The moon shined through the window of Mami's bedroom and cast a small rectangle of ivory light across the floor, disfigured only by the shadow of Kyubey, resting on the windowsill. It was late into the night, and Kyubey couldn't help but pore over his memories of the past day.

After their first discussion of his developing emotions, Kyubey had found it hard to come back to Mami, even while he had reconciled himself to his situation and to its necessity. He had spent a good part of the morning running scenario after scenario in ways he could approach her about the subject. Then when he finally did come back, he had found himself unable to talk to her. His intent was steadfast, but his will was unmoving. It was a strange feeling - trying in vain to talk to Mami in the kitchen when he first came back.

What was that before? So strange… even when I just wanted to tell her. That feeling held me back.

Kyubey closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the exact feeling. He almost ascribed it to worry, but he knew the feeling was stronger. One not directed outward at problems - indeed he had felt troubled before, usually involving the death of magical girls he had contracted. But this type of worry was internalized. He felt an uncertainty, a tension that froze his actions and barred effective thought.

Kyubey had never been as passive before, allowing Mami to lead him and carry him along in a wild roller coaster of good intention. But her kind intentions had caused terrible effects on his already tender psyche.

The heavy pain he had felt at the concert made the guilt of the previous night seem like a mere annoyance, and when he went to apologize, to ask for forgiveness and claim an ounce of consolation, Kyubey had given up even more instead. It was the loss of what could have been. He received none of the consolation assured by Mami - only a deeper emptiness in his heart.

What could fill this hole in his soul?

"Find a new purpose!" Kyouko's words resounded in his mind. But it was his knowledge that one could not choose one's own purpose, for it is something given through existence - preceding existence. That which does not yet exist cannot decide for itself why it exists. Even granting that, what could his new purpose possibly be? How could he find one when this life was all he knew?

Kyubey's only solace that evening was the glimmering stars in the sky. Even through the light pollution of Mitakihara, his developed eyes could see the cosmos swirling above him far more vividly than the average human or even magical girl.

However, this time was different. Before, when he looked at the stars, he would instinctively calculate their positions in the sky. He would determine time, latitude, and direction of travel and even relative position in the galaxy if necessary. The stars were useful tools.

But now he did none of those things. He only watched. The stars didn't serve any purpose, and yet they were precious in their own right. He felt distant from them - not physically, but as though his mind was detached from their utilitarian purpose. He was flooded with an awe and wonder he had never experienced before.

With a start, Kyubey realized that it was the same feeling that he had felt during the first song at the concert. It wasn't as developed at that moment, but it was definitely distinguishable. Those rolling chords that were only amplitudes and frequencies to his ears before, but now...

He peered around the dark room, and his eyes rested on Mami. She was fast asleep, apparent by her deep, even breaths. Kyubey only wanted to wake her and tell her about this strange feeling he had. It was almost indescribable, something completely unknown to him.

But she requires sleep. I shouldn't wake her.

It was late into the night, but he would still be alone with his own thoughts for quite some time.

Having no need for rest, I can see now is both a blessing and a curse.

But it was the only thing he could do at the moment. Kyubey turned back to the window, and once again gazed at the stars. Those twinkling dots were his light at the top of the deep chasm that he had carved in his spirit. Even through his sadness, he could feel his spirit rising just by looking up.

The morning came slowly. Eventually the starlight was engulfed by the sun's rays that pushed its way into the bedroom, flooding its walls in swaths of orange and yellow.

Mami's alarm clock went off, and Kyubey could hear Mami stirring in her bed. He cracked an eye open and saw her sitting up, arms raised in a wide stretch and yawning.

"Good morning, Mami. I trust you slept well?"

Finished stretching, Mami let out a short sigh and shut off the alarm. "After that long night, I wish I could sleep some more. How was your night?"

"It was relatively uneventful. But…"

"But...?" Mami asked.

Kyubey wanted to tell her about the things he had thought about in the night - of his struggle with his purpose, of the overwhelming yet calming feeling of gazing up at the stars and listening to that music. But he felt that same force as when he returned to Mami in her kitchen robbing him of his will. So he hesitated.

"Don't be afraid to tell me, Kyubey." Mami said softly. "Communication is important. If it's something bad I want to know what it is so I can help you."

Is this what's holding me back? Fear?

Why was he afraid? Certainly he had faced much more frightening things - battles with witches, to name one, and he always had spare bodies. For him to be afraid of this… it was ridiculous. But that just meant Mami's right. He shouldn't hesitate.

"I suppose it's nothing too bad," Kyubey said. "I thought a lot about what had happened yesterday."

"Hmm?" Mami laid down on her stomach, propping her head up with her arms. "What about?"

"It's hard to explain, but I was hoping you could tell me what feeling it was."

Mami smiled. "I'll do my best. Go ahead."

Kyubey turned to look out the window again and took a moment to collect his thoughts. The stars he had gazed at last night were now puffy clouds in the blue sky.

"Remember at the concert, after the first song, I said that I heard something different. I said that I heard it differently."

