"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"
"Nnng..." The girl groaned, as she was slowly ripped off her sleep. She turned around in an unsuccessful attempt to ignore the high-pitched alarm that was piercing the insides of her ears, and curled up in a small ball. Again, she had forgotten to deactivate the alarm clock, and it was Sunday. Luckily, that meant that she would not have to reactivate it for the next day, and that was a relief, for it had sometimes happened that she had forgotten to, and was late at school. At least it happened few times.
"Aaaaahh…" At the end, a sleepy hand was lifted to turn it off. Silence, sweet silence. The pink room was filled with the light of sunrise, but she hid beneath her blankets and closed her eyes again. Somehow, sleepiness dragged her in a deep hug, and she was able to rest a few more.
.
"Gah!" The ebony clutched her neck as she woke up, and panted heavily with watery eyes. Gulping air, she shook her head and cleaned her tears with her sleeve. The sudden sunlight blinded her, and she turned around to avoid it, but then, gravity betrayed her. Quick reflexes, a pale, bony hand grabbing the edge of the roof, and she, hanging like a drying t-shirt. Now she remembered. A while after Madoka fell asleep, she headed back home, but her bed was already occupied by Kyoko, and her snores didn't allow her to sleep somewhere inside. She just went to the roof, and, as if losing an unequal combat, tiredness defeated her. It was a good thing that the street where she lived was so unpopulated.
She had to choose between two options now: climbing upwards or allow herself to fall, and then land on her feet, just like a cat… Just like Amy.
"Fuck noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
A screech, and she quickly went back to the top of the roof, and entered her house from there, running, following the sound that led her towards the kitchen.
Kyoko was there, in front of an almost empty fridge.
"Sister, what- … Seriously?" Homura still panted a little.
"We outta food! What happen'd?!" The red head's hands grabbed her own head as it shook desperately.
"Kyoko." The raven-haired snapped coldly. "Think a little…"
"Oh?" She tried to fly backwards through her memories, and then, a small spark illuminated her eyes. "Aaaah, so it was meh." She started to chuckle, not even ashamed.
The paler girl palmed her forehead, and when she put down her hand, she saw her sibling's intentions in her face. "No, Kyoko, no." She said, slowly shaking her head. "I am busy today. You go buy what you have eaten."
"Say what?" The former blinked, astonished and confused at the same time. "Ya mean… Wha' ya mean, hu?"
"I do." She sighed. "Follow me, sister."
Kyoko shrugged, and walked after the ebony, who was leading her towards her room.
Homura opened one of her drawers, and after searching for a while, she pulled out a credit card. She then turned around, and handed it to the red-haired rebel. "You'll use this." She said. "Buy something inappropriate, and…"
"…And?" The red head asked, raising an eyebrow as she deeply looked at the credit card, excitedly thinking about the millions of possibilities it gave her.
"…And I'll make you eat three times a day, healthy food." She threatened.
Kyoko gasped. "No! Anything but dat!" She started to sweat, her knees shaking.
"Then don't disappoint me, sis-ter." That last word of her sounded so evil the red head's blood ran cold for the first time before Homura. She quickly nodded, keeping the credit card, automatically running to prepare herself to do what she had been told.
"Hm." Homura gave a small nod of acknowledgment before she changed her clothes to go to outside.
.
The principal building of the army was huge, enormously tall, perfectly protected. A soldier spotted a teenager by the entrance, probably fifteen, looking deeply at them with her cold, lavender eyes. She dressed in an apparently innocent way, a purple jacket, long black jeans, military boots. Her long, straight, coal-colored hair swung gracefully behind her. She was prettily mysterious.
"Do you need something, girl?" The soldier asked, showing his tough, yet civic manners.
The teen shook her head. "No, thanks." Her voice projected the image of a frozen heart. "I was just watching, for a school work." She lied.
"Well." The man replied. "You can't be here, you know?"
"Oh." The ebony nodded. "Fine, then." And with that, she walked away.
Homura kept moving until she reached the corner, and after it, she pressed her back against the wall. "I've seen enough." She whispered to herself. An enormous amount of soldiers, countless security cameras, mirrors, and other methods to keep the place protected from intruders. She had been there before.
She shook her head to push her memories to the back of her mind; it was not the right moment to cry about long left pasts and deaths, but to worry about doing everything right in this time line. She needed to find the most destructive weapons and war vehicles, and then, steal one of each kind. An impossible mission to any human, but an easy duty to accomplish with the help of her shield; her time controlling magic.
.
Kyoko walked, heavy plastic bags hanging from her hands, full of food and only food. She had a stick of pocky coming out from her mouth, it slightly balancing up and down as she licked its tip. She was wearing her blue denim shorts and boots, and her green hoodie.
The rebel decided to sit somewhere, since, even though she didn't feel any ache in her fingers, but their flesh was starting to get deformed due to the pressure. Looking around she spotted a bench, and sitting on it, a blue-haired girl, her hands covering her eyes. She was wearing a grey hoodie jacket, black jeans that finished below her knee and white sneakers.
