For school students around Tokyo it's the start of the second term, the many youth oriented businesses seeing a sudden sharp drop in midday sales. About the only places that might see a raise in business are those on the various path large groups of students take on the way to classes; no doubt bakeries will have their doors open wide with the scent of baked goods and other sweets wafting out onto the streets.
Now, though, it's late afternoon and many schools have released their students and set them upon the city, or at least those students that don't religiously attend their clubs like a proper young scholar is supposed to. While certainly attempting to be proper in most ways, Madoka Kaname is not really a scholar, nor is she a full-time attendee of any specific club. With school starting up she honestly has way too much on her plate for that, now juggling enough projects that something is probably eventually going to have to give.
This afternoon none of these are being attended to either, at least not any projects that could fall under any official category. Instead she's quickly making her way to the Uminari District and the often busy apartment of one of her dearest friends. Truth be told this is a trip she'd been intending to make as soon as she'd heard a particular bit of news about a new member of the Shitennou, but various things had gotten in the way. The most important bit had already been taken care of with a bit of timetrolling courtesy of Homura, an Apatite plushy complete with new uniform having suddenly appeared among the rest of Mamoru's set.
Even with that oh so important delivery having been made she wanted to congratulate the both of them in person, which is why she's heading straight over to Mamoru's apartment when school gets out. Okay, that'd be a lie. She does make one stop, courtesy of the Midori-Ya Cafe and bakery keeping it's doors open. Thus she's holding a small bag in her hand as she makes it up to the top floor and steps out of the elevator, walking over and knocking on the door to Mamoru's apartment. Technically every apartment on this floor belongs to Mamoru or one of his brothers, but she at least knows which one is Mamoru's in particular, AKA the Grand Central Station of Mahou.
Madoka knocks firmly on the door, shifting back and forth on her toes and heels, waiting patiently in the otherwise ubiquitous Infinity Middle School uniform she hasn't worn for a month and a half.
A moment after Madoka knocks, the door swings open. It's Kyouko on the other side, as chance would have it. She doesn't even live here! But, especially since she and Momo had moved into the apartment downstairs in this same building, she was up here more often than not, especially in the afternoon/early evening. Unless she's working, of course.
But the stars seem to have aligned on this particular afternoon. Kyouko blinks as she spies Madoka on the other side of the door. "Oh. Hi Madoka-chan." She greets, her tone friendly if mildly more polite than it would be for some others. She considers Madoka a friend, but not a very close one, and it has been some time since they had actually seen each other for more than a few moments. "What's up? Didn't you have a key?" She looks mildly confused. It's so hard to keep track of who does and doesn't have keys to the apartment at this point. Maybe Homura has one and Madoka is usually with Homura.
Either way, after that moment of confusion, she steps back out of the way. "Anyway, come in. Dunno if anybody else is around right now. Pretty quiet, an' I just got up here a few minutes ago myself." She seems to be telling the truth, the spacious apartment seeming deserted but for the two of them, though there are bedrooms with closed doors (and at least two other livable apartments) which might be concealing some other occupants.
Madoka hasn't actually learned that Kyouko is living just downstairs, or she might have actually tried there first. Mostly she was going on a general sense that given how recent an addition the redheaded Puella was to Mamoru's family that she'd be probably be there more often than not in the next few days. She's hoping to catch Mamoru, of course, but talking to Kyouko is equally as high on her list.
The door is opened by Kyouko and there's a sudden bright smile on her face, "Kyouko-chan!" Wait, since when was it 'chan'? Kyouko was always one of the rare exceptions to her ultra-friendly use of honorfics. The answer is 'since right now'. The newest Shitennou is assuredly quick on her feet in combat, but if she isn't ready she'll find a pink-haired missile shooting for her and trying to pull her into a close, if quick, hug. "I heard the good news; I'm so happy for you!" Don't worry, though, she's smart enough to try not to cling!
