184/Being a Magical Girl is complicated.

Being a Magical Girl is complicated.
Date of Scene:	16 July 2015
Location:	Pikarigaoka - Clover Street - North
Synopsis:	Nagisa defeats a Witch solo for the first time while Homura watches, and the two have a discussion about the complexities of Puella life afterwards. Also, Nagisa eats some familiars.
Cast of Characters:	Homura Akemi, Nagisa Momoe

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Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    It was late afternoon and Nagisa in the King Penguin Park, taking a small break while doing her homework. She had retrieved her Soul Gem, staring into the once whiteness now turned lavender and thinking on what she should do when all of a sudden it had reacted. It surprised her at first, and for a little bit she thought she had imagined it. But soon it was clear something was up. She got up and started walking around, thinking about running back home to call one of the other Puella Magi about what it meant, when she noticed it fading, only to resume as she walked further south.

    Cue a little bit of experimentation and the young Puella Magi figured out the hot/cold game that seemed to be happening- the Soul Gem was leading her somewhere. But where?

    Eventually she found herself in the north end of the Pikarigaoka District standing in front of a Witch barrier, not long formed. She stepped inside and transformed, stirring up a bit of a ruckus in doing so and started fighting off Familiars. She was in luck; they were of the numerous but weak variety, something her explosive bubbles were well suited to dealing with so long as she could play keep away long enough.

    This Labrynth was not like the last one she had been in, however, and rather than quickly finding her way to the center it took her down a long series of waterways, like interconnected and crisscrossing water park slides gone mad. More experienced Puella Magi might have been able to navigate this maze quickly enough to finish off the Witch before any others arrived, and as time stretched on Nagisa was keenly aware that at any moment Kyouko Sakura could show up and in the best case tell her to buzz off, or else.

    Once she figured out the trick, however (down, left, up, up, down), to keep the Labryth from rearranging itself to keep her away from the Witch she found her way. The Witch itself she was hard to deal with for the girl, taking the shape of a stereotypical tropical island with a single large coconut tree in the center.

    It was the first time she'd faced a defensive oriented Witch before, and it was a challenge. Even when she seemed to weaken it by blowing away parts of it with her bubbles it simply regrew.

    Though very dangerous it wasn't especially so compared to other Witches, but eventually Nagisa slipped up and got pegged by a couple flying coconuts, splashing down into the water and having to frantically fight off shark like Familiars. She needed more firepower.

    So for a second time Nagisa drew upon her power and placed her hands on her face and then pulled them away to reveal a bizzare clownlike face with mismatched concentric colored eyes, a face so white as if it was painted on with two big yellow circles, and an impossibly wide purple mouth.

    Doing this put a continual drain on her magic reserves, but gave her increased speed and power- not a true henshin, but still a good temporary boost.

    She bounced around, bounding off the backs of some of the larger Familiars to avoid the latest assault of the Witch, and then raised her arm above her head and created one of her now familiar silver platters. As she jumped quickly around she started gathering familiars up inside it, clearly visible inside and unable to escape, clearing the space without needing to use her bubbles.

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    That's when things get weird.

    Rather than simply blowing them all up at once she tosses the platter high into the air, and jumps after it. The big purple grin widens further and opens wide

    Insanely wide.

    Impossibly wide.

    Wide enough that the platter, larger than Nagisa's entire head, is completely engulfed. And then it slams shut like the jaws of an aligator.

    Nagisa consumes the familiars.

    And in doing so she converts them into something for her own uses, that purple clownmouth gaping open once more and releasing an astonishing torrent of explosive bubbles that rain down on the Island Witch like a furious tropical storm. Regenerating though it may be it simply can't handle this large a barrage, the tree wilting and the island sand blowing away to reveal the roots. The last dozen or so bubbles impact them, and with it the Witch is destroyed and the barrier destabilizes.

    The Labrynth fades away in sickening waves, and Nagisa lands on the ground, little clownface cocking to one side before vanishing instantly into the girls usual one, a bright and happy smile on her face as she starts to jump and dance around. "I did it! I did it on my own! I really did it!"

    Not far away, the tinkling clatter of a grief seed landing on the pavement.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura was in a sullen mood today. Problems with Madoka. Problems with Kyouko. Problems with Mamoru. Potential problems with Hannah. Very definite problems with Riventon. Everything was so overwhelming and crazy in all the wrong ways. At least Madoka hasn't made a wish yet... but she feels like she might be overlooking something important.

