Chewing on Diamonds

by Don'tKillKenny

Six years after the Mitakihara disaster, Sayaka has become an undercover cop at Kazamino's upscale strip club. What she doesn't know is that the girl training her is not only superhuman, but may be one of the criminals she's there to take down. Continuation of Oriko Magica timeline. KyoSaya, drugs, gore, crime, yuri, dubcon, hinted abuse, PTSD, other warnings inside. Chp 1 edited.

10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Sayaka's eyes darted around the room, hoping that something would give her an idea as to what to do to handle this. She could barely process what was going on.

Oh fuck Ryo's going to kill me. This can't happen. This CAN'T happen! I thought we were becoming friends. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!

"Kyoko…Kyoko please. I need this job. I really need this job." She pleaded as Sayaka. This wasn't Rin. She couldn't tell if Kyoko understood she wasn't acting right now. Kyoko's face didn't move at all.

"You should have thought about that before you started breaking almost every rule we have. I've got other staff I need to look out for."

"I… I know. I know, I fucked up. I did. I'm so sorry, it's just-" Sayaka turned her head to Akemi, hoping for some kind of solution or support. Akemi just looked at the ground, detached and resigned.

Sayaka looked over and saw Sango and Lady, standing awkwardly against the back corner of the room. They were the only ones showing any kind of emotion. Sayaka appreciated it. Emotion usually meant caring, right? It meant they might help. She shot them a desperate look, begging for someone to throw her a bone. Both showed sympathy. Lady looked at Kyoko with disappointment.

Sango chewed her thin bottom lip in anticipation. She held a clipboard close to her chest, fingers turning white from how hard she was holding it. She looked too young and inexperienced to be standing in her designer stilettos and pressed pantsuit. She looked like a kid playing dress up.

Sango released her lip which was now a dark swollen red from its abuse. She had a tight, pained smile. Sayaka recognized something in it.

Sango looked relieved.

"This might be better for you, Rin. If you think about it-"

No! No, don't think that way!

Sayaka didn't realize she actually said anything out loud.

"She's right, honey. Really, she is. You'll be safer outside." Lady backed up Sango. Oh fuck, everyone's on Kyoko's side. What should I do? What should I do?

She had to prove she wasn't safer.

An idea started to grow. She was going to wing it.

"Please, Kyoko! He'll kill me!" Sayaka shouted desperately, crumpling to the ground, sobbing hysterically. Kyoko finally changed her expression; she was shocked and confused. But Sayaka did what she had to do: she got everyone's attention.

It disgusted her how natural it felt to be this pathetic.

"What do you mean? Who will? The Kurosawas? They won't hurt you at all, really. They never hurt any of us." Lady rushed over and kneeled down to pull Sayaka into her bosom in a comforting, maternal way. Playing the part, Sayaka clutched onto her like a child.

"Not them. Not them. It's my boyfriend." She sobbed harder. She couldn't think of a name on the spot, so she just kept on talking. She tried to spin a convincing story. "He's not working, so this is the only money we have. He'll kill me. He gets angry when he drinks too much."

"You make plenty of money here though. You couldn't have spent all of it, could you?" Lady completely missed the point of the fake issue. Sango made an indignant noise implicating that she thought so.

"I didn't. I give everything I make to him. But he…" How could someone spend a lot of money really fast and have nothing to show for it? She instantly knew her story. "He started to play poker, you know? He played all the time, online and in person. He made a lot more money for a while but then…he lost. To some scary guys. He can't pay them back right away. If he doesn't kill me for losing this, those guys will!" Sayaka broke down again. Lady rubbed her back consolingly.

She could feel the pure rage seething from Kyoko.

"And that's your problem. Not mine."

"Kyoko!" Lady sounded repulsed. "Come on, have a heart! Shh, shh, it's alright, you'll both make it out of this."

Sayaka whimpered into Lady's shoulder. Almost there, I'm almost there.

"The next payment is due tomorrow. And another is due in two weeks. There's no way I'll be able to make it in time without this job…"

Lady looked pensive and worried her lip. "Kyoko…could you just give her another two weeks? Like instead of getting fired, pretend she handed in her notice or something?"

"No." Sayaka could imagine the fiery crimson glare being directed at her. It helped make her shivering feel more natural.

"Come on! We've all been in her shoes before."

I hope that's not true...

"Like I said: not my problem. Yamasaki, I want you out of your costume and out of here in ten minutes. If I see you in here, you're gonna regret it."

Sayaka bawled harder. Lady was starting to shake too. In anger though.

"You're terrible! You're not even giving her a chance!" Lady bit back. Sayaka prayed that Kyoko would have a sudden change of character and interests.

Fat chance.

"Naomi, if you don't back off, I'll make sure you regret it too." Kyoko's temper had found a different target.

"Yeah? You do any of the shit you're threatening to do, I'll tell all the girls about this. See what they think of that. You become boss and fire the two girls you like least, and get one of them in major shit with her boyfriend?"

Sayaka peeked out from Lady's chest to see Kyoko's jaw and fists clenched tight. Sayaka held her breath.

"Two weeks, Rin. You have two weeks. Then you're gone. I trust no one here has a problem that the other one isn't getting ridiculously special treatment?" Kyoko sneered, clearly thoroughly displeased with the entire situation. Sayaka had try to keep herself from smiling in relief.

Thank god for Lady!

No one said anything. Akemi excused herself quietly and with dignity.

Basically, the exact opposite of what Sayaka did.

Well, I'm the one still here, even if it's only for a bit. That's good, right?

---

Kyoko's eyes darted around the apartment, hoping that something could give her an idea as to how to handle this.

Yuma was standing at the door with her suitcase full of clothes, toiletries, and art supplies.

She was an absolute wreck.

"I…I just wanted to say…" she choked on another sob, "That I'm so, so happy that you found me that day. I'm happy I got to know what family is like. I don't want you to make me go." She bawled.

"Calm down." Kyoko said with a face as red as her hair and pulled Yuma into a tight hug. "You'll be gone for three weeks. That's nothing. You'll have a great time and it'll be done before you know it."

"No, it's going to be more than three weeks because you…you won't-" Yuma's words were muffled by Kyoko's shoulder. Yuma just started shaking.

"I won't what?" Kyoko said quietly, but challengingly.

"You won't be alive by the time I come back."

Kyoko let out an aggravated sigh.

"Yes, I will. I already told you: I got everything with the church figured out now. So there's nothing to mess me up now, right? I was a magical girl for two years on my own before I met you, ya know. If I die after three weeks without you, I'd have really lost my touch." Well, on my own for most of it. Kyoko decided not to think about how miserable that time alone had been.

Yuma nodded but didn't seem convinced.

"Well, if you're not here…still, thank you for being my onee-chan all these years. It's meant a lot to me."

Kyoko blushed from embarrassment from the compliment; she was never good with this sappy stuff.

"You're my family too. I can't go off dying if I still gotta look after you, ya know? So stop being a dummy and have a good time. Eat lots of food, take lots of photos, go become a famous artist or whatever, and we can talk all about it over some ramen when you're back. Sound like a plan?"

Yuma smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She nodded. It killed Kyoko to see her like this.

"Look…is there anything I can say or do that would make you feel better about this?"

"Promise me you'll hunt with Sayaka." Yuma didn't miss a beat.

"Is there anything else I can say or do that would make you feel better about this?" Kyoko didn't either.

Yuma looked like she was about to start crying hard again. Kyoko cringed and swallowed her pride. It tasted bitter.

"Fine, fine. I'll work with the rookie, okay? I did her a favour today anyways, so she owes me. Not that this would help me. She's the one who'd be a witch or witch snack without me, so really she's gonna owe me a shit tonne of favours by the time you get back. And if that pisses her off, that's your fault, ya know." Kyoko was flustered. What was supposed to be a cool attempt at nonchalance about admitting that she would ask her nemesis for help turned into a self-conscious, petulant rant.

But this time, Yuma's smile reached her eyes. That was something.

Kyoko's phone buzzed. It was a text from Yuma's teacher saying she was outside. She had agreed to escort Yuma to the airport.

"Your ride's here, brat. Now get out of here before I kick your ass for being a crybaby." Kyoko pulled Yuma into a rough headlock and gave her a noogie that would have been very painful for a regular human. Yuma let out an indignant squawk.

Yuma tried to smooth out her hair and clothes. She grabbed the suitcase and headed for the door.

"Whatever. Bye loser!" She yelled over her shoulder and pulled the door closed behind her.

Kyoko smiled to herself. She looked at the intricate artwork that covered the walls of their apartment.

She didn't deserve Yuma at all. But Yuma deserved Kyoko keeping her promise to be alive by the time she got back, even if that meant working with the damn rat.

Kyoko walked towards the bedroom, ready for what she felt was a very well-deserved nap. The front door burst open behind her with a loud, startling slam.

"What the-" Kyoko was about to curse before a green blur slammed into her, giving her a super tight hug.

"Be here when I get back." She commanded in a voice that reminded Kyoko of the feisty kid she had taken under her wing six years ago.

"I will. Same to you. Don't go picking any fights with those American magical girls." Kyoko said with no malice in her voice, and hugged the girl back. She gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead when they pulled away from each other.

"Have a great time being a happy, normal kid, for once in your life. Let me know what it's like."

Yuma smiled, tears brimming from her puffy eyes again. They were a different kind this time.

"I will."

---

"What the fuck do you mean you got fired?!" Ryo shouted. The door to his office was closed, but Sayaka could hear the way all movement in the busy hall outside stopped for a moment, before starting up again in a hectic frenzy to pretend they didn't hear anything.

"I'm really, really sorry Captain. I've got two weeks, so we have some time to figure something else out, I guess…" She was trying to sound optimistic, but was failing. She could tell.

"God dammit, god dammit, god dammit! Miki, we just had Miyamoto killed while she was in our custody! Your project at the club is the only good thing we've got right now!"

"I know, I'm sorry, but-"

Ryo's phone rang. It was reception. Sayaka was grateful. She had no idea how she was going to finish that sentence.

"Yeah, now's not…oh fuck. Alright, I'll meet them in the boardroom right away." Ryo hung up the phone, collapsing into his chair with a heavy sigh. He was silent for a moment. Sayaka didn't dare move until he raised his head again.

"Is your presentation ready on Megumi?"

Sayaka nodded mutely.

"Good. We're going to meet the Chiefs of KPD and NMPD right now. Looks like they're going to listen to what we said about the you-know-what after Megumi and Miyamoto."

Sayaka wasn't sure she had enough vocabulary or tact to use any word other than corruption, but she'd have to try.

"Let's go."

Sayaka rushed to her desk and pulled her panda bear USB out of her desktop. Her heart was pounding. This is it. The biggest presentation of my career…the biggest presentation of my life.

She noticed Ayumi watch her as she passed. Both of them were expressionless, but the action itself conveyed more than enough meaning; Sayaka alone was presenting this, rather than both of them. That said plenty.

Sayaka had never actually been in the boardroom before. It was unnecessarily decadent, she thought, and a waste of taxpayer money. The whole room had dark mahogany finishes, royal blue walls, and the KPD crest carved in gold above all of the doorways. The actual table did not fit the tone that the walls set; a plain teak wood table with no decorations compared to the extravagant traditional western style that surrounded it.

The people surrounding the table wore dark pressed suits, matching the walls around them.

"Captain, Detective," The Chief of the KPD nodded at the two of them "thank you for joining us." Ryo and Sayaka bowed in response before she scurried towards the laptop to set up her presentation. A larger woman with a particularly round face taking notes gave an inquisitive look at Sayaka's childish USB when she plugged it in. A few of the others in the room chuckled. Sayaka flushed.

Fuck I need to get a more professional USB. Sentimental value be damned.

