CHAPTER 8: Life Serial
"Is this her first lesson?" The middle-aged parent asked Sayaka's father in the waiting room outside the door.
"Fifth, actually." Sayaka's father corrected.
"Ah, my mistake."
"Do it again." The stern-faced piano teacher ordered.
Sayaka was so frustrated. It was a pretty basic piano melody that Sayaka still could not master, the fingers on her left hand stubbornly refused to keep pace with her right. Not helping was the captivating echo of the song coming from the more experienced student in the next room, whoever it was, playing it so adeptly that it made Sayaka feel like a fool for even wanting these lessons in the first place.
"She absolutely begged us for music lessons after we attended the violin recital of a friend of hers at the city theater a while ago." Sayaka's father explained.
"Recital at..." The older parent raised his brow. "Do you speak of Kyosuke Kamijou?"
"Already has a reputation, does he?"
"Well a local one, anyway." The older parent briefly peeked his head in on his practicing child. "Plus his parents won't stop raving about his big regional debut coming up in Osaka."
"Oh? You're also acquainted with his parents?"
"They're regulars at my bank." He handed Sayaka's father his card.
"Shizuki?" Sayaka's father read the card. "Do you mean you're that Shizuki?"
"Indeed I am."
"Would she be your granddaughter then?" Sayaka's father also peeked in on her.
"Heh. No, she's my daughter, actually." The man corrected. "Being the head of a major bank made dating and starting a family a secondary priority, regrettably." He sighed and smiled. "I had to resort to the old tradition of an arranged coupling with her mother." He proudly clasped his hands. "But to have fathered a girl like her, it was worth it."
"Again." The teacher ordered. "Slow your quicker hand down a bit. You've got the correct notes memorized, now you gotta learn to pace yourself." The teacher calmly excused herself into the next room. Whoever this superior student was, the young Sayaka intensely disliked them.
"A private school?" Sayaka's father questioned.
"My wife went to the same school." The older father confessed. "Was an honor student through every single grade."
"Yeah, but that might invite constant comparisons to her mother from all the teachers," He warned. "And if she doesn't quite measure up, she might develop some adequacy issues."
"That thought has crossed my mind," He nodded. "And she's had some problems socializing at that place."
"You could always transfer to the local public school." Sayaka's father suggested. "At least do it for her formative years. You and I both know the grades don't start to matter until well into middle school.
"What are you, a child psychologist?"
"A police officer, actually." Sayaka's father chuckled. "And admittedly, I speak purely from personal experience. Late bloomer… Terrible elementary and middle school marks."
"Not that far off from my experience, as well." The man laughed. "Does your girl go there too?" He peeked in on the practicing Sayaka.
"She does," He affirmed. "As does Little Kamijou."
"Your time for this week has expired, Mister Miki." The teacher came out to the waiting room.
"Thank you," Sayaka's father got up from his seat. "For your patience."
"The piano's not for everyone." The teacher added. "It's not as easy to master as it looks."
Sayaka's father grabbed his coat and leaned closer to her ear. "It was the only music lessons we could afford for her," He whispered.
"I'd hate to tell you that you're wasting money, so I'll simply say that I'm certain she's not the type of pupil who's going to learn an instrument through rigid lesson plans and routine practice." She advised. "She's gotta learn on her feet. If she's absolutely still interested in learning an instrument after this, ask her what she wants to play, then buy it for her to practice at home. That way she can learn at her own leisure."
"Thanks for your honest assessment." Sayaka's father waved her out of the room. "Again thank you, and goodbye." The echo of the other student's beautiful notes resonated throughout the hallway on their way out.
"Stupid stupid showoff." The teary eyed Sayaka uttered in the lift.
BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BEEP…
Sayaka awoke to the steady beeping of a heart monitor. At first, she thought she had fallen asleep next to Kyosuke's bed again. Then she remembered, she hadn't gone to see Kyosuke today. Her eyes snapped open. She saw an oxygen mask over her mouth, with a heart monitor attached to her finger. She was being treated at the hospital, in an observation room.
"Wh- What happened to me?" She sat up and asked whoever was listening. Two nurses were idly chit-chatting in the doorway.
"Somebody found you passed out on a bridge, that one over by the middle school." The shorter nurse approached. "Reported blood at the scene. You were brought here for treatment and observation."
"I tripped and I-" Now she remembered. She was in a mad rush to make it to softball practice on time, then she tripped and fell hard. "I fell down and slammed my face." She checked her knee. It was still scraped pretty badly and bandaged. "Skinned my knee, too."
Sayaka also remembered suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of despair, almost to the point of losing her very will to live. And then what she remembered happening after that was… Too weird to even want to go on thinking about.
Encounters with murderous monsters. Meeting magical redheads. Did she hit her head a lot harder than she thought? Was it all a trauma-induced dream? Brought on by watching way too much anime? It had to be that. Any other explanation was ludicrous.
"I'm okay, though, right?"
"You might have suffered a minor concussion." The nurse came over and studied Sayaka's eyes with a tiny light.
"Do you remember your name?"
"Sayaka Miki."
"Where do you go to school?"
"Mitakihara Middle School."
"Do you know where you live?"
"Mitakihara Heights Apartment Complex." Her eyes followed the light back and forth.
"What'd you have for breakfast this morning?" She checked Sayaka's pulse.
"Scrambled eggs and toast." Sayaka sighed. "Made it myself."
"Who are your best friends at school?"
"Madoka and Hitomi." She rolled her eyes. So inane.
"Who are you crushing on right now?" The nurse winked.
Sayaka glared at her, quite unamused.
"Can I go home now?" Sayaka stood up off the bed.
"Do you feel nauseous? Or tired? Do you have a headache?"
"No. No. And no."
"Negative for concussion symptoms. Your nose bleed looks pretty healed up. And you don't appear to be any worse for the wear, but we'll give you more bandages for that knee." The nurse replied.
"It feels fine now."
"We called the middle school. Apparently you were supposed to be at a softball practice?"
"Oh, yeah! I was in a rush to get there on time. Guess this'll teach me a lesson about slowing down or making enough time to get there or something."
"We also called your parents."
