It's the late morning of the day after the day after Kyouko's encounter with Fiore. She has been unconscious the entire intervening time, at Mamoru's apartment.
She must have woken up though, because she's calling Momo. Momo has her number, so it would be able to display who was calling on the screen of her phone. Kyouko must have gotten it from someone at the apartment, because Momo didn't give it to her, obviously.
Ring ring!
Momo is eenjoying a nice nap!
She's curled between some bushes and a tree, Dog making for a comfortable pillow.
Unfortunately, there's a unicorn who, when he opens his mouth, neighs out a ring.
Ug, so annoying Mr. Unicorn...
It's with half asleep hands that she fumbles out the phone and she answers it before she's really even aware she is.
"Nrrrrrg. 'lo?"
Unfortunately for Kyouko, Momo's eyes are still glued shut with sleep boogies to read the screen.
For a few moments, the other end is silent, as Kyouko gathers up her courage.
Then she says, in a quiet tone, "Momo? It's me.. Kyouko."
She waits a few more moments, and then continues, "Listen.. we gotta talk."
In those few moments, Momo nearly falls back asleep.
But alas.
"Nrg?" She sits up and rubs her eyes. Eyes deboogied, she looks around for a moment. "Kyou-nee?"
Ug, eye rub eye rub big jaw cracking yawn!
She's a little more awake now!
"Ug, I'm sorry, but Injured Green Guy teleported everyone but you and Cute Blonde Guy away. And they stopped me from using sequins!"
Kyouko is silent for a few more moments as she tries to parse this, finally giving up, or at least figuring it out enough not to worry about it.
"Uh huh.. listen, Momo-chan, Mamoru said he gave you my address. You.. wanna come over? I have food.. nii-chan weighed me down with a ton of it when I left this morning so.."
Momo blinks. Suddenly she feels real shy and twists a bit of hair in one hand. "Um, okay."
Her voice is timid and small, and then hurried:
"I'llberighttherebye."
She hangs up before Kyouko can change her mind!
She stands and stretches, and after a moment of getting her bearings, she takes off in a jog, Dog close behind.
Oops. She should have asked if it was okay if she brought Dog.
But really, where would she put him?
Oh well, with her he goes!
She's a little out of breath when she gets there. Her hand raises to knock on the door, then she makes a noise of distress as she paces a bit, both hands now wringing hair.
Another attempt, another fail.
On the fourth one, Dog barks. Loudly. And scratches at the door.
Frantic, her hands flap. "Traitor!"
Last time she saw Kyouko awake, her sister had called her not real and told her to go away!
Kyouko lives in an apartment building downtown. It's not the nicest neighborhood... really, most people would call it kind of sketchy. But it's also not the worst- just a little rundown, a little low-income. Not like there's drug-dealers or ladies of the night on every corner, or anything.
The building itself is the same- threadbare, old, but not in disrepair.. venerable, one might call it. She lives on the 8th floor.
She's been waiting, almost as nervous as Momo, pacing in her tiny living room and waiting. She nearly leaps out of her skin when she hears a dog bark in the hallway, and then scratch at the door. Relieved, at least, that something seems to be happening, she rushes towards it.. then pauses at the last moment to collect herself, so she can look unhurried as she unlocks and opens it.
And finds herself face-to-face again with her sister- the same as in the conbenie, though older than she really remembers her. Kyouko just looks for a minute.. then steps back. "C'mon in." She says, faux-casually.
She doesn't make any complaint about Dog, who no doubt is the first one in through the door.
Dog is, indeed, the first one in.
He even makes himself at home on the couch, letting out a sigh as he collapses onto it.
Momo takes a moment longer to come in. She does, though, even as her fingers work her hair.
She, too, tries for casual, but she fails so much harder than Kyouko. "I should let you know if you're mean to me, Dog may bite you. And I may let him! And he may have rabies!"
She knows, now, he doesn't. Neither do his fleas. Kukai told her so! But Kyouko probably doesn't know this!
Kyouko eyes the dog, but decides to let it pass after a moment.. bigger things to worry about, and all that. She's also pretty sure the dog doesn't have rabies- and even if he did, it's not like Puella have to worry about diseases. She shuts the door.
"Listen, Momo-chan," She begins, her voice sounding somewhat strained, as if she's really not sure how to say what she needs to say, her eyes darting around the room before finally returning to her sister. "I'm sorry about the other day. It's just.. things have been pretty rough lately and it was one more thing I didn't know how to deal with."
She glances down.. then turns and walks towards the small kitchenette area of the apartment. "Look, nii-chan gave me tons of food. Have some." She has an insulated bag she plops down which is full of baked goods as well as ginger chicken and noodles in a tupperware container.
