I- timeline 1
II- timeline 2
III - timeline 3
I
There were times where Kyoko Sakura questioned why she had met Sayaka Miki.
"Have we met before?"
There's a prolonged silence and then a soft scoff.
"What are you talking about?" her tone was distant and accusing. What were you thinking about? Where would you have met this, incredulous, obstinate girl who knew nothing but to uphold her own ideals.
The red headed girl let out a cough "Nothin'." There's no way you have met this girl. No way.
Yet why did this feeling persist? It felt as though…you had met this girl before but that's impossible. Why would you have met before anyways?
Snap out of it Kyoko.
"Aren't we going to take down that witch?" she glances at you, sapphire blue eyes clear and tone authoritative. Kyoko flashes her a grin and chews on her pocky.
The rugged red head then nods and smirks. "Let's go."
/
There were times where Kyoko Sakura believed Sayaka Miki was far too stubborn.
"We can't split! That's more dangerous!" Sayaka's piercing sea blue eyes reflected against the puddle of water that lay still around them. It was gleaming, no matter what she did, but when she was passionate about something, her eyes shimmered more brilliantly.
"Sayaka is right," curly golden coloured hair and tender features "we can't risk that" sweet calm voice seemingly creates a transient tranquil atmosphere despite the growing tension.
Raven hair sways in the gentle breeze as Homura makes her way across from them to Madoka whose expression framed her distress. She turned to face the group and stated monotonously. "Splitting up is dangerous but it's the best option at hand," sharp lavender coloured eyes seemingly scrutinise everyone "its the sacrifice magical girls make."
"That's right," Kyoko speaks up, voice hoarse "it's the only thing we can do"
Sayaka bites her lips in frustration and trudges off into the distance, grasping tightly onto her blue, vivid soul gem.
Mami's eyes were darting from the disappearing figure and to the others who stood there, hesitating. Madoka was sitting there, eyes's sullen, hands trembling and Homura stood there with a fixated gaze on the smaller girl.
Kyoko stood there, expressionless, hands clutched, fingertips digging firmly into her hand.
She wished she could've gone after her. She wished she wouldn't let her pride get in the way. She knew she made a mistake and she hated making mistakes.
/
There were times where Kyoko Sakura, as blunt as she is, did not want to admit that she had regretted her actions.
"Sayaka!"
Desperation laced in Kyoko's tone as she cries out Sayaka's name, an emotion long forgotten by the red headed girl.
Sayaka - no the witch turns at the sound of Kyoko's voice and it's menacing gaze pierces through Kyoko as she attempts to dodge the attacks that were hurled at all from all directions. She could hear Madoka yelling for Sayaka, telling her to come back.
Mami fires at the witch with her musket whilst manoeuvring elegantly across the battlefield, while Homura also tries to gun down Oktavia with her hand guns. Madoka was struggling to dodge the swift wheels and was collided with by one of the wheels. Kyoko's eyes widens for a split second before her brows furrow and a scowl forms on her face.
"What have you done with Sayaka?! Sayaka listen to me! Stop this!" Kyoko's tone was filled with anger and irritation as she shifts to the side of avoid the spinning wheels.
Out of the corner of the red head's eyes she sees a glimpse of long raven hair before an eruption from the explosion of grenades forms in place of where Oktavia had stood. Kyoko turned around to see Homura, expressionless, staring back at her as though without remorse.
Her vermillion coloured eyes widened.
The scene of Okatavia, the musical, the familiars, the instruments, everything that reminded her, even so briefly of the blue haired girl disappeared within a flash of her eyes. It was as though none of it happened. It was as though, Sayaka Miki didn't exist.
It erupted a sudden gush of anger in Kyoko. She gripped tightly onto her hands, the skin burnt at her fierce hold.
"Sayaka," she whispers as everyone else looks at her, eyes seemingly displaying sympathy of the sorts "why did you-" she grasps onto the metal railing, clenching it so tight it turned her hands a pallid white "how could this have happen?"
Mami shoots her a consoling, warm expression, seemingly understanding her pain, while looking over to Madoka who was teary eyed, on the verge of breaking down at the lost of her precious friend.
At this moment, she had regretted everything whether she wanted to admit so or not. She wished she would have listened to the stubborn fool, she wished she would have followed her and consoled her, but she didn't, she let her beliefs overcome her. She wished she would have tried harder in protecting her, wished she didn't hold back in fear of hurting her, so she promised she would hurt her the next time in order to protect her.
