(A/N: Here's the second chapter. Nothing much. Just taking a look into Kanade's every day life before it all comes crashing down. Enjoy!)
Arc One: Magical Warriors – Normality
Fuchsia colored eyes fluttered open as a big yawn flowed out of the owner's mouth. She sat up from her bed, stretching her tired limbs until she heard a small 'pop'. "That was one freaky dream," Kanade muttered, softly, rubbing her neck soothingly to get all the kinks out.
She threw the blue sheet off her body, revealing her lime green pajama top and bottom. Her shoulder length, purple hair was in a disheveled mess.
Her room was fairly plain. The walls were painted a lavender color. There was a white piano on the left corner of the room. Her baby sister loved to pester her to teach her how to play. Not that she minded, she'll do anything to keep her disabled sister happy.
Other than that, there was bookshelf by her bed and a window with blue curtains flowing in the breeze. On the far right was where a computer on top of a brown desk laid with stacks of papers, music sheets to be precise.
"Kanade! Are you up yet?" a young woman's voice called out to her. "Hurry up, or you'll be late to school!"
"Alright, mom!" Kanade shouted back.
The girl decided to heed her mother's warnings, and prepared herself for another uneventful day at Mitakihara Middle School.
The middle schooler went across the broad hallway, and into the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, she was met with porcelain walls of the restroom. Various bathroom appliances, such as toothbrush, toothpaste, hair care products, were set amongst the countertop of the sink. Next to the golden rimmed mirror was a cabinet filled with numerous medicines and ointments.
Kanade began to shed her clothes. Turning on the shower, she stepped inside the bathtub and let out a content sigh. The warm water seemed to melt away all the stress and tension from her body, especially after that bizarre dream, no, nightmare she had.
What was that dream about anyway? It was so creepy! She could barely remember what transpired in it. It was chilling to say the least. Just thinking about it gave her the creeps. The dream was like something out of a horror movie.
And that boy… Who the hell was he? She was sure she had never met him before in her life. Then why did he appear in her nightmare? Something like that can't be natural! Nevertheless, dreams weren't meant to be normal.
It's just that… It felt like she had met the boy before, and that's what unnerved her. Did she perhaps encounter him in grade school and completely forgot about him? She wouldn't put it pass it. A lot of unfortunate situations happened while Kanade was in elementary school. Her father's and sister's accident for one.
Letting out a dejected sigh, Kanade turned off the shower. Grabbing the pink towel hanging off the rail, she wrapped it around her wet body. As swiftly as she could, the purple haired girl was finally clad in her Mitakihara Middle School uniform, which consisted of a light tan blouse with red bow at the neck and a black plaid skirt, red thigh high socks with a pair of brown shoes. Her purple hair was tied up into twin buns wrapped in a blue cloth with lime green ribbons and her bangs hanging over her forehead with strands of her hair flowing over her shoulders.
"There you are, sweetie! Good morning!"
"Good morning, big sis!"
Both her mother and sister greeted Kanade as she stepped down the ramp. She instantly smelled a delicious aroma. Taking another whiff, nothing seemed to be burnt this time.
"Good morning, mom, Fuu," Kanade greeted her family. She giggled. "You're getting better at cooking mom. Nothing seems to be burning this time."
"Hey! I can cook just fine." Her mother retorted, feeling flustered. "I just had a few minor setbacks is all."
Both her daughters couldn't hold in their laughter anymore. It came out in full force as the hearty laughs filled the room, making the woman scowl.
Her mother was dressed in a dark blue business-like outfit. She had short burgundy hair with a black hairclip parting her bangs to the left side of her face. Her lips were painted with red lipstick and she has brown eyes. Black heels adorned her feet. Since she was cooking, she wore a yellow apron over her suit.
Kanade walked over to the dining table, leaning over the wheelchair and playfully ruffled her eight year old sister's hair. Her sister's hair was the same color as their mother's, except hers was longer, reaching down to her waist and small twin tails came adorning the sides of her hair. Fuu wore a yellow blouse, a pink pleated skirt with black suspenders, white knee high socks, and black Mary Jane shoes. Her fuchsia eyes glimmered with joy as she munched on piece of buttered biscuit, humming in delight.
