aboxfulloftea222 | The 52nd Post!

"Y-yes, sure. I mean, that would be very nice, Kyousuke!" [Sayaka nodded. As they started to head off, Kyouko clenched her fists. What was that about! She was the one who invited Sayaka to the villaige first! It was supposed to be a nice time , just her and Sayaka, to try and forget about their problems. And here that fancy prince charming just came along and steal her away!... but, that was what Sayaka wanted, right?.. But, what if her heart got broken...? Did Kyouko have the right to intervene with her feelings?
As red fiery sparks of frustration were let out, Kyouko leapt onto the roof , aided by her magical girl magic, and jumped away from the house. Hitomi blinked in surprise as she watched this. Just how did this girl have this ability?
Kyouko eventually found herself in a pasture, and came across a black and white horse. She neared it and stroked its mane, wondering if she should let out ehr angry tears or not]

[Aand that was when an old man with a bucket full of carrots came upon the scene!]

...Whaaa? Heeeyyy, Kyoko-chan, is that you?

[Kyoko froze for a moment, and then turned around.]

- Zenji-Jiichan? ...Wait, I had no idea your farm was around here!

[The old man grinned at that.]

...Well, my old farm was actually on the other side of that mountain, but I hadda sell it, you see - The old place is now being remade into a hotel and resort now, ha ha ha!

[And then, he nodded at the black and white horse.]

- And hey, old Checkers actually remembers you, it seems - Fancy that!

[The horse whinny'd at the sound of it's name, and then nuzzled Kyoko's hair. Kyoko stared at it for a moment, and then pulled her head away.]

...Oh, come on, stop chewin' on my hair, you silly thing...

[Kyoko looked at the horse, then, and patted it's nose again. So wait, this was actually the very same horse she'd loved to play with when she was younger? How strange!]

( the horse knickered again and nuzzled kyouko again. The old man handed her the carrots to give to the horse.)
" so, how is your famiy doing, kyouko chan?" ( he asked) " " is the church still diing well? And little momo chan, why, she's probably not a baby anymore!"
( kyouko looked away, hiding her pain. Right. He probably didn't know about her family's tragedy....) " yeah. She's, a lovely little lady..."
( hm? What's wrong kyouko chan? Why the tears? Don't tell me ya got a heart break , with young love romance!"

...Oh, no, it's nothing like that I swear!

[Kyoko sighed a bit, then.]

- It's just like, well, I met this person, and - and thought we were friends, yanno? But then, somebody else asked them to go go with them to the village, and they just sort of jumped up and said yes, even though we'd just planned to go there together, and I was sorta bummed, I do have to admit...

[The old man laughed, then.]

...Ha ha ha! So you are having a crush on somebody, Kyoko-chan!

- Noooo, it's not like that at all!

[Kyoko said, blushing, and then gave the horse another carrot with a sigh.]

......I'm not even sure why I was so annoyed in the first place, anyway! I mean, I knew my friend had a crush on this person already, so it doesn't make much sense, right?

[And in the meanwhile, Hitomi was walking along one of the paths too, softly talking to herself.]

...Kyosuke-san is acting so strangely! I was 98.7 percent sure that in the end, he did not think of Sayaka-san as anything more then just an good friend, but...

"A love triangle, then?" [ the old man chuckled] "Ah, young love is a fickle thing, and complicated. I remember back when I first met my lovely Shiki, all those years ago... Maybe you just need time to clear you hdead and think things overs . Here, why don't you take your friend out on a ride."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course! It'll do ya good, my young firecracker!" [He went to get the riding equpitment]

[Hitomi sighed and shook her head] "How disappointmeing... Oh well. Sayaka is my friend, and I am happy for her. I hope things will turn out well..." [But negative thoughts about the situation kept emerging in her mind. And as a chill suddenly appeared in the air, a girl's voice whispered to her, strengthening those negative feelings...

[Kyoko grinned, then.]

...Thanks, Zenji-Jiichan! I'll borrow Checkers for...Hmm, let's say an hour and a half. OK?

- He should be able to handle that much, yeah.

[The old man said, grinning. Kyoko smiled, and got up on the horse, patting it's nose.]

...Okay, then - Here we go!

