Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Mirai Nikki or Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Chapter 9: Counterplay

This place's drinks are terrible. Kyoko finished off her papaya milk in one big gulp and grimaced. She scraped her tongue with her teeth. They must use cheap ingredients or something. The aftertaste is awful.

She bit into her second fruit sandwich and watched Yuno's apartment door out of the corner of her eye. She sat at a corner cafe near Yuno's apartment and was wearing a dark wig and glasses, hoping it would be enough to fool Yuno from a distance. She really did not want to confront Yuno again. Kyoko had the feeling she might be a head shorter if that happened.

Kyoko had come early in the morning assuming that Yuno would leave for wherever she was going as soon as she got up. The hustle and bustle of people heading to work and school helped Kyoko feel safer, being lost amid a sea of faces. She felt confident Yuno wouldn't catch her. Still, it had been 30 minutes and Yuno hadn't left yet.

What if she already left? Kyoko took another bite and felt her stomach tighten with worry. I can't let this opportunity slip by.

"Hey there."

Kyoko glanced over. A young guy, probably 16, was smiling at her. She had never seen him before, but she immediately didn't like him.

"Haven't seen you around here before. I'd remember a girl as cute as you. What's your name?"

Kyoko turned to him, lowered her glasses, and shot him a death glare.

He immediately backed up, his face filled with fear. "S-sorry. I'll uh, I'll..." He turned and left.

Idiot. Kyoko looked up at Yuno's place and saw a pink haired girl walking from there. Kyoko's heart jumped. It's her! She tried to remain calm but her heart started beating frantically. She stuffed the rest of the sandwich into her mouth, forcing her hands to not shake. As she chewed, she discreetly watched Yuno walk downstairs and head off down the street. She was relieved to not see Kyubei anywhere.

Once Yuno was a good distance away, Kyoko got up and followed after her, doing her best to blend into the crowd. Yuno was easy to follow, being the only pink haired girl in the area. She was walking fast, but Kyoko easily followed her while doing what she thought was a good job of being surreptitious.

Yuno turned into a subway entrance. Kyoko hid among the crowd and followed her down. She walked to the side and pretended to look at the map. She looked over and saw Yuno already had a token and was heading to the trains. Crap! Kyoko didn't have any tokens. She looked over at the token machines. They all had long lines. She didn't have time to wait.

Think Kyoko, think! She didn't want to risk jumping the gate. That meant she needed to get a token now. She looked over at Yuno again. She was a good distance away, waiting for the train. The sign nearby said it would arrive in one minute. Kyoko clenched her hands into fists. No choice then.

She walked over to the front of one of the lines and focused on the people nearby. She let a sliver of magic flow into their minds . Their eyes became slightly less focused. She approached the woman at the front who had stopped trying to get a token and was staring straight ahead. "Sorry miss. I'm with the uh, train station and need to see this machine for a moment."

"Of course," the woman replied distantly.

Kyoko shoved some coins into the machine and realized she had no idea where Yuno was going and so didn't know how much to pay. Better safe than sorry. She bought the most expensive token and rushed to the gate. There were lines to get through, but Kyoko used the barest of magic to befuddle the people at a gate and slip in front and through.

The train was arriving. Kyoko tried to calm her breathing and glanced at Yuno. She didn't seem to have noticed her use of magic. Kyoko sighed and willed her heart to slow. Don't be scared. You can do this. You're better than her. She felt resolve flood into her.

The train stopped and the doors opened up. People rushed to get in. If Kyoko knew how to do anything, it was get where she wanted. She shoved people aside and fought her way into the train, tripping a business man to get herself some room. She managed to get in but was completely surrounded by people, most taller than her. She couldn't tell where Yuno was. Worried flooded into her. What if she didn't get on this train and is waiting for the next one? Kyoko tried to see if she could squeeze past to where Yuno had been standing, but there was simply no room. The train started moving. Kyoko gritted her teeth. She would just have to assume Yuno was on the train.

The stops went by and more people somehow got on. Kyoko was pressed right up against strangers. I remember now why I never go on these. She looked at a map of the stations. It looked like the next stop was the main station. She guessed everyone was getting off there.

