Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved her father very much.

Her father came from a very powerful family of politicians, but he did not share their ambition and cruelty, so he decided to leave that family and create his own. For a while, life was happy between him, his wife and his daughter, the little family he had raised with his own hands. In an unfortunate moment, his wife was killed in an accident, but even with the pain of losing her, he managed to keep going for his daughter.

But one day, while trying to build something better for his daughter, he was accused of a political scandal, with everyone in his former family turning against him. The cruelty and horror of everything that had happened was enough for him to succumb to despair and kill himself, leaving his daughter alone in a world where everyone now pointed fingers and blamed her for what had happened. The little girl had lost the joy and hope that life had meaning, and she only continued to live because she no longer knew what to do.

So when a cat-like creature appeared and said it would grant her one wish in exchange for her fighting curses, it didn't take long for the little girl to get her wish.

"I want... to know my purpose in life. I wish for a reason for me to live!"

And the moment the creature's ears touched her chest, Oriko had a vision.

Countless Magical Girls, endlessly fighting giant, headless, deformed creatures until their last breaths, and a warm light appearing to claim each of the fallen girls. A light that with each girl being taken away dimmed a little more for Oriko to see what existed beyond the light.
And at the end of her vision, she could finally see.

A girl with long pink hair tied in two white ribbons and golden eyes emanated a warm light as she hovered in the sky. Long, almost translucent angelic wings were on her back and a pure white dress like snow seemed to contain the universe itself at the bottom of it. Her expression carried a smile so loving, so understanding and so gentle that Oriko felt tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.

And right in front of the girl's feet, two Magical Girls bowed respectfully and in reverence, the heavenly light creating shadows on the two that were not compatible with them. One had the shadow of a mermaid with blades in its hands and a helmet along with what seemed to be a cape, the other had something similar to a skeleton with flowers on its head and angel wings on its back.

The winged girl looked at the two Magical Girls, and somehow, her smile grew even gentler as they stood up, turning and looking directly at Oriko. One of them had blue hair and eyes and wore a simplistic version of a knight's outfit, white and blue with a cape that floated like water, a cleaver in her hand. The other had black hair and violet eyes, with a simple outfit similar to a school uniform in shades of black, white and purple, while carrying a bow in her hand. Both had a red ribbon that released a thin aura that connected the two to the third.

Oriko blinked, and then she was back in her room, Kyubey in front of her as he held out her Soul Gem for her to take.

Kyubey explained to her about the Magical Girl's life and the enemies they face, the Wraiths. But Oriko's head had trouble fully absorbing the information as she tried to understand what she had just seen. It took a while, but she finally understood everything she needed to and watched Kyubey leave through the window before sitting on her bed and trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the last few minutes.

And after a while, she finally understood.

That girl was a goddess, the Goddess who commands the Law of Cycles that always claims the Magical Girls who die in battle or by the corruption of their Soul Gem. She watches over all the Magical Girls and rewards the struggles and sacrifices they make when they die, probably taking their souls to rest in the divine realm where she comes from. A kind and selfless goddess, willing to forgive all the sins that the Magical Girls have committed simply because she believes it is the right thing to do.

And the two Magical Girls at her feet...

...Were obviously the chosen ones of the Goddess, probably carrying a mission with the fate of the world on their shoulders.

Oriko sobbed, tears slowly streaming down her face.

She felt unworthy and at the same time honored. Knowing what awaited her at the end of this tortuous path she was now on, that in the end her effort and hard work would be rewarded, made her determined to fulfill her new duty. She now had a reason for her life, she had a reason to live!

She would defeat as many Wraiths as she could and spread the existence of the Goddess of Magical Girls to them, so they would know that their efforts would be rewarded in the end.

And of course, she would find the Goddess's chosen ones and help them in any mission she had sent them on.

It wasn't easy at first, her magic of seeing the future activated without control and left her weak to fight the Wraiths, there weren't many Magical Girls where she lived and the only one that existed, Komaki, didn't want to hear what she said. But she didn't give up.

Kirika, her best friend who appeared at that time, was a great help in her mission, providing cover during the hunts for the Wraiths and somehow managing to convince neighboring Magical Girls to listen to what Oriko had to say about the Goddess.

Always lively and eccentric, Kirika was like a beacon of light that managed to guide Oriko to the right path when she was lost about how to achieve her goals. She was always willing to help her, always cared for her and hugged her when everything around her was too much, always stood by her side even with all the difficulties she faced as a Magical Girl or Oriko's life as a social outcast. Eventually, their friendship grew stronger and deeper and it didn't take long for the love between the two to become romantic, the two becoming inseparable in almost everything they did. To this day, Oriko doesn't know what she did to earn such devotion from such an incredible person, nor what would have become of her if it weren't for Kirika, but she would be eternally grateful to her.

