Mami Lives Chapter 11
Mami Romance
“Mami and I will be hunting witches today!”
That’s what Sayaka told me when I joined her for lunch on the pure white rooftop of the school. I guess it was to be expected given what Mami had told me yesterday.
If you chose
A for
M Opportunity Choice 3, read Section
Homura is Also Busy. Otherwise, read Section
It’s Time for a Break.
Spoiler for It's Time for a Break:
As pleased as I am about how well things are going between Mami and I, and as excited as I am about the idea of helping Mami realize her dream of becoming a pop idol and the third member of ClariS, it’s probably good that I will finally have some time to myself now.
The past few days have been a lot of fun, but it has also left me with very little time to myself. And that has meant I have fallen behind in my schoolwork. I’ll spend the next little while catching back up on that, while I trust that Mami, Sayaka, Homura, and Kyouko can all handle the world of magical girls and witches.
If you chose
A for
Choice M4, read Section
Unifying Hopes. Otherwise, skip over it.
After school, I waved goodbye to Sayaka and wished her and Mami well in their upcoming witch-hunt!
I met up with Sayaka a few blocks from school. She thankfully seemed to be in high spirits, and filled with a lot of energy and enthusiasm over today’s witch-hunt. It’s true that I’ve been busy lately with my bold beautifully blossoming love affair with Madoka. It hasn’t been all smooth sailing, of course, but I’ve nonetheless been very pleased and content with that new aspect of my life.
But I only have the life I have now due to the wish I made to become a Puella Magi. So those responsibilities must always be honored. I am glad to now have Sayaka at my side in fulfilling them. This is especially since this latest witch-hunt is taking us a greater distance than usual.
Sayaka and I walk a long ways, and board various trains, as my Soul Gem draws me to very old and remote sections of the city.
“I hope that Homura and Kyouko aren’t having as much trouble as we are!” Sayaka exclaimed with an ironic smile, and a slightly annoyed tone.
I had agreed with Homura to share my territory with her, so now in one section Homura and Kyouko are out hunting witches, while in this section I work alongside Sayaka. Thankfully, Sayaka is very talkative, and this keeps me from growing bored or tired with this lengthy trek.
Unsurprisingly, we talk a lot about Madoka.
If you chose
A for
M Opportunity Choice 3, read Section
Respecting Madoka’s Wishes. Otherwise, read Section
Clear ClariS Dreams.
Spoiler for Clear ClariS Dreams:
I told Sayaka that Madoka and I had a wonderful time yesterday. We had watched the ClariS special together, and Madoka had been so sweetly supportive of my dream to one day join ClariS as their third member. As I mentioned that to Sayaka, I was taken aback by how strongly supportive Sayaka herself was of the idea.
“You should totally go for it, Mami!” she exclaimed to me, “I mean, you’re very acrobatic and I’m sure you have a good singing voice.”
“Thanks for the encouragement.” I said a bit bashfully in turn, “Well, with both you and Madoka supporting me, I guess that this is one wish I might be able to achieve without making a Puella Magi contract!”
“Right!” Sayaka replied with a shout, as we both chuckled over my words here.
“But for now, let’s focus on finding a witch.” I stated, “We need at least one more Grief Seed in our supplies in order to be ready for Walpurgis Night!”
After much travelling, Sayaka and I finally reached the place that my Soul Gem had been drawing us to. We’re now just outside the gates of an old, abandoned family mansion, in one of the most unpopulated sections of Mitakihara Town. The mansion was very brownish in color, and its age was unmistakable. Nonetheless, it was easy to tell how majestic a sight this mansion must have been when it was still young.
“That’s pretty gothic and old-fashioned.” Sayaka stated, as her and I stared up at the mansion on a slight hill inside of these exterior gates, “Why, that mansion seems to be older than the city itself is!”
“That’s because it is.” I replied, “This mansion was part of the old town that Mitakihara Town was built over.”
“Pretty amazing for an entire mansion to be left standing as an entire city is built around it!” Sayaka exclaimed, “Just who owned this mansion?”
Then, on a large plate connected to the gates, I read the answer to that inquiry.
“Ushiromiya Family Mansion…” I read from off of that plate.
Sayaka blinked twice as she carefully absorbed what I said.
“Hey, I just remembered where I heard that name before!” Sayaka perked up, “The Ushiromiya family… weren’t they a pretty big deal almost a hundred years ago?”
“Yes, they were.” I stated, “I read about them myself. The patriarch of the family was a miraculously prosperous but very eccentric man. If I remember correctly, his name was… Kinzo.”
