History FanFic / AsNApproachesInfinity

* TheEmpath: At least one aspect of Madoka's abilties without contracting with the Incubator. She is as powerful an empath as Ichigo is a Shinigami.

* ForWantOfANail: A derailment of the ''PMMM'' plot kicks off the story, when Madoka is killed by the Mermaid Witch. Disheartened by yet another failed timeline, Homura boards a random train to avoid dwelling on bad memories for a little while, ultimately ending up in Karakura.

** Ichigo has one in Witch Isidora's labyrinth when he remembers [[spoiler:the time he was ensnared by her and realizes he may be the reason his sisters contracted]]. Immediately followed by a FreakOut.

* ISeeDeadPeople: Homura is surprised to find that she can see spirits in Karakura.
* KidFromTheFuture: Sayaka, in the scene where [[spoiler:Homura reveals her time travel powers]] believes Homura to be this for Ichigo and Rukia. She's completely off, to say the least.

* LooseLips: Karin really shouldn't have told Kyubey [[spoiler:why a megalomaniacal shinigami would want to conquer Karakura]]. But Ichigo really shouldn't have told her about that in the first place. And, as he points out, someone probably should have told him it was supposed to be a secret.

* MagicByAnyOtherName: Shinigami reiatsu and magical girl magic are at the least very similar.

* NotInFrontOfTheKid: Kyōko finds herself having tone down her swearing in front of Tatsuya, who starts picking up her bad language.

** When Karin starts calling Isshin "Dad" instead of "Goat-Face" he instantly knows that something is very wrong.
** When Isshin greets Ichigo normally instead of obnoxiously Ichigo instantly knows that something is wrong.

** The Kurosakis: Ichigo and Karin are the sarcastic ones; Isshin and Yuzu are the ones that can switch from cheerful to serious and back at the drop of a hat.

* ThatsNoMoon: Homura at the end of the the first arc: "Those aren't wings."

* YouAreNotAlone: Various characters keep trying to convince Homura of this.

* AscendedFridgeHorror: The exploration of Witch labyrinths as deeply personal nightmare worlds with protagonist intrusion as an invasion of privacy and source of despair for those who understand the significance of the symbolic motifs within them.

-->Homura, Hitsugaya, and Urahara's faces were carefully neutral, eyes tactfully averted in a facsimile of respect for her privacy even though they heard every word. Madoka looked like she would cry. [[spoiler:Mrs. Kaname]] looked worried. Mami was too busy crying into [[spoiler:Mrs. Kaname]] to notice anything. [[spoiler:Kyōko's body was too dead to express an opinion.]]

** In the first timeline, Homura develops hope for new tactics and allies in the Kurosaki sisters. Then [[spoiler: they end up dead and the Incubator initiates an apocalypse]].

** Chapter 35 in nutshell, [[spoiler:just when it looks as though Walpurgisnacht has been defeated the Incubator shows up and utterly destroys the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.]]
* HowDidYouGetIt: Most people who see Homura casually pull machine guns and grenades out of her shield freak out over a fourteen-year-old possessing serious ordnance.

** The Shinigami [[spoiler:defeating Walpurgisnacht]] at the end of the story's first timeline.
** Karin's LooseLips.

** The argument between Kyōko and and the other Magical Girls in chapter 72 gets so bad that it drives Yuzu to yell at them. Everyone is left in StunnedSilence.

* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: The true premise of PMMM, expanded to include things that need to be fixed where the PMMM and Bleach canons intersect.

* WhipItGood: Yuzu's magical weapon is a whip.

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: Homura get one in Chapter 77 when she arrives with Mami and Toshiro and saves Tessai, Tomohisa, Junko, and Detective Ishijima with her Time Stop, just as the Dawn of Hyades descends on Asunaro.]]

** Homura and Toshiro. Both of them are stoic no-nonsense veteran combatants who are far more mature than their physical appearances would suggest. Both are physically children but -- due their unique conditions -- are considerably older than they appear to be. However, Toshiro retains a sense of honour and a desire to do things "the right way" whereas Homura has far, far fewer scruples about how she conducts her duties.

** Kyoko is at first assumed from the profile given by Homura to be a simple BigEater BloodKnight by Urahara. Her perception of the Incubator's system however, is quite philosophical, much to his surprise, and legitimately makes him wonder if the Incubator's endless supply of bodies truly is endless.

* NotInFrontOfTheKid: Kyoko finds herself having tone down her swearing in front of Tatsuya, who starts picking up her bad language.

** Junko towards Mami and Kyoko, and also to Sayaka after she runs away from her parents.

* ShipperOnDeck: Yuzu toward Karin and Toshiro. (Incorrectly, per WordOfGod)

* SirSwearsALot: Karin, Jinta, Ichigo's Hollow, Kyoko (Until Tatsuya starts picking it up).

* VariableLengthChain: Yuzu's whip, Yuki's meteor hammer, Toshiro's shikai.

** Chapters 69-70, [[spoiler:Kyoko finally appears...and it is discovered that someone has been killing the witches in Kazamino, leaving none for her, and in a desperate attempt, attacks Toshiro and Mami, quickly turning into a Witch.]]