Whether or not she makes her grab she'll step back to a more respectful distance quickly. She blinks in mild confusion herself, "Key? Oh! For here. Homura-chan has it," most likely in her shield where it can never actually get lost, "and she had some work to attend to after classes." Normally that would mean Madoka would go with her, but today this is a bit more important! It's almost odd for the two of them not to show up together, but apparently that's not impossible.
When Kyouko steps out of the way for her Madoka kicks off her shoes, picking them up together with one hand and carrying them in, setting them back down next to the door as soon as she's in. "This is probably the quietest I've seen it here in a long time," Madoka notes as she takes a look around. "I guess were in luck! I brought enough to share but maybe we can be greedy." She opens up the white paper bag in her hand, previously closed with a rolled top, and the scent of fresh baked goods wafts into the apartment. She holds the bag out to Kyouko, four fish shaped treats filled with sweet red bean paste inside.
The list of people who can hug Kyouko with impunity might be growing, but it's still rather limited. That said, while she might be surprised what Madoka suddenly latches onto her for a quick hug, she doesn't push the pink-haired girl away or anything- rather, she laughs in startled amusement and gives her a quick squeeze in return, before Madoka (wisely) backs off on her own.
At the mention of 'hearing the good news', Kyouko's brows raise. "Oh?" She smiles though, in genuine pleasure, though she can't help but look mildly self-conscious. "I didn't think it'd be that big a deal, to get spread around the rumor mill so quick.." She shrugs her shoulders slightly. "Thanks, though, for what it's worth."
Her eyes focus on the bag as Madoka offers it, nose twitching at the scent of fresh treats. "Well.. I guess I can't complain about that." She says, her grin turning lopsided and mischevious as she reaches out to grab it and then ferry it over to the coffee table, where it's placed before she herself flops down into one of the large chairs. "Make yourself at home, accourse, and thanks for the treats, too."
The location admittedly has something to do with Madoka's willingness to hug Kyouko without asking first, but it also has to do with the news she considers to be incredibly good and happy and it's the best way she knows to display her approval. Other than telling her directly as she does a moment later, anyway.
The slightly shorter pink-haired girl outright grins to Kyouko as her eyebrows go up, "Kunzite-kun wanted to make sure Homura-chan and I weren't caught off guard if we saw you looking differently and heard someone calling you 'Apatite'. I guess he wanted to make sure we didn't start calling everyone in a panic... he's doing a good job looking out for all of us!" As amused as her tone of voice is there's no doubt that if Madoka seriously thought Apatite, General of the Dark Kingdom was back she'd be freaking out calling everyone to both figure out what to do and warn them of danger.
The bag is given over and Madoka follows Kyouko over to the table, plopping down nearby in whatever looks comfiest, within reach of the bag, and unoccupied. She doesn't even pause before reaching in and snagging one of the treats for herself, holding into it with both hands and biting the mouth right off the tasty 'fish'! A few moments of happy chewing and enjoyment later and she's nodding, "Thanks! I know Mamoru-kun usually doesn't mind when people drop by, but I always feel funny if I don't bring something." For a moment it might almost seem as if she came over for no reason at all, or forgot what she came over to talk about, nibbling happily on her taiyaki, but when her eyes do focus back on Kyouko there's a modestly serious look in them.
"I, um... I know we haven't always gotten along, and even recently with all the Witches disappearing, but I just wanted you to know that ignoring all of that I really am happy for you; both you and Mamoru-kun." She shifts a little in her chair, not sure if deep emotional stuff is something Kyouko really wants to discuss with her. "I think it's truly wonderful that you're able to be a family together. I know Mamoru-kun has felt alone and lonely for a very long time, and that you've had a really rough time too. I've always had an amazing family so I can't know what that must be like, but between Momo-chan and Mamoru-kun, well, I hope your time doesn't have to be so rough anymore."
Kyouko smirks slightly as she hears Madoka relate the fact that Kunzite was responsible for her being 'in the know', as it were. "That meddlesome bastard." She says, with a faint laugh, although her tone is affectionate. "That's just like him.. covering all the bases. I suppose he was right though, as usual.. I hadn't even thought about it, but it makes sense given the circumstances."