"We're ready whenever you are." Said the Chief of KPD. She was a stern-looking willowy older woman whose face appeared to be permanently pulled back from wearing buns that were too tight every day for the past forty years. Sayaka had never actually met the woman herself, or even seen her until this moment. Rumour had it that she had accumulated so much vacation and lieu time during her years of service that she had over two years built up of time off; she had begun cashing it in, being gone almost half of the time. Whispers of her upcoming retirement were running rampant, particularly since the woman had been in the position for almost fifteen years.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time and attention." Sayaka began. She couldn't quite figure out what to say after that. She cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck, something that was quickly becoming a nervous tick. She glanced up around the room to almost a dozen faces staring at her blankly.

Except for the Chief of KPD; she gave her a surprisingly kind, matronly smile. Sayaka released the tension she didn't even know she'd been holding in her shoulders and took a deep breath. She went to the next slide of her presentation.

She delivered it flawlessly. The room gave her polite applause.

Well, everyone except for one man.

"This is a disturbing presentation indeed, Detective Miki." A slender bureaucratic man with large round glasses and a receding salt-and-pepper hairline remarked; it did not sound or look like he was really talking to her, but rather to the other more important members of the room. He didn't even glance at her when he said it.

"It was a disturbing event." Sayaka retorted, a slight glare forming on her face. She did not like this man.

"We have begun a full investigation at KPD to see who may have had access to the present and archival footage. We have narrowed it down to about a dozen employees here, but I am not sure how many from the NMPD could have access. We have not received permission as of yet to investigate anything in Mitakihara yet." Ryo stated, glancing towards the man.

"And what is the KPD doing in regards to Miyamoto? From what I gather, she was murdered in your custody, correct?" The man asked. Ryo visibly bristled.

"I will be discussing that in the next presentation. Chief Yoshikuba, we invited you here to discuss the possibility of extending our investigation to the NMPD. After all, both Forces had access to the footage of the jail."

"Yes, but it appears that all of the problems are happening within Kazamino's border and with Kazamino's suspects. Had the Megumi murder been the only event, I would be more than willing to open our doors but Miyamoto was definitely yours. Corruption investigations are no small matter, and I do not want myloyal staff of integrity to feel attacked in any way." The man was evidently the Chief of NMPD, so Sayaka was not surprised she had never met him; the Forces worked together a lot but were oddly separate. There had been talked of merging them for years since the cities had expanded so much and were essentially connected at this point. He appeared calm, but Sayaka suspected something was bubbling under the surface of his cool exterior.

"We are very aware of that, Yoshikuba-san, which is why it was no small matter that we decided to pursue this investigation ourselves. We fully welcome NMPD joining in, even if it is presented as an act done in solidarity." The Chief of KPD offered.

"And what should I do if this gets out? After all, wasn't what led to Miyamoto's death? Some confidential information regarding her case was 'mysteriously' released to the public? How would we deal with the media backlash that would come if both of us were under investigation for corruption; how could we assure citizens in our district that they are safe? No one even knew there were human traffickers targeting our citizens for years until the past few days! There is already outrage that we kept such a massive secret in the first place; do you want to destroy our reputation any more than this?"

"I prefer to view this as a way to repair relations with the public; it shows we are diligently reviewing ourselves to ensure we are operating in full accordance with the law, and that none of us are above it. That is how we could present it to the media. I have no doubt the public would approve. We could even include an ethics review and have public consultations to present it as less of a corruption investigation in response to an internal issue, and more of a structural evaluation in response to making an error in not informing the public of the full extent of the dangers on our streets before."

"How nice, but with what money? Neither of us have the budget for that!"

The other bodies in the room began to chime in, NMPD against KPD staff in support of their respective Chiefs. Sayaka wondered if she should talk about some of the crimes she knew were happening from the club and how severe they were; how the dangers were still very much alive and well in their own backyards. In their own office, even! She opened her mouth.

Ryo saw her, eyes like lightning. He practically jumped out of his seat.

"If there are no further questions for Detective Miki, could I send her back to her desk to continue her work?" Ryo asked the room, trying to look as uninterested in her as possible. No one seemed to have any objections so he waved her off. Everything about what happened in there after her presentation made her indignant.

This is serious shit! Why are they fighting about money and reputation when there is actual corruption that is obviously going on!

She sat at her at her desk with a huff and started to respond to the mass amount of emails she let build up over the past few months. Most of them she could file away because they weren't relevant anymore. She let herself try to forget what happened in the room and focus on pretending to be a regular cop.

A firm hand on her shoulder cut her reverie short.

"Miki. My office. Now." Ryo sounded tense and left to his office before she could respond. She inhaled sharply before getting up to follow him.

"Close the door and lock it." He ordered without even looking at her. She complied. "Sit." She complied again.

He sat down too, elbows on his desk and chin resting on his hands. He seemed relaxed.

Sayaka knew he only did this when he was really, really pissed.

"What was that, Miki?"

"What was what?" She tried to keep her cool. She respected the man and she had a superhuman body now, but he could still terrify her.

"What the fuck were you doing in there? I saw you. You were this close to talking about your assignment, weren't you?" His voice had risen and fallen quickly, just as he talked about the unrecorded project she was on.

"Fuck, I should have had Ayumi do this presentation. What was I thinking? I should have kept you as far away from them as possible." He muttered to himself. Had Sayaka not had magically enhanced hearing, she wouldn't have understood what he said; but she did, so she was offended.

"Miki, you have to remember: these people don't know you're in that club. It's a completely hidden assignment. And we need it to stay that way. Hell, if you ask me, it's someone in that damn room who's behind all of this! You have to stop being such a fucking dumbass and acting like everything's going to be fine for us because we're the good guys; this is serious. Good people still die. If those criminals somehow find out you're in there, they will find you. They will find your family. They will kill all of you. Do you understand?"

She was shaking. With what emotion, she couldn't tell. She'd been caught up in the moment in the room. But they have to know. These are the people with the power to make a difference. Something had to be done but fuck, how could they do it if they were literally worried for their lives from someone who is supposed to be their ally?

"I…I do. I'm sorry Captain. I wasn't thinking." Tears welled in her eyes as she swallowed her pride.

He sighed in aggravation and watched her for a few moments.

"Miki…this is a hidden assignment. And you've done so well. We can't lose this. We have inside problems which stop everything, but you've gotten under that. I've done drastic things for this job before; you know that. Sometimes we have to. I…I don't know everything you've done, but I have a good idea; and it makes you the best and most devoted cop I've ever had the pleasure of working with. And part of being a great cop is that you don't give up, even when the going's rough. That's still true now, you know."

He gave her a meaningful look. She didn't like it.

"Don't blow your cover on anything yet. You can still be Yamasaki Rin…but instead of being an entertainer at a public club, you can….have a more private relationship, I guess. If that's believable, of course."

She gaped at him. She wasn't sure what to say. She also wasn't sure why she was so surprised.

"I can't make you do anything, but think about it."

She wished she wouldn't have to.

---

"What the fuck do you mean you fired her?!" Tomi looked at her as though she were crazy. "Do you know how much grief my cousin and his brat are going to give you over that? Believe me, you don't want to be on those fuckers' bad side. I've been on it for years." He only spoke this freely after he checked the room for bugs twice. They now sat on two foldout chairs on the same side as a very simple desk; the only furniture in the dark room. This was the real office they did business in in the club.

"She's been a hazard since she got here, and you know it. That's not what I even wanted to talk to you about." Kyoko growled with a bared fang. Sayaka getting fired was the talk of the club, and a few dummies with good intentions tried to bargain with him to save her job. They clearly didn't get the memo that Kyoko actually ran this joint now.

"Then what is it? Are you having trouble storing the product?" He seemed surprised at the notion of her having problems hiding something.

"No, that's fine." She rolled her eyes. What kind of noob does he take me for? "It's the club. The books. The food. The drinks. The licenses. The girls. Everything on the legit side, ya get what I'm saying?"

There were a few seconds of silence before the asshole laughed.

"What are you doing worrying about operations? Let Sango do that. The books? Who cares if they're right or wrong, you have no loans and that's not the point of this. This place is a money pit; but it's a damn good way to do laundry, if you get what I mean. Licenses and legalities, I've got. You just worry about what really matters, and we'll worry about the rest."

She groaned in frustration.

"I'm not some dumb little girl who can't do anything other than play hide and seek! I want to actually do things with this club. I want-"

She wasn't quite sure what she wanted, or she didn't know how to word it. For years, she proved that she was a great magical girl. She proved she was a great criminal. She proved she was a great stripper. None of those were things she was proud of.

None of those were things her Father would be proud of, that's for sure.

"I want to be good at something that's worth being proud of."

Tomi chuckled.

"You seriously think being good at running a strip club is something to be proud of? I know you've said it before, but your standards really are low."

She glared at him for a second, before she couldn't help but for a smile to break through. She kicked him lightly. It was moments like this that reminded her that they had actually been on good terms for years. He had given her a shit deal before when he took sixty percent, but her forty had been more than enough to pay for her and Yuma to have a comfortable life. Well, as comfortable as you could be fighting witches every night or two.

"Fuck you."

"Do you have the product under control? Do you have free time?"

There's no such thing as real free time when you're a magical girl.

"I can. Why?"

"Look at taking a night class or two on business management if it means that much to you. There are a few colleges around here that offer things like that. It could help you out."

College meant admission. Admission meant proving she was educated. She wasn't educated at all. She flushed in embarrassment, which came out as anger.

"College? Fuck college! They think they know everythin' and-"

"There are also a lot of businesses that teach them. Hang on a second." He tapped something on his phone. "Here, Small Business Solutions offers personalized workshops, right here in Kazamino. No admissions, no formal certificate. Same with Tamago Consulting, Miki Bookkeeping, Tatsume Training-"

"Miki Bookkeeping?" She wondered if they might be related to Sayaka. It's a pretty common last name.

"Yeah, but anyways, there are lots of ways you can get training if it means that much to you. But seriously, you don't have to. You should worry more about the big clients and partners. They matter way more. They're the big money makers. And the ones who can make your life hell."

"Yeah, yeah, I get that. I work with them too."

"And I've worked with them longer. You have no idea what Yuta's like. We're going behind his back; if you make him angry, he will look, and he will find a reason to get revenge on you. Doesn't matter how long you've worked together, how much you've done for each other, whether you're family or not." Kyoko noticed his mouth twitch downwards at his last observation. She raised her left eyebrow.

"How big a risk are you taking helping me go behind his back?"

"A massive one. But at this point, I don't even care anymore. Family means nothing; not to him. So not to me."

"Seems pretty different from the Miyamotos and what you hear in every single crime show." She remarked before pulling out a can of Pringles, tossing five in her mouth.

Tomi leaned forward in his chair. Kyoko kicked her feet up on the table and leaned back. She looked at him, waiting for him to talk.

"I will tell you this because I'm your advisor, and I need you to understand who you're going against; who we're going against, alright? We're not safe just because his son is one of our partners. Hell, that would probably just make it worse. More opportunities for him to catch us."

Kyoko kept eating, but she was paying very careful attention.

"Yuta wasn't always like this; hell, I wasn't always like this. We basically grew up brothers. Our fathers started the Kurosawa business together; his father did the drugs, my father did the laundering. They grew from just dealing cocaine in Mitakihara to ten types of drugs all over Japan, and some even internationally. They were on top of the world, rivalling even the Yakuza.

"Then somehow, the cops got a tip on them and arrested them both. It was for some minor tax fraud charge that should have just been a fine, but the police had been suspecting them for a long time. They made the punishment seem much worse than it actually would be. Yuta's father saw right through their bluff and kept his mouth shut.

"But mine didn't. Dad freaked out. Mom was thinking about leaving him; she hated always wondering when he would get arrested or killed. I was about to go to a prestigious private school; the same one he went to and talked about wanting to see me go to my entire life. He was afraid he was going to miss that and lose everything.

"So he talked and got a deal. He talked while my uncle didn't. Both got sent to prison, but mine was only going to get a year while Yuta's was going to go away for a long time. Didn't really matter what their sentences were though; they were both killed by a rival drug gang within six weeks. Mom killed herself after and Yuta became my legal guardian. The business kept going because Yuta was older than me and had enough time to learn the ropes before shit hit the fan. He was supposed to take a break and go travelling or something; he never got to. I guess it wouldn't be easy running a business like that and looking after a fourteen year old who just lost both parents; he wasn't really that old himself at the time.