"Ah yes… I vaguely remember that. It was quite sudden, and the next song was just starting so I almost forgot."

"Back then, if I could describe what I felt… well, I realized it was the same feeling I had while looking at the stars."

"You were staring at them a lot last night!" Mami sat up again, sitting cross-legged now. "I'm glad you liked them so much."

"I suppose you could say that. Well, even though I know those feelings are the same, I don't know what the feeling is. Could you tell me, Mami?"

"The feeling of looking at stars and listening to music? I'm not sure if that is a feeling."

"But I do feel something. When I look at the stars before, they were only useful tools for navigation. Before, I didn't understand music, because they were just frequencies in harmony. But back then, I didn't think about those purposes. I saw the stars, I heard the music, and they...moved something inside of me."

"I suppose when you put it like that, I do feel something when listening to music I really like, and looking at beautiful things, I guess. Well, I don't what you would even call that. I'm sorry, Kyubey."

"I see. That's okay."

"Don't you worry!" Mami said with a big smile. "I'll look into it and get back to you! But for now, I need to get ready for school, okay?"

At that, Mami got out of bed and headed out her room.

Even after his months of absence Kyubey could still remember Mami's morning routine for school days. He knew she was heading to the kitchen, because she would always cook a meal for herself first as well as her day's lunch. After that she would take a shower, brush her teeth, don her school uniform before finally doing her hair. Kyubey stayed on his perch, relaxing himself in the familiar bustling around the apartment.

Before, Mami was just finishing brushing her hair. Kyubey watched as Mami, with a flourish of her hand, affixed her hair into her signature curls with a tiny spark of magic. She grabbed her bag beside her.

"Well, I'm off now," She said, turning to look at Kyubey. "Will you be okay alone for a while?"

At those words, he felt a slight nervousness seize him.

I don't know. What am I going to do with myself today?

"I should be fine. You have a good day at school, Mami."

"Hmm… alright then, if you say so." Mami paused slightly before heading out the bedroom. "See you later!"

Kyubey closed his eyes and listened to the sound of her footsteps recede. Soon, he heard the front door open and close. Then he was alone. Alone in the spacious apartment.

Really, what am I going to do all day?

Seven hours wasn't much compared to how long Kyubey has lived on Earth. He has personally seen history unfold before his eyes. The days would rush by like pages in a flip book - one still, small page blurring after another again and again. However, now that he thinks about it, the recent days have seemed to slow down. The pages have stopped, and became a single, brilliant, painting.

Suddenly he heard the front door being shoved open and thudding of footsteps. Mami burst into the room.

"Hey, Kyubey!" She said, panting, but with a smile on her face. "Why don't you accompany me at school today?"

"Explain to me your reasoning again?" Kyubey asked.

He was once again perched on Mami's shoulder. The two were headed towards Mitakihara Middle School down a wide stone path. The city didn't hold back on its environmental preservation policies. They were flanked on either side by thick greenery and the occasional winding river that burbled along with the birds in the trees.

The sunlight sparkling in the water was reflected in the foliage of leaves, as sunshine shone through in tiny pinpoints of light. The chirping of birds broke out like a certain primitive music. As he observed his surroundings, they together reminded him of the night of stars and the concert's music.

"Mm… I don't know. Maybe it'll be good for you to see how normal human beings interact," Mami said. "And what better place of social interaction is there than a school?"

"I thought school was an educational facility."

"That's because you've never set foot inside the actual building, Kyubey. The closest I've seen you is on the rooftop."

She was technically correct.

Kyubey had no doubt he was rather nervous about it. He had no idea what to expect.

"I'm actually surprised at that, you know," Mami continued. "Why don't you go inside the school that much? There's plenty of girls for you to make a contract."

"Though that's true, the short answer is that it's out in the public. School grounds are too exposed, and aren't ideal locations for making a contract."

"Anyway," Kyubey continued. "What you said still seems hardly a reason to me."

Mami sighed. "Okay, well I know I didn't want you to be stuck with nothing to do all day.

"Also, I really love school as weird as it may sound to most - but I speak as a magical girl. Anyway, I just hope you can enjoy yourself too and relax."

They approached a curve in the path, and as they rounded the curve, the trees opened up to reveal the tall figure of the school building up ahead, fenced in by low stone walls.. They could see students walking up ahead too, passing through the ornate front gates. Kyubey briefly saw the figure of Madoka enter the front doors of the school building with another green-haired girl.

They soon reached the gates themselves, and it was then that they heard a voice call out.

"Oooi! Tomoe-san!" Standing a distance away with a small crowd, a tall lanky boy waved avidly in Mami's direction.

Mami smiled and waved back courteously.

"Who is that?" Kyubey asked.

"That's Mamoru-san" Mami said, switching to telepathy. "He's in my class."

"Hey Mami!" Another voice called out, belonging to a young girl with short, blonde hair who had sprinted up to Mami from behind.

