Chapter Text
Madoka Kaname was not a fan of dark works – on the whole, she preferred her entertainment to be cute, happy-go-lucky, and optimistic, with happy endings guaranteed. And in the vast majority of timelines, this led to her thinking of magical girls as girls who fought for fairytale kingdoms, took the names of positive concepts as their aliases, and shouted out their attacks. Everything was alright at the end of the day, no one was ever permanently injured, and power-ups which made the main characters more sparkly were inevitable.
Unfortunately for the Incubators of Timeline #X Madoka chose to watch Yuki Yuna Is a Hero instead of Smile Pre-Cure.
Homura Akemi’s arrival to this timeline was marked by her eyes snapping open with purpose. Quite unluckily, all her grief seeds had been used up in the fight against Walpurgisnacht, leaving her with an oil slick of a soul gem. The jewel that her soul had been condensed into was not a diamond in the rough at this time; it was a diamond which had been roughed up by the spirits of dinosaurs and long dead plant life, then brutally ejected into a tar pit. Witch hunting would have to be prioritized, and she would not be able to heal her eyes and heart. She wondered if she could face Madoka without despairing, then quickly crushed the thought that dissented from her mission. Homura would have to see the girl she kept failing today, with her death by thrown debris still fresh in her mind. And if Homura had redirected- No. Best not to think of that. But why wouldn’t Madoka ever listen to her warnings?
Miss Saotome’s rant about her boyfriend’s preferences for eggs seemed oddly familiar to Madoka – just like the rest of her morning. Last night’s dream still bothered her, especially because she could only remember the worst of it. The black-haired girl jumping to fight a massive doll and being thrown around, like she was the toy instead. A colorful parade marched into town, bringing it closer and closer, something Madoka just knew would mean the end for Mitakihara City. And the animal sitting there, telling her something that she knew that meant that she could help. Then – something rectangular flew towards her and time seemed to slow. A brick? No, it was too big. W-was it made of glass? Broken glass? Realization set in as she tried to run, but it was far too late. She only managed a twitch before the building’s corner smashed into her body, taking the small creature next to her with it. The last thing she heard before her world was gone was the monochrome girl screaming her name like her purpose in life was dead.
Madoka snapped to attention as Miss Saotome told the class that a transfer student from Tokyo would be joining their class today. The black-haired girl strolled into the room, with slightly red-rimmed eyes. Instead of a monochrome dress that almost looked like a school uniform, she was wearing the same outfit as Madoka, except for the black tights and cherry-red glasses. How? Shouldn’t she be dead?
“My name is Homura Akemi. Pleased to meet you,” the black-haired girl said.
After writing her name on the board, the new student – Homura Akemi – almost made eye contact with her, but then glanced down at the last moment. She seemed so cool and collected though. Why would she be shy?
Miss Akemi took to almost all the classes with ease, except P.E. In that class, even running was too much for her, and she had to sit down in the shade for a while. After trying to rejoin the class, she was sent to the nurse’s office, with Madoka accompanying her. On the walk there, Miss Akemi constantly looked at the floor with a slight blush while always remaining a few steps ahead of Madoka. Madoka’s attempts to start conversation failed, but she said that Madoka could call her Homura, so that had to mean something. It was a unusual name, she thought. But it probably wasn’t right to bring it up, not when Homura looked so nervous. Complimenting her accessories shouldn’t upset her, right?
Then she said, “Um Homura? Your ring looks so pretty! And the symbols on it look so cool too! Where did you get it? I think I’d like one too – n-not that I’m trying to copy you!”
Homura’s entire body stiffened, and she spun on her heel and grasped Madoka’s hands. Her eyes widened, and Madoka could spot tears glistening.
“No! If you treasure the life you currently live or do not want to be separated from your friends and family, do not obtain one of these rings.” Homura’s voice shook while saying this.
“What? O-Of course I love my family, and my friends! Everything I have is precious, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!”
Maybe – Maybe it was something like the Ring Lord thing she had heard about? She thought that curses were involved in that story somewhere. But everyone knew that magic didn’t exist. It was just something in stories.
“Homura? How do you get one of those rings? N-not that I want one of them! I-I just want to know so I can avoid it!”
Homura seemed to relax, and exhaled heavily.
“Just stay as you are, Madoka. Please. Do not try to change yourself or your circumstances by any means. If you must do so, do not use methods that appear miraculously when you need them most. There will always be another chance.”
Homura released Madoka’s hands, and started walking to the nurse’s office on her own. To Madoka, it really did sound as if Homura was under a curse of some sort. Her dream where Homura was fighting against the doll like a magical girl came to mind. It was ridiculous though. Magical girls didn’t actually exist. But if they did, it sounded like it would be worse than the animes depicted it. She had heard about something called PTSD that soldiers got from history class, and it made sense that magical girls would get something like that too if they fought against villains all the time. And if magic was life energy, then girls could be hurt forever like the girls in Yuki Yuna. Even if they didn’t get hurt physically, they could be hurt emotionally. Madoka’s thoughts came to a screeching halt as she realized that Homura was walking towards the nurse’s office on her own.
“Wait! Homura! I’m supposed to go with you!”