Chapter 6
A blaring alarm overtook Sayaka's dreams as she turned to see her phone vibrating and loudly playing a violin riff—one of her least favorite. She wouldn't deign ruining one of her well-liked pieces by using it to force her out of bed each morning.
Groaning, Sayaka silenced the alarm and stood up, wiping the sleep out of her eyes and yawning as headed out to the living room, her eyes squinting reflexively as a few rays of morning sun ambushed them from a nearby window through the clouds. At least, as the days got shorter, there wasn't as much light to contend with outside as there was before. More constant than the sun, however, was Homura, already up and active at her desk reading a newspaper. The very essence of a morning person.
"Good morning." Homura said.
"I can't believe I have work in an hour." Sayaka groaned, stretching dramatically as Homura ignored her. "Can't you just steal money from the yakuza so we can be filthy rich and I don't have to go to work? You stole all those guns from them!"
"I wouldn't chance that." Homura replied, clicking her tongue at the thought of it, "Walpurgis was an emergency situation, I only had so long to prepare and the chaos covered my tracks. If I slip up now, either they or the police would have no trouble finding us and taking away any stability our lives still have. Not to mention they could have counterfeit or marked bills, so even if we get away with stealing it, spending it is another matter. Bullets and shell casings disappear with labyrinths, so I don't have to worry about being traced with my guns unless I'm fighting familiars." Sayaka fixed her with an exhausted look before rubbing her eyes.
"So, it's a maybe?"
"It's a no." Homura shook the newspaper to realign it as Sayaka sighed and turned to make her coffee.
"Eehhhh...fine. A girl can still dream of the glamorous life of a millionaire crime couple on the run." She pouted, rummaging through the cupboards to find a mug that didn't have a raccoon's worth of coffee rings on the rim.
X-x-x-x-x
Sayaka was bored. Really, really bored. Her shift had passed completely uneventfully, and was winding down to the quietest end she had ever had. The only customers in the store were a man looking at music books and a woman playing on her phone near the restrooms. Sayaka busied herself with spinning around on the small wooden stool behind the register, checking the screen every few moments to see if time had advanced. Usually, it hadn't.
Making a mental note to ask Homura if she could speed up time at all with her magic, Sayaka was contemplating grabbing a book from the break room before a chime sounded from the door. Looking over, Sayaka did an immediate double-take when she saw who it was. The luxurious mint-green hair, albeit much shorter than Sayaka remembered it being, the immaculate summer sundress, the perfect posture...Sayaka had to literally cover her mouth to prevent herself from crying out Hitomi's name.
Forcing herself to calm down, Sayaka reminded herself that Hitomi thought she was dead-she had seen Sayaka's body. Feeling her heart racing, Sayaka vowed to at least start up a conversation before she left. Trying not to make her staring too obvious, Sayaka noticed something else-a toddler, about two or three years old, was nestled in the crook of Hitomi's arm. Trying not to jump to assumptions, Sayaka watched them closely as they walked around the store, not even bothering to hide her stare, before finally they approached the register.
"Do you know where I'd find the rosin?" She asked as Sayaka's mouth dried and she looked from Hitomi to the shelf behind her, then back to Hitomi. "Err...for violins?"
"Here...it's here." She finally sputtered, reaching back to grab a box before placing it on the counter. A million questions sprang to mind immediately. How's Kyosuke? Are you still dating? Is this for him? How was high school? What happened to my parents? What about Madoka's little brother? What's with the kid? Unable to think of anything to say, Sayaka just worked her jaw before pointing at Hitomi's haircut.
"Your hair. I, uh, I like your hair." Hitomi reached up to grab a lock of her hair and smiled.
"Why thank you! I like yours as well!..." She gave a soft smile, which Sayaka knew well enough as a tell that she was lying politely. But her eyes were focused entirely on Hitomi, trying to shake away the feeling of strangeness—like the person in front of her wasn't her friend of just a few years prior, but a relic from another life. Someone else's life.
"Do you play?" Sayaka asked, gesturing down at the wrapped amber-colored block on the counter between them. Hitomi chuckled and shook her head.
"No, I'm afraid not, but I have a friend that does and he has a big performance tomorrow; he just lost his." The toddler in her arms stuffed a fist in his mouth and wriggled around as he looked back at a drum set at the far end of the room, slapping the Hitomi's back to get her attention with his slobbery hand.
"Hitomi...drums!" He called out as Hitomi reached up to readjust her grip on the child.
"Not now, we've got to get back." She said, sitting him on the counter briefly as she picked up the rosin to place it in her purse. The toddler turned towards Sayaka and smiled, waving at her.
"Hi!" He chimed at her. Sayaka smiled and waved back, trying to discern any resemblance to Hitomi.
"Hello!..." She finally gave up and turned towards Hitomi. "Is he yours?"