[And then, the horse started to cantor toward the village while Kyoko grinned again. She still could remember how to ride a horse properly, it seemed - Fancy that!]

[On the other path]

[Hitomi sat down by the roadside, and wiped her brow. She really didn't feel good, all of a sudden...]

(Why'd you have to go tell that girl what you were gonna do, anyway? Such an idiot - You could have gotten that boy, if you hadn't been that stupid!)

...Oh, be quiet, you - you rude person.

[Hitomi said, and then closed her eyes, just a little.]

- It's none of your business, and - and that wasn't the point, anyway. Sayaka-san always was the closest person to him, up to now. I had to...I had to make sure...

(...But didn't you say you were her friend?)

[The voice said, sounding geninuely puzzled for a change. Hitomi almost sneered at that, though her eyes were still closed.]

- Of course she is. And that is why I have to do this - this.. contest properly, don't you see?

[ Hmph... you shouldn't have to... you're rich, beautiful, popular.. . a winner... everybody loves you...on top...why couldn't they lovhe me too... " [the voice started whimpereing, which soon turned into the sounds of a dog whimpering. Hitomi suddenly felt dizzy as the scene around her changed to a dark showroom, with colorful mannequins set up about. The whimpering continued as a dog trotted up to her. A pretty dog with a fluffy pink mane adorned with bows]
"Oh, hello there, Pochi" [Hitmoi felt a need to love and care for this lonely, pretty dog, and knelt down to hug her. The dog's tail wagged and she licked her, a mark appeared on Hitmoi's neck...]

[As Kyouko rode along around the woods, feeling refreshed, she froze as she felt the chilled aura of a witch]] "Damn it..."
[The horse's ears flattened and it knickered warily, sensing the dark atmosphere as well]
"Easy there..."

[And in the meanwhile, somewhere along the road to the village...]

[Sayaka almost yelped as the dark vibes hit her.]

...Oh, cripes!

[She said, and then, she turned toward Kyosuke, biting her lip.]

...I...I...

[Of all the horrible timing! At long last, she really was walking and talking and doing stuff with Kyosuke, just the two of them, and it was Kyosuke who'd even asked her to do that, and - and - ! -]

[And then, she bit her lip as she remembered that there were a ton of Magical Girls right near by, now. Kyoko and Mami should have no problem whatsover handling the Witch on their own, even if any of the locals didn't get there on time...]

[And then, she bit her lip again. What if they didn't, though? Witches were dangerous as all frack at the best of times, and - What if they got hurt or something? Even the best Magical Girls could end up dead, if they were unlucky...]

[And then, yet another thought hit her, and Sayaka felt her blood run cold. What if it was one of her friends who were now being attacked by the Witch? What if it was Madoka?]

[And so, she took a deep breath.]

...Kyo - Kyosuke?

[Kyosuke looked at her, then, and gave her an oddly sad smile.]

...Yes, Sayaka?

[Sayaka looked at him, then, and made herself smile, and point a finger at him.]

......I'll come back in about 15 minutes, I think, or 30 minutes at the most, and - and so, I want you to wait right here, so we can go to the village like we planned and see the festival and everything, OK? Just wait here, and we'll - we'll be fine, and go see the sights, and have fun, and everything. So there!

[And then, she waved at them, and started to run up the path, back the way they'd came.]

[Kyosuke watched Sayaka run off, and sighed a bit.]

...If you don't want people to notice something strange is going on, you shouldn't go around running so fast a car couldn't keep up with you, Sayaka...

[He said softly, and then, he closed his eyes, and raised his finger, pointing up the hill.]

- So - Whatever that is going on is going on - Right in that direction. Right, critters?

[Eight and Seven looked up at him from under a nearby bush, then.]

...You're actually quite right, as a matter of fact. Congradulations - It appears you are now capable of detecting Witch energies, as long as they're strong enough, ho ho ho -

[Eight said. Seven nodded at that, and then, hopped up at him.]

- But what are you going to do now, Kamijo Kyosuke?

[Kamijo Kyosuke sighed a bit, then.]

...I'm going to regret this, aren't I?

[And then, he began to move in the direction Sayaka had gone running toward, much more slowly then she had.]

[Seven and Eight started to walk after him, then.]

