While sitting in class, Homura's eyes wandered over to the calendar. It had been just over a month since Madoka's reappearance, and during that time she and Homura had become closer than ever before, even more than in the first few timelines. The two of them ate lunch together every day, and Madoka hung out at Homura's apartment just about every chance she got. And tonight, Homura was going to meet Madoka's family for the first time. Or at least, for the first time in the current reality.
That reminded Homura that today was the day Walpurgisnacht would always show up and take Madoka away from her. Normally everyone would be in the evacuation center right now, waiting out the "natural disaster" as it destroyed Mitakihara City. Instead, they were all here at school like any other day. The weather was calm, without a cloud in the sky. This time Homura wouldn't have to see Madoka die, become a witch, or worst of all, be erased from existence altogether.
Despite having everything she wanted, Homura was still at war with herself. Madoka was living a happy, magic-free life, but the means by which Homura made that happen still ate away at her inside. And despite knowing she didn't deserve Madoka's friendship, Homura simply couldn't say no to it. Madoka's kindness, her warmth, her selfless, caring nature… It was like an addiction, one that Homura craved like no other. Besides, apparently being around Homura made Madoka happy, so who was Homura to deny her dear friend that happiness?
Eventually, break time rolled around for the eighth-graders, and Homura, Madoka, Sayaka, Kyoko, Hitomi and Kyosuke all gathered around one desk to talk. Homura noticed that Sayaka had become significantly less hostile towards her lately, no doubt due to her and Kyoko's bargain. Kyoko, on the other hand, still seemed to struggle around Kyosuke and Hitomi, especially Kyosuke.
"Ms. Saotome's in a pretty good mood today." Madoka said.
"Yeah, she didn't even chew me out for missing yesterday's assignment." Kyoko added.
Sayaka rolled her eyes, then turned to her green-haired friend. "Way to go there, Hitomi. Who'd have thought she and Mr. Momoe would hit it off like that?"
"Well, I can't take all the credit. It was Mami's idea, too. I hope their date tonight goes well." Hitomi then turned to her boyfriend. "And I'm sure your recital will go well, too."
"Thanks, I needed that. And thank you all for coming. It means a lot to me."
"Don't mention it, Kyosuke." Sayaka replied. "We love hearing you play. Right, Kyoko?"
"Yep, really looking forward to it." Kyoko's eye twitched as she forced herself to smile.
"Oh, was that tonight?!" Madoka suddenly said. "Sorry, Kyosuke, but Homura and I already have plans."
"Oh…" Kyosuke sighed. "Well, that's alright. I guess I deserve it for missing your party. What are you two doing?"
"We're going to the theater to see The Nutcracker." Madoka replied. A couple weeks ago, Homura had let it slip that she'd been a fan of the ballet since early childhood. Madoka, either feeling obliged to pay Homura back for the ribbons or just as a kind gesture, had surprised her with tickets for tonight's performance. And once again, Homura was unable to resist spending time with Madoka.
"Oh, yeah, I heard about that." Kyosuke said. "I kinda wanted to go myself, but I've got my recital, of course. Tchaikovsky really was a brilliant composer, though I always thought Swan Lake and 1812 Overture were superior works. Actually, my personal favorite is his rendition of Romeo and Juliet. It's a real shame that it never caught on like…"
"Great, he'll never shut up." Kyoko grumbled under her breath.
"Hey, remember our deal." Sayaka whispered.
"Yeah, yeah." Kyoko pulled out a pack of Rocky and ate some of it to calm herself down. To her relief, class resumed a couple minutes later, forcing Kyosuke to stop gushing about Tchaikovsky's music.
As soon as class was dismissed, Mami walked over to Mitakihara Elementary School to pick up Nagisa as she always did on school days. After a few minutes, the white-haired girl walked out the front door, though she wasn't in her usually cheery mood today. "Hi, Mami." Nagisa said flatly.
"Hi, Nagisa." Mami reached out to take Nagisa's hand, but the white-haired girl refused. "Is something wrong?"
Nagisa started walking in the direction of her apartment while Mami followed. "Dad's making me go to dinner with him and Ms. Saotome. This is his only night off this week, and I have to spend it with her, too." Nagisa turned to Mami. "Why'd you and Hitomi have to set them up like that?"
