Save those Time

All Madoka ever wanted was to be strong enough to save the people around her. But how could Madoka save that pretty lady she met when she realized she herself was the one who needed to be saved? Partially AU

She's just a body with no soul, a person once said this before, but she couldn't remember who. Homura didn't bother to recall anymore, not because she didn't want to, but she knew she couldn't.

Time stops for no one, not even Homura. She had the power to stop time for several minutes, fifteen at best, but never more than that no matter how strong and powerful Homura had trained herself. As the month, years and even centuries passed, neither did Homura aged nor her stamina weakened. However, her memories started to blur and she had forgotten most of her past that were locked in the back of her head.

Homura remembered Kyubey, because that was the last creature that she ever interacted with. It left a century ago, and Homura became alone all by herself, fighting demons and saving civilians like what she usually do even when Kyubey was with her.

And it was around the time Kyubey left, Homura realized no human beings were able to see her at all.

The very first time she realized it was when she was walking on the streets in her normal attire, acting just like any other people on Earth and enjoying the scenery. A couple of kids were running, not a care in the world as they were chasing each other, their joint laughter filling the air. All of the sudden, a motorbike lost control, swerving towards the pavement and turned towards the group of children, but they were too slow to react.

Homura jumped in and pulled the kids away just in time and the rider managed to stop at a further distance away before looking back at the children in shock. The children looked surprised too as a few frantic adults came rushing towards them.

"Are you alright?" Homura asked plainly at the young kids.

One of the girls stared right through at Homura before looking immediately away and started crying. The two other boys were dumbfounded to speak.

"Did you see that?!" An uncle that was previously sitting on the bench right across the pavement said. "These kids could have been knocked down if they didn't suddenly flew to the side of the pavement!"

As a few people were comforting the children, a few others were discussing about what they had just witnessed. But no one, not even a single person, noticed and spared a glance at Homura. She was left, or rather, pushed to the other side of the pavement as a group had already circled the children. And only after contemplating for a moment than Homura realized that maybe... the body that she had now didn't exist in this world anymore.

Homura tried a lot of things ever since then. She first started talking to people, not because she was trying to start a conversation, but she was trying to get their attention although none of them gave it to her. She then tried to pick up things and she could, but she couldn't feel the texture or the weight of it. Basically, it's like she was holding onto air, but in fact that object was in her hands. Homura also tried to eat, only to realize she couldn't taste the food anymore. In fact, she didn't need to eat or drink to survive anymore like a human being. As long as her soul gem remained intact, she could still live.

If she's a normal human being, she would be long dead, her bone probably already turned into fine ashes. But she's still living, with this body of hers, but it was just a shell for her soul gem. Nothing more, nothing less.

She's not a human. She's not a ghost either.

Homura started travelling across the country, fighting demons wherever she found them. She came across a few magical girls too, and at first Homura thought that perhaps these magical girls would be able to see her if humans can't. However, none of them could notice her presence as well, so all she could do was to watch them from afar while these girls were fighting demons on their own. In the end, most of them were not strong enough and perished not long after Homura met them.

She remembered the word called lonely and she once wondered if lonely was something she ever felt as she stared at the setting sun one day. Homura couldn't remember how it was to be with a companion, that was why she didn't know how to be lonely when she was always on her own from the start. Maybe lonely wasn't a good word to describe her, she was just alone, but not lonely.

Incubators, these cat-like creatures. Homura detested them for some reason, but she couldn't put a finger to it. Homura didn't forget about Kyubey, but she no longer recalled any of the conversation or times she had with it and she wasn't even sure if Kyubey could even be considered a friend or a foe anymore.

The last Incubator Homura came across was Kyubey, and it's been a century since that happened, but recently she found another one. It took the shape of a human child to lure girls or women to places that demons roamed frequently and Homura had been tracking on that Incubator for a while. More and more magical girls were appearing and Homura wasn't sure if she liked the idea of it at all.

