Puella Magi Madoka Magica/魔法少女まどか★マギカ 1. Chapter 1

Sayaka groaned while laying her head on the supermarket cart. She had been waiting in line for what seemed like hours, and this was just the line to buy cheese. The worst thing was she had only crossed about half the names in her groceries list.

The supermarket was full of people who where buying stuff for the star festival preparations. She on the other hand wanted something as simple as dinner but had to put up with the eternal lines and obnoxious crowd.

It had been a week since she had started living in her own apartment. Her parents gave her some money to pay the first months of rent and buy some food, until she had enough money to take care of herself. While she wasted her time in the store she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous, they were probably sipping on tropical drinks in a white sand beach or something along those lines.

The past weeks had been nothing but trouble, trying out for interviews to get a job at the same time she studied for all the upcoming exams. She was a senior now after all, though she had no idea where she was going with her life or which college to enter. For now she threw newspapers every morning, but the salary was not that generous and she needed much much more if she wanted to maintain herself.

The line moved only a step forward and her impatience got the best of her. _Fuck cheese, I'm ok with some soup or microwave pizza_. She grabbed the first instant lunch soup she found and proceeded to make her way towards the cashier. _Finally, I'm out of here_. Her thoughts went crushing down as she stared in disbelief at the next line that awaited her.

As she waited for her turn tapping her feet in annoyance, a random guy stood by the entrance and waved his hands to catch the crowd's attention. "It's already eight and it's about to rain, sorry but ill have to close early" he said in an apologetic tone.

She was finally able to pay, but as the clerk stuffed her food in a bag she looked outside and realized the shop owner was right, it was already drizzling. How was she supposed to walk home in this rain?. Using the bags as some sort of cheap umbrella she prepared herself to run, reviewing the distance she had to cover in her mind.

She hastily ran outside being careful not to slip. Her apartment was just a few blocks away so hopefully her clothes wouldn't be completely soaked when she arrived.

What she failed to see was that in her rash exit she had dropped her wallet.

* * *

><p>An unemployed red head rambled through Mitakihara's streets with no place to go whatsoever. She was wearing a mint green hoodie, which was covered in dust, since she couldn't remember the last time she had payed a visit to the laundry. To top it off her fiery hair was tied in a wild ponytail, and her backpack had more than a couple of holes here and there.<p>

She wondered if she looked like a homeless girl. Though right now that's what she was.

Taking a squared box out of her pocket with "pocky" printed on it, she slided the lit open and happily placed one of the chocolate biscuits in her mouth. Her eyes gave away how tired she was, due to sleeping less than four hours, but her appetite remained as unweary as ever.

She narrowed her eyes at a candy store few streets away and proceeded to delve in her back pockets in search of money. Her eyes shot open in panic as she came face to face with her empty wallet.

"Aw man what am i gonna do?" she whined, kicking the nearest thrash can in rage.

She had a tiring morning. Waking up early was enough of a punishment for her, but getting kicked out of her own apartment was a step too far. She was aware of all the debts she had to pay, and she honestly planned to pay every last cent. But it seemed that her landlord wasn't as patient, and knew that Kyouko was going nowhere with her promises of paying the rent in time.

Pissed off, she had managed to "burrow" some money from the receptionist while she returned some calls. But after buying the necessary stuff like food and a toothbrush she was now broke for the second time that day.

Kyouko muttered some curses under her breath earning disapproving glances from near passers-by. As she tried to avoid looking at the candy store, the sound of thunder startled her. She looked up, fearing that for once the weather forecast had been right. And it was right. Grey clouds completely covered the sky, leaving no clear space for sunshine to get through. She could feel the temperature falling as droplets started to stain her clothes.

"Great" she sarcastically complained, while pulling the hoodie over her head. She was forced to fasten her pace as the concrete floors started to get slippery with the nearing storm.

She skipped through the alleys hoping to find some kind of temporary shelter, until she abruptly stopped. There, laying near a convenience store, like a work from heaven, was a wallet. A lonely, lonely wallet.

She quickly ran towards it bent down to grab it. Ignoring the suspicious glances she was receiving from the shop owner, she gave him a sheepish smile and got out of there as fast as she could.

The leather was soaking wet, not a surprise seeing as the rain was about to become some kind of flood. She didn't waste much time until she found shelter in a little covered place near some abandoned railways.

She enthusiastically opened the damp wallet praying that if there was any money inside it was still in usable condition. Trying to be as careful as she could possibly muster while opening the treasure, she smirked when she saw some green paper sliding through one of the pockets. But she quickly grimaced as she counted the bills.

"One, two, five dollars" She proceeded to count again and again not being able to believe in her unluckiness. "You have to be fucking kidding me!" she shouted while resting her head in her hands, hiding the tears that were threatening to fall. Things couldn't get any worse, she was sleeping in the street for god's sake!

After her outburst she lay out her back on a wall and let out a disappointed sigh. "Seriously, I'm a total mess"

She tried to get herself comfortable, this was far from being the best place to camp, but its not like she had a choice. As she opened her backpack to get some of her remaining snacks, she realized she was still in possession of the wallet and made a motion to throw it out, after taking the money that is.

But as she was about to let go of her grasp, something plastic called her attention. "Oh, what is this?" she mischievously smiled, her fangs slightly showing. There were three cards in the pocket, and two of them where credit cards, much to Kyouko's admiration. "This could be useful" she muttered, suddenly feeling hopeful about her situation.

She stuffed them securely on her backpack and took a look at the remaining card. It was an ID. In the picture there was a blue haired girl about her age, Kyouko thought. Her gaze was fixated for quite some time, when she realized what she had been doing, she shook her head embarrassedly as she felt her cheeks turning slightly red.

"Sorry for stealing from you, but its not my fault you were stupid enough to lose your stuff" She threw the card far, where it landed in the soaked earth.

She still couldn't shake this feeling of guilt though, that maybe she could've tried to give the wallet back. She tried to ignore it as she rolled over and closed her eyes to get her deserved sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Rikka: :D glad you like it! hope you enjoy the story, ill try and update as soon as i can**

**Guest: thx, hope you enjoy the story too!**

**P6006873: im pretty new in the world of writing so im glad i was able to capture their personalities right, thx for the review**

**kyosayalove: that's Kyouko for you xD**

**Amerikajin: thx for pointing that out, i guess i just wrote the first thing that came to my mind! i changed it to the star festival so now it makes sense.**

**Finally, thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this story and for the reviews too! Hope you enjoy this as much as i enjoyed writing it, and without further ado i bring you the second chapter!**

* * *

><p>Kyouko had woken up in a good mood, regarding the fact she had to use the floor as a bed. With not one, but two credit cards in her power she felt like a millionaire. She had been daydreaming about how amazing her future mansion was going to be, with chocolate fountains to dip snacks in and her own personal servants. Until it dawned on her, what if the credit cards didn't have any cash on them?<p>

She couldn't enter a bank casually and ask about the balance. What if they asked for any information? after all she was completely clueless about the blue haired girl. Thinking back, she regretted not having the id in her possession. Looking at the positive side, this way her chances of getting caught weren't as high.

G_ood enough, guess I'll just go buy something and find out for myself_. She decided while thinking about the shop she had seen the day before.

After requesting some directions and getting lost for a minute, she found herself standing in front of the candy store. She could only glue her face in the window and stare at all the tasty sweets. The best thing was, now she was able to buy them! Her mouth watered in anticipation as she pushed the entrance door, after trying to pull it a couple of times that is.

First she tried to control her appetite and buy a sample of everything, naturally her plan failed and she ended up carelessly shoving about 10 bags of candy in her cart.

As she approached the checkout line she felt a bit concerned. What if she got caught?, was she walking straight into two years of prison without a care in the world?

"You, the kid over there, it's your turn" the clerk's voice startled her out of her dreadful thoughts. She threw all the merchandise on the counter, noticing how the cashier frowned bitterly. She didn't seem that fond of her job.

"Credit card or effective?" her raspy voice startled her for the second time. _Ok Kyouko this is it, remember, all you have to do is play it cool_. She kept repeating the last three words as a mantra to try and make them stick.

"Credit card" she answered, her voice oozing with confidence. "Might I add, you look great today!" she winked at the woman, who only seemed to get more annoyed by each passing second going to waste with the red haired girl.