"My parents?" Sayaka could already picture what was going to happen next with them. Her father will make doubly sure she's okay. Her mother will nag and lecture.
"Your mother said she had to work late." Lecture postponed for today. Lucky break.
"Your dad was at his workplace, too." Sayaka was going to be home all alone, again. She was used to it by this point in her life.
"Actually, uh, can I stick around for a little while longer?" Sayaka had another thought on something of a whim. "As a visitor?"
"Why?" The nurse asked.
"I, uhm, there's a friend of mine who's been cooped up here for a few months. I want to go up and pay him a real quick surprise visit. Is that okay? Is there time?"
The taller nurse whispered into the other's ear. "Oh! Yes, that should be fine. But first you'll need to sign a few of these papers for us. And let us know at once if you do suddenly start feeling dizzy or queasy, alright?"
"I will. Thanks a lot."
After Sayaka was fully examined and then discharged, she gathered her belongings and boarded the glass elevator to Kyosuke Kamijo's room. She examined her reflection in the glass. Her hair looked a little ruffled up. She hurriedly combed her fingers through it. She took her makeup kit out of her pocket, and applied a touch of raspberry lip gloss and a smidgen of eyeliner. She straightened her clothes and pulled up her skirt. There, she thought. Now she felt much more presentable.
Sayaka looked down at her bloodied shirt and bandages. "Oh, that thing, well you know, I was a bit careless. I was running and tripped over a step and I hurt my head and scraped my knee pretty bad. I guess I must've passed out." She rehearsed. "So much for the rough-and-tumble reputation of Sayaka, yup." She flashed a practice smile to her reflection. "But enough about me and my problems. I'll be fine. How have you been today?"
She could feel her heart fluttering. One of these days, she was going to finally work up the courage to tell him that she very much wanted to become more than just his friend. Maybe that day was going to be today. Who knows? Maybe she was fated to trip and fall head over heels. Just so that she would have an excuse to tell him that she had fallen head over heels for him. It's poetic. Fate, yeah. Hokey as heck but poetic, she reasoned.
Sayaka exited the elevator. She greeted and bowed at the pair of nurses who recognized her. She turned the corner to Kyosuke's room. There was a bookbag nestled against the wall beside his door. How odd, she thought. She heard a voice coming from within his room. Not his, this voice was decidedly female. Sayaka pressed her ear against the door. Who could it be? A relative?
"I'm surprised you know even that song."
"It was the first one I ever heard you play. Of course I know it." Not a relative.
"Your brain is bigger than mine then."
"Your heart is bigger than mine." Uh-oh.
"Oh, stop it."
"I'm serious! You're the nicest person I know!" No! No! No!
"That's really nice of you to say."
"Your inside matches your outside, you know." Crap! Crap! Crap!
"Oh, so I'm Ugly?" Who was this girl? "And disfigured. Too."
"Oh, stop it. You're wonderful." She sounded upsettingly familiar.
Sayaka couldn't stand it anymore. How dare this girl impose herself on Kamijou! How dare she stand in the way of Sayaka's fate! She had to know for certain who this flirtatious girl was. She had to know! Sayaka indignantly slid the door open wide.
This was fate, alright. But fate, alas, was clearly acting against her today. Fate, and one Hitomi Shizuki.
"Help Me!" She heard a strange voice cry out. Madoka removed her earphones, confused.
"Madoka… Help me!" The voice cried out a second time. Madoka cupped her to the air.
"What?"
"Please… Help me!" Madoka promptly put the earphones away and left the kiosk. That voice wasn't coming from anyone in the music store. Somehow, it was calling directly into her mind. 'NOTICE OF STORE RENOVATION' The construction sign authoritatively read. But still she felt compelled to head toward this particular section of the mall.
"Help… Me…" The voice was getting weaker. She needed to hurry if she was going to find it in time. Madoka saw no other choice. She stepped past the warning signs and cautiously crept onward.
"Where are you?" she called out. "Um, do I know you?" Never had a closed department store ever seemed so ominous to her before.
"Help me!" This area was definitely the source. She was certain she was close to finding who was calling.
Suddenly the ceiling panel above her fell away. A small, white animal flopped out and scared Madoka off her feet. Madoka gasped from both surprise at the sight, and concern for the little creature.
"Is that you?" Madoka asked the wounded little animal.
"Help me…" It beseeched.
Another, more familiar face appeared unexpectedly before them. But she was dressed in what Madoka saw as a rather unusual uniform.
"Homura?" Madoka whimpered.
"Get away from that creature." Homura commanded.
"B- But… He's really hurt." Madoka clutched the thing close and tight in her arms. "Leave him alone! Why are you trying to hurt him?"
"This doesn't concern you." Homura stepped closer.
"But he was calling me! I could hear him calling my name! He was asking me to help him!"
"Is that so?" To Homura this conversation had a pang of familiarity. She had to think and act quickly if she was going to avoid a repeat of their last fateful encounter, even if that meant prying that duplicitous little devil right out of Madoka's hands.
Suddenly, Madoka felt a rush of cold air against her back. Instinctively, she cowered on the floor. She heard the clanging and rolling of metal nearby, whoever it was had just emptied a whole fire extinguisher on her and the little animal.
"Hand that creature over to her, now!" She heard a muffled voice say. Whoever it was, what little Madoka could see of her, was wearing a gas mask, and appeared to be dressed in even more peculiar attire than Homura.
"No! I won't won't let you hurt him!" She shivered and clung her hardest to the creature.
"What are you doing here?" She heard Homura ask.
"Never mind that, just snatch him out of her hands and let's go! Before she-" Madoka took off running away from their voices.
"That way!" The girl in the gas mask pointed and they gave chase.
"The Witch?"
"Beaten."
"That was far too quick."
"It wasn't me."
"Who then?
"Who do you think?"
"Oh, no." The two girls were dashing down a dark hallway, steadily gaining ground on the fleeing Madoka. "Grab my hand before she-"
A swarm of yellow ribbons swiftly sprang from every gap in the ceiling, out of every crack in the walls and floor. Madoka had unwittingly led them straight into Mami Tomoe's carefully-laid trap. The swarm meshed together into a complex network of ribbon webs, one of which formed directly behind Homura and right in front of Sayaka, splitting them apart.
