Chapter 39

Talk Amongst Friends

Madoka glanced between the two older girls, trying to read the mood. She'd noticed with some concern how closely Homura had been leaning in toward Kyoko as they talked about Witches and Barriers and all of the evil things the pinkette wanted to forget, just for tonight. After several minutes of hushed, arcane discussion, Madoka had seen how serious everyone looked and decided to lighten up the mood.

"What should we do next?" she asked innocently during a convenient lull in the conversation. Suddenly everyone was staring and she blushed in embarrassment. A purple gaze met her own briefly before turning back to Kyoko.

More baffled than hurt, Madoka glanced at Sayaka. See? her raised eyebrows seemed to ask. But the blunette was looking at the veterans hopefully. Almost like a puppy, Madoka thought.

The black-haired girl resumed her previous thought. "More than one Witch," Homura stated doubtfully, again. "You're certain it was the same Barrier?"

"For all we know, it could have been a bunch of different Barriers all tangled up," Sayaka added, wanting to get in on the conversation. Homura continued her questioning, again talking explicitly to Kyoko.

"Start over from when you entered. I could feel the struggle, but before I was able to enter, the Barrier collapsed." Only Kyoko's eyes narrowed slightly when the girl's voice wavered minutely during the delivery. "I could only assume that, like every other time that occurred and no one was ejected, you were dead." The red-head sitting across from her grunted noncommittally. At least she's trying to explain herself, no matter how insufferably, Kyoko admitted. "I apologize for my... error." Again that miniscule hesitation, Kyoko thought. "I am gratified, in this instance, that my conclusions were completely erroneous." Homura glanced at the pinkette, who was approaching Sayaka while listening with half an ear, noting her look of confusion. "I'm happy to have been completely wrong," she added for Madoka's benefit, and the girl's face lit up with a smile of understanding.

Sayaka felt herself starting to frown. In the thoughtful way. What Homura had said, so far, made some sense. The blunette didn't have a quarter, or even a tenth of the experience the black-haired Puella Magi seemed to bring with her, but if someone went in one of those twisted labyrinths and didn't come back, she'd probably think they were dead, too. Maybe she hadn't lied to take advantage- Her thoughts scattered as she felt the small, gentle hand of her friend rest on her shoulder, like a tiny bird that had miraculously decided that she was safe place to perch.

Madoka's pink irises sparkled in the expensive lighting, her eyes wide with wonder. "It sounds like you and Kyoko-chan had a marvelous adventure!" she said passionately, a hint of yearning in her eyes. "All those... those fights, and being alone in a scary city..." The smaller girl shivered dramatically.

Sayaka grinned, twisting to give her friend a squeeze. It's so good to see her again! She took one last dismissive glance at the conversing veterans, "And I'm telling you that it is possible-" Kyoko was growling, her face centimeters from Akemi-san.

The smaller girl looked nervous. "Do you think they're going to... to fight?" she whispered fearfully. Sayaka tousled her hair, much to the pinkette's annoyance.

"I have no idea!" Sayaka exclaimed cheerfully. Madoka cocked her head, the girl's delicate eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

The blunette decided to change the subject; the other two would probably be fine.

"Truthfully, it was pretty frightening, Madoka-chan!" Sayaka felt a little bashful discussing her trip; the whole thing seemed riddled with land mines, at least as long as she tried to keep certain elements of the journey under wraps, for now. "Those Witches... when the moon one bit me, I thought I was dead for sure. But Kyoko, she saved me..."

Madoka kept her face still, not wanting to interrupt. She knew that she could be easy to read, sometimes. But, why would anyone want to hide the way they're feeling? How else can other people tell you needed a hug or a smile or just someone to sit next to at lunch?

Her mind began to wander as Madoka considered the last few days, and the amazing turn of events during the last several hours. Her mind picked up on the important parts of the conversation Sayaka was having with herself. "And then Kyoko... Kyoko wanted to... I couldn't help noticing Kyoko had... Kyoko grabbed me just before..."

Kyoko Kyoko Kyoko. Sayaka, Kyoko.

Homura-chan and Kyoko-chan appeared to be whispering furiously to one another, oblivious of the other two girls. Madoka watched Sayaka wheeze with laughter. "And, hahaha, that's when, hehehahaha, Kyoko says-"

Sayaka was confusing when it came to that kind of stuff. Stuff about feelings. Madoka loved her friend dearly, but sometimes the blunette had a tendency to... bottle things up. Not share, which for Madoka was tantamount to being shunned. Painful. But she recognized her friend's need to sort things out herself, and only in the past year had begun trying to... help her along, sometimes, when she got stuck in her thinking. Facilitate an epiphany, her mother had called it.

Fascinate Anna Piffidy, she thought to herself, almost like the name was a charm. She just needed to figure out how to do it...

