She was sitting in the back of the car when it happened, exactly on the side which took the full force of the vehicle that T-boned them.

Between the ringing in her ears and the disorienting whiplash, it felt strange, almost surreal to her- This creeping wave of realization that the white sticks emerging from underneath her ruptured skin are, in fact, bones of her own legs snapped inward.

Blood. This red fluid was blood. She saw it all over the place, she felt it flow down her forehead. She felt it fill her mouth and drip from the edge of it.

Panic took hold. She wanted to run, but her seatbelt pinned her down in place like a vicious grip of death itself dragging her down. The girl reached to unbuckle it, but discovered her right arm dangling uselessly by her side, nothing more than a sack holding a smashed up skeleton.

Her parents were both out of her sight and reach. Never before had she felt so powerless and alone as now, trapped on this deathly silent crash site, in her soon-to-be coffin. An eternity seemed to pass, and she soon gave up the fight to get free, her strength trickling away as the world grew dark and blurry.

Something jumped into the wreckage, landing on the car seat next to her.

"I'm here to help you!" Said a little, fox-like creature, his white fur juxtaposed against the black and red interior like a light shining through the darkness. "Quickly, state your wish and make a contract with me!" It urged her, waving his white tail back and forth.

"I want... to live," She uttered weakly, spitting out a sea of crimson as she spoke.

Mami Tomoe awoke in her bed.

There was no wrecked car, no blood, no white fox. Just her heart racing and dry throat craving for water.

"That dream again..." she let out a sigh before getting out of bed and putting a dressing gown over her pajamas. The girl with golden hair about mid-back length, walked out of her bedroom, then downstairs onto the entrance floor before passing through the living room illuminated by the moonlight.

With her bare footsteps completely silent against the wooden floor, she entered the kitchen completely unnoticed by a certain red-haired girl. Said girl was also wearing her pajamas and currently eating cookies out of a metal jar with her back turned.

"Kyoko...?" She asked, in her half-awake state.

"Eek!" The red haired Magi almost jumped out of her skin, dropping the container with a loud thud. "I'm so sorry Mami-san, I swear I was hungry!" She started with the excuses while backing up against the kitchen counter. "I woke up and I couldn't take it anymore, I swear I had to take one!"

The other Magi just waved her hand and went past her.

Kyoko calmed down seeing she was not going to get an earful this time, and got a good look at her flatmate as they poured themselves a glass of water.

"You're so pale... is something wrong?"

"It's nothing, really," Gasped out Mami after downing it in one go.

"But your hands are shaking," Noticed her friend, growing more and more concerned. The Mami she knew had nerves of stainless steel, and to see her actually distressed was a rare sight indeed.

"It was just a... bad dream." The other Magi admitted after a while, looking at her quaking grip.

"What a coincidence..." muttered Kyoko under her breath, but just loud enough to hear.

"What was that?"

"Nah, nothing," Deflected the redhead. "What was it about?"

"Remember that time when you asked me what my wish was?" asked the blonde

"Yeah, but you said you don't want to talk about it."

"Did I ever tell you about my parents?" Mami asked again, leaning against the counter as well.

"Only that they died in a car accident long ago. Why are you asking me this?"

"I too was in that accident," she said. "My parents died on impact, and I would have bled out, if it wasn't for Kyubei jumping into the wreckage." She continued, her voice barely louder than a whisper and spiked with what to Kyoko seemed like complete indifference, "He offered me a contract, and I wished to live."

"I understand." Her flatmate nodded, feeling like nothing else would be appropriate to say in such a situation.

"No, you do not understand." The Magi replied instantly with a polite, yet firm tone. "I wished it for myself."

"Umm, that's a normal wish in that situation."

"You don't get it. I wished for myself. Only for myself..."

"Yes, but you didn't have time to think it through, right? In a situation like that-"

"That morning we had a fight" She interrupted her. "All over something irrelevant before we got into the car. We drove in silence the entire way because of it-"

"You and fighting? That ain't you, you're the kindest person I've ever known!" Kyoko denied immediately.

"See, growing up rich and with everything on your beck and call turns you into princess rather quickly. I was a spoiled brat that cared about nothing and nobody." She didn't raise her voice, not even for a moment, yet Kyoko could see it in her eyes and hear it in her way of speaking, the anger and contempt against self, buried deep inside. "I could have saved them, and I hate myself for it. It comes back to me every night, every night I'm back at the car and you know what? Nothing changes, no matter how hard I try."

The empty glass in her hand let out a quiet crack, a spiderweb spreading over its surface as she gripped it tighter and tighter.

"There, there, you'll cut yourself!" Kyoko quickly took it out of her hand and set it down.

Mami grew silent, staring at the floor as if she wanted to pierce through it.

Redhead put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. "You loved them. You know you did. They knew it too. They would have understood."

"I killed them..." She whispered, her voice cracking.

"The one who killed them was the asshole who drove into you. You can't beat yourself up over that!" The Magi denied again. "Mami," The redhead resumed after another while passed with no answer. "I know that you could never hate anyone. You're not this kind of person."

The Magi wearing a dressing gown approached her slowly, before wrapping her arms around her and hugging her tightly

"What are you-" She began, but quickly bit her tongue when she felt tears soaking her pajamas. She carefully put her hands on her back, returning the hug. As soon as she did that, the girl collapsed in her arms, dragging her down. She grunted as she landed butt first, but still held her close.

A while passed as they sat on the cold kitchen floor, neither of them letting go.

"I just wish they still were here." Said Mami eventually.

"Me too. But it's only us now," replied Kyoko, hugging her even tighter.

Me and you.

Two souls, lost to the world.

But that still makes two.

I'll be here for you, and you'll be here for me.

Always.