You've probably heard this particular phrase before, I know I've been hearing it for years to the point where it's become a major part of my writing.
Ideas happen a lot, I have pages full of story ideas sitting on my computer that never got off the ground. Some die in the planning phase, most never reach a thousand words, those that do still never tend to see the light of day.
There are no bad ideas, but once you execute an idea? Well, the result can be very bad indeed.
This particular idea was inspired by a slew of PMMM fics and quest's that I've read over the last couple of years. Outside of that, it also takes inspiration from a rwby fic by the name of Linked in Life and Love.
Great fic in my opinion, I'd recommend reading it to almost any RWBY fan despite the idea that it's based on. Careful before getting into it though, its a long one and only growing more so over time.
Those of you familiar with that fic may already have a rough idea of what's in store here, or maybe you read the tags and made a few logical leaps. Either way, the idea behind the fic, if I had to sum it up in one sentence is this:
Note: This is a spoiler, one revealed fairly early in the plot but a spoiler all the same, read at your own risk.
PMMM fix fic with polly soul bonds.
The PMMM universe is dark, with plenty of bad ends, pyrrhic victories and dead children.
"So." The idea goes. "Let's make a timeline where light, hope and love can finally triumph."
That this idea came to me did not surprise me, but that I've reached the point that I've decided to post it?
That's a shock, and if I'm being honest? Rather terrifying, I didn't think this one would get anywhere near this far but, well here we are. There's a part of me that's a bit upset that out of all the idea's I've had this is the one that's reached this state, but for the most part I'm just glad to be getting something out there.
Enough preamble, Before I close this note up here's a very basic ground rule:
The character depicted in this fic are their cannon ages, this means affection is limited to tame kisses, hugs and yes, handholding, standard wholesome teenage crush stuff. This is both to abide by the rules of the site and because I have no interest in lewds, only fun character interactions through a romantic lens.
I shouldn't need to state this, but I will just in case and to make things 100% clear. I have no intention of drawing the mods ire either from my own work or thread comment shenanigans, please, keep it clean. If it's not rated T, then keep it away from these teens.
Okay, anything else…
Oh yeah, homophobia warning, this fic contains the depiction of character(s) who express homophobic views and character(s) with internalised homophobia. Just a heads up for anyone with bad experiences with that kind of terrible behaviour.
Thanks to anyone who's read through the whole note, I hope you enjoy the fic!
A city besieged by broken souls, a sea of darkness deep enough to swallow the earth.
Two lights, flicker in the storm.
One fights the darkness, while the other can only watch.
A truth is spoken, more painful than a thousand lies.
The darkness surges, the first light falters, the second sputters.
Silence, an apology, a well of despair growing ever deeper.
Potential, luminous hope given form surges.
Enough potential to envelope the stars themselves.
Tears fall.
Gears turn.
She embraces the broken-.
Sand falls.
The world turns.
The heavens fall upon the earth.
Hitomi Shizuki was, to her eternal embarrassment, not a morning person.
She had spent years cultivating her reputation as a refined young lady, projecting an image of poise and grace which would be of great importance for her future prospects.
Whenever she wanted to Hitomi could push aside disgruntlement, bury disgust, and dismiss discomfort within seconds. The ability to slip in and out of her refined state was one she had practised greatly; it was a point of considerable pride for her, though that pride was tarnished by one thing.
Mornings, inconsiderate stupidly bright mornings. The process of shifting from deep sleep to complete wakefulness addled her mind in a way that no amount of practice had yet overcome.
It was undoubtedly this particular weakness that prevented Hitomi from realising that something was off. As it was only a good half hour after waking up that she realised her situation.
Awareness came in small fragmented pieces. First came the knowledge that she was awake and should be getting up, a slippery, unpleasant, and most of all unwelcome form of awareness. Hitomi tried to fight it, but her discipline eventually won over her instincts and clamped down firmly on that slippery awareness.
Her mind then leveraged the first fragment into more pieces of knowledge, though her eyes were firmly closed Hitomi's other four senses worked just fine. Her sense of touch especially was nagging her that something was wrong.
It took a few crucial minutes for her slowly engaging brain to puzzle out that her body felt heavier in places like there was something pressing down on her limbs. The texture of the bed also felt wrong, the mattress slightly less soft, the blanket sewn from cheaper material.
Her mind mulled over this information, before finally putting two and two together. This wasn't her bed.
The haze of sleepiness became tinted with confusion, who's bed was it then?
This new line of thought was interrupted by a feeling. For a moment Hitomi thought she'd accidentally opened her eyes in panic, but the new sensations were coming from elsewhere, most striking of all was the fact that these feelings weren't new, they were familiar, deeply familiar.
Hitomi could feel them, two sensations, physically close yet intimately distinct from each other.
The first feeling was Madoka. A pink haze of energyhopesoul that smelledtastedsounded like a warm supportive embrace, a kind smile and a quiet core of resolve all rolled into a single sensation.
The second sensation was Sayaka. A blue cloud of energyhopesoul that smelledtastedsounded like a friendly pat on the shoulder, an easy grin and an orchestra of eager helpfulness.
Hitomi's rapidly awakening brain quickly pointed out that she shouldn't be able to hear a kind smile, nor taste an orchestra. How did she even know what 'helpfulness' sounded like when played by an orchestra?
No, strange though it may feel she somehow knew. Because it was all Sayaka. A soundsmellsighttastefeeling that Hitomi simply knew, like she knew how to breathe or walk, she similarly knew that Sayaka was Sayaka, and Madoka was Madoka. Two people who she held dear to her heart, her closest friends.
Finally, Hitomi opened her eyes.
A patchwork ceiling of white and pink greeted her. It wasn't her own bedroom ceiling but it wasn't an unfamiliar ceiling either, this was unmistakably Madoka's bedroom, which meant she must currently be lying in Madoka's bed.
This wasn't an entirely unusual affair she'd had sleepovers with her closest friends before, even slept in this very room. Hitomi could even vaguely recall an impromptu sleepover starting last night, though her drowsy brain was little help in dragging up specific details.
Truly the only unusual thing so far was that Hitomi was sleeping on the bed instead of the floor, she and Sayaka always took a spare mattress, so why in the world did she wake up in Madoka's bed instead of a temporary one?
And if she's in the bed… then where were Sayaka and Madoka sleeping?
Once again Hitomi's mind worked to put the facts together, pushing aside the morning sleep haze with a sudden sense of unease and urgency, as if drawing the full conclusion faster would somehow change the answer to Hitomi's question. Though as the clues came together, a small part of her felt like it already knew the what she would find.
The extra weight on her limbs, waking up in Madoka's bed after a sleepover, the instinctive knowledge that her friends were nearby even if she didn't fully understand how…
For the first time since opening her eye's Hitomi looked down from the ceiling.
The early morning rays streaming through the window provided more than enough illumination to answer Hitomi's question… and confirm her fears.
Her friends were both in the same bed as her, their arms and legs tangled and intertwined in both hers and each other's. The sleeping hug pile was surprisingly comfortable despite this, and both girls looked to be peaceful snoozing, their steady breathing punctuated by cute snore-
Hitomi's head was pounding, like someone was screaming at her even though the room was almost completely silent. There were no words, just a pressure, a warning, a pain.
A reminder, that this situation was wrong. Spending time with friends was fine, but this level of intimacy was childish, indecent even. If someone were to see them like this it would be a terrible embarrassment, a horrible, disgusting display of-
Of…
Girls' can't love girls!
…
A hand reached up to brush her hair. The unexpected motion lurched Hitomi's thoughts back to reality. Her breathing was too fast, too heavy, her head was spinning, bile rising up her throat, too much, too much, too much…
Breath in, breath out.
Breath in, breath out.
Breath.
Just… breath.
Breath.
Breath.
Eventually, Hitomi managed to both regulate her breathing and keep the feeling of sickness down.
The hand, which she could now identify as Madoka's, was resting comfortably on the top of her head. Not to be outdone Sayaka has also moved during the… incident, somehow, she'd managed to cuddle even closer, resting her head on Hitomi's stomach.
It was… pleasant, in a way that Hitomi couldn't quite put to words. The way Madoka's hand laced itself between her hair, the way Sayaka's head quietly rose and fell in time with Hitomi's breathing, the whole experience was… impossible, indescribable, warm…
Fighting back another wave of hysteria, Hitomi clasped down on the screaming in her head and tried to focus on something else, something useful, like how in the world she'd ended up in this situation.
Yesterday's memories were slowly becoming more and more clear.
Sayaka had been upset? Frustrated? Angry? Something about the hospital, and things got violent… or perhaps heated may be a better term? Madoka was caught in the middle, but middle implied they'd been taking sides…
If Hitomi didn't have a headache before, she certainly did now.
Hitomi had seen her own fair share of terrible mornings, but this one?
This one was shaping up to be a beast unlike any other.
There was no building in all of Mitakihara that made Hitomi feel so truly conflicted when she visited it as the local central hospital. Which like many other buildings in the city, followed the somewhat unimaginative naming scheme of city name plus building type, creating the aptly named Mitakihara hospital.
It was not the concept of hospitals in general that made Hitomi feel so conflicted. A hospital helped care for the sick and injured, drew in highly trained staff and stocked vital medical supplies, all things Hitomi, and most people she would imagine, very much approved of.
No, Hitomi's conflicted thoughts had very little to do with the hospital building itself, and yet everything to do with one of the patients that had taken up residence within its halls.
Kyousuke Kamijo, a handsome young violinist of prodigious skill. Only a few months ago the boy had been making waves throughout the local music scene, his dedication and talent putting performers twice his senior to shame, he'd been hailed as a once in a generation musical genius.
Such talent, so much potential, all cut terribly short.
Misfortune struck, a terrible accident that Kyousuke had been lucky to survive. The close call injured him greatly, leaving his left arms and mangled, and Kyousuke himself confined to the hospital.
After the tragedy, Hitomi took to visiting him regularly, first to offer her support and kind words to a fellow student, then as time passed, she began visiting for another reason. A reason born not of politeness, but infatuation.
Even bed-bound and distraught by his injuries, Kyousuke was as charming as he was beautiful, his presence never felt uncomfortable or awkward whether he was talkative or silent. His passion for music shone brightly, undaunted by physical limitations, and the conviction he spoke with about his craft was mesmerising.
Kyousuke knew the extent of his injuries, knew the odds were against his recovery. But when he spoke about being able to play again, he did so with unshakable faith, he would play again, no other possibility existed.
He spoke, and Hitomi listened.
He spoke, and she believed.
He spoke, and she fell in love.
Thus, her conflict.
Visiting the hospital meant seeing Kyousuke again, whiling away the hours by his bedside, enraptured by his charm and wit. On the other hand, the fact that Hitomi always had to visit the hospital to see him was a harsh reminder that his injury still plagues him, that he was still suffering, torn away from the life of music that he had dedicated himself to.
Then there was the matter of… competition.
Sayaka, her precious friend and companion since childhood, had also fallen head over heels for Kyousuke. She was enamoured with him in a way that mirrored Hitomi's in many ways. It made things… stressful sometimes, and Hitomi often did her best to avoid thinking about how her friend's feelings made her feel in turn.
These thoughts twisted Hitomi's heart as she passed through the hospital corridors, her mind so distracted that she almost missed a singular presence sitting outside Kyousuke's door approached as she approached
Almost, but not quite.
"Hitomi!" Madoka called out, a wide smile dancing across her face. Her friend's greeting was so bright and genuine in its enthusiasm that Hitomi couldn't help but mirror it with a smile of her own.
"How have you been?" She punctuated her question with a hug, embracing Hitomi in the middle of the corridor without restraint or reservation.
For a moment Hitomi's mind stuttered, her eyes flickered around urgently, instinct driving her to search for anyone who might witness this childish display of affection.
Thankfully she and Madoka were alone in the corridor, which was good as Hitomi was already returning the hug, wrapping her arms around her close friend before her mind had even fully processed that it was fine to do so.
She felt herself relax ever so slightly as a familiar warmth filled her.
Hugging a close friend was fine, for a child at least, but it was not how a well mannered and refined young adult such as herself was supposed to act. Hitomi really needed to tell Madoka to stop doing this, to avoid damaging her reputation.
"We saw each other just over an hour ago." HShe half-heartedly complained instead, shelving those thoughts for another time. "I'm quite alright though, thank you for asking."
Her observation was true though since school had only ended slightly over an hour ago. Madoka and Sayaka had left at the end of class, while Hitomi had stayed behind to help their teacher clean up.
"Are you here with Sayaka?" Hitomi asked as the two friends broke their hug.
"Yes, but…" Madoka glanced awkwardly at the door to Kyousuke's hospital room. "She's a bit busy right now."
Hitomi followed her friends gaze, her smile twisting into a confused frown.
Then it clicked.
Her heart burned, something ugly worming its way past her lungs as her chest thumped. But she was better than this… petty jealousy, so she shunted those thoughts down and assumed her usual plain and inoffensive smile.
Madoka watched her closely, obviously waiting for some kind of reaction. When none came she gave a hesitant smile and gestured to the seating nearby.
Hitomi gracefully lowered herself onto the cheap hospital chair, while Madoka plopped herself into the neighboring seat.
"Did you come here directly from school?" Hitomi idly questioned, watching Madoka as she wriggled around slightly in the poorly cushioned chair.
"Nope." Madoka answered cheerfully, twisting and turning as she tried to find just the right position. "We stopped by the music store, Sayaka wanted to get a CD for Kyousuke."
"Hmm…" Hitomi hummed neutrally. "Was it quite expensive?"
"Well, Sayaka wouldn't let me see the price but…" Madoka scratched the back of her head. "I know she's been saving up for it for almost a month now, it really means a lot to her."
"I see…" Hitomi responded, distracted by her own thoughts.
Sayaka could connect with Kyousuke in one way that Hitomi hadn't managed to compete with, through their shared love of music.
On one hand, she was happy that Kyousuke would be getting a gift that he would certainly enjoy.
On the other hand, Hitomi wished that she'd thought of it first.
Her mind began to spiral, emotions running rampant as dark thoughts, suppressed over the last few weeks, came to roost.
A small voice inside of her was screaming that she missed her chance, that her indecisiveness had cost her a valuable chance to grow closer to the boy who stole her heart.
She diligently ignored that part of herself.
Another quieter voice wondered what this meant for her relationship with Sayaka, if the two continued to grow closer. The voice whispered that they would drift apart now, spending less and less time together as Sayaka spent more time with her could-be boyfriend.
She ignored that part of herself too.
But the thoughts kept coming, faster than Hitomi could suppress. Her stomach churned and her heart burned-
Pink strands crossed the edge of Hitomi's vision, drawing her eyes to where Madoka was sitting.
'Sitting' being a loose term to describe what the girl was doing now, as Madoka had at some point flipped upside down and was now lying on the chair with her legs over the back and her hair splayed across the floor. Her concentrated frown was all Hitomi needed to see to realise what had happened.