A ribbon from the wall grabbed Homura by her right arm, binding her buckler and pulling her aside. "Damn it! She's got us!" Homura yelled out in anguish. Sayaka pulled out a sword and hacked away at the ribbonwork barrier between them, to no avail. The ribbons kept re-growing and re-joining with each slash, like kudzu on steroids.
"Behind you!" Homura shouted. Sayaka slashed at the ribbons creeping behind her, while sidestepping their attempt to snag her. "Get out of here, now!"
"No! I can't just let you-" Sayaka barely dodged another ribbon's capture attempt. She took another hard swing at the barrier, the thing proved quite impervious to her blade.
"Go!" Homura cried. "She's attempting to scare us into submission! But if you're caught, and they discover who you really are, then-!" To Sayaka's surprise, Homura's normally stoic eyes displayed an unusually deep level of concern. "Get back to her ship. I can handle myself. Retreat!"
"O- Okay." Sayaka withdrew to a nearby ventilation duct, pried it open with her sword, squeezed herself in and jumped down.
"Oh, thank goodness. You rescued Kyubey for me! I'm very grateful! He's a dear friend of mine and I was so worried!" Another strangely-dressed girl appeared before Madoka. This one with curly yellow locks. A barrier of ribbons sealed off the hallway behind them.
"H- He called out to me! I- I could hear his voice inside my head!" Madoka took a hesitant step toward the girl."
"Ahhhhh! I see!" The yellow-haired girl looked at Madoka's clothes. "I can tell by your uniform that you go to Mitakihara City Middle School. Are you in Seventh Grade? Or Eighth?
"Eighth." Madoka anxiously replied. "W- Who are you?"
"Oh, that's right… Maybe I should introduce myself." The yellow-haired girl kneeled down on one leg and cautiously checked the condition of his animal companion. "Hmm. Actually, it's going to have to wait for a bit. There's something that needs my attention first. Could you please take him out of here for me? I'll come and find you at the mall's courtyard." The yellow-haired girl graciously put her hand on Madoka's shoulder.
"O- Okay." Madoka gingerly trotted to the exit. "Thank you!"
The barrier into the hallway slid open wide enough for Mami Tomoe to pass. "Let's see what little flies I've netted in my trap." A blood-stained knife laid on the floor against the wall. She spotted Homura cradling her arm, trying to make an escape at the opposite end of the hallway.
"I am not your enemy." Homura implored.
"There are two things in this world I will not stand for." Mami stated. "Magical Girls who behave callously towards humans, and Magical Girls who harm Kyubey! Any girl who does so is my enemy!"
Homura pulled an aerosol can and a lighter from her buckler.
"What do you hope to accomplish with that?" Mami raised a defensive shield of ribbons in front of her body.
"This." Homura pointed the can and the lighter at the ceiling. A spray of fire blasted to the sprinkler system hanging above. The fire alarm roared as the sprinklers spurted out water.
"Tch!" Mami fashioned an impromptu umbrella out of her ribbon shield.
"Either let me go, or security will get here and we'll both be exposed. It's your choice."
"Touché!" The ribbons sealing off the hallway instantly disappeared. "Make sure you and I never see each other again! I am through with talks and warnings! Next time, you can bet I won't be holding back!"
"Owwwww! Unnngh! Oooooof!" Sayaka fell out of the shaft down to the concrete floor of the maintenance room below. She flashed out of her magical form, took her gas mask off and hastily put her hair clip disguise on. The mission was pretty much a disaster. She got up, and limped away. "Geez, that sucked. That really, really sucked. I can practically hear Kyoko laughing her ass off at me."
"Gyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Sayaka shouted at the top of her lungs in the entryway of her apartment complex. It was the first thing she'd said out loud since discovering her "friend" Hitomi was at the Hospital visiting Kyosuke behind her back. It was a long, quiet, humiliating, seething trek back to her home. And all she'd been aching to do once she got back was take her clothes off, eat, boot up a fighting game, create a character who happened to look exactly like Hitomi, and beat the ever-virtual loving crap out of it. But right there she realized she had lost her wallet, and with it her apartment key card. She couldn't get inside. One extra humiliation in an entire afternoon of them.
"Hey, hello, Mrs. Yamada?" Sayaka tried her best to sound chipper on the microphone.
"Hello, Sayaka!" The voice on the other side answered. It was her elderly neighbor.
"C- Can you ring me in please?" Sayaka begged.
"Did you lose your key card again?" The old lady's voice asked.
"Y- Yeah. I think I left it in my bedroom. But I have to get in to look. Hehe. Please?"
"Give me one second, dearie."
"Thank you."
Sayaka slipped off her shoes. 'Weiners in the fridge. Chili on the stove. Buns and ramen in the cupboard. Microwave chili, ramen and apple slices.' Her mother's note read. Yum, Sayaka thought. Yum. What a healthy combo for a growing girl. Whatever. She was in no mood to be picky right now. She was too hungry and too irate to care.
Sayaka took the top off the pot on the stove and looked inside. The only chili left in the pot was the crusted, burnt remains along the base and at the sides. How strange. Did her dad stop by and help himself? Eh, that's fine, she thought to herself.
Seemed like Sayaka would have to settle for just the ramen noodles. She'd just have to make a double sized serving of it. Sayaka opened the cupboard. She gasped. The ramen was nowhere to be found! She quickly opened the refrigerator door, even the apple slices had been picked clean. She didn't understand it. Her dad would never be so rude as to poach her entire meal without at least leaving an apology note and some cash to spend at the convenience store to compensate. What had gotten into him?
Now she was going to have to dig into her own allowance for her dinner, and without her wallet, she'd have to tap the piggy bank in her room. Could her day get any worse?
Sayaka walked over to her bedroom door and turned the knob. It wouldn't budge! It was locked! And apparently, from the inside. But her door couldn't lock from that side. The only way to do it would have to be if someone in the room had jammed something heavy in front of it. What in the world was going on here?
Sayaka went to the bathroom and grabbed a hand mirror from the vanity. Her peripheral vision caught sight of a white cat in a tree branch outside the window. She polished the mirror with her sleeve, checked her reflection in it, and glanced in the cat's direction. It had vanished. Maybe it had climbed down and went home. Maybe her tired eyes were playing tricks. Whatever. She didn't care.
