Chapter 7: What is Love.

When had it become routine to run around a city she barely knew in the middle of the night searching for monsters that bent reality? Ranma shook her head as she leapt to the next rooftop. Whenever that had been, it had. She frowned as her vision suddenly blurred, only to resolve into the image of Homura aiming an M-16 at her and pulling the trigger. Resisting the urge to jump, she came to a stop and watched interestedly, the dark haired girl tossing the rifle aside and throwing a pipe bomb. "How many of those does she go through?" the redhead muttered, as her vision went white.

When it cleared again, she was back where she started. "Looks like Homura got one," she muttered, frowning. There were almost never multiple witches in a single night, and she'd taken out four familiars already, so it was probably pointless, and in-advisable, to keep patrolling. Glancing down at her soul gem, she confirmed that it was still mostly blue. She wouldn't have anything to worry about for a while yet.

Turning slightly, she started back towards her apartment, still looking out for witches and familiars on the way. Landing on the balcony, she opened the door and noted sound from the television. "You're back early," Suzuka commented, glancing over at the opening door.

"Homura got the witch," Ranma replied, stepping in and shucking off her shoes. "I really wish you wouldn't keep stayin' up. You got work tomorrow, right?"

"I'm a big girl," the older woman smirked. "Besides, stimulants are wonderful things." Even as she said this, however, she turned off the television and stood, stretching. "Do you want anything to eat before bed?"

"I can get…" Ranma started, before her vision blurred again. Abruptly she was staring at a large mass of spinning blades that were headed directly for her. A sword was raised into her field of view and clashed against the blades, but was eventually torn out of its wielder's hands and tossed aside. The blades, no longer impeded, plunged forward and she was standing in the living room again. "Crap, gotta go!" she called, turning and charging back out to the balcony.

Suzuka watched her go before sighing, closing the balcony door and returning to the couch, flicking the TV back on. "I'm going to need a LOT of coffee tomorrow."

HR.

"I swear I'm gunna cut down the next windmill I see!" Sayaka growled, dodging the spinning witch as it came around again and sliced one of its familiars in half. She'd noticed that the witches she'd fought previously had all had motifs, but was completely lost as to what a giant windmill monster and wooden shoes in a grassy field were supposed to mean. Still, she supposed it didn't matter. The witch had taken some damage already, its blades chipped in several places and the stationary symbol in its center deeply scratched.

Summoning several swords out of the air, she gestured for them to fly forward, blowing up on contact. She pumped a fist in victory at this, but then cursed as she realized that the impacts hadn't changed the witch's course at all, and it was headed straight for her. Bringing up the sword she was holding in her right hand in a desperate defense, her eyes widened as a figure descended from above her, slamming a long stick into the witch's center and sending it off balance.

The blades carved large divots into the labyrinth's sod before it spun off, followed by three quickly thrown grenades. Upon their explosion, the labyrinth began to fade out. "You gotta be more careful," Ranma said, dusting off her hands.

"I was taking care of it," Sayaka disagreed. "I don't need your help."

"That block wouldn't have held and it would have chopped you in half at the stomach," the redhead disagreed. "You gotta be quicker on your feet."

"You don't know that," the blue haired magical girl objected. "You should really stop underestimating me constantly.

"I do know that," Ranma shot back. "I saw it, just like I saw that snake witch bite you in half. It's one of my powers, I think."

Sayaka looked dubious. "You have the power to see me die? Pretty specific, ain't it?"

"Not just you," Ranma shook her head. "I honestly don't know all of how it works, but-"

"So you could be wrong," Sayaka interrupted. "I said I didn't want you hunting with me and I meant it."

"I'm not…" Ranma stopped herself, taking a breath. "Look, I wanted to talk to you about that, too," she started. "I waited to see if you'd calm down a bit first, but we really should keep training together, at least. If that thing Homura says is coming is as bad as she thinks-"

"Then I'll help fight it as I am," Sayaka glared. "I'm not as pathetic as you think, alright?"

"Sayaka, I don't think…" Ranma trailed off. "Fine, I get it," she finally said, turning away. "But I'm not gunna let you or anyone else die, got it?"

"Yeah, whatever," Sayaka responded as the redhead turned to leave. Spotting something on the ground, the sword-wielding magical girl walked up to it and picked it up. "Hey, you forgot something!" she yelled.

"Hm?" Ranma asked, turning and raising her right hand to catch the grief seed that Sayaka had tossed. She looked down at it, confused.

"You keep what you kill," Sayaka shrugged.

