Chapter 13: Shorts: Encounter
Sayaka sighed in frustration as the witch she was hunting down suddenly escaped, she did not know why that happened but it was embarrassing non the less, she just became a magical girl and she has already failed her first ever hunt.
Madoka stood behind her looking at her worriedly. "Sayaka...don't worry you can probably find it again"
Sayaka sighed and knew Madoka was encouraging her. "Thanks Madoka, I won't give up"
Sayaka transformed out of her magical clothes. "Come on let's go"
As the two were about to leave, they heard the sound of a girl complaining about something. "Stupid Manaka, why would he do that, ugh I need to hunt down a witch"
Kyoko who came back from her date with Manaka muttered under her breath, of course she was grateful Manaka took away her chances of becoming a witch but the fact that it cost her a lifetime of never forgetting who or what Manaka is made her a bit annoyed.
Soon she saw two people in front of her, they were both wearing uniforms and immediately knew they were students, one of the girls looked like Manaka.
Kyoko then thought for a moment, is that Manaka's twin sister?. He did tell her about Madoka before, when they first met he asked her to be a bit merciful to them, then that would mean the blue haired girl must be Sayaka.
Suddenly she got a bit...mad, but she decided not to act on it, the girls definitely heard her rant though and it seems they think all magical girls are friendly or something.
Sayaka and Madoka exchanged glances before turning their attention to Kyoko. Sayaka took a step forward, narrowing her eyes.
"Hey, uh… you okay there?" she asked, trying to sound neutral despite the irritation in her tone.
Kyoko clicked her tongue, rolling her shoulders as if shaking off her annoyance. "Tch. Yeah, I'm fine. Just got back from dealing with Manaka's nonsense."
Madoka perked up at that. "Wait, you know Manaka?"
Kyoko glanced at her, then at Sayaka, and smirked. "Yeah. More than you two, probably."
Sayaka immediately frowned. "That's a bold claim. Who even are you?"
"Kyoko. Kyoko Sakura. And lemme guess—you're Sayaka, right?"
Sayaka blinked in surprise. "Uh… yeah?"
Kyoko snorted. "Thought so. Manaka talks about you. A lot."
That made Sayaka pause, her brows furrowing. "Wait… he does?"
"Yep," Kyoko said casually. "Not in a bad way, but also not in a 'Wow, she's amazing' kinda way either. More like… he's keeping an eye on you, waiting to see what stupid thing you'll do next."
Sayaka immediately scowled. "Excuse me?! What's that supposed to mean?"
Kyoko grinned. "Exactly what it sounds like."
Madoka quickly stepped in before Sayaka could get even more annoyed. "Um, Kyoko-san… are you a magical girl too?"
Kyoko stretched her arms behind her head. "Obviously. Otherwise, I wouldn't be wasting my time chasing witches."
Sayaka's glare didn't waver. "If you're a magical girl, then why do you sound like you don't care? You don't seem all that worried about the people witches hurt."
Kyoko's smirk faded slightly, her expression cooling. "I care about me. That's all. The sooner you learn that, the longer you'll survive."
Sayaka clenched her fists. "That's not how this works! Magical girls protect people!"
Kyoko gave her a dry look. "Yeah? And who's protecting you?"
Sayaka flinched, taken aback by the question.
Kyoko shrugged. "You're new, so I'll spell it out for you. The whole 'hero of justice' thing? It's a joke. The only ones looking out for magical girls are magical girls. And even that's rare."
Madoka, clearly distressed by the conversation, glanced between them. "But… but that's not true! If we work together, we can—"
"Work together?" Kyoko cut her off with a laugh. "Oh, that's cute. Listen, kid, you and Sayaka over there might be all starry-eyed about this whole thing, but reality's got different plans."
Sayaka, still tense, took a deep breath. "Fine. If you're so smart, then why are you really mad? What did Manaka even do?"
Kyoko clicked her tongue again, stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets. "Nothing much, he just tricked me into Marrying him."
There was a beat of silence.Madoka blinked. Sayaka coughed."...What?" Sayaka finally said, deadpan.
Kyoko groaned, rubbing her temples. "Not literally, idiot! But it's basically the same thing! Now I'm stuck with him in my life forever."
Madoka tilted her head. "I… I don't understand."
Sayaka, however, crossed her arms and smirked. "Wow. So Manaka tricked you? That's kind of funny, actually."
Kyoko shot her a glare. "Don't push it, blue-hair."
Madoka, still lost, hesitantly asked, "Um… what do you mean by 'stuck with him'?"
Kyoko clicked her tongue, clearly frustrated but not making any move to leave. "It's complicated. The point is, you two better watch yourselves. Especially you, Sayaka."
Sayaka narrowed her eyes. "Why me?"
Kyoko exhaled through her nose, shaking her head. "Because you remind me of someone. Someone who made the same stupid mistakes you're about to make."
Sayaka tensed. "And who was that?"
For a moment, Kyoko looked like she might actually answer. But then she scoffed. "Doesn't matter. You wouldn't listen anyway."
Sayaka gritted her teeth. "Try me."
Kyoko stared at her for a long moment before finally smirking again. "Nah. You'll figure it out yourself soon enough."
With that, she turned on her heel and started walking away. "If you see Manaka, tell him he owes me another date for this headache," she called over her shoulder.
Sayaka clenched her fists, watching her go. "What is her deal?"
Madoka, still processing everything, murmured, "She seems… lonely."
Sayaka scoffed. "Yeah, well, that's what happens when you only care about yourself."
Madoka changes the subject. "Manaka didn't tell me had a date today, and we can ask why he has been a bit distant for the last few days, maybe he is mad at me...or he is just sick again and is shutting up about it"