An exciting story about ordinary middle school girl, Kaname Madoka; her dear friends and family; and the dark, strange truths hidden beneath their comfortable everyday lies.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Part █: The Revelation Story
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O.1 // like the pangs of first love
It starts with a dream. You're at a theatre, with your friend Sayaka. No, a concert - a violin recital. Kamijou-kun's up on stage, playing Ave Maria, dressed in a full suit, tailcoat and all. There's a whole audience around you, listening silently, enraptured - but at the same time, you feel like you're not there for him. You're just there for Sayaka.
There's something bittersweet about it all, as you talk to her about the music, about Kamijou-kun, about… nothings, really. It doesn't feel strange that you're talking during the concert - not in the least. It feels like you're avoiding some really big topic, but… you're okay with that. You're both okay with that.
But then… the dream changes. A path of beautiful flowers. Sayaka and another, almost familiar girl, riding on a carriage pulled by a fetchingly decorated green elephant. You're gently floating through the sky beside them, descending, gently borne by wings of stars.
Below you, a barren wasteland, dark and cratered, scattered with fragments of stained glass, the dust blown out in circles from some massive shock wave. In the centre, as if that great energy had been released from her body, lies a beautiful, black-haired girl on a stone slab.
Still.
Peaceful.
You alight, and reach down to her; she reaches up; your hands connect, and…
A pain like the pangs of first love. Hands clasped tightly around something more dear to you than your heart, pulling and tugging with insatiable desire. The terrible cracking sound of glass breaking under strain, the fragments grinding against each other, and then…
You startle, blinking yourself awake.
It'd felt so real, for a moment, there…
But it really was just a dream.
Ah, well. The sun's shining, bright beams of morning light spilling out through the curtains. It's a beautiful day.
You'd probably best get up.
-
Outside in the garden, Papa's cutting cherry tomatoes from the vine for the morning's breakfast. Birds are singing, and the air is still and calm. You wonder, only for a brief moment, whether it's really late enough in the year for ripe tomatoes.
Tatsuya's on Mama's bed, pounding his tiny fists against the covers with the exuberance only a three-year-old can have. He's not going to wake her up like that, though. Good thing Papa sent you to help.
You slam the door open, throw the curtains wide, scoop up Tatsuya out of the way, and tear off the covers with a gleeful "Rise and shine!", leaving your mother squirming in the bright sunlight.
Soon enough, she gets her bearings, blinking in the light.
"Mama woke up," Tatsuya declares proudly, smiling happily even though you'd done all the work.
Ehehe.
-
Your morning preparations pass by in a blur, and soon you're in the bathroom with Mama, brushing your teeth and gossiping.
"Hitomi-chan got another love letter," you tell her lazily, thinking through what'd happened at school yesterday. Hitomi's rich and elegant, so she gets quite a few - but at the same time, it means she can get away with being picky about boys. "That's the second one this month!"
"Nn. Guys who can't even work up the guts to confess in person are no good."
You finish brushing your teeth, and Mama takes out her hairdryer, brushing out her hair and starting to dry it off. "How about Kazuko?"
"Teach's relationship's still going strong. She's always talking about him in homeroom." How long's it been how? Ah, right! "It's three months this week - that's a new record!"
"Hmm, we'll see how it goes. This is the part where it gets tricky for them…"
You wash your face, reaching out for a towel to dry it off, and finding it pressed into your hand by a smiling Mama. "You think?"
"If it's not the real thing, this is where they'll find out. If they can make it through this, they should be good for the first year," she replies after a little, speedily working through her makeup routine. It must be tough, having to do that every day. If only there was magic to help out…
You dry yourself off, lowering the towel and catching a glimpse of your reflection in the mirror, a little of your long pink hair already held up in twintails, golden eyes bright and deep enough you could lose yourself in-
You blink, raising the towel to your face again. And lower it. Pink, like your hair. Weird - maybe you're still a bit asleep?
"All done~!" Mama announces with a broad smile, then turns to you - you must look like you're daydreaming. "Madoka?"
"Oh! I was," you look down at your hands, and the counter next to you. You'd been about to pick out today's ribbons. "Mama, have you seen my red ribbons?"
"Red ribbons? The ones I gave you?" She takes a look. "Huh, they're not there." Sure enough, there's your yellow ribbons, a pair of black ribbons, a pair of voluminous white ribbons, and a single, forlorn pink ribbon with its ends cut to a V-shape that doesn't look like it belongs with the rest. You don't think you'll ever wear that last one again.
-
You scoop up the black and white ribbons, taking a moment to contrast each of them against your hair. Your eyes are drawn to the white ones at first, but it feels like… maybe these are best saved for special occasions. They're definitely cute and flashy, but you think they'd go best with a dress, rather than just your school uniform.
The black ones, though, you'd got from a friend a long time ago, but you'd never got around to wearing them. They've got quite a cool, elegant feel to them, you think, as you hold them up against your hair. So, soon enough, you pick out the black ribbons and fasten them into your hair in jaunty bows.
"Black? Did something bad happen, Madoka?" asks Mama, but you shake your head quickly, putting on a bright smile.
"I just wanted to try something different today," you reply, spinning around to catch glimpses of yourself from every angle in the countless mirrors all over your bathroom.
"Mmm? They do make you look quite mysterious. Now your secret admirers will be all over you!"
"You know I don't have any," you reply with a blush - though even as you say that, you aren't quite sure. Maybe there is someone who's serious about you? More serious than Sayaka, at least…
"You've got to act as if you do! That's the secret to being pretty…" Mama says, heading out to breakfast. "A shame you couldn't find those red ribbons, though. I'll look for them at the weekend, okay?"
-
Breakfast passes quickly, and soon enough it's time to leave - Mama first, with a kiss for Papa and Tatsuya, and a high five for you - then you yourself, grabbing a piece of toast to eat on the way as you rush to catch up with your friends.
Still, you can't stop thinking about what Mama said about secret admirers and…
Huh, what was that? A flash of orange hair in the bushes at the end of the street?
A secret admirer would be nice, but you'd rather not have a stalker…
You hear a soft squeak, like a mew, and the bushes rustle again. Maybe it's just a cat?
Turning away, you rush ahead, eager to catch up with your friends. Down the next street, turn a corner and there they are, hanging back to wait for you between a line of cherry trees and a rock-lined waterway - beautiful at this time of year, with cherry blossoms falling to carpet the path with pink petals.
The group you're looking for stands out in shiny primary colours, red and green and blue hair beneath the morning sun. Your three best friends - the elegant Shizuki Hitomi with curls the colour of tea leaves; the boyish Miki Sayaka with hair like clear tropical water; and the rebellious, redheaded slacker, Sakura Kyouko.
"Good morning!" "Good morning~" "Hey." the three girls chorus as they watch you approach, the bright sunlight glinting off their accessories and Sayaka's silver ring.
"Madoka, you're late," exclaims Sayaka as you catch up. "Looking good with those stylish ribbons, though."
"You don't compliment my ribbon," Kyouko complains, rolling her eyes.
"Hm? You wear the same one every day, it's not the same- huh?"
Kyouko had turned around, watching a half-eaten apple float down the waterway with distaste. "People shouldn't waste food." She marches off to find whoever was responsible, letting you go ahead.
-
The three of you meander down the path in silence, a couple of times all speaking up at once to try to restart the conversation.
Finally, after a little laughter… "So, my mom said that guys who can't work up the guts to ask you out in person are no good," you say, managing to speak without Sayaka talking at the same moment.
"Ah, yeah. Your mom is just too cool, Madoka. I mean, she's beautiful, she's a successful businesswoman…"
"I wish it was that easy to reject someone," Hitomi sighs, turning back to wait for Kyouko, who looks like she's scouting the trees on the opposite side of the stream.
"I wish I had your problems, Hitomi," Sayaka teases back…
"I know, right? I wish I could get a love letter, too…" you say, though with nobody in particular in mind. You've never had a boyfriend - or a girlfriend, for that matter. Sayaka, on the other hand…
"Oh, you want to become a beautiful princess like Hitomi? You picked out those cool, elegant ribbons to change your image?"
"N-no," you begin, "I just-"
"I bet your mom taught you the secret to being popular, you naughty girl! Prepare to be punished," Sayaka declares, running at you with intent to tickle!
There's no escape - she has you completely at her mercy, her fingers dancing across your sides and making you giggle helplessly, right as Kyouko starts running back.
"You're cute, but I won't let you become popular with the guys. You're going to be my bride, Madoka!" Sayaka declares - she doesn't seem to have noticed.
Eventually, you wriggle free, Hitomi clearing her throat and gesturing to all the other students around you, staring your way. Even Kamijou-kun's there, nervously smiling at the four of you. Had you really been playing around like that in front of everyone?
Ah, well, you've got a good retort this time… this time? This time.
"Oh, but Sayaka, aren't you already married? You and Kyouko are living together, you've got matching rings and everything! If there's a precocious girl here…"
"Hey! That's…" Sayaka and Kyouko embarrassedly try to laugh it off, as you close in on your blue-haired friend to turn the tables…
Hitomi clears her throat again, pointing to the school gate. Yeah, you're going to be late if you keep playing around like this.
-
Somehow, you make it to class before the bell.
"Now, girls, remember that you must never date men who won't eat eggs unless they're half-boiled! And boys, you'd better not grow up so petty as to fuss over how your eggs are done!"
Mama was right - it seems like Saotome-sensei was dumped again…
"Well, now that that's out of the way, let's welcome our new transfer student!" she announces, flipping back to cheery now that she's finished lecturing Nakazawa-kun. "Come on in, Kure-san!"
Murmurs rise from the class as the door slides open and the new student steps inside - a girl with dark grey, straight hair, cut in a loose, messy bob, and with bright, orange-yellow eyes like a cat's. She doesn't look comfortable up at the front of the class, fidgeting as if she's afraid of the attention, but… there's something more than that, as the two of you catch each other's eyes for a moment.
You… might've seen her before, somewhere. Not in your dream, somewhere… much longer ago than that. Had you known her in elementary school, maybe?
"Why don't you tell the class your name?" Saotome-sensei asks, smiling gently as she steps back to give the new girl the board…
"Kure. Kure Kirika."
There's something bittersweet about it all, as you talk to her about the music, about Kamijou-kun, about… nothings, really. It doesn't feel strange that you're talking during the concert - not in the least. It feels like you're avoiding some really big topic, but… you're okay with that. You're both okay with that.
But then… the dream changes. A path of beautiful flowers. Sayaka and another, almost familiar girl, riding on a carriage pulled by a fetchingly decorated green elephant. You're gently floating through the sky beside them, descending, gently borne by wings of stars.
Below you, a barren wasteland, dark and cratered, scattered with fragments of stained glass, the dust blown out in circles from some massive shock wave. In the centre, as if that great energy had been released from her body, lies a beautiful, black-haired girl on a stone slab.
Still.
Peaceful.
You alight, and reach down to her; she reaches up; your hands connect, and…
A pain like the pangs of first love. Hands clasped tightly around something more dear to you than your heart, pulling and tugging with insatiable desire. The terrible cracking sound of glass breaking under strain, the fragments grinding against each other, and then…
You startle, blinking yourself awake.
It'd felt so real, for a moment, there…
But it really was just a dream.
Ah, well. The sun's shining, bright beams of morning light spilling out through the curtains. It's a beautiful day.
You'd probably best get up.
-
Outside in the garden, Papa's cutting cherry tomatoes from the vine for the morning's breakfast. Birds are singing, and the air is still and calm. You wonder, only for a brief moment, whether it's really late enough in the year for ripe tomatoes.
Tatsuya's on Mama's bed, pounding his tiny fists against the covers with the exuberance only a three-year-old can have. He's not going to wake her up like that, though. Good thing Papa sent you to help.
You slam the door open, throw the curtains wide, scoop up Tatsuya out of the way, and tear off the covers with a gleeful "Rise and shine!", leaving your mother squirming in the bright sunlight.
Soon enough, she gets her bearings, blinking in the light.
"Mama woke up," Tatsuya declares proudly, smiling happily even though you'd done all the work.
Ehehe.
-
Your morning preparations pass by in a blur, and soon you're in the bathroom with Mama, brushing your teeth and gossiping.
"Hitomi-chan got another love letter," you tell her lazily, thinking through what'd happened at school yesterday. Hitomi's rich and elegant, so she gets quite a few - but at the same time, it means she can get away with being picky about boys. "That's the second one this month!"
"Nn. Guys who can't even work up the guts to confess in person are no good."
You finish brushing your teeth, and Mama takes out her hairdryer, brushing out her hair and starting to dry it off. "How about Kazuko?"
"Teach's relationship's still going strong. She's always talking about him in homeroom." How long's it been how? Ah, right! "It's three months this week - that's a new record!"
"Hmm, we'll see how it goes. This is the part where it gets tricky for them…"
You wash your face, reaching out for a towel to dry it off, and finding it pressed into your hand by a smiling Mama. "You think?"
"If it's not the real thing, this is where they'll find out. If they can make it through this, they should be good for the first year," she replies after a little, speedily working through her makeup routine. It must be tough, having to do that every day. If only there was magic to help out…
You dry yourself off, lowering the towel and catching a glimpse of your reflection in the mirror, a little of your long pink hair already held up in twintails, golden eyes bright and deep enough you could lose yourself in-
You blink, raising the towel to your face again. And lower it. Pink, like your hair. Weird - maybe you're still a bit asleep?
"All done~!" Mama announces with a broad smile, then turns to you - you must look like you're daydreaming. "Madoka?"
"Oh! I was," you look down at your hands, and the counter next to you. You'd been about to pick out today's ribbons. "Mama, have you seen my red ribbons?"
"Red ribbons? The ones I gave you?" She takes a look. "Huh, they're not there." Sure enough, there's your yellow ribbons, a pair of black ribbons, a pair of voluminous white ribbons, and a single, forlorn pink ribbon with its ends cut to a V-shape that doesn't look like it belongs with the rest. You don't think you'll ever wear that last one again.
-
You scoop up the black and white ribbons, taking a moment to contrast each of them against your hair. Your eyes are drawn to the white ones at first, but it feels like… maybe these are best saved for special occasions. They're definitely cute and flashy, but you think they'd go best with a dress, rather than just your school uniform.
The black ones, though, you'd got from a friend a long time ago, but you'd never got around to wearing them. They've got quite a cool, elegant feel to them, you think, as you hold them up against your hair. So, soon enough, you pick out the black ribbons and fasten them into your hair in jaunty bows.
"Black? Did something bad happen, Madoka?" asks Mama, but you shake your head quickly, putting on a bright smile.
"I just wanted to try something different today," you reply, spinning around to catch glimpses of yourself from every angle in the countless mirrors all over your bathroom.
"Mmm? They do make you look quite mysterious. Now your secret admirers will be all over you!"
"You know I don't have any," you reply with a blush - though even as you say that, you aren't quite sure. Maybe there is someone who's serious about you? More serious than Sayaka, at least…
"You've got to act as if you do! That's the secret to being pretty…" Mama says, heading out to breakfast. "A shame you couldn't find those red ribbons, though. I'll look for them at the weekend, okay?"
-
Breakfast passes quickly, and soon enough it's time to leave - Mama first, with a kiss for Papa and Tatsuya, and a high five for you - then you yourself, grabbing a piece of toast to eat on the way as you rush to catch up with your friends.
Still, you can't stop thinking about what Mama said about secret admirers and…
Huh, what was that? A flash of orange hair in the bushes at the end of the street?
A secret admirer would be nice, but you'd rather not have a stalker…
You hear a soft squeak, like a mew, and the bushes rustle again. Maybe it's just a cat?
Turning away, you rush ahead, eager to catch up with your friends. Down the next street, turn a corner and there they are, hanging back to wait for you between a line of cherry trees and a rock-lined waterway - beautiful at this time of year, with cherry blossoms falling to carpet the path with pink petals.
The group you're looking for stands out in shiny primary colours, red and green and blue hair beneath the morning sun. Your three best friends - the elegant Shizuki Hitomi with curls the colour of tea leaves; the boyish Miki Sayaka with hair like clear tropical water; and the rebellious, redheaded slacker, Sakura Kyouko.
"Good morning!" "Good morning~" "Hey." the three girls chorus as they watch you approach, the bright sunlight glinting off their accessories and Sayaka's silver ring.
"Madoka, you're late," exclaims Sayaka as you catch up. "Looking good with those stylish ribbons, though."
"You don't compliment my ribbon," Kyouko complains, rolling her eyes.
"Hm? You wear the same one every day, it's not the same- huh?"
Kyouko had turned around, watching a half-eaten apple float down the waterway with distaste. "People shouldn't waste food." She marches off to find whoever was responsible, letting you go ahead.
-
The three of you meander down the path in silence, a couple of times all speaking up at once to try to restart the conversation.
Finally, after a little laughter… "So, my mom said that guys who can't work up the guts to ask you out in person are no good," you say, managing to speak without Sayaka talking at the same moment.
"Ah, yeah. Your mom is just too cool, Madoka. I mean, she's beautiful, she's a successful businesswoman…"
"I wish it was that easy to reject someone," Hitomi sighs, turning back to wait for Kyouko, who looks like she's scouting the trees on the opposite side of the stream.
"I wish I had your problems, Hitomi," Sayaka teases back…
"I know, right? I wish I could get a love letter, too…" you say, though with nobody in particular in mind. You've never had a boyfriend - or a girlfriend, for that matter. Sayaka, on the other hand…
"Oh, you want to become a beautiful princess like Hitomi? You picked out those cool, elegant ribbons to change your image?"
"N-no," you begin, "I just-"
"I bet your mom taught you the secret to being popular, you naughty girl! Prepare to be punished," Sayaka declares, running at you with intent to tickle!
There's no escape - she has you completely at her mercy, her fingers dancing across your sides and making you giggle helplessly, right as Kyouko starts running back.
"You're cute, but I won't let you become popular with the guys. You're going to be my bride, Madoka!" Sayaka declares - she doesn't seem to have noticed.
Eventually, you wriggle free, Hitomi clearing her throat and gesturing to all the other students around you, staring your way. Even Kamijou-kun's there, nervously smiling at the four of you. Had you really been playing around like that in front of everyone?
Ah, well, you've got a good retort this time… this time? This time.
"Oh, but Sayaka, aren't you already married? You and Kyouko are living together, you've got matching rings and everything! If there's a precocious girl here…"
"Hey! That's…" Sayaka and Kyouko embarrassedly try to laugh it off, as you close in on your blue-haired friend to turn the tables…
Hitomi clears her throat again, pointing to the school gate. Yeah, you're going to be late if you keep playing around like this.
-
Somehow, you make it to class before the bell.
"Now, girls, remember that you must never date men who won't eat eggs unless they're half-boiled! And boys, you'd better not grow up so petty as to fuss over how your eggs are done!"
Mama was right - it seems like Saotome-sensei was dumped again…
"Well, now that that's out of the way, let's welcome our new transfer student!" she announces, flipping back to cheery now that she's finished lecturing Nakazawa-kun. "Come on in, Kure-san!"
Murmurs rise from the class as the door slides open and the new student steps inside - a girl with dark grey, straight hair, cut in a loose, messy bob, and with bright, orange-yellow eyes like a cat's. She doesn't look comfortable up at the front of the class, fidgeting as if she's afraid of the attention, but… there's something more than that, as the two of you catch each other's eyes for a moment.
You… might've seen her before, somewhere. Not in your dream, somewhere… much longer ago than that. Had you known her in elementary school, maybe?
"Why don't you tell the class your name?" Saotome-sensei asks, smiling gently as she steps back to give the new girl the board…
"Kure. Kure Kirika."
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what this story is
This story is - or, more accurately, was - a quest in which players cooperated to decide on the actions of an ordinary middle school girl, Kaname Madoka. The story is already filled with excitement and shocking swerves, so be prepared for anything.
However, the conditions of the story are unusual. I originally started it as a quest in a private community on Discord, but as the story got longer, it became harder and harder for readers to catch up after missing posts, and it eventually became clear that the Discord format was the problem. Thus, I decided to make the story more accessible for catch-up, while also bringing it to more readers, by archiving it in a cleaner, slightly edited form here on SV.
At present, I'm unsure as to whether to move voting here or not, but a considerable portion of the story is already written, so even if I do, it won't be for some months. At this time, I'm just trying to get it in a more accessible form; if I do decide to open voting here, I'll ask a mod to move it and figure out a voting scheme.
I'll be trying to make a post every day, at least until it's caught up a few months from now, but there's no guarantee I'll be successful in that, so bear with me.
As for content - obviously, I can't be completely thorough with content warnings, but since this is a Puella Magi Madoka Magica story, you should expect both physical and surreal violence, psychological manipulation, gaslighting, mind control, breaks from reality, dogmatically extreme longtermist utilitarianism, and maybe some German philosophy.
Oh, right. Since Rebellion Story is canon to this, I should add 'potentially unhealthy relationship choices' to that.
In terms of canon… feel free to speculate what this story's relationship is to established canon - I've tried my best to keep it loosely canon-compliant; except where I don't approve of something doroinu has done, which happens occasionally, because doroinu isn't half the writer Urobuchi is.
With that in mind, let's do our best to enjoy ourselves as we dive into Madoka's fun, happy school life together!
However, the conditions of the story are unusual. I originally started it as a quest in a private community on Discord, but as the story got longer, it became harder and harder for readers to catch up after missing posts, and it eventually became clear that the Discord format was the problem. Thus, I decided to make the story more accessible for catch-up, while also bringing it to more readers, by archiving it in a cleaner, slightly edited form here on SV.
At present, I'm unsure as to whether to move voting here or not, but a considerable portion of the story is already written, so even if I do, it won't be for some months. At this time, I'm just trying to get it in a more accessible form; if I do decide to open voting here, I'll ask a mod to move it and figure out a voting scheme.
I'll be trying to make a post every day, at least until it's caught up a few months from now, but there's no guarantee I'll be successful in that, so bear with me.
As for content - obviously, I can't be completely thorough with content warnings, but since this is a Puella Magi Madoka Magica story, you should expect both physical and surreal violence, psychological manipulation, gaslighting, mind control, breaks from reality, dogmatically extreme longtermist utilitarianism, and maybe some German philosophy.
Oh, right. Since Rebellion Story is canon to this, I should add 'potentially unhealthy relationship choices' to that.
In terms of canon… feel free to speculate what this story's relationship is to established canon - I've tried my best to keep it loosely canon-compliant; except where I don't approve of something doroinu has done, which happens occasionally, because doroinu isn't half the writer Urobuchi is.
With that in mind, let's do our best to enjoy ourselves as we dive into Madoka's fun, happy school life together!
Last edited:
But eggs make me nauseous and give me bad gas.
UrsaTempest
Don't Panic!
Woooooooo
Good to see!
Good to see!
O.2 // not interested in shallow ghost stories
She speaks slowly, writing down her name in neat, unadorned strokes. Kure, like a gift, and Kirika, in katakana. You can't help but watch her hand closely as she writes - she looks like she's stilling her hand a little, as if she wants to write it a different way.
"Please take care of me," she continues awkwardly, eyes scanning across the room as she rises from her bow. Looking for the empty seat she'll be taking - probably hoping it'll be in the corner at the back of the room.
She smiles just a little as Saotome-sensei points it out, and she makes her way, relieved, to the seat in the very back corner, two behind Kyouko.
You hope she'll be able to see and hear everything properly, all the way back there.
-
A little later, during a lull between classes, you're sitting at your desk, chatting with Sayaka, Hitomi and Kyouko. It looks like Kure-san is being bombarded with questions by some of the other girls, but… she doesn't seem to be taking it so well.
Saotome-sensei had said she'd moved here from a rural town just a few days ago, and you're worried about her. Not only is she probably not used to the big city, but having lots of attention and crowds around her is probably a new and unpleasant experience for her.
And, well… Mitakihara Middle School is a bit special, too.
You want to try your best to make her first day at a new school a good memory.
So you quickly apologize to your friends and approach Kure-san's desk on your own, smiling calmly but just firmly enough to quieten down the girls crowding around her. Having been listening in a little, you'd noticed Kure-san wasn't really interested in anything the other girls were asking, just giving blunt one-word answers.
"Kure-san, are you okay? I can take you to the nurse's office if you're feeling unwell."
"Nn." The dark-haired girl looks up at you, not exactly pleading - she looks like she just wants to be left alone - but at least considering you as a means to escape.
"Do you know where it is?"
She shakes her head, not really brightening up, but at least enthusiastic enough about the idea to be getting out of her seat.
"I'm the health officer for this class, so… I can show you around a bit if you like, and if you decide you want to, I can take you to the nurse's office right away. Don't worry - it'll be no trouble!" you offer, still giving her a kind smile.
Her response is a little slow to come, but when she answers, it's in the affirmative.
"Sorry, everyone, but I really should help Kure-san get settled in," you offer to the other girls. Again, a little less consolatory than might be proper, but they had been crowding her.
"Oh, really? Sorry for keeping you." "We can talk later, right, Kure-san?" The group quickly breaks up, leaving just the two of you heading out of class.
-
The dark-haired transfer student is quiet as she follows you through the glass-walled corridors of the school, picking out a path that lets her keep her distance from the other students.
"Sorry about that. They don't mean any harm," you explain calmingly - though they really were bad at reading signals. "They're just excited because we don't get many transfer students."
"I'm not that special, am I?" she replies bitterly, eyes downcast as she arcs around a group of gossiping girls.
"Mm. Don't worry - if anyone gives you trouble, I'll help you out. We're classmates, after all," you say. Well, they are too, but that's exactly why they'd better be nice! "My name's Kaname Madoka. 'Madoka' is fine, though!"
"Are you sure? You shouldn't offer things like that so easily," she snaps back. Oops - it seems like you'd hit a nerve somehow.
"'Madoka-chan,' then! It'd be sad for you to keep calling me 'Kaname-san', that's way too formal…"
"If you're offering. Then, 'Kirika-chan' is fine, since you're going to ask."
Talking to this girl is difficult, you think. It's like she's constantly looking for ways to end the conversation…
-
"There's too much glass here," she complains after a while of walking in silence. "It's like there's no privacy at all…"
"Mmhm. They can dim the glass when we need to change, but it is kind of weird compared to other schools," you reply.
"That doesn't sound reassuring at all."
"No, it actually just makes it look like a normal classroom. This school was only built a few years ago, so it's really high-tech!"
"Why don't they do that all the time, then?"
"I… don't know, actually. Well, there's a few rumours about it, but they're mostly kind of occult. You could ask some of the other girls about it if you don't mind hearing about the Seven Mysteries of Mitakihara Middle School," you explain sheepishly. She did make a good point, though. "I don't know if anyone really knows."
"I'll pass. I'm not interested in shallow ghost stories."
-
A few hours later, you're sitting around outside during gym class. While the boys have high jump, you and the rest of the girls are running track. You usually finish fairly quickly, so you've got a bunch of time waiting for some of the others to finish.
Mostly Hitomi and Sayaka, really - Kyouko'd been behind at the start but eventually finished first with seemingly bottomless stamina, so the track team were nagging her to join them again, while Kirika-chan and Sayaka had sprinted ahead at the start, neither wanting to lose to the other, but Sayaka had overextended herself and fallen back behind even you by the end.