The red head sat on the edge, immediately recognizing who the other teenager was, and swallowing her snack, she looked at her. "Yo." She greeted, got no answers. "Heyho." Another silence. "Yo, smurf, are ya here?!" The other's indifference was starting to upset her, and she decided to shake her by her shoulders. "Gimme a single answah at least! I ain't bite ya unless ya're food!" She growled.
The bluenette finally seemed to react, pulling her face away from her hands, and giving Kyoko a blank stare.
"Da fuck?! Are ya high or somethin'?!" The latter backed away before approaching again.
"….." The blue-haired girl stared for a moment, and then, she looked back down at her hands, where she held a greenish, broken crystal she had found in the street. She pulled up her sleeve, revealing her wrist, and then, looking deeply at her veins. It was easy to predict what she would try to do next.
"Oi, dun't!" She slapped the crystal away from her hands, drawing a bit of blood from both of them, but never caring about it. She grabbed Sayaka by her neck and looked at it. "Damn… Sis told meh ya always managed tho get into witchy trouble, hu?" She passed her finger over the black, iconic tattoo-like mark; the witch kiss. "Aaaaaarrrgh. I'll have to handle ya too now."
She hit the back of Sayaka's head, just like Homura had taught her in order not to leave marks while knocking our somebody, and then, carried the unconscious teenager on her back, picking up the bags with her hands again, and running home.
.
The pinkette ran from one side to the other of her room, looking at her mobile phone every five seconds, deeply concerned. She confused every single sound she heard with her usual ringtone, and every minute made her more stressed. From time to time, she typed messages and sent them to someone that would apparently never reply them.
When she finally was about to leave her phone on the table and sit on her bed, she felt the familiar vibration in her hand, and heard the short melody coming from her phone.
She quickly looked at it, and saw she had a message from an unknown number. Hesitatingly, she opened it, and what she read made her gasp a little.
'Good morning, Madoka. It's Homura. We found Sayaka. Please, head to my home if you want to know more. Amy will escort you. See you soon.'
Without thinking twice, she rushed towards the door, when a warm hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Where are you going so quickly?" Tomoisha asked her, with a concerned look in his eyes.
"A-ah…" Madoka tried to mask her worry with one of her characteristic smiles. "Y-you see, Papa, I…" Suddenly, and to her luck, something returned to her mind. "I forgot I have to bring back Homura-chan's clothes!" She was wearing her own now, a pink hoodie, white shorts and white stockings, and had just put on her white sneakers.
"I see." He nodded in understanding. "Does she know you are visiting her?"
"Of course she does!" Madoka replied, sweat-dropping a little.
"Hm." He gave a last nod, and then one of his sweet smiles. "Alright, don't be back too late. And if something happens, don't forget to give us a call."
Madoka waved her mobile phone a little. "Understood! Bye, Papa!" She opened the door, and almost stumbled not to step over the cat that was already waiting for her.
"Meooooow~." The small, black-furred animal greeted her, swinging its tail a little before it started to pad away, expecting the pinkette to follow her.
"A-amy, wait!" She started following her, trying her best to keep up.
Her father watched her as she faded in the distance. He gave a small shrug and laughed, before going back inside and closing the door.
.
"Are ya sure it wa' good idea tho text da pinko?" Kyoko asked, sitting at the edge of Homura's bed, where now the bluenette slept, unaware of everything around her.
The paler girl nodded, showing her sister Sayaka's mobile phone. "As you can see, she has fifteen calls from her best friend, and her whatsapp is saturated. I think she had the right to know." She kept the phone back inside its owner's pocket, and then looked away. "She needed to, anyways. I know her. Madoka can really worry about any living creature, and she has a strong imagination, that can make her worry even more in situations like those."
"I see." Kyoko made a small pause, and then smirked. "Ya really luv her, hu? Ya'r always worried 'bout her!" She then faked a high-pitched voice, perhaps too strident. "Oh, Homura-chan, ya'r sooo kind!"
"Stop it." The ebony snapped, blushing and tensing.
Kyoko understood she was touching a sensitive subject. How wasn't her sister going to worry if she had seen her suffering and dying so many times? "Awright, awright, but ya pay fo' da food." She joked.
"I do always pay for it." Homura stated, looking at the former with her lilac eyes.
"See, it a good deal, hu?" Kyoko made a fangy grin, and before the other could reply, the bell softly sounded.
A short silence, until the raven-haired stood up. "I'll go." She said, and then, headed to the door.
The red head shrugged. "Like if I gonna stop ya." She whispered.
The door opened, and a very concerned Madoka nervously fidgeted before speaking. "G-good morning- uh… Ma-may I come in?"
Saying nothing, the host nodded and moved aside.
"Th-thank you!" She ran towards the only place where she thought Sayaka would be.
The she-cat came in, and looked up at the ebony.
"Well done, Amy." Homura said, closing the door and crouching down to pet her feline friend. "Thanks for escorting her."
"Meooow!~" The tiny animal headbutted the palm of the black-haired's bony hand, and then rubbed against it. She then jumped over her shoulder.
Feeling Amy's weight, she pet her once more before standing up, keeping the best of her balance for the kitten not to fall before she walked to follow the pinkette.
"Wh-what happened to her…?" Madoka worriedly asked, already sitting on the same bed where Sayaka was lying, carefully holding her hand.
