It has been a perfect night so far; The night sky has been clear and crisp - a beautiful night for stargazing, and enough to light up the concert hall in a beautiful cerulean glow through the large glass windows. Moonlight shone like a silver thread upon the stage within, spotlighting the talented Kyousuke with an ethereal glow.
Sayaka had invited Kyouko to this amazing performance, which must have cost a lot more than she admitted, judging by the high profile people who have attended, and their very expensive looking attire not to mention the collection of extremely talented and perhaps some world famous performers.
Normally quite tomboyish, Sayaka had splurged a bit on a beautiful navy blue gown and black furred stole, adorned in light makeup that made her appear more girly than usual. Her eyes have been steadily glued upon Kyousuke during most of the performance, although she occasionally glances over at Kyouko and smiles, making a comment here or there.
It has been a lengthy concert, but eventually all good things must come to an end. When Kyousuke and his quartet reach their final, climactic end, they are greeted by an enthusiastic thunder of applause..
This must be a night for dressing up outside of one's normal comfort range- if Sayaka is normally a tomboy, Kyouko is doubly so. She actually didn't even own a dress (well, other than the one from the TIRAMISU INCIDENT which shall not be spoken of), so she prevailed upon Homura, previously her blood enemy, to help her. They had gone dress shopping. Homura also did Kyouko's makeup.
The end result of all this effort is that Kyouko actually looks.. fairly elegant. Which, to anyone who knows her well, would be a huge deal, elegance usually being about as far from her state of being as it is possible to get. The redhead is wearing, of course, a red dress- it's not super fancy or anything, but it fits and it has cute ruffles on the skirt and basically it makes her look much more feminine than she is used to looking. Her incredibly long red hair is worn loose for once, instead of being pulled back in a ponytail.
She is /not/ wearing high heels, but rather some very pretty flats.
Kyouko had seemed nervous at first, both at what she considers to almost sort of be a date (desptie Sayaka very obviously not thinking of it that way at all) and because she /does/ feel outside of her comfort zone, even if she does her very best not to show it. As the show got started and went along though, she relaxed. She really did enjoy the music... even if she was a little jealous of the way Sayaka's eyes were glued to the (admittedly very skilled) boy on the stage.
So, when the show ends, she stands up with the rest and adds her applause, grinning- minor jealousy aside, she really did enjoy the performance.
Once things have died down somewhere, she glances over at Sayaka beside her. "So.. now what? I mean, did you have any plans for after the concert?"
"It...It was beautiful...Wasn't it?" Sayaka glances over at Kyouko, her eyes all glassy. Why, she seems incredibly emotional all of a sudden. "What did you think, Kyou-chan? I hope you enjoyed it. Kyousuke..I want to congratulate him. Kyouko, I'd like to introduce you to him as well! He's a really amazing guy.."
She cant help but notice that Kyouko's looking rather beautiful tonight too, of course, enough to even make her blush just a little..But why's she being so silly? Maybe she's just not used to seeing her dressed up all girly like. It's actually quite funny. They're both kinda tomboyish girls afterall, and yet here they are, dressed up in the girliest looking outfits one can imagine.
By now the vast majority of people have milled out through the back door towards the foyer. Many of the performers have also disappeared behind the curtains on the stage to greet their many waiting fans. Kyousuke however, remains behind, apparently talking quite animatedly to a certain green-haired girl. It's enough to cause Sayaka to hesitate uncertainly for some reason..
Kyouko takes one look at the expression on Sayaka's face, and can't help but heave a tiny sigh. Still, she never really had any illusions.. and her response is genuine enough, not forced at all. "It was really great. Thanks a lot for invitin' me and stuff.. it's no exaggeration to say I have't been to many things like this in my life. It was a fun change."