"Good morning," Mami said. "How's-"

"Sorry-can't-chat-gotta-have-to-finish-homework-but-I-wanted-to-say-hi-okay-see-you-bye-talk-to-you-later!"

She sprinted off again, breathing heavily and leaving a cloud of dust in her wake.

"And that…?" Kyubey said.

"That would be Tachibana-san. She's also in my class" Mami smiled in amusement "And she's always like that. So energetic."

The two reached the school building and stepped through its entrance. Mami then headed for the shoe locker room.

"Why are they your friends?"

Mami almost stopped in her tracks. She raised an eyebrow in surprise, but there was no response from Kyubey, who only waited for her answer. Mami took a moment to think about her answer as she walked before giving her response.

"Well, it's not like they're really close friends. And, I guess I don't really know why they're my friends. I just like them."

Kyubey didn't respond. It was a curious matter to him. Kyubey had always wondered how the process of choosing companions worked in human societies. It had always seemed too random for him to understand. Place two people near each other for a long enough period and they seem to become friends without any reason, and yet, long-time friends can break apart at the drop of a hat.

"Oh!" Mami gasped. She had reached her shoe locker, and upon opening it she saw a pristine envelope laid atop her shoes.

"What is it?" Kyubey asked, looking into the locker.

Mami took the envelope out. She observed it curiously, turning it over in her hand. It had a soft pink, elegant design etched into its trim, and on its front side was Mami's name written in bubbly handwriting.

"Who placed it there?" Kyubey asked again.

"I'm not sure…" Mami opened it gently, taking care not to tear the paper. Inside was a simple card with more bubbly handwriting, though somewhat messier.

"Ah! Kyubey don't look!" She said, after reading the first few lines. A few other students glanced curiously in her direction at the sudden outburst.

"Why?" Kyubey was just about to read along. No doubt it was a curious thing.

"It's addressed to me," Mami said, remembering to use telepathy. "So clearly it's private."

Kyubey sighed inwardly and decide to shift his attention towards the next most interesting thing - which happened to be Mami's face. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her lips pursed. He watched her eyes shift left and right as they read the lines. If he wanted he could have focused his vision onto the reflections in her eye, but he decided to respect the anonymous author's privacy.

Suddenly Mami's eyes widened, and she cupped her mouth with her hand.

"What is it?" Kyubey asked yet again.

"It's… it's a love letter."

"A love letter?"

The morning bell struck, and Mami looked in surprise at the clock mounted on the wall near her. She had spent too much time lingering about, and homeroom was about to start.

"Sorry, I'll have to deal with this later. That was the warning bell and I need to get to my class."

She frantically placed the note back into the envelope and resealed it. She then put the envelope into her bag, changed her shoes, and headed for her classroom. As they hurried through the halls and climbed staircases, Kyubey committed to memory the inner layout of the school for future reference. But this was only secondary on his mind.

What is a love letter? He thought. Why would someone give such a thing - and secretly?

This must be one of the things he still did not know about human culture, having never stepped inside the school grounds. He still had a lot to learn

Kyubey looked around the classroom from his vantage point on top of Mami's desk. The students were bent over their desks in fierce concentration. The room was silent save the scribbling of pencils on paper, and the occasional sigh of surrender. It was the first period in the day, and there was a test.

"Your friend Tachibana really seems to be struggling," he said to Mami.

"Poor thing." Mami replied curtly. She was also concentrating on her test, and though it was a Monday, she was still prepared unlike her friend. Her class was slightly behind, which required them to take a test at the beginning of the week, much to both the teacher's and the students' annoyance.

"And I thought she was finishing her homework. She should have had some last minute practice, right?"

"That's not exactly how things work, and I'm sorry, Kyubey. But you're being a bit distracting, and this this test is rather hard."

"My apologies."

He looked around the room again, but the scene has hardly changed. On Mami's right was a girl discreetly looking up answers on her phone. To Mami's immediate left was a girl who had evidently given up on the test as she was sound asleep. Even the teacher seemed to have dozed off, and his head bobbed in tandem to the tick-tock of the clock.

Is this the state of education in human society? Kyubey thought.

He turned back to Mami, who now wore a harsh expression of confusion.

"Something wrong, Mami?"

"It's just a very difficult problem. I'll have to come back to it."

Out of curiosity, Kyubey glanced at the test sheet in front of Mami.

"Ah, my species developed calculus millennia ago. Would you like some help?"

"What? No, that would be cheating."

"No more than the person to your right."

Mami took a glance towards her neighbor and saw that indeed, she had a pencil in one hand a cellphone in the other. She stared incredulously for a moment before turning back to her test.

"Well, I for one choose to have some integrity. Thanks for the offer."

Things fell silent once again. Whatever made him decide to come along? There was hardly anything to do except to watch the others around him amble through the day. Although, it would seem that was what Mami wanted.

He looked around once again. In front of Mami was a short boy with relatively long, salt-and-pepper hair. But just barely concealed underneath his hair Kyubey noticed small, circular burn marks on his neck. Most were faded, but one bright mark stood out to him. Its harsh red peered back from just above the shirt collar.

