The rising sun started to slowly illuminate her face, as she opened her eyes. Feeling her cheeks wet, she rubbed them to dry her tears. She had done it again...
Exhausted from a night of witch-hunting, she passed out in an alley, bleeding from wounds that were now closed.
Homura made her way towards her home. Her surroundings were all frozen, almost colourless, as she was the only one time was still running for. She would have to shower, get ready for shool and go. Nothing new to her, a routine she had gotten used to, but she would never accept the fact that she cried when she slept. It made her ashamed of herself. She should have gone home, so then no human would see her in her most vulnerable moment. Luckily, she didn't sleep much, but that night she hadn't been able to control her body, as it gave up to tiredness.
She would waste no magic; the deepest wounds were below her clothes, and there were only a few scratches in her face and hands. People would believe she had gotten into a fight. The rebel was her sister, but she was tough too, perhaps they would think her coldness put her into trouble, and she obviously won.
The ebony opened the door of her house. The swinging pendulum greeted her with its costant movement, but she didn't look at it, or at all the information about witches floating around her living-room. Nothing was going to distract her. She would just get ready and allow the time to run again.
.
"What's wrong, Madoka?" The green-haired bimbo asked her, with her smug voice. "You look so defeated."
"I-I'm okay, Hitomi..." The pinkette answered with a weak, but reassuring smile. She slept little last night, unable to forget the beings that almost murdered her, and the raven-haired ice-queen who saved her life.
"If you want answers, search for me in the music classroom tomorrow, at break time." She couldn't forget those last words of hers, before disappearing into the darkness, not even waiting for an answer. That girl made her uneasy, somehow scared her, perhaps because she had never seen someone so cold, someone who had seemingly given up the bright side of life. But she was alive because of her so, what if she digged deeper and found a kind heart inside those walls made of ice and shadows?
Madoka made the decision of going to that music room. She didn't even know it was opened during that hour, and yet Homura had been able to enter it. Everything was so odd...
"Madoka!" Sayaka's optimistic voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Are you really okay? You have not listened to me!" The bluonette made a childlish pout, she obviously was not angry.
"I'm sorry, I haven't slept very well last night..." She looked down, not noticing that Sayaka's pout was turning into a sly grin.
"Then I'll wake you up!" The blue-haired caught the pinkette by surprise, as she started tickling her from behind. Madoka's answer was a defenseless giggling attack. "S-staaph!" She could barely speak, as her eyes filled with small tears of laughter.
Hitomi noisily cleared her throat. "You'd better stop, you peasants! Everyone is looking at you! You are making me ashamed!"
.
Madoka furtively observed the class, as if analizing people's behaviour. To them, nothing had happened, everything still worked the same way. To her, everything was now confusing, not even paying attention to the teacher's explanation about new kanjis as endless questions kept spinning around inside her innocent mind. Even Homura acted as if nothing had happened, concentrated on studying, and sometimes helping Kyoko with the lesson or telling her to keep her politically incorrect jokes for the break time.
Suddenly, lavender met magenta, and Madoka quickly looked away, blushing, realising she had been staring at the ebony too long. Homura's unexpressive eyes mooved back to the book, and the pinkette could not repress a sigh of relief.
At least she had good luck, for the teacher asked nothing to her this time. She would have to study at home, sadly.
.
Cautious steps were unheard in the corridor, as the sound of the piano was stronger. It was a beautiful, yet sad song, that made Madoka wonder if it was Homura the one who played.
People said music meant emotions. If it works this way, did it mean that the ebony was able to actually feel something?
She hesitatingly knocked the door with a trembling fist. Entering that room would mean getting out of her confort zone, to meet unknown, probably dangerous territory.
The piano suddenly hushed, and Homura's cold voice told her to come in.
The pinkette repressed a squeal when the first thing she found when opening the door was Kyoko's grinning face, looking at her as she was sitting on a chair. She removed the pocky from her mouth and looked at Homura. "He, tu sí que saps com escollir-les, tata. És bastant cuca."
Homura sternly glared at her sister. "Hush." She snapped, slightly blushing, though it was almost unperceptible in her pale cheeks. "It is unpolite to talk in another language when we have guests." She didn't even show any track about the meaning of Kyoko's words. She then looked at Madoka. "Forgive my sister." She said coldly, though her stare was stern no longer, just emotionless. "You may come in and take a seat."
Kyoko scoffed, as she put the pocky back in her mouth and stood up. "I'll leave ya gurls 'lone." With that, she left, closing the door. Homura just blinked.
"W-well..." Madoka muttered, fidgeting with her thumbs.
Homura looked into her eyes. "You must have a lot of questions about what happened yesterday." She said. "Just ask away, and I will answer."
