Loop 1

It was the 14 of march, Madoka has awoken that morning and started with her normal weekend routine. She got off bed a little bit later than her alarm would normally get her up and went to eat breakfast in the kitchen. Her dad was preparing food for himself and her brother. He added an extra egg for her, while she prepare herself some tea and got some yogurt from the fridge.

This nice breakfast routine, was rudely interrupted by the door. A polite postman, when a express and signed for, package addressed to her from overseas arrived to her house. From the United Kingdom, more exactly. With her curiosity piqued, she didn't knew anyone overseas and have never got a signed for package addressed to her before, she quickly finished her breakfast and went to her room to open the package. She found a diary and an envelope with clear instructions to open it first. Following the instructions, she read the letter it contained:

Dear Madoka

My name is Amelia Pond, and even when we technically don’t know each other, I need your help.

Why your help specifically? Unfortunately, I can’t say for sure. But after five years of investigation, everything points directly to you.

I suggest you sit down before reading further. I’ll try to explain things as simply as possible, but the rest of this letter might sound weird and complicated. I also hope you’ve followed the instructions to read this letter before the diary. If not, you might already be feeling a bit spooked.

There is something wrong with the universe. At some point in the past, something called a time explosion shattered it, leaving behind countless scars. One of these scars can be seen in my bedroom wall. It looks like an ordinary crack, but it is far from ordinary.

This brings me to the second point: there’s something wrong with time. About five years ago, time stopped behaving normally. Instead of flowing forward as it should, it’s been looping from March 10th to April 24th. This month-and-a-half period has been repeating itself endlessly.

How do I know this? Because, as I mentioned, the crack in my wall is anything but ordinary. I don’t reset when the loop restarts, and neither does the small cupboard above the crack.

This is where the attached diary comes in. Claire, one of my friends met you during the last loop. You had a conversation and agreed to help us with our investigation. As part of that, you were instructed to keep a diary of your activities.

The diary is attached to this letter, along with contact details for both Claire and me. If you have any doubts, problems, or even if you just want to shout at us, or the universe in general, feel free to reach out.

Welcome to the club again

Amelia Pond.

Setting the letter aside, Madoka turned her attention to the diary. Just as the letter had claimed, it was unmistakably a diary written in her own handwriting. But it was dated in the future, and she had no memory of writing any of it.

The diary was divided into sections. The first part was labelled as an "Important Notes" section, followed by a summary of previous events, which was currently blank. The third section was the actual diary, her diary. Still in shock, she began to read.

According to the diary, she met Claire on April 7th. Claire told her a story remarkably similar to what Amelia had written in the letter. A "time explosion" had shattered the universe at some point in the past, leaving it fractured and continuing to deteriorate. There was a good chance, time was looping on itself due to this deterioration. Claire and her friends were investigating the cause and hoped to fix it, if possible, by using Amelia's ability to to move linearly in time.

This investigation had led them to various places of power and identified individuals who might help mend the damage, either by preventing the original explosion or healing the cracks left behind. Madoka was one of those people.

The diary described an online meeting she had attended with three other girls, apart from Claire:

Amelia: The instigator of the group, who remembered everything. An 18-year-old Scottish girl living in England, Amelia owned a crack in space-time and had an imaginary friend who sometimes revealed important information to her.

Melody: Amelia’s best friend and the first to join the investigation. Also 18, Melody was wild and carefree. The diary noted that she encouraged Madoka to try to do whatever she wanted, with whoever she wanted as well. To experiment with dangerous stuff, as in her own words, when are you going to find a better time, that in a time that will rewind itself?

Elena: A South American girl who joined the group about a year and a half ago. Though she have written, that she was the hardest to understand, specially at first. Elena lived near some interesting and dangerous ruins.

The group held regular meetings every few days to discuss anything unusual. Madoka had felt a little out of place during these meetings, everyone else seemed to know each other well, and she was new to everything. She wasn’t even sure if what they were saying was real. Melody seem to have pick up on this and frequently teased her, especially about Homura.

The diary contained a lot of information about Homura—a beautiful, talented, and aloof transfer student who was set to join Madoka’s class in a few days. According to the diary, Madoka had a crush on her by the time she meet Claire, but she was too intimidated to speak to her, before other things... happened.

Shifting on her bed, Madoka read through the diary's sections about Homura, her cheeks flushing. She put the diary aside and opened a third envelope, which contained several photographs. Carefully, she took out one of Homura, leaving the rest untouched. The other pictures, just like their equivalent entries in the diary felt... complicated to process at the moment. She wasn’t ready to confront everything written in the diary just yet.

She felt a pressure in the her stomach, but staring at the image of the dark-haired girl made her a little better. Madoka picked up her phone and added Claire’s contact information. She hesitated briefly before realizing it was the middle of the night in the UK. Sighing, she set up a clock on her phone to display UK time alongside her own, then set an alert to remind herself to call Claire at 18:30—an appropriate hour for both of them. She definitely needed to speak to someone about what she was feeling.

Just as she finished setting the alarm, her phone rang. To her surprise, it was Claire, despite it being 2 a.m. her time.

"Hey, new girl! How are you holding up? Have you finished reading everything yet, or did you just add me for dating advice?" - was Claire greeting.

Madoka was grateful for her English skills, speaking with Claire, Melody, and Amelia would have been much harder otherwise. She’d even noted in the diary's "Important Notes" section that British manners were surprisingly rude, so she wasn’t caught off guard by their antics. There were more stuff in that section, but she had decided not to dwell on the rest just jet, if just to avoid the pressure in her stomach getting worse.

"I'm not sure," Madoka admitted, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "Reading all this is a little overwhelming. There are some nice things, but other parts... I don’t know how to deal with them, especially since we’re not supposed to reveal what we know to avoid suspicion." Madoka took a moment to respond, partly because she had to translate her thoughts into English and partly because she could feel her cheeks growing warm. Claire was clearly alluding to Homura.

"Remember, nothing you’ve read have actually happened yet," Claire replied, her tone softening. "That usually helps with the bad stuff. Any headaches brewing?"

It was only then that Madoka realized she did have a headache. Frowning, she replied, "Yeah, I think I’m getting one."

"That’s normal after reading your diary," Claire explained. "Amelia says her imaginary friend calls it 'time compression.' Your brain tries to access memories that should be there. If they were real, you’d recall them naturally. If they weren’t, you’d dismiss the diary as fiction. But because these memories exist in a liminal state due to the broken time, your brain struggles. Usually, you’ll get emotional echoes instead of the full memories and headache. Are you following me so far?"

Claire’s concern deepened when Madoka stayed quiet. "You went quiet. Did I lose you? I need to remember you're not a native English speaker."

"No, no, I understand," Madoka replied quickly. Then, with curiosity, she asked, "But isn’t it 2 a.m. there? Why are you still awake?"

"Well," Claire said with a grin Madoka could hear in her voice, "I was waiting for you to add me. I figured you’d be polite enough not to call me at this hour, so I set a notification for when new people added me. Time zones suck and after getting you into this, I didn’t want to leave you hanging for hours after your package arrived."

Madoka smiled at the phone. Despite their rowdiness, this group seemed kind-hearted.

"Anyway," Claire continued, her tone mischievous, "I recommend you go outside, touch grass, as we say here. It'll help ground you in the present. Or, if you’re feeling bold..." Her voice rose in pitch. "I have Homura’s address if you want to meet her before she transfers into your class."

Madoka’s cheeks turned bright red. Deciding it was time to end the call before Claire tempted her further, she raised her voice. "It’s late, Claire. Go to sleep! I’ll finish reading and join tomorrow’s call with everyone. Now, GO TO SLEEP!"

"Alright, Mum," Claire replied, laughing. "But before I go, on a scale of 1 to 5, how red are you right now?"

Madoka decided she wasn’t going to answer that. It was an absolutely rude question, rude even by the usual standards of this new group. Feeling justified in being equally rude, she ended the call abruptly and without warning.

Her stomach had stooped bothering her after the brief call but the room suddenly felt very warm. Why was it so warm this early in the morning?

Oh, it must be because she had closed the window earlier, for security. And with spring in the air, the mornings were getting warmer than they had been before. She needed to let in some fresh air to cool the room, and herself. It might also help clear her head after all the reading. Moving quickly, she put the pictures and the diary aside, then opened the window, still holding her phone in one hand.

After that, she called Sayaka, as Claire had suggested. It would be good to see her friend alive and well after everything she had just read. And maybe, just maybe, she could convince Sayaka to go with her to the mall. She could use some new perfume, for class next week.

******

Outside the house, Homura was hidden in one of her favourite spots—a discreet vantage point where she could watch for any incubators trying to approach Madoka and partially observe her bedroom window. Though it was still early, Homura was already growing uneasy about this loop. Madoka was behaving unusually, and it confused her.

A moment ago, she had heard Madoka receive a call. A little early, but not entirely strange. What was odd, however, was that Madoka had started speaking in English. To Homura's knowledge, Madoka didn’t have any English-speaking friends. Yet the conversation she was having was unmistakably in English.

The window was closed, so Homura couldn’t make out the individual words, despite straining to hear them. Her hearing, wasn’t good enough to pick up the conversation through the glass. She tried focusing harder, but it was no use.

Then, out of nowhere, the biggest anomaly so far struck. Without warning, Homura heard Madoka practically yell at this unknown English-speaking person, telling them to “go to sleep,” before abruptly hanging up on them. It was the first time Homura had ever seen Madoka, normally the epitome of kindness, act in such a curt and rude manner.

Stunned, Homura hesitated for a moment before carefully shifting her position to get a better view of Madoka’s window. What she saw didn’t ease her concern. Madoka was visibly flustered, her cheeks flushed as she struggled to calm her breathing. She opened the window, still holding her phone in one hand, and took a few deep breaths. After a moment, Madoka refocused on her phone, made another call, this time to Sayaka, and spoke briefly about meeting up for a girl’s day out. Soon after, she left the house, heading toward the mall.

Homura frowned. She didn’t like anomalies, especially when they involved Madoka. Whatever was happening, it felt... wrong.  Fearing the worst, She decided to stay close to her for the time being, just in case.

******

After carefully closing and locking the door, Madoka moved to the windows, checking each one to make sure they were securely shut. With a quick glance around her room, she finally felt safe enough to proceed. Madoka turned on her computer, the soft hum of the machine filling the silence. She put on the new headphones she had bought specifically for this purpose, and joined the group's first online meeting. She was feeling better today, her headaches had almost disappeared and spending time with Sayaka was helping her feel better.

Still, she had a job to do, and these meetings were the first step toward making herself useful. She was not very good at computers and hadn't heard of this platform before, but it was supposed to be very secure, so she clicked the link to access the meeting.

Four more faces appeared on her screen. Madoka’s diary descriptions hadn’t been very detailed, but she could easily recognize Claire's voice, Amelia's vibrant red hair, and Melody’s unmistakable attitude right away. That left the last participant, Elena. Smiling warmly, Elena waved at the screen and said hello, as if greeting a group of friends at the mall.

"Welcome, girls," Amelia said in an official tone. "I hereby declare this new loop officially open for business." She raised her hand in a small, ceremonial gesture, mimicking a judge with a gavel opening a court session, and smiled brightly at everyone.

The other girls cheered as if it were part of a well-loved ritual. Not wanting to feel left out, Madoka joined in. Claire seemed to pick up on her hesitation and gave her an encouraging look before speaking again.

"Welcome to the club, Madoka. We started these loop-opening declarations when Elena joined us. They’re a bit silly, but since we’re all so far apart most of the time, it’s a nice way to kick things off with a light-hearted mood. It keeps things from getting too serious."

"Yeah, don’t worry about figuring everything out right away," Elena chimed in. "You’ll get the hang of it soon, just like I did."

The girls all smiled warmly at her, and Madoka felt a wave of gratitude for their kindness. But then she noticed Melody’s smile wasn’t entirely welcoming—it looked more like a mischievous grin. Her eyes full of mischief, and Madoka braced herself.

"So, new girl," Melody began, her tone teasing. "How are the headaches treating you? Feeling okay? Any other side effects you’ve noticed?" She paused, taking a dramatic breath, then added with a wink, "Oh, and have you tracked down your mysterious ravenette yet?"

Summoning all her willpower to avoid blushing, Madoka decided she could afford to be a little rude in these calls. She ignored Melody entirely, instead turning her attention to Claire and Elena, thanking them sincerely for their enthusiastic welcome.

The rest of the meeting passed with a refresher on protocols—details too sensitive to be written in any of the diaries. Amelia and Melody led a discussion on tools for documenting their findings and identifying notable patterns. The most fascinating topics were the variations in cosmic background waves and graffiti observations. They all eagerly downloaded the custom app Melody had designed for this purpose, ready to dive into their tasks.

"So, since Madoka has joined us, explaining how we found her and why we decided to ask her to join, based on the data, should serve as a good practical example of how we use the tool and what are we trying to do," Amelia began.

Amelia launched into an explanation, her voice calm yet laced with the kind of focus that came from years of dealing with this sort of work. She described how the application collated cosmic background interactions to create what they called "lines of power." Most of these lines connected existing places of significance, like natural nodes in the fabric of space and time. But occasionally, some of the lines didn’t.

 When that happened, there was a good chance they had found either a new place of power or an anomaly, potentially a new crack in the skin of the universe, or a new lead to help them solve their problem. She paused, letting the weight of her words settle before continuing. "In your city, the lines converge. The pattern is unmistakable. They all point directly to your neighbourhood, which is why Claire went to investigate."

Once Claire was on-site, we were able to gather more localized information—a riskier process, in a new city, but essential for triangulating the locations they were searching for. Madoka leaned closer to her computer, trying to absorb the information as Amelia shared her screen. A map appeared, glowing faintly with web-like lines of light. The network of lines spread across her city, but they all came together in her neighbourhood. 

"The reason this can get dangerous," Amelia explained, "is that creatures called Witches can give off similar signals. Unfortunately, the only way to differentiate them is through statistical analysis. That means marking suspected locations on the app and telling it to ignore their data if they match witch patterns. After filtering the data and with Claire on the ground, we noticed, that Zero seemed to have a particular interest in you, Madoka. On top of that, we found an increasing number of graffiti references to wolves and ‘Bad Wolf,’ written in a multitude of languages, not just Japanese and English, with the density of these occurrences growing closer to your house and school. I have not seen such concentration since we investigate we found the 3rd crack in a very cold and lonely beach in Norway a few years ago"

Elena spoke next, her tone serious. "Madoka, since you’re alone, be cautious about the areas you visit. Unless you’re with Homura or another magical girl, it’s better to avoid risky places. There’s no need to rush into action right now. Instead, focus on learning and documenting the spots where Witches are most likely to appear, so you can steer clear of them in the future. For now, you can use online map tours or even drones to search for graffiti, and if something stands out, you can visit it in person later."

Elena’s warning was well-intentioned, and Madoka understood the others’ concerns about her inexperience. However, she blushed at Elena’s assumption that she could somehow secure Homura’s company when she barely got anywhere last time with her.

"Well, I’m not sure about that," Madoka admitted. "I know I’m supposed to meet her in a few days, but I don’t have much useful information in my diary." - her voice dropping to a near whisper. "From what I wrote, it doesn’t seem like she likes me very much. We barely spoke, so I don’t have much to go on."

Amelia and Claire exchanged a significant glance, while Melody sighed, tossing aside the phone she’d been idly playing with.

"Hey, girl lift your head and listen to me," Melody said firmly, leaning closer to the screen. "You’ll see her again in a few days. That’s your chance to fix whatever you think you didn't do last time. That’s the beauty of the diaries—you get another chance. My advice? Match her cool with your own. Take her hand, lock eyes with her, and tell her she’s the sexiest and coolest girl you’ve ever met, and you want to shag her senseless if she agrees to be your girlfriend."

Madoka raised her head as instructed, but as Melody continued, her face turned a deep shade of crimson and grew unbearably warm. The heat spread from her cheeks to her chest and beyond. She began stammering incoherent fragments of the phrase before finally crashing her head onto her keyboard in an attempt to escape the embarrassment—and the mental images Melody’s words had conjured.

"Mels, please behave," Amelia said, coming to her rescue. "Madoka was asking for actual advice, and yours is clearly not applicable here."

"Please," Melody replied with an exaggerated sigh. "I’m just saying, the kind of girl you’re describing would absolutely lose her mind if you showed some confidence and claimed her as yours. But if you’re not ready, I suppose you’ll have to try something tamer. I can’t help you there."

Claire, who had been watching the exchange, spoke up, her face filled with concern. "Madoka, rule number one of this group: never listen to Melody unless you want trouble. Now, back to useful advice—what do you have written about Homura’s introduction?"

Madoka flipped through her diary, searching for the entry about the day Homura transferred to her school. Since she hadn’t met Claire or started journaling until later. All the information from before that time, was based on memories and mostly added after Sayaka disappeared. When she decided than believing Claire was the better option, the only option that would allow her to see her friend again. So she went back and added a lot of extra information. She finally found the little information she had put on their first meeting.

"I took her to the infirmary to get some medicine. She gave me a cryptic warning about staying true to myself instead of trying to please others, I think. I didn’t remember the conversation very well when I wrote it," Madoka said with a doubtful face.

"Great, that’s already something to work with," Claire said. "The warning sounds generic, but it matches what you’ve written about her so far. This time, when she gives you that advice, keep the conversation going. And if you feel brave, maybe take her hand. Since she’s new to the area, you could offer to show her around. If she refuses, suggest introducing her to your friends during lunch."

Elena chimed in. "Madoka, make those offers in that order. Start by offering to show her around the city. Even if she says no, it increases the chances she’ll accept the smaller invitation, like having lunch together. People don’t like turning down too many things at once. Once you get her to join you for lunch, you’ll have more opportunities to connect."

Amelia glanced at the time and clapped her hands lightly to get everyone’s attention. "Alright, unless someone has something else to bring up, I’ll be wrapping up this meeting soon. We’ll reconvene next week to share updates. In the meantime, if anything urgent happens, flag it in the group chat." Her gaze swept over the group. "And remember, this network exists so that none of us feel alone. Stay connected. Madoka, be sure to let us know how your conversation with Homura goes."

With a mix of laughter, goodbyes and winks from Melody, the group began to log off one by one. Madoka lingered for a moment after the screen went dark, staring at her reflection. She couldn’t help but smile. It was overwhelming, yes, but for the first time ever, she felt like she was useful for something, part of something bigger. Something that mattered.

She was going to get a date with Homura and save the universe. Probably on that order. Probably...

According to her diary, today was the day Homura would transfer to her school. Madoka repeatedly told herself to treat this like any other normal day. There was nothing to be nervous about, so naturally, she wasn’t. Or at least, that’s what she keeps telling herself.

She had checked her uniform meticulously to ensure it was spotless. She’d also redone her hair a few times, trying out different styles. This, of course, was completely unrelated to the raven-haired beauty she was going to meet today. She simply felt like experimenting with her hair a little more than usual. But if she kept fussing with it, her mother might start suspecting something was up. It was bad enough to be teased about this by Claire and Melody; she didn’t need her mother joining in on the fun.

Her main concern was the glaring lack of useful information about Homura in her diary. She cursed herself a little for not asking more questions to the girl in the past. Most of what she had written was vague and unhelpful in making a good first impression. All Madoka wanted was to make the aloof and seemingly lonely new girl feel welcome.

Madoka had also spent most evenings after school with Sayaka, which made her feel better about some of the heavier topics in her diary, especially the disappearance issue. According to her notes, most girls who interacted with the Creature, a mysterious being called Kyubey, though Amelia referred to it as “Zero” short for "Prisoner Zero", ended up vanishing.

Madoka hadn’t encountered the Creature in person yet, but she had a couple of drawings to recognize it if she did. One was a simple sketch based on descriptions, a cute cat-like creature. The other was a more unsettling depiction based on Amelia’s visions. This second image, which showed the Creature in serpentine form with an unnervingly large number of teeth, radiated a sense of danger so intense that it made Madoka shiver. Even Amelia wasn’t sure if this was the Creature’s original form or just one of the cryptic “messages” the universe keep sending her. Either way, Madoka’s task was clear: keep an eye out for The Creature and observe its behaviour carefully, something both Amelia and her diary insisted would happen sooner or later.

She also had pictures, mostly taken by Claire during her previous visit, of girls associated with the Creature. Each photo had two dates written on the back: the first marked when the girl had been seen with the Creature, and the second marked the date of her disappearance. Every girl who formed a bond with the Creature vanished eventually. Sayaka had disappeared last time, and now Madoka couldn’t help but worry, because Homura was in one of those pictures too.

