Madoka is worried about Sayaka.
She had been ever since she'd ended up in the hospital, and to some extent ever since she had been convinced how raw a deal Kyubey's contract was for the majority of Puella Magi. But it had been becoming clear that Sayaka had been becoming more and more intertwined with the magical world for a long time, until the other day she'd learned her friend had taken the plunge and exchanged a lifetime of battle for a miracle: to heal the hands of her childhood friend Kyousuke Kamijo
It had been Homura that told her, and unfortunately in a way that disturbed Madoka a great deal, with some specifics about what Sayaka's fate usually was upon becoming a Puella Magi. There was some reassurance that she seemed to be doing better than normal, even as a rookie, but also that she had Mami and Kyouko to help her.
Now after having spent some time with Sayaka and having thought about it more at home she decided to go seek out Kyouko Sakura directly; the two of them had clearly grown rather close and cared about one another. She had first checked the conbenie the redhead worked at, only to find her off work.
She was about to give up for the day and try again later, Tokyo is a huge city and Madoka had no direct means of finding the magical girl quickly, someone she knew did and was very eager to get near her in any way possible. "Are you looking for someone, Madoka Kaname? I can help you find her, if only you'd ask."
And so Madoka enters the Game Center Crown with a certain white creature sitting perched on her shoulder, his large floofy tail waving lightly her back. No one seems to notice him, the nonmagical population completely unable to see or detect him in any way. Pink twintails swish as Madoka turns her this way and that. True, she could use Kyubey's telepathy to speak to Kyouko even from outside the arcade, but she wants to startle the magical girl as little as possible.
And so upon finally seeing the familiar red ponytail held in place by a large black ribbon she looks once over to Kyubey, who merely stares back at her with his beady red eyes, his white face taking up nearly her entire vision at this range, and then concentrates upon Kyouko.
~Kyouko-san! This is Madoka Kaname- Sayaka's friend. Would it be alright if we talked for a little while?~
Even in telepathy Madoka is polite and perhaps a bit timid, her careful, halting speech pattern replicated perfectly by Kyubey's magic. If Kyouko looks behind herself she'll find the girl holding her hands together meekly in front of herself, doing her best not to shuffle on her feet as she awaits the response.
One thing that hasn't changed for Kyouko in the past few months is her enjoyment of DDR. She is the Queen of the DDR Machine at this arcade- every spot on the top-10 scores list holds her initials ('KBS'. The B stands for Badass). She's just finishing up a game now, topping her own previous #6 score on the list. Making a slightly dissatisfied sound (that means she's done better 5 times, after all), she's about to turn and dismount the machine when she gets that very polite telepathic message, causing her to halt in mid-step.
Red eyes flick unerringly to Madoka, picking out the source of the message effortlessly. She eyes the pink-haired girl for a moment. Despite all her attempts to be a better person over the past six months or so, Kyouko still has the instincts of a predator, instincts drilled into her by years of hard living. Madoka radiates insecurity and hesitation- she puts off 'victim' vibes. This may be misleading, of course, but it still feels that way to Kyouko, and part of her reacts with bared teeth and sharpened claws.
Luckily, though, that part of her has been tempered quite a bit in recent days, in no small part by Sayaka's influence. Sayaka herself, of course, is as strong-willed and confident as Kyouko, which is part of why Kyouko respects her, but the blue-haired girl has also done much to instill the idea that maybe power, physical or of personality, isn't the only thing that matters. And that not all power is readily apparent.
So after that brief glance which seems like nothing so much as a tiger gazing upon a grazing deer, Kyouko's expession softens somewhat and she hops off of the machine. "I know who you are." She says, out loud. "We've met enough times that I'm not likely to forget." She tucks her hands into the pocket of her hoodie and pulls out a box of Pocky, sliding one out into her own mouth.. then after a moment offering the open top of the box to Madoka. "What's up?"
