As N Approaches Infinity

by Corisanna

Despairing as yet another timeline goes horribly wrong, Homura wanders into Karakura. There she discovers that while the spiritually-aware people of Karakura were distracted by Ichigo Kurosaki and Xcution, Kyubey contracted the Kurosaki sisters as magical girls. Drawing the attention of the shinigami could be just the advantage Homura needs.

75. VIERUNDSIEBZIG

A/N: This chapter turned into taking my more emotionally stable Kyōko voice for a test drive to figure her out. She dominated the entire chapter.

The only flashback dialogue not from or derived from a canon source is the part about the shop.

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VIERUNDSIEBZIG

TIMELINE X + N + 1

Kyōko woke slowly, her body the most relaxed it had been in... a really long time. She shifted and stretched and opened her eyes to bright morning sunshine and blinked the glare away. The ceiling above her was unfamiliar for a minute, but finally pinged as the game room in that crazy... magic shop, they had called it. She was surrounded by the sounds of people breathing and something tap-tap-tapping. A drowsy look around found Mami on her right and Madoka to her left. Mami's face was worried even in sleep but Madoka's was peaceful— as was her magic. As she woke up more, Kyōko studied that magic and decided the girl really did just radiate a soothing aura by default. It was low-key and nebulous in sleep, but there. If she wasn't contracted— another glance at her ring finger confirmed that for like the hundredth time— then Kyōko supposed her magic needed to go somewhere. It didn't seem to have a focus, just spilled out. Curious, she stretched her senses toward Sayaka. Her magic was in a similar nebulous and unfocused state, but she had far less of it and it didn't... spread. Kyōko thought it through and decided to look at the two in video game terms: Madoka's magic was the only one in their party that had a constant area of effect. Sayaka's was... triggered upon attack, like auto-counter? Or something. Whatever.

Distantly, she wondered if she was so calm because of the best sleep she'd had in memory, having eaten a beyond-decent meal, being at the epicenter of Madoka's area of effect, or... that spell. Right. She'd been put to sleep by a spell. After—

Kyōko tensed and thought of the night before; she whipped her hand up and splayed her fingers to look at her Soul Gem ring. It was a bit dim, but not terribly so. She let her hand fall to the... sleeping bag. Okay. And thought. The drowsiness was actually helpful; it forced her to think more slowly. Some of the previous night was hazy with rage and... paranoia...? and despair. She had been choking on smoke and Momo—

Nope. Chop that thought off at the knees. NEXT.

Right. So. There had been a lot of information, some promising stuff, and that string— rope— attached: staying within the property line.

Which... yeah, the guy had been a dick about it, but damn she had overreacted. That smoke of despair and paranoia had cast a much bigger shadow than there really was. She wasn't happy about it, but turning the tables by tricking Incufucker and giving it a Very Unpleasant Surprise down the road by popping up and barbecuing it while it wondered how the fuck she was alive was a fair trade.

Also: the food.

Kyōko lifted her hand more slowly and frowned at her Soul Gem ring again. Her greatest asset had now been revealed to be her greatest liability and it pissed her off. That it could mess with her head added insult to injury. She curled her lip into a sneer at it.

Yet another reason she never should have contracted.

"I hope you're not getting any ideas."

Kyōko nearly jumped out of her skin and bit her tongue while stifling a screech. She sat up and whipped around, wide awake and searching for threats. All the magic had felt asleep—!

"Over here."

Bosslady Mom was sitting by the window in her pajamas, a laptop balanced on a gaming console. Ah— the source of the tapping. Which she should have noticed had stopped. Damn. The woman twiddled her fingers in a wave and smiled slightly. "Good morning."

"What."

"Good morning," she repeated quietly. "Did you sleep well?"

"Uh— yeah, I— uh— I did."

The woman smiled more broadly and Kyōko saw the resemblance to Madoka. "I'm glad to hear it. You had a rough night."

Kyōko's face heated up in embarrassment. "I'm— I'm sorry about— uh— about— uh—"

"Don't be," Bosslady Mom said with a little wave. "You were under immense stress, had more dumped on you, and your Soul Gem was working against you. Everyone understands."

Kyōko's face burned hotter. She really didn't know how to react. Squirming awkwardness was something she hadn't felt since that time she took Mami home to meet her family.

Bosslady Mom tapped some keys on the laptop, closed it, and looked up at her. "Wanna get first dibs on breakfast, Early Bird?" she asked with a wink and a gesture at everyone still asleep.

"Uh— okay?" Kyōko replied warily.

The woman waited in the doorway for her while she untangled herself from the sleeping bag and grabbed her boots. Kyōko scrutinized the sleeping girls so she'd know what their faces were like when they were unguarded. She couldn't see Karin's face because she was laying on her belly, spreadeagled with her face planted in a pillow. How the girl didn't suffocate was anyone's guess. Then Kyōko noticed an empty sleeping bag, took attendance, cast her senses around, and blurted, "Where's Purplebitch?"

"Homura," Bosslady Mom corrected with a twitch of her lips.

"Yeah, her."

Bosslady Mom beckoned her over. "She and Tōshirō went out to hunt Witches before dawn."

Kyōko followed her, baffled. "Why?"

"To have Grief Seeds on hand in case of... emergencies."

Like Kyōko's epic nuclear meltdown. Cue full-body cringe. "Oh."

Bosslady Mom pretended not to notice. "I need to bug Tessai and see if Tōshirō has texted an update. It's been a couple hours since the last one. If they don't find anything soon, they should drop by to eat and rest." She opened the door to the dining room and kitchen and called, "Good morning!" at the occupants while the smell of glorious food punched Kyōko in the face.

Manchild Dad was slumped on the table, worshiping a coffee mug. Pinky's dad and the Giant With Glasses were cooking. Pinky's baby brother was in his high chair; he looked up from his food to cheer, "Mama!" He blinked in surprise, then squealed, "Koko!"

"Good morning, baby," Bosslady Mom cooed as she pressed a kiss into his hair. "Is breakfast yummy?"

