They spent the next half an hour navigating their way towards Sayaka's apartment building. Any passerby who looked on the scene would raise eyebrows at the peculiar pair. Two beat up girls looking as if they had been swimming through a landfill leaning on each other as they walked through the streets. One looking guilty and obligated, the other resentful and shamefaced. They kept their faces turned away from each other the entire time as if pretending the other wasn't there. People crossed to the other side of the street to steer clear of them and their fragrance.

"This the place?" Kyoko grunted as they neared a tall apartment building. She was more worn out than she had realized. It was quite pathetic really, but all she wanted to do at this point was fill her belly and pass out. "Looks cozy."

"Yeah. If I feed you we'll be even, alright?" Sayaka said, looking more perked up now that her building was within sight.

"Woman after my own heart." Kyoko grinned at the mention of food and proceeded to pick up the pace. As they neared, both noticed someone was pacing worriedly in front of the entrance. When the person noticed their approach, she suddenly broke out into a run towards them.

"Oh crap." Sayaka sighed deeply. Kyoko raised an eyebrow.

"Sayaka-chan! I was so worried about you!" a girl dressed in the same uniform as Sayaka (the cleaner version), with cute twin tails at either side of her head jogged up to them. "When you ran off after the whole Kamijou thing, I thought maybe you had…" When she got a good look at them she gasped and tears gathered in her eyes.

"Sayaka-chan, what happened?" she asked hurriedly. Sayaka separated herself from Kyoko in an effort to demonstrate that she was fine but staggered a bit at the sudden lack of support.

"I'm fine Madoka, see? I'm sorry I worried you." Sayaka looked honestly flustered as she tried to reassure Madoka.

"But you have a black eye!" Madoka placed her hands tenderly on either side of Sayaka's face, brushing her bangs aside to get a better look.

"It's nothing, honestly! You're overreacting!" Sayaka tried to smile, but couldn't help wince.

"And you look like you were attacked by trash cans!" Madoka insisted. She noticed Kyoko standing by awkwardly, looking for a chance to escape. "Will you please tell me what happened?" she pleaded when she saw that Kyoko was in a similar state as her friend.

Sayaka looked away uncomfortably and spoke from the side of her mouth. "I got hit by a garbage truck." she muttered. Kyoko had to look away so that the short one with the pig tails couldn't see her stifle her laugh. Hit by a garbage truck! That's one she hadn't heard before.

"But what about that girl?" Madoka pointed at Kyoko, calling Sayaka out on her lie.

"She got hit by the garbage truck too." Sayaka said even quieter, face becoming red. "Lots of garbage trucks are just running people over nowadays, haven't you heard?"

"Fine," Madoka let it go for now. "But we should get you cleaned up. And your friend too."

"She's not my friend." Sayaka said at the same time Kyoko said "Don't mind if I do!" They shot each other looks, one dirty and the other smug.

"She helped you here, didn't she?" Madoka said.

Sayaka looked sullen as Madoka looked at her expectantly. "Well, yeah. I was going to bring food out for her…" Sayaka stammered.

"She's not an animal, Sayaka-chan!" Madoka reprimanded her. Sayaka chanced a glance at Kyoko, who was scratching at the back of her head and discovering a long piece of red string there getting tied up in her fingers. The black bow on top of her head and a sharp canine poking out of the side of a scowling mouth as she struggled to untangle the string in her hands gave her an overall feline impression.

"She looks like a stray cat to me." Sayaka voiced her thoughts.

Madoka frowned at her before she stood before Kyoko and bowed, much to the other girl's surprise. "Thank you for helping my friend and bringing her over even when you got hit by the garbage truck too." Madoka said with a sincere smile.

The genuine expression of gratitude caught Kyoko off guard and she scratched at her cheek in discomfort. "Er, yeah, no problem." she replied in a stammer as she managed to throw the distracting piece of string to one side. "It wasn't that big of a garbage truck, so…" Kyoko tried to go along with a straight face, but a smile was breaking out and she had to stop.

"I'm sure it was," Madoka replied with a nervous laugh before she started leading Sayaka towards the glass sliding door that was the entrance to the apartment building. "You come too…?" Madoka trailed off as she prompted the redhead for her name.