At the prospect of being introduced to the man of the hour, Kyouko hesitates just a bit.. feeling maybe it would be a bit awkward, although she doesn't know wy it should be. After a moment though, she nods, glancing up to where he's talking to that other girl. When Sayaka hesitates though, she reaches out and pushes the other girl lightly on the shoulder. "Go ahead then, what are ya waitin' for? I'll follow you, it's not like he's my childhood friend or anything." She grins, single fang peeking out.
Another person is in the back audience, having taken his time getting up - a teenage boy with silver-white hair, dressed in a fine black suit, expertly tailored. Listening to the music with a degree of appreciation. That's why it's all the curious strange that, as he leaves, he throws a small gem backwards, over his shoulder. It sails quietly through the air, before it lands on the stage, bouncing a few times.
Kyouko, and perhaps even Sayaka, might be able to feel the threat that this small gemstone poses. It throbs with an evil, malicious power. The boy who threw it leaves with the vast majority of the crowd, content the gem will do its work.
As Sayaka and Kyouko move up towards the stage, the gem pulses. Then it bursts forth with a concussive wave of power, and the dark energies cause the remaining bystandanders to pass out. Except for Kyouko Sakura, Sayaka Miki... and somehow, strangely enough, Kyousuke Kamijou.
After that burst of energy erupts, the gemstone rises up into the air, and a collection of shadows forms around it - eventually, the gemstone is the throbbing, glowing heart of a creature made of shadows. Though this Retriver is only the size of a large dog, the razor-sharp teeth and claws, like jutting blades of obsidian, mark it as a clear threat. Now distracted from whatever it's original duty or plan was, it turns to the two girls, who are somehow posing a threat, and makes a low noise that sounds like the combination of a reptillian hiss and a bestial growl. One foot in front of the other, the shadow-creature looms slowly towards the girls.
"I dunno.." Sayaka sighs, staring at Hitomi and Kyosuke..They were always very friendly, and she had always wondered if there was something between them. But, she's just being silly, isn't she?
With some encouragement from Kyouko, she nods and smiles, "Thanks Kyou-chan. I'm sure it's nothing.." The last part is murmured softly, although it's hard to tell who she's talking to - perhaps herself? Hitomi leans forward and hugs Kyousuke and Sayaka's heart thumps again..They really are close, aren't they? She can't help but feel..a little jealous..
And then suddenly, Hitomi stumbles back, collapsing to the ground. All feelings of jealousy quickly go out the window and Sayaka darts towards her friend, eyes widened in concern.
"Hitomi-chan? What's wrong?" Then, suddenly other people start to fall to the ground in a strange slumber. "Kyouko-chan..." Eyes narrow as she glances around, somehow sensing the evil magic of the gem on the stage. "There's something evil at work here..." instinctively, she glances around for a weapon when the shadowy creature advances towards the two of them..
But Kyosuke spins around, spying Sayaka in the same moment and yells out to them, rushing towards the dog creature, trying to get in between it and Sayaka and Kyouko.
Kyouko just shakes her head as Sayaka finally starts to move towards the stage.. only to hesitate as she feels.. something. It's not her magic senses that are gone, just her ability to henshin, and as soon as that evil gem hits the stage, before Sayaka shouts her warning, she already knows something is wrong.
Dread seizes her heart. She's been waiting for something like this to happen.. terrified, but knowing it was only a matter of time. You can't be as deeply involved in the world of magic as she was and expect to escape completely so easily. Even if the target of this attack isn't her (and she suspects it might be, because she's been convinced someone is going to come after her), it doesn't change things.
But this is worse than she feared, because Sayaka is here as well. There are only two people in the world she /really/ cares about enough to be scared for. Mamoru can take care of himself (sort of). But Sayaka is just a girl.
The only problem is, so is Kyouko, now.
Instinctively, she reaches for her ring, as if to henshin.. then curses as she remembers her situation. "Dammit! Sayaka, get back!" She shouts, just a hint of panic in her voice. She reaches under her dress and pulls out something that was strapped to her calf- a small metal cylindar. She pushes a button on the side and it suddenly telescopes out wards into a hollow but strong metal staff, about as long as she is tall. She's been practicing with it- it's not magic, and it's not a spear. But it's better than nothing.
