Save those Time
All Madoka ever wanted was to be strong enough to save the people around her. But how could Madoka save that pretty lady she met when she realized she herself was the one who needed to be saved? Partially AU
If Madoka could make one wish right now, it would be to bring this family's pain away. She grabbed onto the clipboard tightly, biting the inside of her cheeks as she forced herself to look away before tears started forming in her eyes. The doctor gave an inward sigh, clearing his throat silently and moved away, deciding to give the family some space and Madoka followed. Two nurses were left behind to patiently wait before they could wheel the dead patient out.
It was just a normal Friday night, normal as in it's usual to see families crying over the death or their husband, only child, father or sister or anyone that they loved from the bottom of their heart. People drink on Friday nights after one whole week of terror and they wanted to let it loose and somehow, drunk driving, hit-and-run, fighting with broken beer bottles... Madoka didn't even feel like thinking anymore.
"I'll file in the report personally." Doctor Hiashi turned and faced the small nurse of his. "I have something I need to check there too so might as well I'll do the reporting. You can get some rest before continuing your shift."
Madoka straightened her posture and nodded, giving a bow afterwards. Madoka gave a heavy sigh after he left. She's still just a small nurse, putting on gloves for doctor, handing equipment, reporting the blood pressure and such... but after every operation of hers, she felt like falling apart from the tension in the surgery room. Her dream was to become a doctor and to save people's lives, but she was never too sure of herself and her capabilities. Shaking her head, she continued walking to the room where her private locker was.
It was already 2 in the morning and Madoka tried to keep her yawn but she failed. Slapping her cheeks to keep herself awake, she continued her rounds around the hospital. It was quiet, and the hospital was dimly lit since it's already so late and no visitors should be here at this timing. It was creepy at the start when she knew that she had to do this alone, but later on, she became familiar with it and she was no longer that afraid of the dark anymore.
She stopped outside ward 34 and pushed the door open, closing it shut quietly behind her. Walking to the sleeping man who just had his appendix removed, she checked that all machines were operating perfectly and all of his condition was fine before she walked out of the door to continue to the next ward. After shutting the door once again, Madoka turned and was about to walk when she nearly yelled.
"Ah!-" Madoka clasped her mouth tightly and blinked. A little child, her age should be around five, was staring back at her. She had long curly brown hair, her dark brown eyes staring blankly at Madoka. She was wearing a yellow shirt and black pants.
"Hello..." Madoka couldn't help but her voice shivered, still unable to calm herself down after getting a shock. She bent down and smiled sweetly at the kid. "What's your name?"
The child blinked.
"It's very late at night and visiting hours are long over... are your parents here?" Madoka continued smiling.
The small kid tilted her head.
Madoka bit her lips and straightened. She fumbled her nurse pocket for a while but couldn't find a pen. She jogged over to the empty counter just a few meters away and plucked out a pen and a paper. Walking back quickly, she was about to ask for the kid's parents' number but she widened her eyes. The child was no where to be found. Madoka licked her lips and slightly crumpled the paper in her hands. She stood there for a long time and started scratching her head, softly laughing at herself.
"I'm just tired I guess. Too tired." Madoka went back to the counter and put the pen and paper back to its place before heading to the next ward. After checking the entire floor and helping her other colleagues to sort out some paperwork, Madoka ended her shift in the morning. The weird moment between that small little girl was long forgotten.
.
.
Madoka almost collided into a patient while she was rushing towards the entrance. She apologized swiftly and continued running until she met with another nurse that she was going to work with. Nodding their head in union, they moved quickly to the emergency unit together. Her small walkie talkie sounded two minutes ago, calling for her assistance at the emergency unit that she was rushing to at that very moment.
When the two of them reached, she glanced at the stretcher that two doctors and another nurse was gathering around. A blonde woman was lying on the stretcher, struggling very desperately as if she was in pain or something. The nurse and one of the doctor was holding her down.
"Madoka. Oxygen mask." Doctor Hiashi instructed.
Madoka nodded and rushed away.
A nurse quickly scanned through the chart of information she got in her hand. "Tomeo Mami, no past medical conditions."
Madoka passed the oxygen mask to the more experienced nurse and she put it over Mami who was still violently shaking on the stretcher. Madoka took in a deep breath and helped another nurse to pin Mami down while Doctor Hiashi flicked the syringe a few times before injecting the liquid into the blonde's vein. She managed to calm down a bit, but it seems like she was still in pain, trying to break away from something and Madoka knew it wasn't their grip but was trying to free herself from but something else.
