Chapter 6
The awakening
The sun was bright and early today giving the students of Mitakihara a fresh start from the tragic passing of the students caught in the accident.
"Good mornin'!" Sayaka shouted happily to Madoka and Aito who were holding hands. They both exchanged their hellos as they started to walk to school
Meanwhile in another location another person was walking to school braising herself for another day of school.
"So let me get this straight! After all about what she said she couldn't bring herself up to confessing or even making the contract" the 9 year old said as he walked alongside Homura
"I'm not surprised by the result...it has happened a lot before in the past. But now that Hitomi met her unfortunate end that means Sayaka could have a chance" Homura said looking to the floor
"Well you can't just stand their and let the same scenario play out! Even though Hitomi isn't here anymore doesn't mean her troubles are over. Sayaka may be stubborn but other than Madoka she still has a chance of getting a bad ending before all this mess is finally sorted out! Anyway I have to go" and with that he disappeared into the streets of Mitakihara
Homura sighed. She looked up from her feet to notice Aito, Madoka and Sayaka. She ran up to the trio with a bright smile "Good morning! Weather's great today! Did you tell Kamijo-kun how you felt about him?"
Sayaka looked away with a sorrowful look in her eyes. Madoka spoke for her "A-about that Homura-chan...Sayaka couldn't do it"
The conversation soon went to telepathy between Sayaka and Homura
S ~J-just how much do you know? Kyubey told you didn't he?!~
H ~Kyubey wouldn't be interested in such information. I just know..but don't worry about it~
S ~ Like I'll believe that...~
H ~So when do you plan on confessing to him?~
Sayaka was taken aback by her words...or thoughts ~C-confess!?~
Homura became more aggravated ~Don't you like Kamijo-kun? Why not just confess your love for the boy?~
S ~I-i'm...its not...like that!~
Homura smiled ~Its not like that...my ass! You wouldn't dream about wasting your one and only chance of a miracle on him if you weren't, now would you?~
Sayaka couldn't believe what she was hearing. She broke the telepathic chitchat and bolted towards the school ahead
M ~ I think I can see why she'd want to run away like that Homura-chan~
H ~Oh? You were listening to that, Madoka?~
M ~Aito was listening to. You forced your way into a conversation between us so we could hear everything you two said~
H ~ Everyone would be happier if they were just more honest with themselves~ She said with a smile
The school bell rang for the lunch break. The hallways and outsides of the middle school were booming with students enjoying lunch and socializing with friends.
Sayaka ran to the top of the room trying to get away from a certain someone "Just leave me alone!"
She walked up to the cornered Sayaka "How can I leave you alone? Especially when you want to become a puella magi and the only ones who can solve a puella magi's problems are other puella magi...or star children but that's not the point. Your not being honest with yourself"
"How can I!? I still don't even know how I really feel about him!"
"I see"
"No, you don't! Kyousuke is so depressed, I thought if I could make a wish for his hands he could..."
"Pay more attention to you right?" What Homura said made Sayaka truly think
"B-but...well yes...but I wanted to let him decide...and I could also protect him and be his super hero girlfriend" Sayaka said blushing slightly
"You can make a wish to make him love you then?"
"I could never do something like that! It would be like an evil spell and the relationship would be a lie" Sayaka said thinking the wish over in her head
"But you planned on getting together with him in the very near future, right?" Homura said as she played with her cell phone and putting it back in her backpack
"Well...yes but that's just a fairy tale in my head...and things don't always have such a happy ending..."
"So your mostly confident about what your going to wish for(his hands to be healed) because you feel confident that you'll win Kyousuke over" she said with a smile
Sayaka nodded "So stop making excuses about it and confess your true feeling about what you think of him to him. Don't you want to be his super hero girlfriend?"
She groaned "Can you please not mention that I said that, I don't want that name to catch on...but I do want to be their for him so he doesn't...doesn't..."
"End up like Hitomi?" Homura finished for her
Sayaka started to tear up "Don't say that! Its not just about Hitomi! Other students died in the accident! Its just that...Hitomi was so close to us..."
