[X] Plan: Kyoko's Going Through Some Things
"Kyouko, what the hell happened to you last night?" The question repeats itself, over and over again inside your mind; and you haven't even thought about dealing with the occult club, and the fallout from your mistake to tell them the truth yesterday. You breathe out, harshly, letting the morning chill roll your breath out in thick billows of smoke. "Sayaka, please... Please don't take this too hard. Kyouko is... Not having a good time of things, recently."
Sayaka slaps your hand away as you reach out to comfort her. "Yeah, that's an understatement," she says. "Seriously-" Her eyes flit between you and "Hitomi, Homura, what the hell is going on? I know you know what's going on."
Hitomi shakes her head, and there's almost fear in her voice when she admits "I'm truly sorry, Sayaka-san, but I... I don't know." Hitomi looks to you, with an almost pleading look in her eyes as she asks "Akemi-san? Do you... Do you know?"
You nod your head. "I do," you say. "But it's..." You look to Sayaka, and say to her "It... Really should have been Kyouko's responsibility to tell you." But when you look to Sayaka, look to her for some sense of confirmation, there is nothing. Kyouko told her nothing. "Unfortunately, given the... Circumstances, I suppose I have to do it in her absence." Not knowing where else to start, you ask Sayaka "Have you ever heard of a girl named Chitose Yuma?" Sayaka nods her head; the name is familiar to her, if nothing else. Her murder two years ago was unsurprising, given the number of people being murdered at that time. But what was surprising was when a guilty verdict was handed down to her mother. You knew her mother didn't murder her, but you had no way to prove it because your only proof - that the person who killed Chitose Yuma was a young girl, a creature whose tormented existence read so much like that of a witch, named Jack the Ripper - was gone. Nobody would have believed you. When Chitose Yuma's mother is finally executed, because she does have a death sentence hanging over her head, will her death be on your hands because you couldn't prove that she didn't do it?
It's a thought that almost makes your mind diverge from the story you need to tell Sayaka. You know your mother would have words for Chitose Yuma's mother, asking her, berating her, how could she have treated her daughter so harshly? How could she have treated her own flesh and blood so cruelly? But, if their positions were reversed, if it were your mother sitting on death row for the murder of her daughter that she didn't commit, it would break her. She would go mad from the grief that her daughter was dead long before the fact that people thought she had done it ever got to her; and you wonder if Chitose Yuma's mother is feeling the same thing.
"Anyway, Kyouko was very close to her, back when she was still alive," you say, pushing the thoughts of Chitose Yuma's mother from your mind. "She almost saw her as a replacement for her little sister; so, when her body was found, mutilated in that alley, it... Got to her." When you hear Sayaka whisper under her breath "Because she'd had to lose her sister for a second time," you nod your head. "It wasn't her mother who did it, despite what the newspapers said back then. The person who killed Chitose Yuma was a servant, a... Particularly vicious and cruel little bastard;" And that's all you need to say about Jack the Ripper. Your experiences with Sidonia may have taught you that even the worst of humanity can change if shown enough compassion, but you aren't sure that an existence like hers could have ever responded positively to anything that doesn't cause pain to the people around her. "When we killed her, two years ago, we thought that was the end of it. Kyouko moved on, and then... Kim – the mage and ringleader of the city's Yakuza population who we dealt with on Thursday – being the bastard that he is, somehow managed to summon her, and..." And it was like all the progress Kyouko had made since Chitose Yuma's death had vanished. "I... Imagine Kyouko will be in pain for quite some time, as she figures out how she's supposed to process that experience."
Because you don't know what you can do to help Kyouko.
Madoka frowns. "That's so sad," she says. "Poor Kyouko-chan. She must be miserable right now..."
Hitomi nods her head, chiming in to say "She really is. I know she's been trying to hold it in so she doesn't worry my parents, but…" Hitomi sighs. "Even the little bit she's letting out concerns me, and I know she must be suffering even more than what she's willing to show me."
Sayaka groans, clasping her head in her hand. "So… What the heck do we do now?" she asks. "I mean, I doubt she even wants to see me right now… And, to be honest, after the way she snapped at me, I kind of don't know if I want to see her right now, either." There's disapproving gasps from both Madoka and Hitomi surrounding her, but Sayaka remains steadfast. "Look, I get it," she says to Madoka and Hitomi. "Kyouko's in a lot of pain right now, and we're probably the only people who can help her. But she just snapped at me when all I was doing was trying to be concerned for her. So, I know it might seem like a dick move, but I… I don't know if I really want to deal with her right now."
"But that's so unfair to Sakura-san," Hitomi says. "She's only lashing out because she's in pain."
"Yeah, I could see that," Sayaka replies. "But, what happens when her lashing out starts to get a bit more literal, huh? Let's say I say something that really sets her off and she hits me. She hasn't hit me in two years, Hitomi: Not once since back then at karaoke when I fucked up and bad-mouthed her parents. Would you still be telling me off like you're doing now if she'd hit me when all I was doing was trying to be helpful?"
