Sayaka felt funny. She knew she was supposed to be sad right now, but she couldn't really remember why. Actually, she felt kind of... good? Yeah yeah, she definitely felt kind of good.
She had been going to do... something...? Yeah, that's right. She had been going to do something at the... the place! That was it! She'd been going to do something at the place, and she'd been really upset for some reason, which was why she was going there, but then all of a sudden, she'd heard Kyousuke- No no, that's not right, she'd seen Kyousuke!
"Sayaka. I've been waiting for you," Sayaka knew she'd been staring — how could she not? There, standing before her, was Kamijou Kyousuke — in the pinnacle of health no less, despite the fact that he had no place being out of the hospital. The boy smiled at her and offered his arm — his perfectly healthy, non-injured arm. It was a miracle! "Would you come with me?"
"O... Of course..." She'd already forgotten why she'd been upset, but did it matter? Kyousuke was here. She smiled at him and gave him her hand — she would give him everything, wouldn't she? Yeah... Yeah, she would. She let him take her, not even caring where they were going. Anywhere was okay so long as it was with him.
She would follow him to the ends of the Earth or just to the end of the sidewalk if that was what he wanted from her.
Sayaka blinked. The sidewalk... That's right, she'd been on a sidewalk! Kyousuke had appeared to her when she'd been going somewhere to do something and she'd been going there while walking on the sidewalk... And... She felt like she was forgetting something important, but what was it...? And did it matter with Kyousuke here with her like this? Sayaka shook her head. It most certainly didn't!
She wasn't sure for how long she let Kyousuke lead her. It might have been hours, but it was probably only a few minutes. It felt like a dream to be able to walk hand in hand with Kyousuke down the street, without a care in the world.
But... Shouldn't she care...? Wasn't there something that she should care about right now...?
Eventually, Kyousuke led her down an alley. Something about this scene felt familiar, but... Kyousuke had never taken her to a place like this before, had he? Oh, he must have! Sayaka was just being forgetful because she was so happy right now, yes, that must be it.
But... How could she forget something she had done with Kyousuke...? That didn't make sense...
Sayaka frowned. Why was she thinking so hard like this when Kyousuke was here...?
"We're almost there, Sayaka. Just a little more..."
Her frown faded away into a dreamy smile as his voice reached her ears. That's right. He was really here, and that was all that mattered right now. Wherever he was taking her, whatever he wanted to do with her, it was sure to be wonderful. She didn't mind at all that it was dark and past her curfew, because Kyousuke was here. Kyousuke understood those things. Kyousuke must know that whatever this is is so important that it's worth breaking curfew with her...
Sayaka giggled at first, but then... That nagging feeling arose again as she continued to be pulled down back alley after back alley by Kyousuke.
Hey, wait... That's not right... This isn't right... Kyousuke doesn't have curfews anymore... Because Kyousuke should... Kyousuke should be in the...!
Sayaka withdrew her hand — or attempted to, at least. To her surprise, Kyousuke's grip was stronger than she remembered it being. Kyousuke stopped walking — but not to let her go, apparently — and turned to her. Sayaka suddenly felt a pang of fear amidst the happy, dreamy feelings she'd been feeling. She tugged again, but this time Kyousuke pulled back. She found herself being pulled into Kyousuke's chest... She inhaled sharply and the dreamy feelings returned.
No, no, this isn't right! Something is wrong here!
She shook as Kyousuke held her, fighting a losing battle inside. She knew something was wrong, but... But that was okay... It was okay if it was wrong, because it was Kyousuke, and the world didn't matter if Kyousuke was there... But... But Kyousuke couldn't be here, could he...!? ... Since he was, though... Wasn't it okay...? Wasn't it? Wasn't it okay that he was with her instead of...!?
That's right. Kyousuke wouldn't want to be with her. He would want to be with someone else.
Shaking, she looked up at him, she finally looked at him, as if seeking confirmation or hope or a sign or something, and as soon as she saw the Kyousuke holding onto her, Sayaka froze.
He was smiling. This in itself wasn't abnormal, but... His smile was sick. It was a smile that shook Sayaka to her core and woke her up immediately. It was the smile of someone who was about to take a huge bite into their favorite food... It was the smile of someone who had just proven their teacher wrong in front of the entire class and was reveling in the feeling of superiority... It was the smile of someone who enjoyed the pain of others.
It was the smile of someone who most definitely was not Kamijou Kyousuke.
As Sayaka's feelings and common sense and sense of logic rushed back to her, she felt afraid. She knew what was going on now. This was the monster from before, wasn't it? She had waltzed right into his hands, and she was probably moments away from her end... Her breathing grew staggered as she stared into the eyes of the monster that wore Kyousuke's face.
They both knew in that moment that Sayaka knew. They both knew in that moment, that painful, harsh moment, that there was absolutely nothing Sayaka could do to escape this time. And the monster was radiating confidence this time — he knew that there was no way that meddling wizard would interfere this time.
Miki Sayaka was going to die and give birth to a Phantom. Right here, right now. She would despair — she was already feeling it — and that would be the end of her.
The monster's lips curved upwards as he watched her face twist and turn, as he watched her tug to try to get away from him. It was a fruitless effort. Though he had appeared to her in the form of a sickly child, he was still a Phantom. He could still overpower her without so much as blinking.
Sayaka felt like her situation was hopeless. Her shoulders slumped and she let out a shaking breath.