Mami paused. Looking back, she probably should've expected Nagisa not to take her dad's new relationship well. He already didn't have much time for Nagisa, but now he had even less. More to the point, Nagisa still hadn't quite gotten over her mother's death. No kid who loses a parent ever does, as Mami herself knew all too well. From Nagisa's perspective, it must've looked like Ms. Saotome was trying to replace her mom. "Look, I know it's hard, but try to get along with her."
"I can't make any promises." Nagisa said bitterly.
"Would it help if I came with you?"
"I wish you could, but Dad wants it to just be the three of us. He wants to make sure we're 'compatible', whatever that means."
"Oh, I see…" Mami sighed. "I guess I'm alone tonight, then."
Nagisa didn't seem to hear what Mami said. She started to sniffle, then suddenly stopped walking. "Why'd Mom have to die, Mami?" Nagisa buried her face in her hands and started to cry.
"I know it hurts." Mami placed her hand on Nagisa's shoulders and led her to a nearby bench where they both sat down. "I miss my mom, too. And my dad. It never gets any easier, not really." Mami embraced Nagisa and allowed the little girl to cry on her shoulder. "I just thought that if things worked out with your dad and Ms. Saotome, he wouldn't have to work as much and he'd have more time to spend with you."
"I don't understand." Nagisa squeaked out.
"Maybe you will when you're older." Mami replied. "But whatever happens with Ms. Saotome, your father still loves you, and so do I. We'll both be here for you no matter what."
"Thanks, Mami." After a couple minutes, Nagisa managed to stop crying. Then the two girls stood up and continued walking home.
"Hey, how about this? If you can get along with Ms. Saotome tonight, I'll buy you a wedge of Jarlsberg cheese tomorrow."
"Ooh, that's one of my favorites! I'm gonna hold you to that." Nagisa then changed the subject. "Hey, this might be kinda off-topic, but Sayaka asked if I could remember anything important about Homura and Madoka. Do you know what she was talking about?"
Mami shook her head. "Sayaka asked me the same thing a while back. I think she's just being overprotective of Madoka. Don't worry too much about it."
"Maybe you're right. Still, I kinda get a weird vibe around Homura sometimes."
Mami shrugged. "Me too, but we really shouldn't judge people on vague impressions. Jumping to conclusions like that never goes well."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Nagisa replied.
Eventually, the two girls made it to Nagisa's apartment and Mami rang the doorbell. Nagisa's father, Shigeru Momoe, answered the door to let them in. "Hi, girls." the tall, white-haired man said. He then turned to his daughter. "Are you ready for dinner tonight?"
"As I'll ever be." Nagisa replied.
Shigeru chuckled, then turned to Mami. "I know I say it every time, but thank you so much for looking after her. I wouldn't know what to do without you." He pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and gave it to Mami. "Here, you've earned it."
"Thank you, Mr. Momoe." Mami took the envelope and put it in her bag. "Good luck tonight."
"Thanks. I'm gonna need it." Shigeru and Mami bowed to each other, then Mami started walking back to her apartment. On her way, she opened the envelope to find ¥25,000, which was ¥5,000 more than usual. She assumed the extra money was a bonus for setting him up with Ms. Saotome. If she was going to be alone tonight, at least she could treat herself to something nice for dinner.
"Well, here we are." Madoka said to Homura as the two of them arrived at Madoka's house. The plan was for the two of them to eat dinner with Madoka's family before going to The Nutcracker. It also gave Madoka a reason to introduce Homura to her family, which she'd been wanting to do for quite some time now. Without further adieu, Madoka unlocked the door and the two girls went inside. "I'm home!" Madoka shouted.
"Welcome back, Madoka." Tomohisa shouted from the kitchen, where he was preparing tonight's dinner.
"Yep, welcome back." Junko added as she got up off the sofa. She then walked over to Homura to introduce herself. "So, you're the famous Homura Akemi. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Junko and Homura bowed to each other.
"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Kaname." Homura then bowed in the direction of the kitchen. "Mr. Kaname."