“Right! And I think I remember reading about how a major disaster befell the Ushiromiya family on an island somewhere….” Sayaka mused contemplatively.
“Yes, the only surviving heir to the estate was a young redheaded girl… but her name escapes me now.” I stated, “She lived in comfort most of her life, and this mansion was probably the one she lived in until she passed away from old age.”
“Spooky.” stated Sayaka, “You think we’ll face
ghosts in here as well as witches?”
Sayaka asked that in a joking tone, but I could tell she was a bit nervous too.
“Well, since we
are talking about legends from almost a hundred years ago…” I begin in smiling reply, “Let me just say that I’m not afraid of no ghosts…”
“I’ll have to remember to keep your number handy for situations like this then.” Sayaka said with a smirk.
“
Who you gonna call.” I replied, in such a way that Sayaka and I started loudly laughing afterwards.
This banter had thankfully served to take some of the nervousness from both Sayaka and I. We then stealthily slipped past the gates of this mansion, and slowly stepped inside its front doors. Once inside, we transformed into our magical girl attire, and prepared to fight through a Witch’s Barrier!
Once inside the barrier, Sayaka and I started sprinting down large, long, lusciously decorated corridors. Even within a darkly corrupted Witch’s Barrier, the exceptional elegance of this mansion shone through. Even as Sayaka and I sliced and blew away rainbow-colored butterfly enemies, we could not help but to be taken in by this scenery.
“This might be the loveliest witch’s barrier I’ve ever seen!” Sayaka exclaimed.
“I share those sentiments, but we must keep our guard up.” I replied, as we slowly walked up a shimmering blood red staircase through an area that looked like an exceptionally esoteric Escher drawing made real.
Sure enough, it was not long until we began to face much more challenging foes.
“Butlers with goat heads!” Sayaka exclaimed, as her sword struck against one of those ‘butlers’ slicing at Sayaka with some sort of sharp arm attachment.
“Not just goat heads…” I replied, as I parried a couple attacks by using a musket like a bo staff.
“But goat feet too!” I exclaimed, as I then somersaulted into the air while raining Musket fire down upon these grunting ghastly goatmen, taking note of their feet while I did so.
Sayaka then released a loud battle cry as she won out in her strenuous struggle with one goatman that she had essentially crossed swords with. After winning that struggle, Sayaka proceeded to cut him down to size with a couple well-placed slices from her blades!
Sayaka and I ended up encountering many more of these goatmen, garbed as well-dressed butlers, as we dauntlessly delved deeper into this witch’s barrier. In mere minutes, each of us must have dispatched at least a dozen of these enemies.
“They’re strong.” Sayaka said, as she wiped some sweat from off her brow.
“And they’re not even familiars.” I said, as I leaned my back against Sayaka’s side, and began to shoot wildly at the several goatmen that were now racing our way.
“This witch…” Sayaka began breathlessly, as I could perceive the slightest sense of second thoughts in Sayaka’s voice, “Must be very powerful.”
“Yes.” I concurred, “It’s a good thing that we’re both here, as there’s little doubt that this witch would be too much for either of us alone. But I’ve never met a witch that could withstand two magical girls, so…”
“Don’t worry, Mami.” Sayaka stated reassuringly, as she then boldly sprinted forward to slice and dice more enemies, “I’m not a quitter! I know that we can’t turn back now. We need at least one more Grief Seed to deal with an even more fearsome witch than this one. To deal with Walpurgis Night!”
“Right.” I answered, as I blew away a goatman that was perilously close to striking Sayaka from behind, “Besides, a witch
this powerful
must be put down. It can’t be allowed to threaten innocent lives!”
“Exactly!” Sayaka exclaimed, as she jammed a blade into the torso of a goatman that was about to take
me unaware.
Sayaka and I then glanced, smiled, and nodded at each other, before we continued to sprint further towards the witch herself. It was very relieving to know that Sayaka and I had each other’s back, and I’m sure that the feeling was mutual.
Given our respective abilities, I’d normally encourage Sayaka to take the lead and engage in close quarters combat while I provided her cover fire from behind. But against a witch
this powerful, that would be overly reckless for Sayaka. So instead we were like special agents out of one of those ancient
James Bond films. We’d swirl around each other, with our backs and sides frequently tight against each other, to cut down on possible avenues of attacks for our enemies.
