Madoka opened the door to her room. She was wearing her light pink pajamas, her hair untied and a smile on her face as she merrily skipped over to her bed. She almost threw herself into it before taking her phone from the bedside table and unlocking it. She looked at the phone for a few seconds, typed something and waited before sending it.

A small blush appeared on her cheeks, the girl trying to take deep breaths to calm herself before sending the message. The girl closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again and pressing send.

The devil's phone buzzed inside her pocket, making her look away from the sight of Madoka's room on her dark orb.

"Homura-chan, are you awake?" the text said.

"Yes, what is it Madoka?"

"We are going to have a tea party with Sayaka-chan and Kyouko-chan on a new friend's house this Wednesday, do you want to come?"

A small pause happened, Homura not replying yet as she could see Madoka still typing.

"I would like you to come (≧◡≦)"

A small happy smile appeared on the devil's face, who quickly replied.

"I appreciate the invitation, Madoka. Sadly, I have things to do. I hope you can understand"

Inside the dark orb Homura could see Madoka moving around her bed before sitting up, her smile smaller than it was. The 'typing…' message didn't leave Homura's screen, Madoka was typing and deleting what she had written constantly. A few seconds later Madoka sent a message and sighed.

"I understand. Sorry for bothering you (｡•́︿•̀｡)"

"You didn't bother me at all, Madoka." Quickly replied Homura.

"(＠＾◡＾)"

A few seconds later another message from Madoka came.

"By the way Homura-chan. Are you okay for tomorrow's test?"

"I'm kind of scared of the harder math problems (×﹏×)" Madoka quickly added.

"A bit. But I feel like after last Saturday's study session I should be okay" replied Homura.

"I'm glad ( ´ ω ` )"

Madoka typed something, but didn't send it. Homura looked inside her dark orb, Madoka was holding her phone close to her blushed face. Did the girl have a fever?

After almost half a minute Madoka sent the message.

"Good night, Homura-chan"

Homura couldn't hold a smile from forming.

"Sleep well, Madoka."

And with that Madoka left her phone on top of the bedside table before going to sleep. Homura did a small wrist motion and the image of Madoka vanished from her dark orb.

She got up from the white chair that rested too close to the half hill's edge, turned around and started walking a bit towards the small flower park. It had been almost a week since the last time she actually checked on the grief levels of Hell, she should go there and see how it was going. The last thing she wanted was for there to be too much grief and wraiths, or worse, to appear around the world.

But going inside Hell would mean the Devil could try to interact with Homura, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. Homura really didn't know what the limit of that Devil was, nor how much power she had.

Maybe she could call Ibari or Warukuchi to come back from the dimension and tell her how things were going. But she feared that the two dolls would see this a sign of weakness, they had attacked her (even if just with tomatoes) when the Devil appeared in her dimension. And if what Reiketsu told her was true, which probably was as she wasn't one to lie, Ibari had told the other doll that Homura was weak. Something that she expected more from the slanderer that was Warukuchi.

Homura sighed before taking a deep breath and transforming into her devil's clothes. She stood for a few seconds looking at the white flowers that decorated the park. Homura closed her eyes and tried to steel her resolve, when she opened them back again her usual stoic look was on her face.

Her wings embraced her and in less than a second she was no longer in the park, but in the dimension filled with white sand and debris that she called Hell.

She walked towards the orb of grief that was floating in the center of the dimension, the small pond that was below it had grown in size since last week but it felt a bit smaller than during that Sunday morning.

Inside one of the buildings Homura could see her dolls burning a small pile of Incubators, probably the ones that had died from the amounts of grief they had to consume. The dolls noticed Homura and walked towards her.

"Ibari, what's the situation?" said Homura, her voice trying to imitate that of a leader.

"S̵i̵x̷ ̵in̷c̷u̴b̶a̴t̶ors̶ ̶h̴a̷v̵e d̶i̴e̴d̷ t̷h̶is̵ ̵w̴eek.̷ T̵h̷e̴r̷e̶ is̴ t̶oo̵ ̴mu̶c̵h̵ g̷ri̶ef̵ ̶fo̵r̷ ̵t̷h̶e̷m̷" said Ibari, her back completely straight.

