"Kyubey says hi." I tell Kyouko, sitting down next to her on the building's edge.
Pulling the cigarette from her mouth, she chuckles, "Yeah, yeah. The boss is clingy. Not news to me." She glances down at the smoking stick, "You know, these things don't do shit for me. Don't do shit to me either. I just think it looks cool."
I sigh, having heard this a few dozen times before, "Yes, you've told me. You like it because it pisses your old man off." 'Because it's the only time he pays attention to you.'
She huffs, "Hey, it's not just that. It also pisses my teachers off."
Rolling my eyes, I reach into my pocket and pull out a box of pocky, handing it to my old friend, "Here, try these instead. They don't give people headaches."
She takes them, popping one into her mouth, "Huh. Chocolate. Not bad. You always seem to have something for everyone, you know that?"
I scoff, implicitly denying the collection of items I keep on me for when a friend needs something, "Hardly. If I had something for everyone, I'd have a pocket watch for myself."
She looks at me askance, popping in a new stick of pocky, "And you don't why?"
"It's going to sound silly if I say it, Kyouko."
She chuckles, "Well, then you should definitely say it. What, you think it's gauche to buy one for yourself? Waiting for Madoka to get you one?" She winks at me, earning a kick in the leg for her trouble.
"No, Kyouko...look, a pocket watch should be inherited. You know, something passed down. An heirloom. So I've got nothing. Grandpa was a watch maker, but he didn't leave anything behind before he died--he didn't exactly have much warning, after all. So, I've got some money and the old shop, but there's a difference between something left behind and something given to you for a purpose. It wouldn't feel right to just start carrying one of his old ones, and buying my own doesn't mean much."
Kyouko looks at me quietly for a few seconds before leaning back to stare at the sky in silence. I start to worry I've pissed her off somehow--family's always a touchy issue--when she finally speaks, "Look, Homura. I get why that'd bother you--you want something he specifically gave you, something saying that he believed in you, that he was with you, instead of just the things he left behind. I get it, but it's stupid as hell."
I'm halfway to my feet and turning towards her when she raises her hands defensively, "Stop. Just...hear me out, okay?"
Slowly, I sit back down, biting back my anger, "Okay."
She sighs, "It's stupid as hell because he left something a lot more important than a fucking watch to you, Homura. From what you've said, he loved clocks more than almost anything in the world. Making them was his biggest passion."
I nod, unsure where she's going with this.
"He taught you how to make them, when you were little, right?"
I nod again.
"He didn't give you a watch, because he was giving you everything you needed to make one. What do you think meant more to him? A machine, or the secrets of building it? A family heirloom, or the family craft? I mean, I'd love it if Dad..." She sighs, "You'll have your grandfather's pocket watch when you build it. He left it in your head and heart, not in your hands. Don't let it go to waste."
I stare at her, shocked, "I had never really thought about it that way. I...I guess you're right. I'll need to start on it. Tonight." Smirking a bit, I go on in a teasing tone, "Thanks, Kyouko. Madoka teach you to give a speech like that?"
She huffs, smirking back, "Hey, hey. I'm a priest's daughter. Even if...well, even if I'm never going to stand at our lectern, I still come by it honestly. Anyway, moving on..." She sits up, breaking eye contact for a moment, "How'd the hunt go? You good for the month?"
Letting her change the topic, I shake my head, "Nah, still need a couple more."
She nods, sighing, "Ain't that the way of it? I'm barely finding enough to get by." She chuckles, but it's hollow sounding, "You know, we could hit our quota easily if we just let people get worse, instead of helping right away. Hell, we could go scare people shitless for extra Fear."
I cut my eyes towards her, trying to get a read on her still, grim expression. After a minute, I finally answer, "We could. You'd never do it though."
She regards me in solemn silence for a few seconds, before finally cracking a smile, laughter bursting from her gut as she throws her head back, "HAHAHA! I had you going for a sec, huh!? Nah, I mean, sure, that'd work, but who the fuck would just let people suffer like that?"
Rolling my eyes at her twisted sense of humor, I stand, looking down at the alleyway below, "So, what're you doing here, anyway?"
Calming down, she climbs to her feet, "Eh, there's a dealer who likes this spot. He's great bait--junkies come looking for a fix, I clean up their emotions, purge their addiction--"
I blink, "Wait. What? How?"
She smirks, taunting me, "Wouldn't you like to know?"
I step on her foot. Hard. She jerks, "Ouch. Dammit Specs, I was gonna tell you!" I stomp again, "STOP! I'll tell you!"
"And the nickname? I haven't worn glasses in years."
She rolls her eyes, "Look, you'll always be the girl in the red glasses to me. Anyway, it's a trick Senpai taught me. She figured it out for some friends, at some point, and'll teach you too if you ask."
Nodding, I step off of her foot, eliciting her to take a step out of my reach, wincing; I don't humor her, knowing this is all just showmanship. I've seen Kyouko Sakura take knives to the stomach with less reaction.
"Anyway, Homura, like I was saying, I clean up junkies, harvest their excesses--usually Hate, Grief, and Despair--and send them home. Dealer's got no clue why business has gone sour, but he'll move on eventually." She bites her lip, "Should I kill him, do you think? He's useful now, but he's gonna hurt a lot of people. Predatory type."
I shrug, not really having an answer for her, "Talk to Madoka if you want a conscience. Talk to Elsa if you want a judgement."
She sighs, "Madoka would tell me to try helping the dealer first, I know. As for Elsa...you know we don't get along well. I mean, the girl doesn't even use her real name most of the time--isn't keeping in touch with normal people kinda the point of it all?"
Shrugging again, I mount a meager defense for my friend, "Elsa's Elsa, and Madoka's Madoka. Madoka's rules are good, I think, but I can't really blame Elsa for not liking them as much. She'd be...well, you know what she'd be doing, if it weren't for Madoka."
Kyouko groans, "Yeah, I do. I'm still not sure she'd be wrong to, though. Well, whatever. Not today's problem."
She settles back in to wait for her target, and I make my departure, "See you later. I'm going to see how Sayaka's holding up."
She nods, not bothering to turn around, "Gotcha. Give the blueberry my regards."
"I will. Happy hunting, Kyouko."
With those words, I step off the rooftop and vanish, extending my senses in search of another dear friend.
