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It was Homura’s first day at a new school and immediately after introducing herself to the class, she wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. All of her new classmates were probably thinking she was a waste of space. That’s how it’s always happened in the past. Homura was always alone and she didn’t expect that to change any time soon. Her classmates at her old school bullied her for her heart condition. She didn’t get to have a normal life. But the world just turned against her for it.
“Akemi-san? You can go take a seat in the back over there,” her teacher gently prodded and broke her out of her thoughts. Homura nodded, quickly sat down, pulled out her notebook from her bag, and kept her gaze down to her desk. As the teacher began her lecture, Homura scrambled to copy down everything she was saying, looking up at the board every now and then. When the lecture slowed down a little, Homura looked down at her notebook and realized she couldn’t even understand half of what she wrote. Everything was practically foreign. She sighed and put her head down on her desk.
When the bell resounded on the speakers signaling the end of class, Homura tried to hastily shove her notebook into her bag and leave the classroom as soon as possible. Unfortunately, a group of eager students swarmed around her before she even had a chance to get up from her seat.
“Hey, Akemi-san! It’s nice to meet you!”
“Wow, you’re so pretty!”
“You just transferred? What was your old school like?”
Homura silently took in the barrage of questions, seeming to shrink into herself until a different voice interrupted the others.
“Akemi-san, it’s time to take your medication, right? I’ll show you to the nurse’s office,” a girl with olive hair said. “I’m the temporary nurse’s aide for today, so please follow me.”
Homura timidly nodded and followed the girl, who didn’t speak another word to her.
***
P.E. was awful. Homura knew how weak she was, how could she be foolish enough to attempt to run a lap with everyone?
It was one lap. It should’ve been easy. But no, she was stuck sitting on the grass at the side of the track field trying to catch her breath.
“Hey, you’re the new transfer student! Homura, right?” Homura looked up to find a cheerful girl with short blue hair bending her head down to look at her.
“Um… yeah…,” Homura replied while turning her head away. She expected the girl to say or do something disparaging like the other students who whispered about her. When she heard the other girl sit down next to her, Homura couldn’t help but jump slightly in surprise. Some silence passed between them. When Homura dared to glance up at the blue-haired girl, she noticed how she wore a laid-back smile that seemed inviting and reassuring to anyone who saw it.
“D-did you get injured too?” Homura stammered out as she forced herself to make eye contact with her new companion.
“Hm? Oh, not at all! I just wanted to know if you were okay! Especially after you collapsed like that.” Homura perked up slightly at the words before curling in on herself a little more. She knows what it’s like. People would appear to care about her because of her heart condition and use her as a way to pat themselves on the back for taking pity on someone like her.
“Ah, sorry if I offended you!” Homura just shook her head. “So, how are you feeling now? It looked like a pretty bad fall,” the girl asked.
Without missing a beat, Homura cut straight to the chase on this girl’s intentions. “P.E. is still going on. Why are you spending so much time with me like this?”
“I want to help the people I care about whenever I can, even when the most I can do is pray for them.”
“But… you just met me,” Homura bluntly replied.
“Ah, well… You got me, hehe,” Sayaka bashfully muttered as she turned a little red in embarrassment. “It may sound cheesy, but I’ve wanted to be a hero for people. So if there’s someone in need and there’s something I can do about it, I’ll go ahead and help. Of course, I’ve gotten into some trouble in the past when I’ve tried to help people who abided by ‘don’t help someone unless they ask for it.’ I guess you might see me as a little nosy then.”
“I… I think that’s actually a-admirable,” Homura whispered. This girl wasn’t actually that bad. Overly eager but she didn’t seem to have a mean bone in her body. “I-If you hadn’t come, I’d never have…” Homura hugged her knees and looked down again, but she felt a small warmth spreading in her chest.
“I should head back. But I hope you feel better!” Homura’s eyes widened in distress. She had forgotten that they were still in P.E. class.
As the girl stood back up and started jogging back to the field, Homura managed to ask one final question, “Wait, what’s your name?”
“Sayaka! Miki Sayaka! And don’t worry about honorifics. Just Sayaka is fine.”
***
When school ended, Homura’s heart felt heavy. She’d met one kind person, but otherwise she was still alone. She and Sayaka didn’t interact for the rest of the day. It was probably for the best this way. Keeping this distance with the blue-haired girl would spare Homura the heartbreak if it turned out her trust was misplaced yet again. With how outgoing and cheerful Sayaka was, Homura was certain Sayaka wouldn’t even remember her, a demure and quiet girl, by the end of the week.
Homura wandered through the city on a roundabout route to her home, keeping her head down as she tried to purge all thoughts of Sayaka from her mind. You can’t get your hopes up. What makes you think someone will stick by you? A weak and pathetic girl like you.
Several footsteps accompanied Homura as she stepped foot on a bridge, matching up with her sluggish pace. The footsteps were joined by the sound of gurgling water before the bridge, and Homura felt her heart start beating fast. It was a clear night and the river was usually calm. Something was wrong.