Ranma glanced down at the other girl's stomach. "But your soul gem is…"

"Like I said, I can take care of myself," the blue haired girl said, turning and walking away.

HR.

"So this is new, you coming over to see me," Ranma said as Homura sat down across from her at the lunch table.

"I wanted to ask you some questions," the black haired girl replied. When Ranma only replied with a raised eyebrow, she continued, "what are you going to do after we defeat Walpurgisnacht?"

The redhead blinked. "After…" she thought for a moment. "I never really thought about it, I guess. I mean, with Sayaka," she gestured across the cafeteria with one hand, "it'd probably be pretty awkward to stay and I wanna find a way to fix things."

"I see," Homura nodded. "So you are going to leave to try and reverse your transformation into a magical girl?" At Ranma's nod, she opened her mouth as if to say something but then shut it again. Eventually she just stood. "Thank you," she said turning and walking off.

"You're… welcome?" Ranma replied. "That was… abrupt." She shrugged. She knew Homura wasn't all that sociable, but wondered why she cared about Ranma's plans after this big threat showed up and got its ass kicked. Then again, according to Kyoko some magical girls liked fighting over territory; maybe Homura was worried that the two of them would have to fight?

"Um… excuse me?" The pigtailed redhead looked up, surprised to see an olive haired girl standing at the end of her table and fidgeting with her fingers. "Hello," the girl said, bowing slightly. "I'm Hitomi Shizuki. We met a few weeks ago, remember?"

"Yeah…" Ranma said, slowly, wondering why the other girl's eyes looked so nervous and why everyone seemed to be interrupting her lunch today. "Somethin' up?"

"I just… wanted to ask you about Sayaka," the olive haired girl said, her fidgeting with her fingers getting worse.

After a long moment of silence, Ranma finally bit. "What about Sayaka?"

"Well, um," Hitomi started. "Do you know about Kyosuke? He's a boy from our class that was in the hospital after an accident. Sayaka always visited him, and a week ago she said she was going to ask him out but then she suddenly started acting depressed, and I noticed that you weren't joining her and Madoka for lunch anymore, and I was wondering if something was happening between you and her…" She quickly shut her mouth, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

"Oh, that," Ranma winced. "Sayaka's got some… issues goin' on right now," she said, trying to explain without alluding to magical girls or employing her horrible ability to lie. "Figured I should leave her alone until she figures it out, and as for Kyosuke… I've got no idea."

Hitomi took a moment to consider what Ranma had said. "Oh, I'm… sorry to hear that. I'm sure it will work out, though. Everyone deserves to be happy, right?"

Ranma scratched the back of her neck, confused. "Um… I guess?" The olive haired girl bowed again silently before turning to leave. Ranma turned back to her food once more, but paused before grabbing her chopsticks. First she looked back to where Madoka and Sayaka were still sitting, eating, and then glanced through the large window on one side of the cafeteria. Not seeing Kyoko charging at it with a spear or something, she went back to her rice.

HR.

"Come on, you can do this, be assertive!" Hitomi mumbled to herself, leaning against her locker and staring at her hands. He was back in school, she didn't have to work up the courage to visit him in the hospital anymore, all she had to do was confront Sayaka, who probably wasn't interested in him. "Come on, you can do this…" she repeated before she heard the distinctive sound of Madoka's voice talking about going somewhere later in the day.

Looking up, she saw the pink haired girl walking next to her target, who seemed to be listening with half an ear. Squaring her shoulders, she walked up to the two. "E-excuse me, Sayaka, can I speak with you for a moment alone?"

"What's up?" Sayaka asked.

"Um… I don't think Madoka should…" the olive haired girl started.

"I can just wait outside," Madoka offered, moving before either of the other two could respond. When the door closed behind her, Hitomi looked around for anyone else within easy earshot and then spoke.

"I know you always visited him in the hospital and said that you were going to ask him out," she started, "but Kyosuke's been back for almost a week. I… just wanted to tell you that… you're my friend, and I wanted you to know I'm going to ask him out." She caught herself holding her breath, waiting for the other girl's response.

Sayaka blinked. "You… want to date Kyosuke?"

Hitomi blushed. "Yes, I've always admired him and thought he was cute, but I knew that you two were close and I didn't want to…"

"That's great!" Sayaka interrupted, laughing, though it sounded forced. "He'd have to be a real jerk not to accept."

"You're… sure you don't mind?" Hitomi asked.

"No, of course not," Sayaka waved her off. "I was… just joking about asking him out, anyways."

A large weight seemed to lift from Hitomi's shoulders and she smiled. "That's good to hear," she started. She was about to turn, but stopped. "There's one other thing, though."