"But it broke something between us. I decided I wanted nothing to do with the business, and I told him so. After that, he used every excuse he could to make my life hell. The first thing he did was destroy my science project when I was fifteen, which might not seem like much but I'd worked for months on that thing. I failed the project because of it, which got me kicked out of the science stream; I wanted to go into medicine, but I didn't have a chance after that. Then, he would start to drive by my school and tell me things about the families of my friends; personal, illegal, private things. He was watching me and them. So I stopped talking to my friends because I didn't want to get them involved. I never dated anyone because it would just be too easy for him to hold that over me. Before I knew it…he controlled my life. I went to law school and I became his advisor, just like my Dad was to his.

"And he's got dirt on you. He knows about your little sister. He knows about this property of yours, and he knows it seems to mean a lot to you. He knows you don't need him to put in 49% now, which by the way I lied and said we got some benefactors who made donations on board. The fewer things you care about, the better. So I recommend, if possible….stop caring about a thing or two." He looked at her uncertainly.

"I can't stop caring about my little sister. That's fucking crazy and you know it." She glowered.

"I do. It's this other thing, the Sakura Church…"

Kyoko sighed in frustration. She was sick of justifying it. She knew it wasn't smart.

"Look, the Church is taken care of now, right? We got the money so I don't need to worry about it; it's not leverage anymore."

"It will always be leverage, Kyoko. He could threaten to trash it. Defame it. Challenging your legal ownership of it and authority to turn it into a heritage site would be the easiest thing to do."

"How could he challenge my ownership of it? It was my father's damn Church. He had no will, and I'm the only one left; it's automatically mine."

Tomi looked exhausted and stressed.

"Jesus Christ, this is half of why people don't want to work with you! I don't know where your obsession with the Sakura family came from, but you need to talk to a shrink and get on some damn meds or something! Everyone thinks you're crazy! If you had to pick some family to think you're a part of, couldn't you pick one that's at least alive?"

Kyoko saw red.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?! You think I want to have a dead family?! I'm not like you and your fucking cousin, I actually love them!"

She paused.

"What the fuck are you even talking about?"

"Everyone else tiptoes around this, but I won't. You need a bit of tough love. You're not related to the Sakura family because you're not Sakura Kyoko."

She looked at him incredulously.

"Who the fuck do you think you are saying weird shit like that?" I wish I wasn't me a lot of the time, but I am.

He rolled his eyes in the angriest way she'd ever seen.

"You can't be Sakura Kyoko because-"

Something happened to her. Everything went hazy. Tomi's voice became distorted like a machine. She'd heard the same distortion before; when she tried to remember what her mother and the social worker talked about.

But this wasn't while trying to remember something. This was actually happening.

What's he saying?

"I didn't catch that…" she trailed off.

She blinked and was lying in her bed in her apartment. Alone.

"Hello?" She sprung up, looking around, checking closets and drawers. Nothing. No one. She checked the time: six pm. She'd been with Tomi at one.

What the fuck?

Her coat was perfectly hung on a hanger in the closet, which made no sense. She never hung it up. She always tossed it on the couch or the back of a chair. She dug through her pockets to find the phone she used for Tomi.

There were text messages exchanged in the past five hours.

"TK: I'm sorry I was insensitive when I showed you that. You needed to see it. I'm saying this as your friend; I'll help you in any way that I can."

She had responded, but didn't remember typing it.

"ME: Don't worry about it. Thanks for your concern."

It didn't sound like her at all. She wanted to text him and ask what it was he showed her. He wasn't the first person to doubt she was Sakura Kyoko.

A rush of fear went through her. It wasn't like the adrenaline-based fear she felt when she was in a witch's labyrinth. This made her head hurt and her legs shake.

"What the hell is going on!?"

---

Sayaka appreciated the distraction from her thoughts when her phone rang; well, until she actually found out what the phone call was.

Kyousuke was at the hospital. She wasn't sure why. She couldn't understand what he was saying, but he was at the hospital and he was upset. Her heart was pounding as she sprinted there, nearly knocking over numerous pedestrians and street vendors.

She wasn't sure how long it took her to get to the hospital that reminded her too much of the Mitakihara hospital Kyousuke had been in for months after his accident. She used the elevator ride as a chance to get her breathing under control from her unexpected run.

Kyousuke was sitting alone on the ground in a hallway next to a water machine. His face was buried in his knees. He was shaking.

He was crying.

"Kyousuke, what happened? Are you alright?" She didn't even think before she threw herself at him, hugging him fiercely. Kyousuke just shook his head and clung to her, continuing to sob. They stayed like that for almost twenty minutes.

"My father…Dad….he had a heart attack. They say he's going to be fine and it was a minor one, but he had a heart attack. He's been having problems for a while."

He kept shaking. Sayaka rubbed his back the same way her Mom would to console her. There was more to this that was hurting him. She could tell. She was patient with him.

"Some of his medications were making him temperamental. One time he was yelling at my Mom that he couldn't handle work and having a crippled son anymore. He suddenly acted like everything was fine between us when I got better. Sayaka…the last thing I said to him was that I hated living with him and didn't want to see him. He's had to put up with so much from me for so many years. I was completely helpless. And this is how I treated him when he got sick. I'm such an ungrateful son. I'm terrible."

"Kyousuke, your family has gone through so much. It would make anyone snap at each other. You should have heard the shit my parents and I said to each other over the years, even now. What you guys said would be polite dinner conversation for us."

"She's right, you know."

Sayaka jolted as she turned around to see her mother and father. They smiled at her kindly.

"Not working today, Fuzz?" Though her father's words sounded innocent enough, she could sense a deeper meaning; a positive one though.

"No…I took the rest of the day off. I did a big presentation this morning though." That was technically a lie. She had work at the club tonight, but Sweetie offered to take her shift if she couldn't make it in. Ryo would kill her if he found out she skipped one of her last shifts.

"You took the day off? I didn't know you were able to do that." A joke, but not really. Sayaka gave a tense smile.

"I will for an emergency like this."

"I see. Well Fuzz, we'll leave you two be. Kyousuke, where's your mother?"

"In the waiting room around the corner." He whispered, vaguely pointing the way. He seemed exhausted. I would be too.

After her parents left, she was surprised by the way Kyousuke yanked her back to him. The way she fell with her head to his chest, it looked more like he was comforting her. He held her tightly like that, and she held him back. She vaguely thought that just a few years ago, she would have traded her soul for him to hold her like this. Now, she just felt like she was betraying Hitomi.

Hitomi…

"Kyousuke, we need to-"

He cut her off.

"Not right now. Just a bit longer, please." He sounded choked up. She swallowed nervously, but nodded. They stayed like that for a bit.

"I called you, Hitomi, and a few of my friends from school. You're the only one who showed up. I remember after the accident, you were the only one who came all the time too. It's always you. There were even a few times when you showed up high when I needed someone, but you showed up at least." He gave a rueful smile to the wall.

This is bad. This is really, really bad.

"Kyousuke, you're hurt right now. I get that; that's why I'm here, but I'm not the one you should be talking to about this."

"You're the only one I have though."

"No, I'm not. But I can't do any of this when I'm friends with Hitomi. It's not right." She pulled away from him. He pulled her back like a child trying to keep his teddy bear.

"But you're my friend too! I just…I need…."

"You need your own space!" She tried to think of something, anything to distract him. This conversation seemed to be going somewhere dangerous. "Maybe it wouldn't be bad for you or your family if you got your own place. You can move just fine on your own now, right?" She hoped cutting him off would keep him from saying something both of them would regret.

"I…"

Please don't say it. Please don't say something like what you said to me at the club…

But her heart was racing and she didn't want to admit she was excited about what he had to say. It made her feel guilty that she was holding her breath like this.

"Can I move in with you?"

She let her breath and emotions go, to let them be replaced with confusion.

"Huh?"

"Can I move in with you? I'm really glad you said that, because I've been thinking about it since I got better. I checked your apartment building; they have a two bedroom for rent just a floor above your unit. You're right, I need to move out and I can now. You're the only person I could think of moving in with."

He had those puppy dog eyes she couldn't resist. But maybe this time, she could.

"What about Hitomi?"

He cringed.

"I'm really trying to not think about her right now. I have enough stuff on my mind. She didn't take it well and it's not like I like confrontations or anything."

She felt her stomach drop.

"She didn't take what well?"

Kyousuke sighed. "I broke up with her. I called her and told her about my Dad. She said she was sorry and asked if there was anything she could do. I told her I needed her to come here. Obviously she couldn't and honestly…I was glad. I didn't want her here. I know it sounds terrible but it gave me a good reason to…well, break up with her. We've had problems for a long time, even before I got better. But after that, I mean, Sayaka come on. I'm getting so good at violin so quickly again. I'm going to be able to perform for audiences. I need somebody who would be able to stand by me for that. Before, I needed someone who was willing to hide from the world with me, because I hated myself, and that's not healthy for either of us. This is for the best…I think. I hope. She's a great person, and I love her. She's not happy being afraid, and I think staying with her would encourage that."

She bit her lip in worry. Sayaka agreed it was probably best for him. For Hitomi, she wasn't so sure…

"I…I don't know what to say. I'm….I'm sorry?"

"Don't be. Please, be happy for me."

She nodded with uncertainty.

"Alright, I'm happy for you."

She felt awkward sitting in the middle of the floor. She got up and reached a hand down to pull him up, which he accepted. He didn't let go of her hand though and pulled her to the waiting room where his mother, her parents and Hitomi's mother were sitting. Oh shit Shizuki-san…

"Kyousuke, what-"

"Mom, I think I should move out and I want to move in with Sayaka."

The expressions around the room varied. Kamijou-san looked horrified, but like she was trying to hide it. Shizuki-san was glaring daggers at her. Her parents looked thrilled.

Sayaka wasn't sure what she looked like, but she was surprised, scared, and pissed.

"I never agreed-" She pulled her hand away from him.

"That's wonderful news! Sayaka isn't exactly the tidiest girl around; probably because she's never home. Maybe having a close friend like you as a roommate would encourage to come home and clean once in a while." Her mother beamed.

"Kyousuke, maybe moving out is a bit drastic. You only just got better and we may need help with your father at home…" His mother was hesitant. She was walking on eggshells. She probably didn't want to piss off her best friends by suggesting that her son moving in with their former addict daughter sounded like her worst nightmare come true.

"Are you two together?" Shizuki-san was straight to the point and her disdain was evident. She must have known Kyousuke and Hitomi broke up. And that's probably her worst nightmare come true.

Both Kyousuke and Sayaka knew she would tell Hitomi immediately. They were in bad territory right now.

"Nooooooo, right Kyousuke?"

"Yeah, no. We're just friends. Dad and I both need more space, Mom. We've all been fighting more and the stress is probably worse for Dad. But Mom, you're right. That's why I think I should move in with Sayaka before getting my own place. I haven't been better for long and Sayaka would be able to help me if anything went wrong. She's a first responder, she can handle problems!"

"And she knows how to administer a needle if you need one." Shizuki offered with insincere helpfulness.

"She can also go out and take you on walks for your physiotherapy." Fumiko offered in kind. Kenji glanced at her with disapproval.

"Living with me is a terrible idea Kyousuke." She said in a deadpan manner. I'm not safe so long as I'm working on those assignments. Ryo's warnings were ringing through her ears. She couldn't put Kyousuke in that situation. Not unnecessarily.

"What? Why?" He looked heartbroken.

"There are so many reasons, listing all of them would be an insult to both of us." Also, she had no intention of proving her parents' concerns right.

"What about neighbours? That wouldn't be bad, right?" He looked hopeful.

"Uhhh…." She wasn't sure if that was too close or not.

"Good enough for us! What do you say, Karin?" Kenji smiled at Kamijou-san, eager to change the topic.

"I…I suppose so. They aren't bad apartments…right?" She looked uncertain. She's probably worried I might live in a crack house.

"Is the Kamijou family here? Kamijou-san is ready for visitors." A nurse called out.

