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[Chapter 15: Of Deals and Acquaintances]

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Mami looked at Sayaka and Kyoko who were sitting in a separate lounge space reserved for group chats in a corner of the room. Kyoko was sitting still, and the other girl was leaning on her friend's shoulder, seemingly deep in slumber.

It was an odd sight up-close, Mami thought to herself. She wasn't accustomed to seeing her friends sleeping. Kyoko immediately darted her eyes at the blonde when she had come close, and relaxed once she saw it was just Mami. Her eyes fell on Sayaka's face again, as she leaned back against the couch. The bluenette was resting her head on Kyoko's shoulder, and the latter did her best in not waking her up.

"Hello, Sakura-san," Mami said, trying to not talk so loud as to wake Sayaka. "You two enjoying yourselves tonight?"

Kyoko's gaze reverted back to Mami and she maintained her unmoving torso.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Mami noticed Kyoko's face was filled with worry.

"Something amiss?" Mami asked, taking a seat opposite to Kyoko. "If something is bothering you, I can listen. I might not be able to solve it, but sharing may help."

Kyoko noticed Mami's frown, and she smiled.

"Nah, its fine," Kyoko said. "I am doing okay. I'm just worried about Sayaka is all."

The hotheaded teen looked calm and collected, as she stared at Sayaka's sleeping face. She decided to tell Mami about her worries after all.

"The thing is," Kyoko started. "We met Hitomi the other day. When we were out in the market to buy some hairclips."

Mami took a deep breath and took the seat at Kyoko's opposite. The readhead then proceeded to tell her friend the details of the day in question.


"No, I'm just saying I'll wait for the second season to come out before I catch up on the Manga," Sayaka said with the utmost confidence. "Anime is a superior form of entertainment after all."

"I get it. You wanna be patient an' all. But that was fuckin' out of line," Kyoko frowned and retorted, as if her base principles were in risk. "Manga is better in every way. Its the fuckin' source, I tell ya."

"Fuck no," Sayaka said, a smug grin on her face. "Anime's superiority applies as long as you watch the cherry picked series after going through all the online reviews."

Kyoko was at a loss. Whenever technology was at play, she would automatically lose an argument. But today, she didn't want to lose. Not even a bit.

The two continued to walk down the road, towards the mall. They were almost near the plaza when Kyoko tried her best to come up with a decent counter-argument.

"So what," she said, trying to find some leverage in logic. "I can say the same about Manga too."

Sayaka's eye twitched. Kyoko, being well versed in the ways of Sayaka's subtle expressions, knew that she was close to victory.

"But, compared to the stunning vis-"

Kyoko's head turned to Sayaka as the latter stopped dead in her tracks. The readhead frowned, and non-verbally asked what was wrong? Sayaka did not answer. Nor did her gaze shift from the thing she was looking at.

Kyoko started to worry. Sayaka looked as if she had just seen a ghost. The readhead followed her line of sight, until she found exactly what Sayaka was looking at. It was a boy and a girl, both about their age. Kyoko never saw them before, so she was mostly clueless about Sayaka's thoughts.

However, when the two came near, the boy called out to Sayaka, in a way that would make anyone certain that the two were close friends.

Sayaka swallowed down her reluctance in a brief moment of panic, before she answered to the call.

"Kyosuke."

It was a meek voice, just low in volume, but not weak. Almost akin to a whisper.

But everyone heard it. Even Kyoko.

The redhead began to piece everything together. Sayaka once told her about how Kyosuke and Sayaka were on good terms, and how another girl created some form of rift between the two without even knowing. Her eyes darted towards the girl who was standing near the boy.

Green, seaweed-like hair, tied into a decent looking braid that fell down the front of her shoulder. Her clothes weren't very fancy. Just a pair of grey shorts and a navy blue t-shirt that said something in English. Kyoko's English was not very good. She could identify the letters from her t-shirt, but she couldn't tell what it meant or said. The girl had an odd air about her. It was as if she carried a surreal amount of wisdom. Maybe it was a certain glint in her eyes that gave that sort of impression, or maybe it was her posture.