It turned out she was right. As soon as the train stopped, people pushed to get out. Kyoko grabbed onto an overhead support and held on as she resisted the flow of people. She looked outside the train in case she saw Yuno leaving. Not one pink hair in sight. The doors closed and the train started moving again. She looked around on the train to see if Yuno was in sight.

Her legs nearly gave out. Yuno was ten feet to her right, holding onto a support grip. She had two bags she was carrying in her right hand, one of which Kyoko recognized from yesterday. It didn't seem like Yuno had noticed her.

Kyoko's hands immediately became sweaty. Don't look at her directly. Don't look. She hasn't noticed you. Just act casual. Stay calm. She looked at the ground in front of her and tried not to move so as to avoid attention.

They passed by many more stops and approached the end of the subway line. There were only a few people left on the train now. Kyoko felt stiff but didn't dare change her position. She knew movement might draw attention.

The call for the last station sounded over the intercom. She felt the train slowing down. Almost there. Just avoid attention.

She heard bags moving to her side. Okay, she's getting ready to go. Just make sure- Footsteps started walking towards her. Kyoko felt her mind go completely blank and her body froze. Yuno had noticed her. She was walking over to rip her wig off. She was going to run her through with her sword. Yuno was right in front of her now. Kyoko could see her feet. Kyoko squeezed her eyes shut and waited for Yuno to expose her.

She walked right by. Kyoko turned her head and saw her wait in front of the door. Kyoko slumped down and would have fallen if she hadn't been holding onto her support. A cold sweat had broken out over her whole body and her heart was beating so fast, she thought it might burst.

The doors opened and Yuno stepped out. Kyoko took some deep breaths and kept her eye on Yuno. When she felt Yuno was far enough away, she started walking out of the train. Her legs were shaking. She glared at them and willed them to be normal. It took a moment, but her body eventually relaxed.

The crowd wasn't big here but there were enough people that Kyoko felt she didn't stick out as she followed Yuno. They went above ground and Kyoko realized they were now in a satellite town of the city they had left. Is this where she's going all the time?

She saw Yuno walking away and followed her. After 20 minutes, they were on the outskirts of the town. There wasn't anyone here so Kyoko hid around corners as she followed Yuno. She noticed Yuno walk into an alley. Just as she was debating whether she should follow her, Kyoko saw Yuno jump out of the alley and onto the roof, wearing her magical girl outfit. She then headed off into the surrounding countryside

Kyoko transformed and followed after her.

/人◕‿‿◕人\

Why did she go here? Kyoko had followed Yuno for about an hour before they stopped at what looked like an abandoned army base. All the buildings were demolished with warning signs saying to keep away. Kyoko stayed as far back as she dared as she followed, but Yuno had gone in pretty much a straight line.

Yuno walked into the doorway of a small structure and disappeared. Kyoko waited a minute then stealthily made her way over to the door. She listened outside but didn't hear anything. She looked inside and saw that it was a tunnel sloping downward. An underground tunnel.

Kyoko strained her ears but didn't hear anything. She stepped inside. It was very dark, the only light coming from behind her. She placed her hand against a wall and felt rust and grime. She grimaced but kept her hands touching it lightly as she made her way down.

After a few seconds, it was completely dark. Kyoko couldn't see anything in front of her. Why on earth is she here? What even is this place? Her mind kept screaming at her that she was going to bump right into Yuno, but she did her best to ignore it and kept moving forward. After walking a minute she saw a faint light ahead. She slowly approached it and saw a wall in front of her. The tunnel turned left and right, with the light coming from the left. She thought she could hear voices.

Kyoko swallowed and crouched down, trying to make the least amount of noise as possible as she moved forward. The voices got louder. She recognized them as being both Kyubei and Yuno. Kyoko was surprised. What was Kyubei doing here?

She saw a metal doorway and crept right up next to the sides. She could hear Yuno talking.

"-so delicious! Even better than the last one I brought. I'm sure you'll love it Yuki."

Yuki? Who's that?

"And I got this shirt too. You'll look so cool wearing it."

Kyoko very, very slowly peered around the door frame and looked into the room. Her eyes widened.

