704/That's Why I Like You

That's Why I Like You
Date of Scene:	13 December 2015
Location:	Plot Room #1
Synopsis:	Kyouko visits Sayaka in the hospital after hearing she was attacked. A conversation about the nature of Puella ensues.
Cast of Characters:	Sayaka Miki, Kyouko Sakura

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Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka's been in the hospital for a few days now. Although her wounds were not super serious, she had lost a lot of blood, and had required several stitches and even a blood transfusion. Although she was in stable condition now and was even walking around the hospital (Most often including frequent trips to Kyousuke's ward), Sayaka was not yet permitted to go home, as they wanted to ensure there were no infections from some of her deeper wounds.

    Naturally, this leaves her feeling rather restless, and it seems that someone has given her a hand held video game to mash buttons on. By the sounds of it, it's some kinda fighting game that has the bluette yelling at her game as she tries to defeat the baddie. "Dammit! Die already!!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko came as soon as she heard what happened. Thing is, she's been on the run, trying to keep out of sight of the Dark Kingdom guys who are looking for her. As a result, she didn't get the message right away. When she finally /did/ find out what had happened (From Mamoru, who heard from Sailor Mars), she came right away.

    The door to the room bursts open and she walks in, in her street clothes. She's not in a panic or anything, but she looks just a little bit pale as she walks right over to the bed and throws her arms around Sayaka, not caring in the least that this probably causes her to lose her game. She hugs silently for a moment before leaning back and looking Sayaka in the face. "You're okay, right?"

    Assuming she gets a 'yes', she then scowls. "So /why/ didn't you call me right away?!"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    "Just a little bit more..." She murmurs as she continues to smash buttons, not really paying attention to footsteps outside her hall. It's not until the door bursts open and she's suddenly accosted...Err, hugged by an undoubtedly angry Kyouko, that she is startled, dropping her game and thusly losing the boss battle.

    "Ack! Err...Kyou-chan! Heey!" she grins sheepishly as she returns the hug, although she does wince a bit as she still has some bandages on her mid-section, where the Kitsune nearly made shish-kabab out of her. Heck, some of those wounds were pretty deep. Hopefully Kyouko wont notice..

    Of course, Sayaka knows what's coming next, even though she's happy to see the red head. And maybe she just kinda deserves it, although it doesn't mean she's not gonna be difficult about it.

    "Well...I knew you'd be mad at me, once you found out what had happened..Besides, it's not a big deal, just a few scratches, and I'll be out of here soon.."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko leans back, although she doesnt leave from where she's perched on the side of the bed. She's still scowling, definitely not pleased. "I.. well." She says, seeming to struggle for words for a moment, and then looks the other way, with a slight flush in her cheeks. "I'm not mad." She /looks/ mad, though.

    After a moment she sighs. "Look, I know it's not your fault. You got attacked. If anything its my fault, I'm the one with all the enemies and they know we're close. So next time, if you need help or if.. something happens, call me, okay? It's.. kind of not cool to hear it third-hand days after it's happened."

    Finally she looks back at Sayaka, meeting her gaze, and her eyes are serious. "You're important to me, Saya-chan. If anything happened to you I.. dunno what I'd do. So I want to know if you get hurt or are in trouble."

    Her gaze darkens then, just a little bit of danger coming into those red eyes of hers. "And I want to know who did this to you."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    "Sayaka sighs, now sure how to take that. She sure looks mad, and it causes her to smirk a little in amusement..But that smirk is quickly replaced with a concerned frown as she recognizes the seriousness of the situation.

    "No...It kinda...Was my fault. Sailormars came to my rescue, and she gave me a chance to run, but..I just couldn't leave her there...That Kitsune girl was just too strong! I couldn't forgive myself if someone got hurt, even died because of me."

    Of course it's likely that's the kind of thing Magical girls come up against every day. For Mars it was probably a walk in the park. Even so..

