After four months without an update, here is the next chapter!
I am so sorry for not attending to this story for so long.

MADOKA MAGICA

Kyouko Sakura wishes to keep Sayaka Miki from becoming a witch? That is an impossible task which she cannot accomplish. She should just give up on her. Then again, I have my own task with similar levels of impossibility. Who am I to tell her what to do?

She can do what she wants. If she succeeds, then I suppose it is something to be happy about. I wish her luck.

MADOKA MAGICA

"You want me to work together with HER!?"

Late afternoon on the roof of the hospital, Sayaka confronted Homura about the change in her patrol partner. She would no longer be assisted by Homura in fighting witches. Instead, the lancer, Kyouko Sakura would accompany her, along with Madoka. Sayaka did not like this at all.

"I am more than capable of defeating witches with out your assistance. I am only accompanying you because Madoka Kaname is with you at your request." Homura stated flatly. "If you were to be defeated or become a witch, who would protect her? Would you really force her to contract just so she doesn't get killed by you? Or would you rather she doesn't contract and you take her life with hands that are no longer your own?" She asked, tilting her head. "You may not know Kyouko very well but she is reliable. With her at your side, it is unlikely that you and Madoka will be in much danger. And if you were to every fall into despair, she WILL kill your witch form before you can do any damage."

"I can take care of myself! I don't need her!"

"You are impulsive and prone to negative emotions, Sayaka Miki. Have you forgotten last night's incident?" The bespectacled girl pushed her glasses up. "Had I not shown up, you would have killed her"

The bluenette winced at the thought. She had to admit that she went too far in her fight with Kyouko.

"Not only that, you used up most of your magic in that battle. If you HAD ended Kyouko Sakura's life, you would have turned into a witch the moment you realized what you did." She stated bluntly "I had hoped Madoka's presence would keep you from acting rash. I was wrong, it seems."

True, she acted stupid yesterday but the last thing she wanted was to start working with the very reason she had acted stupid in the first place. That girl was annoying. She was absolutely infuriating. She did not believe in the slightest that she and her could cooperate.

"I'm sorry..." Sayaka said through clenched teeth.

Homura stared coldly at Sayaka. "If you truly want to apologize, then stop complaining. You two are partners now and you two WILL play nice." She ran her hand through her hair and walked away. "This is the last that we'll speak about this."

When the raven haired girl entered the building, Sayaka stomped her foot and shouted in frustration. "UUUUUHHHHH. THIS SUCKS SO MUCH!"

MADOKA MAGICA

Sayaka was bathed in the orange light of the setting sun as she stood in front of the Kamijou estate and stared longingly at the gate. She had originally planned to visit the boy at the hospital that day but got side tracked by Homura. Turns out that her effort wouldn't really amount to anything. He had already been released earlier that day, as she found out when she stopped outside his room.

She glanced at the ring on her hand as it hovered over the doorbell. I wanted to use my wish on him... She realized. I wanted to fix his hand. I wanted him to be able to play violin again... She clenched her fist and took a step back, looking back at the gate.

"Don't tell me you've got regrets..."

The bluenette turned around to face the voice behind her. It wasn't a familiar voice, but she knew exactly whose it was. "Sakura... Kyouko Sakura..." Sayaka muttered in hushed annoyance.

The red head stood before her, staring her right in the eyes. Her face was neutral, but there was a certain intensity to her gaze. "Do you regret using your wish on Mami?" She asked. Sayaka couldn't quite make out what emotion she heard from the question, but she had the feeling that whatever her answer would be, the lancer would take it personally.

She didn't see any reason to lie. "I don't. I just wish I could have done more..." Sayaka looked back at the house. "Maybe I should have made a wish earlier... Maybe that way, Mami wouldn't have..." She trailed off.

"You can't change the past..."

Sayaka chuckled. "Really? Magic and miracles exist. Maybe I could find a way..." She sighed deeply and looked at Kyouko, mirroring her intense gaze. "But forget that. What do you want?"