Goatmen, butterflies, and rabbit-faced feminine looking creatures in flashy military wear all stood in our way. Those rabbit-faced enemies were the most powerful yet, as they could shoot off white energy blasts that seemed to hone in on us. Thankfully, Sayaka was able to deflect those blasts away with her sword, while I finished these rabbit-faced enemies off with blasts from my muskets.
Finally, we came to the end of a massive hallway, and to the front of a gigantic golden gateway of a door! Off to the side of that door, was a painting of a beautiful blonde woman dressed in a fine, long-flowing dark dress while also wearing a red choker. Sayaka whistled appreciatively at how gorgeous she was.
“The woman in that painting looks a bit like you, Mami!” Sayaka said smilingly towards me.
“I know you meant that as a compliment…” I began in a teasing tone, “But you do realize that you might have just compared me to a witch, right?”
“You think the witch we’re about to fight will be like the woman in that painting?” Sayaka asked.
“No, but it will probably be based off of her.” I answered, “In any event, we’re about to find out!”
Sayaka and I then pushed aside the golden gateway to face a decidedly deadly
Golden Witch!
Sayaka and I found ourselves on a large balcony overlooking a vast garden.
“This reminds me of the very first witch I watched you fight against!” Sayaka stated excitedly.
That was a shrewd comparison made by Sayaka. However, this garden had much more color, variety, and size to its various plants than what the garden of that other witch had. The two witches were also very different from one another.
This golden witch was wearing a dress much like the one wore by the woman in the painting immediately outside of where I was now standing. But this dress had an uncanny valley look to it, as though it was drawn in chalk and crayon. And coming out of the sleeves of the dress were not hands, but what looked like malleable noodles for appendages. And the witch's head was a large, thorny, golden rose. Red roses and shimmering golden butterflies danced all about this Golden Witch.
It didn’t take long for this witch to notice Sayaka and I. Once it did so, it voiced an English word in the voice of an older refined woman.
“Perfect-o!”
And then an explosion rocketed up from directly beneath Sayaka and I, causing the balcony we were on to crumble into so much rock and debris! Thankfully, Sayaka and I were able to leap off of the balcony before being hurt by the blast ourselves.
“
Let’s do this!” Sayaka shouted.
“After you, Leeroy.” I jokingly replied with a grin.
Sayaka sprinted wildly at the witch, causing her to become a bluish-whitish blur to me. Sayaka’s slashes left their mark on the witch, causing it to howl in pain!
“Yes!” Sayaka shouted triumphantly, as she circled around the witch while cutting down some enemy butterflies, “Now, Mami, you finish it off with a
Tiro…”
Then haunting, reverberating laughter echoed forth from the witch, making it clear that Sayaka’s hope of a quick victory had been dashed. The sword-cut shaped wounds on the witch’s body magically healed over, while two massive totem pole like structures launched out of the ground with all the force of an erupting volcano! How fitting this was given how these structures then erupted with massive, fiery blasts like they were machines of war!
“AaaaaAAAggggghhh!!!” Sayaka cried, as a blast sent her flying violently through the air.
“GGGGaaaaaahhhhHHH!!!” I screamed, as I was similarly sent flying.
Sayaka and I both landed hard on the ground, now a good hundred feet from this witch.
“What power…” Sayaka stated in shock, as we gingerly rose to our feet.
“I should have supported your opening attack better.” I admitted with a touch of shame, “I was too busy just watching you and sizing up the enemy. I…”
“It’s fine.” Sayaka interjected, “But you’re right that your musket blasts following up my sword attacks should do the trick. So let’s try this again!”
“Right.” I stated, while nodding in agreement.
Sayaka then launched herself at the witch once more, while I called forth eight different muskets, and arranged them in a circular formation. No matter where Sayaka’s sword slashes struck, there would be a musket blast following it up in the same place!
Sayaka cut into the witch once more, making it howl in pain a second time. I then caused a violent eruption of my own, as my muskets all shot off simultaneously. Surely this would be it!
… But alas, it was not.
My face contorted in horror, and Sayaka clenched her teeth in frustration, as the latest obstacle to both her and I now made its presence felt.
Seven flying familiars appeared seemingly out of nowhere to absorb my blasts and stop them from striking the witch. These familiars released high-pitched laughs, lower volume but sharper versions of the witch’s own laugh. These familiars had masses of hair in place of faces, and one I’m ashamed to say had hair much like my own. They were garbed in what looked like a cross between a swimsuit and lingerie. And their arms were shaped like swords!
After releasing a sigh of frustration, Sayaka gained a second wind.
