~Forward~
Hello to the second installment of the 'Souls Beyond Time' series!
This time, an unconventional relationship, one that is only directly explored here in this relatively short piece, but I feel will color the rest of the events going forward in this collection of stories. Once more, it's not a pairing that I normally enjoy, but, much like Kyoko and Mami in 'Spark' I feel this ship is important in establishing the dynamic between some characters.
Once again, I warrant the M rating due to the sexual tones and implications I utilize in this piece, even more so than in my previous installment. Where much was left to implication and innuendo in the last story, this one is far more… explicit with what happened and the results of that are far more immediate. Those looking for a more prudish story have been summarily warned.
Now, without further ado, please enjoy…
O/o\O
Suggested Listening: "Puella in Somnio", Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST
O/o\O
Misfire
Cold.
She felt cold.
Sayaka knew there were blankets; she could feel them around her shoulders. But they were cold compared to the imprint under her hand.
Cerulean fluttered, sleep melting away like hot wax into a frozen ocean; the night steadily returned to the blunette.
The weekend after finals. Madoka, she'd gotten sick before the big sleepover, leaving Sayaka and Hitomi alone. But the mini party, even between just two friends, had been fun. Best friends doing best friend things; a night of games, snacks, movies, and getting into mischief…
Getting into…
Sayaka gasped, feeling dulled cotton coating her mouth and tongue, among a variety of bizarre flavors harboring in the moulds of her teeth.
The liquor cabinet. At some point Sayaka, spurred on by some rowdy romcom, had gotten the insane idea to pilfer Hitomi's family alcohol stash and try it. The girl's parents weren't home, the two were safe within the house, there had been and would be no danger. And, though her normally reserved appearance may not have implied a rebellious streak, the green haired girl had agreed, on the caveat that they only stick to one bottle of something and that they wouldn't go overboard.
After feeling the cotton sheets roll around her bare skin, Sayaka vaguely remembered that second rule flying out the window about an hour in.
Kyosuke. Sayaka remembered talking about her crush, though she very barely remembered staying vague with the name. Still, the teasing and taunting from Hitomi had culminated in the simple question of kissing etiquette.
From there had been a quick, exponential decline down a road of practice, trial and error.
The blunette glanced at the form sitting on the opposite side of the bed. Hitomi's verdurous hair glimmered pale in the morning sun streaming through the windows. Only blankets remained to mask her bare form.
Sayaka opened her mouth to speak, finding words difficult to form, both physically and emotionally. Eventually, the choked name "Hitomi" escaped, though it was certainly cracked and uneven.
"Sayaka…" Her friend's voice was shaky, a dull knife jittering against rock. The greenette turned, forest eyes distant, empty. "What did we…?"
The blunette shifted, reaching a hand towards her sitting bedmate, only for Hitomi to flinch and pull the covers closer. Sayaka stopped her hand, mid reach, her senses slowly alerting her to how sore she felt… How filthy she felt all over.
"We… uh… I think…"
In all honesty, she recalled them floundering on the bed, hazily attempting something they'd only heard about in passing. It wasn't like they taught about these kinds of relationships in sex ed. But, eventually, repeated attempts had led to success… which is probably why every inch of her body felt raw.
"N-no! No… we… we didn't," Hitomi bit. The remark sheared through the air, ripping rags around the mood. "We… What…" the greenette sucked in a breath and stood, her body suddenly composing into a prim and proper form.
Sayaka averted her eyes; the coming of her sobriety seemed to signal the leave of her attraction.
"What we did wa-as perfectly natural for two growing girls," the words slipped out of Hitomi's mouth like liquid, poisoning the mood even further. Sayaka could feel small slivers of her heart chipping away.
"'Tomi, don't… don't…" the blunette stuttered.
"Don't what, Miki?" Hitomi's response was callused; not curt but certainly very distant. The use of Sayaka's surname didn't help matters.
"…Are we… still friends after this… I mean… I don't feel about you…?" Sayaka asked.
"Why would we not be friends, Miki?" Hitomi asked back, never once peeling her eyes from the windows while sliding on a small smattering of clothing.
"D-don't keep calling me by my family name!" Sayaka barked, slamming a fist down onto the mattress. "W-we're friends! To the end… and I don't think either of us meant for this to happen, but it did a-an-and we need to talk about it, okay? We can't just brush this to the side!"