Homura looked up and noticed other pedestrians crossing the bridge with her fan out to both sides of the bridge. Their eyes were blank and their gaits became wobbly and unstable, making them resemble zombies. Homura felt her legs shake at the sight and when she tried to run, she fell onto her knees. Suddenly, a buzzing noise resounded in her head that slowly formed into words spoken in a dissonant tone that fluctuated between human and demonic.
“You’ve lost your way. So have the others here. How sad, the way forward is just across this river, but they can’t go. Neither can you. Join them and you won’t be alone.”
“Shut up,” Homura whimpered while covering her ears.
“There’s always another way to go. You don’t know what’ll hit you next on the other side. But join them and you’ll know exactly what’s coming.” When Homura looked up again, she saw one person standing up on the edge of the bridge.
“D-Don’t…,” Homura’s plea fell on deaf ears as a colorful serpent suddenly rose from the water, opening its jaws to engulf the person standing on the edge.
“No!!!” Homura cried out.
A sudden gust blew and a blade severed the serpent’s body, causing it to dissipate and rain down in harmless droplets on the bridge. However, the serpent reformed further down the river, hissing loudly. A mysterious caped figure wielding a cutlass jumped down onto the edge next to the serpent’s victim, catching them and bringing them back down over the stone fence onto the bridge’s surface.
The figure then faced the serpent in the river again. Homura blinked in surprise as she took a good look at her savior. A slender form with blue hair enveloped by a white cape. The figure turned her head slightly to glance at Homura and when Homura saw the shining blue eyes, the figure’s identity was unmistakable.
“M-Miki-san?!”
“Oh! Homura! You okay?”
“Y-yes!” Homura’s mouth gaped open at the sight of Sayaka, looking like a heroic figure straight out of a fairytale.
“I’m glad. Just stay right where you are and I’ll take care of this. Also, I’ve told you before, you can just call me ‘Sayaka,’” Sayaka said confidently. She leapt forward over the water, cutlass aimed at the serpent’s heart. A brief scuffle ensued, but Sayaka’s grip on her cutlass never loosened and she continued to push forward until her blade stabbed the serpent’s heart. The serpent’s body disintegrated into rain and Sayaka reached out to grab its shattered heart, pulling out what looked like a small black pendant charm. As Sayaka started falling towards the water, she waved her cutlass and glowing blue music bars formed on the river’s surface, forming an upward trail back to the bridge. She gracefully landed on them and ran back up towards Homura.
When Sayaka stood in front of Homura, she sported a huge grin and reached her hand out towards Homura. Homura, still bewildered with many questions swimming in her mind, could barely move.
“Here, give me your hand,” Sayaka instructed. Homura took a cautious glance between Sayaka’s face and her hand before shakily reaching out her own hand and grasping Sayaka’s, meeting her in the middle. Sayaka then pulled Homura up and grabbed her waist to steady her when it looked like she was stumbling.
“I’m sorry you got caught up in this. I’ll walk you home.”
“I-I’m okay!” Homura quickly responded. Then the memory of the recent events suddenly came back to her. “But… What happened? Why are you in these clothes? What was that monster?”
“Long story short, I’m a magical girl. As for everything else, I’ll tell you on the way. Is your home across this bridge?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Alright, then let’s go! Also, please don’t tell anyone about me or what you saw tonight. This whole magical girl business is… let’s just keep it a secret between us!”
Even though Homura didn’t know if she could wrap her head around everything new she just learned about Sayaka, she found herself smiling the whole walk home.
***
After that day, Sayaka started greeting Homura more often at school and Homura would always shyly wave back. She wondered if Sayaka’s increased friendliness was because the girl genuinely started liking Homura or if it was to ensure that Homura would keep her lid shut about the magical girl thing. However, Homura realized the latter couldn’t be true considering she had no other friends.
“Hey Homura, wanna eat lunch together?” Sayaka suddenly asked one day.
“U-um sure!” Homura responded without thinking, feeling flustered and startled.
The two sat on the school’s rooftop, which was surrounded by elegant fence posts on all sides. They ate their bentos in silence, watching the clouds pass by up above. Homura snuck a few sideways glances at Sayaka, wondering if she should say something.
“Hey, Miki-san. Why did you want to eat with me today?”
“Hm? Isn’t it obvious? We’re friends!”
Friends, huh? Homura didn’t feel as though she’d done anything worthy of being regarded as a friend. She didn’t earn it.
“And I haven’t gotten a chance to hang out with you that much, but I’ve been wanting to.”
“I see.” Another awkward silence passed between the two.
Homura took a deep breath and decided to break the silence first, “By the way, you mentioned that you made a wish to become a magical girl. What did you wish for?”
“Oh, that. One of my childhood friends is a professional violinist. One day, his hand was injured in an accident and when my best friend and I went to visit him, he was crying since the doctors told him there was little chance of his hand recovering fully. His violin career was over. I was thinking over what to do with my best friend, but things like gifts and cards didn’t seem like enough, y’know? But then, Kyubey approached me with the chance to cure my friend’s hand just like that.”
“That’s wonderful! But that wish was a one-time deal and you have to keep fighting anyways? Are you okay with that?” Homura inquired.
