A/N: Hey guys! I want to thank everyone who favorite, reviewed, or is currently following this story! The reviews and support we get from you guys are awesome! I know that it's been a while since we've last updated, but we made it worthwhile and made this chapter longer for you guys. We won't make any promises, but we're going to try our best to update this story monthly. As always, please R&R and enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: We don't own Puella Magi Madoka Magica or any of its characters! But, we DO own our OC's Amai and Juudai!

Chapter 3: What's in a Wish?

Madoka greeted Homura as the raven made her way into the classroom. Homura blushed, lowering her head and practically sprinting towards her seat, near tripping. Some of their classmates caught her clumsiness and laughed at her expanse, deepening her blush as she made to sit down.

"Wow. If only she ran that fast during track." Sayaka droned, watching Homura from the top of her eyes.

"Sayaka, that's mean." Madoka's face morphed into a mix of slight anger and concern. "Why have you been so mean to Miss Akemi recently? She hasn't done anything wrong to you!"

Sayaka bit her lower lip, looking away. "I'm sorry. I've been a little stressed out lately, and this whole magical girl thing isn't helping."

Madoka's gaze fell. "Ah, I guess you're right. This is a little nerve wrecking. Me, the defender of Mitakihara? Can you imagine that?"

"No way, Madoka!" Sayaka practically screamed those words, and the kids surrounding them turned to give her strange looks.

The blunette's face reddens and she fell back in her seat to make herself look small. She stares at Madoka intensively. "Madoka, what are you thinking? I'm sure you'll make a great magical girl! I mean, yeah, this all sounds scary but we'd be heroes fighting for justice! To protect other people! Isn't that amazing?"

"Yeah, it sure is." Madoka looked back up, smiling when a happy look finally appeared on Sayaka's face. "I guess this means you decided on what wish to make then?"

"Y-yeah, kind of… It's probably stupid, but after what happened yesterday," Sayaka grit the last words through her teeth as a scowl momentarily appeared, "I've made up my mind. I'm going to be a magical girl. I'm going to help Mami protect the city."

"Okay, then." Madoka fell into silence for lack of anything else to say on the matter.

Or rather, she felt unsure on how to bring it up. The pinklette had no problem imagining Sayaka as an able magical girl, but when she tried to think of herself, her mind freezes. Her heart begins to thud and her face turns red.

Several questions appeared in her mind: How would she look like as a magical girl? Will she really have magical powers? Does she need a superhero name? Would she still be the same dull, old Madoka after she made her wish?

Madoka didn't know what her wish would be about, either. She tried to think about a deep, desperate desire of her own, but she comes up with nothing. Then her mind filters to the conversation she had with her mother that morning.

"Hey, Mom, if you could wish for anything, just one wish, what would you wish for?" Madoka tentatively asked the question, her eyes never leaving Kyubey as he bathed in the corner of the sink.

"I'll kick that old man out of his position in the CEO."

Madoka looked at her mother in disbelieve as the older woman continued to apply her foundation with a small, devious smile. "Hmm, there's also the board of directors as well. It's full of incompetent idiots and I'll be more than happy to kick them out of the company. Yeah, that could work..."

"Um, Mom..."

"All the things I could possibly do..." Her mother didn't hear her, finishing the final touches of her makeup and gathering her belongings together as she turned around and left Madoka in the washroom.

She'd suppose she could make a wish for her mother. If it was someone, someone Madoka really cared about... She'd have no trouble making a wish for them. Her mother is one person. There was also her father. Her little brother? Well, she wasn't sure if he had a wish, but he's still a candidate of someone she cares for.

Madoka's head hit her desk with a thud. 'Thinking of a wish is harder than I thought...'

'You don't have to come up with one right away, Madoka.'

Madoka lifted her head to look at Kyubey. The little critter had come with her to school, riding on her shoulder all the way with no one the wiser to its presence. 'Take your time. There's no rush.'

'Ugh, I know people here can't see him, but it still feels weird just seeing him there next to you, Madoka.' Sayaka's thoughts flowed into her mind.

'It's rather convenient, isn't it?' Madoka jumped at the third voice.

'...Mami?'

The older girl laughed – a sound unusual but not unwelcome in this strange act. 'Yes. Kyubey's reach goes quite far. I may be in the other side of the school but we can still communicate as if we were right next to each other.'

