Work Text:
Homura Akemi was a normal girl, at least considering her upbringing and her condition. Being raised in a mission and spending almost a year in the hospital would make any definition of what ‘normal’ was loose, especially compared to how people would use it to refer to others besides Homura.
Still, that was going to change after her next surgery. She’d be out and able to go to school for the first time in a long time.
Now, while Homura Akemi was a mostly normal girl, the situation in front of her was as far from normal as possible.
Before today, she couldn’t ever say that she had been in a bar before. She didn’t think it would be this dark outside of what was in front of her. 1 counter, 7 seats - 4 in use, and a bartender serving drinks. Worse yet, all 5 of those people claimed to be her from some point in the future.
And, all of them seemed enamoured by a girl that Homura Akemi had never met. A girl by the name of ‘Madoka Kaname’, or, as the Homura that most looked like her called her, ‘Kaname-san’.
She was the first one. Sitting in a seat next to what Homura presumed to be her own. She was the only one wearing glasses too. Homura already heard the others refer to her as ‘Moemura’ for some reason that Homura took too long to understand.
Well, she is pretty Moe compared to the others.
What was most interesting about Moemura, besides how she was crying about this ‘Madoka Kaname’, was the weird outfit she was wearing. Lavender, purple, and with just a little bit of black. Long, purple ribbon at the neck. Middle-length skirt drenched in all three colours, and at the end were the same stockings Homura herself was wearing.
It seemed pretty weird, but apparently it was her Magical Girl outfit…
Which was a whole can of worms Homura hadn’t even begun to comprehend.
Apparently, Magical Girls were both real, and it was absolutely horrible being one. Which, of course, meant that Homura had become one for some reason she hadn’t yet figured out.
To the right of Moemura was a girl trying to comfort her. This Homura, however, had let her hair go down and was no longer wearing any glasses. She had spent the last however many minutes patting Moemura’s back and saying that they would eventually get through this. Something that had apparently been going on for, according to this Homura, at least 3 years.
Moemura decided to call this Homura ‘Schoolmura’, which made perfect sense considering that her most defining trait was the school uniform she was wearing. The rest of the Homuras had agreed with Moemura, and decided to call her Schoolmura as well.
I just wonder why she has a gun, and what that has to do with being a Magical Girl?
Of course, to the right of Schoolmura was a Homura that had spent the last however many minutes juggling two very different tasks, doing the exact and complete opposite of Schoolmura by screaming at both Moemura and Schoolmura that they had failed Madoka, and telling the Homura next to her that ‘Madoka Kaname’ very much was a real Homura.
This Homura, which had been deemed by the rest to be the furthest along in what they collectively called ‘the loops’, had been named ‘Loopmura’, a name that made about as much sense to Homura as everything else that was happening.
Which was to say, it made no sense at all.
Wouldn’t Coolmura be a better name? She looks kinda cool?
Loopmura looked the exact same as Schoolmura besides the outfit, which was the exact same as Moemura.
What was most interesting about the Homura’s in front of her was the fact that all of them seemed to know who ‘Kaname Madoka’ was besides the one to the right of Loopmura. Who had been frantically asking the other Homura’s if ‘Madoka’ was real or not.
Of course, in return, the other Homura’s were asking her a bunch of questions of her own. Such as ‘Why don’t you know who Madoka is?’ and ‘Why is her ribbon in your hair?’. Which easily led to her being known as ‘Ribbonmura’.
Whatever had happened had seemingly led to Ribbonmura forgetting who ‘Madoka Kaname’ was, which brought up even more questions that Homura had no way to learn the answer to.
Then there was the Homura serving everyone drinks, which they collectively referred to as ‘Bar Homura’. This Homura didn’t talk about herself and didn’t ask questions, just nodding along with whatever was said.
Homura wondered if she was the owner of this bar, but part of her doubted it. Still, she had already been given a million questions; if she asked more would probably come out at her.
So, there Homura was as she got up into her seat. Sitting silently next to Moemura, who was still crying about ‘Witches’, and listening to Schoolmura and Loopmura scream at each other about failing ‘Madoka Kaname’, and watching Bar Homura pour Ribbonmura another drink.
Just what on Earth had I gotten myself into?
“You're not my familiars?" A voice came out from the dark, causing the rest of the Homuras, even including Bar Homura, to turn their heads.
Standing menacingly was another Homura, this one wearing an outfit that made Homura want to cover her eyes.
Giant wings covered in deep black feathers, stockings made of purple and black, and worse yet - she was wearing an outfit that showed so much skin it made Homura, and Moemura too, blush deep red.
Bar Homura was the first one to speak. “Which Homura are you?”
The strange Homura just sat next to Ribbonmura before doing anything else. “I am the Homura that succeeded, the embodiment of evil. I tore the goddess in half so that she could live the life that was taken away from her by the Law of Cycles. You can call me Devilmura”.
