Chapter Text
The air was cool, and the sun was slightly duller than usual. Birds singing replaced the sounds of the usual children running and laughing in the streets. Summer break was over, and the new school year was starting today.
Madoka and Sayaka were second years in high school now, and were growing up too quick for their liking. They had spent the entire summer hanging out together and with their other friend Hitomi. Summer was coming to an end, and the pink haired girls brown roots were beginning to show. Madoka was zoning out into her own thoughts, about how she wanted to be different this year. She wanted to study harder, and meet new people. Maybe someone to admire. Maybe someone she could talk to in a class where there was no one else that she knew. Suddenly, the blue haired girl beside her snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Hey, what class do you have first again?" the girl said, placing a hand on the shorter girls shoulder. Madoka tried to remember which class she had first. "Oh, History," she responded. Sayaka smiled, and then asked Hitomi who was also beside her the same thing. "Math.." the green haired girl responded. Sayaka sighed in disappointment, but then looked at Madoka and smiled again. "That's too bad, but at least we're together Madoka," She laughed a little, while Hitomi looked a little sad. Suddenly, the first bell rang, signaling that it was time for them to go to class. "Well, we better get going, have fun in math, Hitomi!" Sayaka said, waving to her as she walked off with Madoka.
Madoka waved as well, watching as the green haired girl walked in the other direction. As she walked with Sayaka, her head went back to her own thoughts. 'I wonder if I'll meet anyone new this year...' she thought to herself. The walk to class was pretty fast, and they got to class with a couple minutes to spare before the bell rang. Madoka sat down in an empty seat quickly, and thankfully the seat next to her was also empty, meaning Sayaka could sit there. There were two unfamiliar faces Madoka noticed, both looking very different. One of them, in the far back corner, was a pale girl, with pin straight black hair. She was fidgeting with her sleeves, and looking at the desk, rather than up front at the teacher.
The other, sitting by a window, had dark red hair, with more natural looking red roots. She didn't look as shy, and was already slumped in her seat. She didn't look very interested in school or the people whatsoever. Both Madoka and Sayaka took a while studying these new people, wondering if they'd have time to talk to them. The bell for class to start rang, and the teacher began talking.
"Well, good morning class. Since the year is just beginning, you all are new faces to me. I'm gonna ask you all to make short introductions, so I can get to know you better!" The teacher went on with their own introduction, and then their classmates started theirs. They reached Sayaka, who wasn't shy to introduce herself. "Hi, I'm Sayaka Miki, I like music and baseball." She looked at Madoka and smiled, waiting for her to go. Madoka shyly spoke up, not nearly as confident sounding as Sayaka. "Um.. I'm Madoka Kaname.. I also like music.. I play guitar and draw a little.. Thats it." She said.
The rest of the class introduced theirselves, leaving The new girls as the last ones who hadn't yet gone. The red haired girl went first, speaking pretty loudly. "I'm Kyouko Sakura. I don't like mornings, I guess." Now that she'd introduced herself, the only one left was the pale, black haired girl. "I'm Homura Akemi.." She said softly, adding nothing else to it. The teacher was satisfied, and began actually giving the kids a lesson. Madoka couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that Homura hadn't said more, as she was curious to know more about her for some odd reason.
As the lesson progressed and time ticked by, Madoka's eyes kept drifting back towards Homura, who was scribbling in a notebook. Something about her, seemed to be drawing Madoka towards her. She was so hard to read.. She wouldn't exactly call her mysterious, but there was definitely something about her that she just couldn't grasp. Occasionally, she'd also take glances at Kyouko, who Sayaka was also eyeing. She was nearly falling asleep, one hand holding up her head. Sayaka whispered to Madoka. "She really doesn't seem to like this, huh" she chuckled. "She's just tired.. I mean she did say she didn't like mornings.." Madoka whispered back. Sayaka chuckled. "Tired of life, maybe."
Classes went by slowly, one class after the other. After what felt like an eternity, they finally got to have lunch. The cafeteria is buzzing around them, and they sit down to eat at the spot they normally ate at last year. They unpacked their lunches, and Madoka noticed that Homura was sitting by herself at a table nearby, picking at her food and not really eating. She couldn't help but sigh, feeling bad for the lonely girl. "She's by herself.." She said to Sayaka. "Yeah.. Kinda sad." She responded, eating her food. "Y'know.. we could always go up to her" Sayaka proposed, smiling at Madoka. 'Wait.. I could' Madoka thought to herself.
With that, she got up from where she was sitting slowly made her way to where Homura was, Sayaka following behind her. She swallowed a lump in her throat, and spoke, trying to get the girl's attention. "Hey.. can we sit here..?" She asked. Homura’s eyes flicker between Madoka and Sayaka, unsure of what to say. “It’s fine,” she finally mumbles, her gaze dropping back to her untouched lunch. Madoka was relieved, and sat down across from her, Sayaka sitting down next to her. "Sorry if we're bothering you.. I just figured maybe you'd like a little company.." Madoka trailed off. "You're not bothering me.." She responded quietly. After that, she hardly spoke.
Sayaka, being the talkative person she is, tried to fill the silence. "So.. you're new, right?" she asked. Homura kept picking at her food, avoiding eye contact. "Yeah." was all she answered. Sayaka wasn't exactly a fan of the blunt answer, but wasn't going to let the conversation end there. "Well.. where did you go before? Tell me more about yourself." she smiled, hoping to get a longer response from the black haired girl. "I used to go to a catholic school.. I was in the hospital before I got here, though.." She responded. Madoka was a little concerned, the hospital not being something pleasant to hear. "Really..?" she asked. "Are you okay.?" She added on. "Yeah.. I'm fine." Homura responded, not going into detail.
