Some crack fic

[fay_e]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica-Charlie's Angels setup

The setting is post-series. Homura awakens in a world where she is in a Power Trio with Mami and Kyouko. Together, they fight Magical Beasts! However, fighting Magical Beasts is both easier and more complicated than fighting witches. While witches are more powerful, once they manifested they were relatively easy to find. However, Magical Beasts appear randomly, and there's no stopping them until you get to the Source.

The Source varies, but it's usually a grief of a single human that absorbs and processes the grief of those around him/her. In order to stop the Source, the grief of the human must be resolved. That's where Homura, Mami and Kyouko come in, in a bit of a Panty and Stocking like missions.

They get their instructions on humans that are Sources through the speaker phone, although the person on the other side never reveals who they are. The person hints at what the problem might be, but it's up to the three to prove it. At first, Homura thinks the person on the speaker is Kyuubey, but when Kyuubey pops up during one of the briefings, she realises that isn't the case.

The identity of the person behind the speaker is the larger mytharc, while the smaller mytharcs are individual specific.


Mami: Most consistent of the lot. She's beautiful, motherly and idealistic. She's also the well to do girl who is always inviting people over to her house. When it comes to dealing with new people, she's always the first to reach out to them and get them to open up. Given her figure, she sometimes does the more vavavoom roles. XD

Kyouko: Kyouko beats people up and she likes it that way. Despite her temper, she also has a big sister streak to her, though not as bad as Mami. She is pretty naive, and enjoys a good prank, but has the straightest moral compass out of the three. While the suicide of her family made her renounce her ability to see through illusions, it's her moral compass that lets her be the quickest of the three to spot when something is wrong.

Homura: As much as she dislikes it, Homura ends up the brains of the group because she has the patience to think things through, and enough skepticism to not be blinded by emotions like Mami is. Despite that, she is the most cynical of the lot, as she still remembers the tragic world they used to live in, and is still recovering from her time turning. She is the most suspicious of the person on the speaker phone. (I still have to figure out whether they call the person Charlie.)


Last night I had a dream that Homura, despite being skeptical about vampires, got bitten by one and was turning into one. She wanted to bite Madoka, because she had a feeling that Madoka's blood would taste good, but in the end she bit Mami because it was partially her fault that Homura was turning into a vampire.

I told Ten about it and we started discussing. That's when wikipedia refreshed my memory that Mina Murray in the Dracula novel was in the process of being turned into a vampire by Dracula, and while that was happening she was psychically linked to Dracula. Only when Dracula was killed was she released from that fate. The idea of Homura trying to pull that off, while Godoka tried to keep her unvampified tickled my brain. It sounded like it would work well in a PMMM Angels context. Not to mention that it could be a fake-out - they think that like Dracula, the main vampire is a man, but like in Let the Right One In, it's actually a little girl who is the main vampire, and the man was someone who hung around and wanted to help her.

It also got me to thinking of how magic girls would fare against other supernatural creatures. After all, they had fought against "witches", wasn't it time to collect the rest of the population? Especially since magical beasts are only a symptom of grief, but not the source of it themselves. Magic girls against Supernatural type monsters (werewolves, lesser gods than Godoka) seems like a fun idea.

Another idea that we could put into the PMMM Angels story was the idea of Combat ready magic girls. This would be like Dead Fantasy meets Homura's idea of combat - use of dakka normally, followed by magical attacks to back up. This makes sense to me, if the Puella Magi are going up against normal humans at first. The use of magic immediately might be too overpowering for them. I can imagine Mami grumbling about having to use normal guns, and she might place more reliance on her ribbon power.

While reading drama cd 3 about how Mami and Kyouko fell out over their idealogy about whether to fight witches and familiars, it occured to me that in Madoka's new world this bugbone would never have popped up. Unless Kyouko wanted to keep the sources of despair so that magical beasts would keep forming? I don't think that's possible though... but if that's not the case, Homura would awaken in a world where Kyouko has moved in with Mami after the death of her family. After all, Kyouko and Mami seem pretty close in the Drama CD. I bet Homura would have a hard time adjusting to that idea. I wonder if Homura ought to be an orphan though?

Apparently one of the names of the Charlie's Angels movies was Three Wild Angels, so I'll probably use that for the title of my fic.


PMMM in the Avatar World

Homura is from the Fire Nation, and although she doesn't know it just yet, she's a fire bender. Her parents sent her to the Earth colonies because she didn't show an ability to fire bend, due in part to her poor health, and due to the fact that she doesn't feel she has anything to fight for. It's a open secret, which is why Homura faces a lot of flak from her own schoolmates, who have been bred with the misconception of both Fire Nation and firebender superiority.

While at the Earth colony, she meets with Madoka. Despite knowing Homura's background and that the Fire Nation is suppressing her village, she treats Homura nicely. She even tries to help Homura with her fire bending, and in the process reveals that she is an earth bender, which could put Madoka and her family in danger if Homura wasn't trustworthy. Luckily for Madoka, Homura is trustworthy, and is too thankful that Madoka is trying to help her to even care about the fact that they are different types of benders.

This just occured to me - Homura can help Madoka and her family to escape to Ba Sing Se, and that's why Madoka pleaded with Homura to come along - if Homura was found to be helping people escape, her life would be forfeit too. That's why Homura ends up at Ba Sing Se, and that's when the two girls meet Mami.

Mami is a waterbender. While she was officially trained as a healer (and specialises in it), she is very good at using ice at binding people, and sending mini ice daggers at people (unlike Katara, she is not good at making waves or freezing huge tracts of ice for skating on). She developed fighting skills in Ba Sing Se. I suppose she travelled out of the North Pole to lend a hand to the Earth Kingdom as a healer.

This story is exciting enough without Kyuubey. Hmmm. And if I don't go the magic girl route, I could just talk about how Walpurgisnacht is a Fire Nation only event. Like Sozin's comet. Hmmm. But then Homura couldn't jump through time and become more cool. VERY WELL.

Kyuubey I suppose is a malovent spirit, much like Koh was. He grants wishes to girls just to feed upon their despair. Although I really wish that there was some way to translate the entropy thing into the Avatar world. Maybe it's because the world is getting spirit heavy due to the high number of deaths from the war? But honestly, it's better that Kyuubey is just a malovelent spirit here, or a good spirit like Hei Bai that was driven mad by the war. Huh, that's a possibility too - he's the spirit of potential, but because of the war he turned into a spirit of corruption. Hmm. Something to consider. So he still thinks he's a good spirit (helping the girls tap on their potential), but because he's been corrupted by the war, any person he touches turns into a corrupt soul. Sounds reasonable (for the Avatar world).

I guess it's in Ba Sing Se that the plot truly starts, and that these poor girls meet with Kyuubey and start getting warped. Kyuubey has been feasting on Mami's despair, as she's displaced and alone in Ba Sing Se, missing home terribly, and yet feeling guilty about it because she should be helping these poor people in their war.

After Mami we'll meet Sayaka, whose tru wuv's hand was destroyed in the war, thus rendering him both unable to fight and to play his beloved instrument. That's why she travelled with him all over the world, searching for the cure. She blames herself for only being good enough with healing to heal herself, although Mami too fails at healing Kyousuke. When Mami gets killed by one of the other girls Kyuubey feasted on, he latches onto Sayaka, Madoka and Homura, in turn.

Kyuubey's feeding has attracted the attention of the Dai Li, and they send Kyouko in to investigate (as she fits the profile of the other victims - they don't know that Kyuubey's already been feeding on her.)

It's only Homura, due to her Fire Nation nature, that ends up outlasting everyone else, and thus gaining the ability to turn back time. Or travel via the spirit world back to the past, whichever way that works.

(Huh and I just realised that based on the Chinese elements, it was inevitable that Air would fold under the pressure from Fire, because Fire eats up air. Earth can resist, but its resistance can be brittle at bits (think ceramic) while Water will always be Fire's greatest enemy and go down the last. Huh.)


Snippet:
There's a memory that Homura holds at the very core of her being, even though that time doesn't exist anymore. It doesn't matter - that moment still lives on in her. Up until now, she remembers it like it was yesterday. It is a fond memory, and it begins in a very simple manner -


Homura breathed.

It sounded simple enough, although Madoka had taught her this particular breathing exercise. It was not the only one that Madoka had taught; she seemed to think that any breathing exercise she had come across would be good for Homura to learn.

Homura breathed.

To be honest, Homura had not much confidence in the breathing exercises that Madoka had taught her. She claimed it was the most basic of all bending techniques, but how would Madoka know? She had only learnt earth bending in secret, and her teacher was her mother. Kaname Junko was a strict teacher and a formidable woman, but that alone did not make her a master.

Homura breathed.

Still, Homura had to admit that she liked this particular exercise. It calmed her, and it wasn't too hard to do. That's why when Madoka suggested that Homura ought to try what she'd been taught, she found herself doing this.

Homura breathed.

When she breathed in this manner, she found that the world seemed to make more sense. She could close her eyes and not be bothered by the world. She could relax in her own body. She could feel her pulse becoming slow, measured.

Homura breathed.

Even in this state, she was aware when Madoka entered the room. She paused on the threshold, probably worried about disturbing her. She sometimes blamed Homura's weaknesses on herself as a distraction. Intending to prove her wrong, Homura kept up her exercise.

Homura breathed.

True to Homura's suspicion, Madoka tiptoed across the room, still fearful of disturbing her. Homura could not help but imagine fondly the ridiculous posture that she would have adopted to do so. She had seen it once before, when she and Madoka had tried to smuggle the food that Homura brought into the pantry. It hadn't been successful; Kaname-san had chewed Madoka out for hours about how they didn't accept charity, but still thanked Homura for her kindness, and above all she kept the food.

Homura breathed.

Even after that scolding, Madoka still didn't know how to sneak around. Homura could hear the shuffle of Madoka's shoes, see the flicker of the lamplight through her closed eyelids, feel the displacement of air as Madoka walked closer.

Homura breathed.

Madoka fidgeted, apparently torn between moving away and staying with Homura. "Stay," Homura said, not bothering with opening her eyes. She still breathed.

"Oh no," Madoka said. "You're doing very well. There's no need- "

"Don't you remember?" Homura breathed. "I know how to talk while doing this exercise." Homura had been so proud of herself, and she and Madoka had carried on a conversation before Madoka had dissolved into laughter and ruined the exercise all together.

Even now, Madoka giggled. "That was something, huh? Filling the belly, then the chest, relax the chest, then all out. Filling the belly, then the chest, relax the chest, then all out."

She repeated herself several times, and Homura realised that Madoka had matched her words to Homura's breathing exercise. Her pulse fell in beat with Madoka's words, and happiness and warmth began to spread out from her chest.

"Homura-chan?" Madoka asked, after several rounds of repetition.

"Mmmm?" Homura was too comfortable in her exercise and Madoka's presence to manage more than that.

"Do you think you could open your eyes without disturbing your breathing?"

Homura thought about it. Previously she might not have been able to, but she had practised this many times. Sometimes, she found herself breathing in this manner without thinking about it. Her pulse was so steady today - surely she could do this?

"Yes," she murmured, and matched her actions to her words.

She was surprised when the first thing that filled her vision was the flame of the lamp. Her eyes refocused - she saw Madoka's happy smiling face behind it. "Look at the flame," her friend urged.

Homura looked into the steady beat of the flame. She almost gasped when she realised that it was moving in time with her breath. It wasn't the only thing - the warmth too pulsed within her: strong, steady, joyous.

"Homura," said Madoka, dear wonderful amazing Madoka. "You did it. You're firebending."

The warmth in Homura's heart at that very same moment agreed. Yes, you are firebending. As long as you remember this, your fire will always be able to burn strong and true.


This is the memory that Homura holds in the core of her being. Whenever she feels sadness, despair or rage, whenever she finds herself tempted of being ashamed of her firebending, she remembers Madoka and her brilliant smile, Madoka and her joy at something foreign and dangerous to her very self, Madoka and how she had seen the warmth and potential in Homura.

And then Homura's fire burns bright and true, leaving nothing in Homura but warmth and joy.


PMMM with a Tutu premise
Madoka wants to be the best prima donna ever! But she's klutzy and careless so she trains very very hard. Kyuubey-sensei however tells her that she has the potential to be the best prima donna ever. She wants to believe him, but -

Homura, her closest friend, tells her not to push herself so hard, and if she cares about her family and friends, she should just remain who she is, instead of taking up Kyuubey sensei's offer. Homura doesn't seem interested in being a prima donna, even though she's talented and graceful, and instead lets Madoka take the limelight.

Mami, a senior, is the ideal that Madoka strives towards. Madoka later discovers that Mami is a MAGIC BALLERINA. Mami tells Madoka that is what is in store for her if she becomes a prima donna. Madoka is very tempted. But Mami and Homura don't seem to like each other than much...

Then Madoka meets Sayaka, and she can't help reaching out to her. She reminds her so much of Madoka's insecure self. But then Madoka discovers that Sayaka is a MAGIC BALLERINA TOO. What is happening here???

Confused, Madoka follows Mami and Sayaka as they reprise ballet stories all over town. But as she soon discovers, being the prima donna in a ballet is not always the best - after all, what is a ballet but a story full of tragedies? And Madoka is about to find that there are plans to have Madoka feature in a ballet of her very own...

Madoka later learns that Homura is a magic ballerina as well, and that Kyuubey has cast all of the girls in their own tragic ballets, all of which lead to death. If he has his way, Madoka would also feature in her own tragic story. But Homura has hope that she can save Madoka from her fate with her powers. Or is that a function of Homura's own tragic ballet as well? Can Madoka's story only end in tragedy?


Additional notes on PMMM in a Princess Tutu world:

Kyuubey may be using ballets to torment his contractees, but the very fact that he uses these ballets shows that he doesn't understand how they work.

Kyouko survives because Kyuubey overlooked the fact that the Firebird never truly dies in her ballet. Although he struck her a killing blow by making her father Kotchei the Deathless, and his imprisoned/illusioned congregation the 13 princesses, and that with this story the Firebird destroyed her own family, she herself still did not die. The Firebird is always reborn from her ashes after all. It is only with Sayaka that she actually chooses to die.

Homura is Giselle, right down to the weak heart. But what Kyuubey doesn't understand is that although Giselle dies in the first act, but she comes back in the 2nd act as a Willis, who dances to protect her loved one. And Homura has all the powers open to a Willis, and she will dance her heart out to protect her loved one - which she has chosen as Madoka.

I still think Madoka's ballet should be Swan Lake, and that's why she witchfies so easiliy - because every Odette is also an Odile. But then I need to figure out how she finds the loophole in Swan Lake to escape just as Homura and Kyouko have done.


Prologue
Madoka is dancing in a fantastical setting. She wanders until she stumbles upon a girl (Homura) and a mysterious entity of gears in heated battle. A white mystical creature dances with Madoka, telling her of the hopeless battle that the girl is in. He tells Madoka that she has the potential to help. Madoka asks to be taken away from such a terrible scene.

The white mysterious creature then leads Madoka into another dream. In this dream, another girl (Mami) is fighting against another mysterious entity of art. Unlike Homura, Mami is clearly winning against this mysterious entity. She defeats it triumphantly. Madoka then has a vision of being bestowed magic by the white creature, and defeating the first mysterious entity in the same manner that Mami triumphed against the art witch.

Act I
Scene 1
Madoka heads to school the next day with visions of magic girls in her head. In her enthusiasm, she picks out a more vibrant pair of ribbons to wear in her hair. She meets up with Sayaka, and tells her about her dream. Sayaka is very excited too.

However, as they are dancing they bump into Homura. She does a pas de deux with Madoka, warning her about the dangers of changing her life from what it currently is.

Scene 2
Confused, Madoka sinks to the floor. But then the magical creature from Madoka's dream drags Madoka to her feet and hides behind her. It's Homura, and she's clearly after the white magic creature, who calls himself Kyuubey. Madoka begs for an explanation, but then Mami chases Homura off.

