Soon class ended and Manaka went towards Madoka. "So what did the new girl tell you"
Madoka hesitated for a moment. "She said I should be careful"
Manaka blinked, he was expecting for her to say something else but she just told her to be careful. "Well...that doesn't seem so bad"
Madoka smiled at her brothers worry. "She talks strange but she's just shy"
Manaka sighed and didn't delve into it, Homura wasn't dangerous he would have done the same thing she would have done If he was in her own shoes.
Currently he is in his own shoes and he speculates he may not be the same person if he hunter witches till the end of the week, who knows maybe he would be able to fight off Walpurgistnacht for some time.
If not he would probably survive or his sister will make a wish and become the distorted version of herself, yeah he really didn't want that to happen. Manaka patted his sisters head. "Ok"
"What was that for?" Madoka asked curiously.
"Just a little reminder," Manaka said with a faint smile, ruffling her pink hair gently. "To let you know I'll always be here to look out for you. No matter what happens."
"Don't we both look out for each other already though?" She asked with another question.
Manaka retracted his hands, how should he explain to this innocent twin sister of his
that the world she saw as bright and full of possibilities was teetering on the edge of darkness? How could he tell her that every step they took was walking closer to a danger she couldn't even fathom yet?
Manaka chuckled lightly to mask his inner turmoil. "Yeah, we do. But you're better at the 'making friends and being cheerful' part. I'm more of the 'stay in the shadows and make sure no one gets hurt' type."
Madoka tilted her head, her curious expression unwavering. "But you act like a vampire, too much exposure to the sun can cause your headaches to start reacting, maybe I should tell mom to take you for a check up this week."
Manaka blinked, caught off guard by her sudden shift to genuine concern. Classic Madoka, he thought, always worrying about others, even when they were fine—or at least pretending to be fine.
"Hey, no need for that," Manaka said quickly, waving his hands dismissively. "It's not that serious. I'm just sensitive to sunlight sometimes. Besides, you know how much I love staying indoors anyway."
Madoka narrowed her eyes suspiciously, crossing her arms. "That's what you always say. You're not hiding something from me, are you?"
Manaka tensed for a moment but quickly forced a grin. "Hiding something? Me? Come on, what could I possibly hide from my own twin sister?"
"....Well I'll believe you" Madoka said with a sigh.
After they talked for a while, the two parted ways,Manaka didn't immediately go home he went towards a bench and sat there.
He wondered if he could find that Kyubey thing, maybe he could find a way from making his sister avoid it but Manaka knew better than to underestimate Kyubey. That strange creature wasn't something he could easily deal with. It always seemed to appear when it wanted to, and never when you were looking for it. Still, sitting on the bench, Manaka couldn't help but feel the weight of his thoughts pressing down on him.
"oh i didn't think i would find someone here" Manaka looked at the voice only to see a red haired girl wearing a short and a blue shirt.
The red-haired girl stood a few feet away, her hands casually tucked into her pockets. Her crimson eyes gleamed with a mischievous curiosity as she tilted her head at Manaka. She carried a relaxed, almost carefree demeanor, but there was something sharp in her gaze that hinted at a hidden intensity.
"Oh, uh… didn't think anyone would come here either," Manaka replied, sitting up straighter on the bench. "You're…?"
"Kyoko. Kyoko Sakura," she introduced herself, flashing a confident smirk. "You new around here? Haven't seen you before."
"I could say the same about you," Manaka replied cautiously. He studied her closely, immediately sensing that she wasn't just an ordinary girl. There was an edge to her presence, as though she was always ready for a fight. "What brings you here?"
Kyoko shrugged, strolling over and leaning against a nearby tree. "Just passing by. This town's got a certain… vibe to it, you know? Thought I'd check it out."
"What kind of vibe" Manaka asked still looked ahead of him.
"hey shouldn't you introduce yourself first" She asked with a teasing tone.
Manaka sighed. "i am Manaka Kaname"
"So Manaka Kaname, why do you smell like a witch" Kyoko said awfully cheerful.
Manaka hummed silently. "A witch you say? aren't those from stories"
"Come on don't play dumb with me or else i might just kill you" She said this time more seriously.
Manaka sighed. "Isn't a witch called a girl ir are you one of thise delusional cosplayers that are in character while not wearing their costumes"
"hmph i've never seen a witch act like a human so it's time for you to go bye" As she said that she took out her soul gem and Manaka blankly watched as she transformed.