Even as Kyosuke runs to try and get between them and the creature, Kyouko is running to get between him AND Sayaka and the monster, staff gripped tightly for all she knows it won't do any good.
The creature is not the fastest youma ever - in fact, there's a clear sense that Kyouko with her henshin would simply obliterate it and move on - but against a group of relatively normal opponents, it's a real threat.
A forked shadow-tounge slicks out of its mouth as first Kyosuke tries to stand between them - and then Kyouko moves between him and it. There's almost a moment as the creature stares at all of them and its red eyes glare. Then, it breathes fire. Black fire, hot fire - the curtains catch fire, too, as the gout of flame leaps forward, roaring hot through the air.
Fire alarms are sounding now, and smoke is filling the air. Everyone is suddenly in even more danger than before!
Dammit, not now! Sayaka grits her teeth, glancing between Kyouko and Kyosuke as both of them try to protect her..But Kyouko no longer has the ability to henshin..And Kyousuke is a gentle soul without a single violent bone in his body. Sayaka's almost relieved when Kyouko produces some sort of weapon strapped to her leg (Hey, now that's a brilliant idea!). At least she can defend herself with some kind of weapon..Kyousuke however, is defenseless!
Then there's fire coming at all three of them, and, Sayaka suddenly finds herself too far away to help either of them. "Kyousuke, Kyouko, duck!" She darts behind one of the rows of chairs, using them as a shield against the searing flames.
Kyouko glares at the shadowy lizard-beast, doing her best to contain her fear and uncertainty, although looking at her face it'd be easy to see. There's a slight tremor in her lip, and a slightly panicked look in her eyes. She can sense how weak this thing is, at least compared to her former-self, and that makes it worse.
Still... she's not about to just run away and let it hurt Sayaka. (Or the guy, either). So she plants herself between the monster and them, holding the collapsible staff out in front of her, falling into an easy and practiced fighting stance- she hasn't forgotten her skills, she just doesn't have magic to enhance them anymore.
And then the lizard breaths fire. Kyouko curses again, turning and rolling to the side- or she would, except she forgot she was wearing a long dress. She trips on it, and falls in an undignified heap as fire rushes by behind her.
The hem of her dress catches fire. Rolling over, she curses again, using her hands to tear away the bottom of the dress raggedly- giving her more freedom of movement and getting rid of the burning part. She stumbles back to her feet, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the other two aren't burned to a crisp.
"Saya-chan, get him /out/ of here!" She shouts urgently, still trying to put herself between the creature and the other two.
The fire is raging - even though very little time has passed since the creature's first attack with it and now, the fire tearing through the area. The sprinklers are on, but not having any effect.
Kyouko is down, but still scrambling to keep between Sayaka and Kyosuke. The creature turns - looking at the row of chairs Sayaka is hiding in. It all happens very, very quickly.
The creature moves away from Kyouko, and glares with those red eyes at Sayaka. It breathes in.
Then, it's tackled by Kyosuke - or, more accurately, Kyosuke throws his body at it. There's a glint in the darkness, from those razor-sharp claws on the lizard's font feet. There's a scream from Kyosuke, and blood on the floor. He passes out. The creature seems triumphant, poised to win - its head turning from where Sayaka has run to hide, to where Kyouko tries to make her stand...
Sayaka watches in silent awe as Kyouko attempts to fight the monster, even without her powers. She really is an amazing person..But, she's gonna get herself killed at this rate! When Kyouko tells her to get Kyousuke out of there, she hesitates a moment, not wanting to leave Kyouko behind in her current depowered state..
But when Kyousuke is injured trying to protect her, she cries out, dashing towards him..But not before pausing long enough to shove one of the surprisingly light chairs across the room towards the shadowy-lizard creature, attempting to knock it off-balance and buy them all some more time.