Mami then dances about the wonders of being a magic girl. Madoka and Sayaka are entranced. The white creature wants to bestow them powers, but Mami stops it, asking Madoka and Sayaka to consider - with what wish/dance will they bring their magic to light?

Scene 3
Sayaka dances about Kamijou, how his music inspired her, and the hope she has to heal his hand. This dance is done with the dream version of Kamijou. Madoka watches enviously.

Madoka dances with her family, and reveals that she has nothing to offer them as wishes. Since she can't wish for her family, does she want to wish for herself? But she remembers Homura's warning, and now hesitates.

Act II
Scene 4
They meet Mami and tells her they want to contract. Mami is happy and the three dance happily, but are interrupted by the sweets witch. After she had introduced herself, Mami engages her as an example of how magic girls should fight, but she fails and is killed. Instead, it's Homura who takes over the dance, and defeats the witch. She dances to warn the other two girls against contracting, and then leaves.

Scene 5
Sayaka still contracts with Kyuubey, in a redux of her Kamijou dance, only this is more frenzied and Kyuubey is dancing in place of Kamijou. Madoka watches on the side, worried. Homura enters, and reprises her pas de deux with Madoka warning her not to contract. Madoka sinks to her knees at the end.

Scene 6
Sayaka meets up with the other magic girl in town, Kyouko. She dances a welcome dance, only for Kyouko to rebuff it. Sayaka is weak, Kyouko thinks. Their dance becomes a battle. Madoka and Homura dash to interrupt this battle. Their peace keeping seems successful, when suddenly Sayaka and Kyouko dash at each other again. In retaliation, Madoka snatches Sayaka's soul gem and throws it away. Sayaka collapses, and Homura dashes after the soul gem.

However, it is Kyuubey who brings back the soul gem, with Homura following closely. With it, he does a puppet dance that shows Sayaka's soul gem is the thing that is controlling her. Sayaka only comes properly back to life when Kyuubey places the Soul Gem in her hand. The girls all stand in darkness, shocked by the revelation.

Act III
Scene 7
VILLAGE DANCE TIME? Madoka tries to convince Sayaka to dance, especially with Kamijou, but Sayaka keeps reprising the puppet dance she did with Kyuubey. Madoka gives up on her attempts to help Sayaka when Kamijou stands dancing with someone else with GREEN HAIR (i.e. Hitomi).

Scene 8
Kyouko tries to do a dance of reconcilliation with Sayaka, complete with church imagery and her story. But Sayaka dances very little, and throws away her apple. As Kyouko slouches in disappointment, the music changes.

Sayaka witchfies, her soul gem turning into a grief seed, and turns into Oktavia von Serdendoff. She and her magic orchestra dance and play music, as Kyouko carries Sayaka's corpse away.

Scene 9
Madoka meets Kyouko with Sayaka's corpse. They do a dance of determination to rescue Sayaka. As they do so, Oktavia von Serdendoff dances onto the scene with her orchestra. Madoka and Kyouko both try to dance with Oktavia, but are thwarted by her minion.

In the end, only Kyouko breaks through to dance with Oktavia. The stage gradually clears, and when even Madoka has gone, Kyouko clasps her Soul Gem and her crucifix into Oktavia's hand, and the both of them disappear in an explosion.

Act IV
Scene 10
Kyuubey tries to convince Madoka to become a magic girl, and brings up a litany of magic girls to prove his point. The dead magic girls dance for Madoka - Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Hitomi, followed by Mami, Sayaka, Kyouko.

Scene 11
Madoka falls into a senseless stupor at the end of the dance, and dreams that while wearing a magic girl costume, she meets 4 Homuras - the powerless Homura, the friendly Homura, the despairing Homura and the Homura she tried to save. With the powerless Homura, she does a dance of protection against an art witch. With the friendly Homura, they dance against a class witch. With the despairing Homura, they watch their friends fall, and Homura destroys Madoka's grief seed. With the Homura she tried to save, Madoka turns into a witch.

At the end of the dream, Madoka reaches out to the Homura she knows, only for her to fade into the dark, as the theme from Madoka's dream begins - Homura is fighting against the witch.

Scene 12
It's a repeat of Madoka's dream at the beginning, only starting from her dance with Kyuubey. He repeats for her to rescue Homura. As Homura falls, Madoka agrees yes, she will rescue Homura. She dances with Kyuubey, but when he produces her Soul Gem, he falls to the floor, stunned.

Scene 13
Madoka dances with all the witches, and her dance turns them back into magic girls. She ends with Oktavia, and dances her back into Sayaka.

Then, she dances with Homura, who asks her how she could do that? Madoka confidently states everything was worth it, as the Homuras she knew reprise around them. At the end of the dance, Madoka presses her ribbons into Homura's hands, and then ascends.

Epilogue
The ballet ends with Homura holding on to the ribbons. As a voiceover states that "Don't forget, someone somewhere is fighting for you. As long as you remember her, you are not alone.", wings burst from Homura's back. The curtains fall.

THE END.


Sayaka enters a room and puts on a pair of headphones. She is listening to the music when it abruptly cuts off. She opens her eyes and found the room around her has changed, this is the lair of Getrud, which is a rose garden. She sees Mami, who guides her through the world and keeps her safe from the familiars that are trying to attack them. They are trying to find the grief seed that powers this place. However, they do not find it. Then the music starts to play again, and Mami says that it's time to go...

They surface, and in the room with Sayaka are two other girls - Mami and Getrud. Mami congratulates Sayaka on not freaking out in Getrud's world despite the familars attacking. Sayaka compliments Getrud on the world that she's created, and Getrud is pleased. They discuss where Getrud or the grief seed could be hiding, with Getrud acting coy.

Sayaka leaves the room and meets the lab technician, Quentin Blake, "but call me QB for short. Everyone else does." He asks if the scheme is what Sayaka signed up for. Sayaka says it looks really cool, and she can't wait to be on the actual roster. QB says that she needs a bit more training and experience with the magic worlds before that, but gives her the forms, saying that when she's ready she just needs to fill them up.

Sayaka, under the guidance of Mami, then meets the other architects whose worlds she will be visiting. These include Getrud, Charlotte, Kristen ("call me Elly"), and Elsa Maria. Sayaka also meets Homura, Mami's sometime point man. Unlike the others, Homura is unfriendly, which annoys Sayaka.

Sayaka asks lots of questions about the magic girl program, and that how we learn that they are trying to make shared dreaming commerically viable. However, teenaged girls are the only people who are able to sustain a non-realistic dream. Unfortunately, these dream spaces are highly defensive, which is why they need to conquer the dream space. They do this by finding the grief seed in this dreamscape. Mami is a veteran at this, and Homura assists her.

Currently they are working on finding the grief seed in Getrud's dreamscape. Homura goes over the new details that they have noted and the plans for finding the grief seed with them, but voices her unease at what they are doing. Mami is flippant, and Sayaka is annoyed when Homura suggests that they stop messing with the dream world.


Sayaka, Mami and Homura go into Getrud's world. During the exploration, Sayaka and Mami get separated, and Sayaka meets Madoka. Madoka identifies herself as a new recruit like Sayaka, and they go and find Mami together. They appear just in time to see Mami being strung up by a familar with roses in its hair. Mami tells them not to worry, and destroys the projection to reveal the grief seed it was hiding.

They surface to Homura being concerned at what happened in the dreamspace. Getrud looks a bit stunned also, and it takes her a while to realise that she's graduated from the magic girl scheme, as her dream world has stabilised. She offers to take the other girls on a spin of her defanged world, but Homura refuses and stalks off. This does not endear her to Sayaka. Sayaka asks about Madoka, but Mami didn't see her. Neither does she reappear when Sayaka and Mami reenter Getrud's rose garden, whose familars no longer attack them with scissors, although they still have too many eyes.

The other girls throw a party for Getrud, and Charlotte is revealed to be the next girl to attempt to have her world conquered. Homura voices concern at the rate that they're changing architects, to which Charlotte snaps that she's just bitter that she can't graduate from the scheme, because she isn't good at creation. This upsets Mami a bit, because she would like nothing more than to graduate. Charlotte apologises, and the party spins on.

Homura asks if Sayaka finds anything wrong with this setup, to which Sayaka coolly replies that it's excellent, what is wrong with her? Homura walks off.


The next day, Sayaka goes to find Kyousuke to tell him about the dream world experiment. Kyousuke voices his admiration for Sayaka's ability to dream, and thanks her for the cd she's brought. Sayaka goes off happy. Inspired by Kyousuke, Sayaka asks Charlotte to teach her about level hosting.

Charlotte and QB walk Sayaka through the finer aspects of level hosting. QB compliments Sayaka on her proactiveness. He goes under with the two girls, and Sayaka is amazed to find that he turns into a ferret like thing in Charlotte's world. QB says it's the default image the girls have assigned to him, and the two of them wander Charlotte's world.

After several rounds of training QB declares Sayaka ready, and Mami can go in to extract the grief seed. However, the instant they go in Homura says that they can't continue - the dream world feels too sinister and there are too many projections /familars. Sayaka, upset on Charlotte's behalf, says that there is no way Charlotte got the level wrong, and forges ahead. Mami later reappears without Homura, and starts to fight the familars. All seems to be going well until Mami is fighting a pink-haired doll - then Madoka appears again, and cries out that everything is going wrong.

At that, Mami gets her head nommed by the caterpillar that exploded from the pink-haired doll. Homura finally bursts onto the scene, and destroys both the doll and the caterpillar. The dream collapses, and everyone wakes up to Mami crying, while Charlotte apologises repeatedly. Sayaka, confused, asks what happened, and Homura grimly replies that Mami can no longer create magic weapons, because she was killed before the dream ended.

Sayaka blames Homura for what happened. She also starts to think of Madoka as a personal guardian, as she has appeared twice when Sayaka is in need.


Sayaka hands in the forms to QB, and says that she wants to take over Mami's position. QB says that he'll hand the forms to his boss, but before Sayaka does anything more, she'll need a Soul Gem. Sayaka learns that the Soul Gem is something that the dreamers make themselves as a sign that they're dreaming, because the Soul Gem will be twisted from its original form into something fantastical. QB also tells Sayaka that the Soul Gem symbolises the girl's ability to dream.

Homura catches Sayaka after her conversation with QB, and tells Sayaka not to trust QB so much. Sayaka hotly replies that he's a much better person than Homura ever was.

Sayaka makes her Soul Gem, and overjoyed takes it to Kyousuke to see. But Kyousuke takes it that Sayaka is mocking him because of his injured hand. By flaunting her ability to dream, he takes it as sign Sayaka is hinting that he is useless.

Syaka is down, but forces herself to cheer up for the farewell party for Mami and the congratulatory party for Charlotte. Mami is a little concerned when Sayaka says that she signed up to take over Mami, but says that if that is her dream, she ought to go ahead with it. However, Sayaka needs to be clear why she's signing up, not just because it's cool.


Like Charlotte, Sayaka requests that Elly walk her through the dream level. Homura barges in and insists to go along too, as QB is not around to supervise. They go in, and Sayaka is happy to see Madoka again. However, Madoka gets kidnapped by familars, and Sayaka creates swords to defend her. Homura shows up and warns Sayaka against causing so much damage, to which Sayaka replies that it's necessary to find the grief seed. She manages to slash a floating tv, and find the grief seed inside.

They surface to QB telling them that Sayaka is in trouble for stabilising a witch space without permission, and that there will be consequences. Sayaka learns that instead of selecting her, they selected a girl called Kyouko to take over Mami's place. Sayaka feels cheated.


Kyouko arrives the next day. Homura brings her around to be introduced, because Sayaka is too busy sulking to do it. When Kyouko demands to know what the heck she's done wrong, Sayaka snaps back that she's more qualified for the position than Kyouko, as she's been working with the architects for a longer time. Kyouko then challenges Sayaka to a mental duel, which Kyouko is in the process of winning. Homura taps into their dream and stops the fight, saying that they should work together. Kyouko points out that Sayaka doesn't trust them, so what's the point of this working arrangement? Sayaka replies that she doesn't need anyone, and exits the dream with a scowl.

She goes to find Kyousuke, only to find that he's checked out of the hospital because he decided not to undergo the operation to fix his hand, as it only has a 15% chance of success. Sayaka mopes to QB, who suggests that she work harder at dream creation in order to build a world where Kyousuke can move his hand. Inspired, Sayaka starts training longer and harder with all the girls.


Sayaka starts work on a concert hall world, believing that Kyousuke would like a world with a full orchestra. The rest of the girls soon learn about this, and Kyouko in particular scoffs that she's wasting her one chance at a fantasy world on a boy. If Sayaka really wants to do that, then she should break his arms and legs so that the boy will never want to exit Sayaka's dream world. Enraged, Sayaka challenges Kyouko to a duel. However, upon entering the dream world, she discovers that she's forgotten to keep her Soul Gem on her person. Kyouko hoots that's something only a newbie would do, and challenges Sayaka to attack her. However, Sayaka finds that she /can't/ - can't call up her swords, can't call up any new weapons, can't even manipulate the dreamspace. Kyouko grows concerned at Sayaka's inability to do anything. Homura appears in the dream, and says that it's because Sayaka doesn't have her Soul Gem - that's why she can't create. Their ability to create has now been condensed to that one Soul Gem. Sayaka flees from the both of them, and it's Madoka who finds her. She is holding on to Sayaka's Soul Gem. Enraged, Sayaka scolds her, and tells her that she is imaginary, causing her to flee. Sayaka feels really bad, but tells herself she doesn't need anyone.

Perhaps feeling guilty, Kyouko lets Sayaka lead the next foray into Elsa Marie's mind. The only thing is that Sayaka goes a bit berserk, although she does extract the grief seed. When she surfaces, Elsa Marie runs away from her in horror, while Kyouko and Homura are silent. Instead of attending Elsa Marie's farewell party, Sayaka works on her dream world, crying all the while.


QB tells Sayaka that there's good news. At first Sayaka thinks it's because she's replacing Kyouko as the lead extractor, but instead Sayaka has been picked to be an architect - the bosses like what Sayaka has done with her dream world by pulling out the more fantastical aspects of an orchestra experience. However, Kyouko and Homura will be responsible for extracting the Grief Seed from Sayaka's dream world.

A very uncomfortable Sayaka goes over her dream world with Homura, who doesn't show any signs of being impressed by Sayaka's dream world. Sayaka demands to know if it's because Homura can't graduate from the program, and that Mami would have at least had a kind word. Homura responds that it's because Sayaka is killing herself - has she tried working on anything else other than the dream world? Sayaka doesn't want to believe her, but when she tries working on other dreamscapes, she finds that it keeps defaulting to the concert hall world.

Kyouko finds Sayaka crying at the loss of her ability to create, and is even more stunned when Sayaka begs her to destroy the grief seed instead of extracting it from her dreamscape. All other girls who had their grief seeds destroyed lost their ability to create, like Mami. Sayaka says she doesn't care - she has already lost her ability to create anything but this nightmare.


The next day, the 3 girls are somber as they proceed to go into Sayaka's world. It is violent due to Sayaka's turbulent emotional state, and Sayaka finds that she's hidden herself in a mermaid form, instead of the knight form she had aimed for. Madoka appears again, and asks if this is what Sayaka wants to do. Couldn't Sayaka keep building upon this existing world, and change it into something that would make herself and other people happy? Sayaka says that she's in despair, so despair is what she'll resign herself to.

Then Kyouko barges in, and extracts the grief seed. Sayaka waits for Kyouko to destroy it - she doesn't expect Kyouko to lay her Soul Gem on the grief seed, and destroy both together.

Sayaka wakes up gasping, and asks why Kyouko did that? Kyouko replies that she was tired of being a magic girl and creating the same things day in and day out - since Sayaka wants to take a chance at recovering her creative talents in other ways, Kyouko wants to take that chance too. Sayaka starts crying, because she didn't think of it that way, and Kyouko pats her reassuringly.