The monster opened his mouth. This was only the first part of his plan, after all. He had yet to really break this girl. She was stronger than the usual girl, for sure, to be able to break out of his spell like this, but... It didn't matter. He would have his way with her soon enough. He had been well prepared for a moment alone with her, and that was all it would take to break her. The moment she gave into her the first feelings of despair — this very moment — was her end-
- And yet, there was something else going on in Sayaka's mind...
If she was going to die anyway...
She couldn't help but feel something else. Something much brighter than despair. Something much more righteous. Something much more fiery, that fought off the despair like it had never been there to begin with.
How dare some disgusting monster use Kyousuke's face like that!? And when she was so upset!? It was disgusting! Did it have no shame!? Fine, if it was going to kill her or make her despair or whatever it wanted to do, then do it! But it should leave Kyousuke out of it! He had nothing to do with this!
Yeah... Yeah...!
Sayaka's gaze hardened, much to the surprise of her captor, and she looked at him — her eyes ablaze.
Sure, she was afraid... And sure, she felt like despairing... But more than that... More than that!
Sayaka was angry!
"Hah!" Kyouko swung her saber, eyes twinkling behind her mask as it ripped through one of the final Ghouls. She'd made quick work of the first half, rolling a six on her saber right away, but unfortunately the thing had to recharge before she could use its special attack again, leaving her to have to take out the small fry the old fashioned way. Not that she hated the old fashioned way or anything like that, but...
Kyouko was worried. That Gate had looked like she was a pants pissing moment from despairing already, and now Kyouko had no idea where the Gate had gotten off to. It would take a miracle for Kyouko to get there in time, Kyouko knew that much. It might already be too late — she might arrive just in time to witness that bastard Incubus inaugurating his new Phantom buddy...!
Kyouko grit her teeth and closed her eyes as the mana of the defeated Ghoul was sucked up into her belt. She could feel Chimera feasting inside of her. Even if it was the mana of a weakling, mana was still mana. Every little bit mattered — every little bit meant Kyouko would live that much longer, meant that Chimera had that much more satisfying him before he would turn his fangs on Kyouko.
Grinning wolfishly as thoughts of her eventual demise arose, Kyouko leapt into the air and stabbed one of the remaining Ghouls square in the chest. No matter how many battles she'd been through, in the end, she knew it would be Chimera that would be the one to finish her off. She kicked at the Ghoul approaching her front her left and withdrew her sword from inside the Ghoul she had stabbed, already spinning to stab at another as its body dissolved into pure mana.
This life she lived... However long she had left to live it, she would make the best of it! And no matter what the cost, she would make sure no one else had to end up like her father!
Clenching her fist, Kyouko slammed it hard into the face of a Ghoul. She didn't give it time to react, slashing at it with her other hand — the one holding her blade. She tossed her saber into the air and jumped to the ground, spinning and kicking at the Ghouls surrounding her to give her some room. Pushing off the ground, she grabbed the saber and performed a sweeping slash, spinning as she did.
That was the last of them. Kyouko let out a breath as she was covered in a bright light — the light of a magic circle — and her belt consumed the mana of the Ghouls. She was no longer wearing her golden armor. It would be hard to move around and try to find the Gate if she was drawing attention to herself, after all — she'd learned that the hard way. She'd barely made it in time to save the little girl that time thanks to all the things that had gotten in her way, because she'd been so intent on staying transformed...
Kyouko shook her head. Yuma was fine now. She was off living a normal life a few towns over. Kyouko even visited her from time to time when she wasn't chasing Phantoms. The little girl even wanted to be Kyouko's apprentice someday — an impossible feat, since Kyouko had destroyed the Phantom inside the girl herself. That girl was completely normal now, much to Kyouko's secret relief.
She pinched the bridge of her nose as certain thoughts began to surface.
If only she'd realized the power of the belt she'd brought home that fateful night... If only she'd realized that she had had the power to stop that monster right in her little hands just a little sooner than she had!
These thoughts were ones that plagued her regularly, despite the fact that many years had passed since that night. How could they not? Her life would be so drastically different, after all, if she'd managed to just...
Kyouko grit her teeth. No. It didn't matter. She'd made the mistake of giving in to fear then, but that didn't matter now. She couldn't afford to make any more mistakes here and now. Not with lives on the line — her own included. She may have accepted that Chimera would eat her up someday, but that didn't mean she planned on that day being any time soon... Hell, maybe she'd keep getting mana until the day she died naturally anyway. She had no idea.
As the last of the Ghouls' mana entered her belt, Kyouko clapped her hands together and declared "Delicious!" to no one in particular. She had never been one to be ungrateful for food, no matter what kind of food it was.
Kyouko rolled her neck around, enjoying the cracking noises it made, and surveyed the area around her. There wasn't anyone around now (the people that had been around had all escaped), but she didn't know how long that would last. She had to move fast — people usually (typically) came to investigate as soon as they figured it was safe to check out where the noises were coming from.
She withdrew a box of pocky from her jacket pocket and began to dash down the sidewalk, popping a stick into her mouth as she ran. Glancing down every alley she passed with an increasing worry in the pit of her stomach, she couldn't help but wonder... Would she be too late? Would she arrive just in time?
Biting into the treat into her mouth, Kyouko clenched her fists. It didn't matter one way or the other. She was going to devour that Phantom one way or the other, and that was that. If that dumb girl couldn't wait for her to show up... Then she'd just have to enjoy two meals instead of one tonight.
"Just you wait, you Phantom! It's time for the main course!"