Meguca Micro Empire Quest (PMMM)

[Elder Haman]

Omake: A Tangled Web We Weave

Watching Mrs. Nohara embrace Kaori, Mami feels immense satisfaction, as well as a bit of longing for her own mother. Now Mrs. Nohara is scolding Kaori, fiercely, but the effect is rather lessened by the tears on Mrs. Nohara's face. Mami wistfully remembers the last time her mother had scolded her. She had spilled some food on her school uniform. It seemed so long ago. Mami reflects that you never realize how nice it is to have someone to scold you until that person is gone. Noticing that Mrs. Nohara had finished scolding Kaori and was now approaching her and the other girls, Mami brought her attention back to the conversation.

"... ever thank you enough." Nodoka bends horizontal with the ground expressing her gratitude. How had that worked in that movie? Oh right, kissing the ring. Nodoka's eyes go to Mami's hands, and sure enough there was a ring with a large stone. Hoping she is doing doing it right, Nodoka grabs Mami's ring hand and jerks it to her lips. "Thank you hime-sama, thank you." Her eyes on the ground, Nodoka misses Mami's stiffening expression. Releasing Mami's hand she looks back to see Kaori staring at her with bewilderment.

Nodoka swiftly steps back while still bent horizontal and grabbing the back of Kaori's head, bends her down into a bow as well. "Hime-sama, we are grateful to you. In light of Kaori's young age and distance from your home, and considering the difficulties this has already caused you; we suggest, humbly, that it would be best if Kaori was released from her oaths." Nodoka had practiced polishing that line ever since that day the blonde Yakuza princess had visited her. She peeks up to see Mami's response, and her heart sinks at the look on Mami's face.

Mami had been caught by surprise when Mrs. Nohara grabbed her hand and kissed it. The close proximity to her soul gem made Mami rather uncomfortable with it all. In the excitement of returning Kaori, she had forgotten about the whole Yakuza princess thing. Mrs. Nohara was still thanking her, and Kaori was staring at her mother in bewilderment. Out of the corner of her eye, Mami saw Taura staring at Mrs. Nohara before shifting to Mami with a look of stunned surprise on her face. This wasn't my idea, Mami thought, her face tightening. It's all Kaoru's fault.

Taura's attention shifted to Kaoru who was conspicuously avoiding looking at Mami. Taura had a reputation for a face that didn't show emotions very much. The expressions slowly moving across her face were almost worth this whole mess. Almost... if only her expression wasn't shifting to amusement. Mami's lips compressed in a displeased line. Taura's attention shifted back to Mami, and she quickly cleared her face of emotion. Mami grimaced, now she felt guilty for thinking that, Taura always did this to her.

Mrs. Nohara is asking a question, so Mami brings her attention back to the matter at hand. Oh, Mrs. Nohara wants to get Kaori out of the group. That just won't work. How to explain this? Mami tries to be diplomatic, "I want to keep Kaori safe too, but I don't think that would help with the situation."

Nodoka expected this, but she had been hoping that maybe she could get Kaori out of this mess. Nodoka calls up her courage, she has to try, "If... if you want a-a a finger," Nodoka gulps, "I, I am willing to pay on behalf of my daughter." Mami closes her eyes in frustration. This is bad. How can she convince Mrs. Nohara that Kaori will be protected, and keep Kaori in contact with the Serenes? Mami was surprised when Taura spoke up, Taura usually avoided speaking.

"That will not be necessary," announces Taura tonelessly. "Tomoe-hime-sama is arranging for some girls to be placed here in Iwata so that Kaori will no longer be alone." Taura pauses, as if considering Mrs Nohara before continuing, "There is now a... vacancy in the area." Mami decides there is no point in saying anything anymore, she'll just float with the waves.

Mrs. Nohara shivers, and her face falls, but she nods. "I... I understand. I, I won't make any trouble." Her mood dampened, Mrs. Nohara still hugs Kaori tightly before thanking them once again, and then excusing herself and Kaori to go back into their home. Mami notices that she does not invite them in to tea.

It was time now to go track down those other girls in Iwata and make good on the promise Taura gave Mrs. Nohara. On the way Mami stops Taura. "Why did you do that?"

"It was the easiest way to get what you wanted." answers Taura matter of factly.

"This is not what I wanted!" Mami retorts. Taura just raises an eyebrow. Mami grimaces, "Okay, so it's what I wanted, but not how I wanted to do it. Methods matter."

Taura responds, "That is why I did it. This way you get what you want without having to take the blame for how we did it. You can just blame Kaoru and I for this."

"Hey don't bring me into this." Kaoru protests.

Mami fumes to herself. This is why they call her the Ice Princess. Dealing with her is always so difficult.

Taura ignores Kaoru and speaks to Mami, "Since I'm the Ice Princess, I thought it only fitting that you be the Yakuza Princess that I work for." Taura contiues watching her as if waiting for something.

Mami feels anger and frustration inside her struggling with guilt. For a few seconds all is turmoil inside Mami before the guilt wins out and smothers her anger. She still feels frustrated though. It's so hard, keeping nice thoughts in your head all the time when someone is so obviously manipulating you.

Taura finishes watching Mami and just nods before turning and continuing on her way. Mami's frustration rises again, but Mami doesn't try to stoke it. Arguments with Taura are just too hard. Oh she can win them if she focuses and puts enough effort into it, but she always feels so tired and guilty once it's over that Mami tries not to do it unless there is a really good reason. This time just isn't worth it.

 

[Elder Haman]

Omake: Rumors and Repercussions (Part 1: Mariko and Ayako)

Part 2, Part 3.

Other related links:
Turn being referenced. Mami the Yakuza Princess. A Tangled Web We Weave.

Mariko sighs as she contemplates the Nohara residence. I always gets the dangerous jobs, Mariko thinks to herself. Of course she knows why, her skills suit sneaking around better then the others. They all knew someone had to check this out, and she was the obvious choice to do it. No point in putting this off further, Mariko thinks, before transforming into her outfit.

An eye catching mass of lace, frills, and shiny cloth appeared around her, excessive even by magical girl standards. Mariko didn't worry about anyone noticing her though, she doesn't have to worry about that. People don't notice Mariko unless she wants them too. Unless the girl here is like Ayako, Mariko reminds herself. Though that isn't likely, as she wouldn't have been captured by Naru so easily if she was. Well, time to get on with the mission. Mariko starts looking for an unlocked window. It's an irony, she thinks to herself, my wish was to have people notice me, and now I almost always use my magic for the opposite purpose. It was not a new thought.

Mariko had been the only daughter of a low level salary man. Her mother died when she was eight, and her father spent most of his attention on work and grieving her mother. Not that he was unkind to Mariko, he just never seemed to pay much attention to her beyond asking her how her grades were. At school Mariko had been a shy, socially awkward girl who didn't belong to a clique. She didn't wear makeup, because no one had shown her how to. The boys mostly didn't know she existed. The one that did just played pranks on her, and called her names for her poorly co-ordinated clothes and being plain. She couldn't even cook well. She and her father lived off prepared food.