"Oh thank God." Sayaka and her father exhaled in relief in synchronization.

"Why don't we talk about this with your father?" Karin suggested.

Kyousuke nodded in agreement with his mother. He turned and gave Sayaka an uneasy smile, not sure if he had upset her with his announcement before he actually got her consent. She was about to sit down to wait when she felt that familiar sensation in her soul gem.

Son of a bitch!

She excused herself as politely as possible, hoping this witch would be quick.

---

Kyoko appreciated the distraction from her thoughts when Kyubey hopped on to her kitchen table; well, until she mentally processed the fact that it was Kyubey on her kitchen table.

"I trust I am not bothering you?" He asked with the same plastic smile he always had.

"Whadda ya wan?" She asked through a mouthful of leftovers from the fridge. Yuma wasn't there to help her eat them, so she had to make sure they were put to good use before it went bad.

"I thought you should know that there is a witch not too far from here. She's kissed many people. If no magical girl intervenes, there could be a disaster." It sounded awfully nonchalant about a potential mass suicide.

But Kyubey never gave her hints about where witches might be. He was never that helpful.

He was up to something, and that was never good. At least not for magical girls.

Surely enough, she felt her soul gem pick up on the signal of the witch. Kyoko gulped her mouthful of food down.

"I don't know what you're playing at, but I don't trust you for a second."

She could use a grief seed though. She'd lied to Yuma about how many she had. She sighed in aggravation.

"I don't trust you for a damn second."

She hoped she wasn't running towards her grave. She had a bad feeling about this. Dying a day after Yuma left would be downright embarrassing.

Kyoko jumped over a few buildings to get closer to the witch faster. Kyubey had been telling the truth; she noticed a number of humans walking irregularly towards the witch; it had kissed at least twenty people already. This bitch has good reach.

She didn't like where the signal was leading her. It was a warehouse not too far from the hospital. If this witch could reach curses as far out as it looked like it could, that may mean there were dozens more humans involved than she'd thought.

It also implied that this could be one damn strong witch. Not necessarily, but it could be.

She broke a door on a roof, giving her access to a stairwell. The witch was definitely in this building. The stairwell was morphing into a web of wires which connected to each other at balls that were interspersed sporadically. The familiars looked like cellphones with forks and knives for arms and legs, clinking with every movement. Kyoko easily jumped over their weak attempted jabs. They had no rotating joints and could barely move.

She didn't like how easy it was. There had to be a catch.

A wire broke free from the web and whipped her, giving her a painful electric shock.

There it is.

She transformed. She was officially noticed and there was no point pretending she was a regular human.

When she did, she realized why Kyubey might have "helped" her.

Her soul gem was dark. Way darker than it had been that morning. And she didn't think to bring one of the three grief seeds from home.

Fuck, I must have had another magic attack today!

She heard the witch scream. It was practically right behind her.

She couldn't back out now, even if she wanted to.

She took a breath in before she whipped around, ready to fight.

---

Sayaka pushed through the crowds of stumbling people. This was terrifying. She'd never seen so many people under the influence of a witch's kiss before. She passed almost fifty people on the way, all flooding in from the hospital.

"Excuse me, pardon me, thank you." She recognized that her courtesy was wasted amongst these cursed nameless masses.

But then she recognized one who did have a name to her.

"Hitomi!" She screamed, watching Hitomi as she struggled to turn around.

"Sayaka…you're here." She had a glazed over expression, before she gave a mirthless chuckle. "Of course you're here. Because Kyousuke's here, and you've been waiting to steal him from me for years, haven't you? And now you've done it. I left my home because he wanted me to, but he's still leaving me because he has you. He mumbles your name in his sleep and has even said your name during sex. Are you here to rub it in my face?" She sounded more tired and dazed than angry. Her words still stung.

"Hi..Hitomi, no. That's not it at all. I-" And she realized how stupid she was being. There's a witch here and she was wasting time trying to negotiate someone who was cursed! She'd never spoken to someone under a curse before.

"Shit, wait here!" She realized that Hitomi wouldn't listen. She grabbed Hitomi and darted through a door into a nearby building. She shoved in her a closet and pushed a filing cabinet in front of it. She could hear weak knocks of protest on the other side.

"I'll be back in a few minutes!" She ran past the others.

She could sense the witch just ahead of her. Her surroundings changed as the labyrinth emerged; a tangled mess of wires lighting up with neon balls of energy coursing through them. They looked beautiful, but was willing to bet they would give her a nasty shock.

The witch screamed in anger. There was a sound of glass breaking.

Someone's in there fighting already.

Sayaka transformed and ran forward. Her transformation triggered a response from the wires, which immediately unplugged from the balls and whipped at her. The ends of the wires buzzed with a powerful energy like she'd suspected. She easily erected a force field around her.

Then all hell really broke loose.

The wires bounced back and were slamming into each other with vicious force, causing more wires to unplug and swing at dizzyingly high velocities; each time a wire hit a stationary one, it would unplug and flail too. She'd created a horrifically dangerous chain reaction that was heading straight to the middle of the labyrinth.

Oh fuck.

She raced forward, trying to avoid the whipping wires as much as possible. She failed a few times and had to use her shield, making them flail even faster.

Another scream from the middle, but this time, it wasn't a witch. It was Kyoko.

Yuma would be so upset.

"Kyoko!"

The redhead was wrapped in a tight coil, audible shocks hitting her underneath the black rubber. The girl was being subjected to shock torture.

Sayaka ran in swung her sword, automatically morphing it to cut the cords around her without actually slicing her. Kyoko dropped forward like a rag doll, unconscious. Sayaka jumped to catch her.

"Stay here." She surrounded Kyoko with an aquamarine shield, content that she actually wouldn't move. If she were awake…she probably wouldn't stay still.

The witch screamed and Sayaka finally looked at her. Her body looked like ten old computers joined together, her head a rotating satellite, and a hundred legs made of thick metal needles. Its tail looked like a massive round webcam. It was a technological satellite centipede.

Kyoko's spear could probably be pretty useful right around now.

But she couldn't use it, so Sayaka would have to make do without her.

The witch's scream faded in and out based on where the satellite was facing. Sayaka didn't have much time before the wild wires hit the middle and all hell broke loose. Her legs were going to be nasty to get around too.

I need to slice it down the middle.

She didn't really have a plan, but she hoped it would work.

"Hey! Hey over here!" She screamed, banging her sword against her shield. She needed the whole centipede facing her.

The centipede faced away from her, swinging its tail at her. She had to jump to avoid it. Of course that didn't work.

Plan B.

She didn't even have the beginning of a plan B.

But evidently, Kyoko did.

"Get on her other side from me!" She yelled with trouble, not leaving the barrier around her.

Sayaka nodded and rushed over. She wasn't sure what to expect.

"Get your sword ready and keep this barrier up!"

Sayaka obeyed.

Kyoko yelled.

"Come here and get it bitch! Come on!"

It worked. It provoked the witch. It swung its tail at her, but Kyoko didn't move. When it hit, the witch went flailing in the opposite direction.

Right at Sayaka.

"Oh you fucking bi-"

Sayaka's sword expanded, cutting off the witch's tail. The witch screamed louder as she lost her balance. In the split second she fell, Sayaka saw her chance and jumped, swinging the sword to the right and lopping off her head.

It still wasn't dead. Sayaka bounced off a shield, into another shield to propel her downwards, and let her sword slice its way down the witch's back; a clean straight line.

Sayaka managed to plough herself into the ground head first in the process, which hurt like a bitch.

"Oh fuck." She sounded nasal. She broke her nose, and maybe a few other facial bones; and maybe a few other bones too.

The witch fell apart, sounding like a machine falling apart.

The barrier disappeared. Both girls were writhing on the ground. Sayaka tried to push herself up. It was surprisingly easy for her.

She felt her bones mending. She didn't feel much magic flowing out. She was a natural at this.

That's a relief.

She walked over with a heavy limp to Kyoko. Sayaka checked her soul gem while she dragged her feet; she definitely needed hit or two of a grief seed. Good thing she had two on her before she rushed in.

Kyoko wasn't moving, but she was conscious and breathing heavily. She was burned all over.

Her eyes were bright as ever, watching Sayaka's every move carefully.

Sayaka collapsed on top of her. Kyoko grunted.

"Sorry." Sayaka breathed out. She checked Kyoko's soul gem.

Almost black.

Oh shit.

Sayaka pushed her grief seeds at her, not even thinking about it. Kyoko's soul gem still looked murky, but it was clearly red now. Sayaka had her sword morph to pick up the satellite witch's grief seed, putting it to her own soul gem.

Just like you did it with Kyousuke, come on.

She visualized Kyoko's body, bright blue veins and bones. But her skin was black on top. Sayaka closed her eyes to focus, feeling the black turn to blue.

Kyoko sighed in relief.

When Sayaka opened her eyes, Kyoko was sitting up easily.

"Thanks, I guess."

Sayaka grunted in response. Their faces were few inches from each other. She tried to move back to let Kyoko get up, but she lost her leverage and fell. Kyoko caught her.

"Careful there." She muttered. "Can you heal yourself?"

Sayaka grunted. She was tired though, and out of grief seeds; she'd have to fight another witch and that sounded awful. She was near a hospital, so she was tempted to take the snail way, or wait for Yuma to come back.

Kyoko sighed. "Come on dummy."

Sayaka felt herself being picked up like a bride and carried out

---

Kyoko pushed through the crowd of stumbling people, mindful of the wounded girl she was carrying. She glanced at the humans that had been cursed; it looked like none of them actually killed themselves, which was a pleasant surprise.

They all seemed confused as fuck though.

"M..my friend is…in a closet." Sayaka muttered weakly.

"Sa-Sayaka! Oh my god, Sayaka!"

Sounds like she got out on her own.

Kyoko looked to see a green-haired girl running clumsily towards them. Fuck, not what we need right now.

"Sayaka, are you alright? Oh my god, you look terrible. What happened?"

"Ma'am, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait here. Someone will be with you shortly." Kyoko pretended to be some kind of official; of what sort, she hadn't figured out, but the girl seemed to accept it.

"Please, she's…she's my best friend. Could I help in any way?"

"You can help by waiting here ma'am. And forgetting you saw either of us here today." She added coldly, eyes gazing deep into the girl's. The girl's pupil pulsated quickly; she must have wanted to forget anyways, so she wasn't hard to enchant. Kyoko was grateful she wouldn't have to spend much magic on that.

Kyoko walked away with Sayaka. She had three grief seeds at her apartment. She could take one for her and two for Sayaka; then they would be even.

She didn't want to owe Sayaka anything, and Sayaka had saved her sorry ass today.

"Hold on." She said when they were out of view. She jumped over the buildings to get to her apartment.

She dropped Sayaka on her couch. It was only a slightly darker shade of blue than her.

Her skin was even paler than usual though.

"Stay here." She ordered softly. Sayaka seemed to make some kind of sound of mirth.

"Do you really think I'm going to move?"

Kyoko grinned. "At least you got a sense of humour."

She brought the two grief seeds over. Sayaka only needed one to clear up. She let her bones mend. Then she needed another half. Kyoko put one grief seed to her gem. It still wasn't the brightest it had ever been, but it was way better than before.

Sayaka pushed the last half of her gifted grief seed to Kyoko. Kyoko's soul gem completely brightened.

Both sighed.

"I still owe you half a grief seed." She snarled, but didn't have much ill will behind it.

"We're even. Consider it thanks for…something."

"Thanks for firing you, how about that?"

"Why would I thank you for that? You fucked up everything!" Some of the girl's energy kicked back. That was good; it meant she was okay.

"Because this is the safest way for you to get out of the club without getting you or your family killed? You know I couldn't let you stay in the club forever, right? I own it now. I can't have a rat in there. So you're welcome."

"No, you've made things worse. Now I need to find another way, so seriously: fuck you."

Kyoko tiled her head to the side inquisitively. "So watcha gonna do?"

Sayaka paused and spluttered. "None of your business!"

