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themonotonysyndrome · 4 years

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The Holy Quintet in Twisted Wonderland! (all 7 dorms - Part 5)

Our last girl, our favourite Goddess is finally here! Now it’s Madoka’s turn! I apologise for the delay. Work keep piling up, but I needed something to distract me so here we are!

I also want to give a shout out to @lionheartanotheraccount for helping me out by sharing every bit of Madoka Magica info with me. You’re the best, Lion. I hope you know that.

We have a discord where we gush about TW and discuss about this crossover. Come hang out if you want!

https://discord.gg/K7bGwKK

Kaname Madoka & the other dorms (except Diasomnia)

HEARTSLABYUL!

Madoka’s first meeting with Riddle is not through Sayaka’s invitation for the Unbirthday Birthday or through school assignments. Rather, it involves a run a way horse and a basket full of apples.

While helping Sebek search for a wandering Malleus, she came across Mami who was carrying two baskets full of ripe, shiny red and green apples. Courtesy of Epel, of course.

Mami explains that once every month, the Felmier would send boxes of apples to Epel and since there was too much for him to eat, Epel often shared them with his dorm mates.

And so Mami wanted to share a basket with Madoka. Madoka thanked her profusely and they parted ways. As she continues to search for Malleus, Madoka is already thinking of sharing the apples with Lilia and everyone else back at Diasomnia.

Madoka’s search for Malleus brought her to a garden of beautiful roses. It’s only after she wanders inside for a few minutes that she realises that she’s unfortunately lost in a rose maze!

Her saviour however, came in a form of a... horse. As in literally. As Madoka wandered deeper into the maze, hoping to find an exit, she heard the trotters of a horse and then a large, black stallion appear behind her.

As a city girl, Madoka has never seen a horse this close before. Especially one that’s so huge! Honestly, the creature intimidates Madoka even when it tentatively approaches her.

As both creatures warily observed one another, when the stallion nosed and nudge the basket of apples that Madoka was carrying, she broke out from her stupor.

“Oh! Is Mr. Horse hungry? Do you want some apples?” Seeing how docile the stallion is, Madoka felt a little braver as she carefully offer a shiny red apple to it. When it started to feed from her hand, she notices that there was a riding saddle neatly strapped on the horse’s back.

“Do you belong to someone, Mr. Horse?” Madoka wondered out loud as she continues to feed it apples. “I didn’t know that this school has horses! So cool...” Madoka then giggle when the stallion gently brushes its head against Madoka in an affectionate bump.

It wasn’t long for the two to become friends (no longer intimidated, Madoka petted the stallion’s head and neck, cooing how its such a gentle and good horse while the stallion nip at her ribbons) until a running and panting Riddle appear.

“Oh! You’re one of Sayaka’s friend.” Riddle didn’t expect Madoka - of all people - to loiter around Heartslabyul’s garden. Or being on her own. Usually Riddle would always see her with someone.

“I-I’m sorry! I was searching for Draconia-san and I got lost...”

Riddle sigh. While it was against the rule for someone outside of Heartslabyul to enter the rose maze without an invitation, he can let this slide since Madoka’s presence seem to calm his temperamental horse.

It surprised Riddle to see how calm and docile his horse is around Madoka. Usually the stallion is very wary of strangers and Riddle had to both coax and discipline the horse for it to accept him as its rider. But here, the stallion is nudging at the petite girl for more petting. Riddle wondered if it’s because of her calm and gentle presence?

Anyway, Riddle thanked Madoka for finding his horse and despite how Madoka tried to explain that it found her - not the other way around - and personally invited her to the next Unbirthday Party as thanks.

During the party, Riddle was the one personally attending her. He makes sure that the party has all her favourite treats, teach her how to play their games - he play the part of a host perfectly well!

Riddle could’ve wept at how kind, gentle and thoughtful Madoka is compare to the chaotic group that is Adeuce + Sayaka. Madoka could only gape like a goldfish when Riddle suddenly clasp her hands and request that she teaches him on how to manage Sayaka better.

Observing the comedic interaction from the sideline, Trey merely smile widely as he hauls Ace, Deuce and Sayaka by their collars as if they were kittens and onto the empty seats before Riddle could punish them for misbehaving during the Unbirthday Party.

Trey honestly thinks that Madoka is good for the Dorm Leader. In a way, Madoka understands Riddle. Around her, he completely let his guards down and allow himself to enjoy the world for once. Once, Trey even caught the most precious and adorable moment between those two. They were caring for the pink hedgehogs while he was trimming the rose bushes. Riddle wore a tender expression, even a small smile, and he later laughs over something that Madoka said. Trey decide to leave them in their world after that.

The next time they met, Trey made sure to share some of his baked goods with her. Seeing her smile lit up from his gift is honestly a lot sweeter than his cookies, in Trey’s opinion.

When it comes to Cater, Madoka is the littler sister that he always wanted. Always so sweet and would pout against his teasings, you bet that he loves showing her off to his Magicam followers. Seeing her running around the school with her friends oddly remains Cater of the tiny fairies that sweep away with the wind during his childhood. He was blessed enough to catch them dancing in the wind. Perhaps Diasomnia was right to call her a fairy.

Madoka’s reaction to the 3 Heartslabyul’s seniors are overall positive. She sees the trio something like big brothers. Riddle with his disciplined lifestyle yet soft hidden side, Trey with his welcoming smile and helpful demeanour and Cater with his cheerful smirks and teasing remarks. Although they’re from different dorms, the trio would never fail to greet her should they ever pass by one another and for that, she’s grateful.

Plus, she seriously appreciates Trey’s study session because school work? Yeah, that’s her mortal enemy.

When it comes to Ace & Deuce, they’re fun to be around but sometimes they’re too rumbustious for Madoka to handle. Don’t get her wrong, the two boys are wonderful friends! After Sayaka sang praises about Madoka, the duo couldn’t help but look out for her whenever the circumstances show (EX: Being intimidated by the other students).

Sometimes, Ace come across as too blunt and selfish that made Madoka uncomfortable and that would signal Deuce to punch him. Then cue the two brawling and Madoka, in the sideline feeling horribly guilty. For Ace, he thinks that Madoka is too tender-hearted for his taste; especially for a vilains’ school. He doesn’t say it out loud, but Ace believes that a school like RSA would suit Madoka. Still, he tries to hold his tongue around her. The last thing he needs is Sayaka and Riddle coming after his ass for making Madoka cry.

Deuce likes Madoka ‘cause he gets to better himself at being a gentleman around her. He makes sure to always be mindful of himself and offer her help by carrying her books, showing her where certain classes are and etc. Madoka appreciate the gestures and always works hard to return the favour. She offers him a pair of ears to listen to his trouble, offer honest opinions/advice and practise their magic together.

All in all, Madoka enjoys spending time with the Heartslabyul gang! They’re a different brand of eccentric from Diasomnia which makes things a lot more fun and unexpected!

SAVANACLAW!

Madoka was officially introduced to the Savanaclaw gang through Ruggie and some NPCs.

She had just finished with PE and was on her way back to Diasomnia to freshen up and maybe catch up with Sebek to go over their homeworks for the day. As she was passing by the field, she saw a group of Savanaclaw students arguing amongst themselves. Since she didn’t know any of them, Madoka was about to leave when Ruggie - who is mitigating the peace between the group - spotted her and immediately called out to Madoka.

His sudden shout startle the poor girl and before she realises it, Ruggie already jogs up towards her. Seeing the cautious stance and timid greeting, Ruggie made sure to present himself as friendly as possible. He recalls from Kyouko that this one is the shy type. A herbivore, Leona would call her.

So Ruggie made sure to appear as harmless as possible and gives her a sincere smile.

“Hey there! I’m Ruggie Bucchi! You’re one of Kyouko-chan’s friend, right? Do you know where she is right now? I tried calling her phone but she didn’t pick up.”

“U-Umm, I didn’t see Sakura-san at all today, actually. Sorry...”

Ruggie sigh. He thanked Madoka nonetheless and that’s when one of the NPCs suddenly shouted that it’s not fair if Kyouko is in the other team for the practise. And that spark an argument.

Ruggie just rolled his eyes at their bickering and explain to a confused Madoka that the two teams are facing off one another in a simple game. It’s a game where they need to shoot their magic at flying discs. It requires accuracy and stern hold of one’s magic. But because one team is short of a member and wanted Kyouko on their side, they started arguing and Ruggie had to held them back.

In a momentary burst of bravery and curiosity (because honestly, that sounds like a fun game to Madoka), she shyly asks if she can join in too. The boys immediately stop bickering and turn to stare at her. Even Ruggie’s eyes were bugged wide.