"Hmm?" Sayaka asked.

"I'm not going to pry too deeply," the olive haired girl started, "but I know something's been bothering you for the last week. I just think… that love is really important, and you shouldn't let anything get in the way. Even if it seems really important, or like it can't work for some reason, it might just be easy to clear up if you try and talk about it."

Sayaka froze for a moment, expressions passing over her face too quickly to be read. "Yeah… I guess at this point there isn't much to lose, huh?" she asked. "Thanks, Hitomi… could you hold off on asking Kyosuke for a while? I need to go talk to him."

"What? I…" Hitomi was taken aback at the sudden change of mind, but noticed that her friend was looking much more cheerful than she had all week. 'No!' she screamed inside her head, 'Say no!' "Yes, of course," she actually said, trying to restrain the disappointment in her tone. "Just to warn you though, don't stall too long or I'll ask him anyways."

"Right," Sayaka nodded. "Thanks Hitomi, I needed that!" She dashed past the olive haired girl and out of the school building, the door swinging shut behind her with a thunk.

"Damnit!" Hitomi hissed, kicking a locker and then looking around sheepishly to make sure no one had seen her.

HR.

"So first you guys set up in Mitakihara, now you're poaching here," Kyoko said, her spear levelled at Homura's back.

The black haired girl just studied the grief seed she'd just obtained, not seeming at all bothered by the other's threatening tone. "I wanted to talk to you and thought this would be the best way to get your attention," she explained.

"And piss me off," Kyoko added. "You've succeeded in both so what'dya want?"

"First," Homura said, turning and tossing the grief seed to the other girl, "I don't need that, and I did get it in your territory. Second, you know of Walpurgisnacht, right?"

Kyoko blinked down at the grief seed for a moment, and then pocketed it. "Mami told me about them," she answered. "Extremely powerful witches, tend to show up once a year, right?"

Homura nodded. "One will attack Mitakihara city on April 30th of this year. I want your help to fight it."

"Wait, how the hell would you know that?" the redhead demanded. "And why do you think I would help?"

"I've found a pattern in their appearances," the dark haired girl explained. "As for why you would help, you want Mitakihara, right? After Walpurgisnacht is defeated, I promise you that all of us will leave the city to you."

"Including red and blue?" Kyoko snorted. "That's likely."

"I have plans to deal with them," Homura responded. "Will you help or not?"

Kyoko shrugged. "Hell, I don't even know if you're right, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to go there on the thirtieth. If I see a giant witch, I'll attack it."

Homura nodded. "I would suggest meeting up with us before attacking. We will be near the eastern shelters."

Kyoko nodded back. "Now we got that all sorted out, get out of here and don't hunt in my territory again, got it?"

"Of course," Homura agreed, walking off.

"Man, she's creepy," Kyoko grumbled, dispelling her magical girl outfit and reaching into a pocket for a pretzel stick.

HR.

"I would like to see your predictions some time, Homura Akemi." Homura turned her head slightly to see Kyubey sitting on a wall nearby. "We have never predicted the emergence of a Walpurgisnacht before. One must wonder how you were able to."

"Talent," the black haired girl said shortly.

"Most magical girls would find that form of talent invaluable," the little animal replied.

Homura glared at him. "So you think I should share it with you, is that it?"

"It would make things substantially easier," Kyubey nodded.

"I don't really care about making your life easier, Incubator," she snapped.

"You should," Kyubey said. "The less energy we need to expend, the fewer magical girls we need to contract. You seem to dislike it when girls contract."

Homura's eyebrow twitched slightly. "Telling you wouldn't get you to stay away from Madoka."

"That is true," Kyubey replied. "Madoka Kaname is far too large an energy source for us to ignore."

"She's a person!" Homura yelled, turning and pulling a gun out of her shield, firing three shots in quick succession.

"Being a person and an energy source are not mutually exclusive," a second Kyubey said, stepping out next to the one she'd shot in the head. "I really wish you would stop doing that, it's such a waste of resources."

Homura turned away, not wanting to see the creature devouring the corpse. "Just leave," she snapped. "I'm not telling you anything, and I'm certainly not helping you."

"You've told us quite a lot," the second Incubator replied. "It's only a matter of time before we discover the rest, Homura Akemi."

HR.

"I can't believe this," Kyosuke muttered to himself as he leaned against the wall, his crutches propped next to him, studying the note. She'd actually slipped it into his shoe locker, whoever she was. At least, he hoped it was a she. He didn't think anyone actually did that. Still, here he was, leaning against the gym supply shed and waiting. Worst case scenario it was a stupid prank and he'd get to enjoy nature for half an hour or so before getting some ribbing from his friends.