Madoka thought for some seconds. During the class, she had many things to ask, but now, her mind was blocked. The other patiently waited. Suddenly, out of thoughts, the pinkette blurted out. "W-were you really the one who played?" An unconfortable silence, Homura raising an eyebrow, and Madoka knew she was asking something stupid, since the ebony was the one sitting right in front of the piano. An ashamed blush tinted Madoka's cheeks, along with a sweatdrop.
"Is that what you want to know?" Homura asked coldly.
"N-n-n-no!" Madoka shook her hands. "Oh, well, y-yes! B-but that's not what I came here to ask! I-i mean- ... ... Th-that song was b-b-beautiful!"
Homura's eyes showed surprise for the very first time. Perhaps the ebony had not expected a sudden compliment from her. It took her a second to clear her throat and recover her composture. "Thank you." She said, trying to keep the stoic and cold tone in her voice, and luckily succeeding.
Madoka was lucky as well, for the first question seemed to appear in her mind. She smiled sheepishly about the raven-haired's reaction, and then her features became worried again when she dared to ask away. "Th-those creatures... That attacked me last night... What were they?"
The ebony looked at her solemnly. "It was a witch, along with her minions." She coldly explained.
"A-a witch?"
Homura replied with a nod, and then continued to explain. "The living form of despair itself is a way to call them. They are not visible to humans, but possess them by marking their neck. That's called a 'witch kiss'." The former was paying more attention to her than to a thousand lessons, her eyes never abandoning her except to blink, sometimes replying with small nods. "You were able to see it because it locked you inside its barrier."
"S-so... They are hidden from us?"
"They cannot attack in your world, so they create theirs to live and act from there. That's why, despite the fact that they are as old as humanity, they remain unnoticed. Their actions are confused with natural disasters, or else called mysteries, and abandoned after unsucceful investigations."
"I... I see..." She was learning a lot of new information about things she never imagined they existed. Then, the other question Homura had obviously been expecting came out from her mouth. "So... You are not human, right? Since you can see them and fight them... Wh-what are you?"
The question was recieved with a blink of acknowledgement. "The opposite of a witch; a 'magical girl'." Madoka let out a small gasp, but Homura shook her head. "No, Madoka Kaname, it does not work the way you imagine it."
Madoka swallowed the saliva inside her mouth. "Wh-what do you mean, Akemi-San?"
"Please, call me Homura."
"Homura..." The name felt strange on her tongue as she pronounced it. It was a very uncommon name, which meant 'flame'. "Th-then... Homura-chan... What do you mean?"
Homura silently hesitated. Was she supposed to tell her the truth? Yes, she was. If not, sooner or later, the blonde Mami Tomoe would, and her version was really different, for she still believed Kyubey's lies. Everytime she thought about that girl, the word 'naïve' crossed the ebony's mind.
"Let me explain you." She said at the end, and pulled her soul gem out.
Madoka's magenta eyes widened a little. That was the gem the ice-queen had used to heal her reddened wrist after saving her. She remembered it well, though, instead of looking like a diamond, it had now the shape of an egg.
"This item..." Homura begun. "...is called Soul Gem. Most girls think it's where we keep our powers... They are wrong." Her gaze became even more stern now. "What I am showing you right now is my petrified soul."
The pinkette covered her mouth with her hands, as she gasped in awe and horror at the same time.
"A miracle is granted in exchange of a wish, and so, we become this and are supposed to fight witches to survive. Remember that object that fell from it? That black jewel?" Madoka nodded softly. "It's the soul of a witch, a grief seed. We use them to remove the darkness from our soul gems. If not..." She looked down for a moment, her pause creating a suspense, but homura didn't mean it this time. The truth was horrid, even to her, and she needed to breathe before saying what would completely terrify the other.
"I-if not...?" The shorter girl asked. That brought Homura's cold, deep gaze, to look into her own eyes, stabbing them like a blade would.
"If not, our corrupted soul gem breaks, and turns into a grief seed, and us into witches."
Madoka's shoulders dropped heavily, her mouth opened in horror, but no words came from it.
"That's it." Homura continued. "All miracle needs an equal damnation to keep the balance. Some day, I will be a witch too, and also Kyoko, unless we get killed by them before."
The pink-haired girl was starting to shake again. "B-but how... Why... Why did you choose... To turn into a... A magical girl...? I-I mean... You had a choice... R-right...?"
Homura shrugged, keeping the truth inside her. "Perhaps because what I wished for was more important than the sake of my soul... Or perhaps because the Incubator hadn't told us the truth."
"I-incubator...?"
Homura nodded. "The one who grants wishes in exchange of souls. He tricks you to make a contract with him, never telling you the hidden truth." She then looked down, not abandoning her coldness. "Many magical girls like myself had to die and decay for me to discover it..." And then, her eyes were back into Madoka's. "But I have learned my lesson, and I hope you do so too." Her voice was more stern than ever. "If you ever see some white cat-like being, rings around its pseudo-ears, red round eyes and a permanent grin, ignore him, or you will end up like us, or worse."
