Confringentur, Mk.2; a Madoka Magica / Fate/Stay Night crossover

[SVS]

You feel a cold breeze blowing through the skeleton of the buildings around you, feeling the harshness of cold air force its way into your lungs, and your eyes shoot open. You can see the sun, just barely poking its rays above the cover of grey clouds passing over your head. You can see the sun. It's the first of May, two-thousand-eleven, and for the first time in all your many lives you can see the sun rising on this morning. You've won.

So, why are you still alive? You felt the last flames of your Soul Gem burn out as you loosed the arrow which felled Walpurgisnacht, so why are you alive, right now, and not drowning in despair as a witch stronger than the one you gave your life to vanquish?

"You're lucky you still had that Grief Fruit lying around. Otherwise, you'd have been a goner." You know that voice. Feeling strength return to you, you sit upright, turning your head to the side to see Archer crouched just off to your left, draining the corruption from your Soul Gem with the massive Grief Fruit of Elsa Maria at his feet. He smiles for you, saying "Looks like you won. I'm so proud of you."

Your voice returns to you next, and though your throat is sore you manage to choke out a single word. "Archer..."

Silently, Archer nods as you speak to him. "It's unfortunate, but I don't think I'll be sticking around for very long." As your father speaks, you notice that his body isn't entirely solid; much like the other servants of your team, he's vanishing. "I'm going to have to take a rain check on the whole 'family' thing we were both hoping for." You knew that would be the case the moment you saw him vanish the previous time; but seeing him here now, you had hoped that maybe...

A sound escapes Archer's mouth, but whether it's a single laugh, or a single sob, you don't think you could say. For all you know, it could be both. "What's with that?" you ask. "This is hardly the time to be laughing."

"Sorry," Archer says, leaning in close, pulling you in for a hug with his big, strong arms. "I know now's not the time to be laughing, but I guess I couldn't help myself." What? "That face you made just now, reminded me of a face Rin made at me, once. She and I were being forced to part ways after a difficult battle, too; and I guess the similarities must have gotten to me."

You nestle yourself into Archer's fatherly embrace, saying to him "Make another pact with me. You can do that, right? That way... That way you won't have to leave me like this."

"You know, it's funny, but Rin asked me the same thing, too, back then." Archer breaks from his embrace of you, and his eyes meet yours. "Sorry, but I can't. As much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid that just isn't in the cards for me. Using Excalibur is... Fatal, for me, is the easiest way to put it. There's nothing you could have done to save me at that point."

"Then why'd you do it?"

"Because we needed to put damage on Walpurgisnacht, and that was the best I could do to pave the way for you and the others to win."

"But... What will happen to you now?" You ask your father that question, but in your heart you're afraid you already know the answer. "What will happen to our family? To Minako, to Kirika, to me? We'll all miss you, but you'll be..." He'll just be forced to go back to the unending cycle of violence that broke him once before.

"I'll be right here," Archer says, tapping a finger to his heart. "Even when you can't see me, I'll always be right here, as long as you remember me." In the cold breeze blowing through the ruined city, Archer's hair is tossed about, making him look like the boy from your dreams. "I always was a bit hopeless when it came to romance, so please make sure to apolgise to Minako for me. Kirika too. I know she'll be upset at me for making her mom cry."

"Archer..." you say, as you force back your tears. "Yeah, I know. I'll be sure they get the message."

Archer smiles, pulling you into one last embrace as his body fades away. "I'll see you again, Homura; I promise you. So, just be patient for a little while." You arms fall through the place where your father had once been, catching on your chest. You hold yourself, because Archer isn't there to hold you anymore, and your tears are finally free to fall.

You don't know for how long you stay like that, crouched over, crying to yourself in the heart of a ruined city, before your allies find the strength to approach you. "Akemi-san..." Tomoe-san's voice is soft, hesitating, and she places a hand on your shoulder. You hear the sound of rubble shifting, and your eyes are drawn towards the ocean of black under which the part of the city where the school and Tomoe-san's apartment once were. You spot the top of a massive Grief Seed, easily the size of a two-story building, just before it sinks under the surface of the black-stained water. "We did it, Akemi-san; we won."

The entire southern edge of the city is in ruins, and as you crane your head over the ruins you can see that much of the city is partially underwater, especially the parts closest to the river banks. You can't imagine the economic damage that's been done to the city; to say nothing of the human toll that Walpurgisnacht's passing has taken. You've won; but what did that victory cost you?

Your shield lays discarded on the ground, and you go to pick it up. As your fingers wrap around the edge, carefully, so as not to accidentally reset time, it falls apart in your grasp. The intricate pieces of clockwork making up the time manipulators fall to the ground, leaving only a bare disc of metal in your hand. This is the last timeline. You don't want to leave it among the rubble, fearful that the wrong person might pick it up and discover what hides inside, so you take it with you, forcing it to disappear along with the rest of your battle costume as you and your allies change back into your regular clothes.

Not a moment too soon.

Your phone vibrates in your pocket; it's Madoka. Without wasting a moment, you answer. "Homura-chan?"

"I'm here, Madoka," you say, breathing deeply as your greatest fears are dashed against the white cliffs of hope. Walpurgisnacht is defeated, and Madoka is safe. You fall on your knees, silently thanking every deity you can think of for keeping Madoka safe. You're finally free. "I'm here."

"Are you okay? You sound like you're crying."

"I am," you reply, reaching up to wipe away the tears dotting the corners of your eyes. "I... I'm just glad to know that you're alright."

"Mhm, me too. I just got cell reception back a little while ago, and I wanted to make sure you were alright. Mama say the storm's passed now, and I just heard somebody say the shelter notice had been lifted."

