Mami dreamed of a small tea party at her apartment.
She was seated at her dining table, with a particular redheaded girl sitting across on the opposite side. They were both enjoying some chocolate cake, served with herbal tea. Laughter filled the room. Golden sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bouncing off the porcelain cups and silverware in glistening rays. Mami was filled with a relaxing sense of happiness.
The sunlight spread its warmth around the room, enveloping her in a drowsy haze. Her vision blurred and retreated. The warmth was then accompanied by the soft touch of fabric, and a familiar scent of recently shampooed hair on a woman she was snuggled close to. Mami was sitting in her lap. She felt smaller, lighter, younger. A voice sang a gentle, soothing lullaby.
The touch, the scent, and the voice faded into the distance, but the melody remained. It swelled and grew in depth and richness until it was laced with orchestral, chiming magic. Mami's eyes opened. She was lying down, and she saw a blue light rising around her. She felt all the tension in her muscles relax to the point of weightlessness. A figure clad in blue and white stood above her, arms outstretched until the last vestiges of the light and music had faded. Mami was then wrapped in another warm embrace.
Then she was at her dining table again. It was the evening. The last ripples of orange in the sky were receding from view, giving way to the night. Mami was eating her dinner alone.
No, not alone. There was something - someone - sitting at her side. She turned her head to see Kyubey on her table to her left, perched near the edge.
Mami felt herself smile, and raised her chopsticks in an offering of some of her food.
Her dining guest nodded in acceptance, and Mami leaned forward to feed it to Kyubey.
"Why don't I get you your own bowl?"
"That would be nice."
A new bowl of rice was placed in front of Kyubey, along with a serving of vegetables. Kyubey ate the food eagerly.
A feeling of happiness was rippling in the air, and her apartment didn't seem so empty…
Mami woke up slowly, the memory of the vivid dream fresh in her mind.
Mother… Kyouko… Sayaka…
But what was that last part with Kyubey? Nevertheless, she felt a teardrop well and trace its way down her temples. The dream felt so nice though, so why was she crying?
She took a few moments lying still in drowsy laziness to reflect upon it, playing the scenes over in her mind. She couldn't discern any meaning from it, and after a while, Mami decided it was time to get up.
She opened her eyes fully and squinted from the sunlight that poured through the window and into her eyes. She sat up and performed a quick scan of the room and saw Kyubey curled up on her desk.
Ah, he's still here. I'm glad.
Her mind wandered back to her dream again. In the first part, Kyouko was there with her, sharing her apartment with her again as she so often wished. Then… she was pretty sure that was her mother. Mami hadn't thought about her in ages.
Then it was Sayaka healing her. Sayaka's death nearly drove Mami over the edge, but it was what started her and Kyouko's path to reconciliation. Even now Sayaka was healing them.
"Good morning, Tomoe Mami." Kyubey's words broke Mami's reverie. "I hope you've slept well."
"Oh! Good morning, Kyubey!" She decided to think about her dream later. "It was alright. I see you're awake now too."
"I was not asleep in the first place."
"Well, it certainly seemed like it." Mami thought Kyubey looked kind of cute curled up like that.
Do Incubators need to sleep? I guess not.
At this thought, Mami pulled off her blanket and sprang out of bed. She did a quick stretch and exited her room. Kyubey jumped down from the desk and followed her as Mami headed for the well-stocked kitchen, one of her favorite rooms of the house.
As the pair crossed the living room, the morning sun could be seen through the large windows, sharpening the room's details with its bright light. A few clouds were scattered through the expanse of the sky. The weather was ideal.
Mami entered her kitchen and gathered some basic ingredients, opting to cook a simple breakfast. Kyubey watched from the countertop as Mami prepared her meal - spreading butter, cracking eggs, sprinkling small pieces of basil leaves. It was a simple dish of eggs on toast, but prepared with the subtle nuances of a master chef.
Mami noted Kyubey's silent presence in the room.
I wonder if he enjoys being back. I'm sure he does. I mean, I don't see why else he would have returned.
Her lips subconsciously formed into a small smile at the thought.
When Mami finished cooking her breakfast, she headed to her triangular dining table with Kyubey quickly following behind.
"So tell me," Mami said as she ate. "What have you been doing in the other city?"
"I made a new contract."
"I see…"
Mami didn't need to ask to know that the girl didn't last very long, since Kyubey wouldn't have returned otherwise.
"Tell me about her?"
"If you must know, she was as you humans say, socially awkward."
"Poor thing. Let me guess, her wish was to be liked by her peers."
"Close enough. Anyway, let us say some didn't receive her new-found popularity very well - particularly her best and only friend."
