But the magic was still there. Yesterday, when he played on the rooftop for everyone, it was as beautiful as before. Player, music, instrument and audience were one. His parents were moved to tears. Sayaka's eyes shone with the brightest admiration. Then, it was over. The sound of wind took over from the epilogue of arranged notes.
Today, he was back in his hospital room and felt more like a cripple than before. His violin was in its case on a table he couldn't reach. Sayaka was by his side with a problem he couldn't help with.
"I don't know what to do!" said Sayaka. "I thought I'd always be fighting monsters. If I died, at least it was against monsters. And if I killed them, it was always a good thing because they were just monsters. But this is just so different."
She had already recounted the battle in detail. She described the appearance of the spear-wielding girl in red and her harsh, evil words. She spoke of her foe's impossible quickness and of fighting with wounds that should have made her collapse from the pain alone (at this point in the story, her arm wrapped around his without either of them noticing). She told him of the fatal thrust that came for her. She had thought of him as the spearhead closed the distance in slow motion, and even imagined seeing his reflection on the metallic tip. The only reason she was still alive was because another enemy had saved her, the cold-eyed girl in black.
"I have to beat her," she continued. "There's no way around it."
What do you expect me to do? He thought to himself. Win the heart of your enemy with a song? Play you a piece that quickens your pace? Those things only worked in video games and children's books. Music was spectacularly useless in these serious matters.
"You'll beat her," he said. Empty words. The best he could manage.
"Of course I will!" she said with the old gung-ho confidence he knew from her. Were his words really that powerful to her?
"I'm sorry I can't help you fight," he said.
"You dummy, I don't expect you to!" She gave him a dismissive sigh. "Boys."
"But I still want to see what you're up against. It's only fair, since I helped you get in this mess. When I get better, after you beat the girl in red, please take me on one of your hunts."
Sayaka gasped and placed her hands on her heart. "A date," she said. "A date." She blinked twice. "Of course I'll go out with you!"
And that was all it took to bring back her chirpy self. He was still sorry he couldn't do more, but told himself it was enough for now. If there was a solution to her problem, she wouldn't find it while moping.
Later that day, during physical therapy, he found himself with the strength he had been looking for. To his surprise, it didn't radiate from the memory of playing music. Instead, it came from the anticipation of their date. There would be a danger then, and he had to be strong for her.
After receiving congratulations from his therapist, he went to bed exhausted yet satisfied. But before he could drift off to sleep, the window opened with a violent bang and a girl in red jumped into the hospital room.
"Hiya!" said the girl, her smile predatory.
o o o
Once again, Kyousuke looked for an escape route. The only obvious way out from here at the pulpit was the front door of the church. There were doors at the back that must lead to the sacristy and back exit, but heading there would just get him lost in his captor's home turf. He shook his head. Plotting paths was useless. He couldn't even walk up from this chair without crutches. And even if he wasn't a cripple, scattered shards of stained glass would halt his attempt. His kidnapper didn't give him the chance to put on some shoes.
Nearby, the kidnapper paced back and forth, munching on an apple as red as her costume. She had already eaten four and didn't look like she would slow down. He watched her finish this one, core and all, before she paced back to the paper bag of fruit beside his chair. She bent down and took two apples out of the bag.
"Apple?" she offered.
He took it, afraid to anger her. "Thanks."
She took a huge bite from her's then paced away from him. The crunch echoed in the vast space. "I hope you didn't get used to being a whole man yet," she said with her mouth still full. "If everything goes according to plan, there's a chance you'll go back to where you started."
Kyousuke jerked his healed hand away from her, dropping his apple. The movement almost toppled the chair he sat on. "Please, no!"
She covered her mouth and laughed. When the laughter passed, she licked the bits of apple off her palm and wiped her hand on her coat. "Oh please, I'm not that crude. Cutting you up won't accomplish anything. All I'm saying is that I might undo your girlfriend's wish."
Girlfriend!? He wondered if he should debate what she had just called Sayaka.
She turned to face him and, for no reason at all, she scowled. She walked to him with quick, forceful steps and conjured her monstrous spear in her hand. "Don't. Waste. Food." She skewered the apple he dropped on the ground and pulled the spear back so the fruit and spearhead were in front of his face. "Take it."
He took it with his off-hand. Only after a long expectant silence did he take a nervous bite.
"Good," she said, biting on her own apple. "Now we wait."
He ate the core as well. As they waited, she didn't offer him anything else.