One of the boys scoffed harshly and was about to say something scathing but was immediately silenced when Ruggie signal someone to punch him before he could regret it. Ruggie is well aware that Madoka is beloved by the entirety of Diasomnia. He doesn’t even want to think what would happen if they make her cry.

“You want to join our game? Sure! You’re in your PE uniform anyway. You can be on their team and I’ll be in the other. Both teams have an equal number of people now.”

So Madoka dutifully follow Ruggie from behind, unknowing that Ruggie glare hard at the NPCs and silently promise punishment if they ever brought up the rivalry that Savanaclaw has with Diasomnia. Even though Ruggie is not a Vice Dorm Leader, the NPCs adhere to his command since he’s their Dorm Leader’s right-hand man.

Madoka quickly introduce herself and after a round of gruff exchange of pleasantry, Ruggie went over the rules and how the game works once more so that Madoka is clear.

Madoka and her team watch as Ruggie and his team go first. They managed to get a lot of good hits and score mad points. Ruggie score the most for his team because he manages to hit the discs that was the farthest.

Then it was Madoka’s turn. The guys draw out their Magic Pens and Madoka summon her pink bow. The moment the whistle is blown, everyone starts shooting. Ruggie and his team gape when Madoka manages to destroy the discs that was the farthest rapidly without missing a single hit!

In the end, Madoka’s team won. Her teammates were so happy that they cheer and hoist her up on their shoulders.

Meeting and getting to know Madoka was an eye opener for Ruggie. He could understand now why she was sorted into Diasomnia despite her timid nature. Everytime she pulls back the bowstring and unleash a stream of pink energy, Ruggie could feel that there some serious firepower in it. Like she purposely fire off weak blasts to shoot at the discs.

To Madoka, Ruggie is a good senpai, if a little callous and mischevious. Kyouko told them that out all the boys here, she could relate more to Ruggie than anyone else. From that, Madoka guessed that the two of them shared similar past but she refrain from poking into someone else’s business.

Leona, however, boy does this guy intimidate the hell out of Madoka!

Leona heard of the game that Madoka joined and thought nothing of it. If Kyouko could punch someone and send them crashing straight through walls, it’s only safe to assume that the other girls are just as strong. However, because he kept catching Madoka saddle close to her friends and would lower her head slightly when talking to anyone that wasn’t them, it’s hard for him to view her anything but a herbivore despite living in Diasomnia with that overgrown lizard.

The two meet in the green house. Madoka was tasked by Divus to collect some herbs and flowers for their class and as a mean to help her identify and learn more about alchemy materials more. Unfortunately, even with a book in hand to guide her, Madoka is still unfamiliar with the plants.

When she spotted someone sleeping on a bench nearby, she was at first instantly drawn towards his kitty ears. Her hands already itching to pet them! Her second instinct is to ask him for help find the plants that the teacher requested. She’s unable to decide.

Leona could sense someone is standing close to him and so reluctantly, he crack open one bleary eye. He could only sigh when he sees Diasomnia’s resident fairy acting so skittish at him. So gruffly, he asks, “What is it?”

Madoka hesitantly explain that she needs help finding some of the plants in her book. The green house is so huge and she doesn’t have a lot time before her Alchemy class is over.

Now, normally Leona would just scoff, roll over and go back to sleep, but something in Madoka’s pleading eyes makes him feel like the scum of Twisted Wonderland if he doesn’t help her out. Is this her Unique Magic? And so with a very much put out sigh, he got up and reluctantly told her to follow him. He knows where the flowers and herbs are around this place. When she thanked him profusely, Leona brush it off in embarrassment. Just... please stop it with the sparkles.

Leona ended up teaching her how to identity the ingredients better. See here in the book about this particular flower? It’s unique because it gives different scent to different people. The matured ones would gives of the smell of your favourite food so pick those. This goes on until Madoka gathered all she needs with enough time to spare!

Once again, Madoka thanked the Dorm Leader profusely in which Leona grumpily reply that the only reason he helped her out is so that she would know the herbs a lot more and won’t disturb him again. His prickly demeanour didn’t put her off though.

To Leona, Madoka is the human embodiment of sunshine and rainbows. Sometime when she chases after him to wish him a good morning, Leona mentally wonder if he should buy a pair of sunglasses because her beaming smiles are blinding. Ruggie could only snicker quietly when Leona tried to feed the girl some half-baked excuse about catching his classes just so he could escape her rays. She’s a good girl, definitely, and less troublesome to boot despite being a Diasomnia member so Leona doesn’t mind her.

Little did he know that Madoka is working hard to worm into his good side so he would let her pet his ears and maybe let her brush his amazing mane. Oh well, it doesn’t hurt him if he doesn’t know it!

Madoka had already met Jack because of Kyouko. These two get along well due to their even-temper personalities.

Jack appreciate that Madoka is working hard to improve herself as a person and her magic and would often offer to be training buddies so he could look out for her in case she ever overwork herself. Despite her gentle disposition, Jack wouldn’t treat Madoka as if she’s made of glass. He knows that being kindness does not equal to weakness. He has a feeling that when push come to shoves, Madoka wouldn’t hesitate to bite in self-defend.

Bonus point: Jack lets her pet his ears and tail after she did a good workout session. It’s a good enough motivation for her!

Usually Madoka is not too fond of physical workout but with Jack, every training session is fun. She feels so comfortable with him after some time that she would sit on his back whenever Jack does push up. Outside of their training sessions, these two mantained a good relationship and would often hang out with Kyouko and the rest of the first-year squad without problem.

OCTAVINELLE!

Among all the girls, Azul would soon learn that Madoka is the scariest.

Azul and Madoka would only officially meet when Azul needed to be save from himself. For now, they only briefly exchange glances from one another.

Madoka would be walking with Sayaka and Silver, talking and there across the courtyard would be Azul and the Leech Twins in their own world. When their eyes met accidentally (Azul turns away from Floyd in annoyance when the taller student tried to nibble on his cheek playfully), both of their eyes widen in surprise.

Madoka saw something in Azul. Something painfully familiar and to Azul, at that brief moment, he felt like Madoka saw through him. It send shivers up his spine while Madoka’s heart would constrict in pain. The spell is only broken only when their respective friends bring them back to the present.

It was only a brief moment, but both Azul and Madoka felt uncomfortable.

After that strange interaction, Azul would contemplate in the dead of the night when he couldn’t sleep whether or not to stay away from Madoka or confront of her. He couldn’t help but feel that Madoka saw the ugly side of him that the desperately kept hidden. The small boy that wouldn’t stop crying just because he was different from the rest. From that single glance, Madoka manages to unearthed that boy.

Azul hated this feeling.

As for Madoka, when she stared at Azul that morning, she could see herself reflected in his eyes. More specifically, the helplessness that she always struggle with. Becoming a Magical Girl doesn’t change that. And she wonders, if his affable and put-together demeanour are similar to her need to always help out her friends.

This puts her in a pinch as well. Should she try to approach him despite her friends’ warnings about the Dorm Leader of Octavinelle and the Leech brothers?

In the end, the two of them gave each other a wide berth and the next time they met in campus, neither of them would even look at the other. Too caught up in their own struggles to know what to do about the other.

Jade, ever the observant one, would definitely noticed how strangely indiffierent Azul is to Madoka. After all, weren’t their plan is to learn more about these otherworldly girls? So he would be intrigue as to why Madoka had rubbed Azul the wrong way when they didn’t even talk to the girl yet!

Because of Azul’s indifference, Jade decide to merely observe Madoka from afar. For now. He’ll figure out this strange puzzle soon enough, he’s confident about it.

Floyd thinks that Madoka is like an axolotl. So cute! So tiny! So pink! Oh, he just want to squeeze the living shit out of her! Unfortunately, his enthusiasm appear very threatening to the girls. I mean, they don’t mind the usual hugs, but all of their warning alarms go haywire the moment they spot Floyd running to Madoka.

Picture this scenario in your head. You’re minding your business, talking to your friend and then a 191CM boy suddenly run towards you, smiling widely so you can see his row of ridiculously sharp teeth and his arms wide open towards you. Now, can you actually figured out at that moment whether he wants to hug you or kill you?

That’s Madoka dilemma right about now.

As Madoka’s poor mind was racing whether to run or not and Lilia - who is with her - just smile at the incoming eel boy, Madoka immediately gape and Lilia’s eyes shine with mirth when a yellow ribbon suddenly shoots out from nowhere, wrap itself around Floyd’s ankle and yank viciously. He trips and falls face first onto the ground and he was then instantly hoist up onto one of the main lamp post. He was left confused and dangling in the air, but only for a moment. He grins menacingly when Mami and Kyouko (she has her spear ready) are looking up at him. The two saw him running and since he’s probably in one of his squeezing moods, Kyouko offer to help him blow off some steam. Needless to say that they definitely distracted him from Madoka as they fight right there and then.