She held out a hand to receive the card, ignoring Kyouko's compliment completely. The redhead took the first card she could find and handed it over. "Here you go!" she said, making an effort to smile warmly.

After what seemed like years of clicking and typing, the cashier looked at her even more pissed off than before."This is expired".

_Calm down, you still have another shot_. "Oh, sorry about that" she apologized, handing the other card while crossing her fingers. _Please work, please work_

"Name?" the woman eyed her suspiciously. Kyouko tried her best to make out the blurry images she still had of the id.

"Um… Seyaka?" she answered with a question instead of an answer.

The woman clicked three times more and then looked at her with a raised eye brow. "You mean Sayaka?" _Shit. Think of something, fast!._ After debating with herself, she internally let out a sigh of relief as she came up with what she hoped was the best excuse of the century.

"Yup!, I'm very sorry, it's my Australian accent I still can't seem to fix it completely y'know?" Watching the woman's unconvinced glare, she briskly added "Mate!"

The woman sighed at what she could guarantee was the weirdest girl to set a foot in this store. She probably didn't even know where Australia was. Still, she couldn't care less about what was going on.

"Next!" she ordered in a monotone voice after giving Kyouko the bill. The girl noticed it had a 2, or was it a 5? Followed by a couple of zeros, but threw it away at the first opportunity she had.

She went through the exit with a satisfied smirk across her face. "Nailed it!".

* * *

><p>Sayaka had a horrible morning. It all started last night when she had to run back towards the supermarket, just to find a "closed" sign staring back at her and the wallet nowhere to be found. When she came back her hair was soaked, she had planned to dry it, but it seems she had fallen asleep the second she sat on the sofa.<p>

Now she had a huge headache, and the instant soup she bought was not making it go away. _Actually this tastes kind of weird_. Taking the soup in closer inspection, she came to a realization. It was expired.

_This is so not my day_. She lazily sat up and after washing her mouth throughly she put on the first jacket she found. She would go to the supermarket and ask for a refund later, but now her main priority was the wallet.

If she remembered right she had three credit cards, the one she had used at the start of the year; which shouldn't even work by now, the one she normally used and the one her father gave her as a present.

With her newest card in her hands, her face drained out of color as she realized what this meant. Her father was going to kill her! That is if she didn't die of hunger before. At this time the store opened, is she went there now she could check if any of the employees had found it.

As she entered the store, the first person she saw was a blond girl with curls, who was fixing some fallen boxes in the halls.

"Um.. Hello?" she sheepishly interrupted the girl's work.

"Oh hi there, trying out for the new job?" she asked, looking at the bluenette with her head tilted to the side.

"No, actually I was wondering if you had seen a wallet around here" she asked while motioning at the entrance.

"No sorry we haven't found any lost items in a long time" the blonde looked slightly apologetic. Sayaka was disappointed with the answer, but then something else called her attention.

"Wait, you said there was a job available?" The girl seemed to perk up at the mention.

"Yes, it's yours if you want it!"

"As simple as that?" It's not that Sayaka didn't want to take on the offer, but it seemed kind of odd, were they seriously that determined to find an applicant?

"I know it's rushed, but the position's been open for months and somebody has yet to show up"

Sayaka lit up, this was exactly the opportunity she needed. "Ok then, I'm in"

"Perfect!" The girl said with a friendly smile "I'm Mami by the way"

"Oh, I'm Sayaka" she held a hand out. Mami happily shook it.

"Well Sayaka, welcome to the store, I'm the manager here, all I have to do is tell the shop owner someone took the job and it's official" she resumed her work by cleaning the shelves with a cloth "You may start working at noon if you wish"

"Ok then" she turned around and exited the store, being careful to look to the sides if the wallet decided to magically appear any second from now. Sure she didn't find the wallet as she was supposed to, but at least now she had a job.

As she followed the road back to her apartment she sighed at the site of a redhead carrying about ten bags of clothes and food, tripping every two seconds. _Poor girl, I bet she's going to end up broke._

* * *

><p>Sayaka's job was pretty easy. There were still a lot of people around like last night, but at least now she wasn't the one stuck in the lines.<p>

Without her father's money she would be running out of cash in a few weeks. So she did her best packing bags to try and be as fast as she could. She wasn't getting payed that much, but thankfully all the tips she earned went to her savings. _Still, three dollars won't buy what I would call the best dinner. _

"The cereal in aisle 9 is scattered all over the floor, someone please go and clean the mess" she heard an unamused voice talking through the loudspeaker. She wondered if accidents like this happened all the time. _Who is the one that cleans when they happen anyways?_

Her question was quickly answered when none of the employees moved, instead they looked at her expectantly. Sayaka put away the money she had been counting moments ago, and sighing defeatedly made her way towards aisle 9.

The place was a total mess. Apparently some kid thought it would be funny to open the cereal boxes and hurl them randomly, leaving the floor covered in a rainbow of colorful corn flakes. Using a broom she tidied up until she was convinced there was not a single crumb left.

"We're closing in thirty more minutes" she heard the man in the speaker announce.

Sayaka wasn't that good at math; however, she knew that even with the night's fee she wouldn't be able to buy much, and she really wished to eat normally for once. _Wait, they still owe me a refund_. But a look at the refund line was enough to stop her.

Her eyes wandered to the cheese area and an idea struck her. It was against everything she morally believed in and she knew it was wrong, but desperate times where desperate times. She had cleaned the whole place after all! _And they also tried to poison me_. She looked at the soup in her hands while trying to take a decision. Her starving stomach won the argument.

_Now, this is something I never saw myself doing_. She casually approached the dairy section and warily grabbed a piece of the cheapest cream cheese, hiding it in her pocket. Then she went back to the checkout with an innocent look in her face, resuming her work.

She recognized the redhead from before walking around the aisles, who noticing her gaze hastily hid behind one of the walls. Was Sayaka attracting creeps or what?

On the other side of the shelve Kyouko was about to have a stroke in the middle of the supermarket. _Crap, she's here! What if she founds out who I am!_

After being sure Sayaka was not in the cashiers position, she got on line. She was paying when she suddenly heard the other girl's voice behind her.

"Need any help packing your stuff?" she casually offered. Kyouko hurriedly hid the credit card before the bluenette could take a good look at it.

"Sure, thanks" she replied with a nod, after all she had bought tons of food. _With this girl's money_. She heard a voice nag at the back of her head. As a consequence she started feeling guilty, really guilty. The girl was working at a groceries store, and she was stealing from her! In her face!

Suddenly she noticed the not-so-well hidden cream cheese in Sayaka's pocket. _Woah, she really is hopeless_. Kyouko wasn't much of a generous person, but without thinking it twice she offered one of the bags to the bluenette.

"Here have this, I was having some people over tonight but they're not coming" she lied while giving Sayaka a bento box. The other girl looked questioningly at her. "Why?" she muttered.

Kyouko smirked "You have to be pretty troubled to steal cheese" she pointed out, being careful to lower her voice so the cashier wouldn't hear them.

Sayaka blushed furiously while covering the stolen item with her apron. "Look, I don't need your food, I can take care of myself" The truth is, she was dying to eat some bento, but she was not going to let a complete stranger treat her like some kind of charity pool.

But the redhead was already leaving, having left the bento on top of the counter. She turned around one last time scratching the back of her neck embarrassedly "Oh, and sorry about the cereal, I kind of… tripped"

Sayaka rolled her eyes. _So it hadn't been a kid after all_. But then looking at the bento box by her side she slightly smiled. She would have a normal dinner tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, here's the third chapter! Again, thanks to everyone who took the time to comment, follow, and favorite. And for the views too!**

**VoyeourTheNinja: Thx! glad your enjoying it, and i´ll try to be more careful with commas, since English is not my native language im still getting used to placing them correctly. And i guess you're right, they are idiots xD , but thats what i love about them! Thankyou for the follow and favorite too! This is my first fanfiction, so things like this make me really happy :p and im glad you pointed out the AU thing, i forgot to mention that.**

**Oh, and im sorry, but next chapter will come out pretty late. Im leaving the city for a week tomorrow, and the place where i´ll go has no wifi, plus i won't have my computer with me, but i´ll try and write some first drafts on my phone though :D **

* * *

><p>Sayaka was having an awful hard time trying to compensate for her debts. She had been planning on mentioning the credit card "incident" to her father, but the mere thought of how he was going to react, was enough to keep her from dialing his number.<p>

She couldn't picture him being completely outraged, since in rare occasions she had seen her father mad. But he would probably be disappointed, and then she would hear her mother in the background, telling him how she had insisted it was a bad idea to leave her alone. And then the subject of school would come up, and she would have no excuse for the way her grades had dropped.

