Chapter Text
The Labyrinth of a Witch. One of the most dangerous places imaginable. Impossible landscapes, vicious familiars, a miasma of fear and despair that caught in your throat - and at the centre of it all, the Witch pulling the strings, like some giant twisted spider.
Tonight though, we weren’t the ones in danger. Tonight, this Labyrinth was our hunting ground.
If the Witch was a spider, we were the… what hunted spiders? Bigger spiders? Cats?
Two figures flitted over warped and melting wooden floors, waxed to a glistening sheen - one red, and one blue. Ballerinas made of a child’s angry scribbles twirled to intercept us, but they barely slowed us down.
Kyouko took the lead. Her hair and robe fluttered like flames as the scenery blurred past, flashes of a fierce grin on her face as she twirled, Familiars cut down all around her.
She moved like a dancer.
I brought up the rear. She was faster of course, more experienced too - but she relied on me to watch her back. To keep her safe as she soared.
This labyrinth was small, and the Familiars were weak too. Red-and-white striped toll barriers lowered in front of us, but they were no obstacle. We took to the air, shooting past them with ease. Ours was a solemn duty sure, but nothing beat the feeling of letting loose like this. The Witch wouldn’t know what hit her!
In no time at all, we drew close. I could feel the rising pressure in the air. Kyouko glanced back at me. She could feel it too. I gave her a determined grin.
Her own smile, the toothy grin of a predator, widened.
My heart skipped a beat, and I almost stumbled on the landing.
Hopefully she didn’t see that.
Suddenly, the waves of Familiars parted, and the corridors we were fighting our way down opened, morphing around us into a wide, round room. Despite its size, the air was stale and dense. It smelled like burned rubber.
A single figure dominated the space.
The Witch. A swirling, pinwheeling figure three times our height. Her body was made of coiled telegraph wires tangled into human shape, draped in a huge, bell-shaped dress of glittering brass padlocks. Her head was a huge red stop light, its illuminating cone roving wildly around her.
If she’d noticed anything of the battle we’d had with her familiars, she didn’t show it. She didn’t even react as we crossed the threshold of her personal dance recital, leaping over attending rows of empty car seats to land on the spiralling wooden floor with twin squeaks of rubber.
We had the drop on her - somehow. A Witch was dangerous - even one with Familiars as weak as these - so the quicker we could take her out, the better!
I lunged forward, sword drawn. I aimed for a decisive, decaptitating strike. My blade glowed blue, my cape streamed behind me.
At the last moment, as I delivered my devastating slash, I noticed the growing gap between the Witch’s neck and her floating head. The gap that my sword streaked harmlessly through.
I landed with a roll on the other side of the room, whipping around to keep the Witch in my sights.
Idiot! I should have spotted that!
The Witch stared straight at me, the light of her gaze casting an urgent red glow all around me. Her body still pirouetted, arms raised, but her gaze was fixed on me.
I paused, sword drawn defensively, waiting for her to make the move.
Or, in other words, I hesitated.
“Oi! Don’t just stand there, dumbass!” Kyouko cried, hurtling in from the Witch’s flank. She struck with her spear like a whip, catching her on the side. There was a flash of light and a deafening crack, and shattered padlocks blew out in all directions like shrapnel.
That piercing, blinding red light snapped off me.
Now Kyouko was the focus of her attention. The Witch followed her with her gaze like a spotlight as she zoomed away, her graceful leaps and bounds carrying her across the lair at dizzying speeds.
As if recovering from paralysis, I shook myself, finding the strength to attack again while she was distracted.
This time my redeeming, two-handed strike landed clean, severing her right arm just above the elbow.
I was rewarded by a spray of gross, chalky green blood showering me as I surged past.
Now I was the one to watch, drawing up my cape to shield my eyes from that wicked light - but that just gave Kyouko another opening to hit her from behind with a crash like a roll of thunder.
Between the two of us, the Witch couldn’t keep up. She whirled around her stage but we kept pace, punishing every slip or switch in attention, and dodging her attempts to drive us off. It wasn’t quite the decisive victory I’d imagined, but we were kicking her ass right now.
