Chapter 38

Already done?

Kyoko had just finished up when she heard voices coming from downstairs. She's here! she thought, her heart taking off and soaring like some magnificent wild eagle. She tried to tamp down on that feeling, knowing it for a precursor to some vast and incredible disappointment looming in the future. But as she turned off the faucet and wiped her hands on her shorts, she gave up, settling for a deep breath before she opened the door with so much force it slammed into the wall, ricocheting loudly.

And, sure enough... Homura had been at the bottom of the stairs, a hopeful looking fading abruptly from her face. Happy to see you too, Hom. Madoka had been standing on the stairway with her blunette, for some reason holding one of those brushes used to scrub floors. Feeling extremely pleased with the fact that she'd been right, she'd conscientiously given the other girls fair warning, feeling compelled to walk over to Sayaka and see how she'd spent their time apart, noting the less-than-pleased look on the girl's face. If Homura had said something...

And that's when she heard the door behind her open, and Madoka cringed and Sayaka winced and Homura's eyes widened in shock or some similar strong emotion of surprise.

The toilet gurgled noisily through the partially open bathroom door as Kaname Junko strode out of her room, dressed to kill in a short lilac skirt and rather tight, definitely revealing black blouse that exposed a good portion of her impressive chest. She strode toward the red-head, her posture impeccable with each step of the expensive-looking open-toed shoes she wore. Kyoko suddenly felt small and insignificant, even in front of her crowd.

As her mom strutted across the upstairs landing, Madoka hastily hid the brush behind her back. She carefully descended one step, then another, not quite hiding behind Sayaka, and as she looked back to make sure of her footing, she happened to glance Homura out of the corner of her eye.

The black-haired girl was staring up at her mother and the red-head, a look in her eyes that Madoka hadn't seen since the night of Homura's strange confession. Madoka's own eyes narrowed a fraction as she tried to make sense of this strange development. The pinkette hoped it wasn't what she thought it was, but really it was the only thing that made sense.

A part of her felt just the tiniest bit relieved.

On the landing, Junko's nose was wrinkled in distaste, and Kyoko was wearing a look like a dog caught eating out of the garbage. The woman's purple gaze held the red-head's, and just when the silence was really starting to get awkward, the older woman gave Kyoko a condescending pat on the shoulder. "That's the problem with first impressions." The purple-haired woman shook her head sadly. "You only get the one."

From the bottom of the stairs, Sayaka winced. She was all too aware of how it felt to be on the bad side of Junko's blunt tongue. She noticed Madoka staring down at something with what might have been surprise, but when she glanced over to where she'd been looking, it was just Homura. Upstairs, Kyoko frowned. "Ahhh... you're supposed to be nice?"

The purple-haired woman sighed dramatically, blowing her bangs out of her eyes in a surprisingly youthful way. "My darling, hopelessly unmannered guest whose name I have not yet been made aware of-"

"Kyo-" Kyoko began, and Madoka and Sayaka winced together, while Homura's eyes watched the scene intensely.

"DON'T," Junko practically shouted in Kyoko's face, "interrupt." She paused, making certain her message had been received. The red-head rubbed the back of her neck. "And for the love of everything you hold dear, don't slouch!" Kyoko crossed her arms and decided to slouch extravagantly, but for some reason found herself standing up a little straighter. What the-

"That's what I keep telling her!" Sayaka's voice came from the middle of the stairs. Junko closed her eyes for a brief moment, taking a breath as if needing to collect herself. With a grim glance back at her girlfriend, Kyoko felt motivated enough to resume slouching, and did so as the blunette watched her, feeling like she was scoring a point.

"Hello, Miki-san!" Junko said with a stab at excitement. "So good to see you! Oh, the commotion you caused earlier this week..." Sayaka couldn't help feeling guilty, something about this woman triggered her sense of self-loathing, never far from the surface to begin with. "I'm so glad everything has settled down now. I ho- Oh!" Junko seemed startled for a moment before recovering. "Hello, Akemi-san. It's certainly nice to see you again." The blunette almost pouted; Junko has never greeted me that warmly! Stupid unfair life.

Akemi Homura stood, halfway up the stairs, tiny blooms of color in her cheeks. "Hello, Kaname-san. May... may I introduce our... f-friend, Sakura Kyoko?" Homura took a hesitant step up the staircase, then another. She'd been astounded at how well things were already working out; this was a perfect excuse to begin a conversation! She took a breath, noticing Madoka's odd look and determined to slow down and talk like she normally did. Not all... out of breath. "Kyoko, this is Kaname Junko-" That was weird for so many different ways, Sayaka thought. Homura, polite, introducing someone? Specifically, Kyoko?