She had scored an extremely low result on her last exam. With her part time job at the supermarket, and newspaper delivering two days a week, she didn't have any time left to focus on her studies. And the situation was not looking brighter any sooner. Since she had been struggling with the month's rent, she was forced to find a new job at a pizza parlor on weekends.

Mami had heard about her troubles and had offered her some money, which she could pay back after this whole mess was fixed. But she agreed with herself to politely decline any kind of help from other people, she had gotten into this herself and was planning to get out alone.

Sayaka was jolted awake from the sofa, hitting her head with the lamp. The sound of her phone vibrating had startled her, since she had fallen asleep with it on her pocket.

_When did I fall asleep?_ She sat up confused, soothing her pounding head. She checked the hour, leaning back in relief when she realized it was six pm, meaning she still had more or less about half an hour to get ready for her job as a waitress.

The problem was she first had to get on her feet, and standing up was the last thing she wanted to do. Her bones ached, begging her to rest her head in her warm pillow, and close her eyes for five more minutes. But she stopped herself before she would fall asleep again, she had to go if she wanted to keep having a roof on top of her head.

She got dressed with casual clothes; jeans and a gray sweater, and combed her hair slightly, just so it wouldn't seem as she had slept all day, though that was exactly what she had done.

Turning on the tv, she went to the kitchen and microwaved some coffee she had made earlier. Sure, reheated coffee was not the most luxurious thing in the world, but the extra effort wasted in making a new one was too much to ask for.

Surfing through channels, she settled to watch the news, and then checked on the weather forecast, which announced drizzling later. But the accuracy of the weather channel was not known for being the greatest, so she took an umbrella with her, just in case the "mild drizzling" would turn out to be the equivalent of downpour. She started walking towards the diner, using her phone for directions. She had never owned a car, so she was used to taking the bus or going by feet if she ever had the need.

The restaurant was different from what she expected. It was pretty modest, a not-too-big property with no standing out decorations. Just a tacky wooden sign with the word "pizza" printed on it in black, worn out letters, nothing too classy. At all.

As she pushed the door open, she was genuinely surprised to find the place crowded, every table was occupied, and there even was a line for reservations all the way to the entrance. Her amusement was quickly replaced by a scowl. More people meant more work.

She proceeded to approach the counter, where a girl welcomed her and pointed towards the kitchen, there they were going to tell her what to do. _Let's hope is not much work_. She thought tiredly, the truth is she just wanted to go home, and relax reading a good book.

In the kitchen the cooks were running around, hands full of work. She could smell the variety of spices and toppings they used, as she watched in awe as some guy in white tossed pizza dough in the air, making it spin. Just then, a pink-haired girl approached her, carrying a tray full of glasses with both hands. She was wearing some kind of pink and white dress, which Sayaka guessed was the uniform. The girl slightly tumbled to the side, giving the impression she was about to fall, but was able to regain her composure before the glasses could find a chance to slip.

"Hi, your the new girl right?" she smiled friendlily, to which Sayaka nodded "Could you take this to table four?" she asked while carefully handing the tray to Sayaka.

"Sure, when I'm done with this, do I take their orders?" She asked, cringing slightly when the she felt the tray weighted more than what she thought it would.

"Hmm" The girl agreed with a notebook in her mouth, since in the blink of an eye she had already grabbed two trays more, one on each hand. She placed the tray with plates on top of the other one, taking the notebook in one of her hands so she could speak clearly. "Oh, and call me Madoka, come to me if you need any help"

"Ok, thanks" Noticing how the girl was having trouble with the plates, she added "Need any help with that?"

"Umm" She fidgeted trying to get the trays in the right position "No, don't worry about me" she finally answered, managing to take hold of the situation.

Sayaka shrugged and left the kitchen, walking towards the table where the costumers were waiting. She didn't have the uniform on, but carrying the trays made it clear she was an employee. As the family thanked her, she heard a least five different voices and saw about three hands being raised to call her attention.

This was going to be a long, long night.

* * *

><p>Kyouko's stomach grumbled, claiming to be fed. She had been lazing around her hotel room all day, watching tv, napping and complaining to no one in particular about how hungry she was.<p>

Feeling guilty, she decided it was time to stop using the credit card, she had already spent all the money it came with, so now she was adding debts to the other girl's balance each time she purchased something.

That's why she had cut out on snacking, and she had only payed one more night at the hotel. That meant tomorrow she was going to be homeless again, and she would have to work for money. _Who would even think about working for money?_

She rolled over in the bed she was slacking in, staring at the wallet resting in her nightstand. _One more dinner is not that expensive…_

She shook her head vigorously, controlling the urge to spend more money. She sighed while lying on her back, arms behind her head. She was doing the right thing by not using the card, but she was still hungry.

_Wait…_ She sat up and grabbed the wallet _If i remember right, there was also effective on here_. She smiled broadly as she confirmed it was indeed true, the five dollars on effective where still there. She had been so distracted with the credit cards she had never actually used them.

She moved her fists in triumph, and grabbing the bills swiftly made her way to the main door. She had no time to waste in looking presentable, after all she didn't even care.

Motivated only by her starving stomach, she hastily left the hotel, shivering at the sudden change of temperature. She asked directions for the nearest diner, until she was finally standing in front of a pizza parlor. Her mouth was aching to taste the melted cheese and fresh tomato sauce, awaiting only a few steps away. Right now she felt like the happiest girl on earth.

And then she opened the door. The place was busy, flooded with families and couples flooding the tables, but she was not letting something like that stop her.

She started slipping through the people in line, randomly mumbling "excuse me" and "sorry" from time to time. She heard a few complaints and rude remarks, but she chose to ignore them as she made her way towards the reservation desk pushing people aside.

"How much time for an available table?" she got straight to the point, resting her hands on the wooden desk.

The woman frowned at the girl, who had literally left a mess behind her, where the crowd she had worked so hard to keep aligned was now dispersed. The costumers were pushing each other around, fighting about who was going first.

Her gaze went back to the girl, who was looking back questioningly at her. "I'll take about thirty minutes"

"Oh, i guess i can wait that much" the redhead shrugged. The woman then pretended to check the reservations again.

"Actually, it'll be an hour and a half" noticing the girl's sullen change in mood, she added "…or two"

Kyouko wondered why she never seemed to get along with employees.

She was about to make her way back to the entrance, when a black-haired girl sitting on one of the tables, called her attention. _I know her from somewhere… was her name Homura? Or something like that_. Then it clicked, she had gone to the same school as Kyouko, but then she had transferred the same year Kyouko dropped out.

She saw as a pink-haired waitress approached her, and they started talking as she sat by her side. Homura seemed to be embarrassed, and Kyouko suppressed a chuckle. _How cute, she's trying to get a girlfriend._

Distracted, she didn't realize when a certain bluenette bumped into her, until she heard the noise of plates shattering. She was about to shout something rude when she recognized the girl that had tripped. She held out a hand to Sayaka, who thought hesitated, before holding it and getting back on her feet, shaking pieces of glass from her sweater.

"Im sorry, I wasn't looking and…" before she could muster an apology, Kyouko was interrupted by a short and fat man, who by the expression of his face was furious. The redhead took a few steps back when he started to randomly yell in italian.

When he finally seemed to calm down, he turned around to face Sayaka, who had been helping Madoka pick up the broken ceramic pieces which were covering the floor.

Sayaka seeing where this was going, picked up the tray and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, I´ll leave now"

The man opened his mouth to start shouting again, but closed it. He nodded and turned around, while the people's attention drifted again, and the place seemed to get lost in noisy conversation.

Kyouko approached the bluenette, who looked devastated. "We should probably leave" the girl whispered.

Kyouko nodded as they both left the parlor. Outside, Sayaka sat on the nearest bench, hiding her face in her hands. "I can't believe i blew up this job on my first day"

Kyouko sat beside her "Don't be so hard on yourself, plus it was my fault" she said, the feeling of guilt coming back.

"Sorry" she whispered looking at the other girl, who just shrugged.