She slid the mirror underneath her bedroom door. Somehow, her own baseball bat had been jammed against the doorknob! She nervously tilted the mirror and peered further into her room. Nothing near the closet. Nor the dresser. She tilted it towards the window. There was that cat again, perched on her window's ledge! But further inspection made her realize that it wasn't a cat at all, but rather… Something that had secondary ears hanging down like a rabbit's. Sayaka pulled the mirror out and rubbed her eyes. She trepidatiously checked the window again. It had vanished again. She panned over to her bed, where the biggest shock of all was laying. Sayaka jolted to her feet.
"Open up!" She banged on her door. "Whoever the hell you are, open this door right now! My dad's a cop, and when he gets home you are going to be in big trouble! You hear me!"
The door promptly came unblocked and opened. Sayaka's mouth sank agape. There she was, that redhead from Sayaka's fantasy, her cocky, grinning mouth stained with Sayaka's chili dinner.
The TARDIS door popped open. Homura traipsed in, her whole left arm bloody and her clothing soaked.
"What happened?" Sayaka gasped.
"I escaped. Obviously." Homura answered.
"I mean, what happened to your arm?"
"I had to get those ribbons off of me. Didn't have time to make precision cuts."
"But did you have to mangle your whole arm?"
"I'm fine. It'll heal quickly. I'll be fine." Homura's monotone voice and dismissive attitude towards her injuries put Sayaka on edge. "It doesn't hurt."
"Jus- Just follow me." Sayaka guided Homura along by her other arm.
"Where are you taking me?" Homura asked as they entered the TARDIS lift.
"Down below. To the Medical Bay." Sayaka pressed a button once inside.
"Do you know where to go this time?" Homura asked.
"Don't have to." Sayaka pointed at the lit wall paneling. "Just say the name of the room you want to find and follow the arrows on the wall." Quickly they found their way to the Medical Bay. "Hop on that one." Sayaka pointed to one of the bay beds. "I know I saw bandages in here."
"You would think a time-travelling spaceship would have more sophisticated medical equipment than bandages." Homura observed.
"Maybe it does. But I wouldn't have a clue how to use them." Sayaka ferreted through cupboards until she spotted a roll of bandages. "Here. Now roll up your sleeve, Homura."
Homura tilted her head and stared at Sayaka strangely.
"Is something wrong?" Sayaka asked.
"It-" Homura hesitated. "Might be the first time you've said my name. Without being snide."
"So what?" Sayaka unraveled the bandage roll. "You still think I'm not really me or something?"
"No." Homura said. "Only you could interrupt my warning to Madoka with such impeccable timing."
Sayaka rolled her eyes. "Well, sorry I just have such a knack for being the third wheel." She applied a liquid disinfectant. "Come to think of it, have you ever used my name? Without insulting me?"
"No." Homura replied candidly. She slowly rolled up her arm sleeve.
"Y'know, this wouldn't be a bad place to give my name a try." Sayaka rolled the bandages up her forearm.
"Have you ever done this before?"
"You mean 'Have you ever done this before, Sayaka'?"
Homura flatly stared at her for a minute. "Have you ever done this before?" Her face gradually blushed red. "Say-Ya-Ka?" She stammered.
"Once. A very, very long time ago." Sayaka continued as she rolled down her arm. "I uh, I had just learned how to ride my bike. I was trying to teach Madoka how to do it, too. We were at the park, I was trying to copy the way my dad taught me, by holding on and running alongside and steering while she pedaled. And then I let go of her."
"You let go?"
"So she could peddle on her own. But I forgot to teach her how to stop so she panicked and peddled faster and steered left and right and then she veered straight into a tree."
"Poor teaching method."
"Gimme a break, we were First Graders." Sayaka kept rolling. "So, anyway, she was crying so I hoisted her right onto my back and carried her all the way home, where I found some bandages and I wrapped them all up and down her arms and legs and around her neck." Sayaka chuckled. "She was basically a mummy by the time I was done." She tied off the bandage. Homura flexed her arm, and moved it around.
"Was she okay?" To her own surprise, Homura was actually interested. Dozens upon dozens upon dozens of time loops, yet somehow this was the first time she'd ever heard this story from Madoka's most formative years.
"She was fiiiiiine! She wasn't really hurt at all! I was just too upset from seeing Madoka cry to think about anything else." She checked over the bandage. "Is that good?"
"It's adequate. The cuts will heal in a day or two at most." Homura hopped off the bed.
"I let her dress me as a toilet paper mummy on Halloween in return. We had fun with that."
"Halloween… Is that the one where people confess their love and spend their whole day together?"
"No," Sayaka corrected. "That's Valentine's Day." She paused. "What? For Reals? You don't know which holiday Halloween is?" The Medical Bay doors slid open.
"I've spent…" Homura tilted her head and gazed into the distance. "So much of my existence... Reliving this time. I think. I don't really recall much of the other seasons or their holidays."
"Geez. You never tried explaining everything to us?"
"No one ever believed me. Most often, it made them distrust me."
"By 'them', you mean-?" Sayaka pointed at herself.
Homura subtly nodded.
"Oh." Sayaka's head sunk. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry for all the crap I must've caused you. I know I can be a blockhead." She stared sullenly at her ring. "You've been reliving this experience again and again, fighting on and all this time, and nobody knew. How did you not give up?"
"I came close." They walked through the white hallway. "Numerous times."
"Even still, you're strong." They entered the lift. "Better than me, anyway."
"I'm not as durable as you think. I only appear that way because I've been fighting the same battles over and over again, and planning everything in advance. In situations like today, when the unexpected occurs, I have trouble handling it."
"What a disaster that was." Sayaka palmed her face. "And now we're going to have to explain it to Miss Jones when she gets back." They exited the lift.
"Madoka and Kyubey have made contact."
"And we placed ourselves smack dab onto Mami's radar. Dammit, I'm such a screw up. If only I'd done better against that Witch. Then I went and led Mami straight to you."
"No, the miscalculation was mine. That hallway was clearly a pre-made trap. She knew we'd try to avoid her and shepherded us straight towards it." Homura clasped her hands together. "She's every bit as cunning as she is powerful."
