tenth prayer [closed]

[prayed]

Characters: Kyoko Sakura, Czeslaw Meyer
Setting: Room 03-08
Format: Action brackets.
Summary: Checking up and enjoying the fall weather.
Warnings: None.


She has a bad feeling about him. That kid that she spoke with before. She couldn't pin down precisely what it was, but there's something about him that she just doesn't like.

Even so, this place is making her soft, far more than she cares to admit, and after the recent bout of flooding she finds herself checking dorm rooms for him out of what she tells herself is boredom. It didn't seem like there was anyone taking care of him and a kid that size would get washed away with everything else.

Of course, nobody going by the name "Benjamin" exists. She's made sure to check each one and, at first, she wonders he's gone, but--no, she's pretty sure he's still around here. The telepathic message she's able to send him (What the big idea!? Giving me a fake name--there's nobody in this place by the name of Benjamin, y'know!) is proof enough of that.

Eventually, after trying a few dorm rooms and coming up empty, she chooses the right one. Spotting Czes, she's just going to glare at him like he just killed her family and burned down their house. And she's going to continue her thoughts without skipping a beat.]

It took me forever to figure out where you were. I was starting to wonder if they'd kicked you out, y'know.

Comments

[prayed]

You don't have to trust someone to care about them and you don't have to care about someone to trust them.

[She shrugs, as though it were simple.]

I don't expect you to understand right now, but you know, if you live long enough it'll happen to you too. You'll find somebody that you can't stand at first, 'cause you're just too different from you, but y'know...whether or not you want to, eventually you're gonna get to a point where you actually want to protect that person.

It can get pretty lonely after that though, y'know, since being alone suddenly isn't enough anymore.

[bytheirhand]

I... I guess I'll have to take your word for it.

[prayed]

Heh. You don't believe me at all. Well, I'd be glad to pound that fact into your head, but y'know,

[She stops rather suddenly, holding her arm out to keep him from walking any further. She tugs a box of pocky out of her pocket.]

It looks like that's going to have to wait. Looks like we've got company.

[She flashes him a confident grin, before nodding towards the monsters lurking around and on the bottom of the staircase.]

[bytheirhand]

[He nearly runs into her when she stops and his eyes slowly follow hers down to the bottom of the staircase.

His eyes widen in fear and he pulls on her hand, trying to go back up the stairs.]

[prayed]

[She doesn't budge, shaking her head.]

I've got plans, y'know. There's no way I'd let something like this get in my way. Super pisses me off when they show up uninvited, y'know.

[After pulling a piece of pocky out of the box with her teeth, Kyoko will tear her hand away with his, instead handing him the box.]

Just hang tight and hold this for me, 'kay? If you lose it, I'll make you pay for it.

[bytheirhand]

But--!

[She shoves the box of pocky into his hands and all he can do is stare. If she wants to kill herself, so be it. He wasn't going to stop her.]

[prayed]

[His protesting will earn him a forehead flick.]

Don't underestimate me.

[She holds out her hand and for a moment, he'll see the glow of her Sou Gem, a red light that precedes her adopting her Puella Magi form. There's a spear in her hand, taller than her and certainly too heavy for a girl her size to carry. At the same time, a chain-barrier appears, separating Czes from her--and, of course, the monsters as well.

It doesn't take long for her to dispose of the monsters after she leaps off of the staircase. Her fighting style is brutal; there's not even a hint of hesitation or kindness as she hacks them apart, prioritizing efficiency over appearances, yet even so, there's a kind of elegance to it. Though perhaps that's to be expected from a girl who's fought Witches every day for so long.

If Czes cares enough to pay attention, he might notice something a bit...odd about her weapon. From the looks of it, it's certainly made out of some kind of metal, but it's far too flexible to be metal. It bends and twists itself when necessary, like rubber, steels itself at others, seemingly at random.

The barrier will drop as soon as the last monster is disposed of, just in time for her to finish the stick of pocky that she'd taken for herself.]

[bytheirhand]

[He'd never seen anything like this before. The barrier that separated them came out of nowhere and Kyoko... she...

She wasn't dead, that was for sure.

He carefully studied the way she moved, how she fought. He watched each cut, each slash, every single brutal attack he scrutinized. Her spear was interesting too. What was it made of? How could it be so flexible?

By the time she's dispatched the last of the monsters, he'd come to a decision.

He could definitely use her.

His head swivels around, watching as the barrier disappears around him before breaking out into a wide grin and running down the stairs after her.]

Wow! That was amazing, Kyoko!

[prayed]

Eh? That was nothing. Most of the monsters around here aren't even a challenge.

[It's not a lie and it's certainly not modesty that leads her to say that. With a shrug, she reaches to take another piece of pocky out of the box he's holding, clenches it between her teeth.]

But y'know, it's seriously annoying to have my secret keep getting blown like this.

[Not that she has any reason to hide being a Puella Magi here. It's just more practical. The less people know about what you're capable of, the better.]

[bytheirhand]

What was that? How did you... and that spear!

[He can't even formulate complete sentence, he's so impressed.]

[prayed]

Oi. You're gonna have to be more specific if you even want a chance at an answer. I'm not planning on spending all day trying to explaining this.

[bytheirhand]

How did you do all that? Was it magic?

[He remembers her mentioning something about magic when they first talked.]

[prayed]

Sure. I'm a Puella Magi.

[This kid's probably from the shoujo boom, so she'll elaborate a little:]

You've probably read stories about heroes who suddenly gain magic powers that they use to fight for justice, right? This job is something like that.

[bytheirhand]

... You're a what?

[OH. OH WAIT. NO OK. THAT... that kind of makes sense.]

Oh! Yeah, I've heard stories like that! Like The Shadow from the Detective Story Hour!

[prayed]

But unlike in those stories, there's nothing like salvation waiting at the end. Anyone foolish enough to treat this as a game where love and courage at the end will just win up getting themselves killed in the end. It's that kind of system.

[A shrug. Normally she might not bother to explain that much, but there's something she needs to get out of the way now.]

I obtained this power all for myself, so don't go around expecting to get any favors out of me, 'kay? You'll just wind up being disappointed. I'm not some heroine of justice, so if I save a person, it's just 'cause it's convenient for me, y'know.

[bytheirhand]

[His smile fades and he nods quietly.]

R-Right...

[prayed]

[She chuckles.]

You're disappointed.

[bytheirhand]

[he looks up and shakes his head.]

No, I mean... I can understand that.

[prayed]

[She frowns a little, unsure of how to take that statement--but then, it isn't as though she has these conversations often.]

Can you now?

[bytheirhand]

Sure. I can't do anything like you can, but when you're on your own you have to learn to put yourself first. Besides, you don't seem like th kind of person who'd go out of their way to do someone a favor.

[prayed]

[She stares at him seriously for a moment before she just laughs his answer off.]

Hah, of course not. Going out of your way to help people who won't give you anything in return...something like that is just a waste of time, y'know.

[But there's something else, too.]

So, you gotta tell me. How long've you been out on your own for, kid?

[bytheirhand]

... Long enough.

[prayed]

Yeah, I got that. So now that you've gone ahead and stated the obvious, you wanna give me an actual answer?

[bytheirhand]

[He shifts, uncomfortable.]

My parents died when I was four and after that I was taken in by a friend of the family, but he died a few years later. I was seven.

[prayed]

And you've been on your own since then?