She was also wearing a pair of glasses, with a slim frame.

Kyoko could figure who this was, or at least, she could take her best guess.

Hitomi.

The girl that trampled on Sayaka's heart three years back, and wasn't even aware of it. Kyoko knew she was letting her own feelings towards Sayaka cloud her judgement and make her irrationally angry. In fact, she was perfectly aware that Hitomi never did anything bad to Sayaka on purpose. She never knew of Sayaka's unrequited feelings.

Kyoko took a deep breath and looked at Sayaka, who looked stunned, answering 'yes' or 'no' to any and all of Kyosuke's words. The redhead chuckled inwardly, and knew that she was worrying over nothing. Rifts, friendships, unrequited feelings, it was all in the past.

Also, if she did not step in to save Sayaka at this time, who would?

"Umm," Kyoko started, trying to supress he dialect. "Want to introduce me to them, Sayaka?"

It was out of nature for Kyoko to act so civilized. It would have made her sick to do it any other day. But now, it was going to serve a purpose. And thankfully, it paid off.

Sayaka broke out of her trance, and regained her bearings.

"O-oh, ummm... Kyoko," Sayaka started, licking her top lip in nervousness. "This is Kyosuke and that is Hitomi." Sayaka's gaze traveled towards Hitomi, who was waving hello with both her hands. She sighed and continued. "Guys, this is my friend Kyoko."

The redhead was used to being called Sayaka's friend and nothing more. It hurt before, but now, it was as if she was numb. She had grown to accept the words for now. She was hopeful for the future when she would no longer be Sayaka's 'friend'. It made her heart flutter and her stomach warm.

"Hey there, uhh... Kyoko-san," Kyosuke said, clearly conflicted about calling a girl by her first name. Kyoko snickered inwardly at the boy's anguish. She wasn't a sadist, but for this occasion, she was willing to make an exception.

"Yeah, hey Kyosuke," Kyoko held back the desire to laugh as she added fuel to the flame. The boy was now out of words to say. His mouth wavered and his eyes were stuck in a frown as he tried to process the fact that a random girl on the street was being so familiar with him.

Hitomi noticed the look of mild sadism in Kyoko's eyes, and the lost expression that Sayaka wore on her face. Clearly, they were not going anywhere without a push.

"Ah," Hitomi started, grabbing the attention of all three people. "Lets catch up over some ice-cream! I know a place that sells the best ones. Sayaka-san and Kyoko-san, you come too."

Kyoko mentally thanked Hitomi for removing some of the awkwardness Sayaka was feeling. But she also felt a bit sad that her time subtly torturing Kyosuke's morals were over. Well, like all good things, it must come to an end. Kyoko understood this, so she sighed and followed Sayaka and Kyosuke to the shop Hitomi led them towards.

Kyosuke was the first to speak up when all of them were at the entrance of the ice-cream parlor.

"Hitomi-san," he said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'll go buy the staff paper now. You guys start eating. I'll be back in a while. Don't wait for me."

Sayaka hummed a positive response, and Hitomi just gave him a thumbs-up. Kyoko didn't care. She was enamored by the display of wonderful flavors of ice-cream she never knew existed.

The three of them sat at an empty table meant for four. The seat beside Hitomi was untaken, while Kyoko and Sayaka sat facing her. Kyoko was already nose-deep in the menu, trying to choose between several mouth watering flavors. Sayaka smiled at Kyoko's display of childishness, and was blissfully unaware of the fact that the redhead kept her eyes and ears peeled in careful observation.

"So," Hitomi was the first to break the silence. "I was out of the city for a while. What's new about Miki Sayaka?"

