Chapter 18

Surprises

A guttural, grunting sound came out of a tangled mass of crimson hair. Groaning, Kyoko cast about, only semiconscious, trying to determine what had disturbed her slumber. Snarling, she extricated herself from the silky satin sheets that she'd twisted herself into during the night. Or morning. Whatever. The sun was up... with another grunt, she freed herself from the luxuriously soft fabric. Her friend's phone on the bed stand was still dead, Sayaka not having thought to bring a charger along with her. Kyoko didn't have a phone, so she went with the old standby: glancing at a bedside display. 10:27.

She glared at the clock. I barely had time to shut my damn eyes! Screw that, she thought, flopping back into the downy bedding, sprawling out, ready to fall asleep again.

That dream... it had her all hot and bothered. If only she could get back to it, maybe she'd find some relief from this-

Maroon eyes flashed open. She had realized two important things, tangential but connected.

Sayaka wasn't in bed anymore.

And someone was running the bath.

Humming softly to herself, Sayaka laid the breakfast out on the plates. Her attempt at a riceball hadn't succeeded very well, the lumpy pile of steamed rice a testament to her effort if not intention. It still tasted good. Even better was the tamagoyaki she'd made. One of the few dishes she'd taken the time to learn... a childhood favorite, she'd loaded it with extra sugar.

She'd been astounded when, upon opening up the small refrigerator in the conspicuously large and well-appointed kitchen-it was larger than the Kaname's, for god's sake-an amazing assortment of foods awaited her sleepy gaze. She'd hoped for something, anything... but it seemed there was fruit and meat and all manner of condiments. Exploring the cupboards, she found an assortment of spices, herbs and sauces. Everything appeared unopened. The meat smelled fresh.

What kinda hotel is this? she thought, starting to get a little nervous about the whole situation. Then she noticed the special rectangular pan, the one she remembered using with her grandmother, back before she'd... Sayaka smiled, a bit wistfully, as she picked up the makiyakinabe that brought back memories of a time long ago. A happier time-

Hmm. Not really. I'm feeling pretty good right now...about, well, everything. Sayaka was amazed to realize that, for the first time in weeks, months even, she felt... happy. Excited to be up out of bed, feeling like life was worth living. It was... refreshing. Like a summer breeze blowing across her soul. Or rain in the desert.

She whipped up the egg concoction in an almost manic frenzy. She'd never been the most diligent regarding cleanliness, and by the time she had prepared the square layers of egg, rolling them together after providing some additional flavoring, the formerly-pristine counters were covered in a mix of eggshell, yolk drips, scattered clumps of rice and earth-toned rainbow of powders.

As she cooked, her mind kept coming around to a feeling of excitement and nervous anticipation, tied somehow to a twisted bundle of silk and red hair. She was making enough of her favorite breakfast for two. It was actually enough to feed four people, but knowing Kyoko... it should be enough to curb her appetite, at least, Sayaka thought with a certain sappy fondness, feeling as if she were really starting to know the other girl, appreciate her... understand her, like she got Madoka.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, she cautioned, admitting to herself that sometimes Kyoko was a tough nut to crack.

Grimacing in barely-awake fury, Kyoko gave up trying to untangle her hair, wrenching her fingers out and ripping out several strands in the process. Snarling, silently because-as she saw it-she was in *stealth mode,* the bed-headed red-head crept toward the closed door, wriggling into the black tank top, gliding across the expensive-looking hardwood floor on the balls of her feet. Like a ninja.

Heart beating strongly, rapidly now, feeling warm and flush from the hunt like she was in he-... in the heat of battle, Kyoko approached the door with exaggerated care, glancing around furtively. What's a little scare between friends? she thought, chuckling inwardly and drunk with anticipation. She was going to give the blunette a heart attack. And maybe I'll get a little something in return, she thought. Probably a slap... I could live with that. She prepared herself with a deep breath, trying to wipe the smirk off her face before reaching for the etched brass door handle.