She shakes her head slightly, in self-deprecation more than anything else, even as she herself is reaching for one of the pastry fish herself. "It's still all a lot to get used to.. for a long time I could only think of the name 'Apatite' as a curse. But it really does matter where it comes from. Mamoru said that, before she was evil, Beryl was a seer and sometimes she saw truly, even afterwards. Well.. it doesn't matter now, anyway. All that matters is the name is mine, now."
She quirks a brow as Madoka says they haven't always gotten along. "I've never had any beef with you, Madoka-chan. Homura, sure, but that's old news, now." A brief shrug of her shoulders. "But.. thank you." She smiles, and her tone is genuine. "I hope you're right, and I'm glad that people have been so.. supportive. It's more than I deserve."
Madoka giggles at Kyouko's reaction to Kunzite being the one to give her little secret away, "He's pretty good about that. It is true, though, you're not someone to take lightly if you set your mind to cause trouble," and wasn't that pretty much the modus operandi of the Dark Kingdom? The tone she takes about that is more one of respect than anything else.
"So he thinks it was more than something she came up in the moment?" Madoka asks, looking upwards for a few moments as she considers the potential meanings behind that. "It's funny, actually. You could... almost say the same thing about becoming a Puella Magi. If you don't know what you're getting into when you make your wish and then you find out later it really can seem like a curse, but in the end it doesn't have to be if you can take control of your life and make it your own. I think you already did that as a Puella Magi, and it's really neat if you've found a way to do that for 'Apatite' too."
A moment later something occurs to her and she blinks, "Oh, um, should I call you that when I see you in henshin from now on?" She reaches up and rubs the back of her head in mild confusion. She has no idea how that whole 'alternate naming convention' thing works!
Madoka looks slightly nervous and slightly embarrassed, "Eheheh... Homura-chan said you were probably doing your best to make a show of strength, and I guess she was right. I thought I had to take you really seriously about the famine, but now I kind of feel like I underestimated you as a person instead of as a hunter."
Setting that aside she returns Kyouko's smile with a bright one of her own, "You've done at least enough for me to want to be supportive, Kyouko-chan!" Her head gives a small shake, "To be perfectly honest, the fact that you're willing to go so far for Mamoru-kun and that you're dedicating yourself to protecting him... that's not just something I respect, it's something I appreciate. Maybe I'm not as close to him as you are, but he's done a whole lot for me and all of my friends since I've moved to Tokyo." Her expression is almost meek for a brief moment, "It makes me really happy someone as strong as you will be there beside him, with his other Brothers."
"Well, maybe my trouble-causin' days are over." Kyouko says wryly, although even she doesn't really believe that- the focus of her trouble-causing has just changed.
As for Beryl and her foresight regarding the name Apatite, Kyouko shrugs. "I dunno if she did or not. Doesn't really matter, in the end. It's the name that Mamoru chose to use, because one way or another, it fits. I accepted it from him in a way I never did from Beryl, and that makes all the difference. Maybe she had a glimpse of the future when she chose to try an' use me as a tool against Mamoru.. I dunno. But either way, it doesn't change the here an' now."
She laughs softly at Madoka's sudden confusion regarding henshin identities. "Um.. it depends on the situation, I guess. You should know this as well as I do, but the way we appear in henshin is all about self-image, right? You can change it, depending on how you see yourself. 'Apatite' is not the same as 'Puella Magi Kyouko'- or rather, they are, but they'd be on different business. Just default to Kyouko- I won't get mad or nothin'. But I think you'll be able to tell when 'Apatite' is appropriate." Probably if she's there with other Shitennou doing something Earth Court-related.
Another mild shrug at the talk of her behavior during the famine. "When the chips are down, I got my priorities, same as anybody else. That don't change, and I don't expect it to for anybody else either. But it's nothin' personal." This leads into her addressing Madoka's words about Mamoru. "It's not just about protecting Mamoru. I mean, that was the Shitennou's original purpose and for most of 'em, it's probably still number one, and yes, I'd put myself in harm's way to protect him in a heartbeat. He was the first friend I made in Tokyo, and he's done so much for me."