"Whatever, in wasn't that great of a job anyways" The statement should´ve made Kyouko feel better, but she found herself feeling even worse. _If it weren't for my selfishness, the girl would´t even have to be working here._

Kyouko regretted the day she had found the wallet. Sure, she was surrounded by food and could finally pay an hotel where she could stay as much as she wanted, but looking at the depressed girl by her side, she felt awful, worthless.

Stealing was nothing new to her. She had been stealing since she was a kid, sneaking through markets trying to get the juiciest apple she could find, or distracting customers to get ahold of their stuff. She'd never felt any kind of thing before, but now the guilt was eating her inside.

She felt Sayaka leaning against her shoulder. She jerked at the sudden contact, looking away while blushing scarlet. But then relaxed at the warm feeling of the other girl's body. Between her feelings of remorse, she had a hopeful idea. Maybe she could still repair the situation, find a way to give her the money back. After all some stores did accept refunds, and she could still sell some of her new clothes to a second hand store or something. _Still, she wouldn´t accept money just like that._

"I need a place to stay, and all the hotels near are fully booked" Sayaka, suddenly realizing how close she had gotten to the other girl, pushed herself slightly to the side. Kyouko glowered at the sudden loss of warmth, but kept talking. "If you need money, I'm willing to pay for a room" Feeling hesitation in the other girl she added "Only if you want to, or you have any room that is" she said while rubbing the back of her neck.

Sayaka thought about the offer. This girl had already helped her before with the bento, so after all she wasn't a bad person, plus the money would do a lot of good now that she was fired. "It's ok if you don't want to" Kyouko repeated, thinking she had made the unresponsive girl uncomfortable. _Well played Kyouko, now you freaked her out._

Just as the redhead was about to leave, Sayaka grabbed her sleeve. "Ok, I accept, but you'll have to sleep in the sofa since I don´t have another bed" Kyouko was relieved to see it had worked.  
>"Yeah, fine by me" she nodded. Maybe now she would be able to get things fixed. Sayaka stood up beside her and motioned for her to follow "I'll show you were my place is"<p>

"Oh and my name is Sayaka by the way" Kyouko aleady knew that, but it would be a bit creepy if she said that out loud. _No, it would be very creepy, just keep yourself from talking._

"Well, I'm Kyouko" Feeling how it slowly started drizzling, she followed after the other girl who was carrying an umbrella with her. "Hey, wait for me!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for my tardiness, but I just got back from vacations and my teachers had the great idea of flooding us with tests. The thing is I finally finished chapter 4. The truth is I wanted to make a really short story (this was supposed to be the last update) to finish it quickly and move to other idea's i have. Then my computer died and the chapter was erased. And as i wrote it again i decided to make it longer, so expect about 10 chapters total :D. My computer has yet to be fixed i_i but at least something good came out of it!**

**RamenMaintenance: Im really glad your enjoying it! The capitalization was because of the computer im using now which doesn't have a spelling checker, still i should probably learn to capitalize them by myself :P. And comma usage is my weakness i try and still can't seem to get them all quite right xD. Anyways, thanks for the follow!**

**Danielwain: In my country it isn't that easy to steal money from a credit card either, i should've put some thought on that from my part. Also,i totally forgot that Sayaka would go to the bank, basically that's the first thing you do when you lose a card, but really thanks a ton for pointing it out! in this chapter i tried my best to fix that mistake by making her go. It wasn't the best way i could've done it though, since it came out rushed. About honorifics, i didn't pay attenttion to them, maybe when i rewrite this i'll change it. As for Kyouko's money i'll guess she'll just have to do a bunch of crazy stuff to get at least half of it back, and if she ever got caught she would be in a lot of trouble and that's with the police. And don't worry about your comment coming across as hateful!, it's the exact opposite since it actually helps me to learn from my mistakes, so that way i'll (hopefully) not repeat them again. Your review was extremely helpful, so thanks a lot for taking the time to write it, hope you keep reading this story! i'll try my best from now on :)**

**YuzuYuri19: Yup! there's no way im abandoning this story, even if im really lazy sometimes. Glad you liked it! and i'll try to keep it up, thanks!**

**Finally i'll like to say thanks (again xD) for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! And reaching 1000 views! So here's the 4 chapter, i'll try and be quick with the next update!**

* * *

><p>Kyouko rose up slowly, remembering as she opened her eyes that she was staying at Sayaka's apartment.<p>

The first thing she realized was that she hadn't slept half as bad as she had expected from crushing on a couch. For some reason, it had turned out to be way more comfortable than her hotel bed, and that was good news because she needed some refreshing sleep.

"This couch is amazing" she voiced out loud, stretching like a cat as she did so.

"That couch is like the best thing in the whole apartment" she heard Sayaka agree behind her. The bluenette was wearing her school uniform, carrying nothing but a toothbrush in her hand as she entered the small living room.

"School?" Kyouko followed the other girl with her eyes as she managed to brush her teeth at the same time she poured a cup of steaming coffee.

"Hmm" came Sayaka´s muffled reply, her mouth overflowing with minty toothpaste. She spat on the sink, throwing the toothbrush on the dishwasher carelessly. Taking her reused starbucks coffee on one hand she grabbed her bag with the other one.

"That's pretty cheap" Kyouko commented while Sayaka sipped from her cardboard coffee cup. The other girl shrugged dismissively.

"I'd love to stay and chat about coffee cups -which are amazingly economic by the way- but my class is about to start." she took a last minute look in the mirror by the entrance to fix some loose hairs."I left my spare keys on the table if you ever decide to move" Kyouko yawned loudly and then nodded in response.

"I´ll be back at five" Stealing a glimpse at the wall clock, Sayaka snorted "If I'm not spending afternoon in detention that is"

Kyouko leaned her head back, covering herself with a blanket up to the neck "Good luck with that. I´ll nap for a little while" She heard a silent complaint along the lines of 'lucky bastard' as the entrance door closed behind the other girl.

When she was sure her roommate was gone, she languidly sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "And there goes my lazy morning. Money doesn't grow in trees after all" Dropping her legs to the side of the couch she replaced her loose tshirt for the tank top on the floor. As she walked past the mirror she muttered a 'good enough' and took the spare keys, throwing them in the air and grabbing them again.

When she arrived at the apartment's reception, she was surprised to hear someone complaining loudly. It was usually peaceful in there except for the occasional kid running around the room for no apparent reason.

"So much to deliver, and the mailman won't come today" a middle aged man with a mustache Kyouko found slightly funny, held a package in his hands "I have no time for this nonsense!" Before he could continue bitching at the porter indefinitely, the redhead came to the rescue.

"I can deliver it for ya'. I was making my way to the post office anyways" she offered casually, watching as the porter's expression changed to one of pure relief.

"That would be perfect" he handed the package without a second thought. Before he had the opportunity to disappear out of sight, Kyouko coughed lightly while she held out a hand.

"A lady does favors without expecting anything back" he blatantly ignored her, resuming his walk up the stairs.

"Bad move" she heard the doorkeeper behind her who was suppressing a grin.

"Oh shut up. I saved your ass back there." She studied the package, which despite it's looks didn't weight much. "There's no way I'm delivering this for free"

"Well, if I were you I wouldn't say that again. That man was the building's owner" he couldn't control his laugh anymore as he saw the girl's expression.

Kyouko grunted, walking towards the doorway. "And next time call your wife, because I won't be there to save ya" she heard his laughing getting louder as she left the building.

Getting a good look at the package, she snorted aloud "What is this anyways?" as she shook it she heard cracks, like the sound of crystal breaking. Noticing then the 'fragile' sticker adorning one of it's sides. "Well… I can always blame delivery service"

After leaving the package in the post office, she was making her way home when a familiar white-eared tom crossed her way. He stood by her feet obediently and she leaned down to pet him.

"Hey buddy. I didn't think I would get to see'ya again" the cat meowed in response, like he could truly understand what she was saying. A green haired girl came to as stop in front of her, panting lightly "Is he your cat? He seems to like you"

Kyouko chuckled "Were you chasing him?" the girl nodded sheepishly "He´s very sly. Tried to steal food from my neighbor once. Since that day on I used to feed him my leftovers when he stopped by my building"

Scratching the back of his ear she earned a purr of approval from the feline "It`s been a while you pest" petting his head one last time she stood up again.

