Author's Notes: Just an Author's notes here, doing my job to keep the top part clean. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum

Only Friends Are Welcome In This House

It was half past nine. The pale moon hung low in the cloudless sky, gleaming over the apartment complex in Mitakihara City's residential district where Mami Tomoe lived. Mami, who had just finished eating a simple, lonely dinner, stood in front of an electronic kettle and waited for it to start boiling. The kettle sounded a beep and steam rose up from its spout, prompting Mami to turn it off. She then reached for a silver tin stuffed with various teabags – she came across a bag of Earl Grey.

This was Mami Tomoe's nightly routine; she would make a lonely dinner then have a lonely cup of tea. Maybe even some cake if she felt like it. She would never be able to say that she liked this routine, but by now, she had been used to her perpetual silence and solitude.

Then, the doorbell chimed. Mami nearly jumped.

'Now who could that be?' she wondered, leaving the kettle to see who was at the door. It wasn't very often that guests came to the Tomoe household. It wasn't very often that Mami had any guests at all.

On the way to the door, the golden-haired girl tried to guess who her guest might be. She believed it could have been either Madoka Kaname or Sayaka Miki – or maybe even both. Those two underclassmen of hers were both interested about Puella Magi after all, even more so after the Witch hunt they had joined her on earlier that afternoon. Whatever it was they might want to talk about, she decided they would talk about it over tea and cake. Mami always had plenty.

Clearing her throat, she prepared to welcome her guests with open arms. When she quickly peered through the door's peephole, however, she saw that her guest wasn't either of the girls she had hoped for.

Mami took a step back from the door, trying to figure out her next move. The guest standing at the door wasn't one Mami would normally welcome at all. The ring Mami wore on her finger turned into a bright, golden Soul Gem. She raised the Soul Gem to her chest with a steeling stance, prepared to do battle with her 'guest' at a moment's notice.

"Coming to my house at this hour?" she asked her guest coolly through telepathy. "To what do I owe the honor, Akemi-san?"

There was silence.

Mami had expected her guest to counter sharply and swiftly in her usual, distant manner. She did not expect silence. Puzzled, the girl peered through the peephole again and saw Homura in her everyday attire. The black-haired girl was not holding on to her purple Soul Gem, but onto the book of armaments Mami had lent her earlier in the library.

"Mami-san." Homura then replied through the door. Her voice was collected and measured, but far warmer than usual. "I just wanted to thank you for lending me this book. Like you said, its section on mortars was interesting."

Mami's eyes widened. She couldn't believe her eyes or ears. To have the seclusive, distant Homura come to her to thank her for letting her borrow a book? It was a pleasant surprise – maybe too pleasant. Mami realized this and raised her guard one last time.

Homura didn't need to come to thank her. In fact, returning the book to the library's deposit bin would have been enough of a courtesy. Mami figured she didn't have much business with Homura, so she would just thank Homura for dropping by, throw in a compliment or two (for good measure) before politely sending her guest off on her merry way.

"You're quite welcome." Mami said, making no move to open the door, "Now then, Akemi-san…"

"Actually…" Homura interrupted, "I came by since… I wanted to talk."

Mami blinked. "To me?"

"Yes. About the Second World War. You said you would happily share what you know with a fellow enthusiast – I came by to take up that offer."

Mami then slowly lowered her Soul Gem, starting to feel slightly elated. Never in a million years did she expect this sort of encounter with Homura – it was almost as if she wanted to work together with her rather than against her. It was a step in the right direction, Mami thought. She opened the door and the two girls stood face to face for a moment in silence.

"Only friends are welcome in this house." Mami then declared firmly, "Am I welcoming an exception tonight, or am I welcoming a friend?"

Despite her strong words, Homura knew what Mami wanted her to say. The cautious happiness in Mami's bright eyes easily gave her away. Silently gulping, Homura broke the tension.

"… A friend."

"A friend, huh?" Mami repeated with growing cheerfulness. She closed her eyes as if savoring the moment then gave off a bright, bright smile. "Come on in then! I'll have some tea ready for us in a jiffy!"

"You don't have to go through the trouble…" Homura refused, shy all of the sudden.

"Nonsense, Akemi-san! Have cup of tea with me… oh, and some cake too!"

"Really… I'm fine."

"No, no. I insist!" Mami said, ushering Homura inside and waving aside her reluctance. "As a sign of our new friendship, I insist we have tea together!"

Homura looked hesitant.

"Mami-san…"

It had been a long, long time since Mami had smiled at her like that.

"Alright."

Mami beamed then returned to her kettle, preparing two cups of tea instead of one. That evening would be a welcome break in her routine. That evening, Mami Tomoe would not be lonely.

Mami's apartment was notably empty and, for the most part, devoid of fancy furniture. It was to be expected, since she was the only one living in that apartment. Plus, she had never expected to entertain any guests very often. Still, a low, triangular glass table in the middle of her small apartment was its centerpiece and served as a dining table.

There, around the table, Mami and Homura sat on the ground facing each other, their emptied cups of tea resting on the smooth glass surface. Businesslike silence sat heavily between them for a moment as Mami took a quick bite from her mostly untouched slice of caramel cake. Homura, engrossed in Mami's lecture, had left her cake uneaten.

Mami had been in the middle of a passionate lecture about the Second World War and Homura listened intently.

The lecture started out broadly, discussing the more well-known battles and figures of the Pacific War; the theater wherein, according to Kyuubey, Walpurgisnacht was born. Piecing together what she already knew from Kyuubey's 'presentation' with Mami's vibrant lecture, Homura finally managed to zero in on the country she wanted to focus on: The Commonwealth of the Philippines.