- Fighting Witches is pretty darn dangerous at the best of times, you know? I'm pretty sure Miki Sayaka isn't going to like it at all if you head into danger like this, Kamijo Kyosuke.

[Eight said with a sigh. Seven, in the meanwhile, was looking up at Kyosuke, thinking.]

...Well, that's quite true, yeah. But on the other hand, since it does appear that it's Shizuki Hitomi who's been nabbed by a Witch this time...

[Kyosuke spun around, then, turning a very peculiar color indeed.]

...Hitomi was what!?

[Seven and Eight looked at each other, then. Hmmm, so Kyosuke did have some special feelings for the girl with the green-grey hair and eyes, it seemed.]

[Meanwhile, Sayaka and Kyouko, and her horse, have caught up with each other in the witch lair.]
"Sayaka!" [Kyouko exclaimed] "I thought you were out on your date?"
"I was! But then I felt the witch nearby. I obviously couldn't ignore that." [sayaka blinked] "What's with the horse?"
"It's an old frined of mine." [Kyouko chuckled] "Well then, Wanna take out the witch together?"
"Sure thing!"
"Well hop on!" [Kyouko made space on the saddle for sayaka]

[Sayaka got on the horse and sat behind Kyoko, grinning.]

...Good horsie!

[She said, patting the horse - And then, Kyoko turned the horse around, looking for the Witch and her victim, whoever it was.]

[In the meanwhile, Hitomi was motionless, her eyes closed, while the strange voice talked to her.]

(...I became a Magical Girl because I wanted to be special, and loved, but all I managed to do in the end was to drive away everybody that I loved. Even my own mother ran away from me, and as for the boy I liked...)

[Hitomi patted the dog-thing in her arms with her eyes still closed, a wonky but gentle smile on her lips.]

...There, there. Everything will be all right - Hitomi-Neesan will hug you and pet you and take care of you, OK?

Edited 2016-09-16 06:01 (UTC)

( the dog witch yopped happily and jumped onto hitmoi, pushing her down, licking all over.
Sayaka and kyouko charged further into the lair, cutting down the fashion dummies familiars, which actually were very weak, just really standing around not doing much. Finally they reached the center of the lair)
" hitomi!!!"

...What?

[Hitomi mumbled, holding on the Dog-Witch.]

- Oh, come on, you idiots, you're scaring her, can't you see? Here, doggie, doggie, doggie...

[And then, she patted the dog-thing again. The Dog Witch whined, it's Barrier starting to shift and change.]

(Go away! Hitomi is my friend! I never had a friend before, but she's my fried!)

[And in the meanwhile, Kyosuke had somehow managed to step right into the Witch Barrier while Eight and Seven sweatdropped.]

...How did you do that? I didn't think you had any special powers, Kamijo Kyosuke - How strange!

[Eight eventually said with a laugh. Kyosuke shook his head, then.]

I have no idea, but Hitomi is my friend, and so is Sayaka, and I don't feel the same way about both of them but I have no idea what that means either, so...

[And then, he sighed a bit, and put the hat back on his head.]

- But I'm really sure of one thing, and that one thing is - I want both of them to be safe and happy and everything else. That's not wrong, right?

( the fashionmannequin like familiaes pretty much paid no attention to kyousuke as he arrived. Nanbei and gobei lead him to where the others were) " hitomi!!" ( oh, what a darling dog she was with! He wanted to pet and care for her....)
( kyouko rolled her eyes in annyance at his arrival ) " great! Now vioin prissy is getting in the way!"
( the dog witch totted up to sayaka and sniffed her curiously, sensing her witch side) " a sister?"
( sayaka dighed and responded to thr witch language) " im sorry for what happened to you...

[The Dog Witch smiled up at Kyoko.]

(Oh, no, that's all right - We can all be friends now, and stay with me for ever and ever and ever!)

[The Witch Barrier changed, then, becoming stronger, somehow. They were all in a large room, with plenty of dog toys and food bowls and cushions, with a table and tablewear for people in a corner, too...]

[Kyosuke groaned at that, and shook his head. Nope, nope, nope, staying here was a really bad idea, he was pretty darn sure - ]

[...Even though he couldn't quite remember why for the moment. Why shouldn't he stay here with Hitomi and Sayaka and the redhead and the very cute dog-thing, anyway? That way, he wouldn't even have to choose!]