“And what drink do you want?” Bar Homura asked as she turned around to get a glass cup.
“Do you have any Coke?” Devilmura asked; Bar Homura just nodded.
Is anyone here drinking alcohol?
Bar Homura opened the minifridge and gave Devilmura a can of Coke, which she promptly drank all of in about ten seconds.
“How did you do that? Can we do that?”
“What do you mean goddess?”
“You did what to Madoka?”
“The goddess is real? She actually exists?”
The crowd of Homura’s had erupted. Sans Homura, who was now processing why a future version of her would call herself the Devil, and what the hell she meant by goddess.
Devilmura just laughed in response. “My, was I always so easily impressed?”
Ribbonmura turned to face Devilmura and leaned forwards. “The Goddess, you saved her? How, what do you mean?”
“Well, it started when I became a Witch-”
Before Devilmura had a chance to continue, the whole group of Homura’s - including Bar Homura - erupted in cries of “WHAT?”, and the slightly more articulate “YOU DID WHAT?” Which promptly caused Devilmura’s face to cringe as she tried to continue.
“Well, all you need to know is that we saved her. Sadly for us, we can never again be her friend without the possibility of her remembering everything. Which, if it ever happens, I guarantee me and her would fight a dramatic battle that would lead to our death”.
Devilmura’s explanation caused everyone to become silent. As if the worst possible news imaginable had been delivered, which to them it clearly was, and to Homura it clearly wasn’t.
Everyone, but one.
“You're not my familiars?" A voice came out from the dark, causing the rest of the Homuras, even including Bar Homura and Devilmura, to turn their heads.
Standing in the dark was another, and now final, Homura. One that looked very similar to Devilmura, but presented themselves quite differently. For one, she was holding onto a bottle of alcohol that Homura would later learn was Sake.
“Who are you and why do you look like me?”
“Where is the goddess's Ribbon? Why are you wearing a yellow one instead?”
“Why are you drinking alcohol?”
“Why is her chest bigger than Devilmura? And she’s taller too?”
“Why is she wearing her glasses again? I thought you all took them off?”
And the most frantic one of all.
“Why is there a giant scar?”
Oh no, I should’ve kept quiet.
Now everyone, including the new Homura, had turned their heads to face Homura. Who had not yet experienced the first thing everyone else here had.
Heart surgery.
“You don’t know?” Loopmura asked, confused about why Homura would even ask that.
“I didn’t even notice her?” Schoolmura admitted, causing Loopmura to stare daggers into Schoolmura’s back.
“It’s our heart surgery scar”. The new Homura said as she walked up to Homura. “This one…,” the new Homura pointed at Devilmura, “...used her magic to hide it; I don’t”.
“Who are you anyway?” Devilmura asked with a hint of fear and a bucket of urgency.
The new Homura just took a few steps to Devilmura and moved her face so close they would’ve kissed if Devilmura didn’t move herself back.
Homura moved back and circled her hand in the air the more she spoke. “I’m you, from the far-off year of… March 2012 … It’s a joke,” The new Homura said, confused at why no one reacted to her in the way she would’ve.
“Eh, Madoka would’ve laughed. Or bite me, she keeps doing that”. The new Homura said as she sat in her chair. “Call me Homucifer”.
Devilmura just looked at her like a million ideas were running through her head. Yet she would speak before any of the other Homuras had a chance to, which they all very much wanted to do first.
“What do you mean she would bite you?” Devilmura’s eyes twitched.
“She remembered-”
“WHAT?” Devilmura cut Homucifer off before she had a chance to finish. Grabbing onto Homucifer’s shoulders, she continued. “What do you mean she remembered? WHY did you let her remember?”
“Relax, we came to an agreement,” Homucifer responded calmly. “And she remembered on her own anyway; I didn’t cause her to”.
That, of course, was met with Devilmura shaking Homucifer and screaming for answers.
“What do you MEAN you came to an agreement?”
“You don’t need to shake me, y'know. Just wait a week, and Madoka will remember for you again anyway”.
Before Devilmura could scream at Homucifer again, Moemura - who alongside the rest of the Homuras had been watching this unfold - would ask a very important question.
“Why does Kaname-san bite you?”
“Because kissing somehow got boring for her if she doesn’t stick her teeth into me right after. She’s a pervert when she wants to be”. Homucifer very quickly realised that she probably shouldn’t have said all of that. Especially the last part, which, while true, very obviously shouldn’t have been told to the rest of the Homuras.
“What do you mean KISSING?”
“You kissed the Goddess?”
“What did you just call Madoka? When we ourselves had done so much worse, how could you say that about her?”
“I-I, I feel so glad, she actually kisses us?”
“So Kaname-san likes biting???”
Homura had experienced a lot today, from somehow arriving here to learning that Magical girls were real, to learning that she would get a really bad scar from that heart surgery coming up.
What Homucifer just said had clearly, and very easily, overshadowed just about all of that.
I think I need to drink something.