Sayaka Miki had been spiraling downwards, a descent that could not be stopped, if one were to ask a certain mysterious transfer student and a creepy white manipulator. She had gone over the turning point, the night that Madoka had thrown her soul gem away and she'd realized that she couldn't be with the boy she loved.

Presently, she was watching from a distance as one of her best friends admitted her own feelings to Kyousuke. That should have been her. She should have been the one to grab his hands, his wonderful, working hands, and told him how she felt. But it wasn't to be. The life of a Magical Girl could not allow for it. She turned, started to walk away, and then stopped when she saw a figure staring at her.

For a brief second, Sayaka panicked. Kyouko Sakura was watching her, red eyes blazing, hair blowing in the wind. They stared each other down for a moment, and Sayaka started walking towards her, intending to walk past her. What happened instead was that Kyouko grabbed her arm. "Sayaka... If you need to talk to someone... If you want to talk, I'll listen."

Sayaka just shook her head. "I'm fine right now. Thank you for your concern." As Kyouko reluctantly let her go, she saw another person walking towards them. Black hair flowing behind her, violet eyes boring straight into her soul, Homura reached into her buckler. "Sayaka. When was the last time you cleaned your Soul Gem?" Her voice was quiet, cold. Sayaka got a sense that Homura was ready to kill someone.

"It's been a few nights..."

"How many Grief Seeds have you collected? How many Familiars have you killed?" Homura was glaring at her now. When Sayaka looked away, the transfer student pulled a black gem from wherever she stored these things. Tossing it towards the blue-haired girl, she continued speaking. "If you don't clean your gem-"

"To hell with that." She tossed the Seed back, glaring. "I will die when I lose to withces. That's fine, I'm not needed anymore if I'm unable to defeat witches."

Kyouko made a choking noise, but didn't say anything. Homura caught the Seed, sighing. "Very well then. If you refuse to clean your gem..." The raven-haired girl reached into her buckler again, this time pulling out the cold gray form of a gun. "Then I will kill you."

Kyouko spun, leaping at Homura as she pulled the trigger. The redhead managed to knock her off balance, the bullet whizzing past a stunned Sayaka, barely missing her head. Kyouko looked over her shoulder. "Run, Sayaka!" There was a flash of red light, and Homura found herself being restrained by Kyouko's spear.

Sayaka took a quick step back, staring. "Kyouko-"

"I said run, now run dammit!" The red-haired girl was struggling against Homura, barely managing to restrain her. She nodded in approval as Sayaka turned and booked it out of there. As she turned back to look at Homura, the othe girl whipped her head forward, bashing her forehead against Kyouko's nose.

"You don't realize what you've done, Kyouko Sakura. What fate awaits her now is your fault."

"I wasn't going to let you kill her. That's just... I couldn't abide that."

"Very well. You get to find Sayaka again tonight. You get to see what happens to her as part of your own fate." She turned. "I care not for either of you, all that matters is that Madoka is safe..." She walked away, leaving a very confused Kyouko in her wake.

She found Sayaka sitting in a train station. The blue-haired girl was looking at her Soul Gem, the blue light faded and dim. Deep patches of black dotted its surface. Kyouko shook her head lightly, pulling out a Grief Seed. "You're an idiot."

Sayaka looked up, tears stinging her eyes."Kyouko..."

"Look, if I loan you a Grief Seed will you stop being stupidly depressed?"

"The balance between hope and despair remains at zero. That's what you said, right? I understand what you mean now. I did save a few people, but in exchange, hatred and jealousy filled my heart. I even hurt my best friend. Whenever I wished for someone to be happy, someone else had to suffer just as much. That's what it means to be a Puella Magi. I'm really such an idiot." Tears started falling down her face, dripping onto her lap. Her Soul Gem flared up, darker blue than normal.

Kyouko growled, grabbing the girl by the shoulders and turning her. "Fuck that guy, all right?! Fuck him and fuck your so-called friend for taking him from you!" She stared directly into those blue eyes. "Just because you're the way you are doesn't mean you can't be with anyone, you hear me?!"

"I... i don't understand... What are you trying to say, Kyouko?" Her tears had stopped, her soul gem no longer shining. With an irritated sigh, Kyouko moved forward, pressing her lips harshly against Sayaka's. There was a moment where she was sure she'd gone too far, but then Sayaka returned the kiss slowly.

When they broke apart, they were both red in the face. Sayaka stared at the older girl quietly. Kyouko was scowling at her, still red. "I... Look, Sayaka... I know that you don't know me that well, but... I ain't gonna watch you waste your life pining over some guy. Clean your Gem, or I'll knock you out and clean it for you."

Sayaka nodded, hesitantly taking the Grief Seed Kyouko offered her. She touched it to her Gem, watching the corruption flow away, avoiding looking at the redhead. To her credit, she managed not to stammer as she asked, "Why do you feel so strongly for me?"

"I see a lot of myself in you... Selfless wish that led to you being hurt and... and you made all the same mistakes I made. And I want to be with you, Sayaka. I've felt this way since... since I took you to my father's church. If you don't love me, that's fine. I just want you to be happy, all right? I want to make someone happy again other than myself."

Sayaka nodded slowly. "A-all right... Let's just take this slow, okay? I'm getting over someone, and we don't know each other too well... But I'm willing to give anything a try..."

Kyouko smiled. "That's good to hear... Let me walk you home, all right?"

"I'd like that..."

As they walked out of the station, a pair of red eyes shined from behind a garbage bin. "It appears that my plan failed. I will have to take a different approach..."