Kyoko's transformation was swift and seamless. Her soul gem glowed a vibrant crimson, and in an instant, her casual clothes were replaced by a striking magical girl outfit—complete with a spear materializing in her hands. The weapon gleamed menacingly as she twirled it with ease, her expression shifting into one of focused determination.
Manaka didn't flinch, though his mind raced. He had to tread carefully. This wasn't the time or place for a fight, but Kyoko clearly didn't trust him.
"Hey i want no trouble, let me answer your questions, no i am not a witch as you can see but i also kind of am…well sort off, i can transform like you magical girls but i don't really know how" Kyoko froze for a moment, her crimson eyes narrowing. She rested her spear on her shoulder, tilting her head with a mix of suspicion and intrigue. "You can transform like us, but you're not a magical girl? That's the worst lie I've heard all week."
Manaka raised his hands in a show of surrender, his expression calm but earnest. "I'm not lying. I don't even fully understand it myself. I don't have a something like a soul gem well no i do but it's just a mix of a soul gem and a grief seed"
Kyoko's eyes widened slightly, though her grip on her spear remained firm. "A mix of a soul gem and a grief seed?" she repeated, her tone laced with disbelief and caution. "What kind of messed-up experiment is that? You're telling me you're walking around with half-witch, half-magical girl powers?"
"I am not a girl i would rather consider myself a Witch-Boy or just a Warlock" Manaka said with innocence laced in his voice.
Kyoko blinked, her crimson eyes narrowing as her grip on the spear tightened slightly. "A Warlock?" she repeated, her tone dripping with disbelief. "That's got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. What, did Kyubey mess up and decide to try something new?"
"Firstly, i did not meet that 'thing' i would rather jump off a building than talk to it" Manaka sneered as he heard Kyubeys name, in the visions he saw Kyubey never warned thhe magical girls about the contract.
Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "hmm well i'll believe you for now, goodbye pink head" As Kyoko walked away, her spear resting on her shoulder, Manaka let out a sigh of relief. That could have gone a lot worse, he thought. Despite her brash attitude and quick temper, Kyoko seemed like someone who wouldn't attack blindly—at least, not without reason.
…..
Manaka walked through the darkness of the night, there was a strange feeling deep within slightly steering into something unknown.
His shadow shifted in unnatural ways but it wouldn't be noticed by human eyes, his head was hurting more than before and he felt a strange sens of hunger.
It was the perpetual urge to spread despair among everyone, to cast a curse on the innocent bystanders that go on with their lives as many fight and die to protect them. "I'm being affected by the grief seed, do i have to hunt down a witch"
Manaka's entire demeanor changed the moment he took that grief seed yesterday, at first it wasn't noticeable but now it was manifesting, currently to fix this situation Manaka would have to spread despair and feed on the negative emotions of normal humans or hunt down a witch and devour its previous wish and current negativity.
It was bearable so he would hold on, but he feels like if he devour witches something's unlikely might happen to him, but he did get good vision from that grief seed seemingly laying on the floor yesterday.
Soon Manaka returned back home, when he arrived he saw his sister looking awfully excited and was drawing something on her notebook, he sneaked behind her and saw she was drawing a bow and a dress?. "What are you up to?"
Madoka got startled and immediately turned to look at Manaka. "A-ah nothing, I was just drawing".
Manaka ofcourse knew what was going on but he decided to ignore it. "Oh well make sure to sleep early and not draw all night, we still have school tomorrow"
Madoka averted her eyes from him. "Ok"
Manaka nodded his head but before he left he gave a blank look towards the being which was casually laying next to madoka like an overfed cat, thankfully his parents couldn't see that thing nor does it notice his gaze. Manaka then went through most of the night eating breakfast with his family and then going to bed.
The next day Manaka woke up from his slumber and did the mundane things of the morning and soon went to school.
School was mundane as ever and Manaka's urge to cause despair was increasing at each second and then suddenly, Homura Akemi glance at him from the corner of her eyes, at first she tilted her head in confusion and then froze up for a moment.
She didn't make anymore moves after those actions and paid attention to the class instead. Manaka noticed her, he sighed and realised that he was giving off witch signals to Magical girls now.