"Just like in Pearl Harbor…" Mami started, thoughtfully picking at her slice of cake with a spoon, "The Philippines Campaign started with a nation-wide air raid in the archipelago."

"The Japanese would have struck at major airbases first, naturally, to disable the USAFFE airforce." Homura guessed, "That way, they would eventually gain air superiority."

"You catch on very quickly, Akemi-san." Mami smiled, "That's exactly what happened. Thus, in a very short time, the USAFFE airforce was ground to dust.

Mami gave off a heavy sigh. "It's too bad the USAFFE wasn't alerted in time. The air wings stationed in the Philippines had some fine warbirds. Nearly all of them were destroyed before they could even take to the skies."

Despite the amazing breadth of Mami's knowledge about the Pacific War, Homura wasn't getting the information she really wanted to know. Who was Walpurgisnacht? Who were those three girls Kyuubey had showed her? Having Mami tell her only about recorded human history wouldn't be enough to satisfy her thirst – but she needed to stay cautious.

If ever Mami found out about the fates of Puella Magi… Homura didn't want to think about it. She promised herself that Mami would never find out about it again.

Still, Homura wanted to play her gambit. To show Mami a peek of her motives would not hurt, she figured. In return, she would have Mami give her the information she really wanted.

"Mami-san." Homura asked in a carefully measured tone, "About those initial air raids… would you happen to know about any strange occurrences?"

"Strange occurrences?" Mami hummed. Her face showed no suspicion towards Homura's question. "What do you mean by that?"

"Unusual activity – Suicides, murders, deaths…" Homura explained, doing her best to remain vague.

"Witches' attacks then." Mami deduced, her expression starting to seem more guarded. Homura could only reply with a nod. "I figured that was why you were interested in WWII."

Homura's heart sank immediately. She realized she had revealed more cards than she had intended.

"I guess great minds do think alike, Akemi-san!" Mami's smile shone brightly. "Witches manifest themselves in times of great suffering and grief – both of which are plentiful during wartime. The Puella Magi of the time must have had a hard time. I've had my theories about these sorts of things too, you know."

Homura could barely hide her surprise, getting a hold of herself just in time. Did her blunder… actually work in her favor?

Mami stood up from where she sat, her curled golden hair bouncing on her shoulders as she walked towards on of the room's far walls. With a gentle stroke of her hand, she activated a digital Mercator-projection map paired with a small screen with a vertical slider that displayed the present date and time. Mami touched the digital slider with a finger and dragged it down to change the date, stopping at December 1941. Zooming in on the Philippine Islands then revealed several red spots scattered throughout the archipelago.

"These spots are the sites of major conflicts in the Philippines during that specific month." Mami explained to a cautiously curious Homura who stood behind her. "The earliest battles were mostly air raids… and the greatest one would have been at Clark Air Base in Pampanga."

"Clark Air Base?"

"Yes." Mami nodded, a slight frown on her face. "Clark was the home base of the USAFFE's largest inventory of P-26 Peashooter interceptors in the Philippines. Disabling those interceptors would have been the Japanese military's priority."

'And so when the bombing began, the planes were disabled. It sounds like standard strategic bombing to me."

"According to the history books, yes…" Mami agreed, folding her arms as she thought. "But having an entire interceptor wing grounded and unable to fight back is strange, don't you think? Interceptor wings are drilled to face these sorts of attacks… but they just sat there and watched the bombs fall. The first aerial counterattacks came hours after bombing started. Even the anti-aircraft regiment stationed there took their time before actually shooting. A witch must have been involved."

Homura smirked, "And she was defeated by a Puella Magi."

"My thoughts exactly." Mami smiled. "That's the only explanation for the terribly late reaction."

Her words were then followed by a long yawn.

"Speaking of late…" Mami apologized. "It's already past midnight. Would it be alright if we continued this tomorrow?"

"Sure." Homura said, standing up and taking her leave before being stopped my Mami's voice.

"Akemi-san, please do come earlier next time – and tell me beforehand!" Mami chided. Her eyes then brightened and added, "Oh! And maybe we could get Miki-san and Kaname-san to join us next time too! I'm sure they would be very interested in the history of Puella Magi-"

Suddenly, Homura turned around and gave Mami her coldest glare. "No."

"No?" Mami asked, puzzled and suspicious. "Why not? They are interested in becoming Puella Magi."

"Those two…" Homura said cautiously, turning away from Mami's inquisitive gaze, "Aren't really that interested in the Second World War."

"Really?"

"Miki-san just uses History for naptime… and Madoka just draws. History bores them."

Mami fell silent, not too sure how she ought to reply.

"Only you and I can fully appreciate what we will go over." Homura said, now looking at Mami directly, "Unlike them, we already are Puella Magi."

"I guess you have a point." Mami sighed. "I suppose I wouldn't want to directly influence either of them into contracting with Kyuubey. I brought them on a Witch Hunt, yes, but the decision to become Puella Magi is theirs to make. It wouldn't be right for me, or you for that matter, to influence their decision."

"That would be for the better." Homura said coolly as Mami showed her to the door, "I will see you tomorrow then."

"Yes. Tomorrow."

Homura gave Mami a small, appreciative nod, her dark black hair hiding her face, before walking away from the apartment. Mami watched as her guest descended down one of the staircases on her apartment floor, closing the door once Homura was out of sight.

She locked the door from behind her back then slid down hugging her knees, a smile still on her lips.

It was a small step, Mami knew, but it was towards the right direction. It finally seemed like she and Homura would get along.

To Be Continued

Episode 4 Preview:

"Bombs of steel, a bird of paper

A lone man flies

His comrades weep

With rosary in hand, a girl prays in tears

She asks for strength, strength I am willing to provide

The strength to combat despair."

-Kyuubey-