No Title Set

    It's early evening in downtown Tokyo, and Kyouko is just finishing up at her job. Most days she works an 8-hour shift at the AM/PM Mini Market, a convenience store down a small side-street in Mitakihara. The store will be open for several hours yet, but her shift is finished, and as she exits the store Kyouko raises a hand to wave to her co-worker who has relieved her pausing on the sidewalk outside to check her phone. Wearing her usual uniform of a black un-marked t-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers, the redhead glances through her messages a moment before sliding the phone into a back pocket and turning to stride down the street towards the much larger main thoroughfare only a few yards away, the sidewalk busy with people even as the streetlights begin to flicker to life up and down the street.

A certain blonde is waiting for her amidst the crowds of people gearing up for the city's night-life, checking her phone and seeming, despite her usual collected demeanour, a little anxious. It had been a while since she'd run into Kyouko, and furthermore, it had also been a while since she'd had a conversation with her of any importance, let alone as friends.

Perhaps she was scared that Kyouko'd grown too far apart from her. But nevertheless, fretting would do her no favours, now.

She's chosen to change up her look a little, wearing a brightly-coloured long-sleeved top and a fairly long, darker skirt. Her fashion sense, as usual, was pretty much on point. Of course, an easy way that it could be seen to be Mami would be her hair, this time tied to the side in what appeared to be a mix between a tousled side-tail with the hint of her classic ringlet shape. Some things never change, do they...

Upon seeing Kyouko, Mami offers the redhead a wave and a faint smile, as if she were just a friend hanging around in wait for her, approaching her quickly after her greeting... "...Evening, Kyouko. How has work been treating you...?" She'd already passed by the place many times on her own journey around the city, but she hasn't checked into the store itself when Kyouko's been there. She wouldn't want to bother her at work, either, the polite person that she was. Trying to get the conversation moving along, she added, helpfully...

"I'm glad you look well, at least. Seeing you able to take care of yourself like this makes me feel a little proud." She chuckled a little, under her breath. "My my, I shouldn't talk so much like that, people might get the wrong idea...but I can't help it. It's been a long time."

With that, she trails off her train of thought and looks wistfully into the night sky before turning back to her...

    Mami isn't the only one who looks different, of course. At eighteen years old now, there isn't much of Kyouko, aside from the red hair and red eyes, which is the same as it was six or seven years ago in Kazamino. That hair is cut short now, in an artfully mussed style somewhat less than chin-length. She has earrings, even if they are only red studs in the lobes of each ear, and several other piercings including a silver ring through one eyebrow and a stud in her tongue (although that is less obvious to the casual observer). Most of all, she is noticeably more muscular, especially in the arms and shoulders- not to bodybuilder levels or anything, but nobody looking at her would mistake the fact that she can probably knock a man twice her size out with a punch. She trains in martial arts, without magic, every day and has for several years. One time losing her powers was enough to convince her that relying on magic to defend yourself is a fool's game.

    But a lot of those changes can merely be attributed to time. Kyouko might be all grown up, but she is still demonstrably Kyouko. She pauses upon seeing Mami waiting for her, hearing the other girl's greeting. One eyebrow climbs, and while the expression on her face is not exactly unwelcoming, it is perhaps a bit surprised. "Mami. Can't complain. Puts food on the table." This is a bit of an exaggeration- Kyouko has access to nearly unlimited support through Mamoru, if she needs it. But she has this whole stubborn pride thing about earning her own way whenever possible.

    A small roll of her eyes at Mami's comment about feeling proud. "Alright 'mom', Kyouko's all grown up. You know I've been working here for like three years already. Not my fault you were too far off to notice." The words might be a bit harsh, but there's a faint smile on her lips which indicates she is more busting Mami's chops than she is actually offended. She has paused, off to the side of the sidewalk. "I was just on my way home. Did you need something..?" This is not an attempt to brush Mami off, but an honest question. Kyouko is wondering why Mami has chosen to approach her, after weeks of not seeing her.

"I'm aware, but I've still a lot of catching up to do." Mami smiles a little warmer, this time... "I'm not looking for anything in particular, I've just been wanting to see how you've been. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you, though, I've been looking for leads into what's going on around here, lately. And into our old group, as well. To be honest, it's surprisingly peaceful, as far as I know." Granted, there's a lot she isn't aware of, yet, but she's starting to see it, little by little. Time has changed her as well, now that she's approaching her twenties. While she still relies on the risky allure of magic to get things done, she's learned how it works, learned to control herself better. Most of all, she's trained even more so than during her youth.

