Authors Note: To answer Niyas question;

I have honestly no idea how long this is going to be. This is already way longer than I had planned when I wrote the first chapter. Right now, I don't know how many more chapters it's going to take to get to the current ending I have planned. As for the other part; I don't plan on posting or focusing on the other two fics I have planned until this one is near completion. Right now both are just in plotting mode/rough drafts of the first two chapters. No serious work done on them yet.

I've run multiple stories at once before and I can not handle that much, that's why Le Fleur Rouge was put on hiatus, I couldn't write it while focusing on this one.

I do hope that answers your question.

It was ten o' clock in the morning. The air was crisp outside, the sky bright blue with few clouds roaming within, birds flew by chirping and tweeting. By all accounts it was a beautiful day outside and the kind of day that makes you want to get up and do things. Inside, the apartment was quiet, and there was little trace of what had happened in it last night. Sayaka had made sure to clean up all of Kyubey's blood before Homura had awoken, as tricky of a task that was; never would she have thought she would need to look up how to remove bloodstains from a carpet.

She had made sure not to tell Homura all of what had happened last night too. Not a word of what she did to Kyubey, or why Homura's heart had begun failing again.

"I used my magic to heal you," Sayaka had said simply when Homura questioned it. The way she said it, the way she looked, Homura could see the guilt she tried to cover up as clear as day. But couldn't understand for the life of her why Sayaka would feel guilty; it wasn't her fault after all.

Thinking about it, or rather trying not to think about it, Homura just sighed, scooping Ganko up into her arms as she padded along the hallways, the kitten purring as she was cradled.

It was only a little past ten and Homura was so bored. As amazing as it was that she could be bored after the night she had, there was nothing to do, and Sayaka wouldn't be around for another few hours; that is, if she didn't need to hunt a witch today. That would mean even more hours of nothing to do if her duty as a magical girl called.

"Ganko...why is it so boring?" Homura sighed, sitting down on the couch. There was nothing good on the TV to watch and nothing new to read. It felt as though the hospital boredom was back, but at least in the hospital she had nurses to talk with to help pass the time. If she could go to school today then that would solve the problem of boredom but sadly she couldn't go.

"Sayaka said to stay here until she got back, but..." She heaved a sigh and the kitten pawed at her face gently, jostling the glasses she was wearing today. It felt so long since she had actually worn them; she'd grown used to the contacts but she hadn't been able to order new ones yet, and as such was stuck with glasses until a new supply of contacts came in.

Still, Homura couldn't stay cooped up in the apartment all day. Before, being alone with nothing to do was normal, but in the last couple of months, she'd come to enjoy having a life. Besides the agonizing boredom, with nothing to keep her mind occupied, terrible thoughts would start filling it. She hated when that happened, and now that she knew the increased danger she would be in with the depressed state those thoughts could put her in, it wasn't something she wanted to go through again so soon.

"I'm sorry, Sayaka, but I need to do something," Homura declared, putting Ganko on the floor. She was told to stay in the apartment, but no, she was going out and going to do something. Sayaka wasn't her boss, and she was too bored to stay inside all day. She had this spur of energy and she had to burn it somehow. Staying inside doing nothing was leaving her twitchy, anxious and agitated. If Sayaka got upset, Homura would have to explain that she couldn't be babied like so just because of all that had happened. She wasn't as fragile as Sayaka seemed to think now.

Following her for a few steps, Ganko mewled curiously as Homura grabbed her house keys and, as though she were just breaking free of prison and taking her first step into freedom, flung the door open to greet the day with all this energy.

Only for it to smack one Sakura Kyouko flat in the face.

"Holy shit! What the Hell?" Kyouko yelled in both pain and surprise, stumbling back and grasping her nose tightly. She continued to curse some more as she tried to assess the damage to her face.

Homura for her part was more than a little concerned, and well into the territory of frantic, apologetic worry. "Oh! S-Sakura-san, I'm sorry, I-I'm so sorry, are you okay? D-Do you need ice?" she asked, trying to decide between stepping to Kyouko or running to grab some ice, and there was also a fear that Kyouko would lash out because of that blunder. Homura's hands were waving through the air crazily, and Kyouko would have found it funny and laughed if she weren't trying to force her nose back into place.

After a minute, enough time for the pain to cool down to a mild ache, Kyouko waved her off. "Nah, nah I'm good, relax," she assured her, her voice nasally as her hand still pinched her nose, thankfully nothing was broken. "Jesus did you put your weight into that door. What, were you in the middle of an escape or something?"

