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!

Sorry for this chapter being a bit late than usual, but we luckily managed to update on the last day of the month for August so we're still keeping up with our promise! Also, we would like to thank a Guest reviewer who kindly pointed out our slight mistake on chapter 8. We'll fix that right away when we get the chance! :D

~ Chapter 11: Alliance & Circumstances ~

~ Mitakihara City: Amai's Residence/Family Restaurant ~

The night was warm; Amai had attempted to go out with a sweater but was warned against it by Juudai.

"You'd think it would be cooler with it being fall..." Amai whined.

"Be quiet. Get over it."

Amai looked over at her best friend, watching as she put things into a bag. "What are you doing?"

"Packing up. What does it look like to you?"

"Where are you going?"

Juudai turned to look at her. "I'm going out with you."

Amai pointed at herself. "Wait, seriously?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Because you didn't really show any interest in the Magical Girl biz."

"Well, I wanted to check out what you get into. I've only been in one hunt and it's not like I've actually done anything to help." Juudai gave her a look.

Amai looked away. "I don't know if that will be a good idea."

Juudai stopped moving from her end. "...Why not?"

At this, Amai was at a loss for what to say. Her heart quivered, struggling to come up with the words to explain her thoughts. "Because it's dangerous."

"It's dangerous." Oh, no. Juudai fully turned around, crossing her arms in front of her and giving her a hard glare. "That's your answer?"

Amai realized her mistake a moment too late – and her mind jumped to the last time she spoke with Mami. "No, wait-!"

Juudai held a hand up, silencing her. "I think me just knowing about all this entitles me to the right to accompany you."

"Yeah, but Kyoko -"

"Who's Kyoko?"

Amai slapped a hand to her mouth. "Well, she's this Magical Girl Nagisa and I ran into one night..."

"And when were either one of you planning on telling me about her?"

"...She doesn't stick around for long."

Juudai hummed. "And you don't want to introduce me to her?"

"It's not that."

"You don't want me involved." Juudai's eyes filled with understanding. She bit her bottom lip, looking anywhere in the room but at Amai.

"No! That's not it! I -!" The brunette's breathe left her in a rush when Juudai threw the bag she was preparing straight at her gut.

"...Don't worry about it. Just promise me you'll be careful out there." Juudai hurried out of the room.

Amai watched her go. "Damn it." She didn't mean it. Out of everyone, she thought Juudai was the least interested in all of this Magical Girl business. She didn't mean to make it out like she wanted to exclude her.

'Or replace her...'

With a huff, Amai threw the bag onto her back and exited the room, heading downstairs to find Nagisa. The whitette sitting next to Xavier as he ate dinner, the two of them talking in hush tones.

"Hey, sweetie." Amai bent over to plant a kiss on the little girl's forehead. "Ready to go?

Nagisa shook her head. "Not yet."

Xavier turned his attention to Amai. "Have you spoken to Sis yet?" The wide-eyed look he received was response enough. "Oh, okay."

"Don't just say it like that!"

"You know I don't get between you and Sis when the two of you fight." Xavier took a sip of his soup after that.

"We didn't fight!"

"It might as well have been. Amai-neechan, I'm not dumb; I'm just a kid. I know you've been up to something lately, and it's been worrying Juudai."

Amai's look soften. "Is that so?"

Xavier nodded his head. "Yeah. So stop making Sis worry so much and make up already!"

"You betcha!" She ruffled his head a bit, causing him to scoot away from her. "Aw~! But you look so cute with your hair all ruffled!"

"Juudai can do that, but not you! You scratch my head way too hard!"

"No, I don't!"

"Amai-neechan! He's not going to finish at this rate!"

"Whoops! Sorry! I'll leave him alone!"

Amai sat across from them and waited. While Nagisa went back to the conversation the two of them previously had, Amai took the opportunity to look through the bag Juudai prepared.

'Water, lotion, suntan lotion... a compass? That's Juudy; always thinking about what COULD happen.' Amai smiled, turning the compass in her hand. The other items inside looked to be useful for other situations as well. Amai even found a bottle of pepper spray.

"Don't forget to do your homework!" Nagisa called out to Xavier.

"Juudai won't let me forget! Amai." The boy gave the brunette a hard look. "Are you going to say goodbye to Sis first?"

