ƎИO : TƆA
Sayaka woke up in the hospital, on the day she would meet Madoka for the first time...
Wait, but that's wrong.
She sat up in bed, and looked over at the calendar. If the calendar were to be trusted, this day was two months before Walpurgis Night. The days all leading up to today were crossed off, and there was a big flower drawn around the current date, with the words "First day at new school!" written inside the box.
Sayaka let her legs hang over the side of the bed, and tried to remember.
Why was she in the hospital?
There was an accident three years ago; it took her mother's life and left Sayaka herself bedridden. Except that wasn't right, because two years after that, Sayaka had a memory of crying because both her mother and father didn't make it home for her birthday due to being away on a business trip. Both memories felt real to her, but one discredited the other.
With the birthday memory: She remembered Madoka had managed to cheer her up by throwing a party together for her at the last minute, complete with a homemade cake that her father helped her bake. She invited all their friends from school and it ended up being one of the best birthdays Sayaka ever had.
Except, none of that could have happened, because Sayaka didn't have any friends. She had many late nights laying in this very same hospital bed, unable to sleep and feeling depressed because she was alone and did not have anyone her own age to hang out with. Yet, she also had memories of going to school and being good friends with Madoka, Hitomi, and Kyosuke.
"What the hells going on!" She growled to herself, ruffling her hair and trying to make herself think.
This was the first time she had conflicting memories like this, however, so that means something changed recently. Somehow, for some reason, she has an extra set of memories. Which were real, though? Which were fake? Well, considering she was sitting in the hospital right now; logic would dictate that the memories of knowing a girl named Madoka were the fake ones. That didn't seem right though, because she knew Madoka so well! Why, just last week they were walking to school together and...
Sayaka's eye's widened, and she looked at the calendar "First day at new school!"
She couldn't have walked to school with Madoka or anyone else last week, because (if the calendar were to be trusted) she had not begun going to school yet. And of course the calendar could be trusted; she wrote it there herself! She had been counting down the days ever since they told her she would be released from the hospital soon!
There was a crucial point in all this she was missing, however. She looked back at the calendar. What had she thought when she first looked at it this morning... something... something about...
Walpurgis Night!
In her set of Madoka memories, she remembered making a wish, becoming a Magical Girl, fighting witches, meeting Kyoko and getting into a fight with her. Then she remembered becoming very sad about something, and she was talking to Kyoko, but her memories abruptly become a blank after that. Either way, none of these things would have happened yet, but she could still remember them. So, that gave her an idea on a way to shed light on this whole duel memory situation: Her SoulGem... if the Madoka memories were real, then that would mean she is a Magical Girl, and there would be a ring on her finger. She stared at the wall for a while, partly afraid to look down and see the truth, but she had to do it.
Her head tilted down slowly, and she looked at her hand... and there it was! Her SoulGem was in ring form, right there on her finger where it was suppose to be! She disenchanted the ring, and returned it to its standard form. Yes... she was still a Magical Girl, which was the biggest credit to the Madoka memories being real she could ask for.
She looked around the hospital room and thought, there's no way this is my life. The life of a sad lonely girl with a fragile body; there's no way that could be real! She still needed more proof, though. She got out of bed and changed into the school uniform that had been sent to her earlier that week.
"Woooh! S-sorry I'm late!" Homura yelled as she caught up with her friends. She bent over in front of Madoka and Hitomi, panting to try and catch her breath. "Thank you for waiting!"
"Of course!" Madoka smiled, "We wouldn't leave without you, you know."
After giving her a moment to regain her breath, the three of them started walking to school.
"So how come you were late?" Hitomi asked Homura.
"Oh... I overslept!" She admitted, smiling awkwardly.
"That's no good Homura-chan!" Madoka said with a scolding tone, "You've been doing that a lot lately." Then she noticed the end of one of Homura's pigtails was coming undone. "Oh, wait a second." She said, slowing her down. She gave her a smile as she took the pigtail in her hand and started working at tightening the braid. "You were in such a rush you didn't even fix your hair this morning, did you?" She laughed.
