thirteenth prayer

[prayed]

Characters: Kyoko Sakura and open
Setting: Floor One Hundred, Floor Twenty-One, Floor Nineteen, Floor Four, Floor One
Format: Starting in action, but I'll follow.
Summary: Birthday and event shenanigans. Also eating a ridiculous amount of ice cream.
Warnings: None.

Floor One Hundred ⚜
[It's not often that Kyoko bothers with this floor. Truthfully, there's no reason in particular for her to be here today. She had simply wandered off the staircase without giving it even a single moment's thought about her actions or the consequences they might have.

Consequences like a fresh burst of homesickness. It's a strange feeling. Everyone she knows from back home is here. Homura, Madoka, Sayaka and even Mami. She's alive, but the sight of her father's church takes her back. It reminds her of the place she had so wanted to protect so strongly that she let the secret get out. It reminds her of her city, of fighting Witches and her every day routine.

It's startling how much she misses those things. Less shocking is how much she misses her freedom. The sight of this tower gets boring fast. With a slight sight, she finds herself at a the back of a pew, finds her hand goes through it, before opting to simply walk down the aisle--or at least, what this place is telling her is the aisle. A stick of pocky hangs out of her mouth, her hands shoved in her pocket.

She needs to stop over thinking things.]

Floor Twenty-One ⚜ Set before the rumor is changed by Tetra
[Kyoko had come to the restaurant largely on a whim. There's precious little reason to run around doing errands for the tower when the food in the cafeteria is perfectly fine, really, but even so, there's little harm in checking out the menu. If there happens to be something interesting enough then well, it isn't as though she lacks confidence in her ability to dig up anything they ask of her.

Of course, it remains closed. More interesting are the words carved into the wall.

SAYAKA MIKI AND JIN SHIRATO: DEFINITELY DATING. YOU'D HAVE TO BE BLIND NOT TO SEE IT!

She takes the words at face value, her expression falling as she rereads them. Apparently she was blind, because she didn't see it. Sayaka and...who the Hell is Jin? Sayaka sure as Hell hasn't ever mentioned him to her. Didn't she have a guy that she was interested in? That guy she made her wish for, Kyousuke. She folds her arms and shakes her head, letting out a heaving sigh. Somehow, it's annoying to find out that Sayaka's dating someone, especially through words scrawled on a wall. She mumbles to herself sullenly.]

You'd think she would've at least told me.

Floor Nineteen ⚜
[The library's missing sections have been restored.

This rumor, at least, was worth checking out the validity of. There is apparently some truth to it, too. Well, sort of. Kyoko is rummaging through the books, which are old enough to crumble to dust at the slightest touch. Some look as though they've had a jar of ink spilled on them, others have been violently torn apart.

The history section she can get hiding, but why would anyone go through such extreme methods to hide information about things like astral projection? The red ink is vaguely unsettling, creating the image that they'd been bathed in a pool of blood before being placed on the shelves.

DATA EXPUNGED

What's that supposed to mean...?

[She pulls another book off the shelf as she considers this, coughing violently as it breaks apart in her hands, sending up a thick cloud of dust.]

Floor Four ⚜ backdated to May 9th
[Upon waking up, Kyoko didn't give much thought to the date. The fact that she's fifteen now occurred came and went with the only significance being that she's proven to be capable of living this long, but really, that's only natural. Even back home, she went out on her own terms. She's strong enough to protect herself from anything. At least, that's what she chooses to tell herself.

Besides, really, what reason does she have to celebrate? She doesn't need an excuse to spoil herself or buy herself nice things, nor does she need anyone to provide them for her. That just one of the benefits of having this power and being sharp enough to use it up on herself.

So, the cake (surprisingly well made, coming from such a stuffy person,) that Naoto gave her was nothing less than a surprise. An unusually embarrassing one, at that. Kyoko is still unsure of how to take the gesture, even as the cake sits on the coffee table in front of her, a huge chunk of it missing. Really, she only mentioned it in passing. How did that girl even remember? She doesn't get it at all.

Lost in thought as she is, she'll still take the time to look over the back of the sofa at anyone entering the floor with a complicated expression on her face, as though she's not sure whether or not she wants to see who's joining her.]

Floor One (Kitchen) ⚜
[Today, either ignorant to the rumors about the cafeteria food or (more likely) simply not caring, Kyoko can be found in the kitchen, leaning back against one of the counters. In the crook of her arm she holds a gallon of ice cream. With her other hand she's shoveling large spoonfuls of ice cream into her mouth, paying no heed to the many reasons this is a bad idea. Sitting next to her is a plate with cookies on it, occasionally spearing the ice cream with her spoon in favor of lifting one up.

Her eyes remain locked on the door and so, anyone who walks in will find her biting down on her spoon in order to free her hand for a light wave before she promptly goes back to stuffing her face.]

Comments

[prayed]

Hah. From the start I could see that you're just the kind of person who'll just keep piling up mistakes even after they've managed to make a complete mess of things. I can't stand to watch that sorta thing. So I thought, y'know, it'd be fine to just keep an eye on you for awhile.

[She smiles a little. It's more than that. He reminds her of herself, so much so that it's a little frightening, and far too much for her to not be able to able to figure out that something was wrong with him.]