What she will also be eternally grateful to Kirika for is the fact that she found the two chosen ones of the Goddess.

It was a complete accident, Kirika said she had found a girl with blue hair and eyes at the school she studied, hanging out with a redhead, a blonde and a dark-haired girl. She didn't approach them, but they made so much noise during the break that it caught her attention and she wondered if they were the ones Oriko wanted to see so much.

Hope blossomed in Oriko's chest, she had been looking for the two for a while now, almost two years now, she had begun to think that they lived in another region or even outside the country. But this description, could these be the chosen ones of the Goddess that she had been looking for so long?

She asked Kirika to take her to where she studied to see if it was just a coincidence or not, and when she arrived the next day, her breath hitched when she saw a group approaching the gate.

It was them. In a small group of four Magical Girls, the knight with bright oceanic hair and eyes and the archer with amethyst eyes and hair like the night were there.

The Goddess' chosen ones.

At first, she was happy and proud to have finally found them, to be so close to fulfilling her destiny, but she quickly realized something was wrong.

The group seemed a little suspicious, caution was understandable, unfortunately there were Magical Girls who turned to their peers for selfish reasons, so she expected this. The blonde, apparently the leader, was kind enough to introduce herself, with the redhead making it clear that she was keeping an eye on her and Kirika so that they wouldn't do anything wrong. Again, the caution was understandable.

What she didn't expect was how the Goddess' chosen ones looked at her.

With everything that had happened to her family, Oriko was used to people looking at her with disgust, repulsion, and even anger.

But nothing had prepared her for the amount of fury and hatred that the Goddess's chosen ones looked at her.

Honestly, it was intimidating and Oriko almost lost her calm facade to fall to her knees and ask why they hated her. She didn't, of course, but Kirika sensed her discomfort and held her hand during the exchange with the group's leader, Mami Tomoe.

The groups parted amicably, but the blue and purple furious glares continued to pierce her until she was out of sight.

Oriko would admit that she spent the next day in bed, depressed about the encounter while Kirika tried to cheer her up. She didn't believe that the Goddess' chosen ones would welcome her with open arms as a new chosen one, that would be very arrogant of her to believe that would happen, but she hoped it would be like any meeting with a new Magical Girl. That they would be suspicious of her, but once they realized that she meant no harm, they would accept her as an ally to do the Goddess's will. She never imagined that she would be looked at as if she were the most cruel Deliverance Wraith in their territory.

What had she done so wrong that the Goddess's chosen ones would hate her so much? Had she accidentally committed some blasphemy against the Goddess? Had her family done something bad to the chosen ones indirectly? She didn't know, but what she did know was that she needed to fix her mistake.

So she spent the next few months trying to get closer to the small group, making it clear that she wouldn't try to invade their territory and just wanted to get to know the place her girlfriend studied. And slowly, she managed to gain their trust, learning what was necessary about each of them.

Mami Tomoe was in fact the leader of the group, a veteran two years older than Oriko with her power of ribbons that she transformed into muskets to fight. She also had a crush on the Goddess' chosen one with black hair. Kyouko Sakura was Mami's right-hand woman, using spears and illusions to fight and protect her group in the fights against the Wraiths. And she was dating the Goddess' chosen one with blue hair. Sayaka Miki was the name of the Goddess' chosen one knight, her clothes and weapon were exactly the same as those in her vision, in addition to having impressive healing and regeneration abilities. Sometimes she would pass through puddles and Oriko could see the silhouette of the armored mermaid instead of her reflection, probably the Goddess's blessing. Homura Akemi was the other Goddess' chosen one , also with the same clothes from her vision and with the ability to conjure wings of light to fly, this must be the Goddess's blessing on her. She still doesn't know what her magic is and no one in the group tells her about it.

She learned a lot from them over the months, and one thing was constant...

... If it were up to the Goddess' chosen ones, Oriko would have been dead a long time ago.

Although Mami and Kyouko trust her enough, the same cannot be said for the other two. Sayaka even pretends to be nice, but the amount of passive-aggressive comments she makes against her makes it clear what she thinks of her. Homura doesn't even try to be polite, staring at her silently with such intensity that it seems like she wants her to drop dead at that moment. Oriko is sure that if it weren't for the fact that they always meet in a group, whether with the group of chosen ones or with Oriko bringing Kirika, the chosen ones would have tried to assassinate her from the moment they saw each other.

