CHAPTER NINE!

Kyoko slouched gratefully on a tiny wooden bench. "Urgh!" All the sugar she had consumed throughout the day was threatening to punch her stomach out of her throat.

The bench was settled away from the bonfire in the midst of a small fenced-in petting zoo for the kids. It was a normal set-up with not so normal animals being the main attractions. Animals like decorated sheep and dyed goats that Kyoko immediately took a dislike to. Sayaka took a reluctant place next to the sick girl on the bench. Kyoko had such an aura that neither children nor animals wanted to approach her as if she had her own 'Does Not Play Well with Others' corner of the petting zoo and no one wanted to pet her. Sayaka looked at the other girl with pity, having the thought that Kyoko kind of looked like a cat that couldn't cough up a hairball.

"Sucks to be you." Sayaka tried to sound sympathetic, but she came off as patronizing. She couldn't help it! It was just too funny.

"Shut up, I blame you!" Kyoko growled back before she gulped back something trying to force its way up her throat. "Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick…" Kyoko was still green from her extreme sugar intake, but she would never give up the food in her belly even if it made her sick. Sayaka sighed, wishing she was anywhere else.

One animal braved the unapproachable zone and fearlessly chose to munch on the grass by Kyoko's feet. It was a neon green goat. The redhead immediately recognized it as the goat Homura had forced her to babysit the night Kyoko had escaped Sayaka's apartment to confront Ryu. Kyoko looked like she was tempted to kick it. "We meet again, old foe."

Sayaka eyed Kyoko for a moment. "Did you seriously just say 'old foe'?" Returning her attention to the small green goat by Kyoko's feet, she smiled giddily. "Aww, it's really cute!"

Kyoko crossed her arms and huffed. "This thing ate my food. As far as I'm concerned, it's on my Shit List."

Petting the small green head, Sayaka just shook her head disapprovingly. "Did the mean girl scare you, you poor innocent little thing?" she mock baby-talked to the chewing goat, who looked bored with everything in its life. Kyoko made a gagging sound in response to the voice Sayaka was making.

"Keep talking like that and I'm really going to puke!"

"Oh c'mon, Kyoko!" Sayaka exclaimed. "This thing wouldn't hurt a fly. Why don't you just make peace with it?" Kyoko snorted.

"'Make peace with the goat', she says." Kyoko considered Sayaka with an amused expression before turning to the goat, shrugging in a 'why the hell not?' gesture. She offered her hand for the goat to sniff or lick or whatever. "Hey goat, wanna make a truce?" The goat promptly chomped down on her fingers by way of response. Kyoko jerked her hand away, looking more surprised than in pain. She turned bewildered eyes to Sayaka. "It bit me!"

Sayaka promptly burst into laughter. Officially pissed off, Kyoko turned back to the goat with a few choice words of peace. "You little piece of—!"

While Kyoko swore at the dull-eyed creature and cursed it to the lowest pits of hell in a way that made children and adults alike run away with their hands over their ears, Sayaka slapped at the bench in a huge fit of laughter. The look on Kyoko's face when the animal bit her hand was priceless!

A long time had passed before Kyoko paused for breath in order to launch into another stream of curses. "Had enough, freaking goat?"

"BAH!" Dreary, unimpressed eyes stared back her. Kyoko looked ready to rage even harder when another wave of nausea hit her and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Yeah, I think you're done." Sayaka said, wiping a tear from her eye. Kyoko groaned in a way that expressed pain and threatened pain at the same time.

"Your turn, Sayaka." Kyoko groaned out. When Sayaka raised a questioning eyebrow, Kyoko rolled her eyes. "I tried to make peace with the goat. So you gotta go make peace with your goat."

"I'm not going to pretend that made sense," Sayaka deadpanned. Kyoko looked increasingly annoyed.

"You know… The green one! With the hair and stuff!"

Sayaka continued to stare blankly at the other girl before understanding finally dawned in her eyes. "Oh, you mean Hitomi!"

"I guess," Kyoko mumbled indifferently. "When she bites you, I'm going to laugh my ass off."

"She's not a goat!" The blunette fumed. "And why do you care if I make peace with her?"

"I don't!" Kyoko was obviously annoyed. "This is payback! An eye for an eye! I did something stupid, now you gotta! Right, freaking goat?"

"BAH!" it answered right on cue, making Kyoko look at Sayaka with a 'see, even the damn goat agrees with me' look.

"Ugh! This is a little different than making up with a goat! And you couldn't even do that either, unless your form of making peace is yelling at it!" Sayaka returned Kyoko's annoyance ten-fold.

Kyoko crossed her arms and adopted a superior look. "I guess that just makes me the bigger, more mature person."

"This is so stupid, you're not even making sense anymore. Fine! Just so we're even!" Sayaka said through clenched teeth, immediately setting off to prove her clearly more mature status!