"No, I'm babysitting him as a favor for some family friends." Hitomi said, "He's sweet but he can really be a little troublemaker." The young boy beamed up at Sayaka.
"Awwww, well I think he's cute!" Sayaka said, reaching forward to tickle the toddler under his chin, watching him laugh and gurgle happily as he looked up at her. When she looked directly at him, she felt a twinge of familiarity tickle her right back when she looked at his eyes. One she couldn't place her finger on.
Then it hit her-they were her eyes. Sayaka's blood ran cold as she made the connection.
"What's his name?" She asked, needing to swallow back the sudden tears that threatened her.
"Makoto. Miki Makoto." Hitomi replied as she slung her purse back over her shoulder, scooped up the toddler, and waved at Sayaka. "Thank you for your help! Good-bye!"
"Bye-bye!" Makoto yelled, waving his hand frantically at his estranged sister, who could do little else but stare straight through him.
X-x-x-x-x
Sayaka finished her shift in a numb shock, unable to think, unable to do much of anything. She walked home in a haze and passed Homura, who was preparing dinner.
"Hello." Homura said simply, eyes fixed on the counter "How's sushi for dinner?" When Sayaka didn't answer, Homura turned around. "Sayaka? Did you hear me?" She found Sayaka frozen in the doorway, completely motionless, her eyes glassy, shoulders slumped. Drying off her hands, Homura walked over. "Are you all right?" Sayaka's eyes moved from their thousand-yard stare to Homura.
"I saw Hitomi at the store and she had…" Sayaka trailed off, still trying to blink away her shock.
"Hitomi?" Homura frowned and focused her gaze on the ceiling for a moment. "Oh, Shizuki? From middle school?"
"And-and she had a kid, she had…" Sayaka's hands groped the air as she tried to find a way to impart the feelings the information gave her, her bag slumping off her shoulder as she swallowed and finally managed to form words, "I have a little brother."
"I beg your pardon?" Homura asked, her eyebrows knitting together before she processed what Sayaka said and understood. "Ooh." She breathed, not quite knowing whether she should apologize or celebrate. Sayaka walked over to a chair nearby and collapsed onto it, leaning against the dining room table and slowly shaking her head.
"I...I know that…" She raised a trembling hand to run it across her face, "I know that time didn't stop outside of what we were...what had happened to us, but I just didn't think…" The hand reached up to grip her hair. "God!" She hissed, slamming her foot against the leg of the table. Homura watched her quietly in solidarity, walking over to sit on another chair at the table.
Sayaka buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she started to cry, Homura let her have her moment; a couple of minutes passing before Sayaka wiped her eyes and started to speak again.
"Why!? Did they forget about me? Did they want to?" She sniffled and balled her fists as Homura looked down at the table.
"That's not it, you know it's not." Homura said, her voice taking on a lacquer of softness. "It must have been hard on them to know you had died so young. They must have felt the need to fill that void in their lives. Or maybe they were planning to anyways." Sayaka grit her teeth and looked outside.
"I won't get to see him again. I won't see him grow up...read him books...he'll only ever see pictures of me." Sayaka's fists clenched for a moment as she slammed one against the table. "It's not. fucking. FAIR!" She shouted, punctuating each word with a slam on the table. Homura winced but didn't stop her.
"Maybe you could ask Shizuki to bring him around more often?"
"She'll get suspicious. That girl's clueless but she's sharp when she wants to be." Sayaka stood back up, pacing over to the window in the corner of their living room, which currently overlooked the orange afternoon. "She thinks I'm *dead*, Homura. I *was* dead." She let out a heavy breath. "Did you have any siblings?"
"No."
"Do you ever miss your family?"
"We don't speak." Homura said shortly, leaving it at that. Sayaka nodded in understanding, not pushing the topic further. Homura stepped towards Sayaka, her hands clenching in indecision as she took a small breath in. "I'm sorry, Sayaka. There's not a lot about our situation that is fair. At least you get to know your family's doing well even without you…" Clenching her own teeth and crossing her arms, Homura felt herself sutter as she doubled back, "I-I know it's not a lot, and that fact may hurt too. But it's more comfort than a lot of people around the world get, magical girl or not."
Sayaka lingered by the window a moment longer before, without saying anything, she approached her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around Homura's back, squeezing once. Homura, not quite one for comforting, gave Sayaka an awkward pat on the back before they separated and Sayaka wiped her red-rimmed eyes off on her uniform sleeve before starting towards her room.
"I need to be alone for a while." She muttered. Homura nodded.
"I see. Would you like dinner?"
"I'm not hungry." Sayaka replied, heading into her room and closing the door. Homura stepped forward for a moment, her eyebrows knitting in concern and frustration at her own emotional impotence.