"I'll be right there," you say, making for the direction of the shelter without even thinking the command for your legs to move. "I... I know I said it last night, but... I love you, Madoka. I'm so glad you're a part of my life."

You don't know if your teammates are following you to the shelter, or if they're going off their own separate ways. It doesn't matter. Right now, there's only one thing on your mind. Your every thought is a blur, and your eyes barely register your surroundings as you walk, each step bringing you closer to the goal you've finally achieved after countless lifetimes.

"I'm over here, Homura-chan!"

You put your phone away as your vision is blinded by the radiant light that is Kaname Madoka. Her smile as the rising sun is caught by her figure is the brightest thing you've ever seen, brighter even than the brilliant rainbow your love for her allowed you to unleash. Wordlessly, you race towards her, and the two of you meet in a warm embrace. "I did it, Madoka," you say to her, as you stare into her sparkling pink eyes. "I won."

"I know, Homura-chan," Madoka says. It's all either of you can say to each other, here in this moment where words no longer matter. You and Madoka will have a lifetime together to share your words; for now, you're content just to share this moment with her. You lean in, and your lips meet hers.

A single kiss never tasted so sweet.
​

Day 47 Complete​

 

[SVS]

"So, when do you think the repairs will be done to your apartment, Homura-chan?"

For the time being, Madoka and her family were residing in Shirome, occupying the apartment of one of her mother's co-workers who was overseas managing an important case for the foreseeable future. For Kaname Junko, it was as much house-sitting as it was a temporary residence until their spacious two-story home could be rebuilt. Homura, meanwhile, was temporarily residing with the Kures in their apartment, which is where she and Madoka were currently situated. "You're lucky, you know? Sayaka-chan and HItomi-chan have to find new homes, but yours just needs to be dried and patched up a bit."

It was a peaceful Sunday afternoon, and the Kure living room had taken on a fourth flat-mate along with Homura, with whom she and Madoka were currently playing. "I don't know," Homura responded to Madoka's question. "September, maybe, at the earliest? There's a lot of other places in worse shape than my apartment. What about the hospital, or any of the schools that need to be rebuilt?" Amy pounced out of Homura's lap, scampering up her climbing post, before jumping down and settling down in Madoka's lap. "What about the roads? Those need to be cleared up enough so that construction crews can actually make it into the hardest-hit areas."

Madoka nodded her head, stroking her hand through Amy's soft fur. Content with her lot in life, Amy let out a soft "Mew" which caused Madoka to smile. "I'm really glad Amy managed to stay safe through all this," she said. "But... Is Archer... I mean, is he really..."

"He said I'd see him again, but he never said how long that would take," Homura replied. "That's so typical of him."

Well, it was Sunday, so it was only a matter of time before the peace of the Kure living room was interrupted. The door handle jiggled, and Amy crawled out of Madoka's lap to greet the new arrivals as the door opened. "We're back," Kure Minako said, as she and Kirika returned. "I hope you two had fun while we were gone."

As Kirika took her shoes off at the door, she gave Amy a few scratches behind the ears, saying to Madoka and Homura "And I hope you two weren't doing anything mom and I wouldn't approve of while we were gone." A smirk and several suggestive motions of her eyebrow accentuated Kirika's words.

Homura's face turned red, but Madoka must not have caught the insinuation. "We were just talking and playing with Amy," she said. As mother and daughter Kure filed into the apartment, Madoka stood, saying "I should probably get going," as she checked the time on her phone. "Papa said he'd be starting dinner around this time, so if I leave now I'll probably make it in time for dinner."

Homura stood, walking Madoka to the door, and the two shared a goodbye kiss. "I'll see you soon, Homura-chan."

"Right. See you soon, Madoka." The door closed behind Madoka, and she was off, making for Shirome where her family and dinner would be waiting.

It goes without saying that Walpurgisnacht's passing over Mitakihara had changed just about every single facet of life for the residents of the city. Tens of thousands, especially those from the southern part of the city, had been uprooted from their homes, either because their homes had been flooded, or because their homes simply weren't there anymore. Here, along the city's norther border with Shirome, things looked much better; damage from flooding was minimal, and only the few buildings missing chunks from their roofs served as indicators that what had happened the previous Sunday hadn't been just a tropical storm. Officials had chalked it up to gas explosions caused when a collapsing building had damaged a gas line, but Madoka wasn't interested in stuff like that.

"They're comparing the storm damage to the tsunami from the 1933 Sanriku earthquake." Those were the first words Madoka heard as she closed behind her the door to the Kaname family's temporary residence, and they were coming from her mother. Kaname Junko closed her laptop, slumping over at the kitchen table as she moaned "Oh, man, I don't even want to think about how long it'll be before things go back to normal."

Silently, Madoka made her way over to her mother, hugging her. "You have fun with Homura?" she asked, as her daughter's warmth forced a smile onto her face. "How's she doing, anyway? I, uh... I heard they still haven't found Archer. She doing alright?"

"Homura-chan's doing good. She's still hopeful that they'll find him." That was a lie, but there was no way Madoka could explain the truth to her mother.

"So am I, kiddo. I just hope they find him soon. It'd... It'd just be awful if Homura had to lose her dad for a second time." Madoka nodded, making a soft "Mhm" sound in response to her mother's concerns. "Now, go get washed up before dinner. I'm sure you and Homura were playing with Amy a lot while you were over there, and you know your father's allergic."

"I know, mama," Madoka said. "That's why I have to go see Homura-chan if I ever want to play with a kitty."