"Madoka!" She hissed. "We're in the middle of a hospital."
"But…" Madoka trailed off, righting herself to a more acceptable position. "The chair isn't comfy! Hospital chairs should be comfy!"
"Madoka… please not now." Hitomi objected half-heartedly.
"This chair is all wrong!" Her friend continued, a passionate gleam in her eye as she picked up speed. "The colour doesn't match with the room, the back of chair slants too much, and don't get me started on the arms!" She waved her own arms around wildly, gesturing to the entire chair.
"Black doesn't go with purple; the cheap plastic doesn't compliment the material of the seat itself and the whole design is clearly a product of amateur hour!" She announced with a faux puffed-up tone, clearly imitating a stuffy art critic.
Hitomi couldn't help it, throughout Madoka's speech a true smile had spread across her face. Now as she watched her friend ramble about the finer points of seating, she found herself on the verge of bursting into a fit of giggles.
Madoka turned to Hitomi, a kind smile spread across her lips
"Feel any better now?" Shee asked, her eyes soft and caring, her voice restrained from its previous fast pace.
A flush of warmth spread across Hitomi's face, apparently, her friend has seen through her aloof mask and had tried to help.
It made her feel… strange, a warm pulse that Hitomi couldn't place the origin of.
"…Yes. Yes, I think I am." She replied, her voice small yet sincere. "Are you feeling alright yourself Madoka?" She asked, mostly out of ingrained politeness.
Madoka's face twisted slightly, not quite a frown but something… pensive.
"Well…" She answered, her lips quivering slightly. "I've been having these… dreams, lately."
"What kind of dreams?" Hitomi raised a tentative eyebrow, curious as to why Madoka seemed so hesitant.
"Bad ones." Madoka responded, her eyes cast downwards as she thought back to the last few nights.
The corridor grew silent, Hitomi could feel an imperceptible tension descend upon her. The air felt strangely suffocating as if the entire building was holding its breath.
"It starts at the top of a skyscraper." Madoka began, her words picking of speed, picking up anxiety as she continued. "One of the big ones near here, then-"
"-Then I'm falling, but it's not just me. You're there Hitomi, and Sayaka too and- I look around and there's so many-" Her voice cut off with a sharp breath.
"So many?" Hitomi asked, pulling herself closer, letting her friend lean into her as she struggled to recount the nightmare.
"…so many girls." Madoka whispered. "All of them falling, and I don't know who they are, but I feel like I should but- there's just so many of them…."
Hitomi suddenly found herself taken by a childish impulse that she would normally suppress. She wrapped her arm around her close friend and pulled her into a hug, a reassuring embrace that Madoka returned with gusto.
Hitomi could feel her heart thrumming wildly in her ears as she anchored herself to Madoka's presence, and Madoka did the same in turn. Her heart was pounding, beating with something burning for this girl, kind, supportive Madoka who cared so unconditionally that it was almost scary.
She treasured those feeling, buried her worries in them, embracing the girl that-
The moment came crashing down with an explosion of noise.
There was yelling, two very familiar voices raised to a heated pain, raw and intense and hurt.
Something shattered. A harsh crash muffled only slightly by the walls of the hospital, but not so muffled that it couldn't be heard by the two girls sitting on the other side of the impact point.
The moment was broken, the Madoka and Hitomi came apart in an instant, both pushed to action not just by the nature of the sound, but also where it came from.
Kyousuke's hospital room.
Hitomi didn't hesitate, almost lunging for the door as she tried to get inside as quickly as possible. But just as her fingers brushed the handle, the door flew open, revealing Hitomi's missing friend.
Sayaka…
Sayaka was crying.
Her eyes were puffing up, rapidly irritated by the streams and blobs of tears that came forth in choked bursts. Her near-pristine school uniform a flagrant contrast against ger heaving sobs and watery cheeks.
Tear-tainted blue eyes met Hitomi's. Sayaka opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a rough strangled cry that sent another wave of tears down her face.
That feeling was back, the strange one from earlier that formed beneath Hitomi's lungs. This time though, it hurt, burning up through her throat like magma. Each of Sayaka's sobs felt like a stab to the soul, like they were tearing into her chest and ripping out bloody chunks.
The moment stretched on, two seconds of shocked staring felt like an eternity as she could do nothing but stand there.
Then Sayaka moved, brushing past Hitomi with a suddenness that left her with no time to react. She turned the corner and just as quickly as she appeared, Sayaka fled.
Hitomi could barely see Madoka out of the corner of her eye as her pink-haired friend turned to pursue, could barely hear her hurried steps pounding against the hospital floor. Her eyes were stuck, she couldn't pull away from the scene that Sayaka had left behind.
Kyousuke was sat in his hospital bed, broken hand cradled in its cast as usual. his face was twisted with a myriad of emotions that flickered like candles, dying down only to rise up again from one moment to the next.
The glistering light of teardrops framed his eyes, in contrast to the harsh glare that he directed at his arm. He seemed to be ignoring her for the moment, lost in his own thoughts.
Kyousuke's head turned, and she followed his gaze to a spot on the floor.
Fragments of plastic littered the other side of the room, shards of something circular.
The broken remnants of a CD.
The broken remnants of Sayaka's heart.
…
"It would be best if you were to leave now, Miss Shizuki." A stern voice came from behind her.
Hitomi turned to find a nurse, one of the hospital staff, looking down on her with a firm expression of disdain, lips turned into an almost sneer.
"You and your friends have caused quite enough excitement for one day." The nurse reprimanded in a lecturing tone. "Mister Kamijo needs rest."
Hitomi opened her mouth to say something, argumentative or apologetic she didn't know but she needed to say something, to the nurse, to Kyousuke, to Sayaka.
But no words seemed to come, she was stunned silent.
Instead, she simply bowed, then began to walk away.
It was all something of a blur, Hitomi's feet carrying her through the corridors and down the stairs, following a familiar journey that she walked before, but not like this. Never like this.
Never so lost.
Never so confused.
Never so torn apart.
Half an hour later and Hitomi was almost home. Though the walk felt like it had stretched on for a small eternity.
Her head was aching, gut-churning, blood boiling.
Anger, frustration, helplessness. A maelstrom of negative thoughts that hung over her head like a brewing storm.
Five minutes away from home, her phone began to ring.
She answered it without thinking.
"Hello?" Like a switch was flipped Hitomi changed her mannerisms, pushing aside pain in the name of pride, masking raw hurt behind politeness as she prepared for a grueling conversation of some sort that she couldn't stand to face right now.
"Hitomi!" Madoka's worried voice sounded through the phone, sending a wave of relief through her.
She didn't need to put on a mask for Madoka or Sayaka, something she very much appreciated in that moment. "Where are you?" Madoka continued. "I just returned to the hospital, but the staff won't say where you are!"
"I'm almost home." Hitomi replied, to her friends audible relief. "What are you doing back at the hospital?"
"Looking for you." Madoka replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it might have been, but it was hard for Hitomi to tell with how her head was swimming, all she could think was of course Madoka would spend who knows how long searching for someone in person before trying to call them, she probably wanted to hug again…
"I caught up with Sayaka." She continued, her voice notably softening over the phone. "She went home too. I…"
There was a moment of silence, a quiet sort of worrying as Hitomi stopped outside her house. Just as she was about to go inside, Madoka finally spoke up again.
"My parents aren't home tonight." She explained, her words inflicted with a subtle sort of steel that Hitomi so rarely heard from the usually soft and kind-hearted girl. "They're taking Tatsuya to the hospital for a check-up. I think we should all have a sleepover. I-"
Madoka verbally stumbled, mumbling something under her breath that Hitomi couldn't hear before returning to the phone.
"I don't want to be alone tonight." Madoka stated with confidence, though Hitomi could hear the tension underlying her friend's words, it was clearly a false sort of confidence. "Not after what happened earlier. I don't think Sayaka wants to be alone now either, not really and… I want you to be there too Hitomi."
Hitomi paused, confusion welling up through her headache. She could understand why Madoka wanted Sayaka around to comfort, but why did Madoka think she should be there too?
Why!
Why!?
Why…?
…
Why was she crying?
Hitomi could feel damp lines across her face, in a puddle nearby she could make out a redness around her eyes that spoke of at least a few minutes of tears.
How long had she been crying into the phone while Madoka stayed silent?
How far had she walked while hiding her tears even from herself?
Hitomi couldn't answer those questions.
After two minutes, she lifted the phone up to her ear again.
"…What time should I be there?"
Madoka was right.
Hitomi really didn't want to be alone right now, and if she felt like this…
She could only imagine how Sayaka felt at this moment.
AN: Accidently posted an earlier draft of the chapter first. This one should be cleaned up a bit.
I felt that out of all the characters here Hitomi was the one that needed the most establishment.
Madoka and Sayaka have a lot of time dedicated to them in the main series the movies and side material. By comparison Hitomi has much less screen time and characterization, so fleshing out my interpretation of her character has been something of a priority for the first few chapters, hence why I've started in her PoV. I also felt that her perspective on the current events worked better for easing into the story than with Sayaka, who's currently having a break down, and Madoka who has her own baggage going on.
There's a PoV switch at the start of the next chapter over to Sayaka, then Madoka will get some time to shine in chapter 3. There's also going to be a lot of 3rd person PoV going on as the characters get more established and the story finds its feet. This story is planned to be multi PoV, and I hope to be able to do each character justice.
As for Hitomi doing any embracing?
...she's got some things to get over first. But the journeys half the fun right?
Hey, I'm looking forward to it. The way the universe is here, you gotta drag any unmitigated happiness out kicking and screaming. Doesn't make it not worth it.
I am worried about the timeline, though... is the Kiwi going apeshit over a CD before or after Mami dies horribly? I was promised a happy ending.
Hey, I'm looking forward to it. The way the universe is here, you gotta drag any unmitigated happiness out kicking and screaming. Doesn't make it not worth it.
I am worried about the timeline, though... is the Kiwi going apeshit over a CD before or after Mami dies horribly? I was promised a happy ending.
The short answer is timeline variation shenanigans, the long and complete answer involves spoilers but the prologue hints pretty heavily into what happened.
This'll come up in story eventually, but its currently two days before Homura awakens each loop (one day before during the prologue). So Kyouko's still off by herself, the witch of sweets hasn't been born yet, and Mami is still ahead of the game.
The short answer is timeline variation shenanigans, the long and complete answer involves spoilers but the prologue hints pretty heavily into what happened.
This'll come up in story eventually, but its currently two days before Homura awakens each loop (one day before during the prologue). So Kyouko's still off by herself, the witch of sweets hasn't been born yet, and Mami is still ahead of the game.
Which made sense, considering she'd just ran most of the way home.
It wasn't until Madoka caught up with her halfway to her house that Sayaka realised how hard she'd been pushing herself in a reckless sprint away from the hospital.
Away from the rejection.
Away from the mistake.
And that's what it was, her mistake. She'd saved up the money, brought a poisoned gift, thrust it ignorantly upon the object of her affection, she should have known this would happen.
Stupid Sayaka.
Then Madoka tried to comfort her, and she turned her down. Said she was fine even though she obviously wasn't, when no amount of bravado could hide the signs of sobbing.
But Sayaka wanted to be alone, so she pushed Madoka away.
By the time she was finally home, she had no more tears left to give, her eyes worn out by constant drainage.
Now, looking in a mirror and making a token effort to clean up her face, she just felt drained.
Like all the despair had flowed out of her, but nothing had flowed back in to fill the void. She was just empty…
She missed the first phone call, just staring at herself in the mirror. Sayaka had never been a vain person, but there was something about her current look, between the puffed-up eyes, the skewed hair and weary frown that made her feel… tired, like she could close her eyes and fall asleep for a good long while.
The second phone call jostled her from the spiral of weariness, eyes fluttering open as she scrambled for her phone, knocking aside in a burst of clumsy movement that nearly sent both the phone and herself to the floor.
One mumbled curse later and she had her phone in hand.
Caller: Madoka, The Bestiest.
For a moment, Sayaka considered just letting it ring.
Then she quashed that thought, keep one of her best friends waiting? Never.
She hit accept.
The call began with a few seconds of silence, ten seconds to be exact, where Madoka didn't know quite what to say and Sayaka for once had no desire to fill the quiet.
But silence is made to be broken.
"We should have a sleepover." Madoka announced suddenly, apparently deciding that beating around the bush was a bad idea.
Sayaka blinked, then silently mulled over what her friend had said, and the unspoken request that came with it.
"…Didn't I say I wanted to be alone for now?" She asked rhetorically, dancing around the sleepover topic.
"Did you really mean it?" Madoka asked innocently.
Sayaka thought about it…
She didn't know.
"Sayaka, are you there?" Madoka called out, her tone gaining an anxious tremor that made the blue-haired girl's stomach lurch.
"I'll…" She scrambled to answer, words running ahead of her thoughts. "I'll bring the snacks."
…
Huh, guess she was going then.
"That's great!" Madoka cheered, joy underlined with blatant relief. "Can you be here soon?"
Sayaka chuckled despite herself.
"Give me…" She looked for a clock and wow was it that late already? "forty minutes? Yeah, I can give you forty minutes."
"Hmm…" Madoka hummed in a delightfully cheeky manner. "Can I haggle you down to thirty-five minutes?"
"Madoka!" Sayaka gasped, falling into faux anger as she struggled to hold back another burst of giggles. "When did you get so greedy? I'm already giving you the friendship discount, what more could you want?"
"A besty discount?" Madoka struck back, each word more enthused than the last.
"You're really twisting my arm here 'dokes." Sayaka replied, putting on a fake mobster accent. "I can be there in thirty-nine minutes, but not a second before!"
"Oh?" Madoka responded with a similar accent. "Then you better pay some propa respect to da family see? Bring da real good stuff!"
"Sure thing boss!" Sayaka agreed, which must have finally sent Madoka over the edge as the girl burst out laughing, any response drowned out by cheerful giggling.
Sayaka couldn't help it, she joined in with her own laughter after barely a few seconds of exposure to her friend's infectious joy.
"See you *snrk* see you soon!"
"See you in forty minutes, boss."
"It better be thirty-nine!" Madoka corrected, getting the last word in as Sayaka ended the call with a beep.
She stared at the phone for a few seconds, her shoulders slumping as what little energy she'd regained fled left just as quickly as it had found her.
Drained and tired once again, Sayaka set about her new task, rounding up crisps, sweets and whatever assorted snack food they had in store, stuffing them into a spare bag that her family kept hooked near the entranceway.
A few minutes later she left her home, barely spending the time for a quick goodbye to her parents before she made her way down the street.
It wasn't a long walk, but every second felt like a minute, every minute an hour, as the fading sunset began to drift beneath the horizon. Sayaka made her way down familiar streets as the shadows grew longer and the light faded into almost nothing.