A couple hours eating dinner, Homura walked back into her room and undressed, piling the clothes neatly away at the base of her hamper. Rubbing her bare shoulder, she approached the window and stared out at the lights of Mitakihara—most of them automatically adjusting to their nighttime brightness now as the last rays of sun faded.
She exhaled, wondering if it was more helpful to check on Sayaka or if it was better to leave her alone to process her feelings and be there for her whenever she was ready. Deciding on the latter, Homura headed to bed. Reaching forward, she pulled the covers aside, just enough to slide into them without disturbing the neatness of the sheets. Tugging them up to her shoulders, she closed her eyes, the frigid freshly-born winter air managing to infiltrate the room through the doors of her balcony, sending a shiver down her spine.
She heard the door open behind her quietly, sending a ray of light spilling into the room before quickly closing again. Despite the intruder trying her best, Homura could hear the creak of Sayaka's feet against the floor as she approached the bed.
Opening her eyes, Homura didn't turn around. "Is everything all right, Sayaka?" The creaking footsteps paused before speaking up, sounding uncertain.
"Hey...we-uhh...y'know, we're kind-of dating now. Aaaaaand I was thinking; it doesn't make sense to live in the same apartment and not sleep...in the same bed?" She trailed off a bit at the end, as though bracing herself for a shutdown. Instead, Homura silently sat up, reaching to her right, and pulled down the covers in silent invitation.
Sayaka encroached on the right side of the bed, taking it as a 'yes' and undressed before sliding her legs under the covers. Homura immediately felt her warmth as Sayaka slid in, at first keeping her distance before creamy thighs slowly started pressing against Homura's own.
Homura felt her cheeks darken as Sayaka lay flush against her, sharing body heat, suddenly feeling more awake before getting used to the sensation of her girlfriend's breath against her neck and finding it very accomodating.
"Thank you for saving me the leftovers."
"Of course, it was my turn to cook." Homura said, finding safety in her bedfellow.
"And for being there for me." Sayaka replied, leaning in to press her face against the nape of Homura's neck. A moment of silence passed between the two of them before Homura spoke up again.
"We need to be there for one-another. Sometimes with all the strangeness of our lives, we're the only ones who can be." Homura murmured, reaching down to grasp Sayaka's hand and give it a soft squeeze. Sayaka didn't respond, looking at the back of her girlfriend's head. Sayaka briefly contemplated asking Homura what kind of life she left behind becoming a magical girl, but decided to let uncrossed paths lay in the past and closed her eyes, sleep taking the pair quickly,
x-x-x-x-x
Homura woke up facing her girlfriend, who had a grin stretched so widely over her face it instantly sent Homura into full suspicion mode.
"...what?"
"You snore." Frowning, Homura reached up to push a lock of hair behind her ear.
"I do not."
"Well you snored last night," Sayaka said before raising a hand defensively, "Hey, it's okay, Kyouko sounded like a bulldozer and I managed to sleep through that. Just thought I'd point it out." Homura sat up and slid off the bed, miffed as Sayaka called after her. "Awww come on! It's fine Homura, you're human." Swallowing her embarrassment, Homura turned around and eyed Sayaka up and down.
"You look like you're feeling better." Sayaka took a deep breath in and let it out in a long, slow exhale that seemed to deflate her form as she visibly slouched, reaching down to grab her feet and pull herself up into a sitting position.
"Kind of. I'm not really sure I'll ever get over my family thinking I'm dead and moving on with their lives. But I feel a little bit better. "
"That's not the sort of thing anyone 'gets over'." Homura replied, seeing Sayaka's eyes well up with tears
"Yeah…". "Things sure are messed-up for us, huh?" Homura nodded softly
"They are. But you're the one who taught me that despite that, we need to make the most of it." Homura walked over to Sayaka's side of the bed and offered her a hand. "We keep living life, right?" Sayaka contemplated the hand, looking up at Homura. Homura who didn't even know what had become of her family, who *did* know what horrible fate had befallen the one girl she'd hinged her entire future on but was still here before her. Sayaka's posture didn't raise at all, but she looped up, smiled, and wiped off her eyes. Standing up, she grabbed Homura's hand and used it to hoist herself off the bed, lacing their hands together and leading her out of the bedroom.
"You're making us pancakes this morning."
"But I made-" Homura looked like she was about to retort but thought better of it and sighed. "I suppose I should be thankful all it takes is food to perk you up." Sayaka laughed and washed her hands, getting ready to offer company and whisking support before she caught sight of the city outside the window.
She wondered to herself what Makoto, her newly-discovered little brother, was getting up to that day, and hoped it was something fulfilling, letting her imagination take her towards her family finding a new routine and happiness with him. Before she could get too lost in her thoughts, the sound of an egg tapping against the counter broke the bittersweet fantasies and brought her spiraling right back to the kitchen.
A.N. Thank you as always for your comments and boosting Forget-me-Not! All of your encouragement really helps give me the drive to finish the story!