fluffy couches for my megucas to sit down on, along with a table. Seeing that, Livia grabbed a nearby chair of her own and pulled it over before sitting down.

Homura shrugged and tapped at her phone, before sitting it on top of the table. "You're on."

I sighed. "Is it really so hard to stick to a plan?"

"Yep," Kyoko popped the 'p.'

"Yes," Tsubaki giggled.

"Sorry, sensei~," Mami apologized, giggling herself.

"Right," I palmed my face. "Alright. My name is John White. I, along with Tsubaki, teach at Mitakihara Junior High. Well, taught. Haven't been doing much of that lately," I mused, before shaking my head. "So, here's the deal. I have the largest single collection of magical girls in Japan working with me. Over thirty, at the moment."

"That's… impossible," Livia shook her head. "The territory requirements alone—"

"We don't fight over territory or grief seeds," I denied. "But it might actually be better coming from someone you're acquainted with. Yachiyo, why don't you tell her what I can do?"

Yachiyo sat up a little straighter. "Sensei can recharge magical girls—like a grief seed, but faster. Better. With no limit."

That caught the attention of the other three girls listening in, who moved over and either stood or sat behind Livia. "Impossible," the one with the silver hair, Yakumo, denied.

"It's true. He did it for me himself," Yachiyo countered, before holding her soulgem up for them to see—followed by the rest of my magical girls. All eyes moved to Homura's and Kazumi's gems, glowing brightly from within, the moment they pulled them out. Though, in Kazumi's case, she only pulled out one of the two available to her.

Kyoko scoffed. "Tch. Sensei—"

Tsubaki laid a hand on the redhead's own. "Later, Kyoko-chan."

"Fine," the redhead grumbled.

"This…" Livia looked torn. "You're sure?"

"Yes," Yachiyo confirmed.

"But this would mean…" the woman muttered, shaking her head. "Have you told Kyubey?"

"The rat wants me dead. Its system of turning magical girls into witches works too well for it to want a spanner in the works."

"I see…"

A small, mischievous smile pulled at her lips. "That's not all. Sensei can return grief seeds to soul gems. Tsubaki is one such girl, saved from the fate of having become a witch. Homura's wish allows her to relive the last month over in a loop. Kazumi is actually a series of thirteen clones, one of whom wished to be able to allow others to join Homura in her time loops. Madoka wished for the ability to grant wishes and create magical girls, and unmake wishes and turn magical girls back into normal girls."

The four girls across the table sat there open-mouthed for a moment. I groaned. Tsubaki hid a smile behind her hand, but couldn't muffle her giggle.

Kyoko sighed. "You're not supposed to try to break them all in one go. …Even if it is fun to watch."

And then, the questions started, as seemingly every Puella Care girl there began talking at the same time.

"You can undo my wish?!"

"Wait, he can revive magical girls?"

"Time travel? Can you go further than a month?"

"If you can undo wishes and make magical girls, does that mean we can get a do-over?"

Oh, this is going to take a while, I mused. …Still, not every day they get to show off. Let them enjoy it.

"Girls?" I asked, trying to get their attention. "How about we take this conversation away from prying ears? Why don't you invite them up to the Castle?"

""Castle?"" the Puella Care girls echoed.

"It's basically Laputa!" Madoka gushed.

"Sensei!" Kazumi grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the room with a big, goofy grin just as I was about to sit down to dinner with everyone—who were welcoming our guests with conversation and questions. The girls had all returned, with Kazumi collecting everyone and teleporting them back to the Castle.

"What's up, Kazumi?"

I allowed myself to be dragged into a side hall. Kazumi's smile fell immediately. "Homura, we need a time stop. Just the three of us."

My eyebrow crept towards my hairline as the Castle grayed out and space spit out Homura a moment later. "What's going on?"

Kazumi winced. "So, this is gonna sound bad, but… the lady in there wants to kill sensei. And you, Homura. Also she wants to arrange for the rest of us to become witches."

I blinked. Homura turned and started marching for the dining room, but I reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Alright. What do you mean? Your wish giving you info?"

"Mm!" Kazumi nodded. "She's working with Kyubey on the whole 'entropy' thing. She's part of the plan to draw magical girls into Kamihama in order to fight each other, become witches, and release enough energy that magical girls won't be needed anymore. At least, that's what she truly believes."

"That's… retarded. The amount of energy required to defeat entropy is—" I cut myself off as Homura turned a suddenly very interested look at me.

"I've seen it before," she murmured, and I nodded.

"A few hundred magical girls witching out aren't going to equal one Madoka." Sighing, I asked, "Think we can reason with her?"

Kazumi shook her head. "I'm not sure, sensei. I'm not getting the same bad feeling from the other three though."

"Alright. Exclude her from the loop. Homura, wait here and be ready to teleport her back to her trailer. And time stop if she looks like she's about to do anything."

"Mm."

