No Longer Apart

Ever since I started posting on FanFic, I knew it would be inevitable that I would wind up writing a SayaKo story. I just either wanted to work on other things first, or didn't have the inspiration to write for these two in particular. But I've been listening to the PMMM soundtrack lately, and an idea came to me from the title of one of the songs. Now here I am, proudly presenting my first SayaKo/KyoSaya story. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimers: I don't own Puella Magi Madoka Magica or any incarnations. Just my passion for all the wonderful yuri it gifted us with.

Darkness clouded her vision. No, not just her vision, her entire being as well. Hatred, despair, agony, greed, lust… The list of negative emotions continued, suffocating her under their weight. She remembered that she needed to fight against this crushing sensation, but a strange sense of apathy prevented her from acting.

"Ya gotta focus on the one thing that matters most to you, and protect it with all yer might…"

The voice cut through the fog like a star streaking through a night sky. It reminded her of something… Or someone… Someone she cared for…? Someone that she…

The darkness returned, smothering the curious sensation of care. What did it matter anyway? There was only the darkness, now and forever. Nothing else should even exist.

"I'll take care of her."

There was that voice again. The lilt of the voice was haunting. It made her feel like there might be more than this eternal night. But that couldn't be… Could it?

"Don't worry, Sayaka."

That name… It upsets the darkness. Could that have been her name, once?

"I know ya don't like to be alone. It's okay, I'll be here, with ya… Sayaka…"

No. That wasn't what she wanted at all. The voice should stay away. Leave her to the darkness, don't join it. She never wanted the voice to join her in the night. That was the one thing that she couldn't bear.

Struggling against the darkness, she tried so hard to reach out to the voice, to stop it. It was futile; love could never exist in such a place. It had no reason for being. There was not point in trying. But she didn't give up. She would never let the voice fall with her into the unending agony.

Light suddenly filled her vision. With it came pain, stronger than any she or the darkness had ever known. But she found it bracing. It was cleansing her, parting her from the shadows. She could see a bruised and battered girl before her. Her hair was as red as the blood of her wounds. The girl offered a smile, and then quickly faded away.

Miki Sayaka awoke covered in sweat. The dream was one that she was familiar with. She'd known it was coming, because every year, without fail, she had this dream on May 9th. But she'd never seen the red-haired girl before. Never before in the dream had she felt that painful aching in her chest at the sight of whoever she was.

It didn't leave now that she was awake, either. It remained, like a gaping wound in her chest that she couldn't see. It was the singular most painful sensation she'd ever experienced.

With a sigh, Sayaka sat up. She looked at the clock by her bed and saw that she only had one minute before her alarm would have woken her up anyway. The thought of making up an excuse to not go to school today was more tempting than it had ever been before.

She pushed the thought away and slowly got ready for school. The ache lessened somewhat during her preparation time in the washroom, and subsided to something dull after she'd eaten. Yet it never left. It weighed on her heart like a dead weight, dragging her down.

Sayaka met up before school with Kaname Madoka, Akemi Homura, and Tomoe Mami at their usual location. She was usually very energetic in the morning, especially when she had the chance to be with her friends, but the energy just wasn't in her this morning.

"Hey Sayaka." Madoka greeted cheerfully. The others made similar salutations.

The bluenette was only able to muster the ability to wave anemically. "Morning…"

"You alright, Sayaka?" Mami asked, concern on her face.

With a shrug, Sayaka kept moving towards their school, not in the mood for conversation.

A few minutes passed in silence while the others fell in behind her. "Uhm…" It was Madoka, naturally, who broke the heavy atmosphere. "Something you want to talk about, Sayaka?"

"It's May 9th." Was the only response the bluenette could muster.

"Oh…" The pink-haired girl subsided, understanding.

Naturally Sayaka had told her friends about this dream, because it had happened for all sixteen years of her life. No reason it should change now.

The others talked some as the made it onto campus, and eventually into the classroom, but it was subdued. They didn't really know what to say. The dream always made Sayaka moody the day of, but this was the worst she'd ever had it. Even as she sat down in her chair, she was just wanted to put her head on her arms and just try not to feel anything.

She even got away with it when class started and the teacher welcomed the class.