“Ok…” she said, betraying how her stamina was starting to run low, “Third time’s a charm! I’ll take care of these new familiars while you deal with the witch. Are we agreed, Mami?”
“Agreed!” I shouted.
Sayaka’s plan of attack made sense seeing as how these familiars were somehow able to absorb my musket-fire without much trouble. So now I focused on the witch while Sayaka focused on these seven familiars!
I could feel my pulse pounding. I could feel my heart racing! I felt genuine trepidation right now. This witch fight… it was causing my mind to flash back to the witch I encountered at the beach this past weekend. Would I fail yet again? Sayaka said that third time’s a charm, but would it be more
three strikes I’m out?
…No! I must be stronger than that. I’m an experienced magical girl. I’ve been doing this for years. I
will succeed this time, without needing the help of
you, Akemi Homura!
Rarely have I felt such
anger burn in my breasts. But now I channeled that anger into more powerful musket attacks, while the witch struggled in vain against the yellow magical strands that I had wrapped around it.
Sayaka, for her part, had already managed to dispatch three of the seven familiars. But wait… Sayaka’s legs had taken nasty slashes! And Sayaka was now starting to become overwhelmed by sheer numbers! Sayaka screamed as she landed with a loud thud upon her back. A pained expression was all about a face now partially covered in dust. I wanted to help Sayaka, but the witch was directly in my way.
Then I saw one of these seven familiars make a diving attack directly at Sayaka’s right thigh. This familiar clearly intends to sever Sayaka’s leg!
If you chose
A for
Choice M3, read Section
The Rage of Mami Tomoe.
If you chose
B for
Choice M3, read Section
Kyousuke Kamijo’s Finest Hour.
Spoiler for The Rage of Mami Tomoe:
…And it succeeded.
A bloodcurdling scream came forth from Sayaka, in response to her right leg being cleanly cut off from the rest of her body.
As for myself… I went into a state of shock. And madness.
It was happening… again.
First I failed against the Zeppelin-shaped witch, needing to be saved.
Then I failed again against the surfing witch, saved yet again.
And now, in mere weeks, I have failed
yet again. I have failed Sayaka.
In my mind, I hear the repeating echoes of Homura’s stinging insults intermingled with the present sounds of Sayaka’s cries as she is writhing in pain. Tears of shame pour forth from my eyes as an open frown of fervent frustration forms on my face.
“Mami Tomoe will not be able to defend you.” Homura says.
And then Sayaka screams.
“No…” I whisper in horror.
“It's crystal clear that
I'm the only one capable of protecting Madoka from witches.” Homura says.
And then Sayaka screams again.
“No!” I state in horror.
“This is twice now, and in less than two weeks, that you have completely failed to protect Madoka from a witch. If Madoka was
my girlfriend, I can assure you that I would be doing a much better job of protecting her than
you...”
“…NNOOOOOOO!!!”
Something in Mami-senpai snaps, even as I struggle to cope with the excruciating physical pain and maintain calm. I’ve lost…
I’ve lost an entire leg! But as I glance backwards at Mami flying in the air while she grits her teeth in rage, I fear that Mami has lost
her head.
Mami twists and turns about, and fires off countless muskets, lighting the entire place up like it was Tokyo on New Year’s Day. The remaining familiars thankfully drop like flies against this onslaught, ensuring that I’m not hacked to pieces while I’m in this relatively defenseless state.
I focus on Mami and her breathtaking blitzkrieg blasts so as to try to forget how I can no longer feel my right leg.
Mami summons forth not one, not two, but
three guns of the Tiro Finale variety! And while shouting almost incoherently, she releases all three at once at the witch, totally destroying it.
Mami then collapses to her knees, only a few feet away from me. She is sobbing loudly, while she wipes her nose with her hand.
“Ma-Mami-san, I…”
Mami then gestures outwards towards me with one hand. Oh no! Has she completely lost it?! Is she mistaking me for a familiar? Is she… No. I breathe a sigh of relief as I find that Mami has simply covered the now massive, gaping wound at my right leg socket. Where there once was a leg there is now only Mami’s yellow magical strands acting as a large bandage.
“…I’m so sorry, Sayaka…” she sobs to me, as she crawls over to me, “I’m so sorry…”
“I-It’s Ok…” I reply, while trying hard to block out the pain and focus on Mami and her eyes and her voice, “At least we… at least we defeated the witch. At least I’m… ali
iive…”
Sayaka then falls unconscious. I have failed yet again… but at least I somewhat lessened my failure this time. At least I defeated the witch, and Sayaka is still alive. I must ensure it stays that way!
