Forever

She was used to hiding her emotions. From a very young age Kyouko learned that emotions where nothing but a weakness. And yet that didn't mean that she did not have any. Seeing the corpse of the love of her life hurt even her.

As Kyouko sat on her bed, locked away from the others' eyes, she stared blankly at the wall, trying to sort through her thoughts but to no avail.

It wasn't a shock that Sayaka tried to commit murder. Her actions those past few days made obvious how badly she wanted to escape from this place. So why did Kyouko feel like she would burst into tears any moment? It didn't make any sense. Kyouko had made sure not to get too close to the ultimate idol in fear of this happening, but even though she hadn't known her that well, Sayaka's death had still managed to get to her.

Kyouko's eyes grew watery, but still, she tried to hold down the painful emotions. She couldn't become weak, not now. With that thought in mind she decided to get some rest. It had been a long, exhausting day which meant she had to recover some energy.

But as soon as she closed her eyes Kyouko realized that thinking about it was in fact easier than actually doing it. Thoughts kept circling in her head that she couldn't shake off. And yet, after what felt like hours, a wave of blackness rolled over her and she sunk into a deep sleep.

Kyouko awoke to the feeling of warm breath on her face. She quickly opened her eyes, letting out a small gasp at the sight that awaited her. Hovering just above her, inches from touching, was Sayaka Maizono.

But was it really her? Yes no doubt, the long blue hair, the pale skin, everything looked like the beautiful Idol. Well, almost everything. If it wouldn't be for the darkness in her eyes that were once as blue as the sky.

Now, they were more hollow, black abysses, drained of any form of life, than actual eyes. Kyouko couldn't help looking into those dark round pits of despair, as a feeling other than grief stirred inside of her. A single spark of fear.

Kyouko wasn't able to analyze her situation with her usual calmness. She had so many questions. 'Why are you here? Why did you leave me?' But she couldn't make a single noise. All she was able to was to stare.

Then after seconds, minutes or maybe hours Kyouko woke up.She sat up in her bed, glancing around the room to see nothing out of the ordinary. It was only a dream. Kyouko shook her head, slightly disappointed in herself. Of course it had been a dream, Sayaka was dead, and nothing could change that. The weight of grief quickly returned to Kyouko as that thought came to her.

She wasn't even sure why or when those feelings started. But Sayaka was so fascinating to her that Kyouko couldn't keep her eyes away. The young Idol had hidden dephts that Kyouko would have loved to learn more about. But now that chance was gone.

Kyouko felt her eyes begin to water once more, as regret joined the negative emotions growing inside of her. She regretted not getting to know Sayaka, she regretted that she would never get answers to all her questions. Kyouko clenched her hands into fists. She couldn't break down now, she had to stay strong.

A sudden ring of the doorbell made Kyouko jump out of her thoughts. Talking to her classmates was the last thing she had in mind, but if there was an emergency she couldn't ignore it either. With a heavy sigh she got out of the bed and moved towards the door. Aparently not fast enough because the visitor felt the need to ring the bell once again. More forceful than originally planned, she swung the door open only to find none other than Makoto Naegi.

Kyouko had regained her usual cold expression, though the feelings hadn't left her. Makoto, however, wasn't as good at hiding his emotions, and it was obvious that not too long ago he had been crying. Still, the boy greeted her with a smile.