"T̷h̷e̷ ̴u̷s̶e̷l̴e̷s̵s̴ ̴t̵h̶i̵n̵g̷s̴ c̷a̵n̵'̵t̴ ̵ev̵e̴n̵ ̶t̵ak̴e ̵t̵h̵is̶ l̵i̶t̷t̴le ̷grief̵" added Warukuchi with a laugh.

Six incubators dying was a problem. That was three times the amount that had died during the first month of this universe. Homura looked at the pond of grief (which resembled more of a small lake now) and focused on it.

After a few seconds two new Lotte emerged. Ibari looked at the new familiars, her smile turning into a 'frown' if that's what you could call that expression.

"L̴e̶t ̴u̶s̷ ̴c̶o̶n̶s̴u̵m̵e̷ ̷t̵h̵e̶ g̵r̵i̶e̷f̷, ̵Mo̵th̵e̷r̶.̵" said Ibari, her usually demanding tone sounding more like a plea. "L̶e̶t̷ ̶u̷s̴ ̷g̴r̷o̵w̵"

"No" said Homura, Ibari couldn't hold back an angry expression. Still, she couldn't defy Homura or at least not by herself. "There is no need for you to consume it. I'll be taking care of it"

Warukuchi laughed at her sister, winning a look that could kill from Ibari.

"I̵ba̵ri̶ ̶is̵ an̴g̵r̷y̶ ̴s̵he̶ ̷w̶o̵n̷'̷t ̵be̶ t̷h̴e̴ ̶f̴i̵r̷st̴ ̴o̵n̶e̵ ̶t̶o g̵ro̴w̶" said Warukuchi. "Th̵e̵ ̶o̶l̴d̵est̶ wo̶n̷'̶t̷ ̷b̷e ̷t̵he̴ ̴f̷i̶r̶s̴t̶ ̵on̵e̵ ̴f̷u̴fu̴fu̵f̶u

Homura turned towards the orb of grief, letting the two Clara Dolls fight each other for a while. She looked inside it, the despair that was filling it almost calling to her. A sensation she knew all too well from when she had become a witch.

She really didn't like to use this despair to create more of her familiars. What seemed like a simple transaction actually meant having to transform the general despair into her own, and every single time she did she could feel memories from when she had been a witch. It made her remember the day Madoka had come to save her. The day she should have died before she had done what she did.

"Self-loathing? You are quite good at it, kind of getting old though." said a familiar voice.

Homura turned around, sitting in one chair that wasn't there before was the Devil cutting her illusory nails. A grin on her face, she turned towards Homura.

"What do you want" asked Homura, a demanding tone on her voice. The two dolls had stopped fighting and were now looking at them.

"Nothing! Just wanted to say I liked what you did today." The Devil finished with the nails on one hand "That's a nice way to protect Madoka, change their memories over and over again until she is happy. Though I guess I wouldn't have given her such a memory in the first place."

"And whose fault do you think it is?" Homura scoffed.

"Mine. And proud of it I am" the Devil looked towards the small lake of despair that had been getting smaller. "Kinda had to take more desperate measures. I was running out of time"

Homura didn't say anything, just stood there looking at the Devil. What did she exactly mean with that? Was she somehow related to the amount of grief there was? Or was this just a misdirection on her part?

"I don't have a reason to lie, you know" said the Devil once more, having finished with her nails "Congratulations, you've won this time."

"Hard to believe coming from someone like you" said Homura as she looked at the two dolls with a side look.

"Don't you mean 'someone like me'?" the devil got up from her chair and walked towards Homura "As I've said, you've won. This time. There is a lot of grief in the world, and one day you will drop your defenses just enough."

"And?" said Homura, trying not to take a step back as the Devil invaded her personal space.

"And then you will be the one in the back of the labyrinth that's your mind" The devil leaned into her ear, whispering "And I will be the one with Madoka."