Madoka did as her mother instructed, making for the bathroom to change out of the clothes Amy had been crawling over, showering, and putting on something clean. The temporary Kaname apartment was situated in a ritzy highrise, and the window in Madoka's room was wide, affording her a view over a large swath of the western Shirome cityscape. She could see the school from her window, which had taken on a large portion of Mitakihara's temporarily displaced student body; and she could see the setting sun dipping below the horizon, bathing the city with its gold and orange hues.

Madoka took a seat at her bedside table, reaching for the notebook where she kept her drawings, flipping the pages until she came to her current piece. It was unfinished, depicting Homura and the other girls in Madoka's interpretation of what their battle costumes looked like. Madoka reached for her pencil, scratching a few lines onto the blank upper half of the page. From the dreams which linked her to the previous Madokas, she knew what Walpurgisnacht looked like, and her pencil marks traced the outline of the upside-down doll figure.

The buzzing of her phone caused Madoka to set her pencil down. Picking up the phone, her ear was assaulted by a familiar voice complaining "Man, I can't believe we have to go back to school already! I thought for sure they'd give us longer!"

"Sayaka-chan, we aren't going back to school for another week," Madoka replied. "Just be glad there were schools in the prefecture willing to take us all in."

"Yeah, but I mean... Ugh, why'd they have to separate us like this? You and Homura get to go to school together, but then me and Hitomi have to go to some other stupid school all the way over in Chigasaki! It's not fair! How come we can't all go to the same school like we always have?"

"I feel even worse for Tomoe-san. She's got to go to Kawasaki all by herself. At least the rest of us get to go to school with people we know."

There's a noticeable drop in Sayaka's voice as she says "Yeah... I hadn't even thought of it like that. I guess that does suck for her, doesn't it?"

Sayaka couldn't see it, but Madoka was nodding her head in sympathy for their once-senpai. "Oh! That reminds me!" she asked, her voice picking up. "What about Kyouko-chan? Your mom said she was going to try getting Kyouko-chan enrolled in school again, right? How'd that work out?"

"Kyouko's going to be joining me and Hitomi at Chigasaki. I know she'd rather not be going at all, but both my mom and Mami-san said that she'd have to start going to school if she wanted to stay with either of us."

"That's good, right? That means you and Kyouko-chan will get to see each other more often."

"Yeah, I guess... I mean, I'm glad she wanted to stay with my mom and me, but I... I guess at the same time I feel really bad for Mami-san, you know, 'cause she's all by herself in a totally strange city." Sayaka let loose a frustrated growl, and Madoka could easily imagine her friend tearing her hair out on the other end of the line. "I just wish we could all go to school together! ... And maybe if they'd give us more than just two weeks off before making us go back. Man, this has got to be the worst excuse for a spring break ever!"

"I know, Sayaka-chan; I know. Hopefully, they'll have a new school built and we'll all be able to go back to school together next year."

"Man, I hope..." There was a pause on the other end as Sayaka went silent, returning to say "I've got to go. Mom's making dinner, and I'd better get going if I want to get there before Kyouko eats it all."

That got a laugh out of Madoka. "Alright. I'll talk to you soon, Sayaka-chan," she said, as the two ended their conversation. Putting her phone away, Madoka stared out at the sun setting over Shirome as she thought about all the changes to her life that Walpurgisnacht had thrust upon her. But she'd get through them, without wishing to return things to normal. 'Homura-chan has been through enough because of me already,' she thought to herself as she made her way to the kitchen for dinner.

That black shadow on the wall wouldn't get the better of her ever again.​

 

[SVS]

It was Monday, the sixteenth of May; the first day back to school after the disaster that struck Mitakihara on the first of the month. Officials called it a violent typhoon, comparing the damage from the storm surge to that of the tsunami from the 1933 Sanriku earthquake; but Hitomi knew better.

School in Mitakihara had been suspended for two weeks, until the local and provincial governments could sort out where to send the displaced students in the wake of their schools no longer existing. Standing before the mirror in what was, at least until a proper, permanent residence could be re-established, her room, Hitomi preened in her new school uniform, a pale blue-green top with a dark blue pleated skirt, topped with a bright red bow at the neck, and was reminescent in shape if not in colour of the tan uniform she had worn at Mitakihara. Chigasaki had been the nearest city to where her parents had relocated that was willing to accommodate the large number of displaced Mitakihara students, so for the foreseeable future the local junior high school would be where Hitomi attended.

An alarm bell sounded on Hitomi's phone, calling her away from her preening. "That time already?" she said, putting the phone away in the pocket of her uniform. "I suppose I'd better get going if I don't want to miss the train."

Carefully, Hitomi gathered her school things and assembled them in her school bag. Her hand stopped as it hovered over the open notebook sitting on her bedside table, its open pages scribbled black with all manner of notes on magecraft and Mystic Code theory. "Maybe I should take this with me too, just in case something strikes me." Nodding in agreement with her own thought, Hitomi closed the notebook, placing it into her bag along with her school books and other supplies. "Ah, almost forgot!" she exclaimed, shooting her hand out to grab a pair of unassuming steel rings also sitting on the table, sliding them onto the pointer and middle fingers of her right hand. "Wouldn't want to leave home without them."

Mystic Codes for atmospheric oxygen manipulation probably wouldn't be of much help to her during the school day; but clearly, one never knew when disaster might strike and the need might arise. The events of the past two months had taught Hitomi that lesson well.

"Mother, father, I'm leaving for school now!"

Hitomi's goodbye call as she passed through the kitchen on her way to the door was met with an approving nod from her father, and a "Have fun, sweetie," from her mother. "Remember to stay safe."

"Remember to stay safe."