Madoka has gotten a lot of practice at enduring withering glares. Practice doesn't quite mean perfect in this case, however, and so as the red eyes immediately fix themselves upon her with a predatory gleam she flinches, standing up a little straighter and tensing. Was this a bad idea? She had thought Kyouko had mostly abandoned viciousness when they'd all come together for Thanksgiving dinner. Had she overestimated how much the so-called 'Terror of Kazamino' had mellowed?
Probably. But not by as much as it might have looked at first, she decides as the expression softens. "I didn't know if you'd be able to tell using 'that'," Madoka notes quietly, feeling the need to explain for some reason. She feels a bit more off guard than she has in quite some time- even moreso than when recently in a Witche's barrier. She realizes why after a moment- Mami isn't here. Homura isn't here. Even Sayaka isn't here. If Kyouko really were in the mood to take some aggression out on Homura's friend she'd only have Kyubey as a recourse.
No wonder he was so willing to help!
Luckily that doesn't seem to be the case. An olive branch is extended in the form of Pocky. Far from one to refuse candy or peace offerings she takes one from the box and takes a bites off the flavored side.
Her demeanor changes right after, suddenly calmer and a bit less nervous. Though a different kind of worry shows through more in her expression. "I wanted to talk to you about Sayaka-chan. I found out about that she made a contract with Kyubey, and I know that the two of you have become close."
She's had a lot of time to think about what she wants to say, but realizes now that she hadn't put much thought into how to actually say it, especially to someone whose personality so different from her own. "I... I wanted to ask you to look after her for me. Please!" She bows politely. Kyubey seems to stay on her shoulder with the grace of a cat.
In a lot of ways, it's probably better that Mami or Homura aren't here. Kyouko has a history of being aggressive with them- with Madoka, she doesn't feel threatened, which makes her feel more at ease than she otherwise would. After all, in what world is Madoka a threat to her? Of course, she is happily ignorant of other timelines.
Her eyes narrow just a little bit when Madoka brings up Sayaka and how 'close' she has gotten with Kyouko. This is true, but it's also a somewhat sensitive topic, depending on which way Madoka goes with it. Luckily, she goes in a direction where Kyouko does not need to be the slightest bit ambivalent.
She grins, showing off pointy fangs. "Hey, you dun have to ask me that." She says, nodding her head a few times. "Of course I'll look after her. She's my kohai, after all. She asked me to show her the ropes and train her up proper. I ain't about to let my partner in Witch-hunting get killed. That'd make me look like a crappy teacher."
Plus Sayaka is basically the most important person to her, but she doesn't even need to add that part.
Someone coming to you in deference asking for help also isn't likely to be much of a threat unless it's some kind of ploy, and Madoka is one of the least duplicitous people you could ever meet. Just from the way she presents herself it isn't to imagine she'd have a hard time even coming up with a proper lie if she wanted to, and that wouldn't be far off.
She smiles at Kyouko's response, "I knew you would a little since she's you're friend... but you're helping to train her? Thank you! I know you aren't doing it for me, but I appreciate it anyway, Kyouko-san."
Madoka takes a small step forward, both physically and metaphorically. "I feel much better knowing she'll have someone like you to help look over her shoulder. I don't think Sayaka-chan is a weak person; actually she's very strong. You probably know that! But sometimes she can get really stubborn in ways that can get her into trouble, too."
She takes another bite of the Pocky she was given, buying herself some time to think. "Sayaka-chan... Sayaka-chan is important to me. I've known her since we were both children."
She shifts on her feet a little, "There's something else I was hoping you could help her with, too. There's a boy she really likes; Kyousuke Kamijo. She, well, really likes him. I'm sure you know that too, because of what she used her wish for!" And the fact that Sayaka could hardly talk about anything else while he was in the hospital. Until the whole Apatite thing, anyway.
"If you can, I'd like you to help me convince her to confess her feelings! There's, um, a mutual friend of ours who also likes Kyousuke-san, and Sayaka-chan is too stubborn and honorable to be honest with him." She blushes a little and motions towards Kyouko with her arms, "It must seem very silly, but it's a lot more important than it sounds!"