After she does that, she adds, "He said you must have used a Grief Seed to save me the other day. There's no other way I woulda made it so.. thanks. You saved my life. That makes me pretty sure you ain't a trick."
Momo sulks after Kyouko. When the tupperware of ginger chicken and noodles is brought out, she snatches it up and clutches it to her chest. She doesn't open it yet, though.
"I told you I wasn't, Dumbutt!" Maybe she's suddenly allergic to dogs, because her eyes aren't stinging. "And of course I did, Kyou-nee! Dummy! I hadda use a whole one because you were stupid a-a-a-and--" A big sniff through the nose! And then she is crying! "If you died I was gonna kill you! And and and if you do that again, I'mma kick your butt! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
It's really hard to be taken seriously when you're suddenly crying like the eight year old you technically were mentally and clinging to a Neechan type person.
Kyouko watches Momo silently for a few moments as the girl rants at her.. and then breaks down into tears before clinging to her (with a container of ginger chicken somewhere inbetween). At first, she doesn't seem to know what to do. Then she slowly lifts her arms and puts them around the smaller girl.
"I know you did, but.. you gotta understand, Momo-chan.. things ain't been easy for me. That's not an excuse.. s'just the truth. I.. don't trust miracles when I see 'em. I've had 'em turn out sour too many times in the past."
She says this quietly as she strokes a hand down the back of Momo's hair, trying to soothe, though as Saya-chan might be able to attest, this has never been one of her strong parts. "Thank you for using up a Grief Seed.. I know it was dumb, but I really thought that was it for me, so it wouldn't matter. I know you don't wanna hear that, but it's true.. and I can't promise I won't do it again. There's things I'd die for, if I had to. But I ain't planning on it.. I don't want to die. So I'll do my best."
Finally she just sighs, and there might be a little bit of a sheen to her own eyes. "But really.. thanks. And I'm sorry." No explanation of what for, this time. Maybe she just means in general.
The difference between Saya and Momo is that Momo remembers what this felt like before. And though there's a stiffness in the hand and the uncertainty that comes with lack of practice, she still remembers what it had been like before, and so still feels what is left from then. It's enough, at least, to mostly calm her down, even if the explanation makes her sad.
(And if Kyouko had never been good at this, well, Momo's never really noticed, because Nee-chan Cuddles.)
She sniffles, and it's loud and gross. She shifts the tupperware container so she can snuggle against Kyouko better. "If you do your best, I won't kick your butt too hard. And I won't get Dog to bite you."
There's a bit of grass in her hair. She pulls back some to pick it away, and a though crosses her mind. Looking up at Kyouko, she blinks. "Are you gonna tell me to go away again? I'd found a real good sleeping spot in the park. If you do and someone's taken it, I'mma kick your toe."
"I don't know how to do nothin' but my best." Kyouko says, and that at least is true- she might have done the wrong thing, but nobody has ever said she doesn't do it with all of her might.
Momo looks up at her with cute imouto eyes, and Kyouko has to look away, if for no other reason than to hide the faint redness which comes into her cheeks. "I'm not going to tell you to go away again." She says, while examining the wall behind the kitchen counter.
"In fact.. I think you should stay here, at least for a little while. It's.. small, and I guess it ain't that nice but.. it's better than sleeping in the park. Believe me, I know." She's well-familiar with the concept of outdoor living.
Momo's eyes widen as though she's been offered keys to a mansion! "R-really?!"
She'd hoped! But she hasn't let herself hope! Even if she had lots and lots, she still didn't let herself!
And then she's shaking her head, hard! "No, no, I love it! I loved it before I came here! When I heard Kyou-nee had a job and her own apartment! My chest got all puffy with pride! Like this!"
She demonstrates her puffy pride chest!
And she may deflate, juuuuust a little. "D-does Dog hafta stay outside? It's just that he's afraid of thunder."
Is she asking for too much?!
"Of course, really." Kyouko says, and she has to smile just a little bit at that expression- she knows how it feels. She's been in pretty much that exact same position before. "You're my sister, dummy. I can't let you sleep out on the street. I probably woulda come gotten you before this even but.. well, I was kinda unconscious cause some jerk jumped me on my way home from work."
She stifles a snort of laughter at Momo's puffy pride chest. At least there are still some advantages she has as the older sister. At the question of Dog, she eyes the animal. "Well.. technically we ain't supposed to have pets here.. but he can stay for now. I dunno for how long though. Maybe he can stay with Saya-chan.." After all, her family is rich and has a giant house.
Momo does a happy wiggly victory dance! She gets to stay! And Dog, too, for a little while!
She pauses mid dancey wiggle, eyes wide again for different reasons!
Her voice is real soft, real low!