Time returned to normal and Kazumi and I made our way back into the dining room, Kazumi holding onto my arm. Looking over the newcomers with a grin, I asked, "So, you girls decide whether you want to change your wishes?"

"Please," Sasame answered immediately.

"Yes please!" Sawa echoed.

A moment later, Yakumo nodded. "Me as well."

"Alright. Madoka, have at," I instructed the pinkette, who bounced up from her seat.

"Yes, sensei~!" the genki-girl beamed a smile. The three volunteers joined her a moment later and Madoka clasped hands with Sasame. A moment later, the brunette's transformation reverted and her soulgem, a blue four-pointed star at her throat, turned into light before being reabsorbed by her body. The girl immediately collapsed to her knees and began laughing and sobbing at the same time, to looks of confusion from the others. Mami reacted first and made her way over, pulling the brunette into a hug. Madoka looked like she wanted to join as well, but also wanted to fix what she knew to be bad wishes.

Livia sighed. "Sasame-chan's wish messed with her emotions. I imagine she's going to be like that for a while."

The other two hesitated, but after a moment, the other pinkette nodded and grasped Madoka's hands. "Do it." The orange teardrop on Sawa's forehead disappeared into her body as her magical girl outfit likewise reverted, leaving her in shorts and a tee-shirt. "That's it?"

"That's it," Madoka confirmed, before turning to the last girl. "Yakumo-chan?"

Yakumo nodded and took Madoka's hands. Another de-transformation took place and the girl sighed, as if a great weight was lifted from her shoulders. "Thank you. Can you send me back down now?"

"Ueh?" Madoka asked, confused.

Beside Yakumo, Sawa nodded. "Yeah… I think I'm done being a magical girl. No more for me, thanks."

"Right," Yakumo confirmed.

Yachiyo sighed. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure," Yakumo nodded. "I made a mistake when I wished. A horrible mistake. I don't want to make the same mistake again, or worse."

"Mm, mm!" Sawa nodded emphatically beside her. "Sasame-chan, what about you?"

The brunette in Mami's arms shook her head. "N-no," she denied. Pushing Mami away, she stood up and pulled Madoka into a hug that drew a squeeze from the pinkette. "Thank you! Thank you so, so much," she whispered, before pulling away. "I just want to go back now."

"Sensei?" Kazumi asked, and I nodded. A moment later, the three girls disappeared, sent back to where we'd picked them up from.

I turned to Livia and sent her a smile. "So, let's cut the bullshit." The woman raised an eyebrow, while my other megucas tensed. "Is there any way I can change your mind?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean—"

"You're working with Kyubey. You want to kill sensei and Homura, and have the rest of us turn into witches. Because you believe that Kyubey's plan is the only one that will work," Kazumi answered immediately.

"I don't—" Livia froze as she found weapons pointed at her from everyone at the table.

"Fantasma Bisbiglio," Satomi didn't even hesitate.

Livia froze in her seat and Suzune reappeared behind her, along with Umika. Holding out X-File, Umika scanned the woman and frowned. "Yeah. Kazumi's right. What should we do, sensei?"

"I hate having to do it, but change her memories of this and send her back down. She wanted to take some time to think about it and secretly contact Kyubey and find out what the rat thinks," I suggested.

We moved back to our places and a moment later, Livia blinked. I sent her a smile. "Well, if you need time to think about it, that's understandable. We'll be back by tomorrow to check and see if you've made your decision."

"Thank you," Livia smiled politely, and a moment later, she was gone.

Homura reappeared in her seat and Kazumi and I retook our own seats. I found Satomi looking at me and sent her a smile. "Thank you, Satomi."

The brown haired girl smiled. "You're welcome, sensei. I won't let anything threaten what we have together. What you've given us."

"Alright, girls!" Tsubaki clapped her hands. "Tonight's the night. We're going back. Eat up and let's talk about what we're going to do, first thing!"

"But first," I interrupted, "Where we could do better. Where we messed up. I'll start that one off myself. Antagonizing Kyubey. That one's my fault. Good news is that we know some of the tricks in the little shit's bag now, but let's avoid a repeat of that."

Yachiyo actually went next. "Some magical girls don't want to fight and just want out. And some will stab us in the back if we aren't careful. I wanted to see the looks on their faces, but—"

"That isn't your fault, Yachiyo-chan," Tsubaki shook her head.

"It wasn't!" Kazumi nodded. "She planned to betray us the moment she really began to believe it was true. She was always working with Kyubey. You couldn't have known."

"Moving too blatantly in the open will make the rat stop bothering to hide magical girls," Homura added. Then, she smiled. "Which just means we'll have to be more careful on the next heist."

"No more flying bank vaults through the city," Kyoko chuckled.

"No making stupid wishes," Sayaka grunted. "My next wish, I'm gonna be super selfish."

"Well, at least I won't be repeating my fuckup," Airi muttered, shaking her head. Her demeanor changed a moment later and Yuuri added, "By which she means she'll be making new ones."

