I am very tired writing this. It will probably be trash. Don't sue me. Also, I do not in any way own Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Would be nice though...
A silence echoes deep in hearts of iron
Strong and still with much resolve
The fleeting moment, e'er desired
Will surely, swiftly lose it's hold
Madoka frowned. What was the peculiar note supposed to mean? Had someone heard her talking to her friends about wanting to receive a love letter? No, it couldn't be. They'd been quite a ways from the other students moving towards the gates, after all. Perhaps Hitomi had felt bad and written a note herself to try to cheer her up? Or Sayak- on second thoughts, this was far too graceful to be Sayaka's writing. Madoka giggled, remembering the manga-esque writing Sayaka had turned in for their last writing assignment.
So then, if it wasn't Sayaka, and it wasn't, it had to be Hitomi, right? Well, nothing for it. She'd just pretend she hadn't figured it out and see how her friends reacted at lunch.
After watching Madoka put the letter back into her bag, another girl turned away with a sad shake of her head.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
"Guys! Look! I got this weird letter in my stuff today, I think that it's meant to be a love letter!"
Hitomi smiled gently at her and for a moment Madoka thought that she had been right, before she opened her mouth and asked her "Do you know who it's from?"
Sayaka, meanwhile, was staring with wide eyes at her pink-haired friend.
Madoka shook her head slowly. "No, I don't know who sent it. There isn't even an initial! I have no idea... Who would ever want to confess to someone like me?"
Her two friends just looked at her, in almost pitying way. It was no secret between them that Madoka had the least self-confidence and indeed the least self-esteem. Perhaps it really was impossible for the girl to imagine someone actually confessing. Instead, she had immediately thought that it was just her friends attempt to cheer her up. Sharing a look, before sighing in unison, the two girls each took one of Madoka's hands from the opposite side of the table. This time it was Sayaka who spoke.
"Madoka, you're really pretty and sweet and you're kind to everyone! Aside from being a little shy, there's nothing to stop a guy from loving you, you know?"
Madoka smiled at her best friends, a little teardrop welling up in each eye. She was always emotional when... well, anything happened. She wore her heart on her sleeve and it was especially obvious when she was with Hitomi and Sayaka.
Meanwhile, a girl watched them talking from the corner booth, eyes not moving even to her food as she slowly ate her cupcake.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
"You need to stop. You hear me?"
The girl found herself feeling frustrated and a little intimidated, her back against the wall and a taller, older girl frowning down at her. Still, she looked her accuser in the eye.
"I need to get to class. Excuse me..."
She made to walk off but the older girl quickly stepped into her path. She held out her arms to either side, to block off any escape past her.
"I don't think so, not until you tell me that you'll stop stalking Kaname. She's a very shy person and if she found out she had a stalker, it would probably frighten her. I won't let you scare the other students. However..."
The girl trailed off, fixing her with a glare before dropping both her eyes and her arms with a sigh.
"... I also can't allow anyone to hurt you, and that's exactly what Miki would do if she found out about your creepy habit. So... for all of your sake's, please stop."
No answer came, and she simply stared at the older girl, who began to tap her foot impatiently.
"... Fine. I won't watch Madoka any more, Tomoe. May I go to class now?"
Tomoe nodded and stepped aside with a shy smile, and watched the hurriedly retreating back of the younger student. She felt bad that she'd left poor Kaname to be followed for so long, but really she'd only caught the transfer student in the act twice, and so hadn't really had proof. She just hoped that the girl would listen to her advice and leave Kaname alone. The poor girl was introspective enough without needing outside scrutiny to make her more uncomfortable.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
"Um, excuse me? You've been sitting at our table for a few minutes... Akemi, is there something the matter? Are you ill? Shall I take you to the nurse?"
The girl in question looked at Madoka. According to Tomoe's order, she had not followed Madoka or watched her since, but today she had decided to hand-deliver a second letter. As such, she had gathered up all of her available courage and sat down at their table, without a word, and sat through the awkward silence that followed. The reactions of her friends were less than comforting to her, and she found her nerve wearing down quickly. She hadn't even managed to reach into her bag to retrieve the second letter, let alone give it to Madoka. Hitomi was watching her carefully but politely, while Miki was staring at her with open suspicion.
"... No, nothing is wrong. H-here... I have something for you." The last of her courage abandoning her, Homura frantically reached into her bag, grabbed the letter and tossed it into Madoka's lap before sprinting from the booth, her cheeks burning.
