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Homura woke up in the hospital.
Shakily, she put on her glasses and pulled up a calendar.
It was thirty days in the past! Her wish worked!
She can undo everything- save her soulmate, save the city, and not be weak ever again!
Her wrist began to glow, with faint colors moving in circles.
Homura wiped away a tear as she prepared to feel the light of Madoka's soul once more.
...
The glow settled into a shimmering silently moving weave of strings.
Wait, the soul mark between herself and Madoka was a swan- actually, she didn't feel emotions in the direction of Madoka's house.
In fact, it seemed to be in the rough direction of Mami's apartment?
Homura limped through the ruined streets of Mitakihara, faintly hearing Walpurgisnacht move north away from the destroyed city.
Faintly in the distance, Sayaka was dying. Her emotions were a dull mix of exhaustion, grief, and suffering in pain.
Given the spike of emotions she'd felt as Walpurgisnacht had bisected the evacuation shelter with its laser and it had thrown another wave of skyscrapers all over the residential district, Madoka was most likely already dead.
But Homura still had to verify.
The water current mark on her left wrist started to bleed.
Whelp.
Homura took a fresh grief seed out of her storage and strapped it to her soul gem, and also took a syringe full of magically infused blood and hissed as she injected it into her bloodstream- the pain of a soulmate dying could be blunted a lot more easily than it should, provided you didn't care about your own long term health and had enough 'donors'.
Sayaka's emotions cut off.
Homura stopped in the street and fell to her knees, shaking as the soul-loss waves wracked her body, dampening around the 'blessed' blood starting to pump through her heart.
"Tell me, Homura Akemi. What did you do just now?"
Kyubey's red eyes lit up a shadow beneath a destroyed bus stop, and its tail swished as it strolled out from beneath the bench, paws treading carefully around shards of glass.
"Almost all humans recorded take extreme psychological damage and often have significant physical impairment for a varying period of time from the death of their soul bonded. We still don't really understand the mechanism, but you certainly don't seem to be anywhere near as burdened."
Homura ignored it and shakily stood back up, injecting a second shot of mana enriched blood into herself and wrapping a bandage around her soul-scarred wrist, showcasing her continued grief as mana damage directly on the body.
"Shouldn't you care more that the girl hooked to your soul passed away? She covered Madoka's mouth to prevent her from making a wish, and they both died as a result."
Good girl. If only Sayaka could be as understanding without a direct conduit to her soul gem directly showing that she was telling the truth.
Well, there was nothing left here for her.
Homura glanced at the mana waves making visible atmospheric changes as Walpurgisnacht continued its rampage off in the distance- likely not stopping until either it burned too much mana or somehow it was defeated (not likely, given the few times Homura had interacted with Tokyo magical girls she'd found an unstable system of gangs and rogues in endless turf wars).
Following the pattern that had been true for the last twenty three or so loops, the next soulmate was going to be...
Madoka -> Mami -> Person on another continent A (Mediterranean area?) -> Kyouko -> Sayaka -> Hitomi -> Oriko -> Kyousuke -> Person on another continent B (North America?) -> Kirika -> Madoka
Hitomi.
Another "You will become Hitomi's very best friend or else." loop.
Well, at least she could delay needing to deal with Sayaka's inevitable romantic meltdown for another thirty days.
Ignoring Kyubey's psychic questioning, Homura turned on her heel and time inverted-
Homura woke up in the hospital.
Well, she'd need to make another list of mortars that didn't work as well as she'd hoped, and which ones did, and the performance of the various rocket launchers and field artillery- her wrist started to softly glow, colors favoring yellow, white, and red.
...That wasn't the normal set of colors for hitomi.
Homura shook her head and stood up, loosening her hair ribbons and walking to the bathroom.
After an awkward check out from the hospital where she'd kept her wrist fully covered with spare long gloves, she walked in to her apartment and the glow was still pulsing in a circle.
...This isn't good.