Her eyes stung a little, her hands had turned pale from the pain and she smiled bitterly into the darkness of the night.
/
II
There were times where Kyoko Sakura couldn't comprehend Sayaka Miki at all, despite her struggles to do so.
"What are you doing here?"
Sayaka's voice reverberated through the empty streets as Kyoko stood in front of her, a pocky in hand. The red head let out a small smirk.
"Nothin'," she glances up into the night sky, ruby eyes focused "ain't the night sky pretty?"
The blue haired girl raised her eyebrows in bafflement as she glanced at the familiar crimson eyes, trying to scrutinise her actions.
Sayaka finally gives up and lets out a defeated sigh before muttering a soft "Yeah it is."
Kyoko turns to face the prying girl, ruby eyes softening for a second before hardening again "Why did you do all of this for him?"
It takes her by surprise as she swings her head to face the curious girl, eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
There's a smirk and carmine coloured eyes penetrate sky blue eyes "Is it all worth it?"
Sayaka gets off the railings and takes a few steps backwards, as though she was offended by the query. "Why would you-
"You realise you can get hurt, don't'cha?" Kyoko states as a matter of fact, eyes darkening and lips lowering. Sayaka stares at her for a while, as though trying to figure out her intentions before looking away, eyes lowered to the concrete ground.
"You could get any guy you want," Kyoko takes a bite out of her pocky before licking her lips "you just want him to rely on you, don't ya?"
Sayaka's eyes shoot up, suddenly a feverish blue that glistened. "Don't you say that," her tone serious and unrelenting "I'm not like that."
Kyoko takes a moment to survey the blue head's expression, assertions and actions, before letting out a sigh as though she's come to a conclusion. "Suit yourself" she gets off the railing and offers Sayaka a pocky, who shakes her head as a sign of decline but Kyoko hands one over to her anyways.
She walks down the streets but she suddenly turns around one last time before uttering "Don't hurt yourself." This time she leaves for real, her body disappearing into the night. Sayaka stands there watching her vanishing figure before looking back at the pocky, eyes filled with confusion.
Kyoko couldn't understand Sayaka's decision, her dedication to this boy who didn't regard her of any importance at all, perhaps however she was envious of the emotions that Sayaka had felt towards this person, her dedication, the soft blue eyes gazing passionately at him, yet she would never admit it.
She knew very well what it felt like to be tossed aside and didn't want it to happen to Sayaka so she tried to stop it but the stubborn fool wouldn't have it. However she decided that she wouldn't stop trying to protect, no matter what.
/
There were times where Kyoko Sakura could see herself in Sayaka Miki.
Kyoko aimed her spear at Sayaka's in an attempt to stop her in her tracts.
"Can't you tell, it's not a witch - it's a familiar, you're not gonna get a grief seed" Irritation laced in Kyoko's tone as red eyes fixed with blue ones which returned the intensity in a heated stare.
How could someone who has opted to fight as a magical girl, in Mami's place, not know this? It irked Kyoko, to know someone so incompetent was going to be her replacement.
"If you leave it be, someone's going to die!" Sayaka rebukes, filled with passion and annoyance at the red head's interference. Kyoko's eyes widens for a second, before she lets out a small smirk.
"But that's part of the food chain," Kyoko stops to peer at the blue haired girl whose eyes were fixated on her "the familiars eat the people, and we kill the witches," she takes out a ebony coloured gem-like object "and we get grief seeds."
Sayaka's eyes widened, blue dilating before retuning to normal. "That's cruel! I can't…we can't do that."
"It's how it is. Life ain't always fair, just gotta deal with it." Kyoko states irrefutably as she grips onto her spear.
Sayaka's eyebrows furrow and she frowns. "Then I won't sit here and let 'life' do that," her eye's were radiating a vibrant blue similar to the sparkling sea, "I…want to save people, even if it means going against the chain" she states confidently whilst grasping her sword in both hands.
Kyoko's eyes were in a daze before she turns her gaze away and lets out a small grin. "I see. So that's how it is."
"Well, I'll have to say you're downright a fool" Sayaka stays still as she glares at the red head who was getting out a packet of pocky and gnawing on one.
The blue headed girl examined her, as though questioning what she was thinking, but stayed silent. She turns around and walks off. Kyoko observes her striding off into a distance, a smile etched onto her face.