With that the Devil disappeared.

Tomoe Mami was in the middle of class, less than five minutes for it to end. It was third period, math class. She was sure the teacher was probably teaching something important. Or maybe he would be saying something about what would go into the test they were having this Friday. Sadly, the blonde girl was too busy thinking about how to present herself to Kaname's friends.

The pinkette had told her they would be going to her house this Wednesday, tomorrow, but that they should meet before. And since they all went to the same school that if Mami wanted she could come eat with them.

Mami obviously accepted this proposal in an instant. She replied so quickly that Mami thought during the whole night if she had sounded too desperate.

And was it really her fault? If it hadn't been because of Nagisa she would have been completely alone. Being able to talk with people her age really made her happy. And obviously she had a plan.

They were just a year younger than her. Sure, it wasn't much when it came to life experience, but she was still their senpai. And by God she was going to act as one. She could help them with their studies, become someone they can go to vent about whatever was hurting them. Everything a senpai does. Or atleast, everything she thought one does.

I'm Tomoe Mami, a third-year student. Pleased to meet everyone.

No, maybe a bit more friendly?

Hello, I'm Tomoe Mami. I'm a third year, happy to meet everyone!

Still didn't feel right, way too energetic for the image she was aiming to.

It's a pleasure to meet everyone. My name is Tomoe Mami, a third year.

Maybe this one? Wait should she add something about her?

Pleasure to meet everyone, my name is Tomoe Mami. I'm a third year and I love making tea and baking.

Isn't that too long? And kind of weird to say what she did in her free time out of the blue actually.

The school bell got her out of her mind. And with it came a feeling of anxiety, what if Kaname's friends weren't as friendly as the girl was? What if they told Kaname to leave Mami alone? Oh god, her hands were trembling.

She walked towards Kaname had told her to go, the school rooftop. She was used to just eating in class, so she could see a few gazes from her classmates as it was the first time she got up and went somewhere else. Not that anyone asked her, they just thought of her as a good student but one that didn't really talk much.

Mami went up the stairs, after a few floors the sound of other students was completely gone only her own steps making sound. She reached the door; it was a bit open letting some light come through. She took a deep breath and stepped outside.

"Mami-san!" Kaname quickly got up from her seat and rushed towards Mami, grabbing the girl's hands and pulling her towards the group.

Another three girls were sitting there. One of them had been sitting next to Kaname, a girl with long ebony hair and cold purple eyes her expression didn't change when Mami entered the rooftop. Another had been sitting on the other side of Kaname, short blue hair and a similarly colored eyes accompanied the still smiling girl. The last girl wasn't sitting, instead she had been talking with the rest as she walked around the rooftop, probably uncomfortable enough from all the sitting they already had to do in class. The redhead was the first one to speak, a surprised expression on her face.

"So, it WAS you!" the redhead exclaimed, Mami now realized the girl did seem familiar. "You are the sister of that cheese obsessed kid, aren't ya?"

Something clicked on Mami's head.

"Ah! You are the clerk from the convenience store by the station" said Mami, the girl did look a bit different without the green uniform.

"You knew each other?" asked the blue girl.

"Yeah, I talked to you 'bout her" said the redhead "Don't you remember? The two girls that wanted cheese but we didn't have any on display?"

The bluenette went into a thinking expression, clearly trying to remember. After a few seconds she hit her open hand with her fist and opened her eyes.

"Right! That was last week" she finally said.

"It's good that you two already know each other!" exclaimed Kaname, a smile on her face. "Well, let's present everyone"

"Sakura Kyouko" said the redhead "Glad to meet ya"

"Miki Sayaka" said the bluenette "Madoka said you were pretty, I guess she wasn't lying"

Everyone looked at the ebony haired girl, who slowly left her lunch on the bench she had been sitting on before looking at Mami. And with a small bow she talked.

"I'm Akemi Homura, pleased to meet you" her voice seemed cold, almost the exact opposite that was Kaname.

