Madoka's face had gone as pale as it was the night before. She had managed to calm her anxiety somewhat since then, but the news that poor Homura-chan had been drugged brought it back ten-fold. Sayaka saw how distressed she was and put a compassionate arm over her shoulder and hugged her.
"Not only that," Leiko continued "a while ago I uploaded a program into the national law enforcement database which alerts me when certain keywords are used. I've included all of our names, and addresses, and anything else I thought might be important to know about." She looked over to Kyoko and adjusted her glasses "The program just notified me that someone did a full system search for 'Kyoko Sakura'." Madoka's face went even paler, and everyone else in the room other than Kyoko herself suddenly tensed up. "Normally, this wouldn't worry me too much, but the issue is the search was conducted by a 'Detective Ishida Tashikowara'... He is the brother of a man named Kaiji Tashikowara, who happens to be one of the lead researchers assigned to 'Test Subject One'."
"Damn it… then that means…" Sayaka held onto Madoka tighter, suddenly feeling rather anxious herself.
"So what?" Kyoko interjected, carelessly, and every head turned towards her.
"What do you mean, 'so what'?" Leiko hissed at her "Soooo... your cover's been blown!"
Kyoko scratched the side of her nose with a lethargic expression in her eyes "I thought you said you erased my identity?"
"I did… but you're clearly missing the point. The fact that they searched your name at all is a huge red flag that they are growing suspicious of Kay Sakura's identity."
"Even so," Mami interjected "How is it that they knew the name Kyoko Sakura in the first place?"
Leiko's arms folded "That's… A good question." Then she raised an eyebrow in Kyoko's direction "Do you have an explanation? You didn't say anything stupid while you were in there did you?"
Kyoko slammed a hand down on the table, which created a brief rattling sound as the plates and coffee cups rattled against its glass surface "Watch it, chick." She said, clearly not in the mood for taking any insults lying down. Sayaka knew Kyoko wasn't one to show fear or anxiety, so when she was in a situation that upset her she reverted to anger to vent her feelings. When she was like that, it was best not to get on her bad side, and she hoped that Leiko would get the point and back off.
All the same, Kyoko continued. "On the day of my first appointment, the first thing Homura did was say my name,'Kyoko', when she realized it was me. I managed to brush it off quick enough, and I thought no one would have noticed… but either way, that wouldn't explain how they got my full name, Kyoko Sakura."
The table pondered the issue, but it seemed Leiko had already come up with an explanation without having to give it any thought. "Its obvious… Homura told them."
"You mean on accident." Sayaka said, assertively.
Leiko shrugged "Who knows." But it was clear what she was implying.
"What are you saying?" Said Kyoko "What good would it do her to sell out the only people who can save her?"
"You think the lab wouldn't be interested in getting their hands on another Magical Girl? Let alone four? Who knows what kind of deal they would make with Homura for that kind of information."
"N-no!" Madoka cut in "Homura wouldn't do that!", but Leiko continued as she looked over to Kyoko.
"I mean, she already made it painfully clear how much she values your life." She was referring to the bandage that was still around Kyoko's neck, but at this point Kyoko had heard enough.
She stood up and slammed her hand down on the table even harder than she had before "You just shut the hell up! Alright?" Kyoko spoke with a raised, but controlled voice. Yet, there was something murderous in her eyes, and it was enough to make Leiko shrink back into her shoulders "Homura didn't sell me out, so just get that stupid idea out of your head right now!"
"D-don't fight!" Madoka said, quickly.
"I'm just saying…" Leiko said calmly, adjusting her glasses "I don't see any other explanation."
Sayaka shot Leiko a look that told her to just drop it, but she wasn't sure if she actually got the message. She then grabbed onto Kyoko's hand with a soft touch, and pulled her back down. Kyoko looked down at her, and when she saw Sayaka's smile, her expression softened as well, and she allowed herself to be pulled back down.
"What about this drug?" Mami asked "Could that have caused her to start giving away information?"
"What the hell, Mami?" Kyoko said, leaning over the table "You too?"
"I'm not accusing Homura of anything." Mami said calmly "But we would be foolish not to consider all the possibilities."