'Now that's cool.' Sayaka supplied with a grin.

'Homura? Do you have nothing to add to this?' Mami asked the other magical girl candidate.

The raven in question wasn't expecting to be called out. A small noise of surprise slipped past her lips, drawing the attention of the students closest to her. Homura looked down at her desk, unsure on how to respond. 'Um... I do think this is interesting... It's sort of...like a meeting between super heroes...or something.'

Sayaka burst out laughing from her seat. Mami smiled from across the school. Madoka turned around and gave Homura a smile. The raven returned the smile with a shy one of her own.

Next to her, Madoka saw movement. Turning to look, Madoka's smile fell when she saw Hitomi turn her face away from her. 'Oh no, she's still upset...'

"Good morning, Madoka!" Sayaka turned around to greet Madoka as the girl came running down the street.

The two of them always met up at this time in the morning while heading for school.

"Good morning, Madoka," Hitomi called.

Hitomi was the meaning of elegance and grace for Madoka. Her friend came from a fairly well off family, and Madoka knew Hitomi's mother paid for her daughter to attend lessons to further her composure.

With a smile Madoka waved. "Good morning everyone!"

'Good morning, Sayaka,' Kyubey called.

"What the heck?!" Sayaka jumped when she noticed Kyubey on Madoka's shoulder. She lifted a finger to hesitantly point at the creature before running past Hitomi to stop next to Madoka. She whispered in a panicked tone. "Why is that here?!"

'Oh, don't worry, Sayaka. Your friend can't see me.' Kyubey reassured.

"He's right; this morning he was in the washroom with me while Mom and I freshen up for the day and she didn't see him." Madoka added.

"I-Is that so...?" Sayaka didn't look so certain.

Their attention remained on each other, and so neither one of them realized one more person drawing closer.

"What's with all the whispering?" Both girls whipped their heads around to face Hitomi. The greenlette's eyes were wide. "Have... the two of you managed to get so close in such a short time?"

"What- what are you talking about, Hitomi?!" The tomboy asked incredulously.

"The two of you understand each other so intimately after just one night... Could this be...?" Hitomi pauses for a moment, her eyes getting wider still. "FORBIDDEN LOVE?!"

Madoka's shock was so great, her mouth remained agape.

"Hitomi, you got it all wrong-" Sayaka attempted to fix this misunderstanding.

"Girls can't love girls... Girls can't love girls!" Hitomi dashed away from Sayaka and Madoka, chanting those words, leaving her school bag behind.

"H-Hey, Hitomi-chan... Are you doing anything special after school?" Madoka asked after homeroom.

The greenlette remained silent as she gathered her belongings. "Yes, I am occupied after school."

"Hey, Madoka!" Sayaka ran up to her. She spared a glance to Hitomi. "Um, Hitomi..."

"No, no! I understand! You want to spend some time with Madoka-chan. I guess it's true what they say; that two's company and three's a crowd!" Hitomi went running with tears in her eyes, wailing all the way out of school and leaving Madoka and Sayaka at a total utter lack for words.

This part of the school was a bit quieter than the rest, which made Homura a little nervous. Juudai and Amai went to the same school, but Amai was an upper classmate like Mami and Juudai was an under classmate.

Homura was a little surprised to learn the mature girl was younger than her.

Just moving around, however, was exhausting. With the discovery of witches and magical girls, Homura has had a little difficulty sleeping at night. The encounter with the witch left fear in her heart. Homura had yet to tell anyone – not even Juudai who had been with her – but the time she stayed in the witch's labyrinth, she remembered thinking...

How useless she was.

No one would even miss her.

She was a waste of space.

The raven gasped and leaned against the closest wall to draw her breath. After the experience she attempted to forget all about it, but all she succeeded in doing was burying it lightly under the discoveries that followed the encounter.

A part of Homura feels awful at not confining in her friends. At least Juudai... For all Homura knows, Juudai probably experienced the same thing. How was Homura to know if she didn't talk? Amai was out of the question. She didn't go through any of that horror, and Homura wouldn't wish it on anyone.