After she'd been struggling in math and history classes, though, it's good to see her doing something she can excel at, you think, heading over to sit beside her.
"You were really fast back there. Sayaka's a good sprinter, but you beat her and still managed to not fall behind," you gush, sitting down on the grass by Kirika's side. Somewhere in the distance, one of the boys in the high jump group is yelling, so things aren't exactly peaceful.
"O-oh, Madoka-chan, um… thanks," she replies with a soft sigh. "She's not bad either, though. She should pace herself more."
"Sayaka gets into situations like that a lot, ehehe. If she'd cut her losses, she could've caught up with you by the end - I'm sure of it."
"So… she lost to me because she was trying to impress me. Hah. It's like something out of a childish love story," she snarks, shaking her head.
It's a weird way of putting it, you think. And not just because it'd been so much more than she'd been willing to say up to now.
Still, you want to do something for her. Now she's comfortable talking to you, you're thinking about what you can do with her… but you don't want to overwhelm her. If you brought her to the mall with Sayaka and the others, it could easily be a repeat of the classroom earlier. So instead…
"Oh, Kirika-chan?"
"What is it?"
"Um… ehehe, well, I saw you were having trouble in class earlier, so I was thinking… maybe we could study together, and I could help you catch up?" you offer, thinking through your class notes. You'd always been good about keeping them organized, so maybe you could copy them and make a study guide out of them?
"You… you don't have to, you know?" she answers, looking very intently down at the grass around her feet.
"I want to, though. Because… because I don't want Kirika-chan to be struggling alone," you say, full of heartfelt feelings. It's a bit embarrassing, but she seems like the sort of girl who'd refuse if you aren't earnest like this.
"Um. Okay, if I can." the transfer student mumbles, looking around self-consciously. She still seems nervous - and a bit blunt, too - but you can see a blush creeping up on her cheeks. It's really cute, actually!
"Tomorrow after school, then? I… already promised Sayaka we'd go out today."
"I don't have any plans," she says simply - you'd thought as much, but it was good to be sure.
"Then, let's meet up tomorrow after class, and we can go to the library, okay?"
"I'll be… looking forward to it," she says, just as you catch a glimpse of Sayaka making her way over. Apparently she was finally done…
-
After school, you head over to the mall with Sayaka. And Hitomi. And Kyouko, actually, tagging along in the hopes of food other people were paying for, and which she'd somehow manage you and Sayaka into providing.
So now, after wandering around for a while, chatting and window-shopping, the four of you are helping yourselves to fast food, in the knowledge that if anyone leaves leftovers, those will also disappear into Kyouko.
And so you start explaining what'd happened with Kirika, and why you won't be able to hang out tomorrow.
"Huh, you agreed to do that for her?" Kyouko asks, between mouthfuls of burger.
"I mean, she really looked upset back there, and I don't want the others to take advantage of her…" you explain, after telling them you'd be busy tomorrow.
"Oh, Madoka… if you're this nice to her, you know she might start crushing on you…" Sayaka teases. "And, doesn't she look like the kind of girl who… you know…"
"Mmm? What is it, Sayaka?"
"Like," she covers her eye with her right hand, left hand curled into a claw… "Agh! The cursed power sealed in my evil eye is restless today! Unless I reap more souls with this scythe of mine, the seal won't hold! - that kind of girl."
"Eh? I don't think she's like that at all. She's just… bad at making friends, I think," you retort. Seriously, Kirika going around with an eye patch, like some kind of predator of the night? What kind of image is that?
"Aren't you just mad she was faster than you earlier, Sayaka?" Kyouko teases. "If you want me to train you, we can go out to the park later - but I won't go easy on you!"
-
"My, my…" Hitomi comments, delicately setting down her flimsy plastic cutlery as she finishes her meal. As much as she's having, anyway. She's the only person you've ever seen eat fast food like that… "Madoka-san, are you sure you've never met her before? You seem awfully taken with her."
"Hmm… well, I guess normally I'd say yes, but…"
"Huh? 'Normally?'" Sayaka pounces on your strange wording. "Is there something… abnormal that you're not telling us about?"
"Well, when I first saw her this morning, I thought… 'I've seen this person before.'"
Sayaka and Hitomi immediately burst out laughing, quickly followed by Kyouko. They're picking on you, right?
"That's great! Now you're turning into some kind of larger-than-life character…" Sayaka jokes - yeah, she's totally picking on you.
"That's mean! This kind of deja vu is no joke!" you reply awkwardly. "But… I definitely don't remember someone like her from elementary school, or anything like that, and she moved from quite far away too. She doesn't look like someone I've seen in a movie or on TV or anything either… she's not even someone I've seen in a dream or something weird like that."
-
"Hmm… there's only one answer, then. You must've been friends in a previous life, and you were brought back together across time and space by the cycles of karma…" Sayaka suggests smugly, not particularly serious. And yet…
"Maybe that's it, though… but, when I caught her eyes for a moment, it felt like…" You think back to that moment, trying to relive the feeling, and… "Like she was my rival somewhere, or… or an enemy. But that's silly, right…?" you say, trying to shake a foreboding feeling. You can't remember ever having an enemy before, but it just feels…
"A past life, huh?" Kyouko says, eyes on Hitomi's half-finished food. "You think that kinda stuff really exists?"
"It's more likely to be a coincidence," Hitomi points out. "It's possible that you saw her while you were on vacation somewhere, and remembered her appearance subconsciously, but the image became associated with something else. Still, I think if she really was your enemy, you wouldn't be trying so hard to get close to her…"
"Nah, this is Madoka we're talking about. I don't think she knows how to be mean to people," Sayaka jokes.
"I-I do too!" you retort, not really thinking… well, there's no real way to win with this one.
"Oh, is that the time?" Hitomi remarks all of a sudden, her phone out. "I'm sorry, I have to go."
"Piano lessons? Or do you have Japanese dance today?"
"Today's tea ceremony practice," she says, moving to scoop up her tray, still with some unfinished food. "Entrance exams are coming up, but mom still wants me to keep this up…"
"Hey, can I have that?" Kyouko objects, eyes on the remains of Hitomi's salad, drawing a "Cryptid…" from Sayaka.
-
Once the three of you are done, you head to an accessory shop - Sayaka'd wanted to help Kyouko pick out a new ribbon, and you're still thinking about your own red ones. For some reason, you don't want to just buy a new pair…
Sayaka's just picked out a bold, black and white patterned ribbon, which she seems much more eager than Kyouko about, when-
<Help me, Madoka!>
That voice… where had it come from?
<Save me!>
From that staff-only door, at the back of the shop?
If… someone's in danger, it's okay to let yourself in, right?
Nobody'll mind if you slip downstairs, through another store that's closed for renovations, or through the fire escape stairs, into an under-floor warehouse, dusty and barely used.
It's uncanny, seeing this part of the mall, passing by abandoned mannequins and packed-up displays, stacked-up pallets and empty shelving.
You come to a stop, unsure which way to turn next in the dark, only to hear the scampering of small feet amid the silence, just above your head. Feel dust tumbling down from the ceiling… followed by a loose panel, tumbling to the floor with a crash.
And atop it, a small, white-furred creature, its tail long and fluffy like a squirrel's, odd appendages emerging from its pointed ears encircled by floating golden rings. It looks hurt, badly bleeding…
<Save me!>
You're sure now - that creature is the one whose voice you heard - though you can't see it moving your mouth in the slightest.
You scoop it up into your arms without even thinking - even if at the moment you touch it, a strange premonition hits you - less of a message, more of an uncanny chill. More of the same deja vu…
But what's far, far more uncanny is that.
In the dark, you almost mistake her for a human at first - but no, what you're seeing is no human. An uncanny porcelain doll, her body painted in the blue-white pallor of the grave, dressed in a black jacket and skirt with a small white apron at the front. Her hair black and voluminous, done up in curls atop her head. Her eyes, huge and unblinking, a spiraling, unnatural blue with no distinction between iris and sclera. Her rictus grin too wide, like something from a horror movie.
She slowly stalks toward you, raising what looks like a giant sewing pin directly at you. Approaching until she's close enough to make eye contact…
And then lowers her weapon, takes it aside and… salutes, a group of four tin soldiers in grey and purple lining up behind her with their bayonetted rifles pointed upward.
What… had you just walked into?
-
You stare at the doll, trembling in her false salute, her troops lined up in a single rank behind her.
She stares back, unblinking, her blue eyes seeming to grow even more intense.
You keep staring, shifting the wounded creature onto your right arm, clutching it close to your chest.
She stares back, eyes widening even further - looking like they're going to roll right out of their sockets.
You don't blink, stepping forward, trance-like. You don't know if you've been controlled by her, or if something else, some even stranger force, is calling you forward.
She takes half a step back, fumbling. Her honour guard spin in place, breaking their formation and falling into a peculiar, teetering dance.
You speak, words rising without comprehension to your lips. "It's no good to be like that, ██████-chan. Doesn't it hurt?"
She fumbles, her pin tumbling from her hand and clattering on the ground.
You reach out to her cheek, cold and unyielding, and gently stroke it. "It's okay. I'm here for you…"
And slowly, silently, your reality frays and unravels.
"Please take care of me," she continues awkwardly, eyes scanning across the room as she rises from her bow. Looking for the empty seat she'll be taking - probably hoping it'll be in the corner at the back of the room.
She smiles just a little as Saotome-sensei points it out, and she makes her way, relieved, to the seat in the very back corner, two behind Kyouko.
You hope she'll be able to see and hear everything properly, all the way back there.
-
A little later, during a lull between classes, you're sitting at your desk, chatting with Sayaka, Hitomi and Kyouko. It looks like Kure-san is being bombarded with questions by some of the other girls, but… she doesn't seem to be taking it so well.
Saotome-sensei had said she'd moved here from a rural town just a few days ago, and you're worried about her. Not only is she probably not used to the big city, but having lots of attention and crowds around her is probably a new and unpleasant experience for her.
And, well… Mitakihara Middle School is a bit special, too.
You want to try your best to make her first day at a new school a good memory.
So you quickly apologize to your friends and approach Kure-san's desk on your own, smiling calmly but just firmly enough to quieten down the girls crowding around her. Having been listening in a little, you'd noticed Kure-san wasn't really interested in anything the other girls were asking, just giving blunt one-word answers.
"Kure-san, are you okay? I can take you to the nurse's office if you're feeling unwell."
"Nn." The dark-haired girl looks up at you, not exactly pleading - she looks like she just wants to be left alone - but at least considering you as a means to escape.
"Do you know where it is?"
She shakes her head, not really brightening up, but at least enthusiastic enough about the idea to be getting out of her seat.
"I'm the health officer for this class, so… I can show you around a bit if you like, and if you decide you want to, I can take you to the nurse's office right away. Don't worry - it'll be no trouble!" you offer, still giving her a kind smile.
Her response is a little slow to come, but when she answers, it's in the affirmative.
"Sorry, everyone, but I really should help Kure-san get settled in," you offer to the other girls. Again, a little less consolatory than might be proper, but they had been crowding her.
"Oh, really? Sorry for keeping you." "We can talk later, right, Kure-san?" The group quickly breaks up, leaving just the two of you heading out of class.
-
The dark-haired transfer student is quiet as she follows you through the glass-walled corridors of the school, picking out a path that lets her keep her distance from the other students.
"Sorry about that. They don't mean any harm," you explain calmingly - though they really were bad at reading signals. "They're just excited because we don't get many transfer students."
"I'm not that special, am I?" she replies bitterly, eyes downcast as she arcs around a group of gossiping girls.
"Mm. Don't worry - if anyone gives you trouble, I'll help you out. We're classmates, after all," you say. Well, they are too, but that's exactly why they'd better be nice! "My name's Kaname Madoka. 'Madoka' is fine, though!"
"Are you sure? You shouldn't offer things like that so easily," she snaps back. Oops - it seems like you'd hit a nerve somehow.
"'Madoka-chan,' then! It'd be sad for you to keep calling me 'Kaname-san', that's way too formal…"
"If you're offering. Then, 'Kirika-chan' is fine, since you're going to ask."
Talking to this girl is difficult, you think. It's like she's constantly looking for ways to end the conversation…
-
"There's too much glass here," she complains after a while of walking in silence. "It's like there's no privacy at all…"
"Mmhm. They can dim the glass when we need to change, but it is kind of weird compared to other schools," you reply.
"That doesn't sound reassuring at all."
"No, it actually just makes it look like a normal classroom. This school was only built a few years ago, so it's really high-tech!"
"Why don't they do that all the time, then?"
"I… don't know, actually. Well, there's a few rumours about it, but they're mostly kind of occult. You could ask some of the other girls about it if you don't mind hearing about the Seven Mysteries of Mitakihara Middle School," you explain sheepishly. She did make a good point, though. "I don't know if anyone really knows."
"I'll pass. I'm not interested in shallow ghost stories."
-
A few hours later, you're sitting around outside during gym class. While the boys have high jump, you and the rest of the girls are running track. You usually finish fairly quickly, so you've got a bunch of time waiting for some of the others to finish.
Mostly Hitomi and Sayaka, really - Kyouko'd been behind at the start but eventually finished first with seemingly bottomless stamina, so the track team were nagging her to join them again, while Kirika-chan and Sayaka had sprinted ahead at the start, neither wanting to lose to the other, but Sayaka had overextended herself and fallen back behind even you by the end.
After she'd been struggling in math and history classes, though, it's good to see her doing something she can excel at, you think, heading over to sit beside her.
"You were really fast back there. Sayaka's a good sprinter, but you beat her and still managed to not fall behind," you gush, sitting down on the grass by Kirika's side. Somewhere in the distance, one of the boys in the high jump group is yelling, so things aren't exactly peaceful.
"O-oh, Madoka-chan, um… thanks," she replies with a soft sigh. "She's not bad either, though. She should pace herself more."
"Sayaka gets into situations like that a lot, ehehe. If she'd cut her losses, she could've caught up with you by the end - I'm sure of it."
"So… she lost to me because she was trying to impress me. Hah. It's like something out of a childish love story," she snarks, shaking her head.
It's a weird way of putting it, you think. And not just because it'd been so much more than she'd been willing to say up to now.
Still, you want to do something for her. Now she's comfortable talking to you, you're thinking about what you can do with her… but you don't want to overwhelm her. If you brought her to the mall with Sayaka and the others, it could easily be a repeat of the classroom earlier. So instead…
"Oh, Kirika-chan?"
"What is it?"
"Um… ehehe, well, I saw you were having trouble in class earlier, so I was thinking… maybe we could study together, and I could help you catch up?" you offer, thinking through your class notes. You'd always been good about keeping them organized, so maybe you could copy them and make a study guide out of them?
"You… you don't have to, you know?" she answers, looking very intently down at the grass around her feet.
"I want to, though. Because… because I don't want Kirika-chan to be struggling alone," you say, full of heartfelt feelings. It's a bit embarrassing, but she seems like the sort of girl who'd refuse if you aren't earnest like this.
"Um. Okay, if I can." the transfer student mumbles, looking around self-consciously. She still seems nervous - and a bit blunt, too - but you can see a blush creeping up on her cheeks. It's really cute, actually!
"Tomorrow after school, then? I… already promised Sayaka we'd go out today."
"I don't have any plans," she says simply - you'd thought as much, but it was good to be sure.
"Then, let's meet up tomorrow after class, and we can go to the library, okay?"
"I'll be… looking forward to it," she says, just as you catch a glimpse of Sayaka making her way over. Apparently she was finally done…
-
After school, you head over to the mall with Sayaka. And Hitomi. And Kyouko, actually, tagging along in the hopes of food other people were paying for, and which she'd somehow manage you and Sayaka into providing.
So now, after wandering around for a while, chatting and window-shopping, the four of you are helping yourselves to fast food, in the knowledge that if anyone leaves leftovers, those will also disappear into Kyouko.
And so you start explaining what'd happened with Kirika, and why you won't be able to hang out tomorrow.
"Huh, you agreed to do that for her?" Kyouko asks, between mouthfuls of burger.
"I mean, she really looked upset back there, and I don't want the others to take advantage of her…" you explain, after telling them you'd be busy tomorrow.
"Oh, Madoka… if you're this nice to her, you know she might start crushing on you…" Sayaka teases. "And, doesn't she look like the kind of girl who… you know…"
"Mmm? What is it, Sayaka?"
"Like," she covers her eye with her right hand, left hand curled into a claw… "Agh! The cursed power sealed in my evil eye is restless today! Unless I reap more souls with this scythe of mine, the seal won't hold! - that kind of girl."
"Eh? I don't think she's like that at all. She's just… bad at making friends, I think," you retort. Seriously, Kirika going around with an eye patch, like some kind of predator of the night? What kind of image is that?
"Aren't you just mad she was faster than you earlier, Sayaka?" Kyouko teases. "If you want me to train you, we can go out to the park later - but I won't go easy on you!"
-
"My, my…" Hitomi comments, delicately setting down her flimsy plastic cutlery as she finishes her meal. As much as she's having, anyway. She's the only person you've ever seen eat fast food like that… "Madoka-san, are you sure you've never met her before? You seem awfully taken with her."
"Hmm… well, I guess normally I'd say yes, but…"
"Huh? 'Normally?'" Sayaka pounces on your strange wording. "Is there something… abnormal that you're not telling us about?"
"Well, when I first saw her this morning, I thought… 'I've seen this person before.'"
Sayaka and Hitomi immediately burst out laughing, quickly followed by Kyouko. They're picking on you, right?
"That's great! Now you're turning into some kind of larger-than-life character…" Sayaka jokes - yeah, she's totally picking on you.
"That's mean! This kind of deja vu is no joke!" you reply awkwardly. "But… I definitely don't remember someone like her from elementary school, or anything like that, and she moved from quite far away too. She doesn't look like someone I've seen in a movie or on TV or anything either… she's not even someone I've seen in a dream or something weird like that."
-
"Hmm… there's only one answer, then. You must've been friends in a previous life, and you were brought back together across time and space by the cycles of karma…" Sayaka suggests smugly, not particularly serious. And yet…
"Maybe that's it, though… but, when I caught her eyes for a moment, it felt like…" You think back to that moment, trying to relive the feeling, and… "Like she was my rival somewhere, or… or an enemy. But that's silly, right…?" you say, trying to shake a foreboding feeling. You can't remember ever having an enemy before, but it just feels…
"A past life, huh?" Kyouko says, eyes on Hitomi's half-finished food. "You think that kinda stuff really exists?"
"It's more likely to be a coincidence," Hitomi points out. "It's possible that you saw her while you were on vacation somewhere, and remembered her appearance subconsciously, but the image became associated with something else. Still, I think if she really was your enemy, you wouldn't be trying so hard to get close to her…"
"Nah, this is Madoka we're talking about. I don't think she knows how to be mean to people," Sayaka jokes.
"I-I do too!" you retort, not really thinking… well, there's no real way to win with this one.
"Oh, is that the time?" Hitomi remarks all of a sudden, her phone out. "I'm sorry, I have to go."
"Piano lessons? Or do you have Japanese dance today?"
"Today's tea ceremony practice," she says, moving to scoop up her tray, still with some unfinished food. "Entrance exams are coming up, but mom still wants me to keep this up…"
"Hey, can I have that?" Kyouko objects, eyes on the remains of Hitomi's salad, drawing a "Cryptid…" from Sayaka.
-
Once the three of you are done, you head to an accessory shop - Sayaka'd wanted to help Kyouko pick out a new ribbon, and you're still thinking about your own red ones. For some reason, you don't want to just buy a new pair…
Sayaka's just picked out a bold, black and white patterned ribbon, which she seems much more eager than Kyouko about, when-
<Help me, Madoka!>
That voice… where had it come from?
<Save me!>
From that staff-only door, at the back of the shop?
If… someone's in danger, it's okay to let yourself in, right?
Nobody'll mind if you slip downstairs, through another store that's closed for renovations, or through the fire escape stairs, into an under-floor warehouse, dusty and barely used.
It's uncanny, seeing this part of the mall, passing by abandoned mannequins and packed-up displays, stacked-up pallets and empty shelving.
You come to a stop, unsure which way to turn next in the dark, only to hear the scampering of small feet amid the silence, just above your head. Feel dust tumbling down from the ceiling… followed by a loose panel, tumbling to the floor with a crash.
And atop it, a small, white-furred creature, its tail long and fluffy like a squirrel's, odd appendages emerging from its pointed ears encircled by floating golden rings. It looks hurt, badly bleeding…
<Save me!>
You're sure now - that creature is the one whose voice you heard - though you can't see it moving your mouth in the slightest.
You scoop it up into your arms without even thinking - even if at the moment you touch it, a strange premonition hits you - less of a message, more of an uncanny chill. More of the same deja vu…
But what's far, far more uncanny is that.
In the dark, you almost mistake her for a human at first - but no, what you're seeing is no human. An uncanny porcelain doll, her body painted in the blue-white pallor of the grave, dressed in a black jacket and skirt with a small white apron at the front. Her hair black and voluminous, done up in curls atop her head. Her eyes, huge and unblinking, a spiraling, unnatural blue with no distinction between iris and sclera. Her rictus grin too wide, like something from a horror movie.
She slowly stalks toward you, raising what looks like a giant sewing pin directly at you. Approaching until she's close enough to make eye contact…
And then lowers her weapon, takes it aside and… salutes, a group of four tin soldiers in grey and purple lining up behind her with their bayonetted rifles pointed upward.
What… had you just walked into?
-
You stare at the doll, trembling in her false salute, her troops lined up in a single rank behind her.
She stares back, unblinking, her blue eyes seeming to grow even more intense.
You keep staring, shifting the wounded creature onto your right arm, clutching it close to your chest.
She stares back, eyes widening even further - looking like they're going to roll right out of their sockets.
You don't blink, stepping forward, trance-like. You don't know if you've been controlled by her, or if something else, some even stranger force, is calling you forward.
She takes half a step back, fumbling. Her honour guard spin in place, breaking their formation and falling into a peculiar, teetering dance.
You speak, words rising without comprehension to your lips. "It's no good to be like that, ██████-chan. Doesn't it hurt?"
She fumbles, her pin tumbling from her hand and clattering on the ground.
You reach out to her cheek, cold and unyielding, and gently stroke it. "It's okay. I'm here for you…"
And slowly, silently, your reality frays and unravels.
Last edited:
O.3 // if i'm taken into the sky
Cause and effect reverse, time and space grind to a halt, unstoppable forces clash.
The threads of time and fate tangle, and the cycles of karma run awry. Hands reach out across infinity, yearning to connect.
You hear a childish, yet frightening chanting. You know it's not Japanese, but don't recognize the language…
Something like a childhood memory drifts past you, the feeling of throwing rotten tomatoes at something - each other? yourself?
You can't orient yourself. There's no context, no meaning…
"If I'm taken into the sky, I won't be able to…"
The memories keep flashing past, and the deja vu intensifies. Not yours, but someone's.
Gunshots in the dark.
A silent, sepia sanctuary, the world faded and frozen.
A terrified flight from a foe, far too strong to defeat, your… her? universe cascading around you…
You can't hold on any longer.
-
You stumble back, cold, white smoke billowing around you. The doll is running, alone now, a trail of ink-black taint bleeding from her back as she escapes into the darkness of the warehouse. Taint that rushes to you, sinking into your body with a burning sensation, making your heart ache with a momentary lovesickness…
"Madoka! We have to run!" A fire extinguisher comes hurtling out of the darkness, discharging violently and spinning around on the concrete as it crashes just behind the doll's fleeing feet.
Sayaka, still yelling, comes running out after it, grabs your free hand and pulls you onwards, dragging you on in the opposite direction from the doll. "You were spacing out, and there was this creepy doll right out of a horror movie, and it was almost like your eyes were glowing…"
You rally yourself, enough to keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep pace with her rather than falling over into a heap, at least. "Something was - this creature was calling for help, I had to… I don't know, everything feels creepy and wrong right now…"
You're both pretty fast, so you should've made it to the stairs by now, or at least hit a wall or something, but… something's terribly wrong. Rather than concrete under your feet, it feels like dry, sandy soil; an eerie whispering rises from all around you, and the silhouette of concertina wire looms out of the darkness.
Barren trees, signposts in garbled German;
Children's building blocks, floating eyes;
The sickeningly strong redolence of roses and the fluttering of clouds of butterflies;
All of it twitching and distorting like a badly drawn zoetrope, making your eyes water. This couldn't be real. It can't be.
You're going to wake up soon, as if nothing ever happened, this whole day nothing but a dream.
You desperately want to.
-
Amid the kaleidoscopic nonsense, something approaches. Something like a cotton ball with a moustache, the ill-fitting shape of a butterfly where legs should be, warping and melting to make the thing walk.
No, more of them. Dozens.
Closing in slowly, but from every direction at once.
You're trapped. There's no gap big enough for you to escape through - and where would you even go in this hellish landscape?
They draw in, moving in sync, driven by some unseen, malevolent will.
Chanting in unison, words you don't understand and don't think you want to understand.
Their cottony faces open up into toothy, frightening grimaces as they grow close, and spindly arms of twisted barbed wire and shears sprout from their sides, squirming and snapping. The metallic snicker-snack draws closer and closer, the scent of blood mingling with that of the roses…
Sayaka clings tighter to you, muttering in disbelief. "This can't be happening, right? I mean, this has to be a bad dream or something-"
That's when the space warps, a swirl of yellow ribbon and chains crashing down from the ceiling to mark a circle on the floor around you, a latticework of diamonds above it forming an uncanny barrier the snapping shears simply slide off.
Kaleidoscope patterns dance across the floor beneath your feet… and a pair of silhouettes emerge from the chaos, from different directions, stopping as they notice each other.
"Hunting familiars, Sakura-san? This is unlike you."
"Oi, oi. Even I need a place to sleep, you know."
You quickly realize to your surprise that you recognize - really recognize, not just some strange deja vu - both of them. One, Tomoe Mami, a stylish blonde one year your senior in school known as a cool, elegant beauty - though you only recognize her because Hitomi'd pointed her out a couple of times. She's dressed in her school uniform, a match for yours, but holding up a gleaming, brilliantly yellow gem decorated like a Fabergé egg.
The other, twirling and spinning a heavy spear with masterful skill, is even more familiar. Dressed in a sleeveless red dress trimmed with white, pleated fabric, open at the front to reveal a black blouse and pink skirt, and decorated with red gemstones at her neck and knees, she could only be your redheaded friend, Sakura Kyouko.
-
"I know you hate wasting your magic, Sakura-san, so you can leave this to me and chase after the witch," Mami says, just the slightest hostility in her voice.
"You don't need to give me the cold shoulder, Mami. I'll be out of your hair right away. Just don't you dare lay a finger on Sayaka, or you'll regret it," Kyouko snaps and leaps away, her barrier dissolving into stray diamonds.
Tomoe-san approaches you, holding her gem up to a loose end of ribbon. "That was too close - but don't worry, you're safe right now. I see you saved Kyubey - he's an important friend to us magical girls, so thank you."
