Return to my Hometown - A Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and Puella Magi Madoka Magica Fanfic

[Repentant_Dragos]

Return to my Hometown - A Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and Puella Magi Madoka Magica Fanfic

Prologue - The Interloper

Disclaimer: I do not own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha or Puella Magi Madoka Magica, nor the appearances of people from Ensemble Stars.

Author's Note: The pairings are Male OC/Kyosuke Kamijou (which may be replaced by Male OC/Male OC depending on story decisions) and Madoka/Homura, plus Kyouko/Sayaka and Mami Tomoe… I don't know who to pair with her yet.

The Returner's PoV

Mitakihara City shone brightly in the sun, the concrete and steel buildings mixing well with the abundance of greenery to create the finest fusion of nature and civilization on this side of Midchilda.

The last time I was here was at ten years of age; four years had passed since then. This was my hometown.

My superiors were skeptical about Earth having Magic except for a few exceptional individuals with immense potential (now out fighting a foe called the Hucklebein except for me, and none of them were from Mitakihara). But I know what I heard and saw when I was ten, before my recruitment into the Time-Space Administration Bureau.

"I wish my baby brother could escape this place! My wish is that he could go somewhere with real parents who would love and care for him!"

I still remember her voice, even though her face was blurred.

"She's probably dead, you know?" my Guardian Beast/Familiar - For those in the know, it's an animal soul put into an artificial, humanoid magical body who then becomes sapient and shares my magical energy and spells - said as he drove the car towards its intended destination. "Are you sure what happened to her even has to do with the increasing number of anomalies from this area?"

I glanced at him, double-checking that any trace of owl feathers was gone from his blond hair; he needed to look like a twenty-year-old human male. Then I responded, "Trust my instincts, Cody; I was born here. I even spent one or two stays in our destination; the nurses were kind to me."

The blond-haired, blue-eyed form of the Familiar shrugged in his business suit as he said, "Roger. Fair warning, though; I prefer transport duties over combat, so I'll focus on that. Now, we're about to reach our destination…"

The destination is Mitakihara General Hospital, where I finally received permission from an old friend to talk music with him after months of online chatting and attempts to convince him that, yes, I am the real deal—the poor redheaded kid who was bullied at school when we were young.

Now, where are my manners? My name is Ren, Hirose Ren. I have red hair, and blue eyes, and only my height and the set of my cheekbones and nose hint at my Japanese heritage.

I straightened the collar of my short-sleeved jacket, which blended well with the white cotton shirt, tan jeans, and shiny Nikes that indicated my current wealth and status - Essential in a country such as Japan.

I fully intended to heal my friend's hands; old debts have to be repaid. If I can get away with it, I'll throw in a few cancer cures for the other patients, damn the questions raised.

Kyosuke Kamijou, music prodigy. Kyosuke Kamijou, who didn't have to stand up for me that day. Kyosuke Kamijou, who may be in the line of fire if the temporal anomalies I was ordered to investigate by my superiors, temporal anomalies that might be connected to whatever gave my sister's wish power, proved to be dangerous.

The car was about to stop in the hospital parking lot and I needed to get out; I needed to meet him.

Even if he thinks nothing of what he did for me. Even if he has no clue about what happened to my sister.

Debts had to be repaid.

------

My social skills are crap.

If not for my researching known violins and violinists beforehand, both historical and modern, I would be out of the hospital room and told to never come back, such as how I screw up talking to people in general without a pre-memorized script.

Or I could just be overthinking, who knows?

"Are you nervous, Hirose-kun?" Kyosuke was looking at me somewhat skeptically as I sat beside his hospital bed, his prematurely gray hair - Unusual in a fourteen-year-old - matching his gray eyes and smooth skin. "You give off a certain… vibe."

I was cold-sweating now, "I… Is it a bad feeling?"

It was a relief when his answer was, "No. It's not something I'm used to, but it's… fine. Warm. So, why did you come back to Mitakihara Town? Is it just to see me? We barely know each other now."

He then continued, ominously, "I don't know what happened to Rika, either. The last thing I remember about your sister was Social Services taking her…"

Well, that was a lead. A real lead. I then told Kyosuke, "I listened to your early performances, you know. Part of my heart will always be in Mitakihara Town and Rika… She was a fan of yours."