Kyoko appeared nonchalant, but she took a careful note of this. So I haven't seen the last of Precious yet then…

Kyoko shrugged. "Fine, don't talk. It looks like it's bugging you though. She leaned back in her lime green arm chair with her hands clasped behind her bed and kicked her feet onto the coffee table. "So if you wanna get it off your chest…"

"I'm fine, thanks. I'll say thanks for coming up with the idea on how to kill the witch. I don't think I would have gotten something on my own."

Kyoko smirked.

"You need to think on your feet more. It ain't easy. I guess it comes more naturally to some than others." She didn't mean to boast, but as soon as she said it she realized what she'd done.

"I can think on my feet! What did you think of the story of the gambling addict boyfriend, huh?"

Kyoko growled with genuine ire. It had been a good one then, and it was a good retort now. Sayaka laughed it off uncomfortably; she could tell she'd struck a nerve.

"Too soon to joke?" She gave a sheepish grin.

The blue-haired girl's cellphone buzzed. She had a text. She checked it and blanched.

"Oh shit, I have to go!"

Kyoko checked her own phone for the time. "Damn right you do, your shift is on in twenty minutes. Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you helped me out today."

"Ah, no, Sweetie's taking my shift today. I'm taking hers tomorrow. Sango's okay with it."

"Well maybe I'm not."

"Do you really want to play this game in my last two weeks? Everyone's already pretty pissed as it is."

Kyoko glared daggers, but left it at that.

Sayaka was about to let herself out, but stopped at the door. She let out a sharp exhale.

"Yuma asked me to fight with you. If either of us fought on our own today…we would have died. I get why you're pissed at the club, but we need each other against witches. At least for now. Can we agree to keep the club and the magical girl stuff separate? We'll get through the next three weeks together. For Yuma."

Kyoko didn't move, and didn't look at the girl who was part friend, part nemesis, and part magical girl partner.

"I'll think about it, rookie. Now get out of my apartment. I need to go to work."

---

Sayaka made careful care to show up to the club early the next day. She only had a few shifts left at the Club, so she wanted to make sure she looked her best. Even though the bright pink Barbie lipstick looked more tacky than nice next to her neon green panty set.

It also helped to get her into the other girls' good graces, having more time to talk to them beforehand; the more they loved her, the harder it would be for Kyoko to fire her.

Anything she could do stay in the Club, and not have to go Ryo's other route.

"I'm so sad she's being such a bitch to you! It's not your fault she got in trouble with Tomi when she hurt you. I heard you were getting both of you so much in tips and you didn't take her client or anything. She should be grateful to you, not firing you! You're wonderful!"

"Thanks Violet. That means a lot to me." She smiled sincerely, and yet didn't mean a word of it. "But there's nothing we can do now. I'm lucky I got these last two weeks. I'll find something…I'm not sure what, but something." She sighed as pathetically as she could.

It worked. She got lots of looks of pity.

"You're on in five!" Sango yelled to the room.

Sayaka nodded and mentally prepared herself. She had to make every shift worth it.

She heard Lady screaming outside the dressing room.

"What are you doing?! What are you doing?! Let them go! Let them go!"

Oh this shift is gonna count.

---

Kyoko made careful care to show up to the club early. She'd read a few websites about restaurant and bar operations management and wanted to figure out how she could do it too. She was pretty sure everyone was stealing alcohol; hell, she'd stolen food on more than one occasion…way more than one occasion.

She walked to the bar and did a complete inventory of all of the booze, which was a surprisingly high amount. Until she actually poured a shot of vodka to test it like the website suggested; it was water.

Fucking alcoholic crooks here.

She drank the bottle straight; she was thirsty.

She hadn't realized that James would come bursting in.

"Gimme some of that." He took it from her and took a swig. He spat it out. "Ugh, this is just water! Leave it. We need to go. This is bad. This is really fucking bad."

Kyoko raised her eyebrow but moved to follow. "What's going on?"

James stopped and turned around, fear painted on his face.

"What the fuck happened with Miyamoto?"

"She got arrested and shot by some activist. I had nothing to do with that. It fucked me over just as bad as it fucked you." She was confused. She thought everyone knew that.

"Not that Miyamoto, the other one! Tsubasa! What happened?"

Oh. That Miyamoto.

She thought he already knew. He'd screamed at her about it before when she tried to reach out to him about selling the Diamonds at first.

"I thought you already knew. Do you want a play by play?" She sneered, hoping to intimidate him into dropping the subject.

"Yeah, especially the part where his severed head was mailed to the fucking KPD! Was it a threat? Were you trying to send a message? What the fuck was that!"

Her tough girl act dropped.

"What?"

"His head was mailed to a fucking Captain at the KPD. A Captain with a history of fucking with people like us in particular. What were you thinking?"

She gaped. How could that happen? She left it in the labyrinth. She left it and no one living went in or out except-

Oh shit. Oh fucking shit.

Sayaka.

Sayaka had been in the labyrinth too. It was the first time Kyoko saw her as a magical girl.

Sayaka sent it to the police to get evidence.

And it looked like Kyoko did it as the most reckless intimidation tactic of all time.

Kyoko tried to find a way to play this. She was fucked either way. She was either a ridiculously stupid loose cannon who mailed the head of an ally to the cops, or her fail-proof way of hiding bodies…or hiding anything…wasn't so fail-proof.

"What the fuck happened?!" He yelled again.

"Yes, Ophelia. What. The. Fuck. Happened."

She froze. She recognized that voice.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Yuta-sama?" She smirked, playing it cool. She looked over her shoulder at him, letting the smugness drip from her.

She had a plan. Kind of. Bombs away.

Until she saw him gripping a terrified Tomi's arm with his son standing meekly beside him. And four body guards.

This was going to be harder to pull off that she thought. Harder, but not impossible.

"Brought your men? Yuta-sama, that's not necessary. We can all talk like adults, can't we?" She pouted. At this point, she was buying time to figure something out.

"Yes. Let's." He nodded towards her and James. The four body guards walked over, seizing her and James.

She kept a smug demeanor and let herself be led away.

James was not as cooperative.

"I don't have shit to do with this! I don't know what you want, but I don't have it. Let me go. Let me go! Kurosawa, I am not fucking joking. Let me go or you will fucking regret this!" He looked comical, such a short, slight man struggling against the two men who were both over a head taller than him. His feet were barely touching the floor when he wasn't kicking them.

Kyoko was trying to avoid causing a scene in front of her staff. James clearly didn't give a shit.

"What are you doing?! What are you doing?! Let them go! Let them go!" Lady ran forward and landed a solid punch in the face on one of the men holding James. The man cursed and loosened his grip to feel his nose, which had made a sick crunching sound when it was hit.

James used the opportunity to land a swift kick in the other man's balls, making him keel over. James got free and took Lady's arm to lead her away.

"Gentlemen." Kurosawa ordered to his body guards holding Kyoko. "Please seize that woman and bring her instead if Watanabe-san refuses to cooperate." The men complied and moved for Lady.

"Don't you dare get any of my girls involved in this!" Kyoko screamed pulling the two men back to her, just as James blanched and put his arms in the air.

"Relax, I'll go. I'll go."

Kurosawa smirked and tilted his head to the side.

"Aaaww, how sweet. You both care about the whore. Maybe I want to take her along anyways, just for fun." He said ironically.

"Just leave him. He doesn't matter and he's not involved in this. I don't want some hooker's blood on my hands; it's such a cliché." He was cold and noncommittal. But it did the trick, at least for now. Kurosawa nodded and let Lady go.

Lady looked heartbroken, and like she wanted to say something.

Kyoko caught her eye and gave her a definitive shake of her head. Just stay out of it. It's for your own good.

Kyoko looked over to see her girls gaping at her, some whispering.

"Let's just go." She shrugged, leading the men who had her by her arms forward towards the exit.

She could feel Sayaka's unnatural green gaze follow her in particular. She let herself be forced unnecessarily roughly into the limousine that was waiting for them outside. She hoped they could get out of there with as little drama as possible.

But that's not how this establishment worked.

"You fuckers! Who do you think you are?! Who do you think you are?!" Lady ran out screaming like a banshee. She couldn't make out what she was holding but she was smashing the back of the limousine. One of the bodyguards moved to get out of the car and apprehend her.

"Lady, stop this! Stop this right now!" Sayaka yelled successfully restraining her. When Sayaka looked like she was half Lady's size, it would have been impressive to an onlooker that she could basically lift her up.

Lady yelled in frustration.

"Just go." Yuta ordered the driver through the screen. That was smart; if they brought Lady too, he might be evenly matched in manpower; depending on how his son went. But Kyoko wasn't too nervous; she could take everyone out in this car right here, right now. Her magic always gave her a backup.

She also had to keep her calm, because Yuma getting a signal of distress halfway across the world wouldn't help anything. She already got an earful shortly after Sayaka left yesterday; Yuma felt much better when she found out Sayaka had bailed her out.

She could hear the sound of something shattering in the back.

Everyone was silent as the car began to move forward.

"We can wait until we get back to our manor. Or we can speak now. Ophelia…Kyoko…would you care to explain what happened with Miyamoto Tsubasa? I thought we had an agreement." Yuta asked calmly, taking a smoke of a cigar. What a stereotype.

She smirked.

"Just making sure you know I'm not your bitch." She flashed him a wolfish grin.

The car was silent. Tomi looked at her like she was psychotic. Everyone else was expressionless.

Until Kurosawa returned her smirk.

"Is that so?"

He pulled out his phone and showed her a picture.

It was Yuma, mouth wide open and sleeping on a plane. The photo was taken from the seat in front of her.

"Going to New York City. How exciting! So many things to do, so many things to see. But quite a dangerous place, I'm afraid."

She felt her throat constrict, but didn't let it show. She kept smiling.

"That's a good photo. Mind if you send it to me? She'd hate it." Kurosawa laughed at her.

"Certainly. So this was what you were thinking? You sent the head of our dear departed friend Miyamoto to the police to send a message to me, making it appear that one of us was sending a message to the KPD?"

She made a dramatic shrug. "Who knows? You sure don't." And neither do I.

"No, no I really don't. I thought I made it clear that if I went down, you were going with me."

"And how will I go down with you when no one believes that I exist? How will anyone ever find me? I can hide bodies and I can hide myself. And my sister."

That was not the response Kurosawa was hoping for. But he smiled lecherously at her.

"Good point. So what's to stop me from killing you right here?" He pulled her by suit jacket down so she was on her knees between his legs. "Right now?" He carefully pulled her suit jacket off. "Or maybe after a few minutes? I don't like your new outfit. You looked so much better before, dressed as the bitch you're meant to be."

Her grin faltered more and more. But it was still there.

She could kill him. Easily. But in front of all of these people?

She ran through an idea in her head. She could kill Kurosawa and his body guards. If she was right about everyone else's feelings towards the man, they wouldn't be difficult to enchant to make them think he went to retire in Polynesia and wanted to excommunicate all of them.

The man pulled his erection out of his pants. It was as big, thick, and ugly as he was; even uglier than that pervert's from when she was younger. She looked to the side away from it and saw Kyubey, watching her with its vacant smile.

She lost her smirk.

"Suck it. So help me god if you bite it with those fangs of yours I will blow your brains out right here and now. Go." He cocked a gun and turned off the safety, holding it to her head.

She noticed that all of her new business allies looked pointedly away. Not sure if they're cowards or respectful.

She wasn't sure if her lance would be too big for this vehicle, and might accidentally injure his son who was seated next to him.

"Do you want to get food for your family for a week?" She hated herself for thinking of that right now.

"Now, Koko."

She winced and leaned forward, opening her mouth wide and took it in. She had never actually given a blowjob before, but she was very familiar with how it was supposed to be done.

It tasted as bad as she'd remembered. But maybe that was just the taste of humiliation.

She bobbed her head and sucked obediently. The wet squishing sounds from her throat were way too loud; his grunts of satisfaction were an unwelcome addition to what was quickly becoming a perverse soundtrack that would plague her nightmares.

