Bridge

Underneath the glare of the setting sun, a handgun spun through the air, reflecting the dying light of the evening. Homura caught the pistol with ease, idly twirling the trigger loop around her finger, as she gazed at Madoka.

"I already know that you don't intend to keep your promise," she said idly, "despite you being the one who requested it in the first place. It's utterly infuriating, but it's tied to your selfless heart, so I cannot be mad at you for too long."

Madoka gripped the sides of her dress and nodded nervously. "I-I see, but, um, Homura-chan—"

Homura cut her off. "Regardless, that does not stop the fact that the damage to both yourself and the world will be immense. Should things go anything less than perfect, I will be forced to reset once more, this time with no guarantee that you will remember me."

"Y-yes, but—"

"That alone is enough for me to try and convince you again, so I will give you a bit of insight into our future." She pointed her gun in the air, directly above her head. "Walpurgisnacht will appear right here, collapsing this bridge. The city itself will be destroyed in its rampage. More than one magical girl will be needed to defeat it. There is no guarantee that Tomoe Mami, Sakura Kyoko, or Miki Sayaka will still be alive. It will be me and me alone, which will undoubtedly pressure you into a contract with Kyubey, bringing about the end of the world.

"Tell me, Kaname Madoka: if you break your promise, how do you plan to mitigate this damage?"

Madoka tugged at one of her ribbons, trying not to get distracted by the fact that Homura wore an identical one in each of her braids. "I, um, don't know? I don't even know the horrible thing you keep talking about, and…well, I'm kinda unprepared for all this?"

"For being a magical girl?"

"For this conversation, actually."

Homura tilted her head to the side before looking down at herself—more specifically, her attire. "Ah," she muttered. "We…This is a date, yes. You don't talk about a battle during those, do you?"

It was easy to forget such frivolous things in the face of impending doom.

Homura's goal was Madoka's happiness. Here, Madoka was—presumably—content, yet Homura was ruining it.

It was simple logic that produced the declarative statement, "Homura sucks at dates."

Picking up on Homura's train of thought, Madoka shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she said with her lips twitching upwards. "I'm really impressed with how hard you're working, actually. You're, a, um, a good friend, Homura-chan."

Homura opened her mouth to respond, but her jaw snapped shut with an audible click. She refused to make things even worse with a morbid comment.

She looked down at her arm, thinking about the shield that could manifest at will. She frowned. "This really is important to you, isn't it? Yet here I am, ruining it. Maybe, if I go back just enough—"

"No!"

Madoka darted out and grabbed Homura's hand, suddenly panicking.

"Please, don't reset this! I don't want to forget you!"

Homura shrugged her off with a frown on her face. "It's just today, don't worry. Wouldn't you rather have a proper date without talking about death?"

"I don't care about that," Madoka insisted. "I just wanted to get to know you!"

"And you'll get all that," Homura said testily. "I'm just trying to make you happy."

"I'm happy knowing that this is the real you! That the Homura-chan I like is this girl who genuinely tries her best to help people, even at the cost of her own happiness! It reminds me of what my wish is!"

Her eyes widened, as her hands flew to cover her mouth, but the damage was done.

Homura narrowed her eyes. "So, you do have a wish," she said evenly. "I was right to think that this timeline would be no different."

Tears filled Madoka's eyes. "D-don't think like that, Homura-chan! We can fight together!"

"If you fought, then you wouldn't be my Madoka."

Madoka wasn't sure how to feel about the possessive, but she understood what Homura was trying to say, even if it didn't make sense to her.

"Homura-chan, you told me that, in your first loop, I was already a magical girl. You said that I saved your life by fighting off a Witch. That's the girl you wanted to save, and not this…this weak, pathetic tag-along."

Homura flipped her hair back but said nothing, keeping her cold stare.

"From what you're saying, y-your Madoka is someone who would be okay with giving everything up to save you…kinda like you do for me. I mean…I kinda sorta get that? So, why—"

"Because my Madoka isn't a Witch!"

With her mask broken and tears pooling in her eyes, Homura spilled everything once more.

Every single gruesome detail, including how Madoka had died in the last timeline.

By her own request, Homura had shot Madoka in the heart, preventing her from turning into a Witch.

And now, here Madoka was, saying that it was worth it to become a magical girl if it meant saving a monster like Homura.

The only thing keeping her from completely breaking down was Madoka's warm embrace.

"Don't worry," Madoka soothed, even as her own voice shook from the revelations. "I don't want to become a magical girl, so I won't. I was just trying to understand…and to show you that I want to save you, too."

She leaned back and wiped Homura's tears, even as she used her sleeve to wipe her own. "Tell you what: we'll worry about all this date stuff later. You're right that it's kinda silly right next to all this."

"It's not silly," Homura protested. "Your happiness matters most."

"I'm still happy, you know? I mean…it's hard to know what might happen to Sayaka-chan, and it's really hard to hear about how the Witch that Mami killed might have been…like us…but I'd rather know everything instead of remaining ignorant."

I'd rather you keep your innocence, Homura thought, but Madoka's hand on her arm prevented her from conjuring her shield.

Madoka gave a watery smile and rubbed Homura's back. "This loop is different, Homura-chan. There's not just a vague feeling; I remember something real and solid about you. That has to mean something, right? Maybe…maybe this world doesn't have to be so cruel. Maybe there's a way for magical girls to be happy."

Homura let herself relax in Madoka's embrace. Her left arm dropped to her side with no shield in sight. "You've never said something like that before," she murmured. "You really are different in every loop."

I love you for that.

Madoka mumbled something along the lines of "so cute," but surely, Homura had heard that wrong.

Homura pulled back, letting her grimace meet Madoka's small smile. "Your optimism aside, the fact remains that nothing can change while Walpurgisnacht is still a threat."

"Then let's defeat her."

"As I said—"

"You need multiple magical girls, I know. Well, I have their numbers, right? Well, not Kyoko's, but I think Sayaka has hers. I'll set up a meeting."

With that, Madoka pulled out her phone and began to step away so that she could call all of them, but not before looking back and giving a quick, "By the way, you really do look cute with braids." She giggled, as she left a sputtering, blushing Homura behind.

But those warm and fuzzy feelings all went away when Homura heard a familiar voice inside of her head.

"I can't understand you, Irregularity."

She didn't bother to look. "There's plenty that you don't understand…Incubator."

Kyubey flicked his tail. "That's correct. You're too illogical for me to comprehend. From what I have observed, you shouldn't even be entertaining the concept of Madoka making a contract with me, even though it would save the universe itself."

"That's because you don't understand what it means to have faith, Incubator."

Kyubey hopped up onto the bridge's railing and observed Madoka, who seemed to be excitedly chatting with Sayaka about something that was most definitely not the end of the world. "You said it yourself: you don't believe that she will keep her promise. Logic dictates that you should be angry."

"I am."

"Then why has your faith in her not been broken?"

"…Because love is illogical, and that's okay."

Kyubey's expression didn't change. "I see. It seems that you would make quite the powerful Witch yourself, Irregularity."

He hopped off the ledge and disappeared, leaving Homura alone with her thoughts.

Maybe it was illogical, but she trusted Madoka. Remembering Homura had to be some kind of sign that things would be okay.

Perhaps she and Madoka really could defeat Walpurgisnacht…and create a world where they could be happy together.