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Magical girls didn't get graves. They didn't get flowers or a funeral or people to cry over them. They were lucky if anyone remembered them. Death, complete death, was their inevitable end and no one mourned their loss. Yet, here she was, standing at an unmarked, empty grave, flowers in her hand and tears in her eyes. "Hey, Mami-senpai." Kyoko muttered, dropping down in front of her makeshift tombstone. It had been a while since she used that term to address the blonde. Not since... Shaking her head, she set the flowers at the base of the grave, sighing and forcing a smile. "I brought ya flowers. Thought ya might like'em." The redhead spoke, finding it hard to force herself to be smiling.
"I, uh, I woulda brought'cha some food or something, but, uh, I-I ate it." Kyoko fidgeted with the hem of her jacket, not knowing what to say. She hadn't had the luxury of visiting graves before; you couldn't bury ashes. Then again, Mami's grave was only her hat and a broken Soul Gem, yet Kyoko sat there, visiting and talking as if the blonde was right beside her still. "That new girl, Sayaka, she...she used her wish on some guy." A lump formed in the redhead's throat, but she paid it no mind. Mami wouldn't want to see that. But she knew. She knew the price of using your wish to grant someone else's. Clenching her fists, she continued. "S-She won't use grief seeds, Mami-senpai. I-I saw her Soul Gem, it's all black." Her voice cracked, and she used her sleeve to wipe furiously at her eyes.
"I-I saw Sayaka t-turn into a witch." I saw what I could've become. With that, there was no stopping her tears. "M-Mami-senpai, i-is that r-really all we can l-look forward to? I-Is that all t-that we're good for?" She cried, tears falling on the earth beneath her. Being a magical girl is hard, but it's out duty. Mami was her friend. She had no regrets becoming a magical girl like Mami, but her biggest regret of all was ever pushing her away. "I'm sorry." She whispered, sobs still shaking her body. She'd lost all her friends. And there was nothing she could do to change that.
Magical girls didn't get a funeral.
It wasn't much, but everyone who could speak said something about her. There weren't many, it was just Homura, Madoka, and Kyoko, but it was enough.
Magical girls didn't get people to cry over them.
Out of the three of them, Madoka cried the most. As much as they tried, she just wouldn't stop crying. It was balanced, though. Neither Homura nor Kyoko cried, and the pinkette cried enough for all three of them. And so they let her cry until her face was puffy and her eyes were red.
Magical girls didn't get graves.
After her death, it wasn't like they could afford to carry her body back, it was too much excess weight. But they brought back a part of her at least. And in her unmarked grave, all that was left of Mami Tomoe was her hat and a broken Soul Gem. But it wasn't enough. It never would be.
Magical girls didn't get remembered.
But if that were true, Kyoko wouldn't be here, wouldn't be so hurt, wouldn't give the world just to have Mami back for a few moments. But not ever Kyuubey could bring her back. And, Kyoko thought, that wasn't what hurt the most. No, what hurt more was that she had lived, and that she'd been good.
And as Kyoko rose from her spot, eyes red with tears, she thought that was right.
Magical girls didn't get funerals. They didn't get graves. Most of the time, they didn't even die human. They didn't get flowers or headstones or graves or memories. They didn't have anyone who loved them, Kyoko thought bitterly.
But Mami Tomoe did.