So this is thinking about my PMMM Inception AU. In essense - in the early days of figuring out the lucid dreaming technology, they tested the chemicals across all age groups, and found that only teenaged girls could create and maintain fantastical dreamscapes that didn't collapse immediately when messed with. These are what are known in the PMMM world as witch spaces, although they are not termed such in the AU itself.

Similar to the witch world however, what sets off the dreamer is not the ridiculousness of the dream world, but the very presence of other people. In essence, the dream world is already ridiculous enough that having someone else in the dream means that the external dreamers tend to die. Tragically. So far, only other teenaged girls are able to wander these dream spaces and manipulate them as well. WITH THEIR MAGIC GIRL WEAPONS.

We land in the middle of this experiment. The story starts with Mami, the veteran. She's the "extractor", the tester who finds the "Grief Seeds" that allow the world to stabilise and be accessed as needed. She's the oldest "magic girl", a fond term for the girls who are involved in the experiment.

Homura is another "magic girl". She typically takes the role reserved for the "point man" by doing research, but she and Mami do not get along as they differ on what they should do in another girl's head. However, she does as she is told, unless a projection called "Madoka" appears. Then all bets are called off as Homura drops everything to make sure that this projection is protected, OR ELSE.

Kyouko is the "forger" of the group, although she does this less by changing her appearance rather than using her power of persuasion to insinuate herself into the dream of the architect. She has however since sworn off this ability, instead choosing to take up an extractor/point man role, depending on whether Mami or Homura is being the tempermental one at the moment.

Kyuubey is the "chemist" as he's the scientist in charge of mixing the compounds for the girls. He may or may not be the lead scientist of the experiment, though he is certainly the one they deal with the most.

The story starts by having Getrud as the architect, so obviously the witch space we see is hers. Sayaka is along for the ride as the Tourist - she's going to join the experiment team. She meets the Madoka projection, and thinking that she's a girl in the experiment team, talks to her and makes friends with her. Mami shows off her magic girl skills, and Homura only appears after the second dream level has collapsed (she's probably hosting this level), saying that she has a bad feeling about how often they change their architects. Mami disagrees, and Sayaka surfaces to find that the architect is Getrud, not Madoka. She is surprised. Getrud is happy that the witch space is conquered, which means she is able to graduate from the program. Mami wishes that she was an architect so that she could graduate from the experiment team, while Sayaka says that she never wants to graduate - this dreaming thing looks fun.

They start on the next girl, Charlotte, who specialises in dreams of a candyland. They spend days testing the boundaries of the universe, with Sayaka not being well versed enough to manipulate the dream world to give herself powers. Sayaka sees Madoka again, who tells her that she is a secret part of the experiment, and gives Sayaka pointers on how to manipulate the dream world. Sayaka exclaims that she's pretty good, and starts to believe in her. Homura warns Sayaka away from Madoka, which doesn't endear Sayaka to Homura any.

Unfortunately, Charlotte snaps and kills Mami in the dream world. Homura seals her dreamspace in a grief seed, but the damage is already done - the trauma of being forced from the dream has destroyed Mami's ability to do lucid dreaming. Although Kyuubey tells them that it might not be permanent, the likelihood of Mami returning isn't very high. Mami leaves in tears, and Sayaka signs up for the extractor role.

The experiment team isn't having it, claiming that Sayaka is still inexperienced. So they bring in Kyoko, which is why Sayaka and Kyoko clash. Sayaka tries to rush Anja's world, which Kyoko puts a stop to, and Sayaka says that they should be helping their friends to graduate, not stopping them. Kyoko says that it's obvious that Sayaka doesn't trust her team, so what's the point of this set-up? And then Sayaka learns that lucid dreaming at this age not only means that they will never have normal dreams, nor be able to have lucid dreaming when they get older. She kind of goes a bit crazy at that.

It's underlined even further when they start working with Elsa Marie, and Sayaka goes kind of berserk in the dreamscape. But there's a hope! The team now says that Sayaka is good to go as an architect! SAYAKA JUMPS ON THIS OPPORTUNITY.

And then Sayaka learns the truth about witches, and how their mind becomes a playground for other people, and they can't have normal dreams because their dreamscape is now FIXED. And she gets real bitter about it. But then she meets the REAL Madoka, who also has a fixed dreamworld in her head. Madoka however, still has hope - that someday, she and the other girls will be able to find a compound that unsticks their minds from the rut they have been forced into.

And the secret may be kept in the mind of a girl that the scientists dub Walpurgisnacht...


Charlotte's world
Charlotte wakes up to stars and the taste of despair in her mouth.

Her first thought is to magick up some sweets, but she's not in her Puella Magi form. Without her wand, she flounders. Where is she? Where can she get sweets? What is this place?

Charlotte is sure that starry expenses of nothing don't have sweets readily available. She closes her eyes and breaths. She's a big girl now. She's a magic girl. She can handle strange and new situations. Even without sweets.

This time she sits up and properly opens her eyes. There's a girl before her, smiling gently. It's the smile that allows Charlotte to recognise her. While her clothes are different (not pink) and her hair is longer (still pink!), this is the girl who appeared to her just as the darkness began to overtake her Soul Gem.

"You... saved me."

"Isn't that what magic girls are supposed to do? We rescue each other!" The Soul Gem on her chest glints in the starlight.

"You're amazing," Charlotte can't help blurting out. "I don't know what you did to my Soul Gem but I feel loads better!"

"I'm glad to hear that!"

They smile at each other. The girl reaches out a hand, and Charlotte uses it to heave herself up. The ground has suddenly turned to soft, spongey cake beneath their feet. Sweets and lollipops dot the landscape.

"Where are we?" Charlotte wonders, as they start to walk hand in hand down a yellow cake road.

"Where would you like this to be?"

"Eh?"

"This is the world you've created."

"Me?" Charlotte turns her head in every direction trying to take in everything. "It looks like something I would make," she admits. "But I didn't know magic girls could do this!"

"You usually don't," the girl admits. "But after I've cleansed Soul Gems your magic seems to change. This place is pretty nostalgic for me."

"You've seen this before?"

"In another time that doesn't exist anymore." The girl laughs at Charlotte's, but not unkindly. "It's ok to feel confused! Sometimes my own powers confuse me too. You have more than enough time to figure things out."

"I guess..." Charlotte looks around at the happy colours that surround them. There are birthday candles too, which reminds her...

"Sorry, uh, you are...?"

"Kaname Madoka."

"You know a lot about this place huh? Do you know how to leave?"

Madoka stops under a candy cane. "Where would you like to go?"

"I have a friend I need to apologise to," Charlotte says. "I need to get back home."

"Alright, but it may take some time."

"How far away are we? How did we get here? Why did I need to create my own world when the one I have is good enough?"

For the first time, Madoka's gentle expression frightens her. It holds too much compassion. "Charlotte, you've left the world behind."

Charlotte drops the hand held in hers, and the world wavers around them. "But- but why?"

"Do you remember what happened before you came here?"

"I..." Charlotte squeezes her eyes shut, trying to block out her friend's disappointed face hovering over the lit candles. "I'd just argued with my friend. I was angry, so angry, but sad that I felt that way..." The taste of despair is rising in her mouth again.

"Despair is a powerful force, isn't it?" Madoka murmurs. Her voice, previously so full of life, is sad and sombre. Charlotte has to look, although she doesn't expect what she sees - Madoka is crying openly, tears flowing down her face. Charlotte touches her own face; it's wet too.

"I feel exactly as you do," Madoka tells her, and this time Charlotte throws herself at Madoka and bawls. Soothing hands pat her back until all that comes out are shuddering breaths. Even then, Madoka still holds her.

Cloth is pressed into Charlotte's hand, and she takes it and blows her nose on it hard. Madoka giggles at the sound, and Charlotte has to giggle too; she also finds the sound of blowing noses funny. She doesn't have a hankerchief, so she uses a sleeve to mop up Madoka's face too. Madoka scrunches up her face. "I've never been able to cry prettily," she admits.

"Who wants to look pretty when they're sad?" Charlotte challenges. "Then you'll have to look sad all the time!" Realising that she is still in the circle of Madoka's arms, she sits right up. Madoka doesn't seem to mind that Charlotte has broken free. "Sorry to make you cry."

Madoka shakes her head. "No! I'm sorry for bringing up your friend." She touches Charlotte's hand, still clutching on to the hankerchief. "Do you still want to know why you are here?"

"I- I should, shouldn't I?" Charlotte scrunches up her eyes. "It's frightening!"

"We can always talk about it another day."

"But... my friend..."

"It's a long journey. We can make preparations first," Madoka states. "And what better way to prepare than having a good meal?"

Something soft and squishy is placed in Charlotte's free hand. She cracks open an eye to find that a picnic blanket has been placed next to them, and Madoka is cheerfully shaking sweets from a lollipop tree. And in Charlotte's hand...

She opens it to find a perfect circle of cheese, nestled in her palm.


Kyouko meets Renji
Kyouko didn't know why Homura's eyes widened so when she stepped into Byakuya's office. It wasn't as if it was the first time that Kyouko had found her there - Homura sure did like running back to the Bureau, for reasons unknown - and it wasn't as if it were the first time Kyouko had brought food in. And yet Homura looked like Kyouko had brought in a snake.

Maybe it was the new guy in the room. Red hair, just like her own, and tattoos everywhere was the first impression that Kyouko got. But then she saw the casual way he was sitting in Kuchiki's stuffy office, and decided that he couldn't be a bad sort.

Kyouko fished a taiyaki out of the bag she was holding, and offered one to the guy. "Want one?"

The guy grinned back, and Kyouko's esteem of him shot up more notches. "Don't mind if I do," he said, and took the taiyaki. "Ah, it's still warm."

"Just got it from the shop round the corner."

"Really? The taiyaki from there's not bad." He took a bite. "Mmm, red bean."

"Red bean's the best isn't it?" said Kyouko, dropping onto the sofa. Even though she hadn't expected Kuchiki to have one, she was glad that it was there. Even Kuchiki's chairs were as stiff as the man was; the sofa was so much better. She fished a taiyaki for herself from her bag.

"Taiyaki's the best, red bean just makes it better."

Kyouko showed her agreement by munching on her own taiyaki. "I like this guy," she told Homura, then turned back to him. "Who are you?"

"Renji. Abarai Renji."

"Kyouko. Sakura Kyouko."

When he stood and offered his hand to shake, she laughed. "I already shook hands with you. Unless you want another taiyaki?"

"Can't turn down food," said Renji.

Kyouko had to laugh at that, and as a reward she slapped another taiyaki into the palm of Renji's outstretched hand. As she did, she caught sight of Homura's expression; she looked like she had just discovered a very sour lemon drop. Kyouko had given her one before, just for a lark. Unit leaders who acted like they knew everything needed to be taken down a peg now and then.

So she patted the seat next to her. "It's easier to share if you sit here," she claimed, ignoring the stare Homura was giving her. Renji obliged, sinking down into the sofa and stretching out his legs.

"Are you sure you'll have any left for youself, if you share?" he asked, raising one hand of taiyaki then the other.

"You could always buy me more. Know any other good places 'sides the one I went to?"

"If it's red bean you're looking for Azabu's the best."

"It really is. But it's far." Kyouko bit into her taiyaki as she thought of the number of buses she had to take just for good taiyaki.

"Not that far for me - I buy it once a week."

"Really?" Kyouko bolted up in excitment. "Do you work here?"

"No," said Homura, at the same that Renji said, "Sort of."

Kyouko ignored Homura - what was up with her? - and asked Renji, "When are you going there next?"

"I could make a trip just for you. As thanks for the taiyaki today."

Kyouko never turned down food, especially food that she liked. "When?"

"When are you free?"

"Most definitely not now," Homura cut in. Kyouko scowled at her, even though Homura's face had gone blank in a vaguely threatening manner. "You're supposed to be meeting Byakuya now, right Abarai-kun?"

"I'm afraid she's right," said Renji, giving a helpless shrug. "Not sure if you know my boss, but he can be scary at times."

"Oh I know, seeing that my boss likes to hang out here for no reason." Kyouko tilted her chin at Homura. "The Plelaides are looking for you again."

"I know, thanks for coming all this way to tell me," said Homura, all prim and proper as if she hadn't been treading all over Kyouko's conversation. Kyouko cast a glance at Renji, whose eyebrows were raised. Apparently he hadn't been exposed to Homura's bitchy side. It was Kyouko's turn to shrug and grin.

Homura showed her lack of amusement when she asked, "That's all you wanted, wasn't it?"

Homura really knew how to ruin someone's mood. "I dunno. Maybe I wanted to sit here a while yanno? Like what you're doing now."

"This isn't your office."

"It isn't yours either," Kyouko shot back. Still, she knew a stupid fight when she saw one; it felt a bit like fighting familiars instead of witches. So she stood and stretched, munching on her taiyaki as she mused over what had Homura in such a mood. "Sorry about that," she said to Renji. "Looks like my boss wants me back to work too."

"S'cool. Thanks for the taiyaki."

"Happy to share with someone who can appreciate," Kyouko replied, rounding it off with a hard glare at Homura. Homura returned it. The expression annoyed Kyouko enough that she rounded on her heel, all prepared to storm off.

"Hey, Sakura!"

Kyouko turned back to Renji. "What?"

"Let me know when you want to head to Azabu."

Kyouko felt her grin returning. "Alright, and Renji?"

He didn't start at the use of his given name, only responding with a "Yeah?"

"It's Kyouko. See you then!"

Kyouko turned and skipped off. If bumping into Kuchiki and spotting the stunned expression on his face put an extra spring in her step, she wouldn't admit it.


Kyouko expected Homura to talk about their meeting in Kuchiki's office sometime in the next week. She might not have looked it, but when she got into the idea that someone needed to be warned, she could be a nag. Or a control freak. Everyone knew that, except possibly Madoka since she had Homura wrapped around her little finger, though it wasn't for a lack of trying on Homura's part. Still, despite her complaints Kyouko'd take Homura over Oriko any day - Homura might be a passive-aggressive stony wall, but she couldn't lie like Oriko did.

And Homura wasn't all bad. There were times when she still surprised Kyouko, like now when she dropped a bag in front of Kyouko, while she was tearing out her hair over reports.

"What's this?"

"I happened to pass by Azabu," said Homura, as she took a seat on the other side of the desk. Kyouko seriously doubted it - Homura lived even further on the other side of the town than where Kyouko and Mami were staying. No way that it would be easier for Homura to get to Azabu. Still, Homura had her tricks - the taiyaki was warmer than expected when Kyouko fished it out. Homura must have used her time powers on it, or stuffed it into her shield.

"Thanks!" said Kyouko, genuinely touched. Homura as a rule disliked to misuse her magic girl powers; for her to make an exception for Kyouko was nice enough.

"You're welcome," replied Homura, flipping her hair to show just how little she thought of it.

Glad of the excuse to drop her reports, Kyouko swapped out her Pocky and bit into the taiyaki - it was really nice, and doubly so since it was warm. "Too bad there's only one," she sighed.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Eh? That's rare from you. What's the special occasion?"

"Nothing. Since you like it enough to ask a perfectly random stranger for some, I thought I'd save you the trouble."

"Oh ho! So the truth comes out." Kyouko might have said more, but the taiyaki had gone a long way in placating her mood. It was really good. "He has good taste in taiyaki. That's practically a bond right there."

"I didn't know you were so easily moved."

"Not everyone knows how to appreciate good food. Did you buy any taiyaki for yourself?"

Homura didn't say anything, but Kyouko had known Homura long enough to know when she had pinked.

"Aah, I see I'm only getting food courtesy of the Goddess~"

Despite it being a widely known fact that Homura disliked that nickname for Madoka, she didn't bother protesting. "We were having tea with Madoka's mom. And that was specially set aside for you."