Amai shrugged. "I don't think she wants to see me right now. I'll make sure it's the first thing I do when I come back, though!"

Xavier didn't look happy with her response, but he accepted it, running towards the older girl and embracing her for a moment before hugging Nagisa. "Come back safely."

"We will!"

"You're worrying too much."

Xavier stuck his tongue out at Amai and closed the door behind them.

~ Mitakihara City: Downtown ~

At Mami's advice, Sayaka went to the high ground. It took a bit of work and courage on her part, but with Mami rooting for her by her side, the two of them managed to get jump to high ground – on top of a building.

"I sometimes do this whenever I know a Witch has been active lately," Mami explained at the top. "It helps me to focus, and often you can catch the slightest ripples of their magical signature in the air."

"Really?"

"Yes. When it comes down to it, a higher vantage point can help you set up for the hunt. Try to see if it helps you focus better."

"Okay." Sayaka took a deep breathe, taking a quick peek at the calm environment below and willed her magic forward. It did make it easier to concentrate, that much was true, but Sayaka realized she couldn't spread her magic out very far – only three buildings ahead of her. "I'm not getting anything."

"Yeah, I felt the reach of your magic... I'm certain with a little training, though, you can command it to reach further." Mami assured confidently.

"Ugh... I wish I could just do it now..."

"In the meantime, I can show you how to enchant objects."

"Wait, what?" Sayaka watched wide-eyed as Mami summoned an umbrella.

"You see it in movies all the time, but conditions have to be just right for someone to be carried off by the wind with an umbrella. However, if you give it some of your magic..." The umbrella glowed a bright yellow, golden insignia appearing on the surface. Mami reached for Sayaka's arm, pulling the girl to her. Her magic allowed the two of them to levitate in the air. Sayaka gasped, looking down and tightening her hold on Mami. The blonde laughed. "We're fine!"

The two of them floating over a set of buildings a few minutes later. "All right! I think this may be the point I've sensed earlier."

"H-How are we going to land?"

They made a slow descent downwards, Mami's feet first before she helped the blunette to her feet.

"Thank you..."

"No problem. Now..." Putting away the umbrella, Mami switched to her Magical Girl form in the blink of an eye. "Let's hunt a witch! Are you ready?"

Mami gave Sayaka a bright smile. The blunette stood for a moment before nodding her head with a smile of her own and changing as well. "Okay!"

~ Mitakihara City: Mitakihara Middle School (8th Grade Classroom) ~

The school bell rang, signaling the beginning of school. Sayaka kept turning her head to the right every few seconds, an aggravated expression on her face.

She heard her name being called; she turned her head towards Hitomi. "Are you looking for someone?"

Sayaka nodded her head. "Yeah, um..."

"Oh, that reminds me! Is it true?"

"What is?"

"Kyousuke! He's been discharged?"

Sayaka took a moment longer to answer the question, wondering why Hitomi wanted to know. "Yeah, yesterday."

"So do you think he'll be here today?"

Sayaka shrugged and turned to face the front. "Who knows?"

Miss Saotome called for everyone's attention. Sayaka faced forward, steeling herself for the lesson. Her mind, however, refused to stay calm.

'Why does Hitomi care about Kyousuke?' Inwardly, Sayaka felt her stomach lurch uncomfortably, an unknown emotion rising hot within her.

'Sayaka, is something wrong?' The blunette started, her eyes turning to where Madoka sat; the pinklette's eyes caught her gaze for a short moment before she went back to looking forward. 'You look upset. Is something the matter?'

'No... Just thinking.'

'About Kyousuke?'

'...Yes." Sayaka slumped forward on her desk, groaning before quickly sitting up. 'He isn't here yet.'

'Maybe something came up. He has been in the hospital for a long time, so it's taking some time to get used to things again.'

'Yeah, you're probably right. I'm over thinking things.' Sayaka forced a smile as she tried to focus on the lessons.

But it was easier said then done; her gaze kept straying to the side at the door. Maybe something did come up, though it hurt Sayaka that Kyousuke didn't call or leave a message to explain why...

She shook her head; now she was just sounding silly; Kyousuke didn't need to tell her where he was. But she did recall they did say to communicate with one another for any details.

'I think I'm going to call him after school today.'