'Maybe Madoka...' The raven felt a blush overtake her face. 'I... I can't! How could I approach Madoka-chan?!' Miki Sayaka was also out of the question. Homura didn't know the reason but Sayaka didn't like her at all. 'Wait... I know... Tomoe-san.' Yes, why didn't she think of it sooner? Of course Mami would know what she is going through, being a magical girl and hunting witches for so long.

Homura decided; she'll go see Amai first since it's been a long while and then she'll pay a visit to Mami. She stepped away from the wall and continued walking forward. Homura approached the hall leading to the third year building.

As she passed a set of stairs, a flicker of movement at the corner of her right caught her attention. "What..."

Long black hair whipped around, the person walking up the darkest of the stairs.

For some unexplained reason, Homura felt the urge to follow the person. Almost as if they were calling for her... She took a step forward, hesitantly before her pace slowly picked up. By the end of the steps, her heart raced, and her breath came in quick gasps.

Homura caught her breath, looking around for the person on the roof with her. When she finally spotted them, her mouth fell open. "You're..."

"Hitomi, don't be like that! It's not like that!" Sayaka was getting a little fed up, not only because her friend was being unreasonable but because she couldn't figure out a way for Hitomi to listen.

"No, no, it's fine!" Hitomi said a little too quickly, hands waving in front of her. "I have lessons to go to anyway, so this way I won't interfere!"

"Hitomi-chan, it really isn't like that!" Madoka stepped in. She swept in to take Hitomi into a hug. "We're just friends, and we wouldn't leave you alone like that. The last few days something unexpected happened and it drew our attention away, but everything's all right. We won't leave you alone."

Hitomi sniffed, tears appearing in her eyes.

Sayaka took over from there. "You sure you gotta go to those lessons? We can hang out for a little bit and have crepes."

The greenlette sniffed once more and nodded.

"Hitomi-chan was really upset, wasn't she?" Sayaka idly said. She and Madoka were at the roof, enjoying the gentle breeze of the day.

"Yeah. We'll have to take care to hang out with her some more." Madoka looked up to the sky. "With everything happening recently, we really haven't hung out as much."

The two settled into silence.

Madoka brought up something from earlier. "Have you come up with anything to make a wish?"

"Hmm, not really. Hey, Kyubey, what would other girls wish for?"

'Hmm, it depends. Everyone had their own desires, goals and the like to achieve. There were some similar ones; people would sometimes make a wish to help others of significance. Others made wishes to gain power or specific wishes for personal gains or means.'

"Oh, is that so?" Madoka thought about her mother and earlier mulling.

'One things for sure; you girls are the first ones we've encountered in a while who've had trouble deciding on their wish.'

"It's not easy... Coming up with something you're willing to risk your life for." Sayaka leaned back on her seat with a sigh. "I guess that just shows how sheltered we are that we can't even think of anything we'd want to wish for."

Madoka hummed. "I didn't think it would be so difficult to find something I'd want."

"I wonder what Mami's wish…was?" Sayaka muttered.

'You can ask her right now, if you want to.'

The blunette shook her head. "I don't know... As convenient as it is communicating like this, it feels kind of...rude asking her such a question like that."

"We can wait after we hang out with Hitomi." Madoka closed her eyes as she gathered her thoughts. 'Tomoe-san, Sayaka and I will be hanging out with a friend after school. But once we're done, can we begin our practice?'

'Yes, that sounds fine.' Mami's smile can be felt even in the distance. 'I have a few errands to attend to after class, anyway, so take your time. I'll alert Kyubey when I am done and where I would like us to meet up.'

'Okay. Thank you so much, Tomoe-san!'

'You're welcome, Madoka-chan.'

"Did you hear that, Sayaka?"

When her friend didn't answer right away, her eyes shifted to the blunette. Instead of sitting on her seat, Sayaka towered over Madoka, a glare aimed at the roof entrance.

Madoka turned to see the source of Sayaka's ire, eyes widening in the process.

Standing at the threshold of the entrance, a girl with long dark hair stares impassively at the fierce look Sayaka leveled at her. For a moment, Madoka thought the girl at the entrance lowered her gaze to look at the pinklette.

Madoka flinched, feeling quite unnerved by the look.

Sayaka took a step forward, purposefully putting herself in front of Madoka. "You're the one I saw at the mall. Kyubey nearly died because of you!"