Kyoko rolled her eyes at Sayaka's purposeful retreat. "She's such a moron." Now she could finally be sick in peace! At least, that's what she thought until her neon green pal decided to drop a deuce right next to her foot. Apparantly, she had been on his shit list as well. "Motherf—!"

.-.-.

On another bench further away from them sat another couple who, unlike Kyoko and Sayaka, were actually enjoying each other's company. After that girl that hung around Sayaka—Kyoko-san, was it?—got dragged away by a reluctant Sayaka (who had been pressed into the service by Madoka), Kyosuke had suggested with an amused tone that they take a break from dancing. Hitomi and Kyosuke sat down on a bench a little ways from the dancing taking place around the bonfire and started chatting while sharing a tub of popcorn that the violinist had purchased. It was pleasant and easy, they both had a lot in common. From where they sat they could still see Madoka and Homura, who were still 'dancing' with each other. Well, mostly it was Madoka hurling her body around and Homura doing an awkward cat daddy.

While Kyosuke related a tale about his childhood to Hitomi, she couldn't help getting distracted by her two, fire-illuminated friends. They were just too cute and too funny to ignore.

There was something else that occupied her mind as well, and it wasn't funny or cute. Sayaka plagued Hitomi's conscious and it troubled her. While Sayaka herself was funny and cute, the circumstances of their friendship were troubling her in a way that clearly wasn't enjoyable. Hitomi shook her head slightly to try to get her thoughts in order. She was with Kamijou-kun, who was being the most thoughtful date any girl could possibly hope for, and here she was thinking about somebody else! Because of the person that occupied her thoughts, Hitomi couldn't indulge herself completely in the way she wanted to. And the more Sayaka gave her the cold-shoulder, the more Hitomi found less and less joy over the fact that her feelings matched Kamijou-kun's.

In short, Sayaka was beginning to annoy Hitomi greatly!

Sayaka wouldn't even admit her own feelings, but was making her feel guilty about acting on her own? Absurd! Hitomi didn't want to let her stubborn friend use her heart like this! Did that make her equally stubborn, equally selfish when it came to her feelings? Did she really think that she could have Kyosuke and maintain her friendship with Sayaka at the same time? Was it really so selfish to hope for both relationships to work out? These thoughts distracted Hitomi to the point of spacing out even more while Kyosuke was speaking to her.

Selfish or not, Hitomi didn't want to lose Sayaka's friendship. She was itching to have a real heart-to-heart with Sayaka, but the blunette wouldn't allow that to happen. And Hitomi was afraid that she'd send the blue-haired girl running for the hills if she confronted her on her feelings too soon. Sayaka had a tendency to be a bit unpredictable like that, at least she could be. Hitomi had never been able to quite figure her out.

This was why Hitomi could only stare in utter surprise when Sayaka was the one who suddenly approached her with a determined glint in her eye and the words, "We need to talk," coming from her lips. Hitomi, too stunned to speak, nodded her head after a moment of regarding Sayaka with hesitant hope.

Kamijou, briefly confused, moved to get up as well until Sayaka placed a hand on his chest and apologetically pushed him back. "Sorry Kyosuke, but we're gonna talk about you behind your back, so you're not invited!" Sayaka managed to sound playful, despite Hitomi detecting the obvious truth behind her words.

Kyosuke just smiled calmly and sat back down with mock reluctance. "If you insist. I probably wouldn't be able to understand the ancient language of girl-talk anyway." He popped a kernel into his mouth and sighed dramatically.

Sayaka smiled apologetically at him before trudging forward purposefully, assuming Hitomi was following her. The green haired girl indeed followed, eager and fearful rolled into one.

At this point, Sayaka walked aimlessly, having no destination in mind. Now that she was actually doing this she had no idea what to say to Hitomi. She came charging in on an impulsive whim, and now she was starting to regret it. Could she really make peace with Hitomi? Did she even want to?

'I don't think I'm ready for this,' she thought, feeling queasy in her stomach. If she confronted Hitomi now, she was afraid she would get angry and say something stupid that would surely irreversibly destroy any hope their friendship had. 'What am I supposed to do now?' She briefly glanced over her shoulder at Hitomi, who she saw was fidgeting nervously but held a hopeful look in her eye. Plainly the exact opposite of Sayaka's current state, and it made Sayaka's heart take another dive of shame. 'I can't run away from this now.' When she realized that that is what she had indeed been doing up until now, Sayaka's mouth set into a grim line of resolve.

Since Sayaka had no idea where she was going and she figured they had walked far enough, she stopped in the midst of Magical Girls on stilts handing out balloons, making Hitomi nearly bump into her. With a deep breath, she turned to the girl behind her.

The green haired girl seemed to hold her breath as Sayaka merely looked at her for several long moments; however Sayaka had no idea what she wanted to say or where to start.

"So," Hitomi decided to encourage the other girl. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Sayaka appeared almost spooked when Hitomi spoke. "I…" she cleared her throat nervously. "I just…"

"You can tell me anything, you know. I've always meant that, even when you never told me anything about what goes on in that head of yours before." Hitomi said softly. Sayaka stared at her dumbly, struck by the level of maturity Hitomi was handling all this. She wondered what she'd ever done to deserve a friend like her.