It had been a little over a year since she tried to find out what she had done wrong, but she never received an answer. Just more and more confirmation that it was very bad, but nothing concrete about what it was. Oriko wouldn't give up, of course, she would find out what she had done and fix it, even if it took her whole life to do so. But it was still frustrating.

Hopefully, the dinner that she, Kirika and Komaki were invited to at Mami's house would give her another opportunity for that to happen. Even if she had to swallow her pride to do so.

***

Magical Girls had an affinity for one element, this was one of the first things Mami taught Sayaka back when she didn't remember the Old World.

Water, fire, forest, light and darkness. These were the elements they could have, connected to their powers and personalities. There were exceptions, of course, some had no connection to any and had what the Magical Girls called a 'void' element, and there were rare girls who had an affinity for two elements. Sayaka and Homura were one of these exceptions, but the simple fact that they both had an affinity for light kind of made it clear to both of them that it was less that they had a rare latent power and more because they were literally touched by the goddess of this world and gained extra abilities. Like Homura's wings and Oktavia's powers for her.

In addition to the light element, Sayaka was water, which gave her more resistance in battles where bodies of water existed, as well as mobility thanks to Oktavia's ability to transport herself between bodies of water or blood. Kyouko was fire, so she became faster whenever something was on fire near her, a buff that she abused in all the fights against the Wraiths, purposely using her magic to set her spear on fire and burn her enemies. Mami was forest, which meant that she would become more powerful if she stayed on land and in nature, which was a disturbing thought to think about since they live in a city and, therefore, Mami is always nerfed and still easily destroyed the Wraiths she faced, Sakaya feared the day when they would see her full power.

Homura may have an affinity for light, but her natural element was darkness, which gave her the unfair advantage of being stronger both day and night, never being disturbed by the contradictory elements she had and having only the advantage of both. Sometimes Madoka's favoritism for the former time traveler makes her want to hit her friend in the head, she wasn't even trying to hide it in that one!

Anyway, the point was that Homura had no affinity for fire, none at all.

So the fact that Kyouko was able to slightly warm her tea after placing it on Homura's head for a while was proof of how furious she was at that moment. She was silently seething, sitting in front of the table while Mami finished preparing the dishes for the guest.

Not that she could blame Homura, after all...

... Oriko was coming here.

Although Sayaka had memories of her other lives, of the timelines that Homura traveled to, she didn't remember much. There were too many memories, too many timelines, too many lives cut short, either by Walpurgisnacht or by her other half in mermaid form, so many that they got confused and mixed up, making it difficult for Sayaka to follow a memory from one timeline without getting tangled up or confused with another timeline.

The concrete memories Sayaka has, however, are events that have repeated themselves so many times that they have almost become a pattern: Her waking up and walking with Madoka and Hitomi to school. Homura showing up at school, with braided hair and red glasses or with straight hair and no glasses. Her visiting Kyosuke and feeling sad about his situation. Kyubey luring her and Madoka into a labyrinth and them being saved by Mami. Homura acting in a way that she considered suspicious and selfish because she didn't know the truth about the time traveler's life. Her making her wish and becoming a Magical Girl. Mami being killed by a witch. Mami committing suicide or being killed by one of her friends when she discovered the truth about Magical Girls in the Old World. Kyouko being cruel to her and then the two of them getting closer when Sayaka was feeling down. The feeling of numbness and emptiness when she became a witch. Kyouko killing herself along with her other half so that she wouldn't be alone. A piece of concrete hitting the place where she and her family were sheltering from the storm and being killed. The sight of an upside down doll with giant gears floating as a laugh echoes through the destroyed city. Madoka in her Magical Girl form, the pink dress and a bow in her hands.

Patterns, repetitions with some variations, but the results are always the same. Either she is ignorant of magic and gets swept away by the storm, or she becomes a Magical Girl and Oktavia takes over at some point, or she is lucky enough to die during the battle against the Witch Queen. Honestly, Sayaka doesn't know how Homura was able to move on even after so many failures, she barely remembers them all and already feels hopeless with these memories.

But there was a specific group of memories that, despite being very rare, had not been lost in the sea: the memories of the countless lives she had.

Oriko, that assassin in white, killing Madoka.

There were exactly three memories: Oriko summoning a witch at school, Oriko tricking her and Mami into fighting Homura, and Oriko appearing in front of her, Madoka, and Hitomi after school. In all three, she killed Madoka without hesitation, almost in cold blood.

