Chapter Twenty: Forbidden Love

The charges were dropped, since there was no absolute proof she'd engaged in the exchange of the goods. The police however said they'd be keeping an eye on her, making sure she didn't resume any activities she'd previously stated. She was basically a fingernail next to the entirety of the criminal investigation. Even though she'd confessed to burglary, the items themselves weren't recovered and she couldn't help with the addresses of the people who'd been stolen from. In other words, she didn't offer much else to help with the case and was released. Also, due to her background, they found some form of sympathy for her position which was odd, but it helped get her out scott free. She felt rejuvenated, like her soul was being cleaned. Though she still had nicks and scratches in her spirit after the experience, the guilt and shame was slowly washing away.

On her way back home, she saw Hitomi, who gasped upon seeing her. 'H-Hello there, Kyouko Kaname'

'Hitomi Shizuki… nice evening?' she tried to smile, aware of their tension since the other day.

'Thank you so much for returning our goods. My mother and father were so pleased to have them back'

'W-well, I guess you don't know what you've got, 'till it's gone, right?' she laughed nervously, until she saw the rich girl drop her gaze.

Before she could come out with another pathetic set of apologies, Hitomi took her in her arms and held her to her, hugging her.

'I forgive you'.

Kyouko relaxed and held her too. So much pain had been brought to them both in all of this and all that was left were sweet memories from the time before and the gradual reconstruct of freedom and security now. The girl with locks of seaweed coloured hair, grasped the cherry maned girl's hoodie, stroking its cotton to soothe herself, almost to confirm to herself that Kyouko no longer had bad intentions. They stood together for a while before the emerald eyed gal pulled away. Kyouko offered a friendly smile to her.

Words couldn't describe Madoka's delight when she saw the crimson devil walking down the path.

'Kyou-ko! Kyou-ko!' chanted Tatsuya, pointing outside, bouncing in place.

Sayaka and the Kaname parents went to the front door to see. Kyouko nearly lost her balance as Madoka flung herself into her arms, holding tight. 'Kyouko-chan, thank goodness you're okay' she sighed with relief, pressing her lips to hers softly and running her fingers through her hair as they embraced. She was so happy, tasting the familiar pocky and apple from the red head's lips. Opening the door and clearing her throat, Junko stood before them and the two separated instantly with a blush.

'Girls, come inside'.

'I'll see ya at school tomorrow, Madoka!' Sayaka waved, heading out.

'Thank you for helping out, Sayaka. Have a safe walk home' Junko called.

Once the door shut, the parents turned to look at the two girls, standing before them, terrified. There was a heavy vibe in the air that weighed down into everyone's stomachs. The cherry maned teen dropped her gaze to the floor, afraid, as Madoka fought the temptation to console and embrace her. The bubblegum haired gal hadn't always been so good at reading people, right now it was impossible and the thought of her own family isolating her mentally like that made her her cower, bowing her head a bit.

'Honey, take Tatsuya to bed' Junko spoke boldly, not taking her eyes off them. 'Girls, lounge'.

They nodded obediently and walked on though. Junko took to the kitchen quickly for tea. She'd guzzled a good portion of the wine earlier, as she was shaking in her shoes, and was making a poor attempt to sober up. The couple sat together on the couch, chewing their lips nervously. They looked to each other, their hearts pounding just by looking at each other. The woman came through and took her usual spot, in her armchair.

'Right, no beating around the bush now guys. This is serious'

Kyouko and Madoka gulped. Tomohisa came through and sat with them. That damn clock, cutting away at people's patience and making things more tense then they had to be with its ticking. Shut up!

'So you two are… lovers?' questioned the father. The girls nodded, rosy cheeked, not able to find their voices right now.

'You've had feelings for each other since you met?'. They nodded again.

'What do you want to happen in the future?'

Unsure whether their traditionalism was seeping through or whether it was a serious open question, the crimson haired tomboy spoke up 'I want to have a future with Madoka. I want to help her with her art and find my own calling in life so we can be together' she said softly, but to the point. Madoka smiled, holding her hand tightly, feeling Kyouko squeeze back gently.

The parents blinked but understood plainly now. Tomohisa nodded to his wife, surely.

'Kyouko, you can stay and be her lover,… but you will also be her sister'. Junko whispered.

Both the teen's eyes widened.

'Just, keep it under wraps. Do you understand?' Tomohisa chimed, gesturing.

The girls nodded together, not believing what they were hearing.

'We only want to protect you, but we also don't want to suppress your feelings for each other. You can kiss, cuddle and hold hands at home, but none of that outside, okay?'

The sobering lady sipped her tea, seeing the voices in the girls heads were making a racket of the situation. She didn't blame them. Kyouko sure had carried a lot of baggage, emotionally speaking, and to have most of it thrown off her back now after some time probably had her a little bewildered.

'Why don't you guys head off and get washed up? It's bed time' she whispered calmly.

Madoka hadn't expected that. She wouldn't have thought for a moment that her parents would be so lenient to something so controversial. Maybe it was because they really loved her so much. It was true though and it was to be expected. They would have to keep their true love for one another behind closed doors. It didn't bother her too much though and it didn't seem to bother Kyouko either. Maybe once they were older, they'd take off somewhere on their own, to find a place to be together. For now, they had their own secret form of heaven within their own home. The red head especially would have thought that. So many years, she'd begged and pleaded for mercy, as she froze half to death, starved and stole and killed to live. She thought back and wondered what would have happened hadn't she come across the scared, rose scented student, lost on her way home. Perhaps nothing would have occurred to her to have hope at all. She might have finally started to decay, mentally speaking and become depraved and psychopathic like those men. She would have lost faith in herself and her sense of appreciation of life would have just shattered, leaving her open and welcoming unto whatever danger Mitakihara cursed her with.

The painting had nearly come to a finish. Seeing herself come this far in such a short space of time really made Madoka wonder what they could achieve together in the future. Somewhat of an romantic portrait, the red head had a painting dedicated to her and her struggle:

She sat in the center, upon a branch, nude, her arms stretched out, legs crossed and the image of a rising phoenix faintly emerging behind her with the rising sun. The tail replicated and imitated the movement and shape of Kyouko's strewn hair and the sky was a mash of clouds blotted with reds, blacks and pinks. Down below on the canvas, silhouetted tree leaves shaped like angry faces and arms of oppression, like a tarry hell, sat low. To finish it off, she gave Kyouko an emblem on her heart in the shape of an Ouroboros.

The Marshmallow smiled contently over at her Phoenix, spread across her bed, naked, watching her with fiery eyes and a smirk that showed those pointy fangs.

End of Chapter Twenty

(NOTE UPDATE 12/12/15: Okay, I decided to drop the bonus chapter idea, since the story seems to end pretty okay here. I will be going over the story again and upping the attitude and roughness in Kyouko's character to make her a bit more true to how she was in the anime. I felt she let her guard down to Madoka too easily, so I'm gonna change a few things, but the story overall will stay the same. Also, I have an idea of posting multiple one-shots of the odd pairings into a single submission. It'll contain more Mado/Kyou, but will also have some Hito/Saya, Mado/Saya, Homu/Mami, Mami/Saya and Hito/Kyou. I'll probably start this weekend, so look out for a posting soon! Peace, guys :) )