Both Claire and Amelia had urged her not to focus too much on this. Amelia believed the disappearances, like the Creature itself, were symptoms of the larger problem: the cracks in the universe’s fabric. These cracks, she suspected, either resulted from the Creature or the Creature was another consequence of the same mysterious event. Either way, Madoka’s priority was to avoid letting the Creature know that she was aware of its true nature. Direct experimentation was ill-advised, they didn't know if the creature could gather information from those related to it or if it was aware of the time loops, but gathering information through observation and conversation was encouraged.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Madoka noticed her mother heading into the bathroom. Taking one last glance in the mirror, she adjusted her hair, smiled nervously at her reflection, and hurried to give her mother a quick kiss before heading to breakfast. Her mother gave her an odd look, likely noticing her unusually long bathroom preparations, but said nothing.

During her walk to school, Madoka found herself uncharacteristically quiet. The burst of activity from earlier faded, giving way to a shy nervousness as the reality of meeting Homura crept closer. 

***

Homura prepared herself for the familiar routine of transferring to school. Standing just outside the classroom, she tuned out the teacher's habitual complaints about her love life, waiting for her cue. At the signal, she entered with her usual composed demeanour, moved to her assigned spot, corrected her name, and finally turned her attention to Madoka.

Madoka looked prettier than usual, Homura had to admit, it was a feat considering how radiant she always seemed. Her hair was styled slightly differently, and Homura could swear she was wearing a touch of makeup. Their eyes met, and Madoka smiled warmly at her. Before she realized what she was doing, Homura found herself returning the smile, which caused Madoka to blush furiously. Flustered by her slip, Homura quickly reasserted her usual mask of indifference, prompting Madoka to divert her gaze. Mask firmly in place, Homura approached her target.

"Could you show me the way to the infirmary?" she asked in her usual aloof tone.

Madoka jumped to her feet with surprising eagerness. To Homura's astonishment, Madoka hesitated briefly before reaching for her hand. It was slow enough that Homura could have avoided it, but she froze as the pinkete's soft fingers gently closed around hers.

"This way, Akemi-chan," Madoka said, her cheeks pink. "I’ll take you there."

Homura too stunned to trust herself to speak without stuttering and breaking her mask, follow through without saying a word. She let herself be led through the hallway in silence, Madoka’s hand still holding hers. Normally, Homura would have taken the lead by now, steering the encounter back into familiar territory. But this loop was already rife with anomalies, and this one had rendered her uncharacteristically passive.

Breaking the silence, Madoka glanced at her. “Do you want me to stay with you while you take your medicine, Akemi-chan? It must be nerve-wracking to start school again after being in the hospital for so long.”

The words jolted Homura back into focus. She gently pulled her hand away and turned to face Madoka. This was her chance to deliver the warning and regain control.

"You can call me Homura," she said evenly. "And no, I don’t need you to wait for me."

Madoka’s eyes brightened. “Really? Thanks, Homura-chan! Please call me Madoka. Your name is so beautiful, it suits you perfectly. I’m so glad we can be friends! I think we’ll get along great. After class, I can show you around and introduce you to everyone! Or to some people, at least if you don't like meeting too many people at once. ”

Homura noticed Madoka’s face growing redder with every word, her sentences coming out like disjointed bullet points. It was... cute. But the longer Madoka spoke, the clearer it became that Homura had to interrupt. Attachment was dangerous as it normally led to Madoka's death or worse.

"Thank you, Madoka-chan, but that won’t be necessary." She paused, determined to deliver her warning. "I do have some advice for you, though. Be wary of anyone offering miracles for little in return. They want to take everything you love. Stay as you are—you’re already amazing."

Madoka’s blush deepened as she stammered a response. "Tha-thank you, Homura-chan. My mum used to tell me something similar. It’s really wise advice." Her expression grew thoughtful. "But... that doesn’t apply to smaller things, right? Like sharing in class? I like to think people are kind enough to do little things without expecting anything back. Still, you’re right about the big stuff. Miracles probably come with huge strings attached... But, um, I hope you don’t think I want anything in return for showing you around. I’d never—oh, unless you want to repay me with something like... ice cream? I wouldn’t say no to that. There is a great place for ice cream nearby. Or maybe tea, if it is too cold for ice cream for you. I really don't mind either way"

Madoka was rambling now, her words cascading in a flurry of nervous energy. Homura found herself captivated despite knowing she should stop her. It had been so long since she’d heard Madoka speak so freely. She told herself she’d wait until Madoka tired herself out, but that moment never came. Seriously the amount of kindness, Madoka could give knew no limits, but she was getting out of topic, she would need to interrupt her to make sure her message got across.

"Don’t worry, Madoka-chan," Homura interrupted gently. "Small things are different. And I know you’re not someone who expects repayment for them. I wouldn’t be offended."

Madoka beamed. “That’s great, Homura-chan! I knew we’d get along. So, are you free after school? I’d love to show you around!”

Homura stiffened. Another anomaly. This kind of proposal had never happened before and she knew Madoka already had plans for this evening. What was she talking about? Homura noticed her mask was slipping. She needed to end this conversation. NOW.

"Sorry, Madoka. But I'm busy tonight. I won't have any free time after school."

Madoka’s smile faltered, and her blush deepened again. Homura prepared to excuse herself, but Madoka spoke once more, slower this time, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

"What about lunch today? Would you like to have it with us? I would love to introduce you to some of my friends, Homura-chan"

Homura hesitated. She should refuse, and keep her distance. But the anomalies needed investigating, she told herself, she needed more information. It has definitely nothing to do with Madoka's expression starting to chip away at her carefully constructed shield.

"Okay," she said finally. "I’ll have lunch with you and your friends." Hopefully, Sayaka's reaction would give her the opportunity to avoid more openings of the same style in the future.

Madoka’s face lit up with a smile so pure it made Homura’s chest tighten. Homura turned quickly to hide her own face and before Madoka could add anything else or before she could say anything she might regret.

It wasn’t until she was a good distance away that Homura realized she hadn’t fully conveyed her warning. Great start to the loop, Homura, she thought bitterly. She would need to ensure the Incubator stayed far from Madoka until she had the chance to rectify that mistake.

***

Madoka waited until Homura was out of sight before letting out a groan of frustration. She was feeling mildly perturbed with herself. She may have pushed way too many buttons too early and probably ruined any chances of getting her date. After all, If she were someone as cool and collected as Homura, how would she feel about someone so average, someone like herself, acting so forward and, well, awkward? Well, she would have reacted more or less, like how Homura had reacted, polite but distant and wanting to get out of dodge as soon as possible.

Did she just half-arse the situation? Would things have gone better, if she had just followed Melody's advice?

Groaning once more, Madoka smacked her own cheeks lightly to ground herself. She decided she needed to wash her face with cold water, especially if she was even considering following any advice from Melody. She needed to focus. More importantly, she had to write everything down in her diary. This was extremely important information, and she had to remember it all.

She also thought about talking to Sayaka. Madoka wanted Sayaka to become friends with Homura as well. After all, if Sayaka was going to deal with the Creature, it would be good to have someone as cool and strong as Homura watching her back, at least until her group could fix the problem with the crack in the universe and things went back to normal.

***

At the end of class, Madoka was slowly gathering her things, watching as Homura packed up her belongings in a fraction of the time. She fought against the urge to catch up to her, maybe even ask if they could walk home together. Instead, she decided she wanted to get home and bury herself under some blankets. Normally, she would talk to her mother about it, but she was afraid of revealing too much and having her discover everything else.

Sayaka was the next person she could confide in, but that had its own complications. If she said too much about Homura, Sayaka might act defensive around her, and Madoka didn’t want that. She needed them to grow closer so Homura could help train and protect Sayaka when the time came.

Lost in thought, she was startled when she noticed Sayaka walking over with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay, Madoka? You’ve seemed really out of it since this morning,” Sayaka said, studying her carefully. Then, with a teasing smirk, she added, “I mean, if I didn’t know you better, I’d say you’ve got more on your mind than just giving the transfer student a warm welcome.”

Madoka couldn't help but blush and groan internally. She must have been way too obvious about her feelings. Maybe she needed to slow down. She looked down, hoping to hide her reaction, but that only seemed to make it worse. Determined to divert attention, she hurried to finish packing her things, but she could still feel Sayaka's watchful eyes on her.

Finally, Sayaka broke the silence.

"You really got it bad, don't you? Okay, let's go shopping. There are some new CDs I want to grab today from the music shop" she said with a teasing smile.

Madoka had completely forgotten that she was supposed to go out with Sayaka. Honestly, she’d much rather go home, crawl under her blankets, and forget this whole morning had happened. Maybe she could distract herself with more street-view exploration, searching for interesting graffiti. But before she could respond, Sayaka grabbed her arm and was already dragging her toward the exit.

Despite claiming they were going to get CDs, Sayaka led them first to a tea shop. As they sat sipping their drinks, Sayaka fixed her with a curious look and leaned in.

"As your official wife," Sayaka began with mock seriousness, "I have to ask—what’s going on with the new girl? What did she say to you this morning that’s got you acting like this? She seemed perfectly polite during lunch."

Madoka sighed. This was exactly why she hadn’t wanted to talk to Sayaka. If she couldn’t keep Sayaka from getting involved with the creature, the least she could do was make sure Homura and Sayaka became friends for Sayaka’s own protection. But that wouldn’t happen if Sayaka got the wrong idea about Homura.

"You’re getting the wrong impression," Madoka protested. "She didn’t say anything special this morning. She just needed directions to the infirmary for her medicine. I showed her the way, and she gave me some advice. That’s it. I invited her to lunch afterwards, nothing more."

She could feel her cheeks heating up again. She really need to work on her lying skills; this was too important to mess up. If she was caught lying to the wrong people, she could uncover the whole thing.

Sayaka raised an eyebrow. "You’re saying nothing happened, but you’re blushing like crazy. We’ve known each other forever, Madoka and you’re a terrible liar. So, how about you just tell me what actually happened?"

Madoka hesitated before blurting out, "She didn’t do anything, alright? She was cool and polite the whole time. I was the one who messed up. I kept offering to show her around, and when she refused, I asked her to have lunch with us. And... I just couldn’t stop talking nonsense to keep her from leaving. And then after class, I almost ran after her to ask if I could walk her home. I’m a menace."

She buried her face on her hands and groaned. She couldn’t even look at Sayaka after admitting all of that. To make things worse, she remember what Melody advised her to do instead, even if she didn't dare go that far. 

"Let me get this straight," Sayaka said, ticking off on her fingers. "This morning, you showed her to the infirmary when she asked. You offered to help her settle in by showing her around. You invited her to lunch with me and Hitomi. And now you’re calling yourself a menace? That’s all that happened?"

Madoka nodded weakly.

"Honestly, I don’t think you did anything wrong," Sayaka said thoughtfully. "Maybe the boldest thing you did was jumping to first-name basis so fast."

"She asked me to," Madoka interrupted, lifting her head slightly. "She told me to call her Homura, so I asked her to call me Madoka."

"Really?" Sayaka’s interest was piqued. "Was that before or after you invited her to show her around town?"

"Before. She was just being polite," Madoka mumbled. "She gave me some nice advice after that, too."

"What kind of advice?"

Madoka hesitated again before replying, "She said to be wary of anyone offering miracles for very little in return because they’re probably trying to trick you."

Sayaka nodded approvingly. "That’s solid advice. Sounds like she’s been through some stuff to know that." Then, with a sly look, she added, "But I don’t think that’s what’s making you blush. Did she say anything else?"

Madoka lowered her head again, her voice barely above a whisper. "She said I don’t need to change for anyone because I’m already amazing." Her cheeks burned brighter as she added hastily, "But she was just being cool and kind! I don’t think she meant anything by it."

To give herself a moment, Madoka picked up her cup and took a long, slow sip, deliberately avoiding Sayaka’s gaze. Her mind raced trying to figure out how this conversation might affect her plans to help Sayaka and Homura form a better relationship. Had she completely sabotaged her own chances of getting closer to Homura this loop? After what felt like an eternity, she finally set the cup down and risked a glance at her friend, only to find Sayaka watching her with a thoughtful expression.

"Alright, regardless of what she may or may not have meant, let’s focus on you, Madoka. What are your intentions here? What do you want with her?"

Madoka gulped, feeling her face get impossibly warmer. She wanted to date Homura, but how could she explain that when she’d only technically known her for less than a day?

"Ok, Ok. I think your face already answered that," Sayaka said, breaking into a grin. "You’ve got it bad for the transfer student, don’t you?"

Madoka nodded slowly. "I know we always joke about you being my wife, and I get that she’s a girl," Madoka began, her voice soft. "But I really want to get to know her better and... maybe, you know, date her." She looked down, her cheeks burning. "But I think I’ve already ruined my chances with that silly interaction this morning. She was just so cool that I couldn’t think straight. I barely heard half of what she said and ended up babbling nonsense. And then, at lunch, I was so embarrassed I could hardly say a word."

Sayaka gave her a reassuring smile. "I wouldn’t be so sure about that. She gave you some solid advice, complimented you, and even accepted your lunch invitation. Plus, I’m pretty sure she didn’t pay any attention to Suzuki or me during lunch. You were the only one she had eyes for. To be honest, I thought it was a little bit creepy."

Sayaka made direct eye contact with me before continuing. "So I think first, we need to set some ground rules."

Madoka blinked. "Wait... you’re not going to tell me off for wanting to pursue her?"

"Of course not. I mean, love at first sight isn’t unheard of, right? Besides, you’re still my best friend. But someone has to look out for you." Sayaka ticked off her fingers again. "Rule number one: I’m still your number one wife, and you’re mine. That doesn’t change. Rule number two: If she turns out to be a creep, we walk away. Deal?"

Madoka’s eyes widened, and before she could stop herself, she launched forward, hugging Sayaka tightly.

"Of course! You’re the best! And she’s not a creep—she’s just... lonely and awkward, I think. We just need to give her a chance."

Sayaka sighed, patting Madoka’s head. "Alright, then. Forget the CDs. Let’s get another tea and start planning how you’re going to handle this, okay?"

Madoka smiled brightly. "Okay!"

The evening passed quickly after that, between the tea and the plotting of diverse scenarios to get Homura to notice her. Musing to them in her way back home, Madoka wasn't sure if they would work, but she would get some bonding time with Homura or at least some information she could use. She needed to remember what Amelia said about not having to rush into things. She could take her time, maybe she should speak with her mama as well. Tell her about how a new student transferred this morning and about how she felt when they spoke. If she keep the conversation just there, she thinks, her mum would not push to get anything else out of her. She would probably tease her, but her advice was always worth the teasing.

Her mussing were interrupted by a high-pitched voice in her mind, a voice which was not her own. Madoka understood who the owner of this voice was, asking for help in her mind. Her hand went towards her phone, towards the chat she had with the others.

"Girls, I think Zero is reaching out to me, what do I do?"

It was after writing the message that Madoka remembered the images of The Creature. She also remembered the folder with the pictures. Her mind started to race to one particular entry in her diary—the one detailing how they searched for Sayaka. After searching for days, Homura told her Sayaka was dead and her body would never be found. This was, she wrote, when she decided to believe everything Claire was saying. Everyone who interacted with The Creature disappeared. She was safe unless she got engaged with it, she told herself.

She was safe, but she felt her breathing accelerating, and fractal images of herself searching for Sayaka again flashed into her mind. She wasn't sure if they were ghost memories or her own imagination. But after a moment, Sayaka was replaced by Homura in her mind.

Madoka started to feel dizzy. Her vision focused on a nearby bench until it was the only thing she could see. Her accelerated breath became erratic, just like her heartbeat. Madoka felt like she could pass out in the middle of the street. She should not be doing this now. She could be exposing herself, but her brain refused to let go of the pictures.

Her phone, still in her hand, vibrated several times and she could still vaguely perceive the screeching voice of The Creature in her mind, but she was not registering any words coming from it. Another sound, this time physical, registered in Madoka's muddled mind.

Her phone was ringing.

With a supreme effort, she managed to pick it up. From very far away, she could hear a voice calling her name and telling her to put the phone in her ear. It took her a moment to recognize the command, and she realized the reason was that they were speaking English. She was told next to focus on their breath and slowly, she managed to go back to herself. She recognized the person on the other side of the phone as Melody.

"Thanks, Melody," she managed to say, her breathing still erratic.

"Keep following my breath, new girl, okay? I will be here until you feel better. Are you close to your house now?"

"No, I'm still 10 minutes away from my house. I was on my way, when..."

Melody interrupted her. "OK, don't worry. It would be best if you find a place to sit, any benches or even a coffee place if you got cash on you?"

"There is a bench next to me."

"That would do. Tell me, is it a wood bench or a metal bench?"

"It is mostly made of wood planks."

"Ok, have you sat down already? Is it cold to the touch? Is it one of those benches with a back?"

"Yeah, I have sat down. It's not cold. The wood actually feels warm."

"That's great. Use your hand to follow one of the planks. How long are they?"

"I'm not sure, around 2 meters."

Madoka's breathing was stabilizing. Who knew that benches could have such calming properties?

"Good. Are you feeling better? Keep touching the wood if you feel dizzy again."

"I'm not dizzy any more. How did you know I was having problems, Melody?"

"Well, new girl, you should have learned by now that I'm a genius. Of course, I smelled it." Madoka could hear Melody's cocky smile through the phone line. "Do you have someone you can call to get you home? Can you still hear the serpent in your mind?"

"I can't hear it any more, no. But my mum would still be working at this time and my dad is taking care of my little brother. I don't think they could come..." Madoka's voice became more agitated before Melody interrupted again.

"Hey, girly. That's not a problem. I will stay with you on the phone until you get home. There is no hurry either, so tell me, is it still day around there? Are you watching a beautiful sunset right now?"

"No, I stayed with Sayaka having tea until it got dark and then I started heading home. It's dark already."

****

Homura had spent the entire evening hunting and exterminating Incubators. It was maddening how they seemed to multiply endlessly, no matter how many she killed. To make matters worse, her earlier message to Madoka hadn’t been as clear as she intended, leaving Madoka more vulnerable than usual. Until she could fix her mistake, she had to make sure to eliminate every single one of those vile pests in the area.

The evening had gone relatively well, though. For some reason, instead of visiting the music shop Madoka usually frequented with Sayaka this particular day, they had spent their time at a tea shop. This had made Homura’s task easier, fewer crowds and fewer variables to account for. But, of course, she had nearly slipped up at the end. One of the pesky rats had managed to get close enough to spot Madoka. Homura hoped it hadn’t made mental contact with her, but given how near it had been, she couldn’t be certain. The thought gnawed at her, filling her with unease. Thankfully, she’d killed it before it could get close enough to to be dangerous.

Homura’s sharp gaze rested on Madoka, who was seated on a park bench. Was she waiting for the Incubator to approach? Madoka’s fingers traced slow patterns over the wooden planks, her other hand clutching her phone. The faint glow of a nearby streetlamp bathed her in dim light, and for a moment, Homura thought she looked paler than usual. Her heart sank and her stomach twisted.  Had she missed another Incubator? Or had something else attacked Madoka while she was busy hunting them?

She froze time, her surroundings stilling into subdues hues, and stepped closer to assess the situation. As she approached, the faint lines of worry on her face deepened. Once she was closer, the details struck her like a blow.  Madoka’s knuckles, gripping the edge of the bench, were white with strain. Her breathing was shallow, her eyes glassy and distant, as though she wasn’t fully present. The fear etched into her expression made Homura’s chest tighten. Something had startled her. Something Homura hadn’t seen.

Her gaze darted to their surroundings, scanning for anything she might have missed. When she found nothing out of place, her self-reproach grew louder. She’d been hunting Incubators all evening, and still, it hadn’t been enough.

Reluctantly, Homura stepped back, retreating to a hidden vantage point. She let time flow again, her ears now tuned to the conversation on Madoka’s phone. Homura listened carefully, expecting the voice on the other end to belong to Sayaka or Hitomi. But to her surprise, it was in English. The soft cadence of Madoka’s voice reached her, strained yet steady as she told the person on the other end that she was feeling better but that her parents were too busy to come get her.

On an impulse, Homura decided to step out of her hiding spot and pretend to stumble upon Madoka by coincidence. If she took Madoka home, neither the Incubators nor whatever had scared her would get the chance to approach again. She convinced herself this wasn’t an overreach, it was simply the easiest way to keep her home safe.

She carefully positioned herself on the path, adjusting her pace to appear casual. Yet, as she drew closer, she noticed that Madoka’s shoulders were hunched, her posture tense, and her hand nervously tracing the wood of the bench. It was as if the girl was shrinking into herself, lost in thoughts Homura could only guess at. Her presence not noticed until she finally spoke.

"Madoka-chan, is that you? Are you OK? Or are you waiting for someone?"  Homura called out to catch her attention, hoping she sounded natural.