"A witch kissed her." Homura replied, the shorter girl's gasp not even altering her coldness and steadiness. "Kyoko found her in due time, and once she carried her here, we removed it with magic. So there is nothing to worry about. She's fine, and will wake up soon." The cat, which had been on her shoulder, was now curling up over a pillow in the ground and then falling asleep.
Madoka sighed in relief, and looked at the red head. "T-thank you, s-so very much, Kyoko-chan…" She murmured.
The rascal eyed her wickedly and stuck her tongue out.
The pinkette was already wondering what she did wrong when Homura's voice ripped her off her brain-storming. "It's okay, Madoka. That means she 'likes' you." She said, and then turned to gift her sister with one of her threatening glares. "Right, Kyoko?" She asked. If anyone thought the ebony couldn't be colder, they were wrong, and right now her tone was a proof.
The red head turned to look at her stoic sibling and stuck her tongue out again, this time grinning mischievously.
"No, Kyoko, no…" The paler girl sighed, before some hand shyly pulled her sleeve to mutely earn her attention. Knowing who its owner was, she turned around without making her wait, and her eyes caught the view of a plastic bag the smaller girl was handing her.
"That's yours, Homura-chan…" She said in half a whisper. "Thanks a lot for- lending it to me."
The former accepted both the bag and Madoka's words with a nod, and took the object, noting a mental reminder to keep its contents inside her wardrobe, and faking she hadn't noticed the slight blush in the other's face.
Suddenly, they all heard a small grumble, as the tomboy's sapphire eyes half-opened.
"Sayaka-chan?!" Madoka held her hand tighter, as all her attention was now given to her childhood friend, who was starting to wake up.
"Mado-…? She looked around, unsuccessfully trying to guess where she was when she saw red and lavender eyes looking at her. She stiffened, her eyes now widening as she quickly sat up. "The fuck, transfer students?! What the- Where am I?!" She demanded, now looking around as fast as big her confusion was.
Kyoko gave a smirk, but looked away deliberately and impolitely when blue met her eyes.
The ebony just stood stoically, her only movement being a small, short blink.
"You are in Homura-chan's house." Madoka smiled softly as her voice sounded sweet and gentle, but then her features changed to a pout. "And as you can see there are no ghosts nor bats nor corpses of- … Corpses."
A black eyebrow was raised, as, from experience of her past, its owner could already guess what Sayaka said behind her back. In every time line, the bluenette always came with new inventions about her 'dark side'. If only she knew… If only they all knew… But no. They couldn't and wouldn't know.
A blue-eyebrowed frown. "What am I doing here?" Her voice was stained by mistrust and shock.
"Oi, brat!" Kyoko poked the forehead of the girl in the bed. "Ya should be thankful dat I brought ya here instead of leavin' ya like dat!" She snapped, almost accidentally spitting the other's face.
Sayaka blinked, poker-faced in true astonishment. "L-like what?" She asked.
"You hit your head and fainted." Homura took the initiative. "My sister picked you up to avoid complications."
"Ah…" Cyan blinked.
"Yeah, but if ya dun't wanna be here and ya feel good ya can leave now!" The red head snapped.
"H-hold on you compulsive eater!" She looked as if she were going to say something, but instead of that, she looked deeply at Kyoko.
"What?!"
"…Your breath smells like waffles." She replied, poker-faced again.
"Is dat all?" The red-haired teenager rested her hands on her hips.
"…" Sayaka looked around nervously, "No." She said, and sighed in defeat. "'Kay, you win. I guess I owe you a 'thank you'?"
Kyoko grinned. "NP."
"Ah, well." Sayaka jumped out of the bed. "I guess I have to go now. She walked towards the living-room, when the vision of the pendulum brutally impacted her. "WTF?!"
Madoka ran to follow her friend's voice. "S-Sayaka-chan, what-?!" She stopped to a halt, and looked up at the swinging pendulum. "Ah…" Since she first had entered that room, she hadn't payed much attention to it, she had instantly acknowledged its presence as if it were as routine as a mere table or chair. But now that she looked at it, she found it calm yet sinister, and a small chill ran across her spine. She could follow it with her eyes, it carrying her to a status of blank day-dreaming, cradling her with its mysterious, constant movement. She slowly grew dizzy and stumbled, but felt firm hands holding her by her shoulders.
"Oi, Madoka! Don't get sleepy on me again!" Sayaka joked.
"A-ah, no!" She recovered her balance, not daring to look at the pendulum again. "Sorry, Sayaka-chan… I really become distracted easily!" She giggled innocently.
"Madoka." Homura's voice behind them made them turn around. "You should walk Sayaka Miki home… Just in case something happens again." Her constant coldness made the bluenette glare at her, but the ebony just stood stoic, as she always was.
"R-right… Let's go, Sayaka-chan!"
The fact that the taller girl's coolness affected her best friend no longer made the tomboy look at the impassible raven-haired suspiciously, before she turned to answer the former's call. "Aaaah, yeah, okay!"
"Bye, Homura-chan, Kyoko-chan!" Madoka waved her hand before walking out the opened door the black-haired was now holding for them.
"Yeah, uh… Bye!" Sayaka waved a little as well.
"Byyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Kyoko's muffled voice was heard from the room, her laziness making her stay there, grabbing whatever she had in her pocket to eat.
Homura gave a last farewell nod before closing the door and sighing, then walking to her sister. "We should split up this afternoon." She informed. "You two need time after what happened yesterday."
"Ah, yeah…" Kyoko guiltily looked down, gritting her teeth. "Germana, ho sento…" She murmured.
"No passa res." The ebony replied, using again their common, secret language. "I was the one who decided to step in the middle." She closed her eyes, before continuing her explanation. "There were many ways to stop you, but none would calm the rage from you two… So I had to shock you somehow, since commotion was the only way to make you two realize the mistake you were making." Her lilac eyes opened again. "That's why I did it."
The red head nodded. "Yeah… Maybe all we need is time." She agreed with dismay.
"I'll talk to Mami, and we'll try again tomorrow, maybe… Or else the day after. It depends." Homura mused, her head slightly tilted. There was no time to lose, and she wanted to do her best for this time line to be the final one, just like in all the others.
"'Kay…" The red head replied, and then leaned backwards, throwing herself against the bed, feeling the bounce against her body, her teeth colliding. "Wha' will we eat?" She asked, completely changing the subject of the conversation.
"Pasta." Was the coal-haired's response. "But first I have to go and do something."
"'Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay."
Suddenly, Homura felt a slight vibration, and she pulled her silenced mobile phone from her pocket. She had a small text from Madoka.
'Can we talk later, Homura-chan?' It said.
'Sure.' The girl typed quickly, with extreme agility in her thumbs, earned from a long practice since Madoka texted her every time line, starting from the very first one, when she still had weak, clumsy fingers. 'This afternoon, at 18:00, at the park where we met yesterday. Is it okay with you?'
'It's fine. Thank you, Homura-chan. I'll see you there. '
'No problem.'
The ebony sighed, kept her phone again and looked at Kyoko. "I'll be right back." Not even waiting for an answer, she ran towards the roof and, as her soul gem took again the shape of a diamond and was placed in the back of her left hand, she, in her magical girl uniform, froze her surroundings again with her shield. She had the weapons from every time line, and had gathered a few new ones. If she started to plan and situate everything right then, she would perhaps be able to win this time. Without thinking it twice, she pulled maps, papers, statistics, notes and a fountain pen from her shield, and then started to jump from building to building.
1st step: filling the pointed spaces with the weapons she had already used in other time lines.
2nd step: adding her new acquisitions, calculating everything meticulously, with absolutely no mistakes.
.
When Madoka spotted the silhouette of the girl she had been waiting for, she suddenly brightened, but her expression changed a little when she saw her aspect: Homura's face didn't show it, but her corporal language revealed how exhausted she was.
"Homura-chan!" She called. "A-are you okay?"
The taller girl looked down at her for a small moment, before replying with a slow nod. "I'm fine." She answered, politely sitting down beside her.
The pinkette sighed. "Homura-chan… I know you are a very strong magical girl… B-but don't p-push yourself so hard! You… Make me worry…" The other looked at her, and she was able to hold her gaze just for a little moment before looking down with a blush.
"I see." The raven-haired whispered, before looking at the distance again. "Don't worry about me, Madoka. It is not worth it." She spoke emotionlessly.
"H-how… How can you say that?!" Madoka's desperate voice brought her stare back. "O-of course I worry! You are my friend!" Her breathing was accelerating a little.
"Calm down, Madoka." The ebony said, never looking away from her now. "Remember I am not a human, so things work differently in my body. I am not that easy to hurt or kill."
"B-but you were hurt… I-I saw you!" Images of the bleeding Homura still appeared in the shorter girl's mind, and remembering that made her want to cry again. Why was the world so cruel to magical girls? Why did they have to fight restlessly until they ended up turning into the things they battled? It was so unjust…
"I was because I chose to." The ebony's now stern words made the former gasp a little. "Besides, those were nothing to me. Our bodies regenerate quickly. If not, they heal with magic. Even our sense of pain is muffled." She closed her eyes. "We are like war machines, impossible to destroy until they stop working…" Or in their case, until they went berserk.
If Homura's words were meant to comfort the pinkette, they didn't, and Madoka was in the verge of tears, breathing shakily now. "That's… So cruel, Homura-chan…" She murmured. "So unfair…" Her voice was cut by a sudden sob. "You… Do not deserve to… To be that!" She made the best of her efforts to control her tears. They made that appointment because she wanted to ask Homura a few things, but there she was, weeping again. She mentally called herself a crybaby, as she tried to stop her tears with her hands.
The ebony helplessly stared at the now broken girl in front of her. She felt clumsy, but, what else could she tell but the truth? Truth hurt… A lot. She had a purpose to remain alive, fighting every day restlessly, until her fate devoured her as it did with everyone else, except that, it would not happen until she finished her mission. But there it was, the cause of her never giving up, the only source of strength, the only thing that tied her to life, wasting her time crying about her, who felt unworthy of her spilled tears.
In an attempt to comfort without losing her stoicism and cold appearance, she put a stiff arm over the other one's trembling shoulder. "It's okay." She said, her voice still cool but now gentle. "It will be. You believe Kyoko and I are strong, then remember it. We won't fall that easily."