"Yeah!" Tatsuya waved at Kyōko and shouted, "Koko! Come eats!"

Kyōko slid into a seat near the toddler and tucked her boots behind the table leg. Why the hell couldn't she make eye contact with a toddler? "Yo. I guess... Sorry I scared you. Last night," she muttered.

"It okays," he chirped as his mother put her laptop on the table and wandered into the kitchen, where her husband swatted her hands away from something. Tatsuya went quiet for a minute while Kyōko stared at the grain of the wood of the table— it was a far sturdier table than the one she broke— then hesitantly said, "Um, Koko?"

"What?" she muttered with a sideways glance at him.

"Um." Tatsuya gnawed on his pinkie finger, then whispered, "Papa Mama sayed little-kid cry-cries make Koko a'scared 'n mad 'n sad?"

The parents were watching her even though they were playing keep-away with a strip of bacon. Manchild Dad's eyes were on her, too. Kyōko shifted uncomfortably. Could this get any more awkward? "Y-yeah. I guess."

"Why?"

"Tatsuya, no," said the dad.

"You don't have to answer that," said the mom.

Kyōko stared at the boy for a long minute. "It's... okay," she absently said to the parents. Momo had also been a whywhywhy toddler. Kyōko distantly remembered that giving an actual answer could forestall tantrums. And she really didn't want to deal with that again. "Uh, crying makes me think of... someone who cried that I... can never see again."

Momo's despairing voice echoed in her head. "I'm hunnngryyy, Kyōkooo! Thaaat's not soooup, it's waaaterrr!"

Kyōko sighed tiredly.

Tatsuya looked utterly heartbroken. "Oh." His eyes teared up, but he startled and covered his face with his hands. "I s-sorry. I try not'a cry-cries, 'kay Koko?" he said with a wobbling voice.

"Uh... thanks, kid." Before she really knew what the hell she was doing, she had patted his head like she used to do to her sister; Kyōko jerked her hand back as though stung.

The toddler either didn't notice or didn't care. "We eat brekkis!" He shuffled the food on his tray, grabbed something, and offered it to her in one grubby fist. "I share for happies!"

"Uh... thanks," Kyōko said, obligingly holding her hand out to accept whatever sticky gift he would give her.

"We'come!" Tatsuya squealed.

Kyōko looked in her hand. It was a peeled wedge of apple. Of course it was.

"Kyōko, I'm— I'm hungry—"

"It'll be okay, Momo. Father's teachings are going to reach everyone. When that happens, we'll be bale to eat as much as we want. Until then, let's make do with this."

Momo, face alight with joy. "An apple!"

Mom, a hand brushing her cheek in surprise. "Oh, my, did... somebody give it to you?"

Kyōko had stolen it in desperation. She met her mother's eyes and knew the woman understood it was stolen goods.

"How kind. In that case, Mother will cut it up for you," Mom said with a smile. She was desperate, too.

Dad, face warm but odd, a plate of peeled apple wedges in his hands. "Here's your share, Kyōko."

"But... this is all of it, isn't it? Let's all share it. I can't eat all of this alone."

Dad, a fake smile on his lips. "Go ahead and eat it. You're the one who got it, after all. We don't need it."

He knew.

He knew he knew he knew he knew he knew he knew he—

And thou shalt remember all the ways which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every WORD that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

"What are you waiting for, Kyōko? Eat it."

Could her brain give her a break for one. goddamn. DAY?!

She popped the apple into her mouth and viciously crushed it with her teeth as if she could crush the memory out of her. When Tatsuya giggled and offered her another slice, she took it and immediately tossed it in her mouth. Crunch, crunch.

"Would you like pancakes, waffles, or eggs?" Pinky's dad asked as Bosslady Mom danced to the table with a plated omelet that looked like restaurant-quality.

"Uh... pancakes."

"Bacon or sausage or both?"

"...Both."

"Coming right up!" The man hummed cheerfully and bustled about with pans.

Kyōko didn't know how the next half hour managed to be both the most relaxed and most awkward breakfast in memory, but it was. Maybe because she rarely interacted with adults these days? Everyone else in the building started trickling in after that. Mami hugged her desperately until Karin tugged at her collar and told her to let Kyōko breathe. Breakfast turned into a grab-what-you-want-from-a-platter affair instead of the cook-to-order service Kyōko got. Karin and her ridiculous father got into a fight over the last pancake; it set Kyōko's nerves on edge, but most of the other people were snickering or rolling their eyes. She supposed the fork duel was funny. But still.

Orihime stumbled into the room and blurted, "Food."

She waved those guys off and plunked into a chair. Everyone shoved platters her way so she could stuff her face, which she promptly did. Orihime scanned the table and spoke around a mouthful of food to hopefully ask, "Donutsh?"

Madoka's dad and Yuzu immediately stood with expressions like they had been given a mission of dire importance to the continued existence of humanity. "We'll make some!" they declared together before attacking the kitchen.

Kyōko watched Orihime eat in her peripheral vision and managed to stay straight-faced while cringing internally. The young woman had exhausted her magic twice over for Kyōko's sake. Kyōko owed her and had nothing to give her. She made a note to find a way to settle that debt.

The first plate of donuts was set in front of Orihime just before Kyōko— and almost everyone, it seemed— sensed two irritated magical signatures approach. Homura and Mami's knight in frosty armor stomped into the room looking bedraggled and pissed off. Her costume and his clothes both bore random large holes with singed edges and their movements crackled with static electricity. Homura's tangled hair seemed to be floating a bit from it; the boy's hair looked spikier than Kyōko remembered. Both had patches of skin that looked like big road rash scrapes.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Karin drawled as Homura furiously reached into the Pocky-pit. "Did you make a new friend?"

Frosty glared at Karin as Homura flung two Grief Seeds at the table so hard the spindles lodged in the oaken surface. Kyōko joined others in leaning forward to squint at the Grief Seeds. The sides of the first had a kinda windmill pattern and the top was crowned with a tulip ornament. The second had sides that made Kyōko think of castle walls with a circular pattern and an ornament that reminded her of the weird stubby key to her mother's antique music box.