"I… don't want to run away anymore." the words slipped from her mouth. And then she knew what to say. "Hitomi, I love Kyosuke." It felt good to admit it; unlike the pain she felt the first time she had said it to Kyoko in the elevator. This time it felt liberating. She looked Hitomi in the eye with more confidence and repeated the phrase more strongly. "I love Kyosuke!"

Hitomi did not look surprised, but Sayaka should have expected that. Sayaka couldn't stop talking now lest her nerves failed her. "I've liked him for a very long time. But I guess you knew that already. It hurts me to look at you, Hitomi. It sucks to say it, but I feel like you've stabbed me in the back. And I can't help feeling that way since you knew how I felt about him all this time! But you had feelings like that for him too, and I ignored them as well. In a way, I guess the communication between us got screwed up somewhere."

Hitomi listened quietly. She already knew all this of course, though it hurt to hear Sayaka felt like she had betrayed her. But what she mostly felt was an immense amount of pride in Sayaka. She knew it wasn't easy for her to display what she felt like this, but she had taken the step to do it and was doing it with crystal clear conviction. Hitomi couldn't help feeling proud of her.

"But, you know, I still want to be friends with you. Not hanging out with you doesn't sit well with me. Actually, a lot of things haven't been sitting well with me lately. My 'sitting well' room is closed today." Sayaka shook her head to stop her rambling and get her thoughts organized. She wanted to let Hitomi know she was trying to reach out to her. "What I'm trying to say is that I… treasure your friendship."

Hitomi was struck with surprise at the sincerity with which Sayaka had said that. The blunette herself blushed and hooked her thumbs through her overalls. "I mean, whose homework will I copy if we're not friends?"

Hitomi thought the sight so endearing that she let a relieved laugh escape. She couldn't help herself so she lunged forward and hugged Sayaka tightly. The blunette was so startled her arms flayed about uselessly for a few seconds at her sides, not sure if she should return the hug or not. Hitomi released her, wiping a tear of relief from her eye.

"I'm sorry, but you should really do your own homework." Hitomi chuckled.

"Heh, I guess so." Sayaka laughed with embarrassment as well. After a moment she adopted her serious look once more and dropped her gaze from the other girl's face. As if it was just that easy. "But listen, Hitomi. I'm not sure I can forgive you." Hitomi's good humor fell from her face. "At least, not right now. I'm angry with you. And seeing you two together makes me want to commit seppuku. Those are things I can't help right now." Sayaka's shimmering blues finally looked up at Hitomi regretfully but firmly. "I'm not ready to be friends again just like that. But I want to. I just need time."

"Some time…" Hitomi repeated sadly. She nodded in understanding. "I suppose, if that's what you need…"

"Also," Sayaka lifted her head and let a challenging tone slip into her voice. "I'm not just going to give up on Kyosuke either."

"What do you mean by that?" Hitomi seemed to steel up at Sayaka's declaration. The blunette was okay with that; in fact it made this easier.

"You've won for now is what I mean. But if you ever hurt him, if I ever think you're not making him happy, I'm going to take him back. I won't hesitate anymore." She honestly meant it; she decided then and there that she wouldn't deny her feelings for the young man anymore.

"I will never let that happen." Green eyes steeled with resolution and her voice reflected the same strength of will. For several seconds the two stared each other down as rivals. After a few moments, Sayaka's face broke into an idiotic grin and she ruffled at her own hair.

"No, I guess you wouldn't!" She laughed, but her heart wasn't in it. "Honestly, he doesn't deserve you."

"Sayaka…" Hitomi felt like there was so much more to say.

"Anyway, I guess that was all I really wanted to tell you. 'Make peace with the goat' and all that."

Hitomi tilted her head in confusion. "Goat? Come again?"

"Ahaha, nothing. It's just something stupid Kyoko said." Sayaka was taking steps away from Hitomi, already dismissing herself from this conversation. Hitomi didn't want that.

"Sayaka!" she called out. The aforementioned girl paused and looked at Hitomi with a hint of reluctance. "I hope you know that I'm truly sorry." Sayaka's eyes widened. "The whole thing with Kamijou-kun, it just kind of happened, and I was so happy. But I should have told you sooner. I never meant to hurt you. I wanted you to know that."

Sayaka swallowed past a lump in her throat and she nodded at her beautiful friend. "C'mon. We wouldn't want to keep your boyfriend waiting."

There she was, trying to act cool again to hide her emotions. Hitomi shook her head as a small smile played across her lips. "Okay."

The walk back was silent, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was steady, stable. They both enjoyed the feeling for however long it would last. They both were aware that their encounter could have gone either way. One word out of line and it might have turned out to be a slug-fest of words, and they were relieved it hadn't come to that. Sayaka even got a huge balloon in the shape of a mustached dandelion from one of the girls on stilts and gave it to Hitomi.