"Yeah... I guess not." Homura laughed, "Speaking of that, aren't those new ribbons you've got in your hair?"
"Well, they aren't new, but my mom picked them out for me this morning... um, they don't look too flashy do they?"
"Not at all!" Homura reassured her, "They look great, right Hitomi?"
"Yes, of course... but I have to wonder," Hitomi mused teasingly. "There's a new transfer student coming in today, were you hoping to impress him?"
"What?" Madoka blushed, "It's not like that! Besides, we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl yet." She finished fixing Homura's braid. "There, done."
"Thank you." Homura smiled, and they continued walking to school together.
Class started with one of Miss. Saotome's not-too-infrequent speeches about proper breakfast etiquette, relating to her current boyfriend. Nakazawa was once again the unfortunate victim she chose to vent her rage upon.
"Nakazawa!" She said, jabbing her pointer at him, "What is the proper way to fry an egg? Sunny side up or down?"
Nakazawa seemed to be shrivelling up under her intense scrutiny, "W-well, it tastes ok if it's done either way? Right?" He said with a grimace, praying that was an acceptable answer.
"Correct!" She shouted, then addressed the rest of the class, "Therefore, girls, when you get older do NOT let yourself become involved with a shallow man who will nitpick over the fact you fried an egg sunny side DOWN! And boys, if you ever find yourselves with a strong opinion about it one way or the other..." She reached the climax of her rage, taking her point in both hands and snapping it in half, "KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!"
After taking a moment to catch her breath and regain her composure, she then put on a smile and said "Now that we've got that out of the way; we have a new student coming in today." She then called out into the hall: "Miki, you can come in now!"
The students quietly whispered amongst each other for a moment. One of them cautiously asked, "Shouldn't that have come first?"
The whispering petered to silence as the transfer student walked in. She had short blue hair with a golden pin, and a pretty face, though her eyes seemed heavy and exhausted. She took a place in front of the class and turned to face them.
Sayaka's eyes became alive with intent as she searched through all the different students. When her eye's set on Madoka, she just stopped and stared. "Please remember me. You have to remember me!" Based on the puzzled look on the pinkette's face, it was clear she did not. Madoka, her very best friend, was looking at her without a hint of recognition in her eyes.
Homura noticed the exchange between the two of them, and looked back and forth between them, wondering if they knew each other. Then, when Sayaka saw the black haired girl who was sitting in the seat that normally belonged to her, her eyes narrowed and her pupils became small and piercing. "What is SHE doing here? Wait..." Her eye's became more and more intense as an idea hit her. "Is this... her fault?"
Homura quickly became very nervous, and looked away, but she could still feel the transfer student's eyes upon her.
While all of that was going on, Mrs. Saotome gave a brief introduction for Sayaka, explaining that she had just got out of the hospital and may need some help from her fellow classmates. "Now, Miss. Miki, is there anything else you would like to say to the class?" She then noted the strangely intense look on her new student's face. "Eh, Miss. Miki? Are you ok?"
Sayaka snapped out of it, looking around in confusion for just a moment. "Ah, um... yes I'm fine..." She bowed her head before the class. "I'm happy to be here!" She said, trying to brush off her near freak out. She would get to the bottom of whatever was going on here, but now was not the time.
From that point forward, class was fairly normal. Although, Sayaka felt it was hard to concentrate, her mind was on twenty different things at once. She was sure that Homura had something to do with all of this; she just was not yet sure how exactly. She looked over to the black haired girl; she wasn't anything like Sayaka remembered her. Her hair was done up in two long pigtails, she wore glasses, and everything from her facial expressions to her body language were the complete opposite of the Homura who Sayaka was familiar with. The who Homura she knew was cool and intense, and could stare death in the face without batting an eye. This Homura was nervous and awkward. As if to reiterate that point, when Homura noticed Sayaka was staring at her, her eye's darted away nervously and she seemed to become completely frazzled as if she now did not know where to look.