"Madoka's told us so much about you." Junko said. "Seems like every conversation we have, it's all 'Homura this' and 'Homura that' and-"
"Mom!" Madoka's face went completely red. Maybe bringing Homura here wasn't such a great idea after all. Madoka turned to her friend to see that Homura was wearing that same stoic expression she usually did, much to Madoka's relief. The pink-haired girl quickly changed the subject. "What's for dinner, Dad?"
"Pork cutlets, curry and rice." Tomohisa replied. "It'll be ready in a few minutes."
"In that case, I'll wake Tatsuya up from his nap." Junko said. "I hope he won't be too cranky." Once Junko retrieved Tatsuya, all five of them sat down at the dinner table. Homura made the mistake of sitting next to Tatsuya, since the toddler kept trying to grab Homura's earring.
"Hey, that's not nice!" Tomohisa scolded his son, then Tatsuya backed off. Tomohisa then turned to Madoka. "How's archery going?"
"It's going great!" Madoka replied. "There's gonna be a regional competition in a couple weeks, and they want me to represent our school."
"That's wonderful, Madoka!" Junko said. "See, I always said you were talented."
"I never would've considered archery if not for Homura." Madoka turned to her friend. "Thanks for introducing me to it."
"It was nothing." Homura took a bite of pork. "This is delicious, Mr. Kaname."
"Thank you, Miss Akemi." Tomohisa replied. "So, you two are seeing The Nutcracker? Why that of all things?"
"Oh, I just saw there was a performance tonight and I thought Homura would like it." Madoka said.
"You were right." Homura said. "Every Christmas Eve, the nuns would take me and the other orphans to see it. The others didn't seem to care for it, but I always loved the performance." Homura paused. "It's one of the few pleasant memories I have of that orphanage."
"I'm sorry to hear that. But don't worry, you'll always be welcome here." Junko gestured to her husband. "If you ever want a nice home-cooked meal prepared by the best cook in Japan, just stop on by."
Homura smiled. "Thank you, Mrs. Kaname."
As dinner continued, Homura and the Kaname family continued to talk about other things like school, their time in the U.S., Ms. Saotome's new boyfriend, Homura's cat and Madoka's other friends. Throughout the conversation, Madoka was glad that Homura got along with her family so well, not that there was any reason she wouldn't. Hopefully this would make it easier for Madoka to tell Homura what she was planning to tell her after the performance.
Eventually, everyone finished eating. Homura thanked Madoka's parents for the meal, then she and Madoka took off. "You have a wonderful family, Madoka." Homura said.
A smile appeared on Madoka's face. "Yeah, I really do."
Kyoko reluctantly took her seat next to Sayaka as they waited for the recital to start. Hitomi then took her seat on Sayaka's opposite side. Wasting no time, Kyoko pulled out a bag of jelly beans and started snacking on them. "Did you have to bring that?" Sayaka said.
"Yes, I did." Kyoko snapped back.
"Well, are you at least gonna share?"
Kyoko groaned, then held the bag out in front of Sayaka, who helped herself to some. Hitomi also grabbed a couple, much to Kyoko's annoyance. "I'm probably gonna regret asking, but what's he playing tonight?"
Sayaka took a look at the program. "Looks like it's Ave Maria." A smile appeared on Sayaka's face. "That always was my favorite."
"Huh, I didn't know that." Hitomi said. "My favorite is The Girl with the Flaxen Hair. I wish he'd play that one."
"Don't worry. Looks like some other kid's gonna play it." Sayaka said, pointing to the program.
"Speaking of girls with flaxen hair, how'd Mami get out of this?" Kyoko asked.
"Probably had to babysit Nagisa again." Sayaka replied.
"Actually, Nagisa's joining her dad and Ms. Saotome on their date." Hitomi said. "I'm guessing Mami's at her apartment. I hope she's not too lonely."
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Sayaka said. Before any of the three girls could say anything else, the lights dimmed and the recital began.
Madoka and Homura both took their seats in the audience, then turned their phones off as instructed. Though Homura had been here several times before, this was Madoka's first time seeing The Nutcracker, though she did know the basic plot of the story. She wasn't looking forward to seeing the Mouse King when he arrived.
