Puella Magi - Memento Mori (PMMM-Quest) [Story only -thread]

[DrZiztah]

[x] "Y-Yes..."
[x] Gather your courage. You can do this.
[x] "Sis... Kimiko was accepted into a big art academy in Tokyo a few years ago. She ended up moving there."
[x] "Uncle and I were planning on visiting her this weekend. That's what the big trip I mentioned before is really about."
[x] "I- I was hoping I could exempt her when I see her. It's been so long. It'll be so great to hear from her again."

You stay quiet and still for a moment, and bite your lips in apprehension. Is it really okay? You couldn't even bring yourself to really tell Kishi about it, and you still don't want to go through with it. But at the same time, you're already here. You're already a damned mess, and in the hot water for letting it slip.

Do you even have other choices here? It will only sting once, so you try to gather your courage. You can do this!

"Y-yeah," you admit with a broken whisper. "Sis… K-Kimiko was admitted to this big art academy in Tokyo. I-it was a few years ago, and she ended up moving there." You bow down your head, and tell yourself to keep going. It will only get easier from here on now.

"U-uncle and I were planning on… visiting her this weekend," you explain, and throw an apologetic glance at Mariko. "T-that's the reason for the big trip I mentioned before. I-I was hoping I could talk to her, and exempt her from the curse when I see her again. It's been so long… I-I just really want hear from her again."

Ariane's ironclad grip on you tightens even more, reassuring you that she's listening to every word and meaning behind them. "...She must be very important to you."

"M-more than anyone else," you whisper. She was there when it mattered the most. She has always been, especially after the de-

You close your eyes and bite your lips. You need to keep it steady, don't let your mind wander to places better left alone.

"What is she like?" Ariane asks you, snapping you out of it again. "What is your sister like?" You glance at the shelves at the opposite end of the room, and your thoughts wander away. Though it feels strange, given how you're pretty much crying, you can't help but smile.

"S-she's strong," you say. Compared to her, you're pretty much nothing. "K-Kimiko's so strong… in everything she does. I-if she decided something must be done, it's done! She doesn't hesitate… b-but Sis never hesitated to step in to help either, when a push came to a shove!"

Of course, Kimiko could also be a bit stubborn at times. But at the same time, that's exactly what made her so good at everything. If she screwed up, which was rare, she got up and dusted herself. She didn't fall to her doubts, but kept on going. It's how she bruised her way to the academy as well.

"You sound like you admire her a lot?" Ariane summarises quite shrewdly.

"Y-yeah… She's everything I ever wanted to be," you admit. Sadly, you've had to think about it and realize that it's all out of your reach. You'll never be as good as her. Yet… "W-when I was being alone… W-well, I used to soldier through a lot by thinking how she would do it. E-even if I'm not as strong as her, by trying to live up to her, I thought I could make it through."

What would she even call you if she saw you here? A crybaby?

"You shouldn't think like that, though," Ariane tells you. "You're far stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"I wish I could-"

"Two and a half years," Mariko cuts you off bluntly. "Humans are not meant to be alone. Isolation can, and does, kill people. Ariane's completely right about that."

"See, Mariko agrees with me!" Ariane exclaims. "Good luck in Tokyo, by the way."

What do you do?

[] Write-in.

===

What Tamiko doesn't realize is that she's much more like Kimiko than she realizes. They're both hot messes of people with raging psychological issues and trauma .

Also, I'm probably not spoiling anything when I say that Tamiko's going to be utterly destroyed when she hears about Kimiko's wish.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Thanks. I think, I'll need it.
[X] Remind yourself that two weeks ago you didn't even know these girls, and now they are your friends, they are here for you.
-[X] If you managed to reach for them and befriend them, you surely can reach for your sister.
[X] Check your Soul Gems.
[X] Say goodbye to Ariane.
[X] Have a talk with Auntcle.
-[X] Hugs, describe your day, ask how was his day.
--[X] Mention how Eve's father did not need to be broken out of the curse, unlike his children.
-[X] Ask if Kimiko knows about our visit, should we call her and warn her.

"Y-yeah…" you force yourself to stutter out as you wipe your eyes clean. A faint smile splits your mouth and you turn your head to look at your friends face to face. "Thank you. I'll need all of it."

It's quite strange when you stop to think about. Just two weeks ago you didn't know either one of these girls sitting next to you. And now they're your precious friends. For such an eventful time of your life, it hasn't taken very long. In that time you find yourself sitting with new friends, who are there for you when all seems hopeless and heavy.

What's reaching out to your sister compared to this? She'll no doubt be happy to see you as well after all this time! You just need to hold on and keep going until you get to her.

"Don't mention it. That's what friends are for, right!" Ariane exclaims.

"Mmm… By the way, uh...?" you begin, and shake your head. You shuffle around a bit to find and bring out your Soul Gem. You've probably accrued a lot of grief from this, and it never hurts to be careful.

Tamiko grief: 325/2000

You suppose it could be a lot worse, though you'll probably need to cleanse soon. "How's your situation?" you ask your friends, just in case.

"You're the one who's been crying your eyes out here," Mariko says with a sigh. "It was barely a blip when we left Evelyn's house."

"I'm all good too," Ariane finished off. "But what about you? It's not just the Soul Gem, you know."

"I'm good, at least now," you say. "And again, I can't thank you enough for being there for me."

"And I can't tell you not to mention it enough," Ariane says and slowly untangles herself from the group hug. "But I think it's better to get going now. It's late, and you're going to go to bed soon, right?"

"Yeah… We'll be seeing each then?" you ask, and receive an affirmative nod from Ariane. The girl in question offers you some final reassurances, before bidding the rest of you farewell for the night and leaving for the aide that's waiting her down below on the street level.

You're left there with Mariko and your auntcle for company. And as it stands, there's something you needed to talk about.

You sigh and walk to the kitchen the moment the door is closed behind Ariane. Your aunt is already waiting there, and you can see the last few twists in the air vanish as she drops the illusion for the night. Mariko on her part walks to the side, checking the oven with deliberate slowness.

You simply march straight to your aunt, and throw your arms around her. "It has been a long day today," you whisper.

"Well, you certainly look the part. Here I had thought to give you lot a day-off, but life had other plans it seems," the woman muses gently, ruffling your hair while she returns the brief hug. "Just take a seat, you two. I've prepared some baguettes and hot chocolate for tonight."

Her gaze travels to the surprised-looking Mariko, who shuffles awkwardly under the gaze, but relents without a word. The two switch places, as your aunt takes out the breads from the oven, while Mariko awkwardly seats herself next to you. You can't help the watering of your mouth once the aroma of your aunt's cooking hits your nose from the opened oven.

The woman lays them pieces of bread on the table and pours a steaming mug of hot chocolate she has prepared for everyone, before finally sitting down herself.

You take the initiative to continue while that happens, as well as to explain everything that happened. "I mean, we did go to Evelyn's after school, and had a really good time! Everyone's so nice there," you say. "But because I, uh… I talked with Evelyn's family members. I had to explain what has been going on with me to Ariane and Mariko."

"...Nothing new to add to that from here," Mariko follows after with a shake of her head, preempting questioning of her.

"Well, that's one thing out of the way. But take it easy, alright?" your aunt notes, before reminding you. "And remember to cleanse!"

"I will, don't worry," you promise. "But anyways, something strange also happened over at Evelyn's. When I spoke to Evelyn's dad, he didn't need to be broken out of the curse. It was like he was already exempted. How could that happen?"

Your aunt certainly appears to find that peculiar, and even Mariko seems to find some measure of curiosity about the topic, despite trying to be as unflappable as humanly possible.

"Gilles, right?" your aunt asks, and you nod back at her. "I honestly have no idea how that could be. I can't claim to be an expert on how the effects of that work, however… But have you ever met him before?"

"I don't think so, no?" you answer with voice clouded in uncertainty. "He seemed like the type that's difficult to forget too."

"Hmm, I think I'll try asking him about that in work tomorrow," your aunt promises with a frown, and turns to regard Mariko. "And how are you holding up after everything?"

"I'm alive, thank you," Mariko pans. "There already seems to be a lot going on here even without me, what with the trip to Tokyo and magical curses."

"It's part of life, don't you dare let it make you think yourself as a third wheel," your aunt warns her sternly, without hesitation, which draws a guilty flinch and a mumbled sorry from Mariko.

"Speaking of Tokyo, though…" you blurt out before you've fully thought it through. "D-does… Does Kimiko know we're coming?"

"Yes, she does," your aunt says, following up with what you think is a deliberate diversion to take your attention. "I actually meant to talk about the trip with you today. While we're of course going there to see family, there's also something else, something important we're going to do there!"

You're too curious now to call her out on it anymore. "Like what?"

"Oh, you see, Tokyo is a very good place for shopping," your aunt begins coyly, before turning more serious again. "And you can't sleep on a futon forever, Mariko… And frankly, both of you need some good, fitting clothing as well."

It's actually quite impressive how quickly Mariko's expression manages to shift from being stunned to pure fear, and then to wrenching guilt, before finally settling on a strange mix of all of them buried under passionate objection she's about to throw out. There's probably some glimmer of thankfulness and relief there as well, but it's well-buried under everything else she's feeling.

You, on the other hand, are still trying to wrap your head around the idea of actually being able to go shopping again with other people.

What do you do?

[] Write-in.

===

Well, Mariko's still going to be the stick in the mud about people putting effort into her.

 

[DrZiztah]

[x] That's sooooo coooool~! Mariko, this is going to be awesome!
[x] Assure Mariko that it'll be fine. If she still turns down the shopping trip, plead and give her the best sad puppy eyes look you can manage.
[x] It's sad that other girls will not be with us, but we can repeat this trip later, right, Aunt?
[x] Your aunt mentioned training tomorrow. Confirm. Same location?
[x] Go do your homework.
[x] Resolve to call, Kimiko... tomorrow.
[x] Talk with Mariko before bed.
-[x] Ask how she's holding up.
-[x] Let's have a good time in Tokyo.
-[x] Kimiko's a good girl. I'm sure you'll get along with her just fine.

"So, if I'm getting this right… We're going to go shopping in Tokyo?" you bring up slowly, as if to make sure you just understood everything your aunt said correctly. Your gaze is fixed at your aunt as well, and you can already tell that trying to hide your growing giddiness would be an effort in futility.

"Correct," she answers with a simple nod.

You take a breath in, and then breathe out. You compose yourself, you have to be dignified, even if only somewhat.

And then you let out a loud squee, and turn towards Mariko with a smile as bright as the sun plastered across your face. "That's! So! Coooooool~!" you practically sing out loud, gushing at the girl sitting next to you. "Do you hear that Mariko? This is going to be so awesome!"

"This… this is not fine," she grumbles weakly, sounding partly defeated, partly horrified by the prospect.

"It'll be fine, Mariko!" you argue back, taking a page out of Ariane's book and pressing your face closer to look at her eye to eye. "Come on, it'll be fun! We get to visit all sorts of stores, and we can get you some very pretty clothes! And after that's done, they must have some nice cafes in a big city like Tokyo!"

