~Forward~
Installment four of 'Souls Beyond Time', this time a near-direct follow-up to the conclusion of 'Tinder'!
A clarification that caught some readers off guard; Japanese High Schools, at least by my understanding, have three years to them, as opposed to the American four or German five. Mami at the conclusion of the last story was a second year going-on third year, while Madoka, Homura, Sayaka, and Hitomi were all going-on second year. So the events of the story only covered a few months and didn't span years, like some had thought.
Once more though, we're diving back into some rather… risqué material here in the second part of the story (which will be up later). Adult content warning is going up. Again, I try to keep it tactful, but I just want to cover my bases.
I hope you all enjoy!
O/o\O
Suggested Listening: "Turtles All the Way Down", Glitchhikers OST
O/o\O
Charcoal
Homura Akemi.
To the public, that was just a name, one of dozens on a list of victims and unfortunate souls.
The name of a girl who had hoped to see family in Germany over Christmas break, to come home and spend time with the people she loved, to graduate and go on to college.
A name inscribed on a plaque in a graveyard just outside of Mitakihara's city limits.
Madoka was right though; it was still a lovely name.
Flight 431 had crashed in the Elburz mountains in Iran, casualty of a skirmish that had broken out between radicals hiding among the local villages and the current reigning regime. Fifty-two unlucky passengers, six hostesses and two pilots were counted among the missing or dead.
No one was really sure how many, if any, people survived the crash. Scouts had been sent in by Iran's military, assisted by Japanese and American coordinators, only to find the crash site being scoured and defended by the very rebels accused of the attack. By the time the area had been secured, there were only 46 charred, unidentifiable skeletons left at the site. Any others were either buried in the mountainside from the sheer force of the crash or the bodies had been taken by the insurgents. Regardless, the 'rescue' team had been left with half a hundred dead and very few answers.
Search parties combed the mountains for days after the attack, but after a week and a half of fruitless searching the parties were called back to focus on dealing with the terrorists instead.
No one had been found; the whole flight's roster was considered a complete loss.
The dedication funeral had been lovely, Mami admitted. The flight was international, but the majority of its occupants had been Japanese, so those that died were given a memorial in the city's nicest graveyard. Ceremonial ashes were laid to rest three weeks after the crash; wood ash, of course, since what bodies left behind were still being examined for identification.
The four remaining members of their crew had been present when they put the urn to rest at the memorial.
Mami glanced over to find Sayaka and Hitomi parked next to each other. Normally that would be a good sign; ever since she'd met them the two had seemed slightly at odds. But now it seemed less a bridge to repair a broken friendship and more putting aside their differences in the name of grief. Hitomi was patiently patting Sayaka's back as the blunette did her best to compose a stoic façade, an attempt marred by the quakes in her cheeks and the tears from her eyes. The grunette was better, but nowhere near perfect. Her posture was proper, her face was neutral, but she rivaled Sayaka when it came to how much moisture escaped from her verdurous orbs.
Worst off was Madoka. It had broken her heart, seeing the pinkette at the ceremony, bawling her eyes into any shoulder she could lean on. Even the fleeting joy of meeting the girl's parents, friends of Mami's from a day long past, failed to stifle the sour blood running under her skin, under the mood of everyone there.
In a way, Mami understood why Madoka was so much more emotional than anyone else at the funeral. The elder had observed her junior's grand empathic nature first hand; she was dedicated to helping the world however she could, to cheer it up one day at a time. Even Mami herself couldn't tout such purity; she did what she did, volunteering to cook for hospitals, becoming the nurse's assistant, going to soup kitchens on the weekend, out of guilt, which an admission she buried deep, far and away from anyone who might pry.
But in circumstances like this, that purity was a double-edged sword.
Madoka genuinely loved everyone, had faith in everyone, no exceptions. To hear that one of her closest friends, maybe her closest friend ever, had died, and that dozens had died with her… The poor girl was probably suffering the worst month of her life.