As if reacting to the call of its name, Kyubey hoped off of Madoka's shoulder to stand behind her. 'Yeah, that's her. She was chasing me that day at the mall!'

"You thought I didn't notice you, did you?!" Sayaka took an aggressive step forward. "Think I'm gonna let you hurt Madoka like you did Kyubey! I'd like to see you try!"

The other girl remained quiet, instead taking a slow step forward. Even with Sayaka before her, Madoka struggled not to take a step back. Something about the girl seriously left her body on edge...and yet, the force of will Madoka used to keep her body from scampering in the opposite direction urged her to stay and look at the girl.

To look at the straighten posture, of someone who had seen too many horrors in her short life. To the hands kept clenched tight into fists by her side. To meet those sad lavender eyes, glazed over with something Madoka could only describe as despair...

Madoka could only feel immeasurable tragedy from this long haired stranger, and despite something warning her to be wary, she truly wished she could take this girl into her arms. Such a strange sensation, and she felt odd thinking about it – because she had no idea where the thought came from, and why the urge was so strong.

The pinklette decided to take matters into her own hands; with the way things were going, Sayaka would end up starting a fight with this stranger rather than resolve things peacefully.

"Um, excuse me..." Madoka poked her head past Sayaka's protective form. "But, are you a magical girl like Tomoe-san?"

A pause weighted over them for a moment before the stranger answered. "Yes, I am." The dark haired stranger inclined her head to the side. "It seems the girl in question is vigilant."

When Madoka and Sayaka looked to the next building over, they could see – barely – Mami standing in front of a window on the top floor.

"She doesn't need to worry. I don't intend to fight, merely pass some advice." The long haired stranger took a breath. "Granted, I missed my chance to talk to you earlier. A minor complication that I turned my back to became a larger problem in the long run..."

"You're not making any sense!" Sayaka bellowed.

"You would be correct in that. Let me get to the point." As she spoke, the stranger moved closer to Madoka and Sayaka, stopping a few feet away from them. "Do the two of you value your family and friends?"

Madoka blinked, puzzled over the words.

Sayaka growled lowly. "I knew it...! You came to threaten us!"

"Answer the question." The tone in the stranger's voice told she's had enough of Sayaka's attitude. "You need to realize what is important in the long run if you even considered making a wish with that …thing." She spat the last word, aiming a glare at Kyubey. "Whatever you decide your wish will be, it has to balance out the gravity of his 'contract'. It's a consequence I can't let you bear with a conscience."

As she said her last statement, the stranger's lavender eyes landed on Madoka once again. The pinklette felt the faint impression the stranger aimed these words more on her than Sayaka.

"...Please, keep those words in mind if you ever fall to temptation." With that, the stranger turned and left the roof.

Mami heaved a breath, watching as Sayaka practically scrambled around on the roof of the second year building. Madoka didn't move for a good bit before she followed Sayaka down the steps a little while later. Stepping away from the window a bit, Mami mulled over the situation for a bit.

The new magical girl... Mami barely knew anything of her, except the obvious: she was a skilled magical girl, if the prowess she so far displayed in combat was anything to go by. She obviously knew Kyubey, and clearly had something against the critter. Reasons were unknown; perhaps her wish did not go as she planned...?

It was entirely possible.

Mami herself... She sighed. Days came when she regretted her wish. Being a magical girl, she would happily carry on her shoulders, but if only her wish was a little different... She sighed again. Her gaze aimed skyward being the school windows. The past remains unchanged; she could only look forward, especially with three magical girl hopefuls. The thought of them brought a bright smile, with an edge of sadness.

So lost in her thoughts, the blonde almost didn't hear the shout further down the halls. The person made a commotion as they tried to push their way to the crowd towards Mami.

When she turned to look, Mami's eyes widen.

"Hey, Maria! It's you!" A familiar brunette stood in the middle of the hall, the largest of grins on her face. "It's me! Amai!"

Her heart dropped to her stomach.

Of course, Mami knew this girl. In fact, ever since becoming a magical girl, when she made the decision to enter this school, it had been her goal to avoid this girl at all cost. She cursed her inattentiveness before breaking into a full run down the hall.