I've seen those before. They're from cigarettes butts.

Kyubey tore his eyes away. His pulse had spiked by twice its natural rate.

His eyes landed on a girl several desks away. Her wavy auburn hair reached her shoulders, accented by a flower hair clip. Immediately he could see something was wrong. Her hands covered her face, and her slumped shoulders shook gently. She was crying, and Kyubey felt each tremble of her shoulders jolt his own heart.

Now what's wrong with me?

"Mami," Kyubey began, but his message was beaten to its recipient by waves of psychic pangs.

Mami immediately snapped her head up from her test in worry. "What's wrong?"

"The girl," Kyubey said. "Three desks to your right and two desks forward."

Mami looked in the direction he directed, and noticed the girl crying. Mami put down her pencil and sighed.

"That's Yukine-san. I've heard parents are extremely strict on her about her school work. This isn't the first time I've seen her break down."

"Why do I feel sad when I look at her?"

"Well... when others around you are sad you can feel sad too." Mami reached up slowly, taking care not to draw the attention of others, and gently patted Kyubey's head. "It's called empathy."

The warm touch of Mami's hand was comforting, and he can feel his heartbeat gradually calm. But he had also been touched by the crying girl, and the abused boy in front of him as well. He could still sense a residual twinge of pain.

"The person right in front of you. He has cigarette burns on his neck and shoulders."

"What?" Mami glanced over. She couldn't see anything, but she decided to take Kyubey's word for it. "Gee, I've never noticed. I don't think anyone knows him that well."

"Can't we do anything?"

"I suppose… normally you try to comfort them, and try to reach out to them. But here, it won't be… proper." Mami felt bitter saying those words, but it was true. The school setting wasn't a place to bring your personal issues.

"I do wish I could help though."

A timer went off with a loud buzz, startling the teacher from his nap. He grumbled and rubbed his eyes before standing up.

"Alright everyone, pass your tests forward. You'll know your scores by tomorrow."

There was a collective sigh of relief from the class and a few cries of frustration. As the papers began shuffling forward slowly through the hands the students, Kyubey couldn't help but keep staring back and forth between the girl and the boy. Yukine had stopped crying. Her expression was only of quiet resignation, and the boy was the same as ever. Kyubey reasoned that he must do a good job of keeping things hidden, which made it all the more depressing.

"I'm sorry, Kyubey, but it'll be alright." Mami said, continuing to pet him. "Why don't you take a walk around a bit, to get your mind off things?"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Go and take a look around. Besides, I have gym next, so I don't want you following me into the locker rooms."

Kyubey hopped onto Mami's shoulder as the students began to stand up. They filed out of the classroom into the halls, and it was then that Kyubey jumped off and onto the ground.

"See you soon!" Mami said while walking away. "Come back to this class whenever you want, but I promise it'll be good for you."

Kyubey watched the group of students head down the halls towards in the opposite direction. A few other students had grouped around Yukine, providing their own words of comfort. Perhaps this is why Mami said it'll be alright. He had not yet known that she would have her own group of friends to support her.

Then what of the boy? He worried.

He saw his small frame treading unknown in the outskirts of the moving body of students. But it was then that he noticed Mami approach him, tapped him on the shoulder, and offer a smiling greeting.

Mami really is a kind-hearted one.

Mitakihara Middle School was one of the few lucky places untouched by the freak storm the populace had ascribed to Walpurgisnacht. While that was months ago, many parts of the city are still under reconstruction, and Kyubey saw fliers advertising various volunteer events affixed seemingly everywhere. It was a stark contrast to the pristine halls of the school, where the transparent glass walls of the classrooms and cool blue tiles of the floor gave an otherwise clean, uncluttered impression.

It was this that he noticed as he padded through the halls, though the number of fliers thinned out the further away he got from the school entrance. While still taking care to memorize his surroundings, Kyubey otherwise let himself be carried along by uncommitted will. With no destination, no purpose, he ambled aimlessly - something he had rarely let himself do.

He didn't know what Mami expected of him to come here. Every classroom he peered into was basically the same - tired, indifferent students sitting in resignation through a teacher's lecture. But Mami did say to take his mind off things. Perhaps this uniform monotony was to put his mind at ease?

Somehow, he had ended up outside on a steel bridge. The bridge was suspended high in the air, connecting two tall towers of the school where large bells were suspended in the highest chambers. The bridge was overlooking the track field, and he noticed Mami's class outside in the middle of their exercises.

Mami's holding back. He noticed. She could do much higher jumps than those as a magical girl.

He could just barely hear the murmur of voices in the distance as the students shouted and cried, a somewhat lulling tone in its own right. Their voices bubbled with shouts of joy and laughter, and the sound of it he could feel his spirit slowly rising. It was the complete opposite of his earlier emotions, and because of this he knew immediately that this was what humans called "happiness".

If empathy is the ability to feel someone else's pain, Kyubey thought. Then it must also be the ability to feel another's happiness.