"I know what you're thinking." Homura said. "But don't worry, they're just dancers in costumes."
"I know that." Madoka replied. "Still doesn't make them less creepy."
"I'm surprised. I thought you liked fluffy animals."
"Yeah, well, mice are an exception."
A tiny smirk appeared on Homura's face. "I'm sure you'll love it. It truly is Tchaikovsky's greatest work, no matter what Kyosuke Kamijou thinks."
"Ah, forget about him." Madoka rested her head on Homura's shoulder. "It's just you and me tonight."
"I suppose it is." With that, the two girls fell silent and the show started.
After Mami finished eating the rather expensive sushi she bought for dinner, she poured herself some chamomile tea and retired to her bedroom. Without much else to do tonight, she decided to get a start on her science homework, but stopped part way through and let out a long sigh. For the first time in weeks, it was just her, alone with her thoughts. Loneliness always was her Achilles' heel.
Mami remembered how it was after she first lost her parents in that car crash. After the tragedy, her only friend in the world was Kyoko. Shortly after that, Kyoko lost her family as well, which led to her and Mami parting ways. But thanks to recent events, she had Kyoko back in her life, and a whole bunch of other friends as well.
Of course, they were all off doing other things tonight, leaving Mami by herself. Even though she knew it was just for the time being, she couldn't help but sulk about it. She remembered how it was before, how desperate she was to escape her crippling solitude. She would've given anything to have even one friend to stay by her side, and it seemed she'd…
Suddenly, Mami's doorbell rang. She ran to the door and opened it to find Kyoko standing there. "Hey, mind if I come in? I figured you could use some company tonight."
Mami paused. "Um, sure, come on in." Mami waved Kyoko inside. Both girls took a seat at the coffee table. "So what are you doing here?" Mami asked as she poured Kyoko some tea. "Shouldn't you be at Kyosuke's recital?"
Kyoko took a sip. "I was, but they kicked me out for snoring too loudly."
"Kyoko-"
"Don't start." Kyoko cut Mami off. "Sayaka's already gonna tear me a new one when we get home."
Mami shook her head. "No, I mean… That's not going to be a problem, is it? Leaving Sayaka alone like that?"
"I don't see why. She's with Hitomi and Violin Boy." Kyoko took another sip. "Besides, I don't see Nagisa around here."
"She's with her father and Ms. Saotome."
"Well, there you go. What are you so worried about?"
Mami looked away from Kyoko and let out a heavy sigh. "What have we gotten ourselves into, Kyoko? Why are we doing this?"
"Because it beats the alternative, that's why." Kyoko replied. "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts now."
"I've always had second thoughts. I don't know if I'm doing the right thing or not."
"Well, I learned a long time ago that doing the right thing is highly overrated."
"I figured you'd say that." Mami sighed. "That always was the difference between you and me, wasn't it?"
"Look, let's not get into this right now." Kyoko raised her teacup. "How 'bout instead, we toast to your crazy plan actually working."
Mami decided to humor Kyoko, figuring this conversation wasn't going anywhere. "Very well." She turned to face Kyoko and raised her teacup as well. "Here's to the happy couple."
"Hear, hear!" Kyoko said. She and Mami each took a drink. "So, you said they're both with Nagisa right now?"
"Yeah. Her dad wanted to make sure she and Ms. Saotome got along."
"Let's hope they do." Kyoko finished off her tea. "If they break up over this, I'm gonna hear all about it on Monday."
Mami laughed, then finished the last of her tea as well. As she poured herself and Kyoko some more, she took a moment to appreciate that because of how things were now, the two of them could put their differences aside and be friends again.
Once the recital was over, Sayaka and Hitomi went backstage to talk to Kyosuke. After a moment, they spotted him packing up his violin. Kyosuke looked back at them, and the two girls walked over to him. "Congratulations, Kyosuke!" Sayaka patted her friend on the back.
"You played beautifully." Hitomi added.
"Let's hope the judges think so, too." Kyosuke put his left hand in front of his face, then opened and closed his fist a couple times. "It's like the accident never happened."
"Huh?" Hitomi asked.