Kyubei was sitting on the ground, it's tail swishing back and forth, as it watched Yuno. To Kyoko, it seemed a bit impatient. Yuno was only in her underwear, her fair skin and lithe body shining in the artificial light. Her bags were on the ground, emptied of the sweets and clothes they had been carrying. Yuno was holding a shirt in her arms and displaying it in front of her. The most unusual thing in the room though was what she was showing the shirt to.

A large glass tube held a boy suspended in the air with no obvious supports. He had a soft face and black hair, about average height and weight. He was in a black shirt and shorts and was breathing slowly, sound asleep. No, more than that. It's like he's in a coma.

Yuno put the shirt down and hugged the glass tube encasing the boy. She slid a finger back and forth against the glass and rested her head, following her finger with her eyes. "Oh Yuki, I want to hold you so bad. I can't wait much longer. I need you." She kissed the glass.

This girl has some serious problems. Seeing all this, though, raised more questions for Kyoko than it answered. Who was this boy? Why was he in a coma? What's Kyubei's connection to all this? Most importantly, how did this factor into Mami's death?

Yuno kept hugging the glass for a minute and rubbing her head against it. "Kyubei, I want to wake Yuki up. He needs me."

Kyubei's ears wiggled. "You know that's impossible right now."

"You always say that."

"Because it's true."

Yuno sighed and let go of the tube before turning to Kyubei. "Did you get any information?"

Kyoko's ears perked up. Information? About what?

Kyubei cocked its head to the side. "Unfortunately no. She hid herself very well. I think she doesn't trust me. Or anyone for that matter."

Yuno folded her arms. "Cutting herself off from everyone. She might think its clever, but it's actually a stupid move." Yuno eyed Kyubei. "You told me she was dangerous?"

Kyubei's tail swished. "The most dangerous. She alone could ruin your chance to be with Yukiteru as you desire."

Yuno turned back to the boy in the tube and longingly looked at him as she slid her hands over the glass. "Then I'll kill her." Kyoko shuddered at how nonchalantly she said this, like she was talking about shopping. "Nothing can separate Yuki and I. We're bound by destiny."

Kyubei cocked its head again. "If you say so."

"And what of Kyoko?" Yuno said without turning.

Kyoko's heart skipped a beat and she pushed back into the shadows as much as possible.

"She is no concern." Kyoko scowled a bit at this.

Yuno turned to Kyubei. "Does Kyoko know where she is?"

"I can say that she does not. She wasn't lying."

Yuno smiled. "She has no chance of stopping me then. As long as I am the first to discover her, Homura will die easily."

Homura?! Kyoko finally understood a bit of what they were talking about. As far as she knew, no one had seen Homura for a year. She hadn't been lying to Yuno when she thought Homura was dead, but from the way they were talking, Homura had to be alive.

And she's apparently the only one who can stop them from doing...something. Kyoko racked her brain to figure out what they may be planning. All she knew was that it involved that boy, Yukiteru, and Homura could stop it somehow. Not a lot to go on.

"That still requires finding her," Kyubei said.

A crazed grin covered Yuno's face. "Don't worry. In case you failed, I had other methods of finding her. They should give me her location within the week. I can be very...persuasive."

"I hope this doesn't require magical girls dying. I hate losing resources."

Yuno laughed. It made the hairs on the back of Kyoko's neck stand up. "What's it matter if a few girls die? If I need to, I'll kill everyone in this world so that Yuki and I can be together. Right Yuki?" She leaned against the glass and closed her eyes. "Just you and me forever. That's what you want right? I'll take care of everything and everyone for you. You don't need anyone but me."

Yuno's eyes flashed open, completely hollow. "But first, I need to find Homura." She immediately reverted back to her previous self and started hugging the glass tube again, chanting the boy's name over and over.

Kyoko slowly moved away from the doorway and backed into the darkness. She crept back to the exit, moving as fast as she dared, trying to keep her heartbeat under control. As soon as she was at the exit, she ran out the door. She ran as far as she could and then stopped, gasping for breath. She was still trembling.

Kyoko still didn't know everything that was going on, but she knew enough. She began running again, determined to find the girl that had disappeared a year ago, the girl she had thought was dead. Homura Akemi.