She can't afford to make a mistake at this point. Not now that she doesn't have time to rewind time.

She kindof just wanders into a Witch's barrier, kindof seeking it out by habit instead of actively setting out to hunt. She feels the signs of a Puella Magi fighting inside, and immediately becomes curious. When she gets deeper in, she finds none other than Nagisa Momoe.

Homura considers jumping in. She certainly feels like she owes Momoe after what she did to protect Madoka. Yet, holding her hand and doing things for her, at this juncture, seems like it'd just be doing more harm than good. Nagisa needs to handle things on her own. She needs both the confidence that comes from victory and the experience of fighting. So Homura hangs back.

She watches carefully from a distance as Nagisa fights. Consuming familiars seems to increase her power? How interesting. Homura is still incredibly disturbed by seeing Charlotte's face, but she had to know that Charlotte was once a Puella Magi, right?

Homura only fires one shot. A familiar sneaks up behind her. Homura turns around to take it out before it can bother her further. She isn't here to help Nagisa or interfere. She considers, perhaps, that she could save Nagisa at the last second if it became necessary, but it never becomes necessary. Nagisa had it handled.

Homura's expression softens. She doesn't quite smile, but the fact that Nagisa can handle a Witch on her own is good to see. As Nagisa celebrates, Homura approaches her, clapping her hands.

"Good job, Nagisa-chan! You've won!" Homura tries to be happy for the younger Puella Magi. She has to force a smile a bit. She /is/ happy for her, despite all the other things happening in Homura's life right now.

"All by yourself, too! Way to go!"

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Nagisa rarely shows this much enthusiasm, not so much because it's her nature but because of her recent tragedy. Taking down a Witch on her own, however, is a very real reason to celebrate.

    She hears clapping and turns towards the source of the noise, startled. "Akemi-senpai!" Her reaction is delayed, but she smiles. "You saw? I did, I won! And for the first time I didn't have to rely on anyone but myself." She takes a little look around and sees the grief seed, running over to it and scooping it up- or will if Homura doesn't decide to troll her or take it herself.

    The way she'd hold it is... protective. A faint visual reminder that even with Homura she isn't letting her guard down completely; things have gotten too complicated for that.

    "I still have a long way to go but if I can beat Witches on my own it means I'll get the chance practice and train without having to rely on someone to back me up." At the start Nagisa had thought she might be able to just practice magic for the experience alone, but if using it all up meant death that would be a bad idea.

    She looks back at where the barrier had formed, and then back over to Homura. After a moment of thought she walks up to the older Puella Magi and gives her another smile, this one not because of her fight, but just for her. "I'm glad to see you again, Akemi-senpai. I was hoping I could get the chance to talk to you some more about everything that's happening... but I'm also just glad to see you."

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura doesn't do anything to go after the Grief Seed. Homura doesn't troll Nagisa because Nagisa doesn't annoy her the way Kyouko does. The Grief Seed belongs to Nagisa and Homura doesn't contest that at all.

She does, however, casually approach Nagisa so that they can be at casual speaking distance. She squats down a bit so that Nagisa and Homura can be at the same eye-level.

"I was watching. You've... got an interesting power. I could see how it would be very strong. Using the familiars to power your attacks like that... I don't think I've seen something like that before."

Coming from Homura, that means a bit more than Nagisa might realize.

"I never got a chance to thank you for helping me protect Madoka-san the other day. It really means a lot to me..."

Nagisa wants to talk? Well, Homura just had a conversation with Kyouko earlier today. She wonders what Nagisa has to say. "I'm glad to see you too, Nagisa-chan. I'm also glad to see you doing well."

"...Alright. Let's talk. What do you want to talk about?"

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    It's a great relief to the small Puella Magi that Homura doesn't even begin to go after the grief seed. Homura herself said that 'most' Puella Magi are like Kyouko; viciously self interested in their own survival. It also puts another little tick of trust. She isn't sure how in need of the purifiers Homura is, but it still remains just as valuable to her as it is to Nagisa.

    "It lets me use a very strong attack without having to use as much magic as it would otherwise take," she responds about that particular power. Almost as an aside she comments, "I should be careful though. Some familiars might explode when they die..."