Then one day she got a love letter in her shoe locker. Stunned she had gone to the meeting behind the school gym, and there he was, the school prince. He was in Mariko's class, and sat behind her, but had never said one word to her before this, and now a love confession? It had been like a scene from her favorite shoujo manga. Right up until he looked at her in confusion and said, "Who are you?" He didn't even recognize her after having sat behind her for 6 months. Of course he hadn't meant to give her a love letter. It was meant for the school beauty whose shoe locker was right next to Mariko's. It hadn't really been a let down. Not really. Mariko had been expecting that it was a joke, or a mistake. So it wasn't really a surprise.

That night however, a strange little bunny-cat thing had come to visit her, and offered her a wish. Mariko hadn't had to think two seconds about it. "I wish people would look at me! I wish people would notice me and be impressed by me." True to the creature's word, Mariko's wish had been granted. For three glorious months Mariko had lived the blessed life so long denied her. Oh, the demon hunting was scary, but Mariko had figured out how to make the demons look at something else almost from the beginning, so it wasn't too bad as long as she was careful not to get surrounded. Life at school had been glorious though.

Suddenly all the girls wanted to talk to her and be her friend. They showed her how to use makeup, helped her do her hair, and took her shopping with them. Sales clerks rushed to provide service whenever she entered a store. The boys at school started looking at her. That boy who used to torment her all the time stopped, and started just looking at her from across the room, as if he was too afraid now to tease her. Her father had started buying her presents, and took her shopping to buy new fashionable clothes. He told her how beautiful she was, and how much she reminded him of her mother. That was even sweeter then having friends at school. It was everything she had ever wanted. And Mariko, was happy.

Then her father was arrested for embezzlement. At the trial he had wept and pled that he just wanted to buy nice things for his daughter. That didn't stop the judge from sending him to prison. It was the poison in the cake, and Mariko hated the bunny-cat after that. It must have known what would happen, but hadn't warned her. Mariko blamed herself as well, but the pressing needs of survival had buried the guilt, till it was now just a dull ache that she avoided touching. "That's just what happens, when you make a selfish wish," Mariko told herself.

After her father's arrest, Mariko hadn't wanted to be noticed anymore. It was unbearable the way people's eyes would follow her. They way they whispered as she passed by. Why had she ever thought that kind of attention was flattering? Eventually Mariko had figured out that her magic that made people pay attention to her could be reversed so that people wouldn't notice her, and even forget about her. It was a good thing too, as the demons had started getting smarter, and more dangerous to hunt. Making them not notice her was essential to safe hunting.

Unfortunately, people not noticing her led to people forgetting there was a girl who needed to be provided for now. Three months after her father was arrested, the landlord rented out their old home. Forgetting that a daughter was still living there, he had all her possessions carted away and sold to cover the back rent. No one followed up from school to find out what happened to Mariko. Nor did the police or judge ever wonder what happened to the daughter. Only Mariko's father still remembered her. Though he was in prison and couldn't do much. Mariko couldn't bring herself to visit, it just brought up too much guilt.

Living on the streets hadn't been too difficult for Mariko. She wasn't used to it for sure, but she was able to make people not notice her, so she avoided those that usually prey on runaways, and obtaining food was no problem. Mariko didn't even feel that much of anything about stealing. It was all just part of the fall from grace that had happened in her life, leaving her numb to most emotions. Even with her magic, Mariko might not have survived if Ayako hadn't found her.

Mariko wasn't sure what Ayako had wished for. She only knew that Ayako wielded a bow and arrow and never missed a target. She always knew where demons were, which combined with Mariko's stealth had made them a powerful hunting duo. Ayako also could track other people, which made theft even easier. She was the only girl Mariko had ever met who could find her, even when Mariko was hiding. The last couple times Mariko had trained with her, it had taken her longer then usual to find her, but still she did it. Ayako didn't have a home either. She never talked about it, and Mariko never asked. Nor had Mariko seen the need to tell Ayako her story. Best to leave the past alone. After they teamed up things had become relatively stable for the life of a magical girl. They'd even taken a green girl in.

Then this blonde girl had shown up with four other magical girls at her back and informed them they were now members of the Serenissima Imperium Magicum Puella, whatever that was. Just because that idiot Naru had decided to kidnap the new girl and demanded a ransom in grief cubes. The blonde and those other girls had stomped Naru, threw her out of the territory, and then came over to tell Mariko and Ayako about it. As if they were responsible for Naru, just because they were the veterans in the area. Like Naru ever listened to anyone but herself.

Well, Mariko and Ayako weren't going to take on a group that outnumbered them and looked ready for blood. Not without a lot more information. That blonde girl had claimed 39 girls in her group, which was an obvious lie, but Ayako figured she must have some reserves to call on if she was going to make a claim like that. Someone needed to check this new group out, and the only real lead they had was the new girl.

Which is why I'm here, Mariko reminds herself. Unable to find an unlocked window or door, Mariko decides to just magic one open. She doesn't like the risk, but she needs to get some information about this new group of girls. Mariko had learned how to do this over the past couple months when she and Ayako had decided to be a little more ambitious in their thieving. Just because Akane wanted actual chef level cookware.

Mariko narrows her magic down to the smallest bits she can while still being able to shift the lock. It's a lot harder to conceal this type of magic, she didn't exactly expect it to be needed against other magical girls. After a few minutes Mariko gets the lock undone. Pausing for a few minutes to wait and see if anyone comes, Mariko opens the window, and slips inside. Looks like she was lucky tonight, as the mother and daughter seem to be having a heated argument.

As Mariko listens to the argument, her face becomes filled with confusion and fear. Princess? Yakuza? This just isn't possible is it? Akane and Ayako were supposed to find and talk with Naru and her girls, and Mariko hopes they get some good information, because they really need to know if this new information was true. The mother couldn't be right. Could she?
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Man this story just keeps on getting bigger and bigger then I planned. Not only this and the next bit, but Tangled Web was also all originally one Omake in my head. But then they got so big I figured I better split them up. In this case it was Mariko's backstory that got away from me. I kind of wanted to build her up as a reversed image of Kyouko. Instead of thinking that making a wish for someone else was a recipe for disaster, Mariko would experience a selfish wish destroying her family.

Also, wanted it to be a reminder that bunny-cat is still a dick, even in the kinder gentler world of the Law of Cycles.

@Crow Are you still going to do a Sayaka and Kyouko omake? They now have had an argument at dinner, and a confrontation over healing an enemy girl. Lot of potential hooks there.

 

[Elder Haman]

Well I'm obviously not going to get the omake scene in my head out in time for the update. Can't seem to write anything today.

Anyway, basically it seemed to me that the natural reaction for Mami to Kyouko's outburst to to have her own outburst and call Kyouko on the floor for what she's putting out. So here is a really really rough outline of what I was thinking:

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Kyouko has been dodging Mami for a week after they last talked. Mami finally waited for her outside her father's old church, and caught Kyouko coming back from the store with food. Kyouko stops for a second when seeing Mami, before brushing by her without speaking to enter the church. Mami follows her in.

"What now?" asks Kyouko grumpily, "Now you want to talk to me? Now you won't leave me alone? Like I'm some toy on your shelf that you can pull down when you want it, and put back when you don't?"