"Homura-chan is a bit shy" added Kaname, Akemi clearly reacting to what she said as a bit of a blush didn't go unnoticed by Mami "But she is a good girl"

Mami looked at everyone and placed one of her gentle and refined smiles that she had practiced in front of the mirror.

"I'm Tomoe Mami, a third year. It's a pleasure to meet everyone"

Everyone sat back once more, the previous conversation they were having coming back. Mami sat next to Miki, trying to not make obvious she didn't feel comfortable sitting next to Akemi and pulled out her own lunch: a set of sandwiches. One was a tuna-mayo sandwich while the other was a normal ham and cheese, two sandwiches cut in half each.

Mami tried to listen into their conversation, looking for a small pause to try and let herself in.

"Man, the last three problems were impossible to solve" complained Miki, the bluenette had a defeated look on her face as she leaned forwards to try and take a look at Akemi. "Did you solve them Akemi-san?"

"Yes." She picked up a piece of octopus sausage from her lunch box, which now that Mami looked it was identical to Kaname's "I think I solved correctly, at the very least I should get a 85 or more"

Miki sighed "And here I was being happy I might get a 60 or something"

Akemi let out a small smile, Kaname giving her a side look as if trying to ascertain the nature of said smile. Mami took the silence as an opportunity to speak.

"So, you had a math test today?" asked Mami, trying to cling to the easy conversation topic.

"Yeah…" said Miki, who now turned to look at Mami "I'm honestly happy we've finished with the derivates now. I don't want to look at them ever again"

"Sadly, for you" started Akemi "We are learning integrals next, so I hope you don't forget the derivates, because you are going to need them"

Miki just let out a big groan as she let herself sink into the bench, Kaname patting the girl on the back to try and make her feel better.

"I'm sure we can ask Hitomi to teach you again" said Kaname. "She wouldn't mind"

"Yeah, only if we can get a hold of her" Sayaka got up from her seat and did some warm ups to get blood flowing "It's recital season, both for her and Kyosuke, so good luck"

"I can help you" interjected Mami "I'm already a third year, and I have good scores."

"You would?" asked Miki

"Of course, I have a lot of free time right now" said Mami, putting on a delicate smile.

"Thank you, Tomoe-senpai!" exclaimed Miki, the word 'senpai' echoing on Mami's ears. "Having a third year teach me makes me feel way safer"

"Everyone else is also invited, of course" added Mami, seeing this as a great opportunity to hang out more with them.

"Thank you, Mami-san!" said Madoka "I'm honestly looking forward to this Wednesday, I really want to see your house!"

"Oh right, we were going there this Wednesday" added Sakura, the girl was eating some potato chips. "I will have to go earlier than everyone though, I gotta work"

"That's a shame…" said Mami

"We can always get together some other day!" said Madoka with a smile "I-it doesn't have to be in your house again of course"

Mami shook her head.

"I don't mind. It makes the house look a bit livelier"

"So, is everyone going this Wednesday?" asked Miki, looking at Akemi who let out a small sigh before answering.

"No, I have things to do that day" she made a small pause "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be" said Kaname, looking with a tender smile at the girl "I've been asking you to do way too many things this past week"

"Yeah" added Miki "You live by yourself, right? It's normal if you are busy. Don't feel bad because you can't this time."

"Besides," Sakura started "It's not like you would need a reason. If you don't feel like it then don't do it"

"Thank you for understanding" finished Akemi, who went back to her food. The girl did take her time with each bite, was it that good? Or was she just a slow eater?

The group kept eating, the conversations coming and going. Mami wasn't sure why, but her lunch tasted better than it ever had.

The sun was out, having most of the sky for itself as this had been the first time in a few days that there were no clouds trying to take his dominion. The heat was still bearable, mainly because it was seven in the morning, but the weather forecast had said to expect temperatures in the 34 range by midday. The path they were taking had quite the amount of sunlight, and it was completely empty as people preferred to search for the shadows.