Something hit the back of the truck hard, making everyone jolt forward. His gun went off, bullet miraculously only grazing the side of her head but it hurt like a bitch. A body guard yelled out in pain behind her. Her ears were ringing. Kurosawa fell on top of her, knees pushing painfully into her arms on the floor from where they landed hard. His dick hit the back of her throat hard making her gag and eyes tear up.

She coughed while the overweight man above her struggled to get up.

She heard the car door get pulled off its hinges.

"Freeze!"

---

All Sayaka knew was that she was terrified and not sure of what was going to happen.

She made eye contact with Fusao who looked at her with guilt.

"Please" she mouthed to him. What she wanted him to do, she wasn't sure. He looked apologetic and looked away.

Lady went berserk and ran out after them screaming bloody murder wielding a metal cane prop from the burlesque shows. She began smashing the back of the limousine. Sayaka wasn't sure what would help, but she was sure that wasn't it.

"Lady, stop this! Stop!" She yelled. "It's not going to change anything."

The doors shut. Sayaka glanced around her. Whatever was about to go down…it was going to be bad. And illegal. And it looked like Kyoko wasn't getting away unscathed.

And this was probably a damn good way to get at least someone arrested.

Lady crumpled to the ground, sobbing. Sayaka looked at the considerable damage Lady had made to the limo.

She realized maybe Lady had the right idea after all.

Kyoko was right: some people were better at thinking on their feet than others. And Sayaka was one of them, dammit.

She ran to the car and kicked in the back taillight just before it drove off. Everyone who had gathered outside, which was essentially everybody, looked at her.

She made her eyes water. "I thought Fusao was different. I thought he wasn't like the others. Nothing's going the way I thought it would." She broke down crying.

All of the girls cooed at her and rushed over to support her instead of Lady who was actually heartbroken.

"I can't do this. I just can't do this. I'm not cut out for this." Sayaka blubbered on.

"Just take today off. Your client's not here anyways. No penalty." Sango offered helpfully.

"Do you mean it?" Sayaka asked like a child who was getting the perfect present.

"Yeah, I mean it. Take the next two weeks off if you want." She chuckled lightly.

Sayaka chuckled back.

"Thank you." She said softly. It didn't match the way she sprinted into the building, meaning she was fast, and got her outfit off, everything together, and left as fast as she could. She kept the bra on because that was actually hers.

She called Ryo.

"Miki, what is it? Aren't you working?"

"Targets on the move. Suspected highly illegal activity about to take place. Limousine 2025 model with substantial damage to the rear and a broken taillight. No license plate. Heading northbound on 25th street, likely heading to the Kurosawa base. I am in pursuit on foot, but that does nothing. If someone wants to pick me up, I just passed 25th and 13th." She didn't lose her breath once as she kept running, sprinting at near vehicular speeds. Her heart was pounding.

"On it. Eito and Ayumi are near you. Get to 25th and 15th."

"Done." She actually was there. In fact, she had to back track a bit. Within ten seconds, she heard a siren from around the corner. The police car screeched to a halt.

"Get in." Eito ordered from the driver's seat.

Sayaka crowded into the front seat, sitting on Ayumi's lap. They couldn't put her in the back; she wouldn't be able to get out without someone letting her out.

The car sped off, sirens on trying to catch up. They saw the limousine ahead and turned the siren off to not alarm anyone.

"Alright, so what's the plan of action?" Eito demanded more than asked from the driver's seat. Sayaka was ripping the wig off her head and carelessly throwing her contact lenses on the ground. Ayumi cringed.

"Just follow them. Stay close." She rubbed the bright lipstick off with a handkerchief and whatever other obvious makeup she could.

"Sayaka! Kyoko needs your help!" Kyubey warned her telepathically from the back seat behind the mesh cage that separates the cops from the criminals.

"What's going on?"

"She is currently experiencing what you humans call 'sexual assault'. She is experiencing feeling of disgust, degradation, and distress from repressed trauma."

She decided to ignore her urge to ask about repressed trauma.

I need to stop this and this could get us what we need to put them away.

"Eito, get closer to the limo and call back up. We need to see inside or something." He nodded and sped up to get closer.

She pulled off her coat and pink shirt that Yamasaki would have worn. She was only in the lime lace bra she had brought to wear for work.

"Ayumi, I need your uniform jacket and your gun."

"Uh, alright." She unbuttoned it and passed everything to her. She only had a very see-through white t-shirt on underneath the jacket; her black and pink bra contrasted very starkly with her skin underneath. Sayaka haphazardly threw the jacket on.

And then they hit something, all being propelled forward. Sayaka, without a seatbelt, went further forward, hitting her head hard against the windshield. Something like a gunshot sounded.

"What the-"

She looked over to see Eito, blushing and ashamed, looking away. She looked forward, seeing their vehicle was right against the limo. In fact, they looked somewhat connected now.

"Oh you have got to be – wait here!"

Her buttons were misaligned, the jacket was way too tight around the bust and looked odd without a shirt underneath, and her face looked red and splotchy from her rubbing at it; but she went out dressed as a sloppy version of herself, camera on her phone ready in her left hand. Her gun was steady in her right. The gunshot would be their saving grace; it gave them probably cause to search the vehicle without a warrant.

She pulled the door open on the limousine with her left, or at least she'd meant to. Turns out it was locked and she pulled it right off its hinges. Oops.

But it didn't matter. She just needed to see the backseat of the car.

"Freeze!" She shouted, taking the photo while pointing her gun at them. The photo wasn't going to disappoint. Kurosawa and Kyoko were on the floor, his hard dick obviously in her face and attached by a string of saliva to her mouth. There was a gun in his hand and blood was staining the side of her head. A big man in a suit screamed in pain while clutching his knee, which looked like it was gushing blood.

"Hands up!" Eito yelled a few moments after her. She heard Eito try to open the other door, but naturally could not.

This was almost awesome.

She was thankful when sirens were quickly surrounding them, fellow KPD officers with guns raised as the most notorious criminals in Kazamino exited the car with their arms raised above their heads.

"Everyone capable come out slowly with your hands on your head! Officer Eito, we need an ambulance here immediately."

"Kurosawa Yuta, Kurosawa Fusao, Watanabe James, Kurosawa Tomi, and you four gentlemen are all under arrest for the sexual assault and compliance in sexual assault of this woman. Kurosawa Yuta, you are also charged with attempted murder and unlawful use of a firearm. Kurosawa Yuta and you four gentlemen are also charged with abduction and murmuring threats. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and if you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you by the state." She continued to recite their rights as they were led away in handcuffs. She wasn't sure if all the things she listed against them could hold up in a court of law, but it was worth a shot for now.

Kyoko stumbled out of the limo clutching her head.

She looked at Sayaka with pure venom in her eyes.

"You got me shot." She hissed with a promise of future vengeance.

"Not my intention." She whispered. "Ma'am, if you'll come with me I can help you to an ambulance-"

"Just use your fucking magic and heal me." She glared. "Before someone sees."

Sayaka swallowed nervously. Kyoko's wound was part of the photo she got as evidence; she worried it would screw up the investigation.

"Does it hurt really bad?" She hoped Kyoko could hold of for just a bit longer.

"What do you mean 'does it hurt really bad', I was just shot! Actually fucking shot! Want me to shoot you and see if it hurts really bad?" Sayaka jumped away from Kyoko's aggressive bark of a voice and cowered. Sayaka nodded without thinking and held her hand to Kyoko's wound, trying to find a way to numb the pain without actually healing the wound. She was able to visualize the flaring red nerve endings and soothed them. Kyoko exhaled.

"Am I free to go, Officer?" Kyoko asked in a way that sounded more like an unimpressed statement.

"Uh, if you would, I'd like it if you came with us to maybe answer a few questions about all of this." She stated lamely. She was hoping Kyoko wouldn't notice her head was still very much bleeding. She was also in a bind with this case, and she knew it. Charges of sexual assault could usually only go through if the victim pursued it. The likelihood of Kyoko turning against her best clients was slim to none.

But this at least got them into custody, right?

Kyoko swallowed, like she was about to say something was going to she really didn't want to say.

"There was no sexual assault!" She shouted so the cops escorting everyone away could hear. "It was…it was just fetish play. Everything was planned between consenting adults, except for the gun."

Sayaka looked at her with disappointment.

"Kyoko, that's not true and you-"

"You heard the woman officers, none of us can legally be arrested. Except for the gun-related charges." James added, glancing at Kurosawa. If looks could kill.

"I am afraid we still need everyone to come down to the Station for questioning regarding the firearms charges, so we would greatly appreciate your cooperation." Ryo strode confidently from behind Sayaka, clearly ready to take control of the scene. He began barking orders at people to block off the area, get photographs of the car, and after that Sayaka stopped paying attention. She focused on Kyoko.

"I'll escort you to the-"

Ayumi's jacket, which was constrictive from the start, had finally had enough of trying to hold Sayaka in. The buttons across her chest completely popped off, revealing an embarrassingly large portion of her gaudy bra underneath.

"Eep!" She tried to pull the jacket together with a flushed face. She looked around hoping no one had noticed.

Kyoko smirked despite herself. Fusao, Sayaka noticed with dread, was looking right at her chest. She looked away, huffing with indignation. Fucking perv inside and out of the club.

"Detective, please go home and change. We'll meet you back at the station once you're ready. We can handle the questioning from here."

Sayaka was keenly aware that she was probably going to be questioned too. After all; she was a witness.

"Sayaka! Sayaka!" Ayumi stage whispered from the car. "Can I have my stuff back now?"

"Uh, yeah! Of course!" Sayaka returned. She bent down to hide behind the door to take the tight officers' uniform shirt off and put Yamasaki's spring jacket on. "Sorry about the buttons."

"What happened to my-"

"WHY THE FUCK AM I STILL BLEEDING?!"

Sayaka left before her coworker could finish her question.

---

All Kyoko knew was that she was terrified and not sure of what was going to happen. She had never actually been to a hospital before; at least not that she could remember. Hell, why should she have to? Yuma was way cheaper, more effective, and less painful than a doctor. These nurses were coming at her with an electric razor!

"If you would just hold still Miss, we can stitch your wound and you can leave. We only need to take off a six centimeter thin row of it; you won't even notice that it's gone." The flustered nurse tried to reason.

"Like hell I won't!" She shouted, pushing the woman away. She felt a needle in her arm. "OW! What the fuck!" She struggled harder.

"This is the third full-dose sedative we've given her and it's not doing anything!" A young male nurse in training looked shocked and more than a little scared. Kyoko would have been hard enough to sedate at the best of times; her magical girl status just made it that much more difficult.

"I don't want to be here! You can't keep me here!" I am going to fucking kill Sayaka! Yuma's not here and she can't stop me!

"Miss, you have a gun wound! On your head! We're trying to help you, but we need to you hold still." The middle-aged female nurse persisted in vain to get the razor near her scalp.

The last person Kyoko wanted to see burst into the room. It was also probably the last person in Kazamino who had a chance in hell of being able to hold her down.

"Get away from me you…" Kyoko started to trail off, the sedatives kicking in. She felt her eyes and limbs getting heavier, her body weaker. Something about this felt painfully familiar. Her mind felt like she was underwater; she wanted to speak but nothing came out. She could hear things happening around her, but it was muffled and slow.

Her heart and head started pounding. She tried to raise her arms, but something was holding her down. She was bound.

No, no, no, no, no. Not again. Not again. I don't want to do this again. I don't want to be cold and alone again. She whimpered in her thoughts.

"It's okay. You're okay. You're safe. You're almost done, I promise. You're not alone, I'm here." Sayaka consoled her through telepathy.

Kyoko could feel a hot drip of something trail down her face and a warm body against her back, with warm arms around her. She fell still. It's not the same. It's different. It's not the same. It's not happening again.

She let herself slip out of consciousness in relief.

She woke up drowsy in the softest blue bed she had ever been in. Actually, it was the only blue bed she had ever been in.

She didn't own a blue bed.

"Whaaa" She struggled to push herself up, her face stuck to the pillow case by her own drool.

"Good morning…er, afternoon! I made you breakfast…brunch." A familiar voice said all too chirpily. Am I still at the hospital?

