Again, Kyouko quickly threw the classroom door open to see everyone sitting leisurely around the classroom. "Well, what do you know, Sayaka?" She attempted a haughty rebuttal to her companion, but it wasn't as strong as usual. "It looks like we're not late at all!" Sayaka frowned, stepping in the classroom. "Well, it's better to act like we're late and not be than to actually be late." With that, she made her way over to her seat, proceeding with her usual routine of staring the class president down with a suspicious glare. Kyouko looked over to where Sayaka always glared, eyes widening in shock and confusion at the sight of the raven-haired girl. 'Wha-but…! She was still outside when we were heading to the school, how did she beat us to class!?' Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she slowly, cautiously made her way over to her seat, never taking her eye off the increasingly suspicious girl.

Another thing, she noted in disdain, was the fact that Sayaka seemed to be doing what looked like the exact same thing she was doing yesterday. In fact, as soon as lunch rolled around, she could see Sayaka, Madoka and that girl Mami all gathered around the transfer student's seat again; talking about what she could swear was the same thing they had been talking about A COUPLE DAYS AGO. Bringing a hand to her tired head, the redhead began to lift up from her seat to leave the classroom. The class president took note of this action, looking up at her. "Is something the matter, Sakura Kyouko?" Kyouko looked back at the girl, her expression pained. "Mmn…I'm just not feeling too good. I think I'm just gonna lie down in the nurse's office for a little while…"

Homura's eyes narrowed as she rose from her seat. This was the perfect opportunity to confront the redhead about her little slip-up. "Well, then. Allow me to escort you there." The redhead flinched back for a bit before forcing herself to relax. "Erm…I-I guess you can, if you really want to…" She watched as the raven-haired girl walked toward her, taking the hand by her side and pulling the redhead along outside the classroom and through the halls. Kyouko stared warily at the girl pulling her along. Just because she'd practically threatened her before, didn't mean that the class president actually meant to do any harm to her, right?

It wasn't until she realized what direction they were heading toward that Kyouko realized that something wasn't right. "Ah, w-wait…the nurse's office is down that way, isn't it?" She looked up at the slightly taller girl, noting her lack of response as she kept pulling her along. "Hey! This is the wrong way!" Kyouko tried again, attempting to pull away from her as the class president kept walking. Yet Homura held firm, and soon the two had made their way to the girl's bathroom on the second floor.

"H-Homura?" The redhead looked around nervously, before she was essentially flung into the bathroom, where she had to quickly catch her footing or else fall to the floor. "H-Hey! What's the big idea?!" She cried out in indignation, glaring at the raven-haired girl as said female listened intently for any other signs of life. There didn't seem to be any, good. The class president proceeded to lock the door, ensuring no one else would come in. "Now no one else will be able to disturb us."

Kyouko stepped back, glancing warily at the other girl that was making her way over to the redhead. "D-disturb us?" Again, there seemed to be a strange vibe coming from the girl, the redhead noted in alarm. Not to mention, the almost predatory behavior the girl was displaying was worrisome. The class president stopped inches from Kyouko's face, face distorted into that reptilian smile Kyouko had begun to learn to despise. "You've been a bad girl, Kyouko." Homura said with a cruel smirk. "What?" Red brows rose in confusion at that statement. "What do you mean?" Homura's smile shifted to a mocking frown as she stared the nervous girl in the eyes. "You created doubt in Miki Sayaka." The redhead flinched at this statement; so Homura caught that, did she? But what was Kyouko supposed to do? Pretend that everything was just fine?

"You know, I didn't have to give you a happy life." Homura continued, catching the redhead's attention. "And I could take it away, just as easily…" Scarlet eyes narrowed, brows furrowed in contemplation. At those words, Kyouko could feel her mind wandering to a dark, dank alleyway. In the shadows, she thought she could see herself – or at least, who she thought was herself –huddled against the brick wall, hugging her slender form for warmth. Her condition was rather ragged, her eyes dark and almost lifeless.