She seemed especially torn when she heard that Homura's personal funeral would happen in Germany, a place she was not prepared to go to in the slightest for any number of reasons.
Hope had been stricken from the greatest dreamer in their ranks and that served to drain what little morale everyone else had.
The proceedings ended just after midmorning, with grieving couples, widows and friends lingering around as distraught souls do in times of grief.
Madoka was one of the last ones to approach the statue and plaque, Mami and Madoka's mother gently pushing the girl forward, giving her the boost in confidence she needed to take those deafening steps.
The pinkette collapsed just as she reached the monument, fingers skimming across the plaque as her knees hit the ground.
"Madoka!"
"Kaname!"
Mami and Madoka's mother didn't react in time to catch her, though their hands immediately fell again to the girl's shoulders.
"I… I… H-H-H-Hom-m-m…" the girl blubbered, her words punctuated droplets of saliva flinging from her lips.
The girl gave a rough hic, prompting the older student to rub her back.
"Shhh… Madoka… Just… Let it out, okay?" Mami cooed. A look up found the eyes of the weary mother, who motioned for Mami to press Madoka into a joined hug.
Mami did so, easing the small girl between them, and there they stayed for half an hour as Madoka cried herself to exhaustion.
O/o\O
"Will you be alright taking them back alone, Tomo?"
Mami watched as the elder Kaname saw off her husband, Madoka and her brother Tatsuya asleep in the back seat of the compact car. Neither of them handled emotional drain put on them by the service very well and had seen fit to nap on the way home.
"I'll be fine, Jun. Just be sure to be home earlier today, okay? Madoka needs you," the man replied, leaning out of the driver's side window. The two shared a chaste peck before he sat back down, rolled up the window and drove off, leaving the waving student and business woman next to the cemetery.
"You have a lovely husband, Miss Kaname," Mami noted, allowing herself a half-smile.
"He's the best in the world," the woman sighed, her form slumping. Another breath and the confidence returned to her form, "And that's Junko little miss; you'll make me feel old calling me 'Miss Kaname' all the time."
Mami puffed out a dry chuckle, "I suppose you're right. I'm not fan of when little kids call me 'Tomoe-san', either." The blonde blinked, looking at the briefcase in Junko's hand, "You're still going to work, even after all of that?"
Junko nodded, a weary grin on her cheeks, "Yep." She patted the case, "World doesn't stop; sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and run with it till it gives you a break. I won't be getting one quite yet… and I don't think Madoka's going to get one soon either."
The older woman began to step towards the nearest bus stop, "I'll walk you home before heading into work, Mami. I have something I need to ask you."
Mami tailed behind, fingers knotting with the smaller frills on her black dress.
"What do you need, Mis-Junko?"
Junko glanced back briefly before looking forward again, seemingly pleased that Mami was following her as she'd requested, "I want your help to keep Madoka afloat. She's a very strong girl… maybe even stronger than I was at her age, and I was quite the spitfire… But, she's always been so sensitive to other people… I don't think she can handle this alone."
Mami frowned, brows knitting in consternation, "Junko… I don't think that I'm really the best person for the job…"
A scoff came from the businesswoman, "Are you serious, Mami?" Junko's voice softened, "You're one of the strongest people I know… What you went through with your parents… the fact alone that you're still here today, working so hard at living a normal life… It's more than enough proof to me that Madoka would be in good hands."
A knot formed in Mami's chest, causing the blonde to grip at her heart.
"I'm… I don't think…"
A gentle hand landed on her head.
"This isn't a situation where you need to think, Mami. This is one where you need to feel. I've always been the one who was good at thinking, never all that great at feeling…" Junko admitted, glancing wearily to the side. "I'm wise enough though to tell when I need to call in help. My husband and I can only do so much at home; Madoka will need someone to help get her through school and when we're not around."
They reached the bus stop, idling by the post.
"But, I'm not strong!" Mami lamented, feeling something inside her crack, "I'm barely holding my life together as is… I depend on Madoka, I depend on all of them… How can I help them when they're the only things keeping me sane?"