Kyosuke had been waiting patiently for them. At some point Madoka and Homura had stopped their rain dance and joined him. Madoka chatted him up cheerfully, while Homura tried to stab Kyosuke with her eyes. The violinist was the one who noticed their approach first.

"Done talking about me behind my back?" he asked with smile.

"Pretty much." Sayaka replied sheepishly. "Hitomi told me you use crunchy hair gel!" she declared in a very loud voice.

"Not very convincing, are you?" he said in amusement, reaching for his hair and running his fingers through the short grays. Sayaka shrugged.

"It was worth a shot."

"Well, now that you've had your shot," Kyosuke rose and offered Hitomi his hand. "I have to get this young lady home before her curfew, like I promised her parents."

"Wouldn't want her to be late." said Sayaka, and she was actually able to keep the bitterness from her tone. Not sounding bitter over everything was a good first step for her. Or second step. Or whichever step she was on. One out of a hundred million steps it felt like.

"We should get going as well." Homura said to Madoka. "Especially if you still want to visit Mami Tomoe."

"Can we really?" Madoka asked hopefully, the beginnings of a hopeful adoring smile making its vestige. How on earth could Homura say no to that?

"Of course. I'll accompany you, if you don't mind." 'To keep an eye on Mami Tomoe,' Homura thought to herself. 'I can never be too cautious.'

"I guess I'll be heading home too, if everyone else is." Sayaka said, looking around her sadly. She was feeling mentally exhausted anyway. Though, it would be hard to leave the glittering silver atmosphere that surrounded Walpurgisnacht like a shroud of magic promising the world. "Hopefully Kyoko hasn't run off anywhere again," she said quietly to herself.

Hitomi had taken Kamijou's hand as they prepared to separate themselves from the group. "Sayaka." The blunette turned to look at her nervously, wondering what she would say in front of everyone. "I'm really glad we talked."

Sayaka smiled with a small amount of relief. "Yeah. Me too."

Madoka smiled giddily to herself. Had her friends finally patched things up? Would they be able to act normally around each other again? Madoka hated walking around eggshells with her friends, and this whole thing with Kamijou-kun had been testing Madoka's awkwardness meter's limits lately. She was dying to ask Sayaka or Hitomi what had happened, but now just wasn't the time. For now she'll settle with sending encouraging smiles their way.

As the billowing blue dress of the massive clown floating over the circus bid the couple farewell, Hitomi swung their clasped hands between them. It was nice to walk like this, hand in hand with the boy she liked and looking up at the balloon her friend had given her. "Hey, Kamijou-kun," Hitomi had wanted to ask him something for a while now. "How do you feel… about Sayaka?" Hitomi asked her boyfriend.

"Hm? Sayaka?" he inquired, the question having taken him by surprise. "I see her as a friend I've known for a very long time. Why do you ask? You already know that."

"I know. I was just thinking that it's nice to have her as a friend." Hitomi said with a fond smile. "In middle school I had many extracurricular activities, and spent any free-time studying. I never really had the time to make any close friends. Then one day during athletics class I had fallen and sprained my knee. And some girl I haven't spoken to before just picked me up and carried me to the nurse's office like some kind of superhero and stayed with me till I felt better.

"That was how I met Sayaka. Later on in that same day, without really knowing me, she asked if I had done the homework for our class, then begged me to copy it. I thought she was very strange, but I liked her. She stuck by me and she brought Madoka along with her. The remainders of my middle school days were spent having fun with them. And through her I also got to meet you." Hitomi gave Kyosuke's hand a squeeze. "So I was just thinking that I'm very grateful to her."

"It's come to my attention that you two don't seem as close anymore." Kyosuke brought up. It was something he had noticed most evidently today. "Did you have a fight with her?"

"Well, yes and no, I suppose?" Hitomi replied, not really sure herself. They had never actually outright fought or confronted each other, but there had been many unspoken words between them that still haven't been said. They had tried to make the beginnings of amends today, but deep down Hitomi knew that things would never quite be the same. She would probably never regain Sayaka's complete trust again. In turn, Hitomi will probably see Sayaka as a rival from now on, even if she had confidence that Kamijou-kun and herself were the better match.

"But I think we've patched things up!" Hitomi said with a reassuring smile, even if she was mistrustful of those words herself. Kyosuke looked satisfied with her answer.

"I see. I hope that's true." Kyosuke smile radiated the natural charm that made many people admire him. "I'd hate to see my two number one girls fighting each other."

The smile was infectious and Hitomi found herself melting under the look. She gripped his hand a little tighter as they walked as slowly as possible back to her house. "… I'm your number one girl…" Hitomi grumbled after several minutes of comfortable silence.

._._.

Sayaka couldn't help staring incredulously at the scene before her. When she had left Kyoko, the redhead had been isolated with just the one goat. Now, there were many, many goats flocked around the bench they had been sitting on. In the center of the mass was Kyoko, looking so grumpy people mistook her for one of those demon gargoyles that ward off evil spirits. Sayaka couldn't even get close to her.