Hitomi began buttoning her shirt, eyes finally glancing back at the blunette.
"This was an accident; a… mistake. That's all that needs to be discussed…" the greenette responded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have tea ceremony practice to attend today. I must get ready…"
"B-But I thought you cancelled that so we could have the sleepover!" Sayaka gasped, rolling to all fours on the bed. The blankets rolled off her, the cool morning air nipping at every inch of exposed skin. Every hair stood on edge, especially when Hitomi's face scrunched in disgust and averted her eyes.
"Yes, well," Hitomi hummed, her breath catching in her throat, "I do believe we woke up early enough that I might be able to attend it…"
Sayaka blinked, "And what the hell am I supposed to do the rest of the day?! I cleared my schedule to hang out with you! And Madoka's sick!"
Hitomi slid on some pantyhose, rounding out the outfit with a moderate-length skirt, "I suggest taking a shower. My facilities are open for you, but I would recommend making yourself scarce in an hour or so; that is when I will be heading to class…"
The greenette strutted to the door, her feet angled towards the kitchen.
"Hitomi, please, let's ta-!" the blue girl pleaded.
Hitomi stopped in place, her head whipping to the side so Sayaka could see her gritting teeth. The words died in her throat as she watched Hitomi gradually recompose her face.
"Sayaka… please… please don't make this any harder than it is…"
And with that Hitomi strode out of the room.
Slowly, Sayaka curled in on herself, a small hole growing where her chest should be. This was how she'd imagined it; rejection from Kyosuke, the musical prodigy who'd started off the dangerous line of thought that led to the prior night. Only, for some reason, this felt worse than she'd ever imagined.
She hadn't been rejected as a lover; they'd made a mistake, she knew that. Heat, puberty and alcohol were dangerous and they paid the price. In any scenario she imagined, she knew that Kyosuke would always be her friend, would never turn her away as a companion, even if he turned her down as a girlfriend. Hitomi, though...
That cold demeanor wasn't her friend's. That troubled waver wasn't her friend's. That broken plea wasn't her friend's.
The girl that had just walked out of the room wasn't Sayaka's friend… and it pained Sayaka to wonder if she would ever be Hitomi's friend again.
She opted to skip washing off; the air was already dreary enough as it was, she didn't need humidity to top it off. Instead she found her clothes, her gear, packed up and strolled straight to the front door.
She passed Hitomi in the kitchen eating breakfast. Not even an acknowledging nod flew between them before Sayaka was out the door into the mid-morning sun.
Letting confused tears finally drip from her eyes, Sayaka fumbled for her phone, silently apologizing to whoever was listening for relying on a sick girl for emotional support.
The phone dialed, a bleary voice picking up on the other end.
"Mmmm… Shayahhh-ka…?" was roughly exhaled through a cute, squeaky yawn.
"H-hey Madoka… Sorry to call so early in the morning…" Sayaka mumbled. She passed a street sign and took hold as she felt the strength leaving her drained limbs. "I-I h-hope yo-ou're f-f-feeling better…" the words were becoming harder to say, the world much more bleary.
"Sayaka! Wh-hhaa-at's wrong?!" Madoka yawned once more, her voice filled with a desperate need to overcome grogginess.
"I… I… I…" Sayaka stumbled out. She fell to her knees, letting her weight collapse onto the road sign, shoulder to steel, "I screwed up, Madoka… I screwed up so bad…"
With the damn lifted, her emotions poured out before the striking rays of the sun.
O/o\O
~Author's Note~
So here's the second installment for "Souls Beyond Time", out in relatively short order. I had the urge to write this one since it was so short (despite it being much longer than I envisioned). The relationship between Hitomi and Sayaka is a key one that I though deserved a little more emphasis and exploration given the fact that the magical element of the series has been taken out of the equation.
Hopefully our ever optimistic Madoka can mend this situation!
I hope you all enjoyed this little angst trip. And don't worry, soon you'll start to see beats of a continuous story between these stand-alone pieces. The next installment will set the main driving force of the story into motion. When I'll do it, I don't know. Remember to subscribe to me in order to see it when I do! :D
Catch you all on the flipside! :D