Madoka was more or less as she always was, cheery and full of excitement... although, when she and Sayaka made eye contact, that puzzled expression that was on her face felt very hurtful to Sayaka. She was her best friend ever since they were little kids, and it seemed like Madoka didn't even know who she was. Meanwhile, Sayaka could tell by a few occasional glances between Madoka and Homura that they knew each other quite well. Sayaka looked back to Homura again, who was cautiously taking a peek at the transfer student, but her eyes quickly darted away again once when they made eye contact.
Was it an act? Sayaka thought it must be, but again, there is not much she could do at this moment to get to the bottom of things. After school though, she would definitely have to confront Homura. Before that, she wanted to have a talk with Madoka, to see how much she did know and hopefully jar her memory. Right now Sayaka wanted nothing more than for her best friend to recognize her again.
After class, all of the student's made their way down to the lunch room. Sayaka cautiously scoped out where Madoka took a seat, and seated herself where she could keep an eye on her. She needed to come up with a reason to approach her, and start a conversation. Hitomi and Homura were sitting with her, which would make things trickier as Sayaka just wanted to speak with Madoka privately for now.
As Sayaka was thinking about all this, a group of four girls approached her, and ended up standing in her way so she couldn't see Madoka anymore. Sayaka use to know all these girls; it was in her alternate life that was now seeming less and less real to her. "Hey, Miki-san," said the green haired one with a smile. "Mind if we sit with you?"
Sayaka tried to look between their bodies to keep track of Madoka, but they were quite effectively blocking her vision. "Um... yeah, sure," she said.
They looked at eachother, conferring that the transfer student was acting somewhat strangely, but they just shrugged and took their seats. As soon as they were seated they started bombarding her with questions.
"So where did you go to school before this?" One asked.
"I... uh..."
"Do you play any sports?" asked another.
"How about music?" asked a third.
"I really like your hair! Where did you get that pin?"
"What's your favorite subject?"
"Any pets?"
Sayaka was suddenly remembering why it was she never became good friends with these girls before. "Well... let's see..." She started, trying to answer a question, but as soon as her mouth opened she was hit with five more. She was starting to get really irritated, and felt herself getting worked up to the point of telling them all to go away. However, before she had the chance, she heard a familiar voice.
"Miki-san," Madoka said, as she approached the table and bowed. Sayaka looked up at her with an expression that begged for help. "Don't you need to go to the nurse's office?" Madoka asked.
That's right, she did have medication she was suppose to take every day, because of her condition. Did that condition still affect her, though? She wasn't sure how this split life thing worked, but she felt as though she was the original Sayaka now living the alternate Sayaka's life. Even though as far as actual memories went, both seemed totally real. Well, whatever the case, this was the perfect opportunity for her to speak to Madoka.
"Ah, um... yes..." Sayaka said.
"Sorry, looks like I need to steal her from you," Madoka said to the other girls.
"Oh, that's alright," said the green haired girl who seemed to be the leader of their little crew. "Sorry Miki-san, we didn't mean to keep you."
"It's fine," Sayaka said as she stood up, and she and Madoka walked out of the lunch room together.
"Sorry about them," Madoka laughed as she led Sayaka through the hall. "They do mean well. It's just that we don't get too many transfer students here so I guess they were a little excited. They are completely harmless though, I assure you!"
"Hu? Oh yeah, I know." In spite of the fact Sayaka was a new student, she walked along with Madoka as if she knew exactly where she was going. She wasn't saying much, and she seemed troubled by something, but Madoka contributed it to the fact she must be nervous.
Homura had mentioned the new girl was giving her strange looks. Madoka had noticed that too, and wondered what it was about, but she did not think much of it. Sayaka had also given her a somewhat strange look in class, but it was more concerned than menacing as Homura had described the look she had received.
Back in the lunchroom both Hitomi and Homura started going through scenarios to explain the new girl's oddities, but it started to seem to Madoka like they were just making fun of her, so she ended up having to scold them. "She's been out of school for five years," Madoka had explained to them, although Mrs. Saotome had already said the same thing. "Plus she doesn't know anyone here, so of course she might seem a little awkward! You shouldn't be picking on her like that!" Homura and Hitomi both apologized and agreed she was right. That's when they noticed Miki Sayaka had been ambushed by that group of nosey girls from their class, so Madoka went to rescue her.