"I wanna tell you a story..." She said before turning her back and walking away. "Walk with me..."

Sayaka stared skeptically at the red head before shrugging and following suit.

MADOKA MAGICA

The was moon well above the horizon when they arrived at their destination. They had walked for well over an hour, going outside the city and entering the neighboring town of Kazamino. On the top of a small hill was a dilapidated building. It was easily identifiable as a church, albeit not quite burned down. Obviously, by the looks of it, it's been a few years since it last saw any sort of patrons. Kyouko pushed the double doors open and entered. Sayaka followed her.

The inside of the church was dusty. The floor boards creaked when you walked over them and the ceiling was so rotten that it was a miracle that it hadn't caved in yet. The bluenette coughed as the two walked between the half burned church pews, stopping at the steps to the altar.

Kyouko seemed to be staring intensely at the single undamaged piece of furniture in the entire building - a dusty and charred podium in the very middle of the raised altar. There was a certain sadness in those eyes, but the moment passed and they were back to being the eyes of a generally annoyed red head.

She turned towards Sayaka. "This used to be my father's church"

The statement was said so casually that the bluenette wasn't sure how to react. One thing was for certain: she did not like how Kyouko said it used to be her father's church. The implications were food for thought.

"For a long time, my family was living a hard life." Kyouko whispered as she solemnly walked towards the altar. "Whenever my father gave mass, we'd receive little to no donations. Worse still, less and less people began going to his sermons" She laughed bitterly. "You shoulda seen the look on his face as he talked to an empty church; the way his sermon slowly became more and more about the sinfulness of man; how his voice broke as he struggled not to yell at empty seats... Hilarious..."

Sayaka fidgeted. She was really uncomfortable with what Kyouko was telling her. Was it really alright for her to be giving out info that was THAT personal? Still, the bluenette said she'd listen and listen she did.

"It all began when he decided to talk about teachings that weren't in the bible. One of the stupidest moves he ever did, if you ask me" She leaned her hand onto the altar, clenching it into a fist. "But if I have to be honest... I believed him. His teachings weren't all wrong..." She banged her fist into the altar. Even while Kyouko was turned around, Sayaka knew the red head was crying. "I just wanted everyone else to at least listen to what he had to say but instead they shunned him..."

Sayaka closed her eyes. She knew where this was going. Kyouko had used her wish to get people to listen to her father. Judging by the state of the church, her wish back-fired. Sayaka wasn't surprised when Kyouko continued and confirmed the bluenette's assumption. Kyouko HAD in fact wished for her father to be listened to. Sayaka's heart ached as the red head described how happy she was now that her father's church was getting patrons and her living conditions were getting better. She could only imagine the despair she felt from what followed afterwards.

"He found out that I made my wish - a deal with the devil, he said. He told me I sold my soul to a demon to promote his teachings. He said that everyone who ever believed what he said in his sermons were cursed by black magic..." The strain in Kyouko's voice told how painful the memory must have been. "He called me a witch..." She relaxed her shoulders and laughed. "Now that I think about it, everything he said was true. I DID make a deal with the devil. I DID sell my soul. And eventually, I WILL become a witch."

The cruel irony stung like ice water. If Sayaka had not been sobered by Kyouko's tale yet, she certainly was now. She had half a mind to tell her to stop. She didn't want to hear more. But, then again, the bluenette had lived a fairly happy life. What right did she have to turn a blind eye to the suffering of others? And yet, she found herself reluctant to continue listening. She subconsciously materialized her soul gem and squeezed it in her hands, hoping it wasn't getting any darker. She endured, if only because of a sense of responsibility to stay till the end and to show respect to Kyouko.

"He ended up killing himself... and the rest of my family..." Kyouko said, voice growing almost unnervingly relaxed. "And during that time, I was friends with Mami..."