"Er, Kyoko? What the heck happened here?" Sayaka called out in bemusement.

"Well, Sayaka, it's obvious that when I defeated their leader I became their new Master!" Kyoko practically snarled back at her.

Sayaka raised a brow. "Really?"

"No, damn you! They're out to get me!" Kyoko hollered, completely pissed off.

"Then get out of there, Goat Whisperer!" Sayaka said incredulously, annoyed that Kyoko seemed to blame this on her too. Fuming, Kyoko got to her feet and waded through the crowd of goats toward Sayaka, grumbling all the while about 'waiting for your slow ass to come back'.

"You seem to be feeling better." Sayaka noted when Kyoko finally reached her.

Kyoko merely shrugged, not really agreeing. It felt like her earlier sickness had been replaced by aggravation, and those were both annoying feelings, so it wasn't like her condition improved any. "So, did you get bit?"

"…Bit?"

"Yeah, did you get rabies, or what? 'Cause I'm half sure I got rabies from that freaking goat earlier and I'm taking you down with me." Kyoko reminded the blunette.

"Hitomi doesn't have rabies!" Sayaka reacted appropriately. "And no, she didn't bite me!"

"Tch." Kyoko displayed her disappointment, much to Sayaka's irritation. "So what should we do now?"

"Well, everyone decided to go home when I saw them last, so we should probably get going too." Sayaka said tiredly, eager to leave and hit the bed.

"Leave? But it's early." Kyoko protested. Sayaka looked up at the sky, noting the silver disc of the moon's outline high overhead and she questioned Kyoko's sense of 'early'. "Besides, why the hell would I leave when I haven't had some funnel cake yet?"

"Ah jeez!" Sayaka slapped her hands over her eyes and rubbed her nose. "You just got over a sugar crash and you're thinking about funnel cakes?"

"Hey, I wasn't sick. My stomach just needed to be beaten into submission."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Whatever. But how can you go to a festival and not eat funnel cakes?"

Sayaka narrowed her eyes at the other girl. "I don't want to buy you funnel cake, you'll get spoiled."

"Who said anything about buying?" Kyoko said with a devious grin, already walking off in another direction. Was she tracking down the funnel cake stand by smell? Sayaka would never know. Either way, sooner or later they found themselves in front of the funnel cake stand and Sayaka had to give in and buy some for Kyoko, since the other girl insisted she was going to get them one way or the other. After that, Sayaka convinced Kyoko to compromise and the redhead agreed to go home with her, all the while glancing longingly around her at all the things she had yet to try out at the circus. Although Kyoko insisted Sayaka go by herself, Sayaka wanted to make sure Kyoko wouldn't go missing on her again.

So they left Walpurgisnacht behind with funnel cakes in hand. Kyoko happily dug into her carnival snack as they walked down illuminated streets, getting powder on her face. Sayaka sighed and passed her own deep fried and powdered dough to the other girl, not feeling up to eating the snack. She was feeling more melancholic than anything else. Now that her feelings for Kyosuke were out in the open, all that was left was the sense that she had to do something with them. Sayaka meant what she said to Hitomi; she wasn't going to just give up on Kyosuke. She was going to have to tell him. And she wasn't too thrilled with that prospect.

"Hey, you never did take advantage of our deal." Kyoko piped up suddenly, almost startling Sayaka from her melancholic ponderings. "Didn't you say you had something planned? I'm disappointed, you ended up being anti-climatic. Should've known!" Kyoko finished her rant by taking the finishing bites of hers and Sayaka's funnel cake. She looked rather happy for being whiny.

"We're taking a detour!" Sayaka declared, glad for something to take her mind off matters at hand and taking an abrupt turn to her left.

"Eh? For what?" Kyoko said in a whiny voice.

"I need to do some shopping. " Sayaka pointed out a grocery store ahead of them. "Considering the last time I went shopping I had my food stolen."

"But you were just buying shitty food." Kyoko deadpanned. "Unless you're running out of shitty food, in which case that would be a problem for me." Sayaka rolled her eyes at her expected response.

When they went in, Kyoko smiled at the thought that she would be able to just shop without being under scrutinizing suspicion because she wasn't dirty, raggedy or alone today. It was kind of nice, but annoying at the same time. Doing something like this wasn't something Kyoko should get used to. After all, it had to end at some point.

While they were in there Sayaka grabbed food, snacks, cooking ingredients, and even a hair brush. Upon asking, Sayaka said that something had to be done about Kyoko's hair maintenance so she needed her own brush. In response, Kyoko took off down the aisle riding their shopping cart, knocking over a few people and a cereal display, yelling something about hair freedom. Sayaka yelled at her when she finally caught up, then insisted Kyoko give her a turn on the cart.

They eventually left the place with their hands full. Sayaka's with grocery bags, Kyoko's with a huge box.