"And then, um, well there was another familiar," Sayaka was suddenly talking fast, and Madoka knew she was trying to get through this part quickly. It was obviously dragging up painful memories. "It was Kyoko, shouting out in her obnoxious voice that made me realize... well, it got me out, and then the Witch was just standing there..." Now the blunette shuddered, remembering the all-around hair. "She had this long hair, and it hung down all around her head, so there was like no face or anything, it was creepy."

Madoka's eyes had taken on a distinctly frightened look. "Y-yes, I can i-imagine. Especially after th-those h-h-heads at the b-bottom of the lake." The pinkette closed her eyes, shaking her head as if willing the memories away. She was so glad, now, that she'd be sharing her room tonight with three friends. After the graphic descriptions Kyoko-chan had provided, Madoka understood with absolute certainty that she would be having terrible, terrible nightmares when she finally manged to go to sleep. Probably for weeks.

"They'd have been no problem for you, w-aahhm, Madoka-chan." Sayaka stuttered, looking mad at herself and glancing back at the two older girls.

"So, after defeating the second Witch, a different part of the barrier disappeared?"

"Homura, so help me god you've asked me the same damn thing fifty fu-"

"Was it similiar to the way we are ejected from a collapsing barrier? Or-"

"Homura-"

"-more like the feeling when you travel from the outer ring of a labyrinth to the Witch's inner sanctum."

"HOMURA!"

"Why would it be no problem for me, Sayaka-chan?" Madoka wondered, her curiosity drawing her friend's attention.

"Well, now that you're a Magical Girl," Sayaka grinned, trying to see the positives of the fact that her friend had Contracted. She realized that her initial reaction had been pretty subdued, back when the girl had first told her in the mall. She'd been so tired from the journey, and with everything she had to think about, the idea of her best friend suddenly finding herself in the same situation was frightening. "You can take down all the bad guys for us! Akemi-san was telling me about how you've been shooting the crap out of things with a... bow?" The blunette shook her head in amazement while Madoka blushed furiously at the praise.

"Oh, it's nothing, I just..."

Sayaka couldn't help rubbing the pinkette's head playfully once again. She is so adorable, the blue-eyed girl thought, and to think she made such an important choice all by herself, Contracting. The thought brought a wave of doubt across her thoughts.

"Madoka, why did you Contract?" The pinkette blinked. "Did anyone... anything, try to, well, persuade you? Did someone tell you to-"

Madoka was instantly fuming. "Sayaka-chan, I make my own decisions!" The other conversation a meter away died abruptly, two heads turning in unison at the uncharacteristic tone of voice coming from the smaller girl. "Nobody told me to do anything! I made my choice, and my wish, on my own." The pinkette had begun loud, but finished closer to a whisper, feeling embarrassed under the combined gazes of her three friends.

Whoa, thought Sayaka, proud and a little taken aback. She couldn't help laughing. "I'm sorry, Madoka-chan! It's just that..." Sayaka's justification died on her lips. "No. I'm sorry, and that's it. I don't mean to, I dunno, treat you like a little kid or anything. I just get worried, that's all." She sighed. "You're just so... special, Madoka! I don't want to see the world change you, I guess."

Someone began to slow clap. Kyoko stopped, smirking at the glares of Sayaka and Homura and watching the pinkette's cheeks flush a brilliant crimson.

Madoka struggled with several conflicting emotions. "Well, thanks for that, Sayaka-chan. But... isn't part of growing up changing? Aren't we all changing?" What she really wanted to say was: Sayaka, you've changed, and I've let you. Why can't you let me?

"Growing up: a story of the changing bodies of girls in the second stage of development," Kyoko sighed, the sound taking on a different tone as Homura's elbow connected with her stomach.

"Can we please not fight?" the pinkette asked, getting exasperated. "I just... wanted us to have fun together."

'We are having fun! At least I am. There's nothing better than fighting with Homura!" Kyoko grinned maliciously. "Well..." she sighed, as if with great reluctance as the pinkette opened her mouth again. "Me and Sayaka did a lot of... fun things. On our trip." Her eyes gave the impression of many amazing secrets just waiting to be told.

Trip. That's what Kyoko was calling it. Sayaka shook her head in amazement, before she realized what the older girl might have been alluding to. "Uh-"

"Like, when we took a bath together." Kyoko let it hang, enjoying the suddenly intense interest she was commanding.

"I... we were filthy," the blunette began, trying to explain before Madoka could glance at her and see the obvious guilt that was undoubtedly noticeable in her eyes. "It was at this hotel-"

"Hotel?" piped Madoka, wonderingly. "You stayed at a hotel?"

"Not just any hotel, it was-" the red-head began, but with a warning glance from her girlfriend she generalized the description. "... a fancy hotel."

The pinkette brought her arms close to her chest, resting her chin on her hands, bobbing in barely-contained excitement. "A fancy hotel?! Oh my gosh you are so lucky, what was it like? Was there a fancy restaurant with someone playing the piano? Were there fancy towels with-"

Kyoko, who'd waited patiently for a full five seconds, decided to interrupt. "Yeah, it was all kinds of fancy. Anyway, as I was saying, me and Sayaka, in that bath... that was the first time."