"But for me, personally, it's not just about Mamoru. It's about all of them. They're all one package to me, y'see." She sits back, biting into the Taiyaki and shrugging. "He knows that. In the end, I guess that doesn't make any difference either, really. Protect one, protect all- that's what family does."
The wryness in Kyouko's voice isn't missed, which might be why Madoka giggles softly before repeating, "Maybe!"
It feels oddly fitting to Madoka that whether or not Beryl had any special insight isn't truly important. Her head nods and she makes a sort of knowing, "Ohhh," when she's told that Mamoru choosing the name for her is what really matters. "I like that... it's what the two of you have made of it that matters."
Madoka looks up and away blushing lightly as Kyouko explains about Puella henshins being about self image. The fact that she literally drew up a bunch of concepts of what she might look like before actually becoming a magical girl is still a somewhat embarrassing one, and the mention of it brings those memories back to her. She's quick to nod once she's told to stick to Kyouko most of the time. "Okay! I know it's different for Mamoru-kun and a lot of others, so I wanted to make sure; I think if I was you I'd be really proud of my new name and might want to show it off for a while, hehehehe."
Kyouko's words about her actions during the famine make Madoka flush yet again, this time because she feels bad. It wasn't personal at all, but somehow Madoka took it that way at the time. Homura has praised her judgment of character in the past, but with Kyouko she's made some serious mistakes. When she talks about feeling a connection to all of the Shitennou as much as Mamoru the pinkness on her cheeks dies down, and her expression is soft as she looks over to Kyouko. "Then I guess in a way I'm even happier for you. It really is about family, isn't it? In that case it's all of them together that will be better off for having you."
Kyouko laughs slightly at the notion of 'showing off' her new name, a faint pinkness coming to her own cheeks, betraying the fact that no, the notion had not entirely escaped her imagination. "It's not.. well. I just don't want it to seem like some new toy I'm proud of or somethin'. I mean, in the mains nothing has changed. I wouldn't do anything now I wouldn't have done before, I don't have any new fancy powers or abilities. If anything, it's only makin' something official that's been true for a long time anyway."
She nods to Madoka's words about family. "I have real family now.. and Momo too, of course. Her most of all. But this is better for all of us, her included."
Then she grins. "On the other hand, did you know this technically makes me a member of the Earth Court Nobility?" She waggles her eyebrows. "S'right, I've been granted a title, so I'm bonafide aristocracy now. Asclepius wrote me a letter and addressed it to 'Lady Apatite.'" She chortles, clearly finding the notion absurdly amusing.
Madoka giggles good naturedly as Kyouko blushes lightly, "It might not be a toy but it's still something special. I wouldn't blame you if you decided to show it off just a little." She pauses for a moment before adding in a silly, childishly jealous tone, "Not unless you rubbed it in, anyway." She closes her eyes and takes a bite of her taiyaki, using it as a way to keep from giggling more and spoiling the joke.
Momo is mentioned and Madoka smiles brightly again, "I'm sure it'll be good for her to have that kind of support around her. I imagine she'll be really happy for you, too." She laughs a little, eyes moving around the apartment, "I wonder if it'll be a shock to them, suddenly having two sisters to ride them and put up with." A knowing grin is sent Kyouko's way, "They might expect you to be keeping them in line, you know! I know my brother would get into all kinds of trouble without me to look after him." Of course Madoka's brother is four years old! Some things never change, though.
Madoka's eyes widen a little as Kyouko is pronounced a member of nobility, a true aristocrat in her own right. She's suddenly shaking, setting her taiyaki on the coffee table when Kyouko waggles her eyebrows, suddenly busting into a wave of giggles. "Ohmygosh! Mami-san is going to be so jealous! Kyouko-chan, you have to send her a formal letter like that using your title. Can you imagine the look on her face? I'm sure she'll be happy for you, but still..!" She can seriously see Kyouko teasing Mami about technically having social status above her.
Then another thought occurs to her and she quiets a little before absentmindedly dismissing it, "I'd throw a fancy party for you, but I don't want to pressure you into something like that."