    And never having seen such a power? Nagisa blushes a bit, squirming slightly in place, "No one probably Wished for something to eat before..." Seems she's learned a little bit of the connection between Wishes and a Puella Magi's powerset somewhere along the way. It's not too hard to guess where, considering she needs Kyubey to take her used grief seeds like anyone else.

    When Homura brings up Madoka she quickly puts together the name and the face, "I could tell. I think... I think you're more like me than I realized, Akemi-senpai. I don't know why, but I think that girl is as important to you as my mother was to me. That's why I tried so hard to help you protect her, I know what it's like to be able to lose someone you care so much about, and I don't want anyone to hurt like that. Especially not people who have been so kind to me!"

    She takes in a breath then and lets it out, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a business card, one much like the one Homura had given to her earlier, save that it's for 'Kasagami White'. "Is this is from Miss White? 'Your' Miss White whom you work with? I met her the other day. I think she's suspicious of me, but doesn't know I'm a Puella Magi. But she was also very nice."

    As to why that's important? "You are very well informed so you probably already know; there is going to be trouble."

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura considers the comment on exploding familiars. There's an odd look on her face as she recalls the ways she's defeated Charlotte in the past. "Y-yeah... that'd be really dangerous. Might want to look out for that."

Is that guilt? Not quite, yet it borders somewhat on embarassment. Nagisa's story just gets sadder and sadder... yet here she is alive and well. Homura hopes she stays that way.

Homura considers if she's ever seen a food-based wish. "Well I may or may not have seen cake-based powers before, but I was never able to verify it."

Nagisa talks about Madoka, and Homura nods. "That's right... she's very important to me. It's complicated though... she doesn't really know me that well. I'm oversimplifying a lot by putting it this way, and leaving out a lot of the details, but... I guess you could say... we were friends before, very good friends, but now she can't remember that." Homura doesn't really want to lie about it, but she's not really able to share the truth either.

Homura takes the card and looks at it, saying, "Yes that seems about right. White hair, kindof a boxer? Miss White is a friend of mine, in addition to being my boss. We have... an understanding of one-another."

Suspicious of Nagisa? "I didn't really tell her about you. I like Miss White herself, but some of her friends are... really not the kind of people you want to hang around."

Trouble. Homura says, "... yeah, Kyouko told me. I guess I'm not surprised. I myself was highly suspicious of Miss White at first. I even got in her way a few times. Stole Grief Seeds out right from under her. Yet, she showed me a few things that allowed me to have confidence in her."

"... but that means having a fight with Kyouko, and maybe Mami. Those aren't fights I'd want to have, but... I can understand their point of view, even if I don't agree."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Nagisa holds up her hand a little and shakes her head when Homura finishes telling her what she's willing to about Madoka, "I understand that you can't tell me everything. If you were friends but she doesn't remember... well, they really are Miracles, aren't they?" She comments about Wishes, there.

    "But if you ever feel like you want to tell someone and decide you trust me enough, I'll be willing to listen. I'm involved now, so if you need help I'll try as best I can." Sunk cost fallacy? Perhaps, but it's closer to being there for a friend, even if she's unsure Homura is close enough to be that yet.

    "Yes, that sounds like her," the white haired girl replies, storing away 'boxer' for later; that little bit she didn't know and might be important for later, especially for someone without good close fighting skills like Nagisa.

    "Her 'friends', like the one who attacked Madoka," comes the annoyed sounding reply. "I don't envy your position, having made an enemy of your friends partner," she comments. Seriously, the girl was paying close attention to the short exchange between Homura and Riventon between the explosive bursts of action.

    She looks conflicted after hearing the rest of what Homura has to say. Very conflicted, the girl weighing her options for a perhaps annoying amount of time. "I'll be honest with you, Akemi-senpai. I don't like it. I don't like someone using a grief seed for anything other than keeping us alive. And I don't trust Miss White either, because I can't understand how someone with good intentions could ever work with someone like that man, Black-san. That man is evil."

    Spoken with all the conviction of a child- surprisingly powerful, as if made of bedrock.

    The girl has no doubt started to look a little standoffish, but she lets out a little sigh. "I may regret saying this, but the other side is... of all the other Puella Magi I've met, I trust you the most. Maybe that's stupid- Kyubey said I should be careful around you. You specifically, because you're different somehow. So I'm confused."

    Nagisa then shakes her head a little, "I might be getting ahead of myself. I don't know if you would even want my help if I offered it. I don't want to fight any other Puella Magi if I can help it, but that looks like it might be impossible."