"Oh, fun ones, huh?" Karin commented.

"I hate those Witches," Homura snarled.

"You can't not tell us about them," Karin goaded.

Frosty leaned past her and jabbed a finger at the first one. "Lightning and seaweed tentacles while walking on rough seawater that couldn't decide whether to be solid or liquid," he growled. Then he pointed at the second and sneered, "Sand."

"You're pissy because of a little sand?" Karin laughed.

"Sand everywhere, in everything, and used as a weapon," he added.

Sayaka eyed their scrapes and drawled, "Oh, so that's why you look like someone took sandpaper to you."

"Oh, no, you got sandblasted," Karin cooed, hands to her cheeks in fake concern.

Homura looked murderous, but Frosty flatly looked Karin dead in the eye as he stepped up to her, tapped a finger to her breakfast plate, flared his magic, and encased her food in a dome of ice. Sayaka immediately huddled over her own plate with protective arms.

"Hey, Tōsh, don't ruin food— it's rude," Karin said innocently, gesturing at Kyōko.

Kyōko felt her eye twitch. She couldn't decide which one of them to be angry at.

Frosty— Tōshirō met Kyōko's eyes and gave her a respectful nod. "It's not ruined. She just has to work to get to it."

"Awwwww, such considerate revenge," Karin tittered.

Tōshirō placidly tapped his knuckles at the back of her neck and dropped a fistful of hailstones into her pajamas.

Karin leaped up with a screech and flailed around, ice pellets scattering everywhere. "TŌSHIRŌ, YOU ASSHOLE!"

Homura gave a short, vindictive laugh. This appeared to shock the others more than the bratty bickering.

The boy ignored Karin's writhing and looked at Sayaka with his brows raised. Sayaka grabbed her plate and dove under the table with it.

Everyone looked entertained instead of angry. Kyōko felt like she was in a sitcom or something.

"I'm glad you're back safely."

Everyone looked to the doorway. Bucket Hat Magic Science Clown stood there looking sleepy and relieved. Kyōko wondered where the claw marks on his face came from.

"You were gone a long time. I was worried," the man added.

Kyōko wondered why he glanced at his nephew but mostly stared Homura in the eye as he said that. There had to be context she was missing.

Homura sighed and went to push her hair over her shoulder, but grimaced and shook her hand out as static made her hair cling to her sleeve. The movement made the curtain of hair cling to her face over a big scrape; hair from her other side drifted over and clung to that. She sputtered angrily and stamped a foot in frustration.

"Sadako, Sadako!" Karin laughed.

"Sadako, Sadako!" Tatsuya parroted.

"Go take a shower and get out all your hair stuff," Yuzu ordered as she put another plate of donuts in front of Orihime.

"You will take any excuse to play with my hair, won't you?" Homura asked dully.

"Yep!"

"Tōshirō. Miss Akemi," Urahara said. When both looked his way, he said, "Why don't both of you go get cleaned up? Then I'll heal you and you can eat breakfast."

"I can heal myself," Homura sniffed.

"Please don't," Urahara said quietly. "I think it would be best for you to conserve your magic for now. Until Miss Inoue recovers."

Homura's mouth twisted in distaste but she huffed agreement and swept out of the room, immediately followed by the boy.

Urahara watched them go, then turned to face Kyōko. He looked her up and down and asked, "How are you feeling, Miss Sakura?"

Kyōko eyed him for a minute with her own sour face, considered reactions, and settled on a curt, "Better."

"Physically? Mentally? Magically?"

"All of 'em," she answered with a roll of her eyes. "If nothin' else, at least you're good for knocking people out."

His flinch warmed her heart. Kyōko also liked the way the others at the table were eyeing him.

"I apologize again, Miss Sakura," Urahara said quietly as he took off his stupid hat and held it over his heart with a bow of his head. "My behavior was out of line."

"You're an ass when you're tired, Kisuke," Manchild Dad drawled.

Bucket Hat Magic Science clown put the hat back on his head and blinked owlishly at Karin and Yuzu's dad. "So I am told."

Bosslady Mom cleared her throat and sipped from her coffee mug.

"Yes, I am," Urahara corrected himself.

"Tired?" Kyōko asked airily. Psh. Like sleepiness was any excuse for by the way, you're under house arrest— why so upset?

Mami shifted in her seat and said, "Ah, you wouldn't know, but... Mr. Urahara didn't sleep at all... yesterday night. Morning? After— after our fight and— and when we got you back— he spent all night and morning calling allies and... arranging things."

"Arranging what?" Kyōko asked.

"Getting us here without Incubastard knowing," Karin said grudgingly as she commenced chipping ice away from her plate with a fork. "Had to call in some favors. Sicced Tōshirō's dad on the geezer who was bitching about if it was really necessary and junk."

Orangeygo crossed his arms and nodded. "Rukia texted me that he was pissed when Gramps suggested we avoid trouble and just leave you as a Grief Seed for now."

Kyōko's breath caught. Fury and terror churned in her gut.

He added, "Rukia also said uuTōshirō's dad basically shouted the old man down. She thought he'd actually throw lightning at the jerk at one point."

"But Mr. Hitsugaya is so nice," Madoka said with wide, innocent eyes as Sayaka emerged from under the table and looked interested.

Manchild Dad smiled humorlessly. "Jūshirō is very nice. But if there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that the most sweet-natured and patient people are the most terrifying when they're pushed into actually getting angry." He and everyone glanced first at Yuzu, then at... Bosslady Mom? Both smiled beatifically.

"Beware the fury of a patient man, as Dryden would say," Urahara said with a faint twitch of his lips. It turned into sleepy surprise as the giant with glasses— Tessai, Tessai— shoved him into a chair and set food in front of him.