"B-but, who…"

"Pretty, please~?" you chime and plead, deploying your time-tested puppy-dog eyes against your friend. All's fair in love of shopping and war for getting everyone involved in it, after all! Though you probably owe Mariko an apology for blatant blackmail like this after all's said and done.

"Just, ugh-" Mariko tries, only to get cut off by your aunt.

"Please answer this first. When was the last time you actually went and bought clothing for yourself, Mariko?"

The guilty silence and the bowed head that follow the question are quite telling.

"I suppose if it makes you feel better, we will be staying far away from the money-rippers from high fashion companies," the woman continues with a tone that leaves no room for further arguments. You don't really hear your aunt doing that often, even when she's going as your uncle. "But we will be going shopping all the same."

Mariko seems to catch the hint, and doesn't attempt to argue any further, even if she seems absolutely miserable at the thought. She'll probably come around eventually, but it'll probably be up to you to make sure that her acceptance goes as smoothly as possible, as well as without any drama about it.

But now you just draw back from Mariko's face, and do a little inward cheer for the future, while picking up from where you left. "It's a shame that the others won't be coming along, though," you lament. "But we can do this again later too, right? Aunt?"

"If you're up for it," she promises.

"YES!" you cheer, and throw your hands up in the air. "Score one for Tamiko!"

It's probably unwarranted, but you're glad to have this chance nonetheless. But at the same time, your eyes travel to the clock, and the way it's getting dangerously close to your usual bedtime. Guess you'll have to cheer more later? And besides that, there's still something you need to ask.

"Oh, and we'll be training tomorrow, right?" you ask in a marginally more serious tone. "I mean, we had to skip today and all…"

"Yes, after school in the amusement park," your aunt says. "If there's something in particular you want to try out or refine, think of that beforehand."

You nod at that. Even Mariko seems to agree on the idea of going training.

"But that's that for now. How about we go back to your day, before bed?" your aunt says.

And you do for the small while you eat. It's not much, given how both you, and the shaken Mariko, are in a hurry to do your homework for the upcoming school day. Your meals disappear quickly because of that, and soon you're back in your room, ready to rush through your homework.

Of course, your heart's not really in it, and your mind drifts to other matters entirely. It's mostly about the trip to Tokyo, and everything you're going to have to do there. It's not long before you get to see your sister again after all this time, and that makes you anxious. Maybe you should try calling her, just in case?

But at the same time, you're also going to get the chance to have the time of your life there. Perhaps it could have been better if you had been able to bring all your friends on the trip, but you can't have everything you want. And your friend is sitting there, taking sneaky glances at you when she thinks you're not looking.

Mariko looks like she's about done with her homework, despite it having accumulated for a week. But at the same time, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how bothered she is by everything that has happened today. And if you're being honest with yourself, this has all been much heavier on her than you. You really need to talk with her again.

As such, Kimiko can wait for this evening. You can call her later, and probably have a third emotional roller coaster of an evening in a row. Third time's the charm, after all!

"How are you holding up, Mariko?" you gently ask the girl sitting on the futon.

She sighs quietly, gently closes her math textbook, and lays it next to her. "I suppose I'm fine. And I think I should probably be the one asking that question," she says, actually catching you off-guard for once.

Mariko raises her knees, and leans on them as she continues. "Between yesterday and today, I can't help but to notice that me being here coincides with pretty bad emotional distress for you."

Your eye twitches. Oh no, she better not be trying to get you to blame her for that!

"And given what you told me about your past… Well, are you sure you're fine? You said as much, but I find that difficult to believe right out of the gate." She closes her eyes. "Sorry for asking."

What do you do?

[] Write-in.

===

Well, well, well...

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] It would be hypocritical for me to get angry at you after I pestered you with the same question, wouldn't it?
-[X] I'm... well, not exactly fine. That talk about curse was hard. And Tokyo trip will be even harder, I afraid.
--[X] But that doesn't mean I can't be with my friends and be happy. It was fun, hanging out at Evelyn's home, wasn't it? Which means, today was a good day.
-[X] And no, Mariko, you being here is in no way related to my emotional distress. Believe me, I had enough distress before you moved in, before we met.
--[X] You know what you being here actually means for me? It means there is another person here, with me, who knows me, and worried about me, and wants me to feel better. And that's... that's incredible feeling.
---[X] Thank you for this.

You fall into a contemplative silence, before following with a tired sigh of your own. Despite you wanting to disagree, Mariko still has something of a point there. "I would be a hypocrite if I got angry at you, right?" you ask. These days have been such a roller coaster of events. "I mean, I've been pestering you with the exact same question a lot."

"...I will not argue that," Mariko offers neutrally, drawing a small smile from you in spite of the topic at hand.

"Figures. But, well, I… I'm not exactly fine, if we're being honest here." But when have you ever been truly fine anyway? "It's hard for me to talk about the curse - I don't think I've even fully grasped it all myself. And the upcoming Tokyo trip… It will probably be even harder, I'm afraid."

"You sound pretty calm about it now, however," Mariko notes.

"I think I've run out of tears for this evening," you offer. "But really, all of that doesn't mean I can't just be with my friends and be happy. I mean, it was fun hanging out over at Evelyn's house, wasn't it? And that means that this was a good day."

"I can't help but to feel that the bar's pretty low for that one," Mariko asks with a quirked eyebrow.

"No, it's really not. And to return to an earlier point brought up..." you begin, continuing by casting a long stare at the girl. "Mariko, you being here is in no way related to any of my emotional distress. Believe me, I had enough of that well before you moved in, yet alone before we even met."

"And I do believe that," Mariko says, looking as if she's struggling to contain the deadpan tone at the same time. "But what it looks like is that you're overextending yourself, and wearing yourself thin."

And she's not wrong. You don't think most people have lives this eventful or hectic, not even close! But you've already resolved to squash out that mindset out of your friend. No one under the roof of your home will ever have to think of themselves as a burden, you'll make sure of that!

"You're wrong," you say it bluntly. "Mariko, do you know what you being here actually means for me?"

You pause to wait the girl's answer, before suddenly having some doubts about the idea. On a second thought, it might be better not to let her answer that one. You know full well how she sees herself.

So you intercept whatever she was going to say. "...It means that there's another person here with me. Someone who knows I'm here, someone who's actually worried about me and wants to make me feel better. And that's… It's just an incredible feeling. Thank you for this."

"...You're going really hard on that guilt trip angle, aren't you?" Mariko asks you reluctantly with an accompanied sigh.

"But it's true!" you protest. "Don't you think so too?"

"...You know what, I think I'm going to go and brush my teeth now," the girl announces hastily, and jumps up from her futon. She doesn't wait for a reaction as she sulks away from your room to gather her nerves. It's pretty transparent, to be honest.

But the night is closing in. Perhaps you should also consider getting ready for sleep now?

What do you do?

[] Talk more with Mariko before you go to sleep.

[] Skip to the next morning

[] Write-in

===

Time to wrap up this day soon.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Text Kishi Goodnight and that you can't wait to see her in the morning. ::smiley::
[X] Get ready for bed and wish Mariko a good night too!
[X] Fall to sleep thinking about all the precious people you have now, and how things have been getting better, even when it's hard.

With a small stretch of your arms you slide off your bed and move away your school supplies. You're mostly done at any rate, so it's better to just get things ready for the night before it's your turn to go through the bathroom. The conversation could have gone quite a bit worse as well.

You doubt Mariko's feeling any worse than before, at the very least.

But while you wait for Mariko to finish her turn, which she's probably going to stretch out to avoid talking more with you, you turn to other matters. You go over the events of this day in your mind, wondering about how everything went, and how you ended up finally opening up to the rest of your friends.

It makes you smile. You can't wait to see everyone again tomorrow.

A sudden thought occurs to you, and you gaze over at your work table, and the phone that lies on it. It's mostly a silly impulse, but you decide to go through with it nonetheless. You pick up the phone, and flip it open, hastily typing a simple message to Kishi.

'Good night! Can't wait to see you in the morning '

You smile, and close the phone, feeling a bit bewildered about sending that message. It's probably pretty strange for her, and-

You freeze. What if she takes that as flirting? Your mood drops all of sudden, and you flip open the phone again. It's a vain hope borne of panic, but maybe it has not yet sent the message, and you can save yourself from screwing up your friendship again. But the only thing you see is a simple message of "sent".

You lay down the phone and curl up into a ball of anxiousness, only to hear an equally panicked voice in your head.

'T-Tamiko, d-did someone steal your phone?' Kishi asks you in a hasty tone. You almost fall out of your bed from the incredulousness of it all.

'Uh, n-no?' you begin. 'Wh-why would that be?'

'I-I just got a message- y-your message! A-and you usually do this with t-telepathy, so, um…'

She sounds so embarrassed. No doubt she's regretting the sudden, impulsive message to you. 'Sorry…'

'N-no, no! D-don't apologize!' Kishi says hastily. 'I-I just- G-good night to you too! And, um… I-I can't wait to see you in the morning too!'

...You don't deserve a friend like her. 'Yeah, good night, Kishi!'

And that's that. Kishi mumbles something incoherent through the telepathic link before shutting it off and leaving you sitting there, and wondering what to do next. You can't help but to feel a bit warmer after having heard about her, though you should probably use the phone a bit more often to avoid this sort of thing.

Telepathy is just so convenient, though, when your friends are mostly Magical Girls.

But with that said and done, you move on to finish your evening routines, before heading to bed. The small gap between you going to bed and falling asleep is a quiet one, as Mariko avoids talking with you for the rest of the evening. You still bid her good night, though, and receive a weak response of 'ditto' from her. You don't think she's going to fall asleep very soon, but it's better than last night at least.

You fall asleep with Mr Fluffy in your arms and your thoughts with your friends. It's all better now, and they will get even better in the future. You just know it...

...and then you wake up to the accursed ring of your phone, the blasphemous sound which dares to interrupt you in your precious sleep. You have no idea what you were dreaming about, really, but it was no doubt better than the terrible thought of having to face the early morning of a school day.

The sacrifices you make are steep indeed.

But you can see the early rays of the dawn peek through your curtains, and you have no excuse to snooze for another 5 minutes. So you groggily rise to sit on your bed, gazing around as you rub your eyes.

Mariko's already left your room, a habit which you can't understand in the slightest. Mornings are for sleeping, not for waking! Your aunt is probably busy making breakfast for you as well.

What do you do?

[] Talk with your aunt and Mariko.

[] Telepathy your friends.

[] Send text messages to your friends.

[] Skip to the school trip.

[] Write-in.

===

Well, Kishi certainly had good dreams that night

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Get up, enjoy your breakfast, hope that Mariko enjoys it too.
[X] Quietly ponder why you sent that text yesterday. Why you sent it only to Kishi? Not Evelyn, not Ami?
-[X] Well, best friend goes first? You definitely should send more texts either way.
[X] Actually, about Kishi...
-[X] "Aunt, remember we talked about Kishi's fear of magical girls? She's still afraid of Cathy and almost had a panic attack when we saw a magical girl on our Mitakihara trip... can we do something about this?"
--[X] "I kinda forgot to tell you after that situation with the bus and that weird Witch, but I met with Matsuko and Yuujin recently and... they're Magical Girls too. I want to introduce everyone, but I'm pretty sure Kishi will get scared again and I don't want that... help?"