"Watching her take down that Witch in seconds almost made me want to make a contract all over again, yeesh." The hallway doors to the Control Room opened. "Can I ask you something else? About Mami? It's been on my mind."
"What is it?"
"That day, by the hospital… That day she…" Sayaka pained to remember that day.
"You want to know what really transpired? Does it still matter?"
"Of course it matters! I've thought about what I should've done differently ever since that day."
"I didn't want to frighten Madoka, or provoke Mami so I entered its labyrinth unarmed. But I miscalculated. Mami quickly noticed my guard was lowered and on sight she immediately restrained me with her ribbons. I wasn't able to move again until her magic had been-" Homura strained to say it. "Neutralized. I tried to warn her. I tried to tell her the Witch was different."
"And she didn't believe you. Or listen." Sayaka shook her head disappointedly. The way I saw it, you swooped right in after she bit it, took on the Witch and told us off. And you wonder why I came to dislike you?"
"Frankly I didn't care what you thought of me."
The TARDIS door opened in front of them. Miss Jones entered inside, a bag over her shoulder, carrying school papers in one hand, sketched blueprints in the other, and an envelope of money in her mouth. "Gooood neeewwwws, Sayaka! I got an advance on my first paycheck, which means you can finally stop trading away all my antiques and trinkets." She noticed Homura standing at the control console. "Oh, you're here, as well. Good to see you, too!" She set her belongs aside and noticed Homura's bandages. "Okay, would you guys like to tell me what's up?"
"I'm Mami Tomoe. I'm a Ninth Grader at Mitakihara Middle School." The drill-curl-haired upperclassmen formally introduced herself to Madoka outside her apartment home. "And, when I made a contract with Kyubey, I became a Magical Girl!" The freshly-healed Kyubey leapt onto Mami Tomoe's shoulder.
"I'm Madoka Kaname. P- Pleased to meet you!" Madoka nervously giggled. Mami invitingly opened her door. "Wow! Cool apartment!"
"I live alone, so make yourself at home. Although, as far as refreshments go, I don't have much."
Sayaka grumped as the oddball redhead helped herself to a spare bag of potato chips from the cupboard. "Just make yourself at home. Yeah. Like I've got plenty of refreshments to go around."
"You said this girl defeated a Witch?" That strange, small cat-rabbit creature sat on the floor of her bedroom. Somehow, it could talk. Even weirder, it did so without moving its mouth.
"No, I beat the Witch." The redhead said with her mouth full of chips. "She-" She took a moment to swallow the wad of chips down her throat. "She just held back the familiars that ganged up on us." She burped. "Did a pretty sweet job of it, too."
"Interesting." The creature titled its head.
"Who the heck are you guys?" Sayaka threw up her hands in confused exasperation.
"Oh, yeah. I 'spose I am bein' a little bit rude." The redhead briskly brushed the crumbs on her hand off on her short-cut denim shorts as she presented her hand for a shake. "I'm Kyoko. Kyoko Sakura. Nice to meet ya'!"
Sayaka examined Kyoko's rather unkempt appearance. She donned a visible black crop top underneath a blue hooded sweatshirt, which was unzipped at the bottom, exposing her belly button. She wore a pair of short-cut denim shorts, with fur along the bottom as pants. Her boots were a brown color that ran just below her knees. Overall her appearance was decidedly unfeminine, aside from a long ponytail and the black wolf-like ribbon tying it together. "Hi." Sayaka lightly shook her paw.
"My name is Kyubey." The little creature hopped onto Sayaka's bed. Kyoko promptly plopped herself onto the bed after the handshake. She grabbed a big handful of potato chips and shoveled them in her mouth.
Madoka giggled heartily as she dug into a slice of cake. "Wow, Mami! This is so delicious!"
"Thank you!" Mami smiled and took a breath. "Since Kyubey chose you, that means you are involved in this, whether you like it or not. I thought it might be good if we had a talk!"
"Go ahead... Ask us anything ya' want!" Kyoko laid back and stretched on the bed. Sayaka pinched herself hard on her arm.
"So I'm not dreaming. I really did fight off a bunch of monsters!" Sayaka puffed and wheezed as the magnitude of this realization set in. "So what are you?" Kyoko immediately presented her a red, gold-decorated egg.
"It's called a 'Soul Gem'." Mami explained to Madoka. "When Kyubey chooses a girl, it's created when she makes a contract with him."
"It's the source of our magic." Kyoko's gem transmuted her Soul Gem back into a ring on her finger, "And it proves we're Magical Girls."
"What's this 'contract'?" Sayaka asked.
"I will grant you one wish. Any wish you desire." Kyubey stated.
"Huh? For reals?" Sayaka sat down on the bed.
"Anything at all?" Madoka wondered.
"Anything at all. I can grant the most impossible of miracles." Kyubey specified.
"You could wish for huge treasure! Or even eternal youth! Or better yet, a huge Imperial Feast!" Kyoko suggested with an exceptionally enthusiastic grin.
"Not so sure about that last one." Sayaka replied. But it did make her hungry stomach growl.
"Want some?" Kyoko offered the already open bag of chips.
"And in exchange for that wish, a Soul Gem is created." Kyubey elaborated. "But, if you have a Soul Gem, it will be your duty to fight Witches."
"Witches?" Madoka looked worried.
"Witches cause all the really really bad stuff." Kyoko had turned on the television and was casually flipping through channels. "Sudden suicides and murders. Unexplained disappearances and stuff. Curses cause those bad emotions to build up inside of people, 'til they're ripe for the Witch to take away and eat. Then we Magical Girls hunt down the Witches and reap the rewards from it. Think of it a bit like the food chain." She nonchalantly reached down her pants and scratched herself.
"If there's things like that out there, how come people don't know about them? Sayaka asked.
"A Witch is careful about not letting humans see them. They hide deep inside of labyrinths that they create." Kyubey answered.
"Ya' wandered straight into one." Kyoko commented. "First time I've ever met a human who's come out of one alive." Sayaka fearfully gulped at that revelation.
"Is that what you do? You fight horrible creatures, Mami?" Madoka asked her new friend.
