STARS ABOVE: Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6: Are You Still Watching?

2007

Ryouou High

"I can hardly believe it," said Konata with delight. Her chin was in her hands, her elbows resting on the bed. "Who would have thought? Our little Kagamin…"

Kagami gripped the blankets so hard she could have torn them to shreds. "Sh-shut up! I told you, it's not like that!"

"Really, I didn't think you were into romance at all, let alone with another girl… Never thought you would swing that way, Kagamin."

"I don't! And what is that supposed to mean? I like romance just fine!" Kagami shot her friend her most ferocious glare.

"I just didn't think that black, grouchy, shriveled-up heart of yours had the capacity to-" She was interrupted as Kagami flung a pillow into her face at high velocity.

"Onee-chan," said Tsukasa timidly, embarrassed even to be bringing up the subject. "If there is something going on, you can tell us…"

Kagami swallowed. "Honestly, Tsukasa, there's nothing." Lying to her sister made her feel sick inside… she desperately hoped it didn't show. "I just… got really light-headed all of a sudden, and she caught me. Maybe I stood up too fast, I don't know… but it's not like that." She looked down at the crumpled blankets, her cheeks entirely too warm. "B-Besides, if I liked someone, I'd let you know… you know that."

"Deny it all you want, Kagamin!" said Konata, picking herself up off the floor. "The mysterious transfer student has awakened a secret, forbidden love… ahhh, it's just like a shoujo manga…!" Her eyes sparkled, and a dreamy, faraway look settled onto her face.

"I don't even want to know what you're fantasizing about," groaned Kagami, slumping back onto her remaining pillow. "Listen, you. Don't go spreading around rumors about us, got it?"

"Onee-chan! You know Kona-chan wouldn't do that!" Tsukasa looked aghast at the very idea.

"Of course not, Kagamin." Smiling, Konata patted one of Kagami's knees. "Whatever it is you two are up to, I'll respect your privacy… it's soooo much better being one of the only two to know your dirty little secret!"

"If I weren't so tired, I'd smack you for that."

"So that's how it is, huh? You're deredere for Akemi, but tsuntsun for me, huh?"

"As if!"

"Is everything all right in here?" The door had opened, and Homura was leaning in… Kyubey clung to her shoulder, somehow staying in place despite the sudden sharp angle. "I heard quite a bit of yelling…"

Konata moved with a speed belying her petite figure. Before anyone could stop her, she threw herself onto Kagami, wrapping her arms around her and embracing her in an entirely too affectionate manner. "Nooooo!" she wailed in mock agony, rubbing herself against her friend's body. "You can't have her! Kagamin is mai waifu!"

"Get off me!" There was a loud, painful-sounding smack as Kagami found enough strength to slap Konata across the cheek.

Tsukasa's jaw dropped open. "Onee-chan! Konata, are you all right?"

Homura tensed, fearing the worst and preparing to summon her Soul Gem… No. No. Kyubey said she was fine, they couldn't have-

But then Konata started to laugh, ignoring the large red handprint on her face. "That's our Kagamin! Classic tsuntsun… you really are feeling better."

"E-everything's fine, Homura," said Kagami, flushing and trying to regain her breath. "Konata's just being annoying, as usual."

Saying a silent prayer of thanks, Homura let herself breathe again and tried to look amused.

"We should probably get back to class and let you, ah, rest." Giving Kagami a very obvious and ribald wink, Konata stood and gathered up her bag. "C'mon, Tsukasa."

Tsukasa still looked rattled by her sister's unexpected display of temper, but she nodded. "S-see you later, onee-chan. Do you think you'll be able to walk to the station later? We can take the bus if you want, or I can call Dad and-"

Kagami sighed. "I'm sure I'll be okay by then, don't worry about it. Go back to class before Kuroi-sensei worries."

"I'll be sure to get your notes and classwork from Sakuraba-sensei, too. And I'll tell the-"

Classic Tsukasa. "Just go already!"

The two girls turned and began to walk out of the office. Tsukasa gave Homura a very odd, fleeting look as they brushed past her… but she was gone before Kagami could ask about it. The door clicked shut, and the room fell silent, save for the heavy breathing from the sleeping Misao and Ayano.

"Hiiragi-san?" said Homura quietly.

"Yeah? What is it?"

The dark-haired girl fidgeted a bit, avoiding looking directly at Kagami. "Does Izumi-san really think I'm trying to-"

"No! God, no." Kagami waved her hand in a noncommittal sort of way. "That's just her warped sense of humor. Don't worry about it."

"I'm sorry." She sat down and folded her hands in her lap. "It was a silly question."

An uncomfortable silence hung between them for a few moments, broken only by the faint sounds of students coming and going outside.