With a few grumbles about stupid early morning escaping under your breath, you rise up from your bed and get to your usual morning routine. A few minutes later you're done and ready to join the breakfast with your aunt and Mariko, both of whom are already there.

Surprisingly, Mariko is actually nibbling away at her toast without any obvious issues about eating at the table with you. But on the flipside, she does seem to be avoiding your aunt's looks. If you had to guess, she probably brought up something from yesterday with her, and got systemically rebuffed and reassured.

Your aunt is pure evil when she gets going, but she's pretty good at that kind of thing too.

"Morning everyone!" you cheer as you sit down yourself, and receive similar bids in return. Though you entertain the idea of striking up conversation, your mind returns to yesterday before anything can really come out of it.

You goofed up with your sudden message to Kishi there. Telepathy is just so convenient that there's no need to use your phone with your friends. Not to mention, you haven't had much actual use for the thing for years. There hasn't been anyone to talk with, and it's pretty much been a glorified alarm clock.

But you're getting sidetracked there, and your mind is going to bad places. Maybe you should cleanse your Soul Gem before the training today.

You're going to have to start sending more text messages to your friends. Or maybe you could make one of those chat rooms you've occasionally seen? Those are in, right? And you wouldn't be weird for suggesting those?

Regardless, you'll probably have to make the effort to get back to that. You're not even sure why contacted only Kishi out of all your friends in the first place. Best friends first, right? But you have no excuse for not sending that to Ami or Evelyn, or anyone else.

Eh, you're getting sidetracked again. And speaking of Kishi!

"Hmm, aunt?" you speak up as you banish the last shreds of that line of thoughts and forget about it. The woman lifts her head from the morning's newspaper, and hums questioningly.

"Oh, what is it?" She seems to have already guessed that it's going to be a question erring on the side of a heavy topic. Mariko stirs from her brooding as well to listen to what you have to say.

"Do you remember when we talked about Kishi's fear of other Magical Girls?" you ask. "She's still afraid of Cathy, and almost… well, had a panic attack when we saw a Magical Girl on our Mitakihara trip. Is there anything we do about this?"

Your aunt lets out a sigh, sounding weary. "Immunization, I suppose. Cathy's not the best of examples for that, though, given that any sane person should be terrified of her."

"Uh, come again?" you ask, baffled.

"Well, given all that I know, proper counseling would be the best option. But sadly, they don't really have those for Magical Girls," your aunt explains it as shortly as she can, swerving away to other lines of thought. "Besides, being wary of an unknown Magical Girl is usually the healthy reaction. I've told you this, haven't it?"

You draw your mouth to a thin line. "So, nothing?"

"No, it's not nothing. Though it isn't much, just don't aggravate Kishi without reason. Let her build confidence in herself before prodding where her experience's from. Cathy's not out to get her, so she'll come around eventually." So Kishi has probably had a bad experience - or several - before in your aunt's opinion.

"I see…" you say. "Oh, but while we're at it, I kind of forgot to tell you about something. Before, uh… that witch where I passed out, I had met up with Matsuko and Yuujin again!"

"The greenhead with glasses and the half-German blunette?" your aunt asks for clarification, looking as if she's having vague recollections of the people.

"Yeah," you answer, feeling a bit miffed at them being only remembered by their hair color. Even Ami got the tomatoes! "But uh… They're both Magical Girls too. I really want to introduce everyone, but I'm pretty sure Kishi will be scared again, and I don't want that… Uh, help?"

You shrug, and offer an awkward smile. That probably could have gone better. Your aunt seems to give you a heavy-lidded stare as she goes over what you just said.

"You know, Tamiko, this is the sort of thing I'd hope you tell me sooner rather than later," she points out, making you feel a little guilty about forgetting it. "Though before saying anything, can I ask what they can do and if you know how long they've been Magical Girls? And how are they these days?"

Though she doesn't say anything, Mariko has definitely perked up at the topic at hand. She's listening in, but doesn't want to interrupt.

What do you do?

[] Talk with your aunt.
-[] Only vaguely explain what your friends can do.
-[] Full details for a good piece of advice to your Kishi dilemma.

[] Talk about something else with Mariko/aunt.

[] Write-in.

===

Alright, we're there. You have let hounds on the trail of Yuujin and Matsuko now

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Talk with your aunt.
-[X] Full details, maybe she can give you a good piece of advice to your Kishi-dilemma.
--[X] They were Magical Girls for about nine months.
--[X] Matsuko can punch the laws of physics away; she uses it to teleport.
--[X] Yuujin has something like a Reality Marble from UBW.
--[X] They did not seem much different from how they were back in the day; Matsuko is still the big sister-type and Yuujin is... well, Yuujin.
---[X] Actually... Matsuko did get really mad back there for a minute, before you could tell them about the curse, when she thought Aunt just up and left for no good reason
---[X] But there is something wrong with Yuujin. She's taking quite strong medicine regularly.
----[X] "Shouldn't magic heal whatever she's suffering from? We should talk about capabilities of magical healing sometime later."

Well, it has been a while since your aunt has even seen your old friends, and it shows. You haven't really caught up with them as much as you could have yourself, but keeping your aunt updated should be a no-brainer. Besides, maybe this can help with your Kishi-related dilemma!

"They've both been at this for about nine months, at least from what they told me. Yuujin's been a Magical Girl a bit longer, but I don't know anything specific about their history beyond that," you explain, summing up what you can remember them telling you. It wasn't much, to be honest, but you spent only a day catching up to them.

You wonder if you should ask them for more details later. Perhaps they have their own advice and tips to offer? You have to become better, after all.

"As for powers, though, hmm…" You pause to think. You don't really have too much insight into their powers beyond simple glimpses. "Well, Yuujin has a Reality Marble, like in that Unlimited Blade Works you got me, except a beach instead of sword-filled hills. And Matsuko, uh… I think she punches the laws of physics to teleport?"

You draw some sense of accomplishment from the minute changes in your aunt's expression. She seems genuinely surprised about your descriptions, and implies as much when she opens her mouth to comment. "Hmm, from the sounds of it, they have quite refined magic at their disposal."

"I guess so," you admit. "We didn't really do displays or anything. Matsuko just used teleportation out of laziness, and we visited Yuujin's Magical Girl Barrier - if I can call it that - to get away from the cold weather."

You can hear Mariko twitch on her seat at the mention of that.

"I hope they've practiced enough to be able to do their magic on the cheap," your aunt notes. "I have never met anyone with a large scale pocket dimension as their primary magic power before, but I honestly cannot imagine that being accessible without a hefty tax attached to it."

"Well, they did say that it's pretty cheap on them?" you offer. It's another thing you don't really know. "Anyhow, they're pretty much exactly like they used to be. Matsuko's still like a cool big sis, and Yuujin… Well, she's still as Yuujin-y as always."

You pause for a moment, before flinching and adding a bit more serious observation. "Well, Matsuko got quite mad after I told her about my life during the last few years. I hadn't gotten to explain about the curse yet, and she thought you had left for no good reason."

Your aunt grimaces very noticeably at that. "All in all, I can't blame her for that."

You doubt she's hasn't felt guilty about that herself, but that's neither her or now. "Yeah… But I guess something's also up with Yuujin. She's on some sort of heavy medication, something Matsuko reminds her to take." You frown and shake your head. "Shouldn't magic heal whatever she might be suffering from? Maybe we should talk about that?"

Your aunt stays silent for a moment, as if trying to figure out how to put something as softly as possible. You don't like where that line of thought is going.

"There are some... relative limits to what magical healing can do," your aunt lets out slowly. "There are always exceptions to everything. I can't claim to know what ails Yuujin, and I do not wish to speculate without seeing anything first-hand. But it might not be a bad idea for you to talk with her all the same."

That's not very helpful, though you doubt your aunt would be willing to explain even if you asked. Plus, it's starting to get late, and you need to leave for school soon.

What do you do?

[] Last minute talks with aunt.

[] Skip to the school trip.
-[] Talk with Mariko and Kishi.

[] Skip to school.
-[] Talk with Evelyn.

[] Write-in.

===

Alright, this should be a relatively quick day ahead of you.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Skip to the school trip.
-[X] Greet Kishi in enthusiastic, but decidedly not-flirty way.
--[X] With friendly hug.
-[X] Remind the girls about a training you have after school.
--[X] Do they have something interesting to try?
--[X] You want to figure out your swords. Why you have a dozen of them? Maybe you can become knights of the Round Table... well, the Round Shield?

You decide against pressing the topic any further. Time is rapidly running out before you have to get going to school, and you still haven't finished your breakfast. With that in mind, you offer your aunt an affirmative, albeit reluctant nod, before wolfing down the rest of your meal.

It's a bit disappointing, to be honest, and Mariko seems to agree with that. But you were probably going to talk about things with Yuujin anyway. Not to mention get your old and new friends together so they all become friends!

But that's neither here or now. After you're done with your breakfast, you quickly get everything else ready for school, and head down with Mariko to join Kishi.

She's already waiting for you on the street level, a faint tint of red covering her cheeks from the cold wind outside. She widgets a little when she sees you, and waves at you when she notices you. You grin and wave right back at her, crossing the small distance between the doors and your friends with a small jog.

"Morning Kishi!" you greet your friend with enthusiasm, and give her a quick hug on top of that.

She stammers weakly in return, obviously taken aback by the hug coming out of nowhere. "M-morning, Tamiko!"

You let go of her and nod, before turning a bit to let Mariko catch up to you. Once she's there, you start to walk down the street towards your school. On the way there, you decide to warn your friends about the coming day. It's better to be prepared for the training than not, for miss Cathy is a sadistic teacher.

"Okay, you remember that we're going to go training uncle and miss Cathy today, right?" you mention out loud, shiting your eyes back and forth between your friends. "We'll be going to the amusement park after school, since we had to skip yesterday."

"A-alright," Kishi said, looking like she's struggling to contain a grimace. "I-is anyone else coming?"

"...Well, I've still got to remind Ariane," you answer. You also wonder what to do with Evelyn here. You doubt she'd appreciate being told not to come, but at the same time being there isn't something she likes. "But I'll remind her later. Do you have anything interesting you're going to try out?"

"N-not really?" Kishi says. "M-maybe just practice the basics, such as dodging, that's all."

"That's pretty boring, though," you whine. Your opinion may be colored by your dodge tutor being miss Cathy, but still.

"It's also very practical," Mariko offers her opinion on the matter. "You know how it goes. Practice one punch 10,000 times, rather than 10,000 punches once each."

You pout at your spoilsport friends. Why do they have to bring up good points. "I mean, I get that. But there's a lot I want to try out myself," you say and swing your arms up in the air. "Like, I hope to figure out my collection of swords more. Why do I have exactly a dozen of them in my shield?"

"Back-up, perhaps?" Mariko offers.