"My momma!" Madoka cried, finally joining them at the top of the stairs and unable to contain the pride she felt for her amazingly cool mom. Sayaka felt a little embarrassed for the girl, hoping Kyoko wouldn't think to harshly of her... youthful enthusiasm. From the pained look on Homura's face, the blunette thought that the black-haired girl was feeling acutely embarrassed for the person that Sayaka was grudgingly forced to admit was their mutual friend.

Junko made a clucking sound with her tongue. Homura stood up a little straighter, but Madoka's reaction was to hang her head, recognizing the sound of disappointment and awaiting the inevitable verdict. "Madoka, we spent so much time on your hair this afternoon. What happened?" Junko's hand darted out, and the pinkette drew away as her mother flicked one of the wispy strands that had come out of her pigtails during her rush to clean up after Kyoko.

"There was... I..." Seeing her pink-haired friend getting flustered, the color beginning to stain her cheeks, Sayaka determined to help her friend out. She knew the girl was struggling with something, probably not wanting to implicate Kyoko in anything further. Well, Sayaka thought self-importantly, that troublemaker's my responsibility now. She allowed herself just a moment to consider future punishment for forcing her to do the noble thing. Cover for her girlfriend. If she'd been honest with herself, Sayaka would have recognized that she was absolutely thrilled to take a punch for Kyoko. It was a confusing feeling, however, so she just went with what she felt was right, not stopping to think.

"It's my fault, Mrs. Kaname," Sayaka began, and three pairs of eyes spun in her direction; piercing, baffled and shocked. Homura's was the only non-response, and she remained staring at Kyoko and Junko. "I was just so excited to see Madoka-chan, and you!, again, that I forgot to take my shoes off!" She pointed to the faint stains on the stairway, only now seeing how the tracks led to first one room, then another, before finally disappearing outside the bathroom door. Uh oh. "Uh, I'm really sorry-"

Omygod what is she doing? wondered Kyoko in a mixture of outrage and amazement. She didn't need anyone to defend her, or lie for her- wait, Sayaka was lying for her? The red-head resolved to keep her mouth shut, wanting to see where this was going.

"That's quite alright, Miki-san," Junko allowed, her sharp eyes having immediately noticed the trail leading directly to the room the red-head had come out of, and finding it impossible not to notice that the girl was still wearing her dirty shoes. But she was intrigued, especially by the body language of... Kyoko, Homura had called her. Sparing a glace at the beautiful black-haired girl now standing at the top of the stairs, she was dismayed to see the look out outright adoration on her face. And more than a little gratified. Bringing herself back to the present with just a little more color in her cheeks than a moment ago, noticing the other girls' expectant stares, Junko decided to see where this was going. The blue-haired girl was not given to covering for other people's mistakes. Or even her own, for that matter. "But, why are you making Madoka do the scrubbing?" she inquired, raising her eyebrows and motioning behind the smaller girl's back. Bashfully, Madoka let her arms fall to her sides, the scrub brush that had been hidden behind her back dangling from limp fingers.

"Uhhh," Sayaka responded, thinking fast. "Well, ah, she offered, and-"

"It seems to me," Junko began, addressing either the ceiling above her, the stars in the sky, or perhaps god itself, "that, when you're a guest in another's home, the least, the very least you can do is to not make a mess," Junko said, trying to be clear. "And, if you should happen to accidentally do such a thing, why on earth would you make your hostess clean up after you?" She paused, loving the sheepish look that had fixed itself on the blunette's face. "Madoka, give that to Sayaka and go fix your hair."

Madoka, hangdog, held out the scrub brush, which her classmate hesitantly took. As her friend turned away with an apologetic look, Sayaka glanced up at Junko, but her pitiless gaze seeming to ask What are you waiting for? Shoulders slumped, the blunette headed towards the stairs, wondering exactly how to get mud-stains out of overly expensive carpet.

Whoa, thought Kyoko, staring. Sayaka is cleaning up after my messes. Already! Deep inside, the veteran chortled with glee. She could get used to this. When the blunette bent over, something about her, the way she crouched there doing the older girl's dirty work, caused something inside the red-head to wake up, stirring.