Madoka’s reaction was immediate and stronger than Homura had expected.

"Homura-chan?" Madoka’s head snapped up, her wide eyes meeting Homura’s for only a split second before darting away. She looked toward Homura’s left shoulder instead, her expression shifting from surprise to something close to alarm. Practically jumping from the bench, she moved toward her.

"Are you okay? Is your shoulder hurt?"

Homura blinked and glanced at her shoulder. She hadn’t even noticed the shallow graze there until now. How careless of her. She was supposed to be sharp, always aware of her surroundings. This was why she could never truly protect Madoka, why she always came up short.

Before she could formulate an excuse, a voice crackled from Madoka’s phone, still in English. "You lucky girl, let us know when you get home or call me back if you are unlucky" the voice teased, followed by the sound of the call ending.

Madoka tucked her phone away, though her flustered expression lingered as she took a step closer, her eyes narrowing in on the wound. "So, how did you graze your shoulder like that? Do you want me to help clean it up, I think I have a first aid kit on my bag"

"It's really nothing," Homura replied quickly, trying to sound casual. "I was passing through a dark alleyway and must have brushed against something sharp. It’s just a scratch." She forced a small, stiff smile. "But you seemed troubled, that’s why I noticed you and came over."

Madoka frowned slightly, her expression softening into something like concern. "Oh, that’s okay, but even if it’s small, we should clean it up so it doesn’t get infected."She reached into her bag and began retrieving supplies, a first aid kit with a small spray bottle and some plasters. "As for me… I suddenly felt dizzy while I was chatting with Melody and her friends, so I stopped here to recover. Melody called to make sure I was okay and didn’t want to hang up until I was back home."

Homura hesitated. She could easily heal the wound with magic as soon as she was alone, but letting Madoka help—letting her feel like she was doing something useful—might ease her mind. And it gave her an excuse to offer to walk Madoka home in return.

She sat down on the bench and shifted her shoulder slightly forward, allowing Madoka better access. "Does this happen often to you? Feeling dizzy out of nowhere?"

The question seemed to strike a nerve. Madoka’s hands paused briefly, and though Homura couldn’t see her face clearly, she caught the subtle tightening of her jaw.

"No… this is the first time it’s happened," Madoka murmured, though her hands lingered on Homura’s shoulder longer than necessary. She seemed hesitant, almost as if she were avoiding something. Then, her voice dropped to a more uncertain tone. "You have a heart condition, don’t you? Does this kind of thing happen to you?"

Homura froze. Did she used to get dizzy before her operation? She thought she had, but those memories felt distant, blurred by everything that had changed since then. She wasn’t the fragile, timid girl who had struggled with such things anymore. She needed to phrase her response carefully, ensuring that Madoka wouldn’t worry unnecessarily.

"I haven’t had any problems since my operation," she said carefully, trying to keep her voice steady. "It’s not an issue anymore."

Madoka made a small sound of acknowledgment but said nothing further. She finished treating the wound in silence, her hands gentle but deliberate. Yet, as she put her first aid kit back into her bag, she avoided looking directly at Homura, her earlier concern replaced by something harder to read.

Homura couldn’t help but feel like she had said the wrong thing, but what else was new. She saw her chance, and decided to make her move.

"Thanks for your kindness. May I repay you by escorting you home? Just in case you feel dizzy again."

Homura kept her gaze fixed on her shoulder, pretending to inspect Madoka's treatment rather than meet her eyes. It wasn’t that she wanted to spend more time with Madoka, she knew how dangerous that would be, but this was the best opportunity to both ensure her safety and reinforce her warning about the Incubators.

Madoka blushed slightly but nodded. "But my house is still ten minutes away, so only if you have time. You said this morning you were busy, and I don’t want to get in your way. It really wasn’t a problem to patch up your shoulder, and I don't feel dizzy anymore, Homura-chan."

Of course, Madoka was thinking of everyone but herself, as usual. Such a nice, and hateful, trait. One of the many reasons Homura had to watch over her so closely.

"I’ve completed my errands, and I was heading home anyway, which is near here," Homura replied, her voice even. "If you’ve felt dizzy once, it could happen again. There’s no reason for me not to escort you, especially after you took the time to tend to my wound."

They walked in silence for a while. As the minutes passed, colour gradually returned to Madoka’s cheeks, but she began fidgeting with her hands. Homura’s concern deepened. Were the irregularities on this loop mean Madoka has contracted some illness? It wasn’t something she had seen happen before, but since Madoka wasn’t a magical girl, it was certainly possible.

"Are you feeling OK, Madoka-chan? Do you feel dizzy again?"

Madoka looked up, then quickly glanced at her own hands before hiding them behind her back. "No, I'm fine. Really. It’s just… a little warm tonight. Spring came on strong this year."

"Are you sure?" Homura placed a hand on the pinkette's forehead, gauging her temperature. "You don’t seem to have a fever, but you should check when you get home. It’s never good to miss class at the start of the year."

"I feel fine, really. I don’t think I’m getting sick, but thank you for worrying." Madoka’s voice wavered slightly, and after a brief hesitation, she added in a near whisper, so quiet that Homura had to lean in to hear her, "I know you said you were busy, but… is there anything I could do for you in return?"

"There is, actually." Homura met her gaze. "Do you remember my warning this morning? If you feel you owe me anything, then please… heed my warning and never make a wish. I would be really grateful if you could do that for me."

Madoka hesitated but nodded. "I remember your warning. I even talked to Sayaka, one of my friends you meet at lunchtime, the blue haired one, about it this afternoon. We both think it's important, but… there must be a reason you're so insistent. I was wondering if you’d be willing to tell me more about it."

Homura stiffened. This was dangerous. She had a chance to tell Madoka everything, to lay out the truth, the whole story before Kyubey could muddle things, but there was always the risk that knowing too much would push Madoka toward trying to help. And if that happened…

She must have hesitated too long and drop her mask for a moment because Madoka’s expression softened with understanding.

"Of course, if it’s difficult to talk about, you don’t have to. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I just thought… maybe you might want to talk about it. People tell me I’m a good listener."

"I'm sure you are, Madoka." Homura exhaled, weighing her options. "I could tell you everything, but if I do, you have to promise me something: that no matter what, you will listen to my warning and stay out of danger."

"Homura-chan. I promise I will heed your warning. Of course, if you are in trouble and I could help you, I would love to do so, but I also promise not to put myself in danger because of it. Would that be enough?"

Homura studied her carefully. This was the best promise she was going to get. And Madoka, at least, always tried to keep her promises. If telling her the truth could keep her out of a contract, then…

She nodded. "Alright."

Homura told her a version of the truth—one carefully tailored, omitting the time loops and the most damning details. She explained Kyubey’s contracts, how he manipulated girls into making wishes, how she had been deceived into fighting when a friend had gotten in too deep. She described the reality of being a magical girl, how despair inevitably followed, and the fate that awaited them all in the end.  And how she has been killing both witches and incubators at the same rate to try to avoid other girls suffering the same fate she had now.

By the time she finished, Madoka was clutching her hand. Hard. As though grounding herself. Her face had gone pale, her eyes unfocused. Had she gone too far? Homura wasn’t sure. Madoka had promised, but which part of her nature would win—the part that honoured her word, or the part that couldn't ignore suffering?

"I'm sorry, Madoka. My story upset you. I shouldn’t have told you all of it." Homura’s voice was low, unsure. "But… I hope you understand now why I want you to stay away from them."

Madoka shook herself from her daze and tightened her grip on Homura’s hand. "No, please don’t say that. It is an upsetting story, but… I’m really glad you told me. And I will listen to you. I won’t talk to Kyubey. I promise." She took a deep breath, then bowed slightly, her voice filled with quiet sincerity. "And… thank you, Homura-chan. Thank you so much for all your hard work, even when no one notices."

Homura looked away. "You don’t need to thank me. I can handle it. And… I want to protect people. Just keep your promise and don’t get involved."

Madoka hesitated. "I will do as I promised and keep myself out of danger. But… maybe I can still help you in other ways. In wars, there are more people involved than just those fighting on the front lines."

Homura felt a cold weight settle in her stomach. That glint in Madoka’s eyes… determination. She’s already thinking of a way to involve herself. Homura had made a mistake telling her the truth. She should have known better. Madoka would only end up paying the price for her mistakes. Again.

Madoka continued, undeterred. "When you finish hunting, I could listen to you. Or help you with strategy. People say talking things out helps with planning. I could even make food for you, I’m getting pretty good at cooking. And battles are always easier when you have a full stomach, right? None of that would put me in danger, so I’d still be keeping my promise."

Homura clenched her fists. I need to stop this. Now.

Her voice turned cold. "I appreciate the offer, but it’s unnecessary. I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t know you. And I can handle everything on my own. The only way you can help is by staying away from Incubators and keeping your distance from me. I would feel better if you don't speak to me more than required for class."

She forced herself to meet the girl’s eyes, keeping her breathing steady.

As expected, she looked like she had been physically struck. The pain in her expression was obvious, but it was better this way. Homura had already made enough mistakes—letting the girl get attached to her would only lead to more suffering.

Madoka’s voice was quiet. "…I see. That house over there is mine. Thank you for walking me home. And… for everything else." She bowed once more, then turned away, heading toward a house Homura knew wasn’t hers.

She let her go. It didn’t matter. She could watch from the shadows and make sure the pinkette got home safely.

Homura clenched her jaw.

It’s better this way.

Even if it hurt.

Even if she hated it.

Even if it never got easier.

It was better this way.

Madoka used the short walk home to recentre herself after Homura’s sharp refusal. It felt like she had tried to help a wiry, battle-scarred stray cat, only for it to launch itself at her face and claw her mercilessly. She was still glad to have heard Homura’s story, it was clear she needed help. Unfortunately, Madoka wasn’t sure if she’d be allowed to get that close again. Maybe she could try cooking something for her anyway and try again in a few days. That’s what you do with strays, right?

She shook her head. No, you can’t treat people like animals. That’s not right. Homura might remind her of a stray, but that didn’t mean she should ignore her autonomy, right? Of course, she could still try to convince her… It wasn’t as if she’d put herself in danger.

Or… she could do the exact opposite—deliberately put herself in dangerous situations, forcing Homura to give in and ask her to stay indoors, cooking for her instead of getting hurt outside.

Madoka pinched her own cheek sharply.

"Get a hold of yourself, girl. You promised her, remember?"

That last thought was even worse than treating Homura like a stray cat. She needed to stop this train of thought before she ended up acting like Melodie would. Picking up her pace, she hurried home and entered her house.

Once inside, she slipped off her shoes and put them away. She tried to keep her mind off Homura and failed miserably. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick message to both Sayaka and the group, letting them know she had arrived home safely. Amelia was already organizing a meeting for later, which was expected after her performance today.

They’d already told her it was fine to use knowledge from the previous loop. Would it be okay to wait and go slower next time? Or would it be better to give it a few days and try again, more carefully this time? The small voice in the back of her mind, screaming at her to let go of her crush after Homura's hard no, was very carefully ignored.

Lost in thought, she didn’t even realize she was still standing in the entryway until she heard the approaching footsteps of her mother. Junko gave her a concerned look.

"Madoka, what are you doing just standing there? Has something happened?"

With a concerned face, her Mother asked "Madoka, what are you doing still on the entrance? Has something happened?"

"Ohh, I’m fine." Madoka replied slowly "I was just lost in thought," Then, after a pause, she admitted, "I might have done something terrible today."

She tried to brush it off, but her cheeks were slightly red, and her eyes had turned a little misty.

Junko studied her daughter. Madoka had a tendency to exaggerate, so it was probably just an argument with Sayaka. But… the way she blushed made her think otherwise.

Was her little darling already breaking hearts at school?

"What could possibly be so terrible that it has you this deep in thought, hmm? Why don’t you come inside and change your clothes while I prepare some tea? Then, if you like, we can have a womanly chat before dinner is ready."

Madoka visibly flinched at the word "womanly," which only solidified Junko’s theory, this was a boy problem. Had someone confessed to her, and she had rejected him? Knowing Madoka, she would feel awful if she thought she had hurt someone’s feelings.

Without another word, Madoka obeyed, heading to her room. She left her school bag next to the bed and changed her clothes into something cosy, all the while trying to figure out how to phrase her thoughts. When she returned to the living room, her mother was waiting with two cups of tea. She sat down, staring into her cup before finally looking up at her mum.

Junko gave her a patient smile.

"Alright, sweetheart. What happened today that made you feel so bad?"

"Mama… how long did it take you to realize you liked Dad? Was it instant, like a thunderbolt, or did it take time?"

Junko raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Well, it happened after we met and talked a few times. But these things don’t always happen at the same speed. Sometimes it’s fast, and sometimes it’s slow. It’s more of a gut feeling than a science. If the other person isn’t interested, though, there’s very little you can do."

Madoka’s face fell at that, but… her mum had just given her the perfect opening to ask something without revealing too much.

"And what if I’m not sure? What if, for some reason, I’m afraid to give in, even though I want to..., so I push people away instead? How do I deal with that?"

Junko’s expression grew more serious, and Madoka immediately knew she had said too much. Her mum would see right through her. Her cheeks burned, and she prayed it wasn’t visible.

"Madoka, sweetie. That doesn’t sound like you." Junko studied her carefully. "Does that maybe fit any of the new boys in your class this year?"

Madoka’s head snapped up. A tiny bit of dread formed in her stomach.

Of course.

Homura was a girl.

Was it even okay to have a crush on another girl? Sayaka was fine with it, but what would her mother think?

Very, very slowly, she nodded and looked away.

Junko’s concern deepened. Gathering all her courage, Madoka spoke in a tiny voice.

"It’s a girl… She transferred into my class this morning. Oh, Mama. I think I’ve already ruined any chances of getting a date with her."

She wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she expected from her mother, but laughter definitely wasn’t on the list.

Junko chuckled warmly, shaking her head as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Oh, honey. You had me worried for a second! So, you have a crush on a new girl in your class? That’s perfectly normal. But now I’m really curious—what kind of beauty managed to steal my daughter’s heart so quickly? Tell me about her. Does this mysterious girl have a name?"

Madoka hesitated before answering.

"Her name is Akemi Homura. She has really long black hair, lovely purple eyes… She doesn’t talk much, but when she does, her voice is beautiful. She usually says profound things or gives good advice."

"I see. She does sound intriguing. But why do you think you don’t have a chance with her?"

Madoka sighed, shoulders slumping.

"I took her to the infirmary this morning, and I couldn’t stop babbling like an idiot. Then, on my way home, I ran into her again by coincidence. She had a scratch on her shoulder, so I offered to clean it up. She agreed but insisted on walking me home in exchange. We talked for a bit, and I thought things were going well… but then she suddenly stiffened and told me we didn’t really know each other. She said she didn’t want to talk outside of school projects."

Junko sighed, leaning back. She really hoped her daughter hadn’t confessed already. But judging by Madoka’s careful choice of words, it was still possible that her little girl had gone from meeting a girl, getting a crush on said girl, confessing her feelings and being rejected, all in the span of a few hours.

Well… she was her daughter, after all. A push in the right direction was all she needed to be brave.

"Madoka, sweetheart. Did you tell her how you felt?"

Madoka remembered Melodie’s advice. Was her mum going to tell her she should have confessed as well? She felt ashamed of her inexperience. Before she even realized it, tears were falling down her face.

"Mama… I wasn’t brave enough. I just told her I could help with cooking and stuff since she lives alone. I thought I might make things easier for her. I also asked her to keep having lunch with us, like today. Should I have told her I liked her before saying all that?"

Junko gently cupped her daughter’s face in her hands.

"Sweetie, there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to do these things. But it’s possible she thought you were offering too much too soon. She might have felt overwhelmed or, if she’s a proud person, she may have thought you were offering out of pity. If that’s the case, you can wait a few days and let her know politely. But…"

She sighed.

"There’s also a chance that she simply isn’t interested. And if that’s true, then you can’t overstep her boundaries, Madoka. Every good relationship, romantic or not, needs to be built on consent and respect. If you end up getting hurt, your Papa and I will be here for you, okay?"

Madoka nodded, hugging her mother tightly.

Madoka clung to her mother for a little while longer, taking comfort in her warmth. Would her mum think she was overstepping if she used the information she had gathered today to try again in the next loop but slower this time?

She was glad Amelia had scheduled a meeting for later tonight. Maybe the others would have advice for her as well.

After a moment, Junko gently pulled away and patted her daughter's back. "Alright, sweetheart. Go take a quick shower before dinner. It'll help you clear your mind."

Madoka nodded, wiping her eyes before heading to the bathroom.

****

After dinner, Madoka returned to her room and prepared for her nightly routine.

She carefully wrote down the day's events in her diary, making sure to include the conversation with her mother. Every important detail Homura had shared with her went into both the regular section and the one she had created this loop specifically for Homura. 

When she finally finished writing, she glanced at the clock. There was still some time before the meeting started, but not enough to finish her schoolwork.

She needed a distraction.

First, she rearranged the plushies on her bed. That didn’t help. Would she be told off by the group, in the meeting?

She searched for another distraction.

She grabbed her diary again and some coloured pencils. Doodling always helped clear her mind.

Letting her thoughts wander, she absent-mindedly started sketching. It didn’t take long for her to realize she was drawing Homura.

She sighed and erased it. Nope. Not going there either.

Instead, she started fresh, sketching some cute flowers, birds, and butterflies across the margins of her diary pages.

By the time she received the meeting link, she had decorated the edges of at least five pages. They actually looked pretty nice. Her writing was now surrounded by delicate, colourful floral borders, with tiny critters adding to the charm.

The familiar faces of her friends filled the screen. None of them looked angry, which Madoka took as a good sign. Amelia and Claire seemed worried, while Melodie looked amused. Elena just looked tired, How early was it for her, right now?

She waved at them nervously. "Hello, girls."

Amelia was the first to speak. "Are you okay, Madoka? You still look a little pale. Did you have dinner yet?"

Madoka nodded quickly. "Yes, I had dinner and took a shower. I'm really sorry for my overreaction earlier. I knew The Creature I mean, Zero, was going to contact me, and I should have handled it better."

She bowed slightly, the way she was used to when apologizing.

All the girls looked at her, but it was Melodie who made a disapproving noise. Claire shot Melodie a sharp look, while Amelia's expression turned serious.

"Madoka," Amelia said firmly, "you’re only 14. That thing is terrifying even for us, and to make things worse, it’s hurting people you care about. Your reaction wasn’t exaggerated. And we are not mad at you, nor are we disappointed."

She softened slightly. "You might think you’re here to help us, and you will. When you’re ready, I know you’ll be the best investigator in our group. I’m sure of it. But right now, you’re still learning. And we’re here to take care of you. Always."

Claire spoke next, her face drawn with concern. "If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me. I should have been there with you this loop. Melodie and I can take turns staying with you for a while, at least until you’re no longer alone over there."

Another implication that she could win Homura to be her girlfriend, hit Madoka hard. She had already gone through so many emotions today, that this pushed her over the edge. Her vision blurred, and no matter how hard she tried to fight it, tears began to well up again. She shook her head rapidly, trying to explain what had happened with Homura, but no words would come out.

She felt worthless.

How could she help save the universe when she couldn't even speak properly?

Melodie, who had been unusually quiet until now, tilted her head. "I take it your walk home didn’t go well, then?"

That was all it took.

The dam broke.

Madoka sobbed. Between gasping breaths, she managed to explain Homura’s last words to her.

Her friends immediately tried to comfort her, offering advice on how to fix the situation and reminding her that even in the worst-case scenario, she would get another chance next month.

Then, suddenly—

"Success!" Melodie declared triumphantly. "I found the reason for your little outburst. You can stop crying now, Madoka—you’ve got nothing to worry about. The penny just dropped for your girl, and she had a classic case of gay panic."

Madoka hiccuped, sniffling as she looked up at her.

Melodie smirked. "Think about it. The fact is that she suddenly shooed you away—right after going out of her way to check on you and walk you home, can only mean one thing: she likes you, she realized she likes you, and then she remembered all the ridiculous things they probably heard about that and panicked."

Madoka blinked.

Could it really be that simple?

To be fair… her mother’s explanation, that Madoka had unintentionally offended Homura’s pride, seemed more likely.

But… what if it was both?

"I don’t know if that’s the case," she mumbled. "We were talking about Magical Girls before that. I was offering to listen to her hunting stories, heal her, and cook for her after battles—to ease her workload."

Elena cut in. "And you thought you wouldn’t be a good investigator? Your instincts are really sharp, you know. You were already gathering intel from her." She smirked a little. "I agree with Melodie. That girl is absolutely yours. We just need to refine your technique a little first."