"Jūshirō has been... unhappy that we haven't reverted most of the Grief Seeds we've found," Manchild Dad continued, "but he recognizes that we rarely have the girls' bodies to put their souls back into and we can't constantly run Orihime into the ground. He recognizes that studying them in the near term may allow us to save them all in the long run. And that's why he's been... unhappy about the Soul Gems we confiscated from Sōju, but hasn't objected. We don't have bodies to put them in. I'm trying to trace Sōju's route to see if any bodies were found soon enough to be on life support and try to figure out who's who, but that's going to be... difficult. Hopefully, studying them in the meantime will help save them."

Kyōko swallowed hard, seeing the logic but not liking the sound of that. Other girls at the table looked similarly uneasy. Creepy thoughts of Frankenstein experiments drifted around in her head. "What... do you mean by study?"

Urahara sighed and rubbed his face. "As I said last night, if we know everything there is to know about Soul Gems and Grief Seeds, we may be able to figure out how the Incubator makes them, how the transformation functions, may be able to exploit that knowledge. One of my biggest hopes is to find a method to revert Grief Seeds that doesn't rely exclusively on Miss Inoue's powers. She's not an infinite resource." He glanced at said young woman, whose head was doing the jerky motion of trying to stay awake while she finished her donuts. "My greatest struggle has been developing methods and equipment that can run non-destructive tests on the Gems and Seeds themselves. Many methods of analyzing normal gemstones require partial or total destruction and I absolutely do not want to accidentally destroy a soul."

Kyōko's stomach rolled. There were a lot of pale faces around the table.

"Anyway," Manchild Dad said with a knock on the table to draw attention back to him. "Tōshirō's father was adamant that since we had both your soul and your body, you should be restored as soon as possible. A lot of us made the argument, but Jūshirō was the one who could get in the old man's face."

Whoever the hell Jūshirō Hitsugaya was, it sounded like Kyōko owed him as well. Great.

"Who is this old man who has so much authority, and what is the basis of his authority?" Bosslady Mom asked coldly, eyes hard.

Kyōko joined her in watching everyone's reactions closely. There was a lot of uncomfortable and uncertain shifting and eyes jumped between Urahara and Manchild Dad.

Looking for a cue as to what story to go with.

Kyōko sniffed with disdain. "You all suck at not being suspicious."

Nervous laughter around the table. Bucket Hat Magic Science Clown looked at her in a way that screamed fascination. Knowing he was a scientist, that look made Kyōko wary.

"It's... complicated," Manchild Dad said weakly.

"I thought you dislike that answer," Homura's cool voice said from the doorway. Everyone turned to look. She was wearing a loose dress and had her hair up in a big towel-turban on her head. Her scrapes looked smaller than they had now that the blood was washed off her skin. Still looked raw and painful as hell, though. The dress' lack of cover for arms, legs, and collar revealed electrical burns, too. No wonder she'd been cranky. "You certainly disapprove when I use it regarding magical girl matters."

Kyōko watched how the magical adults reacted to the impudence as Madoka scooted her chair over and fetched a spare one from another place at the table, then hurried to drag Homura to the chair by the wrist. Homura complied docilely. No one showed anything but mild surprise. They weren't angry at Homura.

"That's— I— you— it's—" Manchild Dad spluttered.

Homura gracefully sat and smoothed her dress. "If you say 'that is different,' I will call you a hypocrite," she said lightly.

Manchild Dad's face colored. Urahara gave a short laugh.

"Do not think I will not apply the same standard to you, Mr. Urahara," Homura added as she primly sipped from her teacup.

"I do not doubt for a millisecond that you would do so, madam," the clown said with a bow and flourish of his hat.

They were all playing the same game. The adults were treating her like an equal. Or she was behaving like an equal and they were just allowing it. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

"Hmph." Homura turned to Bosslady Mom. "The simplest explanation is that our alliance to study and counter the Incubator has significant overlap with but is independent from an organization of the spiritually powerful which protects souls and polices common supernatural threats like Hollows. That organization prefers strict secrecy and is headed by an old man who is extremely powerful. Part of our cooperation agreement stipulates that we not speak of them if at all possible. For operations security."

Urahara grinned at Homura and added, "We frequently bend the terms of the agreement nearly to breaking, so this is one taboo we would prefer to avoid disclosing in its entirety. For now. Sharing may become necessary but we need to display a good faith effort to avoid it to maintain access to resources. Most importantly, our method of transportation that avoids Incubator detection. We could manage without, but it would be an unnecessary strain— and dangerous. It's bad enough that we have to navigate magical politics to get what we want."

"Politics," Karin muttered derisively as Bosslady Mom nodded thoughtfully. Still suspicious, but thoughtful. Kyōko decided she liked the woman. Especially considering the night befo—

Lop that thought off at the kneeeeeeeees.

"Um, Mr. Urahara?" Sayaka said hesitantly.

"Yes?"

Sayaka frowned and fiddled with her teacup. "If Mr. Hitsugaya yelled at the old leader guy... is he part of that group?"

Urahara's grin widened. "Yes. He is. And he has considerable political clout. He's our liaison."

"What about TōHitsugaya?" Mami asked softly.

"Technically, yes, he is also a member. However, he chose to dedicate himself to our cause after a friend of his— and Miss Akemi's— fell victim to the Incubator." Urahara's face went solemn. "She shattered her own Soul Gem in front of them."

Homura bowed her head and looked grieved. "I would rather not speak of that," she murmured softly.

Even the others looked painfully sad. Considering that and other references they'd made about rescued Witches killing themselves and others going batshit murder-suicide bonkers, Kyōko could respect that. She hated speaking about her father's adventures in that pit of despair and having seen him hanging from a rafter; she couldn't demand it of Homura. Or Tōshirō, she supposed. She'd hold off on asking the others for now.

"SO. Anyway," Manchild Dad said with a clap. "The Kisuke who pushed your buttons last night was the Kisuke who'd been awake for two days and was straddling the line between human and antisocial science robot running political chess programming."

Urahara grimaced but didn't object.

Kyōko shifted around and felt like she was being prodded toward a forgiveness she didn't want to give. Don't sulk, don't sulk, don't sulk. Screw it. "What, so now you think what he did was okay? People were pissed at him last night," she challenged. From what she could remember, anyway. She wasn't sure who had yelled what at one point.