"Sorry Sayaka, I should have known about the passing of the other students. Class is going to start soon, good bye for now"
The school day went on shortly after that. Some students couldn't get over the passing of the multiple students and couldn't accept the way they died. A large memorial of the students who died only days ago was a stone bench with the pictures and names of the students engraved inside the stone. Candles were lit every so often to bring back memories of the lost even if it was only weeks ago. Most classrooms remained half empty since a lot of students where in the wherehouse at the time of the murder suicide most classrooms had to merge together to fill them up.
Madoka gripped the fence in deep thought as a strong wind blew across the school. Sayaka layed on the bench and looked up at the sky with calculating eyes, she's thought about the contract time and time again but never has she truly thought about it this hard since Homura spoke to her.
"Are you sure about this Sayaka? I'm not going against you or anything but the life of a Puella magi will be difficult" Mami said with a great deal of concern
She nodded "After what Homura said...she encouraged me to make the right wish...instead of being a coward and wished for something stupid"
Madoka turned to Sayaka "So the warnings that Homura gave us were meaningless to you..."
Before Sayaka could open her mouth Madoka spoke once more "Don't you think we've had enough!" She started to burst into tears "I don't want to lose you and Mami also! Hitomi's dead and she's never coming back! To be a puella magi is basically suicide!"
"Is that truly what you believe, Madoka?" Madoka was instantly filled with regret after she had realized the damage she had done to an innocent friend
Before Madoka could attempt to make up for the damage she had done she was interrupted by Aito who appeared with Kyubey perched on his shoulder from out of nowhere "I can't take seeing you girls like this. Where Kouhei, Daitaro and I came from...we used to take a break when someone died. We would take a short vacation somewhere that was completely new to us. I think it would be best if we all just took a little break and since its march break tomorrow we won't need to worry about school"
His idea seemed to agree with the others and the next day they went out to a nice hotel in a rather large city. Madoka and Aito got permission from their parents to go and the next day they were off. Unfortunately Sayaka made the contract later that day and revealed everything to Kamijo who thought it was cute and accepted the world for what it really was and supported Sayaka all the way. Daitaro couldn't come because he was showing Sayaka the ropes and safety tips. So it left just Kouhei, Mami, Madoka and Aito to attend the trip.
"I can't believe we're riding a Shinkansen(bullet train)!" Madoka said with glee as the three of them reached the outdoor station. Madoka wore a one piece, sleeveless, bright pink spaghetti strap dress
Mami nodded "I too have never been on trains of such a high speed"
"I guess Aito was right. Nothing like taking a mini adventure to make your mind at ease" Kouhei said as he took in the fresh air
Madoka became increasingly worried as she didn't see any sign of Aito yet "speaking of Aito, where is he anyway? The train gets here in 5 minutes"
Soon enough her questions and worries were put to rest when he showed up with some friends to say goodbye for a while. "Sayaka-chan!, Aito-kun!, Kyousuke-kun!" Madoka shouted as she ran towards the three that smiled as she ran towards them
"Good afternoon" Madoka said to the three She looked at Kyousuke "So...you know everything now?"
Kyousuke gave a wide smile "Yep, the whole gist of it anyway but I never expected you guys to be so cool. Especially to have a super hero girlfriend like Sayaka." This made Sayaka blush a deep red. Kyousuke was in crutches because Sayaka wished for his hands to be healed so he still had to go to therapy for his other limbs but he was fine with it.
Madoka pulled Aito into a deep hug. The train soon came and departed leaving with the group waving goodbye to Sayaka and Kyousuke and to Mitakihara.
The 4 found their seats and sat down. Luckily but kind of strange that the Bullet train wasn't crowded, the amount of people they saw was about 15 and very spacey but then again Mitakihara was the first stop today.
Excitement was written all over Madoka's face, she was the only one in the group that hasn't traveled so far out of Mitakihara and especially without her parents. Madoka relaxed her body and gave a sigh, she rested her head against Aito's shoulder "thanks for doing this Aito but I'm concerned about Sayaka's safety"
D ~Don't worry about it! I won't kick her ass too hard!~ Daitaro said through telepathy
M ~Y-you can still talk to us?~ Madoka thought in surprise
D ~of course I can! Star children don't have a limit to telepathy~
M ~I left a weeks worth of groceries in the fridge for you Daitaro~ Mami said barging into the conversation
D ~i appreciate it Mami but I'm staying at Homura's house until you guys come back~ he said with an annoyed tone
The telepathic conversation changed between subject to subject during the ride and even Aito and Kouhei joined in. But it soon ended and things went back to silence and small talk between friends. Occasionally Madoka and Aito would both fall asleep on each other but given the embracing warmth of the sun and scenic view from a quiet town to forest view and the occasional bump on the track made everything seem so peaceful. But in the end the sleeping couple get jolted awake by either Mami or Kouhei who quietly take pictures with their cells.