Your act's got some cracks in it, but running into a person who can recognize all that was probably just bad luck on your part.

[bytheirhand]

[He laughs softly, but it's twinged with bitterness]

The kind of person who just keeps making a mess of things, huh? I can't say you're wrong.

[prayed]

That's because you're a mess.

[A shrug and even with her usual mischievous grin, it's hard to tell whether or not she's teasing him.]

I won't say you're wrong for living like that, y'know.

[bytheirhand]

I never said I wasn't.

[He looks up at that, waiting for her to elaborate.]

[prayed]

Just living however you want and doing everything for yourself is the right choice, y'know. If you can do that, you won't hate anyone and you definitely won't have to worry about something like regret.

[And despite her words, that grin hasn't budged at all.]

But just as I thought, something like that really is impossible for you.

[It's not because he's a good person either.]

[bytheirhand]

I don't live how I want. I live the way it takes for me to survive.

[prayed]

Hah? So now that your secret's out, are you just gonna burst into flames or something? That the hidden bonus way for your kind to die?

[bytheirhand]

[He's very, very quiet. Normally is contingency plan would to make sure everyone who knew was silenced immediately, but... that wasn't possible here. All he could do is hope that Kyoko didn't tell anyone else and that if she did, none of them were eager to test the limits of his immortality.]

No, now I just have to hope that no one takes advantage of it.

[prayed]

Heh. You're not really surviving, y'know. You're just trying to hide out from a storm that's never got pass...well, as long as it doesn't interfere with Puella Magi business, I don't really care what you do.

[Her smile softens a little.]

But y'know, you should try actually living every once in awhile.

[bytheirhand]

I haven't been devoured, so that's good enough for me.

Once I'm sure I'm safe I might think about it.

[prayed]

[For a few seconds, a complicated expression crosses her face and Kyoko has to avert her eyes. "It's enough." Of course he would say something like that.

Even so, she chooses to say nothing in the end, is unusually silent for the rest of the trip. Of course, part of that is because Czes fell asleep in her arms mid-way through. For all of his cruelty and attempts at acting like an adult, it seems that he really is a child at heart. He let himself get tired out by someone finding out his secret. Probably, he has no idea how to handle it at all.

That too, is enough for now.

When Czes wakes up hours later, he'll find that he's laying in bed--specifically, in Kyoko's bed. His shoes have been taken off and dropped down on the side of the bed, his hat rested on the nightstand, and it seems that that she even took the time to pull the covers over him.

Kyoko herself is sitting on the edge of the bed next to him, a bowl of ice cream in her hand. Milk and honey ice cream with strawberries topping it, along with tons of whipped cream and further honey drizzled on top of it all. She must have just gotten back with it, because she hasn't even gotten to take a bite yet.]

[bytheirhand]

[He doesn't remember falling asleep. He remembers talking to Kyoko, he remembers her falling silent and then... then he woke up here. The dorm looked like every other dorm, but he knew this wasn't his bed. Knew it wasn't his room. He sits up slowly, rubbing sleepily at his eyes as he takes a look around.

Once his eyes come into focus and settle on Kyoko everything seems to click. Ah. So she brought him up to her room, then. Even if he doesn't remember falling asleep, it makes sense.]

Mm... when did I... [yawn] when did I fall asleep?

[prayed]

[She chuckles as she notices he's up, smiling softly.]

About halfway up. It's just like I said, y'know.

[A couple bites of ice cream and then, she brings the spoon towards him.]

I brought up some ice cream. Want a bite?

[The catch is that he's not going to be taking the spoon from her this time.]

[bytheirhand]

I didn't think I was that tired...

[He shakes his head, sitting up straight]

No thank you. I'm not really hungry.

[prayed]

You sure? You're not gonna be able to get anything later, y'know.

[Not unless he wants to try and deal with the monsters, anyway.]

[bytheirhand]

[Well, maybe one bite...]

Alright.

[He reaches for the spoon. HE DOES NOT NEED TO BE FED OK.]

[prayed]

[She pulls it back. Nope, he is going to fed, like it or not.]

Say "aaaah."

[bytheirhand]

... Are you serious?

[prayed]

Do I look like I'm joking?

[bytheirhand]

[He sighs and opens his mouth. God Kyoko. WHY ARE YOU YOU]

[prayed]

[Because Kyoko. She feeds him a bite of ice cream before taking another for herself.]

Well?

[bytheirhand]

[He can't help but smile.]

It's good. Nostalgic.

[prayed]

[She offers him another bite, seeming genuinely pleased by the sight of him smiling.]

Heh. So you can smile. You have this flavor before?

[bytheirhand]

[He will gladly have another bite!]

No, but...

[He hesitates for a moment, unsure]

When I was a child things like ice cream and sherbet were expensive and hard to come by, but I loved it. So in the winter I would pour honey and sugar on snow and eat it that way.

[prayed]

[Since she's so nice, he's going to get a bite for every one she takes.]

Heh. I didn't take you for the sorta person who'd have a sweet tooth, but that's not a bad idea. Wish I would've thought of it, y'know.

[Not that those things are hard to come by in her time period, but well, stuff being readily available doesn't help when a person's low on cash.]