Last chapter was Sayaka's. This chapter is Kyouko's. Hope this doesn't seem too out of the blue. Enjoy if you can.
Early morning, northeastern quadrant of Atlas City, nondescript apartment ...
Kyouko awoke that morning feeling a mind-numbing ache in her head as she sat up, no doubt a product of her time getting drunk at a party last night. She barely remembered it but she was sure it was fun. Her mind had not caught up with that fact, however, and was still wondering why she smelled lavender in her sheets. She didn't own lavender-scented anything.
She groggily sat up, the blanket sliding off her as she did so. A shiver ran through her as her bare skin was exposed to the cold. She looked around the similarly bare apartment room. Her eyes quickly zeroed in on the only bit of color in view: A mint green jacket neatly folded over, sitting on a chair next to the bed — along with her underwear, shirt, and pants.
It wasn't hard to figure out that she wasn't in her own apartment. Nor was it hard to figure out what had happened the previous night.
"I wonder who I slept with," she muttered to herself as she grabbed her clothes. "Only one way to find out, I guess."
With that, she threw on her underwear and jacket and made for the door.
As she stepped out, she was immediately assaulted by the mingling sounds and smells of sizzling meat and vegetables. "Good morning, Kyouko Sakura," a familiar voice called from the kitchen.
Kyouko nearly laughed like a stunned hysteria upon realizing who it was she had slept with. But she knew how early it was so she suppressed the urge, settling with a satisfied grin. She entered the kitchen and addressed the owner of the voice.
"Hom, you're gonna have to catch me up. What the fuck happened last night?"
"Must I say the obvious?" Homura asked from her place at the stove.
"Well, I know I somehow got you in bed with me," Kyouko replied with a smirk, leaning on the kitchen table. "Though, I don't think it was because of my good looks. It can't be that obvious, right?"
Homura spared Kyouko a glance. "Perhaps you should take a look in the mirror. Your bed hair is atrocious." She returned her attention to her cooking. "And would it kill you to finish dressing up before leaving the bedroom?"
Kyouko merely laughed. "What? Don't like what you see?"
Homura did not reply.
Kyouko then eyed the three clear plastic containers filled with ground coffee, sugar, and creamer. "Hey, uh, can I make myself a cup?"
"Hmm?" Homura gave another cursory glance at Kyouko, catching what she was eyeing and immediately understanding. "Get a mug. The thermos is by the sink."
Kyouko grunted in acknowledgement and got to making herself some coffee. As she did so, she noticed the oddly cute pajamas that Homura was sporting. They were a black cotton button up shirt and matching pants, the shirt looking to be a comfortable one size too big. Kyouko found herself staring all too obviously at the way the shirt hung off of Homura's shoulders. The sight occupied her mind while she stirred of her drink.
Easy, there. You literally just woke up. Have a little self control, Kyouko thought hastily before sitting down and taking a sip of her drink.
"Good shit," she sighed in satisfaction. "Now where was I...?"
In a matter of a minute, she had already lost her train of thought. She had to pause for another minute to get back on track.
She snapped her fingers. "Oh right. What the fuck possessed you to sleep with me? I know I'm a smooth, charming, and charismatic drunk-"
"Debatable," Homura muttered questioningly at the word choice.
"But I don't think that was all it was. You just don't seem like the kinda person who'd just sleep with someone like that, you know?"
"Wrong assumptions have killed smarter huntresses, Kyouko," Homura said dryly as she shut off the stove. Shortly after, she set down a plate of stir fry chicken and vegetables as well as two bowls of rice on the table.
Kyouko raised her eyebrows at the Mistral-style breakfast but did not complain — especially when her bowl had noticeably more rice. Homura seemed to be full of surprises that morning. Kyouko picked up one of the spoons on the table and dug in with gusto. Homura took a seat and did the same.
Conversation paused for a moment while the two ate. In that time, Kyouko noted the faded kiss marks around the base of Homura's neck, right near the collarbone. Aura could heal such a mark within minutes and yet Homura chose not to do so. It was hard for Kyouko not to stare. It was quite distracting.