The train finally came to a stop and the group carefully took their belongings and stepped off the dragon sized vehicle they made their way to the hotel. Madoka was filled with wonder at what she was seeing trying to take in all of the view. The tall city buildings that seemed to go on forever, clear skies that carried the coming moon and the slowly departing sun. "Madoka? Your coming aren't you?" Mami asked
She shook her head clearing it from the wonders for a while "coming!"
A door opened to reveal the hotel room that fit all of their dreams. In one word it was big. All of their faces were filled with awe at what they saw. Throughout the room as they explored their were 5 rooms in total! 2 bedrooms that held neat and tidy king sized beds, 1 bathroom with a jacuzzi with jets, 1 kitchen with appliances and a living room with a satellite tv not just in it but also in all the other rooms...well except for the bathroom.
"Whoa! This is amazing!" Aito shouted from the kitchen
"Whoa is right. I love this place" Madoka said from the bedroom
Mami wrapped her arms around Kouhei's neck and planted a deep kiss on his lips. She parted "I said buy a hotel room not a house" she said with a smile "maybe we can use that jacuzzi later?" Mami continued with a wink
"I'd love that" Kouhei said taking his and Mami's things and putting them in one of the bedrooms
Mami cleared her throat "we don't have time to unpack. We can do that when we get back. Its seven o'clock right now and our dinner reservations are in half an hour so let's go" Mami said with a smile
She grasped Aito's arm tight as she was unfamiliar with the atmosphere and the bright lights of the city rather than the simple peaceful town she was used to. Mami and Kouhei walked beside the two as well. After that bite to eat they all seemed almost ready to head back to the hotel. But Madoka still wanted so much to explore "um Mami?" Madoka asked
"Yes?"
She hesitated a bit "do you think Aito and I could go on our own for a bit" Madoka said blushing slightly
Mami giggled a bit but held it in "of course, we'll meet back at the hotel" and with that the quartet split into 2 groups for the remainder of their first day.
As soon as the two were out of sight Madoka gave a relaxed sigh
"You had a nice time?" He asked
She nodded and snuggled beside him "its fun truly to be away from my family for a while"
"Ya I hear you on that one. Parents can smother their children and it good to have space for a while"
Her face became cheerless for a moment "Please stop me if I'm getting too personal but...do you ever miss your friends and family from up there?" She said looking up at the sky
He shook his head "To me they're just memories. When I was being prepared to leave my home planet I was literally put in reverse and my age went from 14 to 1 day old. My emotional attachments to them were severed after that...but their are times I wish I stay- oh my god!" He went off topic as he ran to the arcade with wide eyes leaving Madoka behind
She simply shrugged and ran after him. They both walked inside the arcade to find it surprisingly vacant...well other than the store owner. "Hey Madoka ever played video games before?" He said as he picked up a plastic gun attached to the game with a cord
She shook her head "I'm not really into video games" she walked up to the game and made a pose with the second gun "but for you I'll give it a shot" she continued
He laughed and put the quarter into the machine "your cute and scary, Madoka"
The game soon activated they both entered in their names into the game. Madoka's was pink magic and Aito's was space alien. The game officially had begun and it was a first person shooter. They both had to shoot their way through from round to round. Madoka was eerily good at the game, hitting each zombie in the head with no misses while Aito was being crowded by the undead bastards. "Need help sweetheart?" Madoka asked playfully
"Gee moving onto pet names already? You sure are daring Madoka" he said with a smirk. Both were too caught up in the game to blush, the only thing that mattered was the zombie killing
Aito was on his last life as the zombies crowded and slaughtered his body while Madoka just watched with a cocky look on her face. The screen was covered in red while Aito tried to stay alive "I'm not going to lose to my noob girlfriend!" He said in desperation
Madoka came from behind the struggling Aito and grasped his hands still holding the controller and shot all zombies with precision and accuracy to the head thus clearing the game.