"You were gone for less than a year, so not much has changed for me," Sayaka said as she sighed. She finally broke out of her awkwardness, probably due to the fact that Kyosuke was not in the vicinity. "Where did you go anyway? You never contacted any of us, or told us. Not that we mind, but you've changed a lot."

"I went on a trip to the countryside, to stay with a relative. Couple of old folks, bad reception. You know the deal," Hitomi said as she chuckled heartily. "I ended up liking it a lot, so I overstayed. Got into a school over there and got readmitted into our high-school when I came back."

Sayaka looked at Hitomi aimlessly as the latter snapped back to reality.

"Oh," Hitomi said, slightly flustered. "I'm just rambling on. Sorry about that. Anyway, what will you two have?"

"Chocolate and mint," Kyoko said, quite unexpectedly. "Sayaka?"

"Y-yeah... I'll have what you're having."

The three placed their order and once the bowls of ice-cream were in front of them, they resumed their conversation. Kyoko decided to speak only when spoken to.

"Kyosuke has changed," Sayaka said, as her fingers toyed with the spoon in her hand. "We never talked after you guys got together. Seems like he's more... outspoken and expressive."

Hitomi took a spoonful of her own strawberry ice cream, as she hummed a response, clearly not giving much seriousness into the conversation. She spoke only when the ice-cream was not in her mouth.

"Yeah," she started, her gaze shifting between Sayaka's eyes and her own bowl. "He kind of did change, huh? Well, not like I'll get back with him even if he does."

Sayaka's eyes widened, and her mind narrowed down to one thought.

"You mean... you guys broke up?"

"Oh yeah. I never told anyone about it. Fuck." Hitomi's eyes frowned as she swore. "I was pretty depressed at that time, and decided to stay in a far away place after we broke up. I forgot to tell anyone about it. Sorry, Sakaya."

On normal circumstances, Sayaka would be angry that her friend didn't mention such a crucial life event to her. But this was an exception.

If Kyosuke and Hitomi broke up, and if Hitomi left to stay in the countryside immediately afterwards, then a year has passed since the two were not together. This particular notion made Sayaka slightly hopeful, and happy. She did her best to hide her feelings, but Kyoko, sitting beside her, knew what she was thinking. After all, she was the one who spent most of her time talking with Sayaka.

After Sayaka non-verbally said she was ok with it, Hitomi dove into her bowl of ice-cream.

"You should talk with him though. You might get why he seems so... different. I am out of the loop, and I just got back a few days ago, so yeah."

"Yeah okay," Sayaka said, as she started eating from her own bowl, which was neglected up until now.

But at that moment, Hitomi did something strange. She had a spoon in her mouth and folded her arms together. Her ice-cream was finished, while Kyoko's and Sayaka's bowls were not. Her eyes switched between Kyoko and Sayaka and after a few moments of observation, she said it.

"So, you two seeing each other?"


"Oh my..." Mami interjected, as Kyoko looked at the floor with an expression Mami had never seen before. It was a form of hurt, if she were to guess by just looking. Mami knew about Kyoko's feelings towards the airheaded Sayaka. So she understood Kyoko's feelings to an extent, even if she couldn't empathize. "How did you two respond to that?"

"I just denied it and tried to not make it obvious. I think it worked. Sayaka just said the truth."


"Nah, we're just friends." The blue haired teen responded, with half closed eyes. "I'd know that if anyone said that, they'd be joking. But hearing this from the conservative Hitomi-chan... That is fucking rich."

Sayaka chuckled, as oblivious as ever to Kyoko's emotions. Not that the latter minded it in this scenario.

Hitomi laughed at Sayaka's words.

"In the past year, I sort of had a journey of self-discovery, you could say."

"I don't buy it. A few years ago, I was just joking around with Madoka one day when I complimented her cooking and asked her to be my wife. You kind of overreacted and went all, 'But that's forbidden love!' on us. You might have gotten a pair of glasses since then, but people don't really change that much, do they?"