However, all this didn't matter for Madoka, who was already feeling quite warm inside as she walked towards school together with Homura. The raven-haired girl had finally stopped trying to walk behind her, and not only that but there was almost a bit of a spring to her steps. And it wasn't like Madoka had memorized her face or anything, but she could swear her usual eye bags were smaller than usual.

"Is something on my face, Madoka?" asked Homura, her eyes showing a bit of worriedness, as she turned to look at Madoka.

"N-no!" she tried to quickly change topics, not wanting to have to explain why she had been looking at the girl "You seem happier than usual, Homura-chan"

The girl's eyes widened just a bit, enough for Madoka to understand she was surprised. Homura looked onwards before closing her eyes for a second. The tiniest of smiles appearing on her face made Madoka's heart skip a beat.

"Yes…" said Homura, a voice with more joy than usual accompanying her words "Some problems I had are now gone, so I guess I am happy about that"

The way she had phrased it meant Madoka wasn't going to get more information even if she tried to. Even then the details didn't matter that much, Homura was happy and that was more than enough to make Madoka happy too.

"That's good." Madoka's smile widened, Homura turning to look at her "You know, you can still come with us this afternoon if you want"

Homura averted her gaze from Madoka, clearly trying to avoid looking at her in the eyes as she spoke.

"As I've said, I have things to do." She made a small pause "I'm really sorry Madoka, I would love to go but…"

Madoka's smile changed from her full of happiness smile to a gentler and understanding one. A bit of worry started to raise inside the pinkette's soul. She stopped and looked at Homura, who after noticing she was leaving Madoka behind turned around to look at her.

"Madoka?"

"Homura-chan, you are lying right?"

Homura took a moment to think, Madoka was sure she had seen her eyes widened just the tiniest bit. Madoka knew that it might be just a hunch, but the way Homura was dismissing the idea of everyone getting together felt like a familiar lie. It felt like she was trying to get away from them, trying not to get too involved with the group.

"I do have things to do" repeated Homura, Madoka pierced her with her eyes trying to discern something. Her smile was completely gone now, a completely serious look on her face instead.

"You also had to do things last Saturday but ended up coming anyways didn't you?" Madoka didn't wait for an answer, quickly adding more as her feelings started to get out "You are saying the exact same thing you did last week, Homura-chan"

Once more Homura didn't answer, instead she just looked at Madoka with her cold stare. Maybe that would have weakened her resolve a week ago. Maybe someone else would be scared of that look. But Madoka had realized something over the past month, and her hunches had been confirmed during this past week.

Whenever Homura doesn't know what to say, she just places that stoic look of hers on her face and doesn't say anything instead of stuttering or trying to get time by saying meaningless things. She probably uses this time to think of an answer, but if Madoka is right this means Homura is in fact lying. Or at least she isn't saying everything.

"I want to study for the chemistry test" finally said Homura, the stare down between the two seemed to have lasted forever but it probably was just two or three seconds.

"But you were helping Kyouko without any problem during the study session, right?" Madoka went into a thinking expression as she took a few steps towards Homura. "Actually, didn't you get a 100 on the last chemistry test? You know a lot about chemicals Homura-chan"

Homura held her left arm, almost as if trying to grab something that wasn't there, and looked to the ground. The image of the girl felt too familiar to Madoka, a feeling of pain and sadness started to drown her other emotions.

"I don't think it really matters." Finally spoke Homura, still looking at the ground.

"You can tell me, Homura-chan" Madoka bent over a bit, trying to get into the field of vision of the raven-haired girl, who tried to look away from the pinkette's face.

"I just… I don't really feel like meeting more people right now" finally said Homura still holding her left arm, gaze completely averted from Madoka. "Sakura-san and Miki-san are fine since we are in the same classroom, I'm used to them"

Madoka wasn't sure if that really was the reason, but it did make sense. The girl had been completely alone for the whole month before Madoka finally got a hold of her, and it probably had been like that before too. And even if it wasn't, the other option; that Homura was trying to separate herself from the group hurt too much to not let herself be convinced by this.

Madoka let out a big sigh.