"So, kid. What are you doing around here?" she asked the smaller girl who was now pampering the animal.

"I wanted to open a lemonade stand, but those girl scouts stole the block" she pointed at a crowd of people that only seemed to get bigger each time you looked at it.

"Oh, that. I thought they were selling drugs"

"What are drugs?" the girl looked at her expectantly with big, green eyes.

"Umm. Never mind" she shoved her hands in her pockets in search of snacks "Are you planning to do something about it?"

The girl´s expression fell "Not really. They're very popular with the parents around here"

Kyouko smirked as she started chewing on a piece of bubblegum. "Tell you what, kid. I'll help you and we split the money. How does half and half sound?"

The girl's sullen expression lit up instantly "Deal! I'm Yuma by the way"

"Sakura Kyouko. Pleasure to make business with'ya"

This earned a chuckle from Yuma as she pulled the older girl by her sleeve "Let's go set it up" The cat scampered behind them, eager to get his share of leftovers.  
>Kyouko laughed at the girl's energy "You got it. We'll need lemons, cups, and a stand"<p>

* * *

><p>Sayaka's day at school had been the definition of draining, not like it was a novelty. She fell asleep in one of the teacher's lectures and lost all sense of concentration in the one's she had miraculously managed to stay awake.<p>

That was not all. An hour of detention had been waiting for her at the end of the day. There was no way she could keep herself from collapsing if she continued arriving late and getting punished over and over again.

But it was now time to go home, so thankfully she had nothing else to worry about. _Except for the goddamn wallet._

Almost a week had passed since the wallet had disappeared and there was still no sign of it. She had been checking the store daily and Mami had promised to keep her eyes open.

She detoured to the store, dragging her backpack behind. It was not surprising to see that the blonde was already there, working hard as she always did. The store had closed early again and Sayaka was pleased to know Mami was the only one there.

"Good afternoon Sayaka. You look exhausted" she said when she saw the sleep deprived girl dragging her feet through the sliding doors.

"And I am" she sat on the counter besides Mami, dropping her bag on the floor. She took an energy bar from one of the shelves beside her while Mami cleaned the cashier carefully.

"What about the wallet? Did you visit the bank?" Mami asked as the cashier opened with a loud ting. "And I guess you're paying for that?" she raised an eyebrow at the chocolate in her hand.

"The… bank?" Sayaka asked absentmindedly as she crunched on the peanut filled candy, a blank expression on her face.  
>Mami paused her work to look at the younger girl "Don't tell me you have yet to go"<p>

"I visited the lost and found…" she trailed off, sighing frutratedly. Her head had been so full of other things, she had managed to forget about what was supposed to be her main priority. "I can't believe I didn't think about it before. What would I do without you Mami"

"Of that I'm not sure" the blonde resumed her work "You should get going before they close"

"Your right" Sayaka grabbed her bag "Thanks" she took off running as she dropped some coins on the counter. Mami chuckled to herself. The girl had been pretty out of it lately.

* * *

><p>Crowded places weren't Sayaka's strength, and visiting them was far from being her favorite pastime. It didn't matter where she was or who she was with. There was always a line waiting for her, each one longer than the last.<p>

And that afternoon the bank was no exception to her chain of unluckiness. She had already wasted half and hour standing up. Not to mention, she was the last one in line.

"Next" Making her way towards the counter she found a bored looking girl staring back at her.

"What can I help you with?" she offered in a monotone voice.

"I kind of lost my card some days ago" trying to ignore the 'are you stupid?' look she was receiving from the girl she continued talking "I have the serial code"

The banker sighed "Alright. Something's better than nothing"

Sayaka dictated the number as the girl clicked and typed in a varied pattern. "Uh, someone used you money"

Sayaka got closer to the desk, raising her tone slightly "What?"

"The card was not protected. So, all the thief had to do was walk into a store and spell your name right" she explained with no interest "There are still about ten dollars left though"

Sayaka grunted, annoyed by her mistake. Ten dollars were nothing compared to the original balance in the card "What can I do?"

"You can get the bank to lend you some money, and try to catch the thief"

Sayaka smiled malevolently at her proposal. Whoever had stolen from her was in the wrong page and she was about to make them pay. In her world, there was nothing sweeter than that.

"So, how do I do that?" she was genuinely interested now. About a thousand plans appearing on her head.

"Well, we need some minimal information like where the card was last used. We can track it down from there"

"Perfect! I'll be back tomorrow"

"If you have to. I'll go ahead and cancel the card. You are free to go so I can finally get out of here"

"Thanks!" Sayaka was way to happy to let her mood be affected by hapless college students.

"Whatever" the girl behind the desk mumbled indifferently as she walked away.

Sayaka was in a good mood. She would be sure to catch the thief herself, and teach him a lesson he wouldn't forget. It wasn't about the money anymore, it was way more personal.

Strolling through the streets near her home, she recognized her roommate's signature lock of red hair in the distance.

"Hey" she approached the wooden stand at the same time a satisfied client walked away with a cup of lemonade.

"Hey yourself" Kyouko greeted back, throwing the lemons on top of the table into bags. Yuma peeked from behind the stand.

"Hi!" she greeted as Sayaka did the same. She turned back to Kyouko "Was this the girl you were talking about earlier, Kyouko-san? The one you said was cut-" Kyouko held her hands to the girls mouth, blushing while she laughed nervously. "Ha ha, kids this days huh?"

Sayaka chuckled at her quick witted reaction. She glanced at the sign on top of their heads "Lemonaid? While it's wrongly spelled it does make it sound cute" she said to Yuma.

The little girl shrugged "Kyouko-san was the one who wrote that"

"Oh, really?" Sayaka casted an amused look at Kyouko, who was behind the table throwing the used cups away.

"Well, obviously I did that on purpose" she waved her hands defensively.

"But, when I told you it was spelled "lemonade" you told me it was wrong" Yuma said innocently.

"Well, enough talking, kid" she tried her best not to look embarrassed. "Anyways. We have tons of money, so how 'bout some dinner?"  
>Yuma looked down "It's already late, I should be heading back" she noticed the black cat napping besides the table "Can I take him with me?" she asked hopefully.<p>

"I don't see why not" Kyouko said while petting the feline's head. "Well, what about you Miki? Any plans for tonight?"

"I guess there's no harm in tagging along. As long as your paying that is"

"It's decided then! We're going on a date!" Kyouko exclaimed.

"Wait a minute! I never said anything about a date"

* * *

><p>After they clearing the stand and walking aimlessly around town they decided on a four star restaurant. It was quite fancy, thus not cheap, but Kyouko had assured Sayaka that she would be able to pay for it.<p>

The redhead entered the restaurant casually, Sayaka following on tail. It was painfully obvious they didn't belong there. Every single one of the costumers walked around wearing elegant dresses or etiquette tuxedos. And the fact that Kyouko didn't seem to notice made them even more upset.

"A table for two" Kyouko asked the woman near the entrance.

While they talked Sayaka smiled sheepishly and tried to ignore all the eyes resting on her. She felt like an antelope in a room full of prowling lions, with no clue of when they planned to attack.

The receptionist gave them a once-over, visibly unhappy with their middle class looks. But a client was a client. Still, she could've at least made an effort to force a smile. "There's one by the window"

"Thanks" Kyouko grabbed Sayaka by her arm, pulling her through the restaurant.

"We should get out of here" Sayaka muttered as they sat down.

"Nonsense. They can't kick us out. All we have to do is be one with the fancy people" she took the wineglass in front of her and pretended to drink the nonexistent liquid. Raising her pinky as she did so.

Sayaka chuckled at her attempt at class "I don't think that's considered fancy at all"

The waiter arrived and noticing the redhead's actions flashed her a hateful stare. Kyouko kept eye contact and slowly let the wineglass down. "Keep eye contact and don't make any sudden movements" she whispered almost inaudibly. Sayaka rolled her eyes at her roommate's stupidness, but couldn't hide the smile that was drawn on her lips.

He served them water and wrote their orders down. While they waited they didn't find anything to talk about so Kyouko made up a game. They had to find the woman with the most make up on, and in a restaurant like this it was like finding trees on a forest.

"That one!" Kyouko pointed randomly at a woman by the entrance who was facing back.

Sayaka waited for her to turn around, and when she did she almost spat the water she had been drinking "Wow. That is _a lot_ of make up"

The woman noticed their blank stares, and they were forced to look the other way to conceal their brilliant game.