    She glances backat Kyouko, a little surprised and confused at her statement. "Kyouko....?" Ahh, right, she doesn't really have a family, does she. Sayaka smiles, "Don't worry, I'll call you next time I'm in trouble. But it doesn't mean she wont try and fight back against the enemy. "Hmm the one who attacked me...? I didnt quite catch their name but.." she describes Ayana as best as she can.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko blinks a little bit. "You.. had a chance to run and you went back to fight?" For a moment it looks like Kyouko might get mad.. but then she grins, showing off her little fangs, and throws her arms around Sayaka again, hugging her tight. "Ha! You're not scared of anything, are ya?" She laughs as she pulls back again. "You're pretty amazing, Saya-chan." Her face turns stern. "But don't you go dyin' on me, you hear?"

    She listens to the description of Ayana then, and slowly shakes her head. "Doesn't sound like someone I know, but.. I'll have to keep an eye out. Nobody gets away with hurting my friends." And there's that dangerous udnertone in her voice again. Sayaka has heard it before- usually before Kyouko goes and does something dumb.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Well, Sayaka was preparing for a nasty, unpleasant argument, but instead she finds herself being praised and hugged..? "Er...Heh, you're a strange one, Kyou-chan. You and everyone else has been telling me all along not to get myself in trouble, dont pursue the magical girl life. But I just couldn't help it. I've always tried to protect my others. I guess it's how I met Madoka-chan even, protecting her from a bully.."

    She smirks, "Don't worry, I'll be careful next time. I'll call you even. Just..Dont tell me to run away." As for the girl Ayana, "Hmm, she seemed vaguely familiar. Was she at the gala.? But geez, what a temper, for no reason she started charging at me, then drained my energy. She gave Mars a couple good knocks too, but I guess Magical Girls are quite a bit tougher, arne't they.."

    Why, she almost sounds..Jealous..

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "As a rule, yes." Kyouko says, sounding just a little amused. "Although that's because we tend to have to take a lot more damage than your average joe." She sighs a little bit. "You're in an unusual position, Sayaka.. there aren't many normal girls who end up entangled in all of this." She quirks her lips to the side in a slight grimace. "I'm.. sorry about that. I mean, it ain't all my fault I guess since you knew Madoka-chan already, but.. I still feel like half the people who might attack you would only do it cause you know me."

    She sighs a little bit, looking down at her lap and toying with the end of her long red ponytail. "Sometimes.. I wish you did have powers, y'know? Cause like.. it's a hard life, I ain't gonna lie. I think you understand that. But you're already getting attacked. At least then you could defend yourself."

    She glances back over and smirks. "And don't you worry. I won't tell ya to run. That's what I like about you, Saya-chan. Well, one thing anyway. That you don't take crap from anybody, even if they're stronger than you. I respect that." She grins. "Cause I'm the same way."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    "Hehehe.." She chuckles, "I guess I've become a trouble magnet, just like Madoka..Although it's strange, Madoka doesn't really seem to want to become a magical girl, even though Kyubey has suggested that she would become a powerful one if she did. Who wouldn't want that kind of power? I mean, you could do a lot of good with it, right?"

    As for herself, Sayaka's strongly considering Kyubey's proposal, although the many warnings she's heard from the likes of Homura and Mamoru still have her feeling a little uncertain. Besides, Sayaka knows she'd have to make that wish worthwhile for it to matter.

    She cant help but smile, blush even at the compliment, even though it is pretty hard standing strong against villains who are super powered and you honestly dont stand a chance against. "So what are you saying, that you wouldn't be bothered if I signed a contract with Kyubey..?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "I can't blame her." Kyouko says, about Madoka, and her tone is serious now. She doesn't show this contemplative side of her personality to many people, but she must feel at ease with Sayaka.. looking off out the window, her tone sounding almost pensive. "The power is nice, but.. you have to understand, living in this world of magic and power is dangerous. A lot of people would rather just pretend it doesn't exist. You probably live a happier and longer life that way."

