Renascence: A Homura Quest

[][Madoka] Ask if Madoka will help you study some.
-[] If both explode from blushing from the idea of practicing CPR, instead suggest tracking down a mysterious gardener that Homura had heard of the other day. Just need the deerstalker hat...
[][Next] Study medicine
-[][Next] Standard First Aid, CPR, and AED. 5th Ed. Jeff Rendall. [Amateur | Medical]
[][Next] Alternatively, dust off your detective skills and try to find the rose gardener Matoko

You consider it, then shake your head, "Nothing jumps to mind. I'll let you know if something comes up I need you to look into, though." She looks a bit down at your words, eager to be helpful and afraid of being useless, and you quickly jump in to offer her something--not a long term objective to pursue, like she'd hoped for, but an immediate task to assist you on. "I could use some help with some studies, though--I'm hoping to fix my heart this loop, and I've been reading up on medicine."

You dig through your bag, looking for a book to study from as you go on, "I've got a book right here. I think it should be--" You pull it out, and stare at the title, blushing slightly. Madoka steps around to look, "Standard First Aid, CPR, and AED?" Your face burns as the blush deepens. It's not that you've never kissed her--there were loops where you tried that kind of relationship, hoping to convince her to put you ahead of the city, to run away from Walpurgisnacht with you (not that it ever worked). She's the center of your world, even now, and those were good days, but you were never quite comfortable with it.

It was a strange experience. You don't know if it was all the years, or the trauma, or maybe some side effect of your poor health, but it hadn't been what you'd expected. Not a grand romance, or the kind of love you'd read about. Love, certainly, and far more than love for a friend, but not the kind of thing you'd expected to feel, being a 14 year old girl. Maybe, if you ever get out of this loop, and your body finally ages, that will change. You don't know.

No matter what had happened before, though, this kind of stuff was always embarrassing. What if she thought you were just using this as an excuse? Would she be angry?

Your worries are cut off by a stifled laugh, presumably at your expression, "Wehi--um, don't worry, Homura, I know CPR already. It's nothing to feel awkward about." Your blush apparently deepens as your embarrassment rises, because she giggles, "Maybe not today, then? Do you have anything else in mind?"

You heave a sigh of relief at the offered out. You really don't want to deal with that issue right this moment; you already know most of the book's contents anyway--the only thing to gain would be practical experience, at this point.

You change course to something less stressful, "I heard about a rose garden on my first day in this loop, owned by someone named Matoko. It may not be anything, but there's a Rose Garden Witch that appears in almost every loop. I would like to look into that, in case she's one of the Arcana."

Madoka purses her lips, raising a finger to them, "Hmm...Matoko...the name doesn't ring a bell, but I'd bet we can find her if we ask around about rose gardens. Where did you hear the name?"

"The ice cream parlor. I don't know if we can pick up the lead there, though."


She nods, staring off in contemplation, "If it was a big deal at all, it may be listed online as part of a competition or something." She begins typing furiously at her laptop, and you step around to watch as she searches through a number of local sites you're not familiar with--starting with a number of gardening-oriented businesses, where she seems to be looking for advertisements for contests and customer reviews, probably trying to find anything mentioning a "Matoko."

"Alright, I haven't seen her name mentioned here, but there is a rose garden contest--it actually mentions the Mikuni family here. Are you sure she isn't the Rose Garden Witch?"

You shake your head, "No, that Witch appears no matter what happens to Oriko. They're not one and the same."

"I'm glad. It would be sad, if Mikuni-san Witched in so many timelines. She seems like a really good person, from what you said."

You're really not sure you agree with that, so you merely shrug.

"I think we should contact If her family is also part of the contest, she might know Matoko."

"Do we have to? You have names, right?"

She raises her finger to the screen, pointing at a long list of names, "There's a Matoko family listed here. It does not list their address or tell us anything more about the families, and Matoko's a common name. Only someone involved in the event would know if there's a potential magical girl in one of the families..."

"...and Oriko's involved. Alright, I'll contact her."

'Yes, Akagi Matoko is of the correct age and disposition to become a Magical Girl. I have texted you her address.'

You groan, and only send a begrudging response after a few moments of silence, 'Thank you.'

You pull out your phone and find Akagi Matoko's name and address listed on it, "She had the address. Let's go." You make sure to include Madoka, to let her know she's more than just a researcher for you, and that you want her along.

She smiles brightly, closing her laptop quickly, "Alright, let's go then! Where's the address?"

You show her, and she nods, "Alright, that's a bit far away. Dad can drive us, if you want?"

You consider it--a car ride would be quicker, but Tomohisa might get in the way.
It will be easier to roof hop.

"I've got a better idea." You answer, smiling slyly.

Madoka, already packing her notes and laptop into her bag, looks up at you with wide eyes.

Minutes later, you're jumping from roof to roof with Madoka in your arms, the pinkette clinging tightly onto you, blushing the whole way.

It's suitable payback for laughing about the CPR, you think.

"Umm...take a left here!" She orders adorably, and you quickly obey, trusting her to navigate using her phone.

"It should be just...ahead..." She trails off, wide-eyed as she looks down from the building you landed on and into what remains of a rose garden. The bushes are torn up, and you can still see fallen rose petals scattered here and there, trodden over and dirty.

There's a middle-aged man sitting on one of the garden's benches, staring numbly at all the ruined garden.

In particular, his gaze is focused upon the monument in the center.

"Oh no..." Madoka says, voice trembling slightly. Below, the man stands, sighing heavily, and head back inside.

You sigh, looking down at the gravestone. The girl might not actually be dead--Magical Girls "go missing" often enough--but it doesn't look good. If she is one of the Arcana, you need to find out everything you can.

You just need to figure out how to go about it.


[ ] Talk to her family.
-[ ] Write-In approach.
[ ] Investigate the garden.
-[ ] Write-In approach.
[ ] Write-In