Junko turned her attention back to Kyoko, who had a strange look in her eye as she watched Sayaka crouch down and half-heartedly begin scrubbing. The purple-haired woman took a step closer to Kyoko, towering over her by ten centimeters of height and a self-assurance borne of a decade spent finding her place in the world and mastering it. "And please, Miss Sakura, have some consideration! There are candles and matches throughout the bathroom." That was true; Kyoko recalled being fascinated by the wide assortment of colors, shapes, and scents. Even in her distracted state, some had smelled remarkably delicious. Junko's eyes narrowed as she remembered remembered something else. "Which you shouldn't have been using in the first place!" she finished with a pointed look at her daughter.

"Actually, according to the dictates of this prefecture, and its surrounding environs, I am not allowed to ever, under any circumstanced, be in possession of any fire-making equipment, including matches, as well as any form of accellerant or even, get this, batteries." Kyoko shrugged, the look on her face saying, Yeah, I know, right?! "Pretty much anything fire-related." She put a finger to her chin. "You know, just giving me access to those kinds of things is like felony enablement or something..." She looked into the distance mysteriously.

Madoka, slowly making her way to the bedroom, looked back confused and vaguely frightened, feelings she was getting all too used to around the red-haired girl. Homura coughed delicately into a hand. "*COUGH*ullshit." Junko continued to stare. As if she could x-ray vision the truth from me, Kyoko thought. It seemed, chillingly, a distinct possibility.

Sayaka considered this new revelation for a moment, never doubting Kyoko's story for a second. In the past, she thought, merrily dismissing the worries that had initially popped into her mind. She got back to scrubbing.

A few minutes later, after eying the staircase and her daughter's hair with an equally critical eye, Junko asked Sayaka and Kyoko to leave.

"B-but-" Sayaka sputtered, pausing from massaging her knees. Kyoko felt almost relieved; she'd figured she would have gotten kicked out at some point or other. This way, she'd have the rest of the night to figure out what to do with Sayaka, who she'd never thought would have gotten booted from her own best friend's party! Kyoko smiled, feeling inordinately proud of the blunette. They could have their own sleepover. It will be way funner than this stupid little girl slumber party, she tried to convince herself. But she felt a little stab of jealousy as she noticed Homura standing with her arms crossed, looking at her smugly from the top of the stairs.

"But why is Hom-" Kyoko began.

"We're going to try this again," Junko clarified, firmly leading the two girls to the doorway by what Kyoko could only call 'the scruff of their necks.' She scowled, finding herself outside with the door slamming behind her, and rubbed at her neck. Ruefully, she met Sayaka's narrowed eyes, who had a hand on her neck as well.

The early evening sky was speckled with stars and a faint haze of translucent clouds. "Well. Damn. Uh, sorry about that?" Sayaka watched Kyoko stutter along, careful to keep her face expressionless. "That was... weird. I thought... you said..." The older girl had begun to get a little worried at the expressionless mask her partner wore. "Hey, I didn't mean to- I mean, it was like, totally an emergency!" Oh god what am I even saying, Kyoko wondered in despair. "My insides were on fire; I could almost see one of those flashing signs on the highway-Caution: Major Accident Ahead." Fuck! That didn't come out right at all! "That didn't come out right at all!"

"Uhg, TMI Kyoko! I don't care how it came out," the blunette muttered with disgust not entirely feigned. Sayaka had been on the verge of a serious case of the giggles and had been forced to increase her meticulous frown to compensate for the increasing threat of imminent uncontrollable grinning. Kyoko was so flustered! But that last bit had been a little much, even for Sayaka, who appreciated what she thought to herself as "brown humor." Her mother called it "bathroom humor," while Madoka still referred to it as "potty talk." Any way you cut it, though, shit could be funny.

"I'm just playing with ya," she smiled reassuringly, noting the down turned expression of the red-head. "None of that was your fault, I know that, Mrs. Kaname's just, um, particular..." she continued, watching in puzzlement as the older girl stepped into Mr. Kaname's flowerbed, heedlessly trampling anything underfoot as she ducked around a large bush. "Um... whatcha doing?" she asked innocently.

The bushes rustled. Then it was silent. "Kyoko?" Sayaka glanced around; it was dark and there were shadows everywhere thanks to the scattered but powerful sources of light along the street and the porch light behind them. "Kyoko?" She took a step, feeling something crunch or snap underneath her shoe. Straining her ears and eyes, the blunette continued to approach the bush. Peering around, she saw... nothing. She turned back, annoyance mixing with unease. "What's AAAAEEEEEEEKKKKKK!"

