2-3

When I arrived at the Rec Room though, Momoe was there for some reason, scrubbing the carpet where the rootbeer float spilled yesterday with a rag and some soap.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, not sounding mean or anything. Just surprised.

But the Girl didn't really like the idea of other people inside private places like this.

"I noticed that there was this big stain all over the carpet, so I figured I might as well clean it."

I noticed that the popcorn machine was open, with a bag of fresh kernels ready to be inserted. There was a little cart next to the fridge, all of them full of soda.

"I was actually restocking," she said. "The request we submitted this morning?"

So they had already delivered what we asked for. I breathed a sigh of relief. But there was still something strange. "I don't remember requesting for my Rec Room, though."

Momoe finished wiping the rootbear off the carpet, now a patch of soapy suds. She wiped it off again with another rag, and then went to the sink. She then washed her own tiny hands. I observed those hands, how her thin fingers moved in to lathe the soap on her palms. Even when she was already drying her hands, I couldn't help but think of how fragile they were, how they could break so easily like the rest of their owner. Those hands looked like they belonged to a fine china doll. Momoe looked like a fine china doll. So delicate, so cute.

She then went on to finish filling the popcorn machine. When she emptied the kernel bag into it, Momoe put the lid back on top and turned it on. Soon, little white puffs of corn came popping out of the pot. "I… filled out a request form for you," she offered, probably as a sort of explanation.

"And why did you do that? I could've submitted my own request."

"You haven't submitted a request for this room in a week, so I decided to save you the hassle and… have it all processed in my free time."

Momoe was right about one thing: submitting a request would've been a drag. There would be a form you would fill out, and it would take a whole day before you got what you were asking for. Not that it was too boring for me to handle it myself, though. Momoe was just that considerate. I was really thankful for having a secretary like her. "Well, thanks. I appreciate that, Momoe-san."

She smiled before pushing her cart to the fridge. "Oh, you're welcome Miki-san. I just know that you have other things to handle. The little things, I'll take care of them for you."

"You know, you always work so hard even after hours. Really impressive."

I thought for a bit, and then went to her to help with stocking the fridge with soda.

"Let me help you with that."

She nodded. "Thanks."

There was a whole box full of sodas, and we were pretty quick in stocking the bottles. While we were doing so, though, Momoe wanted to say something.

"Um… Miki-san."

"Hm? Yeah?"

"Do you… do you have any plans?"

"Plans? What do you mean?"

"Erm… plans for tonight. As in, later?"

I looked at her. "Why are you asking?"

When her eyes met mine, she evaded them, pinning her vision to her Mary Janes. "Because… with that question you asked me earlier. About nice places to drink, I mean…"

Of course she'd ask I had plans; I was practically asking for places to have a good time at. She wanted to get in on it because working was such a drag. I was planning the drink-out to be a surprise, but what the hell. I guessed I could let Momoe in on it, considering that she might be able to even help me in finding even better places to drink at, with cheap prices for a group of people.

"Actually, you know… Ah, you caught me," I told her. "Yeah, I actually have plans. Or have a plan, rather. I'm going to take Madoka out drinking, and I was thinking of brining you and some other friends along."

When she heard that, Nagisa's eyes widened, and then she bowed her head. "O-Oh, I… I see."

"What, did you want some sort of inter-department drinking party? You, me, the trainees? Something like that?"

She put the last bottle of soda into the fridge. "Um… no, it's not really that. It's just that I…"

"I think I got what you mean." And I really did. I knew Momoe somewhat, and working with her, I've always noticed something whenever she talked with other people, especially with superiors like me. I hoped I was right. "You're nervous because we're gonna drink with Madoka, right? Don't worry about her; she's cool to be with. The other guys too."

She shook her head. "No, no, it's not about Kaname-san… or, or… your friends, maybe, but…"

I closed the fridge. "What, my friends? Don't worry about them; they're nice. It's not as if I go along with bad girls or anything. You'll be shocked at how nice they are, I'll tell you."

