Walk-ON! Day And Night
Chapter 1:
Glad All Over
December in Tokyo was a chilly sort of ordeal. With people hustling up and down the city streets looking for gifts to buy, friends to meet, promises to make and what not. The epicenter that was Japan's capital was full of activity. Nonstop. Christmas was coming. A few Santa imposters were greeting children, attracting locals, businessmen, entertainers and ever tourists who were more interested in searching for manga, anime DVDs and the freshest eroge designed to delight, to fascinate, to titillate. That was Tokyo at the dawn of winter: always a wonder before Christmas, after Christmas...during any time of the year. Day and night, it lived up to its reputation as a world class city.
The young girl looked up to the sky, her long hair waving against the wind, her scarlet ribbon fluttering like a miniature flag of deep red. Her eyes spoke of melancholy, of reminiscing, of wondering about that moment in April when the one she loved took on a new role in the heavens. Flipping her long raven locks, she continued to study the clouds as she rested against a tree. The locals passed by her, minding their own business.
Decked in the uniform of her school, she was lost in the humble suburbs of the prefecture. Sakuragaoka City was not the most upscale of the suburbs, but it wasn't the most backwards of bedroom communities. It was right in the middle: a town with a modern feel, with a rustic charm entrenched by its heritage that dated back for centuries. It was a far cry from her true home town, Mitakihara, located in neighboring Chiba Prefecture. Mitakihara was a city that experienced a rise in development in the last decade and progressed so much that it effectively became a vital satellite town of Tokyo. Sakuragaoka was a completely different world altogether.
It brought up an important question: why in the name of all things high and mighty was Homura Akemi here? There were no demons in sight, Mami Tomoe and Kyouko Sakura were doing most of the work, and Kyubey was bored. Forget about Kyubey, she thought. His agenda is finished. Ancient history. Now he is just my pet. A simple familiar that I have chosen to take with me here to this quaint town.
Homura looked to her right as Kyubey scratched himself of fleas. A few shifty schoolboys were imitating the band Madness with their song "One Step Beyond." One step, two step, three step, four. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Some onlookers were electing to take shots of the random sight, while others tweeted of the spectacle. Sighing, she looked to her left. A few schoolgirls in the characteristic blue blazers of Sakuragaoka High School Girls Campus were chatting with one another over juicy gossip fresh from the water cooler. Another sigh. And lazy licks of a lollipop, her tongue gracefully rubbing the confection like a towel on a trophy.
"You know, Homura, I wonder why we are even here to begin with," Kyubey said as Homura checked her soul gem. No blemishes, no worries, no nothing.
"Do I really need to hear such things from you?" she shot back with a steely expression. A glance to the sky. "I wanted to expand my horizons by visiting other parts of this country. It was of my best interests."
"You must have wanted HER to be with you, huh?"
The cold look turned into a wistful smile. "I have come to accept the fact that she will not be here with me. I am surviving without her here, but she is still here because I believe in her. Madoka is someone who has her own business to take care of, like all of us do."
"I will never understand that word 'business', but I suppose it is part of the human experience to work in their respective trades and professions, if I am correct."
Homura nodded. A soft, faint whisper. "Madoka, I hope my time in this place becomes a little more interesting, if for once..."
A soccer ball rolled at her feet. Homura picked it up. "This ball says, Jabulani," she read.
"Hey, that's my ball!" a young boy said, running over to pick it up. As he looked up, he was spellbound, and a rush of blood came dripping down. "Cute," he said, a wide smile on his face.
"You seem to be bleeding. Do you want me to give you a tissue?" she asked.
"Please," he replied. Homura plugged his nostrils. "Thanks a lot. I was playing with this soccer ball, but I ended up kicking it a bit too far." His stomach growled. "Oh crap..."
"That isn't good. Do you want me to give you something to eat?"
"Are you sure?"
"I don't have anything else to do," Homura said. "It's better for me to talk with the locals here just to give myself a change of scenery. Where do you want to go?"
"I know where to go, follow me!" The boy took a blushing Homura by the hand.
"Where are we going? And what is your name?"
"There's this great place that has the best hamburgers in town. And my name is Satoshi Tainaka." He looked at her with a spunky look on his face. "It's a pleasure to meet you. What's your name?"
She looked at him and smiled back. "Homura Akemi."
"And you're fine with this?" Kyubey said, hanging on for dear life on Homura's shoulder before she elected to carry him like a rugby ball.
"You don't have to worry about a thing," she whispered.
The three of them went through throngs of people before stopping at a familiar stomping ground to Satoshi: Max Burger.
Homura quietly sank her teeth into the most expensive burger on the menu. She was hungry too, and forgot to eat breakfast before going to school. The fact that she was able to survive her day without eating anything was amazing, even for her teachers.
"You're really hungry, aren't you, Miss Akemi?" Satoshi asked her as he sipped a Coca-Cola.
"Very," she said. "And calling me Homura is all right."
"Homura-chan?"
"I guess that also works." Lost in thought again. "Even though that is really reserved for her..."
"Let me guess, someone else calls you by that?"
"Well, she did call me by that."
"Who?"
A lustful whisper and a light smile came from Homura's pursed lips. "Madoka..."