Something had grabbed her from behind, and even though she should have expected it... Sayaka shook her head angrily, the flush burning her cheeks with anger and humiliation. She'd just... screamed. Screamed, not squealed. She'd just screamed really super loud!

Kyoko was laughing hysterically. "You... you just squealed... so loud!" she said between obnoxious bursts of laughter. Sayaka frowned. "Oh man, I got you good!" She took a few steps backward, aided by a rather violent shove from the blunette, to be sure. "Hey, just trying to lighten the mood is all. So, what do we do now?" the red-head asked, bending over to pick up two plastic bags filled with sweet, sweet treasure. The park, that was a good spot! she thought. "My vote is for a stroll in the park-"

"Where did those come from?" Sayaka couldn't help asking. The park. Yeah right.

Kyoko looked down, shrugging. "Oh, I brought 'em. Bought them," she emphasized, hoping Sayaka wouldn't remember the money she'd used had been, well, stolen. Judging from her expression, the blunette had not forgotten. "You know, for the party." The way Sayaka's face seemed to light up startled Kyoko. What did I say? she wondered, but didn't look a good-humored blunette in the mouth. "Tossed 'em in the bushes when I, uh, really needed to get inside." Still held by warmth that seemed to spark from her girlfriend's eyes and slam into Kyoko's chest, making it do funny things, the red-head went on. "I couldn't just leave them at the door, someone might have taken them."

Sayaka sighed dreamily. Bringing stuff to share? And food? It was so unlike Kyoko, the blunette couldn't help but be amazed. It was also totally the right thing to do at a party. She began trying to explain. "Junko's... funny." Kyoko stared at her; she didn't want to think about that purple-haired...what? The red-head's entire body sagged as she failed to come up with a suitable descriptive word for that domineering, self-confident, tall, curvy, stylish, effortlessly elegant-

GAH! Kyoko shook her head furiously, drawing Sayaka's attention. "Really Kyoko, she's not that bad. It's just she's got kind of a... strange sense of humor? And she can be, well, a little... coarse, and, just to warn you, a little... handsy, if you know what I mean? But... hmmm. I just realized," Sayaka said, as if discovering something important. "You're... you're kinda like Junko, in a way..." That was as close as Miki Sayaka would ever come to understanding that she had something of a crush on her friend's mother.

Kyoko decided to unwrap a bag of Cream Collon, the irony of the unfortunate name of the snack lost upon her. Taking a generous handful of the small cylindrical cookies, the hollow inside filled with some kind of sweet cream, flavors flooded her mouth as she munched down, buying time while Sayaka continued her musing. The only thing she was really thinking about was: Why aren't we walking away?

The door opened, and Kyoko coughed delicately, turning her head to avoid spraying anyone with bits of cracker and gobs of cream filling. Madoka's head popped out. "Sayaka-chan, what are you waiting for?"

"Sheesh, relax, we're leaving already," Kyoko began after choking down her mouthful, trying to remain civil. It wasn't until she'd said it that the red-head noticed the bright expectant look on the pinkette's face in the second it took for her comment to register, and the immediate crestfallen look that followed.

"No we're not," contradicted Sayaka. The older girl gave her an expectant glare, waiting for an answer. "We're, uh, trying it again," the blunette explained. "It's one of Mrs. Kaname's little..." The pause stretched out uncomfortably.

"Idiosyncrasies?" Madoka supplied helpfully. She wilted just a little under the combined gaze of red and blue.

Madoka shut the door, and despite Kyoko's look of protest, Sayaka pushed the doorbell. The red-head rolled her eyes what must have been eight or nine times in a row.

But Junko had been right; the second attempt had been much better.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Sakura. May I call you Kyoko? Yes, then, Kyoko-" Junko continued, not pausing to allow the red-head to accept or decline her request. "My darling daughter Madoka will show you around, but if you're in need of using the restroom, it's right there. That door, at the end of the hallway there."

"Got it!" Kyoko smiled insincerely, baring her over-sized canines at the older woman and resolving to leave Madoka's mother a special present in her special bathroom in the morning...

"And you brought treats! How wonderful." Kyoko frowned, feeling trapped. Those are my snacks! "I'll just take these into the kitchen; no food in the living room or upstairs. Would anyone like to help m-"

"I WOULD!" Homura said, both stepping forward and raising her hand to be perfectly clear. Junko held out one of the bags looking just a little queasy, in Kyoko's eye. Kind of like how she had felt twenty minutes ago. Homura grabbed it, following the woman closely into the kitchen.