"Kyoko Sakura." she supplied almost reluctantly. She wasn't exactly used to being led around, but she hesitantly started following the pair into the building lobby when Sayaka punched in the security code.

"Nice to meet you Kyoko-chan, my name is Madoka Kaname." she introduced herself with a friendly smile.

"Madoka? Your niceness is freaking me out." Kyoko blurted out honestly.

Madoka giggled girlishly behind her hand. "You're funny, Kyoko-chan." Sayaka appeared extremely annoyed with their interaction, which made Kyoko smirk mischievously.

"Say Madoka," Kyoko began as they gathered in an elevator, Sayaka pressing the necessary button to rise. "We're lucky you're here after we got hit by garbage trucks and everything."

"Oh no, I was just stopping by to cook Sayaka-chan some dinner to cheer her up, that's all." Madoka said self-consciously.

"I told you that wasn't necessary, Madoka." Sayaka said, slumping against a wall tiredly.

"I know I wasn't able to console you today, Sayaka-chan!" Madoka turned to her pleadingly, making Sayaka's head lower. "But if this is the only thing I can do to comfort my friend, I'll do it!" Sayaka's head was bowed to her chest and she hid her face away from them. Kyoko looked between them and wondered what the hell kind of drama she was missing.

"Haha, what a good wife!" Kyoko said after a few seconds to relieve the serious tension in the air.

Madoka visibly collected herself before turning back to Kyoko. "If you want, I can make you dinner too?" she offered.

Kyoko's gaze became extremely passionate as she gazed at Madoka. "Marry me, Madoka." Kyoko asked adoringly.

"Hey!" Sayaka snapped. Kyoko's provocation seemed to make her forget all about her own troubles. She pulled Madoka closer to herself. "Madoka is my bride, got it?"

"Let the lady decide for herself, hm?" Kyoko grabbed Madoka's other wrist and pulled, smirking at Sayaka.

"Um, the door," Madoka tried to get their attention as she squirmed between their grasps.

"Look, you're making her uncomfortable with your nasty smell!" Sayaka pulled back on Madoka's arm, effectively converting her into a makeshift tug a war rope between the two. "Will you never be satisfied after stealing my food, you have to take my wife too?"

"It ain't stealing if she comes willingly. Right, baby?" Kyoko grinned wolfishly down at the small girl between them. "And you smell pretty nasty yourself, you know."

"Uh," Madoka stammered, looking between them uncertainly.

"I'm sure you can make her very happy living together in your cardboard box!" Sayaka retorted.

"Hey, I take offense to that!" Kyoko was starting to get ticked off. "It's a very nice cardboard box, thank you very much! I put up a little disco ball and everything."

"EXCUSE ME!" Madoka finally worked up to yelling to get their attention. They paused and looked down at the pink-haired girl. "The doors are open." she said quietly pointing.

An elderly couple was staring at them blankly, waiting for them to get out so they could get in.

"Oh!" Sayaka dropped Madoka's arm and bowed quickly. "Please excuse us!" she said, clearly flustered that she had gotten caught up in an elevator with witnesses. They stepped off the elevator hurriedly to allow the couple to enter.

Madoka was the only one to notice the gagging faces of the couple when they stepped into the elevator and were attacked by dumpster stench. She sent them a sympathetic glance as the doors closed on them before they had the chance to hurl themselves out of the stink.

Madoka walked between the two girls letting them use her shoulders for support. Kyoko and Sayaka were able to stare each other down over her head. Kyoko decided to mess with Sayaka by suddenly winking at her. The short-haired girl narrowed her eyes warningly.

The trio eventually reached Sayaka's door.

"Sorry for intruding." Kyoko said as she stepped inside and removed her boots.

"What do you know, she has manners." Sayaka said with a smirk.

"Do you want to get hit by that garbage truck again? I heard it's just running people over all the time, you know." Kyoko snickered as she held up a fist. Sayaka looked about ready to take her on, but Madoka quickly stepped in between them.

"Please stop, both of you!" Madoka looked about ready to burst into tears. Sayaka winced at the expression on her friend's face and looked away guiltily.