"Yes. I risk my life. That's why you should think carefully before you decide." Mami sipped her tea. "Kyubey chose you and offered a rare chance. It's true that he'll grant whatever wish you can think of. But remember… Death is a part of that deal!"
"Gaaaahhh… As if I wasn't stressin' out enough already!" Sayaka pulled at her hair.
"No need to rush yourself." Kyoko smirked. "I'll be right here for at least a few days."
"What?" Sayaka glared at the redhead. "What do you mean by that?"
"Dontcha remember our deal?" Kyoko reached for a bag at the bedside, pulled out a box of Pockys and flipped one in her mouth. "I'm gonna hold ya' to it."
Madoka struggled to say the girl's name. "H- Ho- Homura. S- She's a new student in my class. She was the one there at the mall today! I- Is she the same as you? Is she a Magical Girl, too?"
"She is. There's no doubt." Mami concluded. "And she's a very powerful one, from what I saw."
"And the girl who was with her is too?"
"Not nearly as strong, but still formidable enough."
"So then they're good guys who fight Witches?" Madoka's voice cheered up. "But I wonder, why would they attack me?" Her head sunk.
"It was me they were after." Kyubey sat up from a resting posture. "I think they're trying to keep me from making a contract with a new Magical Girl."
"Yeah but… If we're all fighting the same enemy, wouldn't it be better if there were more Magical Girls out there?" Sayaka asked. Kyoko had just informed her that there were other Magical Girls, all around the world, and that they were typically not friends with one another.
"Ya' see this thing here?" Kyoko pulled from her sweatshirt pocket a black, spherical object, with ornate decoration at its top and bottom. "It's called a 'Grief Seed'. It's like the witch's egg or somethin'. We Magical Girls use these things to replenish our magic. The more ya' got, the tougher ya' are. So magical girls usually fight each other over them as much as they fight the witches. To the death, even. This one's the one that came out of that Witch we sacked today."
"Sounds like a pretty rough life." Sayaka commented.
"I manage." Kyoko sat back as she turned up the television's volume.
"Can I see it?" Sayaka held out her hand.
"Won't do you any good. Not unless you've got a Soul Gem." She pulled out another Pocky stick.
"I just want to have a look at it."
"Eh. Whatever." Kyoko handed it over. "But be quick. I gotta use it soon."
Sayaka examined the patterns adorning it. The cup-like crest at its top reminded her of a championship trophy from a contest. "Do they all have these weird… Patterns on them?"
"Dunno. Never looked at them too close." Kyoko scratched under her pants again as she focused on the television. Sayaka's gaze turned to Kyubey for the answer.
"There is much about Witches that we still don't understand. But in this case, I suppose the appropriate analogy would be to that of a human's fingerprints. I have so far seen no two Grief Seeds that are completely alike."
"Looks strange." Sayaka handed it back to Kyoko. " Do you need any help?"
Mami comfortingly put her hand on her new friend's lap. "I know it's a tough decision. But maybe, if you went on a few Witch hunts with me, it'll help you decide!" She offered.
"Really?" Madoka's eyes widened.
"You can see for yourself what it's like to fight a Witch. You can think about the offer while you do." Mami looked at a clock on the wall and stood up. "It's pretty late. You should be going home. I don't want your family getting mad at you."
Madoka stood up and bowed. "Thank you for explaining everything to me." Then she bowed to Kyubey. "And thank you for your kind offer."
"Think long, and hard." Mami walked her over to the door. "Just ask yourself, is there something you want so badly, that it's worth putting your life in danger?"
Kyoko skeptically tilted her head. "Ya' really willing to stick your neck out for this?"
"I wanna…" Sayaka took a breath and sat at Kyoko's side. "I wanna protect people from the Witches out there."
"Wrrrrrrroooooooong!" Kyoko crudely shoved her off the bed. "Rookie Magical Girls that fight for such silly high-minded reasons, like protecting people, they wind up washing out in a matter of days. Believe me, I've seen it before!"
"What do you mean by that? You protected me!" Sayaka picked herself off the floor and indignantly retorted.
"I wanted food. Ya' said ya' had food!" Kyoko grinned. "And, besides, at the time I mistook ya' for a real magical girl." She tilted her head and her face blushed. "Thought ya' had the smell of one. Oopsie. Nose gets it wrong sometimes."
"Y'know, that was supposed to be my food!" Sayaka forcefully slammed her bed. "Wait… how'd you even find my place to begin with?"
Kyoko pulled a wallet out from her other sweatshirt pocket. It was Sayaka's, with her key card stashed inside. She tossed it back to her. She then reached for a bag full of apples by her side. "You want one?"
"You couldn't have accepted this job for food!" Sayaka grimaced.
"I didn't have a lot as a l'il kid. What's it to ya' anyway?" Kyoko put the burger down between them and turned over on the bed.
"C'mon, can't you at least tell me your wish? Maybe it'll help me figure out what I might want to get out of it."
Kyoko rolled her eyes. "It's none of yer business."
"If you don't I'll wish for something high-minded like world peace or something." Sayaka threatened.
"Aw, yuck! Dooon't make me sick!" Kyoko scratched her nose. "Tch. People. Ask yourself this: How can people ever be thankful that yer protecting them from a threat… When they don't even know that there is a threat? They'll never thank ya', so how could they appreciate ya'? And if they do find out, what's to stop the world from freaking out over it? Or What if those in charge just see your power as a threat? What if they treat you as the same as the things we fight?"
"Not much of a 'People' person are you?"
"People ain't got a clue, don't want a clue, and if they get one they're prone to havin' a total freakout. Once yer on the outside o' humanity and ya' take a step back, and reeeeeeally take a look at 'em, it's easy to see why they're such easy fodder for witches. Buncha whiny, self-centered animals. Save them from evil? They still do plenty of evil all on their own, without a witch's corruption. Why would we fight to protect a bunch of liars and hypocrites and betrayers? Why should we?"
"Betrayers?" That word seemed to touch a nerve in Sayaka. She layed back on the bed beside Kyoko and unwrapped the hamburger. "It's funny… I think that if I'd heard you say this stuff earlier, I probably would've gotten real mad at you." She bit hard into the burger. But on a day when she'd been betrayed by one of the only people she thought she knew intimately, her mind was suddenly open to whole new ideas.
