Having a rooftop lunch scene is integral.

It was late at night in Mitakihara. Madoka was already in her room, in her pajamas. Explaining to her parents why she arrived so late had been easier than anticipated. Telling them that she was visiting a friend's house isn't a lie whatsoever, even someone who seldom lies such as herself could explain her late arrival so easily.

She first locked her windows and closed the curtains, and then let herself freefall into their own bed.

Madoka sighed, "What a day…"

"You're telling me." Kriemhild agreed.

Not feeling particularly sleepy, Madoka decided to ask, "So, Kriem-chan."

"Yeah?"

"How does it feel to feed on Homura's impurities?- Oh! That sounded better in my head…"

Kriemhild begged to differ and answered, "No, it doesn't! But…it feels like eating something delicious."

"Oh? What does it taste like?" Madoka asked further with piqued interest.

Kriemhild mentally waved her arms around, "I don't know! Invigorating? How would vigor and liveliness even taste like?"

"You tell me." Madoka mentally muttered.

"Well, I don't know. It's not exactly the easiest thing to describe."

Both girls then heard tappings on the window next to her bed. Instinct told them not to check it out, but Madoka was curious enough to override her instinct. Of course, this doesn't mean that cautions are completely thrown out into the wind. Slowly and quietly, she sat up from their bed and opened the curtain ever so slightly.

It's the white cat-bunny creature that Madoka saw in her dream this morning! While Madoka recognized this creature, Kriemhild did not. Which confuses the both of them as to why Kriemhild felt some sort of hatred against this strange creature that she was certain she had never seen before.

"May I come in?" it spoke…somehow.

Madoka was left speechless when this thing seemed to have just spoken directly to her mind. There's simply no other way for it to speak with her so clearly, considering that the creature still stood outside her window.

"Umm…" Madoka was unsure of what she should be doing, until Kriemhild interjected her opinion. "Don't let it come in, I don't trust it."

"…What was that?" the creature asked while twitching its ears.

Madoka did not know the implication, "What was what?"

The creature clarified, seemingly having just heard Kriemhild somehow, "I hear the faint mumble of a girl coming from your direction."

"It can hear me?!" Kriemhild said, only a little wary.

"There it is again." said the creature as it tilted its head in confusion.

"It's…probably nothing." Madoka muttered, worried that Kriemhild might be in danger.

"Probably." the creature seemed to agree.

After that, they just stayed there, unmoving. The creature just stood there, waiting for Madoka to let it in, while Madoka herself waited for the creature to go away.

When it became obvious that this staring contest is going nowhere, the creature took the initiative, "So you're not going to let me in? No matter. A window isn't going to stop our discussion, and we have much to discuss."

"What- Who are you?" Madoka sputtered.

"My name is Kyubey." the creature introduced himself, putting both girls on full alert. Kyubey, unaware that both girls are already warned of him, decided to be direct, "Make a contract with me and become a magical girl!"

Madoka stared blankly, before she shook her head, "No."

Kyubey inched closer to the window, "Oh, did the anomaly known as Homura Akemi convinced you otherwise?"

"Anomaly?" Kriemhild mentally muttered.

"Or was it…the witch, hiding within you?" he continued to ask.

Madoka frowned, "Both. Now please leave." she said before she closed the curtain.

Despite her effort, Kyubey still tried for one last time, "A curtain isn't going to stop our discussion either."

He failed, for now. Madoka adamantly refused to listen to what Kyubey had to say, "We have nothing to discuss, go away!"

Kyubey took this as his queue to give up for the day. He was in no rush after all, "…So be it. I'll be around if you need me." he said as he leaves the residence.

They heard some shuffling and the sound of a trashcan getting knocked over in the distance. And then…silence. "Is it…is it gone?" Kriemhild asked, silently suggesting Madoka to peek through the curtain once more.

"I think so…" Madoka answered as she slowly and steadily peeked through the window. Madoka then opened her curtain more widely to have a better view of their surrounding. She looked around for a couple of minutes.