"Kyoko-chan, you're a guest in Sayaka's house so please respect her." She turned to Sayaka. "Sayaka-chan, Kyoko-chan is your guest, so treat her as such."

"Yes, Madoka." both girls responded like reprimanded children.

"O-okay then." Madoka wasn't used to wielding the authority over her friends. They usually behaved better. "Well, uh, why don't you two get in the bath while I make something for us to eat?"


"Why do we have to bathe together?" Sayaka grumbled to herself as she watched Kyoko play with the tub's remote control across from her.

"This thing is so freaking cool!" Kyoko eagerly said, referring to the many options of bathing she had at her finger tips.

"Is it?" Sayaka tilted her head to the side. "It's pretty standard in Mitakihara."

The two of them were sitting in a tub meant for one, facing each other with their knees bent up and touching in the center. Neither seemed to be particularly uncomfortable with the other's nakedness.

"What does this button do?" Kyoko asked, not bothering to wait for an answer as she pressed down on it. The water around them suddenly rose in temperature and became almost intolerably hot.

"It's hot." Sayaka commented needlessly.

"What about this one?" Kyoko pressed a new one and kept her finger there. The water's temperature started lowering rapidly to almost intolerably freezing.

"It's cold." Sayaka said with a violent shiver.

"This one looks interesting." Kyoko said and the bath instantly became heavily scented with the smell of lavender.

"It smells." Sayaka remarked with a roll of her eyes. This game was getting old quickly.

"Last one." She pressed a button she discovered hidden on the side of the remote. This particular button apparently affected the whole room. The lights dimmed, the water started churning warmly and sensually against their bodies, and rose petals fell from the ceiling to land delicately on the water's surface. The song Let's Get It On started playing in the background.

"Ooooh," Kyoko smiled deviously as she looked at Sayaka's now mortified face. "I like this setting. I think I'll keep it like this."

Sayaka lunged for the controller and plucked it out of a laughing Kyoko's hands. "Give me this stupid thing!" She made quick adjustments to a normal bath setting, making the lights turn up, the music stop, and the water fill with bubbles instead of more rose petals. When this was done Sayaka placed the controller as far away from Kyoko as possible.

The redhead was already dumping shampoo onto her head and lathering up, still snickering a little. "Saving that feature for later? I'm down with that."

"In your dreams." Sayaka responded, grasping a bar of soap and getting to work ridding herself of the dumpster smell.

"I'm sure I've got better things to dream about." Kyoko flicked some bubbles in Sayaka's general direction.

"I wish Madoka hadn't seen me like this." Sayaka said quietly as she gingerly ran the soap up her ribs, cringing as she did so. "I tell her she doesn't need to worry about me, but I keep proving myself wrong."

"Making stupid decisions tend to do that." Kyoko said passively before she dunked a bucket of water over her head to get rid of the shampoo lather. "Damn, I hope you didn't give me a concussion back there." she grumbled to herself as she poked at the Mt. Lump on the back of her head.

"Your hair is so long," Sayaka commented as she fiddled her own chin-length hair. "How on earth do you keep it clean?"

Kyoko's dark red hair, now out of its ponytail and heavy with water, would probably reach the backs of her thighs if she stood up.

"There's this guy who lives on my street," Kyoko said as she reached over to snatch at the soap from Sayaka's hand. The short-haired girl kept the soap out of reach. "Poor guy works at a company that works him twelve hours a day for crappy pay. Even on weekends!" Kyoko said with mock outrage as she went for the soap again.

"So, what about this guy?" Sayaka grunted as she switched the soap to her other hand and out of Kyoko's reaching hands.

"Well, his shower is really easy to break into." Kyoko said with a self-satisfied look on her face.

"Forget I asked." Sayaka rolled her eyes and held the soap over her head. Kyoko reached for it, having to stand up slightly on her feet, but one foot between them slipped on the tub's slippery floor and collided with Sayaka's crotch.

"AIIE!" Sayaka yelped in rage, her grip on the soap tightening reflexively and flying from her hands to land on Kyoko's face.

"Ah, my eyes!" Kyoko was blinded by the soaps suds.

"You idiot! Why did you do that?" Sayaka seethed as she splashed water at Kyoko, face burning.