"No, I'm not worried about them at all. I'm just… curious about your friends."

"Curious about my friends? What's there to be curious about them?"

"Well… you know, that girl…"

"What girl?"

"Um… Kyoko, I think her name was?"

I was becoming a bit curious. "And how did you know Kyoko?"

"Let's just say that I have this way of knowing where everything is in the Cycles."

This part I really thought hard about. It wasn't a surprise that Momoe would know about Kyoko, but I was thinking of why she brought her up. I thought of some possible reasons, but if you thought of the simplest one, it could be related to Momoe working overtime yesterday and forgetting to lock up when she supposedly left.

Oh crud.

"Momoe-san, did you happen to be at the office around six yesterday?"

She nodded, suddenly ecstatic. "Yes."

I knew it.

"…Did you see us?" I asked.

Momoe only stared at me, apparently playing dumb.

"It's not what you think it was." Suddenly, my tube was becoming a little warm, and the insides of my gloves were wet. "She's just a friend of mine. You know, even if I invited her into the office, it was just a little um… conversation, you know? She was just passing by." I can't believe how horrible I was as a liar.

She nodded again, as if taking a mental note of my words. "Friends, huh…?"

Momoe wasn't buying it. I hoped that my cheeks weren't flaring or anything. I would've ended up dying if they did. "Were you asking if I had plans tonight because… you wanted to talk about that?"

And she nodded one more time, this time with a slight smile. "Yes."

Oh god, don't tell me she wants to discuss about bringing relations into the office. I completely understood how Momoe felt. How unsightly that would've been—seeing your own boss with a girl in your office late at night. I felt horrible. And to think, it's my secretary that's going to chew me out. How embarrassing would that be…

Then again, better her than Madoka, I guess. I knew that she was my best friend, but I was too afraid of what God had to say about my faulty workplace ethic.

Still, I regretted asking Momoe about places to drink in the first place. I had nowhere to run. "Erm, okay… uh, let's see… Alright, we'll talk. I'll explain everything later. We'll go out, drink a little, talk about a few things. Set things straight, okay?" I sighed. "But I promise you now, nothing like that will happen at the office again, okay?"

Momoe crinkled her brows, thinking about it for a while. Of course she would think about it. Why wouldn't she? That was something about Momoe that I thought was amazing; I couldn't believe how business-minded she was. Although it was a little invasive, she must've thought that it was for the good of the office, overall.

But the Girl wished that the Secretary would get off her case.

After a few moments she nodded. "Um, okay."

"Perfect!" I told her one of the bars we talked about that morning. We couldn't go there immediately since it was the afternoon, though, and she still had the paperwork from our office to submit. So I told her to just come back to the Rec Room around six and we would just go there afterwards. She seemed to be pretty okay with the plan too, although I expected her to be a little bit angrier. Maybe she was just good at hiding it.

When she left with her cart, I made another sigh. I think sighing was the only thing I'd ever done this day.

Something else was in my mind now. The nausea. I'd been hit a few times again today. At class, and when Momoe left. It just creeps up on you, and you don't even notice it until wham; You're down for the count!. Very unsettling. I considered seeing somebody about it, but in the end I assumed that it was just stress. Just like how Madoka was stressed. Just like Momoe.

I wanted to talk with somebody, anybody. I wanted to talk with Kyoko again, but I didn't want to interrupt her when we just saw each other yesterday.

It was probably just stress. I shouldn't worry too much.

Xxx^.^xxX

The Girl wants to tell her Secretary to have some consideration for the privacy of others. She hated it whenever somebody came into her room without permission. The Secretary didn't even bring the right drinks; the Girl drank root beer, not Royal Crown Cola.

Oh well.