Kyubey turned around, looking on the other side of the bridge. He could see the main building again, and once again through its tall glass windows, the many students sitting in through their everyday routine.

A flock of birds flew by across his vision, carried by a gentle breeze through the expansive clear sky. And now over the bubble of voices from the field, he also heard the whispers of trees as they were tickled by the breeze. The bells tolled gently in the wind.

It was then that he realized how peaceful everything was - how at peace he was. Perhaps it was the recent pains he faced in that classroom, or his recent predicament of his emotions, but Kyubey thought this peacefulness was something he wouldn't have known had he had it everyday.

How lucky it must be for them.

It was the exact contrast to the life he had forced upon Homura, upon Kyouko, and upon Mami. In holding back her athletic prowess Mami was trying to enter back into this life she was taken from. Though the routine life of these students may seem mundane to them, it's because of its unchanging nature that made it so valuable.

But something unchanging can't be disturbed. There needs to be something to guard it. Were all those bubbling voices from the field to end - Kyubey thought that that would be even sadder. There was value in suffering too. Even though he was still held by guilt's unrestrained grip, at the moment he felt just a bit comforted.

Is this why Mami thinks coming here is good for me?

He stayed on the bridge for a good time, basking in the clear sky, and taking in the breeze.

Mami and her friends were eating lunch when Kyubey finally returned the classroom. He hopped onto Mami's desk, which was arranged with those of her friends into a small table. They sat facing each other, chatting amiably. Without being conspicuous, Mami acknowledged his return by shifting her lunch box towards the other end of her desk, giving some more room for him.

"Welcome back, Kyubey," she said telepathically. "You were gone for quite a while so I was just beginning to worry."

"I'm fine. More than that actually. I think the little excursion really helped me."

"Really? That's wonderful. I'm glad to hear it."

Mami the entire time was also listening avidly to her friends' conversations. Immediately to her front and side was her friend Tachibana and the boy from before. Kyubey didn't recognize the girl sitting diagonally across from Mami, but he assumed it was another friend of hers. She was face-down asleep on her desk and her long, violet locks cascaded around her. Each person had their own lunches out on their desks, though Mami's was the most well-made by far.

"So, Mami," Tachibana said, with a mouth full of food. "You mentioned that you went to a concert over the weekend?"

"Yes, a classical recital."

"Oh nice," she said, and then finally swallowed. "How was it?"

"Well…" Mami briefly glanced in Kyubey's direction before continuing. "I thought it was pretty good. It was very… emotionally moving."

Being emotionally moving made it good? Kyubey thought as he listened to their conversation.

Kyubey recalled that Mami had said people listen to music because it instills strong feelings in them. Kyubey, carrying such heavy guilt, had felt as such intense grief in response. But to think Mami could feel the same, even for a temporary moment.

No, she should hardly share the same wrongs that I hold.

It must be then that, entering into the music, Mami had been temporarily instilled with such emotions. He, on the other hand, had his alright existing ones thrusted forward and amplified.

"Was this at the concert hall downtown?" asked the long-haired boy, while poking around at his simple lunch. He had a quiet but robust voice. "I was there."

"Really?" Mami said with another glance in Kyubey's direction. "What a coincidence!"

"Yeah I wanted to get out of the house for a bit, and I just happened to notice it."

"He's Nakamura-san." Mami said to Kyubey. "I started talking to him after class."

"You should ask him how he felt about the concert," Kyubey said. "I'm curious to know."

Mami did so. "What did you think of it?"

"I agree with you," He said, nodding. "Very emotionally moving. Especially the second song."

There must be something about that song. Kyubey thought. I would like to know what it was.

"And they only got better," He continued.

"Oh, I couldn't stay for all of it," Mami said. "How was the rest of the concert?"

"The songs were based on a similar theme. To me, it was about a person's journey of atonement."

"Geez that's pretty serious," noted Tachibana.

Kyubey was entirely attentive to the conversation at this point. The concert last night, it sounded awfully like his current state. Could he ever find atonement for his sins? Could he ever wash away this stain of guilt on his conscience?

But it was at this point when the topic of conversation moved on.

"Let's talk about something else instead," said Tachibana. "Nakamura-san, tell us about yourself!"

"Huh?" He stared bewilderedly at her, who had a smug look plastered on her face.

"As a new member of this crew, you must share one embarrassing memory from your past!"

"Have you done this?" Kyubey asked Mami.

"Oh no, she's just trying to embarrass him."

Mami sighed. "Tachibana-san, when will you ever stop? "

"Aww c'mon, Mami, let me have my fun!"

Kyubey watched curiously as the exchange unfolded. Through Mami's resigned but amused expression, Tachibana's earnest laughters, and Nakamura's relieved face, Kyubey felt an airy feeling bubble up inside him. He couldn't engage in the conversation himself, but he felt the camaraderie and joy of these friends together.

"Geez, can't you guys be quieter?" complained the violet-haired friend, snapping her head up and glaring pointedly at the blonde in front of her.

"Sorry, Yaya-chin," Tachibana said, laughing. "But good thing you woke up now 'cus I was about to start messing with you."

