"Hmm? Is something wrong?"
"Yup. That tasted purple."
"W-well..." the pinkette stuttered. She didn't know how to word it, how did she ask this? She didn't know if it was personal, or if it had deeper meaning to the blue haired girl. She fought for justice, yes, but was there something deeper? "I.. um.." she stopped again, finally realizing what she wanted to ask. "Are you... hm.. scared, Sayaka-chan?" she stopped walking and she turned her head to look Sayaka in the eye.
"A little. But that's just what pushing into the unknown does."
"Yup. That tasted purple."
Madotsuki sighed as she began the walk home, ignoring the idle chatter around her. Another witch hunt again tonight. ...It's been how long since I started doing this? It was only two weeks ago when I... She shook her head, dismissing the memory. ...and I found out about Mami and the others only a few days ago. Has it really only been a week? It certainly felt like longer, since she'd begun joining them on patrols. She hadn't fought any witches yet, but she'd heard descriptions of them, and couldn't help but wonder when all of the near-sleepless nights would pay off. She used to enjoy dreaming, but since she'd started the patrols, she'd returned home so exhausted that her sleep had been dreamless.
"...That's just what pushing into the unknown does."
Madotsuki blinked and turned around, hearing a pair of familiar voices behind her. "Eh? Sayaka-chan, Madoka-chan, I didn't know you walked this direction too."
And you don't seem to understand...
School was over, and Sadako couldn't be more relieved. She'd been struggling to stay awake most of the day, just barely managing to jot down important notes for upcoming exams. She was sure when she'd look over them later there would be a lot of illegible scribblings and half-finished statements. But, she'd manage. She always did. Even with patrolling for witches now.
Yes. She was a magical girl. The contract had been made close to six weeks now. Ever since then her afterschool activities which used to entail meeting up with the Book Club had been redirected solely to hunting down witches. Sadako had been going it alone, even though she was more than vaguely aware of the existence of other puella magi. From the shadows she'd sometimes watch them, but never did she step out and introduce herself. What was holding her back?
Sadako headed down the usual route she took from school, silently going over her plan for the night. Being distracted meant she wasn't aware how quickly she came upon the group of girls. Only when hearing their voices did she stop and avoid a potential collision. Whoops. She didn't know the blue-haired girl and the pink-haired girl... But she did recognize Madotsuki.
"Hello." She waved politely to the three of them, shifting to one foot. "I thought lessons would never end..."
edited 2nd Apr '12 4:29:26 PM by maxyrama
"Who am I, Elisha Otis?"
Ultimate Weapons
edited 7th Apr '12 7:46:42 PM by FlameHaze17
Sayaka-chan..., the way she said that... made her feel uneasy. But then, out of the blue...
"Huh?" Madoka, caught off guard, looked to the two newcomers. She did recognize them from school, but she certainly didn't know their names. "Ah..um..." she struggled, digging into the deepest confines of her mind to try and find their names. The girl didn't want to come off as rude, but... she couldn't find anything. Nada, zip, nothing. Wait.. wait.. she found something. Her brown hair, the twin tails and her own mesmerizing red eyes.
"Madotsuki-chan?" a shot in the dark, it was all or nothing. Hopefully she got it right. Her eyes moved from the lucid dreamer to the girl nearby. "U-um..." she placed a finger to her lips. Now this one, her name escaped her.
Madotsuki wasn't particularly surprised that Madoka hadn't remembered her name initially; had it not been for Sayaka occasionally talking about the pink-haired girl, she'd never had known her name at all.
She turned toward Sadako, the girl who, until a week ago, had been her only real acquaintance, and nodded. "I think I might have fallen asleep during that last example... can I copy your notes, Sadako-chan?"
I wonder if she thinks it's strange. I used to only ever talk to her, and now I'm hanging out with all these other girls. All because of...
The memory came flooding back again, but she didn't dismiss it this time.
She'd thought it had been a dream, until she realized she couldn't wake up. A room full of doors, endless corridors, creatures both mesmerizing and horrifying... She'd hardly noticed as she climbed the stairs on the roof, didn't question where they had come from.
She hadn't hesitated to jump.
