229/From the Ashes

From the Ashes
Date of Scene:	29 July 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Kikoku Street - South
Synopsis:	Kyouko and Mami have a talk after Kyouko is rescued from Miss White.
Cast of Characters:	Mami Tomoe, Kyouko Sakura

---

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    In the aftermath of the escape from the WPS building, Kyouko has rather numbly followed Mami. The sun is just starting to peek over the horizon, a new day dawning Perhaps understandably, the redheaded Puella has not seemed much like herself ever since they had escaped the last of the pursuit- she had her soul gem back, and she was free again, but she seems almost in a daze now that the immidiate danger has passed. She'd been locked in that room for over a week, after all, and now being free again it's almost like a shock to the system.

    So she follows, in silence, not once questioning where they are going, her face a stoic mask without any hint of her usual sarcasm or dry humor. It does seem like whatever happened to her in there has left an impression that, while maybe not permenant, won't just go away instantly either.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami turns every so often to give Kyouko a concerned look. The yellow-haired Puella Magi is a little bit exhausted, but holding on - it's not much farther til they get to her apartment, and she can cleanse their Soul Gems, as needed. They stop in front of the building her apartment is in, Mami rummaging around in her pocket for her keys before she leads the way upstairs. Mami's apartment, here, probably isn't so familiar - but it has Mami's gentle elegance to it, and she looks over to Kyouko again.

"Are you okay?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko follows without complaint, up to the apartment. Once there, she finally seems willing to dismiss her Puella form, reverting to just plain old Kyouko again. She glances around the apartment with a small bit of interest, before pulling off her boots and walking barefoot over to the couch where she sits with a 'flump.'

    She regards Mami for a moment at the question, and a bit of her old fire comes back into her red eyes as her lip twists a bit. "I just spent a week locked in a room with my hands cuffed while a madwoman performed experiments on me. Do you /think/ I'm okay?" She glares for a moment.. then abruptly, her demeanor softens, and she looks down.

    "Listen, Mami, I know we.. haven't exactly seen eye to eye in the past but.. thanks." She almost mumbles the last word, turning her head aside at the last moment, cheeks flushed. She doesn't like having to say it, but she can't not say it.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami exhales sharply, dropping out of her henshin in the doorway after closing the door. She neatly kicks off her school loafers, heading into the kitchen to the right of the doorway, her apartment made to be very open concept - the only thing that isn't visible is her bedroom, and there's a single closed door presumably leading to the bathroom. She starts a tea kettle immediately, rummaging around in the shelves. When Kyouko asks her to listen, she stops to do so, staring at the cupboard.

She then blinks twice.

She finishes setting up the tea, her yellow eyes dark before she turns to her fridge, her voice audible but quiet. "I had to help. Kyubey came to me and even though I know you're strong, if Kyubey was coming to me for help... then there's trouble out there, trouble that I'm not familiar with."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "I told you. I /told/ you." Kyouko bursts out when Mami replies, slamming her fist into the couch with a audible, but muffled /ploof/. However, it's clear by her tone that even though she's accusing Mami of not listening to her, she's more mad at herself than at Mami. "This isn't like.. like just Witches, and stuff." She's never been good with words, and it's easy to tell she's struggling to try and express herself in a convincing way.

    "Miss White, with her company and her goons she's.. she's /doing/ stuff down there, stuff that isn't right. Puella hunt Witches, and we compete with each other and stuff, sure. That's the way it works, it can be mean and grim but it's natural. What she's doing.." The redhead sucks in a breath. "It ain't natural, Mami. It's /bad./ I know that now more than ever."

    "I'm sure you sensed it but, she has Witches down there. And Familiars. She's got 'em locked up, doin' all sorts of experiments. And.. on me, too." She's still looking at her lap, hands clasped. "She did stuff to me to.. to try to figure out how we work. Puella, I mean."

    She slams her fist into the couch again, less hard than before. "It's not /right/, and it needs to stop. I was stupid to think I could do it alone."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami exhales again as she finishes puttering around the kitchen. She swings into the living room, dropping a tray full of cakes and treats - and also a bowl of more hearty things, likes walnuts or other things for protein for the two of them to recover more healthily, along with tea cups. She then sighs, setting her hands down in her lap as she kneels down on a pillow, calming herself for a few moments before she pulls out a Grief Seed and her Soul Gem, briefly engrossed in the act of cleansing her very soul.

