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Sayaka wakes up with a jolt.
Her soul gem glitters over her navel, and she lets it tumble into the bed sheets as she takes shaky breaths and tries to orient herself.
The room feels chillier once she fishes out her soul gem from her blankets. She gets out of bed and quickly walks over to her calendar- first, she checks off the date, then, flips to the next month and marks off the 30th; Walpurgisnacht.
She’d had some odd un-luck her last go through— she was so sure everything had gone right, with everyone alive and Homura having not contracted, and then last minute, just when she’d thought it was finally over, then, nooooo! Madoka runs out straight towards Walpurgisnacht because of course she does, then Homura follows after her because of course she does, and then they both die, because of course they do!
But, but, but, she couldn’t quit, because if she’d gotten so lucky then, then she could get that lucky again, and just… try a little harder! Maybe, somehow, keep Madoka from leaving the shelter, everyone for that matter, or, maybe, just keep Homura from following her. She’ll figure it out.
Regardless, though, it was a new timeline, a second-second-second-whatever chance, and Sayaka had a routine to get through. So it was time to buy a Nutcracker DVD and break for the hospital.
It never stopped floating in her mind, when she’d stand before the front desk and say, “Homura Akemi” how once upon a time it was Kyosuke’s name always dancing on her lips, with the flushing of her cheeks and dreams of a kiss— the disc case felt so familiar every time, a plastic label upon a plastic case, as catch-all classical slowly turned into any and all ballet that caught Homura’s eye in the timelines before.
Well, ‘nowadays’ (as much as ‘now’ existed for Sayaka) she starts her loops by bringing a nice Nutcracker DVD for Homura, complete with the soundtrack and most alluring cover, before she transferred in, so she wouldn’t try and abate her loneliness with a contract. Even as the idle details of loops past began to fuzz and blur into globs of happy-ish colors, Homura’s cute smile stayed ever so sharp in her mind as she gushed over moves she’d never done, as did every handhold and hug and twinkle of the eye and twitch of the lips. The Nutcracker, she’d often said, was a ray of color in the sterile walls of dejection and loneliness. So what better way to introduce herself with a shiny new DVD just for her?
Sayaka’s forced out of her daydreams by a curious hum from the receptionist, “Homura Akemi?”
“She’s transferring to our school next week, so I thought I’d come say hi.” She quickly ends the conversation— after all those loops hearing the same old surprise about how unexpected it was for her to pivot from her childhood crush to a girl everyone had all but forgotten about had become incredibly grating, and so eventually she’d learned to skip to the good bit and get the room number, though it was more for normalcy than for directions. As it turns out, Sayaka turning into a moody all-knowing loner overnight made for bad PR. Who would’ve thought?
“That’s nice of you,” the receptionist nods and looks to the bulky computer between the two, “room 148, just go up to second floor and it’ll be the last door on your left.”
“Thanks!” Sayaka calls back, and in a flash she’s already halfway up the stairs.
Sayaka knocks on the door, three quick rapid flicks as she always did, and that sweet voice came from the other side, after a barely audible gasp, “C-come in!”
The door creaks open to reveal the quiet girl, draped in a hospital gown and pearly white blankets like a princess in a pure white gown. Nobody in the world could ever see what Sayaka saw, how Homura could only be compared to sleeping beauty, with how her messy braids and sleepy eyes only ever made her more alluring. She’d clearly woken up not long ago, as per usual, and had only put on her glasses before letting Sayaka in.
Sayaka smiles at her, and impales an incubator watching from the window before Homura can notice.