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"Hey, Sayaka?"
Her heart flutters with hope. Kyosuke. Is he going to ask her out? It is Valentine's Day. But then again, he did tell her he doesn't celebrate it. Whatever. He could be lying, probably hiding the fact that he's planned this special day for them and that he'll confess his feelings for her. Or should she be the bold one and confess?
"Sayaka?" he repeats, concern inflicting his tone.
"O-Oh! Yeah?" The smile in her voice is plain.
"Hey, listen. I know you and Hitomi are close, and I don't know if she's told you, but we're dating."
Her heart skips a beat. And another. All the air in her bedroom seems to vanish, and she's left nearly gasping. Him and Hitomi? Has she liked him this whole time? Why didn't she say anything? They're best friends; how dare she keep this from her?
"Saya-"
She finally reboots. She slathers her voice with false cheer and forces a tight, agonizing smile on her face. He can't even see it. "W-Wow! Really? And nooobody thought to tell me?"
"Well, she only confessed recently-"
She powers on. She can't stop. The lump that's formed in her throat is too large, and she's afraid that if she pauses, then she might burst into tears. "Aw, man! I'm happy for you guys. Honestly! But, I have to go now. I have plans with a classmate today." She drags out the word "classmate", hinting at… something.
"Oh. Well, I don't want to hold you up from wherever you need to be. Be sure to call me back," he says, ignorant.
"Yeah, okay, thanksbye!" She practically stabs the "End Call" button with her thumb before chucking her phone at her pillow. She brushes the free tears with the back of her hand. They've been dating this entire time. Leaving Sayaka to be tricked into thinking she stood a chance. Of course, he'd choose Hitomi over her. Look at what she's thinking!
She forces a deep, shaky breath. She can't even be happy for her friends. They're in love, and all she can do is seethe. But is it wrong? a dark side of her whispers. They waited to tell you. If they were your real friends, they would've told you-
"Shut up!" she yells, clamping her hands over her ears. She doesn't want to hear it. Her heart is split in two now and it beats unevenly. One beat, a pause, another beat. Two beats back to back, a pause, then a beat. She tries to swallow past the thick lump, but it burns. It scorches her throat.
Everything is too tight. Something needs to get out, and it needs to get out now. Another tear streams down her face and Sayaka scrubs it away. She won't cry. Witches are attracted to negative emotions, especially grief.
Then an idea strikes her like a lightning bolt.
She pushes herself off of her bed. She can fight witches. She can defend Kyosuke and Hitomi from being in danger. She owes them that after her selfish thoughts.
With a thought, her soul gem materializes in the palm of her hand.
~~~
Her sword pierces a familiar as it writhes in pain. It's a crushed soda can and a dark liquid leaks from its wound. Another one is running up fast behind her and she twists around, slamming the first one into its companion. They both shriek and Sayaka retracts her sword.
The witch roars, the guttural sound similar to a trash compactor. Its eye (a beer cap) meets Sayaka's empty gaze before launching a barrage of garbage bags at her. She dodges, but it's sloppy, and some of the bags slam into her shoulder and legs, knocking her onto the ground. Whatever.
On her one good leg, she propels herself into the air and at the witch. With its glass-shard fingers, it tries to grasp at her. Creating musical platforms beneath her, she breezes past. The motion makes her leg and shoulder shriek in pain. She applies a bit of her magic to it, healing it just enough that the pain is only an indiscriminate dull.
She stops right in front of the beast. The closer she's gotten, the smaller it became. Instead of the humongous dumpster, it's now only a child's bin. It has lions painted onto the sides, with long blades of grass and tall trees.
Sayaka twists her blade and slices it in half.
A final, pitiful scream escapes from it before the labyrinth begins to fade away. She walks over and picks up the grief seed. It reminds her of her own soul gem. Dark and murky, swirling with pollution.
"You've used a lot of magic, Sayaka," Kyubey comments. "Are you going to cleanse your gem?"