'Okay.'

Before she could reply with a thank you, the door to the class room flew open. "He-llo~ everyone!" Sayaka cringed as she recognized the voice.

'What are you doing here?!' The blunette screamed in her thoughts.

Amai chuckled, but didn't voice her response out loud, instead walking up to Miss Saotome. "Hiya, Teach! You looking lovely as always!"

"Ah, Miss Asurito, I see you're faring well yourself! Did Mr. Noeuni send you?"

"Yes, here you go!" She passed the older woman a slip of paper. "By the way, Miss Saotome, how are things going for you and your boyfriend?"

The class settled into a chilling silence as they beheld their teacher. Saotome glared at the board before turning her gaze to the young girl. "Did you know that that good for nothing son of a gun broke up with me because I couldn't fry his egg right?!"

"Whoa, are you serious?"

"Mm-hmm! Tell me, Asurito, is the correct way to cook an egg is sunny side up or down?!"

"Sunny side up, of course." Amai answered flatly.

They held each other's gazes – Saotome looking very upset while Amai continued to hold a blank stare. The girl sighed. "What were the two of you eating?"

"A-a bowl of rice with miso soup!"

"And he wanted it sunny side up?"

"Apparently!"

"For his rice?"

"Yes!"

"Well, he obviously wanted to break the yolk so it'd pour over his rice. No wonder he broke up with you if you can't clearly tell that an egg needs to be cooked sunny side UP."

Some of the students in the class gasped.

Saotome looked appalled. "He wanted it fried, and I fried it!"

"Yeah, but if he wanted it sunny side up, that meant he didn't want it to be all the way cooked. He wanted the yolk to spill. If you fry it on both sides, it's too cooked and won't run! Geez, Teach, get it together!"

Saotome gave her a glare. "We'll continue this after school, Asurito."

"Gladly." With a smile, the brunette turned on her heel and started strutting out of the class. She winked at Sayaka as she walked by. The blunette rolled her eyes.

"Moron." She whispered.

~ Mitakihara City: Homura's Home ~

Homura heaved a sigh from her bed. Bedridden, she skipped out on school for the day in an attempt to rest up. Her illness was in the past but it still took some time for her physique to return to an acceptable state.

She rolled to her side, glancing out the window. Homura sighed, closing her eyes for a bit.

An uneasy feeling filled the air. She squirmed, struggling to get comfortable while ignoring the sensation. A futile move on her part; her eyes eased open slowly, purple eyes returning to the window.

Homura flinched as her gaze landed on a figure outside of her window. She gasped, sitting up and inching away, yelping when she nearly fell off her bed. Her heart racing inside her chest, Homura dared to look back out, awaiting with bating breathe for another set of eyes to meet hers.

No one was outside. She struggled to even find her breath, returning to the center of the bed. Her eyes skimmed over to her belongings scattered across the room: pictures lined up on a shelf, one featuring her as Homura as she was released from the hospital and the second a picture of her, Amai and Juudai; a set of ribbons she used to tie her pigtail ends; and books upon books stacked up on one another on the floor.

As her breathing began to slow down, though, another shadow appeared at the window, this time a smaller one with a long tail and long ears. "Kyubey...?"

"Are you all right? You sound out of breathe."

"I... don't worry about it." She wasn't exactly in the mood to tell the rabbit-like creature of her concerns, especially if it turned out to be nothing. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you. Out of the girls presently in town, you have communicated with us the least with your wish. You appear to be interested in the notion of becoming a Magical Girl..."

"I'm sorry! I truly do want to become a Magical Girl! I just... don't know what my wish will be..."

"We understand. We cannot force you to make a decision. We were just curious if you changed your mind about it.."

"N-no, I still would very much like to be a Magical Girl, if you will still let me once I figure out my wish."

"Of course. Take your time." Homura thought he would go and leave her alone, but he remained on the window sill. "Is it all right if I ask you a question?"

Homura wordlessly nodded her head.

"May we see your hair outside of its restraints?"

She looked at him with questions in her eyes, but he didn't elaborate. With a slight shrug, Homura took one long pigtail in her hands and unraveled the ribbon holding it together. She repeat the action on the other tail, shaking her head to loosen the strands of hair. She looked at Kyubey expectedly afterwards.