"Galazadrin has been proven as an effective truth serum." Leiko said "So undoubtedly, if she is on it, they could easily get her to give our identities away. It's not as much of an issue for me, since she doesn't really know me, but that would be a disaster for the rest of you… However, Kaiji's brother searched Kyoko's name several hours before Homura was reported to have taken the drug. So that is not the answer."
"Let's think about how else they could have gotten Kyoko's name." Sayaka offered "Maybe there is something obvious that we are not thinking of. I mean, we gave her alias the same last name- great plan, by the way- maybe they just took a guess?"
"If we were talking about a simple internet search, then sure. He wouldn't have gone through the trouble of calling a favor from his detective brother just based off of some wild hunch, however. He had the name Kyoko Sakura in his head for some reason. The only two people who could have told him that name are either Homura, or Kyoko herself."
"Or, you." Kyoko said. Her arms were folded and it was clear the current topic of conversation was really pissing her off.
"Excuse me?" Leiko asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"There's three people who could have given this Kaiji guy my name. Me, Homura, and you." Kyoko raised her hands in the air "I mean, if we are looking at all the possibilities, let's look at all the possibilities! We would be foolish not to, right?"
"That's ridiculous." Leiko said "What are you trying to say? Why would I do something like that?"
"I dunno, but it sure sucks getting accused of something you didn't do, doesn't it?"
Leiko folded her arms and returned Kyoko's glare "It's more likely that you said something idiotic during one of your trips to the lab."
That was enough to rile Kyoko up again, she leaned over the table, slamming both hands down and staring hard at Leiko "You tryna pick a fight or somethin'?" She snarled at her.
Leiko leaned back and adjusted her glasses, giving Kyoko one of her classic condescending looks "If you're not going to say anything useful, why don't you just keep your mouth shut?"
"Oh, that's it!" Kyoko stood up, raising a single fist and using her other hand to roll up the corresponding sleeve "You're dead!"
"Kyoko! Don't!" Sayaka screamed, getting up and quickly wrapping her arms around Kyoko who practically jumped over the table. Sayaka wasn't quick enough, nor strong enough to stop the redhead, however, and Kyoko managed to get two solid fistfulls of Leiko's clothing and pulled her up to eye level.
Madoka had been fidgeting her hands around nervously through the entire encounter, but finally screamed, with tears streaming from her eyes "STOP IT! You shouldn't be fighting!" However, her words were not heeded, and when Kyoko started shaking Leiko back and forth by her hoodie, Leiko was ready to take things to the next level.
"Get the hell off of me!" She screamed. There was a sudden flash of light, and Leiko's hand shot forward with a balled fist which connected right under Kyoko's jaw. The magic enhanced blow caused both Kyoko and Sayaka to fall backwards, Kyoko landing on top of Sayaka.
Kyoko put a hand against the spot she had been struck and stared back at Leiko with murder in her eyes. Leiko's clothing had changed to her full Magical Girl attire. She was now standing in an outfit made mostly of black leather, besides a green scarf that was around her neck and had its ends trailing down to the center of her back. Her shirt had sleeves that went just passed her elbows, but it was cut short around her torso, leaving most of her stomach exposed. Normally, most of her figure was hidden by the loose clothing she tended to wear, but the tight leather of her Magical Girl attire revealed a rather sizable bust compared to her small stature.
Her SoulGem was normally worn as an earring, but while she was transformed it became a green piercing around her belly button. Each of her hands wore fingerless black leather gloves with metal studs on the knuckles, which were currently emitting strings of static electricity which buzzed as they shot into the air and disappeared. She had a black skirt to match the rest of her dark clothing, which was cut well over the knees, leaving most of her legs exposed besides her lower leg which were covered by heavy black combat boots.
There was another flash of light from Kyoko as she sprang back to her feet, leaving Sayaka still laying on the ground behind her "You're going to pay for that!" She screamed, and lunged at Leiko, her own Magical Girl costume appearing around her body mid leap.
Leiko took a defencive stance, with strings of static electricity emitting from her gloved fists, and prepared to strike.