"Here's your breakfast, Kanade." Her mother set down a plate of buttered biscuits, eggs, and bacons.
Kanade immediately took a seat in the empty chair, not wasting a minute to start munching hungrily on her food. "Wow, mom! I can really see that your cooking has improved!" she praised, happily.
"Of course, dear! Your father wasn't the only cook around here," her mom laughed, whole heartedly, although, there was a tinge of sadness in her voice. It was understandable. They all missed dad! He was the center of this entire family. Being a stay-at-home father, he was always there to say 'good morning' when they wake up, and to wish them 'goodnight' when it's time for bed. Before the accident, he used to do all the domestic duties around the house while their mother went on business trips.
Speaking of the incident, her dad's death and her sister's total loss of the use of her legs was due to a car accident two years ago. Lately, Mitakihara was receiving more and more accidents, specifically random car crashes. However, Kanade never paid them much mind since no one she cares about were involved in those disasters. Not until those same misfortunes cost the purple haired girl her father's life and Fuu's legs. Now, she just wanted to find and discover what was causing these life threatening catastrophes.
"How are your studies coming along, dear?"
Her mother's question snapped her out of her unpleasant thoughts. "They're okay, I guess," purple haired girl answered without a beat. "But classes are a little boring at times." She sighed, and stabbed a piece of biscuit and popped it in her mouth. "Though, Ms. Saotome does talk about her love life at times, it gets quite amusing." She sighed, indicating her boredom, after taking a sip of her juice. "Even so, I wish for something really… I don't know… interesting to happen."
"Huh?" Fuu stopped eating to stare at her older sister with curious eyes. "But isn't school fun enough, sis?"
Kanade shot her sister an incredulous look. "You're still in grade school, Fuu. I can see why you think it's so fun. All you do is arts and crafts."
"Hey!" The little girl pouted.
"Anyway, I think you're getting the wrong idea. I'm not saying that school's boring. After all, I do like hanging out with my friends. I just want something…different to happen. Something…out of this world," the middle schooler expressed, thoughtfully.
"Be careful what you wish for, Kanade, or else it might come back to haunt you," Kanade's mother teased, playfully flicking her daughter's forehead.
"Ow! Mom, that hurt!" she whined.
The lady of the household giggled. "Kanade, you should probably get going, or you'll be late."
Alarmed by her mother's statement, Kanade quickly stuffed the rest of her breakfast down her mouth, and grabbed her bag, kicking her chair in with her foot. "I'll be going now!"
"Hold on for a second…" Her mom called out to her as she reached the doorknob. She paused to glance at her. "I'll be going on a month long business trip, so I need you to take care of the house and Fuu while I'm gone, okay, Kanade?"
Kanade smiled, puffing out her chest in a confident manner. "Yep! You can count on me, mom!"
The mother smiled in return at her eldest daughter's exuberant response. "I'll leave after I drop Fuu off to school. Don't forget to pick her up after you're done with classes."
"Yay!" Fuu cried out, excitedly. "That means Kanade can help me practice playing the piano."
Kanade gave her sister an apologetic look. "Sorry, Fuu, but I have basketball practice after school."
Fuu pouted, disappointment filling her eyes. "Aww! Can't skip a day?"
"It doesn't work like that, Fuu. Besides, I can't let my teammates down, can I?"
The eight year old just huffed, turning her head away in anger.
"But I'll be able to help you practice tomorrow," Kanade said, soothing her sister's childish anger, and it worked as Fuu gave Kanade a big, happy grin.
"Okay!"
Happy to see her sister calm down, Kanade opened the door. "Well, I'm going to school. Bye!"
"Goodbye, dear."
"Bye, big sis!"
Both their mother and Fuu waved at Kanade as she closed the door behind her in a hurry.
As Kanade was walking down her usual road to school, she couldn't help but to berate herself about her earlier comment about wanting something crazy and unexplainable to suddenly turn up. She rubbed her face out of frustration. Why the hell would she wish for something like that to happen? Man, that dream must have really got to her. It's messing with her head!