When they found nothing, Kriemhild urged Madoka to hit the hay for now, "Let's just go to sleep. This whole thing is tiring me out."

Madoka was also getting tired, so she agreed immediately, "Yeah, let's."

Meanwhile, at the Miki residence, a certain bluenette was also visited by Kyubey, shortly after he was shooed away by Madoka. Kyubey was under the impression that Sayaka would be easier to convince.

"Ah! What are you?! How did you get in my room?!" Sayaka asked, with her finger pointing accusingly at Kyubey.

"My name is Kyubey." he introduced himself once again, ignoring the fact that he was breaking and entering.

Unfortunately for Kyubey, Sayaka was nearly as well-informed as Madoka, "So this is the one that tricked all those magical girls…" Sayaka decided to cut to the chase, "What do you want? If you're here to make a contract with me, then forget it. I won't do it."

Kyubey recoiled slightly when he found out that Sayaka already knows about the contracts, but decided to press on, even if only to gauge how much Sayaka knows. "Even if your friend is at significant risk?" Kyubey asked.

"What?" Sayaka tensed, not sure what Kyubey was talking about specifically. "What risk?" she thought to herself.

"I need your help in saving your friend from the witch hiding within her." said Kyubey.

"Oh, that risk." Sayaka thought as she relaxed slightly, already aware of that risk. "Yeah, no." she replied.

"But you already saw what a witch is capable of, right?" Kyubey asked, utterly confused and baffled by how illogical Sayaka seemed to be right now.

"I do." Sayaka replied, confusing Kyubey even further.

"And you're that willing to put your friend at risk by letting the witch do whatever it pleases?" Kyubey asked, silently starting to question himself if this was even worth the effort.

"That witch is my best friend too! She would never hurt Madoka!…" Sayaka confidently exclaimed, but faltered when a montage of Kriemhild accidentally hurting themselves flashed in her mind, the most notable one being that one time when Kriemhild stepped on a rake in a particularly leafy autumn Mitakihara. After all, hurting one hurts the other. These memories made Sayaka correct her exclamation, "…Not intentionally, at least."

Kyubey pressed on, despite his own mounting doubt, "Even if it was unintentional, the witch still poses a fatal risk to Madoka. What if she gets severely wounded by it? What then?"

"She wasn't hurt-" another montage of Kriemhild accidentally harming herself – the second-most notable one being that time when Kriemhild slipped on a banana peel just a few days ago while on their way to school – flashed on Sayaka's mind once again, which stopped her mid-sentence. Truth be told, both Madoka and Kriemhild are quite clumsy, and a combination of them doesn't make it any better. Knowing that, Sayaka revised what she was trying to say, "Err, she wasn't seriously hurt so far, and if she does…we'll figure something out!"

If Kyubey could sweatdrop, he would, "I'm sure you will." so he settled with rubbing his temple, "So is that a no?"

Sayaka narrowed her eyes, "It's a no."

Kyubey sighed, "Very well, I'll be around if you need me."

With nothing else to do, he walked away into a shaded part of Sayaka's room. Sayaka went to turn on the light, but found out that Kyubey had somehow disappeared into the darkness.

"What the…?" Sayaka muttered, a little freaked out when she just witnessed Kyubey's disappearing act.

Sayaka slept with the lights completely on that night.

The next day, Mami Tomoe quietly was sitting in the school library, reading a book about how a lever-action rifle works, in hopes of applying it to her fighting style. Faced with a witch that could potentially destroy the world in days, Mami decided to do whatever she can to make herself stronger – at least strong enough to finish this ordeal as swiftly and cleanly as she can.

The idea is that by using the same rifle instead of summoning new ones after every shot, she would be able to conserve more energy for a possible prolonged fight. Mami was surprised at how simple the mechanics of a lever-action truly is and believes that she could make one herself on such short notice.

As she quietly read further, her mind went adrift to the thought of the magical girl that had saved the witch. After that daring escape, Mami went back home when her soul gem could no longer detect the elusive witch that she was supposed to deal with that day. Mami had yet to talk to Kyubey regarding the matter. He seemed busy that night.

