Chapter Text
'How many times have you seen me die?'
Homura turned her head. Kyouko was looking at her, trying and failing to keep a neutral expression. Homura smiled, a small and sad smile. 'Why do you want to know?'
Kyouko swallowed. 'Have I...do I ever make it?'
Homura didn't answer, mearly looked away. She heard Kyouko suck in her breath, then exhale.
She turned back. 'Kyouko.' The redhead raised her head. Homura's face was hard and determined. 'This time will be different.'
Kyouko looked at her for a beat, then closed her eyes and grinned. 'Of course it will!' She reached out and slapped Homura on the back, hard. 'There's nothin' the two of us can't take on!'
The conversation played back in her mind over and over as she stared down at Kyouko's corpse. 'I'm so sorry.' she whispered, as she extended her hand to close her friend's eyes, frozen open in shock and pain. 'I'm so sorry.'
And for the first time in more loops than she could remember, Homura sobbed.
Scar Tissue
Chapter 1
After so many loops, the timelines started to blur together for Homura. The earliest ones stood out, as did the particularly anomalous ones, but for the most part, there was little distinction in Homura's mind. Just a continuous, blurry flow of repeated failures.
She couldn't recall just how many loops she had experienced before she approached Kyouko. But though she would repeat the process many times, she still remembered the first like it was yesterday.
Kazamino's arcade was not nearly as large and modern as Mitakihara's, but Sakura still spent much of her time there. It lacked her favorite Dog Drug Reinforcement machine, but she was quite proficient at fighting games, which was where Homura found her.
Without turning around or missing a single hit in her game, she spoke. "If you're thinkin' about attackin' me while my back is turned, lemme just warn ya now, it ain't gonna end well for you."
"That...wasn't my intention." Homura cursed silently to herself. She had rehearsed everything in her head, several times over, and still she was stuttering. Even after everything, Sakura still made her nervous. "I'm here to ask for your assistance."
"Hah? You are a newbie, then. I thought so. Here's a little advice - magical girls stay out of each other's way, and we don't do favors."
Homura swallowed the lump in her throat. "Walpurgisnacht is coming to Mitakihara."
Sakura said nothing, showing no sign of acknowledgement. Finally, she spoke; "How do you know that?"
"That doesn't matter."
The game machine sounded out the triumphant tune of a K.O. and Sakura finally turned to face her visitor. Homura stood steady; visibly stiffening, breaking eye contact, anything that could be seen as weakness had to be avoided. She had to present herself as an equal.
The redhead looked over her "opponent", sizing her up. She was slight in build, very unassuming overall. Most people wouldn't see anything threatening in her appearence. She grimaced. "So...what part of 'we don't do favors' went over your pretty little head, huh? I don' see how it's any business of mine." She took a step forward, quickly closing the gap between them.
Homura swallowed again, praying it to be imperceptible. "It's not a favor. It would be in out mutual interest."
"Oh?" Sakura was now staring directly into her eyes, only inches away - teeth bared like a predator staring down its prey. "An' what would that be?'
Homura tried her damnedest not to blink. "Mitakihara is bordered by the outskirts of Kazamino - they would be caught in the destruction as well."
Sakura's eyebrow twitched. Ahh, there it is.
"...and?" Her demeanor had changed. She was no longer collected, no longer in charge of the sitation. She was anxious, and hiding it badly. "It's only the outskirts. I could care less."
Homura almost smiled at the ironic slip of the tongue. "If we win, I'll hand over my teritory in Mitakihara to you."
Sakura had stepped back by then, and her mouth dropped open. "Wha-? You're joking! No magical girl would just give up their teritory like that! What are you playing at!?"
"My only interest is defeating Walpurgisnacht. You have nothing to lose."
Kyouko shook her head. This girl was literally insane. Either that or it was a trap. That would make the most sense. But...
She grabbed the brown paper bag she had set by her feet and began walking toward the exit. She could feel the girl's eyes, drilling holes into her back. She stopped, and titled her head back. "Oi! What's your name?!"
There was silence, but only briefly, soon broken by the reply. "My name is Akemi Homura."
Kyouko smirked. "Huh. Kinda unfitting for such a cold girl."
A red apple soared through the air. Homura just managed to catch it, and when she looked back up, Sakura was gone. She stared at the empty space where the girl had been standing. She wasn't sure what to think. Had she failed or succeeded? Somehow...it doesn't feel like I failed...
No matter how many times she would repeat the exchange, she would never forget that queer feeling from the first. She would relive it every time
Kyouko leaned back against the chimney stack, taking a large bite out of her taiyaki. Akemi Homura, huh? Her finger traced the soul gem on her chest. It was both a familiar and foreign name at the same time - just like the girl it belonged to. She's a newbie for sure, only...
She was suddenly aware of a second presence and she gave a start, gripping her spear tightly, then collapsing back with a loud exhale. "Jesus, Kyubey, don't do that."
'Are you going to except Akemi Homura's offer?'
"Huh? You were watchin'?" Kyouko shut her eyes. "No, of course you would know...I dunno yet. What's her deal, anyway?"
Kyubey cocked his head. 'She's an anomaly.'
"Wha? Anomaly? Th' Hell's that mean?"
'I'm not sure myself. She's definitely a magical girl, but she never made a contract with me.'
"Hah? How's that even possible?"
'That's what I would like to know myself.'
Kyouko turned her head to the starry night sky. "Anomaly, huh..." The term was a fitting one. She couldn't have been a magical girl long, but there was something about her...like she had experienced more than Kyouko could imagine.
She stood up and stretched. Kyubey leaped onto the chimney top, now eye-level. 'Have you made your decision?'
"Yeah." Kyouko grinned. "I have."