"I can't believe you bought these!" Kyoko said with a huge grin, cradling the box she was holding like a precious treasure. "Chunky Monkeys!"

"I don't even know what the hell I just bought." Sayaka grumbled. Kyoko looked offended.

"Oh c'mon, Chunky Monkey ice cream! Banana ice cream with chocolate chunks and nuts!" Kyoko attempted to enlighten Sayaka, but like all her previous efforts to enlighten Sayaka, she failed miserably.

"Well, you are what you eat." Sayaka snickered. Kyoko narrowed her eyes dangerously at the other girl. Unfortunately, she had to hold her box so she couldn't punch Sayaka. She settled for trying to kick her instead. She caught Sayaka at the back of the knee and Sayaka went down, a swear word making it halfway out of her mouth before she smothered it. She swung a bag of groceries at Kyoko and it smacked against her rump.

"Joke's on you! That's my fetish!" Kyoko crowed, referring to being smacked with food. The blunette made the expected shocked, appalled, and blushing face, and mumbled how she was embarrassed to even know Kyoko and ignored the longhaired girl for the rest of the walk. Kyoko just displayed that infuriating self-satisfied grin. Sayaka decided it was time to wipe that smile from the other girl's face.

"Detour!" Sayaka declared a second time, taking an abrupt turn to her right. Kyoko stared suspiciously after her and followed reluctantly. Sayaka led them to the front door of a house and immediately knocked.

"Oi, where are we and why are we here?" Kyoko needled the shorthaired girl and she took a step back, ready to bolt at a moment's notice. Sayaka didn't have to answer since the door was answered immediately. In the doorway was the guy from the restaurant that Kyoko got them kicked out of. Specifically the one who called her the chunky monkey thief as Sayaka dragged Kyoko away, the redhead flipping the man off while laughing all the while.

Suffice to say, the man did not look pleased with their sudden appearance. He actually looked offended that Sayaka would bring such a disgrace to his very home. His face turned red with fury and he attempted to slam the door in their faces, but Sayaka put her foot in the doorway.

"Kaburagi-san!" Sayaka grunted with a pleading voice. "Hear us out!"

The man, who apparently Sayaka knew, swung the door open and stared the blunette down in disappointment. "You know Sayaka, you used to be good girl. I remember you and your mother coming by the restaurant every day. And now you're hanging with the likes of dirty riffraff. Her kind has no place in this city!" He looked pointedly at Kyoko, who looked pissed. Did they just come here to be judged by the likes of this asshole? Kyoko was ready to walk away and come back later with vandalizing equipment.

Sayaka faltered at the mention of her mother, but she came here with a goal and damn it all if she didn't accomplish anything here. "Who I choose to hang out with is none of your concern!" Sayaka shouted back, not doing a very god job of holding back her own anger. "And if that's how you're going to treat her, then I don't want to go back to your stupid restaurant anyway! Your kind has no place in humankind!" Screw it, she'll get mad. Kyoko looked almost impressed.

Sayaka was breathing heavily, and she tried to reign herself in with some calming breaths that she's often used around Kyoko. "Unfortunately, we do owe you something." She turned to Kyoko and gestured for her to put down the box of Chunky Monkeys. Kyoko glared at her fiercely, as if wishing death on her with her whole being for even thinking of taking away this treat. Annoyed and impatient, Sayaka grabbed the box herself and threw it at the man's feet. "Here's some compensation for what you lost. I know it's probably not nearly enough, but…" Gritting her teeth, Sayaka bowed low to him in apology and held it there. Kyoko was disgusted by what was happening.

After holding the bow for several seconds, Sayaka straightened up, nodded decisively, turned on her heel and marched back to the street. The man's stupidly stunned expression never left his face.

The walk back was surely awkward for Sayaka. Kyoko buzzed with unspoken disgusted and angry words of disapproval, but kept her mouth shut because she knew this was part of their deal. Sayaka was radiating with her own stubborn and righteous silence. Such was their disapproval for each other that the very air transmitted their thoughts. The redhead really wanted to smack sense into the other girl though. "I take responsibility for my own actions." Kyoko hissed under her breath.

"Ever think about how your actions are affecting the people around you?" Sayaka said under her breath. For some reason they were speaking quietly in a way that people wouldn't be able to tell they were speaking from afar.

"There are no other people around me." Kyoko responded with a sneer.

Sayaka sniffed and looked at her shoes as they walked. "Yeah, but… there's me, right?" she asked quietly, as if searching for any sense of a connection between them.

Kyoko faltered, glancing at Sayaka with wide eyes before turning her face away completely. "You shouldn't talk. Your whole deal with that guy makes all the people around you worry. Did you know that? I've only known you a little while, and that's the only shit I ever hear about from your friends." Kyoko's words came out biting and she completely disregarded what Sayaka had said before.