All of the sudden, Mami flung open her eyes and wanted to sit up but she was still being held down. Impossible... By now, she should be already unconscious when she was injected but she still had the energy to even try to fling and swing her limbs around. Doctor Hiashi called the other nurse to bring in the things he stated while Madoka continued to hold Mami down.
"Despair."
Madoka widened her eyes, not sure if she heard that right. She looked up but the rest of her colleagues made no impression that they heard the voice.
"Demons."
Her pink eyes flew to Mami as her eyes widened even further. Mami had calmed down a lot now and her pretty, big and bright yellows eyes were staring directly at her, as if trying to see right through her. Thinking that the anesthesia finally kicked in, the other doctors and nurses let go and were starting to prepare to bring Mami to her new ward while Madoka locked her gaze with Mami. Madoka, however, was still holding onto Mami's un-moving arm and staring back at her, not able to look away at the moment.
"The oxygen mask can be removed now." The doctor said.
By reflex when an order was made, Madoka finally could look away and remove the oxygen mask as told and was about to shut the operating machine when all of the sudden Mami sat up straight immediately. Madoka yelped in surprise and stepped back, shocked at her sudden movement but Mami was faster as she grabbed her arm.
"You can't run." Mami whispered.
Madoka gasped. A cold shivered went through her spine. The grip around Madoka's wrist was becoming stronger and stronger that she started wincing.
"Le-Let go..."
"Put her down!" Doctor Hiashi ordered the rest.
"They can see you!" Mami screamed at Madoka.
Not knowing exactly what happened, Mami abruptly released her grip and Madoka fell back when she was suddenly freed from the force that was pulling her forward. She knocked against an operating machine for the oxygen mask and before she could even register what just happened, she heard shouts around her and then darkness.
.
.
Headache.
Peeling her eyes open, Madoka shut her eyes immediately at the sudden brightness that pierced her eyes. Slowly again, she opened them, finally able to accommodate to the lighting. She sat up and rubbed her head for a bit and looked around.
She's in the resting room, the warm blanket pooled on her lap after she sat up. Staring at the clock, she realized she must have slept her entire shift away till late morning. Madoka hit her head and sighed.
"You're awake."
Madoka looked up abruptly before turning back to know where the voice come from. A small smile formed on her lips.
"Hey Sayaka." Madoka called before frowning a little. "But... why are you here?"
Sayaka sighed and walked over to the sofa. "You didn't picked up your phone so I called the hospital to find out you got knocked out." Sayaka slumped against the back of the sofa. "What on earth happened?"
"A patient sort of went a little mad and I guess I slipped and hit something." Madoka said sheepishly before her eyes shot up and she stared at her wrist. She wasn't surprise when her wrist was still red from the grab beforehand. Mami... if she remembered correctly. That was her name. She looked violent that time, but her face features told Madoka she was rather a gentle person. But her strength was amazing... Madoka continued looking at her wrist. She knew she shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
"You alright to go?" Sayaka asked.
Madoka bit her lips. "Oh no I'm sorry!" She quickly leaped out from the sofa but quickly grabbed her arm that probably hit the machine previously and winced in pain. Sayaka immediately went over to Madoka's side.
"Hey there, what's the hurry?" Sayaka carefully stroked Madoka's arm, as if that would bring the pain away.
"You must be missing work to get here..." Madoka slightly pouted.
Sayaka sighed at her over-caring best friend. "I was given a break for today, that's why I called you to ask if you want to have late breakfast and then I ended up knowing you were here."
Madoka heaved a sigh of relief, being glad that she was no a hindrance to Sayaka's work. She worked as a full time cashier at a small yet busy music CD shop located in town. She totally didn't want to work there just to get a discounted price if she were to buy a few CDs.
"You should take the day off today." Sayaka casually said while Madoka was packing her things.
"There's no need for that. This isn't even a problem, not like I hit my head, I'm probably just too tired and fainted." Madoka waved her off.
Sayaka gave a wave in the air. "Isn't that already a problem?"
.
.
After dropping by to eat a quick breakfast, Sayaka brought Madoka home since the naggy blue-haired best friend insisted that Madoka should have plenty of rest. Finally, she was alone in her house. Her parents and her brother was living much further away from town and Madoka rented this small apartment by herself since it was closer to the hospital. She sometimes missed home, but she was just to selfless to take a week off for herself to have some bonding moments with her family. But sometimes, she could be regard as selfish, leaving the people who loved her for the sake of others.
Madoka lay tiredly on her bed and stared at the white ceiling. Images of that weird and terrifying blonde woman flashed across her mind and she quickly shut her eyes.
"They can see you."
They...
Who are They?
"Demons."
"Despair."
