Aftermath (A PMMM fanfic)

Route 4:B

(AKA SLEEPOVER TIME)

     Mami calls me to the hall. I go there. I'm a bit surprised to see Sayaka and Madoka. Mami explains their arrival.

"Sayaka and Madoka are staying here tonight, since I'm going out. They've been really nice to accept on such short notice."

     Madoka replies, "We should really thank you Mami for letting us stay."

"It's no big deal. Have fun."

     With that, she takes her leave and the three of us are left.

     A shriek from Madoka. "Sleepover time!"

     Sayaka sighs. She's probably used to it.

"Mami already gave us instructions on how to function. Here's the message she sent. As for not telling you in advance, she wanted to surprise you."

    I look at the message. She's already arranged for food, but just how much?

    We watch TV for a while, the entire time reaching for popcorn. It should've been for 10 people, but got over in an hour and a half. Friends staying over really makes one hungry.

    We play a game of truth and truth, seeing as we could just dare each other later if we'd like. About 20? rounds later, I find out quite a bit of stuff about them.

First with Madoka.
She has a younger brother.
She loves French fries.
She likes small furry animals, like cats and puppies.
Her mom is the 'girly girl' in the family, much more than Madoka herself.

And as for Sayaka,
She likes the colour blue.
Even then, she dyed part of it red once.
She loves ramen.
She had a crush on Kyousuke, but really doesn't care about him now.

     We have a horror story session which leaves only Madoka a bit scared. I am intrigued by the number of 'local ghosts' possibly roaming around.

"They're like those Nightmares," I say, perhaps they know about them.

"What nightmares?" Sayaka asks me.

"The kind that really mess with one's mind. It's said that one can see it as black smoke when outside at night."

"Sayaka, you remember when we were going home after the Comic Con? I told you there was something entering that house."

"I didn't want to get you scared after that. We were tired too."

"You know, I saw a breeze just lift it away afterward."

     I reply going along with the 'story', "That's part of the tale. They don't really harm anyone, only one case was confirmed where a person went insane, otherwise they are dealt with before they can do anything to anybody."

"They aren't so bad then."

"Not as bad as someone we know."

     I feign ignorance. "Is there really anyone plain evil? They must have a ounce of good in them to be human after all."

"I've been warning you two about her for quite a while. You know whom I speak about."

"But what has she done to you? I've never seen you be so wary about anyone."

"Madoka, I have a feeling something's up with that demon." I bite my lip to avoid further reaction.

"Why would she take so much interest in you? It's not like you are the only new person at school." Sayaka looks at me.

"Did she harm you when you were made science partners?"

"Nope. We hardly talked, but she doesn't want to hurt me from what I can tell."

"Has she ever called you to speak separately?"

"No. You've given me an idea now. Maybe I should get to know her better. We could find if she is really evil or of we're mistaken. Perhaps she's just depressed and the negative vibes stem from there."

"Are you sure you'll go through with this? What if she does something to you?"

"I doubt she'll suspect me. Plus she's had many chances in the lab to harm people, but hasn't taken them yet."

"Be careful. And if you feel threatened, don't continue."

"Alright."

    We decide to call it a night. Sayaka is the first to fall asleep while Madoka looks far from snoozing.

"We need to talk."

"Do you want to speak elsewhere? You did wait till Sayaka fell asleep."

"It's okay. She's not a light sleeper. Us talking won't cause her to stir."

"Fine. Is it about Homura?"

"Yep. You see, the day she spoke to me, she asked me whether law or desire was more important to me. I replied with law. Was it wrong?"

"Definitely not. That isn't something that can be answered with a correct or incorrect response. Whatever you say is totally valid."

"What would you have chosen?"

"If there's a possible middle ground, I'd pick that. If not, then it'd be really difficult for me to pick one over the other." I shrug.

"Oh, but it doesn't end there. She then tells me we might become enemies in the future, but she will be happy with the outcome. That makes no sense. Then she puts red ribbons over my hair, like my mum would. I would choose yellow though. Um..." She stops.

"My guess is she has a hunch of something bad happening, similar to what Sayaka-chan feels about her. They both want to do something, but don't know the full details, so they're keeping everyone else away, like the two of us."

"That isn't a nice thing to do. What if we can help?"

"We probably can, we'll just have to do things without anyone's knowledge. It's just that we will have to make a plan before doing anything 'risky'."

"Do you think we'll be able to be friends with her?"

"Why not? We'll just have to find out to be sure."

    The following morning they leave me in a dilemma. I need to be able to confide in one of them.

Whom do I pick ?

~ Sayaka already knows something's off. If I can convince her to help, then it'll get easier when the storm comes. 

(Go to 5i)

~ Considering the fact that Madoka is the person under Homura's direct eye, it'll be better to talk to her as things can get done faster.

(Go to 5ii)