Falling. A vague sense of fear. Caught in someone's arms. Discontinuity. Waking in her bed, a curious white creature staring down at her. An explanation given, a Witch's Kiss. An offer accepted. ...It occurred to her that she'd never found out who had saved her.
She blinked, catching herself spacing out and bringing her thoughts back to the present. Someone had said something, but she'd missed it.
And you don't seem to understand...
"Oh. Sure Madotsuki-chan." Sadako said without hesitation, only realizing afterward that her notes would probably be of little help. Oh well. She could explain herself later. For now she smiled and nodded along, eyes sliding over to rest on the pink-haired girl who didn't seem to know who she was.
"Sadako Uchida." She introduced with a polite bow, "Madotsuki and I are in the same class... I don't believe you and I have met before, though..."
"Who am I, Elisha Otis?"
Employee of the Month
The temperature had already passed into a scorching heat, cherry blossoms scattering on the breeze. Addy didn’t mind it much, flopping back against the grass with a sigh. The blonde haired girl stretched, arms spread out above her head as warmth beamed down on the spot, wind teasing her uniform. ''I swear, that captain of theirs is a little demon.’’
Coming to Mitakihara with the team for an inter-school conference had seemed like such a cool idea, too. Not this much work. Stomach rumbling, the blonde rolled over with a wince, sore hands reaching for her bento. She'd very nearly sprained the blasted thing, but there wouldn't be any more volleyball today. By virtue of skipping out to enjoy her missed lunch if nothing else. "Ah, it figures they'd starve us all day."
edited 8th Apr '12 10:18:06 AM by FenrisBlackwell
Cafe-au-lait~
"Sadako-san..." she mumbled the name, giving a glare to Sayaka before looking back to the other two girls. "U-um...", her natural shyness struck her once again. Madoka tried to form words but they just didn't seem to come out. She's probably seen these girls before, no, she saw them in school and in class but.. she never talked to them.
"Sadako-san, Madotsuki-chan..." one wouldn't know why she called Madotsuki with the -chan honorific, she just did. "Those rings.. are..." she noted the strange rings on each of their fingers...
Employee of the Month
There actually wasn't much left of her lunch, Addy noted with a twitch. The blonde frowned, glaring down at a container that was empty except for a few grains of rice, murder on her mind. Some team-mates..
Stuffing the box back into her bag and springing to her feet, the volleyball player started up the embankment she'd been resting on with the intention of throttling someone. Most of the students seemed to be leaving for the day, but she didn't recognize any of them. Still in the gym, maybe?
Cafe-au-lait~
And you don't seem to understand...
Sadako watched as the pink-haired girl struggled to form words. Quite shy, eh? She hoped she wasn't causing the poor girl any serious social discomfort. Maybe if she smiled a bit more that would help? Try to be approachable...
However, the tongue-tied girl seemed to finally break through her verbal block, bringing attention to the rings both she and Madotsuki wore. Oh. Did she know? Sadako blinked, then held up her hand, the ultramarine jewel fastened to the ring-band catching the sunlight. "This? What about it?" She played dumb about it, waiting to see just how aware the smaller girl was.
"Who am I, Elisha Otis?"
King of Anime
If the Addy were paying attention, the sound of feet would have reached her ears. Stopping not too far from her Kaoru took in her surroundings as she pushed back a lock of hair with her fingers. Once satisfied with her appearance she made her way up the embankment. "Oi! You from that other school from out of town?" she asked as she took in the appearance of the older girl.
Employee of the Month
".. h-huh?" Addelaide blinked, taking a moment to realize she was being addressed before starting. The blonde rubbed the back of her neck, surprised at the sudden question. "Oh, yeah. Why, what's up?"
Cafe-au-lait~
"It's um.." Madoka began. Did she have the right to inquire about these things? They were the same rings that Mami, Sayaka, and Homura had. The sign of the covenant, a contract with the white Incubator. Wait a second, something came to mind. Where was he? Where was the little white thing?
He was in class just moments ago, but then he just vanished into thin air. It concerned her, but she had to throw that thought away from the time being. She had two people to talk to, after all. "Ehehe.. never mind, never mind." she quickly killed the topic, looking toward the other two girls.
Employee of the Month
Addy's stomach chose that moment to groan again, earning a miserable echo from the blonde as her arms wrapped around herself. "Hungry..." The volleyball player's shoulders slumped, face looking a little strained.