Madoka's dad coughed lightly and said, "There is a difference between an excuse and an explanation, Kyōko. We don't approve of how he treated you. We had quite a scene after you fell asleep. We are not excusing his actions, but explaining them so you understand them— that they were not borne of ill intent. That you did nothing to provoke his actions. That's on him. Junko... had words with him—"

"And hands," muttered Karin.

"And nails," muttered Sayaka.

Kyōko eyed the claw marks on Urahara's face and looked at Bosslady Mom, who innocently sipped her coffee.

Her husband coughed into a fist and continued, "Yes. Well. Words. Anyway, they came to an agreement of sorts that he will focus on research—"

"And run ideas for plans involving other humans by me," Bosslady Mom finished.

Bosslady Mom stated it as fact and no one objected, but the way some of the others blinked at her made Kyōko wonder how... "definitive" an agreement they had made before the casual declaration.

The woman looked Kyōko in the eye and asked, "What do you think about staying here and helping us?"

Kyōko turned that thought over in her head and twirled her spoon in her empty bowl. She glanced at Tōshirō as he returned all washed up, tiredly took a seat, and gathered food. He sported wounds similar to Homura's and looked like he'd rather be sleeping. She looked at the two Grief Seeds still wedged in the tabletop and considered that Tōshirō and Homura had spent hours and effort and pain to get them to help her. Thought about them and the other teens; they at least seemed genuine and potentially useful allies. The adults... she wasn't sure. None of these people were one-hundred-percent— except for the toddler and Madoka, for whom even Kyōko's cynicism found it difficult to believe had a selfish, controlling, manipulative, or deceptive bone in her body. Kyōko eyed everyone at the table slowly as she considered options.

Instead of Bosslady Mom, Kyōko looked at Urahara and said, "As if I have any choice."

"There is one other feasible option, if you insist," Urahara said. "It would require a significant amount of trust on both our parts, though."

"Oh?"

"You could go to the Kurosaki home, since they live in a place the Incubator avoids," Urahara said with a nod in Manchild Dad's direction. "You would still have a perimeter, but it would be a much wider one. And it would probably be best to use a fake name. Just on principle, in case someone mentions you when roaming."

Kyōko narrowed her eyes. That sounded... not terrible. Except she didn't know the Kurosaki family very well. Manchild Dad put her on edge so far and their family dynamic was bizarre as hell. "Those are my only two options?"

Urahara scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Technically speaking, there are a few other options. However, they would be extremely drastic, possibly distasteful to you, and have the potential to compromise valuable intel about our resources. For one thing, we don't know if you would be able to maintain cover. For another, we don't know if we can trust you to not run off."

"Meaning yep, those are your only two options," Kyōko said sarcastically.

"For now," Urahara said with a sigh. "We need to get to know each other better before proceeding beyond those two, anyway."

Kyōko narrowed her eyes at Urahara. There was a third, unspoken option: Everyone overpowering her with sheer numbers and actually locking her up, or even snatching her Soul Gem and running away until she disconnected from her body then leaving her body in a freezer or something. They weren't openly using that as a threat, though. What did that say about them?

Everyone let her think. She scowled at her bowl and tapped her spoon on its rim, listening to Karin's increasingly frustrated attempts to chip away Tōshirō's ice. Kyōko looked up when Homura stood with a sigh, reached across the table, picked up the ice dome-sealed plate, flipped it, and cracked it on the table like an egg. The girl set the split ice dome in front of Karin and sat, returning to her waffles and fruit. Karin stared from the broken ice to Homura and back again with the funniest expression on her face as her brother laughed at her and Tōshirō smirked into his croissant.

Hanging out with these people could at least be entertaining, she supposed. And if everyone stayed in one place, she could throw Bosslady Mom or others at Urahara. The prospect of going all-out in some weird-ass subdimension sounded fun, too.

And again, also: the glorious food.

"I'm in for staying here," Kyōko said slowly. "For now."

Tense shoulders around the table relaxed.

"What's the plan for today, then?" Kyōko drawled as she leaned forward onto her elbows. She glanced at the other teens. "Is everyone skipping school to party with me?"

"Today is Sunday," Mami said softly.

Kyōko stared. Last night was Friday? Or wait, was it? Her days were all messed up even before the fight. The last week or so was... blurry.

Mami must have understood her face. She smiled wanly and said, "I lost three days when I was... out. It's... disorienting."

"Sunday," Kyōko said blankly. She stared at the table laid out for breakfast and thought of her mother humming a hymn as she gathered the dishes and her father got his things together for his sermon. She shook her head to shake away the memory and repeated, "What is the plan for today, then?"

"Relaxing," answered Urahara. "You all have had a stressful time lately and need some downtime."

"And you will also be resting today, Kisuke, or Tessai and I will knock you out with Hakufuku and tie you to your bed," Manchild Dad said cheerfully.

"I slept this morning. It's almost noon," Urahara objected with a pout.

Tessai, the giant of a man, stood behind Manchild Dad and adjusted his glasses as he stared his boss dead in the eye. His glasses twinkled ominously. "Sleep more."

There was more idle conversation after that and Manchild Dad healed Homura while she ate, but soon Tōshirō ditched them to go sleep— "I've had worse, heal me later, wake me up if you want to die"— and all the girls reclaimed the game room. They dragged sleeping bags and furniture around and set to playing. Kyōko twitched to alertness when Homura's magic flared, but upon whipping around to look for an attack she found the magical girl had manifested her shield and was holding it over the low tea table. It was baffling until brushes and combs and bottles of hair products tumbled out as Homura stared at them dispassionately.

"I want one of those," Kyōko muttered.

"Right?!" Karin agreed. "You can keep everything and the kitchen sink in there!" Then she cupped her hands around her mouth and sang, "Homurapunzel, Homurapunzel, let down your hair!"

Homura stared at her irritably as Yuzu sorted bottles and tools. Homura reached up and yanked the towel off her head. Everyone paused to take in the long mess of tangles.