Homura felt her cheeks redden slightly and she looked away. "I...I was just...r-really happy to go outside," she mumbled lamely, but at least it earned a snigger from the girl she'd just nailed with a door. Stepping to the side, Homura gestured inside. "Would you like to come in?" She wasn't sure what else to do but invite Kyouko inside and hope that she wasn't going to make any more mistakes.

She didn't have to ask again as Kyouko sauntered into the house, glancing around as though seeing if everything was the same as last night, almost looking for something, to see if anything was amiss. Sayaka had said she had been in last night too after all, and it wasn't until after Homura had shut the door that she finally spoke again.

"Ya got a pretty nice little place here, small but cozy," Kyouko said, plopping down on the couch. Ganko sniffed her foot for a second before jumping up onto her lap, which earned a few pets from Kyouko. Apparently the kitten saw nothing wrong with the redhead and had quickly warmed up to her.

Homura sat down next to her, putting on a smile though part of her felt bad about letting Kyouko into her house. Sayaka didn't like this girl, and did this count as a betrayal of some kind to be friendly to her? They had been fighting last night, but Kyouko had been decent, if not strange, to Homura back in Kazamino.

Personally, Homura was hoping she could get Sayaka and Kyouko to work together, despite their fight, and this did present a good opportunity to try and make that happen. Kyouko was clearly more experienced, more skilled than Sayaka, and Kyubey had said two magical girls would be more efficient than one. It would up the survival rate of both girls.

And there was also the big roadblock of how Sayaka clearly didn't want Homura to make a contract.

"Would you like something to drink?" Homura asked tentatively. Maybe she could make some tea, or maybe a soda would be better. She did have a few cans in the fridge, and Kyouko looked the type who would prefer it over tea anyways.

Kyouko gave a shrug, still petting Ganko. "Sure, ya got any food too? Cause I'm starvin'!"

If Sayaka were here, Homura could just see her yelling at Kyouko for being "disrespectful" by how she acted as though already owning the place, but Homura saw nothing wrong with Kyouko's blunt honesty. She had no issue making something quick for her guest as she made her way to the kitchen. Hopefully Kyouko didn't take this as her chance to rob Homura blind while the girl was in the kitchen, but somehow, Homura knew that wasn't the type of person Kyouko was, or rather that wasn't what she was here for. With how she was handling herself against Sayaka, it wasn't like she had to use trickery to take anything she wanted from someone like Homura.

Still, what was Kyouko doing here? That question was gnawing on Homura's mind.

After grabbing a grape soda and making a quick ham sandwich, Homura returned to the living room to see that she was right in not expecting Kyouko to rob her while she was gone. Kyouko hadn't even moved much other than to sprawl across the couch, playing with Ganko who was purring and sitting on her chest.

It was a cute sight.

Homura couldn't hold in the light giggle which was easily heard by Kyouko who jumped, head jerking to look at her in surprise and giving a soft swear followed by how Homura "shouldn't sneak up on people like a ninja."

"Sorry," Homura apologized, placing the drink and sandwich on the coffee table as Kyouko sat back up while Ganko readjusted herself onto her lap. "Ganko really has taken a liking to you I see," she said, reaching over to lightly pet her kitten on the head, and the purring grew louder at the added attention.

"I've always gotten along fine with cats, though I'm more of a dog person to be honest," Kyouko said, stuffing most of the sandwich into her mouth in one bite as though she hadn't eaten in days, though for all Homura knew, that might very well be the case, especially when she barely had to chew. "Ya know, I'm surprised you're not at school. Today's a school day ain't it? You don't look like a skipper."

"Sayaka suggested I stay at home today to rest, because of...b-because of what happened yesterday," she explained, hand coming to rest on her chest over her heart. Sayaka had less suggested and more demanded. It had taken all Homura had just to make Sayaka go to school today.

There was a snort of laughter from Kyouko as she opened the can of pop which sizzled for a few seconds. "That girl really likes you, doesn't she? Never seen someone quite so protective just of a friend, and people generally aren't that obsessive unless they got a thing for you."

Even if Kyouko were teasing, maybe even mocking, it earned a small smile from Homura as she nodded her head. But the smile slipped away quickly as she thought more about it. Sayaka had always looked out for her, but she had changed...not just since they had met, but the differences between one day and the next could be seen now. Sayaka was too protective, and part of Homura was scared of that.

"So, any idea of why you had that attack yesterday?" Kyouko asked, watching Homura from the corner of her eye as she gulped down the pop. The look she had, though trying to hide it, did not settle well with Homura. It was a knowing look.