After Kyouko finished eating her food, she downed the remains of her coffee and looked at Homura seriously. "Okay, I'm gonna ask again, and you're going to give me a straight answer. Don't dodge the question. Why'd you agree to have sex with me last night?"
Homura returned the stare in dead silence as she continued to chew her food. After swallowing, she spoke. "I am human and I have needs, Kyouko. And last night, you were the one who satisfied one of them."
Kyouko blinked as she parsed those words. She then smiled wryly. "Was that a compliment?"
"No, but I'm sure you're going to take it as one." Homura sighed and gently laid down her spoon over her bowl — still filled with rice, though only a few spoonfuls worth. "Why is this so surprising to you, Kyouko?" she asked tiredly.
"Because I don't remember a thing that happened, Hom! I was fucking wasted! How hard is that to understand?"
If Homura was taken aback by the outburst, it didn't show. "You would've remembered if you just used your aura to flush the alcohol out of your body."
"Man, you're a pain in the ass. Just spill the beans already! What. Is. The story?"
Homura sighed once more. "Might as well..."
The previous day, early morning, Atlas Training Arena B...
The room was filled with the sounds of gunfire and metal hitting metal as red and yellow blurs danced across the arena floor.
Kyouko slammed face first into the ground with her arm twisted behind her. She could feel the barrel of one of Mami's shotgun-batons pressed against the back of her head. "Dead again, Kyouko."
"Think so?" Kyouko grunted as she materialized a barrier on her back which shot upward, pushing Mami off.
No longer weighed down, Kyouko rolled over and jumped to her feet, once again taking a battle stance with her spear.
"A new technique," Mami noted. "Interesting."
"You'd be surprised how much you can do with a barrier semblance." Kyouko smirked. "Seriously, though, you wouldn't believe how long it took me to get it doing stuff like that."
Mami chuckled. "On the contrary, semblance development at our age is notoriously time consuming. It's quite impressive how quickly you're adapting your latticework barriers to counter my fighting style."
"Yeah," Kyouko said in agreement. "Thanks!" She lunged forward to resume the battle.
The two clashed once more, Kyouko spinning her spear wildly as Mami danced around the attacks. With fluid motions, she'd swing her shotgun-batons to block and counterattack only to be blocked in return by a small barrier erected just as the trigger was pulled.
It was an intense exchange that lasted only five seconds before they broke apart. It took all of Kyouko's concentration to fight Mami to a standstill. She wasn't at a point yet where she could make use of her higher-density barriers without thinking.
Mami smiled. "I'm starting to think you might actually have a chance of beating me at full strength now given how well you're compensating for your inherent... disadvantages..."
Kyouko frowned. "Say what now? You're still holding back?"
Mami raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to render you weaponless at the start of every engagement? Because if you want me to go all out, that's exactly what I'll do."
"Uhhhg. This whole hard-counter thing is really getting on my nerves."
"That's life, Kyouko. It's not fair."
"Oh, shut up."
With that, Kyouko lunged again.
The two of them continued their sparring session for another fifteen minutes, after which, they made for the locker room to shower and change.
"So, about that charity event next week," Kyouko began as she threw on her green jacket and closed her locker. "Why exactly are you giving me Homura's invitation again?"
"Hmm." Mami hummed with a hint of annoyance — or at least Kyouko assumed it was annoyance. She began buttoning up her academy instructor's uniform. "I do believe that, between the two of us, you are closer to Miss Akemi than I am. I'm sure she'd be more willing to come if you were the one who invited her."
"Okay, if you're still mad about the whole taking her out to dinner thing, it was a bet that I-"
"It's fine, Kyouko," Mami cut her off with a dismissive wave. "If I didn't expect you to go after another woman, I'd be much more upset than I am now."
Kyouko stared blankly at the statement. "Wait, you expected me to... Mami, what...?"
Mami ignored Kyouko's confusion. "In any case, since it's Homura, I think it's fine. You've had this weird fascination with her since that bunker mission two months ago. And I will admit, I'm more than a little interested in her myself."
Kyouko's mouth was agape. "I... I don't know how to respond to that."