Kyouko shrugs a little bit as Madoka thanks her for helping to train Sayaka. "Look, Madoka-chan, I know she's your friend and she's been your friend a lot longer than she's been mine, but she's important to me too. She.. well, I'm trying to be a better person, and in a lot of ways, I have Saya-chan to thank for that. Not just for making it possible, but for making me want it in the first place."
She blushes a little bit and looks away. She can't help but smirk slightly though as Madoka mentions how stubborn Sayaka can be. "Yeah.. she's a lot like me sometimes. Maybe too much." That's a slightly uncomfortable thought, given how things have historically gone for Kyouko.
When Madoka brings up Kyousuke, a shadow passes over Kyouko's face. It's not that she was ignorant of this- as stated, it was basically all Sayaka talked about for a long time. The blue-haired girl has been more than forthright with her feelings, at least to Kyouko, if not to the subject of them.
The news that someone else like sthe boy too is new though- obviously Sayaka wouldn't have told her that. But Kyouko isn't sure how to feel about this, and it shows on her face- despite her intentions, she wears an expression of semi-distressed confusion. On the one hand, it seems good- if someone else takes Kyousuke away, maybe Saya-chan would look at her differently. On the other hand, it would make Sayaka very sad, and that isn't something Kyouko wants, even if it might benefit her in the long run.
She's silent for a long moment, before she finally says in a somewhat unsure voice, "I think Saya-chan needs to make her own decisions. It's not my place to tell her what to do."
There's a certain brightness in Madoka's face when Kyouko relates how Sayaka is important to her, and why. That's... exactly the sort of wonderful thing she likes hearing about the most. "She's a very good person. I'm very happy you two became friends. Both for Sayaka-chan's sake, and for yours, Kyouko-san!" The sincerity practically oozes out of her voice.
She then laughs a little when Kyouko blushes. Not at the blush itself but the words that accompany it, "She's tries to do whatever is best, but sometimes she mistakes her pride for her goodness. I think the both of you can probably help each other with that, together." It's a happy thought to Madoka, despite the discomfort it seems cause the taller girl.
The distress and confusion at bringing up Kyousuke was very much not expected. Madoka blinks at first, and then tilts her head as the silence continues. There's something very much more complex going on in the two girls relationship than she knew.
"No, it's not. But you can still give her advice. She'll probably ask for it at some point." She makes a small frown and considers Kyouko."
She's quiet for a few moments herself. "I already gave her my advice," Madoka speaks up. She leans forward a little despite the fact her words are spoken plainly and without emphasis, as if merely relating an event that already transpired. "I told her that everything is fair in love and war, and that she should tell Kyousuke-san what she feels because it wouldn't be right to him or to Hitomi-chan to let them make that kind of decision without knowing the truth. Hitomi-chan wouldn't want to hurt Sayaka-chan's feelings by accident, and Kyousuke-san shouldn't have to make a decision when he doesn't even know there's a choice."
It's all so very theoretical and distant, this love triangle between Hitomi, Kyousuke, and Sayaka.
"It's very difficult, but I think it would work out best if they were honest with their feelings. That way at least they could move forward without regrets," the pink haired girl notes in her quiet tone. "That's what I think, anyway," she notes before finishing off the stick of Pocky.
Kyouko leans back against the bar of the DDR machine, the stick of Pocky in her own mouth moved from one side to the other, before she finally chomps into it and devours it in a few quick bites, though its quickly replaced by another. She listens to what Madoka says, and her expression is somewhat distant, even thoughtful.
She doesn't interrupt, letting the pink-haired girl say her piece without adding her own thoughts, either to agree or contradict. And she's silent for a few long moments when Madoka finishes speaking as well, staring at something in the distance as she tries to figure out her own thoughts- not the easiest task at the best of times. Kyouko is not the deep and thoughtful type, and when she has to be, she can find it difficult to express herself. It's not that her feelings aren't just as complex- she just has trouble finding the words.
"Sometimes," She says at last, "It's better for the other person to not know, I think. If you really care about them and want them to be happy, and if they're happy with the choice they make but if you tell them how you feel it would just cause trouble for them and ruin that.." She shrugs. "Maybe it's better not to tell them."