"When I broke my arm, the doctor told me I'd never play again. He said the movement in my fingers wouldn't fully recover." Kyosuke smiled, nearly crying tears of joy. "But look at me now, playing like I always have. It's a miracle."
"Way to make that quack eat his words!" Sayaka shouted. "We should've dragged him here so you could show him just how wrong he was."
Kyosuke and Hitomi laughed. "We'll do that when my next recital comes up." Kyosuke said.
"Well, in the meantime, you'll have to settle for us as your audience. Good luck with the judges." Without thinking, Hitomi put her hand on Kyosuke's shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. Then she realized Sayaka was right in front of them. Hitomi backed away from Kyosuke and turned to face away from Sayaka, her face going red.
After a brief awkward silence, Sayaka spoke up. "I'd better leave you two alone."
"No, Sayaka, I-" Hitomi began, but Sayaka cut her off.
"It's alright. I have to go have a word with Kyoko, anyway." Sayaka slammed her fist into her palm.
"Give her one for me!" Kyosuke said rather obliviously.
"Uh, sure, will do." Sayaka replied as she walked off and exited the building.
As Sayaka walked home, she thought about how just a couple months ago seeing Hitomi kiss Kyosuke like that would've tore her up inside. But now it didn't bother her at all. She was actually kind of happy for them, at least when she wasn't pitying Hitomi for having to deal with Kyosuke's thickheadedness. Sayaka couldn't even remember why she'd fallen for Kyosuke in the first place. Maybe it was just hormones.
Help me, Sayaka Miki! All of a sudden, Sayaka remembered being a magical girl, succumbing to despair from her unrequited love, and being taken by the Law of Cycles, a.k.a. Madoka. Then she remembered how Homura had become a demon and usurped Madoka's godhood. Sayaka screamed, shut her eyes and grabbed the sides of her head as all these memories came flooding back to her.
When she recovered, she saw a tall, white humanoid creature standing right in front of her, which she recognized as a wraith. Sayaka looked at her left hand and saw her Soul Gem in its ring form around her middle finger. Knowing what to do next, she transformed into her magical girl outfit and magically conjured a sword into her hand. The wraith lunged at her, but Sayaka jumped at it and swiftly cut the wraith's head off, killing it instantly.
"Thank you, Sayaka." The blue-haired girl turned around to see an Incubator lying behind her, battered, beaten and barely alive.
"Kyubey…" Sayaka pointed her sword at the creature. "You've got some nerve asking me for help!"
"I understand, but I'm not your enemy right now. Homura Akemi is." Kyubey struggled to his feet. "You remember now, don't you? How she ripped the Law of Cycles apart and cut you off from it?"
As strange as it felt, Sayaka agreed with Kyubey. Homura had Madoka in her clutches, and they were alone together right now. There was no telling what Homura might do. Sayaka pulled out her phone and was about to call Madoka, but Kyubey interrupted. "Wait, don't be reckless!"
"What do you mean?!" Sayaka replied, her sword still trained on Kyubey.
"If you confront her now, Homura Akemi will just erase your memories again. But she can't tamper with mine. Because of my species' unique psychology, I'm immune to such mental manipulation."
Sayaka raised her eyebrow at Kyubey. "And how does that help me?"
"I can give you that same protection. I just need you to let me into your mind for a moment."
Sayaka hesitated. As much as she distrusted Kyubey, she didn't have any other options at the moment. Besides, Homura was a real threat while Kyubey had been reduced to being the wraiths' chew toy. Sayaka lowered her sword. "Alright, do what you have to."
Kyubey telepathically connected his mind with Sayaka's. It seems some of your memories are still missing. You don't seem to remember much from the Law of Cycles.
That made sense. Homura's memory manipulation was bound to leave a few gaps. Is that a problem?
Not really. Kyubey paused. There, I'm done. You're now immune to all unwanted psychic intrusions. With that, the telepathic connection broke. Evidently Sayaka could even shut Kyubey out of her mind if she wanted. Perhaps that would come in handy. "Now hurry up and-"
Suddenly, another wraith appeared and shot an energy beam at Kyubey. Sayaka turned to the wraith and readied her sword, but stopped when she noticed that the wraith apparently wasn't interested in her. It only seemed to care about attacking Kyubey. Deciding that Homura was a more immediate problem (and having no sympathy for Kyubey), Sayaka left the wraith alone and walked away.