Sayaka remembered these memories well, almost as well as the loop pattern memories, and she had no doubt that Homura remembered them even better than she did. Oriko and Kirika weren't serial killers most of the time, but when Oriko decided that Madoka's possible witch birth was a threat, it was certain that Madoka would be killed one way or another. And now Mami had invited Oriko to dinner at the house where they lived.

The simple fact that Homura decided to stay quiet despite her seething anger instead of fighting or being too vocal against the idea is just a testament to how much control Mami currently had over Homura now that they were girlfriends.

"Homura, Darling, you need to relax a little." Mami sighed, placing the final dishes on the table and turning to the black-haired girl. "This is an important meeting and we need to be in our best mood."

“Yeah, I agree with Mami.” Kyouko commented, finishing her tea. “I know you and Sayaka don’t like them for some reason, but we really need allies. After all, Infestation Day will come soon and I don’t want what happened last time to happen again.”

Sayaka shivered slightly, remembering again why she wasn’t in the same situation as Homura, despite her anger.

Infestation Day.

The day when a gigantic horde of Wraiths will come to invade a city.

The last time this happened in their territory, they almost lost Homura when she protected Mami with her body.

She still remembers the feeling of carrying Homura's body, which was almost split in half, and the despair at the thought of losing another best friend after she had finally managed to heal from the loss of her first. At that time, Mami refused to sleep until Homura woke up, but when Sayaka tried to rest, her dreams were filled with nightmares about the tragedies of her past lives and how they would repeat themselves at that moment, so she decided not to sleep either.

The last time she had felt so much fear and anguish was when her memories of the Old World were returned by Madoka in that brief encounter she had with the Law of Cycles. She didn't even know if it would be here that Infestation Day would occur this year, but either way she preferred to never go through something like that again for the next time.

And if that meant she would have to make an alliance with someone she didn't have good memories of... So be it. The more allies for that day, the more chances everyone would make it out alive.

Sayaka loved her friend and missed her, but she wasn't ready to meet Madoka permanently yet. Preferably, that reunion would be many decades from now.

“Alright, we’ll behave, right Homura?” She almost begged, turning to her friend. Homura stared at her intensely before sighing and looking away, her fervent aura diminishing a bit.

"... No promises."

Better than nothing.

The group felt the presence of Magical Girls nearby, and soon the doorbell rang. Homura's eyebrow twitched and Sayaka felt her hand do the same, but neither of them moved as Mami went to the door and opened it.

The first to appear was a young woman with blue hair and eyes, a shade darker than Sayaka's. Komaki Asako, supposedly the official leader of Oriko's group. Sayaka has no memory of her, but Homura apparently knows her from some past loop, since the first time she appeared Homura did that thing she always does when she recognizes something she doesn't consider a threat - a slight humming and a surprised analytical look on her face.

Kirika Kure soon arrived, and she made Homura twitch in her chair, her gaze focused on the Black Magical Girl. This Sayaka remembered, less than Oriko, but still very fresh. The crazy girl with claws who was obsessed with the girl with precognition powers. Currently, however, she looked and acted quite normal, with no crazy smiles or attitudes that made everyone question her sanity. At worst, she was just a little annoying with how much she talked about how wonderful her amazing girlfriend was.

And speaking of her...

Oriko Mikuni closed the door behind her, bowing politely to Mami for the invitation.

Sayaka felt her other half nudge her, and it was then that she realized she was about to transform. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and placed her hand on top of Homura's, who looked ready to jump out of her chair. Her friend looked at her and sighed, intertwining their hands as she turned back to face the group.

Sayaka didn't like Oriko, screw the political problems or anything else in her family, Sayaka didn't like her. Her first impressions were memories of other lives where she killed her best friend, of course she didn't like Oriko. At the same time, however, she didn't hate her with a fervor like Homura, why should she? The only reason she could have for that didn't exist in this world, not in this realm of existence, at least, and Sayaka doubted that Oriko would be able to kill a concept. In fact, she seemed quite friendly and was always willing to help, which should make her seem like, if not a friend, a potential trustworthy ally, if not for one small detail.

Her interest in Sayaka and Homura was suspicious, and it was the only reason why she still had her guard up so high in her presence. She didn't know what made Oriko seem so eager to get close to them, but she didn't like it. What kind of vision had she had to look so intently at her and Homura? Were they her new target? Or something more sinister? Sayaka didn't know, and for Madoka, the tension and sense of anticipation were killing her!