"Thank God" Madoka took a few steps away from Homura, giving the girl back her personal space. "I honestly was starting to think that you were trying to slowly get away from me"

Homura didn't answer, instead just looked at Madoka with a bit of surprise in her eyes.

"I know that Kyouko-chan said you don't have a problem speaking your mind" Madoka kept talking, her hands behind her back as she fidgeted a bit and turned around as to not look at Homura "But I still couldn't shake the feeling that you were trying to stay distanced from me so you could easily run away one day"

Madoka could feel some tears starting to come through, she knew it had all been just a bad thought in her mind. She knew Homura wouldn't suddenly disappear and leave her behind. But it really wasn't Madoka being left behind what hurt her the most.

It was imagining Homura alone. It was seeing Homura crying and there not being anyone to console her. The vision of Homura in her room, the girl lying on her bed crying as she held a red ribbon close to her chest wouldn't go away. The scenarios she had imagined gave her a tightness in her chest that felt more real than it should had.

Madoka turned to look at Homura, the thoughts of her disappearing making her uneasy enough to make her check she was still behind her. Homura's eyes widened a bit as she saw Madoka crying.

"I… I really don't want to lose you." Said Madoka between sobs "I don't want to see you alone anymore, Homura-chan"

Homura took a step forward, her arm twitching as she raised it a bit before dropping it back to where it was. Yet no words came out of the girl, who was too focused on looking at the distraught Madoka.

"So please, don't l-lie to me about dumb things li-like these okay?" Madoka's voice started to crack, words being harder and harder to say as she went on. "If you don't fe-feel like hanging out one day, just say you don't hav-have the energy"

"Madoka…" were the only words that came out of Homura's mouth as she kept approaching the crying girl. A face full of pain and emotion that didn't try to hide anything plagued Homura, a face that even if it was the first time Madoka was seeing it, felt oddly familiar.

Madoka couldn't hold her emotions any longer, her crying having broken her completely she rushed towards Homura, dropped her schoolbag on the ground, and opened her arms to give her a tight hug. Madoka pressed her head on the girl's shoulder and tried to keep talking between her sobs.

"I really don't want you to disappear…" Madoka clung harder to the still unreactive girl "I… I know it's a really selfish wish… I know I don't really know you…"

Madoka pressed herself more into the girl's shoulder, she could feel one of Homura's hair strands lightly grazing her head.

"But it… it really hurts whenever I think about you being alone" Madoka felt Homura's arms moving a bit "So please… please don't go anywhere by yourself"

Madoka kept clinging to the girl, the only sounds that could be heard were her crying and her heart that had started to race as she had let her feelings flow completely free. She could feel Homura's chest raise as the girl took a deep breath, her arms began to move and soon enough Madoka could feel her body being embraced by the slightly taller girl.

Homura's hug started as a gentle one, almost unsure of what to do, but quickly became a tight one that tried to pull Madoka even closer than she already was. Homura rested her head over Madoka's still crying one and began to speak, Madoka being able to feel Homura's breaths on her hair.

"Sorry for worrying you Madoka. I didn't know this was how you felt" said Homura, an uncharacteristic gentle voice coming from her "I promise you…"

Homura held the girl tighter, almost as if trying to reassure herself from her own words. Her previously gentle tone was now filled with determination, the kind of reassurance someone would use when making an important promise.

"I won't leave your side again" she made a small pause and slowly pulled away from the girl, still holding Madoka's shoulders with her hands as she looked into the pink eyes of the girl. A glow of determination filled Homura's own purple eyes. "Whatever it takes, I will make sure we are together"

Madoka froze for a few seconds. Her crying came to a halt, only a few tears finishing the fall they had already started, her heart slowly calming down, all she could see right now was Homura's determined eyes, the promise she had made echoing in her mind, the only external sound she could hear being the river they were following to school.

A wide smile appeared on Madoka's face; the girl used her hands to dry off some of the tears before completely pulling away from Homura.

