Oh, a random new story appears ! Apologies for the lack of uploads on the other stories, I had a bit of a writer's block coupled with lack of motivation and time to write but it's getting better.
So, here I come with a bit of a new story. Chapters are definitely going to be shorter on this one. If anyone hasn't watched Madoka Magica yet, I highly suggest you check out the show on Netflix
I decided to write this while on a trip, this is probably going to be pretty a short story, compared to the other I started. As the title might suggest, it's going to be centered around one Homura Akemi, who has a... very particular relationship with the cast.
Enjoy.
In the ruins of what was the center of Mitakihara city centre, a girl was laying, her right ankle trapped under debris. From the looks of it, either her foot had been crushed on impact, or it was broken.
The girl has long black hair, going all the way to her lower back, with only two strands on the front, surrounding her violet eyes. An opened gash on her forehead was letting some blood drip on her face. She was wearing a white, long-sleeved coat over a black long-sleeved dress, with a silver skirt sporting a white trim. Black leggings and heels completed the look.
A shout, or more likely, a laugh, could be heard afar. That was Walpurgisnacht, the strongest of all witches. And her, little magical girl Homura Akemi, was the only one that could fight her.
- "So, what will you do, Homura ?" a voice asked.
That voice belonged to a tiny cat-like creature. If it wasn't for the extra set of ears, resembling a rabbit's, the large tail and red eyes, it could almost pass for a regular cat. Homura knew very well what those extra ears were for. It used them to tear down into the girls' chest, a painful experience, and extract a Soul Gem, letting the girl becoming a magical girl for that creature's benefit. That creature was an Incubator, who every magical girl looked up to. Every single one, except for her. Kyubey, which was the name most of these magical girls gave him, was the least likely to save her out of her predicament.
For the Incubators did not care about what happened to her. All the system they had created only accounted for the energy quota her subsequent transformation into a witch, and death, would create.
They did not care for human emotions. Kyubey had confessed to her in the past they consider emotions to be a mental disease. He was hiding that information from most of the magical girls. Homura had only learned it after she saw Madoka herself turn into a witch.
The root of that was their Soul Gem. If they were not careful and let it turn completely black, they would turn into witches. As she was recapping all of that, her own Soul Gem was turning black. The only way she could possibly reverse that was with a Grief Seed, which she could only harvest by killing a witch.
- "You understand your situation, Homura ? You cannot win. The only way you could possibly beat Walpurgisnacht is by letting her become a magical girl"
- "NEVER ! I'm not letting you touch her !"
"Her" referring to one Madoka Kaname, Homura's light in all the darkness she had faced during her very long ordeal. In the beginning, Akemi Homura was not that stone-faced magical girl Madoka had come to know during the last weeks. She behaved closer to Madoka herself, feeling worthless and Madoka was her, the proud and slightly reckless magical girl fighting witches.
But that Madoka, the magical girl that had been her beacon of light in the darkness of the world, was long dead. She had died fighting that same Walpurgisnacht to a draw, leaving Homura no choice but to contract with Kyubey to relive the meeting with Madoka.
Homura's wish, upon becoming a magical girl, was to save Madoka. Kyubey, who had granted her that wish, did not account for what powers she would get. Turns out he gave her powers over time itself. The first thing she did was rewind the time to exactly six weeks before, when she got out of the hospital to come back to Mitakihara Junior High School. The first thing she did upon entering that classroom was telling Madoka she would fight alongside her, much to Madoka's surprise since Homura had basically spilled the beans on her being a magical girl. That first attempt at saving Madoka turned horribly as, after defeating Walpurgisnacht, yet again, consumed by the corruption of her Soul Gem, Madoka instantly turned into a Witch.
This was the last straw for Homura. Turning back again, she decided to spill the beans on that to Mami Tomoe, Madoka, and Sayaka Miki. Despite initial lack of trust from Sayaka, the others, and Kyoko Sakura, another magical girl that joined them, finally realised the truth after they had to kill Sakura. Mami breaks down, shooting Kyoko's Soul Gem and killing her instantly. Madoka had to kill Mami before she could finish Homura, leaving the two of them to fight Walpurgisnacht. They succeeded but got their Soul Gem tainted.
And the event that follows was the root of Akemi Homura's problem.
Once again, Madoka saved her, using an hidden Grief Seed, and before turning into a witch, made her swear to prevent her from becoming a Magical Girl, if she goes back in time again. Homura, devastated, agrees before shooting Madoka down.
After that, Akemi Homura decided to change her appearance and hide her emotions from the world, concealing everything behind an icy façade. She decided to warn Madoka before hunting witches on her own. Come Walpurgisnacht, however, she was unable to prevent Madoka from contracting, shooting Walpurgisnacht with a single arrow before transforming herself into a witch, leading her to go back, once more.