It's not the dream, per say, that made Kanade feel uneasy… It was who was in it. That boy… She was absolutely sure she hasn't met him before! Then why would she fantasy, no matter how distorted it was, about a guy, quite handsome she may add even if she only saw a glimpse of his face, in such horrific nightmare?! It makes no sense! It's just creepy! Does that make her a creep or even a pervert for dreaming up such a cute, mysterious guy?
Unfortunately, the dull strumming of her heart and the faint blush she had despite her shock, didn't deprave her of her earlier minor freak out. It was as IF she did know him from somewhere, but she lost those memories somehow… And that's what scared her! Maybe she was involved in some accident that caused temporary amnesia. Although, it seemed like a good explanation for the strange nostalgic feelings over a strange person, her mother would have most likely informed her of said accident and she would have seen that boy visiting, but he never did.
The purple haired girl sighed, helplessly.
"Hey! Kanade!"
The girl in question snapped out of her confusing and depressing thoughts to see two girls, one with short blue hair and eyes and the other with long green hair and green eyes, waving at her, dressed in the same school uniform as her.
Kanade, sending a casual smile, so as to not seem suspicious, waved back. "Sup, Sayaka, Hitomi!" She sped up to catch up to her friends.
"Wow, Kanade… I've seen you've changed your hairstyle. It looks good on you!" Sayaka praised her, playfully punching her arm.
"Thanks, but do you have to punch me so hard, Sayaka?" Kanade grumbled, rubbing the spot her friend hit a little too hard.
"What?" Sayaka blinked, feigning confusion. "I barely even hit you."
Before Kanade could lash out at the blue haired girl's teasing, Hitomi decided to step in. "What's the occasion, Kanade? Did you change your style to get noticed?" she asked. Although, the question was innocent in nature, it didn't stop Kanade's face from turning a light shade of pink.
Sayaka's grin widened at seeing her purple haired friend's embarrassed expression. "Ah! So you do want to get noticed! Who is he?" she pressed, oddly excited.
Kanade's face turned red. Should she tell them by this horrific apocalyptic dream she had? What would they think about her fantasizing about some guy she never met?
She shook her head. Can't tell them, she concluded. "I didn't do this to get noticed by a boy," Kanade snapped, hopefully trying to sound convincing. "I have basketball practice today, okay? It'll be annoying to have my hair down. It'll just get in the way."
Sayaka seemed to ponder this. "I see… You do have a point."
"So you're not interested in romance, Kanade?" Hitomi inquired. "I get all these love letters from different guys that I simply can't decide," she finished, dreamily.
"Yeah, everyone should have your problems," the blue haired girl snickered.
Ignoring her, the purple haired girl spoke up. "You have to be careful about who you pick though, Hitomi. For all you know, most of those guys only like because you're a rich girl. They probably just want money."
"Isn't that kind of harsh, Kanade?" Sayaka asked, glancing uneasily at their green haired girl's somber expression.
Seeing what the bluenette meant, the purple haired girl scratched the back of her head at seeing Hitomi's saddened face. "Don't take it that way, Hitomi. I'm sure there will be some men who like you for you, and not your possessions." She pouted. "Besides, you have a rocking body. Better than mine. I'm…nearly flat compared to you and Sayaka."
"Aw… You are just too cute when you're embarrassed, Kanade!" Sayaka squealed, hugging her friend from behind.
Hitomi let out a light cough to grab both girls' attention.
A ringing of bells could be heard.
"Oh, crap!" Kanade shouted. "We should hurry, or we're going to be late!"
The school was fairly large and made mostly of glass. It was surrounded by trees and a fence by three sides. Kanade had to wonder who was the head architecture for the structure of the school, as they were clearly worthwhile geniuses. When an earthquake shakes the core of school and glass start shattering, they can also crouch down and held their head as dangerously sharp objects fly at them, ripping through flesh.
As usual and much too her dissatisfaction, the school day continued on with its normal, boring, slow paced self. Nothing changing, always uneventful, forever stuck at the same boring routine.
After saying goodbye to Sayaka and Hitomi, Kanade went to pick up her little sister from school. The elementary school wasn't too far from her school. Only a few miles. Just a few twist and turns and she should make it to Fuu's school by the time it's over.
It took only half an hour for Kanade to make it to the Mitakihara Elementary School. Just like most of the buildings in this city, the school was mostly made of glass. The purple haired girl could spot small children running up to their parents in excitement as they were getting picked up.