Now, as they walked along the hall, Madoka found she was having trouble thinking of something to say. Sayaka seemed deep in thought about something, which made it a tad difficult to break the ice. "So do you like the school so far?" She asked, cheerily.
"Um... yes..." That response didn't leave much room to continue the conversation, so Madoka started reaching for something else to say. She didn't have to, though, because Sayaka suddenly stopped and turned to her.
"Madoka, I have to ask you something important," she said, her tone was very serious all of a sudden.
"Oh... what is it? Miki-san?" When she said Miki-san, a darkness came over Sayaka's face and her eye's dropped away in a sad, pitiable expression.
"First of all... Please don't call me that. Call me Sayaka," she said.
"Ah, sure, sure!" Madoka laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "Of course! We are classmates now, so..." Sayaka's expression became even darker, "I-I- um, and you can feel free to call me Madoka..." Her voice trailed off, she was wondering if she had said something wrong, because things had become rather awkward quite suddenly.
"Do you... Remember me?" Sayaka asked the question cautiously. Madoka looked at her, trying to figure it out. She was sure she had never seen her before today, but Sayaka was so sincere about how she asked the question that Madoka thought she might be wrong.
"Did we meet before?" she asked. Then, when she saw the hurt expression on Sayaka's face, she added, "I'm so sorry, I don't remember. Could you refresh my memory? Was it a long time ago?" She typically never forgot a face, so it really was puzzling her.
"I..." Sayaka suddenly took Madoka's hand in both of hers, and looked her in the eyes. "I use to sleep at your house all the time! My parents are always away on business, and our families are close, so your mother would offer to watch me while they were gone! When we were little we use to sleep in the same bed! A-and we'd walk to school together every day. One time, when my parents didn't make it home for my birthday, you put together a big party for me in their place! I... When I was having trouble in math class last year, and it was looking like I wouldn't pass, you helped me study! We... we're best friends!"
Madoka slowly pulled herself away from the transfer student, her eyes became wide, and she felt a little bit afraid. Sayaka refused to let go of her hand at first, so Madoka ended up having to pull herself away forcefully. "Sayaka... That's... if any of that were true of course I would remember, but..." Was this a joke? She didn't know this girl! Yet, the bluenette looked at her with an expression that almost seemed to be pleading with her... and there was something even stranger about all this... "It's so strange, though." Madoka said, cautiously. "Everything you just said, are things about Homura... and things I do with Homura!" How is it that this Sayaka Miki knew so much about her life and her best friend? It was really freaking her out.
Sayaka started breathing heavy, there was a look of terror in her eye's. "Homura..." Sayaka said the name as if there was a bitter taste in her mouth. Then, all of a sudden, her face became completely pale and her knees buckled out from under her. She would have fallen right to the ground, but managed to catch herself on the wall.
"Sayaka? SAYAKA!" Madoka ran to her and tried to help keep her up, "Are you ok?"
"I-I need my..." It was her condition, the reason she had to spend so much time in the hospital. The stress of this bizarre situation caused her blood pressure to go up way too high, if this continued she was going to faint. She tried to resist it, though. She tried to stay on her feet, but at this point she was only succeeding because Madoka was keeping her up. "I need..." Her eyes suddenly rolled back in her head and her body went completely limp. She fell to the ground as if she was a rag doll, and if it weren't for Madoka guiding her as she went down she would have smacked her head right on the solid floor.
"HELP!" Madoka screamed down the hallway. The transfer student was now completely unconscious and being cradled in her arms. "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!"
I am now on Twitter. Follow me at /Atomyst_Fics or find a direct link in my profile.
I update my writing progress on there every Thursday morning, so if you don't have an account you can still check it out then for an idea of what stories will be updating next.
Thanks for reading!
-Atomyst