Having her soul bond stuck in the 'eternally loading' pattern (it was said loading circles in computer programs were all based off of this) didn't necessarily mean that she had a new soul mate (she'd had an unfortunate number of times where her soul bond hadn't fully expressed itself until much later in a loop, and once where it never did; that was less useful than any but also less awkward than the four times she'd had her soul bond settle on the person she had a gun pointed at), but the last time she'd had a long soul settling pattern had been the first time Kirika was her soul bond.
That loop had explained so much and been excessively frustrating.
Homura let out a sigh, transformed into a magical girl, and began to retrieve workbenches and premade magical charms from her dimensional pocket, and refill the fridge with her friends favorite foods.
Homura steadily ignored the curious Mami looking at her or more accurately, her mana signature as she walked adequately quickly into school. Mami wasn't supposed to be at this entrance, but such was her luck.
"Ah, we'll be late- oof!"
Homura grunted as Sayaka, dragging Madoka and Hitomi with her bowled her over and they all collapsed into a heap on the floor.
"Sorry sorry sorry-" Madoka babbled as pushed herself up, arm digging into Homura's hair and then pulling the other two dumb teenage girls off of Homura.
Mami stepped closer.
Homura growled and pushed herself back up, giving a heated glance to a gawking Sayaka.
Wait.
"Oh my gosh, congratulations!"
Homura's sleeve had been pulled up in the mess and her 'loading' soul mark was now showing to everyone in front of her.
Argh.
Three awkward school days, awkwardly allowing Madoka's embarrassing attempts to befriend her, avoiding being alone with Mami, and killing of thirty of Kyubey's spare bodies later, her soul mark was still 'loading'.
Homura solemnly strode towards the Hospital; it was about time for that pathetic worm Charlotte to show up and try to eat the hospital, and for her to kill it for another grief seed.
Homura's arm twitched and she felt mana swirl in it.
You've got to be kidding me.
Prismatic bubbles formed in a larger bubble, bouncing off of each other.
Homura felt a wave of pure despair in the direction of the Hospital.
YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!
New soul bond- Magical girl- 'Instant Witchout type'- the fucking source of charlotte- CUT IT OFF-
Homura dove into an alley and transformed, pulling an array of knives, brushes, blood containers, and premade magical seals out of her dimensional pocket into the street.
Homura ignored the warbling panic from her 'soul mate' and bit hard into her left arm to draw blood, and ripped open a bucket containing most of the blood she'd forced Oriko to prepare eight loops ago and began to brush a circle into the street.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Homura fired a gun and the spectator scattered. Good.
Grief Seeds were placed onto candles and lit, and more blood was poured to provide a resting link between everything in the triple septagrams layered on top of each other with jagged red spikes projecting towards the walls. Homura slapped her left hand into the ground and PULSED magic.
The magic rose up-
The girl she felt in her soul gave in.
Homura groaned as the Witch formed, a jagged grief seed ripping from some girls soul gem, less than a kilometer away.
Charms placed over the magical circle activated automatically and fake copies of Mami's ribbons ripped homura roughly to the ground, bruising her.
Blood squiggled forming two Heptahedrons around her, and cursed mana glowed.
