You almost sluggishly remove one of the grief seeds from four-space and tap it to your soul gem. A veritable tide of grief washes outward and you very suddenly feel much, much better.
The seed isn't quite full yet, so... You toss it at Homura, who catches it. "Thank you," you say, "I... it seems I lost track of things."
In response, Homura gives you a look that makes you feel like a foolish child and tosses the seed back to you. "It's your kill," she murmurs, "keep it."
If she had done that to you that first time-! Sabrina is, as always, correct. Homura really needs friends. And because you know that, you throw the seed right back at her. She's visibly surprised and frustrated for the moment before you pull out the second seed and waggle it. "I said I'd hunt two, didn't I?" you ask, the words warm and almost teasing now that you don't feel like all the happiness is missing from you, "I just... I think I know what's happened and it..."
You shake your head. "We need to talk, but we should eat first. Just... One thing though."
You pause. "Today isn't April 13th, is it, Homura? I... It's March 16th."
Homura... it's hard to describe. What goes across her face is, you think, most akin to sudden understanding. In lieu of saying anything, she simply nods, and with that you feel cold fact wash away any hopefulness you might have had to the contrary.
You sigh in acceptance. You can hash everything out later. "Alright. Where do you want to eat?" you ask, withdrawing the two bento from the handbag and offering one to her. Homura takes it from you wordlessly, and indicates a tall tree several meters away. At first you assume she means to sit under it, but then she springs up to one of the middle branches and settles against the trunk.
You consider this with near-disbelief for a moment before suddenly reaching a realization: this is a great idea. You quickly join her on a nearby branch, positioned so that the two of you can actually see each other -- Homura is already devouring the bento with that look of partially suppressed pleasure that you so enjoy seeing on her. Madoka and Sayaka tend to be very vocal about your cooking, but Homura's reactions are, if anything, even more cherished despite their relative restraint. But... hm. Speaking of that, isn't there something odd going on here? You've obviously gone back in time, somehow, just...
It takes you a few minutes of quietly eating to place your finger on it, but when you do the realization is titanic. Madoka and Sayaka don't remember you.
"Homura," you ask, the question launching itself past your self control and out into the open, "Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi didn't remember me. I'm not ungrateful for it -- the opposite, I truly don't know what I would have done if not for you... but if today is March 16th, how do you know me?"
A muffled plunk draws your attention to the ground and then to Homura. She's dropped her chopsticks and is staring at you, eyes wide.
---------------
Do note that this will be the most important vote of the quest so far and has far-reaching implications. I'll be leaving this one open for a nice while. Coincidentally I have all kinds of things happening tomorrow!
You cannot bad-end. You can absolutely hurt yourself.
[] ABORT
[] CONTINUE WITH CAUTION
[] CONTINUE WITH EXTREME CAUTION
[] WRITE-IN (Max 40 words)