"Sit down, I just made dinner. I hope you enjoy it." Mami sat down next to Homura, subtly nudging her with her foot. Homura took a deep breath and put her neutral mask back on, pretending to ignore everyone as she set her plate.

The other group sat on the opposite side of Sayaka's group. Sayaka silently watched Mami and Komaki talk about the upcoming Infestation Day, no one knew where it would be, only that it would be somewhere in Japan this semester. They began to discuss making a temporary alliance, in case it happened in their territories and they needed help quickly. Meanwhile, Kirika and Kyouko began to talk about something, maybe about battles or games or something. Sayaka heard her name and Oriko's mentioned a few times, but she ignored it in favor of focusing on the third member.

Oriko was among her teammates, politely eating what was on her plate. She didn't say anything, just continued to observe the conversations and focused for a while on her and Homura. For a moment, she didn't speak, she didn't do anything, she just stared, she just stood there.

Menacingly.

Sayaka stared back at her coldly, but inside she was squirming. She didn't know what her plan was, she didn't know what move she would make, if she would be quick enough to react and protect her friends, if the rest of her group knew whatever her assassination plan was. She didn't know, and that scared her.

After a few minutes, Oriko stood up from her chair, drawing everyone's attention, and turned to Sayaka and Homura. Sayaka felt her friend tense up, as did she.

"I would like to speak with you two in private, if you'll allow me."

It took immense willpower for Sayaka not to transform at that moment and attack, her paranoia almost forcing her to act on impulse if her other half hadn't nudged her again to warn her. Homura also tensed, but she just got up and went to her, Sayaka quickly following her. She noticed the two groups watching them worriedly as Oriko led them out of the room, into the hallway outside.

This was it, wasn't it? Oriko was finally going to put whatever plan she had in place to eliminate them into action, wasn't she? Sayaka really hoped that Kirika and Komaki weren't involved, she trusted in Mami and Kyouko's strength, but Kyouko had some difficulty getting past defenses and Mami didn't have a great track record of reacting well to surprise attacks. In the worst case scenario, Homura could take care of herself long enough for Sayaka to return, draw her group's attention away, and turn this separation into a 3 vs 4 fight.

Instantly, as soon as the door closed, Homura transformed, her hands on her bow ready to shoot. Sayaka also prepared her transformation as Oriko turned around, ready for anything she threw at them...

...And then Oriko knelt before them, bowing her head to the ground.

"I'm sorry for anything and everything I've done to you."

...

Hmm.

Well...

... Obviously Sayaka was wrong about being ready for anything she threw at her.

Chapter Text

“YOU WANT TO DO WHAT?!?!?!”

Oriko flinched at the scream, watching Komaki hover in front of her with her hands twitching, seconds away from simply grabbing her and shaking her like a toy. Kirika watched calmly from a nearby chair, eating a bag full of sweets.

“I told you.” Was the only thing she said, and it made the blue-haired girl turn sharply to her.

“You knew about this plan?!”

“She told me yesterday and I’ve had my share of yelling about how I’m the irresponsible and reckless one on the team and in our relationship, not her. But you know me, I can’t stop her when she gets an idea in her head.” She threw a candy and caught it in the air, chewing it before continuing. “I was hoping you’d pull off a miracle here.”

“And I already told you that you don’t need to worry, I have everything under control.” Oriko explained, which made Komaki relax a little.

“Ah, so you saw the future and know what to say and how to talk to them safely, right?”

Oriko looked away casually.

“... Right?”

She still refused to look at her leader.

“Oriko!”

“Seeing the outcome of this conversation would completely nullify the part about leaving me at their mercy.” Was the seer's answer. Komaki’s eye twitched so much that the white-haired girl worried she would permanently have a nervous tic.

“Seeing the outcome of the conversation allows those two caged beasts to not disembowel you the second we and their friends aren’t looking!” She almost screamed in exasperation. “Oriko, I understand, I really do. You or the family you share the surname with did something that upset those two and you want to make it right. It’s really nice of you to do that. But this isn’t like high school! They don’t despise you, they hate you to the core! The second you ask to talk to them in private, they’ll destroy your gem, dismember your body, and throw your pieces into the nearest river!”

“I don’t think they’d go that far to get rid of me...”

“Does it really matter how they do it if we all know they’re going to do it?!”

“Oriko.” Kirika stood up and walked over to the two, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I know you want to have a good relationship with those two.” She raised her eyebrow slightly and Oriko knew what she meant. Komaki only knew that Oriko wanted to get closer to two Magical Girls who clearly didn’t like her, but Kirika knew that Oriko wanted to get closer to the Goddess’ Chosen and help them in their mission given by the deity. “But I definitely don’t want to lose you, and neither does Komaki. You’re too important to us to let something like that happen.”