"I-I don't think Magical Girl weapons usually have an arbitrary amount like that," Kishi suggests. "I-I can summon my guns without such restrictions."

"Fair enough, I guess," Mariko grumbles.

"Maybe they're there to make the Knights of the Round Table?" you suggest the first silly idea to cross your mind. "Well, Knights of the Round Shield in this case…"

"That does sound admittedly awesome," Mariko notes, looking like she's thinking about something. It's as if she wanted to share it, but won't because you wouldn't understand.

"M-maybe it's about the Zodiac?" Kishi offers timidly. "Y-your uniform seems to have a lot of star imagery, a-and there are 12 Zodiac constellations."

Well, that's as good an explanation as any. Ultimately, you don't think it matters that much, though you like your own explanation better.

What do you do?

[] Talk more with Mariko and Kishi.

[] Telepathy your friends.
-[] Ariane.
-[] Matsuko and Yuujin.

[] Skip to the class.
-[] Talk with Evelyn.
-[] Talk with Hana.

[] Skip to the lunch break.

[] Write-in.

===

Alright, practice is getting closer, seriously get your wishlist ready for that.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] That's genious idea! You definitely should look into this in training.
[X] Share with the girls your newfound appreciation for cellpnones and text messages. They let you contact your friends without startling them with sudden voice in their heads!
-[X] As a proof of concept send text to Ariane. Say Good morning and remind her about training.
[X] Between classes telepathy to Ariane and share your thoughts about Evelyn. It's bad she's left alone with nothing to do while you're training. Well, now she's not alone. Ami's in the exact same situation. But it's still feeling wrong. You afraid they may feel left out and contract just to get back into the group. And that would be wrong. Ask her to think about it.

"...I never thought of that," you're forced to admit out loud with a sheepish grin and an awkward miss to your step. "Maybe I should look into it in training?" Well, you don't really even know how you would look into it. But you're sure you can figure it out! Somehow! "Thanks for the idea, though. You're a genius, Kishi!"

"Uh, a-anytime," the redhead stutters out, pointedly looking away from you. Mariko on the other hand seems to find it more amusing than anything. She doesn't say anything, but you think can catch a small beginning of a conflicted smirk there.

You kind of have to agree with the idea. Kishi is just so bad at hearing entirely appropriate praise. But that's neither here or now.

"Speaking of genius, though, I hit the jackpot of ideas last night!" you announce, and dig out your cell phone. "Did you know that you can contact your friends without startling them with sudden voices in their heads?"

While Kishi's still hiding her face from your sight, Mariko's expression is completely blank. Her mouth is a perfectly straight line, and her eyes are glued at you.

"...I don't know if you're saying it like that on purpose or not, and that idea scares me," Mariko lets out with an an even, plain tone, drawing an indignant pout from you in return.

"Oh, don't be like that! It's just this newfound appreciation I now have for my phone. Telepathy's awesome and all, but it can be a bit awkward with the timing," you explain, and flip open your phone. A demonstration is clearly in order. "Here, like this!"

You quickly write a message to Ariane, wishing her good morning, and telling her that you're going training after school in as few words as possible. It feels pretty strange to actually do that for such trivial reasons, as it's usually reserved for actual announcements and secret-keeping for Evelyn.

There is an awkward, silent pause as you wait for a reply. It occurs to you that there might actually be a downside to the magic of modern technology.

"Um, m-maybe she's busy with her homeschooling?" Kishi is the first to break the pregnant pause.

"Probably," you admit and close the phone with a fumbled flip. That was more embarrassing than you intended it to be. "But you get my point, right?"

"I guess?" Mariko says with a shrug.

"Right… Now, there was this other thing that I…"

And so it goes. The three of you make it to the school without any further issues and notable happening. You split your ways in the hallway, and you make your way to class, where you're greeted by Evelyn. You take advantage of the small window you have before the teacher arrives to just catch on stuff.

You don't tell her about the training yet.

As the classes go on, you find your mind wandering to the problem at hand. What are you actually going to do with Evelyn? It's mostly by the sudden thought that you haven't checked your phone for a return message that makes you decide to contact Ariane about your worries.

'Hey, Ariane? Are you there?' you speak to the girl through your telepathic link, and receive an answer quickly.

'Oh, hi Tamiko! Why the sudden message? Is something going on?'

She can already tell you want to speak about something important. 'Well, you're being awfully perceptive today. But yeah, it's about Evelyn, and what to do with her while we're training.'

'Go on?'

'Like, she's not the only one. There's also Ami now,' you correct yourself. 'But the latter has other, non-Magical Girl friends as well, I think. With Evelyn, it just feels so wrong. I don't want to leave her out like that, but at the same time there isn't anything she can do when we practice.'

You sigh mentally. 'I'm afraid she might do a hasty contract just because of being left out and wanting to "get back" into the group. That would be wrong on so many levels. Do you have any ideas what to do about that?'

'Oh, hmm... Honestly, I don't,' Ariane admits, her telepathic voice serious. 'I'm being lectured by miss Celia, so it might be a bit difficult too.'

Kishi is definitely a genius. 'I see…'

'But no matter what you do, don't do anything reckless all of sudden, alright?' the girl continues.

Is she still peeved about being locked out of the loop with Mariko's situation?

What do you do?

[] Talk more with Ariane.

[] Skip to the lunch break.

[] Write-in.

===

Such a terrible situation that everyone can't be Meguca

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Skip to a point that honestly doesn't really make a difference here.
-[X] At lunch talk with Ami about her other friends and clubs they are members of.
-[X] If Ami is not with us, talk about your next step in Hana's befriending.

'Alright,' you begrudgingly concede to the girl on the other end after a moment's pause for consideration. This is probably not the best moment to force a conversation with her, no matter the topic. Besides, 'We still have the entire school day to figure out this stuff at least, so there's that.'

'Exactly!' Ariane chimes back approvingly. 'Things will work out.'

'I hope so,' you mutter back, snapping your attention back to the front of the class, and the droning teacher there. 'Catch you later, okay?'

'Later!'

And that's that. Though your pressing conundrum with Evelyn is still left unsolved, at least you got to talk about it to someone. You doubt Ariane's going to contact you about some sort of magical solution she has figured out any time soon, but it doesn't hurt to have another person thinking about a solution either.

The rest of the lessons pass by with your attention alternating between your friends and the actual contents of the class. It's not just Evelyn on your mind this time, but Ami and Hana as well. The former not only because she's also a friend of yours without any magical powers, but also because a very strange thought has occurred to you.

What kind of people is she friends with?

It might be a silly, but you find the question quite important. You've caught glimpses of her with some other people from her class before, and she hasn't apparently hung out with Matsuko and Yuujin for years. However, she didn't appear to be that lonely. As such, your flawless and trademarked Tamiko-grade friendship logic dictates that she must be friends with other people too.

The same application of logic also deems it that any friends of your friends must also be befriended at the earliest opportunity that opens to you. If they're friends with your friends, it means that they have common interests and other things to bond over, and thus you're likely to be the same. Friends of your friends are just friends who you've yet to talk with after all!

Hana gets increasingly little thinking from you as you ponder over the logic problems of friendship. But as the lunch break rolls around, and you make your way to the cafeteria with Evelyn, you're forced to let the situation with Ami's other friends be, seeing as she appears to be eating her lunch in her classroom this time. Probably in the company of those friends of hers as well.

So you sit down with Evelyn and Kishi, now more cognizant of your other friendship projects. You tell them as much, before you've fully thought it through. "So, I'm kind of bummed on the next step of Operation Hana-Befriending."

That draws an amused look from Evelyn. "It's an entire operation now?"

"Of course! I have a goal - sort of - and I need to figure out the means to get there," you hastily rush to defend your statement. "So, it's an operation!"

"Wh-why didn't you just invite her to eat lunch with us then?" Kishi asks you in turn.

You look at her with a mix of newfound admiration and slight embarrassment. Your best friend is truly a genius. But alas, "Uh, it seems kinda premature?" you offer lamely. "I mean, I don't even know if she'd like that kind of company, and I don't want to screw it up."

"You might be worrying about it a tad bit too much," Evelyn says.

"Well, maybe?" you admit, looking around you at the bustling and noisy cafeteria. "Speaking of, where's Mariko? I thought she would have joined us here."

"Oh, s-she's…" Kishi stammers, shaking her head with an awkward expression plastered on her face. She stops and points to another side of the room. Squinting your eyes, you can pick up the blackhair of your friend, sitting together with some people you don't recognize and talking.

"Are those your classmates?" you ask.

"Y-yeah," Kishi answers with a faint grimace on her lips and a tone of hesitation in her voice. She is not overly fond of those people, you suspect. You're also not sure where they would fit in on your friendship chain of logic.

What do you do?

[] Talk more with Kishi and Evelyn.

[] Go pick up Mariko!

[] Skip to the end of day.

[] Write-in.

===

An attempt was made.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Talk more with Kishi and Evelyn.
-[X] Isn't Hana busy in newspaper club at the break? You may try to do it tomorrow?
-[X] Speaking about new friends, how things in Kishi's class are doing? Are things better now, after Mariko backed down?
--[X] Did Kishi try to talk with her classmates? You can attest, it's surprisingly hard, but you think it's worth it.
[X] Skip to the end of day.
-[X] Because you don't have any ideas except try and talk it out like reasonable adults, which probably will not work because neither of you are reasonable adult. But we can pretend, right?
--[X] Do your best uncle impression.

You shake your head, and focus back to your friends. If Mariko chooses to sit there with people who aren't as awesome as your group, then you won't begrudge her for that less awesome decision. Even if Kishi doesn't like those people. You're totally not slightly sad that you can't have your newest friend-slash-roommate there with you instead of Kishi-haters, nope!

"Well, I guess if that's what she likes?" you offer neutrally. "Anyways, speaking of new friends and Mariko, how are things in your class, Kishi?" Mariko's been out of the class for over a week already, plus the last two days. "Are things better now? I mean, with Mariko backing down and all?"

That sounded a lot smoother in your head.

"It's… I-I think it's better?" Kishi tries to offer, looking a bit unsure about the question. It feels like the answer is a lot more complicated than she can tell in a simple yes or no.

"You don't sound very convincing," Evelyn points out, having also caught up to the her unsure answer. "Nor very convinced yourself." You nod along at the girl's words.

Kishi sighs, faltering a little under the combined pressure from you two.. "D-don't get the wrong idea! S-she's not doing anything to me anymore!" she promises, and you can actually believe that one. "I-it's just that… The new status quo is so strange."

"Uh, why would that be a bad thing?" Evelyn asks.

"N-not bad! Just off-putting," Kishi explains. "S-she's… kind of been the boss of the class, and the ringleader, h-has been for years. B-but now she's more…"

Kishi falls silent for a moment, looking for the words. You and Evelyn remain quiet for that, only nodding encouragingly at her.

"...Subdued, I guess?" she lets it out with a sigh. "S-she tries to pretend I'm not there when in class, and the others seem to have picked on that. I-it's weird to be left alone like that, after all that time."

Well, you'd know a thing or two about that, and then some.

"Have you tried talking with your classmates?" you suggest. "Trust me, I know how difficult that can be. But it's definitely worth it!"