Suck up. She was about to sneer, but instead Kyoko turned it into a dazzling smile and enticing wink as she saw her blunette watching her.

Sayaka sighed; it seemed like all was well.

"So... what does everyone want to do first?" They'd been shown around, Homura and Sayaka too inured to all the glamor to appropriately ooo and ahhh. Kyoko, of course, was too proud. Or as she called it, worldly. This had been the first awkward silence since they'd arrived. For the second time.

Homura continued to stare vapidly into space. Sayaka felt like giving her a solid poke, but doubted that would help matters. "I vote we break out the Wii Boxing-"

"What? No, Madoka has to decide. It's her party," Kyoko explained, somehow certain that the blunette's wild, flailing style of combat translated perfectly to the iffy sports simulator. "She has to be the one who makes the decisions about the critical stuff like this. Otherwise, you'll have me and Akemi rolling around on the floor fighting over the remote. Am I right?" she finished rhetorically, but both Sayaka and Homura felt compelled to nod at her analysis. "It's a lot of responsibility, I know, but I think she can handle it." The red-head pulled it off without a smirk or a snicker. To her surprise, the pinkette accepted her challenge.

"I'm responsible! I am! Hmmm." Madoka made a very unconvincing thoughtful face, followed far too quickly by an obviously fake surprised look. "I know!" she said, as if the thought had just occurred to her. Homura smiled slightly, Sayaka widely. Kyoko's stomach gurgled unpleasantly, and her expression reflected it. "We can do each other's hair!" The red-haired girl groaned, cursing herself.

On the way upstairs, Sayaka had lagged behind, snatching a brief moment of privacy from the other two girls. "Hey, don't worry, this will be-" She broke off, seeing the look in Kyoko's eyes, daring her to lie. "It won't be so bad," the blunette amended, grinning. Standing on the stairs at her side, she gave the older girl a quick squeeze around her waist. Kyoko twisted like a snake, and suddenly they were face to face, and Sayaka didn't have time to worry if anyone was around to see as soft , moist lips met her own. The brief, gentle contact began to change, the older girl sliding her hands down onto her backside and pulling her close, crushing their chests together-

Sayaka had pulled away a minute later, her veins pulsing with the thrilling feel of danger, of being exposed on Madoka's stairway. That feeling, almost intoxicating, was only overcome by the power of friendship. She remembered Madoka was waiting for her. "Let's, whooo," Sayaka panted quietly. "Let's save that... for later." Kyoko didn't pout too much on the way upstairs. She'd gotten more than she'd expected already; how hard was it going to be, corrupting the blunette for the evening?

The pinkette had been waiting eagerly for them. Further dispelling the notion that this was all spur-of-the-moment, Madoka stood expectantly outside of her room to lead them in, where a conspicuous number of brushes and combs lay upon her mirrored dresser and an uncomfortable looking Homura sat at the edge of her bed. Her fellow classmate, having been in the room countless times before, strode in with barely a glance, but Kyoko paused in the doorway, stunned.

"Since Sayaka-chan and I have shorter hair, we can do each other's. Kyoko-chan, since you and Homura-chan have such long, beautiful hair, I thought you could do each other?" Madoka asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.

Kyoko snapped out of her fugue of amazement. It's all just... stuff. She glanced at the blunette across the room, who shook her head in warning. The red-head looked back at Madoka. "You're asking... me and Homura... to do each other?!" Homura's frown and Sayaka's grimace mirrored one another uncannily, at least until the mental image got a chance to develop in the blunette's mind. Madoka and Homura both looked at her as she barked out a laugh and, embarassed, covered her mouth with a hand.

"Y-yes, I just th-thought..." Madoka's voice faded to a peep.

"Well, Hom, wanna do me?" Kyoko asked with a predatory grin, unzipping her green sweatshirt provocatively and tossing it on the bed that seemed to be covered entirely in stuffed animals. Was that a banana? Kyoko eyed it in passing; she definitely wanted it. Too bad it was so friggin huge. Her heart froze as she noticed Kyubey watching from the corner of the bed, but even as she lunged forward it became obvious that the creature was just another stuffed animal. One that looked creepily like the Incubator. She let go of the thing's neck after giving it a violent shake for good measure, picking herself up off of Madoka's bed.

Everyone was staring at her.

"Nice bed." Somebody snorted. Kyoko glared at Sayaka, then Homura, attempting to determine who the culprit was.

"I'm h-happy you like it, Kyoko-chan," Madoka said uncertainly, inching around the larger girl and picking up her wonderfully plush fox from where Kyoko had carelessly thrown it. She placed it back in its spot, stroking the thing's head before turning back to her friends.