The Incubator made a move again one night, weirdly, it happened in the hospital. In its human form, it approached this pink-haired nurse and they started interacting. Homura usually wouldn't intervene with the Incubator's method, even if she didn't like it one bit. But at that very moment when she was quietly watched the nurse bending forward and talking to it, Homura felt the need to stop the Incubator for some odd reason. This firing feeling in her chest was telling every cell in her body to stop that particular girl from becoming a magical girl, no matter what.

Obeying her own thoughts and wishes without any hesitation, Homura paused the time when the nurse went to a counter, seeming that she was about to take something while the child was still standing here, looking just like an innocent kid. She grabbed hold onto the fake-human and then hurled it into the end of the corridor. It was flung to a distance, but it stopped in mid-air since it had lost contact with Homura.

She then rushed towards the dark end of the hospital and stopped her powers as the child that was flying in the air immediately transformed into a cat-like creature. Homura was about to pause the time again but it would take at least a few more second for her to use her powers. And that Incubator took the chance and escaped as Homura clicked her tongue in annoyance.

For the next few days, the Incubator was no where to be seen or located and Homura went back to her own routine life; killing demons. But those peaceful days didn't last very long when that particular magical girl Homura was a little interested in suddenly went berserk.

Tomoe Mami was one of the magical girls in town and she got contracted just a few months ago. Homura noticed she worked alone, not like other magical girls who worked in pairs or a group of four at most. Just one day, out of the blue, Tomoe Mami just broke down and went mad, yelling about despair and demons and how she wanted to stop killing every single day. When she was about to commit suicide, the people nearby managed to stop her and she was sent to the hospital. Homura followed her all the day, only to notice the soul gem that was suppose to be placed in her hair was no longer there.

She witnessed that tussled Mami had with the same pink-haired nurse before leaving to find that soul gem. Homura knew she shouldn't care and let the blonde be; let her just die, at least she wouldn't have to be killed by the demons or to perish forever like how other magical girls did when they used up all their powers in battles. But she still felt like she needed to bring her soul gem back, and Homura spent the whole night searching for it, but to no avail.

Homura went back to the hospital for the next two nights, passing by the front counter like it was nothing. No one could see her and she was used to it for so many years already that she didn't even feel hesitant or nervous about the whole thing. She visited Mami for those two nights, watching her heart beating in a slow pace. Technologies had advanced pretty quick and even a dead person could be revived by just a few machines, but Homura knew it would never work. All these things were pointless and the hospital shouldn't have even bother.

Deciding it was almost time to leave Mami's ward and never going to come back again, she could hear soft footsteps approaching Mami's ward. The door slid open and Homura could see a nurse walking in without having to glance up.

"Sorry but the visiting hours are long over."

Homura didn't bother looking up. She knew that voice was not for her. No one ever talked to her and she just knew that sentence couldn't have been meant for her so Homura continued looking down at Mami, making no move to do anything.

"Excuse me-"

She looked up out of curiosity and the nurse stopped speaking. It was that very same pink-haired nurse Homura had stumbled upon, she realized. The nurse blinked and she blinked as well. Her pink eyes were directly looking into her own, not staring right through, but on her and for a moment Homura felt that this person right in front of her was able to see her unlike every other people for the past century. She dismissed the thought in her head, scoffing inwardly and wondering why was she having that little hope when she knew it was impossible.

"Excuse me. The visiting hours are over and I'm sorry but you have to leave in order for the patient to rest." The nurse looked firmed and her gaze was still on her.

Homura slightly widened her eyes before she uncrossed her arms. Was this a dream? Was this girl really talking to her? Homura silently cleared her throat and force herself to speak, but for the next few seconds, her tongue was twisted and she couldn't even say a single thing. It's been since she even talked to anyone, heck, it's been ages since she even open her damn mouth to do anything with it.

How is this possible?

Finally regaining her composure for the next two seconds, Homura spoke, trying to not stutter in her own voice that she barely recognized it herself.

"You." Homura closed her mouth and took in a deep breath. "You can see me." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, I can see you." The nurse looked like she was staring at a weird artefact in a museum. "I'm sorry, but you have to leave. Do you know what is the time now?"

Not knowing what to reply, Homura just blurted out the time. "2:57 A.M"

The nurse blinked and looked down at her watch before looking up again.