[Kyosuke shook his head, then, and took a deep breath. Chose what?]

...Come on, Hitomi - We have to go, OK?

[He mumbled, and then tried to pick Hitomi up again, putting his face next to her head.]

[Sayaka, in the meanwhile, was shaking her head.]

(...Sorry, Kiddo - We can't stay here with you. We got things we have to do, OK?)

[Kyoko, in the meanwhile, was staring at Sayaka, her eyebrows raised. Wait, so Sayaka could actually speak and understand Witch-Speak, now? Well, she already knew that Sayaka's Soul Gem sort of looked halfway like a Grief Seed, ever since she'd went and stuck her Gem in the Music Box Thing, but...]

( hitomi started ot struggle yhen, the witch mark on her neck glowing brighter as the witch hooked up more to her energy) " no! Let me go!! I want to stay here!!! This is my home!!!"

( kyouko tutted) " so, you can actually communicate with witches now, huh sayaka.)
( sayaja shrugged) " seems so. )
" thats prettyneat. So whats the witch saying?)

[Sayaka sighed, then, as she looked at the Dog Witch.]

She's saying she wants us to be all friends, and to stay with her here, for ever and ever and ever, but...

[Kyoko sighed too, then.]

- Yeahhh, that's not going to work out well, I'm pretty sure. It's a shame, though - I'm feeling a bit sorry for this one, for some reason...

[And then, she blinked.]

...Though on the other hand - Hey, Sayaka! What do you think would happen if we put her Grief Seed in Mami's magical Music Box Thing? I mean, you were the one who just went and stuck your Soul Gem in the thing, after all, right?

[Sayaka looked at Kyoko, then, and blinked, slowly. And then, she snickered.]

- Ohhh, right! That's a good idea, Kyoko, though it's weird too see that you're actually using your brains, ha ha ha -

[And then, Sayaka smiled.]

She'll probably turn into a Mini-Witch like the others, then, and we can cuddle her and love her as much as she wants!

[And then, she sighed a bit.]

...The thing is, we'll still have to defeat her, first, to get that Grief Seed. Though on the other hand, that's not all bad, as we could probably use that Grief Seed to clean off our Soul Gems first. It probably wouldn't hurt her if we were just going to stick her Grief Seed into the Music Box Thing anyway, I think?

[Well, Sayaka herself probably could get away with not using a Grief Seed for the time being, as she'd found out she could just force any extra dark energies out of her now strangely shaped Soul Gem as long as she ducked into her Mini-World for a couple of minutes, but the other Magical Girls wouldn't say no to a chance to clean off their Soul Gems, she was pretty sure.]

[And in the meanwhile, Kyosuke was still trying to carry Hitomi away to safety.]

...Don't be ridiculous, Hitomi - Your home is back with your family!

[A tear rolled out of Hitomi's closed eye, then.]

- But Kyosuke-san - I...I... Everybody in my family seems to be so smart and talented, except me...

[Hitomi groaned, then, her eyes still closed.]

...Nobody likes me...Even...Kyosuke-san....

[Kyosuke sighed, then.]

- Oh, come on - That's just not true, Hitomi!

[He slowly picked her up, then, and started to carry her in what he hoped was the right direction, as the battle behind them started in earnest.]

.....But no. Kyosuke-san likes Sayaka-san better, right? Even if...Even if Kyosuke-san just thought of her as a friend for years and years...

[Kyosuke shook his head, then, wishing the muzzy feeling in his head would go away. He'll feel better once he got Hitomi away from this strange sad place, he was pretty sure...]

.....The truth of the matter is, I have no idea what I feel about you or Sayaka! Everything's just all mixed up and jumbled, and I was sort of jealous that Sayaka had found somebody she seems to like even better then me, but on the other hand, I never got jealous of Kaname-san, even though she was always Sayaka's best friend, ..and...

[And then, he patted Hitomi's head.]

- But anyway, I like you too, and I don't want you to get hurt or anything. OK? You're cute and smart and have a nice smile, and...and...