"P-promise me…" She muttered between sobs. "Please… Promise me… You w-will live… A-and… Take care… Of… Yourself…"
The ebony silently sighed. "I will live." She said. "I promise, so don't worry."
Madoka looked at her with watery eyes, and then hugged her, just like the day before, probably in search of consolation.
Homura blinked, and tried not to stiff and flinch at this, not to blush, not to push the other away. Memories flooded her mind again, and she shot her eyes closed, gritting her teeth before exhaling unsteadily, and pat the pinkette's back. That familiar warmth brought her sorrow, but also something odd… A strange mixture between hope and despair, ache and pleasure. She loved that girl, and would hug her for ever, and never let her go. Instead, she would remain opposite to show any emotion, and protect the other from the shadows, and make sure she was okay before and after Walpurgisnacht.
The pinkette pulled closer at the touch as she let everything go, and the taller girl ended up returning the hug distantly, or trying to be distant. Braking in the insides, she thought for a millisecond that Madoka would never know what she felt for her. But it was better like this… If she became more attached to her, perhaps that would lead her to make a contract, and that was the last thing she wanted. For now, she would just wait until the smaller girl calmed down.
.
Sayaka depressively ate her ice cream as she sat in a bench near the aquarium. The boy she loved had been asleep most of the day, trying to run away from reality and his now destroyed life. She had been able to do little, less than little, to help him, and guilt devoured her the same way she devoured her refreshing treat.
She sighed. She had been eating it to try and calm her tension and pain, but she was not hungry in fact. She put her spoon and ice cream down when a sudden question from behind made her jump.
"Ya ganna eat dat, smurf?" Kyoko asked. She didn't know how she always managed to meet her randomly, even when she didn't plan to. It was destiny, perhaps?
"Nah…" She sighed again. "You can have it."
"Thanks." Kyoko smirked as she plopped down beside the bluenette and cleaned the bucket with her whole mouth, and even part of her face, not even needing the spoon to do so.
If the red head were not so noisy as she ate, and if there were no vehicles near them, everything would be a long, neither comfortable nor uncomfortable silence. Just a short stage to be through, each one deep inside their thoughts, which were a mystery to the other.
But every stage has a beginning, and so an end. The magical girl had finished eating, and she threw the container to the rubbish bin, licking her fingertips after that. "Well." She said, drying them against her sweater. "What seems tho be da problem fo' ya tho be liek dat?" She asked, looking at the other from the corner of her crimson eyes.
"Nothin'." Sayaka answered, trying to drop the subject, but failing miserably.
"U bad liar." Kyoko stated, hitting her with her elbow. When the bluenette turned to scold at her, she found a red box in front of her eyes.
"Want one?" She slightly shook the box as she offered its contents.
"…" The tomboy's hesitation didn't last for too long, and she pulled one of the pockys out, and nibbled on it.
"So." The red head said, placing hers between her fangs. "I'll ask fo' a last time." She cleared her throat. "Yar problem is?"
"Let it be." The tomboy looked away, pocky in her mouth. "And let me be too."
Kyoko apathetically held her snack with two fingers, and pretended she was smoking. "Yar brain is worth an ass." She said, blowing imaginary smoke.
"WHAT?!" Sayaka turned to stare at her, as angry as surprised.
"Ya hit yar head dis morneen'?" The red head sucked her pocky and then bit it, blowing imaginary smoke again. "Silly thin's. Ya fainted cuz ya'r stressed."
The tomboy opened her mouth to protest, but closed it and looked down.
"Ya see?" Kyoko chuckled shortly before continuing her task of eating/'smoking'. "Mah sistah says heartz be like vases. Dey fill wiz wathah as dey charge wiz emotions. Ya need tho let 'em go, empty da vase before da wathah is spilled outside."
Sayaka glared suspiciously. "And what exactly does your 'sister' know about emotions?" She growled, somehow feeling insulted.
Kyoko frowned, and sharply glared back. "Apparently, more dan ya."
"Apparently." The bluenette scoffed. "If she knows something about those, then I am an evil witch!" She said wryly.
The other stared at her blankly, then closed her hands into fists, and then guffawed loudly, hitting her knee with her now open palm.
"What? What?! What is so funny?!" She demanded angrily.
"Ya know notheen'." Kyoko replied, wiping away her small tears of laughter.
"Really." Sayaka scoffed. "I guess we have that in common."
"Ah, well." Kyoko looked at her, smirking. "Ya know? I wanna try tho help ya. Dat's why I'm still here and yar nose ain't broken."
The blue-haired girl gritted her teeth. She just had enough, and really had to make an effort not to try and remove than grin from the red head's face. "Go bury your face on elephant shit!" She stood up, and ran away.
The rascal put her head down as she lifted her hand. "Take care!~" She said, before looking around, swallowing the last bits of her pocky and grabbing another one to eat. She sighed. "Bleh, humans…" She then stood up and stretched, ready to start her hunting afternoon. Since she was all alone, she would defeat some minions, maybe… A few of them. But if she crossed her path with a witch's, she would not allow that opportunity to escape.