"Actually," the girl in question began, glancing down, "I don't. Sayaka said that, well, I wasn't as 'cured' as everyone thought. She used her magic to fix me, but, I don't really get why I'm having heart problems again." The doctors should have noticed it, with how much intensive searching they did for something wrong with her after her miraculous recovery, they should have noticed if she weren't as fixed as they all thought. To be honest, Homura was starting to have some ideas of her own behind her recovery after all she had learned recently, and she was becoming suspicious of the "miracle" that saved her.

But as she gave her answer, she heard Kyouko mutter "of course," which earned a questioning look from her. "Braaap...nothing, nothing," was the quick, if rude, half-belch response as Kyouko began taking bites of the sandwich as though to distract the other girl and to keep her mouth occupied, causing the room to fall into a silence.

After Kyouko took a few more bites, and slipped a few tiny pieces of ham to Ganko, Homura decided to ask the million-dollar question.

"Sakura-san, what are you doing here?"

"Call me Kyouko, no need to be so formal," the redhead shrugged, taking a few more gulps of the soda.

Nodding, with brows pressing together in mild frustration, Homura tried again. "Alright, Kyouko, what are you doing here? I don't think it's for food and to play with a cat."

"Wanted to see how you were doing, ya know, considering last night and all that," Kyouko responded easily, almost too easily.

While Homura didn't think she was lying, not completely at least, Kyouko didn't come across as the kind of person who cared enough about the health of someone she barely knew to come and visit. Though Homura liked to think they were on the right path to becoming friends, the fact remained that they weren't friends, and of course there was the issue of what happened between Kyouko and Sayaka last night before her heart attack. With how little they actually knew of each other, it wasn't enough between them to garner Kyouko to care much about her. That meant there was more to this visit than just a checkup.

Homura narrowed her eyes at the redhead to show her disbelief. "I don't think that's the only reason."

The easygoing and self-confident grin Kyouko had been wearing up until now began to fall, though she tried to hide it by stuffing the sandwich into her face again. After a few seconds, she began speaking, "I came here 'cause I wanted to talk to you about Blueberry."

"Sayaka."

"Whatever," Kyouko said, waving her off, though there was a hint of uneasiness in her tone that she tried to hide.

"It's not 'whatever.' If you're going to talk to me about my friend, you can call her by her name," Homura insisted, and Kyouko mumbled a 'fine, fine' after.

This wasn't something she was used to doing, and even if it was just showing a little concern for another, Kyouko was used to only worrying about herself and only herself, not some newbie who was on her turf. Under any other circumstances this would have been brushed off and ignored; it wasn't her problem after all, and she tried to brush this off too. But whenever she tried, she could feel eyes of molten gold frowning at her. "Something about her isn't- her soul gem was-...I don't think she can handle this. Being a magical girl, the mental, the emotional strain and all that might be too much for her," though Kyouko knew there was plenty of examples she could give to back up that vague statement.

Most girls weren't up to the challenge, but something about Sayaka...Kyouko could feel deep in herself that this path was a terrible one for her to walk.

Homura was quiet for a moment before nodding her head in understanding, her mind flashing to the witch she had watched Sayaka kill, the bloodlust she had seen. "I think you might be right," she said, voice going soft. It felt terrible to admit it, to admit that her friend might not be strong enough to handle this. Homura had only been given a glimpse into this world of magic, but even as small as it may have been, she could understand how terrible it was to be in. It had already begun changing Sayaka.

Fighting witches, and also having to fight other magical girls just for one city...

They didn't have to fight, did they?

"Mitakihara City is large...a lot larger than Kazamino," Homura began, taking the subject off of Sayaka, earning a hum of agreement from Kyouko, "There are lots of witches here, or there will be, right?" Another noise of confirmation from the girl beside her and Homura glanced up at the white ceiling in thought.

Sayaka couldn't handle this on her own, not forever, and not with Kyouko- more experienced, more powerful- as an enemy. She also won't let Homura contract, something the girl didn't know how to feel about yet, having too many mixed feelings over becoming a magical girl herself. But, more importantly, Sayaka needed someone she could rely on in the heat of a battle, to help her in her fights, to ensure that she would make it home when the hunt was over.

"Saku- Kyouko...can I ask you to do something for me?" Homura began, watching from the corner of her eye as Kyouko placed the empty plate on the coffee table and looked at her. "I'll do whatever it takes to pay you back, if it's legal I mean. I have the money, and it's- it's really important that you would do this for me. But, but can you train Sayaka?"