The critter hummed lowly before shaking his head. "We see. Perhaps this might not sound like an observation, but we believe you look mature with hair down, Homura Akemi."

Homura blushed. "You don't mean that..."

"Perhaps you'd feel differently if someone else told you those words."

"W-what?!"

"We must be going now. There is something we would like to look into before approaching one of the other Magical Girls. We bid you a good day, Homura Akemi." And with that, Kyubey jumped out of sight.

Homura's gaze remained on the window for a while longer. Just... what did he mean by that?

~ Mitakihara City: Middle School Hallway/Downtown Café ~

Madoka looked into her homeroom class as she and Sayaka walked past it on the way out of school. "Do you think Asurito-chan will be all right?"

"What do you mean?" Sayaka deadpanned. Madoka pointed towards the classroom where Amai and Miss Saotome appeared to be in a fierce discussion. The pinklette was actually surprised they weren't throwing things at one another. "Oh, that... I think Miss Saotome is going to put her in her place. I mean, seriously, where does she think she's coming from talking about relationships like that?"

"They were mostly talking about eggs, though..."

"That guy is still scum for dissing Miss Saotome over EGGS."

"Well, yeah..."

"Anyway, I'm going to make a stop somewhere else today. Will you be fine on your own?"

Madoka nodded her head. "All right then. Be careful!"

Sayaka answered that she would be running off in the opposite direction. She smiled after her before turning to head home herself.

"Are you going off without me, Madoka?"

The pinklette jumped and swerved to look at Mami, the blonde smiling radiantly at her friend. "How are you doing, Mami?"

"Not bad. May I walk with you?"

"Sure."

Madoka asked Mami if she wanted to stop by someplace to eat before heading home, to which the blonde eagerly accepted.

Once they arrived at the café and took their order, the two of them took their seat. "How was your day, Madoka?"

"It was pretty great! Uh, at least..." Madoka trailed off, staring down at her snack.

"Did something happen?"

"It's just... today, I saw Asurito-chan."

A shadow immediately cast over Mami's face.

"I was wondering if you've spoken with her yet."

After the silence stretched on for a moment, Mami said. "No, I haven't. I... don't know what to say."

Madoka looked at her friend with sympathy. Having only befriended Amai for a short time, Madoka couldn't be sure how she felt over all this, but Madoka knew Mami missed her terribly and it pained her to see two friends hurting like this. "You should at least try. I'm sure Asurito-chan would appreciate it."

"It's... not that easy." Mami appeared so frustrated, tightening her hold on the drink. "Amai has always been stubborn! And reckless. It's one of the reasons I chose to keep what I do a secret, to stay away from her instead of letting her and her family know I was fine. She would have gotten herself involved in all this despite my wishes. I didn't want that...!"

The blonde looked close to tears, hunching into herself. Madoka, at a loss of what to do, reached across the table to place a hand on her shoulder as she shuddered.

"It was the last thing I wanted... That's why I kept it from her. And what pains me is that she doesn't understand where I'm coming from. Does she think I did this to hurt her? Because I don't trust her or something?"

"I don't think it's just that." Madoka replied. When Mami looked at her with tears in her eyes, the pinklette elaborated. "I think she must have felt that you weren't giving her your consent."

"But why would she need my permission?"

"Because Kyubey presented her with an opportunity to ask for anything she'd like, and then you were not only discouraging her, but when she made the decision to save her mother and brother with her wish, she felt like you were... attacking her." Madoka ended for lack of better words.

Mami took in a shallow breathe. "She thinks... I was condemning her family?! How could she think that?! After what happened to mine?!"

"I'm not sure... I suppose she started thinking that, and that's one of the main reasons she's hurt."

"That's... not true! I didn't mean for it to be like that!" Mami cried.

"You need to speak with her as soon as you can, Mami!" Madoka insisted. "Maybe she won't want to listen, but you have to make her listen to you, and you need to listen to her too, all right?"

Mami wordlessly nodded her head, passing her hands over eyes. "I... I need to. I can't leave it like this. I need her to know where I'm coming from."

Madoka nodded her head. "Have you tried calling her before?"

"I couldn't go through with it. But I will soon."

"I'm sorry for bringing it up like this."