"I guess it's up to the person in question. If you want to fight for it, then go for it. I ain't ever gonna be the one to tell Saya-chan or anyone to give up if she wants to fight. But if she wants to let this dude be with somebody else cause it makes /him/ happy, and she thinks that putting herself into the situation will just make it harder on him.. well.. I understand that too. Sometimes you have to sacrifice your own happiness so the people you care about can be happy."
She /is/ talking about Sayaka and Kyousuke, right?! After a moment she shrugs again. "But I ain't gonna tell her what to do. She's a big girl. If she asks me for advice, I'll give it. But it ain't my call to make."
Madoka is fine with letting Kyouko consider her thoughts. She spends a lot of time doing that herself at home. She does sometimes speak up right away, only to realize later she said the wrong thing or worse said the right thing in the wrong way, or left out some very important piece of information.
When Kyouko speaks up she also listens and lets the other girl finish her thought before speaking. She seems to have a different take on the situation, whichever one she's speaking about. Even if she doesn't agree Madoka respects that. She won't argue the point, but she will try to give Kyouko something more to think about. "I understand. I think that's fair, so long as the sacrifice isn't too great."
She frowns slightly, looking thoughtful. Kyubey interrupts her thoughts a bit by moving from one shoulder to another, not saying much but intently taking in all of the information being so easily given. All this relationship talk probably just confuses him though; he likely doesn't understand it at all.
"It's just... Sayaka-chan thinks Kyousuke-san is important enough to spend use her one Wish for. I'm worried how it might affect her if she isn't honest with herself." Is this how Homura feels, she wonders, having to hold back information that she probably shouldn't have, that the person she's talking too would probably be upset by or assume it's a lie?
"That's why I wanted to ask you to look after her. Because she means well and is stubborn and has a hard time letting things go." She actually smiles as she says this; it can be an endearing trait as much as it can be annoying, and until now it's only ever made her think better of Sayaka. Those traits can just be very dangerous for a Puella Magi. "If she was really unhappy it might distract her when she was fighting," she puts out kind of lamely. "Since you're her friend I wanted to make sure someone was with her... in case that happened. But maybe having you there for her as a friend will help enough that it won't bother her so much. She did say she might just be too busy with her work as a Magical Girl to confess, even if she decided she wanted to."
Kyouko shrugs her shoulders again. She might not know about the whole Witch thing, but she's perfectly aware that being unhappy, that falling into despair, is fatal for Puella Magi. She's lived with that truth for a long time, even if the most horrible consequences have never become clear to her. "You don't have to worry about that." She says at last.
"One thing you can be absolutely sure about is that I won't let her get hurt if I can help it." She meets Madoka's gaze, and her own is steady and clear. "I ain't sayin' this for you. I hardly know you, and, no offense, you don't mean anything to me, other than in the fact that Saya-chan likes you. But that doesn't matter, because what you're askin' me to do is somethin' I would have done anyway."
"Saya-chan is my most important friend." This is mostly true because her /only/ other friend is currently evil, but it's true nonetheless. "I won't let her get killed, and if I think she's unhappy enough that it's gonna be a problem, I'll do somethin' about it. I'll try, at least. I promise you that. Trust me- I know more about the dangers of being a Puella Magi than you and Saya-chan put together."
Madoka nods and looks relieved. Kyouko will look out for Sayaka, and knows to look out for her emotional well-being too. That last part is important when talking about someone like Sayaka, who is tends to pretend things are just fine right up until it's time to cry on someone's shoulder. So long as that shoulder is actually there it should make a big difference.
"Thank you, Kyouko-san!" She lets out a little sigh, "I wouldn't have come to you if I didn't think you cared about Sayaka-chan. I don't really know you very well either, except that you're trying to be a better person." Being told by someone that they don't really care about her at all does hurt her feelings a little, but that's easy to overlook when compared to her worry over her friend.