Kyosuke nodded, remembering those early days.

He said, "I'm getting a medical check-up later this week; the doctors will tell me whether I can play the violin again, or…"

"What do you plan to do if your hands miraculously recover?" I asked him, fully intending to make sure his hands got a miraculous healing whether my superiors in the TSAB approved of it or not.

The flow of our conversation was easier - not harmonious, but easier - after that.

I am going to sneak in later. Once he is healed, I'll mix in a few cures for cancer patients and the terminally ill.

The last minute of my visiting hours ran out; I had to go. As I stepped out of the hospital entrance, a lift in my step…

"Hirose-kun… Is that you?"

Wavy, olive-colored hair that mixed well with bright green eyes, dressed in a Mitakihara Middle School Uniform. I remember this rich kid; she was also kind to me.

"Hitomi - I mean, Shizuki-san…" I needed to remember honorifics! "Yes, yes it is. I'm happy to meet you again."

I smiled at her, suddenly more confident now that I was rich too, not just because of my adoptive parents, but because as an officer of the Time-Space Administration Bureau (who justified their use of child soldiers by saying that their magic allows for nonlethal KOs 100% of the time), I got a generous salary that I used to make myself look as good as possible.

So I could be worthy of her. Also of him, if it ever turned out he wasn't only into girls. More to him than her, I had to admit in the depths of my heart, but then again, there was also Lucas...

Hitomi didn't notice my thoughts as she said, "Hirose-kun! We have to catch up! What have you been doing this whole time? Last we heard of you, you got adopted by an American couple! Did they treat you well?"

My smile grew as I replied, "More than well; I'm very happy."

I have had four years of new parents who were badass Magi and Scientists who love me.

That must have made me unrecognizable from the crying bullied kid Kyosuke and Hitomi hung around with back when we were in elementary, right?

And by unrecognizable, I meant that in a good way.

"We have to catch up on the last four years!" Hitomi was now saying, "School's over, so I know a cafe -"

"Sure!" I responded. "Can I pay? I have an allowance now, I mean…"

Hitomi blushed furiously at that, and as the sun shone down on her face, I could almost forget my troubles.

------

The parfaits were as good as anything in Cranagan City's restaurants, and I mean that as a high compliment. Hitomi and I made small talk about the weather; I had a pre-memorized script for that. Nevertheless, there was something I had to know.

"What exactly happened to Rika? Kyosuke-kun said she was taken away by Social Services. Was it because of -?"

My Birth Mother worked in a certain profession best not mentioned. I and Rika were born to one of her repeat clients who had enough guilt to pay her to keep us alive and fed.

"I… Hirose-kun… Do you want to know?"

I nodded, already fearing the worst.

"Your sister… They said she killed her. That she killed yours' and her birth mother. Then she ran away from the Social Services building and back to the apartment they lived in; there was a fire right after."

My eyebrows rose in shock, but not disbelief. I knew this was in character from Rika; once she had saved me, nothing could stop her from killing… Birth Mom.

I nodded and ate another spoonful of ice cream, suddenly realizing that Hitomi, sweet and sad and soft that she is, had put herself through the wringer to even speak of such a subject; taboo to her and others.

Instinctively, I put my hand on top of hers, having seen such a gesture reassure others on film, and said reassuringly, "It's okay. Thank you for telling me."

Hitomi flinched, but not out of hostility; rather, she was embarrassed and anxious as she said, "I - are you going there? It might be dangerous, you know..."

I gave her my best smile to reassure her, then said with as much bravado as I could muster, "Don't worry; the only thing I'm afraid of are the demons from my past."

Woah! Did she just look at me like I was some sort of celebrity? I should have said something similar to Kyosuke! Not that seeing it from her didn't make me feel good…

Now, back to business. I needed to revisit that apartment, now a burnt-out husk. But first I needed to heal my friend and maybe a few others whom I can afford to cure.

I'll do both tonight.

------

"Be careful," my Capital-D Device said to me as I drew it out from where I stood on the hospital rooftop, "This city has a lot of temporal anomalies that can only be sensed from ground level."