All Mami's plans about making peace and being patient went right of her mind at that. Instead Mami puffed up in rage, and for the first time in a long time, lost her temper. "How dare you blame me! How dare you make it sound like I'm the one that left you." Kyouko stumbles back in surprise and shock, dropping the grocery bags she was carrying.

"You're the one who changed, not me. And then you demanded I change too, and stop caring about other people" Kyouko tries to interject but Mami keeps right on, "I don't want to be like that. I'd rather die!" Tears are starting to gather in Mami's eyes. "So I thought that if I could just prove to you that we don't have to be like that, prove that we could save other people, that maybe you'd come back. I've been doing all of this because of you! And you think I abandoned you? Do you know how scared I was talking to you? I was afraid you wouldn't even listen to what I had to say, and I was so happy when we got to be friends again." Mami's starting to sniffle now, and Kyouko is uncertain about how to respond.

"I was so lonely. I was so lonely Kyouko." Mami starts crying at this point, with tears slowly running down her cheeks. "Why'd you have to change! Why'd you tell me to become cold and selfish!"

Disconcerted by Mami's crying, Kyouko tries to speak forcibly but is a little off kilter, "Cause you're going to get yourself killed, that's why. And me with you. You gotta look out for yourself and do what you have too to survive."

Mami is not persuaded, "Kyouko you idiot! If I was that kind of person you'd be dead! Would I have taken you in if I was that kind of person? How could you ever think I'd accept that kind of thinking?"

Kyouko is angry now and retorts back, since this is falling back into the old arguments they used to have. "You can't save everyone Mami! I saved your life a couple times too, so stop saying I owe you. You have no right to demand I join you in playing hero."

Mami pushes right back, "You used to agree with me! Why did you change?"

Kyouko is worked up into a purple face fury by this point, "You know why!"

Mami responds with a roar, "MY FAMILY IS DEAD TOO! THEY'RE DEAD BECAUSE... because," Mami starts to break down again, "because I was too selfish to think about them when I made my wish." Mami starts sobbing, "I could have saved them, but I was only thinking about myself." Mami just sits down, bawling like a baby, her words soft and hard to distinguish. "I won't be selfish again, I wont." Kyouko is stunned and just stands there listening to Mami sob, not knowing what to do. Mami had never really talked about her family much before, although Kyouko had known they were dead. And Mami crying is not in her realm of experience.

As Mami continues to cry, Kyouko finally forces herself to go over and squat next to Mami. Afraid to touch, she says gruffly, "It's not your fault. You weren't selfish." Mami just sniffs deeply, the sobs turning into crying hiccups. Kyouko shifts uncomfortably, "You just didn't have time to think, that's all."

Mami rubs her eyes, "Look what you did, you made me cry. I hate crying. I cry too much."

Kyouko protests, "I've never seen you cry before."

Mami answers sullenly, "I didn't when I was living with you." Kyouko isn't sure what to say to that. They sit there silently, except for Mami's occasional sniffles. Finally, Mami speaks again, "Tea."

"Huh?" Kyouko is confused.

"Tea. And Cake. I want some." Mami says. She turns and looks at Kyouko, her eyes all red and puffy. "I always have to make some when we make up after fighting. It's not fair. You should do it too." Kyouko just stares at Mami with her mouth open. "Well? Do I get some?" asks Mami.

"What?" asks Kyouko, still not yet caught up.

"Tea. Cake. Do I get some?" Mami stares at Kyouko's feet before raising her eyes to meet Kyouko's as she finishes.

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Well, once I finally got started that came out pretty well, and I was able to turn the outline into a rough draft. Still has a lot of rough edges, but I think it gets the point across.

I'd really like to know what others think about how I depicted Mami. It makes sense to me that this is her motivation.

 

[Elder Haman]

Okay, been suffering from writer's block. I know the rough outline of what I want to say, but getting it out is hard. So I'm just going to push out a rough outline and hopefully that will let me get going enough to polish it up later:

Omake: Rumors and Repercussions (Part 2: Akane and Naru)

Part 1, Part 3. http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/2086773/

Other related links:
Turn being referenced. Mami the Yakuza Princess. A Tangled Web We Weave.

Akane pokes her head into the cafe and sighs. Naru is there, working her shift, as expected. Akane supposes that she should be grateful, but really she never enjoyed talking with Naru, and Ayako and Mariko always made her do it when there was a need to negotiate with Naru's group. Akane knows it's because Naru was suspicious of veteran magical girls, and as the greenest of her group she is the logical pick. Unfortunately, it means the conversion always starts the same way.

"What do you want, traitor?" Naru snarls at Akane.

"A table for one please," Akane responds, thinking to herself that a Tsundere Maid cafe was the perfect cover for Naru to vent at her.

Naru grudgingly takes her to an empty table. "Payment for the first thirty minutes, 2000 yen."

Normally Naru would talk to her freely, but this time Akane had to approach her at work since it was the only place she was certain she could find her. Fortunately Akane had talked to Mariko and Ayako about how she would need money for this. Calmly Akane placed 4000 yen on the table. "I'd like it if you could join me for a few minutes of conversation."

Naru looks at her for a few minutes before taking the yen and going over to talk to her shift manager. She soon comes back and plops down in the seat across from her. Another one of the waitresses comes by to deliver the watered down hot chocolate and coffee cake that is the sole menu item. "Normally this isn't allowed, but since you're a girl and I got my break coming I can talk for fifteen minutes." Naru folds her arms in front of her and glares. "Since you're paying I assume you aren't here to gloat. What do you want?"

Akane pauses, trying to consider her words, but she'd always been a blunt talker. Maybe that was another reason Naru preferred talking with her despite the arguments. "We want to know what happened."

Naru sneers at her, "Haa? Still running errands for those sempai?" Leaning forward Naru puts her hands on the table. "You should have joined up with my group, where girls get treated equally." Naru leans back sneering again, "They only took you in because you can cook. They certainly weren't willing to help any of the rest of us."

Same old grudge, Akane thought. It was true, Akane did cook extremely well. One could say magically well. And it was her cooking that had got her a place with Ayako and Mariko, neither of whom knew how to cook. Akane preferred elite nature of her group though. It was about time her wish got her something that she wanted.

Being able to cook well wasn't even her real wish anyway. Her real wish was to be a great martial artist so she could inherit her father's Dojo herself instead of marrying some idiot he picked out for her. If only that stupid bunny-cat thing hadn't approached her right after one of her more spectacular cooking disasters. Then she wouldn't have wasted her wish on cooking. Although Akane did consider her development of martial arts cooking to hunt demons to be a sign of her true ability. Her frying pan was as useful for killing demons as it was for cooking.

Akane tears herself away from those old thoughts, and brings herself back to the moment. She needs to get Naru to get to the point quickly. "Good thing I didn't, as I don't care for kidnapping little girls."

Naru flushes bright red, "We had to. She was just sitting there getting grief cubes for nothing, and we were just barely scraping by."

"Didn't work out for you did it?" Akane shoots back.

"There was more then one girl, more then two!" Naru replies. "And two of them weren't even normal. They were demons." Naru's face pales at the memory. "Sasami... Sasami wont even talk to me any more."

"I was surprised that she agreed to the kidnapping." Akane agrees.