D̵̡̡͉̦͑̇̎̏̿͂̚̚̚ó̵̡̠͚̲̘̖̐̉̋̋ń̴̦̼͉͓̲̈́̔'̷͓̔̅̄̀̎̂̉̋͝t̸̠̙͉̗͙̟̐̑ ̶͇̠̰̬̺͊̑̓̂̿y̸̝̺̓́ͅo̵̰̫̖̒̎̿̈́̑̀͋͌̚u̸̧̱͉̅̓̑͜ ̸̫̦̫͍̘̥̭̰͂͊̄͛̚͜͠w̷̨̘͌̍͌̾̂͛̔̋͂a̷̫͇͉͍̗̘̝̐ń̴̫͇͓̠̗̜͕͓̌͛̓̀̎̚t̵͈̪͈̿̀̎̈́͑͗̎́͝ ̴̬̥͔͖̱͌̔ț̶̢̡̢̛̗̻̥͌̔̉ö̴̜̳́̍̓̈́̐͑͒̕͝ ̶̢̪̞͐̾͂̿b̷̻̞̉̌͂̒̌́̀͛͠ę̷̰͓̿̀̑͌̓̐͒̃̋ ̷̠̞̤̇̓͋̎̕̕͘m̶̼̣͕̠̘̦̘͈̩̓̎͐͛̓͂͝ỳ̵̼͚͛ ̵͎̹̖̬͙̦̈́͒̽f̸̨̺̩́̒͠͝ṛ̸̡̦͓̔̀͒̾́̓̈́̆̿ͅí̴̪͓̒ę̸̧̮̞̹̭͙̲̑͂͌́̋̌̾̕n̴̬̙̘̗̺̅̑͆͋̈́͆͒d̴̫͙͊͌̃̈́?̷̢̛̜̪͎͓̤̜̝̅̅̾̕͜
̴̛͈̉ͅW̵̺̅̄̚ë̵̢̳̩̱͍͍̗́̾'̴̯͉̺͖͉̉͛͠͝l̵̼͍̜̬̊́̈̂̇ḷ̵̿̌̊͆̋͆́͒͜ ̶̨̹͈̟̝̏̂̀̉̊̾̾e̶̼̟͛̄̚a̵̰͎͍͗͒̉̇͛̇̚t̴̨̮̭̳͒͛͊̀̒͗̆́͗ ̸̡̼̙͙̟̺͍̫͗̈́͌e̸̱̖͖͈̅͑̄̈́̈́̇̇͝v̷̧͍̣̬̦͔̑͒͊͜ḙ̶̾̋͑̓̊͗͋̂r̸̗͇͓̘͖̥͙̥̈̋̆ͅy̷̧̛̺̲̹̮͂͋̈́͐͐͌̐̐ṫ̴̡̼̙̥̪̘͓̉h̸̡̧̫͉͕͎͉͍́͂͜į̴̙̯̬̲̀̀̈́̀̈̚ṋ̸͙͔͚̯̘͂̅̓ͅg̵̡̦̞̼̤͍͔̗͋͛̏̎̎̍̌͑́ ̵̰͉͕͙͔̤̅̍̔ụ̴͚̯̞̱̣͌͜p̷̨̧̛̬̜͚͔̲̺̠͐̈́̈́͛̍͋͝.̸̢̮̥̣̲̒̿̅̑ ̸̥̖͈̩̱̺͇̈͊̎̅̿̃̈͒̉
̷̦̜͕͙̩̪͆̾̍̉̆͘I̴̭͚͖̔́͊̂̈̔͝͝'̸͈̙͇͗̐͝l̷̯̰̦̯͔͆͗̆̏͒ͅĺ̵̝͍͎̫̥̺͂̓͘͜͝ ̷̙̋g̵̛̗̋͊̌͘e̶̞̊̐́͐̚͠t̵̮́̉̿̀̿̆͠ ̶̢̣̺͖̞͓̿̿̀̃̓̏̕͜m̸̛̬̪̱̮͒̏̚ÿ̴̝̟̙͈͔̹́͝ͅ ̶̣̪̹̪̜̭̣̺̌̉̾͋̋͊̌̚͜͝b̵͎̤̜͆̋̍̐͆̋͠ë̶̢͚̭̹́͛͊ļ̸͎̲̳̲̲̯̎̿̽̂͐̚ͅõ̴̡̡̙̠̥̝͌̍́v̵̢̹̉̿̏̍͑̓̚͘e̸̡̥̮͎̗̖̹͛̈́̔̐ͅd̵̦̘̣̜̩̦̝̰̜̓̾̆̒͂̌͐̈͝ ̸̨̧̜̗̱̜̼̭͉̇̆̀̄̉̋͋̅͘c̷͔͇͓̠̅̀́h̸̲̩͕̮̙̪͕̀̑̿͐̑͗̈́͛͜e̵̜̗̯͙͇̹͒̎ē̴̠̻̈́͐̀̽̏̍͋͝s̷͙͐͗́͋͠ē̶̞̲̙̹̫̬̇̆̊̈́̆͊͌͒c̵̜̫͎̺̪̰͈̰̎̾̽̉â̷͓̬̝̩͍̅̆̚ͅk̸̠̩̠͚͕͖̜͍͖͐̀͐̏͂e̴̩̳̰̙̜̝̯̺̦̚ ̶̙̤́͆͋a̵͙̤̩͇͚͗̈́͐̇̐̀͘n̴̢͈͓̖̞̾ḑ̶̜̪̞̝̹̼̟̜̓̓̊̊͌ ̵̞͇̹̥̪͑̂́̍̚ͅK̴͉̇̑̔̓İ̷̢̛̮̣͙̥͍̲̯̂̓̌L̷̪̼̭͌͑̈́̈́L̷̪̭̝̫͐ ̵̧̢̲̲̯̞̩̝̀̔K̵̡̛̦̹̬͘ͅI̵̡̨̬̱̍L̵̫̭̜̏́̈͘͝L̵̢͎̞̦̳̹̅́̉̀͠ ̴͎̭̝̲̂͜K̴͓̻̜̰̞̖̙̘̇̀ͅI̶͚̫̝̰͆̇̅̆̉̈́͘L̸͍̳̞̙̊̽͂͊͜͝ͅL̶̪̩̗̟͓͙͎̄̆̇̓͛͝ ̶̪͕̯̘͔̜̥̈́̒͆̉̏͜ͅK̸̩̺͕̤̻̗̆̐̋̒Ḯ̵̡̨̠̹͇̖͖̺͊̓̀́̓̀͒͝L̷̠̩̦̤̾̕L̸̳̪̬͈̆̊̔͌́̔̐͜ͅ