“Ah, youth. It never fail to bring joy into these old bones.” Lilia sigh happily as he and Madoka, as well as the wandering students, spectate Kyouko and Floyd’s battle. Mami already went away for her next class.

“Floyd-san is... scary.” Madoka couldn’t help but admit with a shiver. Why does he always want to chase after her!?

Poor, Madoka. Someone needs to tell Floyd that his usual way of making friends scare the absolute shit out of her.

SCARABIA!

It was a surprise not only to Madoka, but to the rest of the girls as well, that Homura willingly approach her to introduce Kalim.

It was a sight to behold when the stoic Homura came forward to introduce a beaming and chatty Kalim to her.

Needless to say that Kalim immediately set her at ease. By the end of the day, these two become fast friends. Expect her to join the tutoring sessions between Kalim and Jamil.

Madoka absolutely adore how vivacious Kalim is. They relate to another so much - both are kind and love their friends. Kalim would coax Madoka into trying new things/experiences and in a way, these little things would unknowingly make her braver bit by bit. Especially after he brought her on a Magic Carpet ride to see the sunset.

Sometimes, when Madoka is feeling a bit insecure about her position as a Magical girl, the first person she would seek out to is Kalim. These two would often have heart-to-heart talks without their friends knowing. Only to the other, would they put down their smiles and cry.

When Madoka would visit Scarabia to see her friends, Kalim make sure to roll out the red carpet for her. The first time was a bit overwhelming for the poor girl, but after realising that it’s just Kalim’s nature and love for parties, Madoka surprisingly roll with it. Jamil was ready to restrain Kalim but seeing that Madoka enjoyed it, he just sighs and let these two cheerful idiots be.

Kalim finds that Madoka is super cute and fun! Her shy demeanour makes him want to help her come out of her shell. His attempts at throwing parties for her, going on Magic Carpet rides actually helps. It surprises him and everyone else.

It’s not long before he sees her akin to a little sister. One that he must spoil!

Like all the other boys in NRC, Jamil will freely agree that yes, Madoka is as cute as a button. But when he realises that Madoka is a more shy and reserve version of Kalim, he’s gonna relate to Homura even more now. He’s very grateful that Madoka is not as reckless as Kalim at least!

Jamil would treat Madoka courteously, of course. Since Homura often look out for Kalim whenever he’s busy, Jamil would do the same to Madoka to pay her back. He would subtly look out for her from afar though. No need to let Madoka know.

To Madoka, Jamil is intimidating but a lot less so than Azul. She wonders if it’s because Kalim is always plastered to his side and whatever shenanigans Kalim got himself into, Jamil would be there too.

After hanging with the two boys, Madoka could see that Jamil and Homura shares a lot of common traits, so she treats him the same way she treats Homura. Gentle and with the hopes that they could be even better friends.

POMEFIORE!

When Mami once told him that one of her friends’ choice weapon is a bow and she’s quite proficient with it - despite what she may tell you otherwise - Rook immediately sets his eyes on Madoka.

So he ‘observe’ her whenever he could. In less than a week, Rook basically learn more about Madoka than the girl herself. He memorised her routine down to a T, noted down the type of people she prefer to hang out with, knows which class she’s struggling and excel in and etc.

Basically, Rook stalks her as much as he stalks Leona.

(Funny enough, when Leona found out about this, it surprises Ruggie that he went out of his way to inform Madoka about it. It confuses her as to why Rook would keep an eye out for her and decided to approach him when she gets the chance).

Well, that day arrives when Rook came by to fetch Mami after the girls’ training. He arrive just in time to witness Madoka pulling her bow and unleash a strong magical pink arrow at Homura’s shield. The impact was so strong that Homura even skidded behind.

Rook startle the girls by clapping his hands loudly at such display of power and adorableness!

He recalls that Vil requested him to fetch Mami, but he just have to show his skills with the bow and arrow off to Diasomnia’s fairy!

“Ah, lovely mesdemoiselles, forgive me for my rude intrusion, but each and every one of your performance took my breath away. The sheer power and mesmerising beauty that accompanies it - it’s something I’ve never seen before!

Kyouko exchange a weird glance with Sayaka who just shrugs. “Uh, thanks. I guess?”

Before the girls could even react, Rook zoomed in front of Madoka, clasping her hands with his, pleading for her to let him bedazzled the fairy with his marksmanship. Behind him, Mami silently mouthed Madoka to indulged him with a small grin on her fond expression.

So with an unsure smile of her own, Madoka nodded.

Kyouko and Sayaka bid their goodbyes as they head back to their respective dorms to freshen up while Mami, Madoka and Rook went to the archery field.

When Rook let his arrows fly, Madoka’s eyes widen in awe. Rook is so proud of himself for being able to impress someone who is also passionate with the bow. Cue Mami suggesting if Madoka would like some archery lesson from Rook.

Madoka didn’t hesitate to agree. Anything to improve herself as a Magical Girl!

From that point on, Madoka gradually learn more and more about Rook as much as the Hunter learned about her. The moment Madoka admits that she has a knack for drawing and art, Rook quickly share his passion for the arts as well. Expect for these two to spend their time together drawing and Rook teaching her all sorts of arts that they have here in TW.

When Epel heard from the other Pomefiore students that Rook is quite smitten with Madoka, he would pull her to the side when they meet and ask if he’s overwhelming her. Rook can be like that at times. Much to his surprise, Madoka couldn’t stop singing praises over how much Rook had taught her in all sorts of things - archery, arts and he even helps her work on her confidence.

Speaking of arts, when Madoka caught Epel delicately carving apples into miniatures figures, she would shyly ask him to teach her. Already thinking of gifting her artworks to her friends and family. She wants to impress her mother with her new skills!

Like Ace, Epel thinks Madoka is too good to be in NRC. It’s a good thing that the other girls tend to stick close to her and that her dorm is protective of her. In his opinion, it doesn’t matter if she can fight like the rest of the girls. Most of the low-life guys in this school tend to take appearance at face value. Just how they did with him until he introduces his fist into their faces. It felt so good to just go feral! Hmm... maybe he should teach her how to throw a good punch at least.

As for Madoka, when she was first properly introduce to him, she was about to make a mistake by complimenting how gorgeous Epel is. Fortunately for her, there was a couple guys passing by cat-calling and whistling at him. In a blink of an eye, Epel’s tiny smile turn into a scary scowl and he immediately stated brawling with them. Madoka had no choice but to call a teacher for help. Despite being the one who landed him in detention, Epel is pretty cool with Madoka while the girl made sure to always remember not to say anything about how cute he looks.

Vil would nod in a passing whenever he sees his rebellious little apple with Madoka sitting quietly in the courtyard, carving apples together. Vil hopes that being around Madoka would calm Epel for once. Completely oblivious to the plans that Epel has for Madoka.

As the fashion seasons are approaching, Vil invite Mami and the rest of the girls to Pomefiore for some serious discussion. Madoka tilt her head in confusion when Sayaka look stricken when Mami came by with her Dorm Leader’s invitation.

Sitting on his throne in all his glory and regalia with Rook standing beside his Queen, Madoka felt like she’s in a fancy court and talking to royalty.

Vil wasted no time. He would like the girls to join him on this season’s fashion show and runway. There are still a few months left before the date and since the girls are no models, it’s a good time to train them.

When she heard the word ‘fashion’ and ‘runway’ and more specifically, her on the runway, Kyouko already turn around and walk away. Rook however, was quick to intercept her with a wide smile and stated that the girls would be handsomely rewarded if they agreed to it. This was enough to make her hesitant.

So as Kyouko and Sayaka argued with Rook and Mami is trying to calm things down, Homura crossed her arms and observe quietly when Madoka approached the haughty Dorm Leader.

“Um, Schoenheit-san, I-I don’t think I can pull it off. I don’t feel too comfortable among a lot of people...” Madoka carefully admits. She likes the idea of wearing pretty clothes, but on a stage where a crowd will judge her? Just thinking about it nearly made her faint!

Vil readily nodded but not deterred. “Mami informed me of your reserved nature. Under my teaching, I’ll transform you into a diamond that will glitter pink. This I promise you.” When Madoka still look unsure and Homura made moves to use her magic to bring her and Madoka out of Pomefiore, Vil continue, “Not only that, I will teach you how to overcome you timid nature. Aren’t you tired of hiding behind your friends all the time? You have beauty in you, girl. Give yourself the opportunity to bloom.”