"He was calling out to me," you reply, glad for someone seemingly calm and in control to help ground yourself. "It's like I could hear his voice directly in my head…"
"Hm, I see… judging by your uniforms, I assume you're also Mitakihara students. Are you second-years?" she asks, what looks like a studio microphone hanging over your head as Mami sets the mood of the place.
"Wh-who are you?" Sayaka asks, clinging to you a little once again as the metallic snapping starts up again just outside the circle.
"How rude of me - I haven't even introduced myself yet. But, before that," she declares, tossing her gem into the air with an elegant twirl, "You don't mind if I take care of a little something first, do you?"
Rainbow-shining magical ribbons dance around her, giving shape to a new costume as a warm, delicate floral feeling cascades from Mami. A creamy white blouse with puffed, partly detached sleeves, brown pinstripe thigh-highs and a matching corset, with a simple short, yellow skirt. A brown beret with a floral accessory rounds out the ensemble, giving her a mature, refined feel.
You don't think you've ever seen something like a 'magical girl's transformation' before, but it's strikingly beautiful, and you feel a little inspired, wondering what you'd look like if you could transform, too…
But no sooner is she done than she leaps into the air, gesturing dramatically with one hand. You watch, enthralled, as without fanfare, dozens - no, hundreds of guns… Minié-styled rifled muskets (why do you know that?) materialize at her sides, take aim, and fire in unison.
The thunderous barrage rains down around you, not a single shot out of place, obliterating every last one of the cotton-ball creatures in a single devastating volley before Mami even touches the ground.
The two of you are left speechless, blinking to be sure you weren't imagining it as quickly, the bizarre hallucinations dissolve and warp away, leaving only the steel and bare concrete of the warehouse.
"We're back…" Sayaka murmurs, as Mami steps up beside you, coaxing the white-furred mascot into her arms. And, opposite her, Kyouko arrives, a needle-tipped orb of black, metallic filigree in her hand.
"You caught it, then. I might not agree with your methods, but there were no victims today," says Mami firmly. "The grief seed is all yours, of course."
"Tch. I wouldn't let you take it without a fight anyway. But you'd better not be planning to drag my friends into this. It's dangerous business, especially for soft-hearted girls like them," Kyouko drawls. She has her spear leveled directly at Mami's head, and you can feel the tension in the air…
"Umm… you two don't have to fight," you suggest, stepping between the two of them, afraid and confused. "Can't we just… talk this out?"
"It's not that simple. There's lots of things Mami and I don't see eye to eye on. If you want to think this is all about being heroines of justice or whatever, you can go and hear her out. But there's still time for you two not to make choices you'll regret. Think about it seriously and decide for yourselves," the redhead says, lowering her spear.
You don't get it. Mami's one thing, but… Kyouko's been living in Sayaka's house while hiding this entire aspect of her life. You don't know how Sayaka feels about all this, but you, can't stop thinking about how much else she might be hiding…
And more than that, you want to know the truth. The whole truth.
-
"Kyouko-chan, Tomoe-san… I don't really know what this is about, but if it's really something we might have to make decisions about that are big enough to risk our lives, shouldn't we hear from both of you…?"
"Tch. There's not much to tell. Just don't-" Kyouko starts, only to be interrupted by Mami.
"As if your way couldn't lead to just as many regrets. Sakura-sa-"
"I'm not the one who'd-"
<Tomoe Mami, Sakura Kyouko - perhaps you should let me begin?> Once again, the voice echoes directly in your mind - the voice of… Kyubey, had she said?
"Mmm… fighting is no good," you concur nervously.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Kyubey." The palm with which Mami's holding the mascot creature glows with a golden light, slowly erasing his wounds as if they were never there. "If you'd be so kind."
<Thank you, Tomoe Mami, Kaname Madoka.> Kyubey tells you, leaping out of Mami's arms to land on a tarpaulin-covered crate, turning to stare at you and Sayaka. <My name is Kyubey!>
"You were calling for me earlier, weren't you?" you ask, just to be sure - you're not used to this 'telepathy' thing at all…
<That's right, Kaname Madoka; Miki Sayaka, too!>
"H-how do you know our names?" Sayaka asks in surprise - you didn't think it was that weird compared to everything else, but, well…
<I have a request for you two.> the creature continues regardless, not answering the question at all.
"A request?" you ask, looking to Mami and Kyouko to gauge their reactions. Mami smiles sympathetically, while Kyouko just shrugs at you from behind the pillar she's leaning on, a stick of pocky in her mouth.
<I want you two to make contracts with me, and become magical girls!>
-
<I could really become a magical girl? It's… it's hard to believe, even having seen you…> It's surprisingly natural to use telepathy, now that Kyubey showed you how. It still feels weird, talking to people without speaking, but… at the same time, it's something you could get used to. Maybe too much so!
The four of you - and Kyubey - are sitting at a table in the top of the mall, silently watching the sunset through the glass. After making some tense introductions, Mami and Kyouko had helped to slip you back into the regular mall without security finding out you'd been trespassing, but Mami had absolutely refused to take you back to her apartment with Kyouko there.
The place is already almost deserted, and the mood would be relaxing, were it not for, well, the palpable animosity between the two magical girls.
<It's not like anyone can just up and become a magical girl. You've got to have the potential, then make a proper contract with Kyubey, but that's where the trouble starts.> Kyouko begins, shooting sidelong glances at Mami.
<It's as she says. Being a magical girl isn't easy.> the mascot explains. <Magical girls have a duty to fight monsters that prey on humans - the witches, and the wraiths. But in exchange, I can grant each of you a single wish.>
<Wait, really?> Sayaka asks, taken aback by the offer. With someone like her, you think she'd accept and become a magical girl even if there wasn't a reward, for the sake of protecting people.
<What kind of wish can it be?> you ask quickly - really? Kyubey can even grant wishes?
<Anything you want>, he quickly answers with the same, unchanging smile. <I can fulfill any miracle you can imagine.>
<Wow… so, we could wish for a mountain of treasure, or eternal youth, or to be swept up into a grand adventure with dragons and princesses…> Sayaka asks enthusiastically, spacing out a bit as she imagines…
<Um, I'm not sure about that last one,> you object, smiling apologetically at Mami.
<No, even something like that. Even things you couldn't obtain no matter how much effort you put in, you can wish for - and the wish you make will always come true,> Mami says. <But when you make a contract, a Soul Gem, the source of your magic, is born, and you'll have to fight witches and wraiths to protect people.>
-
<Um… the monster we saw back there was a witch, right?> you ask next, shivering in the evening air.
<You didn't see the actual witch, just the familiars,> Kyouko replies. <After Mami saved you, I went and destroyed the witch's main body.> She holds out the little orb of iron filigree, this time close enough for you to see a pitch-black darkness inside, dormant but menacing with malignant power. <This is a Grief Seed. Fully-grown witches drop them, and we can use them to restore a lot of our magical power in one go. They're valuable but dangerous, 'cause they can hatch back into the witch if you don't treat 'em right.>
<Familiars can grow into full-sized witches by preying on wraiths or even humans, so…> Mami adds in a slightly firmer tone. <I'm thorough about eradicating them in my patrols, because wraiths are less dangerous to ordinary people. Sakura-san, though…>
You feel as if an argument is about to break out again, looking between the two of them… and then to the Grief Seed, balanced perfectly on its tip on Kyouko's outstretched palm.
You reach out, fascinated, drawing wide eyes from Kyouko - but your fingertip brushes against it for just a moment, before she can pull it away, and-
Darkness surges out of it, into your hand. Your heart burns, tears coming unbidden to your eyes. The world blurs around you, with the sound of violin strings snapping, one after another.
Your body falls away, strings of fate snarling around your own - unraveling, shifting, taking on a new shape.
Images flash through your mind once again - just like with the doll, as you tumble nauseously through the cosmos, a shining, naked soul…
For a moment, you catch a glimpse of a girl with a watering can, tending to a brilliantly colourful rose garden.
An abandoned building, strewn with broken glass.
A poisonous mire, twisted trees rising from it with faces that laugh mockingly.
One after another, the images flicker away, their edges curling and crumbling like burning paper.
And then, slowly, you fall back.
A clock ticks and whirs, counting out the seconds.
A bell tolls, in the distance…
and you're Kaname Madoka again.
The threads of time and fate tangle, and the cycles of karma run awry. Hands reach out across infinity, yearning to connect.
You hear a childish, yet frightening chanting. You know it's not Japanese, but don't recognize the language…
Something like a childhood memory drifts past you, the feeling of throwing rotten tomatoes at something - each other? yourself?
You can't orient yourself. There's no context, no meaning…
"If I'm taken into the sky, I won't be able to…"
The memories keep flashing past, and the deja vu intensifies. Not yours, but someone's.
Gunshots in the dark.
A silent, sepia sanctuary, the world faded and frozen.
A terrified flight from a foe, far too strong to defeat, your… her? universe cascading around you…
You can't hold on any longer.
-
You stumble back, cold, white smoke billowing around you. The doll is running, alone now, a trail of ink-black taint bleeding from her back as she escapes into the darkness of the warehouse. Taint that rushes to you, sinking into your body with a burning sensation, making your heart ache with a momentary lovesickness…
"Madoka! We have to run!" A fire extinguisher comes hurtling out of the darkness, discharging violently and spinning around on the concrete as it crashes just behind the doll's fleeing feet.
Sayaka, still yelling, comes running out after it, grabs your free hand and pulls you onwards, dragging you on in the opposite direction from the doll. "You were spacing out, and there was this creepy doll right out of a horror movie, and it was almost like your eyes were glowing…"
You rally yourself, enough to keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep pace with her rather than falling over into a heap, at least. "Something was - this creature was calling for help, I had to… I don't know, everything feels creepy and wrong right now…"
You're both pretty fast, so you should've made it to the stairs by now, or at least hit a wall or something, but… something's terribly wrong. Rather than concrete under your feet, it feels like dry, sandy soil; an eerie whispering rises from all around you, and the silhouette of concertina wire looms out of the darkness.
Barren trees, signposts in garbled German;
Children's building blocks, floating eyes;
The sickeningly strong redolence of roses and the fluttering of clouds of butterflies;
All of it twitching and distorting like a badly drawn zoetrope, making your eyes water. This couldn't be real. It can't be.
You're going to wake up soon, as if nothing ever happened, this whole day nothing but a dream.
You desperately want to.
-
Amid the kaleidoscopic nonsense, something approaches. Something like a cotton ball with a moustache, the ill-fitting shape of a butterfly where legs should be, warping and melting to make the thing walk.
No, more of them. Dozens.
Closing in slowly, but from every direction at once.
You're trapped. There's no gap big enough for you to escape through - and where would you even go in this hellish landscape?
They draw in, moving in sync, driven by some unseen, malevolent will.
Chanting in unison, words you don't understand and don't think you want to understand.
Their cottony faces open up into toothy, frightening grimaces as they grow close, and spindly arms of twisted barbed wire and shears sprout from their sides, squirming and snapping. The metallic snicker-snack draws closer and closer, the scent of blood mingling with that of the roses…
Sayaka clings tighter to you, muttering in disbelief. "This can't be happening, right? I mean, this has to be a bad dream or something-"
That's when the space warps, a swirl of yellow ribbon and chains crashing down from the ceiling to mark a circle on the floor around you, a latticework of diamonds above it forming an uncanny barrier the snapping shears simply slide off.
Kaleidoscope patterns dance across the floor beneath your feet… and a pair of silhouettes emerge from the chaos, from different directions, stopping as they notice each other.
"Hunting familiars, Sakura-san? This is unlike you."
"Oi, oi. Even I need a place to sleep, you know."
You quickly realize to your surprise that you recognize - really recognize, not just some strange deja vu - both of them. One, Tomoe Mami, a stylish blonde one year your senior in school known as a cool, elegant beauty - though you only recognize her because Hitomi'd pointed her out a couple of times. She's dressed in her school uniform, a match for yours, but holding up a gleaming, brilliantly yellow gem decorated like a Fabergé egg.
The other, twirling and spinning a heavy spear with masterful skill, is even more familiar. Dressed in a sleeveless red dress trimmed with white, pleated fabric, open at the front to reveal a black blouse and pink skirt, and decorated with red gemstones at her neck and knees, she could only be your redheaded friend, Sakura Kyouko.
-
"I know you hate wasting your magic, Sakura-san, so you can leave this to me and chase after the witch," Mami says, just the slightest hostility in her voice.
"You don't need to give me the cold shoulder, Mami. I'll be out of your hair right away. Just don't you dare lay a finger on Sayaka, or you'll regret it," Kyouko snaps and leaps away, her barrier dissolving into stray diamonds.
Tomoe-san approaches you, holding her gem up to a loose end of ribbon. "That was too close - but don't worry, you're safe right now. I see you saved Kyubey - he's an important friend to us magical girls, so thank you."
"He was calling out to me," you reply, glad for someone seemingly calm and in control to help ground yourself. "It's like I could hear his voice directly in my head…"
"Hm, I see… judging by your uniforms, I assume you're also Mitakihara students. Are you second-years?" she asks, what looks like a studio microphone hanging over your head as Mami sets the mood of the place.
"Wh-who are you?" Sayaka asks, clinging to you a little once again as the metallic snapping starts up again just outside the circle.
"How rude of me - I haven't even introduced myself yet. But, before that," she declares, tossing her gem into the air with an elegant twirl, "You don't mind if I take care of a little something first, do you?"
Rainbow-shining magical ribbons dance around her, giving shape to a new costume as a warm, delicate floral feeling cascades from Mami. A creamy white blouse with puffed, partly detached sleeves, brown pinstripe thigh-highs and a matching corset, with a simple short, yellow skirt. A brown beret with a floral accessory rounds out the ensemble, giving her a mature, refined feel.
You don't think you've ever seen something like a 'magical girl's transformation' before, but it's strikingly beautiful, and you feel a little inspired, wondering what you'd look like if you could transform, too…
But no sooner is she done than she leaps into the air, gesturing dramatically with one hand. You watch, enthralled, as without fanfare, dozens - no, hundreds of guns… Minié-styled rifled muskets (why do you know that?) materialize at her sides, take aim, and fire in unison.
The thunderous barrage rains down around you, not a single shot out of place, obliterating every last one of the cotton-ball creatures in a single devastating volley before Mami even touches the ground.
The two of you are left speechless, blinking to be sure you weren't imagining it as quickly, the bizarre hallucinations dissolve and warp away, leaving only the steel and bare concrete of the warehouse.
"We're back…" Sayaka murmurs, as Mami steps up beside you, coaxing the white-furred mascot into her arms. And, opposite her, Kyouko arrives, a needle-tipped orb of black, metallic filigree in her hand.
"You caught it, then. I might not agree with your methods, but there were no victims today," says Mami firmly. "The grief seed is all yours, of course."
"Tch. I wouldn't let you take it without a fight anyway. But you'd better not be planning to drag my friends into this. It's dangerous business, especially for soft-hearted girls like them," Kyouko drawls. She has her spear leveled directly at Mami's head, and you can feel the tension in the air…
"Umm… you two don't have to fight," you suggest, stepping between the two of them, afraid and confused. "Can't we just… talk this out?"
"It's not that simple. There's lots of things Mami and I don't see eye to eye on. If you want to think this is all about being heroines of justice or whatever, you can go and hear her out. But there's still time for you two not to make choices you'll regret. Think about it seriously and decide for yourselves," the redhead says, lowering her spear.
You don't get it. Mami's one thing, but… Kyouko's been living in Sayaka's house while hiding this entire aspect of her life. You don't know how Sayaka feels about all this, but you, can't stop thinking about how much else she might be hiding…
And more than that, you want to know the truth. The whole truth.
-
"Kyouko-chan, Tomoe-san… I don't really know what this is about, but if it's really something we might have to make decisions about that are big enough to risk our lives, shouldn't we hear from both of you…?"
"Tch. There's not much to tell. Just don't-" Kyouko starts, only to be interrupted by Mami.
"As if your way couldn't lead to just as many regrets. Sakura-sa-"
"I'm not the one who'd-"
<Tomoe Mami, Sakura Kyouko - perhaps you should let me begin?> Once again, the voice echoes directly in your mind - the voice of… Kyubey, had she said?
"Mmm… fighting is no good," you concur nervously.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Kyubey." The palm with which Mami's holding the mascot creature glows with a golden light, slowly erasing his wounds as if they were never there. "If you'd be so kind."
<Thank you, Tomoe Mami, Kaname Madoka.> Kyubey tells you, leaping out of Mami's arms to land on a tarpaulin-covered crate, turning to stare at you and Sayaka. <My name is Kyubey!>
"You were calling for me earlier, weren't you?" you ask, just to be sure - you're not used to this 'telepathy' thing at all…
<That's right, Kaname Madoka; Miki Sayaka, too!>
"H-how do you know our names?" Sayaka asks in surprise - you didn't think it was that weird compared to everything else, but, well…
<I have a request for you two.> the creature continues regardless, not answering the question at all.
"A request?" you ask, looking to Mami and Kyouko to gauge their reactions. Mami smiles sympathetically, while Kyouko just shrugs at you from behind the pillar she's leaning on, a stick of pocky in her mouth.
<I want you two to make contracts with me, and become magical girls!>
-
<I could really become a magical girl? It's… it's hard to believe, even having seen you…> It's surprisingly natural to use telepathy, now that Kyubey showed you how. It still feels weird, talking to people without speaking, but… at the same time, it's something you could get used to. Maybe too much so!
The four of you - and Kyubey - are sitting at a table in the top of the mall, silently watching the sunset through the glass. After making some tense introductions, Mami and Kyouko had helped to slip you back into the regular mall without security finding out you'd been trespassing, but Mami had absolutely refused to take you back to her apartment with Kyouko there.
The place is already almost deserted, and the mood would be relaxing, were it not for, well, the palpable animosity between the two magical girls.
<It's not like anyone can just up and become a magical girl. You've got to have the potential, then make a proper contract with Kyubey, but that's where the trouble starts.> Kyouko begins, shooting sidelong glances at Mami.
<It's as she says. Being a magical girl isn't easy.> the mascot explains. <Magical girls have a duty to fight monsters that prey on humans - the witches, and the wraiths. But in exchange, I can grant each of you a single wish.>
<Wait, really?> Sayaka asks, taken aback by the offer. With someone like her, you think she'd accept and become a magical girl even if there wasn't a reward, for the sake of protecting people.
<What kind of wish can it be?> you ask quickly - really? Kyubey can even grant wishes?
<Anything you want>, he quickly answers with the same, unchanging smile. <I can fulfill any miracle you can imagine.>
<Wow… so, we could wish for a mountain of treasure, or eternal youth, or to be swept up into a grand adventure with dragons and princesses…> Sayaka asks enthusiastically, spacing out a bit as she imagines…
<Um, I'm not sure about that last one,> you object, smiling apologetically at Mami.
<No, even something like that. Even things you couldn't obtain no matter how much effort you put in, you can wish for - and the wish you make will always come true,> Mami says. <But when you make a contract, a Soul Gem, the source of your magic, is born, and you'll have to fight witches and wraiths to protect people.>
-
<Um… the monster we saw back there was a witch, right?> you ask next, shivering in the evening air.
<You didn't see the actual witch, just the familiars,> Kyouko replies. <After Mami saved you, I went and destroyed the witch's main body.> She holds out the little orb of iron filigree, this time close enough for you to see a pitch-black darkness inside, dormant but menacing with malignant power. <This is a Grief Seed. Fully-grown witches drop them, and we can use them to restore a lot of our magical power in one go. They're valuable but dangerous, 'cause they can hatch back into the witch if you don't treat 'em right.>
<Familiars can grow into full-sized witches by preying on wraiths or even humans, so…> Mami adds in a slightly firmer tone. <I'm thorough about eradicating them in my patrols, because wraiths are less dangerous to ordinary people. Sakura-san, though…>
You feel as if an argument is about to break out again, looking between the two of them… and then to the Grief Seed, balanced perfectly on its tip on Kyouko's outstretched palm.
You reach out, fascinated, drawing wide eyes from Kyouko - but your fingertip brushes against it for just a moment, before she can pull it away, and-
Darkness surges out of it, into your hand. Your heart burns, tears coming unbidden to your eyes. The world blurs around you, with the sound of violin strings snapping, one after another.
Your body falls away, strings of fate snarling around your own - unraveling, shifting, taking on a new shape.
Images flash through your mind once again - just like with the doll, as you tumble nauseously through the cosmos, a shining, naked soul…
For a moment, you catch a glimpse of a girl with a watering can, tending to a brilliantly colourful rose garden.
An abandoned building, strewn with broken glass.
A poisonous mire, twisted trees rising from it with faces that laugh mockingly.
One after another, the images flicker away, their edges curling and crumbling like burning paper.
And then, slowly, you fall back.
A clock ticks and whirs, counting out the seconds.
A bell tolls, in the distance…
and you're Kaname Madoka again.
Last edited:
UrsaTempest
Don't Panic!
Ah, this is the tricky part isn't it.
Some wacky stuff is certainly going on.
O.4 // you shouldn't look at the moon
"Um… the monsters we saw there were wraiths, right?" Sayaka asks over her slice of cake. The four of you are sitting around a triangular glass table, sharing tea and delicious homemade cakes. Orange-tinted evening light spills in from a full-length glass window - the apartment must be high up, you think.
It's very femininely decorated, with cushions and floral decorations everywhere - and tidy, too. On the table, near the centre, lie a collection of foreboding-looking black cubes. There's no Grief Seed in sight.
You don't think you know this place, but you remember - this is Mami's apartment. You're not sure if the memory should really be there, and it feels slightly nauseating for a moment.
"Yeah, they were. That miasma was fresh, and the wraiths weren't spawning fast. If more people from the mall had been caught up in it, it could've gotten bad, though," Kyouko explains, setting her scarlet Soul Gem down on the table next to the cubes. "There's not much variety in fighting wraiths, but they feed on normies' emotions and spawn faster, so it's easy to screw up and get outnumbered. We still got plenty of Grief Cubes, though."
"Grief Cubes are what we use to replenish our magical powers," Mami continues. "There's also Grief Seeds, that come from witches - they're much stronger, but they can even hatch back into the witch if left unattended. Every witch is different, though, and they create barriers that can warp reality into a nightmare around them. Sakura-san and I are experienced magical girls, but normally it's very dangerous to fight them without company."
You're really trying hard to make sense of what's happened. You'd been sitting up on the top floor of the mall together, with Mami and Kyouko at odds, and then you'd touched the Grief Seed - you can remember that much. But you can also remember, a little… clouds of fog rolling in, and floating humanoid shapes, their faces obscured by flickering mosaic-like patterns. Being rescued after that by Mami and Kyouko, and then… taking the bus here with them.
The two memories feel like they're jostling for space, taking up the same interval of time - unable to coexist, a contradiction.
You just don't get it. The only explanation you can think of is that, when you touched the Grief Seed, the past somehow changed. But it's not like you're a magical girl, or have magical powers, right?
You wonder if Mami or Kyouko might know, or else Kyubey, but… you're a bit scared to ask. What if you've stumbled upon some phenomenon even they don't understand…?
"Um… I've got a lot of questions to ask," you say finally, pressing your hands together nervously, "b-but, before that, today's really been a lot, and all this is so much to take in, s-so, um," you mumble, looking down at your lap. "C-can I have a hug?"
Mami's eyes widen, a look of realization on her face; Kyouko looks away, the hint of a blush on her cheeks which she quickly hides behind another slice of cake, and Sayaka shuffles closer to you, letting you lean on her shoulder. Kyubey simply swishes his tail back and forth, tilting his head with that same, unchanging smile.
"I'm sorry, Kaname-san," Mami says at last. "I was worried about the time, and I wanted to make sure you understood what you'd wandered into, but, perhaps I should've taken things more slowly. C-can I?" Her voice wavers a little as she moves over and kneels down beside you.
You pull her close, drawing in Sayaka on the other side, and just lean into the two girls, taking slow, deep breaths. Sayaka's there to support you, letting you rest your head on her shoulder for a little. Mami's hug is incredibly soft, but she seems to be clinging a little, resting against you too as she tries to blink back tears… had she needed one even more than you this whole time?
"A-ah, Mami-san," you murmur, tugging her closer - she's barely more than a stranger and yet… this too feels a little familiar, nostalgic even.
She blushes, startling and pulling out of the hug, apologetic as she returns to her seat. "I'm sorry, I…"
"No, it's okay. You've been fighting on your own for a long time, haven't you…?" At that, Kyouko seems to be trying very hard to do anything other than acknowledge the situation, instead fussing over what were presumably her share of the Grief Cubes and withdrawing them from the table. "It's… it's okay. Even if we decide not to become magical girls, I'm happy to be your friend, Mami-san… i-if, that's okay…"
"Th-thank you. I… don't want to cause problems for the two of you in your daily lives, but… if you really mean that, I'd be… so happy," Mami replies, nervous but overjoyed as she pours herself another cup of tea.
"Oi, oi. I thought we came here to talk about magical girl business?" Kyouko interjects, completely spoiling the mood. You can't really blame her, unfortunately - she must've felt very awkward during all of that.
"So, there's one thing that doesn't add up here," the redhead continues, cracking a biscuit in half. "Why was Kyubey injured? I've heard of witches and familiars that try to attack Kyubey, but wraiths never do."
"That was, um…" You're not sure how well your memories correspond to reality, now you think about it. Fortunately, while you're trying to come up with a good way to explain, Sayaka comes to the rescue.
"Kyubey called to us with telepathy while we were shopping for accessories, and Madoka went off on her own. By the time I caught up, she'd met Kyubey, but she was spacing out and there was this… doll, all in black with creepy, wide blue eyes, so I…"
"Oi, oi! Say something like that sooner! That thing is…" Kyouko's startled enough to drop her biscuit, straightening up in surprise. "Tomoe Mami, are you hearing this?"
"That's… concerning, to say the least. I was able to sense the presence of wraiths in the area, but there's no way to predict the appearance of something like that. Honestly, if I hadn't seen one myself recently, I'd think they were just an urban legend."
"Uhm… I-I'd like to know what that doll was, too… It was acting… really weird, and when I saw it first, there were a bunch of tin soldiers with guns following it around, even. I was really scared…" you say, figuring that much at least should be safe.
"It's… normally, witches create a barrier around themselves, build a labyrinth inside, and fill it with weird familiars, then lure people inside to prey on," Kyouko begins, scooping the halves of biscuit out of her tea. "Huh, not as bad as I thought."
"So they're kinda like spiders, except instead of bugs they hunt people?" Sayaka asks. "That's so messed-up…"
"It's a little more complex than that. Witches and their familiars can place something called a 'Witch's kiss' on people, that controls their mind and strengthens all their negative emotions. People can often even turn to murder or suicide under the influence of a Witch's kiss, and there are a lot of unsolved crimes that were actually the result of witches' curses," Mami says carefully. "Like Sakura-san said though, that's how witches normally work, but unlike wraiths, there are a few very strange witches."