Kyouko stared at her, eyes wide in surprise before she managed to start talking again, "That is, you want me to train Blueberry?" she asked, still clearly surprised by the request, ignoring the mild glare Homura gave at the nickname, "I'm not, well, I'm not a teacher, doubt I'd be a good one to her." She didn't particularly work well with others, and would no doubt grow too frustrated with Sayaka if she taught her. They already had a rather hostile relationship after all. Besides, she didn't have as soft a touch as a certain other girl she once knew: her methods were rough and could very well kill the girl.

"I'm willing to pay you to do this, whatever you want," Homura pressed. Her voice had lost its worried and weak tone to it, determination instead taking hold.

Kyouko had to look away from her as she mulled over it. She could survive fine on her own, but still...money to buy food and better places to stay, as well as to spend at the arcade. It did sound like a pretty sweet deal, and it wasn't that hard. Just give the girl a few pointers, right? While she didn't like sharing the city, Kyouko could certainly use the money this girl was offering; it could help her get a few nights at someplace other than a crappy rundown motel...when she could afford a night there and not just break into somewhere. But she didn't exactly like working with others, let alone people like Sayaka. The way the girl had acted last night...Kyouko wasn't against letting go of control, but there was something wrong with that girl.

A flash of gold ran across her mind, bittersweet memories of her last time in the city when she'd last worked with someone. A fresher image came soon after: pink and gold danced along the front of her mind, then news of two middle school girls found dead after a terrible storm. When the words "no" ran through her mind, she could feel golden eyes on her burning with quiet, unyielding disapproval. Guilt began its awful gnawing within her, and for the second time that day, she was going to do something she rarely, if ever, decided to do.

Her hand held out to Homura, face hardening to hide whatever emotions may be hidden in red eyes.

"You've got yourself a deal."

Sayaka had been anxious all day, and was also regretting her decision to make Homura stay at home alone. Sure, she had wanted Homura to rest, considering the events of last night, but now all she could do was think. What she thought about weren't exactly pretty scenarios. They all were "what ifs." What if Homura's heart failed again while she was at school? Sayaka couldn't heal her when she didn't know and was so far away. What if Kyubey came to her and explained the truth about everything? Homura would hate her for sure! That was something Sayaka couldn't handle.

She did her best to try and focus though; she had to take notes, and good notes too, for Homura. Couldn't slack off when she'd promised to get Homura's work for her no matter how worried she was over the girl's safety.

To be honest, Sayaka still felt horrible about last night and all that had occurred. It hadn't been until some time after everything had happened before realizing what she did to Kyubey sank in and the horror and disgust filled her body that made her absolutely sick to her stomach, though she still didn't know who it was pointed at, Kyubey or herself. Sayaka also still found it hard to digest what she learned about Mami and Madoka, that there had been more going on between the two than she realized and it made her feel all the more guilty over how she treated them when she last saw them, and realizing she had screwed up her own wish wasn't making her feel any better.

Then there was Kyouko roaming the streets, stalking her for all she knew, and Sayaka didn't know what she was going to do with her. She still felt her blood boil in anger and frustration at the girl, wanting to settle the score.

Needless to say, all these things were creating a mess of feelings inside of her, and all these mixed yet negative feelings didn't help make the clock go by faster. She had the temptation to just run and skip school every time she went to her next class, but she resisted it. An occasional glance at her ring, and the the darker tone the blue had taken was just faintly acknowledged.

Sayaka was on the verge or ripping out her own hair with how anxious she was by the time classes were done. When the last bell finally rang, Sayaka would have been running to Homura, if not for being asked to go to the roof that day. If anyone else had asked her to make that trip, she would have said no, no to anyone but him.

So here she was, on the roof standing across from Kyosuke. Surprisingly, Hitomi wasn't around and it made her wonder if Hitomi even knew that Kyosuke had called her up there. She wondered more why Kyosuke had asked her to meet him up there in the first place. He had caught her as she made her way back to the classroom after lunch, asking to speak to her, saying it was important, but he never gave any indication of what it would be about and Sayaka couldn't very well turn his request down.

There had been many times that Sayaka had fantasized about this moment, to be called to the roof by Kyosuke, the two of them alone. So far it was playing out just like she had always dreamed, all that was left was, well, a confession and a fiery kiss to seal their love...both of which had already happened between him and someone else. Sayaka was well aware that it wasn't going to happen. Kyosuke was dating Hitomi, and if he even thought of cheating on- no, friend or no, crush or no, he was going to have a few words with Sayaka's fist.