Time passed, and Homura got up from her seat. "Sorry.. I'm gonna go." She said, taking her tray and gathering her things. “Oh, okay,” Madoka said, a little surprised by the sudden departure. “See you in class, Homura.” Homura nodded slightly and hurried away, leaving the two girls behind. Sayaka leaned back in her seat, letting out a low whistle. “Well, that was... something,” Sayaka said. “Think she’ll talk more next time?” “Maybe,” Madoka said quietly, watching Homura’s retreating figure. “I just don't want her to feel like she’s alone..”
Just as they were finishing up their own lunch, the other new girl with the flaming hair walked in. Sayaka's eyes darted towards her, curiously. Kyouko had just walked into the cafeteria, carrying a bag of snacks. Unlike Homura, who had quietly slipped away, Kyouko was much more noticeable. She strolled across the room with a swagger, completely unconcerned with the people around her. She didn’t seem to notice—or care—that anyone was watching. "Can we talk to her next? Feel like it'd be fun to see what her deal is." Sayaka suggested, smiling towards Madoka.
Madoka hesitated, her eyes following Kyouko’s path across the cafeteria. Kyouko seemed different from Homura—less shy, more rebellious—but there was still something distant about her. “I don’t know… she might not want to talk to anyone either.." Madoka said. "Only one way to find out," Sayaka shrugged, already gathering her things to get up and go to where she was sitting. Without waiting for Madoka to agree, she got up, and began heading over. The pink haired girl sighed, and followed after her.
Kyouko had settled into a corner table by herself. She was casually eating some snacks and didn’t seem to care much about her surroundings. Sayaka took the lead, flashing her usual confident smile. “Hey, Kyouko, right? Mind if we sit with you?” Kyouko looked up, her red eyes narrowing slightly as she studied them. She seemed unimpressed but didn’t tell them to go away either. “If you want, sure. I don't mind it.” Sayaka smiled and took a seat, patting the chair next to her for Madoka to sit down as well. Madoka hesitated again, but eventually sat down, still feeling a bit unsure about Kyouko.
So,” Sayaka began, leaning forward on her elbows, “Not a big fan of the cafeteria food, huh?” Kyouko shrugged, popping another chip into her mouth. “Cafeteria food sucks. This is better.” Sayaka laughed. “Fair enough. So, are you new to the area, or just the school?” She said, watching as the girl popped more chips into her mouth. “New to the school,” Kyouko answered, mouth full. “Used to live in the next city over. Not that it matters.” Madoka shifted in her seat, still unsure how to break into the conversation. Kyouko was more talkative than Homura, but she didn’t seem particularly interested in making friends either.
“Well, we’re glad to have you here,” Madoka said quietly, trying to be polite. “I’m Madoka, by the way. And this is Sayaka.” Kyouko looked at Madoka for a moment before returning her attention to her snacks. “Yeah, I remember. You guys are the friendly types, huh?” Sayaka grinned. “You could say that. We just like to meet new people.” Kyouko smirked, a little amused. “Well, don’t expect too much from me. I’m not here to make a bunch of friends or anything. I do my own thing for the most part.”
As the lunch period came to an end, Kyouko stood up, crumpling her snack bag and tossing it into her bag. “Anyway, I’m outta here,” she said, looking back at Sayaka and Madoka. “See you around, I guess." Madoka smiled and waved, while Sayaka gave her a casual salute. “Later, Kyouko.” They watched as she walked away, other students watching as she walked away.
After some more grueling hours and more nonsense from the teachers, school came to an end. After school, Madoka and Sayaka decided to take the long way home, wandering through the quieter streets of the city. Sayaka seemed distracted, less talkative than she normally was. Her eyes seemed to be scanning the streets. Madoka tilted her head curiously. “You’re looking for something?” Sayaka hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, actually... There’s this music store around here. I need to pick something up.” Madoka smiled, always happy to check out anything music-related. “Sounds fun! Let’s go.”
When they reached the small shop, Sayaka led the way inside. The store was cozy, with walls lined with vinyl records, guitars, and other instruments. A soft melody played in the background, and the atmosphere was warm and inviting. While Sayaka went straight to the section with sheet music, Madoka wandered through the aisles, browsing. As Madoka skimmed through a collection of guitar picks, her attention shifted to the bulletin board near the entrance. A colorful flier caught her eye, advertising a free concert at a park this weekend. She pulled it off the board and scanned the details. It looked like an indie band lineup, something fresh and exciting.
“Hey, Sayaka, look at this!” Madoka called, holding the flier up as Sayaka came over, holding a booklet of sheet music. “Free concert? That sounds awesome!” Sayaka said with a grin, but there was something a little off in her voice. Madoka noticed the music booklet in Sayaka’s hands and raised an eyebrow. “What’s that for? I thought you were a tab kinda girl.” Sayaka shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. “It’s... for a friend. Y’know, Kyosuke.” She tried to say it casually, but Madoka could sense a bit of awkwardness. Madoka smiled, choosing not to push further. “Well, I hope he appreciates it.” Sayaka shrugged again, stuffing the booklet into her bag. “He’s obsessed with this stuff, so... maybe.”
As they left the store, Madoka glanced down at the flier again, a small spark of excitement flickering inside her. “That concert could be fun... we should definitely go.” Sayaka smiled, though her thoughts seemed to be elsewhere for a moment. “Yeah, sounds like a good time.” Madoka tucked the flier into her bag as they walked on, a little part of her wondering if the music they loved so much might lead to something new for them all—something bigger than they’d planned.