Basileus, my Device, was a bright garnet gemstone with a sophisticated Magical AI developed by my adoptive parents for my time in the TSAB. Attached to a pistol that fired not primitive and taboo bullets but bolts of magical energy with optional lethality, Basileus was capable of catalyzing my transformation into a Magical Boy; one of the elite foot soldiers of the Time-Space Administration Bureau.

It also gave good advice.

"We'll investigate once I'm done with my business. Kyosuke - and a few other terminally ill patients - need curing first. Now, Basileus - Set up!"

The bright sunset colored the sky enough that most onlookers wouldn't notice the Imperial Purple light from the hospital roof. My casual clothes changed to a blue-and-white long coat, a white shirt, tan trousers, and white combat boots with blue tips.

I didn't take my time transforming; no one was looking as far as I know.

"Basileus, prepare a wide-range spell targeting field, then designate Kyosuke Kamijou plus… You know what? Set everyone in the Hospital as targets for a Healing Spell - I'll take the heat from the Admiral and the rest of the top brass."

I could feel the disapproving vibration from Basileus as it replied, "Very well, Ren Hirose; targets have been designated for a wide-range Healing Spell. Will you use my pistol form?"

Grimacing at the very idea, I said, "No need for such flourishes. Now, casting in 1…2…3!"

A mild flash of light as the Sun dimmed and the Moon rose; those hid my healing spell from incurious people who did not want to believe in Magic they could not control.

Now, I can move on to the apartment my sister wished me away from, and find out just what happened to her -

"Ren!" Basileus screeched as it covered us with an emergency shield, "Temporal Anomaly Incoming!"

And time stopped.

I was able to move because of Basileus' emergency magical shielding, which I swiftly reinforced with my own swiftly cast spells as I instinctively zig-zagged across the rooftops in the direction of my old apartment, just in time to avoid armalite shots that whizzed by behind me.

"Unknown magical signature detected!" Basileus said. "It appears to be… an unlicensed Magical Girl?!"

My eyes glinted at that as I turned around and began shooting Imperial Purple bolts of magical energy at the source of the Armalite fire. Someone was using Magic on Earth, a Non-Administered World under observation, without the TSAB's knowledge?!

"Oi!" I shouted as my eyes settled on the unlicensed Magical Girl, a black-haired, pale-skinned female in a black-and-white schoolgirl outfit who looked poised and classy enough to be a Belkan Aristocrat. "Don't you know using Magic in a world that lacks it is against the Time-Space Administration Bureau's guidelines?! And who gave you that Illegal Device?!"

"Ren," Basileus interrupted, "That unlicensed Magical Girl's gemstone is not a Device; it's a similar piece of Magitech bearing similarities to a species that the TSAB signed a nonaggression pact with during the year 35 of the New Calendar -"

I and the unknown Magical Girl pointed our guns at each other, before she asked, "And what does your Soul Gem know about the Incubators?"

Hiiro Amagi from Ensemble!Stars; Ren Hirose, my OC, looks like him but younger
​

 

[Repentant_Dragos]

I've decided to make it so that Male OC/Male OC is an option instead of Male OC/Kyosuke Kamijou, as the canon characterization for Kyosuke is... bland.

 

[Repentant_Dragos]

Chapter One - Taking Stock

Disclaimer: I do not own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha or Puella Magi Madoka Magica, nor the appearances of people from Ensemble Stars. Also, the Witch, Mara the Barren, is entirely my creation.

Author's Note: The pairings of this fic are Madoka/Homura, plus Kyouko/Sayaka; all else is ambiguous, but there will be male/male romance at some point because I like writing it.

The Returner, Hirose Ren's, PoV

I and the unknown Magical Girl pointed our guns at each other, before she asked, "And what does your Soul Gem know about the Incubators?"