Naru sighs, "That wasn't it. Sure she didn't like it, but she could see where things were going, if we didn't get at least one more cube a month we couldn't make it on the territory we had." Naru brings her hand up to her face as she begins to blink rapidly. "They cut her hand off," Naru mumbles behind her hand.

Akane is shocked, "They what?"

"Those bullies, they cut her hand off." Naru shifts back to anger to smother her other feelings. "We were talking to two girls, when all the sudden the yellow devil appeared in the middle and tied us all up in ribbons." Naru blushes at the memory of the indignity. "I didn't even figure out until later that she broke in through the window. It was that fast."

Akane is feeling ill at this point, "She cut off Sasami's hand to make you tell her where the new girl was?"

Naru shakes her head, "No, Sasami was with the new girl. A few minutes after they trussed us up two other girls teleported in to the room with both Sasami and the new girl. One of them had cut off Sasami's hand in the fight, and hurt the new girl while doing it. Then the yellow devil got out her cell phone and called someone, and then another teleporter showed up with a healer."

Akane is feeling dizzy, "She's got more then one teleporter? And a healer on call?"

"Yeah, they were way out of our league," grumbles Naru. Then she pauses and looks over at Akane, "Unless... Ayako is interested in working together to keep these new girls out?" Naru hesitates before continuing, "I'll... I'll... recognize Ayako as boss." Naru presses her mouth into a firm line of displeasure.

Akane shakes her head, "They came by to see us afterwards. They made it clear that because of the stunt you pulled that we were now members of their group whether we wanted to be or not. The blonde girl said there were thirty-nine girls in her group."

Naru's eyes widen, "Thirty-nine? Impossible."

Akane shrugs, "Maybe, but from what you are saying she does have more." Akane pauses before steering the conversation back to more useful territory. "I can understand why Sasami was upset though, with you telling them were she was."

"I didn't tell them!" Naru's shout draws attention from the rest of the cafe and Naru lowers her voice. "I didn't tell them, nobody did." Naru hesitates again, "They didn't even ask us a single question after they tied us up. It was like they didn't even care." Naru blushes in shame again.

Akane raises an eyebrow, "Then how-"

"It was that red devil," Naru hisses before shivering. "She was even worse then the yellow one."

"What do you mea-" Akane is cut off again.

Naru's voice takes on a dead tone, "After the yellow devil tied us up, the red devil came in and said she'd gone soft for not just killing us." Naru shivers, "She was grinning, like she enjoys pain." Naru is silent for a minute while staring down at the table before speaking slowly. "I think- no, I'm pretty sure that the red one was a mind reader."

Akane gasps, "A mind reader!"

Naru nods, "It's the only thing I can think of that makes sense. She was easily the scariest one there."

Akane leans forward, "But the yellow one was in charge?"

Naru nods again, "Definitely. Though the red one obviously had some authority. I think she was doing something to the healer, cause the healer healed Sasami and the healer and the red one were glaring at each other."

Akane crinkles her forehead in confusion, "They healed Sasami?"

"Made her grow a new hand, right in front of me." Naru replies.

Akane is trying to think of the implications, "That's pretty powerful healing." Akane turns back to Naru, "And they healed Sasami?"

Naru gets what she is asking, "Yeah, but now that I think about it, the yellow one didn't tell her too. I think the healer did that on her own. That's why the red one was mad at her." Akane purses her lips in thought. Naru decides to try another suggestion, "You know, maybe most of her group are girls like you, girls she made join her group. If that's the case then maybe you can get some of them to turn on her."

Akane frowns at Naru, "That sounds dangerous if they got a mind reader in the group."

Naru shrugs, "I guess, but if you all do decide to try something like that... let me know. I'd want in on it, and that could be useful to you." Naru grins, "You know, if she does have a group of thirty-nine girls, well that's not a bad idea, maybe just with a new leader."

Akane looks sternly at Naru, "Like you?"

Naru shrugs, "Maybe." Naru glances back over at Akane, "Or maybe Ayako." Naru gets up from the table, "My fifteen minutes of break are over. Let me know."

Akane gets up to leave as well. As she does, Naru pauses and smiles winningly, "Please come back soon master!" Akane shudders as she leaves. This place always creeps her out. Although Akane admits that she admires Naru for putting up with it so that she can rent a small single room apartment as housing for the rest of her group.

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Whew... that wasn't too bad.

I'll do proofreading later.

 

[Elder Haman]

Omake. Omake are what make the QM post updates.

Omake: Rumors and Repercussions (Part 3: Putting the Pieces Together)

Part 1, Part 2.

Other related links:
Turn being referenced. Mami the Yakuza Princess. A Tangled Web We Weave.

When Akane arrives back at the abandoned factory they were using as a base, Ayako and Mariko are already there. Akane feels relief, as she had been worried about Mariko's mission. Akane always felt that she depended too much on her magic rather then on any sneaking skill. As Akane walks in, the two other girls turn and ask her to sit down and tell them what Naru had to say.

After Akane finishes repeating Naru's story, Mariko decides to speak up. "I listened to the new girl and her mother arguing about the blonde girl. They claimed she was a Yakuza princess."

"A Yakuza princess!" Akane had not been expecting that. Out of the corner of her eye, Akane sees Ayako's lack of reaction and realizes that Mariko must have already shared this tidbit with her. Was she ever going to be accepted as a full member of the group?

"A Yakuza princess" Mariko repeats. "I didn't believe it. Not even after what Sasami had to say, but with what Naru said it seems plausible."

"Naru's story matches with what Sasami had to say," explains Ayako. "Although she blamed Naru for telling the new girls where she was. She specifically called out the red one for threatening and glaring at the healer who healed her hand. She said the red one left with the healer and second teleporter."

"That's why the red one wasn't with them when they came to talk to us," interjects Akane.

"Precisely," replies Ayako. "Sasami was worried that she went back with them to punish the healer." Ayako rolls her eyes, "You know how Sasami can get."

Mariko contributes her suggestion, "Sounds like this healer is someone we can talk to, to get the real info on this group. Did you get a description of her?"

Akane shakes her head, but Ayako nods. "Sasami said she had a short blue shirt, showing her midriff, and a white cape."

Mariko grimaces, "Sounds like the Paladin type. Wanting to heal everyone and be the righteous hero. Why'd she be working with a Yakuza family?"

Akane interrupts, "All the better for us if she's somebody we can trust to give us honest answers." Mariko grunts in grudging agreement. Akane loves Mariko and Ayako for taking her in, but she's actually looking forward to meeting a magical girl with more of... a sense of honor. Akane had always been a bit uncomfortable with Mariko's tactics. Although she was careful not to ask where the chef quality cookware came from.

Akane's worries turn to Sasami. "Ayako..."

Ayako already knows what Akane is thinking, "No Akane, we can't take Sasami in. We aren't even independent anymore." Akane gives her the best pleading pout that she can pull off. "No. Don't you think the new girls will have a problem with that?" Ayako softens a bit at Akane's worried face, "Besides, Sasami isn't the one to worry about. With her powers she'll find a new group to take her in easily enough."

Mariko crosses her arms in front of her, "Creepy powers you mean." Ayako silences her with a look.

Akane still objects, "You and Mariko didn't take her in."