Madoka glanced over at Homura, who'd been typically quiet. The girl's eyes were trained on a corner of the pinkette's ceiling, staring off into space. At her side, Sayaka was suddenly very jittery; something about this story was making her nervous. Madoka tried hard not to look at her friend; she didn't want to add to her discomfort. "The first... time?" Madoka asked.

"You know," Kyoko smiled, crimson eyes glinting mischeviously at Sayaka's dismayed expression. This little pinkette was so hopelessly oblivious, she'd never catch on anyway. "It's the first time Sayaka ever..." Kyoko made a strange motion with her hand. Madoka looked confused, glancing at Sayaka first, who was hiding her face in her hands, and then Homura, who'd lost the feigned look of boredom and was staring intently at the red-head out of the corner of her eye. In fact, her whole body seemed to lean forward, as if she was so expectant of further detail that by getting closer she'd be enlightened that much faster.

"The first time she ever brushed my hair!" Kyoko announced, congratulating herself on making Homura look both disgusted and disappointed at the same time. "Oh, how she stroked it. It, well, it wasn't as good as your strokes, Madoka," she continued. "But, still, it was the thought that counts."

Sayaka, breathing a sigh of relief, tried to banish the sense of mortification she'd been engulfed by. "Yeah, it didn't hold, though, did it?" She recalled how the very next day the red-head's hair had gone back to its natural state. Tangled and knotted.

"No, it didn't. It's not my fault you got me all wet."

Homura's attention was suddenly back on the conversation, Madoka noticed. "That's your problem. The problem you gave me, I remember fixing." For a second, the pinkette thought Sayaka was making a rude gesture at the older girl, but realized she was holding two fingers up, so it wasn't really the bad one. Is that like saying 'freaking' or 'darn'? she wondered. Kyoko certainly looked a little flustered by the motion; it must be some kind of insult.

"Oh, lemme warn you girls," Kyoko began conspiratorially, with obvious glances at the blunette. "Don't ever share a tub with Sayaka. She really likes to poke!"

Homura's eyes were narrowed, following the back and forth with a calculating look. Madoka's had been showing more and more confusion, until Kyoko's last statement. That, she could agree with all too well. "You're definitely right about that, Kyoko-chan! Sayaka-chan is always trying to poke Hitomi and me." She giggled, not noticing the immediate embarrassment flushing the cheeks of her best friend.

"Oh is she?" mused Kyoko, thoughtful. The blunette stretched out a foot and kicked the older girl's knee, looking angry. "Ow!"

"We're always saying, 'Stop poking, Sayaka-chan!' Sometimes she... um... gets a little too into it, and does it so hard it hurts!" she glanced sideways at the blunette, hoping she wasn't angering her. Sayaka was a fan of what her father called 'horse play'. She was overwhelmed with concern at the sight of her friend, who was looking utterly ashamed. "It's okay, Sayaka-chan, I didn't mean that I don't like it. I know that's just something you do to your friends." Kyoko's eyes were sparkling with amusement. "But it would be nice if you could, ah, be a little more... gentle?" Madoka finished, looking at the blunette hopefully.

Kyoko started laughing.

"I promise," Sayaka said with deadly seriousness, looking at Madoka but talking to the overly-amused red-head, "that I'll never, ever poke you again."

Kyoko's laughter died, leaving not even a smile in its wake. She's bluffing. The blunette met her gaze without wavering. If it had been anyone else, Kyoko could have just ignored it. But, with Sayaka's crusader for justice complex, there's no telling how long that promise would interfere with... things.

"Let's not be hasty," Kyoko finally got out, drawing the black-haired transfer student's attention again.

Determined to change the conversation and focus on the positive, Madoka smiled broadly and picked up her questioning again. "So... the fancy hotel restaurant? What was that like?" That seemed like an innocent enough topic.

"I'd like to hear more about the poking that went on," commented Homura.

Sayaka frowned at Homura as she answered the pinkette. "Well, it was... actually, I can't remember. I think there was a restaurant."

"There was a restaurant in our room," Kyoko added helpfully.

"That's called a kitchen," Sayaka said dismissively. "It was a nice kitchen, but... We, well, we did go out to eat-"

Kyoko couldn't resist, given the way her mind was wandering. "I got to eat S-"

"AT A RESTAURANT," Sayaka continued, drowning out her partner. "Um, well, I guess we went to a restaurant, but didn't have the money to actually get something."

"It's a good thing Sayaka makes such a delicious snack." Another glance between the red-head and the blunette, this time Sayaka's gaze was pleading, and Kyoko's was simply evil. "Yum," she added, licking her lips exaggeratedly.

Madoka had some questions. "Wait, how did you stay in a hotel without money? Or did you spend it all on the room? And why did you go to a restaurant if you didn't have any money?" And then, as an afterthought, she added, "And what kind of snack did Sayaka make you? She's never cooked or baked anything for me." She didn't mean it to sound so accusatory, being honestly curious, but the pinkette couldn't help feeling a little wounded that her best friend had failed to share this talent with her.