A burst of steam escaped the room, blinding her momentarily. Damnit, she thought, somewhat obviously, steamy in here. She darted inside, closing the door behind her as quickly as possible, noting with ambivalence that quite a lot of the steam had escaped through the open doorway... she could now be seen, if Sayaka was paying attention... but she could also see. The bathroom was huge, tiled floor with mat's placed in strategic locations, around the immense bathtub, for example. Through wisps of billowing steam, she saw the slat-sided wooden tub.

Its about to get even steamier, she thought to herself, before she realized with shame how terrible a pun it was. She resolved never to mention the stray thought to Sayaka, no matter the circumstance. Like it was out of some trashy yuri novella pedaled to men and boys across the islands. Ugh. She was so going to scare the crap out of unsuspecting, sweet little Sayaka... Hopefully not literally, Kyoko acknowledged darkly, her anticipatory grin wavering as she remembered and dismissed an occasion some time back, a "prank" taken a little too far... That would be awkward.

Sayaka had imagined this... waking her friend up, offering her the one thing she wanted more than anything in the world-food... Kyoko devouring it, possibly asking for more, probably not thanking her... Kyoko was who she was, and the younger girl had decided to accept her as is... for the most part anyway. She was just excited to give the girl something, a present or gift or whatever, just to be... thoughtful.

And she had prepared extra, of course, and held back, thinking to tease Kyoko into pleading and begging for more... which she would miraculously provide! She carried the steaming plate in one hand, a glass of "tropical" juice-or so the label had claimed-in the other.

One scenario that had never been conjured by her imagination was finding the twisted mass, which she'd envisioned poking awake, maybe with a gentle stroke to her muscular shoulder... finding it empty.

Only a pillow was wrapped in the blanket. Had she... imagined it? She shook her head. Had... had Kyoko... left? Confused, she stared at the empty, messed up bed, her eyes noting the missing signature tank top she'd hung on a nearby chair.

Oh shit-the bath! Suddenly remembering that she'd intended to make a quick breakfast while it filled up-the thing was immense-Sayaka was afraid she'd been gone far too long. She could imagine the water spilling out over the vast oval of wood, sloshing over the mat-rugs, water flooding the floor, dripping down the walls, dribbling into the room below, prompting calls, visits, accusations... trouble.

Placing the plate and glass down on a nearby table, the blunette rushed toward the bathroom.

Kyoko sat poised, ready to slip into the tub. Gingerly, she extended a foot... not too hot. She stepped inside, thinking to hide until her friend returned... then she thought, This is kinda weird.

Her excitement, her fervor... it seemed to leave her at the thought. Most of it, anyway. It would be one thing to play an innocent little prank, scaring a bathing friend by sneaking up behind her while she soaped up in the tub. Girls did that kinda thing all the time, right? Harmless fun! But Kyoko, even with her lack of social skills, knew it was another thing entirely to have been waiting... lurking, in someone's tub, waiting for them to come in. If I get a little peek, so much the better, she'd told herself while formulating the plan in bed. It was another of those spur-of-the-moment things... and once again hadn't quite worked out and had changed into something else entirely... more sinister.

Shaking her wild red mane in frustration, she got up and stepped out of the tub. Wanting to make a quick escape from this increasingly awkward and ill-conceived situation, she grabbed her panties and tank top in one hand, holding the towel across her chest closed with the other. She reached out with the hand holding the clothes-she was disgusted with how damp they already were, soaked instantly in the humungous steamy bathroom. She felt the handle resist, and she yanked it open, hard.

Sayaka reached out, but as her hand grasped the handle, it seemed to twist by itself, opening up into the steamy room... a billowing white cloud revealing...

Kyoko looked into the abyss. Caught in a moment of chagrin, the veteran was totally unprepared to be caught in the act she'd decided might come across as... creepy. She jerked back, startled hands flying forward, instinctively ready to intercept whatever danger had been deadly enough to truly surprise Sakura Kyoko.

In the fraction of a second it took Kyoko to will her body to respond, to grab the unsecured towel she'd been covering herself with, the damage done. She made a desperate grab, but it fell to the wood floor with a soft, wet plop.