Ayako replies, "Mariko and I have been magical girls for a bit longer. Her powers don't effect us as much." Ayako raises an eyebrow, "They worked on you and Naru though."

Before Akane can speak again Mariko interrupts, "The point is that Sasami isn't good at hunting. She's good at getting other people to hunt for her. She was deadweight. Naru didn't mind carrying deadweight, but we aren't going to do that."

Akane presses her lips together in frustration. Comments like this were why Naru was always saying that you couldn't trust older magical girls, and that newer magical girls needed to work together and form a large team.

Akane is going to let it go, but Ayako decides to smooth feathers anyway. "Don't worry Akane, Sasami will find a place somewhere else."

Akane looks at Ayako with skepticism, but Ayako appears sincere. "She will. Other teams won't go as easy on her as Naru, but she'll find a place. So will Naru. She's strong enough."

Mariko grunts, "Strong enough, but so aggravating that no one wants her."

Ayako waits for Mariko to finish before continuing, "We'd have taken her." Mariko grimaces. "We'd have taken her," Ayako continues, "if she hadn't insisted on us taking the other three as well. It's the other two on her team that are in real trouble."

Akane looks down at the table considering Ayako's words. "Naru won't give up on them."

Ayako shrugs, "Then they'll drag Naru down. Or maybe she'll manage to pull them along. Either way, it's not our problem."

Akane gives off the tone of a person making a suggestion she doesn't really believe in, "Naru offered to work together and let Ayako be in charge."

"No," answer Mariko and Ayako in unison. Ayako calmly but firmly, Mariko more emphatically. They look at each other for a moment before Mariko gestures for Ayako to go ahead.

Ayako turns back to Akane, "Not against a mind reader."

"Or a Yakuza princess," murmurs Mariko.

"That's a good point," agrees Ayako. "We've been focused on the mind reader, but the yellow one could be even more dangerous. It sounds like she has a power set that's really good against other girls. Combine that with a mind reader and it's no surprise she's got so many girls in her team."

"Probably makes the other girls do all the hunting for her while she does 'paperwork'," grumbles Mariko.

Akane shivers, "I've never had to face a mind reader before, how do you handle that?"

"Panic," answers Ayako. Seeing the look on Akane and Mariko's faces, Ayako decides to elaborate. "You're afriad of her right?" Akane and Mariko nod. "Whenever you are around the red one. Panic. Think about all the horrible things she might do to you. Think about how she might think you are against whatever the plan is, but it was really just a stray thought, and you would never do something like that because of the horrible things that would happen to you. Gibbering terror and run on sentences should make up your thoughts. Either she won't be able to get anything useful, or if she's powerful enough she'll decide to avoid you. Maybe they'll get suspicious and put a watch on us, but since we aren't actually planning anything they won't find anything, and they'll eventually give up. If you have to be close together, eventually you'll become exhausted with panicking and then you won't be able to think anything."

Akane and Mariko are looking a bit green now. Ayako shrugs, "It's the only thing I ever tried that worked. Hopefully it will work again until we understand better how to keep the yellow and the red one happy."

After a few seconds of silence contemplating their future, Akane gets back up. Ayako asks her where she is going. Akane answers that she's going to try and catch Naru when her shift ends. "If the blonde is really a Yakuza princess, then I better let Naru know. Naru's still thinking about trying to get back at her, so she needs to know to back off."

After Akane leaves, Mariko turns to Ayako. "Think Naru will back off?"

Ayako shrugs, "Who knows, but if she does try anything the blonde one will probably blame us, so we better make sure she stays out of our territory."

------------

Whew. There. That's the final part for the Rumors and Repercussions scene. So much bigger then it was in my head.

Still haven't proof read yet. I find it's better to proof read after a night's sleep so I get a fresh look at it.

I hope the difference in personalities between Akane, Ayako, and Mariko really come out in this scene. I was trying to think about what the response would be among a group of girls who just got forcibly incorporated into a larger group. Of course, the misunderstanding that Kyouko is the mind reader was fun.

Since they'll ask Sayaka for the low down on the group their probably get an earful about how great Mami is. They'll be terrified of Kyouko though.

I also wanted to humanize Naru and her band of girls a bit more. Being a group of greens sharing a territory with vets, I figured the leader of the greens had to be a rather charismatic figure. I hope that I made Naru into a girl that could make sense as a person who could form a group. Maybe even a proto-Mami with a lot more desperation and rough edges.

@inverted_helix If it's alright with you, I was hoping that the omake could provide a bonus to diplomacy in the areas surrounding the Iwata enclave. On the grounds that terrifying rumors about the Yakuza princess from Mitakihara, backed by a mind reading red devil have circulated in the area.

 

[FixerUpper]

Lesson Number One

Kyouko breathed in, then out.

A spear materialized in her grasp, its triangular, too-broad tip touching the base of the tree, not quite piercing. She took another breath in, slow. Then her foot lashed out, slamming into the old oak trunk, sending greenery fluttering down from the leafy boughs above. She twirled the spear once, then in a dizzying display of speed and skill, slashed them in halves, then quarters, then eighths, before bringing her spear back to a rest in her grip, the butt thudding into the ground.

She breathed out, dismissed her spear.

She looked down at her hands: watched them tremble for a moment before tightening them into fists. Frowning, she stuck a hand into the pouch of her sweater, withdrew a box of pocky and irritably stuck a stick in her mouth. She put her hands behind her head and looked up at the clear blue sky.

Physical exercise usually made her feel better. She'd picked up a number of skills over the years: this one was a thing she'd practiced after reading a stupid sports manga and decided why not might as well.

Right now she was, how to put it, she was antsy. Not nervous, just...

Okay, maybe she was a little nervous. For years she'd lived on her own. With Mami things were good now. Copacetic, to use a one of those random vocabulary words she'd picked up when she'd still entertained thoughts of maybe making it into college. A stupid, pointless goal, one she used to while away the long hours between hunts, and madness, and chasing away assholes trying to claim the old church. Just a 'what if' she sometimes shared with Momo.

Now though, she felt like the cow in the china shop, or whatever. Too crass, too rude, too obviously damaged. She'd never noticed how often she talked to herself until she was forced to hang out with others, and then it was so obvious that she did it all the damn time. It was embarrassing, that's what it was. Mami had done good work: the kids were, for the most part, balanced. Still pre-teens and teenagers, but normal enough to pass for real children.

Kyouko couldn't, that was for sure. She was like some sort of child soldier, wanting everything to go the hell back to normal, but still trapped somewhere on the battlefield.

These puella reminded her of...

Well, they reminded her of her sister. Momo.

It was worse with the youngest ones.

Even if they looked nothing alike, the youngest ones would make her see flashes of her sister's face before she could remind herself that Momo was dead.

It was ridiculous, exhausting. Sometimes she even thought maybe it'd be better if she just struck out alone again, shipped Mami her damn grief cubes, and live like some stupid, good Samaritan hermit like whatshisface out of the Bible.

Then she'd get the shakes because fuck that she wasn't alone anymore, didn't want to be alone anymore, not really.

"Kyouko-san!"
"Kyouko-san."