"I've heard of a few," Kyouko adds. "Walpurgisnacht, that flies around the world causing destruction and is so strong it doesn't need a barrier, is a famous one. There's stories about a mirror witch that can bring you face to face with your own doppelganger, and mess with your head 'til even you aren't sure you're the real one. I heard about one that recreates all your worst memories inside its barrier, too. And then there's… whatever that thing is on the moon. Oh, right - now that you two can see magic, you shouldn't look at the moon too much."
"That's not ominous at all…" Sayaka mutters, glancing out of the window despite herself. You can't help but do the same, but mercifully, it seems as if the moon isn't out yet.
"So, those doll bastards. We… think they're familiars of some powerful witch somewhere, but they don't act like familiars. They have familiars of their own, but don't create barriers. Sometimes they attack wraiths, but they're messy and indiscriminate, so normies can get hurt worse than if they didn't show up. They're really unpredictable, and the worst part is they're stronger than most magical girls. Nobody's ever taken one down to see if it drops a Grief Seed, either."
<They resemble familiars, but aren't normal familiars. There isn't any recorded past witch that could produce such familiars, and nor is there any future possibility that could produce them. It's true that it's not unprecedented for familiars to resemble humans, or even magical girls, but these are particularly irregular. It's possible that defeating one would yield an enormous amount of information about witches, Sakura Kyouko.> Kyubey has an explanation of his own, such as it is, but even he doesn't seem to have actual answers for you on this one.
"It's kind of scary, thinking about how these dangerous monsters were hiding in the city the whole time, and we know so little about them…" you say, taking another drink of warming tea, glad you're in an apartment with two experienced magical girls right now. "Actually, um… you probably won't believe me, but something really spooky happened to me just now."
"More spooky than one o' those dolls? You're kidding, right?" Kyouko exclaims, even she beginning to be wary about the direction of the conversation as the sun dips behind the skyline outside and the night draws in.
"Mmmnnn… I wouldn't say more spooky than them, more like… different spooky?" you posit, at a loss as to how else to describe it.
"Well, I'm happy to listen, and see if I can make sense of it," Mami offers, pushing back her empty plate and teacup. "There are a lot of strange things in the world of magical girls, so it's possible that what happened to you wasn't as unusual as you think."
"Well, um… the truth is, I actually… remember us being attacked by a witch down there under the mall. Both of you arrived and rescued us, and then Mami-san, you stayed behind to fight the familiars, while Kyouko chased after the main witch. Then, Kyouko, you came back with a Grief Seed, and we went up to one of the tables on the top floor of the mall, and talked about this stuff using telepathy. Only, um… when I touched the Grief Seed, all this dark stuff came out, and I started seeing things… and then we were here, and there were only Grief Cubes."
"W-wait, Madoka, I never saw a witch down there, only those wraiths. Are you saying…" Sayaka murmurs, wide-eyed at your bizarre story.
"So you're saying I missed out on a Grief Seed?" Kyouko complains, missing the forest for the trees. "That's some kinda bad joke…"
"Hmm… I've never heard of something like that before. It certainly sounds like something that could happen, but," Mami confesses, "at the same time, it's so farfetched that it sounds completely made up. I did think it was strange that there were so many Grief Cubes - a Grief Seed's worth, even - from such a small number of wraiths, though. Kyubey, do you know anything about it?"
"Ahh… I didn't think you'd believe me," you admit, looking down at the dregs in your teacup. Mami'd used proper tea leaves, of course, and you can sort of make out the shape of a bird in the leaves, you think…
<I can't say for certain, but there is a possibility she's speaking the truth.>
"Could you explain in more detail, Kyubey? It's quite hard to believe a story like that…"
<Kaname Madoka, do you remember anything about the witch's appearance?>
"I… didn't really see the witch itself, but I do remember there being… umm, lots of barbed wire and shears, and… cotton balls with moustaches," you say, blushing at how silly it sounds now that you're in a brightly lit apartment.
<Interesting. Familiars of that type certainly exist in this world, but there's no possibility of the witch that created them appearing here. What you're reporting should normally be impossible,> the mascot speculates, <but, there are certain sorts of wish that could explain it. It's also possible that there's a time magic user somewhere in this city.>
"Time magic?" Sayaka asks. "Magical girls can even travel through time?"
<It would take an amazingly strong wish, but both of you have unusual potential that's difficult for me to measure. If you're eager enough to travel to the past that you'd stake your life on that possibility, I'm sure it's something you could achieve.>
"Really… oh, but if I couldn't find Grief Cubes to replenish my magic, I might even get stranded in the Sengoku era, have to spend years mastering the blade and never see my friends again. It's fun to imagine meeting people from history, but I think I'll stay in this comfortable Heisei era." says Sayaka playfully.
"Um, actually…" there's been something bothering you this entire time - something you really ought to ask about before anything else. "What happens to magical girls who can't find Grief Cubes or Grief Seeds, and who run out of magical power?"
"There's a lot of things that can happen," Mami says, the tone turning solemn, "and most of them are very bad. First of all, you'll lose your Soul Gem, the proof of a magical girl - and stop being a magical girl at all. Other than that, there's various stories - some people say they forget they were ever a magical girl and turn back into an ordinary person often in the middle of a dangerous battle, or fall into a coma from the shock and never wake up."
"I've met a few girls who dropped out of school to just live as a magical girl. If they ran out of magical power, I dunno what'd happen, but it wouldn't be good. And then there's the stories of girls who keep digging after they run out and fuel their magic with curses rather than hope…" Kyouko winces. "Sometimes it gets bad enough that magical girls will attack each other or steal Grief Seeds. You don't wanna have to live like this."
Mami clears her throat quietly but firmly, as Sayaka's about to speak. "There's also a legend I've heard - about a few girls who gave everything they had and more in a fight. Their friends say they looked like they saw something beautiful, said a few words about a goddess, and then just faded away, Soul Gem and all."
"Oi, oi. The Law of the Cycle isn't real. A goddess that saves magical girls from their fates? That's just crazy talk. You can't put your faith in that," Kyouko objects insistently, glancing to the exit, scooping up her Soul Gem and transforming it back into a ring. "Whatever. I'm out. Thanks for the food, I guess. I'll go on ahead and tell your folks you're with a friend, Sayaka."
She slinks off before Mami can say a proper goodbye, disappearing into the corridor; Kyubey gambols out after her, tail swishing back and forth proudly. Sayaka's just… staring, though, at the door, holding up her left hand to the light.
You remember something you'd said this morning, joking around about Sayaka and Kyouko having matching rings. And sure enough, she's wearing a silver ring on her middle finger, set with a dull cerulean gemstone. The design is almost identical to Kyouko's - Kyouko's Soul Gem ring.
But unlike Kyouko - or Mami, now you take a look at her - there's no mark on Sayaka's fingernail, and where peculiar runes were etched into the back of the ring, there's simply smooth metal.
"Um… Sayaka?" you ask, nervously, questioning the evidence of your eyes once again - you've lost count how many times it's been today. "You… aren't a magical girl already, right?"
"…no?" she replies, blankly. "I don't… understand."
It's very femininely decorated, with cushions and floral decorations everywhere - and tidy, too. On the table, near the centre, lie a collection of foreboding-looking black cubes. There's no Grief Seed in sight.
You don't think you know this place, but you remember - this is Mami's apartment. You're not sure if the memory should really be there, and it feels slightly nauseating for a moment.
"Yeah, they were. That miasma was fresh, and the wraiths weren't spawning fast. If more people from the mall had been caught up in it, it could've gotten bad, though," Kyouko explains, setting her scarlet Soul Gem down on the table next to the cubes. "There's not much variety in fighting wraiths, but they feed on normies' emotions and spawn faster, so it's easy to screw up and get outnumbered. We still got plenty of Grief Cubes, though."
"Grief Cubes are what we use to replenish our magical powers," Mami continues. "There's also Grief Seeds, that come from witches - they're much stronger, but they can even hatch back into the witch if left unattended. Every witch is different, though, and they create barriers that can warp reality into a nightmare around them. Sakura-san and I are experienced magical girls, but normally it's very dangerous to fight them without company."
You're really trying hard to make sense of what's happened. You'd been sitting up on the top floor of the mall together, with Mami and Kyouko at odds, and then you'd touched the Grief Seed - you can remember that much. But you can also remember, a little… clouds of fog rolling in, and floating humanoid shapes, their faces obscured by flickering mosaic-like patterns. Being rescued after that by Mami and Kyouko, and then… taking the bus here with them.
The two memories feel like they're jostling for space, taking up the same interval of time - unable to coexist, a contradiction.
You just don't get it. The only explanation you can think of is that, when you touched the Grief Seed, the past somehow changed. But it's not like you're a magical girl, or have magical powers, right?
You wonder if Mami or Kyouko might know, or else Kyubey, but… you're a bit scared to ask. What if you've stumbled upon some phenomenon even they don't understand…?
"Um… I've got a lot of questions to ask," you say finally, pressing your hands together nervously, "b-but, before that, today's really been a lot, and all this is so much to take in, s-so, um," you mumble, looking down at your lap. "C-can I have a hug?"
Mami's eyes widen, a look of realization on her face; Kyouko looks away, the hint of a blush on her cheeks which she quickly hides behind another slice of cake, and Sayaka shuffles closer to you, letting you lean on her shoulder. Kyubey simply swishes his tail back and forth, tilting his head with that same, unchanging smile.
"I'm sorry, Kaname-san," Mami says at last. "I was worried about the time, and I wanted to make sure you understood what you'd wandered into, but, perhaps I should've taken things more slowly. C-can I?" Her voice wavers a little as she moves over and kneels down beside you.
You pull her close, drawing in Sayaka on the other side, and just lean into the two girls, taking slow, deep breaths. Sayaka's there to support you, letting you rest your head on her shoulder for a little. Mami's hug is incredibly soft, but she seems to be clinging a little, resting against you too as she tries to blink back tears… had she needed one even more than you this whole time?
"A-ah, Mami-san," you murmur, tugging her closer - she's barely more than a stranger and yet… this too feels a little familiar, nostalgic even.
She blushes, startling and pulling out of the hug, apologetic as she returns to her seat. "I'm sorry, I…"
"No, it's okay. You've been fighting on your own for a long time, haven't you…?" At that, Kyouko seems to be trying very hard to do anything other than acknowledge the situation, instead fussing over what were presumably her share of the Grief Cubes and withdrawing them from the table. "It's… it's okay. Even if we decide not to become magical girls, I'm happy to be your friend, Mami-san… i-if, that's okay…"
"Th-thank you. I… don't want to cause problems for the two of you in your daily lives, but… if you really mean that, I'd be… so happy," Mami replies, nervous but overjoyed as she pours herself another cup of tea.
"Oi, oi. I thought we came here to talk about magical girl business?" Kyouko interjects, completely spoiling the mood. You can't really blame her, unfortunately - she must've felt very awkward during all of that.
"So, there's one thing that doesn't add up here," the redhead continues, cracking a biscuit in half. "Why was Kyubey injured? I've heard of witches and familiars that try to attack Kyubey, but wraiths never do."
"That was, um…" You're not sure how well your memories correspond to reality, now you think about it. Fortunately, while you're trying to come up with a good way to explain, Sayaka comes to the rescue.
"Kyubey called to us with telepathy while we were shopping for accessories, and Madoka went off on her own. By the time I caught up, she'd met Kyubey, but she was spacing out and there was this… doll, all in black with creepy, wide blue eyes, so I…"
"Oi, oi! Say something like that sooner! That thing is…" Kyouko's startled enough to drop her biscuit, straightening up in surprise. "Tomoe Mami, are you hearing this?"
"That's… concerning, to say the least. I was able to sense the presence of wraiths in the area, but there's no way to predict the appearance of something like that. Honestly, if I hadn't seen one myself recently, I'd think they were just an urban legend."
"Uhm… I-I'd like to know what that doll was, too… It was acting… really weird, and when I saw it first, there were a bunch of tin soldiers with guns following it around, even. I was really scared…" you say, figuring that much at least should be safe.
"It's… normally, witches create a barrier around themselves, build a labyrinth inside, and fill it with weird familiars, then lure people inside to prey on," Kyouko begins, scooping the halves of biscuit out of her tea. "Huh, not as bad as I thought."
"So they're kinda like spiders, except instead of bugs they hunt people?" Sayaka asks. "That's so messed-up…"
"It's a little more complex than that. Witches and their familiars can place something called a 'Witch's kiss' on people, that controls their mind and strengthens all their negative emotions. People can often even turn to murder or suicide under the influence of a Witch's kiss, and there are a lot of unsolved crimes that were actually the result of witches' curses," Mami says carefully. "Like Sakura-san said though, that's how witches normally work, but unlike wraiths, there are a few very strange witches."
"I've heard of a few," Kyouko adds. "Walpurgisnacht, that flies around the world causing destruction and is so strong it doesn't need a barrier, is a famous one. There's stories about a mirror witch that can bring you face to face with your own doppelganger, and mess with your head 'til even you aren't sure you're the real one. I heard about one that recreates all your worst memories inside its barrier, too. And then there's… whatever that thing is on the moon. Oh, right - now that you two can see magic, you shouldn't look at the moon too much."
"That's not ominous at all…" Sayaka mutters, glancing out of the window despite herself. You can't help but do the same, but mercifully, it seems as if the moon isn't out yet.
"So, those doll bastards. We… think they're familiars of some powerful witch somewhere, but they don't act like familiars. They have familiars of their own, but don't create barriers. Sometimes they attack wraiths, but they're messy and indiscriminate, so normies can get hurt worse than if they didn't show up. They're really unpredictable, and the worst part is they're stronger than most magical girls. Nobody's ever taken one down to see if it drops a Grief Seed, either."
<They resemble familiars, but aren't normal familiars. There isn't any recorded past witch that could produce such familiars, and nor is there any future possibility that could produce them. It's true that it's not unprecedented for familiars to resemble humans, or even magical girls, but these are particularly irregular. It's possible that defeating one would yield an enormous amount of information about witches, Sakura Kyouko.> Kyubey has an explanation of his own, such as it is, but even he doesn't seem to have actual answers for you on this one.
"It's kind of scary, thinking about how these dangerous monsters were hiding in the city the whole time, and we know so little about them…" you say, taking another drink of warming tea, glad you're in an apartment with two experienced magical girls right now. "Actually, um… you probably won't believe me, but something really spooky happened to me just now."
"More spooky than one o' those dolls? You're kidding, right?" Kyouko exclaims, even she beginning to be wary about the direction of the conversation as the sun dips behind the skyline outside and the night draws in.
"Mmmnnn… I wouldn't say more spooky than them, more like… different spooky?" you posit, at a loss as to how else to describe it.
"Well, I'm happy to listen, and see if I can make sense of it," Mami offers, pushing back her empty plate and teacup. "There are a lot of strange things in the world of magical girls, so it's possible that what happened to you wasn't as unusual as you think."
"Well, um… the truth is, I actually… remember us being attacked by a witch down there under the mall. Both of you arrived and rescued us, and then Mami-san, you stayed behind to fight the familiars, while Kyouko chased after the main witch. Then, Kyouko, you came back with a Grief Seed, and we went up to one of the tables on the top floor of the mall, and talked about this stuff using telepathy. Only, um… when I touched the Grief Seed, all this dark stuff came out, and I started seeing things… and then we were here, and there were only Grief Cubes."
"W-wait, Madoka, I never saw a witch down there, only those wraiths. Are you saying…" Sayaka murmurs, wide-eyed at your bizarre story.
"So you're saying I missed out on a Grief Seed?" Kyouko complains, missing the forest for the trees. "That's some kinda bad joke…"
"Hmm… I've never heard of something like that before. It certainly sounds like something that could happen, but," Mami confesses, "at the same time, it's so farfetched that it sounds completely made up. I did think it was strange that there were so many Grief Cubes - a Grief Seed's worth, even - from such a small number of wraiths, though. Kyubey, do you know anything about it?"
"Ahh… I didn't think you'd believe me," you admit, looking down at the dregs in your teacup. Mami'd used proper tea leaves, of course, and you can sort of make out the shape of a bird in the leaves, you think…
<I can't say for certain, but there is a possibility she's speaking the truth.>
"Could you explain in more detail, Kyubey? It's quite hard to believe a story like that…"
<Kaname Madoka, do you remember anything about the witch's appearance?>
"I… didn't really see the witch itself, but I do remember there being… umm, lots of barbed wire and shears, and… cotton balls with moustaches," you say, blushing at how silly it sounds now that you're in a brightly lit apartment.
<Interesting. Familiars of that type certainly exist in this world, but there's no possibility of the witch that created them appearing here. What you're reporting should normally be impossible,> the mascot speculates, <but, there are certain sorts of wish that could explain it. It's also possible that there's a time magic user somewhere in this city.>
"Time magic?" Sayaka asks. "Magical girls can even travel through time?"
<It would take an amazingly strong wish, but both of you have unusual potential that's difficult for me to measure. If you're eager enough to travel to the past that you'd stake your life on that possibility, I'm sure it's something you could achieve.>
"Really… oh, but if I couldn't find Grief Cubes to replenish my magic, I might even get stranded in the Sengoku era, have to spend years mastering the blade and never see my friends again. It's fun to imagine meeting people from history, but I think I'll stay in this comfortable Heisei era." says Sayaka playfully.
"Um, actually…" there's been something bothering you this entire time - something you really ought to ask about before anything else. "What happens to magical girls who can't find Grief Cubes or Grief Seeds, and who run out of magical power?"
"There's a lot of things that can happen," Mami says, the tone turning solemn, "and most of them are very bad. First of all, you'll lose your Soul Gem, the proof of a magical girl - and stop being a magical girl at all. Other than that, there's various stories - some people say they forget they were ever a magical girl and turn back into an ordinary person often in the middle of a dangerous battle, or fall into a coma from the shock and never wake up."
"I've met a few girls who dropped out of school to just live as a magical girl. If they ran out of magical power, I dunno what'd happen, but it wouldn't be good. And then there's the stories of girls who keep digging after they run out and fuel their magic with curses rather than hope…" Kyouko winces. "Sometimes it gets bad enough that magical girls will attack each other or steal Grief Seeds. You don't wanna have to live like this."
Mami clears her throat quietly but firmly, as Sayaka's about to speak. "There's also a legend I've heard - about a few girls who gave everything they had and more in a fight. Their friends say they looked like they saw something beautiful, said a few words about a goddess, and then just faded away, Soul Gem and all."
"Oi, oi. The Law of the Cycle isn't real. A goddess that saves magical girls from their fates? That's just crazy talk. You can't put your faith in that," Kyouko objects insistently, glancing to the exit, scooping up her Soul Gem and transforming it back into a ring. "Whatever. I'm out. Thanks for the food, I guess. I'll go on ahead and tell your folks you're with a friend, Sayaka."
She slinks off before Mami can say a proper goodbye, disappearing into the corridor; Kyubey gambols out after her, tail swishing back and forth proudly. Sayaka's just… staring, though, at the door, holding up her left hand to the light.
You remember something you'd said this morning, joking around about Sayaka and Kyouko having matching rings. And sure enough, she's wearing a silver ring on her middle finger, set with a dull cerulean gemstone. The design is almost identical to Kyouko's - Kyouko's Soul Gem ring.
But unlike Kyouko - or Mami, now you take a look at her - there's no mark on Sayaka's fingernail, and where peculiar runes were etched into the back of the ring, there's simply smooth metal.
"Um… Sayaka?" you ask, nervously, questioning the evidence of your eyes once again - you've lost count how many times it's been today. "You… aren't a magical girl already, right?"
"…no?" she replies, blankly. "I don't… understand."
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UrsaTempest
Don't Panic!
How does Wraith and Witches works, it's a mystery.
As with Sayaka's ring. it's someone's ring, at least.
As with Sayaka's ring. it's someone's ring, at least.
Wraiths and witches coexisting is an odd situation and I've seen people in other stories approach it a few different ways, in terms of the ecology of the thing. I think they tend to fight each other and try to prey on each other's grief and curses, and which comes out on top can be quite hard to predict.
UrsaTempest
Don't Panic!
But now where does Wraiths came from
O.5 // nobody could receive such fortune
"Umm… do you remember buying it? If… if you bought it from a shop, there's no way it's a real Soul Gem, right?" you hurriedly ask, not wanting to panic her further. You're feeling a little tired of mysteries by this point, after everything else that had happened during the day, but even so, you just can't let yourself let it go.
It's magic, after all - magic!
"I… that's weird, I don't even remember when I got it. It must've been after Kyouko started crashing at my house… probably?" Sayaka says, taking off the ring and placing it on the table in front of her. "I mean, she's staying with us because she's got nowhere else to go, but we're not really close enough I'd buy a matching ring - I mean, th-that'd imply that we're…" she trails off with a nervous blush. "So, why?"
"May I suggest something?" Mami asks politely.
"Please do! I really don't know what to think of all this, and it'd be weird if Sayaka was a magical girl this whole time without knowing anything about it…"
"No way it's something like that. I mean, Kyubey even offered me a contract, and he wouldn't have done that if I was already a magical girl somehow, right?" Sayaka insists, picking up the ring again and rolling it nervously against her fingers.
"Could you put that ring next to one of the Grief Cubes on the table? If it's a fake, there shouldn't be any reaction," Mami asks, taking away all of the cubes but one.
"Wh-what if it's real?" you ask, only to watch as your friend places the ring down in the centre of the table, and a stream of darkness pours out of it into the pitch-black cube. Somehow, as you watch, the cube seems to become even blacker, positively radiating malevolence. You're sure you see it leaching colour out of the environment from where it sits, foreboding, beside Kyouko's abandoned teacup.
"My, my…" Mami says, and slides the cube back away. "It seems we have a problem. I haven't encountered a situation like this before…"
"I was wearing a real Soul Gem ring the entire time?! No way, that's just…" Sayaka flops against you, at least as confused as you are. "What… what does this mean? Is there a magical girl wandering around without her Soul Gem?"
"I don't know, I'm afraid. Normally, this sort of thing doesn't happen, because it's so easy and important to keep your Soul Gem with you at all times."
"So… should I wish to find the magical girl this belongs to, then? It seems really important…"
"Miki-san, you shouldn't do that," Mami says, stopping Sayaka firmly. "That sort of wish can have strange consequences and could easily turn your life upside-down for someone you don't even know. You might end up traveling the world in search of her, or even discover it's a Soul Gem left over from a magical girl who died centuries ago. It's important to think hard about your wish, and what sort of life it'll lead you towards."
"Then, um… should we leave the Soul Gem with you? I'm not sure how I feel about all these mysteries piling up…"
"I wouldn't mind holding onto it for you," Mami offers, starting to clear up the crockery on the table. "But are you sure you're okay with that? Kaname-san, do you have any ideas?"
"Umm… well, it's a Soul Gem, the source of a magical girl's magic," you say nervously, looking at the ring more closely. "So, I think whatever we do with it, we should be careful. I mean, something like that is really important- um, Mami-san, what actually happens when a magical girl doesn't have her Soul Gem, anyway?"
"Ah, that's a difficult question. Certainly, it's impossible to transform if we can't touch our Soul Gems, and most magic won't work, either. But I've never heard of a magical girl losing her Soul Gem and being unable to find it. I'd assume they simply turn back into an ordinary human until the Soul Gem is returned," Mami speculates. "Although, if you don't have your Soul Gem, you'll be helpless if wraiths or witches appear, and you won't even be able to tell how much magic you have left."
"That's kinda scary. I mean, what if I did already make a contract and become a magical girl, and someone wished for me to forget all about it? Wouldn't it be really bad if I just gave away my Soul Gem?" Sayaka asks, fumbling the Soul Gem ring and letting it roll onto the table.
"Miki-san, do you understand what you're saying? Kyubey spoke of your potential and offered you a contract. It's simply impossible for you to already be a magical girl. For that to happen, you would need to have already made a wish, and now be being offered a second one. Whether it's the whole world, or all of history, I'm certain that nobody could receive such fortune." Mami explains firmly, rising and taking the crockery into the kitchen.
"I… it's true, I can't think of what I'd do with even one wish. If I was offered two, I…" you trail off, looking at the Soul Gem with more worry than ever. Even Mami had suddenly become worked up at the thought of someone being offered a second wish. Would it really be fair for someone to receive not one but two miracles in their lifetime? And yet…
No, there's definitely something you can do to help Sayaka be sure about this.
You work up your courage, and ask. "Umm, Sayaka?"
"What is it?"
"Do you mind if I borrow that ring, just for tonight? I'll bring it to school tomorrow, okay? Just so… just so we know for sure if anything weird happens. You'll be with Kyouko, too, right?"
"Yeah." She slides the ring across the table to you. It feels icy cold to the touch, and yet burns too, a strange, intense sensation that leaves your fingers numb yet unpleasantly tingly. You pocket it, checking your fingers almost on instinct. There's no mark, not even the redness of rushing blood or the paleness brought by a chill - just a wisp of darkness that fades as you watch.
And, oddly, a slight flare of righteous anger? Without any real target, though, it fades quicker than you can question it.
"Don't lose it. And… if something weird happens, I'll call you right away, okay." Sayaka says, looking out at the darkening sky. "You should probably get going. Your dad will be worried."
"Mmm." You nod, and glance toward the kitchen, where Mami is emerging again. "I'm going home now, Mami-san. Thank you for the tea and cake, and… and for saving us earlier. I… I really mean it, okay… and, I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"Good night, Kaname-san. Have a safe journey home."
You make your way out of the apartment and take the elevator down to the ground floor. The air is cooler now, and you hurry a little as you head back to the bus stop, hoping you can catch a late bus back home.
You don't look up at the sky.
You're afraid to see the moon.
When you finally sleep, it's fitful, haunted by nightmares of snapping shears and barbed wire, cascades of tumbling teeth and the snapping beaks of birds. Several times you awaken fitfully, unsure if you'd heard noise outside or if it was just your imagination. Clinging to your pillow, you push yourself back to sleep and sink into another nightmare, chased through a flooding concert hall by a monstrous mermaid until, ultimately, you drown in the darkness.
And when the morning comes, and you check your nightstand, the ring you'd borrowed from Sayaka is missing - vanished without a trace. There's no sign of any break-in or tampering, and nothing else is gone. Only the ring.
It's magic, after all - magic!
"I… that's weird, I don't even remember when I got it. It must've been after Kyouko started crashing at my house… probably?" Sayaka says, taking off the ring and placing it on the table in front of her. "I mean, she's staying with us because she's got nowhere else to go, but we're not really close enough I'd buy a matching ring - I mean, th-that'd imply that we're…" she trails off with a nervous blush. "So, why?"
"May I suggest something?" Mami asks politely.
"Please do! I really don't know what to think of all this, and it'd be weird if Sayaka was a magical girl this whole time without knowing anything about it…"
"No way it's something like that. I mean, Kyubey even offered me a contract, and he wouldn't have done that if I was already a magical girl somehow, right?" Sayaka insists, picking up the ring again and rolling it nervously against her fingers.
"Could you put that ring next to one of the Grief Cubes on the table? If it's a fake, there shouldn't be any reaction," Mami asks, taking away all of the cubes but one.