"Well, I thanked you already so don't go fishing for more compliments."

"It's a good addition, so it won't be any trouble to get more for you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Looking mournfully at the tail that was left, Kyouko had to ask. "What's the deal with Renji?"

"Has Abarai Renji contacted you?"

"Nah. And he's not even in the Company's database. That's pretty weird."

"Then there's nothing more to say." Homura stood. "As you've discovered, Renji's association with the Company is not a normal one. It might be best to keep him at a distance."

"No one's normal around here," Kyouko pointed out.

"Perhaps," said Homura, and was gone as mysteriously as she had come.

"Weird," Kyouko muttered to herself, then shrugged and tossed the last bit of taiyaki into her mouth. "Aaaaaaah, stupid reports!"


Kyouko had almost put the entire incident out of her mind when an unfamilar voice called out to her while she was at the Company HQ.

"Yo! Long time no see," someone called out in a deeper voice than those she knew well. She turned, and couldn't help a grin around her lollipop when she realised it was Renji.

"It's you. I thought you were going to backtrack on your promise," she said, hands on her hips.

To his credit, Renji rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I forgot to give you my contact details huh?"

"And you ain't in the Company system," Tilting her head to regard him, she asked, "What's up with that?"

"Ah." Renji dropped his hand and stuffed it back in his pocket. "I'm a bit of a - freelancer you could say. Though I sign contracts with the Company pretty often."

"Freelancer? Under Kuchiki Byakuya? That sure is weird."

Renji shrugged. "It pays well, can't complain."

"Good enough for you to give me a treat?" Kyouko teased. "You turning up out of the blue like this surely can't be a coincidence."

"No, I was looking for you," he admitted. Fishing a set of keys out of his pocket, he swung them in Kyouko's face and asked, "Shall we head to Azabu then?"

"You've got a ride? Sweet!"

"Ah, save the compliments for when you see it."

Kyouko fell in step beside him as he started to head out of the building. "No wonder you find it so easy to get to Azabu."

"Haven't you thought of getting your own ride? You're old enough aren't you?"

"Can't, though I'm legal. I thought you knew Homura? Both of you seemed to be getting along when I popped by."

"I knew her in her Bureau days, but since she's become a unit leader she's pretty busy. And she didn't talk much about the Puella Magi unit anyway."

"Yeah, that's just like her. Well, I might as well tell you. Magic girls don't get paid much - our work is pretty specialised even though it keeps the peace. 'Sides, most of us are still schooling so we get paid an internship wage."

"That's not much at all."

"Yeah, some of the girls take odd jobs to boost their pay, but I think hunting witches is more important." She let Renji push open the final set of doors for her, and trotted after him into the parking lot. As he led her to the motorcycle section, she whistled. "You mean one of these is yours?"

"This is mine," said Renji, patting the seat of one of the black motorcycles. It had bold red flames flanking each side.

"Nice!" Leaning in, Kyouko traced the flames. "Did you paint these yourself?"

"Every last one."

"Cool! Must have taken you a while."

"Ah, it wasn't much. The paintjob before this took much longer."

"Didn't know you had an artistic side to you." Straightening, Kyouko asked, "How fast does it go?"

Renji lobbed a helmet to her. Like the bike, it was black with red flames. "Why don't I show you?"

Jamming the helmet on her head, Kyouko grinned. "You're on."

"It's a good thing you're wearing shorts," said Renji as he fastened his own matching helmet. He swung astride the bike, and Kyouko followed suit.

"Skirts are so impractical," she shot back, and whooped as they headed off.

Kyouko wasn't familar with bikes, but Renji seemed to handle his well - he was pretty good at weaving in and out of traffic without losing any speed. They were travelling fast enough that Kyouko's ponytail was whipped in the wind, and it was certainly a lot faster than a stupid bus. Kyouko considered taking her helmet off to appreciate the wind, but the thought of getting Renji into trouble made her decide against it.

The business area gave way to shopping centres, and Kyouko was pleased to note they were reaching Azabu much faster than expected. She could certainly get used to travelling around at this speed; perhaps she ought to start putting aside money for a bike. It wasn't as boring as travelling in a car too, since there was a certain amount of skill in navigating a bike in traffic.

She spotted a familar building. "We're there!" she yelled, releasing her grip on the bike to point.

"Got it. Let me find a spot."

Dropping the speed, Renji circled for a bit before riding easily into a lot nearby. He cut off the engine and shook his hair out of his helmet. Retying his ponytail, he pointed out, 'Your hair's a mess."

Kyouko shoved her helmet under her arm and shook the strands of her ponytail out of her face. "Who cares? Let's go!"

Renji laughed, and even though Kyouko knew he was laughing at her there's surprisingly no unkind elements to the hearty sound. "You're acting like a kid," he said, the excited grin he gave her belaying his words.

"Maybe I am. Hurry up, geezer."

"I'm not that much older than you!"

"Really? With the speed at which you're moving, I couldn't tell."

Kyouko was still laughing at his outraged expression as they stepped into the shop. There wasn't much of a crowd in Azabu then; the Company kept odd hours and it wasn't the proper end of the work day yet. Apart from a few students out from their clubs early, Kyouko and Renji practically had the place to themselves. Kyouko took a deep breath of the scent of freshly baked goods.

"You look like you've just stepped into a candy store," noted Renji, though his posture had relaxed from its earlier defensiveness.

"Candy store, bakery, cafe, what's the difference? It's all good food." Kyouko propped her hands behind her head and leaned back as she calculated how much she could carry. "Say, you only treating taiyaki or you're open to other stuff?"

Renji slipped into a scowl. "What kind of a question is that? I can't say no if you're so direct about it."

"Course you can! It's a very easy word."

"Do you want me to look like I was raised by wolves?"

"It's called being practical. How much money do you have?"

"Why should I tell you after you declared your intention to mooch off me?'

"Geez, you were the one who offered to treat." She reached up and poked him in the side of his head. He didn't flinch away, though he kept his scowl on. "Why are you complaining like a geezer?"

"Cos I didn't expect to be insulted this much. Seems like that nice act in Kuchiki-taichou's office was just an act."

"I /did/ ask you how much you had!"

"Yeah yeah. Just get as much taiyaki as you need and finish with it!"

Kyouko only spent a moment wondering how much of Renji's anger was faked before shrugging it off and going up to the counter. "I'll have a tray of taiyaki please," she told the cashier.

While the poor cashier trotted off to confer with her coworkers, Renji leaned against the counter, one tattooed eyebrow raised. "You can eat that much?"

"That's a week's worth of supplies. Who knows when I'll be back here again?"

"I could give you a lift."

"You sure? I can't promise I won't insult you."

"Man, you like to make things hard."

At this point, the cashier comes back with a full bag. "Two more pieces please," said Renji, and when the cashier returns with another bag, he trades it with some cash.

"That's all you're getting?" Kyouko demanded.

"Gotta leave some of the taiyaki for other hungry people, don't I?"

"You're too kind-hearted. It's not as if they're even going to know what you did." Grumbling, Kyouko fished a taiyaki out of her bag. "Want one?"

"What happened to your week's worth?"

"I've got more than enough to spare."

Renji bit into the taiyaki with a grin. While Kyouko was busy trying to figure out whether Renji was going to eat from her hand or take it from her, someone jostled her bag hard. She let go of Renji's taiyaki to defend her stash. "Oi!" she snapped at the person who had jostled here. Even though the other was dressed in a smart suit, he didn't bother to apologise. Instead he thumped a bag down on the counter.

"Hey, the lady was talking to you - " began Renji, but before he could grab the person's arm he was shoved back by another person in a suit.

"He's got more important things to do," the second person sneered. Renji shoved back, and Suit #2 might have made it an issue if Suit #1 hadn't grabbed his arm.

"Save it, the boss is angry enough already."

"Yeah," piped up Suit #3.

"Hey! Where's your manager?" Suit #1 demanded of the cashier.

"H-he's out on break."

"Eh? You sure about that? I've got something to say about what he sold to me." He shoved the bag so that taiyaki and pastries spilled all over the counter. "It's cold and dry and not fit for dogs!"

"You're being rude - " was as far as Renji got out before Kyouko managed to get a grip on Suit #1's tie and yanked. Hard.

"The hell you do that for?" she demanded, as Suit #1 spluttered in her face. "That looks perfectly fine to me!"

Suit #1 still dared to sneer. "Yeah? Our boss has better taste than you."

Kyouko yanked on his tie again, changing the angle so that Suit #1's stupid face slammed into the counter. Suit #2 attempted to come to the rescue, but a quick introduction to Renji's fist put an end to that. "One, your boss wouldn't know a cold pastry if it was stuffed up his ass." A second slam. "Two, your boss's a coward for sending three people just to make his stupid complaint." Kyouko slammed him into the counter a last time and then let him drop. "Three, I hate people who waste food!"

Suit #3 finally mustered up enough brain cells to try and make a lunge for Kyouko. She had the pleasure of kicking him in the balls, and when he dropped beside Suit #1, she gave them all another kick in their stomach for good measure.

"You can call the ambulance, if you want," she told the shell-shocked cashier, and stepped over the groaning bodies. Renji caught up easily, and they left the shop together.

Kyouko had barely stepped out of the shop when Renji grabbed her arm and steered her straight in the direction of his bike. "Hey!" she protested, tripping as he lenghtened his strides. Renji had much longer legs than her, and she had to trot to keep up. "Hey! Slow down!"

"Can't," he replied, all trace of his grin gone. "You know who those guys were just now?"

"They're just a bunch of idiots."

"They're members of the Hirota gang. Just won a recent turf war, a tad touchy about how they're viewed in this new area. They're not going to take this lying down."

"Right." Kyouko yanked her arm free. "I'm just a stupid girl who didn't know anything. Done with the lecture?"

"I'm not saying they didn't deserve it!" Renji stopped with an exasperated huff. "I'm just saying they're probably gonna want to beat you up. So we gotta get out of here before they find you."

"I can take them on."

"So?"

"So there's no need to run! They're the ones doing the wrong thing!"

"So?" His voice rose a notch in volume. "You got something to prove about that? You know they're wrong and I know they're wrong and we stopped them already. What more do you want? You want to save the world next?"

Kyouko tightened the grip on her bag. "What if I wanna do just that?"

"And how's beating up a bunch of thugs gonna help you save the world? Shut up and save your energy for the real fights." Jamming his hands in his pockets, Renji stalked past her. "When you've got your head on right come and find me."

Kyouko balled her fists, not caring at the sharp crinkle of her bag of taiyaki from the force. She wanted to punch something: a thug, a wall, Renji's stupid face. What did Renji know anyway? He only just met her. He didn't know she didn't run from fights once she had started them. He didn't know she saw things through. Why should she listen to him?

But Renji did know Azabu. He must have been monitoring this place for a while, given his familiarity with the gangs. And he had taken the trouble to bring her all the way out here. In fact, going back alone would be a complete downer after the excellent day she'd be having, including beating up those thugs.

Kyouko scowled to herself and went off in the direction of Renji's bike. She hated it when logic won out.

Just for that, she took some special shortcuts she'd spotted the last few time she had been here. She had barely settled down on Renji's bike when he rounded the corner. The look of shock on his face made it clear that he hadn't been expecting her.

"What took you so long - geezer?" she asked.

"I'm not a geezer!" he grumbled, even as he fished his keys out of his pocket.

"Sure moved slow enough."

"Maybe I was waiting for a mooch who couldn't make up her mind."

"MOOCH?" Kyouko almost thumped him with her bag, then decided not to squash the taiyaki. "You were the one who offered to pay!"

"I did, that's why I get to say where the bag goes." He flipped open the top box. "Bag in, helmet out."

"Yeah yeah you can stop nagging geezer."

"My bike my rules, mooch."

Kyouko made sure to give the bike rim a good kick before doing as she was told. Catching the brief flash of rage out of the corner of her eye, she hid her smirk by pretending to be busy with her helmet. After assuring himself that there was nothing wrong with his bike, Renji swung on. "You ready?" he asked, gunning the bike.

Kyouko jumped on before he decided to drive off without her. "Yeah!"

"Don't take this wrong," said Renji, casting her a side glance. "But you might want to hold on to me instead of the bike this time."

"Why's that?"

"We're going fast." He snapped his visor down. "Very fast."

"I can take - Woah!" For a brief moment, Kyouko thought the bike was going to drive straight out under her, and in her panic she grabbed onto Renji's jacket. His laughter was clear even over the roar of the engine.

"Very funny!" she yelled back, punching him in the back.

"C'mon! The speed's fun once you get used to it!"

Kyouko would never had admitted this aloud, but she agreed. Whatever speed they'd been travelling at earlier was cruising compared to this. Every turn they took felt like a twist in a roller coaster, every straight road felt like a trip down a wind tunnel. It was fun. Not that she'd ever let Renji know, at this point. She suspected he knew anyway, from the way she'd grabbed his waist at the last turn and clung on.

"So, office or home?" Renji asked, when they'd hit another straight stretch.

"Mmmm, home I think."

"Where's that?"

"Keep going, I'll let you know."

"Gotta let me know early, at - "

"Stop yelling at me and keep your eyes on the road!"

She could feel a low rumble rise in his chest, though she couldn't hear whether it was a grumble or a chuckle. She almost thumped him again, but thought better of it. At this speed it was best not to distract him.

She pointed out a turn that would bring him closer to where she and Mami stayed. She'd chosen a shortcut that Mami hated since it brought her to the seedier parts of town, but that didn't explain the way Renji had tensed. He knew gangs - he'd probably had been to seedier places.

"What's up?" she yelled.

There was no such thing as a discreet volume for a conversation on a speeding motorbike, but Renji tried anyway. "We're being followed."

Kyouko leaned forward to check Renji's rear view mirror too. Sure enough, there was one of those typical black cars behind them, keeping pace even at their speed. "Shake them?"

"In a bit. Hold on."

Kyouko didn't think he meant that literally, but it's what she did anyway when Renji spun the bike into a sharp right turn at top speed. It was too much to hope that the car would be put off by that simple trick - with much screeching of tires, it followed suit.

Kyouko cast a glance behind her to see how many people were in the car; no luck there either, since the windows were tinted. Renji seemed to be competing on pure speed, from what Kyouko could see of the speedometer, the needle of which was on the high end. The car seemed to have no trouble pacing, and Kyouko wondered what else they could do.

Renji seemed to have the answer, because he turned down a side street sandwiched between two rows of shops. But the roads here were relatively wide - the car squeezed through after them, the side mirrors only brushing a couple of garbage bins along the way.

"There's smaller roads a block away," she told Renji.

"I know, but we gotta get there first." He turned down a narrower road, then turned again. Kyouko briefly lost sight of the car, but it caught up to them just as they reached the end of the second road. Renji didn't say anything, instead letting out his frustration by taking the next curve more sharply than it should. These were all delivery van routes, Kyouko realised, which was why they were wider than a normal side road. But at this odd time on a weekday afternoon, there were no delivery vans to provide a convenient road block.

"How far more is it to the alleyways?" Kyouko wondered aloud.

"About half a block, I took the longer route."

"Why???"

"Didn't they teach you evasion when you joined? If I head straight for the alleys he has plenty of chances to cut me off before then!"

"This is taking too long!"

"You got any bright ideas then?"

At this speed, Kyouko really didn't want to let go of Renji, but she was a magic girl - she could handle a bit of danger. "I got one, but you're not gonna like it." She turned, shifting in the seat carefully so that she was sitting sideways instead of facing the front. Not wanting to take any chances, she manifested her Soul Gem inside of her fist, and eased her fingers apart just enough to expose the glass at the front. Then she took aim.

An energy spear exploded from her gem and hit the front end of the car, pinning it to the ground. There was a crunch of metal and glass as the car crumpled under the force of Kyouko's spear. She kept up the pressure just in case she didn't destroy the engine.

"Was that a gun?" Renji, despite the speeds they were travelling at, took his eyes off the road to check the rearview mirror. "The hell is that?!"