"Is Saya-chan your..." She looks around to make sure no one can hear her! "Your giiiiiiiiiirlfriend?"
Kyouko blushes, and looks away again. "Um... yeah, I guess." She says, while doing her best to sound nonchalant.
She's still not very good at the mushy stuff, even when it's just admitting it to someone else! She's never actually called Sayaka her girlfriend, but that doesn't really change the fact that it's pretty much true.
"Ooooo hooo hoooo!" Another happy wiggle. It doesn't sound exactly the same, but it may have the same feel as a certain hue hue hue.
Her voice is still a little low! "I'm so glad he was wrong about the 'bursting into flames' bit!"
Kyouko doesn't have to ask who Momo means. Of course she knows. But she doesn't really feel it's worth addressing. Instead, she just noogies her imouto and then retrieves the container of chicken and noodles.
"Come on, we can heat this up in the microwave and you can have some." She says, as she moves to do just that. "And there's more cupcakes than even I think I can eat, so.."
Momo giggles at the noogie and pokes Kyouko's side in retaliation.
"Oooo! Is it good? Have I had this before?" She pokes the tupperware container before its in the microwave. And then she snorts! "You're just saying that! I bet you could eat a bakery!"
It's not mean, it's the truth as an imouto sees it!
As the microwave turns, she watches the food. It looks so yummy! And her tummy is starting to get growly, even if there'd been food earlier with Miss White.
"Kyou-nee? Does soda make you fat? Miss White says it does." She tilts her face up in thought. "She gave me her card, but if she pays a bunch and you don't do stuff for her? I don't think I'm gonna call. But the food was yummy."
Kyouko fetches a couple plates from a cabinet while the food is in the microwave, and once it dings to signal edibility, she pulls it out and dishes it up, passing one of them over towards Momo.
Of course, then Momo mentions Miss White, and there's a clang as Kyouko slams her plate down on the counter hard enough to dislodge some of the food. "Seriously? Is she already sniffing around you?" She scowls, pushing the food back onto the plate with her chopsticks.
"Listen, she's no good. Stay away from her- or at least, don't trust her. She.. did some really bad things to me about a year ago. She's bad news. I got my revenge on her and it's all in the past now, but that doesn't mean I like her, and I don't want you dealing with her either." Bad enough that Saya-chan has it in her head to 'change Miss White' by working with her!
She almost drops her plate when Kyouko slams hers on the counter. She does jump, though.
She gets grumpy eyes, if only so she doesn't start crying!
"She bought me food, Kyou-nee. After I hadn't eaten all day before because people were all worried about the green guy! And then everyone was asleep or something and I didn't wanna bother them!"
Her pout is very petulant! "I already said I wasn't! But I'm gonna let her know I ain't, because she bought me food!"
She taps her chin. "Do you think I should send thank you cards to the people who did that?"
"Yeah, and the devil'll give you all sorts of sweet gifts, right up until the part where he stabs you in the back with his pitchfork." Kyouko responds, with just a little bit of a sneer. It's going to be hard to get her to compromise on the issue of Miss White, at least for the time being.
She sighs a little bit though, and picks at the food on her plate. "Fine. Just.. trust me, alright? Some people aren't what they seem."
On the issue of thank you cards, she shrugs. "Just tell 'em thanks. Don't see what use anybody ever gets out of a card." Very practical, is Kyouko.
Momo rolls her eyes. "'And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.' I can do this, too. And I ain't tellin you to forgive, I'm givin' a rebuttal to your argument!"
But then her chopsticks freeze, and after a moment she concentrates on separating the meat from the noodles. "I know that, Kyou-nee."
After a moment, she presses the palm of her hand against her forehead and squeezes her eyes shut, giving a weird little hum.
At the end she looks up at Kyouko. "Are dogs really allergic to chocolate?"
"Yeah well, forgiveness has been pretty hard to come by in my exprerience, so I don't see why I should go around handing it out for free. People gotta earn it.. and I include myself in that." Kyouko says, with a fatalistic shrug, as she chews up some chicken. She gives Momo a look at the little ritual, but doesn't comment. She has some pretty weird habits too, and she wasn't dead for four years.
To the question about dogs and chocolate, at least, she has an easy answer. "Yes, don't give Dog chocolate. It'll make him sick."
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuug, I already told you I didn't mean it that way! Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuug! I ain't exactly handin' it out like popcorn, either!"
(One day, she will have a coping mechanism she can use in public!)
"But why? Is there something in it? Is it all chocolate or just like milk chocolate? And I ain't sharin' it with him! I just wanna know why!"
"I dunno!" Kyouko snaps, possibly already regretting her offer to let Momo stay. "It just is! Lotsa stuff just is the way it is!"
She chomps some more chicken, then sighs. Welcome back to life with a sister!