She spotted her sister by the front of the school, glancing around, probably waiting for her arrival. Smiling, Kanade stalked forward.
"Big sis!" Fuu called out, happily as she finally spotted her sister.
"That's your sister?" a taller brown haired woman asked, pointing at the approaching purple haired girl. The paraplegic nodded her head in excitement.
The teacher scanned the girl up and down, scrutinizing the middle schooler as she got closer. There didn't seem to be anything bad about her.
"Kanade!" Fuu shouted, cheerfully.
Kanade got down at eye level with her baby sister and enveloped her in a hug, which she eagerly returned.
"Are you Fuu's sister?"
Fuchsia eyes stared up at the woman. She stood up, a kind smile stretched across her face. "Yes, I am. I'm Kanade. I'm here to pick up my sister."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Hitoko Kaze. I'm her homeroom teacher," the brown haired woman greeted her with a pleasant smile, reaching out her hand to her.
Smiling, the middle schooler took it. "As much as I like to stay and chat, but I have to get back to school before basketball practice starts," Kanade explained. "If I leave now, I might just barely make it."
Kanade pushed Fuu's wheelchair forward, getting ready to leave the schoolyard.
"You girls take care!" The teacher shouted after them as they disappeared around the corner.
"How was school today, Fuu?" Kanade asked, trying to start up a conversation.
It was a nice day out today. It wasn't too hot, mainly due to the cooling breeze. The streets were busy as cars zoomed in and out across the roads.
Pushing the chair forward, Kanade slightly listened as Fuu talked animatedly about her day.
A thought came to her mind. "Fuu, are you hungry? Do you have anything to eat, any snacks?"
The paraplegic pursed her lips. "No, I don't have anything to eat. Why?"
"I'm going to be at practice for a few hours, so we might miss dinner," the purple haired girl explained. "Tell you what? How about we stop at the mall and buy a couple of burgers and a drink?"
"Yay!" Fuu clapped her hands, excitedly.
After much delay, Kanade was able to make it to her school's gym just in time.
"Good, Kanade, you're here," her coach spoke up. Her eyes caught sight of the girl she was rolling around. Her lips pressed together in confusion. "Who is this girl? She's not supposed to be here," she said, sternly, staring at the purple haired girl straight in the eye.
"Oh, she's my sister, Fuu. My mom's out of town, so I'm in charge of her," Kanade quickly clarified.
The coach nodded her head in understanding. "Well, keep her out of the way. We don't want you get distracted during practice."
"Alright."
Kanade pushed her sister up to the bleachers, turning her around so she can face the court. She bent down to her level. "You have everything you need? Books, homework, and food?" she asked, checking her sister's schoolbag.
"Yep! I have it all here!" Fuu chirped. "How long are you going to stay here?"
"Just for a couple of hours." She ruffled the girl's hair. "Don't worry, it'll be over before you know it."
"And you promise to help me play the piano tomorrow?"
Kanade grinned. "Promise."
Fuu beamed, happily hugging her sister, and Kanade returned the hug.
"Girls, go to the locker room and get changed!" the coach's voice boomed. "Practice starts in five minutes!"
"Got to go," the purple haired girl said. "Be a good girl, okay?"
"Okay!" the paraplegic replied. "Good luck, big sis!"
As Kanade came in and out of the locker room dressed in a red and white sports uniform, she couldn't help to feel that something was off ever since basketball practice started. She decided to just ignore it in favor of her concentration of the game.
Fuu munched on the cheeseburger her big sister bought for her as she turned another page. She was getting more and more bored as the hours passed. How much longer until her sister's practice was over?
Once she was done with the burger, she set the wrapper back in the bag.
Just then, a strange clicking sound could be heard, making the paraplegic almost jolt of her seat, only if she could.
"What was that?" Fuu muttered to herself, worry evident in her voice. She looked around to see that nothing looked out of the ordinary, and no one else seemed to notice anything, not even Kanade.
Must have just been her imagination. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, as if someone was watching her, spying on her. She opted to ignore it. Her big sister was here! If anything were to happen to her, Kanade will be there to protect her!