    She looks sharply back at Sayaka when she asks about contracting with Kyubey. "There's other ways to get powers too, you know." She says, "Or so I've heard, anyway. But.." She sighs a little bit. "In your position? I'd probably do whatever I could. Just.. you gotta understand." She looks earnest again as she meets Sayaka's gaze. "You /can't/ trust Kyubey. Or rather.. he'll give you exactly what you wish for. But what he won't do is warn you if you're making a bad call. I.. told you what happened to my family." She looks down again. "Because of my wish. I've heard lots of similar stories from other Puella over the years. They wish for something and Kyubey gives it to them, and then they find out it wasn't really what they thought they were getting."

    She looks back up after a moment. "Still.. it's up to you, Saya-chan. Wishing is dangerous, being a Puella is dangerous. But being normal with magical enemies attacking you is /also/ dangerous. You could end up dead either way. So it's really your call." She offers a small smile. "I'll be here for ya no matter what you choose."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    "Yeah..." she frowns, "I remember what you said abot your family. And that sucks, I mean, your intentions were good. I guess you're right, you just have to be careful about the wording of the wish too..Right?" But she's sure she'd be careful. She wouldn't make the same mistake, right? No way..

    As for other sources of power, she shrugs, "I dunno, Sailormars tells me that its easy to be manipulated by evil if you're not careful about where you acquire your powers from. Afterall, it's what happened to you too, right? And they're still after you, aren't they? That just sucks..Knowing that alone, I wish I could watch your back, but even with my skills in Kendo, and my strength of will, I don't think I could help protect you much. And I hate that!"

    As for other ways.. "I suppose I'm not part of some greater destiny, aside from what power Kyubey sensed in me either. I dunno..At least I'd like to be able to protect myself. But Homura said something weird, something about Magical girls eating witches? What's that all about?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Be real careful." Kyouko echoes, nodding her head just a little bit. She sighs.. "And yeah.. I mean.. I guess there's worse people out there to sell your soul to than Kyubey. I found that out the hard way. I wouldn't have thought it was true, but.. guess I don't know everythin'. No matter how much it pains me to admit it."

    As for eating Witches... she sighs again., softly. "I guess I haven't told you everything about being a Puella. I was trying to spare you the details, but.." She holds her hand out, the one with the little silver ring on the middle finger. With a soft glow of red light, her Soul Gem materializes in her hand.

    "This is my Soul Gem, right? It's where my powers come from." She holds it up so Sayaka can see. There's just a faint little bit of darkness curling around the edges beneath the gold setting. "See the blackness in there? For all us Puella.. that gets bigger as we use our magic. The more magic we use, the darker our Soul Gems turn."

    "You gotta purify them before they turn all dark, or you die. And the way you do /that/, is with Grief Seeds. Which come from killin' Witches. So see.. we use our powers, which turns our Gem dark. We gotta get Grief Seeds by killing Witches to purify our Gems again, or else we die." She shrugs, making her Soul Gem vanish again.

    "It's the price you pay for bein' a Puella. It's not really /eating/ Witches, but.. we gotta hunt them like people hunt food. It's part of what we are."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka listens to Kyouko's explanation with bated breath, staring curiously at the ring that becomes a soul gem, and indeed she does notice the few tendrils of darkness around the edges. "So..By using magic you become corrupted, and you can only purify it using a similar gem from an evil being? That's kinda...Messed up." she shakes her head in confusion, finding it all a bit hard to swallow.

    "That makes no sense. You'd think that by doing good deeds, your gem would remain pure. And you can die? That's pretty...Harsh..I mean, are there really enough witches out there for all the Puella who are living in this city?" Sayaka cant help but shiver at that though. That sounds like serious competition. Is there anything in the world that's really worth that uncertainty?

    "So...What about when your soul gem cracked? Was it because you used up too much magic..?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Well, it is kinda messed up," Kyouko says, but she shakes her head a little, "But it kinda makes sense, right? Think of the Grief Seed, the one from the Witch as like.. a magnet. It sucks the darkness out of your Soul Gem, cause it draws the lesser darkness to it like iron shavings to a magnet, right? It kinda makes sense."