"Now then, I have a surprise announcement." The teacher was excited. It was probably some pop-quiz. "We have a new transfer student. Would you like to introduce yourself?"

There was the sound of the door opening, and someone walking into the room. "My name is Sakura Kyoko."

The voice was like a shot of lightning down Sayaka's spine. She sat up ram-rod straight like she a pole was suddenly attached to her back. It was the girl from her dream; the same voice, the same red hair. Lovely red eyes that confidently challenged the whole room.

Wait, lovely? Sayaka thought to herself. Since when did she start thinking of any girl as lovely? Sure, pretty, cute, beautiful, maybe. But lovely? And a knock-out figure that could make anyone's day. Dreamy full lips too.

What is with me? The bluenette shook her head. Just because I dreamed about this girl last night doesn't mean that I'm… The thought trailed off. Obviously she was. She was in love, head-over-heels. And strangely enough, it felt familiar. And right. Not like it was some stranger that she was just attracted to, but like she'd developed these feelings her entire life.

"Ya gotta focus on the one thing that matters most to you, and protect it with all yer might…"

"I'll take care of her."

"Don't worry, Sayaka."

"I know ya don't like to be alone. It's okay, I'll be here, with ya… Sayaka…"

Fragments of the dream coursed through her mind at lightning speed. Why was she in that dream? It felt like she'd known Kyoko her whole life.

She blushed when she realized that she had missed the rest of the girl's introduction. The blush refused to go away, now that she had these new feelings to deal with. Then she realized that Kyoko was assigned the seat behind her and she had to turn away as the redhead walked past. Her heart thumped in her chest, causing her to realize that the pain in her chest had gone completely.

No, not quite completely. There was still something that was missing. Without a doubt, she knew that the only way to make that feeling go away was to talk to Kyoko.

Class dragged by after that. One class turned into two. Slowly, torturously, the day came to a close. At the first opportunity, Sayaka turned to Kyoko, wanting to speak with her, to find out why she felt like she had known her for her whole life.

But the redhead was faster on the draw. "Yo, Sayaka. I been wanting to talk with ya all day today. Ya got sometime to kill?"

"Yeah." The bluenette nodded, not surprised. She made some polite goodbyes to her friends, and then followed the other girl to the rooftop.

Once the door was closed behind them, Kyoko turned around and put a hand on the bluenette's cheek. "I've been waiting for this my whole life."

Sayaka turned her face into the other girl's caress. Closing her eyes, she smiled. "Why though? Why do I feel like I know you so well?"

"Because of this."

Sayaka opened her eyes to see the redhead holding some kind of blue and red gem in her free hand. Curiously, she reached out a hand and touched the odd crystal. Immediately, her mind was flooded with memories of a different world, a different time. One where she and her friends fought witches. And one where she succumbed to despair and tried to kill those friends.

But she didn't see just her own memories. She could see everything from Kyoko's perspective as well. Their initial struggles. The challenges they presented to each other's life style. And the way that the other girl came to love her; enough so that she sacrificed herself to keep Sayaka from staying a witch.

After what felt like an eternity, she came back to herself, tears streaming down her face. "I never got the chance to get to know you better." Sayaka sobbed, her hands falling to her sides. "I never had the chance to love you back." She fell to her knees, crying uncontrollably.

Kyoko put the gem away and took the bluenette into her arms. "Don't worry about it." She gently wiped away Sayaka's tears. "Ya got a second chance. I'll be with ya now… Always…" She smiled gently.

Sayaka's chin quivered a few more times as she fought away the sorrow. "I know." She wrapped her own arms around Kyoko.

Tenderly, the redhead leaned forward and kissed her. In that moment, Sayaka felt all traces of the ache in her chest vanish, only to be replaced by warmth and love. She somehow knew that even though these feelings would be tested, they would never fade or tarnish.

And done! I know it's really short, but the idea came to me and just wouldn't leave! It is a one-shot, so I won't be writing more on this one. That doesn't mean, however, that I won't be back with more for these two later. I really hoped you liked the story, and thank you reading it.

If you liked what you read, you can check my profile page for "weekly" updates on what I'm working on. Also if you liked the story, please leave a review, even just constructive criticism is welcome. Just don't write hate reviews. Those don't really have a place in anybody's life.