Having long hair herself, Kyōko whistled and said, "That's gonna be a bitch to deal with."

"Have fun taming that, Yuz," Karin said in dull surprise.

"I will!" chirped Little Miss Sunshine.

Pinky tilted her head and looked interested. "Can I help?"

Homura glanced aside almost shyly and said, "If— you like."

Well. That was interesting.

The rest of them had just settled on the floor when a little voice called, "Koko!"

Kyōko looked to the doorway. The toddler stood there with his father hovering behind him.

"Koko! I stay?"

His father smiled and said, "He keeps asking about you. Is it okay if he hangs out in here until he wears himself out into a nap?"

"No naps!" Tatsuya squealed. "Fun!"

Kyōko noticed everyone was looking at her for an answer. Huh. "Uh... that's cool, I guess."

"Yay!" Tatsuya cheered. He promptly ran into the room and threw himself into Kyōko's lap, making her squawk in surprise. The toddler giggled and shuffled around. "Koko play TV?"

"Video games," she said blankly. The hell was she supposed to do with a lapful of toddler?

"I play, too!"

"Uh... your hands are too little," Kyōko said, desperate for an excuse to keep him from melting down at a plain no. She wiggled the controller and let him try to hold it. Tatsuya huffed in frustration, so Kyōko cut him off with, "You can... help me play?"

"I help?!" Tatsuya squealed, looking up at her with sparkly puppy eyes.

"Uh... sure."

And that was how she ended up sitting cross-legged on the floor with a toddler in her lap with his back leaning on her torso, her arms around him so he could see her hands on the controller. The other girls found this so adorable that they occasionally deliberately sucked at the game so Tatsuya could tap some buttons and feel useful.

Kyōko was loath to admit it, but it was... nice. And the toddler had a dialed-down, muffled version of his sister's warm-n-fuzzy-drugs magic. It was... cozy. Comforting. Especially when he laughed. It brought back distant memories of Momo that... surprisingly didn't hurt much. Time blurred pleasantly; when Tatsuya fell asleep in her lap, she didn't bother moving him. Mami was still mediocre at video games and flustered by it. Kyōko decided Karin and Sayaka were at the very least decent company and good at games. Homura was a quiet mystery who could go either way; it was impossible to glean anything from her while she struggled to stay awake. Yuzu and Madoka were chattering like they had known each other since kindergarten in Sunshine-and-Roses Land while they worked on Homura's hair.

It was mid-afternoon when Madoka's dad came in to take Tatsuya from her and put him to bed. Kyōko was surprised to find herself missing his presence. The confusing feeling was interrupted by words that chilled her to the bone.

"Kyōko's hair is really long, too."

"I wonder what it would look like in braids?"

"Or curled?"

"Oooooo."

Kyōko jumped to her feet and blurted, "I feel like taking a walk!" She looked at the wannabe-stylists at the table and their sleepy victim, whose hair was now in two thick braids tied off with red ribbons. Yuzu and Madoka— whose hair was down now that her ribbons had been re-purposed— were looking at Kyōko's ponytail, not her face. "Ha ha, cabin fever, you know?! Uh, I wanna... look around the building... go outside... something."

The owners of the amateur salon gave her identical pouts. A bead of sweat trickled down Kyōko's temple. The other girls snickered at her plight; she glared at them, but Sayaka jumped up, grabbed her hand, and said, "I'll show you around!"

The blue-haired girl dragged her out into the hallway and gave her a guided tour of the entire place. It became obvious she was making shit up about some of the rooms. It was a good distraction, though, so Kyōko played along. They skipped the door behind which they could both sense Frosty's magic; Sayaka advised her that he was super fun to tease, but it was best to do it in public where he couldn't do ice stuff in front of the normals. This led to amazing gossip about a hallway scene featuring Frosty and a bunch of girls. It was almost exactly what Kyōko would have done herself. Kyōko said so and praised Sayaka, who preened.

That was the beginning of more gossip about the other occupants of the building. Kyōko played along with the mockery and slipped in some probing questions now and then. Sayaka was a fount of information. She obviously didn't know everything about the people who weren't originally from Mitakihara, but in a way that was more helpful to Kyōko. It was an outsider's opinion and highlighted what things were unmentioned or hidden.

"And that's the door to the deep part of the shop."

Kyōko blinked in confusion and stared at the door at the end of a short hall; that door felt saturated with magic. "Deep?"

"Yeah. We dunno what else to call it," Sayaka said with a shrug. "Mami said Hitsugaya said Urahara said it's, like, magic plus physics to make an alternate dimension or something so there can be waaay more rooms in the building than it should hold."

Kyōko bent forward and squinted at the door. "So... like Homura's shield? But a bigger opening?"

Sayaka stared, jaw slack, before drawing her face into curiosity. "I wonder?"

Kyōko wanted to explore inside, but she wasn't stupid. She closed her eyes and reached out with her magic to feel out the magic around the door. Most of it was unfamiliar but there was a fragile framework that reminded her of her own lattice barriers. She opened her eyes and frowned. "It's warded."

"Huh?"

"Warded. There's... a kinda fence just outside the door," Kyōko explained. "Fills the whole hall, floor to ceiling. Doesn't feel strong, so I'm guessing it's an alarm instead of a brick wall."

Sayaka squinted. "I dunno about that from here, but I think I remember feeling weird when I went back there."

Kyōko hummed suspiciously. She wasn't in the mood to press things, so she changed the subject. "Why does everyone call this a shop? I ain't seen anything for sale."

Sayaka brightened and led her back down the main hall and into the shop. She threw the door open with a flourish and shouted, "Welcome to High Spirits!" as if she owned the place.

Tessai paused his typing on a laptop and greeted them mildly from a counter as they stepped out into the shop. There were a lot of tea, herbs, crystals, candles, and other stuff she remembered from a time several years back when her father had taken her and Momo along to preach in the streets again and settled outside a similar shop. Their old man had called it a den of sorcery and witchcraft and been so worried about the poor lost souls of those who owned and shopped within that he would cry and plead with them to abandon their practices. Kyōko and Momo had loved their father's words and how he wanted to save people but were little and had short attention spans; they would peek curiously in the windows whenever he turned away to speak to passersby.