Kyoko was curious about this girl. The girl who was going to fight for justice. Somehow she could see herself in this rash girl, she could see something she had long forgotten somewhere while living in this harsh world. Perhaps once, sometime long ago, she was once a passionate, courageous person who fought in the name of hope and justice - someone who was there for the salvation of others, someone who believed in such nonsensical things like hope.
/
There were times when Kyoko Sakura tried to save Sayaka Miki.
They were both sitting at the station, together, with no-one else. The sky was a pitch black colour with stars that shone brilliantly scattered all over.
"Hey," Sayaka turns to face Kyoko, eyes brimming with tears that were threatening to fall "why did I do all of this?" her voice was quaking and she turned away to avoid eye contact in case her tears were evident.
Kyoko who was munching on snacks, stopped and replied curtly "Well, he wasn't worth it," she continued to snack on her food. "Wasn't he?"
Sayaka let out a bitter laugh "I suppose you were right all along," she looked into the sky, in a desperate attempt to distant her thoughts but it was in vain.
"It's alright," the red headed girl let out a small chuckle "don't be like that."
Sayaka turns to face her before she let out a bitter smile and whispered gently "I'm sorry."
Kyoko curious eyes turned around, face with food sprinkled all over her face "What'cha mean-
The once pure sapphire blue gem had turned a raven black.
Kyoko's eyes widened her lips quivered. "Sayaka!"
She had tried to save Sayaka from the very beginning. It could have been futile but she attempted it anyways. She needed to know that even if she had a slim chance, she would still try to save Sayaka because she owed this girl plenty - this girl taught her to love stories again, to believe.
/
There were times where Kyoko Sakura sacrifice to ease Sayaka Miki's pain.
When there was a witch that was in town, causing havoc and disturbance to the normal city life of the citizens. It was part of the duty of a magical girl to rid of these annoyances, to dispel the world of the known darkness. They would only know of this, regarding it with reverence of sorts, the most significant deed a magical girl can bestow to the world, in exchange for their blood and sweat. The girls who had exchanged their entire life, for a single wish, would granted the life of cleansing evil and striving for justice.
That was Kyoko Sakura had believed, with all her heart.
Well it was what she had once believed.
Perhaps the corrupt, dark world wasn't a place for a young girl who was barely surviving on the reminiscence of the past. A child, yet to have been allowed the opportunity to bloom into an adult - to have it all teared away from her in a blink of an eye. It wasn't a world to be cherished yet she did not completely give up hope, feasibly, deep within her heart, she was holding back in order to not get hurt again. It was her role as a veteran to show the harsh reality of magical girls to those who were ignorant, but upon meeting her she had realised that with such a jarring outlook she couldn't possibly be content with her life.
And perhaps, that time, when she confronted a blue headed girl, too stubborn and egalitarian for her own good, it was because that was a reminder of a fragment of her past. The girl made her blood boil, but made her heart softer - it confused, irritated Kyoko to no extent to know this stranger had such an effect on her.
Kyoko had wholeheartedly believed that Sayaka was an idiot when they first met. She was curious as to what a newbie had the potential to do, if she had what it took to be her replacement as the magical girl who guarded this area. She didn't believe someone as reckless and as mulish as Sayaka would be capable of doing it. Then she had realised, somewhere along the way, she wanted to protect this fool.
"Sayaka!"
Vermillion red eyes widen in a surge of panic. Kyoko's grip on her spear tightens as she prepares herself for what was coming.
"Listen to me, Sayaka! Dammit!"
Octavia glances at Kyoko for a mere second and for an instance, Kyoko believed that Sayaka had remembered everything.
It was only for a short moment.
"Don't be stubborn, Sayaka!" Her screams were falling on deaf ears. It was useless. Don't do it Sayaka. You said that you would use your abilities to help people in need, remember?
Octavia sends down a horde of wheels in attempt to strike the red-headed foreign object. The wheels successfully pummels into Kyoko at a high speed, despite her futile attempts to doge the attacks.
There's yelling in the back, Kyoko could faintly recognise it as a scream of fear, and a surge of regret runs through Kyoko's mind as she attempts to stand back up.
It's ok. Man, I've been through much worse. If it means saving her, I'll do it.
Hm, you're a stubborn little thing, aint'cha Sayaka?