"Kyousuke! No!" She screams as she rushes to his side, inspecting his wounds. She's no doctor, but judging from the amount of bleeding on his hands, this wound looks pretty bad. "Dammit!" she does her best to drag him behind some chairs, but now that he's unconscious, Sayaka probably cant drag him all the way to the exit near the back.
Instead, she does her best to drag him behind some chairs..Then frantically calls 911 on her cellphone, calling the police, the hospital, the fire department if they're not already on their way..This is a nightmare!
Kyouko spits another curse as the beast decides to ignore her and go after Sayaka.. only to have Kyosuke try and tackle it! She winces as he goes down under those claws.. then grits her teeth. She has to admire the guy's bravery- he hadn't even known what he was up against. As Sayaka runs towards the downed boy, she shouts, trying to get the thing's attention, to keep it away from her friend.
"Hey! Ugly!" She darts forward, swiping at the beast's flank with her staff.. only to find that the non-magical weapon passes ineffectively through the shadow-monster. "You have got to be kidding me.." She mutters, as she darts back again.. "C'mon!" She says again, more loudly. "I'm the one you want, right?" She's still half convinced that's the case, even though there's no evidence to support it- just a combination of her arrogance and her paranoia.
She's really wracking her mind for some kind of end-game to this scenario that doesn't end up with anyone dead. Sayaka has dragged Kyosuke under cover, but she can't get him out now that he's unconscious, and her weapon doesn't do anything. She'll have to try and lure the monster away. She grimly decides if anyone here is going to die, it should be herself- after all, she hasn't got a family or anything. It wouldn't be nearly as sad.
The creature turns as Kyouko makes a swipe, then keeps moving closer to Sayaka and Kyosuke. Sayaka sends a chair hurtling forward - and it passes right through it, the creature glaring at her with those red eyes the entire time. But, luckily, Kyouko's shouts DO have an effect on it, and it turns and begins to move towards her. Flames seem to lick out of the sides of its shadowy mouth.
Before it can unleash another final flame burst and create Grilled Not-Puella, though, a bitter cold wind blows through the auditorium, despite no windows being open. The creature shirks back from that icy wind - and it does so just as there's a loud thud on the back door, then another, then a full fire team breaks through! The wind picks up, and the shadowy creature glares at Kyouko again.
Then, as suddenly as it formed, the shadows that make up the creature rapidly disperse, melding into the smoke and smog of the burning concert hall. The green gem itself is hidden as a section of the roof gives way around it, covering it in rubble!
But all of that can wait - emergency services are here, bundling up the girls and Kyosuke and rushing them outside, warning them more of the roof could give way! There are fire trucks outside, waiting to spray water once the civilians are cleared out. Thankfully, aside from Kyouko and the Infinity students, there aren't many inside.
Not surprisingly, Sayaka's attempt at distraction did absolutely nothing...She suddenly feels very helpless and briefly, she wishes that Kyubey were here so that she could make her contract right here and now..But suddenly the fire brigade comes to the rescue, and that fleeting, impulsive thought is gone.
Luckily, it seems that they are able to contain the fire, and the firey-lizard creature has suddenly..Dispersed? Wow, guess the fire fighters were able to do what a couple of ordinary girls couldn't do..Somehow she feels slightly bothered by the fact that she was so helpless - moreso that Kyousuke was injured in the process.
Still, it turned out okay in the end didn't it?....Except that Sayaka is likely to beat herself up over being unable to protect Kyousuke, or help Kyouko for that matter. But for right now, she focuses her efforts on getting out of this place. "Kyouko, are you alright? Let's get out of here!" Sayaka glances briefly over Kyouko, noting the sad, torn dress, and hopefully no major wounds, before she attempts to grab her hand and pull her out of there before she tries anymore crazy heroics.