Yesterday's attempt to make a connection was a failure. She has to try another set of tapes. Tapes that hurt her less. Tapes she would hate less. Or rather, put her through self-hatred less. They are all about people who gave her the inspiration to move forward. People she loved, idolized even. Despite coming from another life, the words inside them still carried weight.

Today, she drops the idea of eating food while watching these tapes. She feared wasting them.

Xxx^.^xxX

"Hey, Mami… I, I was wondering. If you make a wish, does it have to be for yourself?"

The Mentor turned to her. "Huh?"

Our Protagonist is nervous. She doesn't want her Mentor to see through the thin veil of her question, find her true objective. But it is hard; she averts her eyes, glues them to the sidewalk, then the night sky, struggling to rein in her own anxiety. "Let's say that—and this is an example, okay? Say there was someone who was having a way worse time than I was. Would it be bad if I used my wish to help him out?" Those last few words our Protagonist had hurried, almost mumbled, afraid of letting the golden name slip out.

"Are you talking about Kyosuke?" asks Mephistopheles, sitting atop the Goddess' shoulder.

So much for letting it slip out. "It's an example!" she defends herself with, a mix of shame and a slight twinge of embarrassment. "I'm not talking about anyone!"

"You can wish for whatever you want," he says. "There's no rule that says that you have to be the one to benefit from it. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened."

"Actually, that may not be the best idea…"

Our Protagonist looks back at the Mentor, anxious about what she has to say. Inside, she knows that it is going to be some sort of sermon, so she braces herself, fearing the sting of her words.

"If you use your wish to grant someone else's," she starts, "you should be careful to know exactly why you're doing it. Are you really doing it for someone else's benefit, or the opposite?"

The Girl's chest tightened.

She knows…

The Mentor looks at her with both eyes. "You're doing it for that person's everlasting gratitude."

This was it. Our Protagonist's dreams of saving her lover were being crushed by reality again. "Mami…"

"The motive behind a wish is what matters most, you know?"

"That's kind of harsh. I was just asking..."

She just wants to know if anyone would approve of it.

"I am sorry. But I had to say it now before it was too late."

Who ever made her so high-and-mighty to say that?

"If you're not one-hundred percent sure why you're doing it, you'll most definitely regret it later."

The Girl would never regret it; it would be the best thing she had done for anybody in her life.

Our Protagonist's eyes sparkle for a few moments, but she decides to put it aside and make a smile. "I guess you're right," she said. "Maybe I was being a little naive there. Sorry."

"That's okay." Another smile, from her Mentor this time. "It's not something you would rush into."

"As far as I'm concerned, the sooner you decide, the better," according to Mephistopheles.

"Oh please. Haven't you heard?" The Mentor asked him with a flourish. "Girls don't like pushy boys."

Xxx^.^xxX

The Girl sits on the sofa, melancholia her closest companion as she watches clip by clip of the life that was her Mentor. She has no words. Her Mentor was just phenomenal. Both in this life and the other. She closes her eyes, listening to the voices on the screen, remembering scenes from the past—both pasts, with the same Paragon to look up to.

If the Girl remembers correctly, her Mentor was a soft-spoken lady. Elegant, righteous, clearly knew what the difference was between right or wrong. Not only that, she was capable, skilled and always gave everything she did her all. Was there anybody alive who could ever match up to her? In the past where she fought Wraiths, the Girl remembers her as a leader who could coolly think of a plan under fire and make sure that everyone would come out alive.

The Girl has nothing to say about her but how much she loved her Mentor, how much she wanted to be like her. How much she envied her.

As the clips progressed onscreen, showing her Mentor's prowess, she asked herself: what did the Girl ever do wrong?

Xxx^.^xxX

I was in the bathroom when it happened.

I heard someone open the door to the Rec Room, before a gasp. Sitting on the toilet, of course I was surprised. I froze, worrying if it was someone suspicious. So after I flushed, I took out a cutlass, before opening the door.

