Chapter 20

I

A cool spring breeze blew in through the window, carrying the smell of rain from the night before. The ambient sounds of the early morning city lingered in the air; cars honking, a garbage truck starting up and screeching to a stop, small pieces of human chatter from along the sidewalk outside the apartment.

Mami sat across from Sayaka, her face buried in her teacup, her eyes red and heavy. "Guess you're not much of a morning person? Huh?" Sayaka joked, noting how bad she looked.

"I... didn't sleep very well last night." She sighed and forced a smile. "Perhaps it was the rain." She didn't want to embarrass Sayaka by revealing how bad her snoring was. Despite the snoring, Mami liked having her over, she was inherently a social person and therefore usually felt lonely being here all by herself, so it was a nice change to have company.

"Anyway, thanks for letting me stay last night. I know I showed up kind of unexpectedly."

"No, no, not at all. I enjoyed having you, really. Besides..." Mami's tone got a bit more serious, and Sayaka knew what she wanted to talk about. Sayaka reached into her pocket and pulled out the glowing blue gem she had stashed there, and set it on the table. They both stared at it for a moment.

When Sayaka had shown up last night she seemed very tired and drained of energy, so Mami spared her the serious conversation they would have to have. Now, she thought it was time, Sayaka may have only just now become a Magical Girl, but it would be best to start her training right away. "So, you helped that boy after all, right?"

"Yeah..." Sayaka said. She smiled, though there was some sadness in her eyes.

"That's wonderful," said Mami. "You are sure that's what you wanted though, right?"

Sayaka nodded right away, giving not a moment's hesitation that could signal a layer of doubt. "Yeah... I mean, when I went to visit him, he was really depressed. He wasn't acting like himself, and I guess we sort of got into a fight. Then... then, he ended up having a seizure or something..." Her voice choked a bit. "I mean, seeing him like that... and then all I could do is run away. I don't know. I sat down in front of the hospital, and I was looking at my hands and thinking: There's nothing special about these hands, I can't do anything, I can't create anything, I can't play music like he could. I was thinking I would give anything to be able to trade places with him, but I realized I wouldn't have to actually trade places." She smiled. "All I would have to do is become a Magical Girl and use my wish to save him. Besides that, I can fight witches now and save even more people, so it's a win-win. Ya'know?"

Mami nodded. "As long as you understand it's not a game. Being a Magical Girl can be very dangerous." She smiled. "But don't worry, I'll show you the ropes. Besides, if we are teaming up we'll be able to watch each other's backs, so it'll be safer for me as well." Sayaka returned the smile and nodded an agreement. "First thing you should do is find a more convenient form for your SoulGem." She held out her hand to show her the ring that was around her finger. "This is how I keep mine while I'm not in combat."

Sayaka picked up her own SoulGem and looked at it. "What do I do?"

"Don't over think it. Just think about what form you would like your SoulGem to take, and it will happen."

Sayaka took a moment to think about it, then held it up to her ear. She thought it would take some level of concentration, but it was just as Mami said. All she did was think about what it might look like as an earring, then it flashed a blue light and fused onto her ear. Sayaka looked back at Mami. "Did it work?" Mami got up and grabbed a pocketbook from her bag on the counter and brought it back to her. Sayaka opened it and looked at herself in the small mirror; hanging from her earlobe, there was now an earring with a blue jewel shaped like a teardrop. Sayaka couldn't believe how easy that was, it happened as easily as if she were to move one of her arms or her legs.

"Magic should come naturally to you, at least the basics anyway. There are more advanced things I can teach you, but we will get to that later."

Sayaka couldn't take her eyes off the mirror. She moved it back and forth, looking at her SoulGem's new form from all different angles. "Wow... This is..." She laughed. "This is so cool!"

Mami laughed. "Just don't go around showing off to anyone, now. It would be a problem if normal people knew about us."

"Heh, yeah I know. Still, I almost wish I could." She grinned.

"So, ready to take down your first witch?" Mami mused, sipping her tea.

"What? Already? I-I mean, yeah sure! Bring it on!" Sayaka laughed and tried to act confident, but she was hit with a sudden pang of anxiety, thinking about the witch that she had seen Mami fight the other night.

"Sorry, I was just joking, actually. We should go out on a patrol, through. Hopefully we can find some familiars for you to practice on first. Actually, I know of a spot just outside the city that's fairly secluded. Why don't we go there first, and see what you can do."

"Alright! Sounds good to me."

II

Madoka's eyes opened. She gasped and flinched back when she saw Homura leaning over her. "It's alright," she said softly, "I'm just untying your hands. I'm awake now so there's no need to keep you tied up." After working at the knot for a few moments, Madoka felt its grip loosen, and she was free. She rubbed her wrists, and looked up at Homura with tired eyes. Homura stood over her, holding the rope in one hand. "You can go back to sleep if you like. You don't have to get up right away. Although, I'm going to need to go out again today, so you should try and get some breakfast."