Kyouko blazed through the air on the other side of the Witch, unleashing blow after blow while I kept her distracted. She was like a wolf - tireless and strong, wearing our prey down. Each twist of her body, each stab of her spear, was violence as an art form. Practiced grace, wiry muscles, a mad grin on her face - in fights like these she came alive. I was so busy watching her out of the corner of my eye that I almost missed the Witch lunging at me in the centre of my vision.
I slipped up. Too slow. I tripped, and caught a glancing blow to the head as I dodged away. Any other Magical girl might be knocked out cold by the hit. Me? I twisted, rolled and sprung back into the fight, teeth gritted against the dull throb of a strike that could have caved my skull in.
But hey, what's the point in being so tough if I don't use it to my advantage sometimes? I’m a great distraction, and all I needed to do was give her enough of an opening.
And that’s exactly what I did. The Witch’s lunge and my savage counterattack put her off-balance and she tottered, stopping in one place to regain her balance. Kyouko shot upwards into the darkness above us like a firework.
I knew exactly what she was doing.
The Witch caught me in her stare one last time, but instead of fighting back I raised my sword to the sky, calling forth a little burst of magic.
High above, a little blue springboard of magical staves glowed.
As if understanding her own impending demise, the Witch looked up to the distant ceiling.
Aided by my magic Kyouko descended like a shooting star, a crimson streak through the sky that collided, spear-tip first, through the Witch’s upturned face. The force of the blow crumpled her body and brought her crashing down, her spear rammed all the way through her head and burying itself into the floor below.
For a moment the Witch froze, doubled-over backwards with one foot on the ground and the other high in the air, Kyouko perched on her chest like a hawk hunched over a rabbit.
Then, with the sound of distant rushing sand she dissolved into black mist, and the Labyrinth fell apart without her.
“Ha! Piece of cake!” Kyouko cried, as waves of magic and dark energy dissolved around us, revealing an empty car park in the dead of night. The stagnant, stifling air of the labyrinth was replaced by a rush of cool, fresh air on our skin. She raised her arms above her head and stretched, while I dematerialised swords stained with grainy green blood.
We stood alone under the glow of the streetlights, save for a handful of empty cars dotted about. Whatever this Witch had been trying to do in such a remote location, we must have stopped her before she could do it.
“Huh? Seriously?” Kyouko grumbled, kicking around in the dirt and litter on the floor. “No Seed?”
Of course that was the first thing on her mind. She was like a vulture for Grief Seeds, sometimes snatching them up before I’d even spotted them. Somehow it just felt… normal, to see her prowling and hunting like a tiger. Everything from her sharp features, lithe form, and purposeful grace seemed made for fighting.
She was born to be a Magical girl, I suppose. Lithe and athletic, naturally talented… I'm no slouch, but next to her I feel clumsy! She’s so poised, so graceful… so beautiful, even.
Which is an extremely normal thing to say about your former enemy who tried to kill you. Right? I’m just stating facts.
Keen to rid myself of all this nasty green goop, I drew my Magic back into my soul, taking with it any evidence of the battle.
It was a strange sensation, changing back. There was a noticeable drop in power, like shackling weights to your limbs and covering your ears and eyes. Most of my powers were still there, but hidden beneath the surface and taking effort to call upon. When you’re transformed it’s automatic, easy as breathing, and pretty intoxicating.
Even after just a few months, it was hard to imagine being as fragile as I was before I contracted.
“You done standing around?” Kyouko said, breaking my chain of thought. “A Grief Seed ain’t gonna materialise even if we wait all night.” And with a burst of ruby-red fire, she was changing back too - her spear vanishing to nothing and her garb burning away to reveal her signature hoodie, tank top and denim shorts.
She walked past me in the rough direction of home, grabbing me by the wrist and dragging me a couple steps to get me going. She’d probably noticed that I was a bit spaced out.
“Alright, I’m going, I’m going!” I insisted, following after her.
Silence settled over us as I fell into step beside her. That wasn’t normal. We always had something to talk about, even if we were just bickering about Kyouko’s bad habits or my lack of skill.
Something was eating at Kyouko.
When she got bothered by something, she either got angry or she got quiet. When she got quiet, she totally clammed up and avoided eye contact.
I glanced her way.
She didn’t look back.
Rats.