"So, what did you do today?" Kyouko started casual conversation, taking a sip of water from the glass that was now full.

"Not much. Went to school and then took care of some business" she thanked the waiter with a nod when he brought their food. "I'm the one that should be asking that. What were you doing selling lemonade on the street?"

"Well, I needed money"

"And selling lemonade was seriously the only thing you could come up with?" she mocked the other girl.

"Hey, don't judge. We actually made quite a lot of cash"

The redhead turned her attention to the steak. Looking like she was about to wolf it down in one bite.

"If you want us to go unnoticed you should probably eat that slowly" Sayaka raised an eyebrow amusedly at the huge steak she had ordered.

Kyouko huffed, taking one of the many different sized forks. "Believe it or not, my manners are pretty freaking great" The fork in her hand escaped her grasp as she bragged, landing accurately near a fat lady. In perfect synchronization the lady stepped on it, slipping and falling to the floor.

Kyouko stared blankly at what had just happened while Sayaka hid herself with the menu. Nobody seemed to notice exactly where the flying fork came from. Except for the couple in the table besides them, who were glaring at them disapprovingly. As a waiter helped the lady up, she tripped again earning a chuckle from the redhead. She looked at the other girl who was still hiding her face in the menu, trying her best to remain serious. But there was a blatant smile tugging at her lips.

The night went by fast, and Sayaka had to note she felt pretty comfortable by Kyouko's side. She talked enthusiastically and when they laughed they earned cold stares from other tables, but Sayaka couldn't bring herself to care any less.

The waiter brought the bill, interrupting their conversation. The bluenette was the first one to reach for it, cringing at the total sum of money.

She called the other girl's attention by kicking her feet under the table. She lowered her voice so the waiter wouldn't hear them, using the menus as a way of covering their faces "How much money do you have with you?"

"I think about forty dollars. I figured that would be enough" Sayaka resisted the urge to face palm.

"There's no way in hell we can afford this" she hissed.

"It can't possibly be that much" Kyouko took the bill from her hands. She eyed it for a moment, raised an eyebrow and looked at Sayaka again "We are damned"

"Any idea on what to do?"

"Follow my lead" They leaned back again, realizing then how much attention their not-so-low whispering had attracted. "I'll pay with a credit card"

"Perfect. Wait a moment please" as he turned around Kyouko grabbed the other girl by the hand.

"When I say run, you run" Sayaka was way too distracted by the sudden contact to process what the hell was going on.

"Wait wha-" "Run!" Kyouko pushed her chair back, literally jumping from the table as she dragged Sayaka behind her.

They were making their way to the entrance, the waiters to slow to be able to stop them in their tracks. They heard random complaints from behind, but kept their pace up. But when they were about to leave, the fat lady from before blocked the exit.

"What a rude pair of gi-" before she could berate them, Sayaka had already thrown a glass of water from a nearby table. Her make up was running through her face, the dress that barely fit her dripping wet.

"Let's get out of here!" Using the distraction for their advantage, she was now the one to pull Kyouko behind.

They finally arrived at the apartment. Sayaka closed the door behind her as she leaned into it with a deep exhale. After they lost the waiter they kept running through the streets as good measure, so they where both panting heavily. Kyouko walked towards the couch and threw herself on it.

"I can't believe we just did that" Sayaka was the first to speak, pacing around the room "We stole from them" she suddenly turned to face Kyouko "You! If it weren't for you this wouldn't have happened"

Instead of answering with words Kyouko's first reaction was to laugh boisterously. "Did you see her face when you threw the water? Priceless!"  
>Sayaka sighed loudly, smiling slightly at the fresh memory. "Still, what we did was wrong…"<p>

"Tell you what. We never talk about this again and I'll buy us food tomorrow"

"Well I guess there's nothing to do now. It was _your_ fault after all" she calmed down, sitting besides the redhead.

"Deal?" Kyouko asked stretching her hand.

The bluenette rolled her eyes and copied the gesture "Deal"


	5. Chapter 5

**That took me a long time (mostly due to my laziness), but i'm finished with chapter 5. The other day i found the first draft of one of the chapters in this story and it was pretty terrible, if it weren't for the reviews i've recieved there's a lot of things that wouldn't have changed for the best! **

**Thankyou to everyone that reviewed this, specially Danielwain, your comments helped me to improve this story a whole lot. So, thanks for that ^^ **

**I hope you all keep enjoying this story, even if my updates are extremely slow...**

* * *

><p>"The star festival is coming to a start today, and it's no surprise the streets are already decorated" A brunette on television pretended to be enthusiastic while a blur of people walked around and bumped her side. Kyouko changed the channel like she had been doing for the past half an hour, and grunted when yet another cooking segment appeared on tv. Her productive morning had been spent by the never tiring company of reruns and leftover cake.<p>

It was still early, so she decided to stay in the apartment until Sayaka came back. She was slowly climbing her way into a sitting position like an overfed pet, when the door clicked and Sayaka came through with a quick slide of her feet, visibly thankful for being alive. Kyouko arched her eyebrows.

"Care to explain the random Sound of Music skipping?"

"I visited the bank. They had the information I needed, but they can't help me until the month ends" Kyouko felt instantly relieved by the time span. A month was enough time to get her hands on cash and put an end to this ridiculous situation at the same time she slacked around.

"Wait, why are you happy then?"

"I have a plan of my own" Sayaka said as she sat besides Kyouko "Mami; the manager of the place I work, is helping me out"

Kyouko cringed internally. Sayaka had no idea she knew about the credit card theft, and more importantly, that she was the thief. So there was absolutely no way she was squeezing more information out of her roommate. Sayaka's plan was a mystery and Kyouko had a feeling it would not end well for her.

"I have work to do" Kyouko groaned, changing the subject

"Managing a lemonade stand can hardly be considered work" Sayaka teased.

"If you want something to eat tonight you might as well respect me"

Sayaka chuckled and glanced at the traveling commercial playing on the tv "Right. My father is visiting in a couple of days"

"Does he care about a homeless girl rooming in your apartment?"

"Honestly, I don't know. It's just like him to make plans for dinner at some high budget restaurant, so your existence will remain unknown" she smiled mockingly.

"Wow, now that makes me feel wanted" Kyouko stood up, snagging a gray hoodie from the pile of clothes on the floor.

"Is that my hoodie?"

Kyouko smiled sheepishly and rushed to the door "Maybe"

* * *

><p>Kyouko started to the familiar cement streets that covered a good part of the city. It looked like the brunette from earlier was right, for the mini-markets and shops nearby were hiding under paper dragons and colorful trinkets. Kyouko's stomach grumbled. Star festival meant food courts which meant snacks, and in Kyouko's world that meant happiness.<p>

She almost forgot about the task at hand as she arrived at the supermarket. It already had it's good share of costumers buying groceries in the morning. That's the kind of thing you expect from the only big store on the street. She wandered inside and searched for a member of the staff until she found a guy who smiled at her amiably.

"Do you know where Mami Tomoe is by any chance?" she approached him.

He seemed caught off guard by the question, but his smile made a quick return "Umm, I think she's by the ice cream section" he pointed with his thumb at the back of the store.

"Thanks" Kyouko kept her pace until she put some thought on her decision making. What was she supposed to say? She hadn't seen the blonde for about a year after she left Kazamino, and now she was supposed to ask her for a favor. She was deciding if going back would be a better idea, when she heard a familiar voice.

"Kyouko?"

"Yeah, hey" She said awkwardly.

"It's been years since, i thought…" Mami trailed off.

"I know. Everything's alright now." Mami didn't say anything so she got to the point "Look, i take it you work with Sayaka right?"

Mami raised an eyebrow "Wait, you? You are the girl that has her so distracted?" she smiled "It's a small world"

Kyouko blushed, but managed to stir the conversation back up "I got myself into something and I need your help"

"And what could that be?" Mami spoke in a more serious tone.

Kyouko mulled over her choices. She could tell Mami the whole story or be vague about it. But it was likely the blonde would end up knowing anyways. She might as well get it over with quickly. "Can we go somewhere…emptier?"

Mami was conscious of the group of costumers around them and nodded as she motioned to the back door. They entered a room that looked like a janitor's closet but it was bigger in size, and Kyouko had to be careful not to trip up with any boxes.