Sayaka made sure to mock Hitomi's voice to add some extra flavor to her quip. She wasn't trying to be bitter. Maybe the appearance of Kyosuke made her slightly irrational with her words.

"Yeah... That did happen," Hitomi sighed. "But that is in the past. I really did turn over a new leaf recently. I'm more open-minded now. The old me was a stuck-up bitch and you'd all agree..."

Sayaka felt slightly guilty as she saw Hitomi become quite serious when she said those words.

It was true that Hitomi looked and acted very different. Not just the glasses, it was also true that the girl's personality seemed very different. She was not a meek girl anymore and she apparently cursed casually as well. It was common between Sayaka and Kyoko, but listening to Hitomi of all people do it, seemed to drive home the severity of the change.

It didn't progress from there onwards. Hitomi and Sayaka talked about little things, and Madoka. Kyoko was still reeling from the shock of someone implying her and Sayaka were going out.

The three were eventually done with their ice-cream, and Hitomi decided to pay the bill. Sayaka and Kyoko insisted they split the bill three ways, but Hitomi stayed adamant and said it was an apology for leaving school without telling any one of them.

Hitomi said something about buying shoes, and bid farewell to them and walked away somewhere after paying for the treat. Kyoko and Sayaka continued walking towards their original destination, the accessory stores.

The two decided to make a plan. They would split up and choose something for each other, but not themselves. Then, they'd tell each other about what they chose and decide on what to buy. Kyoko, too, wanted to buy a headband or something similar. So it was a decent plan for her as well.

The two of them eventually went in separate directions, and Kyoko was finally left alone to explore.

She wondered what kind of hairclip Sayaka would like. Maybe something that wasn't too flashy, but has some sort of meaning to Sayaka would seem fitting. Maybe Sayaka was pretty feminine in such regards, no matter how tomboyish she sometimes expressed herself to be. The thought of Sayaka in a sundress briefly took over her imagination, leaving her smiling like a fool. She didn't care what other people thought of her, so she didn't try to stop.

She went from store to store, using her subconscious mind to inspect the hair accessories and rate them, while her thoughts were focused on the conversation Sayaka had earlier with Hitomi. In her mind, Sayaka's outright denial to Hitomi's guess of them dating seemed to be playing on repeat. She knew she couldn't say anything about it, but it still hurt like hell.

'Not now, Kyoko,' she told herself. 'You'll get your chance later.'

With that, her mind focused on the stores, instead of hurtful things.

After a dozen or two stores, Kyoko managed to find something that caught her eye. She went closer into the store, trying to spot what it was. And she had found it. A store, secluded from the rest, selling just a few hair pins and some other cheap items. It was a miracle someone could stay in business even after selling so little. In a small tray, neatly arranged, were some golden pins, sparkling in the sunlight. It looked as if it could hypnotize anyone with just its presence.

The pins were of various interesting shapes, each of them different from the rest. She recognized some of them, as musical symbols she had seen in cartoons when she was younger. Somehow, she could tell that all of the symbols were related to something that has to do with music.

"Can I help you, miss?"

Kyoko looked up from her trance, to find a middle-aged woman behind the counter.

"Ah," she said, collecting herself. "These are very pretty. I want to buy it for someone."

"Is that so?" The woman said, walking around the counter to where Kyoko was. "You seem to be looking at them quite intensely. Having trouble choosing?"

Kyoko knew that the woman meant well. She was the owner of the shop, perhaps. She had a gentle smile on her face.

"I don't know much about music," Kyoko said, looking at the pins. "Can you tell me what each of them means?"

The woman frowned, looking at the tray. There were more than twenty pins there, each of them unique.

"There is a lot of them, and it would take much time. How about you describe the person and I'll choose the one that fits their personality?"

Kyoko smiled widely.