"It was an accident, idiot!" Kyoko yelled back, retaliating with her own splash. They were about ready to strangle each other when a voice from the other side of the door stopped them.

"Hey, what did I say about fighting?" Madoka said from the opposite side of the door. "Stop it or I'll… I won't make you dinner!" she attempted threatening.

"Yes, Mother." they both grumbled at the same time. They glanced at each other before they huffed and looked away again. Kyoko wiped at her soapy eyes and sniffed. Sayaka sighed and held out the bar of soap to Kyoko, which had slid back over to her side in their struggle. Kyoko exchanged the shampoo with Sayaka and took the soap.

They silently resumed their wash. Sayaka looked at the now almost empty bottle of shampoo and sighed in resignation.

"So you live by yourself." Kyoko stated, trying to resume their conversation.

"Um, no." Sayaka hummed as she lathered her hair. "It seems that way most of the time though." she said absentmindedly as she played with her short hair, pulling it upwards into a makeshift mohawk. "I live with my mom. She's on a… business trip." was her vague answer.

"How old are you anyway?" Kyoko asked curiously.

"Sixteen. You?"

Kyoko paused to think for a second. "Seventeen-ish, I think." she answered.

Sayaka furrowed her brows. "You think?"

Kyoko shrugged as if she didn't care. "You lose track when nobody notices." she fiddled with her hair a bit, very aware of Sayaka's blue eyes on her.

"What about your folks?" Sayaka asked.

"If I do you, will you do me?" Kyoko asked quickly, avoiding the question all together.

"Wait, what?" Sayaka was clearly thrown off by the other girl's words and her eyes were wide.

"Your back." Kyoko deadpanned, holding up a washcloth.

"Ah," the short haired girl blushed slightly at her own line of thoughts. She maneuvered herself in the tub so that her back was facing Kyoko. The redhead scooted forward a little too eagerly.

She started scrubbing away at Sayaka's back, but paused when a pained hiss escaped the other girl's lips. Kyoko got a better look at the expanse of skin before her, seeing the bruises on her sides the shapes of her own fists. For the first time, guilt started gnawing away at Kyoko's insides. Oddly, she had no idea what to do with these feelings. Her washing became gentler, bordering on caressing as she ran the washcloth down Sayaka's naked back.

Sayaka sat rigidly as Kyoko's touch became increasingly attentive. She didn't know what to make of Kyoko's sudden thoughtful silence behind her and she was growing increasingly paranoid at the possibility of the redhead plotting something.

"You an athlete?" Kyoko asked suddenly, startling Sayaka from her paranoid thoughts.

"Yeah, women's softball at my school." Sayaka answered, looking over her shoulder. Kyoko was poking at her like a specimen in a dish and she was growing impatient. "I thought I got to do you after you did me?"

"Oh?" Kyoko couldn't help laughing at the bold statement. "Help yourself." She halted her mapping of Sayaka's back and maneuvered herself so her back was facing the other, sweeping her hair to one side.

Sayaka lathered up her hands and touched Kyoko directly when she started washing. Kyoko sucked in a breath through her nose as she tried to ignore the awkwardness of it all. Sayaka ran her hands over the taut skin and over every scar with a very curious look on her face. As if she could unlock a mystery if she traced the crescent shaped scar on the small of Kyoko's back.

"So, uh," Kyoko cleared her throat with the intention of filling up the silence with small talk. "You got a boyfriend?"

The other girl's reaction was immediate. The touching halted and Sayaka sighed as a dark look crossed over her face.

'Sore subject?' Kyoko thought when the other girl slipped her hands from her body and drew back to her side of the tub. Kyoko tentatively turned back around, curiosity raging when she saw Sayaka's flustered yet angry expression.

"No." Sayaka finally answered with a low growl, making the redhead raise an eyebrow at the tone. She wondered if it had anything to do with what's his name that Madoka mentioned earlier.

"What was that guy's name again? Kami… Kajou…" Kyoko mused, finger on her chin in an overly-thoughtful manner.

"Kamijou." Sayaka mumbled, sinking to her neck in the bath water.

"Right, that." Kyoko smirked. "You mad?"