Thirty-eight minutes after the phone call, she made it to Madoka's house.
Sayaka barely had time to place two knocks on the door before it swung open, revealing a mop of pink hair framing an impossibly bright smile.
"You're here!" Madoka cheered, pulling Sayaka into a hug that the girl that she returned without reservation.
"I said I would be, didn't I?" Sayaka answered, like she hadn't considered just staying at home until the weekend came to an end, till school forced her to face the world again.
They broke off the hug, only for Madoka to take her hand and lead her through the house. Through the corridors and the kitchen, up the stairs to a place that Sayaka remembered oh so fondly.
It was like they were kids again, two ten-year-olds overflowing with energy and joy and excitement. Two friends just overwhelmingly happy to be spending a night together.
The memories came, bubbly and bright, spilling down from Sayaka's mind and out to her lips, spreading out in a wide smile that felt invincible, unbreakable.
They reached the bedroom, the door open and inviting. The walls and the bed and Hitomi were all so familiar, so comforting and-
Wait.
Who?
Sayaka locked eyes with Hitomi.
Or rather, she tried to.
Hitomi's gaze was latched to the floor, her eyes refusing to rise to meet Sayaka's.
Her face began to burn.
"Oh look!" Madoka called out, pulling two pairs of eyes to her as she plucked a packet of crisps from the bag Sayaka had brought with her. "These look yummy Sayaka, but we could use some drinks for all this salty food, I'll go get some!"
Madoka returned the snack before practically skipping out of the room, turning at the last minute to quickly address her friends.
"Do you think you two could decide on a board game while I'm gone?" She asked, to which Sayaka answered with a nod and a smile, only to catch Hitomi out of the corner of her eye doing the same,
"Great! I'll be back in a minute." Madoka exclaimed as she left, leaving the door open behind her as she went.
Sayaka turned to Hitomi, who was seemed to be particularly focused on a plain patch of Madoka's flooring, suspiciously focused.
"So…" She began. "You're here."
"Yes." Hitomi replied simply, her voice unnaturally steady as she ran her hand through her hair in a bid to draw Sayaka's gaze away.
"And not with Kyousuke." Sayaka pointed out, as she began to slowly approach her friend, eyes burning, almost daring Hitomi to raise her head.
"I- no." This time her voice quivered, a verbal flinch that didn't show on her face. "No, I'd rather be here." Hitomi replied with a fake sort of firmness.
The burning was spreading, through eyes and throat, through heart and lungs.
Sayaka pushed it down with a snarl, her mouth pressed into a twisted expression that was somewhere between a pained grimace and an angry scowl. Oh how she hated this, the poise, the politeness, the masks, mask, masks.
It was all about masks with Hitomi, she hid her true thoughts behind layers of dignity and niceties and in that moment it rankled Sayaka something fierce. How could she do? How could she dare to play pretend at a time like this?
Sayaka hated to see it, hated to see her friend like this.
"Just look at me damn it!" She screamed, her face pushed so close to Hitomi that their noses were almost touching.
Hitomi's eyes snapped up, wide, hazel and swimming with emotions so wild that they made Sayaka's head spin.
For a moment they just stood there, messy blue hair melded with Hitomi's green strands. The two were so close they could hear each other's breathing matched to their own, pounding in their ears like respiratory thunder.
"Is apple juice fine?" Madoka asked as she re-entered the room, eyes focused on the three bottles and three cups tucked beneath her arms instead of her friends. "It's either that, orange juice, or water. We, uh don't have anything else that isn't alcohol." She mumbled the last part to herself.
"Um-" Sayaka pulled away from Hitomi, almost tripping over her own legs as her scrambled brain tried to reboot. "Apple's fine with me."
"I'll- orange juice would be preferable." Hitomi answered as Madoka turned to both of them. The normally composed girl visibly rattled, cheeks flushed as her hands twisted the fabric of her dress.
"Two apples and an orange coming right up!" She discarded the water and quickly set about pouring three drinks, humming a formless yet cheery ditty beneath her breath as she worked.
"So, what did you guys pick?" Madoka asked, incidentally reminding Sayaka of what she was supposed to have been doing. "Oh, Uno's a great choice!"
Confused, Sayaka followed Madoka's line of sight, which landed directly behind her on Hitomi. The still shaken girl had apparently remembered their goal before Sayaka, she'd grabbed the first game that she could get her hands on.
"Ah." Hitomi whispered to herself, before raising her voice to a more audible level "Shall I set out the cards?"
Madoka and Sayaka both nodded, though the latter was much more stilted.
So Madoka poured the drinks, Hitomi organised the cards and Sayaka stood around awkwardly.
Soon they were all sat upon the floor, cards and drinks in hand as they went through the motions, the entire room occupied by the most awkward kind of silence.
"So…" Sayaka finally spoke up, not willing to let her previous line of questioning drop, no matter how awkward it made her feel. "Why aren't you with Kyousuke?"
"That is, well-" Hitomi turned away, another embarrassed blush blooming across her face. "I was kicked out of the hospital."
"Eh!?" Madoka and Sayaka questioned in surprised unison. The former almost dropped her cards as she went to play them, while Sayaka barely stopped her apple juice from spilling out all over her.
"Besides…" Hitomi murmured, so quietly that her two friends had to draw themselves closer to hear her. "I'm not certain it would be good for me to see him right now."
"Wha-what do you mean!?" Sayaka exclaimed, confused and worried and angry in equal measure. "You should be there! With Kyousuke! You- you love him don't you!?"
"I do, I think." Hitomi whispered, her face strained, visibly stressed by the situation, by her own words. "But… he hurt you."
Sayaka's eyes were burning again, swimming in flames of something oh so confusing.
"I… What?" The words felt like ash in her mouth. "He didn't… that was my fault."
"He made you cry." Hitomi stated plainly, her voice louder now, flowing with a kind of confidence, a conviction that had been lacking before. "He broke something precious to you, maybe he had a reason but… I don't want to be with a boy who would hurt my friends."
Sayaka tried to speak, but a burning something in her throat choked her words to nothingness.
"Maybe this will pass." Hitomi continued, voice coated with steel, yet her words still flowed like molten rock. "Perhaps Kyousuke will show himself to be a better person than he was today. But right now? The thought of being anywhere but here makes me sick."
"That's…" Sayaka choked out, the burning sprung forth as sudden wetness, tears coating her cheeks for the second time that day.
"Why!?" She screeched, her heart gripped by heat and pressure. "Why are you here!? When you love him so much! When you make him so happy! When you would-" be better off avoiding me.
A pair of hands grasped Sayaka's, she struggled to see Hitomi's face through the tear but her ears still worked just fine, she could clearly hear every pained word that Hitomi was about to speak.
"Because I want to be here." She explained, no trace of hesitation or doubt in her words. "Because I want to be here right now, with my friends. Because there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be." She repeated, trying to make Sayaka understand.
Green hair was joined with pink as Madoka embrace both of them, abandoning her cards to scoop both her friends into as big of a hug as her arm could manage.
Hitomi responded with a hug of her own, blanketing Sayaka in a duel strike of affection and warmth.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the heart-wrenching sobs began to abate, as she leaned into the hug and let herself go.
"You wanted to do something good." Madoka whispered, her voice small yet still clear within the hug-pile. "You gave him a good gift with good intentions. I- I don't think there's anything wrong with that."
"But… I hurt him." Sayaka rasped out, holding her friends tightly.
"And he hurt you." Madoka replied softly, "And now we're all hurting, and that's… that's okay."
"We're all going to be okay."
…
Warmth.
…
Comfort.
…
Hopelovebelongingsupporttogetherpot-
-Everything is going to be okay.
It was a timeless moment.
There was pain, yet it was soothed, there was tension, yet it was eased.
But above all?
There was love, and it was welcomed with open arms.
Sayaka buried her head in Hitomi's shoulder, letting fabric, friendship and warmth absorb her tears.
Hitomi leant to the side slightly, letting Madoka's hair tickle her nose as their cheeks brushed with gentle ease.
Madoka moved just slightly, nesting her head so her chin rested just next to Sayaka's neck.
It was a cramped, impromptu and ultimately messy hug.
But…
None of them wanted it to end.
…
Sayaka's leg brushed against something, drawing her to look down. The cards they'd been playing with were scattered across the floor, mixed and jumbled together in complete disarray.
She tried to laugh, but it came out more as a cough, her throat still raw with emotion.
"Look." She mumbled, a slowly widening smile winding across her face "The game looks like how I feel."
Madoka disentangled herself to see, only to immediately burst into giggles almost against her will.
Drawn to the laughter, Hitomi of course had to look as well.
Soon they were all laughing, even though it wasn't very funny.
They barely needed a reason, being together like this was reason enough.
The jostling and merriment quickly forced the trio apart to avoid bashing their heads together. In the end, it only took a few seconds for their giggling to abate, though their smiles refused to fade in turn.
"They probably look as messy as I do as well." Sayaka mentioned in a wistful yet self-deprecating tone.
Her hair looked like she had been caught in a storm, skewed and tangled in a dozen different ways. Her face still carried obvious tear marks, the lines of which cut down from puffed-up eyes and across flushed cheeks.
Hitomi scoffed, while Madoka seemed taken aback, visibly confused by her friend's remarks.
"That doesn't make any sense." Madoka exclaimed, tilting her head as her eyes flicked up and down her friend's deshelled form. "You're really pretty Sayaka!"
"It's true." Hitomi nodded, her plain conviction smashing through any chance Sayaka had to object. "You've always possessed a sort of active beauty, what tarnishes most often serves to enhance yours." She grimaced slightly. "To be honest, I've always been jealous of how unflappable your natural charm is."
"But wha-" Sayaka verbally stumbled over herself, face flushed with embarrassment. "How! You're so much prettier than me, so-" She snapped her fingers, eyes darting about as she tried to describe her thoughts. "Elegant, composed, graceful! Just… you!"
Now it was Hitomi's turn to blush, her fingers twirling verdant strands as she considered her friend's words.
"Are you-" She paused, before pushing forward. "Are you jealous as well Sayaka?"
"Of course!" Sayaka answered, baffled and bemused in equal measure. "How could I not be? You're like a Daimyo's daughter right out of an old storybook! You're the perfect girl! The kind of girl who always gets the happy ending, gets the guy, gets the kiss!"
Hitomi opened her mouth, a strangled sort of half gasp escaping in the place of any words. Her face was reddening to the point that, alongside her green hair she looked like a tomato.
There was quiet for almost a full minute, Sayaka stood waiting for a response, Hitomi floundered, and Madoka seemed to be deep in thought.
"I-" Madoka finally spoke, a nervous smile spreading across her face. "If it's a kiss you want Sayaka… I'd like a kiss too."
The silence was deafening.
For a good three seconds.
"EH!?" Sayaka half squawked, half screamed. "I don- I mean- I wan- Madoka what do you mean!?"
"If you want a kiss." Madoka said, poking her fingers together anxiously. "I'd be happy to kiss you." Her eyes filtered up and down as she answered, clearly worried, but firmly set on her path.
"Why!?" Sayaka sputtered, her arms falling about in disbelief.
"Because…" Madoka's expression turned tender, her smile small yet completely sincere, a beautiful sort of simplicity. "It would make me happy to kiss you, and if that makes you happy too, isn't that the important thing?"
She didn't know what to say.
Really, what could Sayaka say? Her friend since childhood, her one of two besties, just offered to kiss her.
Sincerely, not as a joke or some kind of kissing practice, but because she wanted to, and she thought Sayaka wanted it as well.
Madoka curled in on herself slightly, her smile flickering like a candle caught in a storm.
Hitomi was shocked into silence, unable to do much but gape in disbelief from the sidelines.
"I…" Sayaka's head was spinning, kiss- kissing friend- kissing Madoka- How was she supposed-.
No, too much thinking, just do.
"Yeah…" Sayaka spoke, the words felt heavy in her mouth. "I'd give it a go."
Wow, give it a go? That had to be the least romantic way she could have said that and when did she start thinking about romance here!?
Madoka perked up, her onset nervousness receding slightly at the acceptance.
She approached Sayaka, her gentle steps soft and cautious, as if moving too fast would somehow ruin the moment. Shaking fingers moved slowly, oh so tenderly she wrapped her hand around Sayaka's.
Sayaka returned the gesture, both moving closer until their hand were clasped in a duel embrace, until their heads were so close that their noses were practically touching.
It felt familiar, like she'd been here before just a short time before now, with a burning that spread throughout her body that Sayaka couldn't quite bring herself to understand.
Heat was rising up her cheeks, and Sayaka would have felt more embarrassed if Madoka wasn't also slowly turning into a bright cherry red. The flush matched strangely well with her friend's pink hair, which paired with her trembling lips made for a surprisingly cute-
Sayaka shut down, her face now reaching a truly luminous level of red.
Madoka hesitated, uncertain. She wanted this, and Sayaka wanted this too right? But now she was hesitating, thinking and panicking and not knowing how to take the next step.
In those few tense seconds, Hitomi's jaw snapped open and she finally managed to find her voice.
"I don't!- What are you?- sto-" Hitomi half sputtered, half yelled in a confused ramble of emotion.
Sayaka's brain rebooted, but she only had a moment to dazedly wonder what Hitomi was shouting about as Madoka suddenly lurched forward.
Two pairs of lips brushed lightly against each other, less than a second of paniclovehope before she pulled away.
Absolute, defining, silence
"Huh", Sayaka mused to herself, her thoughts sluggish and dazed. "Was that it?"
For a first kiss with a childhood friend Sayaka had expected… something? Wasn't the first kiss supposed to be something special? World shaking?
Instead, it was just… nice.
It wasn't really comparable to anything Sayaka had felt before, it was new, different, but not to such an extent that it felt like some sort of massive upheaval.
"I'd do that again." The thought came to her surprisingly easily. Kissing Madoka had been nice, she would happily do it again she had the chance.
What… what did that mean?
Did she like Madoka? Romantically?
Did she like girls? Romantically?
Sayaka didn't know, but even through the warm haze, she felt… excited to find out.
Her eye's met Madoka's, pink iris's similarly dazed by the panicked kiss.
And-
Fearworryconfusion
-something-
Hopeacceptenceundersttanding
-flowed-
Excitementjoyletsgoagain
-between.
A single gasp echoed throughout the room, a union of three voices intersecting as one.
I have no idea what you mean? Clearly Sayaka has the innate ability to tell the time using the shadow cast by fashionable clothing!
...Wow I seriously mangled that sentence, clearly need to up my proofreading game *sigh*. Well thanks for noticing it and pointing it out, I really appreciate it.
Damn. Blueberry has issues, even before getting traumatized seven ways to Sunday.
Wonder what Homura will think when she comes to Mitakihara Middle and- bam! Madoka and Sayaka (and Hitomi, if she can embrace teh gay quickly enough) being gay as fuck.