I didn’t like it when she got quiet. She didn’t seem like herself, without all the energy and passion. Even if it meant that she got angry at me, I kinda preferred when she exploded.
“Hey, Sayaka?” She asked suddenly. Her voice was low, full to the brim with things she wanted to say but held back.
“Huh? What’s up?” I asked - trying to sound chill, like I wasn’t analysing her tone. I sounded like I was faking it.
“You weren’t focussed on the fight, just now.”
“Sure I was! I didn't miss the cue for your dive or anything! ” An excuse.
“You know you weren’t. What’s up?”
“Nothing’s wrong, Kyouko. Promise I’m fine.”
“Don’t lie to me, stupid.” She growled, punching me lightly on the arm. Well, lightly for Kyouko. “‘Cos if you were focussed then you messed up. And if you messed up, then what were we doing last month celebrating your ‘graduation’ from Mami’s boot camp?”
“I…” I didn’t have a good answer. What could I possibly say? How could I explain to her that she was the reason I got distracted? That I was staring at her?
“You know how dangerous it is in there, Sayaka. That Witch was small fry, sure, but if it’d been any stronger you could have lost your head!”
“I know, Kyouko. I’m sorry, okay? Won’t do it again.”
“You always say that! And then you go and do it all over again!” Her raised voice echoed through dark and empty streets. “We gotta rely on each other out here. Can I trust you or not?
“You can trust me!” I insisted.
Kyouko’s eyes narrowed, and she stared holes right through my skull. If my soul was still anywhere inside my body, I’d say she was looking right at it.
I stared back, matching her intensity. I wanted her to believe me. Needed her to, with an urgency that surprised me. I… Wanted her to feel the same relief, the same security that I did when I saw her. The thought burrowed around in the pit of my stomach.
Kyouko’s eyes softened, and she looked away.
“Heh! Right. I know I can. But stop making me worry about you, okay?”
Worried. She’s worried about me.
The Kyouko from a few months ago wouldn’t have said that. The Kyouko from back then would have taken advantage of my distraction to put that spear of hers right through me. Today’s Kyouko wouldn’t even dream of it. They were like different people.
…No, that wasn’t right. She was still the same. Just as harsh, just as wild. But more and more often that tough shell of hers cracked open and showed a softer side.
“Alright! Now come on, if we’re going home, can we please hurry?” She said, as if our previous conversation had never happened. Like she was trying to ignore that she just admitted she worried about me.
That was Kyouko, alright. Shifting like the wind. One moment she could be at my throat, teeth bared, and the next she’d be offering me food.
Despite what she says about only looking out for herself, Kyouko cares about me, maybe more than anyone else in my life. Ever since April Kyouko’s been by my side, and I’ve been by hers. It happened so smoothly, so naturally, that it’s hard to remember the exact point she stopped ‘hanging out’ at my place, and started living there.
At least, while my parents aren’t home. Kyouko is a lot of things, but as a lodger she’s not easy to explain away.
“Alright, alright! Cold or something?” I asked, laughing as I picked up the pace to keep up with her.
“No!” She replied indignantly. “I don’t get cold, dumbass.”
“Sure, sure, but if you need ol’ Sayaka to keep you warm on the way home…”
“I do not!”
“Fine…”
It was almost midnight when we finally got ‘home’. However Kyouko felt, I was freezing.
“Man, remind me to get changed into some warmer clothes for the witch-hunt, next time…” I muttered, stretching out my shoulders.
“Psh. I’m not your mother, remember yourself.” Kyouko teased, kicking her shoes off. She was probably just cranky ‘cos she was hungry.
“Oh, just get in the bath.” I said to her, with a gentle shove. She huffed playfully, but headed for the bathroom all the same.
As soon as she was gone, I flopped onto the sofa, deflating like an old balloon. God I was tired. Straight home from school, throwing together a trashy convenience-store dinner for two, off on the hunt and now home at last.
I hadn’t even looked at the maths homework due tomorrow. I didn’t even need to, to know it was gonna be horrible. Numbers didn’t agree with me, especially when they were letters.
Realistically I should take a look at it. I had the time while Kyouko bathed after all, and it would be a welcome distraction, but…
Ugh.
It just didn’t feel that important right now. And I was so tired after running around all day, it was work just to keep my eyes open.