Mami closed her locker and patted both of Kyouko's cheeks. "Don't respond. Just give her the invitation and get her to come. Now, I have duties to attend to. I'll see you in a few hours."
With that, Mami walked out of the locker room, leaving Kyouko to awkwardly rub her face, watching Mami disappear from view.
Mid Morning, streets of Atlas City...
Kyouko exited a small bakery, one arm slinging a bag full of assorted pastries, the other holding a blueberry muffin that she had already bitten out of. It was a good muffin — light and fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness to fill her mouth with flavor without overwhelming her.
"Good shit," she muttered with a satisfied sigh. She had stuffed the rest of the muffin in her mouth and swallowed. She then pulled out her scroll, noting the message that Mami had sent her.
Her good mood quickly soured.
[From: Mami Tomoe
Subject: Volunteer Class Instruction
This is a reminder that you have volunteered to assist in the practical instruction of Atlas Academy students regarding "Aura Projection, Channeling, and Manipulation". Please be at Training Arena C at 11:00 today.
Your cooperation will be appreciated.]
Kyouko snorted. The message was concise, professional, and absolutely humorless. If there was ever a side of Mami that Kyouko hated, this was one of them — the no-nonsense, stick-up-ass, military side of her.
Kyouko sighed and dug into her bag of pastries, specifically looking for another muffin.
When she had volunteered to help, she didn't expect it to be so formal. Something like a short talk and demonstration was one thing. Actually drilling kids and forcing them to develop their techniques? No. That just wasn't her thing. She had tried being a combat instructor at Shade before. Things had not gone well. She wasn't about to try again.
She bit into another muffin — pumpkin, this time. "Just what do they expect me to teach them?" she muttered to herself. "I'm not even all that good at working with my own aura."
Kyouko chewed thoughtfully, walking as she did so. She didn't really have a destination in mind.
Everyone had aura manipulation. Everyone had an instinctive, if basic, knowledge of how to use it. Projecting it outward like shield; using it to accelerate healing; channeling it through weapons and body parts for augmented attacks — All of these techniques didn't really need to be taught to people.
Could they be improved and diversified with practice and experimentation? Yes. Absolutely. Self-compliment aside, Kyouko herself was a excellent example of that.
But they still were not taught.
What then was there left for Kyouko to teach? Other than going all drill-sergeant on those kids, there wasn't much Kyouko could help with.
With a shake of her head, Kyouko continued wandering, still chewing both her food and her thoughts.
Noon, Atlas Training Arena C...
Kyouko found that her job wasn't really to teach people at all. "Assisting the instruction of students" apparently meant beating the shit out of them which Kyouko was absolutely fine with.
What made it better was the fact that a number of them also used chain weapons like her spear. Her current opponent was one such student, an armored knight girl wielding an axe attached to a length of chain. It was able to shoot bursts of low caliber bullets.
The way that the knight manipulated her weapon was also quite similar to the way Kyouko used her chain spear. Aura was clearly being channelled through the chains, forcing them to move and react in specific ways.
With a smirk, Kyouko coiled her spear around her opponent's axe, tangling the chains into a chaotic mess. She then wrestled the weapons out of both their arms and slammed her palm onto the knight girl's breastplate. The blow was not only aura-augmented but also sent out a large pulse of that very same aura out of her hand upon impact to further increase its power.
The knight girl stumbled back a few steps before collapsing to the floor, her metal plate armor vibrating violently. Kyouko nearly laughed at this.
There was a sigh from one of the instructors who pulled out his scroll and muttered, "Can we get another stretcher? Sakura knocked out a student... Yes, again..."
Kyouko chuckled and turned to the students sitting on the bleachers. They fidgeted as her eyes passed over them. Kyouko had to suppress a smile of mirth. They were so nervous. So cute.
"Can anyone tell me what she did wrong?" Kyouko asked them casually. None of them responded.
She gave the instructor a raised eyebrow. "Really? You didn't think to tell them?" The instructor sighed again and shook his head. Kyouko shrugged. "Basic stuff, man. You better be paying me a bonus for this or something."