Kyubey adjusted his lying position at the end of the bed, staring at the two girls together. "Is there something you desire in your heart, that is worth trading your life for, Sayaka Miki?" He asked, tilting his head.
Mami Tomoe watched Madoka stroll away from her apartment, and closed the door once she was out of sight. "Kyubey, I'm a little bit mad at you right now, I must admit. Fleeing to that girl when Homura Akemi was chasing after you. That could have put her in a lot of danger."
"It was a calculated risk, yes." Kyubey lept on her chair and laid down. "But it confirmed that I was indeed Homura Akemi's target. Madoka Kaname at the time happened to be closer."
"Still, you could have run towards my protection. You were lucky Madoka more or less headed for my trap."
"Then we wouldn't have known whether or not Akemi and the other girl are collaborators. That the other girl came afterward confirmed that they indeed are working together."
"Two on one. I guess I've handled tougher challenges before."
"I know a way you can tilt the odds to be more heavily in your favor, Mami." Kyubey's head perked up.
"How?" Mami asked.
"Partnering with Madoka Kaname, of course." Kyubey suggested.
"Hmm." Mami's shoulders slumped.
"Surely you already sensed her amazing magical potential?" Kyubey asked.
"I did. I'd be a pretty blind magical girl not to have noticed it." Mami replied. "You wouldn't think she'd be such a natural candidate, merely judging by her appearance and her demeanor."
"If she made a contract, she'd become a Magical Girl even more amazing that you, Mami." Kyubey stated. "And she is one of the candidates I mentioned to you earlier."
"Is that so?" Mami laughed, a little uncomfortably. "Still, fitting the physical profile is one thing. Having the mental fortitude to stay committed is..." She sighed. "Rarer." Mami glanced at the calendar on her wall. "Especially when you throw a Walpurgisnacht into the mix."
"Gaaaaaawwwd, ya' caught her red-handed flirting with yer boyfriend?" Kyoko was looking at a photo of Sayaka, Madoka and Hitomi from Sayaka's wallet, hysterically laughing at Sayaka's unfortunate story.
"He's not my boyfriend." Sayaka corrected. "He-" She paused. "He's a good friend of mine who happens to be a boy." She hunched down. "But I wouldn't necessarily mind it if he saw me as more. Someday."
"Baaahhhh… There's plenty of other fish out there." Kyoko patted her Sayaka's back as she flipped another Pocky stick into her mouth.
"Kyosuke's not like the other boys. He's… Special. To me."
"Awwwww…" Kyoko mockingly cooed. "Rookie's first crush."
"I mean it!" Sayaka snapped back. "He's like a… Prodigy. He played his violin like a virtuoso. He'd been doing it ever since we were little kids. But he… Got into an accident, and it badly hurt his hand."
"Mmm. Sucks to be him." Kyoko chewed.
"I've been visiting him at the hospital every day I can. Bringing him gifts and stuff. Cheering him up while he rehabs. Trying to help him see that I've always been there for him. And that I always will be."
"Force him to see you as girlfriend material. Yeah?" Sayaka glared at her.
Sayaka continued. "But I've been overhearing what the doctors and nurses have been saying about his progress. They don't think he's ever going to recover enough to be able to play again. I think he secretly knows it, too. So I've been trying to get him to realize that, it doesn't matter to me if he ever plays the violin again. He's still special to me. Then maybe he'll come around on his own."
"Geez, then out and say it, already! Idiot!" Kyoko playfully slapped the back of her head. "I love you. Is that really so hard?"
"Because that would be putting more pressure on him. And I don't want him thinking I'm just saying it to cheer him up, or that I'm only doing what I do out of a sense of obligation. I know he'd feel like a burden. And he's already feeling pretty down."
"So ya' think that if you stick to him long enough he'll start to think it's because you genuinely want to be there? Some kinda long game? That it?"
"I genuinely do, though."
"Hmmm…" Kyoko twirled another Pocky stick in her fingers as she gave thought. "Even if he's only got half a brain cell still workin' after he got hurt… If hasn't seen what you've been trying to do by now, then either he's already sunk so low that his heart ain't listenin', or…"
"He… Doesn't see me." Sayaka choked. "Not that way."
"...And that he'd be flirting with that friend of yours, makes me believe..." Kyoko's voice trailed. Sayaka's face sunk into her hands.
"You can fix that." Kyoko suggested. "Just make him see you that way! There's your wish!" Kyubey's ears twitched and his lying body perked up.
"I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"I dunno. It just- It feels wrong." She uncomfortably rubbed her forearms with her hands. "Like I'd be disrespecting him somehow." Sayaka looked at herself in the mirror. She checked on Kyubey. "Hey, Kyubey… Could I possibly use my wish… To fix his hand?"
"Of course you could." Kyubey sat up. "That would be easy to do."
"No!" Kyoko sat up and pinched Sayaka hard on the cheek. "Absolutely not!"
"Owwww!" Sayaka whined.
"Don't ever use your miracle for the sake of someone else!" Kyoko exclaimed, her fingers still threatening.
"Why not?" Sayaka rubbed her cheek.
"If you wish for someone else, it always turns out bad!" Her hand lowered slightly.
"How do you know?"
"I just do! I've seen that stuff happen before, too! It's a classic Rookie mistake!" Kyoko hastily brushed food crumbs off the bed, which shooed Kyubey off it too.
"What do you mean?"
"Do I have to spell it out?" Kyoko angrily straightened the sheets as she spoke. "You go and fix his hand. Fine! He's all better now. But would you ever out-and-out admit it was you who fixed him?"
"I might." Sayaka hemmed.
"Idiot! Ya' just said ya' don't wanna put pressure on him. What do you think tellin' him that's gonna do?"
"Wow. I guess I didn't think that hard into it." Sayaka's head drooped.
"A miracle doesn't guarantee your 'Happily Ever After.' Life's ain't no fairy tale." Kyoko continued. "When you wish for someone's happiness, someone else has to suffer in equal measure. It's how the world stays in balance. So you better make a wish that'll make you happy."
"I really don't know what I should do." Sayaka shook her head.