"Who's Madoka?"
"Madoka Kaname. She was a good friend of me before she went off somewhere to do...something else..." She didn't want to utter the real conclusion because she assumed that Satoshi would not understand the situation.
"What do you do for a living, besides school?"
"Just tell him," Kyubey said.
"Whoa! This thing can talk?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Incubator, Homura Akemi's pet. I offer contracts to interested girls who want to be Puella Magis. Urk!" Kyubey found himself embraced rather uncomfortably.
"Such a cute pet that can speak Japanese. Awesome pet, Homura-chan!"
"Kyubey isn't a pet," Homura said, taking him and placing him on the table, where he watched passers-by before sleeping. "He is my familiar. I guess he does count as a pet in a way."
"So what do you do for a living?" Satoshi asked her.
"Kyubey touched on it, but I essentially hunt down bad guys that pop up here and there."
"So you work for the police?"
"As a Puella Magi, I take on enemies that the local law enforcement would not normally encounter, let alone face. We used to take on these supernatural beings called Witches. Now we take on demons that are born out of curses. So our role has changed a bit."
"I see. Do you get paid for this?"
"If I did, I would have a much better house to live in."
"So you don't?"
"No."
"Awwwww."
"Well, it's something that we have to come to terms with. We also live normal lives as well besides vanquishing demons."
"Where do you live?"
"Mitakihara Town. It's a few train rides away from where we are, but it's a growing city, full of big buildings and a lot of activity. I have adopted parents who I moved in with months ago. I used to live by myself in a house in a different part of town, but I sold it to someone else."
"What are their names?"
"Well, they are actually Madoka's parents, who decided to take me in because my real parents died a long time ago. When I was born, I used to have a heart condition that nearly cost me my life when I was young, but I recovered after surgery. When I became a Puella Magi, my condition improved in leaps and bounds."
"Why did you want to be a Puella Magi, Homura-chan?"
"I wanted to prevent Madoka from being a Puella Magi like me. I tried to save her many times, but I wasn't able to do it. Eventually, Madoka decided to do something that would ensure that what I did was not in vain. However, it meant that I would no longer see her again, except when I pray or when I dream or when I ask for her guidance."
"So she's a goddess now?"
"Yep. She's up there, watching over us."
"Order Number 62, a 4x4 with animal fries and a large soda!" said a cashier with a tray of food at the counter. A large, bulky tourist from England went over to take the tray.
"Amazing," Satoshi said. "You know, I didn't think that regular people could turn into supreme beings. I thought the only person that could do that was Jesus Christ, and I'm not even a practicing Christian! That's so cool. You must have wanted to save her that badly, huh?"
"We were more than friends. I loved her in that fashion, too. I am able not only to pull out a wide range of weapons from my shield, but I am able to turn back and stop time. But anyway, I loved Madoka then, and I love her now. I loved the times I was able to caress her lovely figure and make love to her while she was still here with me. We definitely became more than friends, and I will never forget the day I first met her, because I fell in love with Madoka at first sight."
"So you're a lesbian?"
Homura looked at him with a slightly concerned look on her face. "Satoshi, you're not offended by it, are you?"
"I didn't say that; I was just asking. I don't have any issues because Nee-chan is a lesbian, too."
"Nee-chan? Who is she?"
"Her name is Ritsu Tainaka, and she's a drummer," he said. "She's like a mentor to me, and her girlfriend Mio plays the bass in their band."
"What's the name of the band?"
"Hokago Tea Time. They were made famous at the high school just down the road, and they always had practices that had tea, cakes, cookies..."
"Kinda like Mami in a way..."
"Who's Mami?"
"Mami Tomoe is a friend of mine. She is also a Puella Magi and graduated from the same school I'm now attending. She likes to shoot down demons with waves of muskets while tying them up in yellow ribbons."
"Oh. Anyway, after they have their tea, they practice their songs up in the music room of the school. Nee-chan, Mio, and two other people in the club are now attending Japan Women's University, but the remaining member is now the president of the light music club there and is intent on joining them over there."
"Who are the members of your band?"
"Let's see, there's Nee-chan the drummer, Mio Akiyama who plays bass, Ui Hirasawa who plays guitar, Tsumugi Kotobuki who plays keyboards, and the one left behind...I think her name is Azusa Nakano, and she plays guitar. All of them can sing, too."
"Very famous band, huh?"
"Yeah, they performed on a number of occasions on campus, but they had their biggest break going on this trip to Europe."
Homura leaned closer. "Really? I'm interested in finding out what your sister did."
"Here we go," Kyubey snarked.
Satoshi smiled. "Absolutely. This is what happened..."
The sounds of people conversing over a variety of topics while orders were being taken at the counter dominated the atmosphere of Max Burger as another December afternoon plodded its course.
END CHAPTER 1
A/N: Ohhh yeah. The third installment of this Walk-ON! saga is here. As a devoted fan of the show, it is an honor to continue the legacy of Ui Hirasawa and her work with the Sakuragaoka Light Music Club. I plan to make this adaptation of the K-ON! movie something worth enjoying.
I hope you look forward to the next chapter, as much as I will. Cheers!