Guilt Beckons the Witch
It's you that I love but it's her you adore
Chapter 1: An Ordinary Day
The sun shone through the trees as a short haired girl raced down the limestone path. She wasn't in a hurry – no , she was actually early. School didn't start for another half hour, but Sayaka wanted to get to her friends as soon as possible.
Spotting a green haired girl up ahead, Sayaka started waving her. "Hitomi!" she called out as she continued running.
Hitomi Shizuki, who had been reading through her Science textbook, turned to face her friend and greeted her with a smile. "Good morning Sayaka-san".
"I see Madoka isn't here yet" Sayaka remarked.
Hitomi shook her head. "It's still quite early though, I don't expect her to get here until half eight. Why are you here so early, Sayaka-san?" She asked.
Sayaka giggled. "I skipped breakfast".
"You shouldn't skip breakfast! Isn't it supposed to be the most important meal of the day?"
"Who says that?"
"Experts"
"And who are these experts?" Sayaka prompted.
Hitomi sighed. "Scientists, Sayaka, scientists!".
"I'll take it then".
The two girls chatted about random topics but Madoka still hadn't show took her phone out of her bag and pressed the centre button. The screen came to life and displayed a picture of her, Madoka and Hitomi on the lockscreen. The time was 8:14.
"Jeez, if Madoka doesn't hurry up we're gonna be late".
Hitomi's heart rate started to increase rapidly. As the daughter of a rich corporate businessman, she was expected to excel in her classes, be kind to everyone she meets and act like a lady at all times. She had not been late once in her time at Mitakihara Junior High, and she wasn't about to break her perfect record. "Well, call her! We have to find out what's keeping her!".
Sayaka began to look through the numbers on her phone before, like a miracle, Madoka's voice rang out. "Good morning!" Madoka said as she rushed towards them.
"Good morning, Madoka-san" Hitomi smiled.
Sayaka pretended to be angry and scowled at Madoka. "You're late, missy!".
"I'm sorry guys – It was a pain to get Mum out of bed this morning!" Madoka panted, still trying to catch her breath.
Sayaka then noticed the red ribbons tied in Madoka's hair. "Oh, cute ribbons!".
Madoka blushed and fiddled with her hair. "Really? Y-you don't think they're a bit to flashy?".
"I think they look very nice Madoka-san".
The trio began their walk to school, unbeknownst to what was waiting for them that morning in homeroom.
Classes had started, and their teacher, Kazuko Saotome was going on a rant about her ex-boyfriend. Sayaka wasn't really listening – she had heard a thousand of her teachers rants. For some reason, relationships just never worked out for her.
Instead, she was thinking of another boy, by the name of Kyousuke Kamijou. She wanted to go to the mall later that day and buy him a new CD, knowing how much he loved music. Since he was in the hospital, he was grateful for Sayaka's company, as no-one else would visit him apart from his family.
"And you young boys, make sure you don't grow up and become someone who nags about how their eggs are cooked!". Saotome huffed before changing the subject. "Also, I'd like to introduce our new transfer student!".
"Seriously? She left that until last?!" Sayaka muttered.
Saotome turned towards the door and nodded her head. "Please come in, Akemi-san".
In stepped a raven haired beauty, with a face as cold as ice. The class gasped at her radiant beauty. Immediately, there were small conversations between the students about how elegant and mature she looked.
The beautiful girl stopped in front of the digital blackboard, and in the most emotionless voice possible, started her introduction. "My name is Homura Akemi. Nice to meet you all". She picked up on of the markers sitting on the blackboard tray and wrote her name before swiftly bowing.
"Akemi-san, you're seat is up the front next to Suzuki-san" Saotome explained. Homura thanked the teacher and proceeded towards her seat, but before sitting down she stared at Madoka, glaring at her.
The bell rang to signify the end of homeroom, and Saotome left the room. Several students took the opportunity to question Homura.
"Akemi-san, where did you go to school before?"
"A Christian school in Kyoto"
"Were you in any clubs? How about sport teams?"
" I was never in any"
"You're hair is so soft, what shampoo do you use?"