Mami closed her eyes and began to rub her temples with one hand, a light stream tailing from her lids.
Once more, that friendly hand landed on her head.
"I can see that. But what you don't see is just how powerful being there can be," Junko responded. She raised up her hands flat, parallel to each other while the briefcase hung off her thumb. "Right now, you two are like unsteady wooden posts… well, I mean your whole group is like that right now, but that's not the point I'm trying to make… You're like two posts that have been uprooted and are unsteady…" Junko steepled her hands, pressing the fingertips together in a crude pyramid, "Alone, you would both fall over, but together you become each other's crutch. It's still not the most stable, but then add another post and another post and another and soon you have a structure, a web that can't be knocked down by anything. Go ahead, lean on them, but remember that they're all leaning on you just as much, Mami."
The blonde watched as Junko dissected her inner conflict in seconds, almost in awe at how swiftly her issues were critiqued.
"In fact," the woman continued, perking just a touch, "It might be beneficial if you lean on Madoka a little bit…"
"Uh… what?"
As rude as the question was phrased, the perplexing nature of Junko's statement threw Mami's normal formality for a loop.
Junko chuckled. "Madoka always comes to me about feeling powerless, at least she did before that Akemi girl popped up…" the woman explained, her pleasant façade dropping as she spoke. She reached a middle ground, a neutral face that seemed to stick, "She hates feeling like she can't do anything to help… so… maybe if you become someone she has to help, someone she can help, as you've observed yourself… Well, that might help her in return. Make her feel like there's something she can do."
The bus finally arrived, the two dutifully climbing aboard.
"I… I'll do it," Mami decided, standing next to Junko. The older woman smiled down on her.
"I appreciate it, Mami. I know she'll be safe in your care," warm violet eyes carried the same message. The blonde blushed and looked away, an uneasy pressure building in her chest… a familiar pressure. One she thought she'd never feel ever again… one she never did want to feel again.
A groaning broke out across the bus, causing the few other passengers to turn their heads towards the business woman. Junko scratched her cheek as Mami rose an eyebrow.
"I… uh… skipped breakfast this morning thanks to an early meeting…"
Having been the underdog in the conversation thus far, Mami suddenly found herself in familiar territory and breathing a sigh of relief.
"Then might I invite you in so I can make you something. It wouldn't take long, I assure you," Mami offered.
Junko gave a small dismissive wave, "No, no, I couldn't possibly impose on you after dumping all that responsibility on your shoulders, that'd be overkill."
"I insist, though! You shouldn't go through such a long day without eating!" Mami pushed.
Junko leaned back and sighed, scratching her head, "Well, how's this. I'll treat you to a tea shop near your house; your pick. Consider it an early thank you-slash-down payment. That way I also don't get my husband mad at me for turning down his offer to get up early and cook for me!"
Mami slumped into her hand hold, an empty but resigned smile on her face, "I suppose that'll do…"
O/o\O
Suggested Listening: "Confessio", Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST
O/o\O
The memorial had been put in place in late January, yet now sagged the dusk of May.
Mami finished signing a kanji at the bottom of the report, a soft sigh dancing from her lips.
Almost five months since she had to bury one of her juniors, at least in name. Normalcy had seemed to reestablish itself, a status quo achieved, though one that wasn't so pleasant. There were less meet ups, less hang outs, less friendly visits…
Hitomi had maybe been the first to recover, or at least was the only one to do it gracefully, considering she tended to restrain outward signs of emotion. While Mami couldn't say such behavior was healthy (and made the girl seem a little cold), she couldn't blame the grunette. Sayaka hadn't changed too much, aside from a few dour spouts and a sudden spike in how protective she was around people she cared about. She'd become very touchy around people outside their respective circles, often starting arguments with strangers after simple misunderstandings just because she felt defensive about something or someone.
Perhaps the worst came from Madoka. The girl had become… distant; that jubilation, that balmy temperament becoming more air than mist. The lack of get-togethers were troubling as well, meaning that Mami had less of a chance to speak with Madoka on the regular… even then conversations didn't seem to last long unless it was something of dire importance.