Oriko looked down, feeling a little warm inside. She knew, of course she knew, in the last few years those two had become more like family to her than the family she shared the surname with. Kirika was a beacon of light from the beginning, her incredibly loyal best friend who eventually won her heart, and despite the rocky beginning between her and Komaki, the other girl basically adopted Oriko once they became friends, standing up to anyone who tried to hurt her due to her lineage. Oriko could never show them how much she loved each of them for everything they had done for her all this time.

... Still...

“I... I know you’re worried. Trust me, I am too. I don’t know if everything’s going to be okay, if I’m going to make it out of this conversation alive or not... It’s scary.” She sighed, steeling her nerves and looking up at her team. “But I have to do this. Infestation Day is coming, and if we can’t trust each other completely, someone will die, and I don’t even need my vision to know that.” Her gaze softened, a small smile appearing on her face. “Trust me.”

Kirika and Komaki looked at each other, clearly conflicted about what to do. Finally, Kirika sighed and Komaki huffed as she crossed her arms.

“We trust you, we just don’t trust them...” Kirika hugged Oriko a little tighter than usual, kissing her cheek. “...But if you think you can do it, then I ask you to be careful, okay?”

“I promise.”

Komaki grunted, tapping her foot for a few seconds before extending three fingers.

“Three minutes. You have three minutes to talk to them alone. If you don’t come back before then, we’ll come looking for you.”

“Nine minutes.” Komaki frowned.

“Five.”

“Deal.”

***

Sayaka looked at the girl kneeling in front of her in confusion. She had never seen Oriko do something like this before that she could remember. Was this a new trick to make her lower her guard? Because if it was, it was working, and Sayaka was too confused to act.

Homura didn't have that problem, transformed and with her weapon in hand, she hadn't yet readied an arrow, but Sayaka knew how fast Homura could be with that, so she wasn't worried. She still stared at Oriko with great intensity, almost as if she expected to incinerate her with her gaze.

"Er... What?" It might not have been her best moment, but Sayaka was never very good at reacting to unexpected events that didn't have to do with fights to the death.

“I did something that really angered you, and that’s why you hate me, isn’t it?” Oriko hadn’t moved from her position yet, seeming to hesitate for a moment before showing the Soul Gem in her hands and holding it out as if it were a gift. “I… I don’t know what I did to you, and I know that excuses like that are worthless. But I want you to know that I’m telling the truth, I want to know what I did to make up for my mistakes. You don’t have to forgive me, just give me a chance to do what’s right.”

Sayaka blinked, somehow feeling even more confused by her words than before. She might not know Oriko very well, but she definitely sounded sincere at that moment. She was even exposing her Soul Gem in a way that they could easily destroy if they wanted to.

...

Maybe... Maybe she and Homura misunderstood Oriko's actions? Maybe she wasn't keeping an eye on them, but noticed their animosity and was confused about why, and that's why she seemed interested in them? Because she wanted to know what she had done to make her and Homura so angry with her? It sounded a little suspicious, but if she was meeting a new group of Magical Girls and two of them seemed to want to rip her head off, she would want to know why and would invest her time in getting to know them, especially if she was trying to avoid conflict.

'Don't fall for her tricks. It's a trap.' Homura spoke in her thoughts, Sayaka looked away from her.

'But what if it's not? She seems very sincere...'

'It has to be. What other reason would she have to focus so much on us? She's planning something...' Her grip on the bow tightened. ‘...And I won’t let her take anyone else I care about. Especially now.’

This made Sayaka hesitate, looking at her friend worriedly.

She knew exactly why Homura was angry with Oriko, and she even agreed with her to a certain extent. But she had also noticed the way Homura looked around whenever Oriko was present, hands twitching ready to transform, her body a little more inclined to be close to them.

Homura hated Oriko for killing Madoka, but she was also afraid that she would try to kill one of them.

Homura's desire changed in the New World, and as far as Sayaka knew, Homura could no longer go back in time, everything that happened now would be permanent. And she was afraid, afraid of losing one of them for not being careful, for ignoring a potential threat, for giving a chance to an assassin.

And again, Sayaka understood her point. She still feels very uncomfortable every time she sees the white-haired girl near her friends, the memories of when she did it to get rid of Madoka still vivid in her head. But at the same time...

... A small voice, that sounded suspiciously like Madoka's voice (later she would see if it was her conscience or divine intervention again), said that things could be better now.