"Please forsake this false temple! 'Many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.' The Lord forgives those who repent! Please, save yourselves! Let me help you save your souls! God helps those who help themselves!"

There had been a pair of very polite police officers after a few hours of that. One had bought the girls lunch while the other talked to their father. Kyōko's father had wept over papers for weeks afterward and said they were never allowed to go there again.

That happened a lot, really.

Kyōko's steps into High Spirits were solid and decisive— proud and defiant. She had been and could still become a Witch; a den of witchcraft suited her. She was curious what had made it so awful to her father, too.

"Hey, Tessai," Sayaka said, "does anyone but us ever shop here?"

"Very few," he answered as Kyōko wandered over to the crystals. "We included a ward that makes it unlikely that anyone without even a tiny bit of magic will notice it much."

"Whaaat? How do you make money, then?"

Kyōko looked up from some green and purple crystal labeled fluorite, eyes narrowed. "It ain't really a shop, is it?" Tessai looked at her. She added, "The merch is legit but the point ain't to sell it."

The big man looked intrigued. "To a degree. We do build protections into things for those who do come. You could say we have... an exclusive clientele."

Kyōko raised a brow. "Or that it's a front."

Tessai smiled at her. "You would make a good investigator."

"That ain't a no." Kyōko cocked her head to one side and suspiciously asked, "Who bankrolls you?"

"A very good investigator," Tessai said with a wider smile. "Boss has squirreled away a lot of money over the years."

"What from?"

Sayaka was looking at her with curious respect. Huh.

"A similar shop that used a candy store as a front," Tessai replied. "I believe Karin's friends call him the Candy Man. They have no idea."

Kyōko couldn't hold back a disgruntled pout. "Why didn't you do that here?!"

Tessai's laughter boomed around the shop and Sayaka snorted and snickered.

They spent the next half hour or so perusing the shelves. Kyōko let Sayaka pick up weird things and hold them up to loudly ask Tessai what they did. Kyōko absorbed the information and wondered about warding. They ended up at the counter with Tessai identifying and explaining the uses of the beads on Sayaka's bracelet.

Kyōko leaned in to look at it. "Madoka and the little guy had these, didn't they? But the kid's was on his ankle."

"Yeah," Sayaka answered. "Tessai and Magic Man made them for all of us who don't have magic. I mean, can't fight with magic." Her face hardened. "Yet."

Kyōko looked up at her and raised her brows. "If you contract, I'll kill you on principle for being such a dumbass."

Sayaka laughed harshly. "Nah. I wanna learn to use magic like Hitsugaya and the others." She looked up at Tessai with fierce eyes. "You'll teach me, right?"

"It requires a lot of studying," the man hedged.

"Actually worth it," Sayaka declared. "Everyone who's so good at magic is good at school and super smart so I'm gonna work harder there, too."

Kyōko glanced aside. She didn't have much of an education, really. No way in hell would she say that, though.

Tessai stood taller and stared at the door. "Ah. Someone's coming in."

"The wards tell you that?" Kyōko asked, casting her senses around. There was something very faint out front.

"Yes."

The tiniest little old lady Kyōko had ever seen shuffled into the shop with a cane. Tessai welcomed her and she smiled broadly. Everything about her screamed grandma. When Tessai asked her if she was looking for anything in particular, she nodded and said, "Yes. There was a fire at the shop I usually buy supplies at and a friend recommended you." She looked around the entire shop and spent a moment staring at each of the three of them. Kyōko felt a touch of magic soft and weak as a light breeze— testing. The old woman smiled broadly. "I see my friend did not exaggerate in her recommendation."

Tessai went out from around the counter to help her. Sayaka looked interested, but moved toward the door to the back. She gave a slight start and called out, "Oh, Tessai! Where's the fish food?"

"Under the counter."

"Cool, thanks!"

And then Sayaka was rifling around under the counter; she soon stood with a victory cry and a plastic bin. Sayaka blinked and glanced at the screen of the abandoned laptop, then straightened and beckoned Kyōko to follow her. Kyōko eyed Tessai and the old lady, then decided to go ahead and leave.

Sayaka led her back to the inner courtyard. Kyōko glanced suspiciously at the pigeon coop as they passed it, sensing magic around it but not wanting to draw attention to noticing. They ended up sitting with their legs over the edge of a veranda above a koi pond. Sayaka chattered and threw handfuls of fish food.

Kyōko just stared at the fish and felt deja vu. They repulsed her for some reason; it escaped her for a long minute until realization hit her and she blurted, "There were fish in my labyrinth."

Silence.

After long pause, she dully added, "They were swimming in the air."

More silence from Sayaka. Kyōko leaned forward to stare at the koi with unseeing eyes, nails digging into the wooden ledge as she remembered misty fog, red lights, and flying goldfish mottled white and red and gold and black. She jolted and whipped her head up when a hand touched her shoulder.

Sayaka was looking at her solemnly. She was quiet for a moment, then softly said, "Do you want to talk abou—?"

"No," Kyōko said hurriedly.

"Okay." Sayaka withdrew and threw another handful of food to the fish. She swung her legs as she watched them swirl around in the water. Hesitantly, she asked, "Do you mind if... I... talk about the... whatever happened to me?"

Kyōko looked away and stared across the pond. She locked her eyes on a little turtle she hadn't noticed sunning itself on a rock. "Whatever."

Sayaka waited a bit. When Kyōko didn't leave or tell her no, she said, "I was really stupid. It was my own fault."

"...That ain't what Mami said," Kyōko muttered.

"Mami is too nice," Sayaka said.

Kyōko snorted. True.

Sayaka proceeded to retell the story of the Box Witch's labyrinth in far more detail than had been given during the round-table summary. The description of Mami's fall pained Kyōko more than she cared to admit. Homura Akemi's sheer stubborn brutality in battle and refusal to just fucking die already upped Kyōko's respect for her.