As Fuu continued to read, the clicking sound seemed to have gotten louder, closer even. The little girl stared at the female basketball players, now wondering how none of them couldn't hear such an annoying noise.
Childish curiosity getting the better of her, she decided to investigate. When no one was looking, Fuu wheeled herself silently as she could out of the gym.
The clicking noise got louder.
It seemed to be coming down the hall.
Fuu knew she shouldn't be going off alone, her mom and sister warned her of that numerous of times. But she couldn't sit still any longer, she was getting bored!
She wheeled herself down the hall. Although, the more she rolled, the longer the hallway seemed to be.
How is that possible?
The lights of the hallway were dimming. Darkness shrouded the third grader, making her shake in fear.
Maybe this was a bad idea, she quickly concluded turning around. However, everything turned black. Nothing could be seen from miles. Fear etched across Fuu's face, she let out a scream.
"Alright, ladies! Practice is over!" the girls' basketball coach announced. "Go back to the locker room, and change out of your basketball uniform."
"Okay!"
Kanade watched as her teammates entered the locker room. She glanced at the spot were sister was…or was supposed to be.
"Fuu?" Kanade called out, checking around the bleachers. She wasn't anywhere in sight. Panic started to course through her.
"Has anyone seen my sister?" she desperately asked her teammates. They stared at her in confusion, shaking their heads. None of them have seen her.
Terror coursed through her. What if that dream really was real? Her sister… Her life's in danger! Wishing for some excitement at school… How could she have been so stupid?! She wanted something abnormal to happen and here it is ready to bite her in the butt, taking the one person that means the most to her, her baby sister.
Kanade quickly ran out of the gym, going to the hall as fast as her tired feet could carry her. "Fuu! Where are you? Fuu!"
She couldn't stop the dread that was piling up inside her. What if Fuu was kidnapped? This was her fault! She should have paid more attention to her little sister. Now, she was paying the ultimate price for it.
Her shoes padded silently across the hall. Soon, she spotted a mob of burgundy hair. Sighing in relief, Kanade called out to her. "Fuu! Fuu, are you okay?"
"Don't worry, she's fine."
The purple haired middle schooler then took notice of the blonde standing next her sister.
"What happened to her?!" she asked, panic coursing through her.
The blonde offered the distraught sibling a gentle smile. "You're sister just passed out is all. You know, a child shouldn't be wondering around these hallways alone. It could be very dangerous, if they got lost."
Kanade's face saddened by that remark. "I know. I was in the middle of practice. She must gotten bored and wandered off. Fuu… I always tell her not to go off on her own…"
The unconscious girl started to wake up. Once she spotted her older sister, she started to wail. "Kanade! Big sister!" she cried, wrapping her arms tightly around Kanade. "Where were you? I was so scared!"
"It's okay. It's okay, Fuu," Kanade said, soothingly, trying to calm down both of their nerves. "Don't wander off like that. You had me so worried!"
"Thank you for… Huh?" She turned to face the blonde, only to find out she had disappeared. The purple haired girl didn't think too hard on the female's strange disappearance, her crying and distraught sister comes first.
After Fuu calmed down a little, Kanade tried asking her what happened. All she got was hiccups and incoherent sentences. Something about darkness, flowers, and monsters.
The more she spoke, the more the older sibling got agitated. It actually sounded like her dream was coming to life!
"No…!" Kanade shook her head in denial. "Fuu must have just hit her head."
As they made it home, neither of the sisters felt like they had the energy to stay up any longer.
"Big sister?" Fuu finally spoke up, her voice still trembling.
"Yes, Fuu?" Kanade quickly replied, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible. She's supposed to the big, strong, confident sister Fuu looks up to. If she got scared, it'll just make her sister worry and cry even more.
"Can I… Can I sleep in your room?" Fuu asked, quietly. "I'm too s-scared to sleep by my-myself."
Without answering, Kanade parked the chair by the door. Carrying her sister, she opened the door to her bedroom, and gently placed her on the bed, covering her with the blanket.
"Is this better?" Kanade asked, offering her a gentle smile.
Fuu hummed in appreciation, however, the fear was still evident in her eyes. "Can you play the piano for me? It'll probably help me to sleep."
"Yes, of course."