Amelia extender her arms, making silence in their video call before speaking. "Madoka, can you tell us what happened. If you feel it is too soon, we can wait until you are ready."

Madoka hesitated, guilt creeping in again. She was about to apologize for her lack of character, when she saw Melodie’s eyes gleaming with something close to malice.

"Don't you dare apologize."

Her voice was low, almost dangerous.

"I can get a plane ticket and be at your doorstep in less than two days. And mark my words, I will get you and your girl together, in less than a week, if you try apologizing again. So watch it, girl."

Madoka’s brain stalled.

That was possibly the strangest threat she had ever received.

She could hear Elena laughing in the background. The mental image of Melodie storming into town and forcibly playing matchmaker was so absurd that Madoka, despite everything, giggled.

The tight knot in her chest loosened just a little.

"Hey, mission accomplished!" Melodie grinned. "I made you giggle. The blush was a bonus, but I’ll take it."

Madoka wiped at her face, still sniffling slightly. "I feel better now. I don’t know why I keep crying so much today. I cried earlier with my mum too."

She shot a quick look at Melodie. "This is not an apology, Ok?"

Claire smiled warmly. "Good. And for the record, crying is healthy. Never let anyone shame you for it. You can cry as much as you want with us. If Melodie complains, we’ll just kick her from the call."

Madoka giggled again.

Maybe… maybe things weren’t so hopeless after all.

Feeling a little more level headed, Madoka took a deep breath and began recounting the rest of her day.

She told them everything, her panic attack when she imagined Homura disappearing, how Melodie had brought her back by stroking the bench, her conversation with Homura, the offer she had made to help her with cooking and healing both as a way to be close to her and to gather information, and finally, the shocking revelation that Witches were actually fallen Magical Girls.

The atmosphere in the call shifted immediately.

Elena, who had a side hustle selling information about Witches to Magical Girls, suddenly looked very, very interested.

"So that’s how Zero makes the girls disappear, huh?" she mused. "I mean, from a business perspective, I guess it makes sense. Never let anyone live long enough to ask too many questions, while maintaining a constant supply of enemies and reasons for people to keep making wishes. Superb evil economy. Did she mention, how did she stumble upon this information, Madoka?"

"Not in detail," Madoka admitted. "She just said she knew because of her wish."

Amelia leaned forward. "And she became a Magical Girl to help a friend who was one before her, right?"

Madoka nodded. Melodie and Amelia exchanged a glance, full of meaning. Amelia laid back again and Melodie look at Madoka.

"Madoka… have you ever been abroad?" She said, thoughtfully.

The question caught her off guard. "No, never. I have gone some places with my parents, never abroad. Also, my parents would never let me travel while school is still in session."

"Of course, they wouldn’t," Melodie said, lowering her voice. "Which is why you’d need an alias. A new identity. I have the contacts to get you one."

Madoka blinked in confusion.

Claire sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and exaggerating her tone. "I can’t believe I’m saying this… but for once, you got a great idea, Melody."

She looked directly at Madoka, with an warm smile in her face.

"Instead of one of us going to you, why don’t you come visit us? You can stay at my house or at Amelia's and it will allow us to show you at least two anomalies and a new country. Plus, we can spoil you a little, as well."

Madoka stared at them, wide-eyed. An undercover adventure? With a secret alias? One side of her brain was jumping at the prospect, the other feel nauseated while considering the repercussions of  running away from home.

"I… I don’t know," she admitted. "Isn’t that kind of like running away from home? Wouldn’t my parents and friends worry if I just disappeared one day? It feels … dirty, making everyone worry about me like that."

Melodie smirked. "It’ll take at least a week to prepare everything, the identity, the documents, the travel arrangements. That means you’d only be gone for about two or three weeks tops before the loop resets. No one will remember a thing after that. It would be a victimless crime."

Madoka frowned. "That is true, but it still feels wrong to make people worry…"

Amelia, glanced at Melodie "Even if we don’t use the alias, it wouldn’t hurt to make one, just in case. It’ll give you a chance to test your new contacts and compare them to the ones you normally use for us."

And then look at Madoka, who was scratching her eyes

"Madoka, you look exhausted. Let’s finish the meeting now and let any decisions for the time where the documents are ready. We’ll keep discussing it in the group chat tomorrow"

Melodie nodded. "Yeah, I’ll handle the logistics. We just need to figure out a fake name and appearance for you. Once everything is in place, you can decide whether you want to use it or not."

Madoka hesitated. She was still unsure about all of this. Her thoughts were swirling in a hundred different directions.

"Okay," she agreed softly. "We can plan it out, and I’ll think about it."

After the meeting ended, Madoka took off her headphones and flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. The events of the day, have been an emotional roller-coaster for her. She turned onto her side, hugging one of her plushies close.

"What should I do…?" she whispered to herself.

She didn’t find any immediate answers, but she remembered, she still had homework to finish. With heavy movements, she dragged herself out of bed and returned to her desk. Luckily, there wasn’t much to do. After completing her assignments, she collapsed back onto her bed, surrounding herself with plushies.

Within moments, sleep took her.

After ensuring Madoka got home safely, Homura went back to hunting, determined to eliminate as many Incubators as possible.

She couldn’t get out of her mind the way Madoka had looked as they parted: hurt, confused, disappointed. No matter how many times she had to do this, it never got any easier. But getting attached would only cost her all the progress she may have made in this loop.

What mattered was that Madoka took her advice seriously and avoided contact with both the Incubators and other Magical Girls whenever possible. If she could finally save her this time, then she could apologize. Maybe if she succeeded in defeating Walpurgisnacht, she would finally tell Madoka everything. Maybe then, she could let herself accept her.

After hunting down a considerable number of the little pests and destroying a Witch, Homura finally returned home.

She took a shower that lasted three times longer than usual, hoping the scalding water would clear her head.

It didn’t.

Her mind refused to let go of Madoka’s pained face. A pain she had inflicted once again. Would this have happened if she had never approached her? Or if she had simply kept quiet while walking her home?

She had talked too much. She had hurt her. But there was nothing she could do to fix it now.

She just needed to stay vigilant and avoid more encounters like that in the future. It would be best to start leaving class just before lunch to prevent Madoka from asking her again.

Tomorrow would hopefully be better.

******

After laying low for a few days, Madoka felt ready to start plotting her next steps to get closer to Homura. She was going to need Sayaka’s help for the plan forming in her head, so she picked up her phone and opened the chat with her best friend to continue plotting together.

Pinky: "Sayaka, I have a new plan and I need your help ◝(^⌣^)◜ "

Blue: "A new plan to make the transfer student look your way?"

Pinky: "Her name is Homura, and yes. You did promise me you’d be nice to her and help me (ㆆ ᴗ ㆆ)"

Blue: "Madoka, she hasn’t come to lunch with us since the first day, and you’ve been avoiding the subject until now. Did something happen?"

Pinky: "Nothing happened. I just thought I’d take it slow and casual, you know? To avoid making any more blunders like the first day. Would you help me, please? Please? It’s not even hard, I promise (✿◠‿◠)"

Blue: "Ok, ok. Tell me what you’re thinking, and I’ll let you know what I think."

Pinky: "Yesssss, thank you Sayaka! So my plan has three phases."

Pinky: "Phase 1 is the one I need your help with. Like I said, it’s super easy. All you have to do is go to her and ask for help with some homework. Math would be ideal, but honestly, since she’s better than us at everything, any subject works. Ideally, you make some nice small talk and casually ask her to come have lunch with us again. But that may be harder, so don't worry if it doesn't happen"

Blue: "I’m pretty sure I can do that. But what makes you think your ice queen is going to say yes to me?"

Pinky: "Sayaka, be nice to her. She is not an ice queen, she is nice but lonely. I just want her to realize she can count on us if she ever needs help."

Blue: "¯\(°_o)/¯ Ok, I’ll ask her tomorrow and see how it goes. How does this help your plan, though? You said there are three phases, right? Wanna fill me in on the rest?"

Pinky: "In Phase 2, I’ll ask her for help with the same assignment since she already explained it to you. Then I’ll casually compliment her for being so smart and offer to ask her for help with other exercises too."

Pinky: "And in Phase 3, after she’s helped me a few times, I’ll bring her a packed lunch every few days as a thank-you for all her help with school."

Pinky: "What do you think?"

Blue: "I think there’s something you’re not telling me. This is a really complicated way to do something you could just do any time. If you wanna invite her for lunch, why not just ask her?"

Pinky: "She seems really proud. I don’t want her to think I’m pitying her or something (⌒_⌒;) "

Blue: "Ok, ok. I’ll ask her tomorrow. But I still have my doubts. She might just shoo me away."

Pinky: "Thank you Sayaka. I will owe you one (=˃ᆺ˂=)"

Blue: "See you tomorrow, good night Madoka"

Her plan actually had one more phase, but Madoka decided to keep that part to herself for now.

If the plan worked, she hoped to slowly lower Homura’s defences until they were low enough to activate Phase 4, and maybe, just maybe, be allowed to help Homura carry the heavy burdens she was hiding

******

Homura was thankful, for once things seemed to be going her way. Madoka seemed to have taken her words seriously; she kept her distance and did not approach her again. As far as Homura could tell, she had also prevented the Incubators from contacting Madoka. And she had not met Mami, either.

Everything had come back to the way it was supposed to be.

 Until the fourth day.

Homura had been reviewing her class notes when Sayaka Miki, of all people, approached her, looking troubled.

"Hey… Akemi, right?"

Homura nodded warily.

"I need help with the maths homework. Would you mind helping me? I’m kind of stuck."

Homura frowned. Sayaka and Madoka usually asked Hitomi for help with homework.

She glanced toward Hitomi, expecting her to be free, but instead found her deep in conversation with Madoka over something that looked like a chemistry class books.

Homura made a quick calculation in her head. If she sent Sayaka to Hitomi, there was a small chance Madoka would come her way. It would be a small chance, but also an unnecessary risk.

Even if it meant spending time teaching Sayaka Miki, it was better than the alternative.

So she nodded, listening to Sayaka’s questions and explaining the problems to the best of her ability, a challenge, considering how dense Sayaka could be. By the time she was done, Sayaka was frowning in concentration but seemed to understand the problem.

Homura didn’t want to feel satisfied. Sayaka Miki was at best annoying and at worst a major risk, but she couldn’t help it. 

Another show of weakness. With a small sigh, she did her best to hide her satisfaction.

"Glad I could help," she muttered, turning back to her own studies. But before she could escape, Sayaka suddenly grabbed her arm. Homura felt every muscle of her body tense.

The girl looked a little embarrassed. Her voice was low, and she didn’t sound confrontational.

"Has Madoka tried to… make any advances on you?"

Homura froze. She quickly crushed down the beginning of a blush that threatened to appear.  Instead, she simply stared at Sayaka, hard. After all, any other response would only compromise her further.

Sayaka glanced toward Hitomi and Madoka before continuing. "I’m sorry if she’s been inappropriate. Please don’t hold it against her."

Sayaka Miki was apologizing for Madoka? To her? Wait, was this the real reason she had asked for help with her homework? What kind of anomaly was this?

"She wasn’t inappropriate, Miki-chan," Homura said in her most neutral tone. "And you don’t need to apologize for her. We met by chance the other evening. She learned I live alone and offered to help. I told her I didn’t need help, and that was the end of it."

She turned back to her work, hoping that would be enough to end the conversation. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. And Homura could not get away from it without drawing attention.

"Oh, great. I was just worried, you know… even though she hasn’t talked about it, it’s pretty obvious something happened. If it wasn’t anything serious, do you want to come have lunch with us again today?" Sayaka pressed on, Homura could feel her gaze studying her like a bird of prey.

She felt trapped. If she said no, Sayaka would assume she was hiding something and keep pushing for answers. But if she said yes, that meant interacting with Madoka again.

Pure Sayaka Miki.

Homura quickly calculated the lesser risk. She could take a few awkward lunches with them until they lose interest again.

"Of course. Thanks for the invitation, Miki-chan."

***

Lunch came and went. Madoka sat across from her and made some small talk, but no more than the others. Homura answered only when necessary, keeping her distance.

For a moment, she thought this would be enough. Her risk assessment had been adequate, for once. But she was, as usual, dead wrong.

The next day, Madoka approached her between classes. She hesitated, looking nervous and… apologetic. Her hands were hidden behind her back. Homura braced herself for the conversation. Hoping the girl would not try anything that would force her to hurt her. Again.

"Good morning, Homura-chan. Sorry to bother you, but I tried asking Sayaka about the math exercise you explained to her yesterday, and I think I’m more confused now than I was before. Would you mind explaining it to me as well?"

Homura inhaled sharply, staring at the girl for a long time.

Madoka blushed slightly under her gaze but stood her ground. Looking as cute as only she could look. After almost twenty seconds, the girl opened her mouth as if to say something else, then closed it again and looked down, patiently waiting for an answer.

Homura sighed. She had no choice but to give in. Drawing attention to this would only make things worse.

"Of course. Tell me what you don’t understand."

To Madoka’s credit, she understood the explanation much faster than Sayaka. No, she understood it too fast.

It was then that Homura realized, Madoka had never had problem with this exercise before. Oh boy, this wasn’t about the homework.

Madoka understood it just fine. This was simply a school related way to get involved in her life. Since she told her, she didn't wanted to speak to her outside of school.

"That makes so much more sense now! Thanks, Homura-chan."

Madoka smiled warmly, and Homura forced herself not to react.

"Would it be okay if I come to you for help with other exercises? Your explanations are really good."

"I assume you’re not planning to pay me back for my help, are you?" Homura retorted, without answering any of the girl's questions

The Girl’s blush was all the confirmation she needed.

So this was her plan. A situation carefully designed to work around her refusal to accept help.

She guessed that Madoka would offer to cook her lunch every time she needed assistance, and suddenly, every exercise she had been perfectly capable of solving on her own in the past, in any other loop, would become too difficult.

And all of it would be framed as something technically related to class. Why was she so annoyingly smart to go around her warnings like this and so stupid to not understand how much danger she was exposing herself just by being near her? 

How many times had her mistakes put Madoka in danger before?

And how many more times would they do this in the future?

Homura sighed and nodded stiffly. The next class was about to begin, and she didn’t want to have this conversation in front of everyone.

"Let’s talk about this later. Meet me at the entrance after class."

The girl blinked a few times and went back to her seat with a defeated posture.  She stuck by her side the moment class ended. Without a word, Homura took her to the back of the school, which was usually deserted after class.

Madoka followed in silence, her eyes fixed on the ground, her shoulders slouched.

When Homura finally stopped, the girl looked up at her. Homura decided to say what she needed to without focusing on her face.

"I must not have made myself clear the other day, so let me fix that now. I don’t want you involved with me in any way. I’m fine on my own, and I don’t need your help. Is that clear?"

Madoka flinched but nodded.

"I understand, Homura-chan. I never thought you weren’t capable, I just thought you seemed lonely. I wanted to offer companionship, to help where I could… But I don’t want to be a burden, so I will stay out of your way from now on"

Homura clenched her fists behind her back. She had to resort to every trick she had learned to control herself. She could not accept this, not yet. She told herself she would explain everything after the battle was over, after she had finally secured Madoka’s safety.

But for now, she simply turned and walked away, leaving the girl where she stood, fiddling with her phone.

Maybe calling Sayaka for comfort. With some luck, Sayaka Miki would revert to her usual self soon enough.

It didn’t matter.

She had a battle to win. Everything else would have to wait.

***

Madoka was having so much fun with the app Melodie had given her. She had never played one of those games with a complicated character creation system before, but after this experience, she was going to try one. Hopefully, one where she wouldn’t have to be her stupid self any more. She should have waited longer than four days before trying to reach to Homura again. It was painfully clear that she was getting nowhere with her now.

So, she poured all her energy into trying out all the different hairstyles, outfits, and even makeup options the app had to offer. It was all extremely fun, she kept telling herself. It was. It really was.

After finishing each new experiment, she would apply the style to her picture and check the result. The app even had the option to apply everything directly onto her picture, but she wasn’t in the mood to try that feature right now. Claire had already warned her not to mess with her eye colour, since wearing coloured lenses would take time to get used to and could end up being more uncomfortable than it was worth.

Even when she was creating this new persona. She was doing it for the sake of the process not because what happened just a few hours earlier with Homura.  Absolutely not. Testing out a new procedure seemed like a great idea, and designing a cool investigator persona for herself was genuinely fun. She was having fun with it all, and she definitely wasn’t thinking about Homura. 

Not at all.

After running through several fun experiments, she settled on black hair, like Homura's, but she wasn't trying to copy her. Really she wasn't. Black just worked perfectly with the mysterious, mature image she was going for, so it only made sense. To make sure her look stood apart, she chose a very short pixie cut, which gave her a sharper, more mature appearance.

She also braided a small section of her fringe on the left side, leaving the braid long enough to tuck behind her ear or play with when she was bored or if the mood struck her. She was starting to envision this new version of herself and this looked like something she would do.

She decided she would wear glasses too.

She almost chose a pair of red oval glasses that immediately caught her eye. They looked extremely cute on her. Unfortunately, they made her look younger rather than older, which completely defeated the purpose of wearing glasses in the first place. With a heavy heart, she discarded them and settled on a square metallic frame instead. In her mind, they exuded sophistication.

Once she was satisfied with her look, she needed to choose a new name. This part was trickier. She had never been good at naming things, but after spending a few hours browsing different naming websites, Madoka finally found the perfect match.

It was a common enough name, yet still cool. It suited the sixteen-and-a-half-year-old girl who was supposedly travelling to the UK as part of a student exchange to improve her English, all while secretly working as an undercover agent on a secret mission to save the world.

Kageko Sato

After finalizing everything, she sent the details to Melodie as instructed and then decided to call it a night. Her new self was taking shape, and she was going to start roleplaying it from the very first moment.

***

Three days after her ultimatum to Madoka, the stupid idiot that was Sayaka Miki came to class wearing a Magical Girl ring, again. Madoka who have been finally avoiding her as much as possible,  spoke to her again, She wanted Homura to train and protect Sayaka. She promised she wouldn’t get involved if Homura took care of her instead.

Madoka hadn’t said it outright, but the meaning was clear. If Homura refused, Madoka would take it upon herself to protect Sayaka instead. So that evening, even when she knew how the history would end. Homura began training Sayaka.

The next day, Madoka didn’t come to class.

At first, Homura tried not to let it bother her. She was not a magical girl, she could get sick...

But as the hours passed, unease began to creep in.

What if the incubators use this time to try to approach her?

Sayaka hadn’t heard from her either, but she found Homura’s concern amusing. Smirking, she told her to stop being such a tsundere. She also promised to check in on Madoka after school, since she planned to drop off her homework and send her a message afterwards, before their training. And she assured Homura that she wouldn’t tell Madoka she had asked about her.

After school, Homura confirmed what she had feared.

Madoka had left her house that morning, heading toward school as usual. But somewhere between home and the classroom, she had vanished.

Sayaka corroborated what Homura had already discovered. Madoka’s parents had not been aware that she had missed school that morning. Once they realized she was missing, they called the police and attempted to track her phone, only to find that it was offline. The last time it had any reception was early that morning, just outside her house.

There was no trace of her anywhere.

Madoka had disappeared.

Madoka was jittery and warm. Her stomach felt uneasy. Was she getting sick, or was it just anxiety?

By procrastinating during breakfast, she managed to avoid her mum in the bathroom, and her dad was too busy cooking and tending to her brother to notice anything strange. She had never been so hyper-aware of her parents' whereabouts before today.

She fixated on how different her bag looked compared to a regular school day. She had taken out some books to make space for a hoodie and a pair of puffy trousers, and as a result, she was sure her school bag looked more rounded than usual. She sent pictures to Elena, who assured her it looked the same as always. They had agreed that Elena would support her if she had any issues or wanted to call it off for any reason. That was why she had called her while packing, showing her everything as she rambled. Elena listened patiently and then told her to breathe with her. Slow, deliberate breaths.

After calming down, she picked up her bag and left the house as usual.

The moment she stepped outside, she broke into a run, using the excuse of being late. In reality, she was trying to burn off the fear and anxiety bubbling inside her. She glanced toward her usual path to school and the tree line parallel to the river. With a deep breath and a push of courage, she turned toward the trees.

Once she was fairly certain she was out of sight, she opened her bag and pulled out the clothes she had packed a moment ago, quickly slipping them on over her uniform. Then, she placed her school bag into a second plastic bag, ran toward the opposite end of the tree park, and boarded a taxi, already there waiting for her.

Her first stop was a beauty salon, where two very kind women helped transform her into Kageko Sato. They styled her hair, applied makeup, and handed her a new pair of glasses and an outfit to change into.

When she finally looked at herself in the mirror, she barely recognized the person staring back.

