1133/Defining 'Romance'

Defining 'Romance'
Date of Scene:	02 March 2016
Location:	Mitakihara - Downtown
Synopsis:	Kyouko and Sayaka hunt Witches and talk about what exactly it means to be 'together'.
Cast of Characters:	Kyouko Sakura, Sayaka Miki

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Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    It's late in the evening, maybe 11pm. Most people Kyouko and Sayaka's age are at home getting ready for bed. It's a school night after all. But when you're a Puella, you learn to do with less sleep- or maybe you just need less. Hard to say. Either way, this is prime hunting time, and so it's no surprise to find this particular pair out on the prowl instead of safe and warm at home.

    Kyouko stands on the edge of one of the tall buildings of Mitakihara's Downtown section, hundreds of feet above the city streets below. Although its late, Tokyo never sleeps- cars drive along below, lights shine from all around, people walk on the sidewalks. The red-haired Puella stands fearlessly on the very edge of the roof, looking down and out, across the sea of twinkling lights that is Tokyo at night.

    "There are times," She says to her companion, with a small smile, "That I wouldn't trade this life for anything, despite the downsides." She grips her spear in one hand, a gust of wind blowing out the back of her henshin dress as she turns her head to regard the city which is now her home. "Gettin' to see stuff like this, this is one of those times."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka's always been a 'get up and go' type of gal. So asking her to go hunting in the middle of the night on the school day no less, isn't really a big deal. Especially as she spends most of class sleeping, or skipping school altogether. Seems Kyouko's not the only 'badgirl' around.

    Of course, it could be that Puella Magi simply dont need as much sleep as normal girls anyways; whatever the case, Sayaka is just as happy to be out here with Kyouko.

    "Can't complain there, Kyou-chan.." She grins as she peers over the edge of the roof, her white cape rustling softly around her shoulders as she clenches her cutlass in one hand. "This is what we were born to do, afterall! It feels good to be back in the saddle, so to speak!"

    NOw, to find a witch..

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko laughs softly. "Well, I dunno about born.. re-born, maybe. This is what we were re-born to do." She smiles, tilting her head down towards the next roof over. "C'mon, let's check a few streets over."

    Hunting Witches is never a sure thing- they're common enough that Grief Seeds are not too rare, but you don't find one every night. Luckily, each Grief Seed lasts a little while. The point is just this: 'Witch Hunting', on many nights, amounts to leaping around from building to building but never actually finding anything.

    Will this be one of those nights? It doesn't honestly matter to Kyouko. She glances sideways at Sayaka as she leaps off of the roof and over towards the next one, dress fluttering again as she lands nimbly. This is all she really wants- to be out, hunting together. Madoka and Homura might want to spend all their time cuddling, but that's not Kyouko's style, and if she knows Sayaka, it ain't hers either- this sort of 'date' is much more their style.

    "So, tell me somethin'." The redhead says to her companion as they leap to the next roof. "Have you lived in Tokyo your whole life? I'm just curious.. I was thinkin' the other day I don't actually know that much about you, considerin' y'know.. everything."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka smirks. "Well, let's not split hairs! One thing for sure, this is a positive aspect of being a Puella! Indeed, this kinda thing, running around from rooftop to rooftop, fighting witches together - this suits Sayaka way better than cuddling in front of a fire. But is it what Kyouko wants?

    "So! What do you think about what Usagi-chan said?" She smirks, "About us..This..I'm not exact sure what 'this' is, but I at least hope I'm not being too...Distant. I mean, looking at Madoka and Homura together..." Sayaka trails off, not sure if it's an awkward thing to say.

    "Yeah, I've lived in Tokyo most of my life. Although I've visited other places. We got to go on a cruise to the Carribean once! It was fun." Sayaka forgets if she ever mentioned her parents are pretty well off.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko shakes her head slightly as she comes to a stop on the edge of the next rooftop, glancing down for a moment, 'feeling' for Witches. She doesn't feel anything in the immidiate area. They better keeping moving. She's gotten the impression that Sayaka's family is well-off, indeed. She tries not to make a big deal about it, even thought her own family was poor even when they were alive.

    But then Sayaka just very casually brings up the whole 'us' thing, and Kyouko nearly trips on her spear- not because it's an awkward or unpleasant thing to say, but just because it's somewhat unexpected. She takes a moment to regain herself, and then turns to face her companion. Her expression is serious, but open and honest.

    "I dunno, Saya-chan. I'm no expert. Hell.. I've made more enemies than friends throughout my life. I'm not sure I could define 'romance' if you asked me to." She gives a slightly lopsided grin.