“It does get scary, but it’s okay since I can help even more people now. Witches target the vulnerable so even if I can’t help them with their real-life problems, I can at least prevent their emotions from getting worse because of the Witches. I don’t get any thanks for it since I can’t reveal I'm a magical girl so freely, but I’m just happy that I can help in some way.”
“You’re very brave, Miki-san,” Homura muttered while smiling at Sayaka. Sayaka blushed and looked away in embarrassment.
“H-hey, I said you could call me ‘Sayaka!’” Sayaka exclaimed while ruffling Homura’s hair. Homura laughed. This was the best lunch period she’d ever had.
***
Those happy days came to an end all too soon, just as Homura thought they would. In a cruel twist though, things didn’t end the way Homura expected. She never thought everything would end with Sayaka dying in the middle of a ruined cityscape after battling Walpurgisnacht, the most powerful Witch in existence.
Homura held Sayaka in her arms, struggling to hold back her sobs.
“Homura… I can’t believe you’re here…”
“Of course I am! You’re important to me!”
“I was ready to just leave this world alone, but the fact I meant so much to you… I can’t believe it.” Sayaka croaked out with a strained smile.
Homura looked down at Sayaka in shock. Did Sayaka think that little about herself?
“Kyousuke… He’ll never know that his hand was cured because of my wish and I really am okay with that. It still feels lonely though, helping so many people without expecting any thanks.”
Homura held Sayaka closer to her. It felt like all she could do to comfort her.
“The truth is, I’m afraid that people won’t remember me. I don’t need to be worshiped as some superhero. But that doesn’t mean I want to be forgotten. I want to be remembered by those I saved as Miki Sayaka. Y’know?” Sayaka choked up at her last few words, sobbing at the pain coursing through her body.
“Miki-san! There’s no way I’ll ever forget you! You were my first friend and the only one who was kind to someone like me!” Homura’s tears poured out and she cried into Sayaka’s chest. How could this bright and extraordinary girl who had engraved herself deeply within Homura’s memory and heart ever be forgotten by anyone?
“Thank you. I was so scared, but I’m happy you won’t forget about me, just an ordinary girl who wanted to be a hero. I wish I could’ve saved the world too, but I guess even as a magical girl, there’s only so much I can do. But I want to think that it was worth it after all.”
“But you saved me! You saved so many people in big and small ways! If I’d never met you, my life would’ve just fallen apart! Even if the world ends and there’s nothing left, you are still a hero for everyone you’ve saved before. I’m certain of it.”
“You’re very kind. Goodbye, Homura. I’ll miss you.” Sayaka closed her eyes and breathed her last. Homura let out wailing sobs that pierced the heavens.
In the midst of her sobbing, a mysterious voice called out, “There is a way to save her, if you really want.” Homura looked around her and found a white cat-like creature sitting on top of a broken column.
“Are you… Kyubey?” Homura recalled Sayaka telling her about the small, white creature. Now that he was in front of her, Homura felt relieved and frightened.
“Yes. I can grant you any wish and in exchange you will become a magical girl.”
“Any wish? Really?” Homura’s heart was beating fast. It seemed too good to be true.
“Anything you can imagine,” Kyubey said. A silence passed as Homura took another glance at Sayaka’s corpse in her arms. She wiped her eyes and laid Sayaka down on the ground and stood up to face Kyubey.
“Now, Akemi Homura, what is your wish?”
“Just as Miki-san was a hero for me, I want to be a hero for her too,” Homura declared as more tears fell. “I want to be Miki-san— Sayaka’s hero. I want to stand by her as an equal, so that if the world’s distress becomes too much for her, I can be there to save her and shoulder her burdens with her. And maybe… I can be someone she’ll be happy to have met too.”
Once Homura’s wish left her lips, a sharp pain shot through her chest. She looked down to see the area around her heart glowing. A purple gem soon exited from that same area.
“Your wish will be granted and you will become a magical girl. I don’t understand what ‘being a hero’ is about, but you will have the abilities to fulfill that.”
The purple gem floated down into Homura’s hands and before she could ask Kyubey more questions, the gem’s light expanded and enveloped her.
***
Homura slowly opened her eyes to see a clear blue sky. She was lying down on the grass beside the school’s track field.
“Hey, you alright?” a familiar voice asked beside her. Could it be…?
Homura quickly sat up and saw Miki Sayaka, alive and cheerful, sitting right next to her. She stared at Sayaka for several moments, too stunned to speak.
“... Is everything okay?” Sayaka asked again with a puzzled expression. Homura felt her eyes become wet. Then a whimper left her throat as she fell forward into Sayaka’s chest, letting out all her relief.
“H-hey, transfer student!” Sayaka put her hands up as Homura sobbed into her. After just observing her for a moment, Sayaka tentatively put her arms around Homura, patting her awkwardly.
“Miki-san, you’re alright!” Homura cried. Even though she didn’t know what magic was at work to bring Sayaka back to life, she felt happy to have the blue-haired girl back. And this time, Homura had the power to save Sayaka, just as Sayaka had saved her.