Homura always knew when Madoka was close by, mostly because the pink-haired girl liked to show her presence, be it Madoka's favorite drink on a abandoned table, or a pink ribbon thrown in the ground. It made Homura comfortable and more vicious when defeating the demons that plagued the city.

Mami - no, Tomoe - sometimes noticed those oddities, pointing them out with a frown when she saw Homura smiling at them, and the black haired girl just shrugged, uncaring of what Tomoe thought about Madoka's way of showing she was with them.

All that mattered was that Homura knew.

Something was wrong in this town, Homura noticed, and one of the things that made her notice things were the oddities around.

Like the can of a strawberry-flavored soft drink, abandoned in a bench in the park. Or the pink ribbon, much like the one Kaname-san wore in her hair, flowing in the air for a split second in the corner of her eyes, before disappearing.

She would find out what was wrong in here or die trying, or her name wasn't Homura Akemi. Maybe check the neighboring city. It seemed suspicious that it didn't had any Nightmares in it.

Now that Homura knew the truth - and then, twisted it and remade the universe, making the truth so far-fetched it became a lie - she was the one to place gentle reminders of her existence to Madoka.

Like the small black lizards that followed Madoka, only seen when looked with the corner of the eye. Or her minions, giggling in Madoka's direction. And then, yellow ribbons, that Homura used on her hair, just enough off tone Madoka didn't ask if they were the same she wore in her first day of school.

Small reminders of Homura's infinite love for her.