Speak of the devil and he will arrive. Kyubey jumped onto the table where Mami was reading, "Ah, Mami, there you are."

Mami barely lifted her gaze from whatever it is that she was reading, "Oh, hey Kyubey." she decided to break the news to Kyubey on how the witch that she was after got away, "About the witch…"

"It managed to get away, I know." Kyubey cut off.

Mami lifted her head in surprise, "You do?"

Kyubey closed his eyes and gave a single nod, "Yes. I even managed to follow them and the magical girl who rescued them."

"You did? Who's the magical girl?" Mami asked, completely putting the book in her hands down.

Kyubey opened his eyes, "Homura Akemi. The anomalous magical girl that I talked about."

"Really? The one that you said you don't remember contracting?" The surprised Mami asked further.

"Yes."

Mami's confusion was rapidly mounting, "Why was she helping a witch? Is she even aware that there's a witch at all?"

"She does! Even after I told her that we only have to remove the witch from Madoka, she remained in a…less-than-cordial relation with me, and remained adamant with protecting the witch." said Kyubey. Even something like him is somewhat dumbfounded by the idea.

"So she's knowingly helping a witch?!" Mami asked, outraged with the idea that a magical girl is actively and knowingly helping a creature that sows despair, a creature that they were supposed to be fighting.

Kyubey, calm as ever, replied, "Seeing as she had walked them home afterwards, it would seem so."

Mami Tomoe was at loss for words.

Mami narrowed her eyes, "…Where are they now?"

"They've all gathered on the school rooftop." Kyubey informed.

"All of them?"

"All of them."

Without further prompting, Mami got up from her seat, the book that she was reading firmly held in one hand. As she walked away from the library, Kyubey followed suit.

"Are you going to fight them now?" asked Kyubey.

"No. I'm not ready to fight yet. I just want to talk with Akemi-san." Mami grumbled, for she want answers.

The first half of the next day, as Homura had said it would go, had been mostly uneventful.

Mostly.

In class, Homura, Sayaka, Madoka, and Kriemhild had acted as if nothing had happened the previous day. While the rest of the girls were fidgeting nervously, Homura acted as calmly as usual, seemingly not worried in the slightest to the fact that Mami Tomoe is in the same school as them.

When lunch break came around, Madoka had dragged Homura onto the place where they usually hang out during lunch: the school rooftop. Homura did not expect this at all and thus did not even bring her own lunch. And so there they sat, with Madoka urging Homura to eat something.

"Homura-chan, you didn't bring any lunch with you today?" Madoka asked as she stabbed a piece of fried chicken with her fork.

"I…" Homura was about to say that she doesn't need it as much, but stopped herself when she realized that it would only make Madoka more worried for her, so she went with another not-lie, "I forgot to bring it with me."

"Well that's no good. Have some of mine!" Madoka urged as she shoved the fork close to Homura's mouth, but not too close.

Homura lightly raised a hand in refusal, "N-no thank you. Madoka. You can have it all."

"But you're so skinny!" Madoka exclaimed, making a good point.

"It helps me be quick on my feet." Homura replied, genuinely believing the idea.

Sayaka did not believe her or the idea at all and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right."

Hitomi, who had been watching silently the whole time, decided to help out Madoka, "Akemi-san, you should try it at least. Her father's cooking is nothing to scoff at!"

Homura was well aware of how amazing the cooking of Tomohisa Kaname really is. Seeing as she is backed into a proverbial corner by three, maybe even four girls (if you count Sayaka, who had been eyeing the piece of fried chicken herself), Homura relented, "Fine, I'll give it a try."

"Yay!" Kriemhild privately exclaimed.

Before Homura could take it in her mouth, the entrance to the rooftop opened, revealing a frowning Mami Tomoe, holding a book. Everyone on the roof tensed, except for Hitomi, who was only confused as to why this senior was looking in their direction with a look of disapproval.