Sayaka blinked. That's why she knew Mami... she realized. The dots began connecting in her head. Certain things she was confused about suddenly made sense.

"Mami taught me most of what I know. A long time ago, she even taught me how to control my magic... back when I still had it..." Kyouko said wistfully "And we hung out a lot... You could even go as far as to say we were the best of friends..."

Sayaka knew she didn't need to ask but she said it anyway. "What happened...?"

"My dad happened..." Kyouko sighed. "After that whole spiel, I suddenly couldn't use my illusion magic. I got angry. I got really really angry. I ended up shoving Mami away when she tried to help - drove away the only friend and family I still had. My life's been shitty ever since..."

The bluenette didn't know what to say. Really, what COULD she say? The things Kyouko had experienced were a far cry from the life of comfort she had lived. She couldn't relate.

What does Kyouko want? I sure as hell know it isn't pity. So why did she take me all the way to this church and tell me about her life?

"Kyouko... why are you doing this...? Why bring me here? Why tell me that story?"

"Because when I look at you... I see me... me before life fucked me over..." Kyouko's voice was trembling. Her fists were trembling. She was frustrated, and it was all too apparent. "When I went into this city, I was told that Mami was dead. I was told that you replaced her... I wanted to go meet her again... I wanted to say sorry - to fix our friendship... But she was gone and you were the one who took her place!" She stomped her foot and looked at Sayaka with a pained glare. "I was so angry at you. Maybe it was like you replaced her. Maybe it was because you act just like her with the stupid heroism. Maybe it's because I know you were friends with her too… I don't know, but I hated you. I wanted to hurt you so badly..."

Sayaka shrunk back at the intensity of the red head's emotions. She could feel the pain in those words – she could feel it in her very being. The resentment. The rage. All of it with a clarity she never thought empathy could afford her. She understood. She didn't know how, but she understood.

"But… here's the funny thing… it turns out that Mami's not dead… She's not dead, you saved her… You gave up your soul to save someone who was as good as dead… Do you have any idea how stupid that was? You used your one wish on a glowing yellow rock..." Kyouko laughed – the loudest laugh yet. "That's what settled it. You were an idiot. In other words, exactly like me. And I didn't want you to experience the same shit that I did."

She looked at Sayaka, face serious once more. "So I ask again. Do you regret your wish?"

"No. I don't." Sayaka answered. "And I never will"

Kyouko chuckled. "Man, you really are an idiot." There was a flash of red and suddenly Kyouko was in her magical girl outfit. Sayaka took a step back in surprise. "You know, there's another reason for me bringing you here."

The fencer lowered her stance, suddenly afraid for her life. She's going to kill me. She realized.

"Transform. We're gonna have ourselves a little sparring session" Kyouko said, readying her spear. Sayaka blinked, unsure as to what her motives were. Kyouko lowered her weapon, annoyed. "We're supposed to be partners, right? Obviously Homura already knows what you can do. I for one have no idea. How can I trust you to have my back when I don't even know if you can handle it?"

Seeing her point, Sayaka reluctantly transformed. "Right… okay, we can fight for a while…"

Kyouko grinned. "That's more like it" She charged, spear in hand "Defend yourself, rookie!"

MADOKA MAGICA

Mami Tomoe. I suppose she is the reason Sayaka Miki and Kyouko Sakura came together the way they did. What would she think of them once she regenerates her body? It is only a matter of time before we find out. Her soul gem is almost ready.

Yet somehow, I'm still uncertain… I'm… afraid…

MADOKA MAGICA

I noticed this chapter being more lighthearted than the previous one. I'm not sure if I'll keep up the trend

Anyway, in the months between ch14 and now, I changed how this chapter would go. This is mostly because I forgot what I was gonna write about - like, the exact things. I still knew that I wanted Kyouko and Sayaka to talk, I was just stuck on what their exact words would be.

Anyway, that was a chapter. The next one should be up soon