    Kyouko quirks her lips slightly. "I said it was a harsh world, right? There's lotsa ways you can die. Using up all your magic is just one of 'em. But it's true.. being a Puella is a bit harder than being another sort of magical girl, cause yeah, if we use too much power we'll kill ourselves. Still.. we do get that whole wish thing. If we don't screw it up, anyway."

    As for not enough Witches, she sighs. "Well, you may have noticed, Sayaka, that most Puella don't exactly like each other. And that's why. Competition can be pretty fierce." SHe looks away, and now she really does flush. With shame. "I've.. done some terrible things myself in that regard. But it hasn't been much of a problem since I came to TOkyo. City this size, there's plenty of Witches. Or there has been so far, anyway."

    "As for my gem.. no, that wasn't cause I used too much magic. I've.. never seen that before, and neither had Homura or Mami. I think it was because of the weapon I used that I stole from Hannah. It like.. made my magic go into overdrive. I think I just overdid it and my gem couldn't take the stress. But that's not something you would have to worry about."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    "Heh, still sounds messed up. But maybe it's worth it, if you wish for the right thing, right? And I remember your wish.." Sayaka sighs at the memory, feeling really bad for Kyouko. No wonder she got so messed up.

    After going through that hell, it must really suck being a Puella. Still, Kyouko did pretty well for herself and stayed pretty sane. Good thing Sayaka didn't know her before this, and has only vague stories to go on.

    "So..What's Homura's deal then? Is her being a Puella why she teamed up with the likes of Miss White, and why she's such a jerk? I mean, she's supposedly researching witches, right? Why is that so important to Homura..?" Sayaka actually has bad thoughts in her mind. Is Homura trying to find a way to do away with all Witches, or maybe how to create witches so she can eat them up herself..

    "Ugh, I just dont trust that girl, after hearing what she and Miss White did to you!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko shakes her head. "I dunno what Homura's deal is." And that's the truth. Only Madoka and Mamoru know, and neither of them has told Kyouko. "She claims she's working for Miss White because she's trying to make the world better for all Puella, and that sometimes you have to do bad things to get a good end result, but.."

    She frowns. "Well. That part I kinda agree with, at least sometimes. But I dun' trust her either." She sighs a little bit. "That's what I mean about most Puella, Saya-chan. You gotta understand.. our world can be pretty harsh. And people who've lived in it for a long time, people like me, or Homura.. we tend to get.." She struggles for the right word, and finally settles on, "Rough. Like.. mean. Jaded, I guess."

    "I dunno if Homura really has good intentions. But I do know she'll do what she thinks she has to do, and I've seen what she's capable of. You're better off not messing with her if you can avoid it."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    "Heh, she's seriously messed up. How long's she been a Puella anyway? I mean, maybe it just made her crazy..But I guess she IS intent on protecting Madoka, no matter what. It's kinda strange really, she's almost obsessive in her desire to protect her."

    Sometimes Sayaka can almost feel a little jealous that Homura seems to spend more time with Madoka than she does. But then again, Sayaka spends more time wth Kyouko lately, than she does with Madoka, but maybe they're even.

    "Hmmm I kinda feel like she knows something more than everyone else. I should have a chat with Madoka sometime. I'll bet she'd be able to shed some light on this. If Homura's teamed up with this Miss White, she's probably experimenting on other Puella Magi too. I just hope Madoka's really safe with her."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko shakes her head, leaning back on the bed on her arms, resting her elbows on Sayaka's blanket-covered legs casually. "I dunno how long she's been a Puella, but she's a veteran, that's for sure. You can tell right away, once you've met enough of us. And, in general, like I said.. veteran Puella are dangerous. Mean. The one exception is Mami."

    "I've known Mami for a long time. She's been a Puella longer than anybody else I know, and she just.. keeps bein' nice. I dunno how she does it. But her you /can/ trust. She and I have our differences, but.. you can trust her. That I'm sure of."