Yet, somehow, it felt more realistic than the schoolgirl she saw in the mirror that morning.

"But I can't do that." The chilly voice intercepted. Kyouko quickly looked to the class president, the other girl giving a disappointed shrug, stepping a few paces away from Kyouko. "I need you to keep Miki Sayaka occupied." So something was up, Kyouko thought with a grimace. Apparently she was being used to keep Sayaka from noticing anything was wrong? "Kch…" Well, there was no way she would willingly cooperate with something like that. "Still, I need to punish you somehow…" The raven-haired girl continued with a chilly tone, eliciting a shudder from the redhead. What was that class president planning?

With a snap of her fingers, Homura started the faucet of the sink automatically, the water pouring out and over the counter faster than it would ever normally do. This caught the redhead off guard as she noted in horror at the rate the water was rising. Already she could see it coming up to her ankles; it was also noted that the area that Homura was standing served as a barrier against the water.

Scarlet eyes widened; this couldn't be happening! "H-Hey! Cut it out! I-I'll drown!" She looked in alarm at Homura, who didn't seem to be fazed by the redhead's protest. Rather the opposite, actually; she appeared to be amused at her pleas. "Perhaps," Homura stated, a smirk playing on her lips. "But I'll make sure you don't die." Kyouko began to feel trembles of fear racking her body. Just the idea of drowning always made her feel nauseous. To feel the sensation of drowning, but never dying from it?! "PLEASE!" She cried out, her voice wavering from the terror she felt. "L-LET ME OUT OF HERE!" The water was already rising past her waist. She maneuvered to the edge of the barrier, right up to where Homura was standing with a cruel smile. "You need to accept your punishment, Kyouko."

'Accept my punishment?!' Kyouko could feel tears forming in her eyes, her vision growing blurry. 'Again, just accept my punishment!? Please, show me mercy!' She slammed her hands against the barrier, just inches from the class president's face. "I'M SORRY! I WON'T DO IT AGAIN!" Her voice was high and shrill, genuinely fearing for her life as she began to claw at the barrier as if it was her only path to survival. Realizing, as the water rose to her chin, that the blurry devilish creature across from her wasn't going to grant her mercy of any kind, Kyouko futilely mewled with streams of tears pouring down her cheek. "I'll be a good girl…" The water rose past the redhead's mouth and nose, and quickly past her head, cutting off any other communication. The water burned her lungs, making it hard to focus.

So this was what drowning felt like?

Homura's eyes widened, looking at the girl struggling for breath. 'What am I doing…?' She realized. Kyouko was doing the best she could to keep her breath, but being completely submerged in water, it was proving to be a futile effort. 'This…this isn't what I wanted!'

The redhead could no longer hold in the oxygen. Involuntarily, she breathed out and accidentally inhaled the water, bringing her closer to death as she struggled for air. The underwater struggle continued to take place, the hair ribbon and object within falling from her hair, leaving the scarlet locks flowing freely in the water. Homura could do nothing but watch helplessly as she watched the young girl's watery demise, knowing that she couldn't just easily release her without going back on her words.

Yet, seeing the girl suffering once more, despite all the bravado the raven-haired girl demonstrated earlier, Homura couldn't help but feel like this was all wrong. 'Kyouko…!' Hadn't the redhead suffered enough? Between her own past, the issue with Sayaka…everything…she watched helplessly as the girl began to lose the fight.

"I may not know this Madoka…" A familiar high, yet rough-sounding dialect resounded in the distance.

"But I do know it's someone really important to you." A ragged looking redhead with a wild ponytail, her eyes concealed, flashed a fanged grin at the raven-haired girl sporting the red ribbon in her hair.

"I'll believe a friend," she continued, holding out a Pocky stick to the other girl.

"So, tell me more about this Madoka person?"