Homura screamed as cursed mana tried to flood her soul link, and blood runes lit up all over her body.
Dead copies of past soul bonds flickered in the air and a snake of raw mana bit her neck while a swan screeched as it took ahold of her soul gem, and Homura could see through her skin and see her heart stress under the weight of foreign mana and blood being forced to circulate around her.
J̶͈̺͈̯͕͍̻̙̫̥̭͎̉̇̒̉̇̆͘͜Ỏ̵͚͈̰͍̱̹̟̫̒͂̏Í̵̢̗̻͉̤͈̮̹̖̺̮̊ͅŅ̶̙̳̣͔̮̫͈̖͙́̄̇̽̓̋̿̃̎̾̀̈́̕ͅ ̵̙̰̩̖͈͍̳̟̬̠̄́͒̔̒̏͐́̀̑͑͛̓͜͝͝M̴̨͙͕̰̯̘͚̲̯͔̀͒̽E̸̛͙̳̫̮̹̝͍͈̲̣̥̜͈̠͋̆͛̈́̌̔̑́̔̍͝͝͝,̴̧͈̟̳̙̼̪̣̽̉̇͐̔͐̾͌͛͒̀͂͆̆̄̕͝ͅ ̴̧̨̺̫͉̦͖̗͍̟͈̒̅͆̅̿͌̓̚͝J̸̨͙̙̻͇͓̯̹͈̱̺̞̝̒̏̏͗̃͜Ö̷͓́̑̊̍͆̒̌̍̚͘͝İ̶̧̆̄̅̃̓́̃̾̇̉̂̄̕͝N̵̩̲̤̄̄̅͊̓͌̒̽͌̓͌̄̒͝ ̷̩̬̼̘́͌̄̈͐̓͑͌̒͆̕̚͠M̴̡̢̖̹͍̤̼̣͕͈̜̲͔͍̈̄E̵̡̪̙̖͂̀̆,̷͔̪͙̲͈͖̿̓̎̂ ̶̛̺̳̀͂̄͘͠J̸̳̫̠̱̗̹̮̻̟̒̄ͅƠ̴̡̨͍̹̣̩͓̙̦̼̭͕͙͍͎̍̀̀́̇͌̚͘͜ͅI̸͖̝̻̺̍̎̍N̸̢̫͍̪̭̰̹̲̣̣̟̹̙̠͕̆͘͜͝ ̷̢̝̣̯̺͕̮͍̪̠͕̆̋̍̊̊̕M̶̢̳̳͙͕̫͕͖̳͕͓͇͓̜̫̋̍͝Ȩ̵̡̟̳͕̮̞̣̝͇͔̦̗̈́ͅ
Homura grasped a twisted sickle with slots for grief seeds and shakily put blood stained seeds in, and turned the blade out from the shaft, and plunged it into her SOUL.