"She is cool and upbeat. Her friends like her. She never says no to a request. She's kind, emotional, loud, honest, and amazing." Kyoko smiled the whole time she spoke, but her eyes frowned as she continued. "She doesn't know it, and she will probably deny it, but the truth is... She is really strong on the inside."

Her words were slow, and she was careful enough to not speak in her dialect. Using proper, formal Japanese was not an issue, but consciously using it for every sentence was a pain.

The woman stared at the tray, her eyes calculating. She was whispering something to herself as her fingers danced around over the tray of hairpins.

"Strong, loud, helpful and amazing, huh?" the lady finally spoke, her fingers settling on one of the pins. She took it on her hand, and showed it to Kyoko. "I believe this is the one."

Kyoko looked at the pin. It was golden, like the rest of them. The design was a bit odd. Two italicized 'f'-s joined together by a horizontal line. She had never seen this symbol, and she had never heard of it either.

"This symbol here is called "Fortissimo", the lady said. "Whenever the music is supposed to get very loud and bright, this symbol is there. It doesn't only mean 'loud' either. It can also mean 'strong'."

Kyoko's heart and mind knew right then that this was the perfect gift for Sayaka. Something about the woman's smile made Kyoko sure of the fact that she was telling the truth. Without thinking, she blurted out the question.

"How much?"

"The pin is made of silver, but the shape on the top is made of gold... Its fifteen thousand yen."

Kyoko gulped. She did not expect that it would be so expensive. She was also aware that it could be a scam. After all, she knew nothing about jewelery. But it seemed unlikely. The store was small, and had only a few items. So the notion of the pins being expensive, could very well be true.

"Can't you give me a discount?"

Kyoko knew she wasn't supposed to buy. She was supposed to look around for something Sayaka would like, while the latter would look for something Kyoko would like. They had planned to purchase later. But she didn't care about the plan. Not now.

The lady looked deep into Kyoko's eyes, noticing that she had a look of pure desperation. She had never seen someone so intent on buying something from her store. It was as if she was willing to sell a piece of her soul for it. The woman found it charming. Maybe it was not a purchase for a friend after all.

"Hmm," she started, her eyes still fixed to Kyoko's. "Tell you what. I will lower the price, but in one condition. I will take a thousand yen now, and something very close to you. I will not sell or use the item you give me, you have my word. But when you have the money, you can pay me. Once I receive 10 thousand yen from you in total, I will give you your item back."

Kyoko took a moment to consider the offer, and did not hesitate.

She reached the back of her neck with her hands, and unhooked the necklace she had been wearing. It was a red and silver pendant, smaller than a thumb, and shaped like an arrow-head. It was a flat piece of polished ruby, held in place by steel.

The lady's mouth opened as she took a look at the pendant in front of her. It was nothing like she had ever seen before.

"Can I ask what this is?"

"Its..." Kyoko said, looking down. "Its something my mother gave me. I need to trust you if I am going to give it to you."

The woman looked into Kyoko's eyes again. It was full of sadness, as if she was on the verge of tears. She was doing her best to hold it back. The sight melted her heart. Up until now, she had a business-smile. But for some reason, she wanted to pull the girl into her arms and console her. She felt oddly guilty about taking the pendant as well.

"I don't think I can take something so valuable, miss..."

Kyoko swallowed her hesitations, took a deep breath and glared at the woman.

"Listen here," she said, her voice low. "I am going to give this to you, and I will take it back once I am done paying you. You better keep your word. Or else I will take it by force."

The lady knew Kyoko meant business. She was a bit intimidated, but she had nothing to fear. She had indeed planned on returning the item to Kyoko once she had paid for the piece of jewelery. But the threats made by Kyoko oddly made the shopkeeper feel less guilty.

"You have a deal, and my word, miss," She said to Kyoko. "I will look after this with my life."

Kyoko sighed in relief when she heard those words, and after giving the woman a thousand yen and the pendant, she received the pin in a fancy box, with a receipt stating the amount she had paid.

