This story is a collaboration by two people (Psyn and Allaeyr). As the title suggests, it's going to be about baseball.


Prologue

Mitakihara Town had never seen such rainy weather. Only earlier that day, the skies had been clear and the sun was shining, but just as the bell signalling the end of school had rung, the black clouds had appeared almost out of nowhere and the storm had begun. In only a few minutes, deep puddles had already formed on the streets.

Madoka ran down the street, giggling, and jumping in puddles, getting herself, and the girl she was pulling along, even more soaked. The two seemed oblivious to the chaos around them, as other students rushed to get home before the downpour worsened.

"Um," Homura mumbled, trying to wipe her glasses clear of rain with her pinafore. "Your parents are expecting us."

"It's fine," laughed Madoka. "My parents won't mind if we're wet and we never get weather like this!" She pounced into another puddle, splashing water everywhere. She wasn't wearing a jacket or boots, but she didn't seem to mind the fact that she was drenched.

"But." Homura fidgeted. "We're not wearing clothes suited to the weather. We'll probably get sick."

Madoka laughed again. That was so Homura. Always the worrier. Always speaking like she was an adult.

"Lighten up," she said. But Homura did have a point. And Madoka had something she wanted to give her anyways. Playing could wait.

"Okay then, let's go," she finally announced. She jumped into one more puddle for good measure, then grabbed Homura's hand and began dragging her down the street.

...

Madoka's house was warm. Homura hadn't noticed she was quite so cold before. But now she realized that the school uniform was really not designed for rain, and that half of her hair, somehow having lost its braid tie, was loose, and plastered, freezing wet, to her back. Her vision was almost completely obscured; she'd given up trying to keep her glasses dry, and now they were starting to fog up.

Madoka's parents were currently greeting her cheerfully, and Homura felt a tightening in her throat.

Madoka, noticing Homura's shivers, abruptly stopped talking to her mom and dad, and turned to Homura, pulling her from her cowering position in the doorway, and towards her room. "I can get a change of clothes for you. And there's something I want to give you."

"It's fine…" Homura tried brushing off the offer, but Madoka was insistent so she relented with a sigh – although she couldn't help but give a small smile at her friend's fussing.

Madoka ushered Homura into her room, then immediately raced to her closet to search for new sets of clothes for them both. Homura stood awkwardly near the doorway, hoping her dripping hair wasn't making too much of a mess on the floor. It was going to take a while for it to dry completely, and its dampness was sending chills through her back.

It wasn't long before Madoka spun around, holding out some clothes for Homura. "Here, you can put these on while I wrap your present."

"Do you mind if I use your bathroom?" Homura inquired softly, thinking more about drying her hair and glasses than privacy.

"Not at all," Madoka chirped.

She waited until Homura was well out of her room before spinning around and looking frantically for wrapping paper.

She didn't have any. She'd been meaning to get some, but apparently she'd forgotten, and now it was too late. Homura would be out of the bathroom soon.

"Oh noo."

There was only one thing to do. Madoka squared her shoulders and marched toward her desk. She grabbed the tissue box there, and pulled one of the tissues out.

She could hear the bathroom door opening, so hurriedly, in one swift motion, Madoka pulled one of her hair ribbons off, and placed it in the middle of the tissue.

And then Homura was back, peeking timidly around the side of the door. Madoka turned around, hiding the ribbon behind herself.

"Come in, Homura," she said invitingly.

Homura stepped lightly into the room. She'd managed to pat her hair mostly dry and, after a failed attempt at trying to put it into one long braid, she'd decided to let it hang loose. Even while wet, it split oddly near her lower back, as if shaped by the braids she normally wore. Instantly she could tell that Madoka was hiding something, from the way she was standing and bouncing on the spot, and because half her hair was loose, but she decided to play along and let Madoka talk.

Now it was Madoka's turn to be slightly awkward, as she tried to think of something to tell her that seemed right. Then she decided to just say what she had been meaning to say. This was Homura after all. To make a little more time, she gestured at the bed, indicating that they should sit down there.

"Okay, um… I know we haven't been friends for long," said Madoka, speaking rapidly in an effort to get out everything she wanted to say, "but I already feel like I know you really well, and, um, you're probably the best friend I've ever had. You're really nice and you have a nice voice and your name is really cool. I think so, even if you don't. So I noticed you've been sad recently, so I asked Mom and she said, 'What makes you happy, Madoka?' and I thought, 'getting presents makes me happy', but I didn't know what to get you and I don't have much money, so I decided to give you something that means a lot to me." With that, she took the tissue-wrapped ribbon out from behind her back and held it out towards Homura, a huge smile plastered on her face at the blush that had been spreading across her friend's face as she spoke. "I hope it means a lot to you too." She felt herself flushing as well, wondering whether Homura would accept what she said, and wouldn't get mad that she hadn't bought her something nicer.

"Oh," Homura said. And flung her arms around Madoka.

Madoka squeaked in surprise, and returned the hug hesitantly, placing the present on the bed beside them. Then she became aware of the sound of sniffling, close to her ear, and realized her shoulder was getting wet.

Homura must have hated the present! Madoka felt like crying too.

"I'm really sorry. Did you want something new?" Madoka asked.

"No…" Homura mumbled. "This is the best present anyone has ever given me."

And it was. Homura always got new things. The latest designer clothes, expensive toys, and jewelry, the likes of which, not even the oldest girls at school had. But they never meant anything special. No thought was put into it, besides wanting to keep her out of the way. No one had ever given her something that they'd actually owned and loved.

"Really?" Madoka brightened, her mood doing a complete one-eighty.

Homura nodded, and pulled away from the hug, removing her glasses so she could wipe her eyes. "Yeah."

"Yay! I'm glad. That's great. This ribbon should be a symbol of our friendship. Like a friendship bracelet. Here, let me put it on."

Homura turned around obligingly, letting Madoka braid the ribbon into her hair. She didn't comment on Madoka's braiding skills. She meant well, but Homura resolved to fix it the next chance she got – out of Madoka's sight.

"Done!" Madoka said. "Now we have matching ribbons. I'll wear mine every day, and you wear yours every day. That way we can be friends forever!"

"Okay." Homura nodded shyly.

And they were. For a month.

One day, Homura didn't come to school. And she didn't the next day, or the next.

Madoka, thinking that she probably had a really bad cold, decided to visit her after she'd been missing a week. But when she went to her house and knocked on the door, nobody answered. Not the man in the suit, or the woman that always wore bright dresses. Not Homura.

Homura was gone.