.
Homura's eyes remained opened, unblinking, as she looked at something but nothing. The pinkette was still resting against her arms, her now calmed breathing sometimes interrupted by tiny hiccups, but at least she was no longer crying. The calm that surrounded them now made the situation feel kind of bittersweet, since it's the calm only a good cry brings.
Then, the ebony remembered she had been messaged to be asked something, and that question had never been asked, so she decided to, once more, take the reins of the situation. "Madoka…" She whispered. "Are you feeling better now?"
The pinkette quickly pulled away, blushing, and rubbed her soaked cheeks with her fists. "S-sorry, Homura-chan…"
"It's fine." She answered, and repeated her last question, slightly tilting her head. "Are you better now?"
"Y-yes, thank you." She nodded, giving her a small smile.
"Good." The other nodded back, apparently satisfied. Then, after a tiny pause, she spoke again. "You wanted to ask me something, right?"
"Y-yeah…" Madoka fidgeted with her hoodie, looking at anything she found lower than her.
"I'm listening." For once, Homura moved her gaze away, so she wouldn't intimidate the other, and she would feel more comfortable to ask what she wanted to know.
"R-right…" The pinkette gave a last nod, as she tried to tidy up her mind and clear her thoughts. "First of all… I… I want to thank you… For everything you do, Homura-chan."
The raven-haired tensed, and then quickly searched for the most appropriate answer for her to give. "You don't have to thank me." She blurted out, coldly. As Madoka remained frozen, she looked away. "I mean, there is nothing to thank." How stoic, how cool, how… Clumsy. She finished her sentence by flicking her hair.
"U-uh…" Madoka didn't really understand, but she found no better answer than this. "Okay…"
"Any other question?" The ebony asked, looking again at the pinkette, who's magenta eyes immediately darted downwards.
"Ah…" The pinkette realized that the last thing she had told Homura hadn't been a question, so she now searched for a true one. "H-how… Did you get my number?" She tilted her head, her eyes now glittering with curiosity, still showing that she had cried before.
"Hm." The coal-haired rested her jaw over her open right hand. "I…" She had memorized it many time lines ago. "…saw it in the school papers when I transferred. The teacher told me to note it, saying it would be good to have it if something happened." She shrugged, now looking again at some lost point in the distance. "I couldn't say 'no', anyways."
"I see…" Madoka nodded. It made sense to her. "A-also!" Images of the last morning came back to her mind. "Wh-what happened to Sayaka-chan… The… Witch kiss? H-how does it work exactly?" Perhaps, if it happened again, she would be able to do something to help, she hoped.
"As I told you on Tuesday, you can notice it, for it shows itself as a small tattoo on the prey's neck." The ebony looked at her hands as she spoke, her pale, long fingers now interlaced, her spine straight against the back of the bench. This way, she didn't seem a threat, and the pinkette looked at her, almost unblinking. "It's like… 'Possessing' the victim somehow. Feeding themselves with their despair, they make them do things only someone insane would. Nevertheless, the most common thing they cause them is to give up on life, to kill themselves."
"S-so it means…" The shorter girl muttered, a chill running along her spine and through her whole body. "..I-if Kyoko-chan hadn't been there…" She heavily swallowed saliva, feeling a tangle inside her neck.
"Your friend would have cut her veins with some piece of glass she found." Homura said what the other couldn't, her eyes still closed not to see the horror in her face. "The easiest victims to be 'kissed' or welcomed inside their barrier are those who are already struggling." It was impossible to know what she was thinking about right now.
"Oh, no…" Madoka hug herself already shaking. "That's horrid… If…- T-then… Sayaka-chan is…"
"Don't worry." The ebony cut her mumbling. "Kyoko and I will watch her closely." So then Madoka wouldn't risk her soul to save her if something happened? "And about that witch…" Her ring adopted the shape of a gem again. It shone. "I bet she had three seconds left to live."
"Wh-what?"
The soul gem's glimmering suddenly faded. "My sister is done with her." She stated, turning the jewel back into a ring.
"Oh…" Madoka blinked twice, startled by the sudden news. Should she be happy, because they had removed another dangerous being from the city? Or else should she be sad, for that witch had been a girl like herself, who had been tricked by that creature named 'Incubator'? Though it was better this way, she thought. At least that girl would suffer no longer.
"Any other question?" The black-haired asked again, bringing back her eyes to the other.
"Ah…" Madoka fidgeted once more, frowning a little as she thought. 'What happened yesterday?' 'Have you already allied to Mami?' 'Do you magical girls sleep at night?' 'Have you ever been about to die?' 'Why do you live by yourself?' 'Where is your family?' 'Where is Kyoko's?' Many questions like those flew through her mind, but she dared to ask none. Then, different questions, more usual, like those friends share, started to slowly replace the others. 'What is your favorite color?' 'And your favorite food?' 'When is your birthday?' 'Which is your favorite subject?' 'Do you have any hobbies?' 'Which kind of music do you like?' 'Favorite book?' 'Movie?' 'TV show?' 'Do you play video games?' But again, she neither dared to ask those. The life of the girl beside her was completely different from hers, perhaps she wouldn't answer those questions, or maybe her answer would be too unexpected, perhaps, even negative. Did magical girls have enough time to think about such things? And… Would Homura even acknowledge her questions after all? Yes, they were now friends, but the ebony was like a closed book, and perhaps, they didn't trust each other enough. Why was everything so difficult? Why couldn't they just talk naturally, without one being so shy and the other being so cold and closed?