She looks slightly embarrassed at the end, "I don't know enough about Puella Magi to know what dangers are commonly known and which ones aren't. Only that some of them can be too dangerous to share." Now that she's certain Kyouko understands exactly what she was beating around the bush about she relaxes even more. "There's been enough people dying, or almost dying, already. I don't want to see that again, even if it didn't turn out to be as bad as we thought."
Yeah, she's Mamoru's friend also, though she doesn't have the means to do anything to help him, Kyubey aside. "If you see Sayaka-chan starting to get very upset could you let me know? You might actually be in a better position to calm her down than I am, actually, but I still want to try if it comes to that."
She considers just writing her phone number down and leaving for a moment, but decides against it. "I really am worried about her. I know we don't have much in common, Kyouko-san, but I'm glad Sayaka-chan has someone like you around her."
Staying to talk more isn't the only reason she decided not to leave, though. Or even the primary one, actually. "I'm going to get something to eat upstairs." She's actually been here before, having talked to Homura, "If you're hungry I can get you something too if you'd like, since you've been so nice about talking with me."
"People die." Kyouko says, with a fatalism born of years of seeing it happen. "It sucks, but you can't change that. Even in a perfect world.. we all die eventually. I won't lie to you, kid- the magical world is a dangerous place, and Saya-chan is in it now. It's too late to change that. But she was already in it before, whether any of us liked it or not. She stumbled into it, and once it gets its claws into you, it don't let go easily."
"At least now she can protect herself. She has a chance, now, and even if it's a dangerous chance, it's better than no chance." She eyes Madoka, perhaps thinking this applies to her as well, but not commentijng on that any further. After a moment though, she nods. "If I think she's getting dangerously upset, I'll tell you. I know she thinks you're an important friend, so if you can help her out, I'd be happy about that too."
Madoka offers to buy her something to eat, and Kyouko bristles slightly- she doesn't like accepting charity. But after a moment, she seems to reconsider- perhaps realizing that's not the spirit Madoka is offering in. "You don't owe me nothin'." She says, shrugging. "Like I said, you only asked me to do somethin' I was gonna do anyway. But if you wanna buy me a coffee for the trouble, I won't complain."
People die. It's inevitable. On some level this is something Madoka knows. She's had pets die so it's not a complete unknown to her, but it's nothing like what Kyouko herself has had to experience. "Maybe they do, but I don't intend on letting anyone around me die before it really is their time." It's not the most fearsome statement someone can make, but there is a certain directness and firmness in those words that the pink haired girl usually doesn't have.
"Thank you. That's all I ask." Or it is now that her previous request for offering advice was denied. "Even if it's just trying to keep a mutual friend happy, I'm glad we can work together. I'll let you know, too, if I notice anything starting to go wrong." Kyouko is probably around her more, but Madoka might have some insights or catch certain signs a bit earlier just from having known Sayaka so long. Then again they were also apart for a few important years.
Madoka smiles when the offer is eventually accepted, heading upstairs and getting herself a snack and a sundae, as well as that coffee for Kyouko. More if she decides she wants it. To her it's a natural extension of asking someone to do something for you or just when eating around friends. Of course most of her friends also have enough money that picking up the tab is a negligible cost, so she has no insight that offering a meal to an acquaintance out of the blue might be offensive.
"Not being able to protect herself was very upsetting to Sayaka-chan," Madoka notes once she's had a bit of her food, now picking up on a previous thought. "I do think she's well suited to being a magical girl. She's always been there to stand between me and danger if she was around, no matter how big or small. Doing things like that in the magical world without magic of her own..." She doesn't finish the thought. She probably doesn't have to, considering the blue haired schoolgirl ended up in the hospital for it.
Actually, Madoka did too, the one time she tried 'helping' in a magical fight.
Kyouko follows Madoka upstairs with that easy, graceful swagger of hers, as if she's not afraid of anything in the world because she's the most fearsome thing in it. This is, of course, patently untrue, but giving off that air of dangerous self-confidence almost never hurts.
She gets her coffee and, adding only a little sugar, lounges against a wall as Madoka sits and eats, not seeming to want to sit herself. Maybe she doesn't intend to stick around that long.