"And why is it that you've only spoken with Hana and me?" Evelyn points out very unhelpfully, smiling coyly.

You stick your tongue out at her. "And things have been worth it 100% of the time. Prove me otherwise!" You smirk, before turning more serious. Honestly, that's only half-true, what with the erstwhile class representative being a work in friendship progress. You let out a sigh mired in some frustration. "But with Hana… I mean, isn't she busy with the newspaper during breaks? Maybe I should try it again tomorrow?"

"Probably, especially since they need to finish the issue for tomorrow," Evelyn guesses with a frown.

"S-she does a good job with that, though, despite everything," Kishi says as her eyes are drawn to the roof. She appears to be in thought. "H-her predecessor managed to publish every day, and the content was a bit better back then. B-but I don't think even the most prestigious school papers usually release more than issue a week. S-so even when compared to the overwhelming press monster that miss Tachibana was, she's still scarily driven and competent."

You nod along to the explanation. Hana does look very tired all of the time, and seems to like bringing up the paper when talked with.

"Seriously? Five days a week?" Evelyn asks.

"Y-yeah. A-again, miss Tachibana is a kind of school legend for that," Kishi explains. "H-her successor is definitely good, and p-probably destined for greatness. B-but there are just some mountains that cannot be climbed."

Perhaps asking about that might help with the impasse you find yourself in with Hana. It can't be any worse than those awkward attempts at conversations you've had with her previously.

You look down into your precious bento box, and play around a bit with a piece of meat. It only occurs to you know, but you're once more left in peace from any jokes by your aunt… Huh, she seems to have toned down that recently.

The rest of the lunch passes smoothly, and before you know it, you're back to the class and the dull lectures. Luckily, you know how to deal with the monotone to some extent, and after a few agonizing hours the school day passes.

Unfortunately, Ariane doesn't seem to have a solution to your problem, or at least hasn't contacted you about the issue. And with Evelyn ready to leave the class as soon as you're ready, you don't exactly have time to strike a longer conversation there with her.

"So, what now?" Evelyn asks you.

You're not sure. Why is social so hard!?

Spoiler: Vote in Abeyance

-[X] Because you don't have any ideas except try and talk it out like reasonable adults, which probably will not work because neither of you are reasonable adult. But we can pretend, right?
--[X] Do your best uncle impression.

What do you do?

[] Bring Evelyn with you to the training grounds.
-[] Talk with everyone on the way.

[] Talk with Evelyn before doing anything.

[] Contact Ariane anyways.

[] Write-in.

===

Vote in abeyance, because stuff and I'm kinda hesitant to move with it due to the wording.

Also, something a bit tangential, but auntcle can and does fuck-up occasionally, even if she tries to be a good guardian for Tamiko

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Talk with Evelyn before doing anything.
-[X] Well, there's some more magical girl training today. I've been thinking and stuff, and...I remember how it felt when I was the one being left out of everything, and I was worried you might be feeling the same way when we're all focused on magical girl stuff. So, I wanted you to know you don't have to come if you don't want to, you could check out some clubs, or go home and play video games or whatever. You're my dear friend, and nothing will change that, so if it's hard to sit through or boring...I don't want you to think you have to.
-[X] O-of course you're still welcome to come if you want to! I just...worry...about things…

"Well," you drawl out, groaning internally. This is one conversation you really, really don't want to have. There are no winning options, only varying stages of isolation for Evelyn. "We, uh… We're going to have some more Magical Girl training today."

It's not very obvious, but Evelyn's faint smile seems to falter a little. You're not sure whether it's because she has realized what you're going to talk about, or because the idea of training days is already a kind of personal affront to her. It doesn't really matter to you, though, as the reaction is already an unwelcome one.

"I see," Evelyn answers you slowly, waiting for you to continue the line of thought for both of you.

"Yeah. Anyhow, I've been thinking about it and stuff," you pick up the cue. "I mean, I remember how it felt when I was the one being left out of everything. I was worried you might be feeling the same way when we're all focused on Magical Girl stuff."

You let out a sigh and then lock your eyes with Evelyn's. "So, uh, I wanted you to know that you don't have to come if you don't want to. Maybe check out a club, or go home to play video games or whatever you do there?"

Evelyn… doesn't seem to take it well. Her eyes widen for a moment, before she averts her gaze from you. She looks conflicted, and it occurs to you that you probably could have put that a lot less dismissively. Your own expression falters as well with the realization, and a small bubble of panic grows in your stomach. Time to engage damage control mode!

"Don't get it wrong! You're my dear friend, and that won't change! So, if it's hard to sit through, or if it's boring… I don't want you to think that you have to," you rush to explain, before backtracking a little to reassurance. "O-of course, you're still more than welcome to come if you really want to! I, uh, just… get worried… about things, he he he…"

You rub the back of your neck and laugh awkwardly. Under your breath, you direct your curses towards the difficulties of social interaction.

Evelyn on the other hand turns back to her desk, and shoves her supplies into her bag. Her face is almost like stone as she does that, determined and guarded, and you feel a spike of fear travel down your spine. This really could have gone better.

"Let's go," Evelyn says tonelessly and throws her bag over her shoulder.

"Eh? Come again?" you ask.

"We're going to training grounds, no? Or are you going to just sit there doing nothing?" she asks you. It looks like you asking has only galvanized her determination to not be left behind.

What do you do?

[] Go meet up with your friends.
-[] Talk with your friends.

[] Skip to the training.
-[] Suggest something to train.

[] Write-in.

 

[DrZiztah]

[x] Skip to training.
-[x] Defer to Uncle and Miss Cathy for now. They're the experts here.
--[x] For later: Would like to continue to work on dodging and swordplay

"...Yeah, we are," you say and hastily pick up your own school bag. Evelyn nods back at you and starts to walk out of the classroom with brisk steps. A sense of frustration at the situation washes over you as you take a glance at the rest of the class, all ignorant to the reasons behind the sudden turn in your friend's mood.

You let out a heavy sigh, before running after her to meet up with the rest of your friends. Why can't you just enjoy nice and happy friendships with everyone?

It doesn't take too long for you to meet up with Kishi and Mariko, the two of them having waited for you at the school gates, and send messages to your Uncle and Ariane. After exchanging your greetings, you move to the less busy side of the school from where you asked Ariane and her aide to come pick you up without getting in the way of the rest of the traffic that passes by the huge building complex. It doesn't take very long.

The girl in question is obviously giddy about the day ahead of you, and greets you cheerily once she arrives there. Though she doesn't voice it, you can notice the slightly different reaction to seeing Evelyn there with you; one of slight relief. She must believe that you managed to, if not solve it, then at least figure out a patch for the problem with her. Though she didn't have any solutions herself, she seems to have decided to pick up the slack from there, and she mostly keeps conversing with Evelyn on the way.

The reduced awkwardness of the trip is very welcome, mind you.

The grumpy, red-haired aide stays behind, while the rest of you walk into the abandoned amusement park. Your uncle and miss Cathy are both already there waiting for you. They appear to have cleared a small patch in the middle of the mounds of snow for a couple of benches that they're sitting on.

"Ah, it seems that all of you made it here?" your uncle asks as soon as you get within talking distance, flicking away the half-burned cigarette he has been smoking. You're not sure if it's your imagination, but he appears more… tense than usual. And given how even miss Cathy's smile seems a bit forced, you can't help but to think that the two had some sort of argument before you got there.

You don't ask yet. Instead, you greet them with a wave and a grin, running the rest of the way, while your friends follow after you.

"Yup! And we're all ready to go," you announce.

"Maa~, that's good," your uncle notes, giving a lazy wave to the rest of your friends. He follows by drawing in a deep breath and proceeding to explain what you're going to do.

"Alright, we're going to do this practice round much the same way as we did the last one," he says with a sly grin, pointing his thumb towards the trees behind him. "Each one of you gets a turn to train magical abilities in peace with one of us, while the rest of you go over the basics with the other."

You nod along, feeling impatient already. You briefly consider the idea of bringing up some ideas you had for going over today, but decide against it for now. Miss Cathy and your uncle probably have something very special and useful in mind, and you wouldn't want to miss what they had in store for you. The last time was very fruitful for everyone, after all!

"And before you ask, we actually have a pretty good idea what each one of you might find useful!" Cathy announces, hopping up from the bench and stretching her arms. She has already transformed, although her dreadful stick of horrible pain is not present.

Yet.

"And we're actually going to start of with you there," the woman continues, pointing at a very surprised Mariko.

"Me?"

"You," Cathy confirms. "Follow me, my little purple duckling~! You get to have the first turn with me."

Mariko throws each one of you an awkward glance, before following after the blunette with a hasty jog. The rest of you turn to look at your uncle, who lets out a chuckle as he stares at you.

"Alright kids, with the rest of you, we'll start by going over your abilities again. And after that, we're going to be practicing this wonderful skill known as dodging. I'm sure you've heard of it at some point…"

===

Your name is Mariko Fuyousawa.

Unfortunately, this also means that you're Mariko. You don't think anyone would voluntarily do that to themselves, nor should they. But as it is, you'll just have to deal with all that it implies. This includes having to practice your magic with ladies double your age at minimum. You've met said lady before back when your…

...Well, when Tamiko happened to get into a car crash scene. The blue-haired woman had taken it upon herself to heal all the victims in the wreckage of the bus, while the rest of you fought the flowery witch below the highway.

You never want to do that again.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure you have some questions for me here," she asks you as soon as you arrive to a small clearing hidden from the others. "Feel free to ask, by the way. I don't bite, the scythe does!"

She's not wrong, unfortunately, and you slowly nod at her. You don't know what to make of the woman called Cathy. You're fairly sure she suffers from some form of brain damage for one thing. It doesn't appear that she's malicious, or harbors any ill intent towards you, though.

However, you're forced to concur with Happy-Girl's wariness towards her. You know magic can do a lot of things if you have enough of it, good or bad... But you're fairly sure you can't put an entire busful of people into stasis and heal them without even some visible dent to your Soul Gem.

"Well, do you wish to ask now, or later?" The woman blinks all of sudden, and shakes her head. "Oh, and could you give a quick rundown of your abilities? I have a fairly good idea what we need to do, but it wouldn't hurt."

What do you do?

[] "...Who are you?"

[] Explain your powers.
-[] Briefly
-[] Fairly
-[] Fully...

[] Move on the training talks, personal questions can wait.
-[] "Why did you want me to go first?"
-[] "What are we going to do?"

[] Write-in questions for either part.

===

The previous time you practiced here was under the name "Tutelage", FYI. Also, sorry for the confusion with the training here. This will work by each of the girls having a small scene with one of the adults for personal training, while the rest of them go over basics. After those, you'll have a chance to play around with your wishlist. Auntcle and Cathy are going all in for this one mostly for Tamiko and Mariko's sake (Tokyo ahoy!).

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] "Why did you want me to go first?"
[X] "Why are you doing it at all?"
[X] Explain your powers.
-[X] Fully…

"Why did you want me to go first?" you blurt out loud as soon as the woman closes her mouth. You can run down your abilities to her once you have figured her out at least somewhat. "You didn't even hesitate to call me out for the first turn there. What do you want?"