Twenty minutes later, those words hadn't left Hitomi's mind as she sat in alone in silence, the only sound coming from the rattle of the empty train car in which she sat. Mitakihara had become a much more dangerous place ever since Akemi-san brought the existence of magic with her. "No, that's not right," she muttered to herself. "I shouldn't blame Akemi-san for things that aren't hers to control. I know she didn't mean for any of this to happen." Hitomi shook her head, and so shook those thoughts from her mind. She checked the time on her phone; there was still plenty of time before the train arrived at the stop nearest the school. "I suppose a little brainstorming session wouldn't hurt," she said, reaching into her school bag for a pencil and a certain notebook.

The train lurched to a stop, and the doors slid open as two familiar voices bickered back and forth. "Ah, Sayaka-san, Sakura-san, good morning," Hitomi said as her friends took seats across the car from her. "You two certainly sound rather lively; are you excited about school?"

"Wha fer?" Kyouko asked, batting her legs back and forth in her seat. "School's a load'a crap anyway. "

"You're just saying that 'cause you're scared you won't fit in on account of how much you've missed," Sayaka said. "It won't be so bad; you'll have me and Hitomi there to keep you company; and, uh..." Sayaka blushed, scratching at the back of her head as she added "You look kind of cute wearing that uniform. The blue-green really goes good with your hair."

Kyouko met Sayaka's blush with one of her own, sheepishly muttering "Ya think?"

"Have I ever lied to you before?"

"Yeah; when ya said I'd enjoy going back ta school with ya."

Sayaka playfully shoved Kyouko, exclaiming "Come on! How can you say that when you haven't even been there yet?"

"When'd you get so defensive about school, anyway?" Kyouko shot back. "Weren't ya whining ta Pinkie just a few weeks ago how ya didn't wanna go back?"

Hitomi coughed into her hand before things between Sayaka and Kyouko had a chance to escalate further. "Come now, there's no need to fight. You wouldn't want your new schoolmates to think you're both ruffians, would you?"

"Fer yer information, Seaweed, I am a ruffian, and proud of it." Kyouko tugged at the red bow around her uniform's collar, loosening it. "In case ya fergot, I was living on my own fer three years before Mami picked me up and let me crash with her... Fer as long as that lasted, anyway..."

Kyouko sighed, slumping forward in her seat, and Sayaka draped an arm over her girlfriend's shoulder, pulling her in close. "You wish you could have stayed with Mami-san, don't you?" Sayaka asked. "Listen, I know the place my mom and I are crashing in isn't that big compared to Mami-san's old place, but-"

"It ain't like that!!" Kyouko shouted, only pulling back when the volume of her own voice hit her. "Sorry. It ain't like that at all. It's... When Mami's place got hit, the picture of Momo I kept on top of my fridge went with it... That was the only thing left of her I had."

"Sorry," Sayaka said. "I guess I hadn't thought about that..." Blue and Red stared at each other, neither saying anything until a brilliant idea struck Sayaka. "Hey! Would it make you feel better if your super-cute girlfriend took you out for dinner after school?"

"Make me feel better about losing the only reminder of my little sister I had left? Nah." For a moment, Sayaka appeared defeated, until Kyouko slipped under her guard and planted a kiss on her cheek. "But I'll still take ya up on that, as long as yer paying."

Hitomi had to keep her laughter to herself. Sakura Kyouko was hardly an adequate replacement for the absences of Madoka-san and Akemi-san, but her interactions with Sayaka-san were cute in their own way. "I suppose I don't mind this."

"Huh? Ya say something Seaweed?"

"Oh." Hitomi held a hand to her mouth to muffle her surprise. "My apologies, Sakura-san. I hadn't realised I'd said that out loud."

Kyouko nodded, ignoring her earlier train of thought in place of craning her neck in the direction of Hitomi's notebook. "What'cha working on, huh?"

"Oh, just trying to solve a problem that's been rattling around in my brain for awhile now."

"Like what?"

"I'm trying to figure out if there's anything I can come up with that would expedite Mitakihara's recovery process," Hitomi replied, showing the page with her current progress to Kyouko. "My Element is Wind, and since water is made up of two gasses, hydrogen and oxygen, I thought there might be a way I could use some elemental magecraft to either control the water to displace itself, or to speed up the evaporation process."

Kyouko stared at the page, scowling, and saying "Looks like it's mostly chemistry. When me and the girls would practice our runes, our notes looked way different from that gibberish yer working on."

"Your runes are magic, Sakura-san, while what I'm working on is magecraft. Magic is, but magecraft is more like a science. Since a lot of my current work has to do with applications relating to elemental gasses, I'm not surprised that it looks like chemistry to you."

"And, this science stuff is yer idea of fun?"

Hitomi smiled, setting her notebook back into her school bag as the signboard indicated that their station would be next. "Yes. Studying magecraft and figuring out ways I can apply my knowledge is rather engaging."

"You do you, I guess. My head's spinning just looking at that hot mess, forget about having ta do that fer hours every day." Kyouko shook her head, and in the process her flowing crimson locks brushed up against Sayaka's nose, causing her to sneeze just as the train came to a halt at their stop. As the trio of girls exited, they found themselves sucked into a throng of Chigasaki students, all heading in the same direction as the trio.

While Sayaka and Kyouko chatted to themselves, Hitomi's eyes wandered over the sea of students wearing the local uniform. The dark blue skirt of the girls uniform was replaced by dark blue pants for the boys, and the top was similarly dark blue to match. Her eyes lingered on the sea for a second too long, prompting a "Hey, Seaweed, I asked if ya saw any hot guys while ya were staring."

"Come on, Kyouko, don't be rude. You know Hitomi's dating Kyousuke."

"I don't see him here ta say anything."

Hitomi didn't respond; she didn't have to, because the boy who had caught her eye was staring back. He was coming closer. "Hey, I haven't seen you three around here," he said. "Are you girls the transfers from Mitakihara?"