The instructor took a deep breath and started typing something on his scroll.
Kyouko returned her attention to the students. "Look, guys, I know this class is about aura and stuff but you gotta be smart about this." She gestured to the unconscious student. "Knight girl over here was wasting aura to make her armor tougher. The hit I gave her was stronger than her armor could take so her aura kicked in. It kicked in too hard, drained her too fast, and now she's down and out.
"If you're gonna be wearing armor, you might as well use it as armor. Sure, maybe a heavy blow'll dent it or a sharp stabby-thing'll pierce through it but that doesn't matter. The armor isn't your main form of defense. Your aura is. The armor's just a second layer. The armor's only there so you don't lose as much aura when you get hit. If you waste aura to make your armor tougher, you're kinda missing the point."
The medical staff arrived with the stretcher to carry the knight off. Kyouko watched the unconscious knight exit the arena.
"But don't get me wrong," Kyouko added. "Most armor would completely crumple like cardboard from the blow I gave her. I probably would've knocked her out anyways." She then tilted her head. "Though now that I think about it, she really should've just dodged. I wasn't moving that fast."
Murmurs started up among the students once more as they began to discuss what Kyouko just told them. She turned to the instructor who gestured for her to keep going.
"Anyway, next match!"
Later...
After the session, Kyouko took a quick shower to wash of the sweat she had barely broken. She had already taken one that morning but she felt better taking another one after something strenuous — even something marginally strenuous like beating up children.
"They aren't children, Kyouko," Mami called out from the benches.
"Yes they are," Kyouko called back.
"All of them are legally adults. You already know this."
Kyouko shut off the shower head and leaned her head out of the cubicle. She shot Mami a smirk. "They could be less than five years younger than me and they'd still be children."
Mami smiled thinly. "By that logic, you probably have a thing for kids. After all, isn't Miss Akemi younger than you?"
Kyouko's smirk immediately turned into a frown. "Oh shut up," she grumbled, exiting the cubicle. She grabbed a towel from a nearby basket and and started drying her hair. "You know it's not like that between me and Hom."
Mami made a teasing hum. "Not like what, exactly?" she asked in mock innocence. "Not like us?"
Kyouko rolled her eyes and headed to her locker. "We're just friends, Mami. Nothing more."
Mami giggled. "That most definitely sounds like us, though."
Kyouko groaned. "Can't you just cut it out already?" She crumpled up the towel and threw it at Mami's head. The yellow target easily leaned sideways to dodge the cloth projectile.
"The fuck is the issue, Mami? Are you just jealous?"
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous," Mami said, leaning further until she was laying on her she on the bench, head propped up with her arm. "But that's not really it."
Kyouko's frown deepened as she began putting on some clothes. "What is it, then?"
"You know, at first, I thought you only insisted I was just your friend because you wanted to maintain my reputation. It certainly made sense. Generally, workplace romances aren't looked highly upon. But hearing you talk just now, that's probably not the case. You're like that with everyone you seduce, aren't you?"
Mami paused to allow Kyouko to respond. Kyouko remained silent. She only punctuated said silence by zipping up her pants, after which, she began putting on her top. Obviously Mami wasn't getting an answer.
Mami sighed. "Actually, no. You're like that with everyone, period. Other than me, the only other person you talk to is Homura and you're the same with her. You don't let anyone get close. It's kind of disappointing."
Now fully clothed, Kyouko slung her jacket and bag over her shoulder and shut her locker with a metallic click. "The fuck's up with this psycho-analysis bullshit, Mami?"
She then sensed Mami throw something which Kyouko caught easily. It was a scroll. Kyouko turned and eyed Mami curiously.
Mami was once again sitting up, straight backed and straight faced. "Read it," she said.
Kyouko did so, nodding slowly and she swiped through the text.
It was a message from one of Mami's superiors received just a few hours prior. It was an order to confront Kyouko regarding certain concerning behaviors observed by Atlas military psychologists. She was to convince Kyouko to submit to a session of counselling.
Kyouko glared at the screen before tossing the scroll back to Mami. "Why?"