Madoka, Hitomi and Sayaka were gathered at a desk a few metres away from the crowd. "Akemi-san has a sort of mysterious aura around her" Hitomi commented.
"Hey, Madoka, do you know her? She was staring at you earlier" Sayaka asked her friend. Madoka shook her head. "Technically no, but-"
"I'm sorry, I'm not feeling very well". Homura began to stand up. "Oh, do you need help, Akemi-san?" a blonde girl asked.
"I'll manage, thank you". Homura walked over to Sayaka and her friends. "Madoka Kaname, you are the health representative for this class, are you not?".
"Well…yes" Madoka stammered.
"Would you please take me to the nurses office?"
Madoka slowly nodded, before leaving her seat. "I'm sorry guys, I'll explain it later". She faced Homura. "This way please". Both girls walked out the door.
Sayaka's mind was in overdrive. What did she mean by "Technically no"? How can you technically not meet someone?
"Sayaka-san?"
Sayaka's thoughts were interrupted by Hitomi tapping on her shoulder. Bewildered, she turned towards her friend. "What is it Hitomi?"
"Don't you think Akemi-san is a bit odd? She seemed a bit too confident in her opening speech"
Sayaka blinked. Hitomi's caught on it too. "I know what you mean. She might just be a confident person. What I find odd is that she was staring at Madoka. I have some odd feeling they've met before".
"Then why won't Madoka-san tell us?"
Sayaka looked around the room before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Look, I'd rather not say anything about it without Madoka here. Besides, I don't want anyone listening in on this conversation. We'll talk at the mall after school".
The math teacher, Taniguchi, entered the room and ordered the students to rise and bow. The class obeyed, and the lesson progressed.
Later on, the trio were walking towards the Crystal Plaza to talk about the strange Homura Akemi and to pick up the CD. They were just chatting about random topics when Sayaka noticed a cat like creature crossing the road towards her. The lights were red and the cars started to move forwards towards it.
Hitomi noticed the cat as well."What is that cat doing? It'll be run over if it doesn't hurry!"
Without thinking, Sayaka ran into the road. She could hear her friends crying out her name, but she knew what she had to do. She scooped up the cat in her arms and attempted to get to the other side of the road. As the truck in front of her screeched to a halt, Sayaka tripped over, flinging the cat safely to the other side of the road. The truck was mere seconds away from hitting her.
Sayaka braced herself for an impact but luckily, the truck managed to slow down enough so that she wasn't hit bad. The force was still enough to knock her down to the ground.
The driver got out of his vehicle and checked to see if he had run over the girl. "Are you hurt anywhere? Are you ok? Say something miss!".
Sayaka began to stand up and brush herself off. "I'm fine….thank you though. The fall wasn't that bad, it looked a lot worse than it actually was….". She knelt down to pick up her bag.
"We should still get you checked out at the hospital. Are you sure your fine?".
"It's only a few scratches, and honestly it was my fault. I had to save the cat…..thank you though, kind sir". Sayaka slowly walked over to the bed of flowers the cat landed in to check if it was ok.
Upon closer inspection, she saw it wasn't really much of a cat at at. It looked like a hybrid between a rabbit and a cat. It was still breathing, thankfully.
"SAYAKA".
She turned to see Hitomi and Madoka running towards her. Madoka tearfully embraced her. "Oh, Sayaka, are you alright?".
"What were you thinking, running out into the road like that?" Hitomi reprimanded.
"I had to save this poor cat" Sayaka replied. "I'm sorry guys, maybe we can go to the mall tomorrow, I need to take this thing home".
"Ok, well call us if you need anything, ok?" Madoka smiled, before both girls turned and left Sayaka.
At last, she was finally home. Her parents weren't back yet so that gave her plenty of time to make a small bed for the animal. It was beginning to stir, so Sayaka filled a dish up with water and placed it on the floor.
The animals eyes finally opened, and it turned towards her. "Thank you, for saving me Sayaka Miki!".
She screamed in horror. "Did…..you just talk?".
The creature nodded. "Yes! My name is Kyubey, and you were just the girl I was looking for!".
Sayaka was lost for words. "What do you mean by that?".
"I want you to contract with me and become a magical girl!".