"Wh-what if it's real?" you ask, only to watch as your friend places the ring down in the centre of the table, and a stream of darkness pours out of it into the pitch-black cube. Somehow, as you watch, the cube seems to become even blacker, positively radiating malevolence. You're sure you see it leaching colour out of the environment from where it sits, foreboding, beside Kyouko's abandoned teacup.
"My, my…" Mami says, and slides the cube back away. "It seems we have a problem. I haven't encountered a situation like this before…"
"I was wearing a real Soul Gem ring the entire time?! No way, that's just…" Sayaka flops against you, at least as confused as you are. "What… what does this mean? Is there a magical girl wandering around without her Soul Gem?"
"I don't know, I'm afraid. Normally, this sort of thing doesn't happen, because it's so easy and important to keep your Soul Gem with you at all times."
"So… should I wish to find the magical girl this belongs to, then? It seems really important…"
"Miki-san, you shouldn't do that," Mami says, stopping Sayaka firmly. "That sort of wish can have strange consequences and could easily turn your life upside-down for someone you don't even know. You might end up traveling the world in search of her, or even discover it's a Soul Gem left over from a magical girl who died centuries ago. It's important to think hard about your wish, and what sort of life it'll lead you towards."
"Then, um… should we leave the Soul Gem with you? I'm not sure how I feel about all these mysteries piling up…"
"I wouldn't mind holding onto it for you," Mami offers, starting to clear up the crockery on the table. "But are you sure you're okay with that? Kaname-san, do you have any ideas?"
"Umm… well, it's a Soul Gem, the source of a magical girl's magic," you say nervously, looking at the ring more closely. "So, I think whatever we do with it, we should be careful. I mean, something like that is really important- um, Mami-san, what actually happens when a magical girl doesn't have her Soul Gem, anyway?"
"Ah, that's a difficult question. Certainly, it's impossible to transform if we can't touch our Soul Gems, and most magic won't work, either. But I've never heard of a magical girl losing her Soul Gem and being unable to find it. I'd assume they simply turn back into an ordinary human until the Soul Gem is returned," Mami speculates. "Although, if you don't have your Soul Gem, you'll be helpless if wraiths or witches appear, and you won't even be able to tell how much magic you have left."
"That's kinda scary. I mean, what if I did already make a contract and become a magical girl, and someone wished for me to forget all about it? Wouldn't it be really bad if I just gave away my Soul Gem?" Sayaka asks, fumbling the Soul Gem ring and letting it roll onto the table.
"Miki-san, do you understand what you're saying? Kyubey spoke of your potential and offered you a contract. It's simply impossible for you to already be a magical girl. For that to happen, you would need to have already made a wish, and now be being offered a second one. Whether it's the whole world, or all of history, I'm certain that nobody could receive such fortune." Mami explains firmly, rising and taking the crockery into the kitchen.
"I… it's true, I can't think of what I'd do with even one wish. If I was offered two, I…" you trail off, looking at the Soul Gem with more worry than ever. Even Mami had suddenly become worked up at the thought of someone being offered a second wish. Would it really be fair for someone to receive not one but two miracles in their lifetime? And yet…
No, there's definitely something you can do to help Sayaka be sure about this.
You work up your courage, and ask. "Umm, Sayaka?"
"What is it?"
"Do you mind if I borrow that ring, just for tonight? I'll bring it to school tomorrow, okay? Just so… just so we know for sure if anything weird happens. You'll be with Kyouko, too, right?"
"Yeah." She slides the ring across the table to you. It feels icy cold to the touch, and yet burns too, a strange, intense sensation that leaves your fingers numb yet unpleasantly tingly. You pocket it, checking your fingers almost on instinct. There's no mark, not even the redness of rushing blood or the paleness brought by a chill - just a wisp of darkness that fades as you watch.
And, oddly, a slight flare of righteous anger? Without any real target, though, it fades quicker than you can question it.
"Don't lose it. And… if something weird happens, I'll call you right away, okay." Sayaka says, looking out at the darkening sky. "You should probably get going. Your dad will be worried."
"Mmm." You nod, and glance toward the kitchen, where Mami is emerging again. "I'm going home now, Mami-san. Thank you for the tea and cake, and… and for saving us earlier. I… I really mean it, okay… and, I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"Good night, Kaname-san. Have a safe journey home."
You make your way out of the apartment and take the elevator down to the ground floor. The air is cooler now, and you hurry a little as you head back to the bus stop, hoping you can catch a late bus back home.
You don't look up at the sky.
You're afraid to see the moon.
When you finally sleep, it's fitful, haunted by nightmares of snapping shears and barbed wire, cascades of tumbling teeth and the snapping beaks of birds. Several times you awaken fitfully, unsure if you'd heard noise outside or if it was just your imagination. Clinging to your pillow, you push yourself back to sleep and sink into another nightmare, chased through a flooding concert hall by a monstrous mermaid until, ultimately, you drown in the darkness.
And when the morning comes, and you check your nightstand, the ring you'd borrowed from Sayaka is missing - vanished without a trace. There's no sign of any break-in or tampering, and nothing else is gone. Only the ring.
UrsaTempest
Don't Panic!
Is it possible to wear another puella magi's ring
Not *reality breaking* good. Some people are just very good at covering their tracks. Just because there's no recognizable sign of something doesn't mean it didn't happen
Yes! But... well, it's unlikely that anything special will happen, and if it does, it's probably very bad for you. Normally, that is. Things are getting very weird.
O.6 // i want to lock away that radiance
You immediately call Sayaka. It's still fairly early - you don't think you've got quite enough sleep, but the disappearance of the ring was shocking enough to leave you more or less alert.
Unfortunately, it's Kyouko who picks up, yawning lazily.
"G'morning."
"H-huh? Kyouko-chan, did something happen to Sayaka?"
"Nah, she's in the shower. Did something happen last night?"
"Well, um, did Sayaka mention anything to you about a mysterious Soul Gem ring?"
"…yeah. I noticed it a while ago, but I wasn't about to drag my meal ticket into magical girl business. So you borrowed it last night?"
"Mmm… wait, 'meal ticket?'"
"It's a joke, a joke!" Kyouko laughs it off quickly, but you can't help but feel like there's more to it than that.
"A-anyway, um… well, I was keeping the ring by my bed last night, but when I woke up, it was gone…"
"Oi, oi. What the hell…?" You hear her put down the phone, but you can still hear her yell. "Hey, Sayaka, I'm going out for a bit! Might be late for school!"
"Y-you don't have to…" you mumble.
"Nah, if there's a trail, I've gotta get there while it's still fresh."
It's reasonable enough, you think. Unfortunately, in all the fuss about the mystery Soul Gem you'd forgotten to trade numbers with Mami. You try to contact her with telepathy, but she's out of range. You're guessing the range is less than a kilometre, maybe?
-
Kyouko arrives about five minutes later, landing on your balcony in her magical girl form, a piece of buttered toast sticking out of her mouth. Just how she manages to make toast-in-mouth look remotely dignified, you don't know, but you wish you did. You're still not properly dressed - the whole thing had kind of messed up your morning schedule, but you still have time.
<Yo,> she says, waving to you from outside. <I'll be gone soon, don't you worry. I just need to… yeah, there's a trail here. Two, actually… oi, oi…>
<What is it, Kyouko-chan?>
<One of those dolls was here, and a magical girl was fighting it. Then the magical girl got inside your room, took the ring and… teleported? The trail breaks up right away, maybe if I…>
She hops down off the balcony, careful to stay on the opposite side of the house from Papa as she sweeps her hand around, glowing with red light. Then leaps away, spinning through the air to land lightly on the neighbours' house.
<One of those dolls was here? At my house…?>
<Yeah. I don't get it, though - the doll was here, but it's the magical girl who was after your stuff- hmm, no, she didn't go across the rooftops, but maybe down in the street?>
<D-do you think it's dangerous?>
<The doll? Hell if I know. But if it was gonna kill you, d'you think it'd wait?>
You don't have an answer to that one right away - it's quite an odd question for her to ask, you think… but, if what she's suggesting is true, maybe you have less to fear from the doll than you initially thought.
<Got it. Found the trail - she disappeared from your balcony and reappeared down here in the street. The trail keeps breaking up, but she's not good at throwing people off. Either she was saving those teleports to get distance from the doll, or she's a damn newbie.>
<You can tell all that?>
<Yeah. Helps that there's a few bullet holes in the road. Must've brought tin soldiers with it. I'm almost out of range, so if you got something to say, ask now.>
You'd better think things over. You desperately want to go with her - to see the magical girl who'd broken into your house for yourself. But she'd probably be moving like a magical girl, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Unfortunate as it is, you'd probably just slow her down, especially if she got into a fight.
There's something else you could do, though. The doll you'd seen at the mall saluted you, like she was trying to protect you from something. And what you'd seen and felt when you'd touched her… you really didn't feel like she'd been something as simple as an enemy. You've got a hunch it's going to work out okay, somehow.
<Um… Kyouko-chan, do you know where the doll went?>
<Oi, oi, do you want me to chase down that thing instead?>
<No. It's more like, I guess I'm asking… where would you guess she went? What does your instinct as a veteran magical girl say?>
<Nnn… that'd depend on if the doll managed to catch this magical girl I'm chasing or not. Maybe they're even chasing each other around the streets of Kazamino right now?> She pauses for a moment. <That the only thing?>
<Mm. Good luck, Kyouko-chan.> you reply, cutting the connection. You shouldn't be any closer to figuring out the doll. Normally, you shouldn't be. But, even though you think it's going to be okay, you're scared - scared because of where that hunch is telling you the doll's been, and what she's been doing… and in some ways, it's the worst answer it could possibly be.
-
You shouldn't need to rush the morning's preparations, so you take your time as you usually would. If you're right, if that gnawing suspicion is correct… the doll won't be going anywhere.
Unfortunately, Mama's got words for you as you brush your teeth in front of the mirror - she doesn't seem so happy today, for some reason.
"Madoka, I heard you came home late last night."
"A senior invited me to her house. Sayaka and Kyouko-chan were there too, and she made us cake…"
"Mmm… that must've been nice," she replies, her heart not really in it. "Look, I'm not going to be an annoying mom and impose a curfew and stuff, but call home before dinner if you're going to be late, okay?"
"I'm sorry." There'd been so much that'd happened that… no, that's not right. You had called home, you think, on the way up to the top of the mall, when you were sitting there with Mami and Kyouko. You just… well, you'd assumed at the time that that part wouldn't have changed; not noticed it was in one set of memories and not the other.
You catch a glimpse of Kyubey in the garden, frolicking under the sun in plain sight from the kitchen. Surely if he could see him, Papa would've noticed by now. So it's just like what Mami said about the witches and wraiths?
…well, on the subject of magic, there is something you can ask Mama without it seeming too weird.
"Oh, Mama…"
"Hm?"
"What if… what if someone offered to grant you any wish you wanted with magic? What would you-"
"I'd get rid of a board member or two," she replies instantly, her voice almost scary.
You let out a nervous laugh - was she about to launch into some sort of tirade?
"The president is also getting a bit too old for this, so maybe I would wish for him to retire…" she says, efficiently working through her makeup routine. "But he hasn't even named a successor yet…"
"What if you became president then, Mom?" you ask, hurriedly trying to get her off the subject of erasing people.
"I didn't consider that." Makeup is quickly packed up in its case, as she turns to leave. "I'll have to work things out with the Sales Department first. Planning and Administration are already my pawns. The only problem left is the baldy in Accounting… hmm, maybe I'll pull off his toupée?"
"Mama, you look scary…"
-
You make sure to be looking your best before you leave today, taking your time. Mostly, it helps take your mind off of all the occult happenings going on around you. You put the same black ribbons in as yesterday, checking yourself in the mirror - hmm, maybe you should ask Mama if you can use some of her foundation? There's something about the black ones that… no, no, you'd totally get in trouble. Saotome-sensei would notice right away.
Eventually, you can't put it off any longer. With breakfast done, you slip on your shoes and leave the house, no toast in your mouth this time.
You turn the corner, head down to the end of the street where you thought you'd seen a cat last time, and stare at the bush.
There, a shock of orange fluff sticking out between the leaves.
You watch it for about thirty seconds, squinting at the peculiar texture, the detail, until you're absolutely sure. Then you reach out, grab a handful of it, and, with all your might, yank it upwards.
You wish you hadn't been right.
You'd rather be being yowled at by an angry cat than this.
Sure enough, what emerges from the bush, shaking in rage and humiliation, is another one of those pallid porcelain dolls, her messy orange hair tied back by a rosette-styled ribbon.
She stares at you, unblinking.
You stare back, shifting between a multitude of emotions. Slowly, as the inky black impurity pours in, images follow. Memories and feelings not your own.
A laughing, vicious procession at first, under a rainbow-painted, patched-up sky.
Rain? Black, inky rain… tears?
The dolls are all dressed in mourning clothes.
The sky cracks open, and a brilliant light shines down. You… no, that's not right.
The eighth to appear is Jealousy. Spellbound, she looks up toward the heavens.
-
The memories change. You feel - see - something that isn't the cold body of a doll. You feel a heartbeat - tension, passion.
A long, lonely vigil; the flicker of rain under streetlamps.
Gunsmoke, and the still-too-loud bark of a silenced pistol.
An almost-forgotten, radiant smile, seen for the first time across a crowded classroom. Too bright to look upon or recognize…
"Let's prepare a box. I want to lock away that radiance forever."
Still the corruption pours in, burning like lightning in your veins, surging through your hand toward your heart.
You can't step away.
You can't release her.
You can't deny that emotion.
These dolls are a congregation of colours. They are not empty.
You shift your hands, murmuring softly to the doll. Let her hair free, your fingertips brushing across her cold, unyielding cheek as they move to clasp her ball-jointed hand tight. You feel as if your voice, your body aren't entirely your own.
Ink-black smoke pours from between your fingers; you can feel her essence, slowly crumbling away.
"You've been protecting me, haven't you, ██████-chan… even now, you're fighting to keep me safe, aren't you?" you whisper, and see the doll startle, freezing up. Somehow, even that too-wide grin could shift into a gasp of dismay, confusion…
"It's okay, ██████-chan. That feeling… I understand it, too. It's not just for you alone, see?"
The doll squirms, trying desperately now to escape your clutches now as the impurities pour in, surging until your heart aches and screams - but, just at this moment, you feel somehow stronger than her, just gently clasping her hand enough to prevent her escape.
And you - no, not you, that… other will that exists inside you - she wants to possess the doll. Take her in, embrace her, so she doesn't have to fight alone. You don't understand - you feel like you can't understand yet, there's so much you don't know, or that you've forgotten, and yet…
You blank out, just a flash of yesterday's dream flickering in your mind. The wasteland, the road of flowers, the elephant-drawn carriage - only this time, you're seeing it from the perspective of the black-haired girl. A glittering white silhouette approaches, an ancient longing builds deep within, overflowing, dyeing all other feelings in its colour, inky blackness and something even darker, leaking through cracks in breaking glass. Pale hands reach out, and…
You're lying there in a bush in the street outside your home. You must've fallen face-first into it, branches and fresh buds pressing against your face. Your body aches as you slowly pick yourself up, brushing off stray leaves and bits of branch from your school uniform. You hope you don't look too awful…
It's then you realize there's something in your hand. Something hard, cool and delicate-feeling, that clinks mutedly as you open your fingers to take a look at it.
It takes you a little thought to figure out what it is, turning the peculiar shape over and over until you realize…
It's an earring.
Unfortunately, it's Kyouko who picks up, yawning lazily.
"G'morning."
"H-huh? Kyouko-chan, did something happen to Sayaka?"
"Nah, she's in the shower. Did something happen last night?"
"Well, um, did Sayaka mention anything to you about a mysterious Soul Gem ring?"
"…yeah. I noticed it a while ago, but I wasn't about to drag my meal ticket into magical girl business. So you borrowed it last night?"
"Mmm… wait, 'meal ticket?'"
"It's a joke, a joke!" Kyouko laughs it off quickly, but you can't help but feel like there's more to it than that.
"A-anyway, um… well, I was keeping the ring by my bed last night, but when I woke up, it was gone…"
"Oi, oi. What the hell…?" You hear her put down the phone, but you can still hear her yell. "Hey, Sayaka, I'm going out for a bit! Might be late for school!"
"Y-you don't have to…" you mumble.
"Nah, if there's a trail, I've gotta get there while it's still fresh."
It's reasonable enough, you think. Unfortunately, in all the fuss about the mystery Soul Gem you'd forgotten to trade numbers with Mami. You try to contact her with telepathy, but she's out of range. You're guessing the range is less than a kilometre, maybe?
-
Kyouko arrives about five minutes later, landing on your balcony in her magical girl form, a piece of buttered toast sticking out of her mouth. Just how she manages to make toast-in-mouth look remotely dignified, you don't know, but you wish you did. You're still not properly dressed - the whole thing had kind of messed up your morning schedule, but you still have time.
<Yo,> she says, waving to you from outside. <I'll be gone soon, don't you worry. I just need to… yeah, there's a trail here. Two, actually… oi, oi…>
<What is it, Kyouko-chan?>
<One of those dolls was here, and a magical girl was fighting it. Then the magical girl got inside your room, took the ring and… teleported? The trail breaks up right away, maybe if I…>
She hops down off the balcony, careful to stay on the opposite side of the house from Papa as she sweeps her hand around, glowing with red light. Then leaps away, spinning through the air to land lightly on the neighbours' house.
<One of those dolls was here? At my house…?>
<Yeah. I don't get it, though - the doll was here, but it's the magical girl who was after your stuff- hmm, no, she didn't go across the rooftops, but maybe down in the street?>
<D-do you think it's dangerous?>
<The doll? Hell if I know. But if it was gonna kill you, d'you think it'd wait?>
You don't have an answer to that one right away - it's quite an odd question for her to ask, you think… but, if what she's suggesting is true, maybe you have less to fear from the doll than you initially thought.
<Got it. Found the trail - she disappeared from your balcony and reappeared down here in the street. The trail keeps breaking up, but she's not good at throwing people off. Either she was saving those teleports to get distance from the doll, or she's a damn newbie.>
<You can tell all that?>
<Yeah. Helps that there's a few bullet holes in the road. Must've brought tin soldiers with it. I'm almost out of range, so if you got something to say, ask now.>
You'd better think things over. You desperately want to go with her - to see the magical girl who'd broken into your house for yourself. But she'd probably be moving like a magical girl, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Unfortunate as it is, you'd probably just slow her down, especially if she got into a fight.
There's something else you could do, though. The doll you'd seen at the mall saluted you, like she was trying to protect you from something. And what you'd seen and felt when you'd touched her… you really didn't feel like she'd been something as simple as an enemy. You've got a hunch it's going to work out okay, somehow.
<Um… Kyouko-chan, do you know where the doll went?>
<Oi, oi, do you want me to chase down that thing instead?>
<No. It's more like, I guess I'm asking… where would you guess she went? What does your instinct as a veteran magical girl say?>
<Nnn… that'd depend on if the doll managed to catch this magical girl I'm chasing or not. Maybe they're even chasing each other around the streets of Kazamino right now?> She pauses for a moment. <That the only thing?>
<Mm. Good luck, Kyouko-chan.> you reply, cutting the connection. You shouldn't be any closer to figuring out the doll. Normally, you shouldn't be. But, even though you think it's going to be okay, you're scared - scared because of where that hunch is telling you the doll's been, and what she's been doing… and in some ways, it's the worst answer it could possibly be.
-
You shouldn't need to rush the morning's preparations, so you take your time as you usually would. If you're right, if that gnawing suspicion is correct… the doll won't be going anywhere.
Unfortunately, Mama's got words for you as you brush your teeth in front of the mirror - she doesn't seem so happy today, for some reason.
"Madoka, I heard you came home late last night."
"A senior invited me to her house. Sayaka and Kyouko-chan were there too, and she made us cake…"
"Mmm… that must've been nice," she replies, her heart not really in it. "Look, I'm not going to be an annoying mom and impose a curfew and stuff, but call home before dinner if you're going to be late, okay?"
"I'm sorry." There'd been so much that'd happened that… no, that's not right. You had called home, you think, on the way up to the top of the mall, when you were sitting there with Mami and Kyouko. You just… well, you'd assumed at the time that that part wouldn't have changed; not noticed it was in one set of memories and not the other.
You catch a glimpse of Kyubey in the garden, frolicking under the sun in plain sight from the kitchen. Surely if he could see him, Papa would've noticed by now. So it's just like what Mami said about the witches and wraiths?
…well, on the subject of magic, there is something you can ask Mama without it seeming too weird.
"Oh, Mama…"
"Hm?"
"What if… what if someone offered to grant you any wish you wanted with magic? What would you-"
"I'd get rid of a board member or two," she replies instantly, her voice almost scary.
You let out a nervous laugh - was she about to launch into some sort of tirade?
"The president is also getting a bit too old for this, so maybe I would wish for him to retire…" she says, efficiently working through her makeup routine. "But he hasn't even named a successor yet…"
"What if you became president then, Mom?" you ask, hurriedly trying to get her off the subject of erasing people.
"I didn't consider that." Makeup is quickly packed up in its case, as she turns to leave. "I'll have to work things out with the Sales Department first. Planning and Administration are already my pawns. The only problem left is the baldy in Accounting… hmm, maybe I'll pull off his toupée?"
"Mama, you look scary…"
-
You make sure to be looking your best before you leave today, taking your time. Mostly, it helps take your mind off of all the occult happenings going on around you. You put the same black ribbons in as yesterday, checking yourself in the mirror - hmm, maybe you should ask Mama if you can use some of her foundation? There's something about the black ones that… no, no, you'd totally get in trouble. Saotome-sensei would notice right away.
Eventually, you can't put it off any longer. With breakfast done, you slip on your shoes and leave the house, no toast in your mouth this time.
You turn the corner, head down to the end of the street where you thought you'd seen a cat last time, and stare at the bush.
There, a shock of orange fluff sticking out between the leaves.
You watch it for about thirty seconds, squinting at the peculiar texture, the detail, until you're absolutely sure. Then you reach out, grab a handful of it, and, with all your might, yank it upwards.
You wish you hadn't been right.
You'd rather be being yowled at by an angry cat than this.
Sure enough, what emerges from the bush, shaking in rage and humiliation, is another one of those pallid porcelain dolls, her messy orange hair tied back by a rosette-styled ribbon.
She stares at you, unblinking.
You stare back, shifting between a multitude of emotions. Slowly, as the inky black impurity pours in, images follow. Memories and feelings not your own.
A laughing, vicious procession at first, under a rainbow-painted, patched-up sky.
Rain? Black, inky rain… tears?
The dolls are all dressed in mourning clothes.
The sky cracks open, and a brilliant light shines down. You… no, that's not right.
The eighth to appear is Jealousy. Spellbound, she looks up toward the heavens.
-
The memories change. You feel - see - something that isn't the cold body of a doll. You feel a heartbeat - tension, passion.
A long, lonely vigil; the flicker of rain under streetlamps.
Gunsmoke, and the still-too-loud bark of a silenced pistol.
An almost-forgotten, radiant smile, seen for the first time across a crowded classroom. Too bright to look upon or recognize…
"Let's prepare a box. I want to lock away that radiance forever."
Still the corruption pours in, burning like lightning in your veins, surging through your hand toward your heart.
You can't step away.
You can't release her.
You can't deny that emotion.
These dolls are a congregation of colours. They are not empty.
You shift your hands, murmuring softly to the doll. Let her hair free, your fingertips brushing across her cold, unyielding cheek as they move to clasp her ball-jointed hand tight. You feel as if your voice, your body aren't entirely your own.
Ink-black smoke pours from between your fingers; you can feel her essence, slowly crumbling away.
"You've been protecting me, haven't you, ██████-chan… even now, you're fighting to keep me safe, aren't you?" you whisper, and see the doll startle, freezing up. Somehow, even that too-wide grin could shift into a gasp of dismay, confusion…
"It's okay, ██████-chan. That feeling… I understand it, too. It's not just for you alone, see?"
The doll squirms, trying desperately now to escape your clutches now as the impurities pour in, surging until your heart aches and screams - but, just at this moment, you feel somehow stronger than her, just gently clasping her hand enough to prevent her escape.
And you - no, not you, that… other will that exists inside you - she wants to possess the doll. Take her in, embrace her, so she doesn't have to fight alone. You don't understand - you feel like you can't understand yet, there's so much you don't know, or that you've forgotten, and yet…
You blank out, just a flash of yesterday's dream flickering in your mind. The wasteland, the road of flowers, the elephant-drawn carriage - only this time, you're seeing it from the perspective of the black-haired girl. A glittering white silhouette approaches, an ancient longing builds deep within, overflowing, dyeing all other feelings in its colour, inky blackness and something even darker, leaking through cracks in breaking glass. Pale hands reach out, and…
You're lying there in a bush in the street outside your home. You must've fallen face-first into it, branches and fresh buds pressing against your face. Your body aches as you slowly pick yourself up, brushing off stray leaves and bits of branch from your school uniform. You hope you don't look too awful…
It's then you realize there's something in your hand. Something hard, cool and delicate-feeling, that clinks mutedly as you open your fingers to take a look at it.
It takes you a little thought to figure out what it is, turning the peculiar shape over and over until you realize…
It's an earring.
UrsaTempest
Don't Panic!
Wear it Madoka see what happens!!!
O.7 // do you even remember where we first met?
It's shaped almost like a salamander, made to loop around the whole earlobe, with the jeweled head resting at the front of the ear, and an empty socket for a lozenge-shaped gem hanging from a short chain on a hook at the tail end. As you look closer, you notice a line of tiny jewel settings looping around the outside of the earring - the salamander's back - too. Fourteen in total, all empty but the eighth from the top, a chip of amber glinting in the clear daylight.
Even under the warmth of the morning sun, you feel oddly cold and numb after all that. You're glad nobody saw you, but… oh. You'll be late for school if you don't hurry, you realize, as you check your phone. You start running, earring safely tucked away in your bag, hoping you'll catch up to Sayaka and Hitomi soon.
"Good morning!" you shout as you finally catch up, hardly believing how relieved you are to see the two of them okay.
"Good morning-" Hitomi replies, turning to you - only to widen her eyes in surprise. "M-my, my. Madoka-san, what happened to you?"
"E-ehehe… I sort of tripped into a bush," you explain. Well, it's half-true at least, and you can't exactly tell her about the sheer weirdness of what really happened. You'd like it if Hitomi could stay normal, at least…
<Kyouko told me what happened. She find anything?> Sayaka sends you, as you begin to walk to school.
<Mm. Apparently it was another magical girl. She's on her trail right now… there was one of those weird dolls there, too. It's scary thinking someone got into my room like that…>
<A magical girl broke into your room? That's unusual. You haven't made a contract, so it'd be strange for someone to think you'd have Grief items.> Kyubey comments, sidling onto the path beside you. Hitomi, thankfully, doesn't even notice him.