It seems Kyousuke and Hitomi are being tended to, much to her relief..
Kyouko isn't faring any better than Sayaka, and if the blue-haired girl feels helpless, imagine how Kyouko feels. But her grim determination to sacrifice herself comes to nothing, as the fire brigade comes bursting in, and the monster apparently decides that simply vanishing is better than trying to deal with all those people.
Only after its gone does Kyouko allow herself to really feel the anxiety. Her staff clatters to the floor as she falls to her knees, suddenly nearly hyperventilating, shaking badly. This is not how she's used to feeling, and she doesn't know how to deal with it.
But then Sayaka is there, grabbing her hand. Kyouko grips it tightly.. struggling to her feet even as the fire fighters try to hustle them out. "Y-yeah.. let's go.." SHe mutters, but Sayaka has to half-drag her out the door.. "I'm fine." She does manage to grab her staff and collapse it back up before they go out though.
Once outside, she stops, keeping hold of Sayaka's hand but sagging back against the wall of the building. "Sayaka.. I'm sorry." She says, her face pale. "Maybe you shouldn't hang out with me anymore."
They're finally clear of the immediate danger, but Sayaka still worries about Kyousuke. Will he be alright? He lost alot of blood...But surely he's in good hands now. And the monster's gone, so there's nothing to worry about, right? Even so, she feels somehow empty..
But right now, she has Kyouko to worry about. Kyousuke's being taken care of, but who is there to take care of Kyouko? Glancing back at the red head, she frowns at her response, staring at her incredulously as they pause outside the building.
"What are you talking about!? You did your best, and that's all that matters! Sure, you dont have your powers back, but at least you tried! At least you didnt run and hide, or abandon us. If you weren't there tonight, we both probably would have been fried.."
She gives the girl a gentle smile, brushing a strand of flame hair out of Kyouko's eyes as she stares her straight in the eyes with a determined expression, "Sure, I like to act tough, taking Kendo classes and all, but I dont think I would have lasted long in a real fight without the real world experience that you have, so, give yourself some credit here.."
Kyouko glances up as Sayaka tries to reassure her.. meeting the other girl's eyes as she brushes that strand of hair, flushing just a little as she looks away after a moment. "No, I mean.. it might be my fault that thing attacked in the first place. Even though I can't fight them anymore, I'm /involved/.. I have enemies. I just don't want you, or anybody else, to get hurt because somebody is coming after me and I can't do anything to protect you."
She quirks her lips to the side slightly, a worried, but wry expression. "Sure I did my best, but all that really amounted to was falling down and tearing my dress.. if the fire department hadn't shown up just then, I dunno what I was gonna do." Well, she does know, but she's not going to tell Sayaka she was going to try and sacrifice herself to save the others.
Kyouko heaves a sigh, straightening up again after a moment.. her lips thinning into a determined expression. "You did just as much as I did in there, Sayaka-chan. You didn't panic, and you tried to help your friend. I just..well, I need to think about some things."
Sayaka frowns. She knows she'd act the same way in Kyouko's situation, even if it might seem foolish to others. Even so...She shakes her head in disbelief.
"How can you be so sure it was after you, and not me? Afterall, I'm the newly discovered girl with magical potential. Perhaps it simply wanted to snuff out the possibility of another magical girl in the neighbourhood. It kept coming after me too, remember?"
She sighs, still running on adrenaline, "Besides, it's too late, I'm already involved in this. And even if I chose not to become a magical girl, I couldn't just stand by and let someone I care about get hurt..Even if you pushed me away, I'd still try and help you fight monsters, so don't be so silly!"
But it seems Kyouko is a tought one, and her smile fades again, fearing the worst. "So..What are you saying, exactly?"
"Maybe.." Kyouko allows, as Sayaka suggests it might have been after her and not Kyouko, but she clearly doesn't believe it. Homura had warned her someone was coming after Puella, and Sayaka wasn't actually a Puella yet, potential or no. She's still sure this is her fault, though she doesn't argue the point right now.