She turned. Two girls were approaching her: one was a tall, blue-haired girl, pretty in an androgynous enough way that even Kyouko could see why they called her 'Prince.' Her name was Taya, she was quiet, and if Kyouko were a judge for such things, damaged enough that she couldn't help but wear it publicly. Guilt, likely enough. It made things complicated. Guilt was a piss-poor motivator: she'd try harder and break faster because of it. Still, she understood why Mami had sent her: the girl was a clairvoyant; not a rare skill, exactly, but extremely useful. Much better than illusions, anyway.

The other was Kaoru, a girl Mami's age, but not close to being as mature. If Mami were a teacher, Kaoru would be the class president. There was a gap there, both in charisma and experience. She was struck in Mami's mold though: they were... similar people. Talented, caring, and ultimately hopeful. Vastly different magic, but similar, all the same. Kyouko wasn't sure if she was ready though, not yet. To go past mere competence, a magical girl had to face true despair, then discover that you could work yourself past it.

Then again, the girl'd probably seen her share of death. No shortage of those sorts of experiences. Maybe it was enough to qualify.

"Taya-kun, Kaoru-kun," she said, chomping through the rest of the pocky. "Today's your first lesson."

She concentrated magical energy at the soles of her feet and burst forward: one arm slammed into Taya's midriff and blew her away with the force of a truck, a leg sweep caught Kaoru by surprise behind her knees and knocked her in the opposite direction, tumbling ass over teakettle. They showed their battle experience then: instead of squawking in surprise, the two of them were already rolling to their feet, adopting defensive stances. Nothing fancy or formal, just pure experience obtained through life and death struggle.

She nodded approvingly, fished for another pocky and stuck it in her mouth.

She flashed her best shit-eating grin, and said:

"Hit me."

-----------------------

Edit: @Elder Haman what does Kaoru look like? I know her costume is an old fashioned Sailor Moon-ish type deal, but do you have a description for the rest of her?

And yes, this omake is for future Kaoru elite training attempts even if it's mostly focused on Kyouko's feelings.

Spoiler: Taya's appearance

Taya's appearance resembles Yu Kashima from Monthly Girl's Nozaki-Kun

 

[Aranfan]

Gossip

After fighting demons for years now, school was actually something Aiko liked. It was a blessed period of normalcy, where instead of thinking about combat she could think about books and clothing and friends, and of course, gossip.

"You will not believe the latest." She told the other five girls flatly. She wasn't sure she believed it herself.

"Spill." Demanded Yui.

"Miki Sayaka and Sakura Kyoko." Aiko spilled.

"You're right, I don't believe it." Sanae said.

"I donno, have you seen how intently they look at each other? There's something there." Junko chimed in.

"Yeah, loathing." Sanae shot back.

"I have noticed that Sayaka-san is spending a lot of time in the same arcades that Kyoko-san frequents." Tomo noted.

Rei shook her head, "Plenty of reasons for that that don't involve romance."

"Like?" Aiko asked.

"Competition. Sayaka is an arch-idealist, and Kyoko is the pragmatist's pragmatist. She's probably trying to beat the bitch's high scores to prove a point." Rei explained.

"Like that would ever happen." Junko dismissed.

"Sure, but Sayaka's stubborn enough to try." Yui said.

There was a general muttering of agreement.

"I think they'd be cute together." Tomo chimed in after a moment.

"Romantic relationships cannot be founded on mutual hatred Tomo." Rei said flatly.

"Besides," Yui said, "Sayaka's straight. She likes that violin guy."

From there conversation drifted from topic to topic until the lunch period ended.

-
OOC: I ship Red and Blue. Oh, and hey, I made an omake that isn't wildly in contradiction to the story Helix is telling.

 

[Elder Haman]

Omake: Kaoru Training: Creating A Training Regime

Kaoru is nervous, but mostly excited about Mami giving her Elite training this month. Mami had asked her to meet at the old Mitakihara junkyard, and to bring a notebook and pencil. Entering the junkyard, Kaoru sees Mami waving her over, and they go further into the junkyard together.

Mami goes straight to business, "Today will be mostly developing a plan for your training, but I wanted to bring you here so we could try a few things out as we are making plans." As they arrive at a small clearing in the piles of junk, Mami looks around nostalgically. "I did most of my training here when I was developing my muskets," Mami comments.

Mami turns around to face Kaoru, "Now, first of all, we need to talk about powers and list the various elements of your magic."

"Uhh... music?" Kaoru answers Mami's implied question.

"Yes music," Mami agrees, "or more generally sound, but I meant a bit more then that. Take my magic for example, I guess everyone knows my wish." Kaoru nods in agreement as Mami sits on an old refrigerator leaning on it's side. "But it's not just the wording of the wish, it's the thoughts and intents - which is why instead of my wish magic being primarily healing, I got ribbons."

Kaoru's confusion must show on her face because Mami elaborates. "I was focused on the things I still had to do in life, and friends I didn't want to leave behind, so my magic was about 'ties that bind' as Kyubey puts it. Another effect, though I haven't figured out how, is that I use magic at a slower rate then other girls." Kaoru nods again, she and the other girls always knew there was something special about Mami. "I also have some healing ability, though not the same level as Yuma, or even Sayaka." Kaoru is a little surprised by this, she didn't know Mami had healing magic.

Mami brushes one of her locks of hair back over her shoulder. "The reason I'm bringing this up as that we need to identify what your abilities are so we can then build on them." Kaoru nods again. This is starting to feel like class, Kaoru thinks. Kaoru likes this much better then the beatings approach to training. Kaoru finds a broken chair to sit down on. Maybe she should start taking notes?

Mami waits to see if Kaoru has anything to say. Seeing Kaoru stay silent Mami goes on, "As you said, music. Music is the core of your powers. What is music though?" Kaoru raises her eyebrows questioningly. Mami hopes she's doing this right, it's been a long time since she trained Kyouko, and Kaoru is much more quiet and attentive then Kyouko was. Mami reflects that she ought to prefer that, but instead she's feeling a bit unsure as to whether Kaoru is following.

Mami continues her explanation, "Music is caused by sound waves, so it's probable you have some wave manipulation ability." Mami again waits for Kaoru to say something, but again she is just listening attentively, with her notebook open and taking notes. "You might be able to manipulate other waves too, like light waves."

"Or water?" Kaoru interjects. Mami closes her eyes. There's that Sailor Mercury obsession again, Mami thinks.

Opening her eyes, Mami responds, "Possibly, although that won't be generating water, just manipulating it." At Kaoru's crestfallen look, Mami continues "More immediately you might be able to manipulate the air, or create pressure using sound waves." Mami looks at Kaoru appraisingly, "I suspect that's what you are doing when you fire a bolt from your harp."

"Maybe..." Kaoru thinks back on her abilities, "I think you're right."

"Let's find out for sure," Mami says, instructing Kaoru to transform and fire off a bolt at a nearby old car. While Kaoru does this Mami watches and listens intently while holding her Soul Gem out towards Kaoru and sensing the magic around her. Afterwards Mami nods, "I could sense some magic focused on the string you were plucking and then going outward in what felt like waves compressed on top of each other. It's a little similar to how I compressed my ribbons together to make steel for my muskets." Mami opens her own notebook and makes some notes while Kaoru shifts nervously.