She walked over to the closet where she had been keeping the rope stashed. When she hid it away and closed the door, she looked back at Madoka who was staring at her with resentment in her eyes. Homura ignored it. "You wanted to write a letter for your parents as well, right? I can deliver it today if you are able to finish before I have to leave." With that, she left the room. After a few moments Madoka could hear her banging around in the kitchen.

Madoka laid her head back down on the pillow, and pulled the covers over herself. She didn't get much sleep, and would be easy for her to drift off again, but she didn't really want to, so she forced her eyes to stay open. Though she was content with just feeling the softness of the bed for now, and not having to talk to Homura.

As she thought back on the night before, it almost felt like a dream. Cutting herself free after Homura left, running through the rain, making it to Sayaka's house only to be caught by Homura once again. Then having a collar put on her... her face reddened just thinking about that. Why did she let Homura do that to her? She didn't really have a choice, but it's not like she resisted the way she should have. I'm so weak, she thought. Even now, laying in this bed and waiting for breakfast, it's almost as if she was just accepting it. Despite that stronger part of her telling her this was all wrong, she was allowing it.

Her feelings towards Homura were so mixed up, she didn't know what she thought. On the surface she was angry at her, and a little bit afraid of her. She could even go as far as to say she hated her now, she supposed. When she thought deeper, trying to strengthen that hatred, she found that the opposite was happening. She trusted her, despite everything she had put her through, Madoka didn't hate her at all. Even when she pulled that mean trick last night, bending her arms in a way that forced her to submit, Madoka felt herself defending Homura's actions in her own mind.

She put her hands on the pillow and buried her face in it. She thought if she could let out a loud scream and vent her frustrations, she could start thinking clearly. She was so mixed up. She didn't scream, though; Homura would hear her.

When the incubator offered her a chance to be free, she didn't have an opportunity to answer. What would she have said if she did? She wanted to see Sayaka again very badly, so she probably would have given away their location. That would have been the only reason, though. Otherwise, she thought for sure she would have turned down the offer for a rescue, because Homura told her the incubator was dangerous, and she believed her.

At least by the end of the night she managed to convince Homura that she didn't give their location away. She was so tired when they got back, she had felt herself drifting off the second her body fell down on the bed. Even as Homura started working at tying her hands to the bed frame, it had felt as though it was becoming a part of a dream as her consciousness slipped away.

She continued to lay there for a while, but the smell of whatever Homura was cooking finally tempted her out of the room. She went out into the living room, and watched Homura from over the kitchen bar. On the bar there sat a notebook and an unopened package of pens. She walked over to it and ran her hand over the top of the notebook. She was still lost deep in thought, partly from tiredness, partly because she still hadn't worked out her feelings.

Homura was by the stove, and gave her a nod. "I'm making pancakes. It won't be done for a little while, so why don't you get started on that?" She turned back to the stove and continued with what she was doing. "There's something important that needs to happen today, and I can't be late."

Madoka sat down and flipped open the notebook. She just stared at the blank page, no idea what she wanted to write, or how to get started. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"Sayaka is going to be fighting her first witch today. She's going to be fine, though, it's the other one I'm worried about."

Madoka looked up, "Mami Tomoe?" she had heard that name from the incubator, and was surprised that it stuck with her so easily in spite of all the other craziness from last night. Homura stopped what she was doing and looked at her with a very serious expression.

"I suppose Kyubey told you that name?" Madoka nodded. Homura lowered the heat on the stove and went to stand across from her at the bar. Madoka felt nervous; lately, being under the scrutiny of Homura's intense stare was having that effect on her. "You're sure you didn't give away our location to him?" she asked. "You are absolutely positive about that?" Madoka shrank back, and nodded again, not able to look Homura in the eyes. Homura continued to stare her down for a moment longer, and it was a relief when she finally turned back to the stove. "I trust you. I really shouldn't, considering everything you did last night, but I suppose I don't have a choice. It would be too inconvenient to move you right now, anyway."

Besides, Madoka thought, you could just take me right back again anyway, right? "Is Sayaka going to be okay?" Madoka spoke quietly, she continued staring at the blank notebook, lightly running her fingers down the page.

"Mami is a powerful Magical Girl. Probably the strongest I have ever known, and she has taken Sayaka under her wing. Sayaka will be fine, for now. There are... other dangers that face her in the future, but I'll do my best to keep her safe." When she said other dangers, she was partly referring to Mami herself, though, in most timelines the biggest danger to Sayaka was Sayaka herself.

She glanced back over to see Madoka hadn't even picked up a pen yet. "If you don't finish that it might be a while before I have another chance to deliver it. So get started."