"I guess Sayaka mentioned this before, about someone stealing her credit card" Kyouko sighed "Turns out I'm the thief"

Instead of reacting with anger or shock as Kyouko thought Mami would, there was an edge of sadness in her voice "Oh, Kyouko I thought you had changed"

"Believe me, I regret it. That's why I'm renting a room at Sayaka's and hope I can slowly pay back what I stole. The thing is, she told me you were going to help her out and I just can't let her find out it's me"

"You know she'll have to find out someday right?" Kyouko shrugged "I can tell you care a lot for her; and I'm sure she feels the same way, so I'll help this time. But you have to understand, no matter what the weight of you actions they will always catch up with you at the end"

"Why are you doing this?" Kyouko blurted out. Even if she did come here with that idea, she had been sure Mami wouldn't even finish hearing her before stepping out.

"Take it as a favor from an old friend" Mami smiled warmly "Now, the bank told Sayaka they found out the last time someone used her card was in this store. But they aren't able to track down the thief since they need a record from the store system, a videotape or really anything that might result useful"

"So you guys are getting the information first?" Kyouko guessed.

"Exactly. As a manager, I have a copy of the keys to the video room. You can figure out the rest"

Kyouko stood pensive with her hands on her pockets, taking turns to glance between Mami and the roof. "Kyouko I promised to tell you, but I don't think I can do anything else"

The redhead came to her mischievous self "I know exactly what to do" she turned in one feet and ran out the storage room. Mami rolled her eyes and was about to follow her when the girl peeked through the door "When is Sayaka coming?"

"In an hour" Mami said.

"Nice" she stepped to leave again, but this time she gave Mami a sincere smile to before she left. "I owe you one"

"Yeah, yeah. Just go before she gets here" Kyouko nodded and took off "And don't do anything stupid" She said loudly and then sighed as she watched the girl maneuvering between clients and carts on her way out "Oh, please don't let her do something stupid"

(...)

Kyouko turned down the block and found the lemonade stand situated exactly where it was the day before, near a big park infested with families. In other words, potential customers. There were already a lot in line as Yuma did her best to manage a quick service. Kyouko snickered when she saw the girl scouts that sold cookies glaring at their stand with flaring envy.

"Looks like we destroyed them" Kyouko said when she was near the stand.

Yuma chuckled in response "Are you helping today too?"

"Actually, I need your help with something. Don't worry I'll pay back with more working hours and awesome advertising"

"Alright" Yuma got on tiptoes and turned the little "open" sign that hung by two strings. "What's the plan?"

"I'm not sure myself, but I have a feeling this might work"

Kyouko beckoned for Yuma to follow and muttered an apology to the line of people that scowled as they left the stand. But before they left for good, she scanned the park and found the feline she had been looking for. The cat was napping on his belly under the shadow of a tree and when Kyouko came he sat up to lick his paws. Kyouko frowned when the cat hissed as she tried to get closer. Sighing in defeat, she rummaged in her pockets for food and threw a cookie at the animal, who ate it contentedly.

"He's coming with us?" Yuma asked.

"Yeah, I figure he could be useful" The cat sat at Yuma's feet and she took it in her arms like a plush. The three then resumed their way towards the store.

When they arrived, the redhead stared blankly at the glass doors "I wonder if we could reach their power system" The cat jumped from Yuma's grasp and circled the store until he found the back exit door. Then he tapped on it with his albino paw. The two girls shared a surprised look and stared at him quizzically "How-" a tiny mouse scampered from the pipes on the side wall and fell accurately in the cat's claws. "That makes more sense" Kyouko tried to open the door, but it didn't budge.

She took a step back when a guy with the store's staff tag opened it from the inside. He was surprised to see them there, or she supposed he was surprised below the messy bangs covering half his face. "I'm sorry but you can't go in-"

Kyouko sought for a quick solution and her eyes wandered to the cat. The cat stared back at her with an expression that said he knew what was going to happen next. She muttered "Sorry buddy" before throwing him towards the clerk like a grenade. The guy was taken aback as the feline yowled and proceeded to scratch his face freely.

"Let's go" The door took them into a hall. Kyouko squinted under the bright lights and read the sign in each of the parallel doors "Aha! The power room"

Yuma ran in front and tried to open it "It's locked" she said worriedly.

"Do you have a clip?" Yuma took one from her hair and lend it to Kyouko. The redhead took the clip in her hands and fit it in the lock, moving it until it gave in with a loud click. "Perfect"

The clerk had found another way in, because in a second his voice was behind them. "You can't be in here!"

Yuma took Kyouko by the sleeve and they both entered the room, closing the door shut. Kyouko found the power box on the wall and used the screwdriver on top to open it. Her eyes widened as she saw all the buttons and red colored lights. "Shit"

Yuma had her ear pressed to the door "He's coming!"

"Uhh, maybe if I do this" she pressed one of the buttons, but nothing happened as it popped right back up. She tried the same with the others, but there was still no effect. She could already hear the clerk's voice and it seemed he had brought someone with him. It would be no time until they found the key "Fuck this" Kyouko started smashing all the buttons frantically.

There was a decreasing sound followed by a loud click as the room went pitch black. Then a red emergency light shone besides the box to signal it the plan had worked after all. It also meant they didn't have any back up energy, so it would take them a while to get it fixed. Kyouko offered Yuma a high five as she smirked proudly.

* * *

><p>The sliding doors to the supermarket drifted apart to reveal an excited blue haired girl posing triumphantly. She spotted Mami in the back of the store, and made her way there by pushing kids and middle-aged women to the sides.<p>

"So" She said expectantly "The evidence" Sayaka felt like she was speaking to the merchandise since the blonde made no effort in paying her any attention.

Mami realized she was being talked to and turned around "In a bit" she said dismissively as she found the source of the voice. She kept on filling the shelves with new cereal boxes.

Sayaka paced back and forth "Do you have the keys?"

"I do, but the boss said I have to be there with you. So if you could just wait…"

"Excuse me?" a woman interrupted them. She had an instant soup on her left hand while holding her son's hand with the other one. "I bought this yesterday and it seems to be expired"

Mami opened her mouth to respond when the woman shoved the package near her face "I can't believe this, it's absolutely scandalous. Who knows what might have happened to my son here, he could've been poisoned" Mami tried to talk again but it ended with the same outcome "That's what your market wants? To poison my son? Look at it, just look at it. It's expired. E-x-p-i-r-e—"

Mami coughed loudly "Sorry ma'am we don't work here" she said, removing her name tag skillfully. Thank god she wasn't using the humiliating staff uniform today.

The woman looked embarrassed for a moment before nodding, giving an apology, and wandering off. When she was gone, Mami turned around to resume her work but an amused Sayaka was in her way. "What?"

"What was that?" Sayaka arched her eyebrows "Did you blow her off? Mami blew someone off?"

Mami breathed deeply "Hard day. And it's not the first time she comes here. She's usually in the search of random merchandise to complain about. This is the first time she approaches me though"

"Does that mean we can go now?" Sayaka crossed her arms.

Mami sighed in defeat "Okay, I guess we can go"

"Seriously?"

"Before I change my mind"

They made their way to the the bento stands at the very back. There, Mami searched for a key and they entered through a door behind the stands.

Inside they were a couple of open storage rooms and closed doors with "staff only" written on them. There was an angry clerk shouting at one of the doors, but they agreed silently that it was better not to get involved.

"This should be the room" Mami tried the key and Sayaka beamed when it worked. She entered the room first and rested her palms on the desk as she stared at all the screens streaming live video of every aisle in the store. "So, how do we catch this thief?"

Mami sat down in front of the small computer beside the screens. "I have to find the recordings filed from that day between the hours they gave you" she clicked on a folder and a video started playing. Sayaka was instantly by her side. "How will we know who the thief is?"

"That's the tricky part" Mami put the video on forwards "We find the exact hour and then narrow it to who bought exactly what you were charged"

"Nice" Sayaka leaned forwards on the back of the seat as Mami searched the tape. Her phone vibrated, but she had no interest in checking the caller and miss the thief.

"Aren't you getting that?" Mami said pointing at the cell phone on Sayaka's pocket. "No, first tings first" Sayaka dismissed her, scrutinizing the screen like the culprit's name would suddenly pop up. "Wait, thats the right time. Pause now!"