Their bodies were still connected from behind "Well pink bandit you have bested the space alien this time but next time you won't be so lucky" he said in a fake voice
The two locked eyes with each other. Each trying to see who would break contact with the other. Their faces began to move closer and closer to each other, both of them started to slowly close their eyes, their lips pressed against each other's until they were forced to part because of lack of air. They both gasped in exhaustion their bodies still touching "This is an awkward position for me" he said with an embarrassed smile, Madoka started to blush noticing that she was pretty much hugging him from behind. She instantly pulled away and after other exciting games they decided it was about time to leave.
This time Madoka was the brave one to grasp her lover's hand. Which he gladly accepted and squeezed her hand. Things were looking great for the pair until the surroundings started to change, from a starry night sky and shining light of lampposts and buildings were replaced by a bright blue barrier surrounded by what looked like a theme park with merry go rounds and horses with colourful designs. "Madoka! Grab my hand!" He shouted. She quickly complied with his command as freaky looking familiars approached the couple! The minions looked like creepy white mannequins with halos floating above their heads and one wing on either the left side or the right side.
"Aito, please do something!" Madoka shouted with fear as the familiars flew up to them getting closer and closer! He didn't respond to her, it was like he was in another reality! Could he have frozen up just like Mami? She still held on tight as the familiars pulled them down to the bottom of the sphere shaped barrier!
She looked to Aito to see that he had a witch kiss "I-is this how we're going to pay...for letting Hitomi die?" The screens attached to the merry go round horses started to show images from both Madoka's and Aito's past, the horses began to spin faster and faster as the box witch descended to her targets with the intent to kill! "I...guess theirs no such thing...as a happy ending" She said as the witch was inches away from her face maniacally laughing at the suffering she was having! The familiars stretched her and Aito's bodies forcing her to let go of him. She screamed in pain as they started to stretch her further and further across the barrier! "I...I love you, Aito" she said thinking this would be the end
Suddenly gun shots took out each familiar and both Madoka and Aito returned to normal and he got out from his bizarre trance like state. "H-HITOMI?!" Madoka yelled as she saw the school girl
her arm suddenly faded away and was replaced by a large blade! She jumped down from a platform she was on and crashed her blade onto the box witch causing it to come tumbling to the floor and smashing. The barrier made a crashing sound like the power went out in a city. The blade Hitomi had transformed back into her arm and the barrier disappeared leaving behind the grief seed.
Hitomi was almost pushed down from Madoka's surprise hug. She looked up at Hitomi with tears in her eyes "H-Hitomi! I'm so happy your alive"
Hitomi pushed Madoka off of her with ease. The look she had in her eyes were cold and mean. Aito spoke up "I was their when she was cremated. That's not Hitomi. It couldn't have been a puella magi because their was no transformation though"
"I-if your not Hitomi...then who are you?" Madoka asked wiping her tears away
"Of course I'm Hitomi! The one you saw was only a clone" she said "Aito may know me by the name Project Joan of Arc" she stated before walking away without looking back. Madoka attempted to stop her but was held still by Aito.
She stared straight into Aito's eyes with a concerned look "what's project Joan of Arc?" He put his hand on her forehead "forget your meeting with Hitomi" the moment was instant
"that was a relief that you scared away the witch Aito. Why is your hand on my forehead?" She asked confused
"Oh...um...you seemed a little bit pale" he lied
She giggled and started to walk "Well I guess getting some rest would do us both some good"
He quickly ran up beside her "umm...Madoka...you don't mind sharing a bed...with me do you?" He asked hesitantly
She shook her head "I trust you not to do anything like that, We can cuddle though but I draw the line at anything above french kissing"
He face brightened up "you'd do that with me?!"
"Of course I would. I-I love you" she muttered the last part so Aito couldn't hear. After the long walk they finally made it back to the hotel. Aito swiped the card key through the slot and opened the door and stepped aside for Madoka to enter first.
"Mami? Kouhei? You home?" Aito called
"We're in the kitchen" Kouhei said
They removed their shoes and walked to the kitchen. Mami and Kouhei were drinking alcoholic beverages "Mami, you drink?" Madoka looked shocked
"Only when I go out and comeback from dates with Kouhei" she admitted
She took another shot of the beverage and got up from the table heading for the door. She wasn't tipsy so she probably could handle most alcoholic drinks "Mami, where are you going?" Kouhei asked
"I always set up a magical barrier before I go to bed" she said pulling out her soul gem for a couple of seconds then turning it back into a ring on her finger "good night" she said to everyone as she closed the door. They all said "good night back to her.