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura stands up. How could someone with good intentions work with someone like Black-san? Homura has to take a moment to really consider that. It hurts her. Homura doesn't actually consider her own intentions 'good'... but can she really look in Nagisa's eyes and call herself a bad guy?

After all, it's not like Homura really wants to save the world. She only wants to save one person in it. The world is to rotton to deserve a savior... but does she really still feel that way?

"... I'm not entirely sure that Black-san and White-san will be getting along forever. I've more or less stated my intentions to kill Black-san to her, and she just shrugged it off saying it was fine as long as it didn't mess up WitchHunter business. They work together, but I wouldn't say they were close friends."

Kyubey's been talking about Homura. Well that's no surprise. Kyubey has always been very curious about Homura, and as she travelled from timeline to timeline, Homura has been more and more cagey about details.

"Yeah... Kyubey won't tell an outright fabrication, but he lies through omission of details. Be careful of him. He doesn't have empathy or morals the way we do. He doesn't understand those things. He thinks he's being honest and forthright, but really... he can't be trusted."

"He's right about one thing, though. The Kyubey you know has never made a contract with me. I bet that confuses him."

Akemi is trusted... she isn't sure if she deserves that level of trust. "It's true that I wont attack you if I can avoid it. It's true that I'd rather have you alive and happy than otherwise. It's also true that I'd probably be able to be very helpful to you in the long run. Yet at the same time... I'm also working with Miss White, and I agree with what she's doing."

Homura frowns. Nagisa is wondering what side she should choose. How should Homura even respond to that? "Fighting Puella Magi is an inevitable part of our lives. It's something you'll just have to get used to. I'd rather not fight Puella Magi at all... If I were to get your help, I'd prefer it to be with fighting Witches."

Homura adds, a bit wistfully, "... If all of us could be in one group, fighting and destroying Witches, I think that would be the best thing for all of us. We'd be stronger united... but trust is hard to come by."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    "I hope they stop getting along sooner rather than later," Nagisa mutters. It's not that she thinks Miss White is some shining angel after one brief encounter and some generosity, not knowing some of the other things she's doing, but Riventon is the type of person who should have exactly zero allies, in her estimation. Being willing to kill children simply for standing in the way of something wrong is disgusting.

    The fact that Miss White is okay with an employee killing a partner is also unsettling. She can't entirely understand it.

    "He said as much," she replies about Homura not having contracted with him. As for not being trustworthy- poor Nagisa is going to start wondering if she can even trust herself, soon.

    "I believe you. I don't think you'd attack me unless I gave you a very good reason, and that's why I trust you. I don't intend to ever give you reason, if I can help it. Kyouko-san... I'm not convinced she won't turn on me the moment this issue with Miss White is over. 'Nagisa died fighting a Witch', who wouldn't believe that?" How many people would even care, knowing it was a lie?

    That last comment has the small girl stepping forward, looking up earnestly, "He doesn't lie outright. Kyubey I mean, you said it yourself. He told me that if Puella Magi worked together we wouldn't have to fight each other. It's... more complicated than that, we might not be able to fight anything but Witches, but he said it's possible. I'd like to believe that's true."

    She steps back again, giving Homura more personal space, and squeezes her hand tightly to the grief seed inside of it. "But so long as other people are taking them..."

    She looks up, looking directly into Homura's eyes. "Akemi-senpai, you trust Miss White. I don't need to trust her, but can you at least tell me why you believe in her cause? Can you tell me why she needs grief seeds? I don't know if I'll ever be able to convince Kyouko-san, but even though she wanted her space a few days ago, I think maybe I can get through to her. She wasn't convinced. If you can convince me, maybe together we can convince her."

    She says nothing of the odd pull Mami seems to have over Kyouko, either keeping that information to herself or figuring Homura already knows.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Could Homura really tell Nagisa why she trust Miss White? Would that be giving away company secrets? Especially knowing that word will get back to Kyouko and Mami... could she really tell her?

What's more, what would Nagisa think of Homura when she found out what she was doing? Homura doesn't really feel like she deserves the trust that's being given to her, and Nagisa might figure that out the moment she learns the truth.

"My reasons for trusting Miss White are complicated. I trust her because we have similar problems and similar goals. That's all I can really say... If I gave too much more away, Kyouko could use that information to harm Miss White, and I would have betrayed her trust in me. I couldn't do that even if my life depended on it."