"That's enough!" Mami shouted, as she stood. Kyoko was mere inches away from tackling Leiko, and Leiko's fist swung forward to counter the blow, but suddenly, yellow ribbons grabbed onto both of their arms. The ribbons pulled them each back a few steps, Leiko instantly gave up trying to resist and just stared Kyoko down with malice in her eyes as the ribbons wrapped around her arms. Kyoko, however struggled against the bindings enough that she managed to make it forward a few steps, which warranted more ribbons appearing around her legs and forearms.
The ribbons disappeared from the nonresistant Leiko, and she quickly folded her arms over her chest with her face glowing bright red, then rainbow light covered her body as she disenchanted her costume.
Kyoko, however, continued to struggle, screaming out curse words as the ribbons forced her arms behind her back and then forced her to her knees. Sayaka got up and wrapped her arms around the bound up, kneeling Kyoko, and held onto her tightly. "Come on, just relax!" Sayaka said to her in the softest voice she could manage. That put an end to Kyoko's cursing, but she still stared at Leiko with murder in her eyes.
Madoka was now openly weeping from her place at the table. She had been trying to stay strong through all the bad news about Homura, but now seeing her friends at eachothers throats like this was enough to put her over the edge. "W-we're all friends!" She said through her sobs "W-we're not suppose to fight each other like this!"
Leiko abruptly stomped back into the computer room and announced "I'm leaving."
"Leaving?" Sayaka asked suddenly, still holding Kyoko in her arms.
A moment later, Leiko appeared back out of the computer room, holding her bag "You all should understand by now. Our cover's been blown. The plan's off!"
"Yeah, whatever! Run away!" Kyoko screamed at her, but Leiko paid her no heed and went right for the door.
"No! Leiko, don't go!" Madoka said, getting up from her seat and running after her. She managed to grab onto Leiko's left hand, while her right hand was on the door. "Please don't leave! We need you, and besides, Kyoko's just upset! She didn't mean anything, A-and-"
"Need me for what?" Leiko said, her own voice was cold and emotionless "The plan is OFF! This is getting too risky, sorry, but I'm not sticking my neck out for someone I barely know any longer."
Tears were streaming freely from Madoka's eyes as she shook her head "Even if the plans off! Don't leave like this…" Her eyes sank away "We're your friends…"
Leiko scoffed and pulled her hand away "Just leave me alone." And before Madoka could say another word, Leiko was out the door. However, Madoka wasn't one to give up easily, and chased right after her.
Sayaka looked back and forth between Mami and the empty doorway a few times before finally setting her sights on Mami "Do something!" She said to her, but Mami just maintained her stance at the table, with her arms folded and a dark expression on her face.
Homura woke up and glanced over to the clock. Only a couple hours had passed.
She sat up and looked around the room, trying to judge her own mental state. She felt a bit light headed, but she had lost that obsessive urge to laugh at everything. She held her hands in front of her face and waved them around. Her body felt light, but for the most part everything seemed normal again.
When she stood up, and slogged over to the door of her bedroom, she realized a migraine accompanied her other symptoms. She thought she was more or less back to her normal self, though. She swallowed, and realized her mouth felt dry. She felt an urge to go to the kitchen and get a glass of water from the sink, but she didn't know if that could have been drugged as well.
She walked out into the living room, and sat down on the couch. She put her hands over her face and massaged her temples as her black hair fell all around her. She was in a bad situation, she didn't know what she could trust in order to avoid the drug, and what's more, they could simply gas her at any time and force it on her while she was unconscious. She wondered why they hadn't already tried to do that. Well, she knew her time was running out, she was at their mercy, and she needed to find a way out of here.
The intercom buzzed on "Homura, how are you feeling?" It was that dry monotone voice that she hated. Homura just ignored him. "Do you need us to send in a medic?"
Homura looked up at the nearest camera with narrow eyes. What kind of game are they playing? Was he trying to act as if he hadn't drugged her food? What was the point of that? Did he really expect to fool her?
She glanced over to the bottle of pills which still stood unopened on the dining room table. Furthermore, why bother with the pills if they were just going to drug her food anyway? Then, she thought about how they had both hidden cameras and cameras which were out in plain sight. It was all for the purpose of misdirection.
She stood up, her black hair was in a tangled mess, falling all over her face "No… there's no need, I had an odd feeling earlier but it has passed…" Her sharp eyes took another glance one of the camera's as she made her way back to the kitchen "Perhaps something I ate has upset my stomach."