"Can I ask one thing before you go?" The lady called out to Kyoko, who was already starting to walk away. "The one you'll be giving it to... That is not a friend, is it?"

Kyoko smiled warmly, and turned back to answer.

"No..." she said, her voice sincere. "She's... far more special."


"You did WHAT?!"

"Relax," Kyoko said, trying to calm the excited Sayaka. "Think of this as an early birthday present."

"I mean, this looks like it would be expensive. How did you even pay for it?" Sayaka eyed the fancy box again and again.

"I bargained, and she gave me a good deal. It was expensive, but not that much, so don't worry about it."

"At least let me p-"

"Its a fuckin' gift ya moron. Jeez. You didn't even tell me if you liked it."

The two of them were sitting in a bench near the mall, and after hearing Kyoko, Sayaka realized she had not yet opened the box. Carefully, she unlidded the black velvety cover, and looked underneath.

A golden hairpin with a "Fortissimo" sign on it.

Her eyes widened, and she speechlessly picked it up, looking at it from a few other angles.

"I asked the store lady what it meant. She said it meant... 'being very loud, bright... and strong'. So I figured this would fit you perfectly."

"Kyoko," her voice was quite low in volume. When the readhead responded nervously with a hum, her volume increased by manifold. "I love it! I absolutely love it!"

She squealed like a kid, and hugged Kyoko tightly in glee. Before letting go, she planted a friendly kiss on her cheek. Of course, it was something very trivial for Sayaka to kiss a friend on the cheek, but Kyoko felt like as if her heart would explode right then and there.

Sayaka hummed a tune as she put up her slightly outgrown hair to the side, and fixed the pin into place. Her gaze was finally free of her bangs, and the beautiful hairpin was to thank for that.

"How do I look?" Sayaka twirled around, like a little girl, happy as ever. She was not feeling well this day, ever since Hitomi and Kyosuke showed up. But now, she felt better. All thanks to Kyoko.

"Stunning."

Kyoko did not lie. She spoke the first word that came to her mind, and chuckled when Sayaka posed like a model in front of a camera after hearing the compliment.

The journey home was not awkward. Sayaka hummed like she was the happiest girl on the planet, and Kyoko felt like she had accomplished something very amazing. Seeing Sayaka smile and be gleeful was something Kyoko innately desired, after all.

(SCENE BREAK)

"After that day," Kyoko said to Mami, her gaze still pointed down. "She started to act weird. I keep asking her about it, but she doesn't say what's wrong. So I thought us coming here today will take her mind of things, ya- ...you know?"

Kyoko had managed to tell Mami everything, without using her dialect. She had carefully left out the detail about her mother's pendant, so that Mami wouldn't offer to buy it back. She knew Mami would do it with the best of intentions, but this felt like a weight she needed to pull on her own.

"I think seeing Kyosuke-san has shaken her up a bit, after three whole years of no contact with him. Regardless of her feelings, they were very close friends before..." Mami said, looking at Sayaka, who was still asleep on Kyoko's shoulder. "Give her time. She is still conflicted about reconnecting with him and Hitomi-san. I'm sure she will be fine."

Kyoko looked at Sayaka again, her gentle breathing with her lips slightly apart making the redhead sigh.

"Yeah," she said in response. "Of course she'll be okay... Fortissimo, right?"

Mami took a glance at Sayaka's hair, now noticing that she was wearing the golden hairpin Kyoko had given her. She giggled softly at Kyoko's words, her gaze becoming warm.

"Yep... Fortissimo!"

-(End of Chapter 16)-


Heya guys. Long time no see. Am back with a long chapter, because you waited long enough! See you in a week or two. Please leave a review if you can. I value every one of your opinions, with no exception. I mean it.

I don't know if Hitomi's character seems to weird, but if it does, its intentional. More details on that later.

But for now, I gotta sleep. Depression doesn't go away on its own haha.

.

Take Care
DSH99