As for the subject of Grief Seeds, Homura doesn't really want to answer... The whole reason she agreed was because she understood the motivations, but can she really expect the other Puella Magi to see things the same way she does? Some of them might feel sympathy even for a Witch, or they might think that it wont go anywhere.

"As for the Grief Seeds... well... I don't think I can tell you. Not without some insurance of secrecy. If the wrong person found out what we were doing, I don't think it would go over well."

Homura shakes her head, sighing, "All I can say is that I think it's important. If we succeed, I think we Puella Magi will be better off."

"... Another thing that I can say is that the Puella Magi that work for the Witch Hunters recieve Grief Seeds as part of their wages. It's a form of payment, in addition to money and training. That's a significant part of what they're used for." Homura adds that last bit as an afterthought. "I doubt Kyouko would be interested in that, however. She'd rather get the Grief Seeds herself, and not have to answer to anyone. She didn't seem all that interested when I told her about it."

"... I guess part of why I believe in the WitchHunters is because it is a form of unity for Puella Magi."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    If Nagisa was hoping for a clear cut answer to her problems, she doesn't get one. She had wanted to be able to make a decision, one way or another, but the dark haired girl in front of her was playing her most important cards close. It wasn't an unwise thing to do, but it's the determining factor in whether a deeper trust can be given, and the answer is 'not now'.

    One can almost see the girl deflate a little as she realizes it. "I understand. There's not really anything I can do to assure you I can keep that kind of secret. The whole reason I asked is because I'd want to convince others it was a worthy cause after being convinced myself. I hope you're right, Akemi-senpai. For all of us, but for you especially."

    Nagisa gets the feeling part of the 'wrong people' that would find out are Puella Magi themselves, which doesn't go over well in her mind. Having to deal with facts of life she doesn't like is starting to become routine.

    She walks away from Homura for a few moments and crosses her arms, closing her eyes as she thinks. "It might have started out that way, Akemi-senpai, but it's going to become something that drives Puella Magi apart. Until whatever that important thing of yours is is proven a success, those that think like Kyouko Sakura are see it as 'taking food from their mouths'. I don't agree with that, but it is eating from the same plate. But there are more Puella Magi like her than there are like me, right?"

    There's one last thing she wants to say, but she's not sure if she should. She doesn't want to sew discord like certain others, and this might. Nagisa turns back towards Homura and watches her for a few moments. "You might have to choose. You know that, right?"

    She bites her lip and looks away, "I promise you, with all my heart, that I will never hurt the person you care for. Fighting Witches, or helping with," what name did she use again, "Madoka. I'll fight by your side. But if you are willing to die to keep from betraying Miss White, but Madoka is the one you truly care for, you might have to choose some day."

Homura Akemi has posed:
"Yeah well, Kyouko-san can get all high and mighty about 'taking food from our mouths', but isn't that what she's doing when she drives other Puella Magi out of her territory and stockpiles Grief Seeds for herself?" Homura's tone takes on no small amount of bitterness. "Honestly the points she brings up might actually be good points... if she herself wasn't the one bringing them up. If Mami-san felt the same way, I might actually buy it."

Nagisa walks away, and Homura says, "... yeah. It is. On the other hand, if Kyouko and the others end up uniting against Miss White and I, then that still serves my purposes in the long term, even if it puts myself in a precarious situation."

"My real goal is still to protect Madoka, and that means ensuring the destruction of Walpurgisnacht." Homura says this with grim determination.

Nagisa brings up the fact that Homura will have to choose. Homura already knows her response. "I already know what I'll choose, if I ever have to make the choice, and so does Miss White. She understands my choice, too. If she betrays me on that level, she knows what will happen."

Homura pauses for a while before she continues. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more open to you, Nagisa-chan."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    Nagisa just sort of looks at Homura with an impassive gaze for a few moments as she speaks. "I am the last person that needs reminded about Kyouko-san refusing to allow others hunt Witches. This is the first time I've felt I've been able to since I met her." Suddenly she blinks, reaching up and scratching her cheek a little, "In a way I guess I have Miss White to thank for that."

    And it seems Homura shares those sentiments, "A common enemy? I hope it doesn't come to that, but it could work."