To the few of you who've read this far I wanted to thank you. When I posted this I was worried that no one would read, like or comment on it, but thankfully I was wrong. So here are my thanks to anyone who's managed to make it this far and I hope you continue to enjoy this story.
Right, enough procrastinating. So far I've been posting a chapter every day, using the backlog of writing I built up to do so. When I posted the prologue I was just finishing off the last couple hundred words for chapter 3. Since then I've been working on chapter 4, which is currently on schedule to be released tomorrow barring unforeseen circumstances. Chapter 5 is planned out but also currently unwritten...
The point I'm getting at is I'm not a fast/good enough writer to maintain one chapter a day. So after tomorrow the release speed will both slow down and become unreliable. I felt it was best to state this now rather than waiting to run out of post-able material.
Sorry for the bad news. Still, I remember that I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you get to enjoy reading it.
Madoka loved her friends.
It was why her recent dreams- recent nightmares hurt so much. Seeing her friends so close, falling just within arm's reach, but she just- couldn't-
How many were falling? Why couldn't she remember that?
Why couldn't she-
It was just a dream.
Just a bad dream.
It followed her though, the same dream every night.
Even when she was awake, she felt that dream looming over her.
She watched her two closest friends fall for the same boy, and while she worried about the growing tension between them all she could picture was the dream. The two girls falling further and further away from her.
But this was reality, not a dream.
So when her friends began to fall, Madoka refused, refused to stand by and let them fall again.
She couldn't think of any great plan when Sayaka's heart was shattered, no grand strategy was created when Hitomi burst into tears over the phone. She just… tried to keep them close, tried to stop them from going through it all alone.
And… it worked, or it was working. Sayaka and Hitomi were talking to each other, Hitomi was giving compliments, Sayaka was laughing and Madoka…
Madoka was feeling oh so very warm, surrounded by her closest friends.
There was a part of herself that wasn't very surprised when she offered to kiss Sayaka. She'd started noticing how pretty her two friends were years ago, she didn't know if it was romantic attraction but she imagined things, sometimes.
She daydreamed of learning how to kiss by practising it with Sayaka, or inviting Hitomi over for tea one day only for the girl to offer to feed her cookies by hand…
Oh, who was she kidding? She was head over heels for these girls, she was just never brave enough to admit it to herself... or them.
Now though, she had to be brave, had to find the strength to help her friends.
So when Sayaka admitted that she wanted a kiss, Madoka reached out and hoped that her friend wouldn't let her fall.
Which led them here.
Sayaka look dazed, confused and absentmindedly touching her fingers to her lips.
Madoka's heart ached in her chest, had she messed this up? Had she ruined everything? Was this what she'd been so afraid of, the mistake that pushed her friend away?
"Huh, was that it?"
There was a sound- or maybe a feeling? It was so faint that Madoka could barely feel- hear it? The not-noise felt so close yet an infinite span of distance away…
"I'd do that again."
There it was again! It felt…
It felt like Sayaka.
Confused, yet curious, Madoka's pink eyes met blue.
Then-
I wish-
Something clicked into place.
Confusionimmusmentenjoyment
Madoka knew.
Hopeacceptenceundersttanding
That Sayaka knew.
Excitementjoyletsgoagain
That-
The feeling of Sayaka broke apart, falling just out of reach.
Madoka gasped, barely able to notice her sudden exhale matched twice over. Her head swam as it tried to deal with suddenly knowing something.
She knew, with the same certainty that she knew how to walk or breath. She knew what Sayaka had been feeling for the moment their eyes met.
Knew that she enjoyed the kiss, that she didn't feel disgusted or angry, that she wanted to kiss her again.
Madoka had only a few seconds to process this. When her thoughts were swiftly interrupted by a tugging on her fingers, which were still clasped in Sayaka's hand.
Madoka looked up from her intertwined hands, to see Sayaka leaning in for a kiss.
She didn't really need to think about what she wanted to do next.
Their second kiss lasted longer, not a brush of the lips but a direct infusion of warmth that spread through her skin and sank into her bones, then deeper, beyond blood and flesh into something ever further beyond-
Sayaka and Madoka broke apart, the moment shattered as the two turned to Hitomi in confusion, though Sayaka's smile was slowly descending into a grimace.
"What do you think you doing!?" Hitomi continued, hand clutched to her dressed, teeth grinding and eyes burning as she ranted. "This is- madness, this is- wrong! How could you-"
"How could you!?" Sayaka snapped, punctuating her shout with a pointed finger straight towards Hitomi's chest. "Why do you even mean? Why is this wrong?"
"Because- it's childish!" Hitomi exclaimed, disbelief dripping from her tone. "It's-
"Hitomi?" Madoka asked softly, pink eyes tinged with confusion. "Are you okay?"
She reached out her hand, fingers brushing against Hitomi's as tried to grasp her floundering friend-
Loveworryconsfusion-
Disgustconfusionfearinfa-
"Get away from me!" Hitomi screamed as if burnt by her touch, wrenching her hand away from Madoka. The panicked girl pulled away, only to be halted by the wall behind her.
Madoka could only watch as her friend pressed her back against the wall of her bedroom, breathing franticly and pushing against it like she would phase through solid matter if she just tried hard enough.
"Hitomi stop!" Sayaka yelled, anger undercut with concern as she watched her friends panic retreat.
Furious, confused and beneath all that worried, she made a snap judgment.
She grabbed the jug of water that Madoka had brought through earlier, and with a single panicked heft she emptied a sizable chunk of the jug's contents all over Hitomi's face.
Shocked, and thoroughly drenched, Hitomi's panicked flailing stopped, her frantic breathing normalized as she sputtered through the water that now covered a good portion of her head.
Sayaka took a moment to reflect that, maybe, she wasn't the best at making snap judgments.
"Wha-Sayaka!" Hitomi blurted out, her screech stuck somewhere between acquisitional and shocked. "Were you trying to drown me!?"
"I thought you were having a panic attack!" She defended herself.
"Well I wasn't!"
"Could have fooled me!"
"I-" Hitomi went silent for a moment, eyes downturned in thought as she mentally recounted the last few seconds.
"i- I see what you mean." She murmured. "I apologise for worrying you."
Sayaka's eyes softened for a moment, before they hardened like two burning sapphires.
"But not for what you said?" She spat tersely.
"I don't understand what you mean?" Hitomi replied, tilting her head while a fixed thin line of a neutral smile adorned her face.
"You're not apologising for what you said?" Sayaka repeated, voice boiling with righteous pain. "For calling me and Madoka childish? For saying we were mad?"
"I didn't call you mad." Hitomi objected, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she explained. "I was referring to your actions, they were foolish that is true, but everyone makes mistakes."
"Mistakes!?" Sayaka raged, furious energy coursing through her veins. "Kissing Madoka was not a 'mistake'. And even if it was, it's a mistake I'd happily make again!"
"You cannot be serious." Hitomi scowled, the exasperated frown marring her features. "Madoka, surely you at least can see how ridiculous this is?" She turned to her friend for support, only to find a shocking sight. "…Madoka?"
Madoka had been shaking, her hands gripped her arms in a one-person hug, her lips were trembling, and her eyes were on the verge of being overcome with tears.
She couldn't get it out of her head, that strange knowing had struck again but this time it was the opposite of comforting. She had felt the storm that was Hitomi, the disgust and confusion underlined by a deep seething fear, and further beneath that there was something achingly familiar, but buried oh so deep.
"Hi-Hitomi." Madoka's voice quivered, fragile and wavering as tearful eyes met Hitomi's disquieted visage. "Are you afraid of me?"
"That's- Madoka I'm not afraid of you." Hitomi answered firmly.
"Then what are you afraid of?" Madoka stepped forward, only to halt when Hitomi suddenly flinched.
"I'm- I'm not afraid, I-" Hitomi's jaw locked up as she grabbed large handfuls of her dress, only to pull away damp hands. "I need to get changed." She deflected, before fleeing to the bathroom without waiting for a response, barely stopping to slam the door behind her.
"…Ugh." Sayaka grunted, eyes closed as she pinched her forehead. "How in the world can she say stuff like that? I thought we were friends dammit!" She looked up at Madoka, arching an eyebrow quizzically. "And what do you mean, that she's afraid of you?"
"…We scared her." Madoka whispered. "Or maybe something we did?"
"Well." Sayaka muttered mulishly. "That sounds like her problem."
Sayaka's hand reached out, and Madoka grasped it without hesitation.
Their shoulders bumped together as she leaned on to her-
Warmthtensionstrugglewant-
Angerprotectionconfusionsuppotive-
It came and went again.
"You want to help her?" Sayaka asked, not judgmental but blatantly conflicted with the idea.
"Mhmm." Madoka mumbled in agreement. "I don't want to just leave things like this, Hitomi's a good person, a good friend. She's just-"
"Being stupid?" Sayaka grumbled, letting her eyes close as she leaned slightly so her head was touching Madoka's.
She hesitated, then hummed in tentative agreement.
"I don't know why she's doing this-" She bit her lip. "I mean… I have an idea? But it might be wrong, I don't even know where it came from…" Madoka trailed off into silence.
"Where what came from?" Sayaka prompted, curious as to Madoka's sudden hesitation.
"…Sayaka." Madoka spoke slowly, like she was trying to find the right words. "How did you know I wanted to help Hitomi?"
"Well that's easy, I just-" Sayaka cut herself off, her lips twisting as she wracked her brain. "-I just… knew?" She announced hesitantly, her unoccupied hand raised to scratch her head.
"Hmm…" Madoka mussed, letting herself lean further onto Sayaka as she mulled over what she'd just heard.
The way she'd described it… a feeling of knowing-
The bathroom door came open, Hitomi entering the room once more. She was dressed in her plain cream coloured pyjamas, her face and hair now considerably drier though the latter still bore signs of dampness.
An awkward silence descended upon the room as Hitomi stared at her two friends. Her eyes were locked on the two for a good few seconds before she shook her head and broke eye contact.
"Sayaka." Hitomi began. "Do you truly mean that your-"
"Bi?" Sayaka interrupted, Hitomi responded with a cautious nod. "Well…
She shrugged her shoulders. "Probably."
"Probably?" Hitomi asked drily.
"Well if you'd asked me an hour ago I'd have said probably not." Sayaka replied with a flat look. "But then I kissed my best friend, and found out that I like kissing my best friend so…" She shrugged again. "Probably Bi."
"I- I see." Hitomi murmured, in a way that made it fairly clear that she didn't see at all. "Madoka? What about you?"
"I like girls." Madoka answered simply. "I've never really liked a boy like that so…"
"You've never been attracted to boys?" Hitomi inquired with not a small amount of disbelief, Sayaka's eyes also widened in surprise. "Why did you never mention that?"
"It never really came up." Madoka mused, eyes drifting as she recounted old memories. "No boy's ever asked me out, and the only girls I've liked…" Her cheeks twinge pink. "I didn't think they'd ever like me back." She admitted quietly.
Sayaka hesitated for a moment, before she squeezed her hand in a comforting manner. Meanwhile, Hitomi noted that Madoka had used 'girl's' as in plural. Mentally filing that titbit away for later, she pressed on.
"So how did you know?" Hitomi asked with naked curiosity, taking an almost involuntary step towards Madoka. "That you liked girls, I mean."
"How did you know that you liked Kyousuke?" Madoka questioned in turn, fixing Hitomi with an odd look.
"I…" Hitomi began to answer but hesitated. She had a lot of thoughts about Kyousuke, though after the… incident today it had been hard to separate the good from the bad.
But she had loved him, she remembered that all too clearly. Still loved him in some ways…
"He's… handsome, beautiful." Hitomi finally answered, her voice low and soft, but growing stronger as she continued. "His smile makes my heart flutter, when his eyes meet mine it feels like he's the only thing in the world."
"But it was so much more than that, I-" Hitomi sighed, a weary and longing exhale that seemed to reverberate through her bones. She turned away from her friends as she began to wax poetically. "He always knows what to say to make me feel good about myself, even though he's hurting so much. He's always passionate about his work, the way his eyes light up when he speaks of music is mesmerising…" The verdette gave a wistful, pained smile.
"He's a wonderful boy…" Hitomi trailed off, before abruptly turning back to her two friends. "And he is a boy." She started very clearly to them. "A boy who I fell in love with." She affirmed. "I like boys."
Throughout Hitomi's speech, Sayaka's expressions had faded more and more towards a dower look as her own memories of Kyousuke surfaced. But after that last comment, her expression shifted into a confused frown, slowly she disentwined her fingers from a silent yet pensive Madoka before addressing her friend.
"Uh, yeah. We all know you like boys Hitomi you don't need to repeat it." Sayaka turned to Madoka, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Right Mado-"
Loveconsiderationacceeptance-
Hitomi flinched as something flashed through her again.
Sayaka's head snapped to Hitomi, eyes wide and mouth pulled open in shock.
"Wait really?" Sayaka's face split into a joyous grin, surprise giving way to excitement. Madoka shook her head rapidly, gesturing for her friend to stop but in the joy of the moment, Sayaka failed to notice.
"You're Bi too!" She shouted, practically bounding towards Hitomi like she was buoyed by the very idea of having someone to talk about all her feelings with, someone who would understand. "That's so cool-"
"I DON'T LIKE GIRLS!" Hitomi screeched, furious, flailing, scared. She moved abruptly, trying to put distance between herself and Sayaka, too abruptly as her feet caught on her pyjamas, sending Hitomi hurtling to the ground.
"Shit!" Sayaka lunged forward, her eyes a maelstrom of emotions but she knew one thing for certain. She wouldn't let Hitomi fall.
With a muffled thump, Hitomi's back collided with Sayaka's outstretched hands. For a moment it was like a scene from a movie, the brave knight catching the falling princess at the last possible second.
Unfortunately, Sayaka's arms were ill-prepared to take the weight of an entire person. Unbalanced from her desperate charge, Sayaka had only a second to realise that she may have made a mistake before she toppled.
Both girls fell to the floor, going down right next to each other.
Sayaka recovered first, rolling over in a daze and inadvertently pinning Hitomi beneath her.
"Wha-" Sayaka's words died in her throat as she realised what happened, her face turned scarlet as she stared down at her friend.
Hitomi was frozen too, heart thundering in her ears as she looked up at Sayaka. Blue hair reached down just far enough to tickle her forehead as her mind jammed, stuck on the idea of how familiar this felt.
Hadn't they been here not long ago? Faces so close they were almost kissing, emotion running wild as a flush of warmth surged through her.
"I- I-" Hitomi stuttered, word chocked as she tried to force them out, tried to will them into reality. "I don't- I can't…"
It felt like they were stuck there for eternity, both too shocked to move, locked in a moment that stretch into infinity.