III

Kyoko walked through the supermarket, grabbing things off the shelves in a way that almost seemed totally random, and placed them inside a basket she had slung over her elbow. Items from the candy aisle ended up taking up a good portion of the basket, but she also found some instant foods that could be considered an actual meal. From the produce aisle she got a good bag full of apples, and she snagged a couple bags of chips on her way back to the front.

Getting near the front of the store, she feigned interest in whatever foods were behind a glass door, and through the corners of her eyes she scoped out her path to the exit. She found that shoplifting isn't something that required an elaborate plan that needed to be carefully executed. The best way to go was usually to just walk right out in broad daylight, doing so casually enough that no one bats an eye at you. Especially since it was a saturday morning, the store was busy enough that she would blend right in. The chances of anyone paying close enough attention to her, to see if she actually paid or not, were pretty slim.

She still had to be somewhat discreet, though. She needed to choose a path that didn't take her too close to any employees. She also liked to file in behind a small group, usually a family, and blend herself in that way. That kind of set up didn't seem possible here, though, because the exit was behind the row of cash registers. She decided to just skip that part, and do the ordinary casual stroll out the front door and see how things went. It was a bit of a hail-mary approach to doing things, but it usually worked out better than one would expect. Even if someone did catch her, she always had the option to just run.

The last few registers, furthest from the door, weren't in use, so she used that as a way to get through. She glanced around with her eyes, not moving her head, as she watched, checking to make sure most of the employees were distracted. Everything seemed good, and there was no security or anything like that in sight, so she strolled on through to the very front of the store. She walked down the aisle, casually as possible, no one seeming pay her any mind. That is, until she was just a few steps from the automatic door and the very front of the store, a middle-aged man wearing a white collared shirt with a few pens sticking out of the front pocket stepped in her way.

"Excuse me miss, may I see your receipt?" he said it as politely and professionally as possible, although there was suspicion in his eyes. Yet, there was some doubt there too, so she tried to talk her way out of it.

"My receipt? Oh sure, yeah no problem." She started digging around in her pockets, stalling while she evaluated the option to push past him and make a run for it. "Oh... let's see..." She switched between all her different pockets. "That's strange, I don't seem to have it." She laughed. "Actually, now that I think about it, I think the clerk forgot to hand me one at all."

"I see, and which clerk was that?"

She looked back and quickly picked one out. She chose a really young one who had just started with a new customer "Aisle six," she said to the manager.

"And he forgot to bag your groceries as well?" the manager asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I requested no bags. See, I'm just really into doing my part for the environment and all that. I mean, do you have any idea how much litter could be reduced if even one tenth of the population were to stop using plastic grocery bags?" She grinned. "Yeaaaaah... it's... uneconomical." She could tell by his posture, folded arms and tapping foot, that he wasn't buying it. She was going to need to make a run for it.

"Why don't you come with me for a few minutes, young lady," the manager finally said, gesturing over to an office door near the entrance.

"Sorry, but I've actually got a full schedule." She started to move past him. "I really gotta run..." He grabbed onto her arm, not too forcefully, but firmly enough to stop her.

"Sorry miss, but not until we've made a few phone calls. The authorities are going to have to be contacted."

Kyoko put on her scared schoolgirl face. "No! Look, I'm sorry! I'll put it all back. I didn't mean to cause trouble.. I-I just..." It seemed to be working a little bit, but it was clear he didn't plan on just letting her go.

"Look, it's alright," he said calmly, looking around and hoping not too much of a commotion was being made. "We're not going to press charges, but you at least need to be taken back to your parents."

Tears started to well up in Kyoko's eyes, and she looked up at him pleadingly. "I-I don't have parents... I'm homeless, and that's why..." She sniffed. "Th-that's why…" Her face scrunched up and she looked as if she were about to start bawling tears. She reached into the basket and pulled out her bag of apple. "I-I have enough to pay for these, I'll put the rest back... Just, let me go and forget about all this. You'll never see me here again, I promise..." Her eyes slunk away as she awaited his answer. After all that, it seemed she was getting to him at least a little bit.

"Ok, listen, why don't you come into my office. We are going to see if there's someone who can help you." So, he was still pretty insistent on not letting her go.

She sighed, and sucked the tears right back into her face. "Welllp, can't say I didn't try," she grinned. The sudden change in attitude threw the manager into a moment of confusion, which Kyoko used to her advantage. In one swift motion she swung the bag of apples she was holding and hit him square in the center of the face. He stumbled back and lost his grip on her arm, letting out a shout. Kyoko turned and hightailed it out the door.

"Wait! Stop!" she heard him say, but she paid him no mind. She lost some of the items in her basket during that brief struggle, which is a sacrifice she didn't like to make, but there was no helping it at this point. Half way down the block she heard him again: "Someone stop her!" But for the most part people only turned and looked in confusion. Before anyone had a chance to figure out what was going on, she was down the block and disappearing into an alleyway.