"Now try singing," instructs Mami. Kaoru does so, while Mami again listens with her Soul Gem. They go through a few other abilities Kaoru has, like playing a chord on her harp like she does to suppress demons during hunting. Mami talks as she makes notes, "I really do think this is it, I can sense magic coming out from you in waves. It's probably in the sound waves you are making." Karou nods as Mami continues, "When you played that chord the magic moved out in waves and then seemed to settle like a blanket on everything."

Kaoru agrees, "I really could feel something like that, and my magic does seem to move in waves. I can tell, now that I'm paying attention."

Mami nods approvingly, "Good." Mami raises an eyebrow, "Aren't you going to write that down?" Abashed Kaoru hurries to write down her discoveries. Mami decides she could get used to this kind of student. "You'll need to study wave physics. I'll get you some textbooks. Preferably college level. How's your math?" Mami continues to speak as Kaoru takes notes.

Kaoru looks up at Mami's question, "Uh... I used to be really good at math. It was my best subject." Kaoru blushes, "Um, I'm not doing as well as I used to though." Kaoru's eyes shift downward, "Not as much time to study." Her eyes come back up, "Math is still my best subject though."

Mami nods, "Well you'll need to study some more now. I know music uses math too, so it's important for you." Mami looks back down at her notebook, "Now it's obvious that you have a second ability focused around emotions." Mami looks back up at Kaoru, "You weren't just wishing for perfect pitch, you were thinking about changing your father's feelings for you and your mom, right?"

Kauro blushes, "Well... yeah."

Mami thinks while tapping her pencil against her chin. "I'm not really an expert on emotional magic. Kyouko has some skill around that but she never uses it. Doesn't like it." Mami frowns, "I guess I'll see if I can get Taura to come out here for a few hours to look at you. Figure out how that part of your magic works." Mami bends over her notebook to make some more notes. For a few seconds the only sound is the scribbling of two pencils in two notebooks, both Kaoru and Mami bent over their notebooks intently.

Finishing, Mami moves on, "Now that we understand your powers better, let's talk a bit more about what you learned from Sayaka." Kaoru explains that Sayaka can summon these magical platforms that are made from sound that support her weight. Sayaka can also make them give her a short speed boost or jump boost, but Kaoru hasn't gotten that to work yet. She just uses them to be able to get higher above the battlefield when hunting, and avoid being surrounded.

Mami nods again while taking notes, "I'll have to talk to Sayaka and get her out here for a day so we can understand what she's doing better. Since you were able to learn some of her abilities, perhaps we can adapt some more." Mami looks up, "That was good initiative to learn those." Kaoru blushes at the praise, but her face falls at Mami's next words. "Now lets talk about your weaknesses."

Mami continues on, "You're a long range fighter, and can't keep up in a close in fight. I understand, I'm the same way, but my ribbons help me keep enemies out of range. However, I've also learned to use my muskets as clubs to clear close in enemies." Kaoru nods, her face lifting, this wasn't as bad as she'd feared. "You're also just not tough enough, but we'll handle that later." Kaoru's face falls again at this assessment.

Mami begins ticking off fingers, "Now what you need is greater mobility: We'll get Sayaka's help with that. Improving your crowd control: If we could get that to work on non-demons that would be pretty useful. I wonder if it's related to your emotion control?" Mami pauses to write something in her notebook before returning to counting fingers again. "You'll want a close range effect, a clearing move." Mami pauses in her list again and looks at Kaoru, "Let's try that. Imagine a burst of sound around you pushing everything away."

Kaoru tries to force a burst of sound around her, but can't get anything to happen. Mami just listens with her Soul Gem and takes notes. Sweat starts to appear on Kaoru's forehead from the effort and Mami stops her to return to listing things she needs to learn. "We'll keep working on that," Mami assures her. "Another weakness is that you are dependent on your harp for your offense. That's actually one of the advantages of my ribbons over my muskets, I can summon and use them quickly." Mami pauses to think for a few minutes, "Since it's sound based, you should be able to create a bolt of magic using another way to create sound. Maybe your voice?"

At Mami's urging Kaoru begins singing at one of the old junk cars. Kaoru feels like idiot. Trying to direct her voice in a beam at the car is not really working. Nor is summoning a bolt of magic like she does with harp. Growing frustrated Kaoru becomes more and more irritated. She likes the idea of this, but she hates not succeeding. Mami calms her down for a bit, and then directs her to try again, this time specifically targeting the passenger window of the car. After another 30 minutes, when Kaoru is about to give up, a large spiderweb of cracks appear in the window. Excited Kaoru tries to do it again with the drivers side window but can't get it to happen again.

Mami isn't worried about that though. "You did it once, you'll do it again. Now the one other thing I think we could work on would be controlling light waves, but that's probably a long way away. Let's try it for a bit though and see if you can do anything with it." Mami suggests trying to bend light around a towering pile of junk. Mami walks behind it and asks Kaoru to tell her how many fingers she is holding up. Kaoru tries for over an hour, but isn't able to get anything to happen. Nor does she feel any magic in what she's doing. Even Mami showing her how she folds her ribbons into each other when creating her muskets doesn't help. Truthfully it's all Kaoru can do to sense the magic using her Soul Gem.

Mami decides to call an end to that experiment. "Well, maybe we'll come back to that one later." Kaoru just nods gratefully. "We've have some good ideas now." Mami looks up at the sky, "Looks like we have a couple more hours of light, let's have you alternate between the sound burst idea and the voice bolt practice. Say 30 minutes on each before switching?"

Mami crushes Kaoru's hope that the frustrating practice was at an end, but Kaoru just nods, and begins stubbornly practicing at making a burst of sound appear around her. Kaoru can feel something happening with her magic, but it feels blocked, like there's no where for it to go. When she mentions it to Mami, Mami just nods and writes it down in her notebook, motioning Kaoru to do the same. While Kaoru finds the slow process frustrating, she definitely prefers it to the training from hell with Kyouko.

-------------------------------------------

Well there is the first one. I thought it was fun trying to build up exactly how Kaoru's magic works, and how it's related to her wish. I'll have more actual training antics in the future omakes in this series, but I figured the planning came first. I think I'll be able to get the rest done in 2 more omakes. Although this one ended up larger then I expected.

I found myself thinking how different training Kyouko must have been like, so I hope I hinted at that in the story.

 

[FixerUpper]

[x] Elder Haman

I do believe this is my first vote in the quest. It's not particularly reasoned out, I just like the specifics of Taura + stealth girl mashup and propose a puella whose profile I wrote up ages ago for consideration. She's a vet now so her magic potency probably increased enough to be able to hide more than one person under her non-detection aura.

Name: Sora
Type: Stealth
Experience: Green (joined on T6)
Age: 13
Weapon: Sickle
Uniform: Red riding hood cloak, Primary Colors: Red and Black

Combat Style: Her magic makes her more difficult to notice. Because this holds true for both foes and allies, including her in a group hunt is a tricky affair. Her combat magic isn't very potent, but she's gotten quite good at physical enhancement magic, making her strong enough to injure most demons. She's a great scout, and would be a very good assassin, but she's only a moderately useful against actual demons. Mami has informed her its only a matter of time before she can turn her blade to better use, so for now she hangs around the periphery of battles, making sure to grab the wounded and get them off the battlefield. She's gleaned some first aid off the internet, is trying to teach it to others even though grief cubes usually make that sort of thing irrelevant.