Kyoko shook her head in mock sadness. "Poor Madoka. I bet Sayaka's never even let you pet her kitty." This time, Sayaka opened her mouth but was drowned out by the pinkette's response.

"Oh Sayaka-chan Sayaka-chan why didn't you tell me!" she exclaimed. "Sayaka-chan, I didn't know you got another cat! I thought... after Mr. Wiggles', um, accident... When did you get it? You know I love cute, fuzzy little kitties more than anything in the whole world!" Sayaka glared at Kyoko. Look what you've done! "I'd kiss it and hug it and wouldn't ever let go! I'd nuzzle up right against it, bury my nose in its fur. Nothing is as cute as a warm, fuzzy kitty! Oh I just know it's fur is so soft. Sayaka-chan, you have to let me see your kitty! Please! Tonight!" She couldn't help wondering what was so funny; Kyoko-chan having begun to laugh rather rudely in the middle of her excited rant.

"Madoka, don't beg." Every eye in the room, especially the purple ones, spun to the doorway, where Junko stood, playing with a button on her blouse, the hint of a smile in her eyes. "It's unbecoming. You sound worse than a boy on prom night. Nobody likes the smell of desperation." She looked at Sayaka for the briefest moment, and the blunette noticed the merry look had turned deadly serious. And with those words, cryptic only to the person they were addressed to, Junko left, heading off down the hallway. Sayaka couldn't help shivering. "Oh," she called out, "if anyone would be willing to help me-"

Homura was already up and out the door. She paused, flicking a glace back at the startled looks everyone was giving her. "Well, we're guests. It's only polite!" she admonished. "You should help too!" she added. When Sayaka sheepishly stood up, she bit back some choice words, glancing down the hall. "Next time!" she snarled, closing the door before the blunette could take a single step.

The three girls looked at one another, puzzled.

It was Madoka who broke the silence. "Um, I don't get it. Why do boys want to see kitties on prom night? Is it, like, a tradition or something?"

Half an hour later, Madoka sat on the floor, across from her friends. She was cross-legged, like the other girls, although technically Homura had assumed a lotus position. Unlike the other girls, the pinkette's toes wiggled with barely contained excitement.

It had been a little awkward when Homura had left; the long glances shared between the two other girls had been enough to make the pinkette desperate for something to do. Finally, she'd opted for her favorite stand-by; cute kitten videos. She'd been a little upset when Kyoko-chan had refused to watch, but after the third video Madoka noticed the red-head staring over her shoulder and couldn't help smiling. By the fifth video, the older girl was muttering things like "But it's so small!" and "Awww, look at it sleeping!" At least until Sayaka had snorted so loudly.

When Homura-chan returned, the two veterans had once again resumed their discussion.

This is so much fun! The way Homura and Kyoko were carrying on... it was almost like they were friends! The pinkette frowned for a moment, a worrisome thought flitting across her mind as she glanced at Sayaka. She watched the blunette absently run a hand through the older girl's long, flowing crimson hair, behind her back but not entirely out of sight. Smiling, proud of her work, Madoka was nevertheless confused by the red-head's reaction. Or rather, the fact that she hadn't reacted by slapping the hand away. Once she could get away with, maybe, but Sayaka had been touching her hair a lot in the last half hour.

Madoka was too well mannered to stare. Just as she was about to shift her eyes away from the oddly comforting but confusing scene, Sayaka happened to look up and catch her... um, glancing over. The blunette's hand was instantly at her side, color blooming in her cheeks as she let her head hang just enough for those blue bangs of hers to cover up wincing azure eyes. Homura-chan didn't really put much effort into brushing Sayaka-chan's hair, Madoka thought regretfully.

Kyoko blinked, casting a sidelong and, in Madoka's mind, regretful glance at the girl next to her before returning to her animated conversation with Homura.

"Sayaka-chan?" Madoka asked softly, trying not to interrupt the older girls' discussion about the events from what Kyoko kept calling "our vacation." Her friend looked up, a strangely fearful look in her eyes. Madoka smiled disarmingly, her first and only line of defense against anything awkward or painful. "Would you mind helping me with something?"

Sayaka sat up straight, interest replacing her embarrassment at getting caught in the act. "Sure, anything! What do you need?"

Madoka stood, and Sayaka followed suit, trailing behind the smaller girl, who led her to the hallway. The blunette glanced back as they left the room, just one more little peek at that lustrous, thick mane of Kyoko's gorgeous hair. Wow, she'd had no idea... Just as the door frame was about to block the sight of that incredible girl, Sayaka's heart stopped beating for a moment as the older girl glanced at her in the doorway and winked. Winked!

"I'm so happy to see you so happy, Sayaka-chan!" Madoka began, noticing the strange drunken grin on the girl's face. The pinkette thought of it as 'drunken' because that's the way her mom looked at her happiest, invariably after a night out drinking. Usually just minutes before she... dozed off.