"Thank you, Homura-chan" Madoka made a small pause before letting out a small chuckle "I guess I kinda ruined your mood with all this, sorry"

"You don't have to be" Homura quickly denied "I'm happy that you told me this"

The ebony haired girl took out a purple handkerchief and handed it to Madoka, who took it and started to dry her tear ridden face with it as she whispered a small "Thank you".

They spent a few more seconds calming down there before they kept walking towards school. Both now with a smile on their face, though Madoka obviously was showing it more. Ten minutes later they had reached the school gates, very few people now coming in as classes were about to start; their little talk had made them get there a bit later than usual.

Kyouko opened the door of the rooftop, not even noticing it was already unlocked, and walked to the bench she usually lied down on without even noticing Tomoe Mami was already there waiting for them. She almost threw herself on the bench, had it not been made out of stone she wouldn't have slowed down, with her schoolbag still in her hand. She let out a long sigh, as the rest of the group walked in.

Tomoe looked at them with a bit of a questioning look in regards to Kyouko, but the redhead was way too tired to even notice it. And had she actually noticed she didn't have the energy to say something.

"Good morning, Mami-san!" said Madoka, the pink girl waited in front of the door until Akemi had also crossed it before moving towards the bench.

"Morning, Kaname-san" said Tomoe, Kyouko wasn't looking but she was sure the blond girl probably was doing one of those gentle and elegant smiles she seemed to always wear.

"Hello Tomoe-senpai" said Sayaka, the bluenette having finally entered the rooftop. "Sorry about that Kyouko not even saying hello"

"Oh, it really doesn't matter, she seems tired"

"I want to go home already man…" lamented Kyouko as she turned around to face the group "I can't stand doing two tests back-to-back, it's tiring AND boring"

The rest of the group took a seat next to Tomoe, Kyouko's attention was caught as she could swear Akemi and Madoka were sitting closer than usual, they usually left enough space for another person in between, but this time Madoka had sat so close to Akemi that if one of them had happened to be left-handed they would have run into a few problems. She didn't know what could have happened between them in just one day, but it sure as fuck could be entertaining to tease the Madoka for the information.

"You know" started saying Kyouko as she sat upright "Is it my imagination or have you two been sticking to one another since this morning?"

"Eh?" said Madoka, who was in the middle of opening her lunch box.

Since Tomoe was in the way Sayaka bent forwards to try and take a look at the pair, one or two seconds later she spoke.

"Now that you mention it…" Sayaka raised a pensative finger, her eyes closing as she went deep into thought for a moment "When we walked here it did seem like they were stuck to each other"

Madoka's cheeks started to steal Kyouko's color palette, the girl's fingers dancing around the cover of her lunch box for a bit as she mumbled incoherent reasons. Madoka looked at Kyouko, though her eyes didn't stay looking at her long enough for her words to come out. Akemi on the other hand had started eating and didn't seem to even be paying attention to the conversation, focusing entirely on the lunch Madoka had given her.

"I think We've been just like always…" the girl said, with how quickly she retreated into the bench and how small she looked there obviously was more to it.

But instead of Kyouko or Sayaka speaking it was Tomoe the one who shot the next bullet at the pinkette.

"Oh! That's right, I think I saw both of you on the way here…" Tomoe made a small pause, trying to think of the exact situation.

Meanwhile Madoka's blushing had gone way deeper, the girl seemed smaller than usual almost as if someone had reduced her overall size so they could hold her between their hands. Kyouko seeing that what Tomoe said was the correct direction to take the questions in she threw herself into the mix to try and embarrass the pinkette more.

"What's with your face being all red Madoka~" Kyouko put up a big grin, she knew that Madoka clearly had feelings for Akemi; The only thing she wasn't sure of was if Akemi actually had romantic feelings for her or if it was just all platonic "Did you remember something?"

Kyouko got up from the bench and approached Madoka with small steps, each one of them seemed to make Madoka smaller as she slowly ate a bit of her salad to try and cool her head off. With the way she was approaching the pinkette it almost looked like a tiger trying to hunt its prey.