"Oi!" She shouted, prompting more laughter from the group.

Kyubey absorbed their laughter like a sponge. Their conversation was backdropped by the bouncing chatter of the rest of the classroom. Happiness, he noticed, is like a mirror. It reflects more happiness, and the feeling is reflected back and forth.

"I don't really know why they're my friends." Kyubey recalled Mami's words. "I just like them."

He wondered if it is really so simple. They just like each other, and just being around each other will grant this moment of contentment? Perhaps it's so. Perhaps this is all it takes, though something so simple is all the more easily disturbed. From his stores of experience, Kyubey could see the human condition is one of unredeemed and gratuitous suffering, but perhaps at the most basic level, it's also one of simple joys.

"Alright guys," the teacher announced. "Why don't we put the desks back and prepare for our next class?"

And now it's over, he thought, as the class filled with the sounds of desk legs scraping against the ground. But nevertheless, Kyubey could understand why Mami brought him along today.

"Mami," He called out.

He received a small smile as Mami sat down after she finished dragging her desk back into place.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Thank you for today. I feel happy."

Kyubey never thought he himself would ever use those three words together, and its novelty was apparent on Mami's surprised face. Her eyebrows were raised and the smile on her lips had vanished, but only briefly before spreading out again, wider than before.

"Then I'm happy too."

The rest of the day went by gracefully. It was actually rather entertaining to observe the information that the students were being taught, so far it was from the knowledge of their species. It was endearing in a way. His favorite by far was history, because he had been there for much of it.

"You know, Joan de Arc was a magical girl," Kyubey had said to Mami during a lengthy European history lecture. "I wasn't there personally, but she was well known for being very beneficial to our cause."

"Really? I wonder who else were magical girls?"

"Unfortunately, many don't live long enough to go down in history."

"Ah… that makes sense."

Eventually, the school bell signaled the end of the day's classes, and the students prepared to return to their homes, or continue with after-school club activities. Mami was dutifully packing her school supplies into her bag when her friends, Tachibana and Yaya, approached her.

"Hey, Mami, you wanna go down to the mall with us?" Tachibana asked.

"Sorry guys, I can't." Mami said. "I'd love to accompany you, but you know I have a particularly busy schedule."

She sighed in return. "Always busy with your part-time job, Mami. But I guess you can't help it. Hey Nakamura, why don't you come along?"

"Eh?" He looked up in surprise. He was just about to leave, but Tachibana swung her arms around him and led the group away. She then swung her bag over her other shoulder and headed towards the door as well.

Kyubey, meanwhile, looked curiously at Mami from his vantage point on her shoulder. "Your job?"

"Yes, unfortunately school and witch hunting don't leave much room for socializing." Mami said nonchalantly.

But Kyubey could detect a hint of longing in her words. Perhaps it was the telepathic nature of her message, but it well left its faint wisp of sadness in him.

"But it's alright." Mami said, out loud this time in noting the lack of students in the halls. "I'm quite used to it."

That only makes it worse. Kyubey thought.

"Besides," Mami said softly. "I actually have something to do after school today."

"Really? What's that?"

Mami didn't answer right away, but continued walking through the halls. With a mental map of the school now in his mind, Kyubey noted that she was heading in the opposite direction from the school's entrance.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"Do you remember that love letter this morning?"

Oh… Kyubey realized, and he looked at Mami's stoic face. To think I almost forgot.

"Are you meeting the person who wrote you that note?"

Mami sighed. "Yes, on the rooftop."

"Come to think of it, you've never really explained the letter to me."

She took on an uncomfortable face. "It's… rather embarrassing. What can I say?"

Kyubey waited patiently as Mami pondered over her response, walking steadily through the halls, up staircases, and across doors. It wasn't until they were nearing the large double doors leading out to the rooftop, that Mami gave her answer.

"When a person has such a strong feeling as love," she said. "Sometimes they just have to express it in any way they can. They have to let it be known."

"What is love?"

Mami's hand froze at the door handle in front of her.

"I hear it a lot from you humans, but what is it exactly? What does it feel like?"

"What indeed," she whispered, and opened the door.

A large gust of air greeted them as they walked outside, stepping onto the rough concrete. A flock of birds rested on the metal-wired fences lining the edges of the roof, and in front of the two were several evenly spaced stone benches.

On one of those benches sat a petite young girl with dark, wavy locks that extended to her shoulders. Her head was cast down and staring into fidgeting hands, but snapped up upon hearing Mami's entrance.

"You came!" She shouted, and stood up to greet her.

"Do you know her?" Kyubey asked as Mami approached the short girl.

"I may have seen her around before, but aside from that not really."

"How do you feel?" Kyubey asked again.

"I'm… not sure."

Finally Mami stopped. They stood face to face, but the girl kept her eyes down and her feet shuffled nervously under her. Kyubey noted an intense blush on the her face.

Why is Mami's face so sad right now?

