Pocky and Soulmate (Akuma no Riddle / Madoka Magica - Crossover Fanfic)

Chapter Six

"Welcome back, Master~ Would you like me to show you to a table?" Haruki, her face a perfect mask of cheerful innocence, bowed as yet another young man walked through the entrance to the café. It was so busy today, and she was tired of pretending to be a happy-go-lucky maid. Her usual shifts only lasted two or three hours, but today she'd had to fill in for someone else during the busiest time of day, right after school.

"Nah," the boy said, "I'm meeting up with-oh I see her right there. Nevermind." He brushed past Haruki as if she wasn't there, and walked into the café in the direction of a table occupied only by a girl around his age.

For a moment, Haruki let her false smile fade as she sighed in annoyance. It might have almost been worth getting yelled at by Kyouko if she could work at that convenience store instead of... this.

But Kyouko was the whole reason she was doing this, working away all her free time, so that didn't really make sense.

It had been a week or so since Haruki had last encountered the redhead Magical Girl at the convenience store. I wonder if she's even thought about me since then, Haruki thought, and if she has, it was probably about how much she hates me.

Footsteps in in the entrance of the café jolted Haruki out of her thoughts, and she instantly smiled and looked up into the face of a high school girl with long, dark hair tied by a pink ribbon and pretty purple eyes.

Slightly unnerved, Haruki did the usual bow. "Welcome back, Mistress... Would you like me to show you to a table?"

The girl, her expression giving off an air of mystery, shook her head silently, and after a moment, spoke. "Do you know a girl around my age named Sakura Kyouko?"

The shock must have shown on Haruki's face, as after a moment of awkward silence, the girl smiled kindly. "So you do. I think I will come in and have something to drink, and we can talk after your shift is over. I don't want to bother you while you're working."

Haruki's mouth gaped, and it was all she could do to blink a few times and nod. The girl, not waiting for Haruki to show her to a table, simply walked in herself and sat down at an unoccupied table in the corner of the café.

The rest of Haruki's shift passed by in a blur, she couldn't think straight knowing that there was a girl here that knew Kyouko. Who was she? A friend? A rival? Another Magical Girl?

It must have been obvious that Haruki was a little out of it-at the end of her shift, the café manager called her to the office, where she was sitting at her desk on her comfortable-looking spinny-chair.

"Hey, Haruki, you alright?" The middle-aged woman Haruki had come to know as only 'Manager' looked concerned, to her surprise. She'd expected to be yelled at for her bad work ethic. She had only been working at the café for a week after all.

"Sorry... just a little startled is all."

"Startled?" The manager looked confused.

Haruki opened her mouth before realizing she didn't know what to say, then decided that people lie too much and always get found out, so it was better to tell as much of the truth as possible.

"Well, a customer I've never seen before asked me if I knew someone, who happens to be a friend of mine... but you see we had a bit of a fight, so..."

The woman smiled sympathetically. "Ah, teenage drama. It's harsh, but you'll get through it." She stood and put a hand on Haruki's shoulder. "I know you've only been with us for a week, but you're a good worker, Haruki. Don't worry about today."

Haruki's eyes widened, and then she smiled in relief. "Thanks, Manager."

The manager nodded. "Now go have your chat. That girl is still in the café, right? Oh, and tell whoever's serving you I said to let you have a free milkshake. You like those, don't you?"

Haruki laughed. "Yes, I do. Thank you very much!" Haruki bowed slightly and walked back out into the café, where she quickly located the girl, still sitting in the same place as before, and sat down in a chair across the table from her.

"So... I'm done my shift."

The girl nodded, smiled, and spoke. "Alright then. Well, it's nice to meet you. My name is Akemi Homura-you can call me whatever you like."