It frustrated the blonde at how quickly she began failing to keep her promise, but there was little she could do without trying to demand control over Madoka's life in its entirety. Instead, she settled for being content, or at least trying to be, with the lot life had thrown her this time.
She leaned back, resting down the pen and looking out to the midday sky; clear for the most part, dots of white and a bright orange disk making the urban landscape a little more cheery.
She glanced around the room, eyes picking over the four empty cots lined against the infirmary wall. With the nurse out at a small conference for the hour, the room was surprisingly quiet. Chillingly so. Mami popped out of the chair, shivering as she walked to the window and shoved it open, letting warm springtime winds into the building.
Technically she wasn't supposed to do that too often, to keep the infirmary as sanitary as possible, but she couldn't deny the temptation of the sweet smells of the season. The only other times she got something like that was when…
She blinked, realizing she'd let her mind wander where it shouldn't.
The quiet still ate at her, though. Her fingers drummed on the window sill, if only to generate a little noise to break the monotony. Having an hour of class off each day was nice, but she only took this position to help people, not waste time. She clutched her chest as a cold swell began to ebb from her core, one that not even the warm spring breeze could relieve.
The door slid open behind her, startling her. Briefly, she thought of someone specific, hoping for the warm smile that could put the cold at ease.
And while her desire was met with disappointment, it was mixed with pleasant surprise as well.
Hitomi gave a soft smile as she carried in a small potted plant atop her delicate fingertips.
"Oh, Shizuki, I didn't expect you to pop in," Mami sighed, letting her lips curve up a tick.
Hitomi nodded, to Mami has she carefully rested the plant on the table, "Well, it seems as if our teacher lost a bet with the nurse. This was the payment." The grunette rolled her eyes, brushing a bang out of her periphery, "As class representative it was 'my duty' to deliver the spoils of war." The observation was punctuated with an airy and amused chuckle on the younger girl's part.
"Well, it's certainly pleasant seeing a friendly face. It's been rather slow around here all day," Mami replied, giving a broad motion to the empty cots.
"Did I interrupt rush hour?" Hitomi sighed, her words insincere and teasing. The dainty hand to the collar bone perfected the joke, leading to a very unladylike snort from the senior. Soon enough, the two of them had devolved into a fit of giggles.
This was a unique pleasure she could share with Shizuki and Shizuki alone; the dropping of the proper girl garb. The two had a shared history of growing up learning proper formal etiquette, and so, unlike most of their peers, often remained more uptight while in casual conversations, usually taking on a more parental role among peers and as the dutify wards to educators and seniors. But, when the two were alone, like the occasional baking session together, the two could relax their façades. That didn't mean that Mami didn't relax it around her friends, but when something was as ingrained as her manners it took two familiar in the art to lift the burden quickly and efficiently.
The two finished their giggle fit as the bell rang in the background.
"Well, I wish I could stay and chat, but classes call. I'll see you after school, Tomoe!" Hitomi smiled, waving as she trotted out the door.
"Be careful until then!" Mami replied, going over to the door to wave the girl off.
Once the door was safely closed behind her, Mami pressed herself against it, rubbing her chest.
The cold was growing, slowly, steadily, only fractionally impeded by the other girl's interruption. It didn't help that she had to waltz back over to the desk and work on filling out forms for the nurse, the one who she had to admit more than once felt more like an aide to Mami than the other way around with how consistently the woman took off during these hour periods.
For what felt like an eternity she sat there, pencil scratching away, ears longing painfully to hear the sounds of distant birds and people milling around the school. Chimes wafted over the wind, briefly breaking the worldly monotony with a heavenly tone. And, for a moment, the cold ceased to grow, prompting a shallow smile across her lips.
The door slammed open, making Mami's pencil tip snap.
Her eyes shot up to find a tussled mass of cornflower hair in the doorway.