She opened the refrigerator and looked at all the food it was stocked with. She had vomited up most of her meal from a couple hours ago, and she didn't have much to eat befor that either, so she was quite hungry. However, she was now stuck, unable to trust anything that was provided to her by them.
She took a good look at the pitcher of iced tea that was provided to her. It was almost all the way full, only missing enough for the one glass that she had poured for herself. Normally, she made the tea herself, and now that she thought about it, before she left for her testing this morning the pitcher was only about half way full. She tried to think back on if filling her pitcher of ice tea was something they normally did when they stocked her refrigerator, but she couldn't be certain.
She glanced back at the pills on the table… misdirection… would she have noticed the pitcher was full and not drink from it if they hadn't been pushing those pills on her? Maybe, and maybe not. It was hard to say. She closed the refrigerator door, she may have been hungry, but she could hold out for a while. She needed to think things over a little more and decided if it was safe or not.
The intercom buzzed on "Homura, would you be willing to take your supplements now?" Dr. Mono asked. She snatched the bottle up from the table, then walked back to the kitchen. She gingerly tossed it down the garbage disposal and shut the draw again, before heading back to the couch to sit in front of the TV.
"I'm not taking anything you give to me." She said as she sat down and turned on the TV.
"Homura, you realize the situation you are in, don't you?" Homura remained quiet as she stared intensely at the TV set, not really registering any of the picture or sound that was coming out of it. "If there's something that we want you to take, there are other ways of making you take it. We could simply turn the gas on at any time and force feed you while you are out. So you understand, it is pointless to resist our requests."
"So, you've finally dropped the charade and are just openly threatening me now. How nice. It's a breath of fresh air to at least get some honesty out of you people for a change. So, what was actually in that pill bottle anyway? The same stuff you drugged my ice tea with?" She wasn't one hundred percent sure if the ice tea actually was what was contaminated, although she had a strong suspicion. She just threw that out there to gauge the doctor's reaction. If they decided to gas her, there wasn't anything she could do about that one way or the other, but she could only go so long without food and water so she would like to be able to make a judgement on if any of it were safe or not.
"The bottle only had suppliments. Vitamins that you are likely lacking in because of your current housing situation."
"And the tea?"
"You're suspicions are unfounded, we have not altered any of your supplies. Whatever it is you are accusing us of, I promise it is all in your imagination."
Homura would love the option to just storm out of the room, and put an end to the conversation, but that was quite impossible. Anywhere she went, they had eyes on her, and there was no way to escape the sound of the intercom. So, she just sat on the couch with folded arms, staring intensely.
She thought she was finally starting to understand. He was just messing with her. His voice was dry and monotone, but there was something sadistic in it as well. Was he trying to make her angry? If he wanted to start openly dosing her with whatever that drug was, then it would make sense. If he could make her angry enough to tear the room apart again, then that would give him more leverage with the other members of the staff who supposedly didn't want to start drugging her. That also explained the collars he tried to force on her before, he knew that would cause her to lose her temper, and she foolishly fell right into it before. But not again.
He was subtle, and he must have thought he was quite clever, but Homura knew he was underestimating her. She wasn't going to play into his trap. It was difficult, because she was angry with her situation, she had felt this way for a long time now, and she admittedly wasn't the best at controlling her emotions. She had to keep calm, though. Just buy some time, and have faith that her friends would be able to help her get out of here.
"Please, Leiko, wait up!" Madoka called after her, as the snowy haired girl stomped down the street with her head low and her hands buried deep in the pockets of her black hoodie.
"Stop following me!" Leiko said, not looking back for even a moment.
Madoka caught up to her and grabbed onto her hand, forcing her to a stop "Kyoko's just upset! She's not good at controlling her emotions, and I'm sure she didn't mean any of it! So please come back, I'm sure we can work things out."
"Work what things out? I just told you, I'm done. This whole thing is getting way too risky. I don't even know Homura, do you really expect me to continue risking my neck for her?"