Madoka carefully studied Vil from top to bottom - his looks, posture and the way how he carry himself. However, what attracted her to him the most is his confidence. A confidence that Madoka dream to possess.

And so she agreed.

She didn’t complain under Vil’s Spartan training. She did her best to get used to wearing the dresses and clothes that Vil designed for them. She absorb every lessons that Vil and Rook gave to boost her confidence.

“The moment you’re on the runway Kaname-san, you’re the star. Captivate them and you’ll have them eating from the palm of your hands. That’s quite a heady power once you get a taste of it.” Vil told her on the night before the fashion show.

Needless to say that Madoka looks up to Vil quite a lot and in return, Vil appreciate all the hard work and efforts she gave to herself and to him that it makes him proud despite her not being his dorm member. He can’t wait to see Madoka bloom into something magnificent.

Oh, and for those who are wondering, Vil designed a beautiful and elegant white dress with pink petticoat that flows behind her like a pair of wings whenever she walks. She feels strangely... powerful in it.

IGNIHYDE!

While Madoka was trying to nudge a sleeping Silver awake for his next class, she was surprise that a robot boy suddenly approach her from behind.

“Oh, hello there! I’m Madoka. Is there anything I can help you?”

The robot boy introduces himself as Ortho Shroud and that it was nice to meet with Madoka. She return the sentiment.

Ortho then explain that she’s been looking for her friend, Homura. His big brother has been trying to call her all day and she’s not picking up any calls or seen her in any of the camera feeds around NRC.

Now a little concern, Madoka and Ortho manages to roused Silver up. Together, they went around NRC looking for Homura after Silver left for his class.

As they walk, Ortho continue to explain that since he and his big brother noticed that Homura often hang out with Madoka the most out of all the other girls, it would be better to approach her. Madoka regretfully inform him that she actually hasn’t seen Homura all day.

Madoka then asked how did Ortho and his big brother managed to befriended Homura. Her friend is not known for being sociable after all.

Ortho cheerfully explain that Homura went to his big brother for help. They often hang out at their dorm and work on their projects. When Madoka asked about his dorm, Ortho explains that it’s Ignihyde. Their dorm focus on improving magical technology of TW.

Most of what Ortho try to explain about magitech fly over Madoka’s head but it’s fascinating to hear nonetheless.

Ortho reminds Madoka of her little brother, Tatsuya. Thinking about him as they talk send a pang of homesickness. Before either of them realise it, Madoka had started crying.

“Kaname Madoka-san! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere? My scanner didn’t pick up any injuries on you!” Ortho fretted.

With a sad smile, Madoka shakes her head as she wipe her tears. “I’m fine Ortho-kun. I just remember Tatsuya-kun. He’s my little brother. I miss him and my family so much.”

Well that wouldn’t do! Ortho could relate; if he was separate from Idia, he would be just as distraught as Madoka. “Whenever I’m unhappy, I usually talk to my big brother. He always make me feel all better! Kaname Madoka-san, would you like to hang out with my big brother and I? Big brother said that having fun can help when you feel sad.”

Madoka really doesn’t want to be alone right now. Despite just meeting with Ortho, he’s so sweet and kind to her. She wants to know more about him and his big brother. So after they found Homura who absentmindedly admit that she just return to NRC, the three of them head towards Ignihyde.

Honestly, Idia is ashamed to admit that he shrieks a little when he open his door to see a beaming Ortho with Madoka and Homura behind her. A guy could use a warning before girls suddenly barge into his room!

When Ortho explains that Madoka misses her little brother and ask if they could help her feel better by playing games, Idia’s heart melts a little. Besider her, Homura suggest they talk about their latest project some other time. It’s been sometime did she unwind and hang out with the Shroud brothers anyway. (Looks like befriending Kalim made her more incline to spend her time with Idia and Ortho, not that she realised yet.)

Idia introduces the girls some of his latest games and they indulge in tons of snacks. It didn’t take long for him to relax in their presence and Madoka to cheer up. By the time dinner came around and Lilia texted Madoka to ask about her whereabouts, Madoka sincerely thanked the Shroud brothers with all her heart for helping her feel better. Ortho cheers while Idia stammers in embarrassment as he reply that it was not a problem.

At first, Madoka thought that Idia is just as shy she was until he explains that being in a crowd makes him anxious and he just didn’t like to mingle with people. Only a selected few. Madoka felt honoured that he feels comfortable around her. After heading back to Diasomnia, she resolve to help Idia feel comfortable outside whenever she can.

She can’t wait to learn more about Ignihyde and the Shroud brothers.

Idia share the same sentiment with Leona when it comes to Madoka. The girl is seriously too adorable and blinding for her own good. It was like having a personal sun when she was in his room. Oh well, at least Ortho enjoys hanging out with her, letting her pampered him. He hopes that she’ll be able to reunite her family soon.

And we’re done with the girls’ reaction to the other characters and dorms! Oh, I’m so happy! We’re now moving to Overblots and the dorms arcs! Starting with Sayaka and Riddle~

#twisted wonderland #puella magi madoka magica #Puella Magi Holy Quintet #Holy Quintet in TW series #crossover

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justselfloathingthings-blog · 5 years

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Magical Christmases

When I think of magical Christmases, I think of a lot of things.

I think about Sakura Kinomoto. She’s alone with Syouyoan; Tomoyo and Meiling has grown enough to realize that they should let their friends have the night to themselves, rather than intrude due to fixating over might-have-beens. Though Sakura and Syaroran had made absolute sure to have a Christmas Eve celebration that included them, because the two girls were their friends too, and that was so important. Not to mention a surprise video call before Sakura and her boyfriend went to bed. It was a bit of work to get things set up, but to the two of them, the smiles on Meiling and Tomoyo’s faces were worth it.

The two are at Sakura’s place, admiring the heartfelt gifts they got each other. The moment he opens the present and gives off a radiant smile of heartfelt glee, is one that she wishes could last forever.

After a while, the pair have dinner- Though Meiling insisted on providing advice it was largely a Kinomoto product- Syaoran complimenting the meal all the while. And afterwards, the two end up falling asleep in each other’s arms, simply enjoying the warmth.

The girls in Mitakihara would also gather together, even if it wasn’t initially by choice. While Sayaka and Mami were enthusiastic about a party, Kyouko and Homura were more reticent, though they conceded by the end (Kyouko largely due to Sayaka’s pleading and puppy-dog eyes.)

The food was provided by Mami of course, there was no question about that. Aside from some cheap offerings that Kyouko and Sayaka gave each other- though they insisted that they loved them regardless, without even any hesitation- it had been decided that they simply didn’t have the money to spare. So they simply spend the time in each other’s company, swapping stories about wraith fights, and grand victories. (They didn’t talk about the tense near-defeats). Mami attempted to turn the party into a strategy meeting, but Kyouko and Sayaka continued to shoot that down.

Kyouko, Sayaka, and Mami did talk some about school. Sayaka had wanted to invite Hitomi, but Hitomi had already had plans with Kyousuke, and they had spent Christmas Eve together. So it was all good. None of them had many friends, but even Kyouko had some fond memories to offer, which brightened the mood slightly.

Homura, surprisingly, was the one who took the initiative, helping to build on that groundwork and take the direction as far away from wraiths as possible, given their current circumstances. To anything to talk about that would actually bring smiles to their faces, and in part it succeeded.

As night dragged on, it was decided that they would spend the night. Kyouko and Sayaka decided to share the sofa (by which it was meant that Kyouko got the sofa, and Sayaka got the floor.)

And Homura stayed in a room by herself. But, right as she was about to go asleep, a Goddess decided to pay a short visit and talk about how nice a certain girl looked in a certain ribbon.

It was Christmas, and she had the power of a god. How much could bending one rule for one night hurt?

And when it made it a Christmas Homura would never forget, all the better.

The Hero Club also spent the day and night together, but the occasion was far more joyful. Everyone continually found new things to talk about, with Yuna leading the pack. All forms of games were played (though the Japanese war games that Togo suggested were quickly shot down.) There was talk about the past, present, and future with pure joviality. Itsuki did a short song, to a grand display of applause. Presents were exchanged to everyone, though they made a fun Gift Exchange out of it, Yuna and Fu declaring that that was merely the most festive way to spend the holiday.

They weren’t alone, of course. The girls invited as many classmates that would be alone that Christmas as possible, and managed to get a full house in their clubroom, with everyone saying afterwards that they had simply had the time of their lives, to the four girls’ satisfaction.