The sight of the bare, supple body before her, frozen in mid-lunge for the traitorous towel, made Sayaka's insides squirm. Not unpleasantly, although-truth be told-with a stomach full of egg it was not the most pleasant sensation. She let out a deep breath, all in a single whoosh as if she'd been hit in the stomach.

Kyoko shrieked. At least on the inside. She held her breath, waiting for her mind to start working again.

Time seemed to stand still, shocked and staring blue eyes stuck just... below... eye level as the startled maroon gaze widened in horror.

Sayaka's eyes roamed down, seemingly of their own volition, seeing the taut belly... darting hastily over the triangular patch to the long, muscular legs, locked, muscles rigid. Flicking a glance up-oop, not far enough-meeting the far-off gaze of her friend, before lowering them in...shame? Sympathy? Or was it curiosity... interest? Whatever the cause, wherever her gaze landed was... inappropriate. Her insides were feeling all wrenched-about. She was also blushing furiously. She felt strangely warm.

But she didn't look away. Kyoko, having recovered somewhat, noticed. The red-head had an absurd urge to cover her top and bottom with her arms and hands... but fought to resist the instinct. She was, after all, a badass. She slowly gathered herself, bending down... not seductively, exactly, but certainly aerobically, to pick up her towel.

Then Sayaka said: "Aaaaah... You're dripping wet. Its getting all over the floor!"

"Its not what you think!" the red-head shouted, defensive. Her eyes looked around wildly, as if searching for an escape.

Sayaka made a show of nonchalance, as if her cheeks weren't burning like a setting sun. Shaking her head, she held up a hand, trying to appease her friend's obvious embarrassment. "I don't mind if you steal my bath, Kyoko," she said cheerfully. "You've got just as much right to soak in the tub as I do. More, since you're the one who got us this room..."

"Er... yea, don't forget it..." the older girl muttered uncertainly. Looking down, she missed it when Sayaka rolled her eyes. Then the blue-haired girl smiled.

"Doesn't look like you got too far in there," she observed, giving the older girl's hair a playful tug. "If you're not jumping right back in... I made some breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Many complicated thoughts and emotions were supplanted, to be dissected and acted upon at a later time, as Kyoko's attention focused on a need she knew exactly how to fulfill.

"I... I've got somethin I gotta tell ya..." Sayaka watched in interest as, after her third omelet-cube, Kyoko got a strange look on her face. Their light conversation had died... it had been mostly one-sided anyway, the older girl's mumbles rendered incomprehensible by the mashed eggs and rice that filled her mouth to near-choking. Sayaka looked away, not finding the image very flattering, but found herself grinning about it fondly anyway. She felt like pinching herself.

But then Kyoko had gotten very quite. The blunette would have called it introspective, or worried, if she hadn't known the veteran better. And then, this. It sounded... foreboding. Sayaka felt a little bird inside her flutter, wounded.

"I... haven't been completely honest with you..." The bird seemed to drop, dead, far heavier inside her stomach than any bird had a right to be. Kyoko looked... distraught.

"I... really, I don't know what to think. We've been running around together for a bit now, and, well... I was worried how you'd take it last night. I don't want to give you the wrong impression about me..."

Sayaka waited, having a hard time swallowing. The sun seemed to dim outside. Deep down, she'd expected... feared something like this. That damn bird had arisen, zombified, and begun pecking at the lining of her innards. I work alone... she's gonna say I work alone...

Kyoko got up, walking to her green sweatshirt. Sayaka watched, expressionless-or so she hoped, taking the opportunity to blink a few times. The older girl rummaged around, Pocky wrappers and cookie crumbs falling out to the ground. Finally, she turned around, her fists closed around something.

Approaching the table, she sat down. "Don't be mad at me. I don't lie, and won't hide things. At least, not from you." Then she turned over her hands, opening them to reveal...

Sayaka, not knowing what to expect, certainly didn't expect this. She gasped, eyes glimmering in multicolored hues.