You close your eyes for a moment and let out a sigh to steel yourself. You must have sounded like you're panicking. Though you'll admit to being a bit nervous here, it's not really as bad as it probably looks to the woman. On the other hand, maybe she won't call you out on being rude because of it?

"It's because of your powers," she answers you casually, without a moment's hesitation.

You grimace and cast your eyes down. Of course it would be about all of that. You can't help it! You can't-

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it, that's a very nasty ability you have in that damage transfer of yours," Catherine continues on, ignoring your reaction. "It's pretty damn useful, I'd say, don't get me wrong. But the lack of control is what makes it troublesome for anyone else to train with you."

The woman throws her hair behind her with a flick of her head. In her hands appears a gnarled staff that she points at you. "Lucky for you, I shut down magic like that pretty easily. As such, I'll be there to help you practice your defensive skills."

"Wait, what do you mean-" you try, but get cut off by the woman throwing the stick lightning fast at you. It impacts against your forehead, sending you reeling back from the jolt. The familiar feeling of your magic starting to rush out uncontrollably. Your eyes widen from panic, and the pain is forgotten as you try to stop it, but in vain.

You turn to look at the woman, trying to warn her as the air begins to shimmer around you… But then it stops. It's as if all of it is simply wiped away in a heartbeat. You fall down on the your rear from the shock, confused and relieved in equal measure. The cold ground fails to bother you at all.

"See what I mean? You needn't worry about that broken power of yours with me," the woman asks as she walks to you to pick up her weapon. "And this highlights the main thing we need to focus on as well." The woman casts her eyes at you. "All the others would have at least tried to dodge that - they have more experience than you. So we'll need you to catch up to them! Your power is not a good strategy for defense, you see, for it still eats your magic, no? And you still have to take the damage for it to trigger."

You nod very slowly in response, still too shocked to do much else besides stare at the Stick of Pain in Catherine's hands. Tamiko has mentioned it once or twice before, but only now you're starting to have an idea why she would speak so warily of it.

"But dodge training is for a larger group. I did promise you help with a private lesson in magic, after all!" she finishes, crouching down to pull you up from the snowy ground. "So… About your magic?"

You swallow a lump in your throat, and try to look anywhere else other than the woman in question. "...Why are you doing this? Why bother at all?"

"...Because I get to have Hicchan owe me favors, which I can then cash in for free dinners," she shoots at you point-blank. "Duh."

"Bwuh?" What?

"Aww, don't give me that expression. When you're as old as I am, you'll learn to appreciate a free gourmet meal scammed from a very pretty lady," the woman cheers you on with a sly grin. "But really, don't fret about it. I'm helping you out of my own free will. You don't owe me anything for that, if that's what you're worried about."

That's… not it. But exactly how are you supposed to argue against someone who's pretty out there even on a normal day?

"Now, about your powers?"

Well, what other choice do you even have? It's not like you've ever gotten the chance to choose your life before, so why would it stop now? You nod slowly at the woman, and go over all the things you've noticed about your powers, both the barriers and the pain mirror itself.

It's a long explanation, and one that requires you to demonstrate some of the things to the woman. But at the same time she does seem to understand the rules and laws behind them much better than the others did when you told them about it all.

By the end of it, the blunette is deep in thought. "Hmm, I see… Compared to your friends, you're leaps and bounds ahead in using your current powers, lackluster dodging aside."

You offer a jerky nod in return, in part feeling happy and embarrassed to get acknowledgment about that, and in part a bit peeved about the remark about your dodging skills.

"Frankly, I think you're doing a far better job at that than I ever could. In fact, the only thing to help you with that would take a lot of time without a guarantee of success," she continues, lifting her stick up from the ground. Blue sparks of light coalesce around it, forming a vicious-looking blade at the upper end of it. She has decided to bring out her complete weapon for the training

"Luckily, I have another idea that might just work. And be awesome if it works out!" the woman tells you, a wide grin appearing on her face. "Bring out your mace."

You do as you're told, bringing out your weapon and giving the woman a puzzled look. It goes ignored.

"Alright, do you have any other questions before we begin? If yes, ask now. If no… Well, I want you to try and use your barriers to turn your mace into a lookalike of my scythe, as weird as that sounds. Make the blade, the extended shaft, all that."

What do you do?

[] Ask more questions.

[] Move on to the training part, do as you're told.

[] Write-in.

===

Well, you did kinda ask for mace action, so have at thee

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Move on to the training part, do as you're told.

You incline your head quizzically. Your mace is very much a mace, several moving parts notwithstanding, and you don't think the structure lends itself well to that sort of shape. But at the same time, what else is there to do? It's not like you lose anything by going along with it, and you don't really feel like trying to protest.

You close your eyes with a sigh, and nod. "No, I don't have any questions." That can all wait for another, better time. Right now, you have training to do.

"Alright, let's begin. Catch!" the woman announces, taking a few steps closer to you and tossing the fully formed scythe with a quick spin of her body. You take an instinctive step back, already wary of the painful stick that now comes with an actual blade, and watch as the human-sized weapon sails through the air.

It lands right in front of you, the silvery blade burying itself deep into the frozen ground beneath the cover of snow. Your eyes travel across its entire length. This close, you can't help but to marvel at the details appreciatively. Magical Girl weapons all seem to be good-looking and intricately decorated.

"Now, relax and try to do as I suggested…" the woman continues to lecture, while waiting for you at a small distance.

You sigh and pick up the scythe from the ground with your free hand. You set the scythe next to the mace in your other hand, glue your eyes at the weapon's structure structure, and try to form the same three-dimensional shapes in your mind. This is something you've always been good at, and it has been a great help in using your magic as well. You just need to figure out how to make it grow.

Sadly, with all the details in the polearm, you can't figure out a mechanism of growth that easily. Only a few basic shapes cover the surface of the mace's ends. You're almost ready to give up on frustration for the pointless and futile effort. But then a sudden shiver of coldness hits you, and the momentary lapse takes you concentration to your mace, as well as the magic that can flow therein.

It's but a moment of clarity, but it's enough to set your mace in motion. The head whirs, shooting out of the extending handle, and twisting trails of new appendages down the shaft. Purple energies bubble from the small openings produced into the weapon, whose form shifts and expands in impossible manners to imitate the structure of the larger weapon closer to you.

The process is over quick, and ends with a blade of purple light shooting out of the shrunk head of your mace at the top of the weapon. You stare slack-jawed at the result, and almost let go of it in surprise. The blade flickers weakly in response, and you steel yourself to stabilize it. You let go of the one given to you, however.

The woman's smile threatens to split her face in two as she whistles at your handiwork. "Great job! Looks like it actually worked."

You blink again, making sure that you really are seeing what you think it is, before offering the blunette a weak smile in return.

Instincts you didn't even know you had scream all of sudden. You barely have time to lift your mace-slash-scythe to block the sudden overhead strike. Your eyes are behind your block, and above you is the exhilarated face of Catherine, who has in the blink of an eye summoned a new weapon and crossed the distance between the two of you.

"Oh my, it also mirrors the technique?"

Snow is blown around out from where you stand, and the frozen ground cracks audibly below you from the force of the strike. Your bones creak and muscles scream in protest from the overwhelming power that your magic cannot seem to imitate. Clouds of snow fly in the air from the sides of trail the woman plowed through in a fraction of a second.

"...Well, partly anyways. I hadn't expected it to be that easy, though," the woman relents, however, and jumps backwards, away from you. "We'll continue with the main part of this training. Keep your weapon like that as long as you can, and try to channel whatever instincts you may have gotten as much as you can."

Wait, what is-

But by the Catherine has already attacked you again, much more slowly this time, but still blindingly fast to your untrained eyes. You barely manage to duck out of the way before the next strike comes swinging in. The purple blade flickers each time that happens, as your concentration slips a bit.

You don't really get a chance to answer as you're forced to go through the crazed woman's maniacal idea of dodge practice. Though your conscious thróughts seem to weaken your magic, you don't really get much time to think at all. The woman is relentless, and refuses to give you any quarter, perhaps for this very purpose.

But your movements are not entirely your own, as you weave out of the way of Catherine's lightning fast slashes, thrusts and kicks, only blocking scarce few of them with your own weapon. Your body screams in desperation, unable to keep up with the strain of maintaining the foreign style built for a much older and stronger person. It's merely a dozen or so seconds, though they feel like hours, before you almost black out from the mental and physical strain of your magic.

But you're no longer there at that point. Something flips inside you, and in smooth movements you flip back, poising your scythe far behind you. You don't know where you are, you don't know who is there anymore as the reality blurs. Your body moves, your mouth moves to speak words in language you don't recognize…

"Duck, will you?"

You're vaguely aware of a flash of panic from opposite to you, before you swing down with the weight of the world around you, and-

You fall flat on your face on the cold, snowy ground, your instinctual balance vanishing all at once. Your mace whirs slowly next to you, returning to its original shape as perfectly ordinary magical mace. Every single one of your muscles is screaming in agony and you can feel a massive headache coming your way.

Speak of the devil, you can feel yourself being lifted from the ground from the backside of your collar like some sort of floppy puppy. You're brought face to face with the crazy lady, who appears to be undecided whether she should be concerned or amused. You groan in pain, though force yourself to stay otherwise together for now.

"Man, you really exceeded my expectations there," she tells you all the same, smiling a little and whistling under her breath. "I wasn't sure of the extent this sort of thing could go, given the state of your magic."

You nod slowly at the woman, grateful at the praise, though confused in equal measure.

"Well, we better get you patched up before we continue to practice here. You seem to have gotten a ton of grief out of the deal as well, so I guess I owe you a cleanse for that too… Well, any questions?" she continues.

What do you do?

[] Write-in what you do before moving on.

===

The next update will finish Mariko's turn there, and you'll move on to the next one.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Check exactly how much Grief it cost you.
[X] Remark on how you have no clue how you're going to live up to Ruby Rose's legacy.
-[X] But an actual question would be why you're imitating powers and fighting styles from an anime you like.
-[X] ...Or was that actually Cathy's style? Awkward.
[X] What was that, in the end? Did you use Cathy's magic?
[X] Can you do it again without having Cathy's scythe on hand?

"Uh, can you please wait for a second?" you mumble noncommittally, and look down at your Soul Gem as a growing sense of dread grows stronger at the bottom of your stomach. You just tried out new magic without any precautions, of course you must have blown it all to kingdom come!

You see more black than purple there.

You close your eyes and bite your lips. Yeah, that could have ended pretty badly there had you screwed up… Though it's not like you ever do anything the other way in any case, and-

It feels like your worries leave you in a giant wave of relief. A weight has been lifted off your shoulders, and your mind clears itself off the depressing thoughts and impulses, even if only for a moment. You fall limp in the grip of the older woman, and let out a long, relaxed sigh. When you stop to think about it, it's not really that uncomfortable like this.