"So, uh…" Come on, Kagami, think of something to talk about! This is getting weird… "You said before that you and Kyubey came from another world… how did you both end up here?"

Homura stared down at the ring on her third finger. "My magic normally allows me to move through time… moving through worlds was far more difficult, and it took the help of another Puella Magi's power to accomplish. It's not something I can do again."

"You mean you can't go home?" Kagami pulled her blankets up around herself, shivering.

"No. Your world is my home now. I can't go back."

"But what about your friends, your family?"

Homura's eyes disappeared into shadow beneath her bangs.

2013

Mitakihara

I don't want to go, she thought to herself.

You have to, said a small, persistent voice in her mind.

I don't want to be lonely again.

You're used to being lonely, said the voice.

Homura's hand rested upon the clockwork shield on her left arm. Its weight was oddly comforting; she hadn't realized how much she had missed it in the two years since it had last been used. Power surged within it, waiting to be unleashed. The shield had never carried such vast amounts of energy before… she could feel the tingling in her fingertips even through its cool metal surface. Everything she required was stored inside its pocket space: her weapons and ammunition, a tent and sleeping bag in case she needed emergency shelter, food and rations from Yuma, a tablet from Nico programmed with essential information… and Oriko's gift of power. She was all ready to leave; all that was left to do was to turn the shield over, and then she would be gone.

The others stood together, watching and waiting. Yuma was awake now. Her eyes were red and slightly puffy from crying, but she had done her best to clean her face. Nico's hand was on her head, right between the cat ears on her hat. Her other hand supported Oriko, whose battle costume had faded back into her tattered old Shirome High uniform. The white Magi looked weak and paler than ever, but she had steadfastly refused to lie down and rest... She wanted to be awake and standing, in order to say goodbye.

Aren't you ready, Homura? Kyubey said from his perch on her shoulder. Why are you hesitating? He was coming with her, of course. She would have preferred the company of almost anyone else, but the fact was that she needed Kyubey, for only he could safely dispose of any Curse Seeds she found in the other world.

"Homura-onee-chan? Is something wrong?" Yuma's wide blue eyes stared at her. Wide blue eyes that she would never see again…

Stop it, said her inner voice. Don't think about it, just do it. The longer you hesitate, the harder it will be.

"Go on, Akemi," said Nico. "We'll be fine."

Far from reassuring her, that made Homura's stomach turn in knots. Her hand shook upon the shield. "I…"She couldn't bear to look at them. What was she doing leaving them behind, the people she had fought aside for so long? Her sisters-in-arms, her friends…

This is no different than when you lost her, or Sayaka, or Mami, or Kyoko, said her inner voice. You have to keep going. You have to move on.

"Akemi-san," Oriko whispered, her voice carrying in the awful, grim silence of the ruined city. "Please do not worry about us. We will fight on, with all of our strength… we know that you will do the same."

"Believe in us," said Nico. That small, wounded smile of hers wavered for just an instant, and something glimmered in her eyes.

"Yuma's going to keep everyone going." The green-haired girl nodded proudly and clutched her staff to her chest. "So do your best, Homura-onee-chan…"

Do your best, said her inner voice. Do your best.

Homura swallowed, put on the bravest face that she could, and turned the shield over.

She and Kyubey fell backwards, time roaring in their ears like water as it rushed past them. Homura's previous travels had been painless and near-instant, but this was something else entirely; the time stream had become a raging river, bucking and tossing the two small figures as they plunged into its depths. Disjointed, broken images bled past them like pages torn from picture books, fragments of other streams, other places, impossible to comprehend. Homura had to shut her eyes; there was too much motion, too many things twisting and turning in on themselves in ways human eyes were never meant to see. Endlessly falling, battered and beaten by the river, only her magic keeping them intact… Something's wrong, she screamed inside her head. Something's wrong! I knew I shouldn't have done it again, now it's all breaking apart… I've destroyed time…

The roaring in her ears reached ear-splitting volume. Now it sounded not like water, but countless voices blended together, all talking at once. Words that made no sense but were deathly important cut into her like a million tiny knives. Homura screamed silently as she tumbled through the river of shattering time; she was beyond caring, she just wanted it to end…

And then she slammed into something unyielding as if she had just fallen from a great distance, her transformation breaking at the same instant the breath was driven from her lungs. Ground, solid ground… she had never been so grateful to feel it underneath her. She lay there shuddering, half her face pressed to the soil, blades of something cool and scratchy and fragrant against her cheek… she inhaled the scent, and it took a moment to remember what it was.

Grass… fresh, green, living grass.