Basileus began playing out a pre-recording, "On the 35th year of the New Calendar, a detachment of the Time-Space Administration Bureau's Seventh Scout Fleet encountered a new species, which introduced themselves as an interstellar collective species-state called the Incubators. This species, well-versed in cosmic science and metaphysics, claimed to be contemporaries of Ancient Belka and Alhazerd, as well as many even more ancient civilizations -"

I blinked, "That explanation makes them sound benign, but with a tendency to exaggerate -"

Basileus wrestled control of the conversation back by saying, "It isn't exaggeration; the Incubators were able to provide proof of their claims, and in turn expressed curiosity about our use of Magic, which they referred to as emotional energy, while demonstrating mastery over 'Soul Manipulation', a taboo but not entirely forbidden subject in the TSAB -"

The unknown Magical Girl pointed her gun at Basileus and asked, "And what is the TSAB? Don't tell me you and your… bearer are Aliens…"

I can feel that hostility in that last word, and I felt the need to defend myself by saying, "I'm from Earth, miss. I was raised among people who evolved out of the planet but are biologically the same as Humans except that some of them have blue or green hair, for four years, but I was born here, in Mitakihara City, and I went back to investigate some temporal anomalies occurring in this place."

Yes, I did see her raising her eyebrows a little in surprise, and I made sure to strengthen my Barrier Jacket just in case she shot me. I then continued after a pause.

Looking at her in the eye, I then added, "And Earth, as far as the official sources state, is a world that lacks Magic and Mages except for a few individuals like me whom the Time-Space Administration has recruited. But now you're here, and despite hating the Incubators, you have something my Device says smacks of their handiwork that allows you to be a Magical Girl."

I then raised my officer's badge; good thing I got promoted to Sergeant Major just two weeks ago, then explained:

"The TSAB was founded as an alliance of planets after the collapse of the Ancient Belkan Civilization and has part of their main duties the security and containment of dangerous Lost Logia - Mysterious Hyper-advanced Technology. The TSAB doesn't pursue territorial claims. On Unadministered Worlds we just act to find and contain magical artifacts left over from the wars of those ancient civilizations. These Logia are fully capable of destroying worlds, it's been seen before.

"I suppose you could think of the TSAB as... Space NATO? So whatever is happening here we can't interfere in planets' sovereignty, especially if they aren't aware of us. We need to know more."

The black-haired Magical Girl looked at me back, almost glaring as she absorbed the information, then nodded, before putting down her gun and gently her palm on a small metal shield strapped to her right wrist, ending the time stop.

"Now, umm, what is your name? I don't know what I should call you…" I asked and implored.

-------

The 'unlicensed' Magical Girl, Akemi Homura and I had gone to the former's apartment, where I was getting my worldview shattered into dust that was stomped on before getting scattered into the wind.

"So, the Incubators were lying - No, not lying, telling technical truths - When they said that they were a species of researchers whose line of research was good for the cosmos," I summarized as I sat across from her, gulping some hot tea from my host's teacup to calm my nerves; I can be forgiven for ignoring etiquette right now due to her revelations, right?

Then I continued, trying to ignore how I was shaking with anger, "The problem was, their research was on Earth, where I was born, and it's about harvesting my species for emotional energy, and good for the cosmos is delaying a heat death that's billions of years away."

Basileus, my capital-d Device, voiced, "If what Ms. Akemi said is true, then the TSAB needs to know that they've been tricked into agreeing to a non-aggression treaty with the Incubator species. A treaty, by the way, that ceded them vaguely defined 'observation and research points' on various Non-Administered Planets, including Earth."

Homura was looking at me bickering with Basileus, clearly not impressed by what I and my Capital-D Device told her about the Time-Space Administration Bureau. And who can blame her? After all, she had to end her magical time stop so she could ask that weasel (the Incubator, Kyubey, who took the form of a white-and-read cat-weasel hybrid with long floppy ears) if I was telling the truth.

Speaking of that vile jerkface, Kyubey was still here with us, and Basileus was magically recording his telepathic testimony and sending it to Admiral Janneth, my superior as I instructed beforehand.

It was a good and profitable treaty. The so-called Time-Space Administration Bureau had many ancient relics - Magic and hyper-advanced technology - that they could not comprehend, yet might have unleashed on us if we had made the wrong impression. As it was, we salved their egos while impressing them with the breadth of our knowledge, and thus distracted them from the ongoing harvests of emotional energy from the worlds they have put under observation.

I glared at that prick and asked, "And I presume the way the TSAB uses Magic - Emotional Energy - is grossly inefficient in your worldview?"