It wouldn’t hurt to just close them for a second, right…? Maybe I could just persuade Madoka to let me see the Transfer Student’s copy…
“Hey!” A voice suddenly called, cutting through my mind like a knife. “I’m done in the bath now!”
I was lying on my back on the sofa, bleary-eyed and confused.
“Sayaka? What are you doing?” Kyouko asked, looming over me. Her shimmering wet hair was down, and she had a towel wrapped around her. I stared up at her stupidly for a second, my face starting to burn as I took in bare shoulders and tanned skin.
Trying to hide my blush, I rolled off the sofa and hopped to my feet. “Haha, guess I’m more tired than I thought! It’s pretty late, after all.” I said, stretching and making a beeline for the bathroom.
“Well, be quick, then. I don’t want to have to break the door down if you pass out.” Kyouko replied, watching me leave.
“As if you’d bother.” I shot back, heading for the bathroom. “You’d happily let me drown.”
“Hey! I’d have to find somewhere else to live.” Kyouko replied indignantly.
My face still burned as I retreated into the bathroom and closed the door. I scowled, crossing the room and poking my hand into the water. It was still pretty hot, at least.
Ugh, what’s wrong with me? I thought to myself, quickly undressing and slipping into the bath. First I’m so distracted by her I’m risking my life, then I’m begging for her to trust me and now I’m blushing just because I saw her in a towel?
The hot water soaked right through to my bones as I sank into the bath, smoothing out some of my stress. Mami says that making time for relaxation is important for us Magical Girls. Too much stress corrupts the soul, and so on.
I guess I’d know.
This wasn’t the first time I’d been distracted, either. Kyouko was right about that, at least. But she’d forgive me. And I’d keep getting better, too - more skilled, faster, stronger, whatever.
I willed the hot water to wash all my worries away, as I grabbed the soap.
But the Witch wasn’t the problem here, as much as I hated to admit it. Kyouko was the reason I was stressing, the reason why I held a knot in my stomach and a blush on my cheeks.
I sighed, leaning over the edge of the bath, letting water drip from my fingertips onto the bathroom floor.
What’s my problem? My whole life seems to revolve around her.
Somehow, quite by accident, Kyouko had slipped her way into every aspect of my life. When I ate, I thought about her and her appetite. When I dominated sports at school, I imagined how she might keep pace with me. When I hunted with the other girls I imagined how Kyouko might exploit Witch-weaknesses differently. When I told my jokes at school, I pictured Kyouko’s reckless laughter. And now, sitting here in the bath, I couldn’t help but wonder what she might be doing now, or what she was doing while I dozed off.
Did she see me, head tipped back and mouth open, and smile fondly? Did she notice at all? Did she sit in the bath like I am now, consumed by thoughts of me while she washed and-
I threw myself upright with a splash, casting aside the thought and the all-too-vivid mental image with it.
I’m like a horny teenaged boy, I thought angrily. Am I not even safe from her when I’m alone? I’m not like this around anyone else. Not even Hitomi or Mami, and they’re both drop-dead gorgeous! I’m acting like I’m in love or somethin-
In an attempt to vent my anger and fully dispel that line of thinking, I swung my fist out at the side of the bath with a loud thump. A split-second later, a mirrored thud came from the door, shattering my peaceful solitude and sending my long-suffering heart straight into my mouth.
A muffled curse that could only be Kyouko came from outside.
“Kyouko?” I called out, the peaceful silence of bathtime shattered. “Kyouko, was that you?”
“U-uh, yeah!” Came a hesitant response from the door.
“What the hell did you just do? Scared the life out of me!”
“What do you mean, ‘what did I do?’” Kyouko replied defensively.
“I mean, what was that noise?” I replied impatiently.
“Well, it’s just… I was just… Walking by, right, and I heard something in the bathroom and it surprised me, s-so I slipped into the door… B-because the floor’s wet!”
“Why were you walking past the door?” I asked suspiciously.
“I was… Going to get a snack from the kitchen!”
“H-hey! You could ask before you eat my food!” I shot back angrily. “My parents pay for that!”
“Yeah, yeah…”
“You’re unbelievable, Kyouko.” I said, lying back in the bath.