<There was something magical, though…>
<The mysterious Soul Gem that Miki Sayaka was wearing? I wasn't able to identify it when I first noticed it, so I didn't comment. It's very unusual for someone who isn't a magical girl to be in possession of a Soul Gem. Still, I can confirm that it isn't this Miki Sayaka's Soul Gem.>
"Is something going on between you two?" Hitomi asks unexpectedly, walking a little behind you. "You keep gazing into each other's eyes…"
"N-no," you exclaim, "we've been, um…" Fumbling, you try to think of an innocent explanation, but your hopes are quickly dashed by Hitomi's enthusiastic fantasies.
"It couldn't be! You two are already close enough to communicate with your eyes alone?! H-how did you become so much closer in just one day?" she begs, hands clutched to her cheeks, utterly scandalized! "J-just what on Earth happened? You, Madoka-san, look like you must've barely slept- could it be…"
"No, uh… that's not what happened at all…" Sayaka responds, trying to stay as neutral as possible.
"I-it's true that a lot happened last night… maybe too much…" you add before thinking, ending up having completely the opposite effect, though.
"Y-you can't!" Hitomi cries, screwing up her hands and gesturing dramatically. "You're both girls! I-it's forbidden love!" And off she goes, running away toward school without her bag.
Huh, she's acting almost like Sayaka today…
-
Kyubey ends up slipping away to Mami's classroom before class, thankfully giving you the chance to contact the drill-haired senior via telepathy. You take the opportunity to explain the situation with the Soul Gem, but you don't really feel like you're ready to explain the doll. You exchange numbers too, and Mami asks if you want to accompany her on a witch patrol later to get more of a feel for what being a magical girl is like.
Unfortunately, you have to decline - you'd already promised to help Kirika-chan with a study session this afternoon. You'd been hoping to chat with her, but she doesn't arrive until right before homeroom starts, cutting it much finer than you had.
Though at least she's not late, unlike Kyouko, who barely makes the end of homeroom.
You can't really focus on Saotome-sensei's English class, and end up spending most of the time doodling in one of your notebooks - magical girls' costumes, mostly, wondering what your own would be like, at first, as the page slowly fills with a wonderland of wings, ribbons, petticoats and cute accessories. You're not sure if you're inspired or not, but somehow, the next page ends up filled with more mature designs - gothic lolita dresses, military uniforms, futuristic bodysuits and even an evening gown. You catch yourself partway through drawing an older girl in a wedding dress-styled outfit, wearing a tall, bucket-shaped hat with the profile of a drawn-back veil. Definitely Saotome-sensei's fault, that one.
During recess, you stop by Kirika-chan's desk first. She seems to be trying her best to put together good notes for your study session tonight, so after giving her a few tips, you leave her be and head to the roof after Sayaka.
Mitakihara Middle School's roof isn't really what you'd expect from a middle school - it looks more like the roof of a cathedral, with huge stone slabs in place of benches, and fences in a completely overdone, Gothic revival style. It's sort of ridiculous how much it stands out against the rest of the shiny, ultra-modern building.
"Hey, Madoka…" she calls as you approach, Kyubey whisking his tail back and forth beside her. "Did you come up with a good wish yet?"
You shake your head. "I've hardly had time. How about you?"
"Me neither. I kind of thought a whole bunch of things would pop into my head, but they all feel so stupid. They're not things I'd want to stake my life on, or anything like that. Like, maybe if I knew someone who was stuck in hospital and wasn't going to get better, I'd make a wish for them, but…"
<There are many magical girls who wish for a miracle like that. It's not uncommon at all.> comments Kyubey, hopping into your lap as you sit down. <It's only natural to call something like that, that can't be achieved by any amount of hard work, a miracle itself.>
"Maybe we're just too fortunate, then?" Sayaka says wistfully, staring out through the fence at the shining city skyline. "I mean, there's people all over the world suffering, even struggling and risking their lives every day. I'm sure people like that would think just one life a small price to pay for a miracle…"
"Mmm. I'm sure there are magical girls who've wished to eradicate diseases or end wars, too," you speculate. "All of that just seems so far away, though. I don't know if I could fight like that, for people I've never seen…"
"Why is it us?" Sayaka asks, turning back to Kyubey. "It's so unfair - there's got to be so many people who'd give anything for a chance like this. For a real miracle…"
<With some girls, it's easy to tell why they have the potential. Perhaps they're the daughter of a politician, or a precocious scientific genius. With others, their potential only appears for a moment, at a point that could change their entire life. The two of you are quite unusual - your potential is unprecedented in various ways that I simply don't under->
"Idiot." Kyouko interrupts, stepping out onto the roof, followed - at a wary distance - by Mami. "Sometimes, there's no sense or meaning in people's fortunes, it's just coincidence. You've got the opportunity to grab a miracle for yourself - why are you thinking about throwing it away on other people?"
"Kyouko…" Sayaka frowns, conflicted. "Do you really think it's right to use something that important just on yourself?"
"It's because it's that important that you should use it on yourself! We're talking about your one and only miracle here! Something you can only buy at the cost of your life!"
"…Sakura-san, don't you think there's something strange about that? We magical girls risk our lives fighting monsters, and if we die in battle, having wished only for ourselves, then there's nothing left of the miracle. Isn't it better to leave some of that hope behind for others?" Mami objects firmly, facing her down with that same stern bearing you saw when she saved you yesterday.
"Tch. It doesn't make a difference. In the end, hope and despair balance out to zero anyway."
"Um… Mami-san, Kyouko-chan… please don't fight over this again. It's no good to try to tell people what to wish for…"
<Kaname Madoka is correct. In the end, it's up to the individual magical girl what miracle she chooses to bring into the world. There are magical girls who've ended up rejecting their own wish, too - isn't it most important to have something you believed in with your whole heart, Sakura Kyouko?>
For some reason, you feel a little uncomfortable, a knot in the pit of your stomach at having Kyubey agree with you so readily. You pick him up like a cat, scoop him out of your lap and cross your legs.
"Um, Kyouko, did you manage to track down that magical girl?" you ask, eager to change the subject.
"No. Yeah. Kinda. I had the trail as far as Kazamino, but then it got jumbled up with a bunch of other magical girls around that school for rich girls - Shirona? Shiraha?" the redhead says lightly, leaning against the railings. "Got some of these on the way back, though." She flicks a few grief cubes toward Kyubey, who leaps up to catch them in the teardrop symbol on his back, vanishing them without a trace.
"Shirome?" Mami asks. "Yes, I suppose there would be magical girls there. That makes things difficult - Kazamino is Hitomi Rina's team's territory, but I don't know them well. What's more, I don't think any of her team attend Shirome, so it's possible there's two teams fighting over territory in Kazamino already. It's unfortunate, but we're going to need to plan this carefully if we want to retrieve the stolen Soul Gem without starting a war."
"A war between magical girls… aren't you all meant to be on the side of justice?" Sayaka exclaims angrily.
"Tch. A lot of magical girls start out that way, but the world isn't so nice as all that. Mami's an exception, really - everyone wants to use magic, so there's a lot of competition over hunting grounds."
"Nnn… you make magical girls sound like some kind of scary beast…" you say, fumbling with the bag by your feet.
"Yeah, it's like that sometimes. Witches feed on humans, and we feed on witches. The more magical girls there are in a city, the less they can get by doing what Mami does. Mami gets away with it 'cause there's just us two veterans and Hikari in Mitakihara right now, but it won't last."
"Hikari?" you ask - it's the first time you've heard the name.
"Ayano Hikari. She's the only magical girl in Mitakihara other than us, but… she's kind of reclusive, and her magic is weak in battle, so she just picks off wraiths every month or so," Kyouko explains.
"She specializes in sniping and hit-and-run tactics, and those don't really… work so well in a witch's barrier, especially alone, so she just calls one of us if she finds one."
"Not like I'm complaining," Kyouko comments, licking her lips. "Anyway, you wanna mess with Kazamino or no?"
"Hmmm…" you ponder - you certainly don't feel enthusiastic about getting into unnecessary fights. "Um, Kyubey, do you know if that Soul Gem was stolen back for its owner, or for someone else?"
<Its owner is definitely not a Kazamino magical girl. I don't know what the thief has planned with it, but whatever the case, it's not something the owner had a say in. There are a lot of ways that a magical girl can take advantage of another if she has her Soul Gem, as well. They can use her magic without permission, use her Soul Gem to purify their own, or even steal her powers.>
"We certainly can't allow that sort of exploitation," Mami announces. "Kaname-san, Sakura-san, Miki-san, what do you think we should do?"
"I don't want to start a war between magical girls. That sounds really scary…" you reply tentatively. You're not really wanting to give up on the Soul Gem exactly, but it'd be worse to try to do something about it and end up getting someone killed.
You don't feel ready to commit to that answer, though. You want - no, you need to know more.
"Sayaka, you're sure you don't remember where you got it?" you ask, feeling like you're grasping at straws…
"Mmmnnnn…" Sayaka dramatically clutches her head, racking her brain for an answer… "I don't remember. Maybe it was after Kyouko started staying at my place, but…"
"Wait, Kyouko, wouldn't you have noticed Sayaka having a magical girl's ring?"
"Yeah, there's no way I wouldn't have noticed-" she suddenly startles, eyes wide and staring at you. "No… what the heck? I… yesterday morning was…"
"Sakura-san, do you remember the wish you made when you became a magical girl?" Mami says, taking out her Soul Gem.
"…yeah, I remember that. And I remember fighting wraiths with you last year… wait, only wraiths? Why weren't there any witches, during the entire time we were together?"
"I don't remember any, either. That is peculiar… Kyubey, how unlikely is it that no witches appeared at all in Mitakihara last year?"
<It's not possible. The possibility exists that all the witches were hunted by large groups of wraiths or aberrant familiars like those dolls, but it's quite remote. What's more, it would represent an undesirable outcome for all of us, since Grief Seeds might be left unattended to hatch later, or even destroyed.>
You can't help but notice he's not mentioning consulting actual records, considering what he said about the rose garden witch earlier…
Mami's Soul Gem begins to glow as she holds it to her forehead. "Then… you remember leaving to Kazamino, too?"
"Yeah. But then, I guess… I came back, and Sayaka's folks let me crash at their place, but…"
"Sakura-san, do you remember Miki-san having the ring when you moved in with her?"
"I… yeah, I'd have looked for one right away, but…" She inhales sharply, staggering over to the railing, hands squeezing the rough metal… "Crap, I… I can remember it happened, but I can't even remember the date, or any details, I… this is just like… Sayaka, where did we even… meet for the first time?"
A line of crows swoop down from above, landing lined up on the fence, cawing mockingly. You feel like something's not quite right about them - their shadows, maybe?
"I don't… know. I don't know. Has- has someone been messing with us this whole time?" Sayaka sits down beside you, leaning close to you, hands shaking. "I don't… I don't get it at all. What's… happening to us…?"
"Some messed-up magic that plays with people's minds. It really is - this must be what it's like… crap, I don't… I don't know how to fight that…" Like Mami, she takes out her Soul Gem, holding it to her head, a dull, clouded red…
A tear begins to form at the corner of Sayaka's eye. "Madoka, do… do you understand any of this?"
You shake your head; gently put an arm around your friend and pull her close. "Nn. I'm scared too, Sayaka. I really don't know anything, and strange things keep happening to me, and…"
<Unfortunately, I don't understand everything about this situation either. There are an enormous amount of irregularities and inconsistencies in this world, especially within Mitakihara right now. It might be impossible to find out the truth just by ordinary research.>
"It's true that if you aren't able to remember the events, it'd be very difficult to find any information. And this situation could even be the work of some enemy magical girl - if so, we could be made to forget her identity every time we discover it," Mami comments darkly, lowering her Soul Gem from her forehead and sighing. "The witch you mentioned yesterday, Kaname-san - it's possible that rather than time magic, it was some sort of memory magic that caused the experience you told me about."
<There is one way. Even if it's impossible to obtain the information you need by ordinary means, you girls have the opportunity to obtain a miracle. If you're prepared to pay the price, you could easily learn about this situation, no matter how well the truth is hidden.>
"You want one of us to become a magical girl and fight?" Sayaka asks. "The timing is way too convenient, but… I can't stand it. Something messing with my memory like this, trying to tear me apart from my friends. I… I want to know. Kyubey, I-"
Even under the warmth of the morning sun, you feel oddly cold and numb after all that. You're glad nobody saw you, but… oh. You'll be late for school if you don't hurry, you realize, as you check your phone. You start running, earring safely tucked away in your bag, hoping you'll catch up to Sayaka and Hitomi soon.
"Good morning!" you shout as you finally catch up, hardly believing how relieved you are to see the two of them okay.
"Good morning-" Hitomi replies, turning to you - only to widen her eyes in surprise. "M-my, my. Madoka-san, what happened to you?"
"E-ehehe… I sort of tripped into a bush," you explain. Well, it's half-true at least, and you can't exactly tell her about the sheer weirdness of what really happened. You'd like it if Hitomi could stay normal, at least…
<Kyouko told me what happened. She find anything?> Sayaka sends you, as you begin to walk to school.
<Mm. Apparently it was another magical girl. She's on her trail right now… there was one of those weird dolls there, too. It's scary thinking someone got into my room like that…>
<A magical girl broke into your room? That's unusual. You haven't made a contract, so it'd be strange for someone to think you'd have Grief items.> Kyubey comments, sidling onto the path beside you. Hitomi, thankfully, doesn't even notice him.
<There was something magical, though…>
<The mysterious Soul Gem that Miki Sayaka was wearing? I wasn't able to identify it when I first noticed it, so I didn't comment. It's very unusual for someone who isn't a magical girl to be in possession of a Soul Gem. Still, I can confirm that it isn't this Miki Sayaka's Soul Gem.>
"Is something going on between you two?" Hitomi asks unexpectedly, walking a little behind you. "You keep gazing into each other's eyes…"
"N-no," you exclaim, "we've been, um…" Fumbling, you try to think of an innocent explanation, but your hopes are quickly dashed by Hitomi's enthusiastic fantasies.
"It couldn't be! You two are already close enough to communicate with your eyes alone?! H-how did you become so much closer in just one day?" she begs, hands clutched to her cheeks, utterly scandalized! "J-just what on Earth happened? You, Madoka-san, look like you must've barely slept- could it be…"
"No, uh… that's not what happened at all…" Sayaka responds, trying to stay as neutral as possible.
"I-it's true that a lot happened last night… maybe too much…" you add before thinking, ending up having completely the opposite effect, though.
"Y-you can't!" Hitomi cries, screwing up her hands and gesturing dramatically. "You're both girls! I-it's forbidden love!" And off she goes, running away toward school without her bag.
Huh, she's acting almost like Sayaka today…
-
Kyubey ends up slipping away to Mami's classroom before class, thankfully giving you the chance to contact the drill-haired senior via telepathy. You take the opportunity to explain the situation with the Soul Gem, but you don't really feel like you're ready to explain the doll. You exchange numbers too, and Mami asks if you want to accompany her on a witch patrol later to get more of a feel for what being a magical girl is like.
Unfortunately, you have to decline - you'd already promised to help Kirika-chan with a study session this afternoon. You'd been hoping to chat with her, but she doesn't arrive until right before homeroom starts, cutting it much finer than you had.
Though at least she's not late, unlike Kyouko, who barely makes the end of homeroom.
You can't really focus on Saotome-sensei's English class, and end up spending most of the time doodling in one of your notebooks - magical girls' costumes, mostly, wondering what your own would be like, at first, as the page slowly fills with a wonderland of wings, ribbons, petticoats and cute accessories. You're not sure if you're inspired or not, but somehow, the next page ends up filled with more mature designs - gothic lolita dresses, military uniforms, futuristic bodysuits and even an evening gown. You catch yourself partway through drawing an older girl in a wedding dress-styled outfit, wearing a tall, bucket-shaped hat with the profile of a drawn-back veil. Definitely Saotome-sensei's fault, that one.
During recess, you stop by Kirika-chan's desk first. She seems to be trying her best to put together good notes for your study session tonight, so after giving her a few tips, you leave her be and head to the roof after Sayaka.
Mitakihara Middle School's roof isn't really what you'd expect from a middle school - it looks more like the roof of a cathedral, with huge stone slabs in place of benches, and fences in a completely overdone, Gothic revival style. It's sort of ridiculous how much it stands out against the rest of the shiny, ultra-modern building.
"Hey, Madoka…" she calls as you approach, Kyubey whisking his tail back and forth beside her. "Did you come up with a good wish yet?"
You shake your head. "I've hardly had time. How about you?"
"Me neither. I kind of thought a whole bunch of things would pop into my head, but they all feel so stupid. They're not things I'd want to stake my life on, or anything like that. Like, maybe if I knew someone who was stuck in hospital and wasn't going to get better, I'd make a wish for them, but…"
<There are many magical girls who wish for a miracle like that. It's not uncommon at all.> comments Kyubey, hopping into your lap as you sit down. <It's only natural to call something like that, that can't be achieved by any amount of hard work, a miracle itself.>
"Maybe we're just too fortunate, then?" Sayaka says wistfully, staring out through the fence at the shining city skyline. "I mean, there's people all over the world suffering, even struggling and risking their lives every day. I'm sure people like that would think just one life a small price to pay for a miracle…"
"Mmm. I'm sure there are magical girls who've wished to eradicate diseases or end wars, too," you speculate. "All of that just seems so far away, though. I don't know if I could fight like that, for people I've never seen…"
"Why is it us?" Sayaka asks, turning back to Kyubey. "It's so unfair - there's got to be so many people who'd give anything for a chance like this. For a real miracle…"
<With some girls, it's easy to tell why they have the potential. Perhaps they're the daughter of a politician, or a precocious scientific genius. With others, their potential only appears for a moment, at a point that could change their entire life. The two of you are quite unusual - your potential is unprecedented in various ways that I simply don't under->
"Idiot." Kyouko interrupts, stepping out onto the roof, followed - at a wary distance - by Mami. "Sometimes, there's no sense or meaning in people's fortunes, it's just coincidence. You've got the opportunity to grab a miracle for yourself - why are you thinking about throwing it away on other people?"
"Kyouko…" Sayaka frowns, conflicted. "Do you really think it's right to use something that important just on yourself?"
"It's because it's that important that you should use it on yourself! We're talking about your one and only miracle here! Something you can only buy at the cost of your life!"
"…Sakura-san, don't you think there's something strange about that? We magical girls risk our lives fighting monsters, and if we die in battle, having wished only for ourselves, then there's nothing left of the miracle. Isn't it better to leave some of that hope behind for others?" Mami objects firmly, facing her down with that same stern bearing you saw when she saved you yesterday.
"Tch. It doesn't make a difference. In the end, hope and despair balance out to zero anyway."
"Um… Mami-san, Kyouko-chan… please don't fight over this again. It's no good to try to tell people what to wish for…"
<Kaname Madoka is correct. In the end, it's up to the individual magical girl what miracle she chooses to bring into the world. There are magical girls who've ended up rejecting their own wish, too - isn't it most important to have something you believed in with your whole heart, Sakura Kyouko?>
For some reason, you feel a little uncomfortable, a knot in the pit of your stomach at having Kyubey agree with you so readily. You pick him up like a cat, scoop him out of your lap and cross your legs.
"Um, Kyouko, did you manage to track down that magical girl?" you ask, eager to change the subject.
"No. Yeah. Kinda. I had the trail as far as Kazamino, but then it got jumbled up with a bunch of other magical girls around that school for rich girls - Shirona? Shiraha?" the redhead says lightly, leaning against the railings. "Got some of these on the way back, though." She flicks a few grief cubes toward Kyubey, who leaps up to catch them in the teardrop symbol on his back, vanishing them without a trace.
"Shirome?" Mami asks. "Yes, I suppose there would be magical girls there. That makes things difficult - Kazamino is Hitomi Rina's team's territory, but I don't know them well. What's more, I don't think any of her team attend Shirome, so it's possible there's two teams fighting over territory in Kazamino already. It's unfortunate, but we're going to need to plan this carefully if we want to retrieve the stolen Soul Gem without starting a war."
"A war between magical girls… aren't you all meant to be on the side of justice?" Sayaka exclaims angrily.
"Tch. A lot of magical girls start out that way, but the world isn't so nice as all that. Mami's an exception, really - everyone wants to use magic, so there's a lot of competition over hunting grounds."
"Nnn… you make magical girls sound like some kind of scary beast…" you say, fumbling with the bag by your feet.
"Yeah, it's like that sometimes. Witches feed on humans, and we feed on witches. The more magical girls there are in a city, the less they can get by doing what Mami does. Mami gets away with it 'cause there's just us two veterans and Hikari in Mitakihara right now, but it won't last."
"Hikari?" you ask - it's the first time you've heard the name.
"Ayano Hikari. She's the only magical girl in Mitakihara other than us, but… she's kind of reclusive, and her magic is weak in battle, so she just picks off wraiths every month or so," Kyouko explains.
"She specializes in sniping and hit-and-run tactics, and those don't really… work so well in a witch's barrier, especially alone, so she just calls one of us if she finds one."
"Not like I'm complaining," Kyouko comments, licking her lips. "Anyway, you wanna mess with Kazamino or no?"
"Hmmm…" you ponder - you certainly don't feel enthusiastic about getting into unnecessary fights. "Um, Kyubey, do you know if that Soul Gem was stolen back for its owner, or for someone else?"
<Its owner is definitely not a Kazamino magical girl. I don't know what the thief has planned with it, but whatever the case, it's not something the owner had a say in. There are a lot of ways that a magical girl can take advantage of another if she has her Soul Gem, as well. They can use her magic without permission, use her Soul Gem to purify their own, or even steal her powers.>
"We certainly can't allow that sort of exploitation," Mami announces. "Kaname-san, Sakura-san, Miki-san, what do you think we should do?"
"I don't want to start a war between magical girls. That sounds really scary…" you reply tentatively. You're not really wanting to give up on the Soul Gem exactly, but it'd be worse to try to do something about it and end up getting someone killed.
You don't feel ready to commit to that answer, though. You want - no, you need to know more.
"Sayaka, you're sure you don't remember where you got it?" you ask, feeling like you're grasping at straws…
"Mmmnnnn…" Sayaka dramatically clutches her head, racking her brain for an answer… "I don't remember. Maybe it was after Kyouko started staying at my place, but…"
"Wait, Kyouko, wouldn't you have noticed Sayaka having a magical girl's ring?"
"Yeah, there's no way I wouldn't have noticed-" she suddenly startles, eyes wide and staring at you. "No… what the heck? I… yesterday morning was…"
"Sakura-san, do you remember the wish you made when you became a magical girl?" Mami says, taking out her Soul Gem.
"…yeah, I remember that. And I remember fighting wraiths with you last year… wait, only wraiths? Why weren't there any witches, during the entire time we were together?"
"I don't remember any, either. That is peculiar… Kyubey, how unlikely is it that no witches appeared at all in Mitakihara last year?"
<It's not possible. The possibility exists that all the witches were hunted by large groups of wraiths or aberrant familiars like those dolls, but it's quite remote. What's more, it would represent an undesirable outcome for all of us, since Grief Seeds might be left unattended to hatch later, or even destroyed.>
You can't help but notice he's not mentioning consulting actual records, considering what he said about the rose garden witch earlier…
Mami's Soul Gem begins to glow as she holds it to her forehead. "Then… you remember leaving to Kazamino, too?"
"Yeah. But then, I guess… I came back, and Sayaka's folks let me crash at their place, but…"
"Sakura-san, do you remember Miki-san having the ring when you moved in with her?"
"I… yeah, I'd have looked for one right away, but…" She inhales sharply, staggering over to the railing, hands squeezing the rough metal… "Crap, I… I can remember it happened, but I can't even remember the date, or any details, I… this is just like… Sayaka, where did we even… meet for the first time?"
A line of crows swoop down from above, landing lined up on the fence, cawing mockingly. You feel like something's not quite right about them - their shadows, maybe?
"I don't… know. I don't know. Has- has someone been messing with us this whole time?" Sayaka sits down beside you, leaning close to you, hands shaking. "I don't… I don't get it at all. What's… happening to us…?"
"Some messed-up magic that plays with people's minds. It really is - this must be what it's like… crap, I don't… I don't know how to fight that…" Like Mami, she takes out her Soul Gem, holding it to her head, a dull, clouded red…
A tear begins to form at the corner of Sayaka's eye. "Madoka, do… do you understand any of this?"
You shake your head; gently put an arm around your friend and pull her close. "Nn. I'm scared too, Sayaka. I really don't know anything, and strange things keep happening to me, and…"
<Unfortunately, I don't understand everything about this situation either. There are an enormous amount of irregularities and inconsistencies in this world, especially within Mitakihara right now. It might be impossible to find out the truth just by ordinary research.>
"It's true that if you aren't able to remember the events, it'd be very difficult to find any information. And this situation could even be the work of some enemy magical girl - if so, we could be made to forget her identity every time we discover it," Mami comments darkly, lowering her Soul Gem from her forehead and sighing. "The witch you mentioned yesterday, Kaname-san - it's possible that rather than time magic, it was some sort of memory magic that caused the experience you told me about."
<There is one way. Even if it's impossible to obtain the information you need by ordinary means, you girls have the opportunity to obtain a miracle. If you're prepared to pay the price, you could easily learn about this situation, no matter how well the truth is hidden.>
"You want one of us to become a magical girl and fight?" Sayaka asks. "The timing is way too convenient, but… I can't stand it. Something messing with my memory like this, trying to tear me apart from my friends. I… I want to know. Kyubey, I-"
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O.8 // love isn't something to play around with
"It's okay, Sayaka," you reassure her, afraid yourself, but reaching out to hug her - and to clap your hand over her mouth for just a moment. "You shouldn't. Not yet. I'm scared, too, but… I just have a bad feeling about this. I don't think…"
"But Kyubey said it! There's no way to find out otherwise, Madoka… if I don't do this now, if I…"
"No." You shake your head. "I really want to know. There's so much weird stuff happening that it's driving me crazy, and even Mami-san and Kyouko-chan don't understand…"
"Then why? Why won't you…" Her face falls, beginning to weep as she clings to you. "Why… why can't I help? Why won't you let me…?"
"It's not that, Sayaka. There's just… still so much more we can do. Other magical girls, maybe. Diaries, photo albums. A wish… it's something we only get one of. It's not good to throw it away on the first thing that comes to mind…" You're stalling a little. You don't want her to make her wish, but your ideas aren't all that good. If you don't want to start a magical girl gang war, and you don't want to use a wish to get information, the options really are limited…
But you want to buy some time, at least. Time to figure out anything about that earring, aside from anything else. Maybe time for more clues to appear from somewhere unexpected…
Maybe you're just grasping at straws, but you can't let Sayaka become a magical girl - not yet.
"Thanks, Madoka." Kyouko's come back over, cleansing her Soul Gem on the bench beside her with a dozen or so Grief Cubes. "Still, we really are screwed, huh. How are you meant to fight something like mind magic?"
"It's not as difficult as you make it sound," answers Mami. "We noticed, didn't we, Sakura-san? The more our hypothetical opponent stacks up alterations to try to hide the truth, the more contradictions they'll create, and the easier it'll be for us to notice again. They have an advantage, but it's not insurmountable."