    As for Homura, she just raises her brows. "Maybe. I dunno. If Homura really wants to protect Madoka, I think she's probably pretty safe. I've.. fought against Homura a bunch of times. She's strong. I just don't know what her goals really are."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    "What about you, Kyou-chan? You're a veteran Puella too, aren't you? How long have you been fighting witches? You must be pretty strong too.." To be honest, Sayaka hasn't actually seen Kyouko that many times in a real fight.

Shehe once found a wounded Kyouko on her doorstep, encountered her a handful of times as Apatite, and the majority of the time she's known Kyouko has been in her civilian identity. It's actually kinda weird, having known her this long and having seen her fight as a Puella only a small handful of times. Like the first time she met her at the hospital.

    "And as for Mami-san, how on earth does she stay so cheerful all the time? I guess she must have had no regrets with her wish..Right? But you and her used to be good friends once upon a time too, didn't you? So what happened?" Seems Sayaka's just full of questions today. But go figure, it's pretty boring in a hospital. Hopefully she'll get to leave real soon!

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko smirks just a little bit.. "Yeah, I'm a veteran Puella too. And like I said.. mean. Before I met you, and Mamoru I was.. well. I kinda told you about that already. I wsn't very nice. How long.. I guess.. almost four years now. Believe it or not in the world of Puella, that makes me as veteran as they come. Not a lot of us.. make is very long, I guess." She shrugs.

    "As for Mami.. I dunno. That's just how she is." She sighs softly. "She was like.. my mentor, I guess. When I first became a Puella, she showed me the ropes. We were kinda like a team for a year or so. But after.. after my family died I was hurting really bad. And I.. said some things I shouldn't have, and we split up. It was really my fault, but things haven't been the same between us since. I did go talk to her the other day.. I apologized. So yeah.. you can trust her."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka smirks, "Well, maybe you were a jerk once, but you seem nice now, so I'm glad you learned your lesson! I just wish Homura wasn't so shady! I just dont like the idea of Madoka being around her so much.."

    Ahh yes, Mami Tomoe. Sayaka smirks, "Heh, I saw her in action for the first time the other day. She saved me and Madoka from a Witch Labrynth..Even gave up the chase to make sure we got out safely!" From the look of Sayaka's smile, it seems she was pretty impressed by the encounter.

    "Yeah, she's a real sweet girl. I owe her one! And hey, now that you apologized, maybe you two can be friends again! I think maybe if all Puella banded together instead fighting each other, they'd stand a better chance at taking on witches and surviving..Dont you think?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko laughs a little bit, and it sounds just slightly strained. "Yeah. Nice. Well, I have you to thank for that as much as anybody, Saya-chan. I guess when I met you I felt like we just.. clicked? Like I knew we were gonna be friends right from the get-go. That's the first time that happened, and I think it made me.. want to stop being such a jerk. So. Thanks."

    "Mami's strong. Course, when I fought her.. I beat her." She smirks. She really believes that.. although if you asked Mami you'd get a different story.

    As for all Puella working together, Kyouko sighs. "That's Mami's pitch. I dunno if I agree. I don't.. work really well on a team though. And neither does Homura. Puella tend to split up, claim 'territory' to hunt in. I think, on the whole, that's a better system.."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
    Sayaka hmms, "And what about me? If I were a Puella Magi, do you think we'd be a team?" She smiles, "I think I'd like that..But I'd also like to work with Mami-san too! I'm sure together, the three of us would be unbeatable! Heck, if Madoka joined us, wouldn't that be great? She's even a bigger trouble magnet than I am!"

    She grins, "Besides, if we're all in Tokyo, maybe we can all just take down more witches and share the spoils. I mean, there's gotta be tons of witches in a big city like this, right?"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko smiles a little bit. "If I could team up with anybody, Saya-chan, it'd be you." She says, choosing not to address the rest, for the time being. She stands after a minute, stretching. "Well.. I'm glad you're okay. I should get going.. it's not really safe for me to stay in one place too long."

    She leans in and hugs Sayaka again. "Just remember.. next time, call me. And no matter what you decide.. be careful." She pulls away, then turns to the door. "It's always good talkin' with ya, Sayaka. I'll see ya real soon." She blows a kiss, then turns and walks out the door.