Two minutes later, Kyoko sat with her back rigid against the deceptively uncomfortable-looking chair. Deceptive in that it was actually quite comfortable. That was one thing that had bothered her ever since entering the Kaname house. All the freaking chairs.

Sayaka sat nearby, grinning as Madoka took out her hair clip and slowly ran the brush through her wind-swept blue hair. Kyoko shook her head, her kinked, tangled mane feeling awkward unbound. She could feel Homura standing behind her, figuring the girl would just grump around frowning the whole time. "So," she said, more than anything to try and get the pinkette to stop her damn humming. "What's up with all the weird chairs in this hooOOOOWWWW! Dammit Akemi!" Kyoko finished in a screech, both hands on her tender scalp. Madoka had stopped humming, and let out a little gasp. Sayaka was glancing over disapprovingly. The red-head looked up and back, seeing the smug look in the black-haired girl's eyes. "For fuck's sake," another little gasp from Madoka, "Careful!"

Homura grabbed the sides of her head and turned it forward. Forcibly. Kyoko almost snarled, but she was looking right at her wide-eyed hostess, and Sayaka had made it clear that certain things were expected of her tonight. Not that that made a lick of difference when it came to the things I expected from Sayaka tonight-

"What's the matter, Kyoko-chan?" Homura began, sounding strangely innocent. "Is it too hard for you?" she asked quietly. Kyoko's eyes widened. The blunette, a few feet away, also heard the strangely emphasized sentence and glanced over, puzzled. Both of them were thinking; Did Homura just-

And both thoughts were interrupted by Madoka, who'd noticed what could only be described as a certain kind of tension between the girls. "Homura-chan," she said, determined to keep things from escalating. "Be gentle with Kyoko-chan's beautiful hair. If you'd rather not brush it, we can switch-"

"Switch?!" Sayaka sputtered, still not eager for the raven-haired girl to be right behind her.

"Switch?" Homura asked, worried. What was she supposed to do with that blue rat's nest?

"Switch!" Kyoko shouted, grinning at the thought. She'd rather have Sayaka herself do the work, but something about Homura's suddenly playful attitude was disconcerting. That first stroke had felt like she'd ripped out a fistful by the roots! And despite her claims to the contrary, the red-head loved her hair. It was just that she didn't like the whole "taking care of it" part.

"Ahh," Madoka began, uncertain. Homura's quizzical gaze and the pleading in Sayaka's eyes were not helping her decision-making capabilities.

Seeing the bundle of pink energy wavering, Kyoko couldn't resist. "Madoka, if you'll be gentle, I want you to do me." It almost looked like she sneezed right after finishing her statement, but Sayaka recognized the red-head's poorly disguised snicker.

"That is ridic-"

Kyoko talked right over Homura. "I think Akemi-san and I are still, um... working some stuff out. I've really been trying..." The red-head was oozing sincerity, and her forlorn sigh almost convinced Sayaka. It certainly convinced Madoka, who thought she suddenly understood what was going on between the two veterans. "But you know how Homura holds a grudge." Purple eyes narrowed dangerously, only to widen with guilt as Madoka looked at her pleadingly. "So. Let her do Sayaka." Kyoko glanced over at the blunette, giving the sour-faced girl a wink. "She likes it rough." The transfer student had taken a step back, almost looking shocked, while Sayaka had glared at her girlfriend in outrage.

A few minutes later, Kyoko was thoroughly enjoying the attention her tiny new friend was giving her head, and her heart. And by heart, she meant stomach. "Delicious," she smacked, licking the last of the chocolate off of her fingers. She held the empty plate out carelessly, and Madoka obediently made it disappear.

Sayaka's sullen stare had changed once she became aware of the metamorphosis taking place. As Madoka continued to brush diligently, the tangles and snags and wayward strands began to disappear. The long, thick hair seemed to shine under the overhead lighting, and the blunette could barely keep herself from reaching out and touching it.

Homura had given her hair a few quick strokes then handed the brush to her, sitting down. Already done? the blunette had wondered ungratefully, vaguely disappointed. Somehow, Sayaka had a feeling that she could have spent a lot more time on Kyoko than she had on her. Turning back, continued running her fingers through Kyoko's hair with her eyes and imagination.

Hope this one worked; keep letting me know, your comments are invaluable. Thanks again to all you marvelous reviewers! Some of your suggestions... well, you'll see.