She scoffs as her magical girl attire shimmers away into her lounge clothes: a classic t-shirt and a pair of leggings. "I don't deserve it. I'll save it for whenever Madoka becomes a magical girl or something."
Kyubey knows she's lying. Hell, she knows she lying. If she hadn't let herself get swallowed up by her own self-deprecation, that witch would've continued to hunt and kill more people in these alleyways. I'm horrible.
"Rookie!"
Sayaka glances up at the rooftop. She clenches her jaw at the sight of that redhead munching on an apple.
"You took down that witch by yourself. A feat for someone like you." Kyouko takes another bite of the apple. "You look beat up."
"I don't care." Even so, Sayaka summons her soul gem. There's some bright blue in there. Enough to finish healing herself at least. She uses it and watches the corruption eat up the vibrant color.
Kyouko hops down from her perch and peers over Sayaka's now-healed shoulder. She sucks in a breath through her teeth. "Yeesh. Gonna fix that?"
Can she go away? Sayaka shifts away from the other magical girl, a deep frown set on her face. "Why do you even care?"
Kyouko shrugs. "Can't let you die, can I? Mami would blame it on me hella fast." She then digs into the pocket of her dingy hoodie and pulls out a grief seed. "Here. Take it."
Kyouko? Sharing? Sayaka raises an eyebrow and examines the seed. It looks normal and unused. Why is she giving it to her? Why the hell is she even talking to her?
Apparently, she's taking too long because Kyouko closes her fist around the seed. "Damn girl, if you don't want it, then just say it. You really don't trust me, huh?"
"You literally tried to kill me."
"Eh. You're fine, ain't you?"
Sayaka sighs. Her tone is so sure, like everything she says is not an opinion but a fact. A law of the land. It's meaningless coming from a thief. Someone who would let others die so she could get a grief seed.
You two are the same, aren't you?
"You probably let someone die for that."
Kyouko snorts. "The same goes for you, rookie."
But they aren't the same. She didn't let someone die. She hunted witches with Mami all last night until neither of their soul gems pulsed. Sayaka bites the inside of her cheek. She doesn't feel like arguing with her, lest they get into another fight. Her magical powers are nearly gone.
Kyouko's ruby-red eyes drift to Sayaka's soul gem. She looks as if she's weighing her options before snatching the gem and mashing the seed with it. The pollution drains away and the vibrant sky-blue fills up in its place. Either Sayaka's too slow or Kyouko's too quick, because when she finally reacts and pushes herself away, the gem is completely clean.
"There." Even with Sayaka scowling at her, Kyouko manages to grin. "Strange for you to be here. Where's the person you made your wish for?"
"Don't talk about him," Sayaka spits with venom.
She simply puts her hands up in apology. "So defensive." She then fishes in her pocket once again and reveals a handful of wrapped chocolates.
"I don't like chocolate," Sayaka says, the lie burning on her tongue. But how does she know whether or not it's poisoned or if Kyouko stole it? She can't eat stolen chocolate.
Kyouko rolls her eyes and sighs. "Everyone likes chocolate, especially today. I didn't steal it, if that's what you're worried about. Take it or leave it, Sayaka." There's no glimmer of mischief in her eye, or a barely concealed smirk. She looks... honest.
Sayaka knows the offer won't last forever, and neither will this brief slipping of the mask. So she takes the chocolate, the roughness of Kyouko's hand so different from her own. It's almost worn as if it's touched and experienced so much that it needed to age exponentially faster.
And, as much as Sayaka hates to admit it, she finds it quite nice.
"Thanks," is all she says.
Kyouko nods, and they stand there for a brief moment, staring at each other or waiting for one to say something. But, neither of them says anything, and Sayaka finally turns around and begins heading home, leaving Kyouko behind in the alley.
She peels open a chocolate, though, and pops it into her mouth. Immediately, the milky chocolate melts on her tongue, sweet and rich. In spite of herself, she smiles and her heartache seems to ease up, even if it's just a little bit.