"I- CAN'T- LIKE- GIRLS!" Hitomi shouted out each word, shattering the moment with sheer distress infused volume. Her head was spinning, warmth rising up and- she needed to fix this- need to prove- show that she wasn't-
Her words snapped Sayaka out of her trance, she made to back away from Hitomi. But before she could…
Hitomi surged forward, planting a panicked kiss directly on Sayaka's lips.
Shockconfusion-
FEARaFEARfFEARfFEAReFEARcFEARtFEARioFEARnFEAR-
They broke apart in less than a second, both visibly rattled by the sudden contact.
"See!" Hitomi blurted out, nearly breathless but strangely smiling through the haze. "I don't like girls! I don't enjoy kissing gir-" Hitomi's breath caught, her eyes fluttering as her smile dropped with horror.
"I kissed- I- girls can't" Hitomi tried to rise, but the world was swimming around her and the air felt more like an ocean pressing down, deep and crushing. "-kiss."
She barely managed to move her arms, they were so heavy, everything was heavy.
Her eyes were so heavy…
Hitomi, overwhelmed and exhausted emotionally, finally gave out.
"…uh." Sayaka touched her fingers to her lips, staring down at her friend. Who'd apparently just knocked herself out with a kiss. She quickly stood up, only stopping to check Hitomi's pulse, which seemed steady under her finger.
The whole thing had happened so quickly that Madoka had only just reached Sayaka's side. She did a more extensive check over of Hitomi's condition, using her bits and pieces of medical knowledge to determine that, as far as she could tell, Hitomi was fine if unconscious.
"Well..." Sayaka interjected awkwardly as Madoka finished her check-up. "Usually when the gallant knight kisses the princess, they wake up." She gestured to Hitomi's sleeping form "So I think we got something mixed up her ya know?" Sayaka forced a smirk as she finished with a joking tone.
Madoka let out a weak giggle, joined with a small yet true smile. She leaned in, giving Sayaka a hesitant peck on the cheek-
Worryuncertaintyconfusion-
Worryuncertaintyassurance-
Sayaka visibly untensed, slouching slightly as a heavy weight fell off her shoulders. It was nice to know that Madoka was as lost about all this as she was… and that she wasn't holding the kiss with Hitomi against her in any way.
"It's not like you chose to kiss her."
"Thanks, Madoka." Sayaka turned to her with a relieved smile, only to be met with a confused eyebrow from Madoka.
"But… I didn't say anything?" She questioned, befuddling both of them.
Before they could consider it any further, Hitomi let out a surprisingly loud snore. Bringing both of their attention to the unconscious girl.
"Right." Madoka muttered. "We need to get her to bed."
"I'll get one of the spare mattress's out…" Sayaka trailed off as she noticed Madoka suddenly turn pale. "What's wrong?"
"I just remembered-" Madoka's head dropped into her hands as she realised her mistake. "The spare mattress got worn out, we had to get rid of them and… they haven't been replaced yet."
"Uh huh…" Sayaka tilted her head inquisitively. "Then uh, what are me and Hitomi supposed to sleep on? Your bed's the only one here."
"I forgot." Madoka muttered sheepishly through her fingers. "I wanted to have a sleepover tonight so much…"
"Right, just one more problem to solve then." Sayaka brushed it off with a shake of her head, before herself down next to Hitomi. "Let's get sleeping beauty here tucked away, then we can get changed and sort the rest of our problems out in something a little comfier."
She hooked her arms around the sleeping girl, quickly joined by Madoka they managed to manoeuvre Hitomi into the bed without any major issues.
With that done, the two quickly switched into their pyjamas, now stuck trying to deal with their next problem.
"We could…" Sayaka paced around the room, having abandoned any pretence of quiet when it became clear Hitomi wasn't waking up any time soon. "We could use your parent's mattresses?" Madoka blanched, her face turning slightly green. "Right uh, bad idea."
"We could…" Madoka mussed, struggling to come up with a comfortable solution. "…sleep on the floor?" Sayaka shot her a flat look, to which she could only shrug.
Sayaka's pacing eventually led her to Madoka's bedside, where Hitomi was tucked into the bedcovers, looking considerably more relaxed and peaceful now she was asleep. In fact, she couldn't remember when her friend last looked this relaxed, which was… another problem that couldn't be sorted out tonight.
She made to continue her pacing, only to be stopped by a pull on her arm.
To Sayaka's surprise, Hitomi had managed to sleep-grab her arm and was now firmly latched on to it.
She tried to shake-
Wantstaytogether-
Sayaka was halted by a familiar yet unfamiliar feeling.
She'd been feeling something all night, not a sound or smell but… something.
"Did you… feel that?" Madoka asked from behind her, Sayaka turned slightly to see, but not so much as to move Hitomi.
"I felt something." She confirmed. "Any idea what it is though?"
Madoka shook her head hesitantly, which slowly turned into an even more hesitant sudo-nod.
"It's weird." She tried to explain. "It's- feelings, knowing things. But… not my feelings, not my things." She bit her lip.
"So what? We have super empathy or something?" Sayaka suggested jokingly. "That would be cool, then I'd always know if I… upset someo-" Her eyes widened as something clicked. "No way."
It would explain a lot about tonight, how they kept suddenly knowing things about each other's feelings…
"So… Hitomi doesn't want us to leave then?" Sayaka redirected, pushing that momentous revelation to be yet another tomorrow, another problem for future Sayaka.
Man, future Sayaka was going to hate past Sayaka.
"It… It sounds… it tastes-" Madoka visibly struggled with a way to phrase the sensation, cupping her chin with her fingers as she mumbled. "It feels like it." She eventually settled on.
"Well." Sayaka's throat suddenly felt very dry, as she realised what she was about to propose. "It… would solve both problems, wouldn't it?"
Madoka looked confused for a moment before her eyes widened. Sayaka's head dipped in response, unable to meet her friend's eyes as she scolded herself, how could she even think of something so-
Realisationhesitanceshamefuladmittance-
"…You have feelings for both of us." Sayaka stared at her friend, completely confident in the fact that she was way too tired to deal with this right now. "Both me and Hitomi?"
"…Yes." Madoka admitted quietly with downcast eyes, now finding herself in Sayaka's position of shaming herself.
"…Fuck." She groaned, eyes turning to the sky as if the ceiling would open up and swallow her. "Future Sayaka is going to kill me."
Madoka looked up, surprised yet hopeful. Before she could speak though she was cut off.
"Tomorrow." Sayaka snapped half-heartedly. "If I get my world upturned one more time tonight I'm going to be joining Hitomi here whether I like it or not." She gestured to the bed.
"We get in there, we go to sleep, then we figure out all the problems in the morning, deal?"
"Deal." She squeaked, a rosy ting crossing her cheeks. The most awake part of Sayaka's brain recognised that it was a very adorable sight, she should probably tell Madoka that.
"Sleep now, be cute later." She demanded instead, causing Madoka to blush even brighter
Getting into bed was a challenge in and of itself. The bed was quite large for one young girl, could fit two with a bit of a squeeze but three was proving to be an issue.
Since Hitomi was already taking up the middle of the bed, Madoka and Sayaka had to take a side each. Their finally resting positions were a bit cramped, but they were both too tired to do anything but drift off to sleep.
As the two girls joined their friend in slumber, they were embraced by… something.
She embraced the broken-
It floated in the sky, in defiance of all reality, all sense-
A bridge between-
Not all-
Potential reaching, uncaged and seeking-
Souls, reaching out blindly in the dark, falling through an endless night-
The something settled, clicking into place with a sense of finality.
Not that any of the girls were awake to realise what that meant.
Ah. So Hitomi had a panic attack induced fainting spell. Makes sense that this would be a long drawn out problem, but I was kinda hoping otherwise.
Ah, well. What was it I said earlier? Any happiness in PMMM has to be dragged out kicking and screaming? I fully expect that Madokami's going through like all the Hell behind the scenes to make this soulbond angst-fluff possible.
Purple maelstroms intersecting with orange and grey storms covered the city, the work of a mad artist with apocalyptic designs.
At the centre of it all, a pink-haired girl was falling.
She could see but not feel- the air rushing past her, buffeting her flailing limbs and knocking the breath from her lungs-
But what she noticed more is what she could feel. All around her she could feel them, dozens, maybe even hundreds, girls like her, girls not at all like her.
All of them falling towards the end.
They were blurry, like photographs left in the sun too long. Sometimes she felt them and it was like she could remember-
She could see Sayaka, falling ever as her blue hair scattered in the storm. There was a sword, sharp metal lodged firmly in Sayaka's gut, the wound rimmed by a thin film of blood.
She was so close, if she could just reach….
Madoka flailed, trying to catch the edge of Sayaka's dress with desperate grasps but she was just a little too far away, she couldn't make it, couldn't do it alone-
A hand caught hers, a hand she knew very well.
Sayaka was smiling at her, she'd met her hand in the middle with a wild flail of her own joining the two together.
Where their fingers met, light surged. Pink and blue light fused together, hopelightlovepo- flowed through them. The storm visibly recoiled, rain and wind alike twisting to avoid them as they fell through the apocalypse.
Madoka watched with fascinated delight as the sword that had been embedded in Sayaka for so long began to shrink, the wound around the blade closing in as flesh rejected steel.
ConfusionshockdrowningFEARFEAR-
Their heads snapped to the source of the feeling, already knowing who they would see falling next to them.
Hitomi was plummeting, wrapped in a ball of her own limbs with her face pressed against her knees.
They reached out, two arms moving at one, reached towards Hitomi with open palms.
But Hitomi wasn't listening, her breathing frantic, her mind spiralling, they were losing her-
No. Not this time.
In a move that seemed to defy reality itself, Madoka and Sayaka launched themselves off thin air, propelled forward by potentallovesoul they quickly reached Hitomi.
They wrapped their arms around her.
She embraced the broken girl-
Pink, blue, green.
A bridge between souls-
A luminous chorus shook the earth.
Not all who-
The sky fractured to reveal it floating there-
Madoka's eyes snapped open.
The dream came to an end abruptly, a familiar nightmare having taken a very different turn
Though, it was hard for Madoka to really give it that much thought. As the sight right in front of her proved to be incredibly distracting.
Hitomi was sitting up in the bed, eyes lowered to meet Madoka's. Her focus on the girl made sense, as Madoka's fingers were currently running through her hair, each gentle stroke sending gentle waves of motion tumbling down the verdant strands.
Madoka would have thought she was dreaming if it weren't for ticklish sensation in her fingers as they danced, for the warmth in her palm as it brushed against Hitomi's cheek-
Shockaffectionwarmthfear-
Comfortlovewarmthacceptance-
She removed her hand, eliciting a sigh of relief from Hitomi. Though the Regretlongingconfusion that emanated from her told a different story.
They stayed like that for a few moments, staring awkwardly into each other's eyes until-
"Ugh…" Sayaka groaned, lifting her head and blinking her eyes to clear the tiredness from them. She spent a few seconds switching between looking Hitomi and looking at Madoka, as if she swivelled her head enough, they would disappear when she wasn't looking.
"…I don't suppose either of you invented time travel while I was sleeping?" Sayaka inquired hopefully, twisting to clasp her hands together in a faux begging motion.
"Um- no I don't believe we did?" Hitomi answered hesitantly, while Madoka replied with a shake of her head.
"Ah, dammit." She groused while her shoulders dropped. "How am I supposed to go back in time and kill past Sayaka?"
"…You want to kill your past self?" Hitomi inquired incredulously, though the realisationhumourjoy sparking from Madoka gave her a pretty good idea of what was going on.
"Of course!" Sayaka exclaimed, shaking her fist at thin air. "Past Sayaka knew what she was going to put me through when she pushed her problems off on me, I must have my revenge!"
It was Sayaka's grin mixed with a burst of humourannoyance that sent Hitomi over the edge into a fit of giggles, soon to be joined by both her friends as their emotions reverberated off each other. There was also a fair amount of relief resonating through each of them as for just a moment the tension was eased.
Hitomi's stomach grumbled, interrupting their laughter with a low gurgle to the girl's embarrassment, that quickly faded under a sudden flow of ammusmentagreementassurance.
"I'll go grab breakfast!" Madoka announced cheerfully, rising from the bed to bound across the room. Only a wave of fondnessexasperation stopped her from accidentally going downstairs in her pyjamas.
As Madoka made her way down the stairs, now properly clothed, she took the time to try and examine the strange knowing feelings she'd been having last night that now seemed clearer and more constant than ever.
They were faint- no, it was more like they were in the background now that Sayaka and Hitomi weren't right in front of her. She could still feel them clearly, but they weren't intrusive. It was like they were two clouds hovering over her shoulders, one blue and one green.
For a moment she focused on the blue cloud, only a little surprised as a wave of everything that was Sayaka wash over her, an orchestra blasted through her mind playing a symphony that promised unwavering support. Beneath that was an undercurrent of emotions, a river that grew more complex the deeper it went, but Madoka could somehow discern the surface.
Tensionworryresolve.
She focused harder.
Tension/worry/resolve.
The emotions, Sayaka's emotions, were even clearer now. But the depths of the river were still bubbling, churning slightly just out of reach.
Pulling back from the blue cloud, Madoka focused on the green. This time she was more prepared as a wave Hitomi flowed through her, a pen scratching away at an unknown surface with each line a promise of duty and dedication.
Like Sayaka, Hitomi's cloud had an undercurrent, a river of emotion beneath the surface layer. But while Sayaka's had been only somewhat disturbed, Hitomi's roiled and writhed, water overflowing the banks with-
ConfusionaffectionprideshameconflictFEAR-
Madoka went to pull back, only to notice something small, a hidden tide sweeping through the waters of Hitomi's cloud, almost always suppressed by a stronger wave but it was unmistakably-
Love.
Madoka was so distracted, focusing on Hitomi's cloud, that she didn't notice she was reaching the kitchen until-
"'Doka!" The cheery voice of her little brother shouted out, his tiny legs tucked securely into his highchair
"I see you're finally awake." Her dad said with a welcoming smile, turning to face her from his position at the kitchen counter where he had a pile of dirty dishes lined up. "Did you stay up late last night with your friends?"
"Ah, well…" Madoka trailed off nervously, worried that a talk about last night could quickly turn to an inquiry into why she was up so late. But before she could think of anything to say he spoke again.
"Don't worry." Her dad assured her with a dismissive wave. "You don't have school today, so you can afford a few late Fridays, just don't go too far okay?"
"It's okay papa." Madoka answered with a relieved smile. "I'll be careful."
"Just keep an eye on it." He accepted with a nod before turning back to the kitchen counter. "I'm assuming Hitomi and Sayaka want breakfast? I can whip something up if they'd like." He asked over his shoulder.
"Ye-" Madoka paused, accepting her dads' offer would mean eating breakfast with him and Tatsuya. If she did that, she wouldn't be able to discuss what happened last night with her friends until later.
"Um." Madoka scratched the back of her head nervously. "We were planning on trying that new breakfast place that just opened nearby?" Internally she winced, she didn't like lying to her parents, but she also really didn't want to try and explain last night to either of them yet.