"No, it's fine. I needed to make a move." Mami sniffed and smiled. "What kind of a mentor am I when I can't even talk out a simple dispute?"

Returning the smile, Madoka shook her head. "It can be a little scary talking to people, so I understand! But if she truly cares about you, she'll listen."

~ Mitakihara City: Downtown ~

"All right, listen up!" Kyoko turned around to address the two girls following her. "We'll keep this nice and simple." The redhead rammed the bottom of her staff unto the floor, sending out a wave of her magic. "You feel that? That's the magic signature of a Witch. The goal of this training session? You're going to locate and take the witch down! Understood?"

Nagisa raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Are you coming with us?"

Kyoko barked a laugh. "Why should I? Y'all are the ones who need this training! Sniff out the witch and when you find her, kill her! It's that simple! Besides, it'll be great practice to see if the two of you work well together."

Nagisa and Amai shared a look and nodded before scattering.

The redhead heaved a sigh after they left. "Now to figure out what was that other signature I felt..."

~ Witch's Labyrinth ~

A slash here, another there – Sayaka swept through the collection of minions as she made her way to the Witch's room. She was determined to take care of this without Mami's assistance.

She landed on the ground, turning around to see if Madoka was still behind her. "So Mami is going to try talking to that pervert?"

"Pervert? Oh, Asurito-chan, yes!" Madoka paused. "She's not a pervert." She added.

"And yet, you knew who I was talking about!" Sayaka turned with a grin, catching the red on Madoka's face.

"That's not very nice, Sayaka!"

"It's the truth, though!" Once that batch of minions were taken care of, Sayaka reached for Madoka's hand and lead the way further into the labyrinth. She learned the hard way earlier that she needed to come up with a way to defend Madoka; Sayaka had turned away from her friend for one minute, and in the next, a Minion managed to sneak its way past the Magical Girl in an attempt to reach her friend.

"It's not your fault, Sayaka. It takes time for Magical Girls to become accustomed to their abilities."

Sayaka turned her head to look at her second companion; Kyubey had invited himself to the hunt when he encountered them on the way to the witch. He most likely would know a thing or two about Witch Hunts considering he grants girls the ability to kill them, after all. At the thought, she voiced her concern. "I just wish I could figure things out faster. Why can't I make a barrier like Mami?"

"It's Mami's specialty. Her powers tends to lend on the defensive, so it naturally comes to her."

"Since you say naturally, that means she's that good at it, huh?"

"Precisely. But in theory other Magical Girls can call upon on that magic when needed. It all boils down to your need for it."

Sayaka's face became downcast. "I guess I'm not that focused on caring for Madoka..."

"Don't blame yourself!" Madoka immediately cut through her words. "It's not your fault; you're new to all this and you're focused on taking down the Witch! Take care of the Witch first, and then everyone will be safe, Sayaka!"

The discussion would not end there, but Sayaka at least conceded that the Witch needed to go. "Right!"

Once they entered the Witch's room, Sayaka quickly locked on to her target, finding it hanging over their heads. It may have been hoping to stay out of her reach, but no such luck. With a cry, Sayaka launched one of her blades to the Witch, succeeding in catching it off guard and cutting a limb. It lost its grip on the wall and fell towards them.

With a smirk, Sayaka prepared another blade, pushing it forward into the Witch's body before swinging it down and cutting through it. In a puff of magic, the Witch's form dissipated. Waiting a moment, Sayaka scanned the area to see if the Witch dropped it's treasure.

"See anything, guys?"

"No, I don't..."

"How come it didn't drop anything?"

"Because that thing was a minion, you moron."

The two girls flinched at the unexpected voice, turning to its source as the labyrinth slowly faded away. A girl dressed in red drew near.

Kyubey's ear twitched in recognition. "We see you are doing well, Kyoko Sakura."

Sayaka looked at the critter. "Who is she?"

"She's another Magical Girl, like you."

Kyoko smirked. "You didn't even bother telling the fresh meat about me, Kyubey? I'm hurt; especially once I swoop in and take the turf away from her."

Sayaka arched a brow. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying that this place is a nest of Witches. Makes harvesting for Grief Seeds easy and all. By the way, you completely wasted your time going after that one."

The hairs on Sayaka's neck stood up. She did not like the way this new girl was talking. "No, I didn't. I stopped it before it could hurt anyone."