"I saw them from too far away" finally sighed Mami, going back to eat her lunch "I only know I saw them by the riverside"

"Huuuh~" said Kyouko as she finally reached Madoka, she was almost on top of the poor girl. She would press just a little bit more, this was giving her back all the energy she had lost on the tests "What were you two doing there all alone, Madoka~"

"Ahahaa…" Madoka weakly laughed "I- I don't remember… I guess the tests made me forget ahahaha…"

"Let's see… Maybe I can help you remember!" Kyouko's smile grew into a devilish one, just a little bit more. "Maybe the smell of lavender?"

Madoka made a small little jump, reacting to those words.

"A tight embrace…" Kyouko kept going, throwing random ideas at the girl whose blush had completely overtaken her whole face. Kyouko bent closer to the girl, whispering the next one so only she could hear her.

"Maybe… some soft lips?" Madoka's whole body jumped, even if it wasn't true the pinkette clearly had had a reaction as she probably imagined herself in that situation.

"I believe that's enough, Sakura-san" Akemi finally spoke, looking at Kyoko with a piercing side look as she used one arm to slowly push Kyoko away from the blushing Madoka.

Kyouko walked back to her bench, picking up her schoolbag and digging in it to find her lunch; a nice lunchbox she had prepared this morning. "Yeah, yeah. I was just playing around"

"Are you okay, Madoka?" asked Akemi to the still blushing girl, though Kyouko was pretty sure that with how close Akemi had leaned to look at Madoka's face to ask the question she had made her blush more.

"Y-yeah!" Madoka put on a smile, trying to hide her embarrassment "Ar-are you liking today's lunch Homura-chan? I wasn't sure how well the salad would be kept inside my schoolbag"

"Yes, it's very good Madoka" the girl replied with a small warm smile.

Sayaka let out a small sigh before leaning forwards to look at them, she was already half way through her lunch; the bluenette seemed to be eating faster since they started to live together. Maybe Kyouko's fast eating habits were rubbing off of her somehow?

"Sorry about that, Akemi-san" started saying Sayaka "She can get insufferable whenever she is bored"

"I don't mind personally, Miki-san" started Akemi, a small grin appearing on her face "Besides, it was fun seeing Madoka like that"

"Ho-Homura-chan?!" said Madoka, her blush quickly reappeared as she looked up from her lunch.

"That's a bit sadist, don't you think?" said Sayaka with half a smile.

Akemi only shrugged in response before going back to her lunch, Madoka kept staring at the girl with a surprised face for a few seconds before going back to eat. They kept eating, only comparing the different answers they had given on their tests before Tomoe finally spoke up about something else that wasn't related to school.

"So, Akemi-san isn't coming today, right?" asked Tomoe as she finished her lunch.

"Yes, I'm sorry" said Akemi, she had placed her usual cold looking face at one point while they were talking about the tests.

"You really don't have to worry" said Tomoe, a gentle smile on her face "I hope you can come next time"

There was a small moment of silence as the ebony haired girl finally spoke.

"Yes, I hope so" she said, Madoka looking at her with an understanding smile. There had definitely happened something between the two, but now Kyouko was kind of thinking it had had less to do with a romantic situation and more with an actual concern between the two.

"Now that I think about it" started speaking Sayaka "Other than last Saturday we haven't hung out at all outside the school with Akemi-san huh"

"If you all have been having tests then it makes sense" said Tomoe, the girl bringing a hand up to her face as she went into a thinking pose "You still have one tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah…" said Kyouko, the energy she had gotten from teasing Madoka going away with that reminder "The chemistry one at that. I just want to relax man"

Tomoe let out a small chuckle before she looked at Kyouko and spoke up.

"You can do that at my home today then" she picked up her schoolbag as they all prepared to get back to class "I've made a lot of cheesecake, so I hope you will be hungry after school"

The rest of the day passed like a dream, Kyouko only being able to think on the promised handmade cheesecake she was going to eat that afternoon.

A/N: Next chapter comes the tea party, let's see the group relax on Mami's apartment.

Current Date: 14th of May