"Watch my back," Asako muttered. "And watch out for my friends." She turned to Homura. "We'll try to get to you as soon as possible. Where should we meet?"

"The school," Homura supplied.

I sat back and listened as the girls devolved into planning. Until eventually, everything that needed to be said had been said and we moved into the living room with dessert. Once that was finished, they stopped putting it off. The girls exchanged hugs and took their places in the couches around the coffee table.

"So…" Arisa began, looking nervous.

Kyoko snorted. Standing up, she moved over and grabbed my shirt. Mashing her lips to mine, her tongue invaded my mouth and the redhead grinned as she pulled away. "Delicious~," she leered, before tossing her soulgem to Homura and plopping back into her seat. "Alright. Do it."

Homura nodded and slipped the gem behind her shield. That was all the others needed as the girls began handing Homura their gems, some of them doing just as Kyoko had and stealing a quick kiss, before Homura stored them away.

Finally, it was down to myself, Homura, and Kazumi XI.

"You're staying out?" I asked the shield-bearing Kazumi.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Not sure my wish will work if I'm not. Also not sure how this is going to go, so…" She skipped over and stole a quick kiss as Homura began collecting bodies.

"Alright," Homura said a moment later as she stored the last body. "Let's go down."

There was a brief flash and we found ourselves standing in a park. Above us, a bright light flashed in the sky before falling straight down, to hand in Homura's hand. Tucking the Castle behind her shield, she sighed. Kazumi rolled her eyes, grabbed Homura's shoulder, and pushed her towards me. I caught the girl in my arms and pulled her into a hug.

"…I don't want to leave you behind again."

"Hey, at least I survived to the end of a loop this time," I chuckled. "And with any luck, I'll be waking up in the same place as usual with all my memories. And if not, well… I know you'll look after me."

"Nn," she shook her head. "We'll look after each other."

Tilting her head up, I kissed her lips. Homura sighed and melted against me, making a displeased noise in her throat. Breaking the kiss, I turned her around and gave her a pat on the ass, sending her towards Kazumi. "Go on. Before you change your mind. There's no point to staying behind now."

Homura nodded. Kazumi grinned, latching onto her arm. "Don't worry, sensei! We'll see you soon~!"

Homura met my eyes and, with a determined look, grabbed her shield and turned it all the way back. "Goodbye."

She disappeared. Kazumi waved and, a moment later, her shield clicked and she disappeared as well.

I waited.

Nothing happened.

"Well. Shit."

Looking around, I found a park bench and sat down. "Now what?"

I've got some money. Still got the apartment in Mitakihara. I can take the train and make my way back, assuming Kyubey doesn't nab me in the next five minutes. Then—

"Ufufufu~" I looked up to the sound of clapping. Heels clacked on the concrete walking path in front of me and I found myself looking into familiar purple eyes. She stood in front of me, arms crossed under her breasts, emphasizing their size and her more mature form. Black dress showing off her belly, cleavage, hips, and thighs. Familiar purple diamond-patterned stockings and heels. Raven wing hair long and loose, decorated with a red bow. And a purple gem dangling from her ear, glinting under her hair.

"Fuckin' called it."

"Mm. So you did~. Congratulations, sensei." She straddled my lap, resting her hands on either side of my shoulders. "This is the point where I pay you back for all the times you frustrated me."

"Yeah? How're you gonna do that? You're not too big for me to take over my knee, you know."

Her forehead pressed into mine, her lips and nose brushing my own intermittently. A pink tongue flashed out and teased at my lips and her grin spread. "Simple, really. Aren't you curious how I'm here?" she asked, before leaning in, pressing her breasts against my chest, as her lips brushed my ear.

Reaching down, I slid my hands under her skirt and cupped those firm, round cheeks. Bare cheeks, I found, drawing a pleased hum from the living goddess in my arms. "Absolutely. But I think I know how you're doing it. It's some deity-level, effect thus cause, outside time and dimension bullshit."

Homura breathed out a sigh, before nipping at my ear. "Typical." I laughed and she made a frustrated noise. "Even now, when I have the upper hand in every way and you're still just a mortal, you continue to tease me."

"And you wouldn't have it any other way, or you'd get bored," I countered with a grin, stroking her bare back and making her shiver against me. "Madoka didn't come with you?"

I could feel the eye-roll now. "Nnf. How is one man so frustrating?!"

"Oh, you think this is bad? Just wait. You're stuck with me." I smacked her ass and she ground herself in my lap reflexively.

"Nn, fine," she grumbled. "Hurry up and get on my level."

I felt something tug at me and Homura sighed. "Time's up, it seems." She pulled back enough to kiss me, her mouth opening and our tongues exploring each other's mouths. She tasted literally divine. Pulling away, she smiled as she stood and pulled me to my feet. "See you soon."

And then, the world went black.

The American sensei will return…

in Season Two.