She was lying on a hill, somewhere quiet and isolated, judging by the lack of streetlights and engine noises. A chorus of cicadas was singing its incessant droning song; it was summer. Slowly Homura turned herself over…

The battle against Vittoria had gone on for so long that she had grown used to the ever-present ceiling of low-hanging grey clouds in the sky. So the sight of the canopy of velvety blackness dotted by a million twinkling lights took her breath away… The stars… she remembered the stars, and she remembered how their brilliance had once glittered off of a great golden bow, wielded by a Goddess who cast the darkness away with arrows of light. She had become one with those stars, that beautiful and terrible Goddess whose ribbon Homura wore…

Are you here as well? she thought, tears streaming down her face and reflecting the countless lights above. Are you still watching over me?

Homura? I think we made it. A small white paw pressed against her knee. The Incubator's tone grew as close to actual concern as he could manage. Homura, are you all right? Are you injured?

No, she answered softly. I'm fine. I'll be able to move in a few minutes.

Good. Whenever you're ready.

Homura simply laid there for a while, savoring the feeling of summer grass against her back, and the sight of the glorious night sky that she would never take for granted again.

2007

Ryouou High

"I have no family," said Homura, her face hidden in darkness. "My friends, the ones that survived the last battle… they couldn't come with me."

"Why…?" Kagami's voice was barely a whisper. "Why would you leave them and your whole world behind?"

"To protect you and your sister," she said simply.

"But… I still don't understand. What is it about us that makes us so important?"

"Forgive me, Hiiragi-san. I never did get a chance to finish my explanation." Homura brushed back her hair as she leaned down, reaching into her school bag. She withdrew the tablet and turned it on with a stroke of her fingertip. The black slate emitted a warm electronic hum and shone a pillar of light up from its surface, in which an image began to form…

Are you sure this is a wise idea, Homura? said Kyubey. He had taken a seat at the foot of Kagami's bed.

"She has to know. Hiiragi-san, if you would, picture the multiverse as a tower." As Homura spoke, she manipulated the image, shaping it like a sculptor. "The tower is infinitely tall, and composed of countless floors." Slowly the tower resolved itself at her touch, tall and featureless and spindly, made of white blocks stacked together. "Your world is one floor…" A small section of the tower lit up, its blocks turning blue. "And our world is another." Another section turned red.

Kagami bit her lip and nodded. It was difficult to focus when something that looked like an escaped Star Trek prop was displaying real holograms right in front of her… but she forced herself to listen carefully. "I'm with you so far."

"If the multiverse is a tower," said Homura, moving her hands down to the base, "then you and Tsukasa are its foundation. If that foundation is removed, or destroyed…"

Kagami's eyes widened in horror as the tower broke apart. Countless little white blocks, tumbling and falling as if scattered by a child's tantrum…

That's one of the reasons I can't make contracts with either of you, said Kyubey. It's critical to the survival of the mutliverse that you and your sister continue living normal, healthy lives. We can't let you fight Demons with us… the risk is far too great.

"But…" Kagami's throat had gone dry. She swallowed and tried again. "But you said that every Puella Magi gets a wish. Can't… can't I just wish for the Demons to be gone, and everything to be normal…?"

"No."

Kagami shrank back, huddling in her blankets. Of all the times Homura had fixed her with that cold, icy stare, this was by far the most intense. Whatever warmth and tenderness there had been in her expression, it vanished as quickly as if someone had slammed a door shut. "Homura…?"

"No. I won't allow you or your sister to make a contract, Hiiragi-san. Whatever you may think you want to wish for… nothing is worth the cost you'll pay." She reached forward and took Kagami's hand in hers, clutching it tightly as if it might break.

"H-Homura…?" Kagami's cheeks flushed pink. Her hands… they're so soft…

"I won't watch you die," whispered Homura. "Not again."

Kagami's heart raced in her breast, and a storm of butterflies began to whirl in her stomach… what Homura had said sailed over her head for a moment, all she could focus on was their hands together. Something was happening between them. She might try to deny it to Konata, and even to her sister, but she couldn't deny it to herself. No one else's touch made her feel this way; no one else ever held her hand like this. This doesn't make any sense! It's crazy, it's impossible, some small part of her mind argued. I don't even like girls, I only met her yesterday, how can I be…

Be what? She knew precious little about these things. No one had ever left notes in her locker, or approached her for a date, and she had always thought she would blow off anyone who did. There were so many more important things to focus on… romance was for people with more time on their hands. But now, for the first time, she wished she knew more, if only so she could identify this feeling… all she knew for certain was that this strange, sad, enigmatic girl was holding her hand, and she never wanted her to let go…

It felt like hours went by without a word or a motion from either of them… but it was probably only seconds before something clicked in Kagami's mind, breaking the spell. "Wait. 'Not again?'"