"Are you sure?" Her dad stopped cleaning for a moment, a thoughtful expression across his face as she nodded. "Well, it looks like my little girl is growing up." He smiled, grabbing his wallet and pulling out some yen. "Here, this should more than cover three meals, make sure to treat yourselves."
Madoka accepted the money with a grateful smile and a slightly guilty thank you. Though as she turned to go back to her bedroom, her dad spoke once more.
"Madoka." His voice was serious yet tender. "I know you're a growing girl. But your mother and I are still here for you, and we're happy to support you no matter what."
"…I know papa." Madoka whispered, her parents were always supportive, always kind and loving to her.
"Thank you."
She'd looked up to her parents. If she could be even half as kind, half as self-assured as they were, she'd be happy.
A few minutes later and she was out of the house, Sayaka and Hitomi following closely behind her. They had taken the time she was gone to get ready and dressed, though judging by the awkward silence and tensionstress they were both holding everything in until breakfast.
Well, at least the meal wouldn't be boring.
The three reached the café fairly quickly, it was a recent addition to the local area, touting a selection of French pastry options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The three sat down in a booth a fair distance away from the other customers, concealed from most of the café. Madoka and Sayaka sat on one side with Hitomi on the other. It didn't take long for them to order their food, with Madoka decided to try a croissant, Hitomi ordering some French toast while-
"Really Sayaka?" Hitomi questioned in an exasperated groan. "Pancakes? For breakfast?"
"Hey!" Sayaka argued, crossing her arms defensively. "I'm a growing gal! Pancakes are an important part of a balanced diet!"
"Pancakes with syrup you mean?" Seeing an opportunity, Madoka joined in with her own innocent teasing.
"Of course." Sayaka nodded defiantly, much to the amusement of her to friends. Their merriment was soon cut short as she continued. "Seriously though, we need to talk about last night."
Madoka and Hitomi looked away awkwardly. They all agreed that last night couldn't be avoided much longer but…
Stresstensionworryhopeaffectionloveconfusionfear-
How could they begin to even discuss half of what had happened?
"Ugh." Sayaka groaned, the rush of conflicting and resonating almost giving her a headache. "Right, let's start with the easy stuff, Hitomi-" tensionconfusionfear "I'm sorry for almost drowning you last night."
At first, Hitomi had tensed up, eyes widening as a part of her dreaded what she thought was about to be said. Once Sayaka mentioned the water jug incident though she relaxed considerably, a wane smile crossing her face.
"I'd almost forgotten about that." She admitted, twisting a lock of hair that had finished drying last night with a contemplative expression on her face. "Honestly, compared to everything else that happened it's not really that important."
"So we're good?" Sayaka questioned.
"Indeed." Hitomi confirmed. She opened her mouth as if to continue, only to close it again with a flash of fustrationshamefear.
They were saved from the return of another awkward silence by the timely arrival of their food. The waiter quickly left the three girls to work through their chosen meals, so they mutually abandoned further attempts at conversation while they ate.
Madoka used her knife to cut apart the Croissant, before applying a sizable dollop of strawberry jam to the inside of the pastry. She watched as Sayaka coated her pancakes in syrup while Hitomi daintily nibbled at the edge of her French toast.
Watching her friends eat, Madoka mussed at how differently the two acted even with such a small thing as how they ate. Sayaka tended to eat as fast as she possibly could without causing a scene, while Hitomi tended to be so focused on poise and etiquette that she spent more time dining politely than actually eating.
Really it was only because Sayaka had ordered more food than her that they were going to be finished anywhere near the same time.
Madoka noticed that both her friends were nearly done as she took the last bite from her Croissant, the pastry was different from anything she'd had before which took some getting used to, but the jam was very nice and made the whole thing taste quite yummy…
She was dodging the issue, stalling. Both her friends were finished and the awkward silence they'd managed to dodge before was now back in full force with a noticeable pile of uncertaintyawkwardnesstension building up.
So Madoka tried to draw on some of that confidence she'd been working on and address the elephant in the room…
…Starting with the smaller elephant.
"So, we might have superpowers." She blurted out, her sudden outburst met with a mixed wave of surpriseremembranceconfusion from her friends.
"…I'm sorry, but what?" Hitomi dropped her usual formal mode speech in exchange for a shocked exclamation. Sayaka looked between her two friends for a moment before deciding to help explain.
"You've been getting… feeling's all morning, right?" She gestured to Hitomi, then to herself and Madoka. "Like hearing things that aren't noise? Knowing stuff that you shouldn't" Hitomi nodded, a look of realisation on her face.
"It's like…" Madoka bit her lip, blood slowly rising through her cheeks as she picked up the explanation. "We're connected to each other, we can- see?" Madoka stumbled over the wording but lacking a better term for it she pushed. "We can see emotions, they're like colourful clouds floating around us…"
Hitomi blinked, taking a moment to bask in the sheer impossibility of what her friends were saying but… how could she deny it? When it explained so much about last night, when she could actually feel the two girls in front of her as beacons of kindnessaffirmationsupport.
"This… connection, it is only between the three of us correct? We cannot see anyone else's emotions or vice versa?" She inquired nervously. Madoka shook her head, much to Hitomi's relief, the idea of strangers being able to read her feelings was a terrifying prospect. The existent of the bond itself was baffling enough, and the pulses of uncertainty she was receiving from her friends made it clear that they knew as little about this phenomenon as she did…
"This is absurd." She muttered mostly to herself. "We have some kind of… shared empathic telepathy." Hitomi enunciated each word like she couldn't quite believing she was saying them. "…Surely this should be the domain of fiction? Fantasy? Make-believe? How…. how can it be real?"
"No idea." Sayaka admitted with a shrug. "If you'd asked me two days ago if superpower-stuff was real I'd have said no. But after last night…" She trailed off, not that she needed to say any more, they both knew what she meant.
"Last night…" Hitomi echoed with a cautious sort of contemplation. "What… what does last night mean- for us?" She asked, wringing her hands together beneath the table as the words left her lips almost against her will.
Madoka stiffened, while Sayaka tapped her fingers on the table with anxious energy. The topic they'd all been dancing around had been breached, even the mystery of their newfound powers could only distract them for a short amount of time when the shadow of last night was looming over them.
"Are…" Hitomi continued, eyes shifting between her two friends and the empty plate in front of her. "Are you two… girlfriends now?" Hitomi's hesitant question, underlined with fearconfusioncuriousity as it was still managed to turn both girls into a pair of blushing light bulbs.
"I- um- of cours-" Madoka stuttered, unable to quiet face Sayaka as a flush of conflicting emotions bombarded her through the link. "I mean- I wouldn't say no." Immediately after affirming her feelings, Madoka let out a strangled "eep!" and threw her hands over her face in a vain attempt to hide her now truly scarlet cheeks. Apparently, her newfound confidence didn't stretch this far.
At first Sayaka was even more thrown off by the question. But Madoka's answer caused her head to snap to her friend- girlfriend? And all she could think when she saw her half-covered blushing face was "So cute."
Madoka somehow managed to brush even brighter. Which both amused and confused Sayaka as she could have sworn that she hadn't said anything out loud despite Madoka's response showing otherwise…
…Right, not the time to think about that. She should probably say something about the whole girlfriend thing.
"Well- I don't-" Sayaka stumbled over her words as well, her thoughts jumbled and disorganised. "What do girlfriends even do? What would we do?"
"Well…" Madoka said through her fingers, peeling them apart slightly so she could be heard. "Um, we'd go on dates?" She removed her hands fully, meeting Sayaka's eyes with a hopeful look. "…visit nice places together? Share lovely food with each other and… kiss a bunch?" She was still blushing, but the dreamy smile on her face was even more noticeable.
"Huh." Sayaka hummed, a light dusting of pink visible on her cheeks. "That sounds a lot like what we already do, ya know, except for the kissing part." She looked around at the café with a thoughtful expression. "Is this a date then?"
Now after that comment they were all blushing, even Hitomi who was struck with the feeling that she was watching something incredibly intimate and private. But even if she were to look away…
Embarissmenthopelove.
Emparismentconsiderationlove.
She would still be able to feel them, how they felt about each other. Their oh so warm feelings were impossible to her ignore, so close, so bright, so beautiful-
FEAR-
"Hitomi?" Her head snapped up, Madoka's concerned voice cutting through the sudden panic. Hitomi could see the naked worry clear on her face, while Sayaka watched with a more complicated and mixed expression. "Are you okay?"
"No." Hitomi said, her mouth running ahead of her mind as she tried to calm her harsh breathing. "No I'm not I-" She had to stop, stop thinking stop talking but- the floodgates had opened.
"How?" She asked, voice pained and twisted by the storm churning inside her. "How can you feel such things- things about each other so-" She cut herself off, finally gaining control of her runaway words.
But not her runaway thoughts.
"How does it feel so wonderful?"
The words didn't come out of Hitomi's closed mouth, yet Madoka could hear them all the same. Was this another part of their power? Hearing each other's thoughts?
If it was… then what could she say? How could she confront Hitomi's thoughts if she didn't want to face them? If she wouldn't even tell them?
Fortunately, Madoka wasn't the only one who could hear Hitomi's unintentional message.
"Hey." Sayaka cut in, punctuating her words by thumping a finger against her chest. "There's nothing wrong with these feelings, right Hitomi? You can feel them too can't you? Do they feel bad?"
"It's-" Hitomi bit the inside of her cheek, before continuing with a forceful exhale. "…no. No they don't. They're-" Her voice quivered. "L-lovely and I'm- I'm sorry for my… rash words earlier."
"Mhmm." Sayaka hummed, noting the apology but still pushing on. "So, there's nothing wrong with you having the same feelings either." She declared, dropping the verbal bomb with little preamble.
ConfusionshockFEAR-
"I- I don't-" Hitomi's expression cracked, her entire expression shaking as her fingers gripped the table harshly. "Th-those are your feelings." She whispered, voice wavering. "Not mine, I don't like gir-"
"Hitomi." Sayaka interrupted, holding her hand out in a 'stop' motion. "I can feel your emotion, remember? You don't need to lie to me."
"I'm- I'm not lying to you." She objected tersely.
"Then who are you lying to Hitomi?" Sayaka asked, her eyes softened as she tried to reach out. "Yourself?"
Hitomi flinched, releasing the table from her grip only to wrap her arms around herself instead. She tried to look away, but her eyes were locked on to the beacon of supporttrusthelpfulSayaka right in front of her.
The pink cloud of hopefriendlinessloveMadoka drew her attention as she could feel her coming closer. A single hand reached out, a tentative gentle offering that Hitomi could reject with ease, she could just move away, just push her away, just-
She didn't, and Madoka's hand closed around hers.
It hurt. Not holding Madoka's hand thought no, that felt… nice. The hurting was in her head, in her chest and it burned through her with reckless abandon. She could hear a voice, strong, familiar and screaming that this was unacceptable.
That her behaviour was unacceptable, that her thoughts were unacceptable, that Hitomi was unaccept-
"How do I know?" Hitomi wheezed breathlessly. "How am I supposed to know?" She pleaded, unable to finish the question but hoping that her friends would still understand what she meant.
"How do I know if I like girls?"
Sayaka gritted her teeth, how could she convince Hitomi of what her own feelings were? Madoka had apparently figured out she liked girls just out of the blue one day and as for Sayaka herself she'd needed a kiss from said girl to get it-
Wait.
That could work.
"Hitomi…" She began carefully. "Do you remember what it felt last night when we uh- fell on the floor?" Sayaka hedged, trying to invoke the memory without being too specific.
"Ah- well- maybe?" Hitomi answered uncertainly, her face phasing through colours oddly as it tried to both blush and turn pale at the same time. "It's blurry, I was far from my best when we-" kissed. She didn't say, but as Hitomi thought back to the evening she could feel a tremor rising in her throat as-
"I'm so sorry!" She burst out with an apology, pale finally winning over blush as the full ramifications of her action hit. She'd been so focused on the fact that she'd kissed a girl that she'd completely failed to consider the context around it, specifically that Sayaka had just then maybe-sort of entered a relationship and she'd kissed her in front of her maybe-partner.
Madoka released her hand in confusion, caught off guard by the sudden apology, but Sayaka caught the meaning instantly. Since the involuntary kiss was still weighing on her mind she appreciated the apology, it didn't make things completely better but… she could brush that aside in favour of dealing with the immediate problem.
Hitomi didn't remember last night's kiss properly, so it would be near useless for helping her answer her self-doubts. The solution then was obvious, Hitomi would need to kiss a girl again to help figure herself out.
It would need to be someone she would trust, someone who cared for the stressed-out girl deeply.
Fortunately, the only two girls in the entire world who fit both criteria were sitting right there in that café.
"…It's alright Hitomi." Sayaka accepted, before shaking her head. "I mean, what happened wasn't good- I mean I'm sure you're a good kisser normally but the situation-" Her jaw snapped shut, Sayaka forced herself to slow down for a second before continuing. "I… just don't go around kissing people without their permission okay? Hitomi blushed and nodded. "Then we're good."
"That being said…" Sayaka trailed off for a moment, before verbally ploughing forward at full speed. "I think you and Madoka should kiss."
As her two friends gaped at her, Sayaka mentally congratulated herself on the plan. The kiss would help Hitomi figure out her feelings, while letting Madoka kiss her would balance out Sayaka's own kiss with Hitomi, eye for an eye style… kiss for a kiss style?
Whatever, win-win all around.
Madoka though didn't seem immediately convinced of the plan's merits. Instead, she was looking at Sayaka while radiating waves of confusionshockconcern that quickly morphed into realisationloveconcern.
"Sayaka…" She whispered tenderly, placing her arm on the girl's shoulder. "…I can feel your emotions too remember?" Sayaka nodded, letting Madoka continue. "So, I know that that you're doing this out of guilt, right?
Sayaka nodded again, looking down at the table and away from Madoka's concerned gaze.
"It's still a good plan." Sayaka grumbled, lifting up a hand to stop Madoka's objection. "You like Hitomi, I still remember that from last night." The pink-haired girl blushed but made a hum of agreement. "So you have a nice kiss with her, and she gets to know if she likes girls. Problem solved!" Sayaka affirmed confidently.
"But…" Madoka stared into her friend's eyes, then into beyond. She could see the river that was Sayaka, the water was all flowing in one way, under one banner, one concept.
Support.
Unshakable and immovable, a constant across time and space. Sayaka would always try to support her friends no matter the odds or personal cost.
In that moment, Madoka knew that she wouldn't be able to change Sayaka's mind. She was always stubborn, till the end.
Though, Madoka quietly admitted to herself, that her maybe-girlfriend was right. She did still want to kiss Hitomi… and if Sayaka was convinced that it was the right thing to do?