Homura stared blankly, thinking back to the history she'd had with this particular Kyouko. After Sayaka had been taken to the Law of Cycles, she too had been left on her own with only the memory of the one they truly cared about. At first this had made her extremely unapproachable, but soon Homura had actually been approached by Kyouko, extending a Pocky stick as a sign of friendship. Although in the end Homura had fallen into depression from the absence of Madoka, Kyouko had done all she could to cheer the raven-haired girl right up.

'Kyouko was always there for me…'

During their time in the Soul Gem, too, Kyouko remained loyal to her. She cooperated with her when they realized something was wrong, respected her space when Homura insisted she wanted to investigate on her own, but still listened when Homura needed someone to talk to.

'The same Kyouko…'

Yet here she was, watching the girl as she was writhing in her watery prison. Eventually the writhing came to a stop; the drowned girl ceased all movement, her body going limp, helplessly carried along with the motions of the underwater currents, her eyes closed. Surely if it weren't for what the girl was, Sakura Kyouko would have died in that moment.

'That I'm putting through torture…'

The thought was sickening. With shaky hands, she brought her thumb and index finger together, snapping to release the barrier containing the water in place, effectively turning off the water faucet simultaneously. The water poured out in waves around Homura, running past her loafers and out of existence. The redhead previously trapped inside fell with a thud to the ground face-first, completely motionless. Homura's eyes widened in alarm as she quickly knelt down to the girl's side. "KYOUKO!" She cried, checking the girl's condition, turning her onto her back. "Are you okay!? Can you breathe?!" She stared in sorrow at the lack of response from the girl, fearing the worst.

A series of violent coughs startled Homura, directing her attention to the downed redhead. Homura's spirits soared; she was going to be okay! "It's okay, Kyouko…" The redhead rolled herself over, allowing for the water to escape more freely from her lungs as she rested on her knees; unfortunately, blood also seeped from her mouth along with the water, leaving her throat sore and raw. "Breathe…" Homura placed a hand on her back, rubbing it gently and assuredly. She felt Kyouko flinch at her touch, causing Homura to pull her hand back in realization. "Ah…" She looked at the girl to see the redhead staring straight at her, eyes wide and shaking, full of primal fear. Slowly rising to her knees, Kyouko never took her eyes off her, as if Homura were a predator, and she was the unfortunate prey.

'That's right…I did this to her.' Homura realized in dismay, noting the tears flowing down the redhead's cheeks, mixing with the remains of blood dripping from her mouth and down her chin. She had literally just drowned the girl, not even giving her the satisfaction of ending her life with it. 'I'm a devil…' The class president reached a hand to her, attempting to calm the girl. "F-for now, let's just get you cleaned up-" The redhead quickly rose to her feet, legs shaky and unbalanced. "Wait, I'm not going to hurt you!" Homura called out, beginning to rise as well, until she heard the girl's quiet mewls. "N-no…no…!" With that, Kyouko darted for the door. Homura frowned, rising up and walking towards the panicked girl. "If that's how it's going to be…" She reached over, roughly grabbing the redhead by the wrist, pulling her back. "KYAA!" The girl cried out in fear, her voice raw from the violent coughing earlier.

'It doesn't matter what happens to others, so long as I can get what I want…' The devil turned the redhead to face her before throwing her roughly against the bathroom door. "Unghh!" Cringing in pain, Kyouko looked up to see the creature closing in on her, much akin to a shark. Her eyes widened in shock and fear at the sight, tears actively streaming down her face. "So now we know better than to say unnecessary things, right?" The devil almost cooed as she raised the redhead's chin up so Kyouko had no choice but to face her. Stunned into silence, the redhead could only drop her head, giving a shaky nod. Homura seemed pleased with this silent answer, and with that, she left the female to her own devices.