It is worth noting that this was something Yuna had decided on last minute, and everyone had had to scramble to make it work. But... it had. Which made sense.

After all, the most valuable tenet of the Hero Club was “You’re likely to succeed if you try”, and if these girls were proof of anything, it was that.

Meanwhile, for the Sailor Senshi it’s a group affair; given that Mamoru is abroad, the girls decide to throw a group party. It takes some pleading to get Haruka and Michiru to agree (both on the Inner Senshi’s end and Hotaru’s), but eventually the two cave. Usagi tries to help prepare a fantastic celebration... but preparations prove to not exactly be her forte, and Minako and Rei end up taking point. But it turns out great regardless (and Rei lets Usagi help with some minor aspects after enough pleading), with the Inners and Saturn opening presents with relish.

While Haruka and Michiru’s reactions to the gifts they receive are typically rather detached (except for Hotaru’s, of course), the two are rendered absolutely speechless by what they gave each other- someone close enough, as Hotaru might get, would notice how close they are to crying. (They would try to get out of staying after presents were opened. They would prove unsuccessful.)

The other’s reactions would be variable, though Usagi would absolutely tease Rei for her “thoughtful gift”, to some very unconvincing bluster.

After presents, Hotaru would likely spend most of her time playing with Chibiusa, and the other girls would just... talk. About anything that came to mind, and fond memories that helped build the foundation to even make this possible, with a wide supply of snacks and soda for consumption (Ami put her foot down when it came to alcohol.) Usagi would probably insist on a round of Truth or Dare or two. Or three.

Haruka and Michiru would manage to leave the party a little early, lying and say that they were tired- they would probably leave Hotaru with them for the night.

The two would then immediately make sure to go to the Time Gate and give Sailor Pluto the presents everyone (including them) got her, and talk about old times and beloved memories. Pluto would eventually wave them off, and tell them to spend the rest of the night with the person that meant the most to them. And while perhaps slightly reluctant, they do, going home and sleeping in their bed, comforting each other with their touch until they drift off to sleep and, for once, have happy dreams.

Erika is absolutely not somebody that would let a party opportunity go to waste. She’d weaponize the Fashion Club, making colorful and fabulous looking decorations. She would send invitations to as many people as she could, and Tsubomi would be there to comfort her when less people came than she hoped (oh, she’d pretend to be fine with it, but the others would be able to tell.)

Tsubomi would celebrate the fact that she managed to actually talk with all 16 people at the party without stuttering once; practically giddy with excitement even as Erika desperately tried to help her calm down. Itsuki would arrive roughly on time, dressed in an adorable ensemble and be confused at how absolutely nobody seemed surprised at this point that she was a girl, but Lord knows how relieved she’d be. This is probably part of what would inspire her to wear more feminine clothing. She would bring her brother, he was doing better now but he still had little experience at parties due to his former condition, and Itsuki would merely smile and nod when her brother asked her to let him do this himself.

He would find himself with a couple new friends after the party and nearly jump for joy.

When present time came, people would mostly just be pleasantly surprised, but Itsuki would borderline be ecstatic at the two teddy bears she got- only Tsubomi was bold enough to point out they were the same, only for Itsuki to happily reveal that she didn’t even really care. Tsubomi would blush madly at Itsuki’s seemingly innocuous gift, to Itsuki’s confusion. Erika was diplomatic enough to not really say anything.

Yuri, meanwhile, arrived just a little late. Her claim that Momoka asked her to chaperone would prove a rather transparent lie when she “reluctantly” started participating in the festivities herself, and just happened to have a thoughtful (if rather pricey) present for each of her teammates. She would exit when Momoka returned from a party of her own, but would casually let Erika know the next day that she’d whispered “thank you” as she left.

When it came time for games, Itsuki was admittedly a little confused as to why all the girls wanted to play spin the bottle with her- and only her, significantly enough. When asked, Erika, again, diplomatically remained silent while Tsubomi merely was reduced to monosyllables. Erika did convince them to play a few rounds of Truth or Dare, but was rather soft when it came to the punishment/question in particular. When asked, she’d say “We came here to have fun. I want everyone to leave this party without regrets!”

And nobody could really find much of a flaw with that logic.

Eventually the party would wind down, but outside Yuri the team decided to stay at Tsubomi’s house for the night, after spending some time at the greenhouses, admiring the flowers. They all chose one room and slept together, their hands firmly interwined.

Like Erika, Saki would jump at the chance of having a celebration. It’d be akin to the welcoming party Mai received, but just the four of them. It would also be a rather quiet, peaceful affair; not too much in the way of festivities, just some quick present exchanging and mostly just... talking, about the past and present and future. All their time together, all their time to come. Mai would be grateful, both for the lack of a huge amount of people, and Saki’s company.

While he wasn’t there the whole time, Kenta came by until it started getting late too, and the girls made sure that he never felt excluded, answering any (non private) questions he had without hesitation and with a smile. Mai hadn’t prepared a gift for him, but came up with a full-body portrait from scratch, much to Kenta’s amazement.

Michiru and Kaoru would come exactly on time. They would need some explanation of what “Christmas” entailed and why it was important, of course. They would likely come across as rather awkward at first, even just among the two Cures, but they would get into it eventually. At one point, Kaoru would smile so wide and was so beautifully framed by the red of the sunset that Mai absolutely had to do a quick sketch, after Kaoru assured her that she didn’t mind. The joy Kaoru showed on her face when Mai gave it to her, assuring it was hardly any bother, somehow managed to be almost as beautiful. She would draw sketches of all of them before the night was done, of course. Saki ended up breaking out some artificial lighting so that she could continue even into the night.

Michiru and Kaoru would express confusion over Earth games, and the girls would eventually settle for Hangman and Pictionary (Mai dominated the latter, though Michiru had grown slightly more adept at art herself. Saki struggled at Hangman too, always complaining that the words were rather complicated, though when it was her turn she continually bewildered the others with softball jargon, much to her delight.) Michiru and Kaoru made sure to avoid words associated with the Fountain of the Sky, for everyone’s sake (it didn’t exactly bring back pleasant memories), and their vocabulary was more than up-to-the-task of befuddling the two Cures regardless. (Kaoru tended to be more on point.)

Kaoru and Michiru didn’t really know to bring presents, but Mai and Saki just happily gave them the gifts the two had planned regardless, assuring them that it was all about the giving, not the receiving.

At the end of the night, when Michiru and Kaoru in particular wanted to leave, Mai decided to draw one more sketch; one of them all in front of Mai’s house, grinning from ear to ear. Everyone agreed that somehow, it managed to be the absolute best picture that she’d done that night.

Team Suite would have dual parties, one in Majorland and one on Earth; Akko couldn’t really come to the latter, she wanted to spend the day with her family, and absolutely none of the others could blame her for that. The party at Majorland was, to Hibiki and Kanade, still larger than life, with grand gestures, a beautiful musical display (lead by Ellen and Hummy at vocals), and a feast.

Akko would be incredibly confused at how they hadn’t expected this.

The party didn’t just involve the Cures, Akko’s parents taking some degree of prominence. It was the first time Hibiki and Kanade had come to Majorland in a while, and the lavishing of praise was still rather embarrassing, but Ellen, Hibike, and Kanade adapted. Kanade and Hibiki would quickly reject the gifts offered, believing them to simply be too much, despite Akko’s mild confusion and her parents’ insistence.

The Earth party was a quieter affair. Ellen wanted to stay in Majorland for the day, and neither of the girls had much of an objection. Hibike and Kanade both completely misunderstood what the other had asked for, but neither seemed particularly upset at the other for having to return the present. Mistakes happen, you know?

There was no need for anything special really. The “party” took place in Otokichi’s music hall, and was just the two of them. Ouji made a short appearance, performing some beautiful festive tunes on the piano. Hibike gave him an obligation gift, and Kanade actually wasn’t particularly nervous as she handed hers over. (The fact that she had gotten over him certainly helped.)

At their polite request he left before night fell. The two then spent most of the night playing on the piano, channeling their friendship of the past, their friendship and heroics of the present, and whatever lay in the future. The two complimented themselves even more beautifully than they ever had before, the accompaniments being beautiful beyond words.

The two agreed, hand-in-hand, that it didn’t matter that the gifts were a bit of a flop. Though they would only live on in their memories, those pieces were the best gift that they could have given regardless.

While they celebrated Christmas Eve together, Team Fresh spent Christmas day apart. Ibuki spent it with her family, helping as best she could with any animal emergencies that headed their way. She also dug into the animal textbooks that Love, Setsuna, and Miki had pooled their money to get her, promising to make as much use of them as she could.