Cafe-au-lait~
Madotsuki blinked, trying to figure out what of the conversation she missed. Something about rings? ...She shrugged, realizing she'd reached the street where she'd normally turn toward home.
"This is my street. I'll see you all..." ...'Tonight'? Well, She'd see Sayaka then, but considering the company, saying that could lead to odd questions. 'Tomorrow' wasn't really appropriate, for the opposite reason. "...later."
She gave a small wave and branched off, heading toward the apartment complex where she lived, thoughts of the coming witch-hunt foremost in mind.
Tonight we'll find it. I'm certain of it.
"Well, that was a bit overly cryptic. And ominous." Sayaka mused out loud.
I wonder if that means she's going hunting tonight then.
"Yup. That tasted purple."
"A-ah... bye, Madotsuki-san." Madoka said as she waved toward the departing girl. That ring, yes, she was definetly sure she was a magical girl. "S-sayaka-chan um..." the pink haired girl thought for a moment. While yes, it DID sound cryptic and ominous... well, she was going to tell Sayaka not to say things like that, but then she got sidetracked.
"Ah, Kaname-san, Miki-san." And then the voice of the familiar senior Mami Tomoe. She walked with a smile on her face, her eyes half-open as always. That same familiar air about her, yes, it was indeed the real deal. "What are you two doing here?" she questioned as she placed a hand on her hip. "I thought you two were coming to my apartment..." she said with that smile still prominent on her face.
"A-ah.. um.. Sayaka-chan and I were.. um..."
"We were just on our way home, that's all."
Actually, what were we doing here? Sayaka thought to herself, hoping it wasn't too obvious she was trying to be deceptive.
"Yup. That tasted purple."
"Miki-san, how are your grades doing?" Mami felt the need ot hit the weak point. She planned on tutoring the both of them before going out on a witch hunt. She didn't need her junior slacking off in school now, even if they were magical girls. Madoka, on the other hand, was sort of in the same boat. She hasn't made the contract yet, and she's just going for some help too. English, specifically.
"Sayaka-chan is doing um..." Madoka turned to her blue-haired friend. She honestly didn't know how her grades were, not recently anyway. They couldn't be good! That's all she knew.
"Uhh..." Sayaka blushed. The question had knocked her off guard. She'd been sleeping in class again, and it was showing in her grades. "They... they're fine..."
"Yup. That tasted purple."
Mami smiled a bit, her eyes half-opened as they always have been. She moves closer and the smile just gets a bit wider. "Ah, stuttering, Miki-san? That just makes me doubt you more." Mami moved away and shrugged. The older girl was being a uncharacteristically antagonistic, but what was her main goal?
Madoka said nothing, she just watched.
Another day passed. The students of Mitakihara Middle School began their walks home. Some stayed for extra-curricular activities, others visited their friends and others... went on Witch Hunts. Magical girls, their lives weren't as easy as the typical teenagers. The stress of each battle, the stress of knowing that your life is on the line, it takes its toll.
Chosen by the white devil, they wish an impossible wish and pay for it with an equal price. No, not their lives, that's insignificant, the despair. Yes, pain and agony, something far worse than dying, that's their compensation. It's only fair, some would say. Others? Not so much.
SETTING: Afterschool - On The Way Home (3:40 PM)
Through the halls of black and white she ran. Her breathing unsteady, she continued on her run. She had to do something to help her. The black haired girl struggled alone against that ... that monster. It laughed, and laughed as it flew over the destroyed city. It mocked her, mocked their struggle. Did she realize it was hopeless? Was it only a joke to her? Was this instinct?
Homura-chan..., she thought about that name again. She recalled the dream as clear as day. It was becoming easier. It happened the night before, another dream. Could it be a glimpse into another world? She must have been going nuts. It was connected to this magical girl busines... Sayaka already contracted, Mami had already been contracted. She felt pressured to do so but.. she couldn't.
Am I always going to be useless?, she thought to herself as she continued on her walk away from the school.
"Mmm... Sayaka-chan..." she thought she'd speak up. Sayaka was a magical girl now, right? Maybe she could at least give her some advice...
edited 1st Apr '12 10:33:07 PM by RagnaTheSaviour