Slowly, both girls turned to their green-haired friend across the table. Hitomi had been remarkedly silent during the exchange, staring down at the table, face twisted with a troubled frown, emotions jumbled into a mess of worryshamefearhope.
"Hitomi…" Madoka couldn't believe this was happening, that she was going through with it, that Sayaka was even supporting it. "Would you… would you like to kiss me?"
WorryhesitationFEAR… Hope.
"I…" Hitomi's mouth sealed itself shut. The words wouldn't leave her mouth but…
"Please I- I need to know."
…
…Was this actually happening?
Madoka slowly removed herself from her seat, leaving Sayaka to watch as she approached Hitomi's side of the table.
The fearful girl visibly braced herself, closing her eyes as her fingernails dug into the table. It was far from the ideal romantic scene that Hitomi had imagined she'd have for her first kiss and- well this wasn't even her first was it? She'd thrown that away like foolish useless- FEARFEARFEARFEAR
Before Hitomi could fall further into her downward spiral, a soft pair of lips impacted her cheek.
Her thoughts fractures, then crumbled to dust. Fears and worries scattered to the wind and for a moment all that existed in the world was the warmth of lovehopecompassion that was pressing against her skin.
It was… magical, a feeling of togetherness, closeness that she'd longed for, that she never knew she was missing until now.
Like a piece of something she'd forgotten in the darkness had finally found its way back into the light
Enraptured in the moment, Hitomi could only do one thing as the warmth pulled away. She surprised both of her friends by meeting Madoka's lips with a kiss of her own, embracing that feeling of Lovecompassionshock with reckless abandon, her head devoid of concerns for the first time in so long.
It didn't take long for Madoka to push aside her surprise and lean into the kiss. Letting her own concerns for her friends drift beneath the waves of warmthaffectionblissinterest. As she just let the impossible moment happen.
Sayaka was watching from the outside, unsure how she should be feeling about this. It was the first time she was experiencing a kiss from an outside perspective in their little group… and it was an experience. Since she wasn't being distracted by being in the kiss herself she had nothing to draw her attention away from the storm of enchanting feelings that both girls were emitting.
She was buffeted on both sides, struck by a two-pronged assault of positive feelings. She was…
…She was enjoying watching her two friends enjoy themselves?
...Enjoying watching them kiss?
…
"Right, let's shuffle that away in the 'things I've just discovered about my potential love life' file." Sayaka grumbled to herself, that file was getting was too big recently.
…and apparently, that thought hadn't been as private as she might hope. As both her friends had stopped kissing and were looking at her with bright red faces.
Right, they seemed to have some kind of maybe-involuntary telepathy power now too. Which would be cool if it didn't keep activating at random.
A flicker of motion behind Madoka caught her attention, drawing Sayaka's distracted gaze to the table just behind them.
There was a girl sitting there, staring at them.
Sayaka couldn't recognise her, though as Hitomi turned around it became clear that the green-haired girl did seem to know her.
RecognitionFEAR-
The unknown girl abruptly stood up, her long silvery blond hair billowing out behind her as she walked. With prim and proper steps, she fled the café, a faint dusting of pink overtaking her face as the door swung shut.
Leaving the table of three behind her in complete disarray.
"She saw." Hitomi mumbled in a daze, fingers digging into her dress. "She saw, she knows that I'm-" Her ramblings were cut off by a burst of confusionsupport from Sayaka and confusionlove from Madoka.
"Okay, hold on there." Sayaka threw her hands out, trying to calm her friend down. "Who was that girl? Why does she freak you out? And…" She met Hitomi's eyes with assurancesupport. "How can we help?"
Hitomi's eyes swivelled to Madoka, who wordlessly radiated lovesupport. Anchored by her two friend's unconditional willingness to help, she found herself withdrawing back into the booth, emotions temporarily stabilising as her mind struggled to confront the problem.
"That was- that girl was Miss Mikuni." She looked between her two friends, noticing that neither of them seemed to know the name. "Ex-Senator Mikuni's daughter?"
"Erm…" Sayaka scratched her cheek awkwardly. "…I think I've heard his name before? He did some bad stuff right?" She looked at Madoka, who tentatively nodded before turning back to Hitomi. "But uh, I don't think either of us really knows politics as much as you do ya know?"
"…I suppose not." Hitomi sighed, visibly centring herself and launching into a lecturing tone. "Senator Mikuni was a popular local political figure, known for having both ties to large businesses and old political families while still maintaining an image of caring for the average voter." Her friends were listening attentively as she continued her explanation.
"That is until he was exposed as having taken illicit funds to run his campaign." Hitomi's eyes hardened, her voice growing harsh. "The ensuing investigation uncovered evidence of numerous illegal connections and crimes committed under the Mikuni name, including links to the Yakuza."
"It was a scandal of titanic proportions. Mister Mikuni's popularity dropped practically overnight, all his allies and associates who weren't arrested cut ties with him immediately… including my family." Hitomi revealed, watching as both her friend's eyes sparked in realisation.
"…You think she'll tell her dad." Madoka whispered, voice trembling in a way that neither of her friends had heard from her before. "That he'll use what she saw to hurt you." She was scowling, pink eyes shivering and- angry.
Hitomi's heart skipped a beat as waves of protectivnessloveanger poured off Madoka. She'd never seen her usually timid and kind friend this truly angry, like she was trying to incinerate someone with her eyes.
It was more than a little disturbing…
"…He cannot do that." Hitomi reassured her, placing a hand on Madoka's shoulder. "After his duplicity was discovered, he was to stand trial for his crimes… but he never made it to court." She could remember her parent's reaction when it happened, the harsh whispers and late nights when the man's fate was revealed…
"…Hisaomi Mikuni committed suicide. He was found dead in his office mere days before he was due to take the stand." The anger faded from Madoka's eyes, shock and sorrow taking their place as she absorbed the news.
"Well…" Sayaka mussed, scratching her cheek thoughtfully. "At least that means you're in the clear right? No evil blackmailing politician means no risk of blackmail…" She trailed off, before her eyes widened in realisation. "Unless that girl tries to use it!"
"Yes, that is the issue." Hitomi nodded in agreement. "Oriko Mikuni was very well known for her involvement in her father's campaign despite her young age. While I never met her myself, she was apparently quite charismatic and politically shrewd." Hitomi shivered as she considered what a girl like that could do with such blackmail in hand…
Would she threaten to spread rumours? Or tell one of the more political newspapers… No, without a picture the papers were unlikely to run such a story, especially one provided by a pariah such as Miss Mikuni. Perhaps she would stalk them then? Hoping to collect proof-
Hitomi's train of thought was interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around her. Pink eyes met green as commfortsupportlove infused her, calming worries and dissuading panic before it even had a chance to form.
"…We need to stop her." Hitomi mumbled through Madoka's hair, sending pink strands swaying. "There are too many things she could do with that knowledge, if she could prove that I kissed- that-"
"That I like kissing girls."
It wasn't spoken aloud, maybe Hitomi couldn't bring herself to so yet. But she didn't flinch from the thought, only burying herself deeper into Madoka's shoulder, letting her friends feelings wash over her, much to their shared joy.
"So we stop her." Sayaka said confidently, she went to stand up only to stop as she realised something. "Er… any idea how we can do that?"
"We have to confront her." Hitomi shifted into her 'serious business' lecture tone again and lightly pulling herself out of the hug. "Downplay how much I care- how much I feel threatened by what she knows. It will be a battle of the minds and we are woefully unarmed but-"
"We can't afford to let her sit on the info and start making plans, right?" Sayaka asked, catching Hitomi off-guard with the insight. "The longer we let the villain scheme in their palace of darkness, the harder the final battle will be!"
"…The Mikuni mansion is not a 'palace of darkness' Sayaka." Hitomi explained with an amused half-smile.
"Mansions are still prime real-estates of evil!" Sayaka exclaimed, her amused smirk glimmering in the light of the café booth.
"But- Sayaka!" Madoka tried to speak through her giggles. "Hitomi lives in a mansion!"
"Uh…" Sayaka looked thoughtful for a moment, before grinning at her friend. "Anything you want to tell us Hitomi?"
The questions set a round of giggles across the table, though once they all calmed down Hitomi seemed slightly put out.
"That reminds me." She mentioned, pulling out her phone. "I need to call my parents and tell them that I won't be coming home for a while yet. That… might take a while to explain, would you mind waiting outside while I call them?" Hitomi requested, her emotion starting to churn with worryanticipationfear.
"Um- sure." Madoka tentatively agreed while Sayaka nodded.
"Then I'll handle the bill." Hitomi assured them, before entering her parents' number on her phone. Madoka left behind the money her father gave her to help cover the meal while she and Sayaka went to exit the café.
Soon the two girls were standing outside the restaurant, only to find themselves unable to quite look at each other.
There was something they'd been discussing in the café, something they'd left unfinished but now they were both struggling to broach the topic once more. So, they stood there, mentally floundering in their mutual doubts until-
"Ugh." Sayaka moaned, smacking her palm against her forehead. "I can't take this anymore. I need to know...." She turned to Madoka, only to surprise her friend by getting down on one knee.
"Madoka Kaname." She began, her voice solemn and official, yet tinged with an undercurrent of fear. "Will you do me the honour of becoming my beloved girlfriend?"
Loveworrydesire-
"I- yes!" Madoka squeaked out, flailing in surprise for a moment before hugging her. "Of course I will!"
Sayaka quickly rose and returned the embrace, the two happy to let the moment stretch on as the warmth of their Lovejoyexcitment collided, reverberating back twice as strong as before.
They drank in it, letting the sheer passion of the moment swirl around them. The joy of one girl who thought her feelings would never be returned, and the excitement of the other who not long ago thought she'd lost her chance at love.
"Do-" Sayaka's question was cut off with a sudden kiss, which she enthusiastically returned before continuing. "Do you think we're going too fast?"
"I…" Madoka hesitated for a moment before answering. "We've known each other for years but I- I don't know." She bit her lip, looking up at Sayaka with soulful eyes. "But I- I think it's better that we're moving fast rather than not moving at all…"
Her now-girlfriend quirked an eyebrow at her, taking a moment to focus she felt for Madoka's emotions-
Loveworrydread-
"…Madoka?" Sayaka whispered, the excitement draining from her eyes as her concern grew. "Are you okay?"
"It's weird…" Madoka trailed off.
"Weirder than waking up with superpowers?" Sayaka joked, only growing more worried as her girlfriends darkened mood failed to lift.
"I just-" Madoka verbally stumbled, tripping over her words as her eyes fell to the pavement. "Do you ever feel like- like you're running out of time?" She blurted out.
Sayaka blinked, a confused expression crossing her face- but Madoka started rambling before she could even think of a response.
"There's- I've been having this dream-" She held her hands together, rocking them back and forth anxiously as she spoke. "-and you're there- and Hitomi's there- and we're all falling-"
"Surrounded by the apocalypse and a bunch of girls?" Sayaka cut in, surprise evident in her voice as she grasped Madoka's hands in her own.
The panicking pinket could only gape for a moment as her emotional cloud was enveloped with shocksuprisehope.
"H-how?" She whispered.
"I… I think we both had the same dream, last night I mean." Sayaka speculated, gently pushing Madoka's hands open as she entwined their fingers together. "So- we share dreams now I guess?"
The two girls stood there in comfortable silence, Madoka basked in the feeling that she wasn't alone in her concerns, in her dreams, in her nightmares. While Sayaka's brain was working overtime, trying to understand all the strangeness that had happened recently.
"So, we can share emotions." Sayaka said as she tried to put the pieces together. "We share our thoughts and apparently we can also share dreams now too. Is that what our power is? The magic of sharing?" The speculation set off a spark of supriselaughterjoy from her girlfriend, Sayaka continued to feed that spark with an impish smile on her face. "The magic of friendship? The magic of love?"
Madoka giggled, a warm joyous sound that heralded the banishment of what little distress that was still inside her. Sayaka couldn't help but bask in the re-ignited star that was Madoka's lovehopelaughter.
"Now that's a beautiful sound."
Pink hair met cherry red skin once more as Sayaka's transmitted compliment turned Madoka into a blushing mess. Still despite the blood rush, she managed to focus on her girlfriend's speculations. Was that how their power worked? Was it all based on sharing things with each other?
…Sharing themselves with each other?
Her blush deepened, and for a moment Madoka thought was about to knock herself out from all the blood flowing to her head. But even through the haze that enveloped her, one idea about their shared powers began to surface.
If they could share thoughts unintentionally… could they share thoughts intentionally?
Madoka grabbed on to the thought immediately, the idea that she might be able to talk with her girlfriend- and friend from anywhere at any time was too tantalising to ignore. It would be like having a phone in her head, but it could never be broken or taken away, and it would only ring for her loved ones.
She tried to reach out for new her sixth sense, mental limbs brushing against the blue cloud of Sayaka. Her not-fingers grazed the river of her girlfriend's emotions and for an instant Madoka was hit by a feeling of something familiar yet not, like she'd reached her powers out like this a hundred times before yet something was different now-
A bridge between souls that-
The connection snapped into place.
"Well you have a really pretty smile Sayaka!"
Now it was the bluenettes turn to blush, but Madoka wasn't done yet.
"I've always wanted to tell you that, but now I can say it right into your brain!"
"You-" Sayaka worked her jaw for a moment, struggling to speak through her blush. "You managed to use the telepathy? Intentionally?" Madoka confirmed her guess with an excited nod.
Almost immediately Sayaka's face twisted into a look of intense concentration, like she was trying to shoot thoughts out of her eyeballs… which admittedly wasn't that far off what she was trying to do.
Madoka watched her girlfriends face scrunch up, she giggled lightly at the amusing sight while she tried to think of ways to help. It wasn't like she could show Sayaka how she made the telepathy part of their powers work-
Wait, why couldn't she?
If they had some kind of magical sharing themed powers, did that include ideas? Images? More?
Tentatively, Madoka tried to push the idea of telepathy down her not-fingers and into the Sayaka cloud-
"Like this?" Sayaka's voice echoed out perfectly into Madoka's mind.
"Exactly! You did it!" She punctuated her reply with an excited hug, brushing her lips against her girlfriend's cheek as they both celebrated their success.
Unfortunately, before they could truly bask in the moment, a stray thought crossed Sayaka's mind.
"So, uh." She transmitted sheepishly. "Any idea when this nightmare apocalypse is happening? Other than soon I mean."
"…No." Madoka responded, her worry flaring up again. "In the nightmares, it feels close though I- I don't know why."
Her girlfriend's hand brushed against Madoka's back, causing her to loosen the hug slightly till she could see Sayaka's face. Despite the severity of the conversation, her face was still adorned with a smile, one that literally radiated confidenceassurancesupport.
"Well that stinks." She stated bluntly, yet still smiling as she continued. "But it doesn't matter whether all that dream stuff goes down next year, next month or even tomorrow. It won't matter." Sayaka had stopped using telepathy, speaking openly and boisterously instead.