"Huh. Yeah, that's true. So if we keep evidence around, too…"
It's at that moment that the bell rings, calling you back to class.
-
You barely get a chance to talk to anyone over lunch - like Kirika, you're focused on writing down notes in the same notebook you'd been drawing magical girls in. This time, it's a record of the events of yesterday and today, and any inconsistencies in your memory that you can remember. You can't seem to find anything too weird before that - all your memories seem to fit together.
But you can't shake the feeling that you've forgotten something incredibly important - a whole lifetime and more, even. It doesn't make sense - where would you even fit an entire lifetime of memories?
It's enough that your curiosity is beating out your fear, too. That earring had fourteen slots - fifteen if you count the one at the bottom. Did that mean there were fourteen or fifteen dolls, too, and you had to… turn them into gems and fit them into the slots? Or… was that something that mustn't be done, because it'd unleash an unspeakable evil?
And what was up with that time you'd touched that Grief Seed? Had that been a real memory, or something implanted? If it was a real memory, was the thing afterwards at Mami's house fake, and you'd been at the mall the whole time? If someone could mess with memories like that, why would they leave such an obvious discontinuity?
The weirdest part is that you'd started to remember being invited back to Mami's house too, the memory jostling for space with the one after fighting the witch. You hadn't called home to say you'd be late in that version of events, but you'd just been so confused…
People aren't meant to have two different sets of memories of the same span of time, are they?
You're really tempted to go to Kyubey yourself and wish for something like 'the truth of this world', but you're pretty sure Sayaka would be livid at you after all you'd said. You're glad Kyouko's looking out for her.
You still don't know who that black-haired girl from your dream is, either. You just know for certain she isn't Kure Kirika.
-
It feels like an age, but eventually the school day ends, and with that, you meet up with Kirika and set off for the city library. Sayaka parted ways with you at the school gate along with Mami and Kyouko, shadowing them on their patrols. Even after you'd talked her out of making a wish then and there, she'd still seemed set on becoming a magical girl. You can't blame her either - in this situation, it'd be hard not to feel powerless - but you have no regrets about stopping her. Really, it'd taken a surprising amount of willpower not to back out of this promise yourself.
"How was your day?" you ask Kirika, trying your best to sink into a calming atmosphere of normality.
"Ordinary. I guess. Math class was hell." she replies, gazing out of the bus window at the passing sakura. "…you?"
"I didn't sleep well last night," you reply. "I almost fell asleep in class, even! Stuff like that almost never happens…"
Well, it's all true. You can't exactly tell her the whole truth, though - she'd never believe you. You did remember to check she wasn't wearing a Soul Gem ring this morning, of course. It'd be hard for you not to look out for the ring and fingernail marking on every girl you meet, now.
"And you're still okay to do this for me?"
"Mmm. I should be fine now, don't worry. So what did you want to start with?"
"Math, unfortunately. Is everyone in Mitakihara just a genius or what?"
"I don't think so. It's not like it's easy for us, either." You think, anyway. You've lived here your whole life, but you don't think there's anything weird about teaching integrals in the first year in middle school or anything. You'd think you'd know if there was some huge difference, from friends who'd moved away, or from TV shows and textbooks being easy in comparison. Something you do remember, though, is asking Mama for help with your assignments a couple of times, and realizing she was actually - improbably - struggling?!
Which makes you wonder - had someone wished for middle school students to become better at math since Mama had gone to school?
-
You spend the first hour on math - some number theory, some proofs, and a couple of notes on integration by substitution. After that, you switch to history. You've been struggling with this one more - your teacher has been contrasting the centralization of power and the stagnation of the country's society and economy during the Heian era with similar examples from Western and more recent history. The focus on social class had been different to how you'd been taught recently, so a lot of the class had been struggling, but Kirika had it especially hard, you think.
You're glad you have a lot of reference material here at the library, and you're quickly able to pull together a lot of notes on how court culture and politics interact with the authority of aristocratic and military classes and with power projection, though you think your teacher's comparisons to the Versailles court in the buildup to the French revolution are something of a stretch, and she just likes talking about Europe's history more than feudal Japan.
It's late in the afternoon by the time you switch to English, and you're fairly sure a lot of what Kirika needs on this one is just rote learning time, but…
"You know, I don't like Saotome-sensei much."
"Hmm? Do you mean as a teacher?" you ask, not really sure of where Kirika's going with this.
"A bit. I don't like how she keeps putting her relationship problems into everything."
"Ehehee… yeah, she does that a lot. Mom and her go out drinking together sometimes, so I hear about it from her, too…"
"She's too demanding. And so are her boyfriends, it sounds like. I don't think she's unlucky. But if people won't limit themselves or make sacrifices, it's not really love," Kirika insists, unexpectedly intense.
"Eh? Kirika-chan, you went all serious…?"
"Love isn't something to play around with."
"Hmn…" You hadn't been expecting something like this. "Mom did say Saotome-sensei's really fussy. But… I dunno, if they didn't want to do that for each other, was it really love in the first place?"
"That's exactly it, though. Don't you think, someday, you'll find someone you're willing to risk anything for?"
-
You've never really thought about it - not as deeply as Kirika seems to expect, anyway. Sayaka jokes a lot about making you her bride, certainly, but you feel like… there's something else. Something you try to voice honestly, rather than just deflecting the question, even though… she'll totally make fun of you like Sayaka and Hitomi did, won't she?
"Mmm… you know, my friends are really, really precious to me, and there's a lot I'd give up to protect them. I think that's a sort of love, too, but… recently, there's been something else. Th-this is probably going to sound silly, but there's this dark-haired girl I keep seeing in my dreams…"
"Eh? Another girl, and she appeared in your dreams?!"
"Mm. It's almost like… she's someone I knew in a past life - someone I was close to. In the dream, I felt like she had such strong feelings for me it was almost scary…"
"…you're just messing with me, aren't you?" Kirika accuses you in disbelief. You knew it - is there really no way you can convince her?
"N-no! I-I wouldn't lie about something like this!" you bluster, shocked. You feel like she wants to believe, and yet… she's been taken advantage of by people before.
"I tried to draw her, too," you say, thinking of evidence… "but I couldn't remember enough…" You take out your other notebook - the one with the pictures of magical girls you drew in class - and show her your attempts to draw the girl from your dream. You hadn't really finished any of them, the details fuzzy and vague in your mind, but you feel like she must've been a magical girl herself. You'd given her some sort of long weapon in most of the attempts - a spear, a bow, a rifle like Mami's, a staff.
Kirika seems fixated on the images for an awfully long time, poring over them in silence. You're not really sure what she's thinking, and you have to stop her turning the page onto your notes about memory manipulation, but…
"I-I see. I… I really hope you can meet her someday," she murmurs, her heart not quite in it. "Isn't… it getting quite late now? We should probably head back…"
"…yeah," you agree weakly, putting away your notebooks again. You've got some copies of the notes you made before she transferred in, so you give those to her, too. You'd been awfully glad to find them actually real and as you remembered them when you went to copy them out.
-
After leaving the library, you head back toward the bus stop still in almost total silence. The mood feels awkward, and you're sure Kirika has some sort of misunderstanding, but without knowing what it is, you wouldn't stand a chance at untangling it. You might even make it worse…
And you're still occupied with your own thoughts too, with all that'd happened in the past couple of days. Memories, witches, wishes…
You don't even notice when the tiled pavement under your feet gives way to twisting, cubist art, when the air turns hot and stagnant, full of the scent of oil paints and freshly cut stone.
Not until you look up and see a sky of swirling, burning spirals, and a ruined landscape, dark silhouettes rising from the ash.
You know what this is. You'd seen a similar thing just yesterday, with Sayaka. And now…
Kirika hasn't noticed yet, still walking onward blindly, your eyes drawn to an ugly, inky mark on her neck. That 'witch's kiss' that Mami mentioned?!
You have to stop her.
You run forward, grabbing her by the waist, trying to pull her back, but she lashes out mindlessly, murmuring nonsense to herself. "I have to go… I have to, she's calling… the exhibition will start soon…"
Exhibition? That jogs your memory. You've seen almost everything around you in art class - you're all but certain this witch is nothing but a forger and plagiarist.
And as if in response to that thought, a stone arch materializes before you - a rough, ugly copy of Paris's Arc de Triomphe, formed like it was collaged and pasted onto the world in front of you rather than being a thing with any real substance. It's all you can do to hold Kirika in place as hideous facsimiles of people appear in the arch, advancing unnaturally toward you with that same zoetrope-like 'motion'…
You want to run. You want to let go of the mesmerised Kirika, to run and save yourself.
There's no time to try to call Mami or Kyouko. Whether it's phone or telepathy, your signal wouldn't even reach them from in here. And if Kyubey was here, surely it'd be better to make a contract than dying right here anyway. Desperate, you rack your brains for any way at all that you might be able to fight a Witch…
-
In the end, though, you don't have to. Before your eyes, the familiars are instantaneously riddled with dozens of bullet holes, dissipating into quickly-fading scribbles. A moment later, a series of explosions engulfs the arch, rhythmic shockwaves tousling your hair, followed by clouds of smoke and stone dust cascading out in bold, post-Impressionistic swirls.
The witch screams, bone-chilling and unearthly, as she crumbles into nothing, the grey smoke billowing out and fading away. The barrier warps and twists, dissolving like a mirage seen from a different angle, and then you're back in a deserted side street, the city painted gold in the setting sun.
In front of you, a black-cloaked magical girl is kneeling to collect the Grief Seed and a pile of shell casings from the floor. You call to her from afar, not wanting to let the unconscious Kirika tumble from your arms onto the concrete below…
She looks back at you for a moment. You catch a glint and a glimpse of red under her hood before she startles, turns back, and abruptly vanishes, just as quickly as the bullet holes had appeared. Glasses frames, perhaps?
And… there it is. You've seen someone like this before. You've seen a situation like this before. A teleporting magical girl in glasses…
Have you been a magical girl before, and had someone wished to change your past?
If so, perhaps that glasses girl had the truth. But perhaps she wouldn't remember either?
How could you possibly know?
You realize… you should probably contact Mami.
-
By the time Kirika comes to, Mami and Kyouko have arrived, taking the bus rather than the building-leaping magical parkour you'd been secretly hoping for. Sayaka's with them too, Kyubey perched on her shoulder.
<So you wandered into a witch's barrier? We found a small group of wraiths near that derelict office building near the hospital, so I'm afraid we couldn't get here sooner,> Mami reassures you. <What happened, Kaname-san?>
<Um… we ended up right inside the witch's barrier, and there was a mark on Kirika-chan's neck…>
<A witch's kiss, huh,> Kyouko comments, scanning the area for traces of magic with her Soul Gem.
<…only, right as the witch was about to attack us, it just exploded, and there was a magical girl in a black cloak there. She shot all the familiars and blew up the witch, then she took the Grief Seed and… teleported away, I think.>
<Eh? Teleported? Y'think…>
<She has to be the same magical girl whose trail you followed into Kazamino, Sakura-san. Especially if she was using guns.>
<So she was just hunting in our territory, too? Yeah, you got lucky this time, but this situation is so screwed up… yeah, she was here, and this trail is almost fresh. Want me to go after her again?>
"Nnngh… I. Where am I?" Kirika's eyes flutter open - she rubs them almost immediately as she sees the crowd gathered around her. "Sakura-san, Miki-san… I don't think I know you," she says, eyes narrowing at Mami. "This is really weird - did I pass out right here in the street? And… Miki-san, why… is there a weird cat on your shoulder?"
Oh. She's staring. Right at Kyubey.
And you'd thought today couldn't get any more complicated.
"But Kyubey said it! There's no way to find out otherwise, Madoka… if I don't do this now, if I…"
"No." You shake your head. "I really want to know. There's so much weird stuff happening that it's driving me crazy, and even Mami-san and Kyouko-chan don't understand…"
"Then why? Why won't you…" Her face falls, beginning to weep as she clings to you. "Why… why can't I help? Why won't you let me…?"
"It's not that, Sayaka. There's just… still so much more we can do. Other magical girls, maybe. Diaries, photo albums. A wish… it's something we only get one of. It's not good to throw it away on the first thing that comes to mind…" You're stalling a little. You don't want her to make her wish, but your ideas aren't all that good. If you don't want to start a magical girl gang war, and you don't want to use a wish to get information, the options really are limited…
But you want to buy some time, at least. Time to figure out anything about that earring, aside from anything else. Maybe time for more clues to appear from somewhere unexpected…
Maybe you're just grasping at straws, but you can't let Sayaka become a magical girl - not yet.
"Thanks, Madoka." Kyouko's come back over, cleansing her Soul Gem on the bench beside her with a dozen or so Grief Cubes. "Still, we really are screwed, huh. How are you meant to fight something like mind magic?"
"It's not as difficult as you make it sound," answers Mami. "We noticed, didn't we, Sakura-san? The more our hypothetical opponent stacks up alterations to try to hide the truth, the more contradictions they'll create, and the easier it'll be for us to notice again. They have an advantage, but it's not insurmountable."
"Huh. Yeah, that's true. So if we keep evidence around, too…"
It's at that moment that the bell rings, calling you back to class.
-
You barely get a chance to talk to anyone over lunch - like Kirika, you're focused on writing down notes in the same notebook you'd been drawing magical girls in. This time, it's a record of the events of yesterday and today, and any inconsistencies in your memory that you can remember. You can't seem to find anything too weird before that - all your memories seem to fit together.
But you can't shake the feeling that you've forgotten something incredibly important - a whole lifetime and more, even. It doesn't make sense - where would you even fit an entire lifetime of memories?
It's enough that your curiosity is beating out your fear, too. That earring had fourteen slots - fifteen if you count the one at the bottom. Did that mean there were fourteen or fifteen dolls, too, and you had to… turn them into gems and fit them into the slots? Or… was that something that mustn't be done, because it'd unleash an unspeakable evil?
And what was up with that time you'd touched that Grief Seed? Had that been a real memory, or something implanted? If it was a real memory, was the thing afterwards at Mami's house fake, and you'd been at the mall the whole time? If someone could mess with memories like that, why would they leave such an obvious discontinuity?
The weirdest part is that you'd started to remember being invited back to Mami's house too, the memory jostling for space with the one after fighting the witch. You hadn't called home to say you'd be late in that version of events, but you'd just been so confused…
People aren't meant to have two different sets of memories of the same span of time, are they?
You're really tempted to go to Kyubey yourself and wish for something like 'the truth of this world', but you're pretty sure Sayaka would be livid at you after all you'd said. You're glad Kyouko's looking out for her.
You still don't know who that black-haired girl from your dream is, either. You just know for certain she isn't Kure Kirika.
-
It feels like an age, but eventually the school day ends, and with that, you meet up with Kirika and set off for the city library. Sayaka parted ways with you at the school gate along with Mami and Kyouko, shadowing them on their patrols. Even after you'd talked her out of making a wish then and there, she'd still seemed set on becoming a magical girl. You can't blame her either - in this situation, it'd be hard not to feel powerless - but you have no regrets about stopping her. Really, it'd taken a surprising amount of willpower not to back out of this promise yourself.
"How was your day?" you ask Kirika, trying your best to sink into a calming atmosphere of normality.
"Ordinary. I guess. Math class was hell." she replies, gazing out of the bus window at the passing sakura. "…you?"
"I didn't sleep well last night," you reply. "I almost fell asleep in class, even! Stuff like that almost never happens…"
Well, it's all true. You can't exactly tell her the whole truth, though - she'd never believe you. You did remember to check she wasn't wearing a Soul Gem ring this morning, of course. It'd be hard for you not to look out for the ring and fingernail marking on every girl you meet, now.
"And you're still okay to do this for me?"
"Mmm. I should be fine now, don't worry. So what did you want to start with?"
"Math, unfortunately. Is everyone in Mitakihara just a genius or what?"
"I don't think so. It's not like it's easy for us, either." You think, anyway. You've lived here your whole life, but you don't think there's anything weird about teaching integrals in the first year in middle school or anything. You'd think you'd know if there was some huge difference, from friends who'd moved away, or from TV shows and textbooks being easy in comparison. Something you do remember, though, is asking Mama for help with your assignments a couple of times, and realizing she was actually - improbably - struggling?!
Which makes you wonder - had someone wished for middle school students to become better at math since Mama had gone to school?
-
You spend the first hour on math - some number theory, some proofs, and a couple of notes on integration by substitution. After that, you switch to history. You've been struggling with this one more - your teacher has been contrasting the centralization of power and the stagnation of the country's society and economy during the Heian era with similar examples from Western and more recent history. The focus on social class had been different to how you'd been taught recently, so a lot of the class had been struggling, but Kirika had it especially hard, you think.
You're glad you have a lot of reference material here at the library, and you're quickly able to pull together a lot of notes on how court culture and politics interact with the authority of aristocratic and military classes and with power projection, though you think your teacher's comparisons to the Versailles court in the buildup to the French revolution are something of a stretch, and she just likes talking about Europe's history more than feudal Japan.
It's late in the afternoon by the time you switch to English, and you're fairly sure a lot of what Kirika needs on this one is just rote learning time, but…
"You know, I don't like Saotome-sensei much."
"Hmm? Do you mean as a teacher?" you ask, not really sure of where Kirika's going with this.
"A bit. I don't like how she keeps putting her relationship problems into everything."
"Ehehee… yeah, she does that a lot. Mom and her go out drinking together sometimes, so I hear about it from her, too…"
"She's too demanding. And so are her boyfriends, it sounds like. I don't think she's unlucky. But if people won't limit themselves or make sacrifices, it's not really love," Kirika insists, unexpectedly intense.
"Eh? Kirika-chan, you went all serious…?"
"Love isn't something to play around with."
"Hmn…" You hadn't been expecting something like this. "Mom did say Saotome-sensei's really fussy. But… I dunno, if they didn't want to do that for each other, was it really love in the first place?"
"That's exactly it, though. Don't you think, someday, you'll find someone you're willing to risk anything for?"
-
You've never really thought about it - not as deeply as Kirika seems to expect, anyway. Sayaka jokes a lot about making you her bride, certainly, but you feel like… there's something else. Something you try to voice honestly, rather than just deflecting the question, even though… she'll totally make fun of you like Sayaka and Hitomi did, won't she?
"Mmm… you know, my friends are really, really precious to me, and there's a lot I'd give up to protect them. I think that's a sort of love, too, but… recently, there's been something else. Th-this is probably going to sound silly, but there's this dark-haired girl I keep seeing in my dreams…"
"Eh? Another girl, and she appeared in your dreams?!"
"Mm. It's almost like… she's someone I knew in a past life - someone I was close to. In the dream, I felt like she had such strong feelings for me it was almost scary…"
"…you're just messing with me, aren't you?" Kirika accuses you in disbelief. You knew it - is there really no way you can convince her?
"N-no! I-I wouldn't lie about something like this!" you bluster, shocked. You feel like she wants to believe, and yet… she's been taken advantage of by people before.
"I tried to draw her, too," you say, thinking of evidence… "but I couldn't remember enough…" You take out your other notebook - the one with the pictures of magical girls you drew in class - and show her your attempts to draw the girl from your dream. You hadn't really finished any of them, the details fuzzy and vague in your mind, but you feel like she must've been a magical girl herself. You'd given her some sort of long weapon in most of the attempts - a spear, a bow, a rifle like Mami's, a staff.
Kirika seems fixated on the images for an awfully long time, poring over them in silence. You're not really sure what she's thinking, and you have to stop her turning the page onto your notes about memory manipulation, but…
"I-I see. I… I really hope you can meet her someday," she murmurs, her heart not quite in it. "Isn't… it getting quite late now? We should probably head back…"
"…yeah," you agree weakly, putting away your notebooks again. You've got some copies of the notes you made before she transferred in, so you give those to her, too. You'd been awfully glad to find them actually real and as you remembered them when you went to copy them out.
-
After leaving the library, you head back toward the bus stop still in almost total silence. The mood feels awkward, and you're sure Kirika has some sort of misunderstanding, but without knowing what it is, you wouldn't stand a chance at untangling it. You might even make it worse…
And you're still occupied with your own thoughts too, with all that'd happened in the past couple of days. Memories, witches, wishes…
You don't even notice when the tiled pavement under your feet gives way to twisting, cubist art, when the air turns hot and stagnant, full of the scent of oil paints and freshly cut stone.
Not until you look up and see a sky of swirling, burning spirals, and a ruined landscape, dark silhouettes rising from the ash.
You know what this is. You'd seen a similar thing just yesterday, with Sayaka. And now…
Kirika hasn't noticed yet, still walking onward blindly, your eyes drawn to an ugly, inky mark on her neck. That 'witch's kiss' that Mami mentioned?!
You have to stop her.
You run forward, grabbing her by the waist, trying to pull her back, but she lashes out mindlessly, murmuring nonsense to herself. "I have to go… I have to, she's calling… the exhibition will start soon…"
Exhibition? That jogs your memory. You've seen almost everything around you in art class - you're all but certain this witch is nothing but a forger and plagiarist.
And as if in response to that thought, a stone arch materializes before you - a rough, ugly copy of Paris's Arc de Triomphe, formed like it was collaged and pasted onto the world in front of you rather than being a thing with any real substance. It's all you can do to hold Kirika in place as hideous facsimiles of people appear in the arch, advancing unnaturally toward you with that same zoetrope-like 'motion'…
You want to run. You want to let go of the mesmerised Kirika, to run and save yourself.
There's no time to try to call Mami or Kyouko. Whether it's phone or telepathy, your signal wouldn't even reach them from in here. And if Kyubey was here, surely it'd be better to make a contract than dying right here anyway. Desperate, you rack your brains for any way at all that you might be able to fight a Witch…
-
In the end, though, you don't have to. Before your eyes, the familiars are instantaneously riddled with dozens of bullet holes, dissipating into quickly-fading scribbles. A moment later, a series of explosions engulfs the arch, rhythmic shockwaves tousling your hair, followed by clouds of smoke and stone dust cascading out in bold, post-Impressionistic swirls.
The witch screams, bone-chilling and unearthly, as she crumbles into nothing, the grey smoke billowing out and fading away. The barrier warps and twists, dissolving like a mirage seen from a different angle, and then you're back in a deserted side street, the city painted gold in the setting sun.
In front of you, a black-cloaked magical girl is kneeling to collect the Grief Seed and a pile of shell casings from the floor. You call to her from afar, not wanting to let the unconscious Kirika tumble from your arms onto the concrete below…
She looks back at you for a moment. You catch a glint and a glimpse of red under her hood before she startles, turns back, and abruptly vanishes, just as quickly as the bullet holes had appeared. Glasses frames, perhaps?
And… there it is. You've seen someone like this before. You've seen a situation like this before. A teleporting magical girl in glasses…
Have you been a magical girl before, and had someone wished to change your past?
If so, perhaps that glasses girl had the truth. But perhaps she wouldn't remember either?
How could you possibly know?
You realize… you should probably contact Mami.
-
By the time Kirika comes to, Mami and Kyouko have arrived, taking the bus rather than the building-leaping magical parkour you'd been secretly hoping for. Sayaka's with them too, Kyubey perched on her shoulder.
<So you wandered into a witch's barrier? We found a small group of wraiths near that derelict office building near the hospital, so I'm afraid we couldn't get here sooner,> Mami reassures you. <What happened, Kaname-san?>
<Um… we ended up right inside the witch's barrier, and there was a mark on Kirika-chan's neck…>
<A witch's kiss, huh,> Kyouko comments, scanning the area for traces of magic with her Soul Gem.
<…only, right as the witch was about to attack us, it just exploded, and there was a magical girl in a black cloak there. She shot all the familiars and blew up the witch, then she took the Grief Seed and… teleported away, I think.>
<Eh? Teleported? Y'think…>
<She has to be the same magical girl whose trail you followed into Kazamino, Sakura-san. Especially if she was using guns.>
<So she was just hunting in our territory, too? Yeah, you got lucky this time, but this situation is so screwed up… yeah, she was here, and this trail is almost fresh. Want me to go after her again?>
"Nnngh… I. Where am I?" Kirika's eyes flutter open - she rubs them almost immediately as she sees the crowd gathered around her. "Sakura-san, Miki-san… I don't think I know you," she says, eyes narrowing at Mami. "This is really weird - did I pass out right here in the street? And… Miki-san, why… is there a weird cat on your shoulder?"
Oh. She's staring. Right at Kyubey.
And you'd thought today couldn't get any more complicated.
UrsaTempest
Don't Panic!
Hm, so glasses Homu is here huh.
But don't contact Madoka?
But don't contact Madoka?
Very un-Homura-like behaviour, don't you think?
O.9 // hope and despair balance out to zero
For a moment, you consider trying to keep Kirika out of this. Maybe the possibility could exist, somehow. Maybe she could still leave without knowing…
<My name's Kyubey! If you can see me, that means you're no ordinary person!>
"I-it spoke? In my head?"
<Kure Kirika! Make a contract with me, and become a magical girl!>
So much for that. Fortunately, you do still have one idea…
<Um. Mami-san, could you chase after that magical girl? I, um… I wasn't expecting something like this - I mean, who would, ehehe… but, I'm going to call home and ask if everyone can spend the night there… I'll, um… I'll text you, okay?>
Mami absolutely beams at you, leaving at a run and transforming to leap up onto the nearest building once she's out of sight. <I'd be more than happy to, Kaname-san!>
"Umm… Kirika-chan, this might be a lot to explain all at once, so I'm going to call home and ask if everyone can come around," you offer nervously, after helping her to her feet.
"Really? You… don't have to."
"No, it's okay, I promise. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while…"
So you call Papa while heading over to the bus stop. The suggestion, at such short notice, has him more than a little surprised, and it takes a little while to talk out all the details: extra ingredients for dinner, that you agree to pick up from a convenience store on the way back; space for four people to sleep - you have a spare room for guests, and three sleeping bags from when you'd gone camping once; a promise not to stay up too late talking and keep Tatsuya awake. The list goes on, but eventually everything's settled, and you text Mami to let her know, just as the bus arrives.
Between looking after Tatsuya and managing the absurd amount of food preparation you'd just dropped on him, you don't have much chance to do more than introduce Kirika and Kyouko to Papa. You feel a bit bad for him, actually, now you've seen the enormous amount of curry he has to prepare - though you're sure it'll be enough to satisfy everyone, even Kyouko with her seemingly bottomless stomach.
"So, are we going to get to the part where magic is apparently real now?" Kirika asks once you're finally all sitting around in your room. Even though there's so many chairs, you're all on the floor, Sayaka and Kirika sitting Indian style, while you have your back to the bed and Kyouko lounges around on her belly, snacking before dinner.
"You've been waiting to say that, haven't you?" asks Sayaka in response. The mood is surprisingly light, despite, well, everything, and nobody's asking about the dozen or so chairs clumped together in the corner, so you think you can call this a success so far.
"It's magic. Of course I have," she replies. "So all four of you are magical girls, including that senior who ran off on important magical girl business, and I'm the cool, aloof purple final member of the team?"