"My magic, that's what!" As the men in the car stumbled out to view the damage, Kyouko absorbed the spear. "Cool isn't it?"

"Cool? Are you sure you're allowed to use your magic like that?"

"Don't know, don't care. No one's gonna believe them anyway, even if they reported it." Glancing around them at the unfamilar buildings, Kyouko told Renji, "I don't know this place, are we heading back to a main road anytime soon?"

"Not yet. I want to make sure they don't have any friends."

"Eh, that won't be a problem. I'll just - "

"You're not going to use magic again!"

"Chill! It's not like it's the first time I've used it in public."

"I really don't want to know."

They had reached the small alleys by now - Renji headed in, cutting the speed so that navigating the many turns would be easier. It was narrow enough that Kyouko could have scrapped her knees on the passing walls if she wasn't careful, so she adjusted her position to face forward with her arms and legs tucked in. Renji seemed to have his own mental map of the place, so Kyouko contented herself with leaving the riding to him. She guessed that she should be more worried - fighting gang members could be dangerous. But the danger they posed to her was so different from witches that she couldn't quite bring herself to care. Renji was the expert here, so she'd leave it to him.

"Main road up ahead," he informed her, as low rays of sunlight began to filter through the buildings.

"Alright, I'll give you directions from there."

"Hopefully that'll be all," he replied cryptically. Kyouko let it slide - the car chase just now had put him on edge. Mami got like that sometimes, when she was worried.

They slipped out into late afternoon traffic. Some vehicles drove past them, trying to beat rush hour, but it wasn't that crowded yet. And thankfully, there were no black cars that they could see. Kyouko could see Renji's shoulders drop; she said nothing about it, suspecting that he hadn't known that he had tensed them in the first place. They joined the main road easily.

"Straight ahead for now," she told him.

Renji nodded to show he'd heard. Apparently the traffic was easy, for he immediately started up conversation. "Do you need to report to Homura for damage control?"

"What for?"

"You just crashed a car!"

Kyouko was about to tell him that she had done a lot more damage on missions, but there was something off. Trusting her instincts, she peered ahead to the intersection and what she saw made her gulp.

"Car ahead!"

She didn't have to add that it was black and speeding towards them from the cross street. From the way that Renji swore, she was sure he had seen that too.

"They're trying to cut us off at the intersection!" He gunned the engine to bring up the speed. "Hold on!"

Kyouko clung on as they rushed the intersection. The car came close enough that she could almost imagine she saw the driver through the tinted window; it rushed past the end of Renji's bike right after, so she couldn't be sure. Having missed its target it stopped. Kyouko watched it until Renji turned another corner.

"Same as the first one?"

"Same group at least. Sorry but home's gonna have to wait."

"I don't think my roommate would like me bringing thugs back anyway."

Renji might had laughed; his shoulders certainly shook. But he sounded serious when he asked, "How did they find us?"

"How would I know?"

"Say, if you scanned the bike, would you be able to pick up a tracker?"

"Huh? With what?"

"Your magic thingie?"

"My - My Soul Gem detects magic, not trackers! Find your stupid tracker yourself!"

As Renji fell to grumbling, Kyouko sneaked a look back to see if the speeding was worth it, and swore. "Two cars now!"

"What? Sure they're after us?"

"Same car as just now and a friend."

They had left the sanctuary of the small roads behind, and the road was open with little traffic to hide behind. It was all down to speed. Renji seemed to have plenty of it to spare - their pace picked up again. The cars tried to close in as they sped down the road, but they were still at least a car length behind them, from what Kyouko could see from snatched glances behind. They might be able to make it - Kyouko knew from her bus route there was a turning up ahead where they might be able to shake the cars.

Obviously their pursuers realised the same thing, because Kyouko's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gunshots. She materialised her Soul Gem in order to throw up a shield, but nothing pinged on it - evidently their pursurers weren't as good at shooting as Homura.

"Guns? I was hoping we could skip that," Renji groaned.

"You mean you thought this might happen???" asked Kyouko, as she swapped out her shield for her spear. Another burst of gunfire stopped her from aiming. "Dammit!"

"You any good with a gun?"

"Gun? I'll just use my spear - "

"No magic!"

"But - "

"This isn't an alleyway, we'll be seen!"

"Yeah, like you bothered with that when you asked me to find your stupid tracker," Kyouko retorted. "You gonna outride bullets too?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Renji said slowly.

"Eh?"

"Yeah," said Renji, too happily for someone who had a pair of cars chasing after him. "Yeah I got this trick. But you gotta hold on."

"Eh? What -"

Kyouko never got to finish her question, because Renji suddenly turned the bike into a sharp turn. It spun 180 degrees on the spot to face the cars. Renji merely stopped there a while, waiting for the cars and the bullets to catch up.

Kyouko was about to demand what the hell he was doing when Renji did something much worse: he suddenly gunned the bike towards the cars.

She didn't care what Renji thought - she threw up her shields in anticipation for a high speed collision and shut her eyes. When nothing happened, she cracked them open to find that they were speeding along the road in the opposite direction that they had come.

"They've gotta go straight," Renji explained, as if he hadn't just squeezed through a pair of cars. "The next turning isn't for a bit, and there's a road divider for this stretch."

"You - you IDIOT," Kyouko yelled, thumping his back repeatedly. She didn't care how hard she was hitting him; in fact she hoped she could punch a hole through him. "You just played chicken with cars!"

"Were you scared? I think I heard you scream - "

"YOU DID NOT," Kyouko protested, hearing her voice veer dangerously close to a shriek.

"That voice sounds really shaky to me!"

"I just have a healthy sense of self- preservation. Not like you - watch out!"

Renji dodged an oncoming car. Kyouko got a good look at the driver gaping at them, which prompted her to whack Renji again.

"Cut it out! I saved us didn't I?"

"At this rate we'd be killed by traffic," Kyouko sulked.

"It's not that bad. We'll be back to the intersection we passed just now, and - "

Renji shut up as a black car drew up next to them across the divider. Kyouko wasn't sure it was the same car, but she sure didn't like the look of it. And then, to make things worse, gunshots resumed behind them. This time, the bullets thunked against her shield.

She dared a peek, and realised that the car on the same side of the road as them was driving backwards.

Renji, having noticed the same thing, whistled. "They must be really pissed off at you."

Kyouko cracked her knuckles. "Permission to kick their asses?" she ground out.

"Not with magic,” he replied, taking all the fun out of it. “I've got some guns of my own. You see the side compartment?"

Kyouko had noticed it when she was tracing the flames earlier. She shot Renji's back an incredulous look. "You want me to open that? While you're driving?"

"Scared?"

"Well, YEAH! Do you even know how fast you're going? Against traffic?"

"Bitch bitch bitch," grumbled Renji. "My bike, my rules. Hurry up, I don't want to become swiss cheese."

"Magic is so much easier," Kyouko groaned, but leaned down anyway. It wasn't the most difficult thing that she had done, but she didn't like how much closer she was to the road. Not to mention that her right hand had to let go of Renji. She grabbed a longish looking bag, and unzipped it just to confirm it was what she was looking for. There was indeed a shotgun inside, and she fished it out triumphantly. She wasn't a crack shot like Homura, but Mami had tried to teach her a few things. She took aim and squeezed off a shot.

Nothing happened. "Your gun's defective!"

"Do I look suicidal? It isn't loaded! Bullets in the zip pocket."

"You want me to load a gun on a moving bike?"

"If I can do it - "

"I'll shove you off if you weren't driving!" Kyouko yelled back.

There was another volley of bullets. Kyouko ducked down - she had to rummage in the side box anyway - and came up with a fistful of bullets. Muttering darkly she began to load them, thankful that she had paid attention to Mami's gun lessons.

As more bullets whizzed by, Renji yelled back, "Anytime now would be good."

"Yeah yeah, make me do all the work." Kyouko brought the shotgun up to bear over her shield, and was satisfied when it did fire this time. "Now we're talking!"

Her joy was shortlived, since the bullets fired at them doubled. Grudgingly, she shifted her position such that she was seated facing the back instead. Leaning against Renji, she fired off more shots.

"Aim for their tyres!" he demanded, without even a word of thanks.

"Do I look like a crack shot to you?" Kyouko snapped back. She did what she was told, and got a few dents in the bumper and the tire rims for her trouble. Muttering about stupid people and stupid demands, she reloaded.

She had only fired off a few more shots when Renji yelled, "Hang on!"

Kyouko hung on as Renji took a turn with great speed. She really hoped this would work - she would rather shake the thugs rather than shoot them down. There was a brief break in gunfire as the other cars disappeared behind the corner of the building, only to restart when they completed the turn. Kyouko couldn't hold back a groan of disappointment.

"We're on the right side of the road," said Renji.

"Like that helps!" Kyouko snapped back. "How long do I have to keep this up?"

"Until you run out of bullets?"

"Until - What!"

"I wanted to say when you shoot their tires, but you don't seem to be doing that anytime soon..."

"You wanna say that to my face?" Kyouko threatened. "And if you weren't doing such a piss-poor job at evading, I wouldn't need to shoot!"

"Oh yeah? Well if you really want to go into it, if you didn't piss off the gang, we wouldn't be here."

"Then dump my stupid ass on the sidewalk and let me fight them!"

"Do I look like that kind of jerk who dumps a girl in trouble?"

"You're sounding like one!"

Another volley of bullets pinged against Kyouko's shields. Reminded of their common enemy, the pair fell silent.

"Alright, I'm sorry," Renji said first. "We really don't have to fight. What do you propose we do next?"

"I guess we could try the gun thing," Kyouko grudgingly admitted. "But if I don't get them by the next round, we're moving on to magic, alright?"

"Sounds good."


Before I get into the meat of this proper, this is what happens on Kyouko and Renji's first night out - they ride his motorbike to Azabu, and while they are there some gangsters insult the food and demand money (back or for protection, I don't know). Renji gives them lip, Kyouko backs him up, and whips out her spear to boot. They almost fight, but Renji drags Kyouko out (because he doesn't want his favourite shop to get trashed) and then there is CAR CHASE. That gets featured ON THE NEWS.

Sensing trouble, Homura arrives on the scene (probably courtesy of Byakuya) and is badass and blows up the cars (without the gangsters inside) and when Renji and Kyouko ride back to thank her, she's like WHAT ARE YOU DOING? And Renji's all "Eh heh heh" but Kyouko still reminds Homura from her moe days and she's like STANDING UP FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE and other kinds of lip. Homura, sensing that Renji is the saner half, tells him "You better not meet her again. Oh, and all this is coming out of your paychecks. You too Kyouko." And they all SULLLLLLK, but Renji asks Kyouko in private, "Dim sum next time?" And she's like HELL YEAH.

Only that dim sum results in CHEONGSAMS. and SHOTGUNS. and alley sex mmmm. Because it's the only time I can imagine Kyouko in a skirt. And because Matsumoto is there, swanning it up with Nanao, and Renji flirts with the two ladies, but especially Matsumoto.


Me says:
eeeeeeeee: http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/946310/
An Apple Flag Pie says:
Well just look at THAT piece of awesome
Damn, Pea!
I love that Kyouko looks like Renji down to the chest wrapping
Me says:
*GIGGLES*
Obviously we need to write a cross-over fic where Kyouko and Renji go out for a night on the town with taiyaki and shotguns
And Byakuya and Homura go "..."
An Apple Flag Pie says:
TOTALLY
omg YES
Me says:
"Tea?"
"... Very well."
not sure where Mami's at though
unless she's baking up a storm with Yuzu
Or hanging out with Rangiku
OH NO
An Apple Flag Pie says:
HEE HEE HEE it sounds like they're trying to break up or stay away from each other BUT THEY JUST CAN'T DO IT.
Tea totally means "hot sex" in my head >D
MWA HA HA HA
MAMI
RANGIKU
DESPAIR NO MORE
Me says:
*giggles* IT JUST MIGHT BE HOT SEX
An Apple Flag Pie says:
Pff, just might be
IS TOTALLY >D
Me says:
And if Mami and Rangiku go for a night on the night, it'd be the night of the big boobies
I don't think the town can survive them
An Apple Flag Pie says:
Mami's mammies!
Me says:
Or Renji and Kyouko
An Apple Flag Pie says:
...AH HA HA HA
That's a foursome
Me says:
Byakuya and Homura prudently stay indoors
An Apple Flag Pie says:
That ends with Renji boffing Kyouko in the alley, incidentally
Me says:
where it's safe. Well, safer
...
Kyouko, what happened to your Christian values???
An Apple Flag Pie says:
What? Well, he took her out and they had fun but then she was like "I don't have the boobs" and he was like, "It's okay, you don't need them" and then my period said SEX INNA ALLEY
Also, I think Kyouko gave those up when she started stealing from everyone
Me says:
This is true
ATM ROBBING GO!
... man, Renji and Kyouko are really hot eh
... I think Homura is starting to regret introducing them to each other...
An Apple Flag Pie says:
A girl's gotta survive!
They are rather hot!
Not that Renji/Mami wouldn't be hot, either
Me says:
Renji any lady would be hot
except maybe Homura, because Byakuya would eye-laser him so hard
An Apple Flag Pie says:
I think there's some ladies he becomes more like a brother towards
Like Madoka
I can't see Renji boffing Madoka
Me says:
generally I can't see ANYONE boffing Madoka
An Apple Flag Pie says:
Mami and Kyouko, yes. Homura--yeah, Byakuya would kill him DED, but I think he might be a little repelled by her Rukia-ness
Me says:
except maybe Homura
An Apple Flag Pie says:
SO MUCH GIGGLING IN THEIR SEX
Me says:
SO MUCH GIGGLING
Are you sure he won't be repelled by her Byakuyaness
ha ha ha concrete tube: http://danbooru.donmai.us/pool/show/3735
An Apple Flag Pie says:
But doesn't he have a crush on Byakuya, too?
Me says:
*giggles*



Tea time with the ladies
"When are you going to make an honest woman out of my daughter?"

To the credit of both her daughter and her upbringing, Madoka didn't flinch at Junko's question. Homura, however, dropped the cup of tea that she had been holding. Although Junko did like that too - while Homura appeared cold and aloof to everyone else, she had little tells when it came to Madoka. At least she was direct about it.

Madoka and Homura dove to mop up the mess. Junko watched them fondly as they debated who should pick up the dangerous cup shards. Homura's affection for her daughter was clear, and Madoka loved her too. That was why when Madoka re-introduced Homura to the family as her girlfriend, Junko had made a bit of a fuss, but had allowed them to continue their relationship.

Finally the two settled to picking out the pieces of the cup together. When the mess was safely in the dustbin, Junko asked again, "Well?"

"Oh Mama," Madoka sighed, as Homura pinked. "It's not like Homura and I can give you any grandchildren."

At that, Homura's face turned completely red. Junko laughed. "You're still upset over the talk I gave you when you first told me about Homura?"

Madoka rubbed her cheeks. "I'm not sure if I've stopped blushing since then."

"Of course you have, you're my daughter," said Junko, pinching said cheeks. "Homura on the other hand..."

"Mama," said Madoka, in the tone of 'I'm too old for this why are you embarrassing me?'. Junko hoped to never hear this tone from Tatsuya, though that could be wistful thinking.

Not to be deterred, Junko pressed on, "I just want the best for my daughter. Homura, if you're serious about her, arrangements can be made."

Junko was impressed when Homura raised her head and looked her in the eye. Junko tended to intimidate most people, but she guessed that Homura's stint in the Bureau had developed her self-confidence. "If that's the case," Homura replied. "I - "

"I don't want to marry Homura, Mama," said Madoka.

Because Homura was looking straight at her, Junko was able to see the disappointment flash in Homura's eyes before she lowered them. Madoka, sensing the distress she'd caused, took Homura's hand. "I like the way we are right now," Madoka said, looking to Homura for agreement.

