invocation | ✝ic inbox.

maybe they screwed up again

[She isn't sure, doesn't care. For once, she's grateful about their meddling. At least most of them were alive here.

It takes her a while to respond to Sayaka's second question.]

yeah. where are u?

[Contrary to appearances, and popular belief, Kyouko does not like to lie. But this is a necessary one, for now.

And so her question won't look too suspicious:]

im starved

[ Figures Kyouko's already worrying about food the moment she gets back. ~~What is being smart~~ ]

training. i'm kinda in the middle of trying something, so you might have to wait a bit. [ Keep thinking that you might get a few more minutes to yourself, Sayaka. ] i can meet you somewhere later if that's easier.

[Waiting, lol.

A response is sent shortly:] ill just head that way

[There is a thought, a warning that comes and goes: Don't exhaust your magic. But it would be taken the wrong way, and they didn't have anything to worry about here.

Right?]

[ God dammit. After a moment of internal debate, she figures that this is probably more important than a move she can practice whenever - her sword vanishes into the air, and she switches back into more reasonable clothes. ]

yeah, okay. i'll wait for you outside. [ Hey, that was almost friendly. ]

[And without further ado, Kyouko begins to make her way to the training hall. The longer she walks, the more troubled her expression gets — her eyebrows knit together, her face is etched with a permanent, confused frown.

What was going on? Sayaka was acting like nothing was wrong at all, and that meant...well, she wasn't completely sure what it meant, but it was definitely a problem. Her expression doesn't lighten up when she catches sight of Sayaka, but she does relax, just a little.]

Hey.

[ True to her word, Sayaka's waiting outside when Kyouko arrives. A normal greeting is halfway out of her mouth when she actually stops to look at Kyouko's expression, and her own shifts into confusion - Kyouko looking grumpy or frustrated is nothing new, but this is different. ]

... What's with that look? [ She hasn't even done anything stupid today! ]

[She looks startled at being asked that question, and quickly shakes her head.] It's nothing. [She stuffs her hands in her hoodie pocket.] Are you ready to go?

[ She hesitates, and almost doesn't buy it. Almost. But there's little point in asking, given how good at deflecting questions Kyouko can be. ]

... Yeah. [ Actually, something about this still is weird. It's not like the marketplace grew legs and buggered off to a different part of the city while Kyouko was gone. ] Nothing's changed in the past week, though. You didn't have to come find me for this.

[She tries to muster up the ability to pretend to be annoyed, but mostly she's worried. Admitting that would be a grave, grave mistake however, and it's not something she wants to do anyway...but Sayaka is asking questions, so she has to say something.

She doesn't like to lie, so she goes with the first half-truth she can think of:] Eh. I ran out of money.

[That isn't a lie, exactly. She bought so much food that it was entirely likely she had run down her monthly allowance.]

[ And Sayaka... buys it completely. She'd have doubts hearing it from most other people, but there's nothing new about this kind of thing coming from Kyouko. ]

Already? Geez, how did you even manage that? [ No, nevermind; she knows the answer to that one already. ] I don't mind helping out this once, but...

[ Well, this is a little more sensitive. She hesitates for a moment. ]

If you really went home... [ Honestly, she wants to know everything, but she also knows Kyouko isn't the kind to be forthcoming with information; nor might she know the things Sayaka would ask about. In the end, she settles on the most important thing, even if the guilt means she has to glance away when she asks. ] Is Madoka okay?

[ She could care less about herself, but her last memories of her best friend aren't exactly pleasant. ]

[...It's like Sayaka, to be worried about other people before herself, and while Kyouko is relieved the questioning hasn't gone down a path she doesn't feel comfortable with, she's bothered by this as well. Not annoyed, exactly. Disturbed is a good way to put it.]

She's fine. [There's a pause between answering this, and she hopes it's not long enough to be suspicious.] She was safe the last time I saw her.

[As far as she knows, Homura safely got Madoka out of the barrier...and that makes her feel guilty too, that she'd put someone else in that sort of danger.]

[ The relief is almost tangible. Sayaka slumps instantly, doing her best not to fall in a heap from both the overwhelming guilt that she even had to ask in the first place, and the confirmation of Madoka's safety. It's not perfect, but it's something, and she trusts Kyouko enough to have faith in it. ]

Okay... okay. [ It takes her a while to speak again - she wipes her eyes with one hand, and when she looks up again it's with a sad, tiny smile. ] That's all I needed to know. We can go wherever you want now.

[ This time, at least, she's far too distracted to pick up on any of the signs that something isn't right here. ]

[Kyouko can't really look at Sayaka for too long, because she knows that this relief is a brief thing, that it won't last if she gets sent home too. The way she's smiling...it's terrible, and it hurts a little, in some strange and confusing way. She has the urge to do something...put a hand on Sayaka's shoulder maybe, try to offer some comfort.

She looks off at something in the distance instead, and begins to walk.] ...Yeah. Okay. She's all right here too, right? Haven't seen her.