After fully coming to my senses, I gather Sayaka up into my arms, and wrap her cape around her to give her added warmth. I’ll make sure to pick up the dropped Grief Seed later. For now, I must see to it that Sayaka gets immediate medical attention!
Spoiler for Kyousuke Kamijo's Finest Hour:
The familiar then screamed, and shattered into so much scintillating streaking sparks. It had been struck by magical musical reverberations! Sayaka and I were both stunned by this attack from out of nowhere. An attack brought forth by a young man; a young man standing on some sort of flat square platform above.
This young man was ravishingly radiant! He wore a glistening white tuxedo, and his eyes glimmered with a fiery passion. His hair was slightly unkempt, but had a dreamy look to it. In his hands he held a violin, but no simple violin was this!
“Ky-Kyousuke…” Sayaka said breathlessly, as she stared upwards at her rescuer, “B-but how?!”
“All in good time, my love.” he replied with a grin, “But first this Golden Witch must meet with
the final note of her demise!”
“You, dearest Sayaka…” Kyousuke Kamijo continued, “Freed me from the most wretched of illusions. And so, my violin of victory I name in honor of you. I name it the
Illusion Breaker! And with it, I will break the illusions of this abominable witch, as a rising crescendo of power comes forth with me playing the strands of her
defeat!”
Kyousuke then aimed his violin at the Golden Witch, and began playing it with vigor. Sayaka appeared euphorically entranced at the sight! As for myself, I was left speechless at such a sudden and unexpected rescue!
And a rescue it was, for the violent vibrations coming from Kyousuke’s violin was music to the ears of Sayaka and I, but a death knell to the witch. The witch howled and shuddered against this sonic attack, until it exploded like shattered glass from it! Kyousuke had emerged victorious. He had saved both Sayaka and me!
Kyousuke gestured forward with one arm, to cause shining steps in the formation of a staircase to appear before him. He then smoothly walked down those steps, and walked towards Sayaka with a gentle but proud smile on his face. Sayaka, for her part, was still left in breathless shock and awe.
“Why so stunned, Sayaka?” Kyousuke asked with a simple, boyish charm, “You said it yourself. Miracles and magic
do exist.”
Kyousuke then proceeded to wrap his arms around Sayaka, and kissed her with such gallant poise and style. Sayaka was at first left stunned by the gesture, but was soon so moved by the kiss as to reciprocate fully, softly closing her wide eyes and wrapping her arms and cape around Kyousuke. Sayaka’s Maestro in Shining Tuxedo had truly arrived!
Sayaka and Kyousuke’s kiss continued on while the witch’s barrier dissipated all around us.
“
My…” I said, after Kyousuke and Sayaka’s lips finally parted, and the two gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes, “You certainly know how to make a girl feel jealous, Kyousuke.”
Kyousuke and Sayaka couldn’t help but to laugh loudly at that.
But Kyousuke Kamijo’s actions this hour were no laughing matter. He had arrived to save Sayaka and I at the most opportune time! How did he even manage such a thing?!
That question would soon be answered, but for now, I simply took pleasure in knowing that Mitakihara Town was as secure as it ever could be. With Kyousuke added to the ranks of magical
humans defending this town, Walpurgis Night would certainly be defeated!
And then, Madoka,
then we will have a romance to rival even what Kyousuke and Sayaka now enjoy!
Somehow I can sense that this is an important day in Sayaka’s life. But for me, it was Tuesday. Tuesday evening, to be exact. And then, at about 8 PM, I heard the phone ring.
Thanks to caller display, I knew that the call was from Mami! I wonder if she had good news or bad news for me?
To Be Continued…
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Yes, readers, it's actually an update. And it's an update of a part of this story that I haven't updated in several months.
Mami Romance is back!
In the update itself are links to YouTube videos that I think have fitting music for the writing that comes immediately after that link. Different colors also mean that different narrators are taking over -
This means Mami.
This means Sayaka.
This means Madoka. And default (start of the chapter) is Madoka.
The Chapter title includes a link to the last installment of Mami Romance, from many moons ago. Many may need to re-read some of what came before in order to refresh their memories. I know that I had to in order to write this update.
But in any event,
enjoy! Enjoy Kyousuke Kamijo's Finest Hour and/or The Rage of Mami Tomoe!
P.S. If anybody can think of a good file-sharing program, please help out Kimidori. I'm going to try to think of one myself.