The shorthaired girl scowled at the ground, Kyoko words having the desired effect on Sayaka's already weak countenance. "What the heck was the point of that stupid deal if we can't help but break it?" Sayaka almost laughed with the absurdity of it all. "Weren't we supposed to be trying to understand each other?"

"Then why?" Kyoko finally turned back to the other girl. "Help me understand. What the hell was the point of apologizing to that creep and humiliating yourself?"

"Why?" Sayaka was taken aback, like she'd been asked the most elementary question in the world. "Because it was the right thing to do."

"Bullshit." Kyoko responded immediately, looking annoyed. "Right and wrong is subjective. In his eyes, us hanging out was 'wrong'. To me, sucking up to him was 'wrong', and to you it was 'right'. There was no point in doing right by him. In the end you're wasting your money for nothing."

"If right and wrong are subjective, then I don't really have to listen to your personal views, do I?" Sayaka said with a smartass smirk, making Kyoko growl at her.

"And how about you?" Sayaka shot back. "Why do you do these things? Why do you steal food?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kyoko gestured at the bag of groceries in Sayaka's hand. "I eat because I'm hungry. I eat to live."

"But what do you live for?" Sayaka asked in exasperation. "I don't know if you're a runaway or a criminal... Why did you even decide to stay with me?"

"I'm surviving, okay?" Kyoko ground out through clenched teeth. "That's the only thing I can do at this point. This body is all I have left in this stupid world and I'm going to feed the hell out of it if I want to!"

Sayaka considered Kyoko for a while, pondering something. "That sounds like a miserable existence to me. I'm the exact opposite way, I think. I don't think I can ever just 'survive'. If I can't 'live' I don't see the point of just surviving."

Kyoko scratched at her belly, really wishing she could claw this dress off her body and be back in what she was comfortable in. This conversation was making her skin crawl with very unnecessary emotions and heart-to-hearts. "But that still doesn't tell me why you're such a hardass about what you consider right and wrong. I don't get it; I don't get you."

They had just walked past a tall silver lamppost, and were crossing the brief spot of darkness until they reached the next light source. They were walking slowly because of their distracting conversation, so Kyoko couldn't see Sayaka's illuminated face for several moments. When they finally entered the realm of the next silvery light, Kyoko could see that Sayaka was somewhere else. Her eyes were distant and fixated on something that wasn't physically present. She was quiet for a long time, obviously thinking over Kyoko's question quite seriously.

"I… never knew my father." Sayaka finally spoke in a low voice. "But I heard a lot about him growing up. My mom always told me stories about how he was an important person and that he was a hero. I idolized him even when I never knew him. I wanted to be a hero just like my mom always talked about." Sayaka inhaled the crisp fall air in large quantities as she stared straight ahead. "But he's not a hero. How can a man who doesn't take care of his own kid be a hero? Turned out I was the result of an affair, and he has his own family somewhere out there. But one thing was true. He is an important man. Important enough that he sends my mom checks every month to keep us just rich enough to keep quiet. His 'real' family doesn't even know I exist."

"Wait, hold up," Kyoko said with a hint of amusement. "You say he's an important guy, but he's not like, the Prime Minister of Japan or anything, right?" she said in a joking manner. Sayaka looked at her side-long and stayed silent, making Kyoko falter greatly. "I mean, he's not really, is he..?"

"Like I said, I'm being paid to keep my mouth shut about who I really am." Sayaka answered in a disgusted tone, not really confirming or denying Kyoko's earlier statement. "I hate doing it, but it's not like me or my mother have much of a choice. I think she sends most of the money to me anyway.

"When I was old enough to learn the truth, I didn't know what to think. It was as if that man," Sayaka spat the words out with real bitterness. "It was as if he had set up an empty suit of armor in my life. A phantom of idealism he pretends to uphold, but I know he's just a liar."

Kyoko really wanted to make a crack about politicians being liars in general, but even Kyoko knew it would be in bad taste.

Sayaka gripped the bags of groceries in her hands tighter as she looked up to the night sky. "But I don't want to lose the feeling I had when I was little. I want to prove that just because I'm his daughter, it doesn't mean I would ever betray the people around me like he did. I want to be a hero to prove him wrong. I want to fill that suit of armor that he left behind." They stewed in unbearable silence after Sayaka trailed off. They both stared ahead of them as they walked the empty, half-illuminated street.

"That's noble and all," Kyoko said in a contemplative manner, "but you're still only doing it for yourself. Let me tell you about a real hero." Kyoko was wearing a slight smile, thinking that she would share tit for tat with Sayaka. If Sayaka was going to talk about her daddy issues, well then… "My father was my whole world. Now there was a hero. He was a good man, a good husband and pastor of our church. He was the type of person who would cry when he read the morning paper, and he would always go out of his way to help people. And yet," here Kyoko laughed. It was a dead laugh devoid of emotion, a sick parody of what it was supposed to represent. "And yet look where that got him. Crushed to dust by the very world he wanted to save."