A few seconds went by in silence.
“Does that mean I can have some, then?” Kyouko asked brightly.
I rolled my eyes. “Go on then.”
“Thanks!” Kyouko said cheerfully, and I heard her footsteps padding faintly away from the door. Odd - I didn’t remember hearing them before she fell over.
After that, I rushed through the necessary busywork of washing up, drying off and pulling on a set of pyjamas that were a bit too girly but that I hadn’t managed to grow out of just yet.
Love? Ha. I dismissed, making for the door. I know what love feels like, and it certainly wasn’t like this.
Moving forward with confidence, I pushed open the door and stepped out into the frigid cold of the living room. It hit me like a physical force. But not as hard as the sight of Kyouko, wearing a huge baggy t-shirt and draped over the sofa, one leg crossed elegantly over the other.
I froze.
“What’s up, Sayaka? Forget I was here?” Kyouko teased. She had a chocolate bar in her mouth, and her head was cocked to one side curiously.
All of a sudden I didn’t feel quite so confident about my earlier declaration.
“Nah, it’s just… cold out here! We’re gonna need to put on the heating, soon.” I deflected like a trampoline, glad that the steaminess of the room could explain my red face. “C’mon, finish that chocolate and let’s go to bed.”
I didn’t particularly like being short with her, but if I had to look at that cute expression, those long legs, that soft skin and… Well, it didn’t pay to think about things like that.
“Alright, bedtime!” Kyouko cried, marching into my room. She didn’t look tired in the slightest.
“You’d better not keep me up tonight. One of us has school in the morning, you know.” I said, climbing slowly into bed.
“Yeah yeah, you’ve got school every day. I’ll be good.” She replied dismissively, climbing into the sleeping bag we kept set up next to my bed.
“Goodnight, Kyouko…” I mumbled, snuggling down under the covers and closing my eyes. My bed was great. Feather pillows, thick duvet… It made me feel pretty bad that Kyouko was sleeping on the floor, but she didn’t have to stay here, right? She had a hotel she’d swindled herself into.
“Sweet dreams, Sayaka~” Kyouko said sweetly, with a yawn and a stretch that I saw as catlike in my mind’s eye.
I waited a couple minutes in the darkness, as silence settled slowly over us. Kyouko’s distant breathing grew gentle, relaxed.
Slowly, secretly, I opened my eyes a crack to get one last look at Kyouko before I went to sleep.
I’d be lying if I said this was the first time.
Somehow, she’d already managed to fall asleep - the soft sound of her breathing filling the room. Only at home, only with me, did she fully let her guard down - did she fully let herself be vulnerable. Kyouko, who knew better than almost anyone how dark and messed up this world was, who’d been cheated worse than almost anyone by Kyubey, who’d stared down death a thousand times and knew first hand the short, cold life we’d been promised… trusted me enough to sleep by my side, a peaceful smile on her face. It felt like a priceless treasure, that privilege.
And I was the only one who got to see it.
One day, someone else might get to look at her this way.
The thought hit my mind like a slap in the face.
Oh shit. I'm jealous. And worse, I’m here ruining my sleep schedule even more just to watch her sleep. She’s not even doing anything and I’m gushing about her.
Despite even that, I couldn’t look away.
An uncomfortable truth bubbled up inside me.
I… thought I knew what love was. Thought I knew how it felt, what it did to me, how to see the signs. Hadn’t I spent half my life in love?
As usual, it seemed like I was wrong about everything. Because when I looked at her, my heart beating in my chest like I’m in the thick of a Witch-fight, I knew this was different. Somehow, somewhere, in the horror and chaos of all we’d been through together… I had fallen totally and hopelessly in love with Sakura Kyouko.
I’m so screwed.
I rubbed my face with both hands, suppressing the urge to groan in the darkness.
Okay, don’t panic.
Confession was out of the question. I’m a coward when it comes to love. Of all my weaknesses, that was one of the worst. How could I say anything, risk this weird, crazy friendship we’d built together?
But the thought of seeing Kyouko looking at someone else with the same eyes I looked at her with… That was a motivating thought. I couldn’t let this slip through my fingers. I couldn’t lose someone else so important to me because I was too afraid to act on it. Not again. Not her.
I needed help.