"Yes," Hitomi said. "I'm Shizuki Hitomi, and these are my friends, Miki Sayaka and Sakura Kyouko."

The boy ran a hand through his short, shaggy black hair, saying "I'm just glad it didn't hit the entire southern Kanagawa seaboard, even if it is still a shame what happened to Mitakihara. I hope you'll at least enjoy yourselves as long as you're in Chigasaki." A pair of boys on bicycles slowed down as they approached, waving to the boy. "Ah! I'd better get going!" Quickly bowing, he spat out a hurried "Uh, my name's Aoba; I'm a second-year. If you need anything, don't hesitate to find me!" before racing off to catch up to the cycling duo.

As soon as the boy was out of earshot, Kyouko snickered, saying "Looks like Seaweed's got herself a new boyfriend, huh?"

"I do not!" Hitomi said. "I'm sure he's a nice boy, but we've barely said two whole sentences to each other! Besides, I'm already dating Kamijou-kun. It would be terribly uncouth of me to dump him for a boy I've just barely met."

But Sakura-san was right; Kamijou-kun wasn't here right now. Even before the disaster their conflicting schedules had made finding time to see one another difficult, but now it seemed downright impossible. He wasn't available physically, and often it seemed like he wasn't available emotionally, either. 'Aoba,' Hitomi thought to herself. 'I'll have to remember him.'​

 

[SVS]

The first of June fell on a Wednesday, meaning Minako had to get up early in order to make it to her morning shift at the convenience store. It was situated far enough to the north and far enough away from the river that it had avoided being hit by any major flood damage; for which Minako was very grateful, what with the entirety of Downtown Mitakihara, the office building where she worked her day shift included, being completely underwater. The pay wasn't much, hardly anything at that, but with a little pinching and some help from the money left to her by Archer it was enough to get by.

As she had done every working morning since the storm, Minako grabbed a copy of the morning paper from its place on a wire rack by the counter as she clocked herself out, paying for it with a- "You look like shit." Her co-worker's words snapped Minako out of the autopilot she had been running on, and she blinked as they handed her change back to her. "When was the last time you got a good night's sleep, anyway?"

Minako shook her head, saying "Not since the storm."

"Ain't that the truth. I don't think anyone in the city's had a good night's sleep since then." Minako said nothing, and her autopilot kicked back in as she headed out the door. "Hey, I'll see you Friday."

Minako's mind might not have been firing on all cylinders at the moment, but she barely needed that much to make the journey from the convenience store back to her apartment. She would, however, need significantly more brainpower than that to deal with- "Minako, are you-"

"Leave me alone, Hiroshi!" Minako snapped, causing the shorter man to recoil. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now, so just leave me the hell alone, okay?"

"... Sorry," Hiroshi mumbled. "I just wanted to know if you were doing okay. You... You seemed really happy with Archer, so I was just hoping that his disappearance hasn't gotten to you too badly."

"Oh." Was that genuine concern she heard in Hiroshi's voice? Was he not just being a creepy weirdo right now? "Sorry for snapping at you, then," she said, slumping over as she retrieved her apartment key from her pocket. "It's been... Well, I'm managing. I guess, thank you, for being concerned." He was still creepy, though, but apparently he had the capacity to be more than just creepy.

"You know, crews are still digging up bodies down by the southern end. He'd be pretty hard to miss if they did find him. I know it doesn't seem like much, but if they haven't put his name out there yet it could mean he's still alive..."

"Yeah..." Minako didn't have anything else to say to her downstairs neighbor as she closed the door behind her. She wouldn't have even bothered taking her shoes off if muscle memory weren't as strong as it were, and tossing the newspaper down onto the kitchen table, she set about tearing the fridge apart for something to eat. She'd put on a bit of weight since the storm, but that was fine. Archer would still love her for who she was, right?

'Oh, who am I kidding?' she thought, stopping herself midway into making her early lunch. She settled down at the table, tearing through the newspaper for the section she wanted. Her eyes scanned through the listed names of everyone who had been identified recently; still nothing. She saw no mention of anybody named 'Archer' nor of an 'unidentified, tanned Japanese male.' Over a thousand dead identified so far, with almost twice that many still missing or unidentified, with more and more being identified every day. 'And the one missing person I care about still hasn't been found...'

Minako slumped over in her chair, doing all she could to hold back the pain. "it's not fair... Just when I'd finally found a guy who made me happy... Made Kirika happy... He's got to go and get himself killed in some stupid typhoon!" She had been holding her tears in for a month, but she couldn't hold them in any longer. "Is this what I get for thinking I could ever deserve to be happy again? A stupid, worthless fuckup like me?"

Completely forgetting about the lunch that was currently simmering on the stove, Minako reached into the fridge for a beer.

---

"... Mom, we're ba- Mom!" Kirika's voice snapped Minako awake. So did the smell of something burning. Minako stood, but before she could will herself to move any faster, Kirika was in the kitchen, dealing with the bubbling mess that had once been lunch. "Mom, what the hell happened?"

Minako stared at her daughter, and her daughter's adopted sister who was standing off to the side with a concerned look on her face. "I must have forgotten about it," she said with an empty voice. "Besides, shouldn't you two still be in school?"

"School ended almost an hour ago."

"Oh." Minako stared at Homura, her brain taking a few moments to process what the girl had just said. Her head turned to the clock on the wall, then back to Homura, and then to Kirika, who was still dealing with cleaning up the disaster of the forgotten lunch. "I must have forgotten about it."

Kirika sighed, shaking her head as she asked her mother "Just how many beers did you have before forgetting about something like a lunch that was still cooking?"

