The Carriers of her Banner

[bondtolife]

Laying on the grass, in the new world that Mami was reborn in, Mami held Homura's hand.

It was a moment of relief that Mami barely felt happening. In those days that she pondered about her duty after Kyouko's passing, and realizing all she was left with was Homura in a world that condemned them to endless fighting, there also came a moment in which the fights turned into a crawl as they found the source of the wraiths.

And then, as if waking up from a nightmare, Mami woke up on a field of grass caressed by soft mountain winds, holding Homura's hand, with a picnic kit and tea already served for the two of them nearby, looking up at an unfamiliar blue sky.

There was a long moment in which Mami realized there were threats in the distance that made her soul gem glow, evidence that the fight would not be over just yet. Then, she turned her head to Homura, not letting go of her hand, silently asking her if this was real.

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[timeunending]

Under no circumstances would Homura let herself forget.
Always, somewhere, someone was fighting for her.
As long as she remembered Madoka, she would never be alone.

Clinging onto that distant hope, Homura committed herself to her fate of endless fighting. After all, this was to be her final timeline, in this universe created by her best friend. She would find peace no matter what happened to her in the end. Even then, too used to timelines of fighting alone, Homura found it hard to truly reconnect with the other puella magi; there was too much emotional baggage left over from previous timelines that she didn't want to spring on them. By the time she and Mami Tomoe were the only ones left, they were certainly staunch allies who could depend on each other. But whether they were friends...

Homura couldn't say that she was truly happy, but she was okay. That was more than enough for her.

But waking up in an unfamiliar world, without any trace of her long-lost friend after fighting for so long, left her feeling as if she was about to wake from one nightmare to be plunged straight into another.

Mami might have caught the briefest glimpse of Homura covering her eyes with her free hand, her face uncharacteristically taut with emotion. When Homura glanced over to her former senior, her expression was back to normal- as if that brief lapse hadn't occurred.

"We're not safe here." Homura pulled herself up to a sitting position, letting go of Mami's hand. Her gaze lingered on the picnic set for a moment before holding up her own glowing soul gem, her lips pressed to a thin line. "You must sense that as well."

[bondtolife]

Mami's head slowly turned to face Homura, her friend's expression hidden further by the blades of grass. Even in that moment, by the tug of her hand, Mami realized this was one of the few times she had seen Homura being overcome by emotions. Something that she learned to listen.

Out of respect for Homura, Mami pretended she did not see that emotion. Likewise, she saw that they would not get relief in this world, with the figures on the horizon.

"I know."

When their hands were separated, Mami instead took a moment to look with her knees tucked against her chest, spending a moment to observe the new threat.

"They do not seem to be quite the same as the wraiths that existed in our world," Mami noted, "they appear to be something else. It reminds me a little of the things you described in that other world. Of the witches."

Mami slowly stood up, walking towards the picnic set, packing it up as if they were going for another spot, and not another battle, likewise a trait of her to conserve her welfare, to treat even the gravest of dangers like an afterschool passtime.

As she tied the set up, and had it disappear in her own form of subspace, she began walking forward, noticing there was also civilization on the horizon.

[timeunending]

Pushing all thoughts of Madoka to the back of her mind, Homura climbed back up to her feet, the mountain breeze idly playing through her long hair. She could only hope that she looked calmer than she felt.

She'd haunted Mitakihara City for so long that she knew it like the back of her hand. But even without taking into account her timeline resets- she didn't care to think about how much older her mind was compared to her body, after reliving the same month and a half dozens of times- most of her life was spent living in Japan's crowded cities, with only a few isolated pockets of natural greenery connected by forested paths.

Our world. Hearing Mami say that all but confirmed Homura's own uneasy suspicions.

"Wherever we are, there won't be witches." Her tone was little sharper than intended. If witches still existed anywhere in the universe, then Madoka's self-sacrificial wish was unfulfilled, and it would all have been for naught- Homura took a breath to calm herself before continuing. "No matter how similar they may seem."

She waited for Mami to finish packing up, only slightly impatient, before joining her side as they began walking. Moving around like this while transformed, and on guard against any potential enemies, felt strange; back in Mitakihara, their wraith hunts were normally in the evening or night.

Homura glanced over. "We should find somewhere with cover, or a better vantage point." To scope out whatever threats were lurking in the distance, and to determine what sort of town or city they were walking toward. For someone as meticulous as Homura, it grated at her that they simply didn't have enough information.

[bondtolife]

Homura's curt retort took Mami by surprise. But she respected her wishes, understanding that whatever Homura had gone through, whatever that girl she knew, Madoka, had gone through and done for them all...

... was possibly still out there. The very concept of hope, as Homura called her.

The first thing Mami did to prepare a vantage point was to materialize a musket for her to hold, "we should move around the hills for greater observation."

She looked at the hill above the town, barely above a hamlet, that had straw roofs and stone walls for enemies that would have held all but whatever they fought.

There were screams. A bell was rung in the distance. Mami's walk was still measured, although determined. She materialized another musket from her sleeves, now holding them as clubs.

"I can be the scout if you wish," Mami stated, "you can take the hills as the vantage point. I'll be down there trying to help the town. If our enemies become too many, move in."

She then smiled to Homura, asking about a friend Mami honestly wished she could have met, "your friend wanted us to protect people while we could, didn't she?"

[timeunending]

Straw roofs, stone walls, warning bells. Not only were they in a different world, but in a different time period entirely. And now the screams. They'd barely had time to get their bearings, and the situation had already changed. Not for the first time, the former time traveler wished she could still slow the world to a standstill.

Homura shook her head, not even turning at the telltale sound of muskets being summoned. "It would be safer to stay together," she murmured, her voice giving no indication to whatever she might be feeling. "Right where the enemy is headed."

The black-haired girl didn't quite smile at the mention of Madoka, but the corners of her lips just barely quirked up. "I'll cover you from the bell tower." Homura's fingers twitched up toward the side of her head- a nervous tic, making sure that well cared-for red ribbon was still there- before she summoned her bow.

Instead, she felt the touch of cold gunmetal against her fingers, a reassuringly familiar weight clamping onto her left arm. Slowing to a standstill, Homura stared at her hourglass shield, her face pale as if she'd seen a ghost.