"Then don't fight alone." She says, simply. "I am here, Kyouko Sakura. Things have not..." She trails off, then sighs. "Gone well between us, but when we work together, we can face things like this head on. I did sense them, and it's not right. I don't know what this group is doing, but it's certainly not good."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko's eyes go to the tray as it lands.. and before Mami can even speak, she has grabbed a small cake and shoved it into her mouth, chewing noisily. Some things never change. A second and a third cake both disappear before Mami has even finished cleansing her soul gem.

    When the other girl does speak though, Kyouko swallows to clear her voice. She looks away again, unwilling to meet Mami's eyes. The entire /reason/ they had fought two years ago, after all, was because Mami had wanted to work together, and Kyouko had insisted that they should not. Doing so now is essentially admitting that she was wrong. But things are also different not. Very different.

    "I still.. I don't want to be a team. Not like.. before. I can hunt Grief Seeds on my own, I still think that's how it should be."

    She looks back then, meeting Mami's gaze, her face fierce. "But this whole WitchHunters thing, Miss White and her experiments.. that's different. It's not the same as normal hunting, and I think unless we stop it, it's a danger to all of us, and maybe more than just us too. So.." She looks down at her lap again, fidgeting.

    "So if you'd help stop them I'd be ok with teaming up again. Just for that, ok?"

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami looks away for a few minutes. THe silence hangs in the air, heavy and thick, before she finally clears her throat, inclining her head. "Right, then." She says, softly. "Together for this WitchHunters thing, but... apart for everything else. Pretty much like it was before."

Oh, Mami. You still miss her as a friend, don't you.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Look," Kyouko says, able to read the unspoken words in that simple statement. "I'm.. I'm sorry, Mami. Really I am. About.. the way we split up last time." She fidgets again, them crams another cake in her mouth, trying to drown out her discomfort with sweet food. She chews for a long moment, then swallows. "I was.. well I was pretty messed up back then. I guess I still am in a lot of ways." It's hard for her to admit that, and that is evident in her tone.

    "I don't know if working together or working alone is better on regular basis, and that's not the point. The point is we have to stop this while we can. Miss White is strong and she has Akemi-san working for her too. I can't beat them without your help." There's a pleading tone in her voice now, and her single fang appears as she chews on her lower lip. "We can talk about the rest of it.. afterwards."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami pushes herself to her feet abruptly, and right afterwards her kettle goes off. Mami brushes one of her drills down with a pale hand, before she lets out a tired huff of noise, stepping back into the kitchen to get the tea, serving them both up a nice cup of tea, moving towards a chest in the room, browsing through it for a spare blanket and a extra pillow.

"I'm sorry too." She says, offering the two items out to Kyouko. "If you need a place to stay, you can stay here. It's not - a sign of anything, or something like that, but... it's probably safer."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko glances at the tea as if she hasn't seen any since the last time Mami gave her tea, more than two years ago. This is probably true- not really much opportunity to brew tea when you're living like a hobo, after all. She doesn't answer right away, but after a moment, a Mami fetches the blanket and pillow, she nods.

    "For tonight at least. I.. haven't really gotten much sleep lately. As you can probably imagine. I'll be dead to the world once I nod off and it'd be nice to know somebody is watching my back."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
"My house is open to you, if you need assistance with the WitchHunters." Mami says, quite formally, yet warmly.

"Please, drink and eat. I am exhausted, so you must be as well. If you get hungry, you may snack out of the fridge." She says, lightly. Did-- did she just tease Kyouko.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko shoots Mami a glance.. and then smirks. She lays down on the couch after a moment, turning her back on Mami and pulling the blanket up over her. "Oh don't worry, I will. Thanks again Mami." And then she says nothing more.. after a moment her breathing taking on the slow rhythem of an exhausted sleep.

    Assuming Mami doesn't wake her, she sleeps through the night. But when Mami wakes in the morning, she's gone- along with a good portion of the food in the fridge.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami actually gives Kyouko a rare smile, before she heads out the door again, this time in henshin form. She'll keep watch all night -

It's what good partners do. She still cares for Kyouko, too.