Kyoko snorted. "Before it could hurt anyone? Are you even listening to yourself? That's not a complete Witch, girl. You saw that it didn't let go of a Grief Seed, right? That's because it hadn't had time to develop yet."

Madoka spoke up. "Develop?"

"That's right. Let it prey on others for a bit, and it'll form its own Grief Seed. You feel me?"

Each second this girl spoke was fueling the fire inside of Sayaka. "How dare you...?"

"Huh?"

Sayaka was seething. "You're telling me to just stand by and let the Witches eat people?!"

Kyoko gave her a hard look. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Your Soul Gem will gradually taint when you use your magic. If you go after every single Witch you come across, you're just wasting valuable magic that could be used on a Witch that leaves you an actual prize."

"Because of course you'd assume I'm doing this for myself." Sayaka's hands clenched into fists at her side.

"You gotta, otherwise who's going to?" Kyoko countered. "Don't look all high and mighty, Girl. Other Magical Girls do the same thing, too."

"She's right. It's not unreasonable. You have to keep track of your magical resources, otherwise you'll end up burning yourself up."

It still made Sayaka's stomach turn in repulsion.

"That's not right." Sayaka felt her heart swell hearing Madoka say those words. "You were granted such an incredible gift; how can you turn away from others in need?"

Kyoko shrugged. "They're not my problem."

"Like hell they aren't!" Sayaka exploded. "They can't do anything to the Witches, but we can! How could you?"

"Because I can. Look I didn't come to be lectured." The redhead turned her back to them, jumping toward a high ledge. "I'm out of here. Hey, Kyubey, we should meet up for snacks some time, okay?" With those final words, Kyoko disappeared.

~ Witch's Labyrinth (Other side of Town) ~

Once the labyrinth disappeared, Nagisa and Amai let out the breath they were holding. Amai looked down at her companion proudly. "Well, that was easy!"

The whitette turned to look behind her with a thoughtful expression.

"Something wrong?"

Nagisa shook her head. "Just a feeling. I thought I sensed something back there."

"You're better at feeling Witches than me. Do you think it was something?"

It took a moment for Nagisa to respond. "Yeah, I think there was a Witch in that direction, but it disappeared not long before we took care of this one. Maybe Kyoko got rid of it. We did lose track of her after we headed this way."

'Or maybe Mami took care of it...' But Amai kept that thought to herself. She didn't want to think about any of that.

Something sparkled on the ground in front of them. Nagisa skipped over to it, picking it up in her hands. "Hey, look it dropped a Grief Seed!"

Amai nodded. "Do you need to clean yours?"

Nagisa shook her head. "No, I'm still good. What about you?" Amai responded with the same.

The next moment, Kyoko appeared next to them. "Well done, girls! We can call it quits tonight. I don't really feel anything else at the moment."

Amai stifled a yawn. "Yeah, I got school tomorrow and this one needs her rest." She pointed her thumb at Nagisa.

"I do not!" The little girl yawned afterwards.

"Told you." Nagisa pouted in face of Amai's smirk.

"We'll meet up again and continue this later. Night, y'all!" Kyoko walked away from the scene and into the early night. She wondered if any of the arcades would be open tonight; she was in the mood to play.

~ Mitakihara City: Downtown Arcade ~

Kyoko smirked, musing as to why she was in such a good mood. It didn't often happen; some days, her mood was in a passing state, one that allowed her to carry on with her life, and other days she would just need to find a Witch to take her aggression on. But today, it was a good day and she couldn't exactly explain why.

Her feet carried her to the nearest arcade, and to her pleasant surprise it was still open. Now in her civilian form, she paid for her entrance fee and made her way to the dancing games. They were always her favorite. Even though most of them didn't offer a prize for winning or participation, she still ruled on the dance panels.

She picked out her favorite song, and at the game's signal began to move. Kyoko remained focused on the game – it was on intense difficulty, after all – but her senses picked up on something as it – they – entered the building. She kept her eyes on the screen even when the person stopped next to her. "You got something you want to say to me?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the person nod. "Kyoko Sakura, I request to be part of your alliance, as well."

The redhead snorted. "I figured we were already in an alliance, considering you approached me first and all."