"Who are you?" She asked.

Homura glanced down at Mami. Not just the nurse wanted the answer, even Homura wasn't even sure about it herself. What answer should she even pick? A body without a soul? A magical girl that could only kill demons in order to survive? A girl that looked like 16 but was actually around 400 years old? Not amused, Homura glanced away from Mami and looked up at the nurse again.

"Who are you?" Homura asked back.

There was a short pause and Homura for once thought that the nurse would probably never answer her, but she did.

"I'm Kaname Madoka, an intern as a nurse in this hospital."

"Madoka..."

That name continued echoing in Homura's head, a feeling of familiarity washed over her all of the sudden. It was like Homura was missing something from her life and now it's finally back, but Homura just couldn't pinpoint what exactly the reason why she was feeling like this.

"Kaname Madoka..." Homura repeated, feeling the name on her lips. Homura lowered her gaze and sighed inwardly, deciding that trying to dig up her memories would only be a waste of time for her. She pushed herself away from the wall and straightened her posture.

"Sorry for delaying the check up." Homura said as she made her way out, but before she could reach the door, Madoka called out again.

"Wait!"

Homura stopped like what she was told.

"Do you know the way out?"

She glanced back, noticing how the nurse seemed a little nervous and just nodded her head, not wishing to be a burden to the anxiety that this nurse was feeling right now. Homura grabbed onto the handle of the door and slid it open and stepped right outside the ward before closing it behind her. She wondered if there were any security cameras to capture that scene when the door opened and it would have probably freak out the person who was looking at it.

Homura had been avoiding crowded places so no one would have noticed her presence even though they couldn't see her and she had been doing it for so many years, hoping that she wouldn't frightened anyone even when she's already invisible already. However, this time her focus wasn't this matter but on her current situation she was facing.

She glanced back at the door and stared hard at it. There were so many questions going through Homura's head right now and there was this problem that Homura couldn't seem to understand. How did this Madoka manage to see her? And why? Nothing even make sense right now and for the first time in forever, Homura felt confused.

Maybe this wouldn't be her last visit after all.

.

.

In her entire life that she could remember, there was not once Homura felt interested in something. And then all of the sudden, this Madoka appeared in her life and everything just went down from there. After fighting all those demons, Homura would have just gone somewhere to relax herself. But ever since this happened, Homura appeared by Mami's bedside just on time every single night, waiting for Madoka's arrival and also to make sure Mami was just... there.

She told Madoka her name one night which she remembered, and Homura felt like a boulder was lifted from her chest because she felt that if no one was to ever ask for her name again, she might really forgot what her name was. She didn't exist, she wasn't even alive anymore, but someone after so many years acknowledged her and noticed her existence. And for once, Homura felt that she was indeed truly lonely after all the time even though she thought that she wasn't in the first place.

A week had passed and Homura was doing her hunting as usual, but things were slightly different now. She felt lighter nowadays and she fought demons at ease than usual. It was nice to feel this way since so long and Homura once wondered if she ever experienced this before, because sometimes, she just felt this feeling of Deja Vu and no matter what, she couldn't get rid of that feeling at all.

It was one normal night and Homura could already sense and even see a few demons trudging slowly towards her direction just a few yards away, but she could also sense another bunch of demons around a corner on her right.

However, something within her compelled Homura to hunt down the ones on that was around the corner specifically and she decided to go according to her sixth sense. That was why when she found Madoka weeping and crawling on the floor, she knew that this was the decision she would never regret in her life.

Snapped her fingers. Spun her wheel. Grabbed her arrows and bow and shoot.

Homura attacked those demons and killed all of them in no time, although she got a wound on her arm due to her carelessness, but she got worse before. Healing her injury swiftly, she turned to see Madoka hugging herself in the corner, so scared, so weak and fragile.

"W-W-What ar-are all these things?!" Madoka cried out. "W-What are you?!"

She knew this question would come sooner or later again, since she had originally avoided the question on the very first day they both met. She felt the need to tell her the truth, about all these time that Homura had gone through for the sake of living... for something that she didn't even know what anymore.