Except without any warning you're then dropped into the snow. You force yourself up when the cold cover of snow hits your face, and groan out from the pain of the sudden shock. Why can't you just enjoy the moment of respite, being held in the air from your clothes while basking in the rush of grief being drained from your Gem?

"Feeling better yet?" the woman asks you nonchalantly, interrupting your internal grumblings.

"As much as I will ever be, thank you," you groan back and force yourself to stand up on your own feet again. Your head feels a bit more clear now after dip to the snow and a much appreciated cleanse. Your thoughts return back to you, bringing with them a simple but very important question.

What on earth did you just do?

You bring up your hands and stare at them in mild wonder. Though it's a bit silly to even think about, you can't help but to think how that must be like using the Crescent Rose, and how that is the closest you get to imitating a web series you've idolized for a while now. Someone like you could never hope to live up to that standard, much less your legacy, but it makes you feel somewhat happy all the same to even try.

It's almost like doing it the same way as Velvet, except you destroy yourself in about ten seconds.

"...You do realize that you're talking out loud, right?" an amused voice asks right besides you, causing you to freeze in horror. Crap, you just had to make it awkward.

"Well, anyways, I can guarantee you that those moves were not from the Internet, but from the great and gracious me," she continues nonchalantly, letting you get over your own sudden mortification. "Though it looks like your body can't quite muster all the necessary strength to utilize it properly."

You nod slowly and crouch down to pick your mace again. Though you're already recovering from the effort, your muscles still feel very sore from the attempt. You make a quick attempt to bring forth the scythe again, but fail to do anything beyond a few token whirring noises within the weapon's mechanisms.

You frown at the lackluster reaction you elicit, though can't bring yourself to be surprised about that. It feels like your magic is stuck over it, much like before grabbing the scythe. But beyond the mere movements and weapon mimicking, there was also something else you tried to do as well, before crashing completely.

"Uh, miss Cathy?" you ask. "What was that at the end?"

"Oh, that? You were trying to imitate my… finishing move, if you will."

"So, did I use your magic then?" you press the question.

"Nah, I couldn't see any of the signs for that," she reassures you. "But considering how much collateral that usually results in and how much of that is abilities available to all Magical Girls, I decided not to take the risk this time. I don't think Hicchan would appreciate us levelling this amusement park for no reason, no matter how unlikely you doing that would have looked like."

You nod again, more shakily this time. You're inclined to believe the part about collateral damage and make a mental note not to cross the mentally off woman before you. "I see... What happens now?"

"Hmm?" Catherine turns more thoughtful. "Honestly, given the state of your powers, I normally wouldn't be inclined to continue with this. But with the Tokyo trip coming up for you as well, this could well save your life out there, no matter how incomplete. The girls there are experienced and ruthless."

The woman gives you a quick look and brandishes her scythe. "We'll have you try and get you to do that without having to scrutinize every cent of the weapon first. There are also some things we need to test. Whenever you're ready to go again."

You close your eyes for a moment to catch your breath, and then take a step forward. You still have a long way to go…

===

You're Tamiko Higekino, and you're a Magical Girl. This means that you can do magic and are in top condition physically, which is more or less cheating. Yet, despite all that, you're already exhausted and sweaty. Your breaths come in shallow panting as you rest on the white bench.

The melee training was definitely intense and took a lot out of you, something agreed on by Ariane, who's sitting next to you. Kishi on the other hand seems no worse for the wear, which the former is quietly grumbling about. She doesn't know how she's actually a robot underneath the clothing, and thus can't get tired the conventional way.

You sometimes wonder what it would be like to be a robot girl as well. You never bring it up, though. She takes her form really badly, and you don't want to upset her in any way, but the idea comes to you every now and then. You could certainly appreciate not feeling our face freeze in the winter cold.

But as it, you just have to ignore it. It's not as bad as it could be, and you have your friends there with you. Kishi and Ariane are sharing the break with you, and Evelyn is sitting there with you as well, even if she stays mostly quiet in her rather well-suppressed discomfort.

And in the distance you can see the approaching forms of Mariko and miss Cathy.

"Maa~, looks like they're finally done as well," your uncle notes from the side, drawing one final lungful of smoke from his cigarette, before stomping it against the cold white ground. "Five minutes, and then we get going, miss Verrier."

The girl nods enthusiastically, even if she's more curious about the arrival of Mariko. You feel a bit peeved at having to go there last, but the adults must have their reasons for this. Besides, you're honestly more curious about what Mariko learned than anything.

Mariko's gains from training:
- +4 to dodge for Cathy's special treatment and osmosis.
- Learned basics of Mirror Person. Can't be fully utilized yet, but Mariko can gain partial use of her opponent's weapon and techniques for X grief/second, depending on the level of difference between them (can range from 5 to 50 /second). In practice, she utilizes some fraction of their bonuses, but can't use her own magic as long as this is active. The amount is greater when Mariko is less distracted by something.

What do you do?

[] Talk with your friends.

[] Move on to Ariane's part.
-[] Talk with Tamiko's uncle before the magic training.

[] Write-in.

===

Mariko done, Ariane's up next. Of course, there are a lot of weakness and problems to Mirror Person at the moment, but it can be utilized in a pinch against a strong opponent.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Move on to Ariane's part.

You slide off your comfy spot on the bench to stand up and wave at Mariko. There are a lot of things to talk about, especially with Mariko. This is her first time practicing with auntcle and miss Cathy, so it must have been a weird even if worthwhile experience for her. Your new roommate's powers are awesome enough on their own, so whatever they cooked up there must be something to behold.

You suppose you could also talk about other, more serious things too. For example, Evelyn is obviously feeling out of place here, and has probably calmed down enough to talk about it again. But right now, you just want to enjoy the small moment with your friends before you need to get back to work. Those witches aren't going to beat themselves

"Hi, Mariko~!" you yell at the black-haired girl, and sneak a glance over your shoulder as the others drag themselves up too. "How did it go? What did you do? Can you fire laser beams now"

And for them you need to become much stronger than you are right now…

===

Your name is Ariane le Verrier.

It has been like that for your entire life, and you doubt it's going to change. There is a certain weight to it that you're all too keenly aware, especially when you see your father working. But to say you're merely your name would be reductive beyond belief, for you think you're much more than that.

For instance, you're a Magical Girl. To summarize the meaning behind that, you're literally a girl that can do magic. It sounds quite simplistic when put that way, but it's true. You also rather like your magic, and what it can do. And right now, you're about to practice this magic of yours with a much more well-versed person.

Said person is Tamiko's uncle, the strange man with a faint aura of magic around him. You're not quite sure what to make of that, given that he's obviously not a Magical Girl. But he knows what he talks about when it comes to the life of a Magical Girl, so you've made it a point to listen. He works for your father, and is generally a pleasant person after all.

It also helps that you're really excited to see what you're going to do after that positively exhilarating round of exercise.

"Alright, let's just get to the point," the man says, lazily turning around to face you as soon as you're out of the sight of your friends. "With you we're going to bridge some gaps between your abilities. Namely, we'll be enchanting your normal swords with your own special magic. Mostly for melee use for now."

The man crosses his arms over his chest. "I'm going to need you to bring out a simple greatsword for this, naturally. If you have any questions, now's the time to ask those."

What do you do?

[] Talk with Tamiko's uncle.
-[] Why melee? Shouldn't you be focused more on your ranged magic?
-[] Write up another question.

[] Move on to to the training, talking can wait.

[] Write-in.

===

Next shift, next weapon

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Talk with Tamiko's uncle.
-[X] Do you mean Ghost form, when you're talking about my special magic? Ghost Sword would be cool!
--[X] Actually, about Ghost Form. Do you think it's possible for me to use it and still be awake? Maybe some lucid dreaming technique?
-[X] Sorry for personal question, but... Do you know there is some magic in you? Could it be Cathy? Could it be love spell?

"When you say enchanting my weapon with my own special magic… Do you mean like when I dream?" you ask while nonchalantly materializing your greatsword next to you. It embeds itself to the ground, sticking out for you to grab at a moment's notice. You turn slightly to give it a quick, appraising look. "I think a ghost sword would be quite interesting."

"Unfortunately, that's not exactly what I had in mind," the man tells you, but doesn't get any further before you continue your musings.

"Oh, actually, I also meant to ask about that," you say, eyes travelling up towards the sky. "Last time miss Catherine suggested lucid dreaming, but I fear my progress is quite slow there, despite finding some guides already. Do you think there's something else I could do, mister Higekino? Or maybe even somehow do that while being awake?"

The man sighs and lets his shoulders sag a little before he answers you. "Spectral formes are not exactly my area of expertise, I'm afraid," he says, looking like he's going over something in his mind. "That said, I do believe it might be possible to do something like that even while awake. Your magic is fueled by your dreams, no? The best I can suggest to you is to try and bridge it with daydreaming, and continue from there if it works."

You nod in response. He doesn't have much to give for specifics, but you can understand what he means there.

"Now, did you have anything else you wished to ask?"

Ah, right. Perhaps this might be as good time as any… "Hmm, yes, I was also wondering about something else," you begin, dragging out your words a bit as you focus your gaze on the man before you. "I apologize if it's a personal question, mister Higekino, but I've noticed that you have magic around you."

His eyebrows rise up in response. He's actually surprised by your perceptiveness, and you decide to tell him as much.

"Do you know what it could be about? You certainly look surprised," you wonder coyly. "Perhaps it's a spell from miss Catherine? Perhaps even-"

"I'm going to cut you off right there, miss Verrier," the man cuts you off with an amused laugh. "It's true that I'm probably coated in some sort of magical aura, but it's all on me."

This time it's you who's taken aback as you blink in surprise. "Um, how come?"

There's a small flash of pink light. As if on cue, the sword next to you twists on the ground and shoots into the air towards the man. He catches it from the pommel with a smooth movement of his hand, and you stare as thin strands of pink light shooting from his fingertips vanish from the blade's surface. "Incidentally, it's a very elegant design you have on your weapon," he notes with a smile.

"...How did you do that?"

"Magic," he says, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Duh."

You walked right into that one, though you refuse to admit it out loud.

What do you do?

[] Ask more questions. You're not letting this one lie just yet.

[] Let it be, move on to training.
-[] Continue from group chatting.
-[] Continue from Kishi's turn

[] Write-in.

===

For the record, Auntcle is taking the rare chance to troll Ariane as much as she can there.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Ask more questions. You're not letting this one lie just yet.
-[X] But he's not magical girl, isn't he? No Soul Gem, no corruption, no need for Grief Seeds? So unfair!
--[X] Whine and pout until he submits and tell you all the secrets of his magic.

You take a moment to refocus yourself, before continuing your line of questioning. What else could you even do here? You are on the trail of something peculiar here, and you are not one to leave it in the cold like this. Strike the iron while it is hot, or nothing will come out of it. This is your best chance to pounce in to this mystery.

After all, puzzles are something you have always appreciated and enjoyed.

"Yes, I can see that much," you summarize with a drip of sarcasm of your own, drawing an appreciative snort from Tamiko's uncle. He seems to appreciate the lowkey pun. "But pardon me for saying this… I don't think you're a Magical Girl, are you? You certainly don't look the part."