Mami once again smiled thinly as she put away the scroll. "Why what? Why someone needed to talk to you about this? Why that someone needed to be me? The answers to those were in the message but if you skipped past them, I could explain."
Kyouko crossed her arms and leaned against her locker. "Why now of all times? Couldn't this wait til' later?"
Mami closed her eyes. "Mmm. It probably could have waited but my orders were to bring it up as soon as it was convenient." She opened one eye and gestured around to the empty locker room. "We're alone and I have an hour-long break. I'd wager this is a very convenient time."
Kyouko stared flatly. "Not it's not."
"Nothing in my orders said it had to be convenient for you."
Kyouko rolled her eyes once more and shrugged. "Fuck this. I'm out." She made for the door.
"Even if you leave, this won't be the last time I bring this up," Mami called, not moving from her place on the bench. "The next time you and I are alone together, I'm obligated to bring this topic up again. And if you start avoiding me because of this, they'll decide to send someone else. Make this easier on yourself and comply."
"Why should I?"
"They're not gonna try and fix you. They just want to know the cause and how it's going to affect you. It's for your sake and, by extension, for the sake of everyone else you work with. Please, Kyouko."
Kyouko stopped at the door, holding her stride with only one foot across threshold. Mami had made a convincing argument but that still didn't make up for the fact that it was still a pain in the ass.
"Who... will be able to see my profile...?"
"Just the people who have clearance. With very few exceptions, only your designated psychologist should have that."
Kyouko tilted her head slightly."Exceptions like you?"
Mami chuckled. "Never had access to it in the first place. All of that was just a huntress' intuition."
Kyouko pursed her lips. She believed her... And she couldn't really believe that she believed her...
"A week... Give me a week..."
Mami didn't reply but Kyouko heard the distinct tapping of keys on a scroll. Kyouko didn't bother looking back and continued out of the locker room.
That definitely put a damper on her day. Hopefully, her fight with Winter would cheer her up a bit...
Late Afternoon, hallways outside of Atlas Training Arena A...
Kyouko tapped her foot impatiently as she and Homura waited for Sayaka's steps to fade into the distance. Hilariously, Sayaka had actually been trying to be stealthy as she walked away. Kyouko felt her aura signature in the stands since she exited the arena. If she were trying to be sneaky, she shouldn't have been casually letting her aura just leak out of her.
"So... why exactly were we waiting for Miki to leave?" Kyouko muttered, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall.
Homura did not face Kyouko when she replied, still watching the corner Sayaka had been hiding behind. "Let's just say I had a feeling about what she wanted to talk about and I was unwilling to talk about it."
Kyouko chuckled. "Well, what's new? You've got that aloof and mysterious image to keep up. Probably more convenient to just prevent her from asking you in the first place than dodge the question and be the pain in the ass you always are."
Homura scowled at that last comment but did not voice her own.
Kyouko shot her fanged grin. "Lemme guess. She wanted to know about Winter requesting you spar with her."
"What else?"
This reply caused Kyouko to cackle. "My god, Hom. Keep that up and everyone's gonna be lining up to fight you."
Homura pursed her lips. "I'd really rather not imagine so," she muttered, seeming to tremble with annoyance at the very thought. She then ran a hand through her hair and began walking away, no doubt towards the exit. "In any case what was this about a charity event?"
Kyouko blinked, realizing how far they had gotten off track. "Oh, yeah... That..." She quickly moved to follow, matching Homura's pace.
"Mami got contacted a few days ago by some sorta corporation. It had the word 'health' in the name I think...?"
"Remnant Health Organization?"
"Yeah. That's the one." Kyouko raised an eyebrow. "How the fuck did you guess that with just one word?"
Homura snorted, rolling her eyes. "Does it matter?"
Kyouko shrugged. "Guess not," she muttered. "They're doing some sort of kick-off party for a charity fundraiser event they're doing here in Atlas. Wanted huntsmen and huntresses to attend — at least one from each of the kingdoms. Obviously I'm going to rep Vacuou. You're first pick to rep Vale."
"And Mistral?"