Sayaka scoffed as she remembered the day's events. "Mad? Why would I be mad? I mean, they're both my friends, or so I thought!" Sayaka's hands started snaking up and gesturing angrily without her noticing. "You'd think they'd tell me that they've been going out for a while now, but no, they go behind my back thinking they're 'protecting me'. Gah!" Sayaka gripped at her hair in frustration. "IT PISSES ME OFF SO FREAKING MUCH!"

Kyoko stared at the girl across from her with a bored look on her face. "So… You like this back-stabbing prick?"

"What? No!" Sayaka said indignantly. "We're just childhood friends!"

"Uh-huh." Kyoko kicked up one of her legs to scrub at it. "So are you going to tell him how you feel?"

Sayaka sank further into the tub's bubbly water. "I don't… That's not… we're..! You know what, that's none of your business. Why am I even talking to you?" she asked grumpily.

"Beats me." Kyoko wriggled her toes at Sayaka. On an impulse Sayaka grabbed Kyoko's toes and got an unexpected result.

"Hyuu!" Kyoko squealed. They stared at each other for a moment, Kyoko's face becoming increasingly red with every second that passed. She had not expected such a sound to escape her lips. Ever.

"Wh-what the heck was with that unbelievably cute noise!" Sayaka exclaimed. She started playing with Kyoko's toes even more.

"No don't, hyaa!" Kyoko squirmed in place. "I'll kill you! I'll frigging, nyaaa!" Kyoko mewed uncontrollably, Sayaka's grip on her foot not letting her escape. "Imma tell your boyfriend! Hnng!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Sayaka yelled, pulling Kyoko's toes apart.

"Ah, you're going to rip them!" Kyoko decided to retaliate by grabbing hold of one of Sayaka's feet and sinking her teeth into the tender sole.

"Oh my God, you're biting it?" Sayaka hollered, pulling on Kyoko's toes harder. Kyoko's squeal was muffled as she bit down harder on Sayaka's foot while tickling the sides with her fingers. Sayaka proved not to be immune to the sensations as she broke down in laughter.

Noticing she was gaining the upper hand, Kyoko started nibbling on the foot in her mouth to increase the tickling sensations, even occasionally licking it.

"Haha! Stop! Pffft, stop molesting my foot!" Sayaka said breathlessly between peals of laughter.

"This is payback, payback I say! Omnomnom."

"That's not food you know!" Sayaka finally managed push Kyoko's face off with her other foot and she fell back against the tub still laughing.

Kyoko leaned back on her side, laughing as well, and decided she liked looking at Sayaka's smiling face. A soft knock on the door interrupted the content atmosphere they had suddenly found themselves in.

"Um," Madoka's subdued voice hesitantly spoke. "If you two aren't doing anything naughty, the food is ready."

While Sayaka's jaw dropped at the insinuation, Kyoko heard the words 'food' and immediately stood up in the tub.

"FOOD!" she exclaimed, jumping from the tub. "Whoa, head rush!" She slipped and slid on the tile floor briefly as she tried to reach the door, dripping water everywhere.

"Hey, you're getting water all over the floor!" Sayaka shouted, grabbing a towel for herself and wrapping it around her waist.

Meanwhile, Kyoko reached the door! And opened it! And charged for the kitchen in all her naked glory! "FOOOOD!"

"AH! Kyoko-chan, you're naked!" Madoka observed, sounding a bit traumatized.

"So? I'm starving! What's this?"

"Kyoko-chan, be careful! The stove is still hot!"

"YOOOW!"

"Oh my God, Kyoko-chan is on fire! What should I do?"

Sayaka sighed very deeply through her nose, trying to calm her raging stress. "This is okay." she said to herself. "I'm okay with this. I brought it on myself, after all."

"Oh no! I tried to put Kyoko-chan out with the table cloth, but now the table cloth is on fire!"

"DON'T JUST SCREAM ABOUT IT, HELP ME DAMN IT!"

"D-don't yell at me, I-I can't handle pressure!"

"STOP BEING USELESS!"

"BAAAAAAWWW~"

"I'M STILL ON FIRE!"

Sayaka listened to all this with a reluctant look on her face. "The apartment is going to burn down, isn't it?"


A/N- I got a little bit carried away there at the end. Aw well, I had to set someone on fire at some point in the story anyway.