When she was presented with a tray of pancakes, eggs, rice, meat, tea, a mirror and a grief seed she realized that no, she probably wasn't.

"Where am I?" She was groggy and her head felt funny. She reached a hand back to comb her hair out of her face.

She snapped completely awake when she felt a bald spot. Her breath hitched as she remembered what had happened right before she passed out.

"No, no, no, no, no, no." She snatched the mirror from the tray and looked. With her hair down, you couldn't see anything was wrong; one side just looked a bit thicker than the other. When she lifted the hair up on that side, however…

"You can barely tell it's there! I think it's even a style now. You can still put your hair up in a ponytail if you want. I healed it up the rest of the way when we got here so there's no scar or-"

"You fucking bitch! I'm gonna kill you!" Kyoko made to move to lunge at her.

"If you do that, I'll drop the food and it'll be wasted." Sayaka screamed, closing her eyes and flinching, prepared to have her ass kicked. Kyoko stopped.

"How did you know that would stop me?" She studied her carefully.

"I told Yuma about what happened. She said the best way to make sure you don't try to kill me is to keep holding food." She blurted it out fast like a kid who got caught red handed. Kyoko gently took the tray out of Sayaka's hands and put it on the bed beside her. Like a snake, she twisted around, ready to beat the blunette senseless.

Sayaka was wearing a candy necklace and actually taped bags of popcorn and apples to her clothes. Kyoko blinked, just to make sure she was seeing it correctly.

She couldn't help it. She broke out laughing. Sayaka looked relieved that some of the tension seemed to be breaking. With no small amount of hesitation on her part, an uneasy smile started to grow.

She's Yuma's friend. Remember, she's Yuma's friend. And she's kind of trying in her own weird way…maybe.

"Alright…alright, you look ridiculous." Kyoko said between breaths. She settled down and all signs of her laughter were gone. "I'm still gonna have to kick your ass though."

Sayaka's unsure smiled dropped. She looked like she was pondering something.

"How about this? I need practice fighting, right? You need to…uh…"

"Kick your ass?" Kyoko meant to provide helpfully while sticking a full pancake in her mouth; she realized she was actually really hungry.

"R..right. How about you finish eating and we can go practice somewhere? You know, then, we both win from it."

Kyoko tilted her head. She could have fun with this.

"Nah, I'm not really gonna win anything because Yuma won't let me kill you. Beating the shit outta you would be fun, but it's not really going to satisfy me, you get what I'm saying?" She popped some of the meat in her mouth.

"Oh…what would?" Sayaka looked nervous. Kyoko noticed the girl fidget with her shirt. Kyoko was having fun playing with her like this. She made a show of thinking things over. She wanted to make the prize something that would hurt, but not too badly; if Yuma heard, Kyoko would probably get another lecture from the kid.

"Loser has to buy winner's food for a month."

"A month?!"

"You heard me."

"Is there a maximum amount to spend, like 25,000 yen?"

"No, because that might not be enough. Maybe I'll be really hungry this month. Maybe I have another growth spurt coming on and need the nutrition. You don't know."

Sayaka glared at her. "If I lose, I will buy you the cheapest, worst quality food I can find."

Kyoko grinned. "It's still food I ain't paying for, so I'll take it."

"Fine. I guess I'll just have to beat you then." Sayaka puffed out her chest, looking as proud as someone could look with food taped to them. Kyoko laughed even harder.

"Alright rookie. Alright. Hang on, let me finish eating." She practically inhaled the rest of the food on the plate. Might as well start enjoying the free food now.

Sayaka stormed off, pulling the food off of her while muttering "she'd better not be a bottomless pit like Yuma said."

Oh, I am.

Kyoko made quick work of the young cop. The circular shield she could put up was hard to figure out at first, but Kyoko was able to make Sayaka take it down but attacking the ground beside it, forcing her to have to move or go flying. The girl landed a few solid hits with her morphing sword and had clearly had some combat training; there was just no way it could compete with over seven years' of near daily experience.

"She looked down at her opponent who was sprawled out on the ground and groaning and clutching her hip, with a golden spear against her throat. "Ready to give up?"

"Never." She wheezed it, but it was understandable. Kyoko grinned, appreciating the attitude. She tapped her throat with the lance.

"Game over. I win. I want McDonald's." Kyoko turned around, not bothering to help the fallen magical girl up or wait for her. "Hurry up! I'm hungry!"

She could tell the girl wasn't right behind her. She sighed and turned around.

Then she cringed.

"Oh shit."

She hadn't noticed that she'd landed a pretty solid slice against her hip…one of the few areas that wasn't protected by armour. Sayaka was working on healing it, and was coming along pretty well. There was quite a bit of blood. She exhaled sharply when she was done. Kyoko realized the girl must have been holding her breath the entire time, except for when she refused to give up.

"And you still didn't surrender, huh?" Kyoko had to admit she was impressed. The girl had grit, that was for sure. She definitely needs that to be a magical girl.

"No. At least not to you." She panted heavily, looking up at the sky. Kyoko chuckled.

"I didn't mean to slice you up so bad. But you're still getting me McDonald's." She offered her hand down to help the other one up this time. Sayaka didn't take it, getting up on her own. Sore loser, huh? They walked in uncomfortable silence out of the abandoned train car yard and towards the street. They took the most direct route, which was through a park. The stark contrast between the lush greenery and the cement desert they had just been in was pretty much a trademark of Kazamino.

Kyoko ran her hand through her hair for what was probably the fiftieth time. She could still feel the bald patch.

"We need to make a stop before we get burgers." Sayaka said with authority. Kyoko glanced at her through the side of her eye.

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"The station. I need to ask you a few questions."

Kyoko glared.

"You can't make me go there. I'm not under arrest, am I officer?"

Sayaka sighed. "You wanna go the hard way, huh? Fine. Well, I'm not an officer, I'm a detective, which means my job involves looking for stuff. If you want me to find a reason to arrest you, I'm sure it won't be hard."

That made Kyoko stop. Oh shit. If anyone had the ability to bust Kyoko, it would be Sayaka; she at least knew what Kyoko was capable of. Sayaka had already screwed Kyoko over before in this regard, even if it may have been unintentional.

Sayaka smirked.

"So can I trust that you'll cooperate?"

Kyoko sneered.

"Thank you." Sayaka said with a shit-eating grin.

"As soon as Yuma's back, I don't want to see your face again."

"Well, I'm not sure I want to see yours either, so there."

They kept walking, but each made a petulant point of looking in the opposite direction. A little voice in Kyoko's head nagged her that this girl was one of Yuma's only friends. And keep your enemies closer. She sighed in frustration.

"Look, I don't like cops and I don't like police stations, alright? When you actually work at the club, you hear all the horror stories. I've seen girls go to the cops to report they were raped and then get arrested for prostitution. And I've never once seen a cop who was on my side, like right now. You say you just want to ask me a few questions, and you threaten me when I say no. How the hell is that gonna make me like you? How the hell is that gonna make anyone like you? You get me? This is why cops never find anything out. Criminals are better at getting people to trust them. They seem nice and know how to smooth talk. They can be real bastards too, don't get me wrong, but you get more flies with honey, you know?"

Sayaka considered it for a few moments. "So you're saying you want McDonald's first?"

Kyoko glared at her. Sayaka laughed lightly.

"Sorry, that was a bad joke to make." Sayaka sighed. "And I get it. You're right. Believe me, I feel like the bad guy. A lot. And I found out way more stuff by working at the club than I would have by 'real police work' or whatever you want to call it. I've had bad experiences with cops too, you know; when I was an addict, they searched me for drugs or wanted to get information on dealers. But sometimes…sometimes they were just who I needed.

"I got beat up a few times by dealers I stole from, or people my boyfriend at the time pissed off. Badly. I got a nasty scar from one time that I don't think will ever go away." She rubbed her left forearm. "The guy was twice my size and pushed me down into broken glass. Then he kept on hitting me with this big, heavy thing. I don't remember what it was; it might have been a bat or a pipe or a golf club for all I know. It got worse when he pulled out a knife. I thought I was going to die. But…a cop came by. The guy ran for it, and they never caught him, but they saved me. Got me to a hospital. Called my parents.

"The hospital stay was one of the worst things I've ever been through. My body hurt and I was going cold turkey. I was shaking all over, but shaking hurt my bruises and ribs. I don't even know how many times I puked. I think I was there for two or three weeks or something, but I don't remember the time; I just remember the pain. My parents took me home. As soon as they looked away, I ran out, found my boyfriend, and got high again. But hey, I wasn't dead."

Sayaka looked over to Kyoko.

"I don't know if all criminals are bad people, but I do think all criminals hurt people. And some are worse than others. I hate to say it, but the only thing that made me mad about either Miyamoto dying was that we didn't get more information from them before they kicked the bucket; otherwise, for god's sakes, they were kidnapping people into the sex trade. They were going to kidnap me and put me in the sex trade. They got what was coming to them. And now that we almost have Kurosawa on something, I don't want to lose that. None of us do.

"So yeah, maybe we get more flies with sugar or whatever. But if we have to spend all our time trying to convince people to trust us more than the bad guys, the bad guys get away and we're still left with nothing. I guess this is tough love or something; we might not seem nice, but we're doing it because we actually want to help and protect people."

"Some of you do." Kyoko said. "Some of you."

"Well, I do. And my boss does. And my coworkers do. Yeah, we have some bad apples. And yeah, we definitely all make mistakes. We're human. But we try to do the right thing, at least." Sayaka looked at her feet. "I try. I fuck up, a lot, but I try."

Kyoko stopped walking and looked at her.

"I know."

Sayaka gave a sad half-smile.

"Thanks." Sayaka started to shake, and her voice was getting strained. She was trying not to cry. "Do you know what it's like to try hard to be good, but still hurt everyone you love? My parents barely want to talk to me anymore. My best friend hates me because she thinks I stole her boyfriend. My other best friend wants me to be his support, but I can't because I might get him hurt if anyone other than you finds out who I am."

Tears started to stream down Sayaka's face. At this point, she was just trying not to sob.

Kyoko knew exactly what it was like. For the first time in a long time, Kyoko tried to stop and pick her next words carefully.

"Did Yuma tell you what I wished for?"

Sayaka shook her head. Kyoko figured she hadn't, and was grateful for it. Telling magical girls what other magical girls wished for seemed like the ultimate betrayal.

Kyoko told her the story about her Dad's church; how he was a good man who lost his followers and got excommunicated from the Church for doing what he thought was the right thing; how her family starved; how they were humiliated every day. She didn't mention how she got molested, because that didn't seem important in the grand scheme of things and didn't want the girl's pity.

But she told Sayaka about her wish. And how things went so good, and then so bad, so fast. And how she lost her whole family from it.

"You can't save everyone, Sayaka. What you do might be right for one person and wrong for someone else. You bring me in to ask questions, I answer them, and yeah, you might have more evidence against Kurosawa. That's good for your job, might be good for a few guys from other drug joints. But there's still gonna be drugs out there. And you might bring down my business when people hear secrets get out, and then all my employees lose their jobs and a lot of them would be prostitutes while they tried to find another job, and we all know johns aren't always the finest gentlemen. And how would I take care of Yuma? It ain't black and white. It never is. So…I don't know, do what's best for you. That's the only thing you can control, right? Deciding what's best for other people…doing what I did with my Dad…it doesn't work out. Ever. So what do you want to do?"

Sayaka kept shaking, trying to keep it together. She let out something like a laugh and a sob.

"I want to get McDonald's. I haven't eaten all day because I wasn't sure what you would do when you woke up and I had to get a grief seed. And I want to sleep so badly."

Kyoko let out a bark of laughter.

"Then let's go to McDonald's, skip the questions, and go to sleep."

"I can't."

"Oh come on, yeah you can. You can play hooky one time. Say I ran for it or something and you were chasing me across the city or something. I'll even make it real for ya." Kyoko grinned before she started to sprint away from her.

Sayaka blinked dumbly a few times.

"Get back here you crazy-"

Kyoko laughed and kept running. She hadn't played tag in what felt like ages.