'... I think we should give it a chance.' Homura stared at her, almost looking offended. 'Just... I know we have reasons to be suspicious, but I don't think she would do anything against us in this world. You told me once that Oriko acted because she thought she was doing something that was a necessary evil for the greater good. What greater good would she have by killing a group of Magical Girls who are practically her neighbors?'

'She must still be planning something...'

‘And I agree with you on that. Just not about her killing us. The only reason she came to us was for Madoka, and I doubt she could kill what is essentially a concept and a deity.’ Sayaka hesitated for a second before continuing. ‘Besides, there’s a part of me that wants to believe the best in people. We don’t need to forgive her, just give her a chance to prove that she’s not how we remember her… That’s what Madoka would do, after all.’

This made Homura hesitate, looking away to the ground for a moment.

‘... Madoka has always been better than us.’

‘I agree. It doesn’t stop us from trying to be the best version of ourselves.’

‘That’s stupidly naive.’

‘You’re absolutely right, but you and Kyouko can also be ridiculously cynical.’

‘....’

‘...’

‘... If I’m right and she kills us or our friends, I swear I’ll make your afterlife hell.’

‘Fair enough.’

Homura sighed and detransformed, crossing her arms. Oriko probably felt the decrease in magic around her, because she raised her head a little, looking genuinely surprised that she hadn't been destroyed at that moment.

“... If you speak the truth, then answer me something. And be honest.” Homura took a step forward, just inches away from kicking the Soul Gem, or worse, stepping on and crushing it. Oriko obviously noticed this, but didn't move. “Why are you keeping an eye on us? I know you, you don't have that much interest in people except when they do or can do something meaningful for you or the world. What do you want from the two of us?”

Oriko seemed to hesitate for a second before slowly starting to sit down, leaving her Soul Gem on the floor and next to Homura. She placed a hand on her chest and closed her eyes, as if contemplating something. Hopefully, she wouldn't lie to get out of this situation and they would finally have an answer for Oriko's suspicious attitude towards them.

“The truth… Is that I want to help you with the mission the Goddess gave you.”

Sayaka’s brain was officially fried.

“… What.” Homura wasn’t far behind, looking genuinely confused for the first time in this entire confrontation.

“When I made my wish, I had a vision, one where you two were receiving the Goddess’s blessing. She must have given it to help you on your mission, didn’t she? I would like to help you in any danger that is near to help you fulfill your destinies!”

…

… Okay, this is awkward.

Understandable, but still awkward.

After all, what is more acceptable? A Goddess blessing two random people to fulfill a mission or destiny greater than anyone can imagine? Or the said Goddess having been a normal human in another reality and these random people are actually her best friend and her crush who still remember her and, therefore, she ends up favoring them a little?

Yeah, as if anyone would believe the latter, even ignoring the part about the Goddess having been human in another reality.

‘...What is she talking about?’ Homura asked, glancing at Sayaka.

‘I think she saw the moment Madoka managed to make contact with us in this world and mistook it for her giving us some kind of divine mission or something.’ Was her answer, which made Homura blink.

‘What?’ Sayaka shrugged.

‘I mean, it’s more believable than thinking that two random people are close friends with the supposed Goddess of Magical Girls.’ Homura looked thoughtful for a second before also shrugging.

‘Fair enough.’ She turned back to Oriko, who had now opened her eyes, looking a little uncomfortable at the hopeful way she was looking at her. ‘... What do we do?’

‘I say we go with it. It’s not like we can tell the truth anyway.’

“... I see...” Homura still looked uncomfortable, taking a long step back. To Sayaka’s surprise, Homura quickly pulled her to her side. “I don’t remember all the details of the mission the Goddess gave us, but Sayaka does. She would be happy to inform you about it and whether or not we accept help.”

Sayaka stared at Homura with wide, betrayed eyes. The idiot didn't even bother to look sorry and just pointed at the seer again, who was watching them hopefully.

Crap.

She hoped that her time lying so that her parents wouldn’t find out about her life as a Magical Girl would finally pay off.

***

Mami wouldn't deny to anyone that when Oriko asked Sayaka and Homura to talk to her alone, she desperately wanted to follow them to ensure their safety. And by that, she meant making sure Sayaka and Homura didn't kill the other girl and make the rest of her team their enemies.

From the way the rest of the table shifted uncomfortably, she could tell the feeling was mutual.