Madoka's eyes slunk down, despair was written all over her face "I-it's not just about that…"
"Whatever, I'm not stupid." The hurt expression that came over Madoka's face as she looked back up at her managed to make Leiko feel at least a little bit guilty, and her voice soften "Maybe it's different with you, but the rest of them only want me because I'm useful to them. What point is there to staying if-"
"That's not true!" Madoka shouted at her.
"Think whatever you want. It's better this way… I mean… trusting me…" Leiko's eyes shifted away "You're just going to end up getting hurt."
Madoka stared back at her, shocked, but Leiko refused to meet her eyes "Why would you say that? Leiko, you're wrong!"
They were standing outside a department store with an automatic glass door. Leiko pulled her hand away and said "I'm sorry." Then quickly went inside. As she passed through, strings of rainbow colored electricity shot forth from her fingertips and into the doors power box. Before Madoka had a chance to follow her in, the door slammed shut in her face.
"Leiko!" Madoka screamed. She tried pulling the door open manually, but it was locked "LEIKO!" She screamed again, now banging on the glass, but all she could do is watch as Leiko disappeared into the back of the store.
Madoka quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Leiko's number, then started running down the street. Usually there were alleyways behind these kinds of stores. Maybe Leiko was planning to leave through the back exit, so Madoka thought she still had a chance to catch her. She just had to find an opening. The phone rang and rang, but eventually just picked up the answering machine "Leiko Amaya, leave it. ~Beeeeeep"
Madoka found an opening between two other stores further down the street, and she dialed the number again. She made it to the back alley, and ran down it. looking at each of the steel doors, not sure which one belonged to the store Leiko had ducked into "Leiko Amaya, leave it. ~Beeeeeep"
Madoka opened the messenger on her phone and quickly punched in a message as she paced up and down the alleyway. 'Leiko, please pick up! Let's just talk!'
Madoka found a wooden crate to sit on top of as she stared at the phone. Her hands were shaking, and her heart was fluttering in her chest. It was getting late in the day, and the sun had already disappeared over the horizon, though some of it's light still made it to the city streets, it was extra dark inside the alley. "Please answer…" Madoka whispered to herself.
Then, her phone rang, and she answered it right away without even looking to see who it was.
"Leiko!"
"Leiko? No, it's mom."
"Mama?"
"Soooo, were you planning on coming home tonight or what? You know, I really don't want to have to start… Madoka?" Despite herself, Madoka suddenly started crying "Madoka, are you ok?"
"No!" Madoka admitted, with a small cracked voice.
"What's going on? Where are you? Are you hurt?"
"N-no, I'm not hurt! I-I'm sorry I don't want to worry you… b-but…" Madoka's choked words ended in sobbing.
"Look, I'm getting in the car now, I'm coming to get you."
"N-no, mama it's alright! I-I just… my friends are fighting a-and…"
"No, I'm coming to get you. Stay on the phone, and tell me where you are. We can talk about it when I pick you up."
Madoka's head slunk down, unable to argue, and just continued to cry with her mother on the other side of the phone.
Subject One became unresponsive to him for the rest of the night. Dr. Endou watched her through the screen for a while. She was up to something, he could just tell, and he had a strong feeling it had something to do with the psychologist. He didn't have any proof, it was simply a feeling he had, and he couldn't make any moves based off of a feeling. It didn't really matter though, he had all the cards. Whatever secrets Subject One had would be revealed in time.
Once he was able to use Galazadrin openly, the problems would be over, and they would finally be able to make some progress in their research. They actually had learned very little about Homura in the three weeks that they have had her. What little they did know about her came before she was even taken to the lab. She had been careful not to show them anything they didn't already know. She was smart. She was only a fifteen year old girl, but she was not to be underestimated.
The ice tea was indeed drugged. The supplements, however, were exactly what he told her they were. He might be able to use her refusal to take the supplements as part of his argument why Galazadrin is needed. He would state some concerns about her causing harm to herself, due to her spiteful unwillingness to cooperate with his team. Galazadrin would negate all her aggression, so that there would be no more fear of her harming herself or anyone else, and not only that, it would make her more cooperative with the tests. It could even be used as a truth serum, which is the part Endou was most anxious to see put to use. He would finally be able to end his suspicions about Dr. Sakura, as well as get some honest answers about how much Homura knows about her own power.