"Well, no, I'd tell you to take some time away from her for yourself…" Hitomi says. "But, Sakura-san didn't hit you. Sure, it's rare for her to really fly off the handle at you like that, but she hasn't actually hurt you." Hitomi looks guilty, almost as if it had been her Kyouko had snapped at. "I just… I don't want to see Sakura-san hurting even more, and I'm worried that if she hears about you breaking up with her, that it'll do just that."
Sayaka breathes out, saying "Geez, now you're making me feel like the bad guy, Hitomi," as she leans in to hug Hitomi. "I never said I wanted to break up with her. I just… Kinda don't want to deal with her when she's mad like this, 'cause I'm worried that her being mad might make me mad, and then I go and say something stupid and then we really do break up. I just… Need some time to straighten myself out, so I don't say anything to make Kyouko even more mad at me."
"Be that as it may," you say. "Hitomi, while I'm gone, you'll be the one in the best position to watch over Kyouko. Can you… Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid?" Like going out and getting herself beaten up in the middle of the night? "I know that might seem like a difficult task right now-" Keeping a self-destructing Kyouko from doing something stupid? Difficult? That might be the funniest thing you've said all year. "-But you'll be in the best position to watch over her. Sayaka already said she'd like some time apart so she doesn't accidentally cause problems-" Tomoe-san kind of is the problem, even though they seem to have plastered over the hurt Tomoe-san dealt her before. "-and for as much as Madoka cares, I know she and Kyouko aren't all that close."
"I could learn," Madoka says. "Kyouko-chan just needs a friend right now, right? Someone who'll listen to her problems without trying to force her to feel better about stuff. I know I'm not the closest to her, but I could at least listen to her, right?"
[ ] Let Madoka have a chance at talking to Kyouko tomorrow, as long as she's safe
[ ] Tell Madoka to let Kyouko have her space until she asks for someone to be there, but that she's free to try if Kyouko asks for someone
[ ] Tell Madoka to let someone else talk to Kyouko; you don't want Madoka getting hurt if Kyouko takes a turn for the worse
-[ ] Leave the responsibility of talking to Kyouko up to Sayaka
-[ ] Leave the responsibility of talking to Kyouko up to Hitomi
-[ ] Leave the responsibility of talking to Sayaka to Tomoe-san
[ ] Other (write-in)
Since today is a half-day of classes, a district-wide policy implemented in the wake of so many people leaving the city that keeping schools open for a full day on Saturday was determined to be wasteful, you won't have a chance to speak to Kyouko at lunch, nor will you have a chance to offer her any of Archer's' cooking – actually mom's cooking, but you doubt she'll notice the difference – as penance for getting her worked up earlier. All you can do, when you have the chance, is politely intrude into her mental space to say "We made too much breakfast today. Do you want any?"
"Maybe," Kyouko responds. Turning down what she believes to be your father's cooking? Now you know something is up. "I… I'll let ya know if I get hungry. But, thanks fer offering."
"All right." You won't press the issue any further, and will instead leave Kyouko off with a "You're free to refuse, if you don't feel like it. But if you decide you do want it, just knock on my door, and my mom will be more than happy to give you our leftovers." At least, you hope that to be the case. Mom did say she wanted Archer to deliver the extra to Kirika, but since Oriko has almost certainly fed her already, and they'll both likely be getting breakfast tomorrow at either the spa's inn or in a café around Yokohama after checking out, you doubt Kirika will actually need the leftovers. So, hopefully it's free pickings to whichever one of your friends asks for or is offered it first.
"But, like… Really? Yer mom'd be okay with me just barging in and eating yer food?"
"I told you," you say. "We made extra, forgetting that Kirika wouldn't be joining us for breakfast today. There's plenty if you get hungry."
You've only got a half day of classes today. That means in only half the time it takes, you'll be leaving with Tomoe-san and Matou sakura, heading two cities west of you in search of answers. Maybe. The truth is, you're dreading what you find out there, be it hostile, rival puella magi who can't be bought or reasoned with, or the source of Juubey's ominous warning. What could it have even been? What was up with your dream last night? You sigh as you rub your eyelids and the bridge of your nose, trying desperately not to look disinterested in the material on the board; and when are you going to tell Sayaka about everything that's to come? Are you even going to tell Sayaka? She and her mother are in the line of fire, aren't they? Sure, there's nothing in Tohsaka-san's reports about Sayaka or her mother, but... All it would take is one person on Franziska's team, seeing Sayaka and Kyouko kissing, seeing Sayaka and Hitomi talking about something innocuous on the way home from school, see Sayaka and Madoka together – because there's no way they won't figure out how powerful Madoka is and come after her – to know how valuable she is to your side as collateral.
What do you even say to Sayaka right now?
Do you
[ ] Don't tell Sayaka and her mother anything
[ ] Tell Sayaka and her mother the truth
-[ ] Tell them everything that's coming their way and how dangerous things are going to be
-[ ] Tell them just enough to scare them into doing what you want
--[ ] What do you want?
---[ ] For Sayaka and her mother to stay out of your lives and out of your way until this all blows over
---[ ] For Sayaka and her mother to leave town and find somewhere safe to settle down in
---[ ] For Sayaka and her mother to stay put, in Mitakihara, so you can keep your eyes on them
[ ] Other (write-in)