Hearing a rustling of grass from nearby, he turned to see someone walking around the side of the building and blinked. "S… Sayaka?"

"Um, hi," she said, blushing and poking the tips of her fingers together.

"Um, you were the one who sent me the note?" the boy asked, uncertainly.

"Yeah," Sayaka replied, tentatively. "Look, things are really complicated, but I… really like you a lot."

The brown haired boy blushed slightly. He hadn't really thought of why she was always visiting while most of his other friends only did so once or twice, but it made sense. "I like you too, Sayaka, I…" he started, but was interrupted as she held up a hand.

"You should know some things, first," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "You know how your hand healed so suddenly? I did it." He blinked, staring at her in incomprehension. "There's this little… creature named Kyubey, he grants wishes, and you get powers and have to fight these things called 'Witches.'"

"Um, is this a pitch for some kind of manga or something?" the boy asked, the situation seeming to go in an odd direction.

"I'm serious!" Sayaka yelled, before holding up her left hand, a flash of blue light engulfing her body and dissipating to reveal an outfit that was a good deal skimpier than her school uniform, with a cape falling down her back.

"...Woah…" Kyosuke said, pushing away from the wall and hobbling over to grab the cape. "That's… pretty neat."

"That's what I thought at first, too," Sayaka admitted. "The problem is that Kyubey doesn't tell you everything." She gulped, and he could see that her hands were shaking. "When we change, he… tears our souls out of our bodies and puts them into our soul gems," she gestured at a small C shaped gem that surrounded her bellybutton. "Also, if we ever run out of energy we turn into witches."

"Sayaka, I…" Kyosuke staggered back against the wall. "This is… this is impossible, I mean, I saw you change, but… magical soul stealing monsters, and a wish to fix my hand? I…"

"I'm telling the truth!" the girl yelled, tears welling up in her eyes. "I love you, Kyosuke, but… I don't know, I'm… I'm not even human anymore!" Saying this, she held out her left arm, a sword materializing in her right hand.

"Wait, no!" Kyosuke yelled, lurching forward, but it was too late. Sayaka brought the blade down, her hand parting neatly from the stump of her arm and blood squirting from the wound. Having moved too quickly for his still healing legs, Kyosuke hit the ground in front of the girl, his face right next to her hand. Horrified, he scrambled back, blood covering half of his face. "Sayaka, what did you…" He asked, looking up at the girl to see her studying the stump dispassionately, before a bright blue circle with musical notations appeared around her forearm, flesh materializing as it moved forward to produce an entirely intact appendage.

"I barely even felt it," Sayaka said, her voice still shaking.

"God… what are you?" the boy blurted.

Sayaka reared back as though she'd been slapped. "I... I knew this wouldn't work…" she said, her voice choked, before turning and running away. Kyosuke just sat there, back pressed against the wall, staring fixedly at the hand that still lay on the grass.

HR.

"Is your friend all right?" Madoka's father asked as his daughter exited her bedroom, gently closing the door behind her.

"She's asleep," the pink haired girl replied.

"Did you find out what the problem was?" the older man asked.

"S-Sayaka-chan's been having a lot of trouble at school lately," Madoka said, nervously. "And I think she had a fight with a boy."

Madoka's father looked dubious. "She seemed pretty upset for just that. I suppose she'll be staying over?"

"Thanks Dad," Madoka said gratefully. "I'll go call her parents."

Her father just shook his head.

HR.

"Madoka, I need a little help out here." The pink haired girl rolled over on her spare futon, really wanting to pull her pillow over her head, but hearing a loud thud from outside, reluctantly threw off her covers. "Coming Dad," she called through the door, before wincing. Turning to check her bed, she blinked. The blankets had all been thrown off and Sayaka was gone.

Not bothering to change out of her pajamas, she pushed her bedroom door open to see her father pulling her mother up the stairs, the woman's arm slung around his neck.

"D'I ever tell ya how great you are, T'mhisa?" the woman slurred, her other hand pawing at his pants.

"Yes honey, I know," he replied, gently swatting it away. "Madoka, a little help here please?"

"I'm coming," she said, moving to assist her father. "Do you know when Sayaka left?"

"She left?" he asked, puzzled. "I didn't notice your bedroom door open since you went in to go to bed."

"Madoka had a friend over?" her mother asked, as the three took a step up the stairs. "S'good, shesh way too shy… should live a li'l."