Aito stretched his arms "I'm going to change out of these clothes" he said to Madoka before entering the room they shared
"Kouhei? Aren't you going to bed with Mami?" Madoka asked with concern
He nodded "ya, I'm just having a couple of drinks"
Madoka became more concerned "I know I don't have the right to ask this but why are you drinking if your only 16?" She asked
"Things have been troubling me lately..." He said downing another shot
Madoka nodded and took a seat beside him "I understand, Aito and I ran into a witch today and I really wanted to spend a day where nothing really happened and I could just relax and have fun with everybody without worrying I'm going to get lost and killed in those things. We may not share the same problems but if we talk about them with others the pain may eventually go away"
"Ya...I used to do that with Mami a lot when we first started to date" he said getting up from his chair
"Why don't you do it anymore?"
He shrugged "Some things I think Mami wouldn't be able to handle if she knew the truth"
"The truth?"
"Don't worry about it"
He was about to but the beverages back into the fridge "Before you put that away...do you think I can try some?" Madoka asked
He chuckled a little "Stay pure Madoka. Wait until your 20" and with that he went to bed
Madoka sighed as it had been a long day and a good night sleep would be good. Aito came out of the bathroom wearing a white T-shirt and boxer shorts "You don't mind, do you?" He asked
She blushed a deep red "I-its fine"
Madoka soon was finished changing and allowed Aito to enter the bedroom. He was surprised to notice that Madoka didn't go under the covers without him, she just sat at the edge of the bed. He pulled away the blanket half way "You can go first" he said
She nodded, he turned off the light and went under the blanket with her. She had her back turned away from him "C-can I cuddle with you...Madoka" he asked nervously. She slowly turned so that she facing towards him. She pulled herself into his chest which caught him off guard for a moment. He wrapped his arm around her as she snuggled into him. Madoka listened to both heart beats beat as one object "Our heartbeats match..." She said with a voice so faint it was almost impossible to hear. He rested his head on top of her's. He was about to respond until he noticed she was already asleep and soon he dozed off without a care in the world.
Homura smiled as she saw the final moments before the two fell asleep cuddling. Daitaro took his hand off her forehead and opened his eyes "it may seem like a warm and fuzzy moment to you but soon things are going to get out of control" Daitaro spoke sternly to Homura
"Trust me, I'm not getting off task but I still am aiming for a happy ending" Homura said
He crossed his arms "I trust you completely...But I don't like the way things are going now. Kyubey has been trying his best but with no luck"
"Your to hung up on this. I learned that dedication and hard work pays off but in a world where nothing is ever exactly the same..." She trailed off after that
"You messed up by stirring Madoka away from being a puella magi so we'll have to hope we'll get lucky this time" he stated
"Does he even know we'll have to kill Madoka when the time comes?" Homura asked
He shook his head "If this time is anything like the others he probably won't and try to help her and we'll all be staring at death in the face"
Meanwhile in an unknown labratory somebody was taking matters into their own hands. H.N Elly's grief seed held in a small cylinder shaped container. It slowly began to pulse and become a shining blue soul gem. A bright light appeared near the floor and started to form the image of a person. When the light faded away and a girl was in the light's place beside the soul gem. The girl had long black hair in pig tails tied with red bows on each side. Her hair was long and covered her eyes from view and she wore no clothes.
"Welcome back Elly" said Kyubey as he came from the automatic sliding doors with a small tray of food and water floating to her
When the trey was set down she wasted no time in chomping the food and water down her throat. Instead of using the chopsticks she threw them to the side and used her hands. Kyubey waited patiently until she was done. She took a sigh of satisfaction and turned her intention to Kyubey.
"Its been so long...incubator" she said happily
"Call me Kyubey when you meet the others. Hitomi revived you to go under cover" Kyubey said
"You mean the cyborg?" she shrugged it off "I'll do it"
"You'll start school on monday since its march break now. We'll teleport you to your apartment where you can put on some clothes"
The girl looked down "Oh. I didn't notice I was naked." She said dumbfounded
"The point is can you do this mission?"
She gave a confident smirk "you bet your ass I can"