"Just one." A sour look from Kirika met Minako, and her daughter tapped her foot on the floor as both she and Minako stared at the half-dozen empty cans littering the kitchen table. "... I guess I forgot about those ones too."

Kirika shook her head, sighing as she and Homura helped Minako back down into her seat. "Mom... You're not well, mom," Kirika said. "I know you're still shaken up about Archer, but you've got to get a hold of yourself. You can't keep doing stuff like this. What if me and Homura come home one day and you've burned the whole place down?" Kirika wrapped her arms around her mother, and Homura followed suite soon after. "I know it's been tough for you. It's been tough for all of us. We miss dad too."

"I know how crushing it is to lose someone you love, and I know how difficult it is to get past it on your own," Homura added. "We're all going through this together, so you shouldn't feel like you need to keep how you feel bottled up around us." Inwardly, Minako cursed at herself for having been so selfish. This was the second time Homura had lost her father; the second time for Kirika as well, when she thought about it. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but I know he'll turn up eventually. But until he does, we're both here for you whenever you need us."

Neither Minako, nor the two girls hugging her, had realised the other was crying until all of them broke from their group hug. Minako wiped the tears from her eyes, saying "You girls... When did you get so grown up, Kirika? When did you start taking care of me?"

"Oriko told me to be more independent when I'm not around her," Kirika said. "I think... I think she knew you'd need me looking out for you."

"And I just want to repay you for your generosity," Homura added. "You didn't have to take me in, but I'm very grateful that you did, mom..." Homura stopped as that word left her mouth. "Uh, I mean, if it's okay for me to call you 'mom,' that is."

"How could I not take you in?" Minako asked, shifting her attention from Kirika to Homura. "You're Archer's precious little girl; I'd just be spitting on his memory if I left you out to dry." Minako pulled Homura in for another hug, cooing to her "Of course you can call me 'mom,' sweetie. Heaven's sake, how'd Kirika adopt you before I could?" Minako and Homura broke away, and the two sisters took up seats across the table from Minako. She sighed, saying to both of them "I... I know I haven't been taking this well, and I'm sorry if that's come down negatively on either of you. I know you're both dealing with this just as much as I am."

Minako tried to force a smile for her girls, and she asked them "Now, how about I make us all something to eat for dinner; how does that sound? This time, I promise I won't let it burn."​

 

[SVS]

The tiny blue Fiat rattled and bounced down the hilly road as it traveled the Tuscan countryside. Its driver kept her eyes on the road with an unenthused expression on her face, but the passenger gazed out at the scenery with a constant smile as her eyes drank in the sight of the foreign land.

"Thank you for agreeing to take me with you, Caren-san," Oriko said. "If there's anything I can do to repay you for your generosity when we return to Japan, please don't hesitate to let me know."

"You can start by not bothering me while I'm driving," Caren replied. "Now, where the hell was the turn? I always miss it..." Taking her eyes off the road for a brief moment, not long enough to get lost, Caren glanced over to her cousin. "Though, I suppose if you felt you had to indulge me, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you'd make some of your vegetarian curry agai- Ah, there it is!"

Oriko braced herself as the car took a sharp right, turning off the main road and onto an a dusty side path. The rolling hills gave way to rows and rows of grapevines, and off in the distance she could see the outline of a villa sitting on a little hill overlooking the fields. "There it is," Caren said, as Oriko's eyes followed her pointing hand. "The ancestral Ortensia homestead. Get a good look now, kid, because it only gets worse up close."

Despite Caren's claims, when the car pulled into the gravel driveway Oriko found that the villa was even more beautiful up close. Sure, some of the paint on the west-facing side might have seen better days, but the three-story brick villa was still the impressive sight to behold, something Oriko knew she'd never see anything like back in Japan. While she hung back and admired the view, Caren approached the door, knocking thrice on the wooden front door.

Voices could be heard inside the villa, and only a few moments after Caren had announced their arrival, the door opened. "Ah, Caren, good to see you! How was the trip?"

Oriko froze at the sight of the woman who had answered the door for Caren, who was now forcing on her an overly-affectionate hug. "Long and uneventful," Caren replied; the two women were speaking Italian, as to be expected, but Oriko could follow along with their conversation flawlessly. She probably wouldn't be standing here right now if she couldn't. Caren motioned to Oriko, saying to the other woman "I hope you don't mind, but there's this stowaway who followed me here."

That would be her cue. Clearing her throat, Oriko approached the front door, bowing for the woman who looked so much like her mother before saying "It's so good to finally meet you, Aunt Maria."

"Ah, Oriko!" Before the words had finished leaving her mouth, Oriko was trapped in the embrace of the older woman, kisses planted on both cheeks in rapid succession. "I can't believe it's only been two months since you first rang us! It feels like we've been waiting an eternity to meet you!" the woman said. "You really do look just like your grandmother. Please, come in, make yourself at home."

Crossing the threshold into the villa was like plunging into deep water, an overwhelming sensation that penetrates down to your core. Oriko smiled, drinking in the sensation of a place that was at once strange and unfamiliar, and yet infinitely more comforting and welcoming than the mansion back home in Japan. Oriko took her shoes off at the door, with Caren following suit as she entered behind her, and made her way into the kitchen behind Maria. "Who else is home right now, if you don't mind me asking?"

"The whole family's here, though I don't know where they've all ran off to." Maria cleared her throat, before calling out "Antonio! Bring Mom and the kids! We've got company!"

At once, several pairs of feet could be heard racing down the stairs. A man with dark hair and a strong chin entered, bringing with him two small boys who nipped at his heels. "Caren, good to have you. Six weeks, as usual?" Caren nodded, and the man's eyes wandered. "Ah, you must be Oriko," he said, embracing her and repeating the same gesture of greeting as his wife. "So good to have you here in our humble little home."