She saw the raven-haired was patiently waiting, and felt a little guilty about taking so long to answer.
"H-homura-chan…" She whispered.
"What is it?" She answered, staring at her from upon, eternally parsimonious, yet somehow, a little rigid.
"D-did you…" What she was going to ask seemed stuck inside her. She didn't know why this question came, and where from, but it just appeared. "…h-have…" She felt as if she were completely intruding the other's privacy. Why was she even asking that anyways? "…a-any friends before? B-besides Amy?"
And once she shot, it entered Homura's heart like a bullet. Her body completely stiffened, and this time, it was inevitable. "I…" She swallowed saliva, recomposing herself. "I am not interested in socializing and human relationships." She spoke coldly and bluntly, but seemingly serene again.
"Th-then…" Innocent curiosity was again inside the pinkette's eyes. "Why d-did you accept… To be my friend?" Her head cocked to a side as she spoke, pink bangs slightly touching her shoulder.
"Because…" Homura breathed deeply, almost as if going to sigh, but didn't. She just kept breathing softly, inaudibly, slow inhales and exhales. "…maybe you are different." She said, stabbing her with her lilac eyes again.
"H-huh?" Madoka's eyes widened a little, and her head tilted more.
"I already told you my opinion about you that night." She said, moving her gaze to look forwards again. "I know I am right, so you should never forget my words." She knew how low the pinkette's self-esteem was, and she just hated having to see how she denied herself once and again, and not doing a thing about it.
"…" Madoka's silence showed how blocked the little teenager was right now. She looked down. "Th-thanks…"
"Mhm." Homura crossed her arms, her eyes about to stare downwards again when a sound made her look at the new weight on her shoulder, the one that was not soaked by the pinkette's tears.
"Meooow."
"I know, Amy." She said, stroking the little cat, and standing up. "I must go now, Madoka."
"W-wait!" The girl in the pink hoodie stood up, looking at the other with a pleading stare. "M-may I come too?"
To her disappointment, Homura shook her head. "I am sorry, Madoka. Today it will be more dangerous, and perhaps you will see something you are not ready to." Or else, her presence this time would be a handicap, but the ebony had enough tact not to say so.
"Homura-chan… Is it related to wh-what happened yesterday?" She pointed to where the other's wounds had been, for her to understand.
The raven-haired looked at her anew. "I'm afraid it is." She made a small sigh. "Farewell, Madoka." But when she turned around to leave, a hand took hers, and she found herself tilting her head backwards to look at the pinkette.
"W-will you be okay, Homura-chan?" She asked, concerned again.
The former lightly squeezed her hand to comfort her. "I promised you that I would be alive." After saying that, she turned back around and let go, walking away, little Amy meowing to say goodbye, still standing over her shoulder.
Madoka stood there, looking at the other as she left. Should she follow or not? Should she trust or worry? At the end, she submissively turned around and walked home; she still had home work to do.
.
The blonde panted, as the barrier of the last minion faded around her. She cleaned the sweat on her forehead with a handkerchief, and so the blood of her only wound; a gash over her collarbone she would heal it once she was back home. The pain she felt was bare, but enough to turn her wound into an annoying thing placed on her body. She heard heels echoing on the cobblestone, and turned around to look, not surprised, at the girl whose long, silky hair waved prettily behind her as she walked, a she-cat staying on her shoulder.
"Good evening, Mami Tomoe." She greeted once she was near enough.
"Ah, Akemi-san… Good evening." She greeted back, once more drawing that smile on her lips.
"I was wondering how you are doing after yesterday." She commented monotonously.
"A-ah…" Her smile faded, but she tried to make it again and then hold it. "Y-yes, uhm… I'm fine." She replied, her voice showing the opposite. "B-but… What about you, Akemi-san? You were hurt." Her lips tugged downwards now, trying to show concern.
"I'm fine." She repeated the blonde's words, coldly. "It was the only way to stop you two from killing each other. After all, it was not a too high price to pay."
"What do you mean?" Mami asked, feeling a little exasperated. "Isn't your life a high price to pay?" She frowned at her own words.
"We magical girls do not die that easily." She explained. "As long as our soul gem isn't broken, we can still live and repair our bodies with magic." Noticing the other's startled expression, she looked at her from the corner of her eye, faking she was slightly surprised. "Oh, didn't you know that?"
"U-uh…" Mami quickly nodded. "Y-yes, of course!" She lied, and giggled sheepishly.
"No wonder." The ebony nodded. "Well, I'll leave you be, now. I just wanted to inform you that my sister and I want you to meet us tomorrow, in the piano class."
"Ah?" That, again, caught her by surprise.
"We still want to defeat Walpurgisnacht, right?" Homura asked, and without waiting for an answer, she turned around to leave. "We'll see you tomorrow, Mami Tomoe. Have a good night."