Sayaka was instantly alert, recognizing all too well her small friend's obtuse way of asking personal questions. "Just happy to see you, w-" Dammit! It wasn't often that she even used the nick-name, but tonight, for some reason, it was always at the tip of her tongue. "Madoka-chan." She noticed with resignation that her slip had not gone unnoticed. "So..." Sayaka began, but couldn't think of anything to follow it up with. Something about Madoka's expression... They walked downstairs, heading toward the kitchen. It wasn't until they'd passed the living room that the awkward silence was broken.

"S-Sayaka-chan," Madoka began hesitantly, stopping to turn around. The blunette closed her eyes. "I... you d-don't have to tell me, if... if you don't want to, b-but... is something... different?" Sayaka felt her breath catch, having hoped to avoid this topic at all cost for the present. Things were complicated enough. "Different between... y-you and..."

The blunette's mind whirled with possible answers, explanations, excuses... but they spun by so quickly it was impossible to grasp on to any plausible answer, other than the truth. Kyoko wouldn't mind; in fact the blunette had the distinct impression that she wanted everyone to know about them. It wasn't that Sayaka wasn't, exactly... it was just that she was a little concerned about certain people's reactions. In a split second, she made up her mind to come clean. Madoka was her truest friend; if she couldn't be honest with her about her feelings, she didn't deserve Kyoko. She opened her mouth.

"Me?" Madoka finished, her pink eyes shimmering with worry. Ever since her wish, Homura had been so distant. Not her since wish, actually, but ever since that night she'd visited Madoka in her room, which was close enough. At the mall, out of nowhere, suddenly seeing her friend, risen from the dead, in her mind at least! It had been so thrilling! The pinkette knew her friend had been happy to see her as well, but hadn't displayed nearly the level of excitement at their reunion. Kyoko... well, the red-head was actually being pretty nice to her, which was certainly a change from before. Was everyone different now for some reason?

What had hurt the most, Madoka remembered, was Sayaka's response to her Contracting. She hadn't been able to contain herself, bursting with pride that she'd finally worked up the courage. The blunette's smile had been wan, the congratulations hesitant. It was like she wasn't excited for me to be her partner, the pinkette had thought in despair. Even as a fellow Puella Magi, she still felt like Sayaka was somehow leaving her behind.

Sayaka digested this new information for several moments, knowing she needed to answer as quickly as possible. It seemed that the smaller girl was growing more anxious by the second, and Sayaka struggled to come up with a response. "Ahhhmmmm... Huh?"

Madoka began to explain her fears. "I don't want everyone to be different, I want it to be like it was before, except better! I just want us to be friends and work together and save people-" Suddenly, the dreaded tears had begun flowing, and Madoka was furious at herself for succumbing once again. Sometimes, when the emotions were running high, she just wasn't able to contain them. So they leaked out. She felt the strong arms of her best friend encircle her, feeling the girl's strength flowing into her, and hugged her back as hard as she could, needing something to hold on to-

Crack. "Ahhh...ooow!" Sayaka's suddenly pained and wary expression scared Madoka more than that disturbingly loud snapping sound. She looked at the blunette, whose face was twisted into a smile. "Uhhmmm. Ouch. I... I think you broke a rib," she said in amazement, prodding gently at her left sight and then hissing violently. "Yuh... yep."

The tears, which had been forgotten in the excitement, came back in full force, this time with reinforcements. "Oh no, was that me? Did I do that? Sayaka-chan I'm so sorry I would never-"

Smiling, the blunette interrupted. "Hey, no worries! Better already," she boasted, reaching up with her arms to prove it, but halfway through the motion she gasped and let her arms drop to her sides, which made her wince again. "Almost one hundred percent," she said reassuringly through gritted teeth.

"I thought... I thought my wish would have made things better," the smaller girl woefully explained. "But... things are just so... different!" Her slender shoulders shook as the sobs wracked her body. "I... I don't want to lose you too! Again!"

Sayaka narrowed her eyes over her friend's back, holding her tight. "Me and Kyoko?"

Madoka took a gasping breath. "No... well, I know she's your f-friend, and she's been r-really n-nice..." Composing herself a few moments later, she went on. "It's just... Homura-chan..." She struggled to find a way to explain what had happened.

Upstairs, Kyoko had watched the blunette watching her as she left with her other friend, and had flashed the girl her most spectacular smile with a wink to go along with it. Then she turned back to the only other girl remaining in the room.

"Good, they're gone," sighed Homura. "Now we can talk about everything you left out during that story of yours."

Kyoko frowned. Had it been that obvious? Still, she wasn't a wily street-smart vagabond sneak-thief for nothing. "Huh? Whadda you mean?"