She looked like a proper senpai, someone mature and confident, ready to mentor first-years. Unfortunately, she did not feel nearly as composed as she looked.

Once she leaves the changing room, one of the ladies bows to her and gives her a new travelling bag. This one has her new documents, her plane ticket, a laptop, a phone, a change of clothes and some money.

After stepping out of the changing room, one of the women bowed and handed her a travel bag. It contained her new documents, a plane ticket, a laptop, a phone, a change of clothes, and some money.

Three hours later, Madoka was sitting in a first-class plane seat.

The journey there had been a blur, and responding to Sato-san had been harder than expected, and the entire airport experience had been overwhelming. She was grateful that a chaperone had taken her from her car through the airport to her boarding station. She would have been lost without it.

A hollow feeling settled in her chest. She traced the edges of her diary, grounding herself in its familiar weight. It was the only thing she had on her since leaving home this morning.

She tried not to dwell on how her parents would feel when they realized she wasn’t coming home. But she had made up her mind. She needed to learn how to perform her role; her friends' lives depended on it. No matter how much doubt tried to creep in, she would not waver.

Before the plane departed, she called Elena one last time. To her surprise, everyone joined the call. After chatting with them for a few minutes, she already felt a little better.

Once they were in the air, she asked one of the attendants for a chamomile tea. She sipped it while playing with her new laptop. After a few drinks, some movies, and a nap, the plane finally landed.

Once in the terminal, Madoka was really glad to find Amelia, Melodie, and Claire waiting for her. Amelia was taller than she expected, even taller than her mother, and gave hugs that were almost as warm. Melodie greeted her with a high five, and Claire took her hand, leading her outside.

They spend the day mostly shopping before dropping into a hotel to rest for the night. Even though her mind was exhausted, her body refused to sleep. Jetlag, she was told. So instead, they turned the evening into a makeshift sleepover: snacks and cheesy movies, with Melodie snickering at all the ridiculous moments. If Madoka closed her eyes, she could almost picture herself at Hitomi's house, on one of their regular sleepover there. She missed her friends and hoped Sayaka's training was going well and they were both all right.

The following day, they all drove back towards their town, Leadworth. She will stay in Claire's house, and they will take it slow for a few days so she can get some rest and get rid of her jetlag.

The town was much smaller than Madoka had imagined. It reminded her of the rural villages she had visited with her family in Japan. A large convenience store, a hospital, two schools, a pub, and a church stood at the heart of the town, surrounded by charming houses, open fields, and rolling countryside.

When they arrive at Claire's house, Margaret Smith, Claire's aunt, is waiting for them. She is a middle-aged woman who, when Claire's parents are out of town, looks after the house, Claire, and now presumably herself. She reminds Madoka of her teacher if she were three times her normal size.

Madoka introduces herself with a slight bow and calls her Mrs Smith, using what she believes are the right English honorifics.

This earned a hearty laugh.

Margaret complimented her excellent manners and English, but told her everyone in town called her Marge. There was no need for such formality in Leadworth.

She then launched into a rapid conversation, but her accent was hard to follow, and Madoka struggled to keep up. Claire reassured her with a smile, explaining it was just the usual small-town gossip.

Marge led them inside the house, took their coats, and placed them in a cupboard before heading to the kitchen to prepare tea.

While the tea brewed, they gave Madoka a tour. The house was large, but many of the rooms were unused. One of the most striking spaces was the grand living room, featuring a real fireplace, several elegant sofas arranged around a polished wooden table, and towering bookshelves filled with theater books. The deep red wood that framed the room gave it an almost out-of-place warm charm.

The only rooms that seem to be lived in are the kitchen, which, though slightly smaller than the one in her home back in Japan, was still spacious enough to have its own cozy dining area. The studio, a smaller and much messier living room, was clearly the most lived-in space. Its large windows flooded the room with natural light, making it feel open and inviting.

Once the tea was ready and enjoyed, Marge excused herself, leaving Claire to show Madoka to her room so she could unpack and rest from the long journey.

She wanted to do just that.

But as beautiful as the area was, Madoka quickly realized it had one major drawback compared to her city in Japan. Namely, no one here was performing the public service of indiscriminately eliminating the Creature on sight, leaving them free to become a nuisance to everyone around.

Looking for comfort and safety, Madoka slid her hand into her pocket, gripping her new weapon. It was small and easy to use, or so Melodie had assured her, and it packed enough power to defend herself if necessary.

Standing by the window of what would be her bedroom for the next three weeks, she could already tell she would need it sooner rather than later. Clearly, she had not thanked Homura nearly enough for everything she had done to keep their city safe. She would have to try harder next time.

Trying to push those thoughts aside, she neatly placed her newly acquired clothes in the wardrobe and set her plushie on the bed.  All the while, she was acutely aware of the hideous creature watching her from the window.

Deliberately ignoring it, she decided to leave the room to escape its gaze.

Maybe she could grab some kitchen knives. She did not actually want to use them, but if she placed them near the window, perhaps the creature would take the hint and leave her alone.

She left her room and went in search of Claire to ask for advice. She found her journaling in the studio. The creature was nowhere to be seen in these windows, which brought Madoka some relief.

"Hey, how's my temporary little sis settling into her new room? Think it’ll be okay for the next three weeks?"

"The room is great, I think I will miss my old plushies the most. But it already seems to have an infestation, and I was wondering what to do about it"

Claire’s expression darkened. "Seriously? Fecking pest. We knew Zero might try to engage you. That’s why Melodie got you that discreet taser for self-defense." She looked around towards the windows, as well.

"It doesn't seem to have followed me here, but I’m a little afraid to return to my room to check. I never had this problem back home, so someone was doing a great job keeping them down. And I could not say thanks properly or give any help. Now I'm here and afraid to even go into my own room."

Her voice trembled, and her eyes burned with unshed tears before she could stop it.

According to her documents, she is older now. She should be better than this and not be afraid of everything.

Claire immediately set her diary aside and pulled Madoka into a tight embrace. Without a word, she guided her toward the sofa and sat down, keeping her arms wrapped around her.

"Hey, you are my padawan," Claire said softly. "You will get through her, eventually. No matter how many defenses a girl puts up, I’m pretty sure your pretty eyes will break through. And if she keeps resisting for too long, we’ll have to send in Melodie—our own special forces."

Madoka giggled through her sobs.

"As for Zero, I think you’ll have to talk to it sooner or later. Tell it what Homura told you. Make it clear you’re not interested. But not now," Claire reassured her. "I’ll call everyone over for tea, and once we’re all together, you can face it knowing we’re here if you need us."

"I think it already knows who I am. Do you think it’ll cause trouble for my new persona?"

Claire shook her head. "Apart from being a nuisance? Probably not. It doesn’t talk to adults, so I don’t see it running to the police or your parents."

Twenty minutes later, all the girls had gathered at Claire’s house. They had brought a selection of sweets and sandwiches, eager to show Madoka what a proper English afternoon tea was all about.

Armed with their support and a quick refresher from Melodie on how to use the taser properly, Madoka stepped outside and sat on a bench beneath her window.

She was grateful she had bought all her new clothes here. Since she arrived, the sky had been thick with clouds, making everything feel even colder than it should for this time of the year. She tucked her hands inside her coat pockets and looked around.

Nothing happened.

For what felt like the longest five minutes of her life, she sat there, forcing herself to stay put. She wanted to run back inside so badly. She wanted to hide, but she could not. She may not be able to properly thank Homura yet for everything she was doing to protect their city, but the least she could do was face her fears, just like Homura would.

So she kept waiting. 

Another five minutes passed, and just as she was about to convince herself that nothing would happen and she could safely retreat, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

A moment later, the creature appeared on the bench beside her.

The drawings had not done it justice, nor did the side glances from the window. It looked like one of her most beautiful plushies had somehow come to life. Everything radiated elegance and charm, from its silky fur to its piercing eyes. The fact that this unnatural allure was working on her, even when she knew exactly what this creature was and what it had done to her friends, filled her with equal parts disgust and awe.

How could normal girls who had no knowledge of the truth ever stand a chance against this terrible beast?

"Hello, Madoka. It's nice to be able to speak with you at least. My name is Kyubey"

She tightened her grip on the taser, feeling its weight ground her and looked at it.

"I know who you are. And I know what you do to girls like me. I was waiting for you to let you know that I’m not interested."

The creature tilted its head, its empty gaze locking onto hers as if peering into her very soul.

"Since I don't know what you have been told. I can’t be sure if the information you received is accurate. The contract we offer is a beneficial exchange for everyone involved. And you, in particular, have the potential to receive any miracle, no matter how impossible it may seem."

Madoka felt sick.

Was this how it had tricked Homura’s friend? Was this how it had ensnared Homura herself? Sayaka too? Telling them they were special, promising them the world.

She could not stop herself anymore. Her hand shot out of her pocket, gripping the taser, and she plunged it into the creature, pressing the activation button with all her strength, until the Creature went still.

"I don’t understand what motivates such violent urges in humans," it said calmly. "Especially since we are a peaceful species."

Surprised, Madoka looked up and saw another Kyubey perched on the roof, watching her.

It leapt down with feline grace, landing on the other side of the bench. This time, it kept its distance.

"Based on similar unmotivated violence, I assume your information is coming from the magical girl called Homura. I must say, while I won’t complain about your relocation here, where we can speak, at least. It does seem to have disturbed her greatly."

"I’m not going to fall for your lies, Creature."

"You humans are so fixated on calling me a liar. I never lie. I always provide all the necessary information."

It paused.

"And on that spirit. I must inform you that a major disaster will hit your home city in a few weeks. You are probably the one powerful enough to stop it. That is, of course, if you agree to a contract with me."

Madoka clenched her fists.

"As I said, I’m not falling for your lies. You couldn’t get to me because Homura warned me first. So you went after my friend Sayaka instead. I couldn’t protect everyone, so I did the next best thing: I removed myself. But I'm not worried. Homura is the most powerful girl there is. I trust that she will be able to help in this situation and do anything else she needs to do. And since she is training Sayaka now. They will become an unstoppable force."

She stood up, taser in hand.

"If you come close or speak to me again, I will kill you again. Homura isn’t the only one who can perform public service."

Madoka did not wait for the Creature to answer again. She lunged, taser sparking, ready to strike again. This time, the Creature leapt out of her reach and vanished into the streets. With a satisfied smile, Madoka turned and headed back inside to join her friends for the promised afternoon tea.

************

It had been five days since Madoka disappeared into thin air.

Homura had searched relentlessly, but there were no traces of any Witches or Familiars anywhere near the area where Madoka had last been seen. Tomoe had not sensed or hunted anything either. Sayaka was still training with her, so she would not have gone off alone, especially without telling Homura. Even sneaking into the police station at night to check the surveillance recordings had led her nowhere.

Nothing.

And on top of it all, she was still training Sayaka Miki.

Without Madoka in the picture, what was the point? She should stop wasting her time. Hand her over to Mami and let her Witch out as usual. It wasn’t like anything in this timeline mattered any more.

"Hey, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you fidget this much before. Are you okay, Akemi-san?"

Of course, Sayaka Miki had to choose today of all days to linger. Hadn’t Homura done enough for her already? Why delay the inevitable? She might as well answer her stupid questions.

"Am I okay?" Homura’s voice was sharp. "Wasn't Madoka supposed to be your best friend? Why are you the one asking this?"

"We know it wasn’t a Witch, so the police will find her. It’s just a matter of time."

Homura swore no single person on the planet was denser or more infuriating than Sayaka Miki. She couldn’t stand wasting another minute training her. This farce needed to end now.

"I lied to you," she said coldly.

Sayaka blinked in confusion. "Did you find a Witch where Madoka was?"

Homura shook her head. "Before that. In class. I told you nothing happened between Madoka and me, but that was a lie."

"I already knew that. It was obvious something had happened."

Homura ignored the remark. "I told Madoka everything. Everything I know about what it means to be a Magical Girl. I told her the truth about Kyubey, so she stayed away from it. I took a risk, and it didn’t pay off. I told her everything I’ve been hiding from you."

"Akemi-san, what are you speaking about?"

Homura felt herself recoil.

No. This was wrong. She shouldn’t be having this conversation. She should leave, go to Tomoe tomorrow, and have her take over Sayaka’s training.

She broke eye contact and turned to go.

But of course, nothing could ever be that easy.

She had forgotten she was dealing with Sayaka Miki, the girl who never listened and never made anything easy. She grabbed Homura’s arm, stopping her from leaving.

She could feel her mask shatter and did not care for it. She directed all her fury and pain in a single glare towards Sayaka, who recoiled slightly. But she decided to be smart in this single moment of her existence and did not let her go.

"You really want to know?" Homura’s voice trembled with rage. "Fine. Without Madoka, I have no reason to hold back. I couldn’t care less if you Witch out tonight instead of next week, as you inevitably will. Because, just like now, you can’t stop yourself from getting into trouble." Tears spilled from her eyes, but she didn’t care.

"So listen well, Sayaka Miki. You have been tricked."

Sayaka’s grip tightened, but she didn’t say anything.

"Most of the Witches we hunt… were once Magical Girls." Homura’s voice cracked. Her stupid old self was coming out at the worst possible time, as usual. "That’s what that horrid creature wants for all of us. That’s what it wanted for Madoka, too."

Homura clenched her fists. "Not that you’ll believe me. You never do. So just let go of me and do as you wish. I don’t have to train you anymore."

She could not see clearly, her vision blurred from the tears. She needed to stop time. To calm down. In this state, she couldn’t react to any threats.

Finally, she felt Sayaka release her arm.

She reached for her shield, only for Sayaka to wrap her arms around her instead.

"C’mon," Sayaka murmured. "You don’t really think I’d leave you alone after that, do you? No way."

Sayaka’s voice was softer than Homura had heard in a long time.

"Tonight, you’re coming to my place. We’re gonna eat, drink, and when you feel better, you’ll start from the beginning and tell me everything. Okay, Homura-chan?"

Homura’s mind went blank.

Sayaka had just called her by her name.

Not “Akemi-san.” Not “Transfer Student".

Just Homura-chan.

And she had somehow glazed over the part where Homura revealed what the future had in store for her.

This loop was spiraling completely out of control.

She wasn't sure what had gone so terribly wrong, but more than anything, one question was screaming in her mind: Where was Madoka?

Homura had gone over the possibilities again and again, but nothing made sense. The route to school had always been safe as long as she periodically wiped out the Incubators in the area.

How could she miss something so dangerous as to make someone disappear from thin air?

She might not be able to do anything about it in this loop, but she had to find out what had happened.

If she didn’t, she couldn’t stop it next time...

And for that, she needed to get away from Sayaka Miki.

She tensed, preparing to break free, but Sayaka only held on tighter.

"Hey, hey. Whatever you’re thinking, stop it."

Sayaka’s voice was firm now. "I’m not letting you out of my sight, and I’m definitely not letting go until you can give me one of your full stares again. Do you hear me, Homura? So whatever you are plotting right now, stop it."

Homura remained silent.

Sayaka exhaled. "Good. So let’s go. My house. End of discussion."

***

When Homura woke up the next morning in Sayaka’s room, she was confused.

Then the memories of last night hit her all at once.

She had broken down in front of Sayaka Miki, of all people. 

She had told her far more than she should have. Even though Sayaka had taken it well at the time, there was no telling how she would react after properly processing everything.

And worse, Homura had probably done a number on her Soul Gem. She invoked her soul gem and stared at it in disbelief. It was remarkably clean.

Her eyes flicked to the girl still sleeping beside her.

Stupid, dumb idiot…

"Sayaka Miki!" Homura almost screamed, shaking her awake. "Did you use one of your Grief Seeds on me last night?!"

Sayaka blinked blearily with sleepy eyes and shrugged.

"I’m glad you’re feeling better this morning, Homura-chan." She grinned. "I can almost feel the strength of your glare again. And yeah, your Soul Gem looked pretty bad, so forgive me for deciding I wasn't going to let my best friend’s crush and mentor turn into a monster."

Homura’s heart nearly stopped.

"You idiot. Show me your Soul Gem."

"Who do you think has been training me this past week?" Sayaka rolled her eyes and materialized it. It was clean. "Wasn’t it your rule to do your best to keep a spare Grief Seed for emergencies?" she added smugly.

They stared at each other for a moment longer until Homura finally broke the gaze. She sat down again, feeling her energy drain away. She had been genuinely afraid that Sayaka had prioritized her over herself, neglecting to cleanse the corruption from her own Soul Gem. Even after everything she had said last night, she was still weak enough not to want to see Sayaka become a Witch again.

"I'm sorry," Homura muttered. "I said too much yesterday. I shouldn’t have told you about Witches."

"I disagree."

Before Homura could react, Sayaka suddenly jumped onto her, clinging to her arm.

"Are you going to try running away again, or can I let go?. Because I will find you, you know. The way you talked yesterday makes me think you’ve only told me half the story, and I want the whole thing."

Homura knew better. If she truly wanted to leave, avoiding Sayaka would be as easy as avoiding Mami has been. But honestly? This loop was already a mess. She couldn't bring herself to care anymore.

If Sayaka wanted to hear everything, then that would be fine. She would tell her.

The chances of Sayaka believing it all were slim at best.

She didn’t dare acknowledge the small, quiet part of herself—her old self—that was happy to have Sayaka listening and believing her, even for a moment.

So instead, she just shook her head.

"I won’t go anywhere. If you really want to hear it all, I’ll tell you. But I warn you, half of it isn’t pleasant, and the other half is unbelievable."

Sayaka finally loosened her grip and let go of Homura’s arm. When Homura didn’t immediately vanish, she nodded and headed toward the door.

"My parents are out all weekend, so I’m going to make breakfast for both of us. And then, you’re going to tell me everything. Okay?"

****

Over breakfast, Homura gave Sayaka the short version of her story.

She told her about her original wish to protect Madoka.

About her repeated failures. About her realization of what Witches truly were. About how she had tried to explain the truth to their group, only to be ignored and dismissed.  And about her final promise to Madoka: to stop Kyubey from tricking her into becoming a Magical Girl, no matter what.

She left out most of the details about Sayaka and Mami. They weren’t necessary.

When she finished, Sayaka looked at her with apprehension.

"Damn. That’s… a way more impressive story than I expected, even when I'm sure you have let plenty out, but there’s one thing I don’t get. Madoka has been making all kinds of plans with me to get your attention. Why do you keep rejecting her?"

Homura flinched, but she managed to contain a blush. Her face remained blank.

"Have you confessed to Kyosuke yet?" she countered. "You almost always wish to heal his hand, but you seldom confess to him."

Sayaka’s eyes widened slightly before she groaned. "Okay, okay, you got me there."

She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, thinking momentarily.

"Alright, then this is what we’re going to do," she said decisively. "First, we’re going Witch hunting to replenish our Grief Seeds. Then, I’m going to tell Kyosuke how I feel."

She smirked.

"And when we find Madoka, you will apologize and tell her how you feel. Deal?"

Homura nodded. Sayaka was truly dumb, but she could work with this. For this loop.

"Okay. If you confess to Kyosuke and we find Madoka. I’ll apologize and tell her how I feel."

Sayaka grinned. "Good."

Then her eyes sparkled with something sharper, something more militant and dangerous.

"Are you still hunting Kyubey? Because I’d love to help with that," she said, a grin creeping onto her face. "Maybe we can stop him from tricking other girls, too."

Homura studied her carefully, trying to gauge her true mindset. She remained silent for a long moment before finally nodding.

Madoka woke up, embracing an unfamiliar plushie and hearing the song of strange birds. The house around her was too still, and the ceiling was a different colour than she expected. The air was colder as well. Her heart skipped for a moment, waking her completely, before she remembered. She wasn't home but abroad at Claire's house.

She sat down in the unfamiliar bedroom and opened the drawer in her bedside table, taking out her taser. Madoka tested it, and once she was convinced it was working, she slowly approached the window curtains, opening them with a big movement.

Outside, it was sunny, and the birds were singing. No Creatures were lying around. Madoka exhaled, realising just then that she had been holding her breath, and slumped back against the pillows.

For the first time before arriving, sleep had come easily. Her body was slowly but surely adapting to the new time zone and her new responsibilities. With a smile, she got out of bed, went to the wardrobe, and chose some warm clothes to wear for the day.

They were going to have lunch at Amelia's house today. Her aunt would work most of the day, so they would have the house for themselves, and she could see the crack first-hand.

The house sat near the edge of town, a little more distant than the others, though “far” was a relative term. It took her less time to reach it than her usual walk to school. 

Madoka stopped at the gate, her breath catching slightly. The house rose before her, a captivating red-brick façade with Ivy clunging lazily to the sides, like something out of a storybook. A sprawling, mostly wild garden surrounded the property. Madoka could not avoid a sigh. Her dad would love to have this kind of garden for his tomatoes.