The pinkette was wordless now, as scared as when she was about to be murdered. The bell rang just in time, and the ebony stood up, carefully closing the piano.
"It's time to go to class." She said coldly, but softly. "I advice you never to forget my words if you want to live."
.
Afternoon, and the two magical girls were making their way over the roofs.
"So." Kyoko said. "Ya told 'er da truth, hu?"
Homura nodded. "I had to try. Other methods have been useless in other time lines."
Kyoko grinned. "Ya stubborn gurl, nevah giveen' up. I told ya we were strong females, ya and meh. Am I right or am I wrong?" She softly hit Homura's arm with her elbow.
"...I guess..." Homura said, and then, straightened her spine. "I mean, you are right."
Kyoko chuckled, but then, her features grew stern as she became alerted. "Sistah..."
Homura nodded. "I have noticed her too." She prepared her shield as Kyoko tightened the grip of her spear.
A blonde girl approached them, drills of curly hair tied as pigtails, calm yellow eyes, a soft smile. She held a white shotgun with each of her hands, ambidextrous, just like the ebony. As she walked, her enormous breasts slightly bounced.
"Mameh." Kyoko called her name scornfully.
"Tomoe Mami, it's surprising to see you here." Homura politely said. She knew Mami and Kyoko had had a friendship in the past, but it painfully broke. It was not good for those two to be together. "What are you doing here?"
"The same as you two." She said with her soft voice. "Witch-hunting."
"This be our territoreh! Get da fuck outta here!" Kyoko snapped, stepping forwards.
Homura put a hand on her shoulder, making her step backwards again. "Temper, sister." She said, and then, looked back at Mami. "What Kyoko means is that you entered our territory." She then passed her fingers along her black, long, silky hair, making it prettily wave in the air. "I have no problems with us hunting together, but I don't want you two to end up badly."
The red head growled, and spat in the ground.
"Temper." Homura repeated.
"I understand." Mami nodded, her smile never fading, which caused Kyoko's rage to grow. "I just wanted to ask if you knew what causes Kyubey's absence. I haven't seen him in a few days."
Kyoko's grimace turned into an amused grin. "Tell 'er, sistah!" She said.
"You should not worry about Kyubey." Homura said, her cool expression never changing. "His absence is my responsibility, but he will come back."
Mami's smile faded. "What have you done to him?" She asked, now concerned about the small, yet secretly evil being.
"At this moment..." Homura replied. "...it is none of your business."
"Yes, it is!" Mami argued.
Kyoko looked at the raven-haired. "Homu, I dun't wanna continue dis conversation. Can we go?"
Homura nodded. "Don't mind us." She told the blonde. "We'll take our leave."
"Wait-!" Mami answered too late, they had vanished into nothing. "Tsk. It's impossible to keep a conversation with those two..."
.
"Hey, gurl! Madoka? MadoMado?! Ground control to major Madoka! Do you copy me?" Sayaka shook Madoka by her shoulders, until the pinkette shook her head.
"S-sorry, Sayaka-chan... I..."
"Geez." The bluonette cut her off. "You've been zonin' out the whole day. You do really need a rest!"
"But-!"
"No buts. You trully ain't okay, and I worry! You are my best friend!"
"..."
"Go home, I'll go visit Kamijou-kun by myself." She grinned. "We'll go together tomorrow, okay?"
Madoka smiled gently. "Thank you, Sayaka-chan... See you tomorrow..." She answered tiredly.
"Bye!"
Madoka started to walk home, and Sayaka, after buying some CDs, headed towards the hospital, where she would see the boy she had a crush on.
.
"Why is da moon so special, sistah?" Kyoko asked, eating again, as she kicked her legs.
"I like it, that's all." She said, never moving her purplish gaze from it.
They were both sitting on the roof, sharing the grief-seeds as they had dinner. The ebony was having an apple, the red head ate the other nine of the basket.
"Guess what?" Homura coldly asked. "Tomorrow the teacher is going to give us a 'surprise', assigning us a sudden science work in pairs. She is choosing them herself."
"Pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff..." Kyoko bit one of the apples, and, as she talked, she spat small crumbs of it. "Boooooring."
"We have no other choice."
"I know, I know."
"Look at the bright side." She said, now looking deeply into her red eyes.
"Doez it haz a bwight shibe?" She asked, now her mouth full enough to make her talking worse than usual.
"I bet you will have fun... Having to interact with other humans, and managing chemical products."
Kyoko swallowed, and then she grinned, her face now similar to the meme's troll's. "Yous right. Tis'll be fun."
Homura looked up at the enormous, bright satellite again, not even smiling as any other person would have. The only thing she could think about was that the teacher would probably choose Madoka to be her partner for that work.