"Nobody can pick their time." She adds, to Madoka's statement. "Just because it's sooner than you like don't mean it ain't your time." She shrugs again. "But I think we both have an interest in making sure that time isn't anytime soon, yeah?"
She sips. "She's a fierce one." She agrees, regarding Sayaka, and her grin is genuine and toothy. "That's one of the things I like about her. Mami-san.. well, she's fierce in her own way, but it's not the same. I think I'll work better with Saya-chan than I ever did with Mami."
Madoka hums a little. She doesn't exactly disagree with Kyouko's words, but she probably has a much different view on what it being someone's time means. She nods to Kyouko then as Sayaka is mentioned, "We both do. She deserves better than to have everything fall apart on her now. If she doesn't confess before Hitomi-chan does I know she's going to be upset, but with you looking out for her maybe it won't have to be quite so bad."
That's a bit of an odd statement. Madoka seems to be discounting her own efforts. Does she think they won't have any effect?
The truth is that Homura has given Madoka reason to believe her help won't be enough on it's own. It isn't that she won't do everything she can, it's that she sees the help she'll give as a baseline, and more is needed.
Still, she thinks, looking quietly contemplative, just knowing what she has to be careful of means she can do more for Sayaka. She's already given advice she otherwise would never have known might be needed.
Madoka outright giggles at the mention of Sayaka being fierce. "Yes she is. She's one of the best friends you could ever ask for if you're in a sticky situation. She'll never back down or give up." Kyouko has already seen that. It takes a whole lot of guts to pursue someone overwhelmed by dark powers when the only thing you have yourself is grit and a bit of potential.
"Hm. I wonder..." Madoka looks upwards towards the ceiling, trying to imagine Sayaka fighting alongside Kyouko. She hasn't seen her fight or even transform so it can't be very specific. "I think I feel very sorry for anyone who decides to get in the way of you and Sayaka-chan. That'd be like trying to stop a bullet train with a paper fan..."
Kyouko blows on her coffee a few more times, freeing wisps of steam, and then takes another sip. Mmm, bitter and hot, just like she likes it.
"Like I said.." And here Kyouko actually sighs a little bit. "Maybe more like me than is healthy. I have a history of not knowing when to give up." And not knowing when to try in the first place, which is equally bad.
Madoka's confidence in the fighting team of KyoxSaya is heartening though, even if Madoka really has no legitimate ability to judge. This is because, unbeknownst to the pink-head, Kyouko and Sayaka have been planning to do something Very Stupid quite soon and, they being who they be, it involves a lot of stabbing.
"You ain't wrong about that." Kyouko says, with another fangy grin. "I try not to get into trouble these days, but trouble keeps seemin' to find me. But don't you worry none- like you said. Big-ass train." Well, that's not exactly what Madoka said, but the intent is the same.
Kyouko pushes off the wall. "Anyway, I gotta get going. I got a shift at the conbenie in twenty minutes. Thanks for the coffee.. and-" She hesitates a moment, then adds, "Thanks for being Saya-chan's friend. I'll do what I can, but I know I can't be everything she needs. You cover spots I can't hit, and that means a lot." And then she's rushing off down the stairs, coffee still in hand.
Madoka starts in on her sundae as Kyouko drinks her coffee. She nods lightly to at her first words. "Maybe so... but you're still here. You've been through a lot," Madoka doesn't even know the half of it, "but you've managed to survive it. And you're even trying to be a better person! If that's the kind of mettle Sayaka-chan can compare to, it doesn't have to be a bad thing."
Kyouko then gets a closed eyed smile when she talks about trouble finding her, "Maybe I'm a little bit like you too when it comes to that." Sure, Madoka has gone witch hunting with Mami, but she's also repeatedly gotten into danger she wasn't seeking out. If Kyouko can feel the potential that surrounds her like a haze of explosive untapped power it might not be hard to figure out why.
Then the redhead starts to leave. Another smile, "And thank you too, Kyouko-san. You can also be a friend to her in ways I never could." She gives a wave since she's sitting down and adds to Kyouko's back, "Sayaka-chan is lucky to have friends like us!"