Again, without knowing when it happened, Kyouko found herself out in the hall, uniform sopping wet, her hair weighed down by the water gathered up in its locks. She absently touched a trembling hand to the collar of her uniform shirt; the tie ribbon had come undone, and the top clasp of the shirt had been unfastened. That must have happened during the underwater struggle, she noted blankly. The sound of footsteps approaching only slightly alerted Kyouko. She slowly raised her head up to see a rather confused and concerned Sayaka. "Wha-KYOUKO!? What happened to you?!"

It was pointless to tell her anything, Kyouko realized. If she even attempted a hint at something being wrong, she would be punished. If she just kept quiet, then she could at least pretend to have a normal existence, even if she would always know that this was all wrong. "Ah, Sayaka…" She looked herself over. How could she explain this? "Sorry, just had a bit of a clumsy moment…" It was hurting to speak, her throat was still raw. "I'm actually feeling a little off today, so I'm going to go home early…" Sayaka frowned, checking the girl's forehead again. "Sheesh…I really don't know what's wrong with you lately…well, if the nurse says it's alright, then I guess you should go. Be careful heading home, okay? Don't be passing out on the sidewalk or something crazy like that." Pulling her hand away, the blue-haired companion proceeded to walk back the direction she came. "I'm going to be heading over to Mami-san's after school, so be sure and take care of yourself, okay?"

Kyouko gave a small, almost nonexistent nod. "…'Kay…" She croaked. It really hurt. Her lungs hurt, her throat hurt, her head was spinning and weighed a ton. But, it looked like Sayaka was still okay. Whatever mistake she'd made, it was only her who had to pay the price. '…Is Sayaka heading over to that Mami for cakes and pies, again…? Are they really that good, or is this day deliberately trying to feel like a couple days ago?' Although she knew she officially needed to receive the okay from the nurse to leave early, her wobbly legs automatically began to take her to the entrance of the school building, where she proceeded to slowly, shakily make her way back to the apartment. The smartphone in her pocket didn't seem to be affected by any water damage. No doubt that was because it was as much a fake as the rest of this world.


Homura sat in her seat, overlooking the rest of class. It seemed that the routine was the same, aside from the anomalies Sakura Kyouko had been setting forth with her insight. Miki Sayaka had come back to the classroom and was now chatting happily with the two she had been talking with the last school day, just like before. So long as she maintained this repetition, the girls wouldn't be able to slip out and try anything suspicious. They would forever be in a loop of peaceful bliss. She glanced down at the two items in hand; Kyouko's hair accessories had been left behind in the bathroom when she placed the girl in a random area of the school. It didn't take much to fix the bathroom up as if nothing had happened, but due to being original items from the real world the ribbon and crest remained there as evidence. Perhaps she should find the time to give them back to her?

But how could she do that? The girl was clearly terrified of her. Letting out a sigh, she pocketed the items for the time being. 'Perhaps later, when things have calmed down a little, I can slip in and return the items.'


Back at the apartment, Kyouko had made it as far as the entryway before the events of earlier played back in full force. "A-Ahhh…." She released a quiet scream of terror, her throat still raw. Her legs gave out underneath her, leaving her sitting helplessly by the door, eyes wide and shaking fervently.

'That Homura…'

Help! I can't breathe…

I-I'm sorry…

Somebody…save me…

Tears poured down her pale cheeks, her eyes glassy and vacant as they stared with fright at something that wasn't there.

'I-It's as if…'

So now we know better…

Her eyes grew watery, everything blurring as if she were trapped underwater again.

'She was the Devil himself…!'

Realizing with a start that this wasn't getting her cleaned up, she proceeded to rise carefully off the ground and over towards the bathroom, but the events of today had really hit her hard. Head swimming and vision blurry, she fell to the ground with a thud.

She lay there silent, even when she heard the door swing open after who knows how long, and the sound of shoes fell against the wood floor of the entrance. She didn't even react when socks shuffled into the room, followed by, "I'm home!" Her eyes remained vacant as she heard the thud of the school-bag, the rushed footsteps nearing closer, and the concerned cries that slowly faded into the darkness, along with her consciousness.