"I was not sure if you were keen with the idea, but now that I see the way you interact with Amai-chan and Momoe-chan, I'm confident about it."

Kyoko inclined her head to the side to look at the long-haired raven girl. Her purple eyes were set on the floor, one of her hands fidgeting with the strands of her hair.

"Funny, I don't recall you being so familiar with Asurito."

The raven girl flinched, eyes widen like saucers. "I... don't, either."

The redhead merely shrugged. "Well, the more the merrier, I say. Especially if this Witch is as powerful as you say. Are we going to enlist Mami and the other girl, too?"

"It would be preferable." The other girl nodded her head.

Kyoko scowled. "I haven't even ran into Mami yet. As for the other girl, I'm not so sure about her. Her head's too far into the clouds."

"If you're talking about Sayaka Miki, I believe you are correct. She will need someone to guide her, watch over her."

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"Talking about something like you know a lot about it." Kyoko's gaze was back on the screen, but her eyes narrowed in thought. "Is there something I need to know about Miki?"

The raven girl took a moment to answer. "She is willful, and your actions will only further agitate her. Therefore, I suggest you leave her to her own devices and let me look after her. You already have your hands full with Am... Asurito-chan and Momoe-chan."

Kyoko shrugged. "I can't really do much about it if you come my way. Besides, she's a rookie, and if I have to put her in her place so be it." She finished with a grin, spinning in place and striking a pose as the song ended. She walked off the platform and stood next to the girl, eyeing her up and down. "So, are you ever going to tell me your name?"

The girl shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Things are... difficult at the moment. You'll most likely learn it in time."

"I don't make a habit of this, you know. Talking to someone who's clearly suspicious. And yet... I know you're not lying about Walpurgis Nacht. I'll continue training those girls. In the meantime, you better start practicing on better introductions!" Kyoko flashed her a grin before heading for another game.

The girl stood there even after Kyoko left. With a sigh, she let her head fall back, eyes on the ceiling.

Things were still the same, yet... something started to change. A frown pulled at the girl's lips. Something's been off, and she's felt it ever since...

She shook her head, a sudden feeling of exhaustion hovering over her. Thinking about it made her head in the long run, a bit surprising since thinking seemed to be all she could do recently. She couldn't make heads or tails of the changes, couldn't predict if it was for the best... or worst.

And to make matters worse for her, her mind recently seemed to be in turmoil – more so than usual. These new problems added along to the rest of her concerns made for a headache and very confusing behavior. She still puzzled over to the words she had said to Kyoko before.

'Amai-chan..."

She does not know the girl, nor did she ever meet her – until know.

'What is happening to me... and the world?'

~ Mitakihara City: Mami's Apartment ~

Mami heaved a sigh, leaning onto her coffee table. Today had been a simple enough day, her homework done as soon as she arrived home and treats baked as she did her chores. A cup of tea remained steaming next to her, but Mami wasn't really in the mood to quench her thirst.

She rested her head on her arms, aimlessly looking forward. 'Amai... I wonder what you're doing right now...' Her phone rested next to her on the table, untouched. No messages waited for her; she'd already check numerous of times earlier. 'It looks like I have to make the first move, after all...' She chuckled humorlessly, closing her eyes.

Words were lost to her; as of now, Mami still couldn't find the proper words. She suppose a simple apology would do, but she felt like she owed Amai more. A lot more...

'I miss her.' That thought wasn't new. Mami missed many aspects of her former life, before all of THIS. A time when she didn't have to fight Witches, when she lived happily with her parents... and another girl who loved her very much.

'I really miss her...' A few tears pricked the corner of her eyes. Mami needed to make this right; for the both of them.

She drifted; before she knew it, sleep had taken over her and her dreams were evaded with ifs and maybes. Her parents' faces emerged, their smiles like sunshine to her. She walked through a familiar park, turning behind her and seeing a brunette girl chasing her with the biggest and happiest smile on her face. A laugh blossomed in her chest, and she let it out as she ran away from the other girl.

A hand reached out to her, and the girl was right next to her. Both of them giggled. The other girl opened her mouth, and-

A shrilling sound brought her out of her sleep. Mami's hand reached for her phone, irritably hitting the call button.

"Hello?"

"Mami?" Madoka's worried tone came from the receiver. "We have a problem."