As Madoka stepped inside, the scent of old wood and the same kind of tea they'd had for breakfast filled her senses, telling her a tale about how old this house was. Beneath that, there was something else—something that clung to the air like static before a storm. Madoka shifted, trying to shake it, and she began to remove her shoes out of habit before remembering that it wasn’t customary in Leadworth—or at least not in the homes she’d visited so far.

Amelia ushered them through a narrow doorway into the kitchen, and Madoka gasped. The kitchen was smaller than her own back home, but the wooden cabinets, gas stove, and old wooden dining table gave it a grand vintage air, like it belonged to a fairy tale castle. Her eyes darted to every old kitchen implement to the next. She wanted to ask questions, but Amelia had started to brew tea, and maybe this fairy tale aesthetic was normal here. She could ask later, or another day... if they had time. Their current mission was more important. After everyone chose a cup and filled it with warm tea, they moved to the second floor, where Amelia's room was located.

As they climbed, the strange feeling Madoka had sensed earlier intensified. Her legs grew heavier with every step. Even when she could not identify the sensation, or maybe because she could not do it, a chill crept up her spine and wrapped around her shoulders. She still kept going, step after step, with her eyes set on her destination and very careful to wear a neutral face. But despite her best effort, they stopped upon reaching the top floor, and Madoka found all eyes on her.

"Can you feel it, Madoka?" asked Claire gently. "Every loop hits hard the first time, but it fades with each visit afterwards."

"Oh, so it’s not just me? I wasn't sure if it was just me, since I'm new to this."

"Please,” Melodie chimed in, already halfway across the landing. “There’s barely anything to feel here. Wait until you visit Elena. Now that place gives you real chills. Just stepping into that abandoned city, you know that some serious cowboys lie at its core. Though, to be fair, when I managed to drag her here, Elena said this place was worse than her lovely city." She shrugged.

As they approached the room, Madoka could clearly hear the wood creaking under her feet. Her toes tingled with sudden cold, and a bolt of energy surged through her fingers, ending in a sharp shiver down her spine. She reached out and grabbed Claire’s hand, letting herself be pulled forward, her eyes fixed on the half-open bedroom door.

She was a brave investigator now, after all.

Inside, the room was... anticlimactic. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it looked like a normal bedroom, more or less the same size as hers. A window was shining plenty of light inside. A cosy bed, with a cover showing a fairy forest, was positioned near the door, and a desk cluttered with maps and trinkets sat beneath a wooden window. Everything looked normal until she looked right, beyond the bed. A dusty cupboard hung lonely on the wall, which was split by a large, jagged crack.

The flash of light and the sudden roar of extremely close thunder shook Madoka. Her eyes went wide open. This was the first sunny day since she arrived in England. Had the day turned sour already? She blinked and looked at the window. It was sunny. She blinked again and got closer to the windows. There were no clouds in the sky. She alternated looks between the window and the rest of the girls for a few seconds, until she managed to ask in a small voice.

"Did someone else hear thunder right now?"

Amelia looked at her with keen interest "Bigger on the inside, indeed, " she mumbled half to herself.

Claire stepped up beside her, putting her hand on her shoulder. “Did you hear it when you looked at the crack, Madoka?”

Madoka blushed. She looked back outside, where the weather was still stubbornly sunny. Melodie took a small spinner from the desk and got herself comfortable in the bed while spinning the device, looking amusingly at everyone.

"First thing, first, " she heard Amelia say. "I told you that crack wasn’t normal. According to the Doctor, the crack isn’t in the wall at all. It’s in the skin of the universe. A time explosion fused two completely different places in time and space. This means there is another place beyond the crack, which could be anywhere and anytime in the universe. There is a very good possibility that the storm you heard is beyond the crack"

Madoka’s attention snapped away from the window, locking onto Amelia. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but could not find the right words, so she closed it again. The second attempt went a bit better, though her voice wavered. She shivered and touched her clothes. They were dry even when they felt damp and stuck to her skin.

"Did you hear it at any point? Did any of you hear anything from the other side of the crack?"

“I did,” Amelia said. “A few times, when I was very young. Just before my imaginary friend started to appear, but it wasn’t a storm I heard. It was... a prison. Or a place that held prisoners. A voice kept repeating, ‘Prisoner Zero has escaped.’”

Madoka’s eyes widened. "When you say, Prisoner Zero, you mean..."

“Yes,” Amelia nodded. “Exactly that. Let me finish—I promise this will make sense.” She gave Madoka one of her bright smiles, but Madoka noticed it did not reach her eyes.

"So, I keep hearing these voices every night. I was 6 years old, and going to my bedroom every night was an ordeal. I tried telling my aunt. She thought it was just my imagination, so one night, I asked Santa Claus for help because I was six, and this made perfect sense in my head. I spent about an hour praying to Santa desperately to help me with the problem. Then, I heard something outside. I went into the garden to investigate in my dressing gown. It was late at night, way after my bedtime, and I was armed only with a torchlight. I didn’t find anything, though. Just empty darkness"

She paused, her gaze drifting to the crack and sighed.

"Disappointed, I got back to my room...  and there he was. Standing there. Looking at the crack. My imaginary friend. The first thing he told me was what I just told you, that the crack wasn’t in the wall. It was in reality itself."

Amelia took another deep breath.

"Of course, I tried to ask him who he was and what he was doing in my bedroom, but he did not seem to listen to me. Finally, I reached out to touch his sleeve, and my hand passed right through him. He disappeared right after that. But the voices stopped. And the crack stayed quiet... until today"

Madoka glances between the redhead speaking and the Crack when Amelia turns back toward her.

"But back to my imaginary friend. After a while, I started to get the hang of how he worked. He’s like a character in a point-and-click game. If I look at something noteworthy, he will give one of two lines of information about it"

"You said something about being 'bigger on the inside', before", Madoka said slowly, a little bit of uncertainty hanging in her voice. "Was that something he told you? Was it about me?"

"Indeed, yesterday, after you came back from your chat with Zero, he told me that even when most humans are bigger on the inside, that is what makes us interesting. You were bigger than a regular human"

Madoka shivered again "Is that... a bad thing, you think?"

"Nah, I just make you even more interesting than a regular human, girl", Melody offered, still on the bed, looking at her with intense interest. "It means you will probably have a more interesting life too, but hey, who wants to have a boring, regular life, eh? Especially when you get to hang out with us and travel abroad in first class, as an alternative"

Amelia smiled gently and got closer to the window to touch Madoka's face.

"Are you cold, Madoka? I'm sorry that our lovely country is colder than your city. But I can put the heating on, or we can start the fireplace, and we can sit down comfortably downstairs, if you fancy it"

"You got an actual fireplace? Like the kind you put wood in?”

“Exactly,” Amelia said with a grin. “It’s been a while since I’ve used it, but it should still work, if you want to see it in action"

"If it isn't too much work, I would like to see it, yes"

"Ok, Claire, pick the plans. I think we are going to continue this conversation in the living room. It will have more space for us all to sit down than my room. Melodie, please bring some firewood from the back room"

Claire and Amelia started to pick up several maps and gizmos from around the room, gave some to Madoka to carry, and led the way downstairs towards the main living room.

Once downstairs, Claire and Melodie laid the maps on the vast living room table in the middle of the room. Meanwhile, Amelia started teaching Madoka to place the wood in the fireplace and ignite it. After a few attempts, a roaring fire illuminated the living room. They all collected some of the mismatched sofas and were sitting comfortably.

After leaving the bedroom, Madoka's shivering stopped, and her dry clothes started to behave like dry clothes again. It might have been leaving that bedroom or the effort to start the fireplace, which was far more exhausting than she’d expected. She silently thanked modern heating for its convenience.

It had been almost a week since she left home. She hoped her parents were not worrying too much about her, hoped that everyone was alright, and especially hoped that Sayaka was doing better than last time, under Homura's tutelage.

She shook her head and focused on the now-refilled teacup in front of her. Claire had already served lunch, a warm pie, and Madoka helped herself as Amelia began to speak again. She was here to learn about her mission, not to reminisce about home.

"I think it's time to continue my history. I will include this resume in your diary, Madoka, which the others already have. So don't worry about resuming it later, okay?"

"Ohh, ok. I will have that on mind"

"Well, after I figured out how my friend worked, I shared it with Melody"

"I was so jealous. Why did my bestie get a hottie, giving her clues about the universe? But hey, I suppose that would mean I don't need them. I'm a natural." Interrupted Melody, which prompted a pillow flying across the room, aimed expertly by Amelia. Claire just rolled her eyes.

"I share it with Melody," repeated Amelia with an elevated voice. "I tried telling others too, which prompted my aunt to organise several visits to a few different psychologists, until I learned my lesson and I stopped sharing this information with them. All the remarks I was given were interesting on some level, especially in museums, but they did nothing apart from making me feel special. Until the first time I saw Zero."

Her voice grew softer.

"I think I was around your age, Madoka, or maybe a little younger. In any case, He just... appeared in front of me. And what followed was my most intense experience to this day: The world went silent, like someone had muted it. The normal sounds were replaced with a deep, resonant gong, like the tolling of an ancient cathedral bell, but deeper. Full of both meaning and inevitability. It sounded 3 times and each of those tolls lingered in the air for what felt like an impossible amount of time, fading out as if they were dissolving into the fabric of reality itself. After the last one was gone, a white flash enveloped the creature, which transformed into the big and full of teeth serpent you have in your drawings, and again, I heard the words: Prisoner Zero has escaped."

She looked down, through her cup and took her time drinking from it.

"I don’t remember much else from that day. I just ran, faster than I had ever run."

"I found her in her room, in bed under three sets of blankets and so pale that I swore, I thought she had died and was being replaced by her ghost. It took significant coaxing to get her out of the bed and a fortune on ice-cream to get the history out of her", Melody added. 

Madoka has been enraptured by the history, almost as if in a trance. Melody's voice shook her out of that state, so she asked

"So that's why you call the Zero. Do you have any idea what they are? Do you think they are escaped prisoners from somewhere? Didn't your imaginary friend tell you anything?"

"That is why I call them Zero", answered Amelia, looking back at her. "But regarding the rest, we don't have anything clear. After I recovered from the shock, we followed and investigated them a little, but we found nothing clear. They appeared before girls around your age. If they linger with it for too long, they would end up disappearing somehow. After Elena got involved, we got some more information. And of course, your friend gave us the last piece of the puzzle when she told you. Regarding my friend, he told me that they were one creature masquerading as many. Clever old multiform, he calls it. But unfortunately, that doesn't help us with anything else"

Amelia turns her gaze away from her face towards her teacup again, now empty. Her face drops, and she suddenly looks old. Old, lost, and very tired. Her eyes look absently towards the table. Like the house, the table is way too big to serve just two people. Her smile fades as well.

Madoka looks at Claire quizzically, but Claire seems as confused as Madoka about the change. Before she decides what to do about the situation, Melody steps in and bumps her shoulder with Amelia's. The change is instantaneous, and Amelia's face brightens. Her eyes recover their light, and she smiles broadly towards the rest.

"But I'm sure that we are bound to discover more clues regarding how Zero fits with the cracks in your city, Madoka. It's not by chance that he seems to be so interested in you. So, once we get everything in place, and we can investigate your city safely, I'm sure many of these questions will be answered"

The conversation turned jovial at that point. Clues and tasks they had taken in the other anomalies they discovered. All the delicate tapestry of information, that like a puzzle would reveal a bigger picture, once all the pieces were assembled. They laughed about jokes and consumed even more tea, this time with pastries.

"Well, I think that was enough work for today. Claire, why don't you take Madoka home? I will help Amelia clean up over here, and we will join in later for dinner." Melody's words made it a suggestion, but her tone of voice was closer to an order than anything else.

*******

After the sleepover at Sayaka's, Homura was waiting. She kept busy with Sayaka, which wasn't as hard as usual. The girl's unusual behaviour towards her had continued. Still Sayaka Miki. Still infuriating in a thousand small ways. Like how she remains convinced the police would find Madoka, even when it has been more than two weeks since she vanished. Homura has not told her about what statistics say, the police will find, if anything, after a week. She hadn’t told her that she’d been quietly monitoring the investigation and that they had nothing. No clues. No new leads. Not even a direction to follow.

She rolls her eyes and waits. 

She feels guilty for allowing herself to enjoy her company, to enjoy her annoying white knight complex focused on her, instead of continuing to search for Madoka. She should be out searching. She should be doing more. But the truth is, she has already combed the area several times and found nothing. No signs, no magic and no leads. So, she stays with Sayaka and tries to put more care into protecting her and prolonging her life until the end of the loop, if possible.

She also considered ignoring Mami. Ignoring the fate she knows the sweets witch has in store for her. But the weight of her continued failure, combined with Sayaka’s constant, irritating presence, makes it difficult for her. It makes it difficult to silence the old part of herself, the one weak enough to care for anyone who is not Madoka.

Not that it mattered. Without Madoka, this loop was already meaningless.

So she warns Sayaka about Mami. Tell her the witch they were about to face was more dangerous than anything they'd encountered so far.

Sayaka gives her a look and rolls her eyes.

There would probably be another argument later. Sayaka would call it “her lack of details” again.

The same routine played out every time she revealed something new to Sayaka Miki. Sayaka would roll her eyes, wait until they were alone, and then question why she keeps keeping secrets from her. Why has she not revealed every failure she has made since this started?

To be fair, Homura didn't really mind those discussions. Sayaka became her more usual mistrustful self—sharper and more guarded—and that helped Homura stay focused. To remind her that her company is temporary. 

But it’s her behaviour afterwards that puzzles Homura. Sayaka clings to her. She asks for more training, begs to hunt another witch, or insists on staying the night. She brings her dinner without asking, sometimes even breakfast the next morning.  She will probably need to deal with it later that night, but right now they have a witch to hunt. 

With a last look at the annoying girl, she breaches the labyrinth. They are greeted by the other magical girl, the one they were looking for, Tommoe Mami, or more precisely, by her muskets.

“I thought we had a deal to stay out of each other's way, " the girl said coldly. Her eyes locked into Homura's, with raised brows and shoulders so tense they might have snapped if she were a normal girl.

“We did, but this witch looks more dangerous than any other. It would be more sensible to take it together or to leave it to us,” Homura replied, meeting her gaze with practised indifference.

“I think you are overestimating your abilities, you two are newbies after all”

“Homura is not a newbie,” Sayaka interjected sharply, stepping forward with her sword raised, placing herself between the two girls.

“Sayaka, quiet”, Homura snapped through their mental link. “Some things don't need to be spelt out”

She returned her focus to Mami, voice even and cool. “We’re hunting this witch. You’re welcome to assist, if you wish. Sayaka needs the experience.”

She used the distraction to point towards Sayaka, positioning herself ahead of the blue-haired girl and getting her hand ready to freeze time without raising suspicion; if she was not fast enough to do it before Mami Tomoe attacked her with her ribbons, she knew by experience that she wouldn't be able to help.

But to her surprise, Mami didn’t attack. Instead, the blonde’s eyes lingered on Sayaka a moment longer. Then she slowly lowered her weapon.

"Of course, it's natural you want to train your protégé. Maybe we can hunt this witch together after all.“

It was difficult not to trigger some of Mami's insecurities, which is why she prefers to stay out of her way, but in this particular case, Homura was not going to question it. They would hunt the witch and get out of her way.

Twenty minutes later, the witch was the only one dead. Homura used her abilities after it triggered her second phase, which would normally kill Mami Tomoe, to get her out of the way and with Sayaka's assistance, she destroyed the witch. Now, they will need to endure her gratitude.

"I must say that I'm grateful we hunted the witch together. I'm unsure what would have happened if I were alone this time. I'm sorry I called you a newbie before, you are clearly very experienced" Mami looked at Sayaka "And she is clearly lucky to have you teaching her the ropes, something not very usual for magical girls these days"

Homura braced herself for what was to come. Mami Tomoe had decided she was a worthy colleague and would want to ingratiate herself with them. Something that would be too dangerous to allow.

"So, how about we share this grief seed, and I invite you to have tea at my house to apologise for my rudeness before?"

She would have rejected even the grief seed if she were alone, but she wasn't. So she would take it and hope it didn't encourage Mami into anything else.  

"Sayaka, how is your soul gem looking?" she asked, using their mental link. There was no need to give Mami Tomoe more ammunition.

"It's not too bad, and I still have my spare; you have used more magic, so it's probably better if you take it. I would be ok, if we hunt something else tomorrow", Sayaka answered using the same link

"Since we hunt the witch together, it's just fair we share the reward, but I'm afraid I must decline your offer for tea", Homura says aloud, looking at the blonde girl.

They were getting ready to part ways when an incubator approached them. She could see Sayaka immediately switch to a battle stance, her sword pointed towards it. Of course, the incubator sat on Mami's shoulder, using her as a human shield.

"I don't understand why you two are so violent towards me. I have not done anything to you but grant your wishes"

Sayaka advanced towards it, and Mami adopted a battle stance as well. Homura took her arm and stopped her "It's not worth it, Sayaka. Let's go home. We can take care of it later"

Kyubey switched her head towards Homura, before speaking again

"You know, Madoka didn't seem to care when it told her her disappearance had caused you great distress"

Homura's eyes flashed for a moment. Of course, the hideous creature knew where Madoka was, and she was at their mercy, without her protection. But it was Sayaka, the one who spoke first.

"You know where Madoka is?"

"Of course, it's not like someone with that amount of potential can hide from me", even when the answer was for Sayaka, Kyubey's gaze kept focused on Homura.

"I'm not sure what your problem with Kyubey is, but maybe this is an opportunity to reach an understanding. Maybe if you drop your hostility towards him, Kyubey can tell you where your friend is, and that would be an amenable ending for us all" The blonde girl tries to mediate and diffuse the situation

"Of course, Mami-san. I would not have any problem reaching such an agreement"

Homura turned away, grabbing Sayaka's arm with one hand, probably with more force than necessary, and swept her hair with a flair with the other, getting ready to leave.

"Madoka also said, before I lost the ability to speak with her, that she trusted you to help in this situation and any other that may arise. That you and Sayaka would become an unstoppable force"

Homura knew this was a provocation, but she could not and did not want to stop herself. With a tug of her shield, she stopped time, shot the incubator, and took Sayaka away before resuming it. Then, she breathed slow and controlled breaths.

"There is school tomorrow, but my parents are out again. Why don't we pick up your things and stay at my house again tonight?"                                                                                             

Yes. Sayaka was becoming more annoying each day. But she nodded; after such provocation, she wanted to keep an eye on her.

After arriving at Claire's home, Madoka smiled politely as she listened to the sound of a fast, barely comprehensible English conversation between Marge and Claire. She resisted the urge to bow politely to Marge and followed Claire to her room, where she got in the small shower room there.

She missed being able to submerge herself in hot water, as she would do at home. The shower's hot water was not bad, but it didn't give her enough time to process the day's events.

There was a big bath downstairs, the main bathroom. She had seen it during the house tour when they arrived. Marge had told her she was free to use it whenever she liked. But a single look at it made her feel like she was intruding. It was a big, but it wasn’t the size that unsettled her; her bathroom back home was probably bigger. It was the perfection of its layout which made her feel like she was doing something wrong by disturbing it. Everything had a place, and everything should stay where it was. Even their towels had a small pocket next to them with dry flowers inside. It reminded her of the glossy pages of the décor magazines she used to flip through while waiting at the dentist’s office. Too still to be real.

So when Claire asked if she wanted to use her bathroom instead, as it would be closer to her bedroom, she accepted it without thinking twice.

With a sigh, Madoka turned off the water, and wrapped herself in a huge towels. Once she was dry enough, she put on her fluffy pink pyjamas and stepped back to Claire's room.

Claire was seated at her desk, sketching. The drawing showed the four of them sitting around the fireplace in Amelia’s living room. She looked up from the drawing with a proud smile.

"What do you think? It is still a work in progress, but I think it will be a nice memento of today."

"That is such a nice drawing,” Madoka said, leaning in. “I can almost feel the warm ambience of the fireplace on it"

"Thanks, Madoka, you are a really sweet girl and a natural at giving compliments.” Claire’s grin widened. “So, in return... how does my temporary little sis feel about me doing her hair? I can make it look as good as the first day you got this new style”

Madoka nodded and sat down in the chair the older girl brought her. She had also learned to style her hair a little, but she only knew how to do a few styles, and none of them applied to her current, shorter hair. Back home, when she had time,  her mother would sometimes do her hair too, even though that was an occurrence that became rarer each year, as her mother's time decreased. So she let herself fall into Claire's hands, relaxing under the careful brush strokes. She closed her eyes and her thoughts began to drift.