Calmly, Homura avoided her question again, for now. "You can see them." Damn that Incubator.

After a long while, Homura silently watched Madoka whimpering and shivering and then she started crawling towards her, but there was still a tiny distance between them. After a hesitant pause, Madoka then grabbed hold onto the hem of Homura's dress.

"I'm sorry." Madoka muttered as her grip became tighter. "I need to ho-hold onto something. If you don't mind, can y-you give me a minute to calm myself down for a little longer?"

Homura didn't say anything, she had no rights to say anything at all either. One minute is short, and it'll never be enough for Madoka to calm herself down. And Homura wouldn't want some passer-by to come up to Madoka abruptly to disrupt the peace she needed so badly right now. She then quietly snapped her fingers and the whole world froze.

Madoka was still crying, her head lowered, her grip still as tight as ever. One second passed, and then the next again, but Madoka seemed to be in her very own world even when she was in the frozen time as Homura.

After fifteen minutes passed, everything around them started moving again, the lights flickered, the trees rustling silently along with the small breeze. Homura stared down and closed her softened eyes before opening them again, now her face was masked with a solemn expression, her usual poker face.

"Your one minute is up." Homura spoke and bent forward, her fingers encircled around Madoka's thin arm and lifted her up. Homura couldn't feel Madoka's warmth at all, it was barely a touch. She was never been able to feel anything for a very long time, and this was the first time Homura wished she could at least feel the Madoka's skin even for the briefest moment; To feel and to know that Madoka was the realest thing in the world that could see and talk to her in the whole world.

Homura immediately brushed away the thought as she focused back on their situation again. The grip around her arm loosened as she began leaning closer and closer towards Madoka and she stopped at the small distance away. Madoka's eyes showed signs of fear but Homura didn't care for once. She wanted the truest reply from Madoka and not a forced reply because she was just too kind to hurt anyone. That was why Homura ignite that tiny fear with Madoka before she spoke her question that she had been dying to ask.

"Do you trust me?"

Madoka blinked, seeming like she wanted to say something but she stopped. She moved away and Homura let her be, although something in her chest cringed for some reason.

"H-How am I suppose to trust you wh-when I don't even know what is happening?!" Madoka stuttered.

Homura wasn't surprised, not at all after what Madoka had witnessed all these while. But this showed that at least Madoka spoke the truth instead of a white lie, although maybe Madoka just didn't have the energy to even say nice things anymore. Homura lowered her gaze. She always wanted to say the truth, but something within her told her it was tiring and a pointless effort to do so. It was as if Homura had went through all these trust issues so many times to serve her a lesson and her body was reacting on its own.

But she wanted to let Madoka know that this world wasn't some cake and party like what she wished for; an innocent and peaceful world where everyone helps each other and love embraces everyone.

No.

Homura felt the need to let Madoka know about the harsh truth of this world, about all these demons and despair roaming the world, but she never wanted to put Madoka in any danger at all. It was unnecessary.

Homura touched her shield and it was gone in an instant. Taking in a deep breath, Homura straightened her posture.

"I'll bring you home." Homura said.

.

.

"Then are you afraid of me?"

"..."

"Am I the reason why you couldn't sleep?"

"No."

.

.

Homura stared down at the building, watching all these businessmen with ties and ladies with high heels rushing for their work. It was early in the morning and Homura squinted at the harsh sunlight. She couldn't feel the heat of the sun, neither could she pespire, but that sunlight that shone right into her eyes sort of made her slightly irritated.

Demons were less frequent, or almost never appeared in the day. Homura always took this chance to give herself a break, not like she needed rest with her perfect body that requires no food or water but just some grief cubes to replenish the vibrant colour on her soul gem.

"I guess so. I didn't sleep for the past two days"

Homura leaned against the railing and stared forward. Sleep is essential to human, if she remembered correctly. She didn't really need to sleep so she had almost forgotten the feeling of having to suffer from insomnia. But Madoka looked really tired and it kind of pained Homura to see Madoka in such a state, even if the main reason wasn't really because of her.