"We…" Sayaka huffed, ocean blues flying up to meet Mami's gold, "We can't… hha… can't find Madoka…"
Mami stood, eyes jumping to the clock. It was five minutes before she herself was supposed to go back to class, which meant that her juniors were in the middle of a lesson.
Mami strut to the door, grabbing her bag; her shift was over as far as she was concerned. "When was the last time you saw her?" she immediately asked. The blunette shifted backwards to let her senior out of the doorway, Mami indirectly dragging the two down the hallway with her aimless steps.
"Lunch in the cafeteria… she seemed down the whole meal but I couldn't get her to open up!" Sayaka groaned, threading fingers through her fringe. "She said she needed to go to the bathroom after the bell rung, so I went on without her… When she didn't show up I was worried, but I thought she was just running late… but she just wouldn't show up so I decided to ask permission to go look for her…" the junior scoured, gripping her shoulder uneasily. "She's not in the cafeteria, or the bathrooms or… anywhere… Damnit, I shouldn't have let her go off alone!"
The senior placed a comforting hand on the younger girl's shoulder, "We'll find her… did you try her phone? Is there anything odd about today, other than the way she's been acting?"
"She left her bag in the classroom and she turns off her phone when she's in class anyway," Sayaka lamented, "And it's been a pretty ordinary day so far. Nothin' weird goin' on besides Madoka actin' all depressed…"
Depressed. The word stuck with Mami, maybe in part because Mami knew that's what she herself was suffering, but also because there was the brief wonder of why Madoka would be depressed on such a random day…
It hit her.
"She invited her to have lunch on the roof…" Mami whispered, the implications hitting her like a load of bricks. Sayaka gave her a quizzical look, but before she could even open her mouth Mami snapped her head to the side, "What day is it?!"
Sayaka staggered back at the sudden command, her fingers fumbling into her pockets to pull out her cell. Moments later, it was flipped open to the calendar, displaying a very clear date.
Mami turned away, immediately launching into a jog towards the stairs, "I know where she is!"
Maybe thirty seconds passed as the two clambered up the stairs, the moment culminating in the duo bull rushing the door at the top.
The roof access door burst open, Mami and Sayaka toppling out onto the spacious terrace, their feet stumbling from sudden panicked exertion.
Exertion that was well earned, because the moment they looked up, they found exactly who they were looking for.
Madoka was sitting on the bench in the middle of the square, curled in on herself like a ball, what could be seen of her eyes distant and glazed. In her hands was a thick red bow that dangled out from between her fingers.
Mami collected her breath quickly, standing straight and swallowing the lump in her throat. She turned to Sayaka, who was even more winded from her frantic search around the school.
"Sayaka… go tell your teacher that Madoka's gone home for the day," Mami ordered, her voice barely above a whisper.
The blunette straightened, resting her hand on the door frame while still taking in air, "Mami, what's going on?"
Mami turned back to Madoka, eyes sullen, "Today… is the day we all met Homura. One year ago…"
Sayaka's mouth drooped a bit as recognition sunk into her pupils, "I… o-oh…"
There was a pause. Instead of leaving, Sayaka stepped forward, gripping Mami's arm and dragging the two of them towards the stationary Madoka.
"What are you doing, Miki!" Mami sputtered, confused.
"Shhh…" Sayaka responded, giving the older girl a glare.
The two neared the catatonic girl, who barely lifted her head at their presence. The pinkette's mouth began to form words, only for Sayaka to cut them off by pulling the three of them into a group hug, pinning down the errant student.
She realized what Sayaka was doing. Without using words she was trying to comfort her best friend, trying to ease the pain by spreading it out between the three of them. It was a rare moment of seriousness from the playful teen, and while it may not have been very polite Mami couldn't help but find pride in how maturely Sayaka was trying to handle the situation.
Madoka, for her part, buried herself into both their arms, tears dampening their shoulders as they squeezed her tighter.
"There, there," Mami cooed, rubbing the girl on the back.