You are correct, said Kyubey, The TSAB, and the Ancient Belkan civilization that preceded it, were prone to using Magic for primitive purposes and objectives, such as mundane comfort and petty warfare. Even the civilization of Alhazerd, which can match our advancements in hyper-advanced technology, was in thrall to the mental illness called emotion, which in the end led to its fall.

Rage flared in my heart as I said, coldly, "My sister is one of those Witches, isn't she?"

Yes, it confirmed. Hirose Rika lasted for only a brief time, but that was enough to create a Witch of moderate strength -

I lost my temper and shot at the Incubator with Basileus' Pistol form, hitting it with three beams of purple energy.

Homura glanced at me as if I had just done something useless, and a second later, the Incubator casually got up and shrugged off my blast of energy.

Huh, a non-lethal, but painful setting for this young boy's magical device. Yet another waste of energy that could be used to combat entropy, that trickster beast continued as it said, By the way, your sister's Witch is still in the apartment her physical shell died in…

I froze in shock. I had to see her again, despite what I now know happened to her. I need to see Hirose Rika, my sister, one last time.

After that, I'm keeping her Grief Seed until further notice - From what I know now, she is still alive.

Basileus had sent the logs. I received permission to engage potential hostiles and continue my investigations until further notice. Good; now I can go...

Akemi Homura's PoV

This is an irregular loop.

From what I know, Hirose Rika was relevant in only a few timelines, where she had turned into the Witch known as Mara the Barren, a Witch who constantly sang a song of lamentation about how she had to give up what she valued most, something - or someone - dear to her.

And now, the person she gave up was asking to see her, after her past wish had whisked him off to a civilization of magical people who treated him as one of them.

On one level, such loyalty was to be admired.

On another… Hirose Ren might be throwing away his sister's sacrifices, risking heartbreak to see what she has become.

"Are you ready?" I asked him. "I do not wish to sugarcoat things, Magical Boy or not, seeing your sister in such a way is not for the faint of heart."

His response was predictable; he insisted on going.

"Do you still remember the way?" I asked him.

The boy called Ren nodded, then said, "Let's go; we're wasting time."

Indeed, it was nighttime outside, and the few stars that shone through the city lights gazed down upon us as we hid in plain sight; the two of us walked towards Hirose Ren's car in our mundane clothes - I already had my Mitakihara High School Uniform.

He introduced his driver as "This is Cody; he's my Familiar, which in the Mid-childan magic system's context means an animal soul put into a body made of my magical energy that is sapient now and shares my spells. And before you ask, no; I did not put him in a contract in exchange for his life - I am no Incubator."

This remark caused Kyubey to whisper to me telepathically, The Time-Space Administration Bureau, despite its claims of enlightenment, has not illegalized the creation and contracting of Familiars/Guardian Beasts in terms that could be more overtly exploitative than ours' are -

I glared at him in response, a silent order to shut up before I splattered his remains inside the car as it started up.

Against my will, I was starting to think that this unexpected new variable may both be a possible benefit… and a risk.

We reached the burnt-out condemned ruins of the apartment where the Hirose siblings and their mother had lived, and sure enough, I sensed the chill of a Witch's Labyrinth at the back of my neck.

Mara the Barren was seeking to lure in new victims with her music.

Basileus, the intelligent 'Device' that Hirose Ren used for his transformation, voiced aloud, disregarding anyone who might hear, "Abnormal Dimensional Subspace Detected. The means of entry require overwhelming amounts of magical energy focused on a single point -"

I held out my Soul Gem to interrupt, flipping my hair as I did, "Let me do it; I want to see how your form of Magic works against a Witch."

The Soul Gem opened the gateway to the Labyrinth without excess collateral damage, parting the folds of space like a curtain to lead the way to the wasteland of barren ash and dunes that made up Mara the Barren's personalized hell of regrets and suffering.

"Don't rush in, Magical Boy or not," I said to Hirose Ren as he drew Basileus and projected several opaque barriers of purple light that served as a privacy screen - Surprisingly thoughtful - for his Transformation Sequence. "Let me lead the way."

After transforming seamlessly into my Puella Magi form, I stepped into the wastes lit by a gray sky; Mara the Barren was a tricky Witch that fused visual boredom with a heartbreaking dirge to distract any entrants.

And as several Familiars - The ones produced by a Witch, not Cody - burst out of the sands, I and Ren moved to take down these Sandworm-like creatures.