    "All I know is that seein' you.. bein' with you makes me happy. And when I can't see you, that makes me sad." She shrugs her shoulders, turning to glance out over the city again. "The way I see it, everybody's gotta find their own kinda romance, right? Homura and Madoka.. it's cute, them together."

    She glances over her shoulder at Sayaka, and gives another fangy grin. "I don't think 'cute' describes either of us, do you? We don't gotta be like them. And we don't gotta be like Usagi and Mamoru, neither. We just gotta be like us."

    She turns around and holds her hand out to Sayaka. "That is.. if you think you can put up with me?"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka grins, nodding in agreement. She's glad that Kyouko's style of 'romance' is the same as hers. Although speaking of this subject does make her blush for sure.

    "Well, I'm glad we're thinking on the same lines." And then Kyouko's hand it offered her and she smiles and nods. "Well, guess that depends on if you can put up with me too!"

    With a chuckle, she grabs Kyou's hand and starts running across the next building. "So..Any sign of a witch? I'm not picking up anything..You know I was thinking, if Madoka can purify witches, maybe we should be helping her to find witches that we can heal.."

    Of course there's the other problem that Puella need grief seeds to survive. Is it fair to select which witch to save? Sayaka again finds herself facing a possible issue.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko smiles and grips Sayaka's gloved hand in hers, turning to run across the rooftop alongside the other Puella, holding tight to her hand the whole way. It feels good to run, to be free like this. To not have to worry.

    But then Sayaka brings up a potential issue.. one that Kyouko had thought of right away when Madoka's power had first been revealed to her. It makes her smile fade somewhat. "Y'know," She says, without stopping, still running alongside Sayaka but close enough that the other girl can hear her without having to struggle, "It's tough. In some ways, it's almost worse. When you know there's no chance a Witch can be saved, it's easier to kill 'em, yeah? Put 'em out of their misery. But when there's a chance Madoka could save them, it suddenly gets harder to take them out."

    She sighs as they reach the edge of the roof and have to stop, looking down. "But she can't heal 'em all. She said as much- she said she has to take their grief into herself in order to heal them, and if she does that too much she risks.. turning herself. You know? So she can only do it once in a while."

    She glances sideways at Sayaka. "There ain't no perfect, miracle answer in this world, Saya-chan. Madoka's power is wonderful, but even she can't save everybody. In the meantime, we still need to deal with Witches to keep people safe, and to keep ourselves alive."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    "Hmm..." She ponders aloud as she runs and leaps alongside the Red head. Indeed, it's a complex and paradoxical issue. "I guess.." Sayaka sighs, feeling a bit disappointed. She's always been a perfectionist, always wanted to help save everyone.

    "But then, how does she decide who to save and who to kill? That's gotta be tough. I suppose, it can only be used in an emergency." She shivers at the thought of what she has to do.

    "Hmm, taking their grief into herself? That's gotta suck, like bigtime! But I guess it's something. It's better than nothing, right? And she's so full of hope and love, I'm sure she can take it better than I ever could.."

    It's one of her biggest weaknesses, her idealistic ways, and perhaps that's why Madoka was always stronger than her. It's something that kinda bothers Sayaka a bit too, knowing she has flaws like that. "Well, even though I suppose I'll never be overly fond of Homura, at least I'm glad that Madoka didnt lose her. And I suppose she's not completely without redeeming qualities afterall, right?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Babe, I'm glad that Madoka is the one who has to make those decisions, and not me or you." Is Kyouko's only response to the question of 'who to save and who to kill'. "Far as I'm concerned, we find a Witch, we kill it, cause we can't be callin' Madoka up every week to have her do her thing. It just don't work that way. Way I see it, when the time comes that we need her, it'll be obvious. Until then.. business as usual, I guess."

    Kyouko smirks just a little. "Homura? Gotta be honest with you, Saya-chan.. I still don't like her. But I think I understand her a little bit better. I don't think she an' I are ever gonna be buddies, but.. she's tough. I know tough when I see it, and Homura's got the chops to stick it out for a long time. If it ever comes to a big fight again, I'll be glad she's on our side."

    She shakes her head slightly. "I'll play nice with her. You're friends with Madoka, after all. Wouldn't do to have the 'others' fightin' and spoilin' dinner, or whatever." She chuckles, unable to help it, at the thought of such 'minor' problems being something they even have to worry about.