"Yes, Mom," the pink haired girl said, having heard similar sentiments many times before. She took a second to look towards her bedroom, but unfortunately she was a little too busy to worry about Sayaka at the moment. "I really hope you're all right," she said, quietly.

"Oh, I'm fine!" her mother insisted. "Was only… fif… fifty-teen bottles."

"Yes, Mom," Madoka sighed.

HR.

"You really don't look so good," Ranma said, speaking for both herself and Homura as they sat across the table from Madoka, faint rings visible under the pink haired girl's eyes.

"I'm guessing neither of you have seen Sayaka either?" she asked.

"Not since yesterday," Ranma confirmed. "Somethin' wrong?"

"She came to my house last night," Madoka explained. "She was really upset and said something about Kyosuke, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong."

"Hmm," Homura said, inadvertently drawing the attention of the other two.

"You know something?" Ranma asked.

"No," the black haired girl replied, "but her wish was for Kyosuke Kamijo's benefit. If she disappeared after speaking with him, that isn't a good sign."

"Okay," Ranma said, looking around the lunch room. "Guy with the crutches, right?"

"Yes," Madoka said, blinking as the pigtailed girl stood and started across the lunch room. "Wait!" she yelled, but Ranma didn't even slow down.

"Hey, you Kyosuke?" the redhead asked, stopping at the table where the boy was sitting with several other male students from Madoka's class.

"Yes," the boy said, his eyes flickering from the serious seeming redhead to the stoic black haired girl who was coming up behind her, a nervous Madoka bringing up the rear.

"C'mon, we need to talk," Ranma said, offering a hand.

"Um…" Kyosuke said, reluctantly taking it. "What's going on?"

Ranma didn't respond, turning and helping the boy back towards their table.

"Okay, what's this about?" Kyosuke asked, sitting down.

"Can you please tell us what happened with Sayaka yesterday?" Madoka asked, deciding that letting Ranma do it would probably be a bad idea.

"S...Sayaka.." the boy said, his face turning pale. "She… cut off her hand."

"She what?" Ranma asked, flatly.

"She told me this story about magic and wishes, she said that she made a wish to heal my hand, and then she said something about not being human," the boy explained. "It sounded kind of crazy to me, and I said so, and then…"

"She cut off her hand to prove it to you," Homura finished.

"And of course the guy freaked out," Ranma nodded. "Guessin' Sayaka didn't take it well."

"Given what she believes about being a magical girl, definitely not," Homura agreed.

"Wait," Kyosuke interrupted. "So all of that stuff she said about magic and wishing… she really healed me? She gave up her soul for me?"

"If ya wanna put it that way," Ranma said. "We still have them on us, so it's not that big a deal."

"You have a strange definition of 'not that big a deal,'" Homura opined.

"So I've been told," Ranma muttered sourly.

"Um, look," Kyosuke said, tentatively. "I… don't know how to take all this, but it sounds like I owe Sayaka a lot. If you see her, tell her I want to talk to her again. Just… make sure she knows not to cut off her hand this time."

"We'll pass the message when we find her," Ranma agreed. "I'm goin'; tell the teachers I ate some bad tuna."

"I… I'm coming too!" Madoka decided, following the redhead.

"Apparently we shared the tuna," Homura said, following the other two.

"Um… could someone get me my crutches?" Kyosuke asked plaintively.

END.

Author's notes: Poor Hitomi, had her Yuri goggles on a bit too tight, we think.

Sayaka: Aww, but can't I have them both? Bi is a thing y'know.

Madoka: I see you've recovered from running around crying about being dead and pigtails…

Sayaka: Yeah, I think one of the authors got their mental wires crossed a bit there.

Kyoko: So… Sayaka, you gunna eat that hand?

Sayaka: What? No! No one is gunna eat that hand!

Kyoko: But… that'd be wasting food, and then I'd have ta kill ya.

Weebee: Um… I hate to tell you this Kyoko, but it's been a day in universe. The hand's probably already rotting.

Jonakhensu: Not to mention Kyosuke probably tossed it into a garbage bin somewhere.

Kyoko: B… but the food…

Homura: Irritated. Can we please get on with it? I want more scenes with my Waifu next chapter.

Weebee: Yeah… we think we just learned way more about Parody Kyoko than we wanted to know… Try to forget that, folks, we know we will. Please R&R about the story, though!

Jonakhensu: Speak for yourself; I play a Lascarian.

Weebee: And absolutely no one will get that reference.

Jonakhensu: And if you do, shout out in a review.

Kyoko: Sayaka Miki, for wasting food, prepare to die!

Sayaka: Gyaaa!