Sayaka was staring at Kyoko with immense attention. This was the first she heard of anything about Kyoko's past or life. She had always avoided asking because she wanted to hear about it from Kyoko's own mouth in her own time. But she was still being vague and Sayaka was having a hard time understanding just what circumstances led to now. After several seconds, Sayaka decided to prompt Kyoko further. "So… What happened to him?" She dreaded and anticipated the answer.

It was strange. The moment she asked the question, it was as if something shut off in Kyoko. Sayaka watched as a light, that light which would glint in her crimson eyes that represented the very essence of Kyoko, simply died right off. As a result, her very aura changed into something that Sayaka didn't recognize. The result was chilling.

"I happened." was Kyoko's final answer, in a voice that didn't sound like her own.

Sayaka waited, but Kyoko was done with sharing. When that became apparent, Sayaka gathered her grocery bags in one hand and fished through them. Hesitantly, she pulled something out. Taking a few steps, she started walking directly next to Kyoko, who was walking with her head down and not seeing anything in front of her. Sayaka nudged gently at Kyoko's hand with something cold. Kyoko's fingers instinctively closed over whatever the item was and brushed against Sayaka's warm fingers briefly. They held the item between them for a moment, almost as if they were holding hands, until Sayaka let go of whatever she gave Kyoko and left it in the redhead's hands. The blunette didn't distance herself again.

Kyoko, looking almost bleary eyed, gazed at the object Sayaka had given her: a single small cup of Chunky Monkey ice cream. Looked like Sayaka hadn't given everything away to that douchebag. A smirk emerged on Kyoko's face when she realized Sayaka had resorted to her signature method of comfort: offering food. It was strange; Kyoko had felt so cold just a moment before. Now she felt inexplicably warmer as they walked side by side on a silver path.

"Dumbass. Even I can't eat so much in one night."

"Oh? Then I'll just take it back." Sayaka reached for the ice cream, but Kyoko evaded her reach and held it close to her chest like a precious object.

Sayaka smiled fondly at the other girl. "That's what I thought."

The night they connected was made of silver. The subtle touch of the silver moon upon their heads acknowledged their fateful conversation.

.-.-.

RANDOM OMAKE!

Meanwhile, at Mami's apartment!

"Mami. This. Is. The. Best. Cheesecake. Ever." Charlotte's voice trembled in reverence as she gazed amorously at the slice of cake that had been placed before her.

"I know, right?" Madoka concurred, albeit with less intensity. Gertrude and Elsa Marie nodded their agreements. It was somewhat of a tight fit for all the girls gathered to kneel around the low triangular table situated at the center of Mami's lush apartment. The hostess herself beamed with warmth at the compliments to her cooking skill.

"You're welcome to take some home with you, Charlotte-san, since you girls will be leaving tomorrow." Mami offered.

"You guys are leaving tomorrow?" Madoka asked with disappointment. The Magical Girls nodded.

"Turns out, we're not even supposed to be here!" Elsa Marie said with a laugh. "Rumor is some lady called us here while she had been drunk, but the owner up and packed everything and came running at a moment's notice since her company offered a ton of money. It was a miracle we even got the place set up in one day without the city exploding! Can you believe that?"

"Hehe…" Madoka fidgeted uncomfortably, knowing the 'drunk lady' from the story had most likely been her own mother. "No, I can't believe it…"

"I'll take you up on that offer on the cake!" Charlotte piped up eagerly to Mami. "I know my mom would love this sort of cake. She's been kind of sick lately and can't eat cake as much as she would like." Charlotte's enthusiasm wavered at speaking about her mother back in her home town.

Mami patted the top of the small girl's head. "That's very thoughtful of you, Charlotte-san. I'm sure that'll make her very happy." Charlotte's spirit seemed to pick up with the blonde's words of encouragement.

"I think if I really did become a Magical Girl in real life, I'd wish for my mom to have all the cake she wants!"

"That's a good wish!" Madoka said excitedly.

Gertrude looked surprised. "Why wouldn't you just wish for your mother's sickness to be cured?" she inquired.

"…" Charlotte's expression froze on her face for several seconds before she shot up from her sitting position. "WHY DIDN'T I EVER THINK OF THAT?" she exclaimed, making the ultimate realization.

"Um, it's not like we can make real wishes anyway…" Mami tried to placate her.

Madoka sighed to herself as she watched everyone have fun in their cute costumes. 'Once again, I'm the only one not contracted…" Madoka took a pause, wondering why she had chosen to think the phrase 'once again'.

Homura felt like she might as well have been watching everything from outside the window for all the attention she was getting in this chapter.


A/N- Random scene at the end is random, but I wrote it at the last minute and couldn't think of an appropriate place to fit it in.

Thank you to RPPuzzle, who undertook the task of beta'ing for me and trying to make me look smarter than I actually am, (which I'm sure was quite the difficult task, so she deserves cookies and hugs!) And thanks for the support I've been receiving so far! I know I tend to be slow when it comes to writing, so I appreciate all the readers putting up with my slowness XD