Madoka shook her head, her eyes remained shut. Before long, she fell asleep instead.
.
.
"I thought I told you that you didn't have to come today?" It was more of a statement than a question.
Madoka looked up Doctor Hiashi and gulped. She really respected Doctor Hiashi who had been guiding her throughout the year but there were times when she was a little afraid of him, maybe due to his stern looking face whenever he was talking. She wasn't sure if he knew about this himself.
"I'm alright, I still can work fine, Sir." Madoka tried to say in a determined voice.
Doctor Hiashi sighed and gave a small pat on her tiny shoulder. "You'll just be in charge of taking rounds."
"But-"
"No buts. Either that or you take the day off."
Madoka retreated and shoulder slumped. Smiling a little, she sighed in defeat and nodded. "I'll do the rounds."
.
.
"They can see you."
Madoka shut her eyes once more and she stopped on her tracks. Taking a deep breath and trying to invade her own thoughts with cute cats and dogs, she continued walking and finally reached the last ward at the end of the corridor. After checking this one, she would take a fifteen minute break before making her way to the next floor.
She stared at her clipboard before she gape at it for a long moment.
Tomoe Mami. The chart wrote.
Madoka let out a long breathe after realizing she had been holding onto one ever since she read that name. Her hands started shivering and suddenly, she felt like she didn't know how to breath. She had heard from Doctor Hiashi that after she fainted, Mami fell into a vegetative state and didn't show any signs of waking up at all. The reason why she suddenly became like this was unknown.
Wrapping her fingers around the cold doorknob, Madoka gave a shaky smile to herself. Mami was currently unconscious, and there should be no reason why she was scared at all. And it's just a five minute check on her equipment and her condition and she'll be done with it. She could do this, Madoka told herself. But when she remembered that stare the blonde woman gave yesterday, she shuddered.
Pushing the door open, she stopped into the dim lit room and almost got the shock of her life.
A person was standing by the bed, her face was cast down with a shadow, her arms crossed.
Madoka rubbed her eyes but the person was still there and she thought it was a dream since how could a person pass by the receptionist counter in the middle of the night and enter the ward? She frowned and gave a short huff and walked towards Mami's bed, standing opposite of that lady with long, silky and rather beautiful black hair, in Madoka's opinion. But that wasn't important.
"Sorry but the visiting hours are long over."
The lady didn't move.
Madoka coughed. "Excuse me-"
Her head shot up and Madoka stopped her sentence as she indulged at the beautiful yet mysterious purple eyes. Madoka blinked and so did the lady.
"Excuse me." Madoka repeated. "The visiting hours are over and I'm sorry but you have to leave in order for the patient to rest." Madoka held the clipboard close to her arms as a sense of security.
The lady widened her eyes by a fraction before uncrossing her arms. Madoka had the urge to repeat herself but she didn't want to make that lady embarrassed or something
"You," She spoke. "You can see me." She sounded like she wasn't use to talking for a long time.
"They can see you."
Madoka closed her eyes tightly, trying her hardest to forget that very sentence in her head before opening them again. The lady was still staring at her.
"Yes, I can see you." Madoka said, not sure if it sounded like a joke. "I'm sorry, but you have to leave. Do you know what is the time now?"
"2:57 A.M"
Madoka blinked, not expecting a reply to her rhetorical question. She looked down at her watch and it showed exactly that timing the lady said.
"Who are you?" Madoka said.
The black-haired lady glanced over at Mami before scrutinizing Madoka with a solemn expression. "Who are you?" She asked back at her.
Not really sure if Madoka should reply since that woman didn't even reply her question, she still did. "I'm Kaname Madoka, an intern as a nurse in this hospital."
"Madoka." The lady said. "Madoka..." She repeated again, as if she was trying to taste the sound of her name.
Before Madoka could even say another word, she pushed herself away from the side of the wall and proceeded out of the room. "Sorry for delaying the check up."
"Wait!"
She halted.
Madoka wasn't sure why she called her to wait. She fiddled with her thumb and all she could think was; "Do you know the way out?"
She glanced over at Madoka over her shoulder. Madoka could tell she wanted to say something, but all she did was to nod her head and she disappeared when the door closed behind her.
After a moment of silence, Madoka went back with her work. Checking that the blood pressure and everything was fine, she gave a last quick look over Mami. Deciding that it was a bad idea to stay in the room any longer, Madoka quickly rushed out after making sure everything was properly done.
.
.
The rest of her rounds went perfectly fine and it was already morning when she was done with everything. Manage to end her shift on time, Madoka smiled as she went to pick up her things and was prepared to head home when she stopped at the receptionist counter, the memory of the weird visitor still lingered in her mind until now.