"A-are... those...?"

"Yep."

"How d-did they..."

"When the barrier collapsed. They were on the street, by the Grief Seed, but so dark they were almost invisible. Remember those lights, the glowing chain thingies up on that Witch's stoop?"

"...Stoop?" Sayaka said, confused by several things at once. How could there be-

"Its... like... where birds hang out. Or something. The big altar thing."

"The... colors. Right. There was yellow, blue and orange..."

"And don't forget: red. And green."

"Her eyes!"

"Yes. And that thing... inside."

"What in-wait! Does that mean, when we destroyed that crystal inside the Witch... we destroyed a Magical Girl's Soul Gem?" Sayaka was aghast at the thought.

"Meh, I doubt it," the red-head said, trying to ease the younger girl's conscience. She was gratified by the relieved look on the blunette's pretty, but so frequently sad, face. Its not a lie, she consoled her conscience, it could very well be true, and we'll probably never know for sure. Kyoko fingered the three faintly shimmering crystalline eggs. Their muted colors, pale yellow, dark orange, greyish-blue, swirled lazily, surrounded by heaving black masses of churning cloud. Their fine, golden filigree around the rim of the egg was tarnished... Kyoko drew a ragged fingernail over the pitted, almost acid-scarred surface of the yellow Soul Gem.

"Any ideas?"

The question took Sayaka by surprise. "Uh... well, you're the... the veteran. Have you ever... encountered anything like this before?"

Kyoko shook her head. "Their bodies are gone; with the barrier, if not before that. These are dark... almost ready to turn, by the looks of it. How is it that the Witch had these? What's the deal with the chains... and most of all how come these things didn't go Grief Seed before now?" She met Sayaka's confused, almost frightened gaze. "You and me... we're the only one's I know about who have had their gems... removed from their... area of control. Gah!" She exclaimed, frustrated at her inablilty to put that terrible memory behind her. She felt a hand cover hers... the weight of the world seemed to lessen a bit, a feeling of... energizing. Kyoko found herself wondering if it were merely the endorphins pumping inside her or if there was actually something... magical... about the sapphire-eyed girl's touch.

"Do you feel..." Sayaka's question died on her lips, seeing the affirmation in her friend's wide, crimson eyes. Beaming with excitement. Bright... almost seeming to glow-

"Sayaka... your eyes! I knew it, I thought..."

"What? What?" the blunette peppered the wondering red-head like an overeager child, wanting unbiased confirmation of her bizarre observation.

"Come with me." Kyoko rose, still holding Sayaka's hand... clenching it rather tightly, the girl thought, wincing. She allowed herself to be dragged into the bathroom. The water still hadn't been shut off... it was only prevented from overflowing by an array of drain holes running around the top rim of the wooden slats. It gurgled noisily; Sayaka approached to turn off the faucet, but the lights went out.

"Look in the mir-shit!" Kyoko exclaimed.

Sayaka gazed into the darkness, the mirror reflecting two pairs of glowing, intense eyes. Red, and blue. The radiance didn't appear to illuminate the rest of their face, or anything in the room, and certainly did not allow them to see in the dark since the rest of the room remained pitch black.

"Whoa... ah... huh?" What the hell is going on? The blunette was more than a little weirded out by the alien, glowing blue eyes that stared at her from the darkness. They looked... so... cold.

Badass, thought Kyoko. Crimson and azure. Fire and water.

Holy crap, seriously I am absolutely loving the comments, it is so gratifying to see what's working, and thanks so much for the feedback, speculation and letting me know what you think is cool and crazy. Ir's really fun to have a reason to write.

Glad I'm able to make the friction at least somewhat compelling; I am such a huge fan of these two characters... as always, let me know if I can do them further justice. I feel a bit ashamed for not responding to your wonderful and insightful comments; I've got another hour and I'm working next chapter instead.

What about Madoka, and Homura, and Kyubey, you asK? You may have to keep asking a while, but they'll return soon enough. What exactly is going on in Mitakihara in the days leading up to Walpurgisnacht?