"Momo is happy for me when the old lady at work tells me I do a good job." Kyouko says, dryly. "It's not hard to make her happy for me." But she seems pleased anyway, and smiles. "But yeah, she was pretty thrilled. Accourse, she doesn't automatically gain the right to harass my nii-chans just because it's official now.." Though her tone of voice suggests that she is perfectly aware that Momo never needed any permission, official or not.
She snorts at Madoka's reaction to notions of nobility, though her face sobers somewhat at the mention of Mami. "Ah.. yeah, I haven't spoken to Mami in a while. I guess I should." She shifts in her chair, sighing. "It's a time for new beginnings after all.. suppose that should include her, though I dunno that we'll ever be besties the way we used to be." She lifts her shoulders again. "Times change, and so do people. But I should make the attempt."
She sticks her tongue out at Madoka. "Probably without rubbing her face in my fancy new title. S'not like the Earth Court is known for its extravagence these days, anyway." Well, aside from owning the entire top floor of a skyscraper, anyway.
"Well she is your little sister, it's part of her job description to cheer for you when good things happen," Madoka replies good naturedly. She then considers her harassing the older boys and ends up grinning widely, imagining her taking up all of Kyouko's slack on actually trying to keep the group of teenaged boys in line. As long as she doesn't try to get Dog to enforce whatever rules she comes up with it should be fine, right?
She feels a little bad for spoiling the mood somewhat as Kyouko reacts to her comments about Mami. "O-oh, um... I guess that's true. I haven't really either; I think she's still doing a lot of work for Virtue? Now that school's starting up again I imagine she'll be around at least for a while, though." A brief smile flashes across her face again as Kyouko sticks her tongue out, "I don't know about that. Mamoru-kun is a pretty snappy dresser! Though maybe he has so much style so the rest of you don't have to worry about it if you don't want to..."
She then backtracks a little to a more serious note, the idea of it being a time for new beginnings, "You know, I was talking about something like that with Homura-chan the other day. After everything that's happened it almost feels like a happy ending for us, except really it's the start of a whole new life together."
She gets a nostalgic look in her eyes, picking up her treat but playing with it in her hands rather than taking another bite of it, "Do you remember Thanksgiving, last year? We had it here, and things were kind of tense, and Mamoru-kun was still in hiding. There was so much going on back then, and so much more happened afterwards." Madoka eyes look upwards before focusing on Kyoukos, and she smiles, "But this year... This year we have a whole lot to be thankful for, don't we? All of us do. There's no telling what might come in the future, but for now I can't help but feel things are going pretty well."
Kyouko finishes off her taiyaki, eating the last of the pastry before licking a stray bit of red bean paste off of her finger. She listens to Madoka's statements, on how it seems like everything is going well, and while she agrees for the most part, she can't help but roll her eyes.
"Aw, don't jinx it, Madoka-chan. Doncha know that right when you say "everything is going great", that's when the next crisis inevitably explodes?"
She laughs after a moment though, shrugging dismissively. "Well.. I don't disagree that everybody seems remarkably together right now compared to where we all were a year ago. But I ain't the type to rest on my laurels. Something else will come up.. it's the nature of the world. We'll just have to be ready for it when it does."
"'Course, we managed to handle some apocalypse-level crises when we were all wrecks of various descriptions, so hopefully now we'll be even better able to handle it." SHe snorts, reaching for another pastry. "Hopefully that don't mean the universe decides to up the ante, since now we can handle it."
"I didn't say everything was great," Madoka replies defensively. She makes a bit of a sigh herself, "There's still this thing with Eclipse, Kyubey isn't making Puella Magi, and now there's a lot of Wraiths we have to fight off as well. Maybe none of that seems like a crisis since it's been going on so long now but at least none of our friends are being kidnapped and the world isn't being invaded by polar bears and penguins from the bottom of the ocean."