A girl was standing agape in front of the TV. She wore a white blouse with a brown bodice, a green skirt, nice shoes. She wore a cap, underlined by blonde twintails.

On the screen was a scene where this large worm charged towards another girl, opened its mouth, ate her alive.

She was the girl on the screen. I couldn't believe it myself.

I lowered my sword. "Mami-san?"

She gasped, before turning towards me. Tears were flowing down both her cheeks.

I wasn't surprised. Of course she would cry.

For a few moments, we didn't speak. Neither of us could. Was it shock? Was it happiness? Maybe we just didn't have anything to say to each other. Maybe it was all of the above. The tears still flowed. She looked lost, helpless. Her mouth shook, wanting to tell me something. At that moment, I was thinking that she always wanted to tell me something, but I never listened. I wasn't about to let that happen today, because this time I understood what she felt.

I stepped forward, wrapped both of my arms around her, and she broke down then and there.

Xxx^.^xxX

I was able to calm her down after a while. Thank Madoka.

We were still in the Rec Room. Mami was lying on my shoulder, holding onto my arm. The shock must've been too great. I regretted not turning the TV off, being in the bathroom, watching that tape in the first place. At least then, she wouldn't have to see all of that.

"I'm sorry if you saw that," I told her. I couldn't think of anything better to say.

How did she get up here? Of course she died. I couldn't believe that Mami could die. For me, she seemed invincible. She could beat ten to twenty Wraiths on a single raid. Then again, Madoka definitely wasn't joking when she said that they were overpowering the Magical Girls on Earth. Now that they've taken Mami out, it was a sign that things were getting worse.

Maybe this was what Madoka was so stressed about. No wonder she was acting strange. And I went on with my day as if nothing happened. I can't believe it; I'm such an idiot!

What can I say to her? "Mami-san, I… I'm sorry this happened to you."

She looked up at me. The lids around her eyes were pink from tears. "What…?"

"Did you… did you die?"

"I…" She shook her head. "I don't know."

The minute after I asked that question, I wanted to hit myself in the head. Of course she died. Why would she be here if she didn't die? I was just making Mami feel worse. "Sorry, I… crud. Um, hold on, let me get you something…"

I stood and poured her a glass of cola. I didn't know if she drank cola, but there wasn't anything else. She held the cup with both hands without even drinking some, still frowning, as if she failed everybody that believed in her. Looking at her, I couldn't help but feel depressed.

First it was me who died under her. Then it was it was Mami herself. She must've felt horrible.

We stayed like this for a while, no words between us. Mami then looked up at me, and made a light smile.

The Girl hated how her Mentor could force herself to do that.

"It's… been a long time, Miki-san."

Xxx^.^xxX

"Well, it's not really the kind of tea you're into. It's all bagged and stuff." I took out a box of tea leaves from the cupboard for her to see. "Is this okay, Mami-san?"

"Anything is okay as long as you have it, Miki-san."

"Well, I know that whatever tea it is, you'll always make it taste good. It would be a little great to have some cake, though. But our office isn't really that loaded."

I had brought Mami to my office for something to calm her down. For a while, I was worried that Momoe would've still been around, but it seemed that she had left already. At least nobody would get any weird ideas this time.

Xxx^.^xxX

Did anybody know that tea is the second most popular drink on Earth?

"There are two stories about how tea came to be," Mami said as she prepared the leaves. "The first story is about the First Emperor of China, who was boiling water in his backyard when some leaves fell into it."

What was the first, you ask? Water.

I was boiling water in an electronic kettle. "And what's the second story?"

"The first tea plant grew from the eyelids of the monk who brought Buddhism to China."

"Wow, you guys really think that tea's serious business." I poured the water into the kettle as per her instructions. "Even the stories are far-fetched."

"But that's because tea is wonderful," she said, getting the cups out. "For me, it's the best drink in the world."

Second best.

And I hope the third is coffee.

"Hey, are you sure you'll be okay with drinking tea from coffee mugs?"