Said blonde made a gesture with her hand to reach and stop her and opened her mouth to speak, but she cut herself and closed her mouth, putting down her hand again. It would be a waste of time to try and talk to her.
.
"Meooow!"
On the fifth unpredictable attempt to steal the red head's food, Amy made a jump, claws unsheathed.
"No way!" Kyoko managed to block her with her leg, and the she-cat jumped backwards, hissing. "Sistah!" The rebel demanded Homura, who was day-dreaming as she nibbled an apple. "Stop da thief alreadeh! I'm da only one who can steal food, and it can't be stolen back from meh!"
The ebony sighed. "Amy, come here if you want to eat." She said, not too loud, not too low, as calm as if she were ignoring the risk those two had to start cat-fighting.
"Yeah! Go to your momma! She got milk and fish for ya, kitty cat!"
Amy snarled, curling her lips to show her fangs, making Kyoko answer the same way, but she was called once more and obeyed, dedicating the red head a last glare before turning around.
As Homura stroke and fed her tiny friend, she looked at her sister to talk. "Well, Kyoko. How was your hunt?"
"Not bad." She shrugged, folding her pizza for it to perfectly fit inside her mouth. "I kill'd minions and… I found two witches too." She then looked back at her sister. "Ah! Also, I found tha smurf, who was still depressed an' grumpeh." She then filled her mouth and tried to articulate her words. "How 'oug ya?"
"Minions, and a witch." She said, leaning forwards to see the first rubbish bin from the roof and throw with the best of her aim the remains of the apple she had eaten. "Madoka was really worried, as expected. She asked me a few things, and I only answered what I wanted to." She now leaned her head backwards, to look at the moon again. "I talked to Mami as well. We shall gather in 'the piano' tomorrow." When the two sisters spoke, they called that to the music room, and had gotten used to it, though, Homura always gave its true name when she told the others about that place, like Madoka or the blonde herself.
Kyoko's eyes widened, before staring downwards. She swallowed. "Ah…"
Homura frowned, although slightly. "Sister, what is done is done. You must take what happened yesterday as a lesson, but do not let it bother you, just don't let it happen again."
The red head grimaced. "C'mon, HomuHomu. Ya know I dun't give three fucks 'bot a thing. Dun't give meh lessons I ain't need, I alreadeh know thus."
The ebony just stared at her.
"Okay, maybe I give onleh half a fuck, but still, dun't worreh 'but me." She said, now looking serious.
A sigh, and the tall raven-haired stood up to go. "Just remember what I said. I am leaving now. Good night, Kyoko."
"Night, sistah."
.
This time, Madoka was sitting in the darkness of the pink room, obviously waiting for the ebony to come. She wanted to see, to know by herself she was okay, after that dangerous and mysterious mission she had. Her magenta eyes detected a slight movement in the shadows, and then two lavender eyes were inexpressibly staring at her.
"Homura-chan?" She asked, as usual.
"Madoka…" The other looked down, and then, back at her. "Why were you waiting for me?"
"I…" She stared at her blankets, hugging her plushie tighter. "I j-just wanted to m-make sure… you were okay…"
"Of course I am okay." Homura answered. Her voice was as cold as usual, but it sounded a little gentler when she talked to the pinkette, or at least, that was the way she felt it. "I told you I would remain alive." And she would anyways, no matter how, for the pinkette.
"R-right…" She nodded, looking up at her. "Uh… C-can you kneel, Homura-chan?"
The ebony lifted her chin a little, almost as if showing surprise but trying not to be caught off-guard, but then hesitatingly did as told. "What is it, Madoka?"
The pinkette let go of her stuffed bunny, it almost flying towards the nearest wall, and gave the raven-haired a sudden and tight embrace. She felt how the other's muscles stiffened in surprise.
"M-madoka?"
After few seconds, the smaller girl pulled away. "I-I'm sorry, Homura-chan… I just needed to do it."
"...It's fine." The other answered stoically, standing up again. "Are you okay to sleep now?"
"Y-yes… Thank you." She said, giving the other a soft, cute smile before grabbing her plush again and laying down, covering herself with her blankets. "Good night, Homura-chan."
"Good night."
After a few minutes, the pinkette was already asleep, breathing softly and peacefully. Homura approached her again, and stared for a while. "Faré el que sigui… Per tal de protegir-te, Madoka." She whispered in Catalan, and then, stopped the time around her. She moved her hand from her shield and used it to open the door and leave.
She walked through the corridor, went down stairs to the living room and then looked at the TV. The screen was white, with black, shapeless marks flying around inside it, or at least they would if time were still running. Again, they had turned off the digital channels, but had forgotten to do the same with the main machine. The raven-haired herself pressed the button to turn it off, and kept walking, this time, to the entrance door.
Once in front of it, she searched inside her shield for a while, and pulled out a little metallic object: a master key. She unlocked the door, and then locked it again from outside.
Time flowed again, and she turned around to leave somewhere else.
Her steps echoed in the tiles as she walked through countless streets whose names she would never remember, to do her last mission of the day. As she walked, she flicked her hair once more, the watch in her wrist making a short acoustic signal to announce the hour.
12:00, aka 00:00.
It had been a productive day, after all, and so it would be a productive night.