Kanade played a soothing lullaby on her keyboard, easing her sister to sleep. As Fuu was lulled to dreamland, the purple haired girl couldn't stop the dread that was flowing through her. Something happened… Something ominous… First a creepy nightmare, now this…! It's just a coincidence, right? There's no such things are ghost, magic, or monsters! No such…weirdness exist… It shouldn't!
Little did she know, Kanade's daily life was about to turn around.
(A/N: That's the end of the second chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Phew! It was longer than I thought, though. Just an insight on my OC's life before everything Madoka Magica happens. There's a few things that I need to clarify more regarding this fanfic and my thoughts on Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
1) As I said before, there will be more character interactions. And to do that, I decided to extend that time loop a little. So instead of Walpurgisnacht appearing by the end of the month… I extended it up to three months. Gives me time to develop the characters and the romance that will happen between them. Makes it more believable, too. Who falls in love after knowing a person for only three weeks? So… Yeah, there's that. That means some characters will last a little longer than they did in the anime.
2) This is somewhat related to the first one. Since I've expanded the time, it gives me more of a reason for the characters to get close. Because I feel like in the anime, they weren't that close at all, besides Madoka and Sayaka since they've known each other since childhood. For instance, the scene where Madoka and Sayaka were mourning Mami's death… Although, depressing, I just felt like they were crying over their shattered fantasy of a glamorous Magical Girl lifestyle and facing the true reality of being Magical Girls than her actual death. I mean, they were still, technically, strangers. Knowing a person for a day and half does NOT make you friends. They don't really know anything about Mami outside of her being a Magical Girl. That's something I got to fix.
3a) Some of the characters I feel are just used for plot device… Sayaka and Madoka. They're supposed to be the two main characters, yet we know nothing about them. I hear that some people say that Sayaka's unrequited love is all you need to know about her, but that really isn't satisfying to me. I need to know more. Why should I care so much about a person's love life, if I don't know who they are? I only really liked Sayaka in the first quarter of the series… Afterwards, when she developed a superiority-inferiority complex upon becoming a Magical Girl, she started to irritate me in ways I can't understand. Although, I did feel little emotional when she turned into a witch. Poor girl. There's nothing to really to write home about. People say she's the most tragic character in anime, but I've seen worse. Sayaka is one of those characters I just don't care about. I feel sorry for her, but I don't like her. Maybe her yelling at Madoka and blaming everyone for her problems is what got to me. She's starts off as seemingly selfless characters, but dies being a truly selfish one.
3b) Now onto Madoka… Ah, sweet, sweet Madoka. What can I say about her? Nothing… Nothing at all. I've got nothing. Nothing good, nothing bad. And that's…not okay. Yes, I do love her innocent nature… That's what I like about her… That's the only thing I like about her. Why? Because she has nothing going on. We know almost nothing about her other than the fact on how overjoyed she is to be a Magical Girl. I mean, she's the protagonist! Can't we have some insight on her life? Madoka is as generic and stereotypical as female characters come. The whole… 'I have nothing going on with my life' reason to become a Magical Girl felt forced, at least to me. Why? Because I just felt like it was just boring exposition… A lame reason for use to connect to her and to her problems. I just wish we knew more about Madoka. How her life was before all these shenanigans happened. I mean, she is the protagonist! And just because of that I think… the anime was more plot-driven than character-driven. The characters acting a certain way just because for the convenience of the plot. Seriously, the author tried too hard to make a good, all around nice character, I should say, and out came generic mary-sue. And if you have seen his other work, you'll know what I mean.
4) The series overall… I liked Madoka Magica from beginning to end. And I'm one of those rare people who are satisfied with the ending of Rebellion, and not really surprised on how it turned out. I've seen some people call it bullshit, but how are you that surprised? Homura and Madoka had an abusive relationship since the beginning of the anime. Although, Homura tried everything to protect Madoka, she was kind of abusing Madoka emotionally to do it. The ending really… Just proved how unhealthy Homura's and Madoka's relationship really is, and how obsessive Homura is towards Madoka. Is it just me, or does Homura remind you of Yuno Gasai from Future Diary? Just less…psychotic?
And don't worry, Kaen (male-Homura) will appear next chapter! Tell me what you think! And see you next chapter!)