As Mami briskly approached them, Sayaka protectively stood in front of Madoka, while Homura remained seated but wary. Had it been many timelines earlier, Homura would be sweating bullets at this role reversal between herself and Mami – Homura ended up keeping that stoic expression.

Mentally, Homura was very slowly losing her composure at this never-happened-before event that was currently unfolding before her very eyes, "Is this how it feels like when I was the one who approached them threateningly? No wonder I had a hard time keeping things under control…It's not exactly an improvement compared to my earlier self, it's just bad in a different way!"

It would have been funny if it wasn't so serious.

Homura stared at the book that Mami was holding. It was somewhat difficult to tell what it is from this angle, but a little head tilt reveals the title 'THE WINCHESTER 1873 HANDBOOK'. Homura raised an eyebrow, for this is the first time that Mami ever tried to upgrade her magical firearm. It would seem Kriemhild's mere presence in this timeline can change quite a lot.

Mami's voice cut her off from her musing, "Homura Akemi, why are you siding with a witch?"

"Do you really want to know?" Homura carefully asked back.

"Just tell me!"

Homura mused, and proceeded to suggest the most daring proposition, "If I tell you, will you cease your attempt to murder the witch?"

Mami crossed her arms and scowled, "Murder?! As a magical girl, I'm sure you're aware by now of what a witch does."

"This one is different." Homura briefly answered as she crossed her legs.

"Yeah! Kriemy's not a monster!" Sayaka called out and clenched her fists.

"Would be cool, though." Kriemhild loudly muttered, with a grin on their face.

"Not now, Kriem-chan!" Madoka frantically interjected, replacing that grin with a slightly fearful expression.

Homura briefly peered at the girls surrounding her, before she turned her attention back to Mami, "Everyone here is under my protection."

"Even me?" asked Hitomi, who was seriously feeling left out.

"Even you, Hitomi."

"Did you ever consider that these girls might have been affected by a witch's kiss?" asked Mami.

Homura nodded, "I already took the initiative to examine them myself, and I did not find any kiss on them."

Mami raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying that these girls willingly surround themselves with the witch?"

"Yes."

Kriemhild frowned and muttered, "You're saying it like it's a bad thing."

"Akemi-san…are you sure you're not affected by a kiss yourself?" asked Mami.

Homura's eyes widened slightly, "Excuse me?"

"You didn't know? Magical girls may be more resistant to a kiss, but they are not completely immune to it."

While Homura already somewhat trusted Kriemhild, she would not decline a checkup on herself to see if she was affected by a kiss. If there is, then she'll have no choice but to side with Mami to save Madoka. And if there isn't…then her trust for Kriemhild would only be cemented. What she's about to do would be extremely risky, but Homura decided to try her luck anyway, "…Fine. I trust you to examine me right here, right now. See if you can find a kiss on me." she suggested as she got up from her seat and strode over to Mami.

"Homura!" Sayaka called out as Homura strode past her.

"Homura-chan!" Madoka called out as well.

Hitomi rubbed her temple and muttered, "…What even is going on…?"

And so Mami used her magic to examine Homura's entire body. Sayaka, who watched in the distance, grumbled, "Hey, how come I get more physical contacts and probings when Homura did it to me? Mami-san didn't even have to touch her."

Kriemhild shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe Tomoe-senpai is more talented with magic?"

This whole time, Hitomi just sat there and listened, utterly lost on what is going on. She just had to ask, "Excuse me, magic? Are you for real?"

Sayaka scratched her head, "O-oh yeah, we haven't told you what happened yesterday."

"Homura-chan told us to keep things hush-hush unless she says otherwise." Kriemhild elaborated while making a hushed gesture.

"Aw. Is there any chance for me to get involved?" asked Hitomi.

They shrugged, and Kriemhild replied, "I don't know, ask her."

It took a few seconds, but Sayaka frowned as she realized something, "Wait, why would you want to be involved? This whole thing is dangerous!"