"It is as Madoka said," Homura said, and fell silent. She didn't respond when Madoka bumped shoulders with her.

"You don't have to agree with my daughter," Junko told Homura. She had started to think of the girl as an additional daughter, and it was hard to see her down. "She can be quite bull-headed when she wants to be. I honestly don't know where she gets it."

"Of course it's from you Mama. Papa is too kind for his own good," was Madoka's reply. Junko gave her a playful swat, just because she could.

"As if you didn't get your kindness from him! When are you going to start thinking of your own happiness? If you don't hurry, Homura just might marry someone else."

"That would never happen, Kaname-san," Homura protested.

"Life is unpredictable. And it's not as if Madoka gets to meet many people, stuck as she is here."

"I meet lots of magic girls," Madoka countered. "But none of them are as good as Homura."

Homura, Junko suspected, would never be able to get the blush off her face. "Hurry up and become a woman of the Kaname family," Junko advised. "Otherwise you'd always be at a disadvantage to Madoka."

"Mmm, then I definitely don't want to marry Homura. Teasing her is part of our relationship. If she starts defending herself, things would change."

"You're doomed," Junko told Homura.

"That's alright, Kaname-san. I'm fine with this."

"Akemi Homura! How can you let yourself be defeated so easily?"

"She knows I'm doing this for her own good," said Madoka, happily snuggled up against the arm she held captive. "After all - "

"Madoka."

Madoka stopped, leaving Junko to wonder what Homura had stopped her from saying. Madoka didn't seem to be unhappy about it, since she was still snuggled up against Homura, and had now begun stealing bites from Homura's cake.

"Fine, keep your secrets. Call me old-fashioned, but I would really like to see the both of you settle down."

"Letting your daughter settle down with her girlfriend? Doesn't sound very old-fashioned to me."

Junko swatted Madoka again. "You know what I mean! Kids these days..."

Madoka giggled so hard that she was slumped helplessly against Homura. Watching the both of them lean against each other, Junko felt a swell of happiness. Moments like these were why she looked forward to her teas with the both of them.


Visiting a temple (DUE TO CULTURAL DISSONANCE, I.E. NO FIREWORKS AT NEW YEAR BUT AT TEMPLE MASTURIS, AND THAT TEMPLE MASTURIS ARE MORE THAN ONE DAY, I WILL HAVE TO RETHINK THIS.

Also if what I'm reading here is right, Byakuya and Homura totally need to celebrate Christmas.)
It's coincidence that Byakuya happens to be walking with Homura when they pass a message board. After Homura had returned to the Puella Magi unit, and with a promotion no less, the time that they were able to spend together had become less. They also had few excuses to spend time in each other's company - after all, to the Company they were no longer partners. But Homura and he knew the truth, and it was why they often made the effort to spend time with each other.

Walking with her to their shared meetings was one of the ways they did that. Now that Homura was a unit leader, she had many more meetings to attend, and it was also true that she was often confused about what needed to be done for the meetings. As her senior, Byakuya naturally was best placed to mentor her. The fact that it gave them time in each other's company was a hidden bonus that no one else needed to know about.

Homura however, was also why Byakuya had stopped in front of a message board. It was out of the norm for him; Mizuno considered it a source of professional pride that she informed Byakuya of the necessary announcements on the office board. Homura did not have the luxury of a personal assistant, which he supposed meant that she had to read the message board herself.

He was surprised when he saw Homura's eyes light up, and she even went to touch one of the posters on the board. What engaged Homura also interested him too - perhaps it would be another opportunity to spend more time together. He wondered why Mizuno hadn't highlighted the notice to him.

"They've started advertising about the New Year celebrations at XXX temple," she said, tracing the date. "It's certainly come quickly this year."

Ah, New Year's. That was why Mizuno hadn't said anything. "Do you like New Year?"

"I prefer temple matsuris. They're always so lively and exciting. And there are fireworks. But New Year is special." She traced the drawing on the poster, expression wistful. "I haven't gone to any temple celebration for a while."

He didn't need to ask why. He knew all too well of the search for Madoka that had consumed her life. "Certainly the temple is conveniently located. I'm sure Tomoe would agree to an outing, she seems to enjoy social events."

The finger that had been tracing the poster paused. "You don't like festivals?"

Ah. It seemed Homura had been thinking along the same lines as he was with regard to the time they spent with each other. It was a pity that she wasn't aware of his obligations as much as he was aware of hers.

"It is compulsory for the Kuchiki family to hold a gathering on that day. It is good to refresh ties with allies." He might have even invited Homura, under that pretext, even though it placed the both of them closer to the risk of discovery.

"Oh." Homura let her hand fall entirely away. By the time she had turned away from the message board to him, her face was passive. "It must be hard to organise."

"I have help hired for the occasion," he agreed. Homura moved away from the message board, and he fell in step. She had wiped her face blank of all expressions, but he felt it necessary to convey this message, "I'm sure you'll enjoy the celebrations, when you are there."

She dipped her head in acknowledgement. "I'm sure Tomoe Mami would like to know about the festival too."

Assured, Byakuya allowed silence to fall between them. He also made a mental note to ask Mizuno for a copy of the notice.


In front of the mirror, Homura looked at her kimono critically, and let out a sigh.

"Did I tie something wrong?" Mami fretted, looking up from Kyouko's kimono ties.

"No, it's nothing to do with you."

"There's no problem with your kimono design," Kyouko pointed out.

"It is very nice," Mami agreed, turning back to Kyouko's ties now that she was sure there was no crisis that needed averting.

Homura raised a sleeve to trace the purple flowers blooming along the edge. She had always been very fond of this kimono, with its black base and red trim. She was glad that Kyouko and Mami thought so too. But now she wondered what Byakuya's opinion would be. His tastes were difficult to fathom, and it probably wasn't as high-brow as what Byakuya was able to afford. Would that count against his opinion of her dressing?

There was no way she would be able to find out. Byakuya was busy at his family gathering, and she had told him she felt it was best for her not to attend. Besides, she did want to go to the festival - had it changed much, since she last went? Madoka was also waiting on Homura to tell her about the festival - she'd wanted to go, but the hassle of being away from the system for too long and the crowds made her reluctantly give up the idea.

It didn't change this irrational desire for Byakuya's comments on her dressing.

Homura sighed again, making sure it was quieter this time, and made sure to step out of the way when Mami pushed Kyouko in front of the mirror to look at her kimono. The both of them looked lovely too in their respective colours, Kyouko in red with yellow chysanthenums, Mami in yellow with orange daisies. Homura had to admit that Mami had good taste in kimonos, and from the way Mami was glowing she seemed to realise it too. Homura was glad that she had asked Mami along to the festival, even though it hadn't been her idea.

It had been Mami's idea to invite Kyouko too, and Homura had to admit it was a wise choice. Kyouko was used to celebrating New Year's in a church, and it was refreshing to see her respond well to Mami's fussing. It made Homura think of her own New Year, back when she was younger.

"You've put this together pretty well," said Kyouko, turning this way and that to view her kimono from all angles. "And with my favourite colour too!"

Mami beamed. "I also bought hair accessories."

"They're not too heavy? I want to play games and eat!"

"No, just some flowers," said Mami, showing Kyouko some beautiful red blooms.

"Bring it on!" said Kyouko, seating herself back on Mami's bed again. As Mami pinned the cloth flowers into Kyouko's ponytail, Homura sifted through the rest.

"There aren't any white ones," she realised.

"Ah?" Mami said around a mouth full of pins. "No, since none of our kimonos have white flowers."

"I see," said Homura, and picked up the red and purple flowers that must be hers. She thought of the last time she had worn flowers in her hair, and felt a pang of nostalgia. The camellias she had worn then were real flowers, and had long since withered. Still, she wished that there was a way to wear camellias in her hair again today.

She shook herself out of her wistful state at Mami's gentle call, and brought the purple and red flowers over. Today she was going to have fun with her friends - there was no need to think of Byakuya.

In the end, it was Kyouko who put an end to all the primping. "If we dally, the best prizes might be gone!" she said. She did not stomp her feet, but it was close.

"I'm ok to go now," said Homura. She was fine without make-up, which would most likely smear in the crowd.

"Just a minute," protested Mami, putting on her lipstick.

Kyouko made a point of tapping her foot, and when Mami had capped the lipstick, Kyouko took to pushing Mami out. "Time! To! Go!" she insisted, and Mami relented, laughing. Homura followed, feeling curiously happy despite herself.

Her mood was lifted by the crisp air as they stepped outside. It felt like New Year, with the crisp chill air as night was falling. She noticed that the three of them weren't the only one in kimonos, and a few, though not all, were headed in the same direction as they were.

"It's a great atmosphere, isn't it?"

"Good thing the temple is close," said Kyouko. "I'd hate to walk far in such fancy tabi."

"The new shoes aren't hurting you, aren't they?"

Kyouko laughed at Mami's fretting. "Takes more than new shoes to slow me down! I can even play games in these."

"Don't expect to get all the prizes," Mami warned. "I don't think you could beat me at a shooting stall."

"You're not the only sharpshooter," Homura countered, and Mami laughed.

"Is that a challenge?" she teased.

"We could certainly have one."

Kyouko whooped. "I pity whoever is running the stall this year! He better not have any pink toys, or Homura's sure to win."

"I do not like pink toys."

"But Madoka does, doesn't she?"

Glad for the high collar of her shrug, Homura blushed.

Mami tilted her head to one side with a knowing smile. "Then I shouldn't get between Akemi and her gift of love."

"There are many other prizes to compete for."

"My my, Akemi, I didn't know you wanted a competition that badly."


Homura felt her handphone buzz briefly in her pouch before it stilled. If it was a call Homura would have ignored it; but it was an sms, which could let Homura know how long she could expect the quiet to last. Deciding that it was better to know now rather than be surprised, she fished out her phone.

The message wasn't from Mami - it was Byakuya. Excitment mounting, she opened it and read:

Where are you right now?

The brevity of the message confused her. He knew she was going to the temple tonight, did he think she had left? Pondering her options, she sent back:

South temple garden

Homura rested her phone on her lap, trying not to bristle with anticipation. It was just a simple question, she told herself. She should not read anything into it. After all, he was busy with his own gathering. Even if he were thinking of her as much as she was thinking of him, it made no difference.

The buzz of the phone again startled her out of her thoughts.

Which part?

She forced her fingers to steady as she typed:

Near the rock garden.

His next reply was quick and simple:

Thanks.

Homura was no closer to understanding than she was before. She was tempted to sms back to ask what was the significance of that exchange, but... she was afraid. She was afraid that his answer would be that he was curious. No, better to leave this uncertainty. At least this way she wouldn't be disappointed.

And he was thinking about me as well, she thought. I should be satisfied with what I have. It's a lot more than what I've been used to.

She sighed, and kicked at the stone she was sitting on idly. It seemed like it made no difference where she was. If she wasn't thinking about Madoka, she was thinking about Byakuya. Perhaps this was meant to be her revelation for New Year - that she shouldn't depend so much on others. They had lent her their support for long enough. Perhaps now it was time to stand on her own.

She was almost about to leave when the sound of footsteps caught her attention. She turned, wondering who else would be seeking the quiet of the temple gardens on such a day.

Her breath caught.

It was Byakuya. That alone would have been a surprise. But his attire was far different from what she had expected. She had know, intellectually, that he was unlikely to turn up in the Western formal wear that she was used to, and would likely be in Japanese traditional wear. That however, did not prepare her for what she saw now.

The black kimono she had expected, but not the full length white haori that overlaid it. A white scarf was wrapped around his throat, with the ends fluttering in the cold night air. There were white hair pieces holding his hair back in a different style from what she was used to.

It made his eyes even more striking, she realised, as his eyes met hers.

"Good evening," Byakuya said, as if they were back in the office and not meeting in their best wear in a temple garden.

"Good evening," Homura returned, though she was quite sure her voice sounded faint. How could it not, when she felt faint herself?

His gaze swept her from head to toe; she had to fight the urge to fidget.

"You look nice," he said. Homura blushed furiously. Given the care that he had put into his own dressing, it was a high compliment. Mami would be pleased to hear that her handiwork was appreciated.

Byakuya extended a hand to her - Homura was surprised to note that he was wearing fingerless gloves. Noticing her gaze, he explained, "These are symbols of my status as head of my family."

"... I see." She gingerly placed her fingers on his bare palm, and Byakuya immediately wrapped his warm hand around hers. He helped her off the rock, waiting patiently for her to find her footing down. When he began to walk along the path, his hand still wrapped around hers, Homura felt herself retreating into the cover of her shrug to blush freely.

"I thought you were busy," she said, to cover her awkwardness.

"There is always time for you," said Byakuya, far too matter-of-factly for the way the simple statement made Homura's heart pound.

"Won't you be missed?" she insisted, in order to put things in perspective.

"They will miss the Head of the Kuchiki house." He turned a side-long glance to her. "But that is unimportant to you and I."

Allowing herself to accept that he was really here with her for the first time, Homura squeezed his fingers and smiled. "You're right."

If every New Year was like this, Homura thought, she could get used to it.

(Note to self: Byakuya DOES turn up, while Homura is getting some piece and quiet - he calls her on her handphone. XD He likes Homura's kimono, and she marvels at his full finery - black kimono with the camellia symbol embossed, a nice haori, hair noodles, gloves. They stroll in the quiet temple grounds, as everyone is making their way to see the fireworks. Homura has almost given up on the fireworks, when Byakuya tells her that he's got someone to find a good spot - and that Homura can invite her friends too. That's what she does, and just before the fireworks start Mami asks if she can take a photo of Byakuya and Homura together. They agree, and Homura treasures that photograph, even though they aren't sitting that close together. Byakuya might go back to his family function after that, and the girls all pile in Madoka's room to toast in the new year. Madoka compliments Homura on looking radiant and happy, which just makes Homura happier.)


Interview
Under other circumstances, Homura would have been able to make her way quickly and easily out of the interrogation room. She had spent many hours on the other side of the interview table, and knew this place well.

But those who had caught her had made sure to tie her to her chair with rope. Not because they were aware that she had been in this room several times - in this timeline, Homura had never been here at all - but because they were aware of her time stop powers. She supposed that the Bureau had known about her time stop powers when she had first joined them. It appeared that the purpose of her arrival made a huge difference in how she was treated. Still, it was smart of them. If they hadn't tied her up, she might have escaped by now, and that would have wasted their efforts in catching her.

She wondered why they were giving her so much time in the interrogation room, if they were worried about her escaping. Should they not interview her quickly instead of leaving her alone for extended periods of time? Perhaps they were unable to find someone to interview her. The Puella Magi were not well-known outside of their unit. It had changed once, but Homura was not around to effect the change this time.

She entertained herself by thinking about the differences in this world and the last one she had left, when the door opened. She turned to it, idly wondering if her guess that Doujima was on this case was correct.

It was Byakuya.

Her fists clenched briefly. She had not expected Byakuya to involve himself personally - unless he had been engaged to investigate Homura? But Oriko was no longer around to make the request; Homura had seen to that.

"Akemi Homura," he said, inclining his head by way of greeting.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," Homura returned, and was pleased to note that her voice did not waver as her heart did.

He did not ask how she knew his name, assuming that she had heard of it from other sources. Instead, he observed her. Homura, intent on not responding as much as she could, ignored his gaze. She heard the sound of Byakuya walking to the other chair in the room, and out of the corner of her eye she could see him place his coat there. He also laid a folder on the table.

She was surprised when he walked around the table to grab her wrist. She might have bolted when he then proceeded to untie one of her arms from the chair, if she wasn't so stunned by the warmth of his hand. That was why she remained still, even as he headed to the empty chair on the other side of the table and sat himself there. Even as he unbuttoned one sleeve and pressed his wrist to hers. Even as he proceeded to tie them together.

"What are you doing?" she asked, when she had her voice back. It had been a long time since they had been this close. Neither did they have any reason to be.