She knew so little about Claire. She was being so kind to her, but how had she learned to do people's hair like this? Had she once had a younger sister? Or had her mother taught her? If she did have a little sister... had something happened to her?

Where were Claire's parents?  

She wanted to learn more about Claire, but would asking those questions directly be too intrusive? It would be if she were Japanese, but she wasn't, and she might be hurting.

"Am I hurting you?" Claire asked suddenly. "You are shifting quite a little bit."

"What?" Madoka opened her eyes and glanced up. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise I was moving around that much. It feels different from how my mum does it, but still lovely. I will try to keep still now"

"What's the problem then. Do you miss your parents? Are you worried about home?"

Madoka’s fingers toyed with the sash on her pyjamas, lowering her head. 

"No, I'm sorry... I know they will be alright. I was thinking about this journey and how kind you are to me. I don't really want to be rude. I'm sorry... I have moved again. I will stay still now."

Claire stopped doing Madoka's hair, turned around the chair, and used her hand to raise Madoka's head so their eyes met.

"Rude? I can't believe you are capable of doing such a thing, but why don't you ask, whatever has put you in such a mood, and I will tell you if it's rude or not."

Madoka could feel a wave of hot embarrassment travelling through her spine, transforming itself into prickling heat and nervous sweat. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again, ready to jump directly into the question that bothered her the most.

“Why is Marge the one looking after you? Are your parents...still with us?”

"See, that is a normal question and not rude at all. My parents are fine; They are very busy individuals who don't have a lot of reasons to stop much in the house, since I am now old enough to take care of myself. My father is a big shark in the London economic sphere, mostly living there. My mother is a theatre actress. This is her family's house, and most of the stuff inside is hers. She’s on a UK tour right now. If Marge is busy, they usually pay someone to take care of the house and me.“

“Oh, my mum is an important business woman too, she is normally swamped, coming home late every day”

Claire let go of Madoka's head and diverted her gaze toward the windows, her smile faded a little “Yeah, that's how it is. Is your father a businessman, as well?”

“Not really, He is a chef. But instead, he stays home, takes care of the house and our little garden. He looks after me and my little brother. And my mum, when she drinks too much at her work events.”

The older girl met her eyes again. Her smile was gone, and she had a dreamy expression “That's very sweet. You love them a lot, don't you?”

“Yeah, I do. I hope they are not too worried about me.” She hesitated. “Would your dad come to see you on the weekend?”

Claire stood up and went back behind the chair to continue working on styling her hair. Her tone was normalised to a point that was clearly forced.

"He has promised he would do it for the last month, but he also wants to see some of my mother's performances and work emergencies keep popping up, stopping him from getting enough time to do both."

Slightly shaking hands made the brush travel unevenly and roughly through Madoka's hair.

Claire hasn't seen her parents in the last month, the month that has been repeating itself for so long...

Madoka let her finish without saying anything more. But when Claire set the brush down, she turned and hugged her. Claire stiffened for just a second, then hugged her back.

“Madoka, you are a wonderful kid and have a wonderful family. If we could tell them, they would be proud of how nice and brave you are.”

“Yeah,” Madoka said softly. “I think they would. And... I think your mum and dad would be too. I’m pretty sure they miss you—a lot.”

“That's very kind of you to say, and I'm sure they do, when they have time for it."

She stepped back and gestured to Madoka’s hair.

"But that's enough of this, your hair is as good as new now. So let's get ready for dinner with the rest. We need to be ready for the video call with Elena later on”

*******

After stopping time—for the third time in a row—to get Sayaka out of the way of a potentially lethal situation, Homura detonated several rounds of explosives to ensure putting an end to their current hunt and turned to scowl at her companion.

"You need to pay more attention when we are hunting, unless you want to end up like them."

Sayaka rolls her eyes, but gives her an otherwise empty look. She recognises that particular look. And It feels worse than a gunshot perforating her stomach. She pushes back against the bile and forces her heart rate to slow down. No. She will stomp this with as much force as she needs to apply. 

So instead, she chooses to glare at her companion for a long second. Then she takes Sayaka's arm, twists it behind her back, and stamps her against the nearby wall, pinning her there, forcing their eyes to meet and grilling her with her most intense stare. 

Sayaka Miki was not going to give her this shit, not this loop.

"Don't you dare to give me that attitude, Sayaka Miki. I have trained you better than to get distracted in the middle of a hunt"

Still the same look, not wiry return or even complains about the fact that she was pinning her against a fucking wall. Homura concentrates on keeping her breathing even, her heart rate steady, her stare fixed on stupid Sayaka Miki's empty eyes. And to ignore the searing pain in her stomach. She is about to let her go when she finally speaks.

“...Did you know about Hitomi?”

Of course. She could have confessed when she told her she was going to, but of fucking course, she did not. And now she has been given the deadline. Homura doesn't let her continue.

“Yes, Shizuki always give you a deadline, if you fail to comply, she will declare and yes, if she declares, they will start dating” 

“Then how is our situation the same? Madoka has been actively chasing you. She did not care that you are a magical girl. I can't even tell Kyōsuke that.”

Homura let go of her arm, but didn't back away. She kept her pin and raised a brow.

"So you don’t plan to confess first? That was our agreement."

“You are withholding things. You are being difficult. On purpose”

At least, she was fighting now. Sayaka being angry at her is usual, familiar, and it's better than her being dead... or worse. She just needs to keep her there. To make her recover her focus again.

“That detail would have been irrelevant if you had proposed when you said you would. You didn't need it back then, it's a waste of time to explain every inconsequential detail”

"A waste of time? Is there anything else going through your mind which is not Madoka? How is the fact that my best friend is in love with the same boy as me an inconsequential detail?

That part stung, maybe because it is true. But Homura hadn't known Shizuki that much on those timelines when she still cared for all of them, and now she doesn't even have the energy to try. Shizuki had always been peripheral.

"It was back then, there was a good chance that you had never found out if you declared to him when you promised me you were going to"

"What the heck is wrong with you? When exactly did you lose the ability to care about those surrounding you?" Sayaka swallowed hard, her voice dropping to almost a whisper, "Hitomi is my best friend, and I'm not going to be exactly the best girlfriend material, so how can I do this to him? Or to her?"

Homura relaxes her death grip on the girl in front of her, lowering her gaze. Her muscles are suddenly weak, and a growing numbness is replacing her searing pain in the stomach. She had never known how to deal with this particular brand of Sayaka, and this time was not going to be an exception. How silly of her to think she could achieve a different ending, especially in this failure of a loop.

"You have already sold your soul for him. Is he really worth your life, too?"

The silence stretches between them. Homura can't bring herself to look up again, to confront yet another failure. Would it have made a difference if she had made Sayaka hold her side of the deal instead of letting it slide? Probably not. There is really nothing she can think about doing anymore, so she lets the girl go. Since she doesn't see her blue hair entering her vision, she assumes she is at least holding her own weight.

She turns around; staying longer would be pointless.

"You should take the grief seed. I'm going home" 

A worthless offer, probably. She should keep it for herself instead.

"Isn't it silly to offer it to me if you think I'm going to die?"

Homura stops on her tracks, with probably more hope than is healthy for her to have at this point. Her stomach still feels hollow, but some sensation is returning to her fingers. She does not turn around.

"Maybe it is. But if it's not, you will need it more than I do. I am going to do a last errand before going home. You are welcome to come, if you wish to."

She starts walking without waiting for an answer. She can't afford to turn around; her soul gem is already darkening enough without seeing that expression again. She focuses on the street ahead of her and the different magical signatures in the city, tracking the magical girl she is looking for. 

Maybe she should have tried to contact Kyoko sooner; after all, she was the one who always managed to keep Sayaka stable the longest. But since this loop didn't matter anyway, she didn't want to involve anyone else in her mess.

No, that was a lie. She had been trying to put them both in a bubble, just her and Sayaka, hoping she could keep reality at bay for two more weeks. That's why she didn't push Sayaka into their agreement either. But she was useless even at that.

"Where are we going?"

The voice startled her, almost normal. She still does not turn around, but slows down.

"Edge of town. We are going to meet a magical girl there"

"I'm hungry, can we stop somewhere to eat on the way. I'll pay"

Sayaka mentioning dinner is a good thing. That's her reaction every time they argue. She buys her dinner or breakfast and insists on a sleepover, but Homura still can't force herself to look at her. She can't let herself feel anything but the magic she is tracking.

"It will be better to eat after we meet with her. She likes food—especially free food—so it's the best way to bribe her into any collaboration"

"I thought you didn't want me to interact with other magical girls. What has changed?"

What has changed? She has the nerve to ask that question. Of course she does—stupid girl.

"I didn't want you to interact with Mami Tomoe. This girl is different"

She feels a hand sliding into hers and freezes. The hand is warm at contact and applies enough force for her to suspect that the crisis might be over. At least for tonight. She still does not look back.

"I should never have said you didn't care. It is clear that you do."

What a twist of fate that she has to be grateful for Sayaka Miki's supremely stupid, self-destructive saviour complex, the very thing that gets both her and Madoka contracted and makes them witch out nine out of ten times. What an irony that in one of the timelines where she has failed Madoka the most, her knight has decided to pledge herself to her instead of hating her, as usual.

Her stomach knots over again. She shoves those thoughts aside and continues to focus on Kyoto Sakura.

"We should keep moving, or we are going to lose her. This girl likes two things: eating and fighting. So you should make yourself ready for a fight."

Her voice stays flat; at least she can still keep her mask on. She pauses and dares to discreetly peek in the other girl's direction. She can't see her eyes without turning completely, as Sayaka is not looking in her direction, but her shoulders are no longer slumped, her breathing is fast, and the hand she is not using to hold her is moving erratically. She exhales deeply and turns completely to face her "You were right that I didn't consider Shizuki when I decided not to tell you about this. She had always been peripheral to the group. So no, I don't care about her feelings."

Their eyes meet for a second, and Sayaka nods. Homura feels her hand being squished one last time before Sayaka lets it go. She resumes her march towards her target, with Sayaka in tow.

"I assume this girl is also from the original group you briefly told me about. Is there anything I should know about her?"

"Like I said, she likes to eat and fight. She doesn't mince words. But she can be a great ally if we convince her to help"

"In other words, you think she will be a good influence for me and stop what happened tonight from happening again."

Homura doesn't answer. She let her silence speak for her and continued onwards. For once, Sayaka doesn't push for more. She doesn't know how to feel about it, but the girl is still following her. After ten more minutes of silent patrol, she notices a change in the signature they are following. It is now heading in their direction, which means they have been noticed. She stops and flares her magic for a moment.

"Why are we stopping?"

"We’ve been noticed. We’ll wait here. It’s a courtesy."

"But this is our territory, isn't it? Why do we need to show her courtesy?"

"We want to make her our ally, not our enemy. Also, this is technically Mami Tomoe's territory—her previous partner—we just have an arrangement to stay out of each other's ways.

************

A few more days passed in a similar rhythm. Madoka spent her time with Claire and Amelia, plotting over maps and raw data, planning their upcoming road trip north—the longer of the two journeys they'd mapped out to visit the remaining cracks in the UK.

This country has three different cracks: the one in Amelia’s room, a second at a nearby Neolithic monument called Stonehenge, and a third far to the north, on an island. There was even a fourth crack in the neighbouring country of Norway that they’d considered visiting. Unfortunately, the crack was on a beach in the middle of nowhere, and there was no regular ferry between Northumbria, where the island they were visiting was located, and Norway anymore. To Madoka's disappointment, that part of the journey was cancelled in the planning phase.

Instead, they were going to spend that time on the island where the third crack was located. It was a place called Lindisfarne, which used to be a monastery. It was not a regular island. Instead, it became one depending on the tiles. So it can be accessed normally by car at certain times of the day. She was also excited about the star gazing. Amelia promised her that, on a clear night, she’d see the Milky Way with her own eyes. A rare privilege, especially for someone who had lived her whole life in the glow of city lights.

There were other cracks around the world, like Elena's, in the abandoned city in Argentina.

From time to time, she would look around and catch a glimpse of the Creature, the dammed thing still stalking her but keeping its distance, at least for now, like it was waiting for something to happen. Every time this happens, she remembers her friends and her home. And she grounds herself by wrapping her hand around her taser until her heart stops being constrained by her ribcage and her breathing normalises.

They had a short day trip to Stonehenge to visit the second crack. After the experience in Amelia's room, Madoka spends the whole journey fidgeting with her clothes and her new lucky ring, eating more snacks than she feels she should and trying to engage in increasingly sillier conversations. The other girls indulge her, giving her things to talk about. Claire explains how the beauty of the place made her start painting while visiting it for the first time. Melodie tells jokes while she drives, and Amelia takes her hand during those moments when the conversation dies down and her breath accelerates.

But all of that dissolved the moment they arrived.

Thanks to Melody’s planning, they had special permission to access a partially hidden room beneath the main monument, where the crack was located. It had been discovered only two decades ago and was still being carefully excavated to avoid disturbing the structure above. They descended via temporary staircases, like the kind used at construction sites.

She feels her heart beating faster while descending, but nothing else. There is no dread, no strange emotions, no numbness in her toes or fingers—nothing at all. It's like the crack is dead or a completely normal crack in stone.

She let out a big breath and looks apologetically at the other three girls, who had indulged her stupid anxiety while getting here. Why is her heart still beating so fast when she can't feel a thing coming from the crack? Amelia moves forward, putting her hand on Madoka's shoulder.

"Nothing this time, Madoka?" 

Madoka shakes her head and looks back at the crack. What was she expecting exactly? Why was she expecting something? She moves closer to the wall, touches the fine line created by the crack, and closes her eyes. Still nothing; the place is quiet. What was the point of all that fussing on the way here if the place is dead? Why is she fussing about it now?

"Hey girl, don't fuss about it. This place is dead; none of us even had the slightest feeling when coming here. It stands to reason that if one crack is in a place like Leadworth, others could be in similar places. So cracks connected to less-than-stellar places will be less interesting to those who aren't"

Madoka open her eyes and stares at Melody. Of course, she was right. And even if she wasn’t, there is no reason for a regular girl like her would necessarily pick up anything, even if she is bigger on the inside, whatever that means, she has never been special. So there is no real reason for that to change now, just because she is playing at being an investigator.

She turns around from the crack, swallows hard and tries to smile. Before her small smile can finish, she feels herself enveloped by Claire's arms while Amelia ruffles her hair with warm fingers.

"You don't need to push yourself so hard. Your reaction to the crack in my bedroom was a surprise, and it was probably an outlier. It is normal that you were nervous to visit another one, but it is not only okay but also a good thing that you didn't react as viscerally as you did before."

Of course, everyone has noticed, just like they did in the car.

She gently pulls herself out of Claire's arms and takes a small step back. The wall is still behind her, so she does not have much space to retreat into. The older girl stops her from lowering her face, connecting with her eyes before speaking as well.

"It's also ok for you to be disappointed about nothing happening," she said softly. "You came a long way to see this for yourself. When nothing happens, it is anticlimactic. But that's adventuring for you, long stretches of boring nothing punctuated by intense dramatic moments"

Behind Claire's face. Melody's sudden movements caught Madoka's eye. The third girl was showing them their phone.

"There is a place near here that serves excellent cakes with their high tea." she said with half a smirk "We should try it before coming back. Their pictures look delicious, at least, take a look at this beautiful strawberry cake"

Madoka blinked, her attention drawn like a moth to flame. She untangled herself from Claire and approached Melody so she could see her phone better. The picture showed a beautiful sponge cake filled with cream and strawberry jam, decorated with actual strawberries. It was a thing of beauty. She could almost smell strawberries coming from the picture.

Her heartbeat slowed. Her mouth watered. Her stomach let out a slight, traitorous growl.

Amelia laughed and began gently herding them toward the exit.

“I think that’s a wonderful suggestion, Melody.”

*****

The second leg of their journey went a lot better than the first. Madoka had been a little anxious after departing, but she had time to calm down, especially since their journey was not to Lindisfarne directly. Her nausea began to fade after visiting Manchester, the first stop on their trip. By the time they reached the wall and grandiose buildings of the nearby city of York on the second day, she could enjoy the views.

On the third day, they arrived too late to cross towards Lindisfarne, so they stayed in a nearby inn and spent the night watching the stars. It was Madoka's first time seeing so many stars in the sky. At her school, she had seen pictures of what the night sky looked like. Pictures of the Milky Way and other galaxies, but as usual, seeing it herself could not compare.

She looked up. Her parents and friends saw the same sky, even if their view was not as beautiful as hers. A single tear escaped her eyes. Would she be able to bring them here someday? Was she even doing the right thing, enjoying herself like this, while everyone was probably dead worried about her?

She blinked a few times. Amelia had explained again and again that finding joy in what they did was essential in the long term; the longer their diaries and the associated ghost memories grew, the more important it would become. Madoka looked again at the beautiful sky above her and gave herself the comfort of crying a little, and held onto the moment. It was more magnificent than any of the buildings she had seen so far.

Finally, they crossed over to Lindisfarne. The small island was as picturesque as she’d imagined. Isolated, quiet and safe. There was no real danger here.

After settling into the guesthouse and familiarising herself with the island, she was given her task: find the crack herself. The other girls would be nearby, but this was her time to fly solo.

She spent all afternoon and evening working on it. By the end of the day, she had a good idea of where she would find it. Proud of her work, she looked at all the lines converging into a single spot on her island map and rejoined the group for dinner.

Energised by the previous day’s success, Madoka hurried through breakfast the next morning. She shared her annotated map with the group, watching their expressions carefully, trying to guess whether her calculations were sound. Melody smirked. Amelia smiled, understanding. Claire didn’t even look, just gave her a small push out of the café and toward the castle.

The climb to the castle was steep. Madoka was painting slightly when she arrived. There were not many people on the island at the moment; the high season had not started yet, so there were only a few people who took care of the castle and her, the only visitor.

She bowed politely to the caretaker at the main entrance and moved deeper into the complex. The closer she got to her suspected area, the faster her heart beat. She was so concentrated on her route that a sudden anguished whine—high-pitched and sharp—made her gasp. Her phone slipped from her hand and hit the stone floor.

She concentrated on the sound while picking up her phone from the floor. It was not just the whine that gave her the scare. She could also hear a laboured breath mixed with it, like those you hear from an injured animal. She was supposed to be alone here, but maybe one of the local dogs had wandered into the castle and had a bad drop or got itself trapped in one of the old rooms. She had the whole day to explore, and she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she let a hurt creature fend for itself, so she started following the whines, instead of her map.

She expected a dog. Maybe one of the mutts she’d seen the day before.

Instead, she found a magnificent creature that was clearly not local.

It was massive. Even lying on the floor and curled up, it looked like it was roughly her size. She hadn’t known dogs this big existed. Its fur was thick, and for a moment, catching the sunlight, it shimmered gold, as if dusted with glitter.

Madoka blinked. The illusion was gone. The fur was still thicker than any dog she had ever seen, but it was white and grey now, no trace of gold.

Getting closer, Madoka wasn't sure this was a dog anymore. But she was unaware of any wild animals on the island, especially this big one. Maybe it was one of the caretaker's pets and had a bad landing? She turned back to alert them of the hurt dog-like-but-maybe-not-dog animal in the facility so they could help it when it started to whine again.

The sound froze her. She felt immense pity for the creature. It was clearly dying, and if she left, it would die alone. She didn't think she could save it, and nobody—not even animals—should die alone.

Cautiously, Madoka got closer to the maybe-dog, its chest rising and lowering with each laboured breath. Its eyes glazed, like trying to ask for something, but no longer having the energy to do so.

The moment she stepped into the room, it stirred, trying to rise.

Blood seeped from deep wounds across its lower belly. It wobbled, unable to fully stand. It wasn’t hostile, but more like looking for something. A connection? Conform? Salvation?  Whatever it was, Madoka ran to close the distance and stop the maybe-dog from hurting itself further.

The moment her hand touched the wolf fur—as this was a wolf she recalled—a cold numbness spread from her fingers and through her arm.

OF COURSE, SHE COULD SAVE THIS WOLF.

SHE WOULD SAVE THE BAD WOLF.

HAVE MERCY ON THEIR ATTACKERS.

SAVE HOMURA AND EVERYONE ELSE.

EVEN THE UNIVERSE ITSELF.

Started, Madoka ripped her hand away, gasping. Her fingers were on fire, she could barely breathe, and her stomach was actively fighting with her breakfast. She needed to get out of this shadowy room and into the morning light. 

She ran through the castle rooms, without seeing them. She ran towards the exit until she could feel the sun's rays fully enveloping her. She held the outside wall with her healthy hand as she wasn't sure her feet could keep her upright for long. Looking at the hand that had touched the wolf, she discovered it was raw, red and swollen. Her whole body was shaking, cold and burning at the same time, like the time she had such a high fever that she was forced to take a frozen bath to calm it down. 