When Sayaka says she's going to help whether Kyouko tries to push her away or not, Kyouko frowns. "Don't be stupid." She says, perhaps a bit harshly, but she's afraid Sayaka means exactly what she's saying. "You saw what happened in there, and that thing was weak! If I had my powers, I could have crushed it like a bug! And now, even with both of us, we nearly died.. I shouldn't be trying to fight any monsters the way I am now, and neither should you!"
She just shakes her head. "I'm not.. I mean, I'm not saying anything. Listen, I like spending time with you, I.. I don't want to think about losing a friend so soon after making one. I don't have very many. But that's exactly what I'm afraid will happen if you keep sticking around me, because of stuff like this!" There's genuine fear in her eyes as she regards the other girl- fear that Sayaka might get herself killed next time, and she won't be able to stop it.
Sayaka's frown deepens. She'd be lying if she said she wouldn't miss her terribly if they went their separate ways. But she'd also be lying if she said she disagreed with what Kyouko is proposing. Afterall, it's exactly what Sayaka would do if the roles were reversed. She was always too much of a perfectionist herself..
But it still hurts.
"So..This is it then? We go our separate ways?"
She swallows as she tries to imagine going back to the mundane life she once lived. If Kyouko was right, then maybe Sayaka could live out a peaceful life, without any fear of being hunted by youma or monsters or anything else. If Kyouko's right, then perhaps she wouldn't be hunted by whoever is taking out Puella Magi either. Even so..
"And what about you, you will continue on your own, alone and without any powers, beating yourself up because you couldn't be any better than this, unable to protect yourself, eventually...." She stops herself before she says too much, turning away, hands clenched.
Dammit, why does she have to be so...So powerless? If only she had powers, then she could help Kyouko. Then maybe Kyouko wouldn't find her so useless, that she'd have to stay out of her way all the time..Maybe, maybe she could even protect her, for once..
"That's not.. what I meant." Kyouko says, but the miserable tone of her voice is enough to say that she doesn't really have any better options at the moment. It would be different if she had her magic back, because at least then she could convince herself she could protect Sayaka if something happened, but as it is now..
Kyouko reaches out towards Sayaka as the other girl turns away, and stops just short of touching her shoulder, pulling her hand back after a moment. "I've.. been alone for a long time now." She says, her tone quiet and sad. "I'm used to it. You don't need to worry about me." Still, there's tears shining in her eyes as she turns to look away down the street, not wanting to show her weakness if Sayaka looks back at her.
"I think.. for tonight, at least, I should go." She says, after another moment of silence. "But.. I'll see you again soon, okay? After I figure some stuff out. But.. call me, okay?" That should be safe at least, barring cell-phone youma. "And.. thanks again for the concert. I really enjoyed it." She means it, too. And then she's turning to walk away down the street, in her sad, torn-up fancy dress.. doing her best to wipe away the tears that threaten to leak from her eyes before they can break free and anyone notices.
Sayaka closes her eyes, fighting away her own tears, although she does her best not to let Kyouko see them. She doesn't even turn around to face Kyouko, not wanting to admit weakness on her own part. And she's not even sure why this affects her so much, but it already hurts, knowing that she might not see Kyouko again - for her own 'safety'.
Instead, she shakes her head and walks away wordlessly in the opposite direction. What could she possibly say now that would matter, anyway? It started out as such a beautiful night..And now everything is ruined. It wasn't supposed to be this way! But now...
A part of Sayaka feels angry that Kyouko would leave her like this..Another part feels ashamed..If only...But no, there's nothing she can do, not right now, anyway. Finally, she glances back at Kyouko, only when the red head has started to walk down the street and turned her back long enough so she cant see Sayaka's reaction..And she sniffles a bit, wiping away a tear.
"Good bye...Kyouko..."