"It's so wonderful to be here, Uncle Antonio. When she was alive, my grandmother would always tell me stories about her childhood, so to finally be here with everyone is..." Oriko smiled, and her words failed her as she drank in a warmth she had long been missing. "I can't find the words to describe how good it feels."

As Oriko and Antonio broke from their embrace and he rose to his full height, he nodded his head to each of the children that had arrived with him. "Mario, Luigi, this is your cousin Oriko. She's come to stay with us for a few weeks while her school is on summer break, so be sure to make her feel welcome." Both boys - they didn't look any older than six or eight - were hesitant to approach. "Don't be shy. You've spoken with her on the telephone before, remember?"

"Why's she got a funny name, daddy?" asked the shorter of the two boys.

"Remember how your auntie Caren lives in Japan? Well, Oriko was born there, so she's got a Japanese name." Antonio smiled, nudging the two boys closer as he added "She's the granddaughter of your grandmother's sister, so even if she's got a funny name she's still family."

That must have done it. Needing little prompting afterwards, the two boys approached Oriko, each one vying to be recognised first as they both wrapped their arms around her at the same time. "If you're from Japan, how come you speak Italian so well?" the taller of the two boys asked. "Do they speak Italian in Japan too?"

Oriko shook her head, saying "I've been teaching myself Italian for many years. But it's a very different language from Japanese, so it hasn't been easy."

"What's Japanese sound like?"

Oriko cleared her throat, and said "Hello. My name is Oriko, and I'm very pleased to meet you both." The boys stared, slack-jawed. "I said my name is Oriko, and that I'm very pleased to meet you both," she said, returning to Italian for the benefit of her younger cousins.

"Wow..."

"You know, I really thought Kirika would be visiting with you," Maria said as her two sons finally removed themselves from Oriko's person. "You made it sound like she really wanted to go with you, too. What happened?"

"Well, the typhoon I told you about that hit the prefecture two months ago may have claimed the life of her mother's boyfriend," Oriko said, her words being met with somber faces from the non-Caren adults in the room. It was the closest thing to the truth she could reasonably tell the older woman. "His name hasn't appeared on any of the lists of deceased or missing persons yet, but so far there's been no sign of him, and her mother's been taking it quite poorly. I know Kirika wanted to come with me, but she chose to stay home to take care of her mother instead."

Maria nodded. "Your girlfriend's got her head in the right place."

"I wouldn't have her any other way."

A fourth pair of feet could be heard making their way towards the kitchen. They moved slowly, deliberately, and at times it sounded like there was a third footfall echoing with the other two. An elderly woman leaning against a cane rounded the corner, and as she and Oriko met their eyes widened in unison. The once ash-white of her hair may have faded to dull grey, but her golden eyes had lost none of their youthful sparkle; and as the two stood there, staring at each other, it was for Oriko as if the rest of the world had vanished.

The old woman let her cane fall to the floor, and as fast as her aged legs could carry her she had raced forward to meet Oriko. "Lord, thank you for giving life to this wonderful child!" she proclaimed as she embraced Oriko, tears streaming down her face. "I thought I'd never get to see my sister again when she left home, but you've delivered her granddaughter right into my home!" Still tearful, the old woman launched a flurry of kisses against Oriko's defenseless cheeks. "Oriko, you wonderful gift from God, words aren't enough to express my gratitude that you're alive and here with us on this blessed day."

"I wish there were more I could say," Oriko said as she helped her grandmother's sister into a chair at the kitchen table. "You're all such warm and wonderful people; I wish I could have met you all sooner."

"The Lord work in mysterious ways, child. If He meant for us to meet now, then it must have been for a reason." Looking to her own granddaughter, the old woman said "Caren, I can't thank you enough for finding Oriko and bringing her to us."

"She was so insistent on meeting you all," Caren said, allowing just the slightest hint of something other than cold detachment to show through in her voice. "You can consider this my one good deed for the year, Grandma Sophia."

"You've reunited me with my sister's flesh and given this wonderful girl the opportunity to finally meet her family," Sophia said, as Maria collected her discarded cane and brought it to her. "Thank you. I'll consider it your greatest deed for the rest of my life."

"Now, I imagine you two must be hungry after your trip," Maria said to Oriko and Caren, as the both of them took seats at the table across from the Ortensia matriarch. "We had lunch a little after church got out; that was about two hours ago, but we've got fresh bread, and I can make you both a nice salad to go with that if you'd like."

"Thank you," Oriko said; Caren said nothing, giving only a noncommittal shrug to her aunt. "Something to eat sounds wonderful, but you needn't trouble yourself on my account."

"Nonsense! You're family, and you've come all this way to visit us. The least we can do is make sure you're well fed while you're with us." Without wasting a moment to hear any protest, Maria set herself to work cobbling together lunch for her guests. "Besides, there's still plenty more I'm sure we'd all love to talk with you about, and over a meal is the perfect place for that." In no time at all, Maria had assembled lunch, bread and salads for both. Addressing Oriko, Maria asked "Now, speaking of food, you're a vegetarian, correct?" Oriko nodded. "Right. I had some ideas for what I could make us all for dinner, but if you'd like to lend some input I'd be more than happy to accommodate to you."

Oriko smiled. From her own experiments in the kitchen, she had just the thing. "Well, now that you mention it, I do have a few things I was wondering if you've ever tried before..."​

 

[SVS]

Tuesday, September sixth. One-hundred twenty-eight days since you defeated Walpurgisnacht. One-hundred twenty-eight days since you saved Madoka. One-hundred twenty-eight days since you freed yourself from the prison of your endless repetition. One-hundred twenty-eight days since you lost your father.