Madoka isn't quite getting into a mopey mood, but Kyouko's comments do seem to have made her thoughtful, "Really I was hoping to have been able to do a lot more to save more Puella Magi, but so many of them are gone now." She bites her bottom lip, nibbling on it a little while leaning forward, eyes quietly studying her treat, "You've noticed, right? There's... really not all that many of us left. Homura-chan and I are doing our best to help out with the Clinic, but most of the damage has already been done. With so many hunters and no prey it's not really a surprise, and I'm not saying I'm not happy Kyubey isn't tricking anyone else into decisions they'll regret. It's just, even ones who were just doing their jobs and fulfilling their contracts. How is it fair when their contract is to hunt Witches and there are no Witches left to hunt?"
She back up then, suddenly remembering something. "Oh! Have you heard about the Clinic, actually? We're buying Grief Cubes from people who destroy Wriaths so we can make sure they make it to the Puella Magi who need them, and also as a way to pay people for doing good and protecting the city." Her nose wrinkles, "It's not cool that they can get paid doing bad things for Eclipse but good guys can't, right? Anyway, we're also buying used ones for half the price, because Puella Magi deserve to make money protecting the city as much as anyone. It's right by Karaoke Crown, if you decide you want to drop by."
Madoka isn't sure if getting paid for something she'd be doing anyway is something Kyouko would consider charity, but the Wraiths she destroys are just as much a threat to the population as those destroyed by anyone else.
As for apocalypse scale threats Madoka gives Kyouko a playfully shocked look, "And you told me not to jinx it!"
Kyouko shakes her head. "The way I see it, if Kyubey isn't making any more contracts, it's only good in the long term. I feel sorry for any Puella who bite it as a result of the lack of Witches, but look.. we can get the Cubes from the Wraiths now. We don't need the Witches, and if no more girls get tricked into enterin' the system, then good." She shrugs. "It was a rotten system to begin with."
She's quick to add, "Not that I really believe it's over and done with. Kyubey believed that what he was doin' was necessary. I don't think he'd give up on it, which means he must have somethin' else up his sleeve. Whether that'll be better or worse, well, I can't rightly say. All we can do is keep our eyes out and be ready for whatever happens."
She nods her head slightly as Madoka mentions the Clinic. "I had heard about it, yeah. Honestly, thanks to Mamoru I don't really have to worry about money anymore. That's a weird feelin', and I don't intend to abuse his generosity- I'm still workin' at the conbenie ,for example. But you don't have to pay me. I don't get any use for used-up Cubes, so as far as I'm concerned you guys can have 'em. Rather give 'em to you than Kyubey anyway, but you don't need to pay me for 'em."
Madoka gives Kyouko a quiet smile. "I know you're right, but I still can't help but feel sorry for them. If I had known what was going to happen maybe I could have done something about it. Not that most Puella Magi are very quick to trust each other, especially over Grief Seeds, but maybe one or two might have listened."
Then Kyouko notes that Kyubey is probably not going to keep his current methods up forever and she nods. "It's pretty hard to trust anything he says or does, and it's not like he even said this would last forever. At least he wasn't actually trying to kill us like that stupid evil clone of his was saying." Stupid Jyubey. There may be worse things Riventon has done, but making an evil version of Kyubey is perhaps the stupidest thing he's ever done.
"Okay. You don't have to take payment for them if you don't want, but I still appreciate it." Really it just means that there'll be that much more money to spread around to the others. Madoka can't help but giggle a little, "I didn't know Mamoru-kun was helping you out, but I did think if you got money for fighting as a magical girl you'd keep your day job." Somehow the conbenie really seems to suit Kyouko; it might have something to do with the old lady that needs the help. "Eheh, I'm not sure what we're going to do with them all when they start piling up, but I'm sure we'll think of something. It might be worth it just to see Kyubey beg. I wonder if he'd ever actually resort to stealing them?"
Kyouko makes a sour face. "Ehhh, I don't trust anything he says, including the fact that he wasn't really trying to kill us. I'm not sure I buy that he would do somethin' so extreme 'just to see what would happen'. Don't suit his MO, at least as far as I've always known. Then again, I never claimed to be omniscient." Another brief shrug as she bites into a second taiyaki.