She shrugged. "It's not as if we can get fine set of china whenever we want, can't we?"

"Well, I can file a request," I told her. "We'll be lucky if it even comes tomorrow, though…"

Mami brought her cup up and smiled. "I'm fine with this."

We poured each other tea. Since I was with Mami, I wanted to look at least a little sophisticated with my tea, so I decided to mix a little milk with it just like the people in… France or something, right?

She reached a hand towards me. "Don't do that!"

The carton was already in my hands. "Huh? Why?"

"You don't mix green tea with milk, Miki-san."

"Isn't this what those ojou-sama characters in television do?"

Mami shook her head. "No, no, you're talking about Black Tea. This is Green Tea. Unless it's a darker blend, you don't want to mix milk with Green Tea. Trust me on this."

The Girl felt like an idiot.

I shrugged, and put the carton down. "Well, you're the tea expert, Mami-san. I remember the tea you made for Kyoko and me back then. That was just…"

I closed my eyes, trying to summon the flavor in my tongue. Citrusy, kind of like an orange, but not an orange. I think it even had oil in it or something… It was the tea Mami made on the first night I became a Magical Girl.

"Huh?"

"It was… ah, I can't remember. Oh well. I just know that it was something nice. Anyway…" I sailed to my desk, sitting on my lazy boy. "So, you must be pretty surprised, huh?"

She shook her head. "Not really. But… I am a little confused, though."

"Let me settle that confusion of yours, then, Mami-san. Welcome to… well, heaven. You know that story you told us with Akemi and Kyoko? It's true! Being led away, eternal happiness, all of it! And you know what's more awesome? We're actually best friends with the head honcho around here…" I explained to her that a girl named Madoka Kaname was the Law of the Cycles, and that girl was our friend in a past life. "Isn't that great?"

She sat quietly in a chair, sipping her tea all the while. It seemed that she was concentrated on something, but more importantly, I didn't know whether she was glad or not.

"Yes, I… I already know who Madoka Kaname is."

She already did, but it seemed that things didn't go so good between them. So I asked her if that was the case.

"It's… complicated."

I sipped some of my tea. Why did tea always have to be so bitter? "You sound like an actress after breaking up with her boyfriend."

She sighed. "I don't know, really. I just don't… I don't really click well with Kaname-san, I suppose."

"But once you watch the tapes, you'll see that we've been very good friends with her. You two got along really well, you know?"

Mami looked at me as if I had something written on my forehead, then glanced away, slightly frowning again. "The tapes…"

"Yeah, you see there was this alternate universe where these monsters called Witches existed, not Wraiths. And for reals, they're like, a hundred percent worse. Anyway, we existed in that universe, so what Madoka did was she put those memories into tapes so I could watch them…"

But then I remembered. Mami was watching one such tape, and she didn't really take it that well.

"Oh sh—crud. I'm sorry, Mami-san. I forgot…"

She waved a hand. "No, no, that's… fine, Miki-san."

But seeing herself like that, dying another way just after she died. I would've felt horrible if it happened to me. What more Mami? I knew she was a lot stronger, but a person could only take so much. Whatever the way Kyoko died, she must've blamed herself for that somehow. And if she's already met Madoka, then finding out that she had a past life and all that stuff must've shocked her a lot too. Dying and seeing the tape must've been the cherry on the top of the cake. Or was that sundae? I was never familiar with that phrase…

I emptied my tea. "You know what? How about this: My Secretary and I will go out drinking later to discuss things. I think she's gonna chew me out for bringing girls into the office."

When she heard that, Mami slowly gaped, with a brow raised, no less. "Huh…?"

Secretary, drinking, bringing girls into the office, and I'm explaining this to Mami, who just got here and is technically 14 or 15 years old. Of course. "I know; it's confusing. I'll explain later. That, and I'll also give you a little brief about this place. So first of all, well… Welcome to the Cycles, Mami-san."