There was a somber air about her. He felt an intensity in the atmosphere, as if the anticipation was charging into release. But there was nothing to do except to watch the scene unfold.

"So… you got my letter, right?" the girl said.

"Yes, thank you. It was, uh, very flattering."

"And… your answer?"

Mami took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I appreciate it - really. But I don't know you well enough to say I return your feelings."

Kyubey saw the passing glimmer of pain in the girl's expression, though she tried to hide it. She put up a small smile, but Kyubey could see the tiny drops pooling at the edges of her eye.

"It's okay. I expected this. I just felt like I had to tell you… with the school year coming to an end and everything."

"Right… and I'll be graduating soon."

"Well, I'll let you leave." She took a deep bow. "Thank you for coming, Tomoe-san, and giving me an answer."

Mami bowed slightly in return. "You're welcome, and if you see me around, please feel free to say hi. I wouldn't mind being friends."

"Okay. Thank you."

Mami then turned to leave. As she headed towards the door, Kyubey turned around. He saw the girl, turned away to the side, with her gaze towards the sky. The droplets that had been clinging to the corner of her eyes then trickle down her cheek. He may not fully comprehend what's occurring at the moment, but in that moment he did understand the pain of rejection.

"What happened back there?" Kyubey asked.

They were slowly making their way back down the many floors of the school, finally heading back, and Mami's footsteps echoed along the empty halls.

"She confessed to me in that letter," Mami said, her voice hollow. "And she asked me to meet her on the roof to give an answer."

"What did you have to answer?"

"Whether… I returned her feelings of love or not."

"You haven't answered me before, about what that is."

Mami sighed deeply. "It's… it's when two people have a really strong bond - no wait. I can't say I have a strong bond with her."

There was a brief silence. "That might come after both people return the feeling. But love is when you like someone a lot. Well, I say that, but it's so much deeper than that."

As they walked nearer and nearer to the school entrance, they passed by more and more of flyers and banners, advertising more disaster relief projects and volunteering opportunities. Soon they had reached the shoe lockers again.

"When you're in love with someone, you just want to be around them. You want to do everything for them."

"That sounds a lot like friendship."

"Well yes, I suppose. But there are different kinds of love. Love for your friends, for your family, for your… lover."

"What?"

"Sorry, that would be romantic love. I guess that's the hardest one to explain."

"Are you okay, Mami?" Kyubey had noted how hollow her voice was, and her slow gait as she treaded down the halls. "You don't sound like you're feeling well."

"I…" Mami was now in front of her own shoe locker, her hand placed on its handle. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm not."

"Did something happen?"

Kyubey waited, but Mami didn't answer. He watched her replaced her shoes with her own and closed the locker door. Then he heard a soft sniffle. He snapped his head to the side to look at Mami's face and saw tears dripping down her face.

"You know," she said, her voice trembling. "I've always wondered what it'll be like to go out with friends after school, and to be in a school club.

"And I've always wondered what it'll be like to get a love letter, and to go out with someone. But I can never do those things."

Kyubey understood then. He understood the reason for all the pain of the magical girls he's contracted. He thought back to Homura, and her scathing words that pierced his heart. He knew he tore their lives away from what it could've been. He knew he threw them into the heat of battle without care. But he only knew of it. He had not personally experienced it. Now he had experienced what they were thrown from, and he finally understood their suffering.

"Mami…"

He wanted to comfort her. Although her sobs were quiet, they cried out him. They shouted his faults, and he knew his deepening wounds that had not even been given time to heal were no where near as deep as the grief that Mami had, the grief that had been festering for all these years. And he knew he was at fault. Seeing Mami cry, his guilt crashed back down upon him in full force.

But despite the severity of his own pain, Kyubey knew his only consolation was in the consolation of those he had hurt. Guilt is the type of pain whose healing depends on others. The other comes first, for if guilt comes after one's wrongdoings, then one's own healing is also secondary to that of the wronged.

"Mami, I'm so sorry. All of that is my fault."

"No. It's alright." Mami reached up with her arm and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm used to it. Even though I may cry sometimes, I don't regret my decision of becoming magical girl - I won't."

Her tears have stopped. Mami straightened her posture and headed towards the exit.

"I've come to accept my duty as a magical girl," she continued. "So even though I may feel sad sometimes it's alright. I know this is part of the deal."

"Still…" But Kyubey's thoughts were interrupted as they approached a raven-haired girl sitting on a bench by the school gates.

It was Homura. She was staring off to her side, wearing her usual pensive expression. She had yet to notice the pair, but it was inevitable as they drew ever nearer to the bench where she sat. Soon her gaze fell upon the them. Kyubey noticed her passive expression turn into a subtle grimace immediately as her eyes landed on him.

"Do you normally meet her after school?" Kyubey asked.

"No, not really. This is the first time."

"I'm… rather nervous. About seeing her."

"I'm sure it'll be fine… don't worry."

Mami reached Homura at the front gates, and decided to stop and offer a friendly greeting.

"Good afternoon, Akemi-san." She said, bowing.