Purple eyes rolled. "I'm talking about, among other things, a half dozen men found murdered and mutilated in the middle of the street in one of Motogawa's more dangerous neighborhoods," she began, watching the red-head try to keep from squirming. Either that, or her stomach issues are back, she reflected. "Or maybe something about an adolescent dragged out of the harbor, wearing a suit of military-grade body armor." Homura permitted herself the smallest of smiles, delighted in the other girl's discomfort. "The helmet of which, incredibly, had been pierced clean through." Kyoko stared for a moment, then gave up.

"Nosy little... how did you know that was us?" The red-head almost lost it when Homura shot her a smug look that said, I didn't. Until now.

"The fact that it made the local news, and coincided with your presence in the city in question, may have had something to do with it. I am interested in those events, but they are not my primary concern. I don't really need to know the details, but thought you should know that your actions have not gone unnoticed." She paused, frowning. "I'm surprised, you've managed to keep yourself off of the radar for most of your existence as a Magical Girl. I imagine people will think of you as a bad influence on Miki Sayaka," she went on, pondering out loud. "But you should consider whether she's not a bad influence on you-"

"Don't be an idiot. What is it, Homura? What do you want to know?" She desperately wished Sayaka was in on the conversation as well, since a lot of the missing details concerned her situation. But then, she would have heard what Akemi just said, and there would be a fight and someone would end up dying and Madoka's sleepover would be ruined. And truth be told, Kyoko was getting attached to the tiny, overly-nice girl, wondering what lay below the surface of that polite and considerate exterior.

"Miki-san, ah, Sayaka-chan," Homura corrected with an expression like she'd just bitten into a lemon. "She's weak! I-"

"No she's not," Kyoko interrupted, feeling the need to defend Sayaka's honor. "She can be dense, sometimes, and stubborn as hell, but she's not weak." Homura didn't look convinced.

"The things you said she was capable of... did she use them during your little sparring matches?"

Kyoko considered. "No. She didn't. But, she was still new, still learning-"

"I've seen many Miki Sayaka's, all of whom have fallen, and none of whom were able to summon up a storm of swords. I can see her exaggerating so shamelessly, but since you apparently back up her story..." She paused, noting the angry glint in the red-haired veteran's eyes as she gave a curt nod. "That seems very strange."

Kyoko shrugged. "And getting your soul put into a crystal egg isn't? Getting a wish granted by a magic space cat isn't? Getting pulled into extra-dimensional vortexes inhabited by sentient dark reflections of girl's who've gotten too sad-"

"You've made your point," Homura waved her hand dismissively, much to the other girl's annoyance. "It's not the same. There are rules, a system in place governing all the interactions you've discussed. You're certain you saw these powers as soon as you entered that barrier?" Kyoko nodded. It couldn't have been Madoka's wish, then, since she hadn't contracted until the barrier had gone down. She thought back to how crushed the girl had been, Kyubey's dupe once again, throwing her soul away only to find out she'd been too late. Homura paused, thinking, until Kyoko coughed rather obviously. "Nowhere have I heard of a girl's power alter...ing..."

A minute of impatient silence later, Kyoko felt obligated to give the black-haired girl a friendly tap on the shoulder. The punch knocked Homura backward, her legs locked in the lotus position rising into the air, so it almost looked like the girl was sitting on her back. Unlocking her legs, Homura sat up, giving Kyoko the evil eye.

"We don't have much time, Hom," Kyoko explained, not bothering to stifle her laughter. She eyed the door significantly. "Tell me what you're thinking about."

"I need time-"

"Just tell me what you are thinking, right now," Kyoko said. She made it sound like a demand, but Homura could recognize a tinge of desperation in her voice. It was as close Kyoko came to begging. The black-haired girl sighed.

"None of this is certain, but... there have been some unintended consequences during this nightmare of a quest I've been on." Unintended consequences? What, did she manage to destroy the world or something in her misadventures? Kyoko just couldn't imagine the other girl's mindset. For her to have known another Kyoko... a dozen, or if she was to be believed, a hundred other Kyokos. It was very creepy. I wonder if she's ever seen me naked? Kyoko couldn't help wondering, with just the slightest feeling of distaste. Or if I've ever seen her naked. Or if we- No. Truthfully, the black-haired girl was quite beautiful, if too scrawny for the red-head's taste. I like having something to squeeze, she acknowledged proudly. But in getting to know the time traveler, Kyoko doubted she'd ever have gotten past the smug superiority the other girl projected. Nobody but her deserved to be that self-confident. All those other me's, all of whom were dead, or... what? What happened, exactly, to everyone besides Homura when she hit the reset button.

"What happens to the people in the other timelines, when you bug out and start over?"

"Which would you rather hear about in private, Kyoko?" Taking the girl's silence for acceptance of her implication, Homura went on. "This stays between us. The only other example I have of a Magical Girl's abilities getting stronger is Madoka." Kyoko looked at her, obviously confused. "Madoka is the most powerful Puella Magi on the planet. Possibly in history. No, it's true," Homura stated confidently in response to the obnoxious scoffing sounds issuing out of the red-head. "Every time things are reset, there's some kind of... cosmic echo? A pattern, or something, etched in the temporal fabric. When... when I change her fate, the pattern rips, but the threads are still there. Then, when things restart, the threads attach to the next Madoka, and her potential abilities as a Magical Girl increase."