"This is a measure against your time stop powers."

"I believe binding me to the chair is sufficient." Her pulse trilled at the feel of his fingers on her skin; she hoped he was unable to detect the treachery of her body. It would raise uncomfortable questions that she was not willing to answer.

"Your powers stop time for all things except those that are in direct contact with yourself." Tying off the last knot, he looked straight at her. "If you stop time to allow yourself to think of an answer, I want to know."

Homura looked away. The idea of time stopped with the two of them alone was a terrifying prospect due to the temptation if offered.

Byakuya did not seem bothered at the tactile contact, despite it being out of the norm. "Do you know why you are here?" he asked, proceeding with the interview.

"No."

"Do you remember Mikuni Oriko?"

"I killed Mikuni Oriko in front of several witnesses. Even if I don't plead guilty, you have more than enough evidence to do away with me. That is why I don't understand why I am here."

She lifted her eyes to gauge his reaction - Byakuya had a wry smile on his face. "You're smart," he acknowledged. "Then why do it?"

"You wouldn't understand." This Byakuya did not know what Madoka meant to her, and she wanted to keep it that way. It was, after all, his attempts to understand that caused Homura trouble in the first place.

"Your certainty may be unfounded. I have, after all, been on this case since you went on the run."

"It is not common for the Head of the Bureau to be personally involved in cases."

"I may have received a request."

Homura did not know that Kure Kirika was the sort to work within the system - was this an irregularity of this universe? Or Oriko's precognition at work? If this was the case, Homura could have spent less time watching out for the sharp bite of Kirika's claws and focused on Madoka.

"And you did indeed kill the team leader of the Puella Magis. The case drew higher levels of attention."

"I did not kill Oriko because of her position." That much was true, although Oriko did use her position to make Homura's search more difficult.

"You do not look like you would take up leadership willingly. No, you seek another kind of power. That is why I want to know - what drives you, Akemi?"

The use of her surname was both nostalgic and unfamilar - it had been a very long time since they had called each other by their surnames. She tried to focus on this difference, rather than the feel of his pulse against hers.

"It is none of your concern."

For the first time, Byakuya looked angry. "From the moment I took up this case, your motives became my concern. And I will not stop until I find out what made you kill Mikuni Oriko."

"Will not stop? Even if it kills you?" Homura challenged.

"I am not unfamiliar with death," he replied, and Homura wished she did not know him well enough to read the history and emotion behind that throwaway remark. You mean nothing to him here, she reminded herself. He did not tell you about Hisana or Rukia. Empathising with him will bring nothing.

So Homura kept silent. Byakuya saw this as a sign to continue with his interrogation. "Since you will not share your motives, shall we go over the events that led to Mikuni's death?" He reached into the folder on the table.

Homura steeled herself, and thus did not flinch when Madoka's photograph was tossed in front of her. In the photo Madoka was smiling - she was always smiling for photographs. "I want to remember happy moments, and that's what photographs are for!" Madoka had told Homura back then. "So you should smile for the camera too!"

Byakuya's voice brought Homura back to the present. "Kaname Madoka. Served as your partner for three years until she went missing. She has been missing for approximately a year now, hasn't she?"

Homura made herself breathe. These were only facts, no matter how painful they were. "Yes."

"In the final year of your partnership, a close friend of Kaname went missing." The picture he tossed in front of her now was that of Sayaka. "Her name was Miki Sayaka. Were you acquainted?"

"As you mentioned, Sayaka and Madoka were friends. There was no way that I would not have met Sayaka while Madoka was my partner."

"What was your relationship with Miki Sayaka?"

Homura did not like where this was going. "Weren't you asking about Oriko's murder?"

"Answer the question." Byakuya's tone brooked no arguments.

"We were acquaintances." That was the safest; she had never tried to make Byakuya understand why Sayaka and herself had turned from friendship to discord, and did not want to do so in an interview.

"Others close to Kaname and yourself said that you spent a lot of time with Miki before she went missing. Why go to such lengths for an acquaintance?"

Homura shrugged. "Madoka spent time with her. It was convenient to go along with my partner."

"Not out of affection for Miki?"

"No." Whatever affection she had for Sayaka had disappeared the more she interacted with the girl. It had been so hard to make her see sense that in the end, Homura had given up. Madoka was the one who connected well with others, not Homura.

"So you felt nothing when Miki Sayaka went missing."

"Her disappearance hurt Madoka greatly."

"But you are not Kaname Madoka."

Homura hid a wry smile - how many times had Byakuya told her that, when he was trying to convince her to lead her own life? In this context, she should not have found the familiar phrase comforting, but somehow she did. "No. But a partnership doesn't work well when one partner is troubled. Sayaka hurt Madoka deeply in the days before her disappearance, and when she disappeared."

"The loss of a loved one always causes pain," said Byakuya with the voice of experience. "The Company had always assessed Kaname Madoka to be strong, and to be capable of dealing with the loss of her friends. Should Kaname have been more disturbed by her friend disappearing?"

"Madoka cares for everyone. Any disappearance would have troubled her."

"Did you expect Miki to disappear?"

Homura was going to reply in the affirmative, then she berated herself at her honesty. This required some hedging, because she had insights from her powers that Byakuya was not aware of. "I expected her rashness to get her into trouble."

"But what about disappearing altogether?" Byakuya insisted.

"No," Homura said. I can't tell you.

Appearing to change his tack, Byakuya continued. "I was told that you assisted Kaname in her search for Miki Sayaka."

"Madoka was my partner," she reminded Byakuya. Finding her fists had clenched at Byakuya's new tactic, she forced them to relax. Somehow Byakuya was able to provoke an emotional response from her. "My assistance was expected."

"And you proved very helpful. According to Miki Sayaka's partner, you seemed to know things that you had no business of knowing. You knew where to go and who to ask to get clues on Miki. And yet, Miki Sayaka remained missing."

Homura could only stare. She recognised Byakuya's tone of voice - it was the chilly voice he used before killing someone. It meant that he felt a strong sense that she was guilty.

"How did you know where to start looking for Miki Sayaka?"

Homura's lips were dry, so she licked them, even though she knew that could be read as a nervous tic. "Sayaka is not the first magic girl to disappear. I only drew conclusions from the common patterns between them."

"So you are an expert on magic girl disappearances."

"I had to be." She looked down at her hand, still on the armrest of the chair. She did not look at her other hand resting against Byakuya's, or add that Madoka needed her to be an expert on disappearing Puella Magi.

"And you said that there were common patterns leading up to their disappearances."

"Yes."

"Did you see any of those common patterns in the days leading up to Kaname's disappearance?"

She clung on to the armrest of the chair. She had to answer this rationally. She had to keep her emotions at bay. "No."

"So you had no idea at all that Kaname would disappear."

"No."

"That doesn't make you much of an expert on the disappearance of magic girls."

The bitter taste of failure was back again in Homura's mouth.

"What about finding magic girls again after they had disappeared? Are you any good at that?"

Homura kept silent, but not by choice. Again she was reminded of her one year of wandering, of knocking on doors only to be rebuffed. The rawness of her failure prevented her from answering.

Byakuya continued, relentless. "Now that we've established that you aren't an expert on disappearing magic girls, I ask again - how did you know so much about Miki Sayaka's disappearance?"

There was no answer Homura could give that Byakuya would accept.

"Why does your knowledge stop just short of finding Miki?"

She stared at the table, waiting for him to suggest answers of his own.

"Did you kill Miki Sayaka?"

"No!" Homura blurted out, the accusation shocking her into action. "How could I hurt Madoka that way? I only ever wanted to help her! I - "

Homura realised that she was squeezing Byakuya's hand, as if physical contact would be able to make him understand her reasons. Slowly, gradually, she let him go.

His expression did not betray his response to her outburst or her inappropriate touch, although his eyes glittered strangely. "That was the most honest you have been since the interview started," he noted.

Homura stared at the wood grain of the desk, hoping to avoid replying him. She had tried so hard to avoid having Byakuya learn her motives regarding Madoka, and yet she had failed again.

"Don't you think it's easier to be honest? If you had told me from the start that you had done everything because of Kaname Madoka, this questioning would have taken a different direction."

"And what would that have been?"

"I would have focused on the disappearance of Kaname Madoka. After all, that is what drives you, isn't it? You want Kaname back."

Even in this time, he could see through Homura so easily. Homura had forgotten how dangerous he could be to the both of them. If he found out any more...

"The Company doesn't care for what I want," she told him.

"What?"

"The Company doesn't care for what I want," she repeated, louder. She could not look at him - her emotions were raw from dealing with both Madoka and Byakuya. "It is a fact that Kaname Madoka disappeared, but the only person I can rely on is myself."

"That was because you killed Mikuni. The Company doesn't look kindly on its leaders being killed - any help you might have had from The Company was forfeit since then. You seem intelligent enough to grasp that."

You will never be able to find Madoka if you kill me, Oriko had said before her death, in a similar manner as Byakuya. Back then Homura had brushed her warning aside, confident of going it alone. Why was it when Byakuya pointed out the same thing, Homura felt herself wavering?

Homura held her breath and let it out slowly. This Byakuya had not seen Madoka die, she reminded herself. This Byakuya did not look at her with sympathetic eyes as she cradled Madoka's body. Even though she could feel the wet warmth of Madoka's blood on her hands like it was yesterday, it did not change that time had moved since then. Homura had seen to that. She should not allow herself to expect assistance from him - that was a sign of weakness.

She returned to the present to hear Byakuya asking, "Why did you kill Mikuni?"

For the first time since he had wrung a confession from her, she looked him in the eye. "Because she was the greatest threat to Madoka."

He took longer than expected to process this, so Homura pressed, "Do you believe me?"

"Yes." His response to this was immediate, but his expression provided no insight.

"Why? I'm a murderer and a fugitive. Why would you trust what I say?"

"Do you think everyone in The Company is innocent?"

Even though she had the feeling he was mocking her, she pressed on. "Not all of us kill our unit leaders. Why would you trust what I say?"

"Instinct."

She could only stare at him. He offered no further explanation, and continued.

"When looking into the disappearance of Miki, did Kaname behave strangely?"

She shook her head. Words were beginning to fail her as the Byakuya on the other side of the table continued to confuse her.

"Just before she disappeared, what evidence had Kaname and yourself found?"

She shook her head again. It was her turn to confuse Byakuya, who frowned. "There is no reason for you to be uncooperative -"

"How can I cooperate," Homura demanded. "When you can't even be honest with me? There is no one who trusts another person based on instinct alone. And I am a stranger to you!"

Byakuya only looked at her.

"I don't believe you trust me because of instinct. I think it's because you want to."

"My purpose of believing you doesn't matter," said Byakuya. "The most important thing is - why do you not want me to believe you?"

Homura struggled with her answer. She had rehearsed a reply, but the things that she had learnt in the many different timelines bore down on her. It was not as simple as she made it seem, but she forced out her rehearsed reply anyway. "The affairs of the Puella Magi are not meant for humans to understand."

Byakuya did not outright reject her words, but his demeanour had become guarded again.

"You are not even able to see witches until they have started to attack. To explain everything would take too much time that Madoka does not have. Rather than believe everything that I say, you only need to know and believe one thing - I will find Kaname Madoka on my own."

He did mull over what Homura had told him. Homura watched for his response, as the seconds ticked by. Finally, he asked, "What if I told you that I am also investigating Kaname Madoka?"

So this remained true, even in this world, only that the request had been put to Byakuya earlier than Homura expected. No wonder he was working on Homura's case. "As requested by Kaname Junko?"

"It matters not who asked," said Byakuya. "As long as you realise that you are not the only one who cares about the survival of Kaname Madoka. By declaring that you will find Kaname Madoka on your own, you only make it such that she will remain lost for longer than you would have if you accepted assistance."

"I have accepted assistance before. And it has never worked out well."

"You speak with such certainty," Byakuya mused. "And you know more than you should. But do you truly have all the answers, Akemi? Did you think you had the answers, when you were looking for Miki Sayaka and watching, waiting for the signs that Kaname Madoka would disappear?"

Homura would not be swayed a second time by his emotional tactics, not when she knew what Byakuya was investigating. "I don't have the answers, but I have more answers than you do." She drew herself upright in her seat. "In addition, I never waited for Kaname Madoka to disappear. I was doing all I could to prevent it, long before this even became your case." She tilted her head, and laid out the final salvo. "Would you still like to contest that I am unable to find Kaname Madoka on my own?"

Byakuya did not bend; Homura would be disappointed if he had. "You may have the answers to finding Kaname," he agreed. "But you do not have the means to keep her safe, otherwise Kaname would not have disappeared. Isn't her safety just as important?"

He spoke of facts, but Homura had a few of her own. "How do you intend to keep her safe against things that you cannot even begin to imagine?"

In response, he reached into his folder again. "Deception is one thing common to both humans and magic girls." This time he laid out pictures of other magic girls, some that Homura recognised, and some that she did not. "These were magic girls that were emotionally disturbed before they disappeared. All of them went missing after meeting with Mikuni or Kure." He gave Homura a wry smile. "I, too, have attempted to become an expert on disappearing magic girls."

Homura could not help but be impressed. Once upon a time, Homura was the one who had aided him in coming to this conclusion, yet he was able to piece together the information on his own.

"I suppose this information is not new to you."

Homura shook her head. "Miki Sayaka was a classic example."

"But what of Kaname Madoka? My interviews with Kaname's family reveal a happy background. She was doing well in The Company. Was she emotionally disturbed?"

"She was worried about Sayaka, but she was not grieving." Looking at Madoka's smiling picture, Homura couldn't hold back a small smile of her own. "She was unlike the other girls."

"Then what happened to her?"

What was safe to share with Byakuya anymore? Homura was no longer certain. He seemed to be forcing her boundaries on what she was willing to share, whether by her own admission or through his research. He seemed intent to entwine his fate with her investigation, despite Homura's efforts.

She settled for brevity. "Madoka met with Oriko."

She was surprised when Byakuya turned sympathetic eyes to her, much as he had when Madoka had died the previous time. "You know what happened when Mikuni met with these other girls. Why do you still believe Kaname is alive?"

Homura nodded at the folder. "Do you have information on when Madoka became a Puella Magi?"

"Yes." He awaited her to enlighten him on the relevance.

"Please compare that against the date that Oriko became a Puella Magi. I'm not sure if you have the proposal from Oriko for the establishment of the Puella Magi unit within The Company, but it would be good to take a look at the names on that proposal."

Byakuya did have all the documents on hand - Homura was pleased, but couldn't help but wonder how he had known to pull this information without her pointing it out to him. Was she that dispensible? Would Byakuya have more success in finding Madoka than she could, no matter what she said about knowing more about the Puella Magi system?

Her concerns seemed founded when Byakuya laid the proposal down, the page opened on Madoka's loopy signature and Oriko's sharp one above it. "Mikuni does not seem the sort to let such a rival exist," he argued, despite finding the evidence to the contrary.

"Madoka did not have the heart in her to be anyone's rival. She believed in the Puella Magi system, as it was presented to all of us. Including The Company. Oriko found that belief useful."

Byakuya shook his head in disbelief. "I won't ask you how you knew that. More importantly, did you tell Kaname of Mikuni's true nature?

"If I had, Madoka would surely have disappeared in the very next instant." Homura closed her eyes as she recalled a time when she did not know this fact. She opened her eyes to remind herself of the present, and that she was speaking to Byakuya. "That was how I intended to keep Madoka from disappearing - by keeping this knowledge away from her. I had to make sure that she did not know the truth behind Sayaka's disappearance."

Others would have accepted Homura's selfishness. Byakuya merely asked, "Did you truly believe it would work? As Kaname's partner, were you that naive?"

Even the briefest answer was far too much information in this case. Despite that, Homura responded with "No."

This time, it was Byakuya who took her hand in his. Even though her hand was tied to Byakuya's, Homura tried to pull her hand back.

"Let go," she told him.