    Then it's time for the sheer grit of Homura Akemi to surprise Nagisa, the girls eyes widening a little when what she thought might be a tough question is met with instant determination. "Wow."

    It takes her a moment to recover, and for a moment she's a little frightened. Not of Homura, exactly, but of the kind of raw tenacity other Puella Magi have shown. Homura is terrifyingly dedicated to protecting Madoka. Kyouko is terrifyingly dedicated to self preservation.

    What is Nagisa Momoe dedicated to? She has nothing like that. Right now she has strong feelings from time to time, yes, but nothing to really give herself to. Does that make her weak? If it's purely a contest of wills, she has no doubt her resolve would fade before either of these other two.

    "I guess I was a fool to think you hadn't thought it that far through." She finally states, calming down a little.

    "I am too, but I understand why. If I found someone I thought I could trust like you have I wouldn't risk breaking it either." She gives Homura another smile, this one somewhat bittersweet, "I was hoping that could be you, Akemi-senpai, because without you I wouldn't have had a chance."

    It eats at her a little- it's obvious from the look in her eyes and the way her smile falters.

    She's gotten better at putting pain into a box for later, however, and so she holds up her newly acquired grief seed and changes the subject, "But I did it! I destroyed a Witch all by myself. I've already gotten much stronger than when you met me, haven't I?" She laughs a little and spins in place, looking for all the world like a carefree little girl.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura frowns. Building trust among Puella Magi is hard enough as it is. It bothers her that her methods at bringing unity has had the opposite effect. Maybe it just couldn't be helped.

Nothing ever seems to work out the way she wants it to.

"I'm an experienced Puella Magi. I made my choices with conviction and resolve. Those of us who fight long enough tend to build up that resolve through experience. Some even start off with it."

Homura flips her hair to the side and says, "... but maybe I haven't been fair, keeping secrets and working with people like Miss White. Yet I know if I told people everything, some terrible things would happen. Even the most idealistic and heroic of us might do something terrible if they knew the truth."

Homura spends a long time considering Nagisa. On the one hand, this person is just another girl, like the rest of them, who got roped into Kyubey's schemes. On the other hand, if this 'little girl' ever got too upset she'd easily bite someone's head off. That's true of almost any Puella Magi, but it seems especially real in Nagisa's case.

Looking over at the Grief Seed, Homura smiles. "I'm happy for you. You did well. I think you have the potential to become a powerful Puella Magi, after seeing your skills today."

Nagisa Momoe has posed:
    "It's scary to think I might have to fight someone with that kind of conviction. If you thought I was really a threat, you wouldn't hesitate... I might. That's a weakness I think I need to work on." Nagisa admits. "I don't know why, but I'm not afraid when I fight Witches. If I die fighting a Witch, it's sad, but that's what I agreed to when I made my Contract. Fighting another Puella Magi though, someone like me who decided their life was worth something important to them. That's sad, and scary."

    'The truth'. Maybe Homura doesn't realize it, but alluding to knowing deep truths about anything and implying they're foreboding and mere knowledge can cause disasters doesn't do much to allay the fears of those she's speaking to. Her response to that is to simply shift uncomfortably.

    Nagisa smiles back, and in a burst dissipating magic drops out of her henshin, wanting to do so before going anywhere someone other than Homura can see her. "I will, too! Just give me a little more practice and I'll be a reliable ally. Maybe people will have to fight over me," she teases.

    Her hands move in front of herself and she bows, "I am really happy I got to see you again, Akemi-senpai. I need to go finish my homework now. Bye!" She turns and starts to run off, looking back over her shoulder to wave, still smiling.

    Best to end things on a high note after a conversation like that.

Homura Akemi has posed:
Homura doesn't want to think of Nagisa as a threat. Yet, knowing what she may eventually become, could she ever see her as anything else? It depresses her to know that the very Witch whom Homura has come to loathe is this sweet little girl, and that's on top of everything else she has to deal with.

As Nagisa dehenshins, Homura turns towards her. "Gaining experience is your best bet right now. I have faith in your abilities, Nagisa-chan."

Nagisa has to do homework, Homura waves her hand and smiles, saying, "Good luck with your homework, Nagisa-chan! Bye!"

Well, as sad as it seems, it's good that Nagisa and Homura are still on good terms. She doesn't want that to change, no matter what happens. Once she's out of earshot, Homura mutters, "Dammit, Kyouko. You're causing me a lot of trouble."