"Geez... Won't wish for love. Can't wish for someone else's happiness." Kyoko twirled the picture of Sayaka and her friends around and stared at it. "It's a little out of the box, but… I wouldn't be against the idea of wishing for someone else's unhappiness."
"So let me get this straight," Miss Jones straightened her glasses. "In a joint effort to avert a certain first encounter, you girls inadvertently created the situation that caused it, or what an old mentor of mine used to call the Pogo Paradox. Is that the gist?" Homura and Sayaka solemnly nodded their heads.
"Sorry." The two said together.
Miss Jones sighed wearily. "I guess I can't be too upset. One of the first things I learned as a time-traveller," Miss Jones briefly glanced at Homura. "Is that reality has a way of pushing back hard against any effort to alter the normal flow of events. This is especially true when trying to save somebody's life from a tragic end."
"She can still be saved though," Sayaka asked upon eyeing Homura, who was staring grimly at the floor. "Right?"
"Yes." Miss Jones tilted Homura's chin up with her hand. "Of course she can. We just need to be craftier is all."
"Kyubey gets wilier every time I try to save her." Homura lamented.
"It's why I'm here." Miss Jones reminded. "It's why you've got to keep me in the loop. When Kyubey thinks he's three steps ahead, I'm six steps ahead. But I can't do that while on my back foot and I certainly can't do it on my own." Miss Jones sat down on her futon and steepled her fingers. "When's the next big day of action?"
"Monday." The girls said in unison.
"What happens Monday?"
"M- Mami. She-" Sayaka struggled to spill it. "Dies."
"Odds?" Miss Jones turned to Homura.
"Increasing frequency in recent timelines." Homura recounted.
"That would be reality pushing back, the fixed point retaliating." Her steepled fingers came together and clenched. "What are the odds Miss Kaname makes a contract in the interim?"
"Slim to none." Homura continued. "If there's any benefit at all to her being with Mami Tomoe, it's that Mami encourages her to think carefully before coming to a decision."
"Way to look at the bright side." Miss Jones smiled. "I'll keep her with me after class Monday, say I'll need a teacher's assistant. Covers that base. What are the circumstances surrounding your friend's timely-untimely demise?"
"There's going to be a Witch at the hospital." Sayaka said. "Last time, I was the one who spotted it."
"And 'you' will be at softball practice. There's that base." Miss Jones's clenched fingers loosened as she stood up. "Apparently, Coach Yamazaki told me you failed to show up for the team meeting today."
"What?" Sayaka exclaimed.
"Perhaps she forgot to go. Or maybe snuck off to visit Kyosuke Kamijo?" Homura suggested.
"I may be forgetful, but I'm not a flake." Sayaka said in defense. "And I wouldn't break a commitment just to go see him."
"Coach Yamazaki will keep an eye on you, hopefully." Miss Jones said. "That just leaves the small matter of the Witch, and Miss Tomoe."
"Gimme permission to skip class that day." Sayaka jumped to her feet as she insisted. "I'll patrol that hospital all day, if I have to."
"I dunno. I've seen your grades." Miss Jones teased her hair. "Nooooot great."
"That stuff doesn't matter." Sayaka blushed.
"Education always matters." Miss Jones countered.
"Please! Mami's life's at stake here!"
Miss Jones relentingly smiled. "I know. Do the homework well beforehand."
"Fiiiiiiiiiine." Sayaka rolled her eyes.
"I'll monitor Mami Tomoe then." Homura sat up. "I'll do what I must to prevent her from going near that hospital."
"'Must?'" Sayaka raised her eyebrow. "You're not going to take her on, are you?"
"Fine." Homura put her hand over her bandages. "I'll do what I can." She corrected.
"And that's our best-laid plans." Miss Jones concluded. "Of Mice and men." She bunched up the Yen notes on the desk. "Onto other matters for the moment. I got paid today." She handed Sayaka the notes and a shopping list. "You know what to do."
"Another microwave? What in the world do you need a bunch of old game systems for?"
"Come." Miss Jones got up and led the girls over to a partially-removed panel in the wall with a modified microwave slotted inside. "This prototype is going to be what replaces those Grief Seeds." She pulled her multitool from her pocket and with the turn of its dial attracted Sayaka's Soul Gem from off her finger.
"Hey! I told you to stop doing that!"
"It's only for a demonstration."
"I'm not letting you put my soul in a microwave!"
"Use mine." Homura pulled the ring from her finger, transmuted it to its egg form and handed it over.
"Thank you." Miss Jones set the gem at the center inside the microwave and set it to two minutes on the panel. The device hummed, and the egg slowly turned. Gradually, numerous clouds of darkness bubbled from Homura's Soul Gem, manifesting as orbiting particles around her Gem. "As you can see, with the correct calibration, it's possible to separate the Active Ectomatter from the Depleted stuff." The timer on the microwave ticked down to zero seconds. The undulating dark matter instantly collapsed back into the gem. "With a set of fine-tuned lasers, I can channel that dark stuff out of the Gem into an alternate container. One that can properly retain that energy." She took the Soul Gem out and handed it back to Homura. "For now, it's a proof of concept."
"How long will that take?" Homura slid the ring back on her finger.
"This thing I whipped up overnight." Miss Jones boasted. "Give me a few more nights, I could have this prototype finished. Weeks, a working model. After that the sky's the limit. Now chop chop! Get me the things we need!" Sayaka quickly stuffed the cash in her pockets and headed for the exit.
"I had better get going as well." Homura said. "There will be a Witch appearing around the windmill area tonight."
"No rest for the weary, huh?" Miss Jones shuffled through some school papers. "Tomorrow night, then? Once she's asleep?"
"I can accomodate, yes." Homura stepped towards the doorway.
"Fascinating little baubles, these Grief Seeds." Miss Jones pulled the Grief Seed that Homura gave her from her coat pocket.
"Have you finished studying it?" Homura turned her head back slightly.
"Not yet. Still need to run some scans. Just saying, from a purely aesthetic perspective, they really are quite… Enchanting."
"If you say so."
"Very ornately decorated. Quite beautiful." Miss Jones muttered. Homura had just slipped out the door. "How like a Soul Gem."