Kyubey had realised she had gone back in time on multiple occasions. He had told her that much. And here lied Homura's second problem : By going back in time, again and again and again, repeatedly, Homura had created a lot of timelines centered around Madoka, raising her magical power to absolutely ridiculous levels. But, as she was doing that, the karmic burden of Madoka rose. Unintentionally, while trying to save Madoka, she had given her even more power, and more chance to turn into a witch.
But now, she was conflicted with a choice : Going back in time, try to save her again, risking Madoka, the girl she wouldn't admit to love, let alone care about, anymore. But that would raise her karmic burden, raising her magical power even more, and risking to create a witch she couldn't beat. Or not doing a thing, and leaving Madoka to suffer a fate she wouldn't wish to her.
- "Choose carefully, Homura. Choose carefully, and fast. She could come any minute, if she gathers the resolve to do so."
Homura knew that was true.
- "I don't want her to see me in that state. She would make a contract with you."
- "I cannot comprehend how this is your problem anymore, Homura Akemi. Your existence has reached its completion. Now, you only have to become a witch to get killed by Madoka Kaname."
Homura was still contemplating her move, but Walpurgisnacht was advancing on her. She did not have much time to make a decision. She shot a look at the creature in front of her, then to Walpurgisnacht and start crying. She was going in circles, but she had made her mind ages ago. Or so it felt to her.
- "Incubator, let me tell you something. You have no idea for how long I had those powers."
- "What I do have an idea of is your powers. The time does not matter"
- "I have been reliving the same six weeks for a very long time. This body does not age, but I can tell you my mind remembers everything I did, for all those times I went back in time. Do you have any idea how hard is it to be my age in the body of a fourteen year old girl ?! This was the 99th time I have been doing this. No matter what you are going to say to me, I have spent almost twelve and a half years trying to save that girl ! I AM GOING BACK AND I SWEAR I AM GOING TO END THIS !"
And now, for the hundredth time, Akemi Homura entered the Corridor of Time. She was used to this by now. Tears were flowing on her cheeks now that the pressure was getting away. She quickly used her magic to heal her damaged foot, which luckily had just been broken, and not crushed
But she had no idea what she had just created. She was aware she had just raise Madoka's power level even further, but as she was thinking that, she was wondering if there was a breaking point in that system.
After a while, she woke up in her hospital room, on the day she was going to be discharged. She had spent six months there because of a heart disease she had healed from since, just by becoming a magical girl.
She needed to think. Not that her methods were bad. She was basically letting the events unfold, as there was no way to prevent the ineluctable. Homura would probably have to witness Kyoko Sakura, Mami Tomoe and Sayaka Miki dying, once again. She did not mind much, as those three were also dead in her original time. Maybe Sayaka was not, because she could not recall her being a magical girl. She only cared about Madoka anyway. Madoka needed to survive. She did not care what happened to the others.
- "I need to tell at least Mami Tomoe. Generally, Kyoko does not come until later. And unless Sayaka is also a Magical Girl already, I don't need to drag her into this if she is not in already. She is probably not going to believe me, anyway. But it does not hurt to try, does it ?"
With that in mind, Homura left the hospital. There was nothing more dangerous than a woman in love being on a mission. When she reached Mitakihara Junior High, she was maintaining her calm exterior. As she expected, Kazuko Saotome was going to start class. Homura quickly wrote the kanji of her name and shot a look where she knew she was going to see Madoka.
And here she was. Shy, meek, evading her look. But at the same time…
- "Something feels off." Homura thought. And indeed, something about the pink girl in front of her definitely felt… off. "I need to get a hold of Mami, and quickly !"
Homura introduced herself and was offered a seat on the first row. There was a feeling of tension in the air. After a while, Homura asked if she could go to the nurse office, and unsurprisingly, Madoka followed her. When they reached the hallway, Homura turned to her.
- "Do you like your life, Madoka Kaname ?"
The question apparently took the girl by surprise. Homura didn't even react and only bothered listening to Madoka so she could timed her answer perfectly
- "If that's the case, you wouldn't try to change the person you currently are, would you ? Because if you do, you will end up losing all of these things."
- "Huh ?"
- "You should stay as you are, Madoka Kaname. Stay as you are, and you shall always be"
As she was leaving Madoka there, Homura pretty much knew deep down she was coming off as very rude by doing what she did, and saying what she said. But she could not forget the essential fact. She had gone through those same six weeks ninety-nine times before that. Not two days ago, she had confessed to another Madoka, in another timeline, that she came from a future that felt so distant from her present time. No matter how much her heart ached for Madoka's contact, she could not forget that this Madoka was not her Madoka.
And that fact had been driving her insane for around the past 50 loops.
There was a loop where she snapped and confessed to Madoka. Right before Walpurgisnacht. She was relieved for a minute to realise Madoka may reciprocate her feelings. What a mistake that was. Madoka rushed into battle with her, powerless as she was, and died again. Homura hid all of that sadness behind a wall. Her heart was now colder than it was then, closed off for all these loops. She could not let her emotions shown. No anger, no sadness, no joy, nothing, for her emotions did not matter at the end.