"Okay, I don't need to hear anymore."
Mami could picture the rest of the story in her mind easily. She's seen much too many magical girls fall, enough to gather an intuition of where their wishes could have gone wrong.
Still, though she didn't personally know this girl, it tugged at her heart to know that there are those who died so shortly in their lives. But so is the life of a magical girl. Determined to not let an oppressive mood overtake the morning, Mami rose and went to the kitchen.
"What are you doing?" Kyubey asked.
Mami returned to the table quickly with a slice of cream cake and placed it in front of Kyubey.
"I'm sorry I couldn't prepare a proper one - this is just leftovers," Mami said. "But I just felt like we should celebrate your return!"
Mami watched as Kyubey examined the desert in front of him before taking nibbles at the edges. Most of her magical peers don't get along well with the Incubators, but Mami had always felt comfortable doing such things as feeding Kyubey. Besides, she found his way of eating rather endearing.
The memory of her dream returned to her as they ate, along with the feeling of happiness and companionship that is so elusive in the magical girl's mainly solitary life.
What an odd dream that was. Mami thought. Maybe it was a sign.
She stared intently at Kyubey while he nibbled away at the slice of cake, trying to discern anything out of the ordinary. But at least for the moment it was a fruitless shirt, and before she knew it Kyubey had already finished.
"Thank you for the cake, Mami," Kyubey said. "Though it's not like my returning is that big of a deal."
"Well, it is to me. I felt rather… lonely without you," Mami said, sheepishly glancing away.
"What do you plan on doing today, Mami?" Kyubey asked after a brief moment.
"Hm? Well I was hoping I could spend the day with Sakura-san," Mami said. "Akemi-san has witch hunting duty today, so it should be okay."
"I see."
"Why do you ask?"
"No particular reason. I was only curious."
Curious, huh? Mami thought. He's never really asked before.
"Well, I should probably call her first to see if she's free for the day." Mami said, and she quickly finished the rest of her food.
After placing her dishes in the sink, she walked to the house phone and dialed the number that Kyouko gave her. To be honest, Mami was rather nervous of asking for a day out. The two have always been on tense terms ever since their break-up, and this would be their first time together socially in quite a while.
The phone rang four times.
"Akemi residence."
"Akemi-san?" Mami tilted her head slightly in surprise.
"Mami? What do you need?"
"Actually, I was trying to reach Sakura-san."
"She's staying with me… for now."
"Is that so? She hadn't told me. How's it working out?"
"I'll get her for you." Homura clearly didn't want to waste her time chit-chatting. Mami sighed. It was just like Homura.
As she waited for the phone to be handed to Kyouko, Mami recalled when the redhead wrote down the phone number and handed it to her. Thinking back, Mami did think it was strange that Kyouko would have a phone of her own.
"'Ello? Mami?"
Kyouko sounded groggy, as if she just woke up. Mami giggled at the fact.
"Good morning, Sakura-san! How are you?"
"Eh… I'm fine."
"That's good to hear. What are you doing today?"
"Nothin' really."
"Great! Because I was hoping we could... do something today. Together." A bit of hesitation could be heard in Mami's voice. She was just a tad shy of the matter, but overall resolute.
"Sure, that'll be awesome! What're we doin'?"
Mami let out a mental sigh of relief. That Kyouko sounded more awake also made Mami happy. "Why don't we first meet up at the park, the one with the fountain? In, say… an hour and a half or so?"
"Sounds good. I'll meet ya there."
"See you then!" Mami hung up. Deciding to get ready early so she could arrive before Kyouko, she walked back towards her bedroom.
"No peeking in my bedroom while I'm dressing, okay Kyubey?" Mami teased.
Kyubey merely tilted his head in response.
Mami's bedroom closed behind her and she set her mind to preparing herself for the day. Mami decided to dress herself in a yellow, floral-print sundress and a white cardigan. Though she never told anyone, Mami used a small touch of magic to curl her hair into her signature drills.
After a while, staring into a full length mirror, Mami decided that she was ready. She exited her room to grab some homemade sweets from her fridge for Kyouko to snack on. Kyubey sat facing the large windows, staring out at the skyline.
"Will you be staying here, Kyubey?" Mami asked as she retrieved the candy from her fridge.
"No, I will not. There are things that I must attend to for today."
"Okay. Well, I'll see you later then."
"Goodbye, Mami."
As Mami was just about to exit her apartment, Mami heard an unusual remark from Kyubey.
"Have a good day."
"Oh… thank you. You too, Kyubey."
Mami closed the door and smiled as she left.
That was really nice of him of to say.