"I hope you're not calling me up here to confess," Sayaka joked, following as Kyosuke hobbled on his crutches to the bench they always sat at for lunch, an amused grin on her face. Though she wasn't feeling entirely amused inside, and her fingers tapped impatiently on her hips. "You've got Hitomi after all. She ought to be more than enough."

He cracked a smile at her joke, shaking his head no. "Don't worry, that's not why I asked you to come here. You're great and all, but I'm more than happy with Shizuki-san. You're right, no need to find someone else when I've already got her," he assured her before falling into an awkward silence. "Er, I'm, sorry Sayaka," he said quickly, ducking his head as though he just now realized that bringing that drama up again could hit a sore spot on his friend.

But Sayaka, being a good sport, waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm over it." She was getting over it; a part of her still yearned for Kyosuke, a part was still in love with him. So was she still bitter whenever Kyosuke or Hitomi went on about each other in front of her and talked about how happy they were together? Yes, yes she was still quite bitter about the whole thing. But it didn't hurt as much as before, it didn't hurt nearly as much as before, and she was slowly starting to be happy for them.

He gave her a small nod and silence took over again. Kyosuke occasionally opened his mouth as though he were about to speak but then closed it quickly, rethinking his words. He took his time, likely trying to think of what to say, how to say it; it was either an important subject, a volatile one, or both. Sayaka tried to be patient as he thought, but her fingers continued to dance at the side of her leg from thinking of what she could be doing. She should be back with Homura by now, making sure she was okay. But she couldn't be rude and just ditch Kyosuke when he wanted to talk to her.

"How do you feel about Akemi-san?"

Sayaka turned to look at him, eyes blinking in confusion. "Eh? What do you mean?" she asked, and really, what did he mean? How did she feel about Homura? It was obvious she cared for the girl, Homura was her best friend after all! Was that even something that he needed to ask? Because how she felt now was that she should be with Homura instead of answering such a simple question.

He didn't look at her, instead looking up at the sky as he went into detail. "I mean, how do you feel about her? What do you see her as?" he asked once again, turning to look at her after he said that.

Sayaka didn't have time for this; he knew how she felt. "She's my best friend, of course I care about her." More than I can explain. She cared about Homura so much her heart hurt, so much that Homura was always on her mind. She was constantly sick with worry when she wasn't around her. "Why are you asking me?"

Again, Kyosuke cracked a smile, though it seemed disappointed, the "if I don't laugh, I'll cry" kind of smile. "You see her as just a friend? That's all?" It was clearly not the answer he was expecting, or rather the answer he was wanting to hear. "I was asking because, well I was curious. I think we all are, really, and someone needed to ask you."

All? What did he mean by that? Who else was he talking about? It felt like her friend was making less and less sense.

"Of course I do. What, am I not supposed to?"

"Nothing like that," he said, shaking his head and looking up at the sky again. It was clear he wasn't happy with her answer and Sayaka couldn't understand why. What did it matter to him anyways? "You're...you're so difficult when it comes to these things, aren't you? You get so scared to accept how you feel, and even more difficult in telling others about it," he said with a sigh.

Sayaka could, well, she could understand what he was meaning, and her mind was thinking back to how she lost Kyosuke to Hitomi because she couldn't confess. But, why was he applying that here, to Homura of all people? Now Sayaka was getting annoyed as well as confused. "What are you getting at?"she demanded with a glare. If he had something to say, then he needed to spill.

But Kyosuke was already getting up, balancing himself on his crutches, muttering about how he had to go, something about a meeting with Hitomi, and then he spoke louder, this time directed to Sayaka, "There've been a lot of bad things happening around here lately, and I thought I saw a chance to stop one of them from happening again, but I hope I was just worrying about nothing. I just wanted to know how you felt about Akemi-san, or at least how much you were willing to admit. You really need to work on being honest with yourself, especially when everyone else can see the truth you're trying so hard not to." He turned to make his way out before pausing. "Oh, I almost forgot. A lot of the boys in class have a crush on her, you know. It won't be long before they start leaving her letters and confessing. But, since you just see her as a friend, I guess it won't be that big of an issue for you."

With that, he made his slow exit, leaving Sayaka to think about what just happened.

The way he said that, it felt as though he was teasing her, challenging her, telling her to figure out how she felt before it was too late. It was likely just what he was doing, too, telling her to start moving forward or get left behind.

Still...

People were interested in Homura- well, why wouldn't they be? She was beautiful, kind, and wonderful in every way, anyone would fall in love with her. But...if she...if she returned how any of them felt, accepted any of their feelings...if she started dating any of them, Sayaka would lose her.

Why did the idea of losing Homura...not even to death, but to anyone else...hurt so much?