** Chapters 78-80, [[spoiler: first features the battle against Dawn of Hyades. Unlike in canon however, the remaining girls of Asunaro do not survive, killing themselves in a [[TakingYouWithMe suicide attack]] to destroy the Witch. Urahara, Homura, and Toshiro then find the Freezer, much to their horror. Next, Nagisa is attacked by Nonon, who turns into a Witch shortly after being warded off, with the 13 Court Guard Squads, over Urahara's communications, having their first talk with the magical girls (mainly Sayaka and Kyoko, accompanied by Karin). Chapter 80 finishes it up by having Homura explain the time travel to everyone...only for a feedback loop to occur between her and Madoka, indicating spikes in their powers.]]

** Something on a bit of a meta-level, but ''Bleach'', being a {{Shonen}} series, tends to have a somewhat disproportionate male-to-female ratio, with most of the Shinigami, Arrancar, and Quincy alike being male, and TheSmurfettePrinciple running high. With the addition of the Incubator into the setting however, it is heavily implied that the reason for this is because the more powerful female souls are sought out and turned into Witches before they can enter Soul Society or turn into Hollows in Hueco Mundo, while several Quincy girls made contracts with the Incubator prior to the Quincy genocide.

* AmazonBrigade[=/=]SmashSisters: Karin, Yuzu, and Homura. Also Kazumi, Umika, and Kaoru. And any magical girls who work together in general.
* AnatomyOfTheSoul: Explored via CanonWelding.
* AngstySurvivingTwin: [[spoiler: Karin after Yuzu's death in the story's first timeline.]]

* ArcWords:
** "put her out of her misery"
** "the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and __"

* BackToBackBadasses: Homura, Karin, and Yuzu vs. Witch Cynthia's Familiars.
* BattleInTheRain: The battle against Walpurgisnacht, as in the anime [[spoiler:albeit in Karakura instead of Mitikihara]].
* BerserkButton:
** Karin and Yuzu when Ichigo is Kissed in a flashback.
** Homura when Yuzu [[spoiler:is killed by Witch Cynthia]] because she reminds her of Madoka.
** Ichigo when he remembers what happened when he was Kissed and realizes his [[spoiler:dead]] sisters probably contracted because he couldn't even protect himself let alone them.
* BigBad: The Incubator, hands down.

* BigBrotherInstinct: Ichigo towards Karin and Yuzu of course, but Homura gets added in later on.
* BigBrotherWorship: Karin and Yuzu towards Ichigo.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** A sudden swath of disappearances ''will'' get the police's attention, as happens in Timeline X + N...and thanks to the evidence left behind, quickly forms connections to even more disappearances, with the news just building up more and more overtime.
** Just because Homura ''has'' more resources to work with it, it does not mean her problems have been solved. Far from it. Urahara still needs to learn how the Magical Girl system works, the Incubator's plans include [[spoiler:making a Hogyoku, thus requiring more research]], and Homura herself is in completely new territory, which adds new variables that she does not like. On the flipside however, it also gives her and the other girls a desperately-needed support network as opposed to them being purely on their own in canon, with assured devastating consequences.
** Homura, a teenage girl, having access to guns and bombs, several of which were stolen from the Yakuza and the JSDF, and the knowledge to make them, deeply disturbs Ichigo, Isshin, and Uryu.
** With all of the research needed, Urahara admits that Homura is going to have keep on turning back time again. Without it being known if she can still do it past her six-week period, it's better to not take that chance...and six weeks is simply not enough time to understand every nuance.

* AdultFear:
** When the Mitakihara media and law enforcement start linking disappearances, deaths, and mysterious suicides into a larger and larger pattern, parents start to panic. Multiple parents pull their kids from the school most girls seem to have disappeared from.
** Explored with Isshin's reactions to his daughters being tricked into selling their souls [[spoiler:and twisted or killed]], which spreads to horror for all magical girls.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: This is how Yoruichi, Benihime, and Urahara react to Homura's actions under CombatPragmatist. Justified because, being MadeOfIron, [[spoiler:Urahara]] is more embarrassed than actually harmed.

* CombatPragmatist: Homura is this in spades when cornered. [[spoiler: When Urahara grabs her as she initiates a TimeStop and figures out her secret power, she pulls dirty tricks trying to get away. She deliberately allows her arm to be caught by Urahara's free hand by taking a swing at him, specifically so he wouldn't have a hand to block the taser she concealed in her hand. When the taser doesn't work, she uses a moment of distraction to kick and dislocate his knee. When that doesn't work, she goes for a groin shot.]]

** To a lesser, but no less devastating extant, [[spoiler: is the truth that Homura will likely have to travel back in time in the second timeline, because there are simply too many factors for [[RealityEnsues Urahara to fully study and understand within only 6 weeks.]]]]