"Sayaka! You promised to use your powers to help people! You gotta snap outta it!"
In the moment that Octavia - no Sayaka, seeks to hurt her own friend, someone she cared deeply down in her heart, something struck inside Kyoko.
Brows furrowed, heart set.
Kyoko then leaps into the air and severs Octavias hand - a hand that was supposed to strive for justice, a hand that was not supposed to hurt their beloved, a hand that was supposed to care for others.
And perhaps this was the point that Kyoko Sakura realised her mistakes. Heroes and villains, justice and despair, everything she was fighting for and fighting against. At this point she had discovered what she had strayed from, what she had lost in a fight she didn't desire for but was enforced.
Despite this, she desperately wanted a happy dream. A dream where her life didn't play out as it had, a dream that wouldn't require for her to go through such hardships, a dream where she doesn't have to play the hero and hurt everyone she cared for, a dream where she could be happy protecting the one thing she loved most, a happy ending.
"You gotta focus on the one thing that means the most to you and protect it to the end,"it's kinda funny this whole time it was exactly what I thought I was doing" she stated to herself as she looks up at Oktavia, her eyes soften.
Kyoko lets out a feeble smile as she gives up her soul gem. She gave herself up, in exchange for soothing Sayaka's pain. She knew very well what it felt like to be alone, isolated from the world, indulged in a never-ending void of despair, she knew it all too well. She didn't want Sayaka to experience this pain all alone, she knew deep down that Sayaka had reminded her of herself, the brimming passion for justice, the recklessness, the eagerness that seeps through her soul - all those she had lost along the way, she found again because of this wilful, impolite, overemotional yet kind-hearted, just, honourable person. She had changed everything, given Kyoko hope, thus she wanted to return the favour.
She knew very well that she wouldn't be able to save Sayaka, from the beginning, she desperately tried to save her even if it had hurt her along the way, yet knowing very well she wouldn't be able to swim, she dove down to try to save her, despite the suffocating ocean of darkness - she wouldn't let Sayaka go alone, she would comfort her loneliness.
It kinda sucks to be alone, right Sayaka? I know so don't worry, I'll be here for you.
/
III
And,
There were times where Kyoko Sakura felt as though she had known Sayaka Miki her entire life.
"Hey," there's a silence as Kyoko turns to face the familiar blue head "Have we met before?"
It felt like deja vu. It was something Kyoko couldn't shrug off, no matter how many times she tried. Things like these never bothered her before, she was curious as to why something as trivial as this would plague her mind. Now that she thought about it, Sayaka seemed familiar, like as though they had met before now.
The blue head girl with the soft ocean eyes quirks her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Kyoko scratches her head in her own bewilderment at her sudden query as she watches the blue head girl's reaction intently. "You know when ya meet somebody and ya can't help but think that you've met before?"
Sayaka lets out a chortle at the odd question. "Silly. How is that even possible?" her gaze softens as she looks at the red head in front of her, crossing her arms against her chest.
"So, what if this," she points to herself and Kyoko, whose eyes follows her movement "what if…we have?
There's a silence, that swallows all the tension that they had and replaced it with a gentle, fleeting feeling, Kyoko wasn't familiar with. Sayaka was gazing at her, those sky blue eyes radiating in contrast to the dark sky above them both.
"It doesn't matter," there's a loop sided grin "hey, aren't we gonna take down that witch? What'cha waiting for?" Sayaka's eyes widen and Kyoko chuckles at the reaction as she dashes down the road leaving the blue head girl behind.
Kyoko waves her arms from afar, with a vibrant grin plastered across her face. "Hey!" Sayaka couldn't resist the smile creeping up her thin lips.
"Whoever gets there first gets to take it down!"
"Oh, you're on!"
Their laughters resonates in the emptiness of the night, seemingly filling it with life.
After all this time, all the feelings she's felt for her - anger, pity , affection, confusion, yearning, she's felt like they've met before, that they've known each other for an entire life. Perhaps that is a joke that they met, or fuelled with reason, it could have been that their lives were intertwined, destined to meet an end but have a beginning, whether their lives were seemingly a tragic endless pit or a life filled with joy, it didn't matter, Kyoko was silently glad that they did met, even if Sayaka was a stubborn fool.
Because, even if Kyoko had met Sayaka before sometime, no matter how that time began or ended between the two, she would always want to meet her, again.