Miki, meanwhile, spent the day with her mother. The store was closed that day, and they merely chatted about whatever came to mind, as well as the typical present exchange. Miki was thrilled at all her presents- her favorites being Setsuna’s perfume and her mother’s fashion guides. She admittedly did spend much of her day in her room, devouring the books and getting some early use out of her perfume, trying to make sure she had everything down pat before the next audition. She needed to be perfect, after all.

Love and Setsuna was a different kettle of fish. There was a lot that Setsuna still didn’t understand about the holiday, and Love made it her mission to teach her about every aspect in as much detail as she could. They included Love’s parents in the festivities as well, of course. (Daisuke was also invited but decided against it, celebrating with Love and Setsuna the day before instead. He said it seemed rude to “intrude” on Love and Setsuna’s day, much to Love’s confusion and irritation. It lead to animosity that lasted the whole of a couple hours.)

Everyone had a great time, but eventually Love and Setsuna were alone. There was no awkwardness, of course, the two just naturally talking and chatty about various frivorous things, when Love asked Setsuna about Labyrinth. Love noted that Setsuna had been coming more and more lately; Setsuna agreed that there was becoming less that she could do herself and she honestly preferred to spend time on Earth, though why that was she... choose to not say.

The talk about Labyrinth, however, caused Setsuna’s mood to spiral. She started remembering the last time she was here around this time of year, of everything she’d done, of how she couldn’t be forgiven. Love merely gave her a hug- making sure to not be too tight- and said that if anybody could be forgiven, it was somebody that was always trying to become a better person.

And if there was any time that they could be forgiven, it was mostly certainly today. And that there was no question Setsuna deserved that.

Setsuna nodded, though she didn’t look convinced. And she talked about going back to Labyrinth to supervise, but Love quickly shot that down. Love noted that she was slightly disappointed in the present that she had gotten Setsuna; she didn’t think that it really conveyed how much Setsuna meant to her. So she was going to do nothing for the next three days except spend them with her, doing whatever Setsuna wanted to do, learning about whatever Setsuna wanted to learn. It would be all for her, and a reward for doing so much to try and make things right. Setsuna didn’t even bother trying to protest; partially because she knew it would be fruitless, and partially because if there was anything she wanted in the world, it was to spend more time with Love.

Before they went to bed, Setsuna admitted something else; after she had gotten so upset that night, she was terrified that she’d have nightmares again. She had them in Labyrinth all the time. Love immediate suggested that they spend the night together then, that Love could help chase the nightmares away. And Setsuna immediately agreed.

And that’s how it was when they were drifting off to sleep, Setsuna embracing Love in her bed with a tight hug, desperately hoping that everything she felt for the girl next to her would be enough to keep her demons at bay for one night.

All she encountered that night while asleep were sweet dreams and remnants of pleasant memories.

While Shiny Luminous didn’t come, saying that she wanted to give them “time to themselves”, Nagisa and Honoka had a night that they would remember forever. They ended up staying at Honoka’s place, because Honoka would never allow her grandma to not be included. They noticed that Honoka’s grandmother kept giving the two odd looks, but tried to pay it no mind.

Honoka had spend weeks preparing some small-scale science experiments to show Nagisa, and Nagisa was amazed at basically every single one (or pretended to be at least), and asked Honoka to explain how they all worked, something that Honoka was quite happy to oblige. They then proceeded to play various games of trivia (Trivial Pursuit was brought out eventually), but the Queen of Knowledge naturally dominated at them.

This continued to nightfall.

After Honoka suggested they exchange gifts, Nagisa suddenly paled, saying that she’d wasted most of her money, and could only afford a cheap Cure White bauble, and hoped that would be enough. But Honoka simply broke out into a smile, saying that it, and the thought, was more than enough. Nagisa grew slightly frustrated, continually saying that Honoka deserved better. As Honoka tried to continually persuade her that everything was fine, Nagisa decided that she wanted to give Honoka a gift that she would remember forever.

So she kissed the other girl on the lips.

Honoka paused for a moment before returning it.

Nagisa decided to not go home and instead sleep in Honoka’s room, which the other girl had no real objections to. They didn’t talk about what happened afterwards. Not much more needed to be said, really. At least not tonight. They could deal with it later.

Well, one thing was said. Honoka told Nagisa that Nagisa’s love for her, something she’d been praying for for well over a year, was the most bewildering and yet beautiful gift that she had ever been given, and would most probably ever will.

This is incomplete of course; I didn’t touch on a couple Precures and there are one or two other shows (Utena for instance) I didn’t cover because I didn’t know what to do with them. But I think this is long enough. Hope it doesn’t suck.

So here’s my point. Those bits aren’t magical because the girls are. They’re magical because their snapshots of people’s flawed but wonderful lives, lives not unlike our own. They are stories of friendship and love and compassion, things that we all have and we all try to share.

And at the end of the day, that’s what Christmas is about. Being with people that you care about and that care about you. About love. About compassion. About good will. And I hope that you all are blessed enough to be able to spend it that way this year.

You’re all wonderful people with your own delightful kind of magic. Never change.

Merry Christmas, and here’s to many more in the future. You’re all awesome people that deserve it.

Cheers.

#merry christmas #yuki yuna is a hero #precure #sailor moon #ccs #madoka magica

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dyingrabbit · 7 years

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Negated Universe Misadventures - Chapter Three

Humor/Dark

Subjective narrator (Homura Akemi)

Word count: 4554

“Fuck” count: 32

Proof of Concept: Part Two (Attempt #27)

Of paramount importance, probably, was ensuring my cohorts that I wasn't as frightening as my previous display may have suggested. Yeah, I 'd gone from zero to psychopathic demi-god over a very short span of time, but what needed to define me were my words and not my actions. That was likely too idealistic to execute properly with my limited time frame and resources. I was well aware of that, but let's get down to brass tacks here.

I had a notebook.

At the risk of contributing to society's broken record on the subject of technology, I'll assert once more that the most eminently exploitable feature of modern day communication is the ability to proofread one's sentiments prior transmission. That's not a tool you have when speaking face to face, generally speaking.

Of course, it would trigger a sociological collapse of some magnitude if we did away with the tactile immediacy of authentic human interaction. The hippies would go nuclear on us if we could all decide that we'd rather be texting the people in front of us. Which is why it's probably best that I'm the only one who gets to do that.

The psychologists could go ahead and name a neurological disorder after me for all I care. They could add me to the next edition of the Merck and I wouldn't bat an eye. Because if I wanted to forsake my humanity and stop time to carefully consider my next words then God damn it that's what I was gonna do.

So that's what I did. I looked present company dead in the eye and gave my shield a half turn, halting the current of time. It was out of necessity really. I had the potential to seriously flub this persuasion check if I wasn't on the ball, and for the record, I was not on the ball. The ball was gone. I'd lost it. Not to worry though. I had plenty of time to find it.

They say that American natives were known for using every bit of each buffalo they hunted, whereas the European settlers were prone to leaving everything but the hide. It disgusted the natives, for it was of the highest dishonor to the sacred animal to take its life and let so much of its body go to waste. I was no native. I wasn't really big on any sort of new age philosophy either. But what I saw before me was a fresh buffalo kill, and I intended to use every last hunk of it to my advantage.

That is to say, I realized I had an opportunity to closely scrutinize my companions' body language whilst planning my statement. They all bore a variety of brazenly confused visages for starters, but I didn't need a looking glass to tell me that.

Sayaka, in particular, had a very stern look on her face which read as somewhere between "This bitch is gettin on my nerves." And "Imma fuck this bitch up." I also noticed she was clutching her club, which rested on her shoulder, very tightly, as though she was preparing to act on the latter sentiment. Suffice to say, soothing Sayaka's concerns currently had top priority.

Moving on to Mami, I could see that her mild yellow eyes held no apparent animosity towards me, just genuine confusion. As plain as it gets, Mami was looking for answers. Because beyond the main thrust of what had just occurred she was simply befuddled by the preceding episode. I also noticed, with audible relief, that she had her finger off the trigger of her terminal rifle. Mami just needed the situation explained. That was easy enough.

Lastly, I observed that Madoka wasn't actually looking at me. I mean, she was looking at me but she wasn't focused on me. She was spacing out, as though deep in thought. Or, more likely, she was remembering something. It was quite probable that she was recalling the dream she'd had about me and was now formulating a more comprehensive image of me as a person. It was far and away a more accurate representation than anything she'd been working with before, but it wouldn't do for her to have such a spot on idea of who I was just yet. Out of everyone here, I still needed her trust if I was to convince her not to become a magical girl, so I needed to ground myself with this statement as well.

