[X] Talk to this 'Oriko' girl. Understand her a bit more.
Your mom sounds
pissed. But that's not your issue right now. Your issue is Oriko. So you stare at her from across the table. You take a long, deep breath. "So is Kirika..."
"A Kirika was my partner, yes," she says, simply.
You wince. "Wait, so she's...not..." Your brain processes her words a little more. Then you realize that she named
a someone, as opposed to
the someone. "A Kirika?"
"My Kirika died in front of me in the middle of Walpurgisnacht. And her Oriko died in a car accident." She takes a drink of her own cup of milk. It's unusually long, like she's trying to put a pause in the dialogue. "I talked to her beforehand. It's how I knew she wasn't the right one."
You stare at her. "But...I thought..."
"That I was trying to escape Rin? I was. Because she promised she could bring Kirika back. She didn't deliver. It's that simple." She sips the drink once again, and you can see the surface rippling as she struggles to keep it straight, to keep her image prim and proper. "Didn't you scan my head?"
"I did." You scratch the back of your neck. "But that doesn't give me specifics. I kind of have to guess through context."
"Then the context is that simple."
"I felt that cocktail, yeah. Just didn't know how to uh, kinda place it in your life." You breathe in through your nose again. "I guess I shouldn't, uh, be surprised."
"No. It's not surprising," she says back. "But why would I stay when Lady Rin breaks her promise?"
You look her over. "That...can't really be it."
She stares at you. "So you think I have an ulterior motive?"
"No, but I think you have another thing on your mind. How long ago was..." You swallow hard. You still don't like asking this part. You've had to ask before, but it's still just invasive and depressing as hell. "...Kirika's passing?"
"It was two months ago in my time," she says, without skipping a beat. "I've had time to heal."
You somehow find that hard to believe. So you give her emotionscape a scan...
What you find is a glimmering golden sphere, one that at a far-away look is shining and pristine. But upon closer look, the damage becomes clear; the surface is scratched, and the entire thing is lined with fractures. Upon closer inspection, this sphere is about to break apart. And the closer your image gets, the more your cracks your light reveals.
Then a tiny bit of it just...flutters apart. A hole appears and small hole turns into a cloud of dust. A flood of black paint floods from the core.
And there you sit in the room. You stare at Oriko in the eyes as she keeps her lips up to her cup, one eye on you, the other shut tight. She's probably realized that you're staring. So you confirm her suspicion.
"I'mma be honest with you." You swallow. "I think you have a long-ass way to go."
[=]
Your name is Sayaka.
And right now, you're fucking livid.
The door's locked, and the stairs are blocked off. Your child can probably hear the argument from downstairs. But goddammit, they can handle a little bit of arguing.
So of course the first thing you say, as soon as your child is downstairs with Oriko, after you heal your wife's neck and close her wounds and hold her tight, with her matted hair clean and free of blood, is a simple question.
"What the
fuck were you thinking?!"
Kyouko winces as soon as she hears the question. "It wasn't a total loss, Saka-"
"Don't fucking 'Saka' me!" You raise a hand. "You haven't been that badly injured in fucking
years! I trusted you to take care of yourself-!"
"And I
did." Kyouko throws her hands up. "I got gemelli. I wasn't hurt
that bad."
"You were
decapitated!"
"And you get dismembered every other weekend."
"I can recover!
You can't! God
damn it Kyouko, I thought you could keep yourself safe! You kept
Mina safe and I trusted you to help them out but then you just-!"
"It wasn't a waste of time if you're gonna ask about-"
"It's not about a waste of time, it's about how you got
beheaded!"
Kyouko takes a breath. "Fuck, Sayaka. Look. I get it. I get it, I get you. Your fear is
valid. But I'm fine!"
"What if there was another magi? Another
inner circle one? What if they set up a fucking ambush on the bridge? What
then, Kyouko?"
"Well it ain't relevant, because that wasn't what went down. We're alive, we're safe, we're
home."
You immediately try for a retort. But she's right. Your hand shakes, but then you clench your teeth and bite your tongue. You shake your head. "Yes. Yes you are. And you have no idea how happy I am about that, but I almost sent you out to
die. On your fucking
request!"
"You would have done the same fucking thing, come
on!"
"Yes I would and that's
fucking terrifying! Out of everything you've done that's the scariest fucking
thing, Kyouko!" This time, you slam your hand into the wall. It's enough to rattle the foundations, enough to crack the drywall. "You went out, you got yourself into danger-!"
"Saya. She was gonna eat those civvies. You didn't see it. You weren't there. She was going to kill a
lot of people. And my plan bought everyone enough time to get the hell out of dodge. I'd tell you to tell me you wouldn't do that." She smiles. But it's a thin, bitter thing. Lips white. teeth clenched, eyes locked on you.
"But...I would." You breathe out. "I fucking would. I would have done the same thing. Which makes this worse. That makes it so much worse." You press your hand against your face. "I'm such a fuckup. Why'd you marry a fuckup?"
Kyouko blinks twice. She opens her mouth, then she breathes in through her nose. "Sayaka, you ain't in control of me, and it was my idea to go out."
"But I just...I let you go out. And now I feel bad about giving you agency. And it was your choice. I'm so terrible." You slide your back against the wall. "Fuck."
She moves closer to you. "Hey...you really don't need to beat yourself over it. It doesn't make it better."
"No. It doesn't." You rub your hands against your face. "I don't...I didn't need to be reminded of how fucking stupid-"
"You're not stupid. And it wasn't you. You didn't exactly decide to throw yourself in danger because of civvies. Though..."
You take a breath. "I would have done the same thing. You were right. I would have done the same goddamn thing,
fuck." You take a breath. "Fuck me fuck
me. I am just..."
"Sayaka..." She leans over. "Hey, I love you, you know?"
"I do and I don't know
why." You breathe out. "I'm just..."
"I love you and it's not because we're a lot alike. I love you because you're my rock. I love you because you keep things grounded when everything flies apart. I love you because even if I completely fuck up, you're still there to give me love."
"I don't deserve-"
"No. I don't. And I don't deserve you. It's not about deserve." She rubs your back. "It's about love. And I love you."
You sniff once; you still don't understand why she married you. But you're glad she did.
CHOOSE ONE.
[] Emotional catharsis. Try to talk through your breakdown.
[] Talk about what Kyouko saw. You'll need to at some point.
[] Go downstairs and talk to Minako.