She was dizzy, her nausea surged back. Her world was fading at the edges. She reached for her phone with her burned hand, but it wasn’t there. She must have dropped it.

Her last conscious thought, slipping through the static, was a bitter one:

She hadn’t told anyone about the wolf. It would die alone, after all.

Madoka first noticed the birds' song. Somewhere nearby, small birds sang, their sounds delicate and urgent. Others were more distant, their calls intertwined with the steady rhythm of the sea.

Next, she noticed something heavy on her forehead. It was cold and wet... and she didn't remember placing it there. She moved her right hand to investigate—or rather, attempted to—but it refused to obey her.

A foreign hand held hers.

A distant voice called her name. Familiar. Not her mother's, not Sayaka's, but something that carried a similar warmth. She focused on it, tried to place it. Pain burst through her skull, a percussive throb, as if someone were hitting her with a hammer several times per second.

She growled softly at the sudden ache and focused on the birds' song again.

She attempted to move her hand again; it was now starting to respond to her commands. Slowly, she moved it up to her forehead. The object there was a damp towel.

Success!

The foreign hand she'd felt before gently retook hers, squeezing it carefully.

Her name again. More words. She couldn’t quite understand them, but she felt the concern in that voice, filling her with fresh worry.

After a few seconds, emboldened by her previous success moving her hand, she tentatively opened her eyes. Too fast. A kaleidoscope of light stabbed through her vision, forcing them shut again. Maybe she'd been too quick. She tried again, slower this time, and after a few iterations, the light resolved into shapes and shadows. Then came colour and clarity, which she could process better.

Worried green eyes met hers.

Claire.

The words she'd been hearing were English, not Japanese.

And then, everything rushed back.

A surge of adrenaline jolted her upright. Her heart thundered in her ears. She looked at Claire, and Amelia and Melody hovered behind her, their eyes wide and full of concern.

"The wolf," she squeaked, her voice higher-pitched than usual. "Did you find the wolf? Is it okay? Is somebody helping the wolf?"

Amelia's stare caught her by surprise. If nobody had found the wolf, it had probably died alone.

She had run away from it when she felt something: a voice, no, a presence—protective words that froze her blood and burned her hand.

She tried recalling the words, ignoring the cold sensation spreading through her body and the itchiness of the hand that had made contact. She could almost remember them—just a little bit further.

"Madoka, Madoka"

Amelia’s voice was closer now, and her hands were on Madoka’s shoulders—one steadying her, the other shaking her gently.

When had she got so close? She was behind Claire a moment ago. Madoka opened her eyes, blinked slowly, and looked at two concerned faces. Had she passed out again?

"What happened?" Her voice sounded weak and strained

Claire stepped forward with a glass of water. Amelia was checking her pulse and temperature with quiet, practised movements.

“You were having some kind of seizure,” Amelia said softly. “You kept repeating, ‘almost there, almost there.’ Over and over.”

"I... " Madoka swallowed hard. "I found a dying wolf in the ruins. I tried to call for help... but I didn't want to leave it alone... and then, I felt something and I ran away. I leave it to die alone. I should have stayed. Or used my phone. Something."

Amelia helped her to drink some water and held her hand tightly.

"Madoka, I'm sorry. I should not have let you go to visit the crack by yourself"

"I got distracted when I heard the wolf. I went to investigate it instead of continuing towards the crack itself, so I never reached it."

Only someone as clumsy as herself could find so much trouble in an isolated and safe place like this. Her eyes felt dry and itchy. Apparently, she could not even cry today.

Melody reached into her pocket, retrieved Madoka's phone, and placed it on the side table. "Look at this, girl. You may think you got distracted, but you reached the room with the crack. We know this because you dropped your phone inside. I went to pick it up when we found you, while Amelia and Claire brought you back to the house. I can definitely assure you that there were no wolves there, or anywhere nearby. Those things smell."

Taking her phone, Madoka looked at Melody and then back at her hands. They didn't hurt or itch any more. They were both perfectly healthy, but she was sure that the one who touched the wolf got badly hurt. She could barely move it when she first woke up. A feeling of deep sadness, pain, and loss hit her, and she started to cry.

"It's okay. I'm sorry that we left you alone in there. It's okay; we're here now." Amelia pulled her into a deep embrace, murmuring in her ears. Madoka could also feel Claire's hands in her hair.

They stayed like that for what she thought was a long time, her phone forgotten, having slipped from her hand into the bed. Finally, she ran out of tears, and the memory hit her. The voice wanted to save the Bad Wolf and Homura. She extricated herself from the embrace, just a little, just enough so she could see the other girl's eyes.

"I remember, a little... bit at least. I touched the wolf, and I heard a voice. It said it wanted—no. It said it could save the Bad Wolf and Homura. The words were nice, but it made me feel awful, like I was sick, or delirious, or nauseous."

"Easy, Madoka. Remember, you don't need to strain yourself that much." Amelia kept her hand on her back.

Claire helped her drink more water. "Do you think you can walk? Maybe some fresh air will do you some good, before the sun goes down today"

Tucking her phone back in her pocket, Madoka manoeuvred herself to get out of bed without losing contact with Amelia and Claire. She felt a wave of relief when her feet supported her full weight and she was able to stand up again.

The island's beach was unlike any Madoka knew. Instead of fine sand, stones of all sizes, from smooth pebbles to rough, fist-sized rocks, blanketed the shore. Beyond the high-tide line, a resilient grass met the scattered stones, clinging to the earth where the sea no longer reached. It was different, yes. But it was still beautiful, and it was exactly what she needed. She even met very friendly dogs, which had no problem receiving attention.

So, after walking on the beach for most of the evening, having a nice dinner, and taking a hot shower, Madoka gathered everyone in the guest house living room and started narrating her story. She described the animal noises, the hurt creature calling for her, how she felt she couldn't leave it alone, and the encounter—for lack of a better word—with something after touching it.

"I don't know what it was, but I was sure it had hurt my hand, and when I woke up, I could barely move it. But after I managed to open my eyes, my hand was fine."

"Madoka, I don't think I need to tell you this, but I'm going to because this is not something I've encountered before. The reaction you got from the crack in my wall was surprising. What you got from this one is actually dangerous. For better or worse, there's a chance that any crack you visit will affect you psychosomatically"

Madoka felt small. Of course, her value as an Investigator was always limited: by her age, by her lack of useful traits, by her newfound propensity to get into trouble, and now by her lack of English knowledge. She could not see herself, but her face might have betrayed her thoughts, because Claire raised her hand to interrupt Amelia's monologue.

"Psychosomatically means that something that is not physical, like the cracks, can have a physical effect on you, like creating wounds, nausea, and more worrying, causing you to pass out"

Amelia's eyes darted back to me, her eyes warmed up, and she gave me a full smile, taking one of my hands into hers. 

"I'm sorry, Madoka, you use English so well that I need to keep reminding myself that you may have trouble understanding more unusual words."

"Regardless of what overbearing Mama Bear is saying, this is not something remotely as scary as she is trying to make it sound. You got good instincts. You were alone today, and you had the good sense to put some distance between the crack and you before passing out. Could it have been worse? Yes, but that is life. And worse come to worst, you will be fine again in a few weeks' time."

Amelia's eyes turned dark. She took one of the many spinners in the room and threw it towards Melody, her smile now completely gone.

"Melody, could you please stop trying to be a bad influence for our newest member? Yes, I don't want this experience to scare you, but I do want you to be aware of it because it means you shouldn't be alone when you do this. Even counting the time loop, the risk of you getting hurt or passing out in an unsafe area is not acceptable, regardless of what benefit you think you may obtain."

Melody took the spinners that Amelia had thrown at her, reclined herself on the sofa and started to spin them with practice. Her voice sounded like Sayaka's when complaining about Saotome-san's random love monologues.

"Look, girl, I can see in your face that you think this is making you a problem for us. And overbearing Mama Bear's words are probably making it worse"

She made sure to punctuate these words with another glare towards her red-haired friend.

"But it's not a problem. You are bigger on the inside, you have good instincts. You are already an invaluable member of the team. Mama Bear doesn't want you to be alone, but that's not a problem, is it? After all, you not being alone is already part of the plan." 

Madoka felt her skin tingling. She was quite sure she didn't want to know where this conversation was going. She looked down at her hands and tried to drink some water to calm herself. But she suspected that the start of a blush was appearing on her cheeks. Her body was a total wuss, waiting to betray her, even at the smallest hints of her eventual partnership with Homura.

"To expedite matters", Melody continued, stopping the spinner and focusing her attention on her, "I could come on the next loop, to make sure things move along nicely and make you company. What do you think?" 

She wasn't sure what Melody could try, but given her normal suggestions, she wasn't ready yet for that. She didn't want to scare or force Homura into anything either. 

"No. " Madoka jumped from her sofa, abandoning Amelia's hands. Her palms were sweating, and she was sure a small hole had appeared on her stomach. She gave Melody a small apologetic bow. "I mean... I want to win her over on my own. I... I appreciate the help, but this is something I need to do on my own. I don't want to pressure her into anything" 

She sat down again, took a nearby blanket, and covered her body with it. The hot feeling of shame and guilt crawled through her skin, like an ant colony searching to use her body as a new colony.

A silence followed this affirmation. And in it, Madoka could clearly hear her heart and feel herself cook inside the blankets. Her head was still low, but she still felt the sofa move when Claire sat next to her and Amelia got up.

She lifted her head enough to follow Amelia traverse the room to get next to Melody, then she took the spinner from her hands, and clanked her head with it.

"Madoka, I think next loop Claire can go to you just to make sure you are not alone. Would that be a more acceptable idea for you?"

Madoka got herself ever deeper in her self-made blanket cocoon, but nodded. She felt Claire's hand searching for hers below the blanket and took it. It didn't help much, but the ants seemed to decide to find somewhere else to live, which was nice, at least.

Eventually, she was coaxed out of her cocoon, in a very British manner, when tea and pastries were delivered to the room and Melody offered her a strawberry-filled one. No words were spoken, but Madoka accepted the pastry and ended up with one of her spinners in her pocket.

After the tea, they moved to the porch. The small town had dimmed out the lights, and the stars were out again in all their glory. They made plans for the remaining days of the loop and decided to do a mini Scottish tour for Madoka's sake, before coming back down to Leadworth. 

************

Homura was sitting in Sayaka's bedroom window, barely aware of the cool glass pressed against her shoulder. Of course, they had ended up having another sleepover. She was gazing in the direction of the moon without really focusing on it.

Why was she doing this? Why had she decided to involve someone else in this loop? Why had she brought Sayaka back from the brink? She usually did it to avoid Madoka contracting, but Madoka was missing, so there was no reason for her to act like this. She had tried to protect and train the annoying blue-haired girl to the best of her abilities to fulfil Her last request, and of course, she had almost failed at it as well.

She looked back at said girl, who was now sleeping. Like she hadn't been on the verge of something worse than death just a few hours ago. She could count using only her fingers, how many times she has recovered after reaching that stage. It was either Madoka or Kyoko who had taken her back all those few times. Not her, it was a first for her. Not that she cared. She had no reason to care for stupid Miki Sayaka. No reason at all. 

She looked away from her and back in the direction of the moon. They had used a grief seed to clean their Soul gems as soon as they parted ways from Kyoko in the restaurant. They were both bright again.

At least the meeting with Kyoko had gone relatively well. She was surprised to see two independent magical girls in Tomoe's area, girls who were not associated with her in any way. Sayaka has been so quick to deny that they were associated with Mami in any way that Kyoko had arched an eyebrow. However, any amount of goodwill that could have been gained was discarded when she asked if they also wasted magic on familiars.

In any case, the conversation picked up when she dropped Walpurgisnacht and its imminent arrival in two weeks, which was their reason for seeking Kyoko's cooperation. A meeting to go over the details was scheduled for two days at Homura's house.

She wasn't sure what she wanted to achieve. Practice would be good. It could be interesting to try some new strategies and see if they worked better than the last few dozen she had attempted. 

A slight movement in the bed focused her attention back on Sayaka. She had opened her eyes wide and was looking directly at her, almost as if she were a ghost. She could read fear in her eyes. A nightmare, then.

"Aren't you thinking about sleeping tonight?"

"No, I have things to plan, and it's not something I really need to do anymore"

"Is it because of the nightmares?"

"No"

Nightmares were a by-product of being a magical girl. She had long been accustomed to having them every night she could sleep. They were old friends.

"I had a nightmare, that's why I woke up"

She nodded. Yes, she had figured that one out.

"I suppose I'm that transparent to you, eh? Yeah, that checks out."

Wait, had she said that out loud?

"Did I say that out loud?" Homura asked.

"Yeah? Were you not meant to? Maybe you should still sleep a little, as well"

She was really that pathetic. Years of training, self-mastery, and she still was unable to control even her own speech. Not a surprise that she keeps failing at every turn. 

"In any case. In my dream, I was being myself, but also watching it as if it were a movie. You were trying to persuade me from the dream, I suppose, to use a grief seed, and I was being stupid and difficult and refusing to. And the me who was watching from outside was getting frustrated because I could not understand why it was so hard for me to do what you were telling me."

Sayaka's voice grew lower and lower until she stopped speaking altogether. Her breathing was becoming laboured. She took the glass of water from her bedside stand and finished it off. Nursing the now-empty glass in her hands, she continued speaking.

"And then, you just cleaned up your face, got up, flipped your hair, and just left. Your face was immutable again, like nothing had happened, but your eyes were so empty, and your hands were dripping blood. And I got angry at you. Why were you leaving? Why didn't you force me to look at your eyes? To understand you were one of my best friends, trying so hard to look after me. And then it hit me: this wouldn't be your first time, and I never listen. You are my best friend; why do I never listen to you? Why am I so stubborn?"

Best friends? What in the world could have caused Miki Sayaka to say those words?

She said it like her dream had shown her a revelation, but they had never been best friends. Even all that time ago, when she still had the ability to care for those who were not Madoka, Homura could only consider herself barely a friend. Madoka was Miki Sayaka's best friend, and for her sake, Homura tried and always failed to stop her from becoming a Magical Girl. And to stop spiralling, once she was one.

She had failed every time, just like she had failed to save Madoka. And to defeat Walpurgisnacht.

Of course, now that Miki Sayaka, in her infinite wisdom, had decided she was helping her for her sake, instead of the cold truth, she was going to become difficult to convince otherwise. Not that Homura cared. She no longer cared for anyone but Madoka. And she was missing. 

"We have not been friends for a very long time before this loop, and I doubt we ever were best friends; one month barely leaves time for that"

Sayaka dropped the empty glass on the bed and jumped toward the window to get her hands on Homura's arm.

"But it has been a lot longer for you. More than enough time for you to get to know us"

"Sayaka, please stop. What are you exactly intending to achieve with this? What could you believe this declaration will do? Madoka is still missing. I am too afraid to interact with Mami. And you... You invariably witch out sooner or later. My knowledge doesn't help anyone, not even Madoka."

"But you went to save Mami, didn't you? And you have been trying so hard to keep me with you, even tonight. You were surprised I answered, but as soon as I did, you took me to meet this other girl, Kyoko, who is annoying but I assume has helped me out in the past. Being a best friend is about being there, even if you don't always succeed."

"In two weeks, I will need to revert time again. I will be back to being the transfer student for you. This might feel cold to you, but I can't afford to think that way. If I do, what do you think it will do to me next time you question me? Next time you decide I'm untrustworthy?"

"Well, then that is what we need to fix. We need to ensure that you are trustworthy to me. Please come to sleep. I will figure something out, I promise. This time, I won't be a failure."

Sayaka coaxed her to get some sleep after that, and Homura complied. It wasn't like she was putting a lot of thought into her plans anyway. Maybe sleep would bring her back to her optimal state of mind.

To her surprise, Homura slept soundly through the night, not even nightmares. Sayaka got up surprisingly quickly. Apparently, back to her usual self. 

"Would you mind taking care of breakfast? I need to find something in our back room. I will be back shortly"

Scratch that: she was more cheerful than she had seen in the past weeks, which was such an anomaly that she raised her eyebrow. Sayaka smiled back at her. 

So Homura started preparing something for breakfast. She would have just had a black coffee. However, she was aware that Sayaka would tell her off, so she prepared some rice, put two eggs to boil, and got some bread in the toaster. 

That was what Sayaka usually prepared and forced her to eat when they had sleepovers in this loop. Heck, she was sure she had more sleepovers with the annoying girl in this loop than in all her previous ones put together. 

Almost as if she had been summoned by it. Sayaka appeared the moment the rice was done. She peeked her head into the room before entering, looking almost smaller than the moment she left. Her face was slightly flustered, and she was holding or maybe hiding something with both of her hands.

"Wow, you have actually made a proper breakfast, I didn't expect anything beyond coffee, maybe some toast, if you feel like humouring me" 

She tried a smile to go with the statement, but it was forced, and her eyes were still focused on her hands. 

Homura sighed, but she could not continue to babysit the girl's mood swings. So she decided to ignore the subtext and focus on her words. 

"I have prepared what you usually provide. I really wasn't feeling like hearing you complaining about my food habits"

"Especially when magical girls don't really need to eat that much, because we can use magic to sustain ourselves, right?"

Homura blinked a few times. The annoying girl had the nerve to parrot her phrases back to her. And she even tried to emulate her voice. She glared at her and said nothing, limiting herself to serving the food for both of them.

"I didn't want to provoke you or be annoying, I'm ... a little nervous, and I tried to joke a little. I mean, I think I've found a solution to our problem, but it isn't very comfortable to discuss it. More so, because, how stupid it will sound, more than usual for me, I mean."

"Which problem are you speaking about? Does it have something to do with what you are holding in your hands?"

Sayaka nodded. Slowly, she opened her hands, revealing a small wooden box with faded paint, which she put on the table. It was a cheap box, but someone had carefully inscribed a few kanji on it. Time had taken its toll on the cheap box, but if Homura would feel inclined to guess — she wasn't, not really — she would say it was a farewell inscription.

"When I was around 8, I think, I went through this intense Tamagotchi phase. I begged my parent to get me one every time I saw them. I watched all the commercials and shows that had one. I even got a book about them. Eventually, they conceded, and they bought me one."

Sayaka opened the box with some effort. It was stuffed with dried flowers, mostly sakura flowers. After removing some of them, she revealed an old Tamagotchi in the middle.

"It lasted me three weeks. One morning, when I woke up, my virtual pet had been replaced by a ghost. And I became inconsolable. But of course, I didn't want to let others know how badly I had failed at taking care of the little virtual pet, so I didn't tell anyone. I knew you could reset them, but that felt like a betrayal."

The girl looked at her and then back at the little wooden box.

"So I buried it in this box and hid it in our back room. I told everyone I had lost it instead. I never told the truth to anyone, not even to Madoka. There is simply no way anyone could know about this."

"Why are you telling me this history now? If you are trying to continue with this 'best friend' angle. I will ask you to please drop it. I'm not in the mood for nonsense this morning."

Sayaka rolled her eyes and made a face, but continued with her narration, while putting some jam on her toast, undeterred.

"This would not surprise you, but my parents even tried to get me a new one... I got so mad at them because I was so over Tamagotchi, and they could never pay attention to me. The truth was that getting a new one was like resetting my old one. A betrayal of the original one. Later, I learned that three weeks is quite a nice mark for your first Tamagotchi, but that's not the point"

"Sayaka, I've got things to do today. Will you be done with this history soon? I have no idea why you are telling me this"

Sayaka took the Tamagotchi out of the case and into Homura's hands, with an intense look. 

"I still remember I named her Chibu-chan, because I didn't want to appear unoriginal by naming her Chibi-chan, and I want you to have it from now on. This way, our problem will be solved"

Homura felt the object in her hands. Its old plastic was unpleasant to hold. She looked at it, flower petals still sticking to it in several places. 

She did not want it.

The best course of action would be to put it back in the box and leave the room.

But she closed her hand around it...

She could always dispose of it later.

"Which problem could this thing solve. I doubt we are speaking about magical capabilities here..."

"You are right. Maybe we won't find Madoka or defeat the Uber-witch you were speaking about yesterday, and you will need to revert time again. But the next time you come to me, show me Chibu-chan and relay this story. I will know. No one who has her and knows her real story will be a stranger to me."

The tiny device felt heavier in her hands now. She understood the problem Miki Sayaka was trying to solve. Stubborn to a T, as always. She did not think it would be enough, merely another proof of her stalker nature. Another reason to mistrust her words.

But she still has two more weeks before that. And if this allowed her to keep her promise and keep Sayaka stable for that time, she would take it.