"I'm back again, aren't I? Even if you've outgrown my fussing over you, I suppose I'm still catching up to the rest of you as much as you all used to catch up with me. It feels...very odd."

Nevertheless, she quips right back with... "I see your attitude hasn't changed all that much, either. Do you mind humouring me for a little while and taking a walk with me? Unless you'd rather discuss something a little more privately."

    "It's been.. relatively quiet recently." Kyouko allows, with a glance around the busy street. "Haven't had a potential apocalypse in a year or two, actually. It's starting to make me antsy. I mean, there's the usual stuff.. Youma, Witches. Small fry, y'know. But nothing fixing to end the world. I suppose it's only a matter of time until the next one shows up but.. might as well enjoy the peace while we have it, huh?"

    She shrugs a bit at the invitation. "I don't mind. Naru isn't expecting me home right away or anything, I'm sure she's at her studio or something anyway." She pauses, realizing Mami might not know who Naru is, and adds, "Naru's my girlfriend." No hint of shame or dodging the issue of her sexuality. Mami probably knew or suspected already anyway- it's not like she's ever made a secret of it.

    She inclines her head towards the sidewalk. "Shall we go for a walk then?" Another thing which has changed is Kyouko's speech patterns- there's still hints of the old street slang in there, but by and large she's much better-spoken than she used to be. Comes from hanging around with people who read a lot.

    As she starts to walk, she snorts in amusement. "You, catching up? Somehow I doubt that. Maybe on the specific situation, but I find it hard to believe you stopped growing just because you haven't been in Tokyo." A glance sideways. "Where have you been all this time, anyway? When you took off right after Walpurgisnacht and all that, I figured you just needed some time to sort things out. Which is totally understandable. Just didn't expect 'some time' to be like three years."

"I suppose it's only right to enjoy what peace we have, yes..." Of course, typical Mami, she isn't really saying what she's thinking at all for fear of upsetting Kyouko. "She's into art, as well, then? It sounds like she's quite nice. If anything, that proves you've become easier to get along with~..." Mami's lightly teasing Kyouko a bit, but she likewise means well by it. Strained as their friendship is by years of separatation, she'll still play a friendly jab at her to keep her on her toes. And she's already taking a step or two ahead of her as Kyouko takes her invitation up, without giving her much room to fight back! "...Yes, a stroll would do us both good."

But as the conversation grows gradually more heavy about Mami's past, she shakes her head a little... "It's...a bit more complicated than that, but I agree with you. I ''have' changed quite a bit alongside you, but on some level I still seem to miss the days when we were all a group - even if we were fighting for our lives. It is a warped nostalgia, but it's still there..."

Of course, when the matter of Walpurgisnacht is brought up, Mami tries to side-step the topic, but relents and lets out a small sigh... "I stayed around for a while after Walpurgisnacht was defeated, but not too long. Most of that time is a blur to me, after a few years. To be honest, I felt as if there was still much to do, elsewhere. That and I had plenty of soul-searching to do. As in...now that our greatest threat is gone, where am I to go from here? I had so many burning questions yet to answer, as well...some from myself and some prompted by some of you."

She paused a little, before she added... "...So I went back to Kazamino. I stayed there for a few years, thinking I could find the answers I wanted. I took in more girls who needed guidance and gave them the help they needed, made them strong. And yes, I lost a few of them. I didn't find what I wanted, nor was it the same as dealing with you or our other mutual friends in the Quartet. But...despite how I couldn't find what I wanted there, I stayed true to myself."

A small, faint smile and a giggle under her breath, as if she was trying to laugh off her disappointment in herself... "I shouldn't get my hopes up, too much. But I've met with others who've been able to point me in the right direction. That...and I've heard second-hand that Miki-san's been keeping herself busy, these days, though I've never run into her." Mami tilts her head towards Kyouko again, as if trying to get a read on what she thinks of all this... "Sorry...there's plenty on my mind, Kyouko. More so than ever. I hope that's not a bother to you, that's all."

    "Either I'm easier to get along with, or Naru has saintly patience." Kyouko says drily. "Honestly it's probably a bit of both." She's under no illusions about her prickly nature, which has stayed just as prickly over the years, though perhaps the focus of that prickliness has changed somewhat.