* RealityEnsues:
** A sudden swath of disappearances ''will'' get the police's attention, as happens in Timeline X + N...and thanks to the evidence left behind, quickly forms connections to even more disappearances, with the news just building up more and more overtime.
** Just because Homura ''has'' more resources to work with it, it does not mean her problems have been solved. Far from it. Urahara still needs to learn how the Magical Girl system works, the Incubator's plans include [[spoiler:making a Hogyoku, thus requiring more research]], and Homura herself is in completely new territory, which adds new variables that she does not like. On the flipside however, it also gives her and the other girls a desperately-needed support network as opposed to them being purely on their own in canon, with assured devastating consequences.
** Homura, a teenage girl, having access to guns and bombs, several of which were stolen from the Yakuza and the JSDF, and the knowledge to make them, deeply disturbs Ichigo, Isshin, and Uryu.
** With all of the research needed, Urahara admits that Homura is going to have keep on turning back time again. Without it being known if she can still do it past her six-week period, it's better to not take that chance...and six weeks is simply not enough time to understand every nuance.

** Chapter 59, [[spoiler: Kisuke reveals to Hitsugaya that while it is likely that Madoka could survive past Homura's turnback point in the current timeline, if Homura wants her to be saved, then they need to be able to eliminate the Incubator for good. Hence, why Homura needs to continue going back in time, [[RealityEnsues six weeks is nowhere near long enough to gather the information to devise the means of doing so.]]]]

* LooseLips: Karin really shouldn't have told Kyubey [[spoiler:why a megalomaniacal shinigami would want to conquer Karakura]]. But Ichigo really shouldn't have told her about that in the first place.

** Homura and Urahara. Both of them are highly strategic individuals and effectively the co-leaders for the resistance against the incubator. Both have a penchant for lying to others and playing their cards close to the chest. They are also both significantly less morally scrupulous than their allies or the ones they are trying to protect, which strains their relationships with them. Urahara however, at least tries to be approachable and sociable by putting on a facade of eccentricity and childishness while Homura is aloof and stoic and is generally far less approachable.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anai_homura_logo_text.png]]

-->''Homura, Hitsugaya, and Urahara's faces were carefully neutral, eyes tactfully averted in a facsimile of respect for her privacy even though they heard every word. Madoka looked like she would cry. [[spoiler:Mrs. Kaname]] looked worried. Mami was too busy crying into [[spoiler:Mrs. Kaname]] to notice anything. [[spoiler:Kyōko's body was too dead to express an opinion.]]

* PapaWolf: Isshin towards Karin and Yuzu of course, but Homura gets added in as well later on.

* {{Fauxshadow}}: It looks like the first timeline will end with [[spoiler:the forewarned shinigami lieutenants and Kazumi's magical girl team fighting Walpurgisnacht in Mitakihara.]]. So it's a surprise when [[spoiler:Walpurgisnacht drops on an unprepared Karakura instead.]]

** InvisibleToNormals is something of a staple in both series, but it is more pronounced in Mitikihara because the residents, unlike those of Karakura Town, do not have as much reiatsu. In addition, while the locals of Mitikihara are not completely aware of Witches and Magical Girls, enough sightings have been reported to not be just written off as coincidence, and suspicions about something more sinister have become more apparent in the townsfolk.

** The Incubator and Aizen. Though Aizen has yet to make and appearance in the story, many characters have drawn parallels between their methods and goals. Neither of them have any qualms about who gets hurt as they work to achieve their goals and they are both detached from other people. Aizen however, is known for being a ConsummateLiar whereas the Incubator -- while far from honest -- avoids telling an outright untruth.

** Junko Kaname averts this trope as well. Despite having no spiritual powers her knowledge of social maneuvering from her work in a corporation allows her to keep pace with Urahara's schemes and she is able to easily manage all the mentally damaged magical girls. Indeed, Homura is kicking herself for never approaching the woman in a earlier timeline.

** Junko Kaname averts this trope as well. Despite having no spiritual powers her knowledge of social maneuvering from her work in a corporation allows her to keep pace with Urahara's schemes and is able to easily manage all the mentally damaged magical girls. Indeed, Homura is kicking herself for never approaching the woman in a earlier timeline.

** To a lesser, but no less devastating extant, [[spoiler: is the truth that Homura will likely have to travel back in time in the second timeline, because there are simply too many factors for [[RealityEnsues "Urahara to fully study and understand within only 6 weeks."]]]]

* OutdatedByCanon: At the time Nagisa Momoe was introduced into the story, her backstory had been mostly undefined, with only a basic unattributed story, about a girl who had wished for a cheesecake instead of her dying mother's recovery, being latched onto because of fan theories. While the ''[[VideoGame/MagiaRecordPuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSideStory Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story]]'' later confirmed this story to be her's and delved deeper into Nagisa's backstory, that story contradicted the one presented here in many ways. For example, it showed that in canon, [[spoiler:her father abandoned her, that Nagisa did initially come up with the idea to wish for her mother to be cured, only later wishing for a cheesecake in order to spite her abusive mother, who ultimately died to a serial killer magical girl.]] This is in stark contrast to the fic, which presents both her parents to be loving individuals, and shows Nagisa's wish as a tragically shortsighted attempt to cheer up her mother.