[ Her smile fades as they walk, replaced by a more unreadable expression. She's still trying to work out when Madoka contracted in the middle of all of this, and so Kyouko's question takes her by surprise. ]

She's fine. [ The response is still instant, because if there's one thing Sayaka knows in this whole place it's whether Madoka is safe or not. ] Nothing happened while you were gone, but it wouldn't matter.

[ She'd be dead long before letting anything get through her, not standing here talking about it. She pauses again, here, before deciding it's worth asking about. ]

How'd you get sent back home, anyway? Did you ask them to do it? [ For all her talk about wanting to stay here and help, it's clear she still has some unanswered questions about what's waiting back in Mitakihara. ]

I don't know. [She frowns, bothered at the question and bothered at the idea of being sent home again, at random. There was nothing to go back to now, and there was no way she would've asked them to send her back there anyway. Not at first, anyway...but it hardly mattered now.]

I didn't ask them; they just sent me. When I got back they said it was just something that happened sometimes.

[A shrug, an attempt to play things casual.]

So that's it, huh... [ She sighs, sounding resigned. ] I figured since you came back, I could go home for a while and still help out here. I guess it doesn't really matter.

[ There's nothing particularly nice waiting for her back home, even if she's unaware of the full extent, but that's not the important part. The important part is going back and helping in her own broken way, because that's what she promised to do. ]

Thanks, though. You didn't have to explain all that stuff to me. [ After all, they're not... well, Sayaka isn't sure what they are, anymore, but she appreciates it regardless. ]

[There's the beginning of a protest rising in Kyouko's throat, a strangled sound that almost comes out as No. Because Sayaka can't go home, not now and not ever.

The protest is swallowed and settles like a heavy stone in Kyouko's chest. She's quiet for a little longer than necessary, and then eventually mutters a response.] Yeah.

[She decides she does not want to talk about home anymore.] Anything happen when I was gone?

[ The silence is what gets Sayaka's attention, and she turns to look at Kyouko properly. There's a vague feeling of unease that even she can pick up on, but it's still easy enough to explain things away in her mind, and so she shrugs. ]

... Not really. [ Things had felt... different, without Kyouko around, but that's not exactly something she can explain. ] There haven't been any more attacks, or anything. Things have been kinda normal.

[ After a moment, she laughs; bitter and under her breath. The fact she can even call this normal goes to show how things have changed. ]

It won't last, though. I bet they're planning something else. [ But she sounds strangely glad about the idea - it'll be a chance to feel like she's actually accomplishing something, instead of waiting uselessly. ]

Figures. It's so damn boring in this place when they're not sending us somewhere. [Or dropping bombs.

She keeps a wary eye on Sayaka's expression, the words she's saying, and frowns, trying to figure out a way to change the subject without making things worse.] Eh, but it's not too bad. I'd rather have this than being underground again.

Of course. Everyone's safe when it's like this, right?

[ But safe is relative, when the world around you can come crumbling down at any moment. She shrugs, realizing the conversation has turned a little dark, but unwilling to change it. ]

I don't want anything to happen to these people, but I don't wanna just sit around, either. We're not here for that. [ They're not here to be useless. ] The sooner we help everyone here, the sooner we can go back.

[Kyouko's shoulders hunch. She picks up her pace a little, and adjust her expression into something a little less deeply troubled and a little more annoyed.

She waves a hand.] You worry too much about that stuff. If thing's are peaceful, it might mean everything's getting better for these people. The Initiative doesn't even know what they're doing. You really trust them not to screw things up worse? Waiting might be better.

You don't have to listen, you know. I'm not asking for your help. [ She looks away, apparently tired of arguing about the idea. ] I just don't like waiting.

[ Not when there's so much left to do — she has to help the people here, finish this new war so she can get back home to the one she left behind. Just letting things happen might be easier, but it's also selfish to sit back to wait while she could be doing something. ]

[Kyouko senses that this is a conversation in which she will have to be careful. So her tone softens in subtle ways, and she decides to do something she had not bothered to do before: instead of lecturing, she asks questions.]

Why d'you think you're useless if you're not fighting anything, anyway? You always act like that.

[ Kyouko asking questions might be new, but this one has a simple enough answer. Sayaka laughs dully; considers leaving it at that — why did this even need an explanation? — before continuing a moment later. ]

Because it's true, isn't it? We're not good for anything else.

[ Witches, monsters... they're all the same. Put anything that's a threat in front of her, and she'll tear it down. ]

[Sayaka is wrong.

She doesn't know how to convey it, exactly, or what to say right this instant, but she's wrong. What a miserable existence she's laying out for them...that's the reality of it, of course, but it was only one small part of a greater thing. She knew that, on some level...but how to say it?

It's a sad way to think, a pitiful way. The ring on Kyouko's hand glows, and her Soul Gem forms. It's bright, as always. Untarnished by grief, or despair.]

If you think that way, you're not gonna survive.

[It's said quietly, and reluctantly. Caring about other people didn't mean you had to abandon yourself.]

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