It's morning already and Madoka should be at home. Homura then leaped down from the building and softly landed on the ground just like a feather. She whisked past through the crowd, trying to avoid from touching anyone one of them and finally she used a route which was less crowded and after a brisk walk, she reached Madoka's doorstep in less than a fifteen minutes.

She was about to press the doorbell when Homura stopped and lowered her arms. Was she even doing the right thing? If Madoka were to see her, it could have triggered that memory when she was nearly attacked by those demons and she might even find it harder to sleep. But what the hell was she even doing here in the first place? To help Madoka sleep? What a joke.

Homura sighed. She couldn't believe it herself. For the whole time, she was so focused on arriving to Madoka's house that she didn't even know the reason for it.

It was the faintest sound, but Homura could hear the echo of cabinets door shutting loudly before the next cabinet door squeakily opened. Madoka definitely couldn't fall asleep, but she had no idea what she was suppose to do. Gathering her courage, Homura pressed the doorbell, deciding to stick to the plan of wanting to help Madoka to sleep. At least she could try to help just a little, this could make her a little less guilty for everything that had happened to Madoka.

The door opened right after the second doorbell and Madoka was standing there, eyes wide as she gasped her name.

"H-Homura?"

.

.

"Isn't it scary and lonely to be all by yourself in this world with no one you can depend on? You can see everyone, but no one can see you."

"...Go to sleep."

"I'm glad... I'm glad that I can see you..."

.

.

Homura didn't feel cold, not even when the rain water soaked her body and nearly passing right through her. She couldn't feel anything, and Mother Nature just loved to remind her this fact every single time. She had forsaken the demon that she wanted to fight with after her interaction with the Incubator, She wasn't in the mood for it and she didn't feel like it all of the sudden.

As she dragged herself back to Madoka's house, she noticed a figure in front of her getting closer and closer towards her, but Homura never once looked up. She never bothered to because it was unnecessary, but as the shouts became clearer under the thundering rain, Homura glanced up to see the tiny pink haired girl with a small umbrella running forward, repeatedly yelling for her name.

"Homura-chan!"

Homura turned wide-eye as she watched Madoka rushed to her side as she bent forward slightly to catch her breath before looking up again. Homura just continued staring at her before the curiosity finally got the better of her.

"Why are you here even after you woke up? It's raining so heavily and furthermore it's late at night, it's dangerous. What if those..." Homura's words trailed off and she knew Madoka understood what she meant.

"I thought you are gone... forever." Madoka panted as she raised the umbrella and tilted it over to Homura, some of the rain got onto Madoka instead but she smiled. Her eyes were a lot more brighter now and her smile were definitely one of the best that Homura had seen. "And I know that you wouldn't have an umbrella if you're outside and if that's the case, you'll catch a cold."

Homura scoffed, not sure if Madoka was forgetting about her true identity. "You're the one that will really catch the col-."

"Just let me do this for you, Homura-chan." Madoka interrupted as she firmly stood in place while Homura blinked.

The rain was starting to become heavier and heavier and Homura frowned as she lightly tugged onto the umbrella and covered Madoka before stepping in closer, both of them fitting perfectly under the umbrella.

"Don't forget this." Madoka's slightly looked up and their gaze met.

Homura raised an eyebrow. She had nothing to forget because everything had been forgotten, but before she could even speak a word, Madoka beat her to it.

"This will be our memory together, and don't ever forget it, alright?"

"I don't quite understand y-"

"Promise me Homura-chan." Madoka put out a pinky and Homura just stared at it for a long while before she took her hand and put Homura's pinky around hers, securing the promise. Madoka beamed again before she continued.

"Now, you don't have to recall anything anymore because, the present is what matters right?"

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AN: SHIT THIS LUH I HATE IT.

CASHBANKY IS BETA-ING "SAFE" NOW SO AFTER SHE BETA I MIGHT UPDATE THE VERY LAST CHAPTER BECAUSE ITS BEEN BUGGING ME YEAH I DOUBT NO ONE UNDERSTAND WHAT I TOKING BUT YAWN OKAY SORRY GOODBYE.

Teaser for next chapter:

madoka's boobs bounced and homura smiled and rocked the party as kyoko come to my nigga town.