Two apples worth of time passed before Sayaka arrived. "Free him!" she said as she entered through the front door, blade in hand. "If you want a fight to the death, I'll give it to you! Just let him go!" She walked to the center of the church.
Suddenly, the spearhead was at his neck. "Take one more step and he dies," said the kidnapper.
Sayaka stopped in her tracks and slashed at the air in frustration. "What do you want?"
"A moment, please," said the kidnapper with a mouthful of apple. She let Sayaka watch her finish the snack then smiled to bare her fangs. "I don't want to fight. In fact, if you even try to fight, I'll kill your boyfriend first before I kill you."
"Say what you want," said Sayaka. "I won't let you touch him." She tried to meet Kyousuke's eyes in the dim light but could only find shadow.
"As I said," said the kidnapper. "I don't want to fight. Just toss your soul gem to me and I'll destroy it, turning you into an ordinary girl again. You won't be a threat to me anymore, so I'll just let you and your boyfriend go. He might become a cripple again, though. Who knows what'll happen when the magic breaks. Maybe he won't love you anymore, since you'll have nothing left to give."
Sayaka took a step forward.
"Are you retarded?!" said the kidnapper. "I just said I'd kill him! Do I have to stab him to convince you?!" She moved the tip of her spear to his groin. "How about I make him worse off than before?"
Sayaka shifted her weight backwards then drove her sword into the floor. "Kyousuke," she said.
"Sayaka," he replied. He didn't know what else to say.
The kidnapper rolled her eyes. "Of all the stupid cliche lines to piss me off with. Enough with the drama. I'm giving you both a fair deal. You'll both be back where you started, except older and wiser. Forget about that wish. Take it from me, those things always go sour in the end. And in any case, it's way better than the both of you ending up dead."
Sayaka turned away and put her hand on her soul gem. She held it there for a few breaths, feeling the magic inside it. "I'm sorry, Kyousuke. But I want you to live." She pulled the ocean blue gem out of its place and tossed it to the kidnapper in red.
Kyousuke was speechless as he watched the gem fly in the air. He wanted to tell her not to worry. In the past, he might have preferred death to being a cripple. His talent was his life. Only now had someone shown him that there could be more to living. But his thoughts caught in his throat and all he managed was a gasp.
The soul gem vanished in the air.
"What the hell?!" said the kidnapper.
Homura stepped into the church from the front door, Sayaka's soul gem in hand. "Whatever you planned to do with this is a bad idea," she said. "This gem is Sayaka's soul. Hiding it will turn her body into a vegetable. Destroying it is as good as killing her. Such is the nature of Puella Magi."
Only Kyousuke was close enough to see the kidnapper shift her weight and tremble.
Homura reached Sayaka's side and offered back her gem. "Never lose it."
"Whew, Madoka found you just in time," said Sayaka in a whisper that was too loud. She grabbed her soul gem back. "Now go rescue Kyousuke with your poofy magic while I deal with the kidnapper."
Homura ignored her and spoke to the both of them. "I don't care what you're both fighting over," she said with a glance at the hostage. "But I need the both of you alive. Walpurgis Night is coming."
"Walburger?" asked Sayaka.
"Walpurgis," said the kidnapper. "How could you know?" The tip of her spear rested on the ground. All her attention was on Homura.
"What's this Walpurgis?" asked Sayaka, louder.
"The strongest witch there is," said the kidnapper.
"We'll need everyone to take it down," said Homura. "Anything less and everyone here is as good as dead." She reached into her shield and took out a handful of grief seeds. "Both of you have no reason to trust me, so I'm willing to pay the both of you for this alliance. I don't care what the both of you do after the battle, as long as you provide backup when I deal with Walpurgis."
The kidnapper eyed the handful of seeds. "Deal," she said. Homura tossed the seeds in the air and the exchange was complete.
Homura took out another handful of seeds and offered them to Sayaka without a word.
"I'll join your alliance," said Sayaka with a glance to Kyousuke. "But I don't take bribes." She pulled her cutlass out of the floor and pointed it at the kidnapper. "You'll pay when this is over."
Homura returned the gems inside her shield then flicked her hair. "Then it's over. The both of you should go." She turned and started to walk out of the church.
The kidnapper stretched and yawned. "Boy, what a night, eh?" She tilted her head to give her neck a crack then walked out the back door, the spear on her shoulder.
Only when red faded into the black did Sayaka run to Kyousuke.
o o o
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