"You are extremely cruel," he noted. "To reveal this much and expect me to leave things alone."

"I did not drive your investigation. You found out on your own things far beyond your comfort level, and then demanded to know more." She tugged harder. "Let go."

He did let go, but the brief contact was enough to send Homura's pulse racing. She clenched her now empty hand and willed away the sensation of his fingers wrapped around hers.

Even though Byakuya no longer held onto her, he was not satisfied, and still tried to reach out. "If you knew all this and the threat Mikuni posed to Kaname, why wait so long to kill Mikuni?" he asked.

Homura swayed in her seat, tired from this to-and-froing. Did he not suspect that she had asked herself this question many times, in the nights that had passed since she turned back time? "Haven't you already determined what motivates me?"

"That is why I wondered at your hesitance. You were already willing to lie and cheat in Kaname's face. Surely murder should have been just as easy to let slide." In a softer voice, he asked, "Or did you wonder, as I do, is Kaname Madoka worth destroying yourself over?"

Homura tensed, because the other alternative was to allow her shoulders to start shaking, and she was not about to show more weakness than she already had. "How dare you even presume that you know me?"

He looked down at their binds. "Akemi, do you truly believe that you are the only person who has ever lied to protect those they love?"

"Don't," Homura managed to squeeze out past the tenseness that had crawled up to her throat too. "If you intend to continue, don't." The last time he had asked her that question, he had spoken of his sister Rukia. Homura did not wish to be reminded again.

Byakuya did not bother with hiding his curiousity. "I don't understand."

"I never looked for your understanding."

"Isn't the very nature of an investigation to understand what happened?" Byakuya pressed. "I wish to understand."

She could not hold in a laugh at his choice of words. Surprise flitted over his face, but was quickly smoothed away. Again she marvelled at how he knew so much, and yet so little, about the Puella Magi. "Don't you know how dangerous a wish can be?"

"It is a risk that I have decided to take."

"Then you are a fool, just as Miki Sayaka was."

"Aren't you and I equally foolish then, Akemi? We have taken on risks with little to no idea of the payoffs. We may not like what we find, when we are done with our self-appointed missions."

There were times when Homura wondered whether time was not a continuous string but a container, intent on throwing echoes of times that had ceased to exist at her. She supposed she was the only one who could appreciate the irony. "Someone told me that once before," she told him, knowing full well that he would never have suspected it to be himself. "That time, I indeed did not like what I found. But no one accepts their future. That is why I am warning you - you should give up on these matters that are far beyond your understanding. Your future can change without you even being aware of it."

"That is the risk that comes with understanding. Your future can change from the mere knowledge of the truth. And I have chosen to understand." He leaned on the table, his entire focus on Homura. "I am asking for your assistance, Akemi. Not only to change my own future, but that of Kaname Madoka as well. Help me understand."

"You don't know what you ask for." How could Homura even begin to explain what happened in the last timeline, when these events had ceased to exist? Homura might have been changed by them, but everyone else had stayed still, Byakuya included.

"I believe I may be allowed to judge for myself. Let me try this simple question: Why did you wait so long to kill Mikuni?"

For the first time Homura was grateful for being bound to the chair - it grounded her when she would otherwise have felt lost and bewildered. The words grinding like sandpaper in her mouth, she admitted, "Because it was the one sure success that remained open to me, after my greatest failure of being unable to save Madoka from her fate of being separated from her loved ones. By killing Oriko, Madoka has a greater chance of survival."

Swallowing down the bitter taste in her mouth, she had to ask, "Has this knowledge done you any good?"

Byakuya stood and swept his coat off the back of his chair. He did not leave - how could he, when they were still tied together? - but walked around the table. He shook out his coat and dropped it over her shoulders. She might have shrugged it off, if he had not gently squeezed her shoulder with his free hand through the cloth. The warmth of his hand rattled her deeply.

He offered no explanation until he returned to his seat. "You were shivering as if you were cold."

Homura shut her eyes, even though it made her more aware of the coat resting on her frame. She badly wanted to accept the comfort he offered, but she should not. "You accused me of cruelty when you are far more cruel."

"Are you certain? You have proven that I do indeed not like what I've found, simply by answering me honestly."

"If this is enough to startle you, how do you intend to find Madoka?"

"I was hoping for your assistance."

Homura opened her eyes to absorb the ridiculous scene before her: Byakuya watching her with intent eyes, her bound and tied with his coat pressing down on her shoulders, and Byakuya's offer hanging between them. "I never agreed to join you in searching for Madoka."

"You have already helped me to understand your motivations up to the point of Mikuni's murder. And yet cold, passive evidence gives you pause."

"I will do this myself."

"Have I offended you in some way that you find yourself unable to trust me when it comes to Kaname Madoka?"

"Yes, you have," said Homura, and shut her eyes again. If she had intended to accept Byakuya's assistance, she would have done it at the beginning of this timeline. Accepting it now would only further complicate this timeline. She was so very tired of figuring things out.

"May I ask how?"

Homura shook her head, eyes still closed.

There was the sound of rustling, which Homura hoped was a sign that he would leave. Instead, she heard the slide of a drawer, followed by something heavy being set on the table. "Are you aware your life has been forfeit since you killed Mikuni Oriko?" Byakuya asked.

"I am not new to The Company," Homura murmured.

"Then I suppose you have lulled yourself into a sense of security, given that you were interviewed instead of shot on sight."

Homura frowned. There was something familar about his tone of voice, and the sounds that she had heard earlier...

Her eyes flew open. Byakuya did not have a gun pointed at her, but there was indeed a gun resting on the table where there had been none before. It had slipped her mind that the interview rooms of the Bureau were equipped with guns. This particular one already had the silencer secured, although it was still resting some distance away from his hand.

Byakuya closed his eyes. "You were indeed smart enough to figure it out."

It seemed that things had changed very little in this timeline. Homura found herself faced with the same confusion that she thought she had left behind in the last timeline. "Why haven't you killed me yet?"

"I am the Head of the Bureau. This gives me certain leeway in dealing with things, especially when you could be of assistance in my current investigation." His expression was rueful when he opened his eyes again. "But it doesn't change the fact that you are on borrowed time."

"I don't see why investigating Madoka is sufficient reason for keeping me alive. You were able to find evidence on your own. In fact, given time, you might have discovered that Oriko and Madoka had worked together. Why do you insist that you need my assistance?"

"The time it would have taken me is time that Kaname doesn't have."

"No, Madoka's always had time on her side. I've made sure of that." Homura steadied herself with a breath, and insisted, "Let me go. I will find Madoka."

Byakuya shook his head, expression cold. "You ask me to trust you, when you are unwilling to give that trust in return."

"You already understand my motivations - I will definitely see to it that Madoka is found."

"I can't do that. I already told you - I wish to understand, and will not stop until I've found out what you know."

"Then you might as well kill me."

Byakuya's fingers twitched towards the gun, but he remained still. "I will only do that when I have no other options."

"You believe you can convince me?"

"Yes."

Homura was torn between amusement and annoyance. Byakuya had not changed at all. If this continued, it would be a long and drawn out fight between Byakuya and herself - a fight that she was not sure she was prepared for.

"What if you can't?"

"That is not an option, if I want to keep you alive. Is it so hard to accept assistance, Akemi?"

It should never have been this hard to turn down assistance either. Why was it that when it came to Byakuya, she found herself wavering? Was there no other way to get him to back down?

Homura let her shoulders slump. "I... give in. I will help you understand."

Byakuya nodded curtly. "How would you like to provide what you've found so far?"

She glanced around the room. There were no mirrors, which ruled out any observation windows, but there could be cameras. From her Bureau days, she remembered that most interviews were recorded.

"For you to speak so honestly about your intentions, the recordings must have been stopped."

Byakuya had ceased bothering with surprise; he only nodded wearily.

"What about observers?"

"What about them?"

"You wanted to understand, didn't you? I will tell you, but off the record."

He stilled for a good few minutes. Then he spoke to the room at large, "Take a break and come back in 5 minutes." He waited a while longer, presumeably for the agents to leave. "What do you want to say?"

"You'll have to come closer."

Byakuya could have refused - after all, Homura still had her Soul Gem with her, and she had not materialised her shield so that she could keep it with her. But he didn't. Instead he moved to stand beside her, too far for what Homura wanted to do.

"I don't want to take chances with the microphones in the room. Please come closer."

He approached and crouched down at an angle that would have made it difficult for her to headbutt him with any force. But it was close enough that Homura was able to materialise her shield without him noticing. Close enough that she would be able to turn her head and whisper.

Instead, she pressed her lips to his.

It still felt as good to kiss him. He was still warm and gentle and gave easily under the pressure of her lips. Homura held the contact as long as she dared, matching the feel of his lips to her memory. He was so alluring, which made it hard for Homura to find the will to stop. Even when Homura pulled back he remained still, eyes half-lidded from the sensation and still very kissable. Homura herself was breathing a little harder - she forced her breaths to slow.

"Why?" he asked, the words making their breath mingle.

"This is not the first time I've met you."

"I don't remember."

"You won't," she whispered, allowing herself to focus on their proximity, just this once. "Just as you don't remember the last time we cooperated, Madoka died."

His hand now tightened on the arm that was still tied to him. "What do you mean?"

"I have one other power - the ability to turn back time," Homura told him, knowing that all was already lost. "And unlike my time-stop power, any form of binds - "

His grip on her was now vice-like; he had already figured it out. She gave him a rueful smile.

"Are of absolutely no use against it."

The gears in her shield clicked into place.


Back in her hospital bed, Homura sighed and sank down against her pillows. Her lips still tingled from their brief point of contact with Byakuya.

There was no use in remembering a time that had ceased to exist, she reminded herself. She had work to do.


(And I thought of another time where Oriko tells Homura that if Homura kills her, Byakuya's life is forfeit as well. And Homura is like "Byakuya is able to take care of himself" and shoots her anyway, but the idea keeps preying on her mind and she decides to seek him out, only to find that Kirika got to him just before Homura did, and Homura ends up trying to heal him even though healing has never been her strong point. And Byakuya is like "but I shot her (Kirika) in the heart. Twice." And Homura is like "We only die if you shoot our soul gems." and he's like ah. He also says that he's too far for healing, and Homura replies she has to TRY and stops time and all, but she gets pretty close to corruption so she has to stop. When time restarts again, he looks at her and asks whether he knows her? And Homura asks why did he have this idea? And he tells her "Because the way you're looking at me now reminds me of the way I looked at my wife on her deathbed... did I mean that much to you?" Homura is probably openly sobbing by now, but she admits to the time turning and all that and Byakuya says "I know this is horrible of me, but I'd like to request for you to kiss me." Homura is all "!!!" but she does so and it tastes of BLOOD and he's all "Ah, I see what you told me is true." AND THEN HE DIES ON HER.)

Tea party
The party took place as usual on the grounds of one of the Kuchiki manors, but Homura was the first to arrive. She liked it that way - it gave her time to lay out what she had brought on the fine chinaware provided by the Kuchikis. At her instruction, the servants had been sent away. She preferred to handle the arrangements by herself, apart from the initial set-up.

Ishida was the next to arrive. "Akemi-san," he said by way of greeting.

"Ishida-san," Homura replied. When he had settled comfortably, laying his white tote by his chair, she poured him a cup of tea. He accepted the cup and the accompanying saucer, and took a sip before setting it aside. Reaching into his tote, he procured some embroidery. Seeing that he was about to be engaged in his needlework, Homura selected something that could be eaten with a fork - a slice of cake with fanciful decorations.

Ishida also accepted the cake with both hands. "By Tomoe-san again?"

"Yes, she loves to have the opportunity to bake for others."

Ishida picked up his fork and took a careful bite. "As exquisite as always."

"I'll pass the compliments on to Tomoe-san."

"Thank you."

They spent a few more moments in companiable silence. It was then that the master of the manor chose to join them.

"Kuchiki-san," Ishida greeted him. Byakuya only inclined his head in response. He took a seat next to Homura, and was about to open the book he has brought to him when he spotted something.

"I see you haven't brought anything to occupy yourself," Byakuya stated, casting a pointed glance to Homura's hands that were folded in her lap

Homura only smiled. "That isn't true. I've all I need right here."

"It is a pity that Kuchiki-san is willing to rely on you to serve as the hostess, Akemi."

"I see no reason to when Akemi is more than happy to take on this role. I have instructed the servants to provide for anything she requires."

"Naturally your means best place you in a position to do so."

"I am grateful for this fact too."

Homura poured some tea for Byakuya, and another round for herself and Ishida. There were some quiet moments spent in contemplating the taste and the aroma of the tea.

Not to be deterred, Byakuya again asked Homura, "With what do you intend to occupy yourself?"

Homura gestured at the gathering. "Is this not engaging enough? The company and their conversation are extremely attractive to me."

"If we had know we were here for your entertainment, we would have eschewed our own to place more attention on what we say," Ishida pointed out.

"If the conversation reaches a lull, there are the details of the tea to attend to. I find your natural way of conversing far more interesting than something staged."

Byakuya nodded in acknowledgement. Having satisfied their curiousity, Homura proceeded with her hostess duties. She picked out an assortment of biscuits for Byakuya to have with her tea, and then turned her attention back to the cupcake that she had picked out for herself.

"Is this from the bakery at the corner of XX Street?" Ishida enquired.

"Yes. I find their designs remind me of Tomoe's cakes. There is something whimsical about them."

"I have a friend who works there. It looks like something that she would do."

"Your friend is very talented."

"Indeed, although the last I heard she was only helping out in the kitchen. If she has moved on to take a bigger role, it would be a pleasant surprise."

"Perhaps one day we shall go together and find out."

"That would be a pleasant excursion."

"Would Kuchiki like to join us?" Homura asked. But Byakuya was already shaking his head.

"I am afraid that while I know Ishida's friend, it is only by name. Perhaps after we have had an opportunity to be better acquainted."

"I am sure there will be more opportunities in the future," Ishida added.

Homura and Byakuya were in perfect agreement with this statement.


And now we talk about Homura, Kyouko and Mami as a Power Trio! This will influence their actions when it comes to talking to people and going undercover and all that. XD

•Beauty, Brains, and Brawn
Mami, Homura, Kyouko

Dumb Blonde, Brainy Brunette and Fiery Redhead.
I'm taking Charlie's Angels the movie view of "Genius Ditz" for the first one. In which case
Mami, Homura, Kyouko

•Fire, Ice, Lightning
Kyouko, Homura, Mami. Though if I go by PMMM-Avatar, it would be Homura, Mami, Kyouko (as a Dai Li earthbender)

•Freudian Trio: The three characters represent the Ego, Superego and Id of Freudian psychology
Stretching a bit, but I'd say Kyouko, Mami and Homura

•The Hecate Sisters: Three female characters representing the maiden, the mother, and the crone.
Kyouko, Mami and Homura, the last because she can get PRETTY BITTER

•Knight, Knave and Squire: One idealistic fighter, one pragmatic fighter and one inexperienced fighter.
Mami, Kyouko and Homura (the last of which has a sudden skill downgrade due to NEW POWERS and not knowing how this particular system works.)

•The Three Faces of Eve: Three female characters representing the child, the mother and the seductress.
The seductress really doesn't work, but to make for a meaningful comparison with the Hecate sisters
Kyouko, Mami and Homura. OR Homura (as the not so experienced one), Mami and Kyouko (whose own father called her a seducer of men's hearts).

Town Girls is a trio of characters, either female or for girls, consisting of one who is butch, one who is femme and one who is neither. The femme one is like a fashionable uptown girl. The one who is neither butch nor femme is like a street smart girl from down town. The butch one is like someone whose rude behavior could be excused by saying that she's from out of town. Thus the Town Girls are from uptown, down town and out of town. Bonus points if the geography is literal.

I suppose Mami is the femme, Kyouko is butch and Homura is neither. Though Kyouko and Homura could trade, depending on the situation.