"I'll see you again, Homura; I promise you. So, just be patient for a little while."

You can still hear his voice, can still see him fading away even as he encourages you to be patient. But four months later, and you have yet to see even the slightest hint that Archer has come back; not to you, not to Kirika, not to Minako. If he were waiting for the right moment before returning, then why hasn't that right moment come around at any point in the past one-hundred twenty-eight days?

You received a phone call yesterday afternoon from the people you had hired to look at your apartment; the water damage has been fixed, and some of the furniture has been replaced. All that's left to do is decide whether you want to move back in, or whether you'll remain with the Kures and rent the building out for a little extra income.

The train ride down from Shirome to the station nearest your apartment is one you familiarised yourself with greatly in the weeks leading up to Walpurgisnacht. It's late; there's a meet coming up on the first Sunday in October, so archery practice went for longer than usual today - and the Shirome archery club already practices for longer than Mitakihara's archery club did - and with winter creeping ever closer the sun has mostly dipped beyond the horizon by the time you reach your apartment. You fumble for your keys, your fingers eventually finding them inside the pocket of your uniform, and you enter, taking your shoes off and leaving them and your school bag at the door.

Your eyes trace the contours of the main hallway. The familiar walls in which you lived for so many lifetimes now feel strange and unfamiliar. You touch your hand to the wall; it feels cool to the touch. With your hand touching the cool wall, you follow along the path as you inspect each of the rooms in the downstairs apartment. The kitchen and living room look exactly as you remember them; the only thing they're missing is the warmth of a family. The room where your parents once resided is barren now, their portraits too soaked to salvage and their little shrine unable to fit in the limited space afforded to the Kure apartment.

Your final stop on your inspection is the room you once called your own. It's empty now; not a single piece of furniture or scrap of proof that you had once been here remains. This was your room, once; your prison, the place you kept to yourself for as long as Fate had trapped you in a cycle from which you thought you could never escape. Now, it's nothing more than a memory, an empty room with no reason to call it your own any longer.

Seeing the empty room you had once called your own, your mind is made up. You can't stay here. Without Archer - without a family - this apartment couldn't ever hope to feel like a home. As the realisation dawns on you, your body slumps down into an empty corner, and all you can do is hold yourself tight as you cry.

A thunderous crash coming from the living room breaks you from your sobbing, and your whole body goes on high alert. Did the repair crews miss a water-logged stabilising beam in the ceiling? is your first thought, but you dash that. Then, is it a burglar? If it is a burglar, they've got another thing coming if they think they can steal from you. Expecting a confrontation, you don your battle outfit and draw your bow, but the sight that greets you as you enter the living room is anything but.

"Sorry about the couch," Archer says, dusting himself off as he stands among the wreckage of what had previously been a brand new couch and ceiling. "I'll get that fixed up for you right away." You stare, jaw slackened, as Archer sets about repairing the damage he caused, all the while muttering to himself "Why is it always the couch?" with his muttering punctuated by the occasional frustrated shake of his head. His work complete, Archer turns to you, saying "I'm glad to see you've been keeping up with your practice while I was away, but do you think you could put the bow down? I'd prefer if our reunion didn't begin with me getting shot."

You can't find the words you want to say, and the dispelling of your battle costume happens more by instinct than anything you consciously will to happen. "Be honest," Archer says, approaching you with a serious expression on his face. "How long have I been gone?"

Finally, your words find their voice, and you say "... Four months."

It all happens so fast; Archer has his arms around you, and all he can say is "I'm sorry," as your tears resume. "I can't imagine the grief I've caused you all." You don't know how long the two of you stay like this, Archer comforting you as four months' worth of every emotion you've been missing in his absence come flooding out through your eyes. But when it ends, and Archer has dried your tears, he says "I'm really back this time. I won't disappear on you ever again."

"I'm glad, but..." But something is bothering you about Archer's return. Based on what he's told you he, as a Counter Guardian, is only sent down to deal with problems when they become too great a threat to the World; so... "What are you doing back? Does this... Does you being back mean there's something just as bad as Walpurgisnacht on the horizon?"

"Defeating Walpurgisnacht was never my mission, per se. Originally, the problem I was sent to deal with was a bit more... Let's call it complex; and while defeating Walpurgisnacht goes a very long way to nipping the problem in the bud, I realised while I was away that it hadn't dealt with the matter as completely as my... Employer might have believed." For as much as it sounds like he's trying to dance around the subject, to you it sounds as though there is something else to be worried about beyond the horizon of a better tomorrow. But that's fine. Madoka is safe, and you can meet whatever tomorrow throws at you, with your allies and your father by your side. "So I simply told my employer that I had unfinished business, and that I wanted to be sent back to keep on top of things and make sure the problem never came to that."

Archer's answer is like a riddle; but that's typical of him. "I suppose the fact that you returning meant you'd be reunited with your daughter and finally able to start a family with the woman you love are just happy coincidences, is that right?"

"Well, I'd be lying if I said that wasn't my primary motivator in coming back. The rest was just the excuse I needed to actually get the go-ahead to come back. The World is a very work-oriented consciousness, you see."

Even when Archer is giving you the answer you asked for, there's always another layer to whatever he has to say. That's so like him. But that's okay, because "I'm just glad you're back."

"Yeah," Archer says. For all the crying you've done, now it's Archer's turn for his eyes to mist. "I'm back, Homura."

You can finally have a family again. "Welcome home, Archer." You've finally won.
​

~End~​

 

[SVS]

I know I said 17 December for the sequel, but 17 November has always been an important day for this quest, and there was no need to postpone opening things up if I was all ready to go. So, to mark the third time 17 November has been important to this quest, I present the sequel.