Kyoko rested her chin on her fist, finding it more and more difficult to remain willing to accept another of Homura's increasingly outrageous and confusing tales. "So... you're saying, someone's been going back in time to rescue Sayaka from her fate?" Is it me? Kyoko thought wildly. That would be so cool... but since she didn't remember doing anything like that, or even really thinking about time travel before Homura had talked about it up on the rooftop.

It was Homura's turn to scoff. "Hardly. The Incubator explained it to me. Something about the strands of fate being broken, and all the potential coming to rest upon each successive Madoka. I'm just pointing out the only other... hmm. I wonder if the Incubator would know. I loathe the thing, but sometimes, occasionally, it can provide useful intelligence."

Kyoko was shaking her head. "Not the best idea, at least right now. I have a feeling Kyubey does know, but I don't think we can trust it." Homura rolled her eyes again, causing Kyoko to marvel. She was so animated tonight! "There's all sorts of weird stuff Sayaka was telling me about that thing. It... did something to her." She shook her head again, this time at Homura's inquiring gaze. "Not just her, other girls too. I... she'll have to explain it." Hmm, that's not going to increase Akemi's confidence in Sayaka's survival chances, Kyoko thought, worried at the black-haired girl's response when she learned that Sayaka herself was convinced she was cursed and basically doomed to become something horrible. They hadn't talked about it since they'd left Motogawa, but she doubted the blunette had completely forgotten. "But... for now, I wouldn't trust that thing."

"I learned that lesson long ago. That doesn't mean we can't use it, for information at least-"

"You're not listening. I... there's stuff... Look. We have... evidence, that the Incubator has been... messing around, with Puella Magi." Kyoko took a breath, trying to think of how she'd explain the important stuff without giving away her girlfriend's secrets.

"And th-that's why I'm s-s-so worried," sobbed Madoka. "Hitomi-chan is ignoring me, Homura-chan is being so cold and distant all of a sudden, and... m-my other best friend d-doesn't w-want me t-to b-be a M-M-Magical Girl with her!"

Sayaka was dumbfounded. "You... you made a Contract... to save me?" The awe in her voice quited Madoka's weeping, and the girl raised her head from the blunette's shoulder, red-rimmed eyes bashfully meeting blue.

"Well, not exactly. Not like how you wished to save Kyousuke." Despite her emotional state, Madoka couldn't help watching Sayaka as she said the name, only noticing a slight tightening of the taller girl's lips. "Kyubey told me that you were in trouble, and..."

"Wait, Kyubey convinced you to Contract?"

"No, silly, he just showed up and told me that you were in a lot of danger, so, to help, I had to become a Puella Magi." The pinkette sighed. "I thought... I could be useful. Your partner," she added quietly at the end. "But when I got there, Homura-chan told me you were dead. I thought... I thought I had failed you," she said brokenly. "L-like Mami-san."

Sayaka suddenly found it difficult to swallow. Wiping away absently at an eye, she leaned forward to embrace the smaller girl again. "Oh, Madoka, you are the the bravest girl in the world and the best person I know." She felt the tinesty bit guilty when she said it, realizing that another "bravest and best person" was just upstairs, somewhat defeating the point of her superlatives. Each in their own ways, Sayaka justified to herself.

"So," the blunette wondered aloud, after both their tears had finally been wiped away, "Akemi-san has been... distant, huh?"

Madoka sniffled, feeling better after getting out some of what had gotten bottled up in the past few days. She chuckled ruefully. "Yes, it's funny but, well, she kind of used to scare me. But then she... she came into my room and-" Sayaka immediately assumed the worst, but the pinkette continued, oblivious to her sudden scowl. "-told me, well, I'm going to let her explain, but it was pretty intense!" She giggled half-heartedly. "She's wanted to be my friend all along! But it also sounded like a... confession. Like, you know, about her... feelings? For me?" Madoka couldn't help wincing at Sayaka's shocked look. "There's no reason to look so surprised. A lot of people think I'm pretty!" she proclaimed in her own defense. When Sayaka burst out into disbelieving laughter, her mood sunk further.

"Madoka-chan, you are so adorable. Of course you're a little cutie." She rubbed the top of Madoka's head playfully, earning a sour look. "I'm one of those people who think you're pretty!" Catching her breath, the blunette explained. "I was just, I dunno, surprised. That Akemi-san finally told you-"

"Finally? You... knew?"

Who knew pink eyes could be so cold? Sayaka thought. "I... that is-"

"You knew about her feelings?" Madoka moaned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Eh, if you want the truth... I just had suspicions. But it wasn't enough to... I didn't want you to get, you know, worried or something-"

Madoka glowered at her friend. "Sayaka-chan, I'm just as old as you are. I've been your friend for almost half my life. We've been friends for almost half of our lives. I'm not a weak little girl anymore," the pinkette declared proudly, forgetting the several recent incidents of uncontrollable crying in her anger-inspired confidence. "I'm a junior, just like you. I'm a Puella Magi, just like you. Why can't you treat me the way you want to be treated?"

