Puella Magi Mami Magica by CuriousCabaret

Characters adapted from Puella Magi Madoka Magika.

Original story and characters all belong to Shaft, Aniplex, Gen Urobuchi, and Ume Aoki.

A/N: Basically I got tired of seeing Mami always alone in the promotional art.

Edit (14/11/2012): I made a few changes after reading "Puella Magi Madoka Magika: A Different Story". Just some minor details, but I wanted to make this as authentic as possible OTL At the same time I'm quite glad that this chapter gels somewhat with how mami's school life was portrayed in the manga.
Also KyoMami fans should definitely check out "PMMM: A Different Story", the feels are THROUGH THE ROOF, it really makes me hope for more KyoMami for the future series. Sayaka-san thank you for choosing to rest in peace so that Mami and Kyoko can have a chance *bows*


"Hey what did that girl say her name was?"

"Hm? I think it was Tomoe...something."

"She's pretty."


It's the first day of the final year of Junior High. Time to buckle down and start studying for Entrance Exams...

...is what I think. But as soon as the teacher starts droning on about integers and functions, I flip to an empty page in my notebook and start doodling.

As first period ends, I show my drawing to Tomoe-San as usual. She sits next to me in class, and she was the one who first noticed my drawings. In the beginning we didn't interact at all. Although we've been in the same class for all 3 years of high school now, we always sat at opposite ends. Plus, although nice, Tomoe-San tended to keep to herself.

It was weird. How do I describe it? She was like a big sister to all of us. Always cheerful, with a kind smile and always ready to help. But as soon as class ended, she'd disappear. I heard that some of the girls had been invited to her house for tea, but she usually declined invitations to go out from others. It was as if there was a part of her I couldn't see. Like the Tomoe-San in class was just the surface and behind it was something else, something she kept hidden from all of us. Most people didn't really care though. We all had our cliques, and I had my own friends too. Besides, I wasn't about to go out of my way and offer friendship where it wasn't wanted.

Things changed in third year though. The year when the teacher changed our seating arrangements and I found myself next to Tomoe Mami.

Today as usual, Tomoe-San praises my drawing skills and then the second period starts and she gives me a wink and tells me to focus on class.

Previously I didn't care so much about being friends with Tomoe-San because I'd never spoken to her personally. But now, sitting next to her everyday, and talking to her, even if it's over small things, I feel like I want to get to know her better. I've mentioned this to my friends before, but they've told me to give up. Tomoe-San is nice and all but she isn't interested in forming close bonds. One of those people who don't need companionship is what they said. It was like she was lost in her own world.

Lately though, I notice that Tomoe-San seems a bit happier. Her smiles seem brighter somehow. I think it has to do with the two first years that drop by our class sometimes. I see her leaving with them and you can tell she likes them a lot, especially towards the pink-haired one. I realize that Tomoe-San does want friends, but maybe she just isn't interested in anybody from class.

I furrow my brows. I wonder if I put in a bit more effort, would Tomoe-San be close friends with me?

Later after school my friends and I go to this new cafe downtown. They find a seat while I go up front to order. Suddenly I realize that the person standing in front of me is none other than Tomoe-San! I kinda freeze-which is stupid, I know- but for a moment I considered pretending that I hadn't noticed her. It was weird, that after so many years, this was the first time I'd ever seen Tomoe-San in a non-school setting.

"...Tomoe-San?"

"Ren-Chan!" I beam widely at the enthusiasm in Tomoe-San's voice. I think that I was silly to expect coldness from Tomoe-San outside of class.

The Tomoe-San inside and outside class is the same.

"What are you doing here? Buying cake?"

"Yes I'm having a tea party at my house with some friends" Tomoe-San smiles happily at me. I feel this little twinge of- I don't know what- the thought that 'I wish I was having a tea party with Tomoe-San' flits through my mind. But I cover it up with a big smile.

"Ooh that sounds fun...what cake are you getting?" We spend the rest of the brief time queuing up talking about our favorite cakes and bakeries. As I finish paying for my order, I notice that Tomoe-San is waiting for me.

"It was nice running into you here, Ren-Chan. See you in school." She looks like she wants to say more. There is a brief moment of hesitation, but then she smiles, gives me a small nod, and turns to go. I return the smile and nod, feeling as if I should have done more.

"Urgh. Just confess to her already."

" I'm not in love with her idiot! We're both girls!" I glare at my friend as she chuckles at me.

"She's just so nice. I think it'd be great to have a good friend like her."


As the days passed, I kept thinking to myself that one day, I'd ask Mami-San if she'd like to have tea after school, or watch a movie or something. Yes, I'd stopped calling her 'Tomoe-San' and switched to calling her 'Mami-San'. She was already calling me 'Ren-Chan' after all, and to be honest, I noticed that she looked really happy the first time I called her 'Mami-san'.

I felt that we were slowly getting closer, although I was still unsure about asking her out after school. I still didn't really know much about her beyond the superficial. I just knew that she was a kind, nurturing, sweet person. Though...I think what drew me to Mami-San in the beginning was how she looked. She's easily the prettiest girl in the class, with naturally curly golden hair, large amber eyes and fair skin. My friends like to tease me and say I have a crush on her, but it's really not that. As an artist, I tend to look at people's physical appearance objectively. Almost like they are works of art themselves, and I was struck by how beautiful Mami-San was the moment I saw her. She was like a wonderfully delicate painting, with the way she held herself. And the fact that she tended to keep a distance from the rest of us deepened the feeling that she was something to be observed and appreciated from afar.

Of course all that changed once I started sitting next to her, and then after that first time in the cafe, I started running into her outside of class more and more. It was very strange. I went from never seeing or speaking to Mami-San, to talking to her in class everyday and bumping into her outside of school in random cafes.

One day, I decided that I would ask Mami-San out for tea. As we said goodbye to each other at the end of class, I made a mental note that tomorrow for sure, I would be friends with Mami-San.


The next day, Mami-San wasn't in class. I figured that maybe she was sick. She seemed so capable that nobody thought much of it and everyone was certain she'd return to school soon. Mami-San had never missed a day of school before.

By the third day I began to wonder if something really serious had happened to Mami-San. At one point I happened to see her two first year friends. They looked sad, kind of closed of.

On the fifth day our teacher informed us that Mami-San had gone missing. The school had tried calling her house the first two days. On the fourth day our teacher went down personally and found it empty. A missing persons report was made.

There was a lot of speculation in the beginning. After a while, with no new updates, we just accepted Mami-San's disappearance. After all, she wasn't the first and certainly not the last person to go missing. With exams and graduation, Mami-San was soon forgotten. Once in a while people would mention her like an urban legend. "The mysterious disappearance of Tomoe Mami". Me, I just wish I had gotten to know her better. Maybe then, her disappearance wouldn't be such a mystery.

At least to me.

-To be continued. Thanks for reading!