"Hey, wait, Maria!" Amai dashed after the blonde, heart thumping as she tried to keep up. "Don't run away from me! I finally saw you again after all this time...!"

The school bell rang once more before stopping for the day. Juudai heaved a sigh, picking up her bag as she mentally went through her to-do list for today.

"Where the heck is Amai...?" The orangette mumbled under her breathe as she waited for her friend outside the school building.

Students kept walking past her but she saw no sign of her friend.

Juudai stepped away from the wall she leaned against and took off walking. It was possible Amai got distracted with something; it wasn't unusual. The girl would often talk to (read: harass) other girls, so Juudai guessed it wouldn't be unlikely if she got distracted by someone and lost track of time.

The orangette didn't make it far before she did find someone – although the person wasn't Amai. "Homy?"

The shy raven nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard her name being called, turning around and revealing wide lavender eyes. "J-Juudai-chan?"

One of Juudai's brows went up at that. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Y-yes." Homura took one look at Juudai's face and quickly realized her friend wouldn't take that as an appropriate response. "No... No, I'm not feeling well."

Taking a look at Homura's face, Juudai concluded the girl was fatigued. Since knowing Homura, Juudai quickly learned how often the raven would succumb to exhaustion; her body could not handle exertion as well as others. The cause of exhaustion could range from excessive activities to something taking her by surprise.

Judging by the paleness of her skin, along with her overall shaky body – even her eyes were shaking – something really upset her.

"Would you like me to walk you home, Homura?" Juudai asked softly.

Homura blinked, looking at Juudai as if she just realized her friend was standing there. "What? Oh, no, I couldn't ask that from you!"

"If that's the case, do you wish to go to the infirmary for a moment?"

"Um, well..."

"Homura, you look like you're about ready to collapse. If you don't want me to take you home, at least stay at the infirmary before they close for the day and rest for a little while. You look like you can use it."

"I..." Homura took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts for a little bit. "Yes. Yes, I would like that."

Homura and Juudai stayed in the infirmary in silence. At the nurse's and Juudai's insistence, the raven lied down on one of the infirmary beds, heaving a sigh as she got as comfortable as possible. When the nurse left, Juudai approached a desk, setting her backpack down and looking around inside.

"Juudai-chan, don't you have someplace to be after school?" Homura asked.

"Technically, yes, but friends come first." Juudai sent the bedridden girl a smile. "I was waiting for Amai, but she didn't show up at the designated time outside the school, so I went off looking for her. Found you instead. Will you be all right on your own?"

"I will. I just need to rest for a little bit. Today was tough."

"Looks like you went through a trek."

"I'm sorry." The raven apologized.

"You don't need to apologize. Sometimes those days just happen. There isn't anything you want to talk about with me before I leave?"

Homura opened her mouth, but nothing came out for a little bit. She wanted to talk to someone, yes, but she wasn't completely sure if Juudai was the right choice. However, once she thought about it for a moment, she decided it was now or never.

"Juudai-chan, what do you do when you are upset?"

The question caught her a bit off guard, but it didn't take long for Juudai to come up with an answer. "I hang out with Xavier or Amai and her family."

"Is that so?"

"Mmhmm. Xavier is the only family I have left, my purpose so to speak. I...don't want to lose him. So I try my best every day for him. Amai, too. Her family helped me get through some tough times. I've lost count of how many times Amai has been there to support me. A bit hard to imagine, I'm sure but she can be supportive when she wants to be."

Homura giggled. "Yes, she certainly is."

"So that's it. It always feels great to hang out with friends or loved ones. If you ever need to talk about something or feeling down, contact us, Homura. We'll be there for you."

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" The orangette asked.

"I'm sure of it. It sounded like you have something to do earlier. I don't want to be in the way of that."

"Well, I can just message Amai and tell her I'll meet up with her in the restaurant. Come to think about it, I should have done that instead of walking off from the school entrance. Although in this case, if I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have found and helped you..." Juudai's words drifted off as she fished her cell phone from her bag. One press of the button, and she noticed she missed a message from the person in question. "Of course..."

"Did she say something?"

"Looks like she was one step ahead of me on the meet up… Something's come up and she can't make it. Well, what do you know?"

"I hope Amai-chan is all right."

"I'll send her a message and ask. I need to let her know about you, too."