You shake your head. "Only Mami-san and Kyouko-chan are magical girls. Kyubey says Sayaka and I have the potential, but we haven't decided on a wish yet, ehehe…"
"It's tough. I mean, being a magical girl means having to fight monsters for your entire life. Even if you get a miracle in exchange, it's a hard choice to make," Sayaka adds with a sigh. "I mean, what's worth that much? World peace?"
"So, if I'm getting this right, that 'Kyubey' creature over there has the power to grant me a wish, but in exchange I have to become a magical girl and fight."
<That's correct.>
"Doesn't seem like a bad deal."
"Oi, oi, you don't mean…" Kyouko starts, dropping her snack into the carpet. Rude. "Being a magical girl is tough. Girls like us get killed fighting witches all the time. You think there's something worth having to live like that?"
"Don't know. It's a wish, isn't it? Couldn't I just wish to live happily ever after with everyone?"
<A wish like that would be quite unusual. I can't predict what kind of result it would have for a magical girl,> Kyubey points out, in what seems oddly like an objection.
"That's not what I really want anyway. You think something like 'happily ever after' actually exists?"
"Tch. The way these wishes work, more likely you'd just forget everything bad that happens to you and live in an illusion. You can't turn the whole world into a fairy tale just for your own sake."
<That's certainly a possible outcome, for someone who doesn't truly believe in their wish. When it comes to wishes, it's your own desires and your potential as magical girls that decides the result. I don't ever interfere with the outcome of the wishes you make.>
"It's like Kyubey says. There's plenty of ways to mess up your wish all on your own. Don't go wishing for other people. In the end, hope and despair balance out to zero - if you wish for someone else, they'll take the hope and leave you with nothing but despair."
"But doesn't that mean if you wish for yourself," you ask, "you'll just end up heaping despair on other people?"
"Maybe. But there's a lot of them, and only one of you. And at the end of the day, you're a magical girl. Nobody else can do what you do. A lot of them'd be witch fodder if not for you."
"That doesn't justify just living for yourself and neglecting others…" objects a frowning Sayaka. "Don't you think that's a messed-up philosophy, Madoka?"
"I… don't really know. But I think if you think in rules like that, you'll start blaming your wish for all sorts of bad things that happen to you…"
Kyouko looks away. Sayaka falls silent. Your words hang in the air, having apparently struck a chord with your friends…
Eventually, it's Kirika who breaks the silence.
"Yeah, it makes sense for something like a miracle to be heavy like that. I'll think on it." And after a moment, "What kind of monsters are we talking here, anyway? Witches, you said? And how does all this stuff stay so secret?" Kirika asks, eyes on Kyubey, who's curled up next to one of your plushies, looking almost like he belongs there.
Kyouko quickly explains the differences between witches and wraiths, and how normal people can't see magic, showing off a couple of the used Grief Cubes from earlier before tossing them into Kyubey's back.
"So if I'm hearing this right, Madoka-chan and I got attacked by a witch on the way back from the library and I passed out, then Sakura-san and Tomoe-senpai arrived and defeated it," Kirika posits. "And after that, Tomoe-senpai left right away to…?"
"Nah, that's not what happened. By the time we arrived, some mystery magical girl from Kazamino already killed the witch and made off with the prize," Kyouko corrects. "Magical girls aren't meant to hunt in each others' territory, so Mami's chasing her down."
"Prize? That Grief Seed you mentioned?"
"Yeah. They're pretty valuable, so sometimes desperate magical girls try poaching or stealing them." Kyouko explains, feet kicking back and forth in the air as she plays with the last of the used Grief Cubes. "That sort of thing is how you get grudges and fights between magical girls. It's easy for them to burn more magic fighting than the Grief Seed was worth if there's a big group, so at times like that, everyone loses. I've seen a few girls get killed that way, too…"
"Doesn't sound very magical girl-like. Isn't there meant to be that 'love and justice' stuff?" Kirika asks, eyebrow raised.
"Mami's quite big on that. If you wanna starve yourself, then sure, do things the way she does. But even she's had to fight other magical girls a few times-"
<Kaname-san, Kure-san, Sakura-san, Miki-san, I'll be outside in a moment. Could you let me in quickly? There's something we need to discuss.>
"Tch, I wondered when she'd be back."
"You weren't worried she'd get into a fight?" Sayaka asks.
"Mami's magic is really efficient, and she's a veteran. Even if she's outnumbered, you've seen those wide area attacks of hers. Those Kazamino girls know not to mess with her," Kyouko explains as the two of you step out and head to the front door.
Sure enough, Mami's waiting outside, just putting away her Soul Gem as you arrive. She looks slightly tired, but she lights up when she sees you standing in the brightly lit hallway. So you quickly let her in, introduce her to Papa, and show her up to your room where the other two - well, three with Kyubey - are waiting.
"I'm sorry I'm late, everyone," she says, smiling as she settles down in seiza next to you. "And, it's good to meet you, Kure-san. Has Sakura-san explained the basics of being a magical girl?"
"Yeah. I'm still thinking about making a wish. Don't mind me, Mami-senpai, just do your thing." she says, sliding back on the carpet to let the four of you talk.
"If you've got any questions, I'd be glad to answer them," Mami offers, but with a shake of Kirika's head, she moves on, ominously, to the main topic. "I met Hitomi-san in Kazamino."
"Huh? Did something happen? You don't look hurt." Sayaka asks, eyeing Mami up and down.
"It was a close thing. The five of them almost attacked me when I first arrived. There's apparently a shortage of witches in Kazamino, so everyone over there's tense right now."
"Five of them? There used to be five, yeah, but Futaba died three months ago. Who's the fifth?" Kyouko says surprisingly casually, dropping her Grief Cube into the carpet along with the crumbs.
"I saw Hitomi Rina-san, Saki Miyako-san and Akane Mai-san, as well as Yukine Mio-san. The fifth was an elementary school girl with green pigtails and cat ears, and they called her… Yuma, I think."
"Someone that young?" you exclaim. Logically, you know there's no reason why someone that young wouldn't be able to make a contract with Kyubey, but you still feel a little disgusted that the beady-eyed creature would accept it… "Is it really okay for her to be fighting…?"
"It happens," Kyouko says. "I don't know what she wished for, but there are even worse fates in this world than being a magical girl. Still, a kid like that…"
Mami nods solemly. "The four of them looked very protective of her. All of them were short on Grief Cubes, and apparently… both witches and wraiths have been migrating out of Kazamino."
"Huh?! That shouldn't happen!" Kyouko yells. "Kyubey, what the hell's going on?!"
<I hadn't originally intended to involve you with this situation, as there are too many magical girls affected already. Are you sure you want to know, Sakura Kyouko?>
"Damn straight I want to know. If witches start migrating between territories that much, there's no point in having territories in the first place!"
"Please try to calm yourself, Sakura-san. While it's worrying, we don't know enough about the situation." Mami says, looking at your and Sayaka's shocked faces.
<Over the last few months, both witches and wraiths have been migrating to Kamihama in ever larger numbers. It's a phenomenon on a scale sufficient to draw witches over open ocean from locations as distant as Shanghai, Manila and Vladivostok. What's more, I haven't been able to enter Kamihama in some time, and a great number of magical girls have been following the witches there.>
"Kamihama? Is this anything to do with that 'come to Kamihama City, where magical girls can be saved?' thing?"
"'Come to Kamihama City, where magical girls can be saved'?" you ask, repeating the exact wording. It feels familiar. Painful, sorrowful, somehow. "What's that?"
"It's…" Mami begins with a sharp frown. "It's a message that's been appearing in magical girls' dreams recently. Sometimes in witches' barriers too, mixed in with the nonsense. Like a subliminal message."
"Like mind control? Again?" Sayaka queries in disbelief. "I don't…"
"That's… kind of spooky," you affirm, thinking about your own dreams. Could they be being affected by someone?
<It's possible. Tampering with dreams and causing hallucinations over a long range isn't impossible for magical girls, and it's likely that several users of suitable abilities exist in Kamihama. Although this is nothing but conjecture, it's possible that in that Kamihama, a conspiracy exists that plans to take advantage of you magical girls while monopolizing all of Japan's witches.>
"What the hell?! So they're just sucking up all the witches and letting everyone who won't go with them starve?" Kyouko rages, leaping up and knocking the stray Grief Cube toward your feet. "We've gotta go there."
"Is that really a good idea? I mean, how many magical girls are there in Kamihama now? Y-you can't fight them all by yourself, Kyouko-chan…" you say, voice trembling as you think through the implications. If the only way to retain your magic is to go to Kamihama, there'd have to be hundreds, maybe thousands there, all fighting over what could easily be some kind of invisible witch apocalypse. It sounds… hard to believe. Impossible, even.
"Wait, before that, what about that mystery magical girl, Mami-san?" Sayaka asks, bringing you full circle. "We can figure out what to do about Kamihama another time."
You decide to fetch your notebook and take more notes - Kamihama, 'magical girls can be saved', witch attraction field, Kyubey can't go there…
"I'm sorry. I didn't find her. What I do know is that Hitomi-san has also seen her, in the last few days, and there's a second group active in Kazamino, around Shirome Academy. Hitomi-san doesn't know the identities of anyone in that group yet, and apparently they've been being very secretive."
"Huh. Five, even six magical girls in Kazamino worked out when there were plenty of witches, but now you're saying there's eight or nine there? Yeah, that's gonna be rough for them, but I don't owe them, and if this keeps up, we might be in trouble in Mitakihara soon too." Kyouko replies coldheartedly, sitting back down beside Kirika. "Never mind Kazamino, or memory stuff, or dolls. We've gotta deal with this Kamihama thing, or none of the other stuff's even gonna matter!"
"Sakura-san, we can't simply-"
<Tomoe Mami, Sakura Kyouko is correct. Without any means to replenish your Soul Gems, it'll be impossible for Japan's magical girls to remain magical girls, and a lot of them will fight for dwindling resources. Whatever is happening in Kamihama, it's a threat to all of you.> Kyubey points out. Isn't that odd, though? If there weren't witches or wraiths, why would those places need magical girls? Wouldn't running out of magic and stopping being a magical girl be fine?
"So," Kirika interjects, sliding back into the group. "You're saying there's a shortage of Grief items, and because of that, it'd be a bad idea to make a contract with Kyubey right now?"
<Not at all. There are already almost a thousand magical girls in Kamihama. It's a completely unprecedented number - normally, there wouldn't be more than two thousand in the entire country.>
"A thousand?" Kyouko yells again, making you worry about us being overheard. "That's ridiculous. Explains why they're sucking in all the witches, but seriously? Yeah, we're going to need more magical girls to even stand a chance…"
"Kirika-chan, did you think of a wish, then…?" you ask with a nervous smile. You don't want to trample on her wish, but things seem delicate right now. Like rather than monsters lurking in the dark, your enemies might even be other magical girls…
You can't accept that. A destiny of fighting wraiths would be sad, but nothing compared to one of fighting your own kind, fellow magical girls, girls who'd staked their lives on hope and wishes. You pick up the stray Grief Cube - that same hot-cold-burning-numb feeling, flowing down your arm, dull and hollow as it reaches your heart.
"Yeah, I've got something. It's a good one, too. I don't know if I could think of better, even," she responds, wearing the most genuine smile you've seen on her face since you met her. "Kyubey, I want to-"
You squeeze the Grief Cube tight in your hand, your emotions churning and boiling over. You'd stopped Sayaka before - wouldn't it make perfect sense to stop Kirika now, too? But she sounded so self-assured, and you want to trust her too.
Except, that's not true at all.
You don't want to just trust her. You want to already know what she's about to say.
You don't want to just stop her, either. You want to know.
You've got enough self-control to stop yourself asking Kyubey for something like that. But it aches. You want to see inside her mind, and you don't want to let her make a wish that leads her to misfortune, but it'd be no good to ask, to pick apart her feelings until you're satisfied.
But, despite everything, you want the control. Even if you've known her for only two days, Kirika is precious to you. You don't want to lose her, you don't want to lose the person she is.
"-become th-"
You don't let her finish.
Before everyone's astonished eyes, you lean in, driven by an impulse you barely understand, and plant your lips on hers.
For several long moments you hold the kiss, Kirika frozen in place as you feel her lips against yours, her cheeks reddening…
And then she pushes you away, eyes wide. Confused, panicked, she rushes out of the room, leaving you slowly coming to your senses in front of three staring girls, right there in your own bedroom. The Grief Cube tumbles from your hand, and your roiling heart slowly begins to calm…
"M-M-Madoka," Sayaka stammers, "wh-what was that…?"
<My name's Kyubey! If you can see me, that means you're no ordinary person!>
"I-it spoke? In my head?"
<Kure Kirika! Make a contract with me, and become a magical girl!>
So much for that. Fortunately, you do still have one idea…
<Um. Mami-san, could you chase after that magical girl? I, um… I wasn't expecting something like this - I mean, who would, ehehe… but, I'm going to call home and ask if everyone can spend the night there… I'll, um… I'll text you, okay?>
Mami absolutely beams at you, leaving at a run and transforming to leap up onto the nearest building once she's out of sight. <I'd be more than happy to, Kaname-san!>
"Umm… Kirika-chan, this might be a lot to explain all at once, so I'm going to call home and ask if everyone can come around," you offer nervously, after helping her to her feet.
"Really? You… don't have to."
"No, it's okay, I promise. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while…"
So you call Papa while heading over to the bus stop. The suggestion, at such short notice, has him more than a little surprised, and it takes a little while to talk out all the details: extra ingredients for dinner, that you agree to pick up from a convenience store on the way back; space for four people to sleep - you have a spare room for guests, and three sleeping bags from when you'd gone camping once; a promise not to stay up too late talking and keep Tatsuya awake. The list goes on, but eventually everything's settled, and you text Mami to let her know, just as the bus arrives.
Between looking after Tatsuya and managing the absurd amount of food preparation you'd just dropped on him, you don't have much chance to do more than introduce Kirika and Kyouko to Papa. You feel a bit bad for him, actually, now you've seen the enormous amount of curry he has to prepare - though you're sure it'll be enough to satisfy everyone, even Kyouko with her seemingly bottomless stomach.
"So, are we going to get to the part where magic is apparently real now?" Kirika asks once you're finally all sitting around in your room. Even though there's so many chairs, you're all on the floor, Sayaka and Kirika sitting Indian style, while you have your back to the bed and Kyouko lounges around on her belly, snacking before dinner.
"You've been waiting to say that, haven't you?" asks Sayaka in response. The mood is surprisingly light, despite, well, everything, and nobody's asking about the dozen or so chairs clumped together in the corner, so you think you can call this a success so far.
"It's magic. Of course I have," she replies. "So all four of you are magical girls, including that senior who ran off on important magical girl business, and I'm the cool, aloof purple final member of the team?"
You shake your head. "Only Mami-san and Kyouko-chan are magical girls. Kyubey says Sayaka and I have the potential, but we haven't decided on a wish yet, ehehe…"
"It's tough. I mean, being a magical girl means having to fight monsters for your entire life. Even if you get a miracle in exchange, it's a hard choice to make," Sayaka adds with a sigh. "I mean, what's worth that much? World peace?"
"So, if I'm getting this right, that 'Kyubey' creature over there has the power to grant me a wish, but in exchange I have to become a magical girl and fight."
<That's correct.>
"Doesn't seem like a bad deal."
"Oi, oi, you don't mean…" Kyouko starts, dropping her snack into the carpet. Rude. "Being a magical girl is tough. Girls like us get killed fighting witches all the time. You think there's something worth having to live like that?"
"Don't know. It's a wish, isn't it? Couldn't I just wish to live happily ever after with everyone?"
<A wish like that would be quite unusual. I can't predict what kind of result it would have for a magical girl,> Kyubey points out, in what seems oddly like an objection.
"That's not what I really want anyway. You think something like 'happily ever after' actually exists?"
"Tch. The way these wishes work, more likely you'd just forget everything bad that happens to you and live in an illusion. You can't turn the whole world into a fairy tale just for your own sake."
<That's certainly a possible outcome, for someone who doesn't truly believe in their wish. When it comes to wishes, it's your own desires and your potential as magical girls that decides the result. I don't ever interfere with the outcome of the wishes you make.>
"It's like Kyubey says. There's plenty of ways to mess up your wish all on your own. Don't go wishing for other people. In the end, hope and despair balance out to zero - if you wish for someone else, they'll take the hope and leave you with nothing but despair."
"But doesn't that mean if you wish for yourself," you ask, "you'll just end up heaping despair on other people?"
"Maybe. But there's a lot of them, and only one of you. And at the end of the day, you're a magical girl. Nobody else can do what you do. A lot of them'd be witch fodder if not for you."
"That doesn't justify just living for yourself and neglecting others…" objects a frowning Sayaka. "Don't you think that's a messed-up philosophy, Madoka?"
"I… don't really know. But I think if you think in rules like that, you'll start blaming your wish for all sorts of bad things that happen to you…"
Kyouko looks away. Sayaka falls silent. Your words hang in the air, having apparently struck a chord with your friends…
Eventually, it's Kirika who breaks the silence.
"Yeah, it makes sense for something like a miracle to be heavy like that. I'll think on it." And after a moment, "What kind of monsters are we talking here, anyway? Witches, you said? And how does all this stuff stay so secret?" Kirika asks, eyes on Kyubey, who's curled up next to one of your plushies, looking almost like he belongs there.
Kyouko quickly explains the differences between witches and wraiths, and how normal people can't see magic, showing off a couple of the used Grief Cubes from earlier before tossing them into Kyubey's back.
"So if I'm hearing this right, Madoka-chan and I got attacked by a witch on the way back from the library and I passed out, then Sakura-san and Tomoe-senpai arrived and defeated it," Kirika posits. "And after that, Tomoe-senpai left right away to…?"
"Nah, that's not what happened. By the time we arrived, some mystery magical girl from Kazamino already killed the witch and made off with the prize," Kyouko corrects. "Magical girls aren't meant to hunt in each others' territory, so Mami's chasing her down."
"Prize? That Grief Seed you mentioned?"
"Yeah. They're pretty valuable, so sometimes desperate magical girls try poaching or stealing them." Kyouko explains, feet kicking back and forth in the air as she plays with the last of the used Grief Cubes. "That sort of thing is how you get grudges and fights between magical girls. It's easy for them to burn more magic fighting than the Grief Seed was worth if there's a big group, so at times like that, everyone loses. I've seen a few girls get killed that way, too…"
"Doesn't sound very magical girl-like. Isn't there meant to be that 'love and justice' stuff?" Kirika asks, eyebrow raised.
"Mami's quite big on that. If you wanna starve yourself, then sure, do things the way she does. But even she's had to fight other magical girls a few times-"
<Kaname-san, Kure-san, Sakura-san, Miki-san, I'll be outside in a moment. Could you let me in quickly? There's something we need to discuss.>
"Tch, I wondered when she'd be back."
"You weren't worried she'd get into a fight?" Sayaka asks.
"Mami's magic is really efficient, and she's a veteran. Even if she's outnumbered, you've seen those wide area attacks of hers. Those Kazamino girls know not to mess with her," Kyouko explains as the two of you step out and head to the front door.
Sure enough, Mami's waiting outside, just putting away her Soul Gem as you arrive. She looks slightly tired, but she lights up when she sees you standing in the brightly lit hallway. So you quickly let her in, introduce her to Papa, and show her up to your room where the other two - well, three with Kyubey - are waiting.
"I'm sorry I'm late, everyone," she says, smiling as she settles down in seiza next to you. "And, it's good to meet you, Kure-san. Has Sakura-san explained the basics of being a magical girl?"
"Yeah. I'm still thinking about making a wish. Don't mind me, Mami-senpai, just do your thing." she says, sliding back on the carpet to let the four of you talk.
"If you've got any questions, I'd be glad to answer them," Mami offers, but with a shake of Kirika's head, she moves on, ominously, to the main topic. "I met Hitomi-san in Kazamino."
"Huh? Did something happen? You don't look hurt." Sayaka asks, eyeing Mami up and down.
"It was a close thing. The five of them almost attacked me when I first arrived. There's apparently a shortage of witches in Kazamino, so everyone over there's tense right now."
"Five of them? There used to be five, yeah, but Futaba died three months ago. Who's the fifth?" Kyouko says surprisingly casually, dropping her Grief Cube into the carpet along with the crumbs.
"I saw Hitomi Rina-san, Saki Miyako-san and Akane Mai-san, as well as Yukine Mio-san. The fifth was an elementary school girl with green pigtails and cat ears, and they called her… Yuma, I think."
"Someone that young?" you exclaim. Logically, you know there's no reason why someone that young wouldn't be able to make a contract with Kyubey, but you still feel a little disgusted that the beady-eyed creature would accept it… "Is it really okay for her to be fighting…?"
"It happens," Kyouko says. "I don't know what she wished for, but there are even worse fates in this world than being a magical girl. Still, a kid like that…"
Mami nods solemly. "The four of them looked very protective of her. All of them were short on Grief Cubes, and apparently… both witches and wraiths have been migrating out of Kazamino."
"Huh?! That shouldn't happen!" Kyouko yells. "Kyubey, what the hell's going on?!"
<I hadn't originally intended to involve you with this situation, as there are too many magical girls affected already. Are you sure you want to know, Sakura Kyouko?>
"Damn straight I want to know. If witches start migrating between territories that much, there's no point in having territories in the first place!"
"Please try to calm yourself, Sakura-san. While it's worrying, we don't know enough about the situation." Mami says, looking at your and Sayaka's shocked faces.
<Over the last few months, both witches and wraiths have been migrating to Kamihama in ever larger numbers. It's a phenomenon on a scale sufficient to draw witches over open ocean from locations as distant as Shanghai, Manila and Vladivostok. What's more, I haven't been able to enter Kamihama in some time, and a great number of magical girls have been following the witches there.>
"Kamihama? Is this anything to do with that 'come to Kamihama City, where magical girls can be saved?' thing?"
"'Come to Kamihama City, where magical girls can be saved'?" you ask, repeating the exact wording. It feels familiar. Painful, sorrowful, somehow. "What's that?"
"It's…" Mami begins with a sharp frown. "It's a message that's been appearing in magical girls' dreams recently. Sometimes in witches' barriers too, mixed in with the nonsense. Like a subliminal message."
"Like mind control? Again?" Sayaka queries in disbelief. "I don't…"
"That's… kind of spooky," you affirm, thinking about your own dreams. Could they be being affected by someone?
<It's possible. Tampering with dreams and causing hallucinations over a long range isn't impossible for magical girls, and it's likely that several users of suitable abilities exist in Kamihama. Although this is nothing but conjecture, it's possible that in that Kamihama, a conspiracy exists that plans to take advantage of you magical girls while monopolizing all of Japan's witches.>
"What the hell?! So they're just sucking up all the witches and letting everyone who won't go with them starve?" Kyouko rages, leaping up and knocking the stray Grief Cube toward your feet. "We've gotta go there."
"Is that really a good idea? I mean, how many magical girls are there in Kamihama now? Y-you can't fight them all by yourself, Kyouko-chan…" you say, voice trembling as you think through the implications. If the only way to retain your magic is to go to Kamihama, there'd have to be hundreds, maybe thousands there, all fighting over what could easily be some kind of invisible witch apocalypse. It sounds… hard to believe. Impossible, even.
"Wait, before that, what about that mystery magical girl, Mami-san?" Sayaka asks, bringing you full circle. "We can figure out what to do about Kamihama another time."
You decide to fetch your notebook and take more notes - Kamihama, 'magical girls can be saved', witch attraction field, Kyubey can't go there…
"I'm sorry. I didn't find her. What I do know is that Hitomi-san has also seen her, in the last few days, and there's a second group active in Kazamino, around Shirome Academy. Hitomi-san doesn't know the identities of anyone in that group yet, and apparently they've been being very secretive."
"Huh. Five, even six magical girls in Kazamino worked out when there were plenty of witches, but now you're saying there's eight or nine there? Yeah, that's gonna be rough for them, but I don't owe them, and if this keeps up, we might be in trouble in Mitakihara soon too." Kyouko replies coldheartedly, sitting back down beside Kirika. "Never mind Kazamino, or memory stuff, or dolls. We've gotta deal with this Kamihama thing, or none of the other stuff's even gonna matter!"
"Sakura-san, we can't simply-"
<Tomoe Mami, Sakura Kyouko is correct. Without any means to replenish your Soul Gems, it'll be impossible for Japan's magical girls to remain magical girls, and a lot of them will fight for dwindling resources. Whatever is happening in Kamihama, it's a threat to all of you.> Kyubey points out. Isn't that odd, though? If there weren't witches or wraiths, why would those places need magical girls? Wouldn't running out of magic and stopping being a magical girl be fine?
"So," Kirika interjects, sliding back into the group. "You're saying there's a shortage of Grief items, and because of that, it'd be a bad idea to make a contract with Kyubey right now?"
<Not at all. There are already almost a thousand magical girls in Kamihama. It's a completely unprecedented number - normally, there wouldn't be more than two thousand in the entire country.>
"A thousand?" Kyouko yells again, making you worry about us being overheard. "That's ridiculous. Explains why they're sucking in all the witches, but seriously? Yeah, we're going to need more magical girls to even stand a chance…"
"Kirika-chan, did you think of a wish, then…?" you ask with a nervous smile. You don't want to trample on her wish, but things seem delicate right now. Like rather than monsters lurking in the dark, your enemies might even be other magical girls…
You can't accept that. A destiny of fighting wraiths would be sad, but nothing compared to one of fighting your own kind, fellow magical girls, girls who'd staked their lives on hope and wishes. You pick up the stray Grief Cube - that same hot-cold-burning-numb feeling, flowing down your arm, dull and hollow as it reaches your heart.
"Yeah, I've got something. It's a good one, too. I don't know if I could think of better, even," she responds, wearing the most genuine smile you've seen on her face since you met her. "Kyubey, I want to-"
You squeeze the Grief Cube tight in your hand, your emotions churning and boiling over. You'd stopped Sayaka before - wouldn't it make perfect sense to stop Kirika now, too? But she sounded so self-assured, and you want to trust her too.
Except, that's not true at all.
You don't want to just trust her. You want to already know what she's about to say.
You don't want to just stop her, either. You want to know.
You've got enough self-control to stop yourself asking Kyubey for something like that. But it aches. You want to see inside her mind, and you don't want to let her make a wish that leads her to misfortune, but it'd be no good to ask, to pick apart her feelings until you're satisfied.
But, despite everything, you want the control. Even if you've known her for only two days, Kirika is precious to you. You don't want to lose her, you don't want to lose the person she is.
"-become th-"
You don't let her finish.
Before everyone's astonished eyes, you lean in, driven by an impulse you barely understand, and plant your lips on hers.
For several long moments you hold the kiss, Kirika frozen in place as you feel her lips against yours, her cheeks reddening…
And then she pushes you away, eyes wide. Confused, panicked, she rushes out of the room, leaving you slowly coming to your senses in front of three staring girls, right there in your own bedroom. The Grief Cube tumbles from your hand, and your roiling heart slowly begins to calm…
"M-M-Madoka," Sayaka stammers, "wh-what was that…?"
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