Kyouko gave Homura a look. "Do I look like I'd know?"
Homura returned the look stoically, opting to ignore the question.
They quickly arrived at the lobby, tapping their IDs against the door scanner on their way out. There wasn't much of a crowd to elbow through since most of them were still at the stands watching the rest of the matches. They were easily able to exit the building.
"I'm not sure if I'll be able to attend. I'm rather busy this week," Homura said, pulling out her scroll to check something.
Kyouko peeked over Homura's shoulder to see and saw an almost completely filled schedule on her calendar app.
"What do you even do that you're so busy?" Kyouko mumbled, eyebrow raised curiously.
Homura quickly put away her scroll and eyed Kyouko with annoyance. Kyouko even heard a faint but aggressive growl from the stoic.
Kyouko quickly stepped back, hands raised in surrender. "Hey, don't blame me for asking. You hang out with me for a few hours and drop off the fucking map for the rest of the day. Obviously you're not avoiding me but..." she scratched her head, not sure how to continue her train of thought.
Homura regarded Kyouko's question for a moment before turning away, answering, "I work." She began walking away.
Once again, Kyouko moved to follow. "Work? Work? Look, Hom, if you're constantly doing missions, I think you need to get a hobby."
Homura turned just enough to shoot Kyouko a brief glare. She did not stop walking.
Kyouko fished a packet of gum from her jacket, popping a strip in her mouth. "You need to lighten up." She began chewing. "Just saying."
Homura growled once again but was significantly less aggressive — more suggesting a tired annoyance than anything else. She sighed, seeming to give up. "I work part-time for Atlas Research and Development. When I'm not on a mission, I'm usually helping scientists in a lab."
"Ohhhh, science-y stuff. That's different, I guess." Kyouko shrugged. She casually jumped onto a wall and had been walking along its edge. "They building a time machine or something?"
"Or something," Homura replied flatly. "How did you even come up with 'Time Machine'? That's absurd. And get off that, will you?"
"You got time powers, right?" Kyouko asked, both arms lazily flapping in her jacket pockets, ignoring that last scolding remark. "Not that much of a stretch to think they're making a time machine."
Homura let a her expression turn to a wary look of surprise. Kyouko noticed this and quickly guessed what Homura was surprised about.
"Were you trying to keep your semblance a secret?"
Homura stared ever stoically before returning her gaze forward. "It was never a secret. I'm just surprised you figured it out. Everyone always assumes it's a speed semblance."
Kyouko chewed thoughtfully before dropping back down to the sidewalk. They had reached an intersection.
"Not gonna lie, when I saw you fight earlier, nothing you did made sense for a speed semblance. Instant acceleration? No sense of momentum? Fuck, you even unloaded two pistol magazines into Winter in half a second without jamming the thing. Speed semblances don't do that."
Homura tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for traffic to abate. "So your first guess was time dilation?"
"What? It makes sense, doesn't it?"
Homura sighed once more. "Well, I suppose you're not wrong. Consider me impressed."
Kyouko managed a smirk. "Hey, I've got the right kind of smarts to be a huntress. I'm pretty quick on the draw."
Homura snorted. "Have I ever alluded to otherwise?"
Kyouko blinked, staring blankly for a moment before her smirk returned. "Was that a compliment?"
"No," Homura replied immediately, lacking in as much tone as she lacked amusement in her expression. "But I'm sure you'll take it as one."
The the pedestrian traffic light had turned green and they crossed the intersection. Or at least they crossed halfway before Homura stopped in the middle of the street.
"Kyouko, what is this about?"
"Huh? What are you-"
Kyouko felt a burst of aura from Homura who jumped to the second story rooftop of a nearby building.
"Homura, what the fuck?" Kyouko quickly tailed her, channeling aura into her legs for an augmented jump as well.
Immediately after her boots hit the concrete of the roof, Homura addressed her.
"You've followed me around the city, wasted twelve minutes and twenty one seconds of my time with meandering conversation, and you've been releasing aura like you're about to fight me since we left the arena. There is a problem. What is it?"
Kyouko instinctively took a step back, mouth slightly agape. "Uh...?"