[Hitomi blushed] "But, what about Sayaka? I don't wnat to get in between you two or anything , I care for you both..."
"And so do I. But I think we should talk about this tigether, the three of us."
"Ok..."
[meanwhile Kyouko and Sayaka have leapt into battle with the dog witch. She wsan't a very difficult witch to defeat, especially between the two of them. After her defeat, the barrier faded away and the curse lifted off Hitmoi. ]
"Well, that's that." [Sayaka picked up the grief seed.] "I guess we give this to Mami to put in the box."

...Yeah, sure - But first, we should clean our Soul Gems off, and maybe let the other girls clean theirs off too if there's any cleaning capacity left over in this thing...

[Kyoko said, sighing, and then looked at the Grief Seed, squinting.]

- I mean, it's probably not gonna hurt her anymore then she's been hurt already, right? And since we're gonna have Mami put it in the Music Box Thing soon, anyway...

...Oh, you're right, I suppose...

[Sayaka said, and then handed it to Kyoko.]

- You can use it first, then, if you want.

[And then, she looked at Kyosuke and Hitomi, sighing. Kyosuke had laid Hitomi back on the ground, now that the Barrier had disolved, and was now patting her head.]

[Sayaka took a deep breath, then.]

...Hey, Kyosuke! Is Hitomi OK?

" it looks like it. She just fainted." ( kyousuke blinked)" so... what the heck just happebed here! What was that thing!"
" oh, er, yeah..." ( sayaka sweatdropped at that) ". Yeah. I guess we got a lot of weird stuff to explainnow..."
" pst, lets just knock him out now and pass it off as a dream!" (Kyouko whispered to sayaka) " he diesnt have to know the truth about us!"
" maybe... i dont know..."

...Oh, come on, the two of you.

[Kyosuke groaned.]

I've seen the weird things you girlsw get mixed up in much too many times, OK? Once or twice can be passed off as a dream, I suppose, but...

[And then, he waved his hands.]

And besides, the other critters have been talking to me. They called themselves Eight and Seven, I think?

[Kyoko and Sayaka both looked at each other, then, and groaned.]

- Those critters...Alright, then.

[Kyoko said with a sigh, but then pointed toward Hitomi.]

...You're OK with making her think it's just a dream, though, right? Things would be much easier all around if we could do that, I think...

"Perhaps so."
"Well, we should probably head back now. She will need some rest." [Sayaka sighed] "And /i guess, there is a lot to explain..."
[Kyouko sulked] "Guess wer're not gonna go to the villaige tonight after alll...."
"Well wev still can. A bit later." [Sayaka lifted up Hitmoi with so magic so that she was floating.] "Let's go back then.] [So the four of them headed back to the house. Once there, after tucking in hitmoi for a rest on the couch, they sat down with some tea and explaimned to Kyousuke all about magical girls, the contract , and their battle with witches. Leaving out the part where magical girls actually became witches)

[And that was when Mami, who was in the baths again, blinked.]

[...OK, so Sayaka and Kyoko were back, and Kyosuke-san and Hitomi-san too, that was fine, but - Why were the Mini-Witches chittering up a storm like that, anyway?]

New Sister, New Sister! Yaaayyyy!

[A new sister? Wait, Sayaka and Kyoko had a Grief Seed with them? So they'd been fighting a Witch while she'd just been relaxing in the hot water here?]

[...Yikes!]

[...And wait - Where they actually talking to Kyosuke-san about Witches and Magical Girls now or something? she couldn't hear their entire conversation, not from the baths, but - Heavens, why would they ever do something like that?]

[.....But on the other hand, this was Kyosuke-san. He'd been almost killed by Witches how many times now?]

[Oh, well. Mami got out of the bath, then, and went to put on her clothes.]

[And in the meanwhile, Kyoko was rolling her Soul Gem on the Dog Witch's Grief Seed, while Kyosuke looked on interestedly.]

...So that's how you clean your Soul Gem off, huh?

Edited 2016-12-01 07:23 (UTC)

"yeah. it is. Soaks up the muddled energy from our soul gem and restores our energy."
"What happenes, if it doesn't get cleaned off?" [Kyouko immediately shot him a furious glare at that question, causing Kyousuke to flinch back, knowing he must have touched upon a senstive topic] "
"shut up, prissy boy."
[Charlotte trotted in, pawing at Kyousuke's leg cursiouly. Mmi noticed this as she came in and sighed. Oh dear how was she going to explain this?"

The 52nd Post!

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