Tallying the score, I reckoned I needed to be conciliatory, explanatory, and down to earth when explaining that, yes, It was in fact I who blew Charlotte to fucking oblivion. I sat down with my notebook and started drafting a proper response.

When I was finished, it came out something like this:

"Oh, gee. You mean the big fiery explosions? Yeah, I guess I got super duper excited and wanted to show off a little, but I might have overdone it. Silly me!"

I finished by chortling and lightly rapping my knuckles against my skull, executing some form of self punishment.

All in all, it didn't play quite as well as I'd hoped. Actually, if we're being honest here, it didn't fucking play. They just kept staring at me like I'd made a joke about murdering their parents.

"Yeah... Okay." Said Sayaka as she loosened her grip on the club slightly.

Mami gave her musket a little twirl and deposited it in her boot where it seemed to disappear. She then transformed back to normal, turned to leave, and said "Alright. Gotcha."

Madoka looked at me and laughed nervously.

"That's okay, Akemi-san. I tend to overdo things all the time. Heh heh."

God damn it. Why was it so fucking difficult to regulate my deep character flaws without coming across as completely bonkers? I'm not even the crazy one. These bitches should see Sayaka when she gets upset. That's what a real basket case looks like.

In any event, I'd seemed to inadvertently create the moment which would define my relationship with these girls for the duration of the time loop, but at least they weren't dead this time. We all resolved to call it a day.

The next section of the timeline was relatively uncharted territory. Mami didn't often make it this far. It also signaled the beginning of a real crisis I needed to deal with. Mami wasn't dead, and I hadn't done a single fucking thing to make becoming a magical girl seem even remotely disadvantageous. These girls were primed to contract, and there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it. It was a like a game of hearts in which I'd suddenly realized I couldn't get rid of the queen of spades. The only way to pull this back was to shoot the moon.

Sayaka would contract. Couldn't do shit about that. She had both the aptitude and the drive. Having something to wish for in her back pocket helped too. Madoka was still very much on the fence about it. She wasn't built for this line of work. But eventually she was slated to come around to the idea. Especially with all this positive energy floating around. The next big events set to occur regarded Kyouko's arrival, Sayaka's contract, and possibly the discovery of the true nature of the soul gems.

Here was catch-22 part 2. If the group were to discover the truth, that our bodies were now just husks which were controlled by our soul gems, then Sayaka would just fucking lose it. That's how it always happens. Very rarely does she ever recover from that. At the same time, it serves as a beautiful deterrent for Madoka. With Mami still alive, the next biggest thing to stop Madoka from contracting was her best friend going suicidally nuclear. However, this was still a numbers game. I could hardly afford to lose Sayaka before the fight with Walpurgisnacht, if previous iterations held true, and thus, I needed a backup strat.

I had one. It was ridiculous but I did have one.

It was Kyouko, essentially. It was everything about Kyouko that was worth detesting.

My plan was to highlight for Madoka the cutthroat nature of the business, as well as the inescapable ennui of the endless battle with the witches. The reality being that she'd likely be living grief seed to grief seed, always on the hunt, always on the brink.

That was the sales pitch.

That was literally all I had in the way of halting the contract, short of sending Sayaka into a chaotic death spiral, or over facilitating Mami's ego to yield fatal decapitation. Kyouko was the name of the game. The biggest problem was that she wasn't even supposed to show up while Mami was still alive.

Mitakihara City is Mami's beat. Kyouko just subs when she dies. Mass action dictates that the void be filled quickly, and so it is. The trouble now is that Kyouko had no incentive to drop in. So I had to go and make one for her.

This worked out rather nicely, as it was becoming clear that my diplomatic efforts hadn't been received as well as I might have hoped. My scripted remarks hadn't worked, frankly. The gang seemed to be actively distancing themselves from me and opting to go witch hunting alone. That sucked a bit, but it was fine for now. We were in a lull where relatively little happened, and I had bigger fish to fry.

How does one earn Kyouko's favor? Perhaps that was a bit too ambitious. Instead, how does one get Kyouko to do you a favor? Was that the same thing? Etymologically speaking, yeah probably, but connotatively those were fucking pretty different. I needed to either threaten her with violence—say, the desecration of her family's burial site—or offer a reward in return for assisting me.

Now, modern psychology asserts that positive reinforcement yields more favorable results than punishment, so bribing her looked like a pretty attractive option. However, in the words of the illusive bastard, Al Capone, you can get much further with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone. Perhaps Teddy Roosevelt put it more eloquently with "Speak softly and carry a big stick." Either way, this episode of Sesame Street was clearly brought to us by the number ".50" and the letter "I'm not leaving my fucking Deagle at home for this one."

She was holed up in some derelict radio tower a mile from nowhere. She sat alone, devouring the remains of a convenience store rice ball before tossing the wrapping aside amongst numerous other nondescript empty packages. It was late evening, so her face was illuminated mostly by the dim red glow of the soul gem she idly fiddled with.

In a way, I felt for her. Yellow, blue, and pink were all bright colors. Mami and the others had no trouble using their soul gems as flashlights. But the longer your wavelengths get, the less energy per photon and all that shit. Suffice to say, Kyouko and I got fucking shafted when it came to extra utilities. I know it's not a Swiss army knife, but I think I'm justifiably upset that my soul is only barely bright enough to read by.

"How'd you find me?" Kyouko started in a convincingly menacing tone. "Who might you care to explain your—fuck." She muttered after fumbling her inquiry.

I got a bit excited, but my experience kept me level headed. Kyouko had merely hung a pawn, that was nothing to get ecstatic over.

"Kyubey told me where I might find you." I said coolly. It was a lie. Truth be told, this tower was something of a de facto domicile for the poor little street urchin. I'd met her here a few times before.

She huffed, clearly buying it, as it wasn't totally unreasonable.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Homura Akemi. You can call me whatever you want."

Kyouko rubbed her chin as she sized me up.

"You're a magical girl too, right? What do you want?"

I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work. My work consisted of pulling several boxes of pocky out of my shield, one at a time, and stacking them on the floor in front of her. I had many flavors, a keen observer might note.

To her credit, Kyouko looked on without a trace of bemusement, as though she'd seen this song and dance before. I was fairly certain she hadn't, because I wrote this song and choreographed this dance. The pocky routine was an original.

It took me a long ass time. I'd initially thought I could pack a box full of these packages and stuff the whole box into my storage unit, but it didn't even work theoretically. The dimensions were stubbornly unworkable. Even if I'd managed to shove it in, there was no way in hell it would come back out. So I resigned to carrying them in singles. Whatever. Here we were.

When I was finished, I knelt beside the appreciable array of biscuit sticks and said "I'd like a favor Sakura-san."

Kyouko looked at me, then at the pocky, then back at me.

"Are you fucking joking?"

"I've brought you dozens of boxes of frosted biscuit sticks in assorted flavors." I said, undeterred. "Who doesn't appreciate numerous biscuit sticks in assorted flavors?"

"No fucking shit. Why did you fucking do that?"

"As I said, I need a favor."

"And what would that be?" Kyouko demanded, exasperated.

I bit my lip in hesitation. I actually didn't have the most cogent job description prepared as of yet.

In essence, I wanted Kyouko to be like one of those recovering drug addicts, or alcoholics, or those dumb fucks who kill people while texting and driving, who then are made to give presentations to school children on why their behavior was bad. It was like community service but it was spiritually degrading, and in this case, entirely voluntary.

Actually that summed it up pretty well, so that's what I went with.

Imagine a look of wide eyed wonder, except it's actually disgust. That's what Kyouko was bearing when I finished my spiel.

I admired her restraint. At this stage "Are you fucking nuts?" Is practically obligatory, yet jaded and redundant. Instead she just said "No."

Alright. Diplomacy had broken down. It was time for a tactical push in the form of a veiled threat. Really, honestly, that's what the situation called for, and I knew that very well. That's why I'm confused as to how it escalated to me aiming my Deagle at her chest with one hand, holding multiple boxes of pocky out the window with the other, and shouting "I swear to fucking God, I will drop these fucking biscuit sticks if you don't do what I say!"

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!" Kyouko blasted, having already transformed. "I'll just fucking grab the boxes later! I don't care!" She held her spear like she was ready to throw it at my throat. It was just posturing. She knew as well as I that I held the high ground.

"Is that so?" I asked slyly. "Say, you ever shoot clay pigeons, Sakura-san?" I said this as I produced three green tea flavored pocky sticks from the package I held.

She looked on despairingly as I threw them in a haphazard arc, or thereabouts, and swung my shooting arm over to dispatch them all.