"You didn't used to hound me to this degree, Kyouko. There is a problem."
Kyouko's mind raced in an attempt to determine what Homura was talking about. Yes, everything that Homura said was true. Kyouko had been walking with Homura. They were talking for a pretty long time — longer than they usually do, at least. She was also releasing a lot of aura which, admittedly, did make it seem like she wanted to fight. She did not. She was still recovering from her match with Winter and her aura was working double time to repair the damage to her nerves caused by Winter's paralysis glyph. She didn't want to fight, at least not at the moment.
But aside from that last one, why would any of it be a problem? Kyouko just wanted to spend time with Homura. Was that too much to ask?
"I don't have time, Kyouko."
The two shared a look.
"I swear, if you make a pun about my time powers-"
Kyouko took another step back, quickly waving her hands in dismissal. "No no, I won't, geeze!"
"What is the problem, Kyouko? Are you having a rough spot with your relationship with Major Tomoe? Jumping to a different ship to avoid dealing with it?"
"Hey, now. I told you we're just friends-"
"I'm not wasting my time with this," Homura snapped, turning away. "Whatever your issues are, deal with them on your own. Don't drag me into them."
Homura began the motions of another augmented jump. Kyouko lunged forward to grab Homura's arm before she could do so.
"Wait wait wait."
"What is it, Kyouko?"
"Can we talk...? I know you said to keep you out of it but... I think I need help with this..."
Homura looked back and stared, face cold and uncaring, no doubt analyzing what Kyouko's motives were. And yet, Kyouko could see in her stormy purple eyes that she was also conflicted.
"I'm not the right person for this, Kyouko." Homura's expression softened as she turned away. "But I'm free seven tonight. I'll be at Central Plaza south, same place as last time."
Kyouko blinked. "I... uh... yeah... Guess it's a date..."
Homura regarded the wording for a moment but did not comment.
"Please let me go."
Kyouko quickly released her. "Right."
Homura wordlessly jumped away.
Now alone on the roof, Kyouko kick feebly at ground as she watched Homura shrink into the distance. "I called it a date." She sighed and shook her head, palming her face. "What the fuck is wrong with me...?"
End of Chapter
This chapter was mostly set up for next chapter, to be told from Homura's perspective.
So, this chapter's focused mostly on Kyouko. I've made it a point to show what her relationship is with the relevant characters and this is the chapter where I start shaking them up.
Firstly, Mami.
I made no effort to hide Kyouko and Mami's relationship. I did not, however, go into detail. I won't spoil anything but Kyouko's not exactly in the healthiest of relationships with Mami. More on that in a future chapter.
Now, regarding Homura.
I've always painted Kyouko's relationship with Homura in this story as odd yet friendly. There's never been the feeling that they were professional with each other, mostly due to Kyouko's casual lack of professionalism, but they always kept each other at arms'-length — always close, but not too close. Between the bonding moments the two had shared over the past few chapters and the events of the date that was set up this chapter, the distance between them had shrunk to the point where Homura felt close enough to Kyouko that they'd sleep with each other.
Homura acting less guarded around Kyouko is actually a result of Kyouko taking her out to dinner. It's something I kinda wanted to show off more before this but there have been limited opportunities for me to do so between chapter 8 and this one (chapter 9 was Homura's first Big Reveal™ and chapter 10 was the Sayaka chapter.) Oh well. I'll have plenty of opportunities to better show off their new dynamic next chapter.
Some other stray thoughts:
Mami's mischievous side was really fun to write. I believe she can be extremely petty and childish when it suits her and she's absolutely adorable when she does. I should write her being a little shit more often.
It was also really fun writing about Kyouko making life hell for the instructors and students at Atlas. I don't know what it is about these characters teaching kids to fight that's so endearing to me. Kyouko's done it. Mami does it. Winter does it. Hell, even Homura did it in the flashbacks with Madoka.
Thank you to PUM (Asianpotter1) and Zaulte (FalseAlarm00) for doing a second and third pass for grammar and spelling.
I'll end this note here. I'll see you all in the next chapter.