When Mami felt Homura transform, she was nervous, but the fact that she could still feel Oriko made her ignore the urge to run to where they were. When she felt the detransformation, she relaxed a little, but she was still nervous about the three of them together without supervision. She loved Homura, but she couldn't deny that sometimes she was a bit reckless when her feelings took over, more so than any other member of her group.

After almost five minutes, with Komaki looking ready to get up and go where they were, they calmly returned and sat back down in their seats. Sayaka still looked upset, but Oriko seemed calm and even satisfied while Homura had her usual neutral expression, with a slight glint of suspicion and amusement in her eyes. That in itself was curious, but Mami decided to simply celebrate the fact that there had been no murders today.

The rest of dinner was quiet, with the groups going back to talking about their alliance again. Kirika and Komaki seemed surprised and happy with Oriko, especially because she had come back without any injuries, which Mami completely understood. Meanwhile, Kyouko looked amused at Sayaka, who seemed a little irritated with Homura for the way she sometimes pouted at her, but nothing out of the ordinary, probably they argued about something and Homura won the argument again.

In the end, Komaki's group said goodbye before leaving, the two Magical Girls leaving with the seer trapped between their embrace. After a while, Kyouko and Sayaka also left, Mami saying they could stay if they wanted, but they both decided to go back to finish some projects they needed to turn in soon.

This left Mami and Homura alone at home, Homura volunteering to clean the house since Mami had made dinner and her friends had washed the dishes before they left. She quietly turned on the TV to find something they could both watch before going to sleep while Homura finished cleaning the floor.

"... Darling, can I ask you a personal question?" Homura hummed lightly, which was an affirmative. "Your grudge against Oriko... Does it have anything to do with Madoka?"

Homura paused for a moment, looking at Mami in surprise, who was just watching her with a patient smile. She looked away after a moment and nodded, confirming Mami's suspicion.

"How did you notice?"

"You're not one to hold a grudge against people who do something to you, but the same can't be said when they do something to someone you care about." Was her response, looking away again at the TV. Madoka is, and probably always will be, a sensitive topic for Homura, so it makes sense that she would overreact when someone who probably hurt her showed up again.

“... You're also one of the reasons I don't like her.” Homura suddenly commented, catching Mami's attention, turning around in surprise. Those amethyst eyes burned like fire as she approached the blonde. “She hurt Madoka a lot and I couldn't do much to stop it. I don't want to see that happen again, not when I know I can stop it, and most of all, I don't want it to happen to you. Sayaka told me we might be exaggerating a bit, but...” She sighed, looking away. “... I don't want to lose you too.”

Mami's heart melted a little at her words. It had been a long time since she accepted that she would never replace Madoka in Homura's heart, but sometimes she wondered if she would never be enough for the other girl. It was little moments like that that made her understand that, just as Homura had said, she was as important to Homura as Madoka once was, Homura just decided not to abandon her completely as she moved on.

Mami closed the distance between the two and kissed her cheek, which made Homura give a slight involuntary smile before returning to her usual expression.

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m happier when you say these things to me.” Mami placed her hand on Homura’s, who instinctively intertwined their fingers. “Everything ended well today, but things could have gone very badly if your animosity made the other girls act rashly. Next time you’re worried about something, please talk to me, okay?” Homura nodded, and Mami turned back to the couch. “Now, let’s relax and enjoy the evening! After what you did today, I think you deserve a reward. Choose whatever you want.”

At any other time or with any other person, Mami would probably find it strange to see someone treating her girlfriend like some kind of skittish animal that deserves treats when she behaves. But in her defense, Homura sometimes acts a lot like Kyouko used to, and to this day she and Sayaka sometimes treat the redhead that way. And neither she nor Homura seem upset when this happens, so she believes they have no problem with it.

“... Anything?”

Mami is smart, so a part of her mind instantly raised red flags with that question. The rest of her simply ignored the warnings and settled into the couch, after all, Homura would never do anything bad to her.

“Yes, of course.”

She went back to changing the channels, listening to Homura finish cleaning the house. Eventually, she relaxed where she was, closing her eyes for a moment, no channel seemed to catch her attention, so maybe today would become another night of classic movies from her parents' collection or something.

Suddenly she felt something hold her arms on either side of her head, effectively holding her in place, and she opened her eyes in surprise.

Homura stared at her intently as she held her, pupils slightly dilated as her eyes almost seemed to be trying to consume the other girl.

Oh...

Mami blushed.

She... recognized that look.

The mischievous smile that began to appear on Homura's face only made Mami blush even more.

"Anything, right?"

Suddenly, Mami was very happy that Kyouko and Sayaka left.

This is going to be... A long night.