Even though the words she spoke were meant to comfort, it was difficult when her own chest was constricting at such a rapid pace. It became apparent to her that she and Madoka shared a bond, empathic in nature, that the older girl felt the same crippling pains as the younger.
But, through that tension, there was also relief, as the cold began to recede from whence it came; that touch, the soft, dainty weight of the girl below her salving the frostbitten edges of the senior's psyche.
"It was too cold…" Madoka sobbed, her words absorbed into Sayaka's shoulder. "You said it was too cold but when we did come up here we ended up loving it… We ate up here every day we could."
The pinkette hiccupped, her face smearing against the creamy uniforms.
"We know Madoka, we know," Sayaka sighed, pulling one of the smaller girl's hands into her own.
Madoka took in a sharp breath, her body beginning to shiver, "It's just… why? Why her? Why anyone?!"
Sayaka flinched at the caustic tone, but Mami didn't bat an eye. Those sentiments echoed from a time long past, back after the day that had changed her life. If Madoka was at all similar to herself, this would be a hard conversation to stomach; that of the idealist colliding with the emotionless wall of reality.
"It's not fair!" the pinkette wheezed, "None of this is fair!"
"It's not, Madoka, we both know that, but it's something we all need to push past in our lives. It's not easy, it hurts, but there are some things we all just need to let go of…" Mami admitted, holding the girl tighter.
As the blonde expected, Madoka jutted back from the hold, setting Sayaka off balance but leaving Mami unfazed. She was ready for what was coming.
"Hurts?" Madoka cried, her voice cracking, "Hurt doesn't last for months on end! It doesn't go away when every day I can see her walking to school with me! Or walking home! Or in the halls! Or her overtop the person sitting in her desk!"
Mami waited, flexing her fingers, knowing the moment was nigh. Sayaka caught glimpse of the action, only to ignore it while in awe at the vitriol escaping the normally tame girl's mouth.
"It's too much, alright! I just… None of you… None of you could understand…-"
The words the senior had been waiting for having been spoken, her hand lashed out, snapping Madoka across the cheek.
Sayaka froze. Madoka froze. Mami glared.
Mami let her hand linger in the air, waiting until Madoka composed herself enough to stare at the blonde in shock, and maybe a little bit of terror.
"Don't think you're the only one to ever go through that!" Mami snarled. "Did you forget that Homura was my friend, too? Or Sayaka's? Or Hitomi's? You might have been the closest to her, but you're not the only one that's been hurt by her dying!" The other two stared at her, unsure how to respond. So instead, she continued, "I've lost several people who are dear to me, people who didn't deserve what happen and not a day goes by that I don't think about any one of them, that I don't miss any one of them! Whatever you're feeling now I've gone through a hundred fold!"
It would have normally been uncouth, no, unheard of for Mami to ever raise her voice against a junior, but it seemed to do the trick.
The angry Madoka, the unnatural rage and fire, subsided, leaving behind waves of anguish in its wake. For a moment, all that was left was a husk, a shell that had been Madoka, which shifted as the scowl on her face melted into a tortured frown. Again came the water works, and again Mami was ready.
Gently, very gently, and without making sudden movements, she pulled Madoka against herself, the two molding briefly into one lump of sorrow. Mami only vaguely registered that she was crying now too. She wasn't sure when that had happened, or when Sayaka had also begun sniffling along with them.
"I miss them… Mom… Dad… Friends…" Mami sniveled, pushing her face into the crown of Madoka's head. "I want them back so much, and I try to be strong about it, but sometimes I can't be… And that's why I'm so happy to have you, all of you," she blubbered, looking over at Sayaka.
The blunette edged forward and wrapped her arms around Mami and Madoka, face uneasy, but determined to do something. The two leaned into it.
"So I know how you feel, and I'm telling you it doesn't get better, but it does get easier when you have people to rely on…" Mami hicked. "You both, Hitomi… I depend on all of you when it's the hardest… So please, Madoka, don't feel like you can't rely on us for the same thing…"
Madoka shook in their arms, her head swaying back and forth, yellow ribbons brushing just under Mami's chin.