"Come on, is that the best you've" She turned around with a wide smile, before realizing she wasn't being followed. Her personal phone buzzed.

"BLUE: I really needed that, thanks. Something just came up at work that I need to get to. We won't need you for questions. I'll bring the burgers to your apartment in a bit."

Kyoko didn't want to acknowledge the sense of disappointment she felt that was making her stomach sink. She pocketed her phone and walked on her own to her place. She cut through a field to get there faster.

What was I thinking? That our one conversation was going to get that stick out her ass? I should have known-

She had the wind knocked out of her from a hard force from behind, making her go tumbling down a hill. Something, or someone was holding onto her from behind and tumbling down with her. At the bottom, Kyoko rolled over to find Sayaka basically sitting on top of her.

"Do you surrender?" Sayaka asked with a good-natured grin.

Kyoko smirked back.

"Never."

Sayaka booped her on the nose, grinned, and jumped off of her.

"You're it, no tag backs, we'll finish later. I actually have to go to work now!" She shouted while running away. Kyoko never actually got up. She laughed and laid in the grass, hands behind her head, and looked at the sky.

The blue reminded her of Sayaka.

She didn't want to acknowledge the goofy smile on her face.

---

Sayaka felt exhilarated. She couldn't believe it. They got something solid of Kurosawa. The whole office was buzzing about it when she got there.

"Have you heard? They've got him. The feds are coming in and everything."

"I hear his lawyer even told him to find someone else to represent him, that's how bad it is."

"I heard they're getting the whole Kurosawa team down!"

"Guys, can someone tell me what's-" Sayaka tried to interject.

"MIKI! My office, now!" Ryo's voice boomed.

I am never in the right place at the right time.

She jogged there, blood still pumping from her earlier fight and game of tag.

"Yes, Captain?"

"We need to go over this. It's good and bad. Sit." She looked at his desk. There was an entire bankers' box full of files.

"This is the second anonymous package I've had this week. It's a new record for me. This time, it's full of documents about hidden offshore accounts for Kurosawa. Lots of extra income and secret investments."

Sayaka was following what he was saying this time. And she had a bad feeling about it. She wasn't the one who sent the box this time.

"So tax evasion, yeah? Do you think this will be enough to get him and the others on drug charges too? The extra money had to come from somewhere."

Ryo sighed. "I sure hope so. This'll get him put away, which is at least a good start."

"I don't think it's any secret that a lot of people, even his own people, don't really like him much. This had to be from someone close to him, right? But what does anyone have to gain from him going away for tax evasion? That probably won't be a long sentence; he'll be back out. They're just buying time." She was confused. "Am I close on here, Captain?"

"Yeah, you are. I'm not sure. I don't like it either. We'll use it; it's good, hard evidence and we got it right after we got a warrant for the firearms charges, so it's legal. But this is just working out too perfectly, and not for the crime we want to get him on."

We're not getting any of them for the crimes we want to get them on. We got Miyamoto Suki for murder, for god's sakes.

"How did things go at the club today, Miki? Can you keep going back?" He sounded hopeful.

"Sorry Captain, but I don't think so."

Ryo didn't look angry or even particularly frustrated; just disappointed. "Yeah, I figured. You've done more than enough there anyways Miki. Great work. I mean it." He smiled.

Sayaka smiled back, but it was sad in a way. She doubted she would ever have as much glory in her career ever again. She was glad she was finally getting out of there, but it was still sad. The last few months felt so much longer than that. Bittersweet.

"Miki, I can't order you to do this, but you should really consider taking some vacation time or some of your lieu time. After you finish your report on what happened today. Fuck, why did that dumbass have to actually bust the car? What was Eito thinking?!"

Sayaka could laugh about it now. "Sorry about that boss. Me and Ayumi were trading clothes next to him." Ryo looked a bit red.

"That would be distracting. Today wasn't the best I've seen an arrest go, but at least it happened. Write your report and go home. Think about going on vacation or something. Spend some time with your parents. They'll probably be happy you're not doing this undercover work anymore."

Sayaka beamed. They would be.

"Captain, could I write the report tomorrow? I would really like to meet a friend of mine for dinner, if that's alright."

Ryo nodded and waved her off.

Sayaka checked out the overtime she had accumulated. It was almost a month's worth. She had two weeks of vacation time built up on top of that. And a pile of money from the club. I could do something really nice.

She only asked for a week off though. She couldn't go anywhere fancy now that she was a magical girl. If Kyoko's attitude towards her at the beginning was any indication, Sayaka should stick to her territory and be damn grateful she's getting to stay in Kazamino at all; if the hunt for witches was anything like drug trafficking, you could be killed for overstepping your boundaries.

She wondered what it could have been like to surprise her parents with a trip to Paris, like they'd always wanted.

Actually, now that she thought about it, that would probably really screw up their jobs and businesses. Kyoko had made some good points, but she sure as hell didn't want to admit it. She also sure as hell wasn't going to abandon everything she'd worked towards to become some selfish criminal asshole or whatever.

Maybe being a cop and feeling like a hero is all I want. So there.

As Sayaka walked out of the station, she sent Kyoko a quick text to ask her what she wanted from McDonald's. Kyoko quickly texted back what seemed like the entire menu and offered to meet her there to make sure she didn't screw it up. Sayaka felt sick to her stomach even reading the entire list.

And of course, she was paying for it.

How is she not as big as a house? Oh right, magic.

She shook her head at the thought.

She decided to put in her earphones and listen to some classical music to drown out her thoughts and the world around her while she walked to meet the redhead that she was finally maybe becoming friends with.

---

Kyoko felt exhilarated. Everything was actually working out. The Church was paid for. Sayaka was out of the club. She owned the club. Kurosawa was going to be out of the picture, if what Tomi sent her was true. Yuma was doing normal teenager stuff, just like Kyoko had always wanted her to be able to do.

It's not going to last…nothing good ever lasts long for you. A voice agitated her in her mind.

Kyoko decided to ignore it. She figured there was some truth to it, but she could ignore it for now. Opportunities for pleasure, or at least general contentment, were few and far between for her; she wasn't going to miss out on this just because she knew it wouldn't last forever. Means I should appreciate it all the more, right?

Right.

"Okay, I've thought about it, and there is literally no way a single person can eat this much food in one night. It's impossible. Magic or not." Sayaka's greeting wasn't conventional, but it suited Kyoko just fine.

"Wanna bet? We can make you buy me food for two months instead of just one. What do ya say?" She grinned.

Sayaka groaned. "Don't expect this every night. My budget has limits."

"No it doesn't! I know how much you've been making at my club." She whispered the last part to her. "So you're welcome."

"I thought we agreed to keep work and this stuff separate. I mean come on…we had to do…stuff at the club, you know?" Sayaka started to blush. Kyoko wondered if Sayaka thought about it as often as she did.

Not that Kyoko thought about it often, of course.

"I agreed to nothing. And all those times, and you never bought me dinner once. You're a knight in shining armour, shouldn't ya have some manners or something?"

Sayaka opened her mouth like she had a smartass retort, but then closed it, thinking otherwise.

"Oh whatever. Come on, let's get the stuff. I'm buying you like fifty dinners right now, which is way more than whatever we did before, just so you know."

"I'm including interest." Kyoko shrugged. She moved to follow Sayaka inside when she got a text.

Baby Kurosawa.

"BK: I'm behind you. Find a reason to stay out here."

Kyoko blinked.

"Hang on a sec Blue, I've gotta call a supplier for the club about the fucking mozzarella sticks. You will not believe the shit they've put me through for this." She said in a way that promised she would bitch more later. Sayaka nodded, eager to get in the line that was quickly getting longer. Kyoko waited until she was out of view, consumed by the crowd of hungry customers, before turning around.

There was no one standing in one place. Pedestrians passed by, uncaring and unblinking. Nothing stayed still, except for a small black car that was parked nearby. Kyoko's mouth pulled downward as she walked towards it. She would occasionally glance back to make sure Sayaka didn't come out looking for her.

Kyoko knocked on the tinted windows. She bet they were bulletproof. Baby Kurosawa opened it halfway.

"Do you know who you're getting dinner with?" He was being cryptic. It pissed her off.

"What are you talking about? You got a problem, just say it."

"The girl with the blue hair. Do you know who she is?"

"More than you do." She snapped back. The last thing she wanted for anyone was to get Sayaka involved with her real money-maker, as Tomi called it. "Keep your friends closer and enemies closer. I've got it under control. Just leave it." Kurosawa nodded, accepting her answer.

"Good. I'll hold you to that."

The window rolled up and the car drove away casually. No one would have been able to tell anything had even happened. Kyoko walked away leisurely. She wasn't entirely sure what that was about, but she made a careful note to keep Sayaka as far away from the club and her new business partners as possible.

The giddy feelings she had before were quickly dissipating. They had lasted less than three hours.

She waited outside the restaurant, not feeling like being crammed next to people like sardines at the moment. She stood against the wall with her arms crossed, trying to process everything that had actually happened recently.

"Hey, a little help here?" Sayaka snapped, burdened by nearly ten full bags and a tray of extra-large sodas. Kyoko let her familiar fanged grin come back.

"I'll help, but only because you got a nasty beating today and I feel bad for ya, rookie. Which is really nice of me because I got shot yesterday."

"Yeah, yeah, just take the bags." Sayaka was clearly able to see through Kyoko's shallow attempt to make her carry the load home.

"Where are we going, anyways?" Kyoko asked, genuinely unsure of where they were going. Sayaka didn't seem to know either.

"Whose place is closer?"

"Yours, I think?" Kyoko's memory was a bit hazy. She was still under the influence of some of those sedatives when she woke up. Sayaka nodded agreeing with her guess.

"Okay. We'll go there and watch a movie or something so I don't have to hear you talk about mozzarella sticks or how much I suck." Sayaka sounded like she was joking, but Kyoko could hear the truth to her words.

"Aw, did I hurt your feelings? Sorry rookie. Here." She pulled out a stick of pocky from the packet that was open in her back pocket. "Open up."

"Wha?" Sayaka asked as the chocolate sweet was pushed in her mouth. "I don't need more food! We have enough to feed a small army!" Sayaka spoke surprisingly clearly given that she had a treat in her mouth. Kyoko appreciated that Sayaka was obviously making sure to not let it fall to the ground.

"Fine then." Kyoko leaned over, taking about half the stick in her mouth before biting it off. Their lips had come close, but it definitely wasn't a kiss.

It was more than close enough to make Sayaka flush a deep red. Kyoko grinned at her and grabbed half the bags.

"Hurry up! You were supposed to feed me hours ago." She turned around, swinging the bags as she walked like she owned the sidewalk. She didn't worry about how many people around her were at risk of getting inadvertently attacked with Big Macs.

"Oy! Stop swinging those around, you're going to hit someone!" Sayaka scolded, racing after her. Kyoko just smiled and bickered with her in good nature.

The giddy feeling was coming and she hoped it would stay a bit longer.

Even if it was just a bit longer.

---

AN: Remember how I said part one was done before? That was a lie. Now part one is actually done. I mean it. I also said there weren't going to be new important OCs but those were lies! All lies! My friend says there are two types of writers; plan writers, who have a strict plan from the start and follow it; and discovery writers, who kind of see where things go. I wanted to be a plan writer and am becoming a discovery writer. Ack.

I am so excited to write the next chapter! It's going to be a time shift forward and Kyoko and Sayaka's relationship dynamics are going to be completely different. I'm so excited to write it! I've wanted to write it for a while, but I had to finish up these earlier chapters first.

Thank you so much everyone for your patience and sticking with this story. I know this last chapter took a long, long time to update. I've been very busy with work and classes, but I feel better getting to this. This project has taken me a long time; I've probably had the idea for over three years and I'm halfway through the story now. I feel like I've grown quite a bit as a writer in that time, and I still have a long ways to go so I love getting your guys' feedback.

I do appreciate you taking the time to read, favourite, follow, and review this story! I say this every time, but I actually hope the next chapter comes out sooner. I'm super, super excited to write it so I at least have that in my favour this time!