Sayaka swallowed. "I... I'm sorry, Madoka-chan. I guess I like to think I have someone to protect," she explained, a little humiliated. "Kyoko calls it a knight-in-shining-armor complex." A brief flash of luxurious red hair played through her mind, but she remained focused on the friend in front of her. "You are right. I've treated you like a little sister too long. You're more like... a twin!"

"Twins! And partners, right Sayaka-chan? We'll be heroes, together, saving the city from evil..." Her excited vision of the future, so vivid she could almost feel their destiny together, began to dim as she noticed the other girl's uncomfortable look. "What's wrong, Sayaka-chan? Do you have... what Kyoko-chan... had?" she asked worriedly.

The blunette had the grace to blush at what she considered an unnecessary reminder of a delicate and private matter between the red-head and the mysterious internal workings of her body. "No, I'm fine. Why do you think I have what she has?"

Wide, pink eyes looked at her innocently. "Oh, no reason." Then, "Well, probably because you were traveling together?"

"Maybe," Sayaka grunted. This was difficult. "Um, Madoka-chan, I... need to tell you something." Madoka continued to stare at her, the innocence quickly changing to interest. "I... when I was... when we... Hmm. I guess what I'm trying to say... um, well. The thing is..." she flashed the pinkette a quick, flustered glance, but Kaname Madoka was the best listener she knew, and her calm, expectant expression relieved some of the blunette's jitters. Letting out a sigh, she started. "When we were fighting, me and Kyoko, we kind of... teamed up. We're already... partners, I guess." She waited, seeing a slight look of disappointment cross the smaller girl's features. "That doesn't mean we can't work together, be a team, give her a chance, Madoka-chan, Kyoko's really a good person."

"So, you and Kyoko-chan...?" Madoka prompted.

Sayaka shrugged nervously. "Partners." Please, please let them get along, the blunette thought desperately. And let Madoka understand.

"Oh, so that's all it is? I thought-" Madoka stopped, actually putting a hand over her own mouth.

"You thought what, Madoka-chan?"

"Well, that she was your new waifu," the pinkette explained, embarrassed because she still suspected that was the case. She asked. "You, and her, um... liked each other." When Sayaka didn't immediately respond, she clarified. "Like like."

Sayaka couldn't help but grin, despite the confusion that had overtaken her thoughts. Like like. "Uhhhmm, what made you think that?"

Madoka puffed out her cheeks and blew out a long sigh, her face scrunched with thought. "Oh, I guess it was the way I saw you sharing food at the mall, and when we left I saw you walk away holding hands even though you looked around to make sure nobody was watching, and then when you got here you didn't make any potty jokes when she came out of the bathroom, and it was strange that you lied to take the blame for her making that mess on the stairs, and oh yeah upstairs a little while ago you kept running your fingers through her hair." She was trying so hard not to smile it was nearly killing her. Madoka watched Sayaka become more and more uncomfortable. It's for her own good, the pinkette thought, wishing she'd forced the issue the first time.

"Well..." Sayaka began, hovering between trying to think of an explanation, or just come clean. Come clean about being dirty with Kyoko. The blunette smiled; she'd have to remember to explain it in those words to the red-head.

"Oh, I almost forgot, you keep catching yourself whenever you're about to call me 'waifu'. And of course, there's the fact that every other sentence you say is Kyoko this and Kyoko that." The pinkette giggled. "So you're saying it's all just, what, a partnership, Sayaka-chan? If you say so, I'll believe you." Sayaka again couldn't help laughing as the pinkette began to waggle her eyebrows enticingly.

"Ah man, I'm so busted," Sayaka acknowledged. "I... yeah. You're right. It was, well, I guess it was just before the last time I saw you, when Kyoko found me and... gave me a different perspective on things, I guess. So... it's kind of quick, I know, but, well, in Motogawa we kind of..."

"Started dating?" Madoka asked, excitedly. Sayaka flushed, faked a smile and nodded.

Sounds a lot better than 'hooked up,' the blunette acknowledged, grateful for her friend's overflowing enthusiasm.

As Sayaka chattered on about the time she and Kyoko had spent together from a slightly different perspective, heavily censored of course, Madoka soaked it all in, finding her friend's sudden vitality infectious. If only she could talk about the one thing that she had kept hidden, trapped away inside. She was bursting to tell someone, anyone, wanting to talk and talk about the person she had fallen for. But she couldn't, especially not Sayaka. The one she had feelings for already had a girlfriend. And to make matters worse, to make them impossible, that girlfriend was her best friend!

Thanks, as always, to those who read and review! Let me know what you think, what you'd like to see, or any thoughts you have about what's going on; reading what you write is one of the highlights of my day.