When they all turned their gaze back to the couple of magical girls in their vicinity, Mami was slowly walking back from Homura with an amalgamation of expressions, mostly surprise and disbelief, with a hint of fear. It would seem that there was simply no witch's kiss to be found. After having become a magical girl for a relatively long time, the idea of another magical girl on the same side as a witch was nigh-incomprehensible, and for good reasons. Mami wasn't wrong to ask, "You're…you're actually doing this at your own volition. Why?"

To her own credit, Homura stood by her reasoning, "As I said before, this one is different. Perhaps you'll be able to see it too someday. For now, I will do everything in my power to protect them."

Seeing Homura vouching for the witch like this made her skeptical about the nature of witches, but her experience ultimately had far more weight and triumphed. But no matter what, the seed of doubt had already been planted. "Perhaps…" Mami muttered, and with renewed vigor she declared, "But until then, you'd best prepare yourself."

With nothing else to say, Mami turned away and left, not worried in the slightest that she was making herself vulnerable by exposing her back like that, for they both know better than to start a fight in a place like this.

When Mami was no longer within the vicinity, Homura returned to her spot, while keeping her eyes on the rooftop entrance. Sayaka took a few moments longer to follow suit, wary that Mami might come back for a second time. When that didn't happen, Sayaka sat down as well.

"…What do we do now…?" asked Sayaka.

Homura sighed. Better results demand harder work, it would seem. "…I suppose this means I'll have to keep an eye on you all more often, especially Kriemhild."

Hitomi looked at Homura, a little upset that she was being kept in the dark. "Wait, you already know Kriem-san?"

"Yes."

Hitomi crossed her arms, "What else am I missing here?"

Everyone else looked at each other, unsure on what to do. Kriemhild took the initiative to ask, "…Can we tell her?"

Seeing as Hitomi is technically already involved by simply being friends with a witch as well, it didn't take long for Homura to consider her next course of action. So Homura nodded, "You may."

And so they told her. They told her all that had transpired since she left the mall earlier yesterday, things like how Kriemhild sensed something while on their way out, their encounter with the rose garden witch, Mami's introduction into their lives, the rose garden witch's subsequent demise at the hands of Mami, Mami threatening to take away Kriemhild, Homura saving them, about magical girls, about the wishes and contracts, Kyubey, and with hushed tone – where witches truly come from.

Once they were finished recounting the events from yesterday, Hitomi took her time to wrap her head around…well…everything. "Wow, that's…plenty to take in."

"Knowing all that, are you certain that you still want to be a part of this? It's not too late for you to back out." Homura warned, not yet certain on how she'll deal with this regardless if Hitomi gets really involved or not.

Hitomi pondered, not quite finished with comprehending everything she was just told, "I don't know…and what do you mean back out?"

"You can forget this conversation ever happened and live out your life normally."

Everyone went silent, Hitomi in particular thinking out and pondering for a response. She eventually got it and spoke her honest feeling on the matter, "How could I possibly live out my life normally, knowing that my friends are in danger? What if they get hurt because I didn't do anything to help them? I couldn't live like that, it'll haunt me!"

Homura hummed. "…I see…"

"So…you'll help us out, Hitomi?" Sayaka asked.

"I'll do what I can!"

Hitomi seemed eager enough, and an extra helping hand for the fight against Walpurgisnacht wouldn't hurt. Although, Homura was hoping that it wouldn't have to come to that – no need to put another on the path of self-destruction. Helping out in any way she could right now is already enough. "That's good enough." said Homura, with a faint smile.

With Hitomi now properly informed about the situation and nothing else to say, the girls returned to enjoying their lunch, with Homura eating more than she'd like to admit. It can't be helped, all the foods that had been brought there were no pushovers.

With this year's summer break coming to a close, any further update to this story would come at a much...much slower pace. Worst case scenario, I'll see you later on Christmas.

Originally, this chapter was supposed to be much longer, but my leeways are getting increasingly short, so I decided to stop it somewhere that looks okay to stop at.