    "I guess the thing we gotta keep in mind is just that we're better off than we were before. Madoka can cure Witches- maybe not all of 'em, or all the time, but even one is better than none. Walpurgisnacht is gone. Mamoru is saved, and you an' me, we're together again. It's almost enough to make me worry about what's going to go wrong to spoil it all.." She trails off into silence, and her expression suddenly looks a bit worried.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    "Yeah, I guess it's her burden to bear, but maybe she's the only one who can carry such a burden." Sayaka smiles, "Well, I suppose it worked out in the end for her at least. Hmm..Her and Homura. I never would have seen that coming."

    As for Homura, she shrugs, "Homura likes to act all tough and badass, but that one time I saw her, just before she witched out, she was ready to give up on everything. It was pretty scary actually. But then, she's been a Puella for what, ten years or so? I guess even Homura would crack up sooner or later." Sayaka sighs, almost tiredly, "So..Business as usual then, huh? I guess it's better than another catastrophe. I mean, I've experienced way too many catastrophes lately. I'm ready for some peace and quiet."

    Ahh and that's right, Walpurgisnacht is gone. Mamoru is saved, Sayaka's made up with Kyouko..Surely, nothing else could go wrong, right? She smiles, relaxing somewhat as she pauses on another rooftop, pulling out her own soulgem to see if she can track down a witch. Seems tonight's proving to be quite the goose chase so far.

    It's only then that she notices the worried expression on Kyouko's face. "Hmm, what's wrong?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko glances over as Sayaka asks her what's wrong. "Hmm? Ah.. it's nothin'." She forces a smile onto her face, shaking her head.. then heaves a little sigh. She should try not to hide things from Sayaka- being partners, more than partners, means she should be honest.

    "It's just.. I've always had shit luck, Saya-chan. I mean.. I guess not always. I mean, I'm here. I got you with me, and for some crazy reason you seem to like me too, and that's wonderful. But my life has just been one disaster after another up until now. I just have to wonder if things are really turning around for me, or if there's another disaster just waiting around the corner I can't see coming."

    She glances down at the street below them. "Ah.. I'm just bein' paranoid, though. Comes from livin' on the streets, y'know? Being paranoid helps you survive. Don't worry about it.. I'm sure I'm just bein' silly."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka frowns a bit as Kyouko starts being negative. To be fair, Sayaka cant really compare her own life or her own luck to Kyouko's, afterall, she's lived a more or less priviledged life and things have been pretty good for her. Even becoming a Puella Magi, inspite of the whole reality that she may turn into a witch one day, seemed to have an upside as she now had a friend who could purify witches.

    However, like many priviledged, well-to-do people, she has trouble seeing on the other side of the fence. "C'mon Kyouko. Dont be so negative! You gotta make your own destiny! Sure, things were bad before, but didnt they gradually get better? I mean, it's true, you've had bad things happen in the past, really bad things."

    "But didnt that make you a stronger, tougher person than the person you were before? And, in spite of all your losses, didnt you find other people who cared about you and whom you could care for? I guess life's always gonna be full of ups and downs, but maybe that's why you need to live in the 'now', taking one day at a time."

    She smiles a reassuring smile, resting a hand on Kyouko's shoulder. "I cant control the actions of other people or events, but I can at least try to be by your side for as long as I can.." then, realizing this was a similar conversation that Kyouko recently had with her, Sayaka makes a face, slapping her head. "Oh, I'm so silly! I was totally in your position not too long ago, when I pushed you away, and decided to hunt witches with a vengeance! But...You pulled me back, and you and Madoka are the only ones keeping me sane right now.."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko can't help but smirk just a little bit at Sayaka's little speech- not because she doesn't appreciate it, but just because she knows that no matter how much she tells it, Sayaka has a hard time really understanding how tough Kyouko's life has been. She doesn't blame the other girl for that- how could she? Some things you just can't believe until you actually experience them- and she wouldn't wish those experiences on anybody, especially Sayaka.

    "Things were bad for me for three years.. and they've suddenly gotten better really quickly. I almost have whiplash." She says, with a little laugh. "I guess I just find it hard to believe my own luck, that's all. That things could turn around so suddenly. I'll get used to it, I guess."

    Then she grins just a little as Sayaka realizes how much their two positions mirrored each other. "See? I told ya.. we're too much alike, you an' me. But I think that's why we make a good couple." She blinks at what she just said, then blushes. "Er, pair. A good pair. Ahem." She shakes her head slightly, then turns to leap down to the street. "Come on, maybe there's a Witch the next street over. We'll find one."