Her phone vibrated, catching Amai by surprise and making her jump in place. Ahead of her, Nagisa turned around and looked at her with a puzzled look.

"What's wrong?"

"I think that's Judy. Should've known she'd respond to me quickly..." The brunette pulled out her cell phone and took a look. "WHAT?!"

"What is it now?" Hanging out with her for the past twenty-four hours and little Nagisa was already used to her random outbursts.

"Little Homy collapsed! I NEED to know all the details!" Her fingers worked rapidly to tap the keys and form a return message for her friend. Amai was actually tapping her foot impatiently before she noticed Nagisa draw near.

"We have to go now. If you want to know more about Tomoe-san, we need to go..."

Amai nodded her head after a moment before following the little girl. She kept her phone in her hand for when Juudai would message her again, but in the meantime... "So how do you know Maria, anyway?"

"I thought her name was Mami."

"I guess that's her name." Amai shrugged. "I don't know…Maria fits her better. Then again, 'Mami' makes it sound like she's one hot mamasita, which she is. OR! Or, that she's a caring individual, like an actual mother! I remember this one time she kissed my knee when I fell on it."

"She sounds like a really sweet person."

"She is – but, uh, how do you know her, Nag-nag?"

"She saved my life." The way the little girl said it, along with the soft look plus smile on her face, left Amai smiling as well.

"I can believe it." Amai's phone vibrated again and she went to take a look. "Okay, let's see. She's all right now... I found her when I went searching for you... Geez, I feel bad for walking out on Judy like that. I feel like I should have waited for her at least to tell her face-to-face why we couldn't hang out today."

"Would you have told her about the witches?"

Looking thoughtful for a moment, Amai shook her head. "Nah… I wouldn't want her knowing about that. I'm pretty sure she would believe me, but I don't want her getting into any trouble knowing about something like that."

"I see. You have a lot of trust in your friend."

"Of course I do. I've known her for nearly all my life. But she's already gone through so much. She and Xavier only have each other. I don't want to expose them to something like that. Besides, she's always taking care of me. I gotta show her that I can be responsible for once."

"...Amai-san?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have any interest in becoming a magical girl?"

"Like Mari- Mami? I don't know… Can I be one?" Amai's green eyes shone at the prospect.

Her eyes lost the shine when she realized Nagisa's face remain impassive. "Being a magical girl demands a lot from you. I don't think you should become one, but the suggestion is there."

"...Because Mami's a magical girl, right? Is that why she hasn't stop to see me? Cause she doesn't want any of us getting hurt, right?"

Nagisa nodded her head. "It's not easy, and it must have been a painful choice for her."

Amai didn't respond. Her attention went back to her phone, her fingers hovering over the keypad as she thought of a message to send back to Juudai. A thought occurred to her as she typed away. "So exactly why were you following Mami Dear, anyway, Nag-Nag?"

"I'm grateful to her." Nagisa responded after a while. She watched Amai curiously as she handled her phone. "Like I said, she saved my life, so I'm keeping a watch on the town. There are other magical girls aside from Tomoe-san, but many tend to be solitary due to the harsh experiences hunting witches bring. Tomoe-san is one of the stronger magical girls, plus the kindest in my opinion. I pledge my alliance to her, and I hope I can be of use to her if and when she needs me."

"I can admire that. I wouldn't mind helping Mami Dear out." Hands on either side of her face, Amai looked skyward as she envisioned it; her coming to Mami's rescue, picking the girl up bridal style and carrying her away from these witches or whatever else would endanger her friend.

"I still don't think you should follow me."

"Look, the deal was this: you were following Mami when you noticed the type of cheesecake I had." The mention of the dessert left Nagisa drooling. "Noted. I promised I feed you my family's cheesecakes if you'd tell me what you know about Mami and what she's been up to lately. Is it a fair deal or not?"

"Hmm, I suppose..."

"Then you gotta help me out! You can't tell me about magical girls and witches, and not expect me to ask about more. Especially considering Mami is involved with all of this somehow. So please, help me."

Instead of answering, Nagisa turned around, her eyes set in a harsh look as she stared beyond the horizon.

"Uh, Nagisa...?"

"Something's coming."