"I… I'd just be… a burden…" the pinkette mumbled.
"Nonsense," Mami laughed, a rather genuine one at that, "We all need you to rely on us… Just as much as we rely on you." She punctuated the comment with a squeeze to the hug, "We'll all get through this, together, okay? All of us, I promise."
Mami pulled back to look down on the crying Madoka, prompting Sayaka to lean back as well.
Madoka sniffed, her eyes to the ground, before she finally gave a nod and looked up at the two. Mami smiled and wiped a tear from Madoka's eye.
Sayaka, meanwhile, reached down and picked at the ribbon in Madoka's hand, pulling it from the girl's grip. The pinkette was resistant at first, her fist clutched tight, until Mami carefully peeled it open, revealing the ribbon to be a choker with a gorgeous fuchsia teardrop pendant.
"She gave this to you, right?" Sayaka asked, finally holding the item in her hand. She held it with reverence, as one would hold an urn.
The pinkette nodded, eyes closing for a flicker to expel what seemed to be the last of her tears. The girl appeared to have gone dry.
Cornflower eyes sparkled, maybe from joy, maybe a trick of the extra moisture around the iris, but there was no reason to doubt the confident smile on Sayaka's face. The girl reached forward and unbuttoned Madoka's school collar and pulled it low enough so that she could tie the choker in place, letting it dangle awkwardly over the junior's uniform.
Madoka touched the pendant, giving Sayaka an inquisitive stare. Sayaka smiled more in response, "We'll never forget her; we could never pretend she didn't exist. I may not have liked her the most, but she was still my friend, and she meant a lot to my best friend in the whole wide world. So I want you to wear that every day you can and every time you do, I want to see you smiling, alright? Because Homura wouldn't ever want to see you like you are now. She would want you to be happy. That much I'm sure I know."
Mami grinned, adding, "And so do we. We all want to see you happy, so if you're ever having problems coping, come to us, alright? I'm sure none of us mind going through a few good sob sessions if it means having that old smile back."
The pinkette managed a teary grin, earnest and thankful. She sniffed, wiped her own eyes and nodded, pigtails bouncing in place. Words seemed to escape the girl, leaving her only with affirmative grunts and whines.
"I feel like we're starting to repeat ourselves…" Sayaka chuckled, combing fingers into her bangs.
Mami stood and patted herself off, "Well, I've found that grief is a very circular condition. Treating it may very well be circular as well." A few wipes and the blonde freed herself of the moisture in her eyes, "Mik-Sayaka, if you would go tell your teacher that Madoka isn't feeling so well and that you need to escort her home… I'll do the same and I can treat you both to something nice at my place where we can… talk about this more. If that's alright with both of you…"
Madoka thumbed the jewel at her neck and grew a decidedly wistful, sad smile. She glanced at Mami and nodded, giving a hoarse, "I think that would help…"
Sayaka, for her part, looked at the tear stains running down her uniform and sighed, though she certainly kept her smile, "Sheesh… saying a tipped mop bucket did this would be quicker…" The girl looked up, patting herself dry as best she could, "'Course Mami, I'll go do that. You two meet me down at the shoe lockers."
The blunette stepped forward, gave Madoka one last hug, and then jogged off towards the door, leaving the two alone. Mami bent at the knees and smiled at Madoka.
"Feeling any better?" she asked, brow raised.
Madoka swallowed, eyes shifting off to the side, her fingers playing with the pendant idly.
"No," the girl responded.
Mami's face darkened, her smile slipping.
The pinkette gave a rueful smile as she looked down at the gem, "But… I think I will soon…"
Mami's smile returned to full strength… and for a brief moment she had hope that that cold spot in her chest might fade away completely some day.
O/o\O
There's the first half of Charcoal! Keep an eye out for the second part sometime later this week! Also, I've gotten my first commission, which will most likely be out in the next few days! It's very... different to what I usually write.
Catch you all on the flipside!