"Good afternoon, Mami... Incubator," Homura said reluctantly, with the barest edges of malice at the final word.

"May I ask what are you doing here?"

"I enrolled Kyouko since she started staying at my house," she replied. Kyubey felt her eyes glaring at him the entire time. "And she's taking extra classes after school for being out of the system for so long."

"Really? Well I suppose I'll be seeing Sakura-san at school now!" Mami smiled. "It's really kind of you to wait for her."

"If we're heading back the same way, I might as well."

"Well, it was really nice seeing you!" Mami said.

But before Mami could even take the first step she heard Homura hiss under her breath. "Are you trying to insult me?"

Mami stopped and blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean him." Homura stood up. She was still glaring fiercely at Kyubey. "Why are you here?"

"Mami invited me today..." Kyubey replied, though he couldn't bring himself to look directly back into her eyes. His own eyes downcast, he saw Homura's hands clench into fists.

"This is my place of reprieve from my life as a magical girl." She said, her voice low in anger. "I don't want the likes of you corrupting it."

Corrupting it?

Her words were like a slap to his face. Watching everyone on the track field during gym, sitting with Mami's friends at lunch - during this time at school, he had almost started to enjoy himself. But to think his very presence was a detriment to those around him. Could he not find solace anywhere? Kyubey was stunned into silence.

"Come now, Akemi-san, don't say such things!" Mami said. "Don't you think it's time you forgave him?"

"You don't understand! None of you do."

"You keep saying that, but you never even try to tell us. Kyubey, he has already apologized to you!"

Homura turned away from the two. "I'd like to see him apologize to every magical girl he's ever contracted."

Mami scoffed, and started walking. "Let's go, Kyubey, I've heard enough of this."

"Don't think you can run away from this so easily!" Homura shouted back at them, but at Mami's angered pace, her voice was already far in the distance.

They once again passed through thick greenery around the school. The sunlight shone in diamonds through the gaps of the tree leaves and in the sparkling creek. But this time no birds sang in the leaves, and no trees shushed his deafening thoughts. Nature was silent to him, and instead of the calm he had found in the morning, their perfection only exposed his own glaring impurity.

"Am I really?" Kyubey said aloud, and upon his words Mami finally slowed.

"What's that?" She said.

"Corrupting it."

Mami sighed. "Don't listen to her, Kyubey. You've already apologized, and that's what counts."

"Is that really so? Don't you think that to really atone, you have to receive forgiveness?"

"Well…"

"And what of all the girls I've contracted before? I can't even apologize to them."

"Alright, Kyubey, stop right there."

Mimicking her own words, Mami stopped walking. They have cleared the greenery around the school, and around them was an open field of grass to one side, and a large lake on the other. They stared at the spanning body of water in front of them.

"Sometimes you just have to stop," Mami said. "You have to stop thinking about it, and only then can you move on."

The sun was far from setting, and hung high above the horizon. But it still inched steadily towards the horizon, across the span of the waters, down into its depths. Then in the morrow, as impossible as it may seem rises up anew out of the water.

Stop, and then move on…? He wondered.

With each setting and rising of the sun is a new day, and each new day a magical girl lives is another day taken from her, and every new day is another wrong he has created. Each passing day, across the unceasing march of time, will he too be able to reach that atonement?

"Why are you trying to help me so much, Mami?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Mami smiled. "I care about you Kyubey. You're my friend."

Friend…

Those words lingered in his mind - or rather, the feelings behind them. They were warm, a comfort in his freezing thoughts. The lunch hour at school came back to him, and he imagined himself amongst them. He pictured the mutual tenderness between them, and to think Mami thought the same of him. In this dark fog of confusion, he had found a friend.

"Well, I'd better get going," Mami said, resuming her quick pace home. "I need to finish homework before I start my patrol around the city."

Kyubey then recalled that they hadn't finished their conversation earlier.

"I'm still sorry, Mami, that you can't spend any time with your friends, or-"

"Didn't I just tell you to stop thinking about it?"

"But-"

"Ah-bup-bup! You don't have to apologize to me, Kyubey. I told you that I've embraced my duty."

He was reminded of the night Mami first confronted him about his emotions.

"I can't say I'm happy about it…" Mami had said to him. "but I made a contract and it's my duty to protect people."

Now he has personally experienced those words, and even so he was still confused. All that sadness she held in, she somehow accepts. In that moment, Kyubey was filled with a sudden desire - a desire to change things for her.

"Mami, I don't want you to have to accept it."

"Again, I appreciated it, but I'm telling you it's alright. Don't feel like you have to seek my forgiveness." Mami tilted her head to gently nudged Kyubey. "Because to me, well, here's one magical girl you haven't wronged."

A soft, tickling breeze whistled through, and the field of grass sighed in response.

A magical girl... I haven't wronged?

Mami always seemed to know the right words to say. He could see now - it wasn't impossible. If there was one magical girl out there who he hasn't hurt, surely there could be more.

With her reassurance, Kyubey felt better. The rest of the way back home was spent in comforting silence.