History: Unable to get over the death of her younger twin brother, Sora wished to forget him altogether in order to make the pain go away. Now, when he's referenced, she hears white noise, when she sees family photos his face is blurred out. At first people were happy - then they became concerned, then angry over her sudden indifference towards her younger brother's death. Combined with the stress of having to hunt demons on her own, she nearly had another breakdown. Fortunately, Kyuubey came back to see her before she could psyche herself up to go on her first solo hunt, and introduced her to Mami's group where she happily stays. She still misses her family though, and sometimes drops by, using her magic to catch a nap in her own bed, eat from the fridge, and puzzle over the photo albums and the blurry person. It's never for very long though as these visits tend to leave her more depressed. In what she is thinking of her past life, she was an average student whose dreams mostly revolved around singing. She knows a lot of songs meant for duet, but doesn't know why she knows them.

 

[Kinematics]

Speed


Akeno Yamauchi made her way down the street on her latest delivery, delicately balancing the bicycle she rode on only the rear wheel. It was a difficult task of skill and balance, though she still found it frustratingly easy to perform.

-

Ever since she was small, she'd loved to feel her body move. The adrenaline rush of speed, whether from sticking her head out the car window on the highway, sledding down snow-covered slopes on vacation, or her first experience riding a bicycle down a steep mountain road. The utter glee that could only be surpassed by pushing herself just that much further, adding crazy challenges and performing silly stunts.

When happy, pursuit of this goal drove her higher. When sad, it was the anchor that kept her sane. Her friends at school teased her, but it was the happy teasing for one who had truly found their place in life.

Beyond mere speed she had an incredible sense of balance and spatial awareness, aids to moving fast no matter where she was or where she wanted to go. Some watching her might say that she ofttimes seemed to float as she moved, but Akeno knew better. To float was to stay still in relation to the air, and Akeno was never still. Over, under, around and through, the path from here to there, with nothing truly able to stand in her way; only the constant flow of the air brushing against her skin bore witness to how far she pushed herself.

So when she was given a wish, there was no question in her mind about what she wanted. "I want to go fast!" Beautiful in its simplicity, elegant in its directness. There were no thoughts of selflessness or selfishness, only the simple primal need.

It was only afterwards that she truly learned the gravity of the situation that she had bought herself into. Several weeks of only surviving by the skin of her teeth left her a bundle of twitchy nerves, snapping at her friends and estranged from her parents. For all that she might risk death in her pursuit of the perfect experience of speed, that risk was always the one she chose; she knew exactly how close she could get, and reveled in skating along that edge.

The demons, however, gave her no such luxury. Fighting them was a constant struggle to stay on the side of the living. She wasn't riding on the knife's edge, she was trying to crawl over it from the far side, and every battle left her feeling that she was slipping that much further down into the abyss.

-

As she let the bike's wheel collapse to the pavement again, stepping off to make her way into the office building her letter was addressed to, she allowed a smile to cross her face. For all her troubles, and all the danger and true threat to her life, a miracle had appeared to pick her up from the ground.

-

Mami Tomoe had caught up to her on a night of deepest despair. After a gruesome battle, and the very real prospect that she wouldn't live to see her next birthday, she had torn across the city in a random run of pure desperation, trying to leave the danger and fear behind. She made no attempt to conceal herself, so it was no surprise that she was found, though it was certainly a surprise to be caught.

Trussed up in ribbons, fear had turned to sobs as Mami had tried first to reason with her, then comfort her. Akeno didn't really remember what was said, but it finally purged the terrified knot that had grown in her chest. Mami had offered her a chance — hope — that there was a way to live through this nightmare, with the help of others like herself, and she accepted without hesitation.

-

A few short minutes allowed her to climb the stairs to the fourteenth floor, deliver the envelope, and slide back down on the handrails. She wasn't allowed to show off too much in public anymore, but when no one could see her, she enjoyed letting her true skills show, just a bit.

A frown crossed her face as she exited the stairwell, though, and she paused, in thought, as she reclaimed her bike.

-

Two years, now — that's how long it had been since she'd joined the Serenissima. She had responsibilities now; a job, and kohai that she had to keep watch over. It was a business that kept the organization afloat, providing the cash necessary to house, feed and supply the dozens of magical girls that had joined. It was important.

But it had been two years since she had last faced a battle to the death with the demons. Two years since she had been pushed to the edge, forced to draw out every last onze of strength she had just to take another breath. Two years since she'd felt the rush of pushing her speed to the limits.

She was better, now. Stronger, more skilled, with the training to truly understand how to fight properly instead of flail wildly. She felt it in her bones, that coiled spring, begging to be unleashed. Yet she always had to keep it in check.

Early in her time with the Serenissima, when fear gave way to overconfidence and brashness, Akeno had gradually allowed her powers to manifest in her daily activities, pushing her poor bicycle to its limits, even outracing a motorcycle.

There'd been rather stern talks about that.

But there was always the feeling that she could do more than just ferry letters and packages around town. Repressing that feeling had become a constant in her life. She was... comfortable now. Content. She did her job, played around a bit, made some money, and went home to see and listen to the girls that were out on the front lines fighting, giving everything they had to provide the true lifeblood of a magical girl — grief cubes.

And she'd sometimes take her monthly allotment back to her room, and in the evening light stare at it, wondering whether she could do what they did, wondered whether she could do what she herself had once done — ride the edge of that knife, knowing that she was always just one step away from death's scythe, yet equally confident of avoiding it.

She was praised for her swift deliveries, but more and more she felt that she was barely crawling along the ground. Two girls had even been selected for special training from Kyouko, the scarily powerful girl that was an old friend of Mami's, from before she'd even built the Serenissima organization. Both of them — Kaoru and Taya — had been magical girls for about the same time as Akeno, yet were already pushing far beyond anywhere Akeno herself had ever reached.

If she was offered a wish today, what would she wish for? Job security? Safety for her friends? A warm home, and never to be alone?

What happened to the girl who wanted to go fast? Where was the wind in her face? Where was the knife edge?

-

Akeno glanced up at the skyscraper she had just left, fifty stories of glass pushing upwards into the sky. A small voice in the back of her head urged her to climb it, running straight up along its surface, outracing gravity itself, to lauch herself past its top just to see how high she could fly, and then race the wind back down to the ground, bouncing off the shockwaves of her own movement. To parkour through the city with no care for who might see, to race as hard as she could, for as long as she could, to simply reach that divine moment where movement was everything.

And then she crushed that feeling, with long practice, and flung a leg across her bike, preparing to head to her next delivery. Her job was important. She was needed. She had to behave, for the people who depended on her.

But still... Would Mami understand this need? This craving, not for safety, but for danger and risk? If she asked, would she be allowed a chance to...?

She shook her head, putting the thought behind her. Mami had worked too hard for them all; Akeno could put aside her own selfishness for the hope that had been offered to all of them.

Until then, she would continue to try to press herself, to find out just how fast she could go without moving at all.