Juudai left Homura after she received one last message on her phone. With a quick reminder that the raven can call on her when she needs help, Juudai left for work. Homura remained in bed, but she didn't go back to sleep. For thirty minutes, she laid there until she looked at the clock.

'It's time.' She pushed the blankets off of her, gathered her belongings and headed for the door.

The night before, Tomoe Mami sent out a message declaring the girls would meet at a local café for magical girl training. Homura was still uncertain if she wanted to make a wish and take the plunge, but she will admit that she had one particular wish in mind.

All that remained was the push...

But her reluctance was understandable, she supposed. Homura would have to spend the rest of her life – most likely – fighting those horrendous creatures. And after her first encounter... She gulped.

'But Madoka-chan...' Her thoughts drifted to the pinklette, and anxiety replaced her dread, along with something else.

Today revealed a lot of truths she had not been prepared to accept, and the more she thought of it the more she began to notice the already large magical girl proposition was greater than it already seemed to be.

The café loomed closer, and Homura steeled herself for what awaited her inside.

"Homura-chan!" Mami called out to her, hand waving her towards their table.

Madoka and Sayaka were already there. All three had drinks, and Sayaka also had a small pack of fries as well. The pinklette waved at her with a brilliant smile; the blunette, however, simply acknowledged her with a glance before promptly turning her head away.

The blonde offered Homura a warm smile. "I'm glad you could make it as well. Will Juudai-chan be able to make it?"

"No, she won't. She told me to pass you that message."

"Seriously, the least she could have done was message Mami back." Sayaka grumbled under her breath.

The raven opened her mouth to reply, but Mami beat her to it. "The fact she didn't reply meant she wasn't interested. Don't worry, Sayaka-chan. We'll start now that everyone else is here." Homura took a seat, and Mami continued. "First off, would you like anything to drink, Homura?"

"Maybe some water." They waited while Mami went to get her drink. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now, we'll soon start your magical girl experience."

From Madoka's lap hopped Kyubey. 'Mami asked me to hold off on the contracts until you've had your experience. She wants you to see first-hand how it's like to fight witches before you decide on making a wish. We feel it would make more sense if you make a wish first, but Mami wants to give you a chance to think about it carefully before committing. See if this is something you wish to dedicate yourself to, if your wish is worth the price.'

Homura began to tremble in her seat.

Madoka looked just as nervous.

Sayaka puffed out her chest.

"Ha! I'm ready for this!" The blunette reached to her side. "I even brought this along!" Sayaka pulled a bat out, holding it out on the table. "Will this work for self-defense?"

Mami giggled. "Well, I wasn't expecting you to fight anything, but I suppose if the situation gets dicey, it'll come in handy."

"Yes!" The tomboy pumped a fist in the air. "What about you, Madoka? Did you bring anything?"

"Um..." Madoka pulled out a sketchbook. Upon closer inspection, the other girls saw sketches of Madoka wearing what appeared to be a magical girl outfit. "This is it..."

"Pfft!" Sayaka and Mami tried to restrain their laughs. Homura couldn't prevent a giggle escaping, slapping a hand onto her mouth to cover it. "That's so cool!"

"You're just saying that!" Madoka cried. "You're laughing, too, Homura-chan!"

"I'm sorry, Kaname-san!"

"Well, now that we've seen what Madoka-chan brought, how about you, Homura-chan?" Mami asked after she gathered her composure.

"I..." The raven dug into her bag, pulling out one of the gifts Amai gave to her.

"Whoa, a stun gun..." Sayaka stared at the object in surprise.

"Impressive." Mami nodded her head. "All right. With the exception of Madoka, everyone here has something to use for self-defense. I can go out on the field with a little piece of mind." The blonde rose from her seat. "All right, everyone. Let's go. We have a witch to find."

Nagisa stopped in front of a construction site building, seemingly abandoned by the looks of it.

Amai rushed to catch up to her, breathing heavily from behind her. "Geez, you're surprisingly fast for a little thing!" She looked up at the building, and whistled lowly. "This place sure has seen better days. So why did you stop in front of it?"

The air started to feel heavy, rippling slightly.

When Amai looked around, a thought occurred to her. "Isn't this place lacking in people?"

Nagisa gulped, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. "I think we just walked into the witch's territory."