"What the heck?!" the Magical Boy from Space (a term even I found unusual) said as his bolts of purple light caused only mild burns to the Sandworms while a submachine gun I drew from my shield perforated two of the Familiars in six seconds. "Mass-based weaponry is so primitive - Why is it wreaking more damage than my Magic?!"

I broke the news to him, "Mara is resistant to purely Magical attacks, the opposite of Walpurgisnacht's ability to endure all but the most overwhelming amounts of mundane weaponry. As it is, your damage levels are somewhat less than a Magical Girl of the same level would have inflicted on such a foe -"

"Say no more," Hirose Ren interrupted as he held out Basileus and shouted, "Basileus, Crystal Glaive Form!"

"Roger," said the capitalized Device as the pistol's stock and barrel extended into a rounded shaft, as the gemstone added new crystal planes and fractals to itself, forming a sharp blade of garnet whose edge seemed to cut the very air.

When a Sandworm that had shrugged off his earlier shots burst under him from the ashy waste, Hirose Ren lunged down with his gun-turned-halberd and split it in two, then slashed sideways to bisect another of those monsters, dissolving it into wisps. I was not idle as I shot three more into ashes with my submachine gun, then eliminated a fourth by casually tossing a pipe bomb at its mouth.

"This Labyrinth is more of a maze than those of other Witches," I told him as we wound our way through the dunes, "Do not climb up to the top of the sands; follow the music if you want to reach the center."

To his credit, Hirose Ren listened, and we followed the sad song of Mara the Barren to the center of the Labyrinth; a bitter lake of salty tears, where an eternally crying girl in a black dress and white veil sang a song of lamentation in German.

Now I know that the song was about how she had to leave behind what she most loved for it to grow, and how she regretted not coming with them.

"Her wish," Hirose Ren was smart enough to realize, "She could have wished both of us to the TSAB, but she didn't realize that. Onee-san…"

I observed he resisted the urge to rush into the Lake of Tears, where large Lamprey-like shapes swam underneath the surface. Good; he knew some control over his emotions.

"Can you fly?" the young man asked as I nodded, then said, "I can, too."

As we floated up to terminate the Witch's existence, however, we were interrupted by a cry of -

"Tiro Finale!" As a huge bullet, made up of magic yet physical enough to count as one of those physical weapons Hirose Ren put down as 'primitive', struck the center of the lake; the resulting blast blew smoke and steam throughout the area, obscuring the Witch's form.

I whirled my eyes toward the direction of the shot; it had been fired by a blond-haired, gold-eyed, Magical Girl in a white-and-yellow outfit and a golden beret; Mami Tomoe, one of Madoka Kaname's friends. In several time loops, she was either an ally, an enemy, or sometimes just a hindrance.

Beside her was one of Kyubey's spare bodies; that red-eyed weasel must have fed her some of his technical truths.

This was confirmed when several old-style muskets emerged from thin air, shooting at Ren with magical bullets that blew through his outer defenses and had to be parried by his glaive's shaft.

I was also under fire, but I already activated my time stop to dodge the first volley and emerged behind Mami as she shouted at Ren, "You Alien! You're not going to do whatever you want in our City!"

Of course, that's the 'truth' Kyubey slanted into a lie to get her to attack us. I grit my teeth as the boy, under fire but not counterattacking, shouted, "Your Incubator friend is the Alien, not me!"

As I drew my machine pistol to point at her head, hoping to end the battle by forcing Mami to surrender, several Lamprey-like Familiars burst up from the bitter lake as Mara, her grey dress and veil smoking and burnt rose from the islet she stood on and wailed.

All three of us put up a magical shield that barely stood against the force of the sound. But the power of the attack was not just in physical force alone, but in the mental blast as the sheer desperate sadness scoured our brains with caustic despair.

I resisted. So did Hirose Ren. But Mami was shaken, and screamed, remembering why she made her wish 'to connect to life'.

Dozens, maybe hundreds of muskets appeared from thin air as our opponent's desperation was given form by magic - It was enough to kill us all if I did not stop time long enough to subdue Mami Tomoe.

Then… Hirose Ren decided to do something utterly unnecessary, but useful.