PAIN.
Homura screamed as her soul connection to the witch was ripped apart and mana burns began to appear all over herself.
The squirming defiled wriggling lines of mana on her wrist and soul bond mark screeched and spat out black ichor staining the ground.
Homura's eyes dimmed and she heard screaming and heavy footsteps as she fell into unconsciousness.
Homura woke up.
That was normal.
The bed she was in being covered in Madoka's sheets, with her head on Madoka's pillows and a variety of stuffed animals on a shelf across from her was not normal, and Madoka asleep on a chair in front of the bed was also not normal.
Homura felt clean. Artificially clean. She should be suppressing screaming and feeling soul damage all over herself; you couldn't turn that off like normal body pain.
Warmth surrounded her and she felt unsettled dreams waft over from Madoka, alongside a significant amount of mana trying to wrap her up like swaddling a child.
With dread in her heart, Homura looked at her wrist and wasn't surprised to see a pink swan aggressively trying to cleanse the mana burns all over herself and pulsing in time with Madoka's heart beat.
With the blinds up and the moon's phase, Homura couldn't estimate the time that well, but she wouldn't be too surprised for it to be around 3-5 in the morning.
She was also wearing Madoka's pajamas.
Just like the last time this happened, Homura was willing to bet that Madoka wished to repair Homura's soul and accidentally turned herself into Homura's artificial soul mate, became a magical girl, and also left behind the soul ripper and leftover blood containers, and Kyubey now had them.
Agh.
Another three days of Madoka skipping the 'lets get to know each other' phase straight to the 'MINE MINE MINE' phase, trying to deal with Madoka desperately trying to cheer up her bone deep depression by any means possible, failing to be more than a hundred meters from Madoka and Madoka aggressively following her, ignoring Mami's attempts to help, letting Sayaka embarrass herself in conversations over and over, avoiding conversations with madoka's parents where they tried to secure custody of her, and confirming that Kyubey had stolen all of the soul bond breaking equipment, and Homura accepted the loss and began to start charming materials to mix with metal for the 'blessed' forge she'd built over the course of fifty loops and the trauma of loops where she very nearly failed to escape the influence of a soul bonded witch.
...She also needed a lot more blood, and she didn't have the heart to watch Madoka's heart break if Homura robbed a blood bank or 'coerced' certain magical girls into 'donations' in exchange for grief seeds.
She also couldn't stop time without Madoka being able to move in it, and that was an awkward conversation she'd rather not have.
Homura waited for Madoka to fall asleep while pretending to make pipe bombs for witches, then silently returned all of her supplies to her dimensional pocket, and turned on her heel, and time inverted-
Homura woke up in the hospital.
Immediately lights formed on her wrist, and settled into a musical staff with drops of light moving between the lines.
Kyousuke. A new soul bond had shuffled the loop order again.
Well, with Kyousuke as a bond she could inefficiently heal him in exchange for kneecapping Sayaka's wish motivation, have a mortal ally that was willing to not question her choices in battle (Somehow Kyousuke was the only present soul bond she had that didn't try to nose into labyrinths. Probably because he had nightmares about his hands breaking again and tended to have the more gory of Homura's nightmares transmit back to him), and would try to point Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi away from falling into the hell that was the magical world.
On the other hand, Sayaka and Hitomi were going to be annoying teenage girls about this and hate her, Madoka would be split between her friends again, Mami would be jealous of her no matter how she tried to explain that soul bonds weren't inherently romantic, and Kyousuke's parents would be trying to track her and they tended to be better at finding out she was making day trips to Yokohama or other military sites.
Feeling Kyousuke's confusion and hesitant hope in a floor below hers in the hospital, Homura stepped out of bed, undid her hair ribbons and mentally walked through what she'd done in her last "magic is real, don't touch your wrists for a bit and I'll let magic leech into them to heal, please restrain your foolish childhood friends and tell them I'm not your girlfriend" speech.
One more scar on her soul.