There was a faraway tapping sound as all the lights in the room went out consecutively, leaving them blinded. "What just happened?" Sayaka said slowly.

* * *

><p>"I knew this would work!"<p>

"Kyouko-san?" she could see Yuma's face under the red emergency light "How do we get out?" the girl asked, hoping the older girl had a plan.

They heard some loud knocking on the door that made both of them jump. Obviously, the room had no windows or escape routes of any kind. They were trapped inside and the knocking was getting insistent. "If the halls are dark then there's a slight chance we can outrun them" Kyouko grabbed the handle "We have to be fast"

Yuma nodded and Kyouko felt a tinge of worry when she saw actual fear reflected in the small girl's face "Don't worry I'll make sure you get out of this one. And if we do I'll get you some ice cream" This simple promise seemed to calm Yuma down but the voices outside made them remember they had yet to be safe.

"Hide behind the door" Yuma did as ordered and sticked to the wall behind the closed door. Kyouko whispered something and turned the lock, then hid besides Yuma swiftly. It took some seconds for the employees outside to realize the room was unlocked.

"Was it unlocked the whole time?" she recognized the voice as the clerk with the messy bangs.

"I don't think so" another, lower voice answered.

They entered silently like they were waiting for an ambush. They muttered to each other and shone flashlights on the electricity box. Kyouko held her breath and waited until she could see their faces under the red light before taking Yuma by the hand and circling the door with tiny steps. As they were about to leave, she must've stepped on something, because one of the guys pointed the yellow light at them "There they are!"

The girls ran and Kyouko slammed the door behind them to win some time. What she hadn't thought about was just how dark the halls were. There was no way they would get out before stepping into a crowded room and getting themselves caught. When a flashlight shone on her left side she was ready to dive at the stranger and tell Yuma to run. But wait a second, she knew that voice."Guess I will be the one to save you from doing something stupid" Mami smirked.

Kyouko was filled with relief "Where's Sayaka?"

"She said she would help getting the electricity back up, but it seems she has had no luck" They heard footsteps and Mami turned off the flashlight "I know this place well"

Kyouko followed Mami as Yuma held to her sleeve tightly. She heard a click and then saw daylight as the door they went through the door they had used earlier to come in. "Thanks Mami"

The older girl smiled "You had your way this time, but remember what I told you earlier" she turned on the flashlight and went back inside.

Outside, Kyouko looked downward to see if her companion was okay and not scared. But Yuma was smiling like nothing had happened "That was kind of awesome"

"Maybe it was, but I seriously hope I'll never have to do it again" Kyouko exhaled deeply.

(...)

When the electricity came back again and the panicked people went back to aimless shopping, Sayaka sat on a closed cashier eating a candy bar. "All of this bad luck is getting me fat" she sighed. The sun was already setting and the star festival decorations were replacing it's glow behind the sliding doors.

"Hey" Sayaka heard her roommate's voice.

"Hi" she looked around "Where's your little assistant?"

"We're already finished for today. We are pretty rich, I told you lemonade was a good idea" Kyouko smirked

After her disappointing day, Sayaka managed to feel better with Kyouko's company. Plus, she had free dinner tonight. "So, are you buying us dinner?"

"Yeah that's what I'm here to do. I don't think a restaurant is a good idea after last time, so the supermarket will have to do"

Sayaka chuckled "How fancy" she jumped off the cashier and shoved the candy wrapping on her pocket. "What are you buying?"

"You'll see" Sayaka followed her and took a cart with them. Kyouko seemed to know what she was doing because each time they walked through an aisle she stuffed something into the cart. Sayaka watched as the cart got filled up; cheese snacks, bento boxes, microwave mini-pizzas, pocky? and one of those damned instant soups. Kyouko caught her eye and smiled.

"Believe me, this is what I ate when I lived on my own. Easy to do, and better than what it looks like"

Kyouko payed for it with the money she had made on the park. This was like giving Sayaka her money back indirectly, right? They walked back to the apartment, and while Kyouko complained for the weight of the bags Sayaka searched for the keys, but all she found was candy wrapping.

"And, I forgot the keys" she sighed.

Kyouko blinked "What do we do?"

"In the reception they have a copy of each key, so we'll just have to ask for it"

Kyouko was already chewing on pocky when they went downstairs to the reception. The doorkeeper that had been behind the desk just a minute ago was gone, and in his replacement there was a note claiming he had free time because of the star festival. You would expect his boss to be angry, but he was also banished. I wonder why.

"Great" Sayaka groaned. "We'll have to wait here"

"Or, we can go to the star festival meanwhile" Kyouko offered "C'mon it'll be fun"

The redhead was smiling childishly and Sayaka found herself doing the same. "Sure" she shrugged.

"Then let's go" They went outside to the night, but the colorful lights barely left space for any speck of dark. They were people wearing kimonos and traders presuming their merchandise. The small streets where crowded and filled with noise, and what looked like a million ornaments were hanging from strings. Kyouko even spotted the doorkeeper dancing with a girl. She made a mental note to bother him later.

They sat on the stairs where they could see the festival without being caught in the multitude. Kyouko opened the bags and offered Sayaka a pack of cheese sticks.

"Not that bad of a dinner huh?"

"Better than yesterday that's for sure" They were in silence while drums played in the distance and kids ran energetically as their parents got lost in conversation and occasionally chastised them.

"Once I got lost in the star festival when I was a kid. A gypsy lady found me and I helped her to sell trinkets all night. I had ton of fun, but my family was worried sick looking all over the place for me." Kyouko smiled, lost in memory.

Sayaka laughed "That must've been quite an adventure"

"It really was" Sayaka thought she saw a glint of sadness on the other girl's eyes, but when she checked to see if it was really there it was already gone. "Do you know the festival's story?"

Sayaka's parents never took her anywhere when she was a kid, they were mostly gone on expensive trips. "I barely knew the star festival was a thing a few years ago, so, no, I've never heard it"

Kyouko shuffled into a comfortable position "Well, they say there was once a princess named Orihime that was the daughter of the Sky King. Everyday, she wove beautiful clothes by the river bank, and her father loved them, but because of her hard work she wasn't able to meet anyone and fall in love. So, one day the Sky King presented her to Hikoboshi. They fell in love and got married. The problem was, Orihime stopped weaving cloth for the Sky King, so he separated them across the river. Orihime begged for her father to let them see each other again, and she cried so much that her father allowed them to meet each year on the 7th of the 7th month."

"The day of the star festival" Sayaka thought out loud.

"Yeah. The thing is, the first time they tried to meet they realized they couldn't cross the river without a bridge. Orihime was heartbroken, so a flog of crows came and promised to make a bridge with their wings. But if it rains, the crows cannot come and they have to wait yet another year to meet again"

"That's kind of sad" Sayaka glanced at the starry sky, clear of any clouds. "But it seems like they met today"

Kyouko looked up "I guess they did"

They both dropped their gaze again and locked their eyes. Kyouko smiled at Sayaka and she blushed, just then realizing how close they really were. They could feel each other's slow breathing and she could feel Kyouko's arms on each of her sides. Maybe it would've ended differently if it weren't for the cat that jumped between them. Kyouko moved back and they both looked away blushing.

The feline jumped into Kyouko's lap and purred, breaking the silence.

Sayaka cleared her throat "Is that your cat?"

"Yeah, maybe. I don't really know" she scratched him behind the ear "He used to walk by my apartment"

The feline jumped from Kyouko's lap to Sayaka's and asked for attention by pawing her hand. "He seems friendly" she stroked his head.

They spent the rest of the night talking. Sayaka told Kyouko about the electrical problem on the store today and Kyouko ended up telling the story of how she had gotten herself kicked out. They watched as the cat came and go with scraps of food and asked for hot water on a food market so they could eat the instant soup. After a while, the lights got dimmer at the once vivid conversation that filled the street came to a rest.

They didn't even notice when the doorkeeper came back with a dragon scarf around his neck. "What are you guys doing here?" He saw the cardboard cups in their hands and laughed "Let me guess, you forgot your key. I'll give you the replacement"

They followed him and got the keys, but as they were about to head upstairs they noticed the cat was sitting outside the door looking miserable. Kyouko shrugged, but Sayaka could tell she cared about the animal.

"He can stay" she sighed.

"Huh?"

"Go get him, he can sleep in the kitchen"

Kyouko smiled widely "If ya' say so"


End file.