"Cause we'll be there to stop it, together!" Sayaka declared with unwavering certainty. Her belief was so pure, so bright and defiant that it almost defied explanation. Like she was daring reality to try and prove her wrong.
The blue cloud gained a tint of mischief as Sayaka continued. "Besides, stopping the end of the world sounds like great date night material. The three of us standing together victorious against the odds-"
"Three of us?" Madoka couldn't help but cut in, her supriseconfusion at the out of place comment clear as day.
"Well yeah-" Sayaka stopped, as her brain finally caught up with her thoughts.
Embarrassmentconfusionworry-
Her train of thought was cut off as the Café door finally opened, the familiar face of Hitomi passing through as she exited the building. She stepped out to find both of her friends, still wrapped in a loose hug and emitting a conflicting array of emotions.
"Did…" Hitomi struggled to put her thoughts into words, her own feelings strangely muddled from the sight of her friends. "Did the two of you manage to… figure things out?"
"We did!" Madoka answered with a bright smile. She planted another kiss on Sayaka's cheek, her assurance helping calm Sayaka's turbulent emotions.
"Yu- yeah!" Sayaka tried to push aside her thoughts to deal with hopefully-never. "You're looking at the newest happy couple in Mitakihara!"
Hitomi smiled at her friend's enthusiasm, her own emotions settling into a steadier state of joyaffectiondesirelove. A potent cocktailof feelings, the existence of which did nothing to help Sayaka ignore her own thoughts.
"We also figured out this!" Madoka transmitted to both Sayaka and Hitomi. She also, after a moment of hesitation, sent out the idea of telepathy as well.
Green eyes widened in surprise as both words and concepts flowed into Hitomi's mind. She quickly went through a myriad of emotions. Surprise soon turned into consideration which morphed into excitement.
"This… this could be very useful." She muttered, before reaching out with her own not-fingers.
"Can you hear this?" The message reached both her friends, who responded with a nod and a thumbs up.
"Useful…" Sayaka mussed, before snapping her fingers in realisation. "You think we can use this against that Oriko girl?"
"Indeed." Hitomi confirmed with a smile that was almost feral, the sharpness of which was almost nothing like her usual polite expressions and on top of that it was doing really weird thumpy things to Sayaka's heart. "Communication that cannot be interrupted or intercepted would be invaluable, and we will need any advantage we can gain in the discourse to come, for our opponent will start with many herself."
"Do you know where we can her?" Madoka asked, finally removing her arm from Sayaka and breaking off the loose hug.
"Well, I know where to start at least." Hitomi answered. "After my" fear "phonecall, I took the liberty of searching the internet for the location of the Mikuni Manor. If she is not there, then we will have to consider other ideas." She concluded briskly.
The new couple locked eyes for a moment, they'd both picked up a sudden burst of fear from their friend at the mention of the phone call. But before either of them could address it, Hitomi suddenly turned around and began making her way down the street.
"We can't afford to get distracted." She told them as she made haste towards the location of the mansion. "The longer Miss Mikuni is left to plot the stronger her advantage will be." Hitomi spoke in such a way that, combined with her highly focused emotions made it clear that she would not be open to a discussion on anything but the blackmail issue for the immediate future.
Madoka and Sayaka gave chase and soon the three friends were walking in tandem, making decent time through the neighbourhood. An awkward silence fell upon them, until a certain pink-haired decided to reach out to her girlfriend.
"It's okay." She communicated mentally, making sure only to reach out to the blue cloud. Sayaka raised an inquisitive eyebrow, radiating uncertainty that prompted Madoka to continue. "Those feelings you have for Hitomi, they're okay, I have them too remember?"
"I know." Sayaka sent back mulishly. "But we're supposed to be girlfriends now, I shouldn't…"
"You can't control who you fall in love with." Madoka said with a tender smile. "But you can control how you act on it." The sincerity clear in every word drew a light smile to Sayaka's face.
"That sounds a lot like Junko advice." Sayaka opined. "Was it?"
"It was." Madoka answered with a nod. "Mama always says that feelings don't go away, just because you start dating someone, or even when you get married. She said the important thing is always to be true to your partner."
"…Okay." Sayaka accepted nervously. "Then I'm gonna be real truthful right now. I think we're both in love with Hitomi." Her eyes flickered over to the girl walking just ahead of them "And I think she's in love with us as well."
"…I think so too." Madoka agreed. "Um… shouldn't we include her in this?"
"…No." Sayaka shook her head, eyes flicking to Hitomi. The green-haired girl was so focused on the task ahead that she didn't even notice the shifting expression of her friends behind her. "Not when she has this blackmail business hanging over her head."
"So, we fix that, then figure things out from there?" The pinket guessed.
"Well." Her girlfriend answered, a smile tugging at her lips. "Flying by the seat of our pants got us this far didn't it?"
Instead of answering with another mental message, Madoka looped an arm around Sayaka's. The two lovers let themselves bask in each other's trustunderstandinglove as they went down the street arm in arm.
The journey took slightly over half an hour in total, the manor being surprisingly close to the café which could explain why Oriko was eating there in the first place. As the group of three approached the building they were all taken aback by the house's appearance.
It was by most accounts certainly a mansion. The tall imposing building had at least three floors from the first glance, most of the building was white with a sloped grey roof and a multitude of windows scattered around the structure. There was even a garden at the front with the entryway lined by a parade of rose bushes.
The house was the classical image of what one might expect a mansion to look like. But what truly caught the three off guard was what had happened to the house.
Vandalism.
The white paint was fading slightly from lack of maintenance but that was far less noticeable than the graffiti that marred the building. It was mostly illegible scrawls and even a few crude obscene images, but some of the spray-paint was still readable, the words 'criminal scum' and 'traitor' still remained.
The rose bushes had not been spared either, some were torn and trampled while others had the rose heads lopped clean off. There was also a variety of rubbish scattered around the premises.
"Wow." Sayaka said in open disbelief. "When you said these guys were unpopular, I didn't think you meant this bad."
"…Some of this stuff looks old." Madoka quietly observed, her sadnessempathy washing over them in waves. "Shouldn't someone have tried to fix this by now?"
Hitomi silently agreed. Though some of the graffiti showed signs of attempts to scrub it away, it had done little to reverse the horrendous state of affairs that had befallen the manor. Someone should have hired staff or at least a cleaning service to fix this by now, Oriko's mother at least-
She sucked in an involuntary breath, her remembrancesadness drawing the attention of both Madoka and Sayaka. Their inquiring looks were very effective in getting Hitomi to explain what she'd just recalled.
"Mister Mikuni's wife, that is to say, Oriko's mother." She murmured hesitantly, her friends both leaning in close to hear her. "She died years ago, in a car accident if I recall. It is distinctly possible that Miss Mikuni is living alone in that house."
"That's… what!?" Sayaka yelped, half surprised half outraged. "She's an orphan? Then shouldn't someone be taking care of all this stuff ?" She waved her hand about wildly, gesturing to the entire building.
"They should." Hitomi agreed, a small frown making its way onto her face. "Yet the house has clearly been left untended to, for a not inconsiderable amount of time at that. There are of course possibilities, but few are pleasant-"
"Hey!" An unknown female voice called out from behind them.
The three friends turned to find a young girl running up to them, she appeared to be around the same age as them or perhaps slightly older. She had neck length black hair and yellow eyes that were fixed in a glare that matched her angry scowl. She was dressed head to toe in black, black skirt, black socks, black shirt, with only a few pieces of grey and white material preventing her entire outfit from being monotone.
"Vandals aren't welcome here!" The girl pointed an accusing finger at the group. "You put a single foot towards that house, and I'll stop you!"
The strange girl proceeded to make a fist and punch it against her own palm, leaving little to interpretation as to how she intended to 'stop them'.
"Hold on!" Sayaka objected, raising both her hands in a placating gesture. "We're not here to trash the place, we just need to see Oriko!"
"…Oh." The girls' fury seemed to dissipate in an instant, replaced by a sheepish yet inquisitive look. "Are you… stalkers then?"
Before any of them could correct the odd girl, her eyes lit up and a wide grin stretched across her face.
"Of course! It makes sense a girl as wonderful as Oriko would have tons of admirers instead of just one!" The quite possibly delusional girl said to herself, before once more pointing at them. "But if you really are stalkers then you'd be able to answer this question: What is Oriko's favourite colour?"
Thrown through a loop by the rapid-fire absurd accusations and questions. The three friends could only shake their heads in response, all in various stages of confusion and disbelief.
"…Aw." The girl seemed to visibly deflate, falling into a look that could be easily described as 'kicked puppy'. "I was hoping you knew, so you could tell me. I mean, how can I even call myself an admirer when I don't even know something as basic as that? But Oriko is so mysterious, so cool-"
The girl's wistful ramblings were interrupted by a loud creaking sound. The Mikuni mansion front door swung open, revealing the primly dressed form of Oriko standing there, her gaze falling to land directly on them.
Hitomi took a moment to try and gauge her potential foe. Despite the deteriorated state of the house Oriko herself looked to be the picture of traditional elegance, not only by the outfit she wore but also the unoffensive smile she bore.
It was almost like looking in a mirror, more so because it was so rare to see another girl around her age so blatantly familiar with masks. Hitomi didn't doubt for a second that Oriko was sizing her up as well, the two girls analysing each other for cracks, weaknesses to be exploited in the coming battle of wits.
"Miss Shizuki." Oriko greeted politely. "And companions as well." The word 'companions' was laced with an unusually suggestive emphasis as her eyes flickered to Madoka. "I have been expecting you, though I believe you would prefer if we discussed this matter inside? I understand that it may be a… delicate issue for you."
It took all of Hitomi's considerable willpower not to clench her teeth. Of course, she needed to have this discussion away from prying eyes but accepting that offer in the way Oriko had worded it was tantamount to admitting that the blackmail material was viable. The offer was a trap, and one she would struggle to dodge.
"Would that offer include seating and refreshments?" Hitomi asked, to which Oriko gave a very formal nod. "Then I will gladly accept, it's been quite a walk and some minor respite would not go amiss." She acquiesced with a practised smile, which hid her internal contemplations.
Smoke and mirrors, that's all it was. A verbal misdirection instead of accepting outright. It was unlikely to fool Oriko, the girl almost certainly knew that what she saw was good blackmail material, a wealthy business heiress engaging in an 'illicit' kiss with a close female friend was more than a little scandalous.
But the point wasn't to fool Oriko, but to deny her as much leverage as possible. Every admittance of how dangerous the blackmail was to Hitomi would become a weapon that her opponent would wield in the coming negotiations, an advantage she could push. The disgraced politician's daughter was already more equipped than them for this encounter, Hitomi couldn't afford to give her more ammunition.
"Then please, come in. I shall have some tea prepared shortly." Oriko gave another polite nod, before turning her head slightly to face the odd girl in black.
Said girl's face had gone from 'kicked puppy' to 'deer in headlights'. Her eyes were wide and her legs were shaking. It was like she couldn't decide whether she'd rather be anywhere else right now or if this was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
"Miss Kure." Oriko addressed the girl directly. The startled girl let out a strangled noise that might have been an 'eep!' as she suddenly dove behind the bushes. "…Miss Kure, I know you are still there. I also know that you have been following me for quite some time. Since you are here now, I believe it would be best to deal with you as well. Consider yourself also invited."
The bush was silent for a moment, only for the quiet to be broken by a sound that was somewhere between a squeal and someone choking to death.
"Oriko knows my name…" The bush whispered in disbelief. Before a slightly dishevelled girl in black popped out of it. "I mean yes! Whatever you want Ma'am!" She bowed deeply, her entire body now trembling.
Oriko still maintained her seemingly unflappable expression, even in the face of her probably-stalker's antics. She simply beckoned them inside, taking a step back herself to let them through.
"It's worse than I feared." Hitomi transmitted to both of her friends. "We appear to be dealing with a girl well acquainted with both political manoeuvring and subtle discourse. Be on your guard, and leave the talking to me. If you have something to say or notice something useful use telepathy. We need every advantage we can get right now"
Madoka and Sayaka both refrained from nodding, instead sending the mental feeling of affirmation. That alongside their supportconfidencelove proved to be a balm on Hitomi's soul, easing her worries even in the face of these poor odds.
Without another word between them, the four girls walked down the patio and into the Mikuni Mansion.
AN: I'm not entirely sure about this chapter, but I know that if I keep reworking it I'll end up sitting on it forever. I'd appreciate it if you guys could tell me what you think and once more I hope you enjoyed reading it.
And, oh. Oriko. I doubt she's interested in blackmailing Hitomi (good on the yakuza princess for accepting herself so quickly, by the by), but Homura hasn't looped in yet, and so Madoka's potential hasn't jumped to the size of god yet. I think. Though, she was getting those nightmares... Crap, I hope the three amigos can convince Madame Buckethead that Madoka does not need die.
(Another part of me is hoping Oriko and Kirika get drawn into the hugpile, no matter how impossible it seems. Madoka/Kirika is one of the cuter crackships I've encountered.)
(Another part of me is hoping Oriko and Kirika get drawn into the hugpile, no matter how impossible it seems. Madoka/Kirika is one of the cuter crackships I've encountered.)
>be me
>time travelling magical girl
>looping again
>attempt number 70 something
>lost track so numbers are probably wrong lol
>anyways
>looking for Madoka
>find her in her usual friend group
>plus oriko and kirika
>wut
>bitch must be planning something
>prepare to deal with problem
>Everything personal oriko
>oriko kisses Madoka
>nani
>kirika also kisses Madoka
>NANI
>everyone at the table is just smiling at them
>what the fuck is going on
>madoka starts kissing everyone else
>wha I dont
>I'm done
>ill just make my way home
I've been cucked by 4 girls at once. Two of them being my worst enemies. Life doesn't make sense anymore.
The three sat down in a booth a fair distance away from the other customers, concealed from most of the café. Madoka and Sayaka sat on one side with Hitomi on the other. It didn't take long for them to order their food, with Madoka decided to try a croissant, Hitomi ordering some French toast while-
"Really Sayaka?" Hitomi questioned in an exasperated groan. "Pancakes? For breakfast?"
She tried to reach out for new her sixth sense, mental limbs brushing against the blue cloud of Sayaka. Her not-fingers grazed the river of her girlfriend's emotions and for an instant Madoka was hit by a feeling of something familiar yet not, like she'd reached her powers out like this a hundred times before yet something was different now-
Interesting. "Madoka wished good" is the obvious explanation for magical fixfic soulbonds, but in that case, why would Madoka feel like she's had these powers before?
Interesting. "Madoka wished good" is the obvious explanation for magical fixfic soulbonds, but in that case, why would Madoka feel like she's had these powers before?
Don't think there's much in the way of evidence for this, but it could be interference from a future timeline (Madokami reaching back to fiddle with things) rather than a past timeline (previous iteration of Madoka wishing gud).