As for Mamoru helping her, she quirks her lips to the side. "Apparently," She says, with a soft sigh, "Being a member of the official Earth Court Guard means that I get an appropriate salary." In truth, Mamoru had given her an essentially limitless credit card and said 'take what you need'. "But I don't like to rely on other people too much unless I have to. I wanna support myself. So I'm not gonna start livin' like a rich princess or nothin'. But it's good to know it's there, if we really need it." 'We' here mostly meaning Momo, for whom Kyouko would compromise her pride much more readily than for herself.
"If Kyubey wanred to steal them, I'm not sure you could stop him." She points out. "He has a way of getting into places regardless of whether or not it's 'possible'. Still, might be amusing to see him try."
"I guess I'd be more suspicious of that too, except that something did happen." The Wraiths sort of came out of nowhere so far as Madoka was concerned; with Witches gone she unconsciously certain there would be no more Puella related monsters. "That doesn't mean the strongest of us dying wouldn't suit his purposes, though." It's entirely possible it's a very close 'secondary' objective, just far enough from his stated one to technically not be lying. Kyubey does love his technicalities.
"Oh! That's a pretty neat benefit." Madoka considers being a paid magical bodyguard a perfectly legitimate job rather than charity, it seems. Still Kyouko's more than entitled to her own opinion when it's in regards to herself, "Eheh, that's kinda what I thought. I mean, I didn't really expect you to want to be paid for your used Grief Cubes since the magic you'd get is like payment anyway, but I still thought it'd be good to offer just in case." She smiles at the 'we', knowing pretty well the meaning behind it. "There's a lot people will do for family that they won't do for themselves. I kind of think that's noble enough to justify 'Nobility', and I'm starting to realize you've got that in spades."
Madoka lets out a somewhat embarrassed laugh before shaking her head, "Probably not. Though if we caught him trying it I bet Homura-chan could troll him pretty hard." A moment later she rolls her eyes, "Knowing Kyubey if it was against his rules he'd just try to get someone to do his dirty work and steal for him, so he could say they gave it to him freely. That's the kind of 'honesty' he operates under." Thinking about Kyubey is annoying, so Madoka makes up for it by eating more of her delicious pastry!
Kyouko's cheeks flush just a little bit once more at Madoka's praise of her 'noble' nature- something she herself would deny, titles aside. But, as noted, it's one's actions with regard to other people which define that sort of thing, not what one thinks of oneself. "Eh.. you're too nice Madoka-chan. Then again, I always thought so, but I guess somebody has to pick up all the slack from us jerks." She grins.
Then, finishing her second Taiyaki, she sighs. "Anyway.. I appreciate you stoppin' by, but I gotta run. I got a shift this evenin' at the store. I was just stopping by to see if there were any Mako-chan-made cookies left when you happened to knock on the door. No luck, by the way. The guys are like vacuums when it comes to Mako-sweets." Yet another thing she has in common with them, in truth.
She starts to head for the balcony door, but pauses and looks back, offering a smile. "Thanks for stoppin' by, Madoka-chan. It really does mean a lot. And thanks for the snack too." She grins. "Feel free to hang out- I'm sure somebody'll be along before long. But I gotta run. See ya soon, I'm sure." And then she's slipping out through the door.
Madoka manages to sneakily hide the internal grin as Kyouko's cheeks start to color, though a gentler smile and a blush of her own show up when she's complimented in return, "Ehehehe, thanks..."
She starts to get up as well when Kyouko does, but ends up keeping in her seat at the suggestion to hang out is made. It also doesn't hurt that she now knows the only remaining treat in the house is sitting within arms reach. It's not too rude to eat the last goodies in someone else's house if you're the one that brought them, right? "Okay! Well, have a good shift at work! It really was nice getting to talk to you again, Kyouko-chan. I'm glad you liked the treat!"
She leans in her chair, peeking as Kyouko goes through the balcony door. She'll try to steal a peek and see if the Puella uses her usual outfit or something else! Sneaky, sneaky!