"Good morning Pirako!"
"Morning Madoka!" Pirako smiled as Madoka skipped towards the counter and peeked at what she were doing before asking her serious question. "Can I know if anyone visited Ward 68?"
"Give me a moment." Pirako flipped the logbook and finally looked up at Madoka. "No one came to visit, not even once since Tomeo Mami entered the hospital."
Madoka widened her eyes. One reason was because she was shocked that the lady manged to slip past into the ward and another was that no one visited this strange patient of theirs. Maybe... she didn't have any kin or friends... but then, who was that mysterious lady?
"Madoka?"
"Ah yes? Sorry and thanks!" Madoka said chirpily. After talking about some casual stuff, Madoka finally leave the hospital.
.
.
This time, the lady wasn't standing beside the bed but against the windowsill. Her arms were still crossed, her hair was still smooth and all...
"It's you again." Madoka closed the door behind her, not sure what she should even feel or respond.
The lady regarded her silently before looking back at Mami again.
Madoka approached the machine and started recording down and checking for her condition. After she was almost done, she glanced over at the woman and stared at her for a long time. Of course the lady realized Madoka was staring and she looked up from Mami, purple eyes met pink and even though Madoka wanted to look away from embarrassment since she was the one staring first, she couldn't. She felt like she was locked in this gaze and trapped forever and it was only until eternity had ended then she could look away.
Returning to do her work, Madoka reminded the lady again. "Visiting hours are over."
"I know."
Twirling her pen, Madoka glanced at her again. "Are you Tomeo Mami's relative? Friend?"
She didn't answer.
Madoka cleared her throat. "You know, you can visit her like normal people do during visiting hours, not in the middle of the night."
Silence again.
Not backing down, Madoka tried her luck again. "How did you get pass the counter and reach here without getting caught?"
"... I guess I'm not really noticeable in the dark."
"You could have just approached the counter and the receptionist will definitely see you."
She gave no response like the other times.
For some reason, Madoka didn't feel that scared anymore. With someone inside the ward with her, especially in Tomeo Mami's ward... she felt like she was protected. She couldn't imagine if she were to be alone in the ward and suddenly Mami just grab her like last time, she might really faint and never wake up again.
Now that she was reminded, she looked at her wrist again, the red mark was still there, not even fading at all.
"Why did you bother?"
Madoka looked up and she noticed that the lady was suddenly hovering over Mami's bed and she blinked at the sudden movement but decided it might be the trick of the light. She inclined her head. "Why did I bother... what?"
"To check on her." She drawled. "She's already dead. Her heart is still beating because these machines of yours made it to."
"No she's not." Madoka felt firm all of the sudden. She wasn't sure why she felt that she had to defend Mami when she was sort of scared her in the first place. But a patient is still a patient and no matter what, Madoka should never give up her duty just because of some personal issues. "Tomeo Mami is not dead yet. Why are you giving up on her when it's barely a week?"
The woman watched her in surprise, but that surprise lasted for a millisecond. She didn't say or do anything else but went back staring at Mami and the cold silence came back.
Out of the sudden, she moved and Madoka's head shot up to watch the lady walking towards the door. Madoka turned and spoke quickly before it was too late.
"Who are you? You haven't replied me yesterday."
She gazed quietly at her before looking away again, her wrist turning to open the door. Madoka thought she would never get her answer but the lady spoke before Madoka could even blink.
"Homura."
Madoka stared at the lady, a little dumbfounded. Flame?
"My name is Akemi Homura." She muttered, loud enough for Madoka to hear. Homura's name or rather, her tone when she told her name was as if this was the first time she ever said it. It's was like she wasn't even sure if her name was correct or not.
"Homura..." Madoka repeated, a sort of indication that she heard her answer.
Homura glanced back again and for the slightest moment, Madoka felt like her cheeks was brushed against something but when she blinked, Homura already left the ward, leaving her alone again.
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A/N: WTH 3.9K WORDS GOODBYE SIA
Idk eh sudden inspiration to write this after reading some stories of cool stuff, freaking long sia wth i can't believe this seriously and i not sure what category should I sput for this so for now I'll put as drama. since pmmm is already about supernatural abilities and demons and stuff i guess i'll just stick to drama
haha another multichap, let' see how long can I don't update this thing
and hor hello everyone, if you have ideas for any one-shot pls tell me because ideas are running out on me, i don't mind request but hor it's better to be madohomu yeah cause my name rocks but if i see other pairings and i raised my eyebrows and giggle then maybe i can try writing it i suppose. PM or review is good
BYE