"So I was trying— trying to get to Mami's body while Homura was fighting the things that had Madoka," Sayaka said shakily. She swallowed hard. "And then— then Sōju was right in front of me. And she shoved a black thing in my face. And— it— I—" Choking. Long silence.

Kyōko couldn't make herself turn to look at her, couldn't make herself, like, pat her on the shoulder or something to snap her out of her head. The silence dragged and Sayaka was very still. Finally, Kyōko decided to do something; she awkwardly kicked the girl's ankle.

"Ow! The hell?!"

Kyōko's face burned. She sucked at sympathy. Sayaka drove her heel into Kyōko's shin. Painfully. Kyōko guessed she deserved it. Then Sayaka gave an unexpected, short laugh.

"Right. So. Shoved the fake Grief Seed thingy in my face," Sayaka resumed. She breathed deeply. "Everything... hurt. My chest, my head, my whole body. And I was— it felt like— she had, like, shoved me in a closet full of spikes and slammed the door on me so it was totally dark and I was scared and it hurt and I was— so— I guess it was despair. I thought of all the— the awful or sad things I ever felt and then it was like I was drowning and— I— changed."

That was... really fucking similar to what Kyōko remembered. Except instead of drowning, she had felt like she was choking on smoke back in her family's house when—

Nope.

Sayaka went quiet and still again, but it felt different. Kyōko hazarded a sideways glance and found her frowning at the water with her brows knit. It looked more like she was trying to put something into words than being lost in memory, so Kyōko faced forward again and waited her out.

"I... felt my bones cracking and twisting and... doing things bones aren't supposed to do," Sayaka continued slowly. "My whole body... my skin stung and itched like— like a— like I was on a bed of nails or something. I think those were the scales. The fish scales. And... something happened to my ribs," she said while drawing both hands down along the curve of her ribcage. "And I could... breathe there? But it hurt."

Against her will, Kyōko's eyes drifted down to the pond and the gaping mouths and fluttering gills of the koi. Bile rose in her throat.

"My nails hurt," Sayaka added. She held her hands up and wiggled her fingers. "I think they were claws. And they had... fins or skin or something between them. My fingers, I mean. It's kinda... blurry, but I'm pretty sure I was a really weird mermaid." She held her legs out over the pond and wiggled her feet. Kyōko's eyes jumped to the koi's tail fins.

How the hell was Sayaka able to even look at the fish? They disturbed Kyōko and she hadn't even turned into one!

"Then something was over my eyes, like—" she waved her hands near her face as though tracing something horizontally— "like a knight's helmet visor thing. It had slits in it. I— So. That was... my body. My... mind? That was— that—" Sayaka gulped hard and shakily said, "I was so... I hated everything. I wanted to ki-kill ev-er-y-one. And I wanted— to— d-die."

Kyōko remembered being big, remembered sitting astride a horse, remembered flames in front of her face, remembered looking down on three figures and wanting them dead with every fiber of her being. Especially the blonde— especially Mami. Kyōko chewed her lip and stared at the fish. But the fish had been there, too, so that didn't help.

"Then suddenly I was wrapped up in ice and Homura was in front of me. Like right in my face," Sayaka whispered, hunching over toward her knees. "She... had a gun. And— and— sh-she shot me in the face." She sharply sat straight and lifted her chin, stared Kyōko in the eye. "But I remember her face. She was all bloody but I could tell she was crying and she looked like— like—"

Sayaka swayed in frustration and gestured while searching for a comparison. The girl's face twisted into an imitation of a brand of horror Kyōko knew well; she had most recently seen it on Mami. Kyōko had a suddenly vivid memory of falling, of being bound and struggling as her horse whinnied distress, of Mami and Homura standing over her and Mami's face above a shaking rifle contorting into the terrified-determined-horrified expression Kyōko's father had worn when—

"I understand," Kyōko murmured heavily. "You can stop."

They were silent and avoided eye contact for a long while. Kyōko gradually started feeding the fish with Sayaka. Stared hard at the fish and tried to sort through the disjointed memories of her time as a Witch. Sayaka fidgeted uncertainly a lot, but didn't push her.

Eventually, Kyōko dully asked, "Aren'tcha gonna ask me to tell you about my...?"

Sayaka looked at her, opened her mouth, paused, then spoke. "No. I— don't get me wrong, I wanna listen if— I mean— Well, I was the first one to wake up after that— that— and I had to tell Urahara so he'd know what we were fighting and— I— think— He was really nice about it, but I really didn't wanna talk about it so... soon, I guess. Sooo... yeah. I'm not gonna... try to make you do that. But, like, I want you to know... that if you do wanna talk about it, there are some parts you... won't have to explain to me. So maybe it— wouldn't be as hard with me. 'Cause I know. You know?"

"...Yeah."

They didn't speak for a long time, just tossed food to the fish as the sunlight faded into the orange of twilight until the fish lost interest, too full. They still didn't talk; just sat there until someone came to fetch them for dinner.

The meal was long and lively again, this time with no mention of magical girls or Witches or Soul Gems or Incubators or Grief Seeds. Orangeygo and his friends told some stories about supernatural adventures in their town, but they were entertaining. Watching Orangeygo and Glasses Nerd bicker around their giant friend was very entertaining. Manchild Dad was a manchild, Bosslady Mom told surprisingly hilarious stories of putting assholes in their place at work, and Mami and Tessai got into some bizarrely complex discussion about tea, and everyone else gossiped and joked and laughed and just... it was... nice. Warm and inviting.

Kyōko caught herself cackling with Karin and Sayaka at one point and wondered what the hell kinda people she had fallen in with. It had only been a day and she already found herself wondering if she'd just laugh if they really did start up a one of us, one of us! cult chant.

This was dangerous. Fun and warm and welcoming and safe and dangerous.

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A/N: *pinches Kyōko's cheeks*

This chapter was replaced with an edited version on November 1, 2019. Reviews with timestamps before that date refer to a slightly different version of the chapter.