Before doing anything, Sayaka tried calling Madoka, but it went straight to voicemail. Her phone must've been off. "Damn it!" Sayaka cursed. Thinking that she might need backup, she called Kyoko instead, and fortunately it went through. "Kyoko, you there?"
"Hey, Sayaka." Kyoko replied flatly. "Look, I'm sorry I fell asleep, but-"
"Never mind that right now!" Sayaka interjected. "Where are you?!"
Kyoko paused. "I'm at Mami's place."
"Good. Can you put me on speaker?"
"I'm here, Sayaka." Mami said. "Is something wrong?"
"You bet there is!" Sayaka began, but then paused, choosing her next words carefully. Kyoko and Mami probably wouldn't just believe her about Kyubey and magical girls and such. She'd have to show them some kind of proof. "Look, there's something important I need to show you both. Can you two meet me in the park? Like right now?"
Kyoko and Mami took a moment to respond. "Sure, Sayaka." Kyoko eventually said. "We'll be there in a few minutes."
"Great!" Sayaka said. "Oh, and bring Nagisa if you can. This involves her, too."
"Okay, I'll try to get in touch with her." Mami said.
"Good, see you in a bit." Sayaka hung up. She then sat down on a nearby bench, anxiously awaiting her friends' arrival.
"You were right, Homura. It was beautiful!" Madoka said as she and Homura exited the building. "We should go to the theater more often."
"Yes, we should." Homura replied. Without a doubt, this had been the most wonderful night of her life. Seeing her favorite ballet with the person she loved most in all the world… Homura couldn't have asked for anything more. Perhaps this was how things would have been if not for Kyubey's intervention. No, it was how they should have been.
On their way back home, Madoka and Homura stopped by an ice cream stand and each bought a cone. Then they sat down on a bench to continue their conversation. "Got any other recommendations?"
"I believe they're performing Journey to the West in a few weeks." Homura replied. "I haven't seen that one, but I've heard good things."
"Well, maybe. I think I've journeyed to the west enough for one lifetime, though." Madoka then changed the subject when Homura didn't laugh. "Hey, Homura, there's… there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now. I know it might sound a little strange, but I've thought about it and…" Madoka's face went red. "Oh, look at me tripping over myself like I always do."
"It's okay, Madoka." Homura said. "You can tell me anything."
Madoka took a deep breath. "Homura, I-"
Suddenly, Homura sensed a disturbance. She looked over to a nearby lamppost to see one of her raven familiars, a Liese, perched on it. The familiar telepathically informed Homura that Sayaka Miki had made contact with Kyubey, and that Sayaka's powers and memories had been reawakened. She was currently waiting for Kyoko Sakura and Mami Tomoe in the park, both of whom were on their way there.
Homura clenched her teeth. She should've expected that something would go wrong tonight. Feeling the need to handle the situation herself, she abruptly got up, cutting Madoka off. "Hold that thought. I'll be back in a moment."
"Um… Okay." Madoka replied. Homura could sense the disappointment in Madoka's voice, but if Homura didn't attend to business now, it would only get worse for Madoka. With that, Homura took off.
Before too long, Kyoko and Mami arrived at the park to meet Sayaka. The blue-haired girl stood up when she saw her friends. "Where's Nagisa?"
"We couldn't get ahold of her." Mami replied. "So, what's this all about?"
"It's about Homura." Sayaka said. "Madoka's in danger, and Homura's-"
"Are you still going on about that?!" Kyoko interjected. "We've been over-"
"Yeah, but this time I know for sure. Let me show you some proof." Sayaka stretched out her hand and conjured up her Soul Gem. She then used its magic to transform into her magical girl attire right in front of Kyoko and Mami. Both her friends stood there in shock. "Now look, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but Madoka used to be a god, but Homura stole her powers and trapped us in…"
Before Sayaka could finish, Kyoko and Mami produced their Soul Gems as well. Sayaka fell silent as she witnessed them both transform into their magical girl costumes. "We know, Sayaka." Mami said. "We've known the whole time."