"Yeah, it's still open," you say.
"Didn't think s- wait, what?" Kyouko blinks at you.
You shrug. "I meant what I said. But you said you wanted to talk to Yuma, right? I'll be over there." You jerk your thumb at a park shelter that's far away enough that it'll be out of earshot, and proceed to walk off in that direction before Kyouko can get another crack in. You untransform as you go, returning to the simple T-shirt and skirt loaned from Mami. The sling bag with the lunch you'd prepared earlier reappears, hanging diagonally across you.
You frown a little regretfully as you wander over the pavement cracked from your earlier run, but it's just as well, really. It seems that the timings had changed a little, and Kyouko might not have survived had you not been there to help Yuma... Then again, who knew?
Reaching the shelter, you sit on the bench inside, and look around at the greenery of the park. It's peaceful, out here, and you can barely make out Kyouko and Yuma through the screen of bushes and vine-laden trellises. Kyouko's squatted down, with both hands on Yuma's shoulder's you can see.
Still, that little conversation had brought to light something rather unpleasant, you admit to yourself with a sigh. You
don't have any idea what you're doing. You're just running around, fighting fires where you think they might be, or more to the point, where Oriko might be starting them. It'd be nice to have goals beyond getting everybody to be happy and survive past Walpurgisnacht.
Eventually, Kyouko and Yuma walk over, Yuma looking contrite, but still clutching the redhead's hand. Out of costume, it's easy to see just how painfully
thin Kyouko is, which her costume had disguised to an extent. "So. Your treat, your pick," she prompts you.
You shrug. "I'm new here, remember?" You check the small stash of money you have, and raise an eyebrow at her. "An all-you-can-eat, if you know of one? One not too expensive, maybe?"
Kyouko shakes her head, ruefully, her massive red ponytail rippling behind her. "I can't even tell if you're naive, stupid, or seriously intent on getting on my good side anymore," she comments. "OK, my choice, huh? I... guess I'll try to pick a place that's not too expensive."
She leads the way, walking along the road instead of taking to the roofs. To accommodate for Yuma, or so you presume. The redhead gives you a few sidelong glances as you walk along, her eyes seeming to linger on your slingbag, and the too-loose shirt. You simply raise an eyebrow at her when you catch her looking.
The three of you finally arrive at a modestly sized restaurant prominently advertising its all-you-can-eat status. True to Kyouko's promise, it's relatively cheap, but the caveat is immediately obvious.
"Long queue," you observe drily, while standing in said queue, which stretches out of the restaurant and spills out onto the sidewalk.
"What'cha expect? 's cheap," Kyouko responds. "Pretty decent food, too, really."
"Hunh," you say, meaninglessly, and lapse into silence again, before the silence between the three of you is eventually broken by Yuma.
"S- Sabrina?" the younger girl says, looking timidly up at you and stumbling a little over the unfamiliar syllables. "T- thank you for the help earlier. Yuma was too slow."
"Heh," you chuckle lightly, and smiling down at the green haired girl. "Not a problem, Yuma. I'm glad to help. Sorry again about being so rough back there."
"It's OK. Sabrina was really fast, earlier," she says, smiling shyly back. "Yuma wants to be fast, too, so she can get there in time, next time."
You shrug. "You're new. There's plenty of tricks you can learn to help, and I'm sure your big sister would be willing to teach you," you say, looking at the redhead.
Kyouko makes a grumbling noise, as she shuffles along with the queue, but nods in agreement. "Guess I've gotta."
Yuma looks a little fearfully at Kyouko. "Yuma is sorry."
"Yeah, yeah," Kyouko says, heaving a sigh, and affectionately ruffling Yuma's hair. "It's not your fault, Yuma."
"I'm guessing you two aren't actually biological sisters?" you comment, trying to make idle conversation.
"Nope," Kyouko says flatly, seeming unwilling to elaborate further, but Yuma pipes up. "Big sis is big sis!"
Kyouko rolls her eyes, but has to force a smirk off her mouth. "Yeah... she needs someone to take care of her," she admits. "Seems I got volunteered for the job. So, what's
your story? Y' said you don't remember anything?"
You blink at the abrupt subject change, but realize that she's probably avoiding the circumstances under which she found Yuma, since those weren't particularly pleasant ones. You decide to follow her lead. "Yep. I woke up in an alley, vomiting blood, with two girls and a certain little rat looking down at me. No- ah, our turn."
The queue's finally moved along to the front, and you pay for all three of you. Mami was nothing if not generous, and you can cover it. It's a Western spread, you note, of the 'generic Western food' variety that you can't help but roll your eyes at.
As you're led to your table, you continue, "And no memories apart from the entire magical system. The rest, well, is history."
Kyouko frowns. "You know, that sounds more than a bit suspicious to me."
You grimace. "It's the truth."
"No, not that," Kyouko says, "Say you're tellin' the truth, but memory loss doesn't work like that."
"So you're saying...?" you trail off, unsure as to what she's getting at.
"Dunno. Just... weird. Food time," she replies, turning to head to the buffet line. "C'mon, Yuma."
You watch with mild bemusement as the two of them proceed to go through serving after serving, returning to the buffet line time after time and vacuuming down the food. You yourself, by contrast, barely manage to finish two servings, and you're careful to thoroughly clean your plate.
"So, hey," you ask, as you slowly polish off the last of some barbequed pork. "Out of curiosity, what's hunting like around here?"
"You're not moving here," Kyouko says, shooting you a glare.
"No, of course not," you hastily reassure. "First, I don't actually need to hunt, and second, as I said, I'm just curious."
Kyouko shrugs. "T' tell the truth, not very good. Entire city's been slim pickings, lately, even making sure there's no other magical girls poaching," she says, with a meaningful glare at you.
Huh. Well, with Oriko having contracted only recently, presumably Kirika hasn't been going on her killing spree, and perhaps won't, if Oriko's plans run otherwise.
You notice Kyouko eyeing your sling bag, left on the seat next to you, with a thoughtful air, as if she's trying to recall something, but she seems to give up a while later.
Eventually, Kyouko leans back, finally full. Beside her, Yuma is rubbing her stomach, now rounded with food, making a face. "Ohh... Yuma ate too much," she mutters.
Kyouko chuckles fondly, and affectionately ruffles the younger girl's hair. "Heh. So now what?" Kyouko says, looking at you. "We got any business left to settle?"
[] Walpurgisnacht
[] Elaborate on Oriko
- [] With meta (specify)
[] Mumi
[] Write-in
=====
Lucky, lucky.