For tonight, though, it was getting late. Endou would send Subject One to bed, put the night team to watching her, and then go back home himself. He pushed down on the intercom and spoke "Homura, time for bed. I noticed you haven't eaten anything since getting sick earlier. If you are hungry, now is your chance. Otherwise, brush your teeth and go to your bedroom." Homura looked up at the camera scornfully. At that, Endou's stoney face raised into something that might be a smile and he added "You have fifteen minutes." Then he pushed a button which forced her TV to turn off.
Subject one slammed the remote she had been holding down on the coffee table then stomped into the bathroom. She was indeed very intelligent for her age,and should she should not be underestimated. However, she was still easy to manipulate. He was satisfied that the way in which he asked her to go to bed had it's desired effect.
He looked over the report from the technicians while he waited for her to finish. The highspeed cameras technically didn't pick anything up, but the lead technician wrote that there was something of a distortion at the exact moment Homura teleported. It wasn't something that the naked eye could pick up on, even with the video slowed to one ten thousandths of it's speed. They did not yet have an explanation, but they wrote that it was worth additional testing.
Subject One came out of the bathroom dressed in sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. The bathroom indeed did not have any cameras in it, which made Endou nervous, but he supposed it couldn't be helped. For now, anyway. Perhaps in the future, he would make a case of needing cameras in that room as well, but he had bigger issues to worry about with getting regular doses of Galazadrin approved.
"Goodnight, Homura." He said into the intercom, and pushed a button to turn out her lights. He shut his computer terminal down, and sent out a message for the night security team to take over. Their role was simply to watch over her and report any suspicious activity. They were forbidden to talk or interact with Subject One, unless it was an emergency situation.
Endou walked down the long white familiar halls, the metal doors hissing and sliding open as he approached them, then sliding shut again behind him. He made it to elevator room, which had three armed guards stationed in it at all time. One of those guards escorted him onto the elevator and up to the main floor. Once at the top, he exited the elevator, his escort staying behind, and went into a room with two more guards.
From this point further, since he was a member of the staff, he didn't need an escort. He nodded a brief goodbye to the workers who he walked by every day, but never talked to. The employees on this level of the building were clueless about what was going on underground, only knowing that it was some kind of research department.
There were more guards patrolling around the outside of the building, though these only had standard issue handguns rather than the assault rifle wielding guards below ground.
Endou got into his car and drove home.
He lived just inside Mitakihara City, so his home was a short drive from the Anomalous Research Facility that exited on the outskirts of the city.
He stared at the dark highways, lights zipping past him as he drove. He was a man who lived only for his work. He would stay at the lab all day every day if he could, because he felt as if there was nothing waiting for him at home… but it wasn't always like that.
He parked in his driveway, and sluggishly put the key in the front door. He could remember a time when there was some joy in coming home after a long day at work. Those days were gone, though.
He turned a single light on in the dark house, and made a meal for himself out of leftovers. When he was finished with that, he would change for bed, and lay down next to a wife who made a point of being asleep before he arrived there. He wasn't sure if he was ever really happy with her. If there ever was such a time, it only lasted a couple of years. The years that followed was nothing but a bitter and cold relationship. He once tried to get out of it, but it always seemed as though something was stopping him.
It was as vague a sense as his suspicions of Kay Sakura, but he knew it was there. When he filed the divorce papers they would always get lost in the system. Once, his lawyer had even gotten into a rather serious car accident. Other times, it was a feeling from either himself or his wife that would stop the proceedings. But ultimately, their marriage remained intact.
He finished his cold meal, and continued to his room. He stood outside his bedroom door, and he could hear his wife's breathing. His routine would now be to go inside and go to sleep himself, but tonight, for some reason, he did something that he hadn't done in a long time. He continued down the hall to his daughter's room.
He went inside, there was a full moon tonight and it sent enough light in through the window that he could clearly see all that was in his daughter's room. His wife had once tried to clean the room, and empty it of her possessions, but that ended in a rather violent and tear filled confrontation when Endou didn't allow her to do so.
He sat down on the empty bed, and ran his hand over the sheets.
Was she alive or dead? Did she run away willingly, or was she abducted? He would never know.
He laid his head down for a moment and whispered "Tsarina…"