I'll admit I used a freebee on that one. It wasn't so much a demonstration of skill as it was a vulgar display of power. The effect left little to be desired. Kyouko actually shrieked when the airborne pockys burst into infinitesimal singed crumbs.

"Don't you fucking dare do that again, bitch!" She said, her voice quivering. "I'll fucking kill you if I ever see you wasting food again!"

I smiled coldly.

"Be my guest. I've got plenty of assorted flavors here. We can day this all do—fuck."

In the end, my overly aggressive midgame allowed for an unfortunately prolonged endgame. Which I won, for the record, but it was far too involved for my tastes. A lot of old scars brought into the daylight. A lot of soul baring I could have done without. But I had Kyouko now.

Upon my return to Mitakihara proper, I was greeted with the actualization of what was, at this point, a fairly resolute inevitability. Sayaka had contracted with Kyubey and was now traipsing through the city with Mami dispelling familiars at every turn. She'd also done the liberty of saving Hitomi's ass while she was at it.

Here's the thing about Sayaka.

Her big crush, Kyousuke, used to be a violinist before he fucked up his wrist. Now he can't play, and he's naturally a bit butthurt over it. Sayaka shares this sentiment. Her main plan of action is to bring Kyousuke CD's of various accomplished violin artists so they can listen together through a shared set of earbuds. Not bad. But at a certain point, Kyosuke starts acting like a bitch and accuses her of torturing him by forcing him to listen to shit he'll likely never perform again.

The implication that some entity out there gets their kicks by savoring the tears of young crippled musicians after they've forced them to listen to examples of their former specialties is unquestionably very rich. However, Sayaka sees the indictment as valid, and decides to grant the kid's wrist back with her wish. Honestly, I'm glad that works out for her, but I don't like the position it puts Madoka in.

Thankfully, Madoka had not succumbed quite yet. The beautiful thing about her is that she very rarely contracts unless there is a clear and present danger which cannot be averted in any other way. That's because, by default, she doesn't have anything worth risking her life to wish for. That was all well and good, but it wasn't the biggest thing I had on my plate.

Introducing Kyouko was logistically awkward. There wasn't any instance where it really made sense to suddenly add a member to the party. Oh well. The details could be ironed out later. This was just a proof of concept run anyway.

These girls seemed to like meeting on bridges. Specifically pedestrian overpasses. I couldn't figure why, but that's where we stood. Kyouko's red hair fluttered in the breeze as she leaned against the handrail. She seemed more interested in the half eaten taiyaki in her hand than in her audience as she spoke.

Her audience consisted of Mami, Madoka, Sayaka, and Kyubey. I stood by in attendance. I was sort of the emcee for this little get together as well.

"This contract thing may sound like all that. It certainly did to me, anyways." She started slowly. "You get a wish. Anything in the whole wide world if you asked for it, and damn it, I did."

I had to give her credit. She'd ostensibly had no time to prepare for this little speech but this was proving to be a fucking masterful lead-in.

She took a bite out of her taiyaki and chewed thoughtfully for several seconds.

"It ended up costing me my entire family. Worst part is there's nobody to blame but me." Fucking hell, that was heavy. Surgically precise in tone. This was going beautifully.

"I thought it was a decent wish at the time. I was stupid... So stupid." She popped the rest of the taiyaki into her mouth and swallowed it remarkably fast. "You know what I've got to show for it? Nothin'. No house, no parents, no fuckin' cable television. Just a rusty radio tower, a weird rabbit thing to keep me company, and an endless horde of witches to hunt just to stay alive." She busted open a box of strawberry pocky and jammed a couple into her mouth. "I could be here telling you how you should never, ever, waste your wishes on someone else, a lesson I know from experience, but today this bitch wanted me to tell you not to contract at all." She said, gesturing at me with a pocky stick. "Probably better advice anyway."

I had to stop myself from gaily applauding at the fantastic presentation. I wished the other viewers had the same problem, but the reactions were a bit mixed.

Forget how principally convoluted it is to introduce a new friend to your old ones. That's a thing in itself. In addition, this sure as hell wasn't a new friend, and these gals would be hesitant to call me an old one. Replace this 'new friend' with a 'guest speaker' you've invited for an unsolicited seminar. Everyone is familiar with the subject matter, but the stance you have this speaker take makes you out to be a massive hypocrite, and is an about-face with regards to your previous behavior.

The word is clunky.

If I was a writer, I would not have written the story this way. If I was real life, I would not play out in this fashion. On several occasions, I've made attempts to convey to my fellow transients that I am a time traveler and know what comes to pass in the near future. Hardly ever do they accept that claim on it's face, and that's reasonable to expect. What people need is proof. I can provide circumstantial evidence, like stopping time, or predicting a future event. That sometimes works, but it isn't definitive proof.

What I'd provided with this impromptu magical girl symposium was a determinately contrived situation. I'd confidently assert that anyone missing the signs that I wasn't operating on the same plane of reality clearly couldn't see the forest for the fucking objective lenses strapped to their faces.

Kyouko slowly chewed on her pocky while ostentatiously gazing over her shoulder to view the setting sun in the west.

She and Mami sort of knew each other, through various run ins and/or word of mouth. They didn't really like each other, the opposite scenario being an atrociously high energy configuration, so Mami didn't take kindly to the whole display, and remained tight lipped.

Madoka had questions, and had patiently waited for the Q&A segment to ask them.

"Sakura-san, is it?" She asked politely, receiving only a glance in reply. "What is it you wished for?" Not just an audacious advance in general, but a supremely audacious one when considering the parties involved.

"Jeez..." Kyouko muttered under her breath. "I made a wish for someone close to me. When he found out, he called me a witch, went crazy, and then killed himself." Storytelling at its most elegant.

"I just wanted you to know," Madoka said with Polaris sized stars in her eyes, "That I don't think it was your fault. You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened."

Kyouko's tone became stern and bitter.

"Listen here, miss pigtails, you don't know a damn thing about it. Never use a wish on somebody else. You'll only make things worse than they were. Better yet, don't make a wish at all. A softie like you wouldn't last a week."

This prompted some mild sabre rattling from Sayaka.

"Oh yeah? And what do you know about it, bitch? I oughta teach you a fuckin' lesson about caring for others!" All in attendance, Sayaka included, mused that the threat could have been worded more effectively.

"What did you wish for, huh?" Kyouko retorted cooly. "Probably something silly. You didn't wish for love, did you?"

Mami quite accurately assessed that the situation was rapidly approaching flash point and that swift intervention was required. Before another word could be uttered, she quickly tied Sayaka up with her yellow ribbon and said "We'll be leaving now." before dragging her away. Madoka meekly followed behind. Kyubey stared intently in my direction for a good deal of time before sauntering off to god knows where.

The Sayaka thing was probably gonna be a problem. If I wasn't careful it could actually be a critical issue. I internally shrugged. I'd probably bought myself a week.

Kazamino city was Mitakihara's neighbor. Kyouko grew up there, and it was where her family was buried. She and I happened to find ourselves there, in a graveyard, to pay respects I suppose. Her old house had burned down. At first there were some allegations regarding arson and thus murder, but the case had been promptly dropped as evidence was sparse and no one was left who cared to know.

Her father hadn't been a bad man. Not by a long shot. At the end, though, he was really bad. Really quite unforgivably bad.

There wasn't anything special about the gravestones. They were engraved with names and dates but nothing more. One of these cycles I swore I was gonna come here and etch something like "This deadbeat killed his wife and daughter and then himself because he was a bitch. Seriously, fuck this guy." Not only would that take an exorbitant amount of time, but Kyouko was here too, so that wasn't gonna happen today.

For her part, I don't think she knew what she was doing here. She stood there with her hands in her pockets, a lollipop in her mouth, and a disinterested look on her face. She was here for no other reason, it seemed, than that this is what people did. I hoped it was cathartic in some way, but it didn't fucking look like it was.

"I'm a time traveler." I said as the rain began to pick up.

"No shit." Kyouko replied, her clarity of speech somewhat obstructed by the lollipop. "Anyone with half a brain can see you use time manipulation magic. And what with all this hooey you're going on about, you're either a kook or you've been to the future."

"That's very sound reasoning." I said with no small amount of respect.

"Listen. I don't wanna hear about any of it." She said as she pulled up her hood. "I did my bit here. I'll help you take out that Walpurgisnacht thing, but then I'm done. Got it?"

She walked off without waiting for an answer. Kyouko Sakura was quite possibly the most jaded individual I knew of. And I was me.

Just as well, I suppose.

TO BE CONTINUED

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