Miki immediately stood, yelling something at her that she didn't hear.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
"So it was the weird transfer student all along, huh? Creepy..."
"That's not funny Sayaka, you shouldn't make fun of her!"
"Madoka, Sayaka is right. She sent you a love letter. She's a girl and so are you! That's just... it's not right!"
Sayaka huffed and Madoka sighed. She'd yet to open the second letter. Hitomi was all for throwing it away, while Sayaka wanted her to open it so she had a reason to beat up the 'weird transfer student'. Madoka herself was curious about the contents of the letter, but was more concerned about Akemi.
"I'm going to read the letter now... maybe it will help clear things up?"
Madoka gingerly pulled the flap of the envelope open, and teased the slip of paper inside of it, out. She read aloud "Pastel on silk, bright as sunshine on dew. A light to make light ashamed and a hope to give despair itself hope. A devil does not deserve a goddess, and yet devil though I am, I yearn for your hand to hold and your smile to see."
Madoka's face went from slightly slack to blushing bright red and stammering nonsense words. Sayaka could have sworn that her head had started steaming.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Homura sat under one of the trees in the park. This may not be her favourite place to relax, but without Madoka beside her she had no wish to go there. That place was meant to be shared.
A soft, sweet voice that she knew all too well called out to her, and she immediately realised she'd fallen asleep under the tree and was now dreaming.
"-mi? Akemi? Come on, you need to wake up! It's going to rain soon!"
She sat up suddenly, feeling stiffness in her neck and back. She groaned and stretched. She really had fallen asleep.
"Oh thank goodness! I thought for you would still be asleep when the rain started!"
Homura's body froze and she turned slowly with growing horror to realise that she had fallen asleep in the park, and she'd heard Madoka's voice from the real world, waking her up. She blushed in embarrassment. Beginning to stammer out an apology, she bowed her head. A hand gently touched her own and she looked up. Madoka was smiling at her.
"It's okay, Akemi, I read your letters and I think that I understand a little bit. I may not be that interesting of a person, but if you want to be friends then I'll be happy to!"
Homura's heart, which had swelled with anticipation and nervousness as Madoka had spoken, suddenly went cold and dead. The word 'friends' echoed around her head over and over, seeming to grow louder until it was a vicious roaring thunderstorm assaulting her senses. Poor, naive Madoka had completely misread her intentions. She gave a loud wail, finally succumbing to the ache in her chest and fell forward across Madoka's knees, sobbing hard.
The girl was shocked. Had she said something wrong? She thought that she had been perfectly polite, thank you very much! Not knowing what else to do, and determined to prove she wanted to be Akemi's friend, she reached to the girl and pulled her into an embrace. Her skirt and now her shoulder were wet with the girls tears as she sobbed hysterically. Her body was shaking against Madoka's and it scared them both. Homura, because of how much Madoka had hurt her and didn't even know it, and Madoka because she didn't understand why her new friend was crying.
Homura's thoughts were racing back and forth between bitter anger and sweet sadness. 'She doesn't love me, she rejects me, but the moment I cry she tries to comfort me, how dare she! But she cares enough to try to make me feel better, even though she's the one that hurt me..." It was a horrible, cyclic logic that only worsened her emotional state with every second.
Neither girl noticed that the heavens had opened, deluging the park and indeed themselves. Madoka began to run one hand gently through Akemi's hair, humming a soft tune. After a while, Homura's sobs became quiet moans and sniffs, and she listened in as Madoka's sweet voice comforted her.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Watching from a store window just across from the park, Mami Tomoe watched with a heavy heart. She hoped that neither of the girls ended up getting hurt by this...
I intend to write more of this later. Not sure how that's going to go. No promises on anything. Uh... Homura was a bit out of character, but this will be a no-magic AU so I tried to go for something of a middle ground between the extremes of her personality we see in PMMM. Also, Madoka is frightfully naive. She's naturally a very shy and innocent person and her ideas of romance extend as far as hand holding and hugging. This is mainly why she reacts so much less... logically... to the letters than Sayaka and Hitomi, who are understandably worried about someone who seems to be fixated on their friend, much in the same way Mami was. Also, while they might not always act like it, both Sayaka and Hitomi ARE more mature than Madoka, with more healthy and realistic ideas of love and romance, as well as dangerous behaviours. I'll look to expand more in these ideas in any future chapters.
That said, I write this very late at night and with no planning, so don't expect much of it.
Bye!