"What?"

"You just said 'not again'…"

Just like that, the cold stare was gone. Now there was something very much like fear in Homura's eyes. "I-"

"Y-You told me before that by the time you found me and Tsukasa… the other me and Tsukasa, it was too late…"

Oh dear. Kyubey let out a mental sigh and closed his eyes. Is that what you told her, Homura?

The Puella Magi's eyes wavered.

"Do you mean…" Slowly, Kagami's face drained of all color. "Do you mean, you were there when I-"

"Hey, Hiiragi! Pay attention!"

"Oww!" Tsukasa rubbed the back of her head. "S-Sorry, Kuroi-sensei…"

Nanako Kuroi frowned and crossed her arms, tapping a rolled-up magazine against her elbow. "Geez, Hiiragi, even you aren't normally this spacy…"

Her classmates laughed, and Tsukasa blushed as she squirmed in her seat. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm just worried about onee-chan…"

Miss Kuroi sighed and put a hand to her forehead. "Geez… I know you're worried, but you could at least try to take notes or something."

Tsukasa stared down at her notebook miserably; the pages were blank save for a few random doodles. "I-I'll try. And I'll get the notes I missed from Miyuki-chan…"

"That's good, because you're sure not getting any from Izumi." At that, Miss Kuroi glared over at Konata… who was fast asleep and drooling on her own desk, her empty notebook propped up in front of her like a screen. "Izumi!"

"Uwah! I'm awake!" The notebook fell to the floor with a noisy clatter.

"I swear," said Miss Kuroi, shaking her head. "Between the two of you, I'm surprised I'm not going gray… Get going on those notes, Hiiragi."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

"Come to think of it…" The teacher's eyes fell upon an empty desk. "Where's Takara?"

A boy with brown spiky hair raised his hand. "Sensei! I think she went to the bathroom about ten minutes ago…"

"Weird, it's not like her to be gone that long. I wonder what's keeping her?"

"P-Please, I don't understand…!"

"Eri rapse tevod."

"What do you want?"

"Eri rapse tevod."

"Someone, please help me!"

Miyuki Takara took another step backward, knowing that she was inching closer and closer to the tile wall. The enormous, towering thing in the white robes continued its advance, reaching for her with one of its pale hands.

"Eri rapse tevod," it said again, its voice high-pitched and keening like screaming wind in a typhoon.

Miyuki trembled and felt something solid behind her. It had backed her into the wall. Only it wasn't a wall anymore… she felt smooth glass under her fingertips. That was impossible, the mirror was on the other wall… but now there were dozens of mirrors, all linked together by golden chains. The bathroom had transformed itself into an elaborate cage, her terrified, tear-streaked face reflected back at her from a hundred different angles. She was huddled against one of those mirrors, with nowhere else to go…

"Eri rapse tevod," said the Demon. The faces in the mirrors changed; the reflections of the girl began laughing at her fear. Slowly it extended one long finger and touched her forehead…

Miyuki watched in horrified fascination as the monster shrank, its white robes changing shape. Rivulets of color flowed over its featureless body. Its spectral half-skull hardened into a solid shape, a pair of purple eyes opened, a long mane of pink hair sprouted up and flowed around it…

In seconds, Miyuki was staring at a perfect copy of herself.

"Wh-wh-wh-wha…" she babbled, beyond coherent speech.

"I need you to disappear for a while," said the other Miyuki, now speaking in perfect Japanese. "Thank you for letting me borrow your form and memories, Miyuki Takara."

"M-m-my…" Miyuki was silenced as her duplicate glided forward across the surface of one of the mirrors and pressed her lips to hers. Long, pale arms wrapped around her from behind as she squirmed, unable to free herself from the kiss. Her muffled cries turned into shrieks as she felt herself being pulled backward, the mirror behind her rippling like water as she sank into it. The other Miyuki held the kiss, even as her body disappeared into the glass, even as she lost all feeling, going numb…

The other Miyuki removed her lips from the glass, which now bore a static image of the terrified schoolgirl. She smiled with satisfaction and clothed herself in a copy of her uniform, then let the Lair go… the mirror cage shrank down, down, folding in on itself and tucking itself away inside one of the lenses of the abandoned pair of round glasses sitting on the bathroom floor. She leaned down to retrieve them, placing them on the bridge of her nose.

"Um, Yuki-chan?" A timid voice from the doorway called out to her… Tsukasa Hiiragi. One of the focal points. "Are you all right?"

"I felt slightly unwell for a moment, but I am much better now," said the Second, smiling warmly at the other girl. "Thank you, Tsukasa-san."

END OF CHAPTER 6