    She listens to what Mami has to say, and shrugs a little bit at the mention of the other Puella they had worked with in the past. "I think you're overstating things a bit," She says, quirking a brow. "We've had similar goals, but I'd hardly say Homura and I ever got along. Not after that whole WPS business. As for Saya-chan.." A faint sigh. "I don't think she's terribly fond of me anymore, but she's still around. Haven't seen her in a while but I'd hear if anything had happened to her so I'm confident she's still around."

    A faint sideways quirk of her lips at Mami's story about being back in Kazamino. "That so? I've actually been back to Kazamino a handful of times over the past few years, but. I guess it's a big place, not a surprise I didn't run into you. And I didn't stay long any of those times, so.." A shrug.

    "The question of a sense of purpose is one I understand, but I think you're naive if you think Walpurgisnacht was our greatest threat." She says, hands in her pockets as she walks along. "A big threat, yes, definitely. But I've come to understand that there are worse things out there.. or at least, things just as bad. We've fought a few of them in the past few years. So if you're looking for purpose beyond guiding young souls (which, by the way, I think is a perfectly legit purpose), trust me when I say the world still needs saving from time to time."

    "As for me, well.." A small smile, maybe even a touch embarassed. "You might have heard this already, it's not exactly secret knowledge, but I'm technically not even a Puella anymore. I broke the Contract. Or, I suppose a better way to put it would be that I signed a different contract that overwrote it."

"I suppose that either I'm more of an optimist or that we all truly had the same goal, even if we couldn't all understand eachother. Akemi-san was equally a mystery to me, as well. Kaname-san once told me, even up until I left town, that she cared for others more than she'd openly say, but...I imagine that girl's as inscrutable as always."

Mami has a little more to say about Kazamino, at least, it seems, as she replies with a shrug of her own... "If I'd known you were about, I'd have tried to find you. Perhaps then, I'd have had an easier time adjusting to things. But what's past is past. I suppose my experience back there is vastly different from yours - quite a bit of infighting took place there, plenty of splintered factions we dealt with in our younger days combined. Witches only grew fiercer when exposed to stronger and more concerted efforts. It...was difficult for those I trained, despite my best efforts. And...I can only imagine what kind of enemies you've had to fight in the meanwhile. But at the time, Walpurgisnacht seemed like such a dreadful thing. I realized for myself that anyone with sufficient power could become just as dreaded, if not worse."

Of course, the latter topics piqued her interest, as she looked to Kyouko, her turn to perk an eyebrow with some measure of surprise. "And yes...I've heard rumours that you've changed in that sort of way, too. But to hear it straight from the source is something that intrigues me even more. What little of your abilities I saw on that day, I could tell you certainly didn't have a Contract any longer. I'm impressed that there seem to be powers that could...'over-write' that kind of magic. But on the other hand..."

She trails off just a little, looking her right in the eyes... "...I'd like to hear more, if you're comfortable with it. Your original powers were rather powerful and 'flashy' as you liked to say. What made you change your course, Kyouko?"

    Kyouko doesn't add anything to Mami's statements about Kazamino. It's true enough, nor does she feel like going into detail about any of the powerful enemies she has fought in the years since then. She'll talk about those fights if she ever needs to, but there's no point in dredging up painful memories for mere conversation. As to the topic of her changed nature, she just shrugs a little.

    "My powers haven't changed all that much. A little, but not that much. I guess it's just the source which has changed. Honestly, it's not something I set out to do. I was at peace with being a Puella. What made me change my course?" She smirks just a little bit, amused by her own thoughts. "I got adopted. Not literally. And it's really complicated, I'll have to tell you the whole story sometime. But, long story short, I fell in through circumstance with a group of guys that gave me a place to belong, and showed me that I was a better person than I ever thought that I was."

    She draws herself up a little, tossing her head as if making a prideful gesture, though it's obviously in jest. "You have the pleasure of speaking to Lady Apatite of the Shitennou, Knight of Sincerity and Respect, member of the Earth Court and bodyguard and retainer to Endymion, Prince of the Earth." She resumes her previous relaxed stature, hands in pockets. "Turns out that swearing an Oath to the Prince of the Earth overwrites the Puella contract." She shrugs. "Like I said, it wasn't something I did on purpose. I didn't know the Oath would do that. But turns out it did. I draw my magical power from the Earth now, instead of from a Soul Gem. Funny world, ain't it?"

    A faint sigh. "Not really something that'll work for everyone, unfortunately. The Oath is not something the Prince just hands out like candy. There's only five Shitennou, and unlikely to be any more. He give a piece of himself to us, y'see. Can't give away too much or there won't be anything left to give. Me being free of the contract was just a.. happy accident."