"No, I'm not a Magical Girl like you, or everyone else back there with Cathy," he tells you without missing a beat, letting out a small laugh. He's perfectly honest about every word too, if you had to guess. Yet, that coy smile of his doesn't waver in the slightest as he speaks.

"So you don't have a Soul Gem or anything, nor do you have to deal with corruption and grief seeds?" You decide to keep going, and receive affirmative nods in response. If that's true, then how can the magic work? And above all, why? "That seems… quite unfair to be honest."

"That it is, I'd say," the man answers again without missing a beat. But this time he's more solemn about it than before, and his smile appears more sympathetic.

"What's the secret then?" you ask him. "What's your magic?"

"Well… It's a pretty long story, and perhaps a bit personal too in a manner of speaking," he explains turning more deliberative and slow as he goes on. "So I hope you'll understand why I will not go over it in any detail? I would also appreciate it if you didn't spread this sort of thing around without a good reason."

You nod firmly. That's all he needs.

"Heh… Well, to put it in simple terms, you can blame my big sister for that. I'm not a Magical Girl, but I do possess the ability to perform magic to some extent," he tells you. "Anything I can do, any of you can also learn to do with time and practice. I've simply had both, which is why I also arrange these training sessions."

"That's…"

"A lot of things, yes. But I believe we still have your training to go over right now. Here, catch!" The man throws the sword back to you with those pink strings of magic in a wide arc. You catch the pommel of your weapon, staggering backwards a bit from the momentum before regaining your balance.

"Are you ready to go?"

What do you do?

[] Sneak in a final question before moving on.

[] Time to move on to the training.
-[] Continue from group chatting.
-[] Continue from Kishi's turn

[] Write-in.

===

Basically, it's a decision between talking with each other and just switching to Kishi's training.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Time to move on to the training.
-[X] Continue from Kishi's turn

You remain where you are for a moment, wondering about what you've just learned. The man before you omitted a great deal from his story, and you know it will continue to bother you in the future. You would like to know more, and you would like to ask some more questions to make more sense of everything, and to get to the very bottom of it. There's nothing quite solving a mystery.

But this time it's better to let the trail lay for now. You have time, and you're not one to force things through that bluntly. That's what you have Tamiko and Evelyn for.

You take up your sword, giving it a careful brandish. The heavy weapon weighs you down you more than you'd guess at a glance. You're not a fighter. You're not used to holding it, despite instinctively grasping its usage without any problems whatsoever. And perhaps ultimately, you'd prefer to never have to do it either.

Some choices are not quite as real as they seem, though. And you do find magic ever-so enjoyable and delightful, even when the world outside is terrifying.

"I'm ready to go," you say. "Please, lead on."

"Alrighty then. First of all, I want you to focus on the sword, and…"

===

You're Kishi Koufuku, a student of the Northern Mitakihara International Middle school on the 3rd grade. But in addition to that, you're also a Magical Girl in a world of other Magical Girls, many of whom are psychopathic and pitiless in their personality. Fortunately, not all of them are bad as you've learned, and you've come to appreciate the bonds you have share with Tamiko and Ariane more than you would have ever thought possible… Well, and Mariko too, you guess.
Tick, tock
Of your companions Ariane has an uncanny ability to brighten the day wherever you are, and before you know it you've started liking her. Mariko gets a pass, if only because Tamiko is vouching for her, she has a good taste in media, and she's making an honest effort to not be an utter prick. You're still watching her back, though.
Tick, tock
As for Tamiko, well, she's…
Tick, tock
Don't blush in front of Tamiko's uncle, don't blush in front of Tamiko's uncle, don't blush in front of Tamiko's uncle!
Tick, tock
...She's like no other is what you're getting at.
Tick, tock
On the flip side, there's a Magical Girl in your life that you'd rather not have there. And that's miss Catherine, the even more quirky companion of Tamiko's already quirky uncle. The others don't really get it, but there's something seriously wrong with the woman. That's not just because you think the idea of an adult Magical Girl is personally horrifying on every level - though it is - but because she is simply so… off, for the lack of better word.
Tick, tock
Even if she has yet to attempt to murder you and everyone you care for, and you don't think she's going to try that anymore, she keeps rubbing you the wrong way. You've started to wonder if you're just being irrational about it all by now. Regardless, you're not exactly comfortable with leaving her anywhere with your friends, but you're about to receive magical training from Tamiko's magical creature of an uncle.
Tick, tock
Apparently those exist too.
Tick, tock
You already know that it's going to be useful. Last time you learned telekinesis from him, and you've been practicing it by yourself as well. You're not as confident in those as you're in your well-practiced floating guns, but you're making progress. Whether you're going to pick off from there, you don't know. Ariane came back with the ability to coat her large blade in her magical light, as well as shoot all of it out in a small beam of magic.
Tick, tock
You crack a smile underneath your untransformed hoodie. You literally had to pry Tamiko off her after she glomped the other girl and demanded to be taught "How to become Saber!" like Ariane was. You think she might be a bit too enthusiastic about anime at times, but you can't fault her for that. She's awesome like that.
Tick, tock
"A penny for your daydreams there?" an amused voice snaps you out of you musings, and brings you back to the reality. The man's stroking his chin, smiling at you as if he knew exactly what you were just thinking about.
Tick, tock
"Uh… N-nothing!" you try to tell him, quickly trying to think of another topic to distract from your probably reddening face. "A-anyways, what did you want to do with me?"
Tick, tock
"Whatever you say," he shoots back brightly, raising his eyebrows questioningly. "But anyways, with you we're actually going to pick up from where we left off last time… in a sense."
Tick, tock
"I-in a sense?" you repeat after him. Does this mean you won't practice more telekinesis?
Tick, tock
"In a sense," he confirms. "We're going to be working with your general enchantment abilities, as I think you'll be able to get the most mileage out of that with me. You've figured out things to use your personal powers on your own pretty well, I'd say. The end goal here requires a lot of basic stuff being mastered, though, so the things we'll go over might be a bit boring to you."
Tick, tock
Why would that-
Tick, tock
"The end result is very much worth it, though," the man's amused voice appears behind you, followed by a short bout of laughter. You hastily turn around to see the man standing there, cigarette in his mouth, while he gazes over your shoulders at his… clone?
Tick, tock
"Maa~, you certainly look surprised," he notes as the original one in front of you begins to fuzz out like the static in an old TV, before it vanishes entirely alongside the footprints in the snow leading to it. When you look at the more thoroughly, something actually did seem to be a bit off about them... "You won't be getting to that level of finesse any time soon, I fear, but I think we can get you down to making a minor figment within a meter or two in a couple of sessions? Provided you're willing to put in the work, of course."
Tick, tock
What do you do?

[] Question time! Talk with Tamiko's uncle.

[] Just let's get it over with here, and move on to Tamiko.

[] Write-in.

===

Okay, unlike the last few other updates, this one took longer because of RL stuff such as trips and health, rather people deciding not to vote. Still, have at thee.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Just let's get it over with here, and move on to Tamiko.

"I-I see," you stutter out, all the while inwardly trying to parse together what you just saw and make something out of it. The image looks quite comprehensive in terms of visual effects, and you're quite sure you could hear the man's voice from where his clone was as well. "H-how, though?"
Tick, tock
"Hmm? Well, you were so absorbed in your own thoughts that I could pull that off pretty easily," the man tells you, and you can feel your cheeks flare up from the embarrassment. "It's actually pretty easy to tell something's off when you're looking closely at it. Figments like that are real only as long as you believe in them. Properly backed illusions won't go down as easily, but are much more limited and expensive without specialized magic, unfortunately."
Tick, tock
You nod along at the explanation, making mental notes as you go. "I-is there a difference then?"
Tick, tock
"Well, it's a crude distinction I personally make between the various methods, and I'm sure someone somewhere would scream at me for doing it in such a shoddy manner," he laughs out. "What I did there is basically mind trickery with only minor involvement of light-bending or conjuration required by other types illusions. Your mind was the one to make the images real… well, for a given value of real anyway."
Tick, tock
The man takes several steps forward to stand beside you. A goofy grin mars his face as he glances over the now figment-free clearing. "Remember, it's real only as long as you believe it to be. This is the sort of magic that requires you to be able to guess your target's mind's movements with pretty good accuracy to have a chance to work. And even then, you have to be subtle about it. A single bout of doubt brings it all down."
Tick, tock
You're fairly sure he's mocking your gullibility by now, and you shrink back from the man. You also can't help but to wonder if you even have the skills to make any kind of psychological guesses about people.
Tick, tock
"Maa~, don't feel disheartened by it. I had to practice for years to get anything like that even started, and it wouldn't have worked had you not been so distracted by other things," he tells you reassuringly. "Besides, I cheated by using other enchantment forms at the same time, and we won't be practicing that today anyways. I just wanted to show off."
Tick, tock
Wait what?
Tick, tock
"I mean, I could go on and on about this, but we're on a timer here. You should probably transform for the next thing, because I'm going to get you started on something that might look a bit familiar…"

===

You're Tamiko Higekino, and you have a problem… Well, you have several problems when you get down to it, really. You're a big mess after all. But in this particular instance your problem comes in the shape of your aunt looking at you with a deadly serious expression on her face.

She has already taught Kishi to manifest a small energy shield like you can, which is kind of cool, you guess, and Ariane to become Saber, which is just plain awesome on every possible level. You're just jealous of your friend for getting to pull off the look so well, and you'd like to improve on your abilities that let you fire energy beams as well.

But you don't think your aunt was this deadly serious with them, and it's making you nervous. You doubt you're going to practice sword beams here, and the woman confirms as much once you stop walking.

"We're going to be focusing on one particular thing you can do," your aunt tells you, her voice as serious as her expression. "And that's your Star Veil."

"Huh, why?" you babble out in your nervousness as soon as your aunt's closed her mouth. "Err, I mean… It's all sorts of pretty, but why it specifically?"

"Because Tokyo is a really bad place," the woman tells you, and lets out a weary sigh. She's rubbing the back of her head. "Speaking of, how are you feeling with the trip coming closer? It's not long anymore until we're there."

Oh...

What do you do?

[] Write-in what you wish to say.

===

Bet you had already forgotten that Star Veil even existed

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] "I'm nervous. I'm really really nervous!"
-[X] "But... I can't help but feel a little excited to see Kimiko again."
-[X] "I want to see her again, I want reconnect with her. She's my sister after all, it's a chance I have to take."
[X] "Also, now I'm pretty nervous because you said Tokyo is a bad place. Do you mean there is too many Witches there? Or that there is bad magical girls?
-[X] "Kishi warned me they exist, but all the magical girls I met so far was friendly..."

You cast your gaze down n as you attempt to make sense of your feelings. It's not the easiest of topics for you even on other days, and now that you're so close to meeting with your sister… You can't quite put it all into words that would do it justice. But at the same time, perhaps speaking out something might help squash the butterflies in your stomach.

"I… I guess I'm nervous," you begin quietly, hoping to let the momentum of speech carry you forward from there. Your voice begins to rise as you follow up with more. "I'm really, really nervous! But…"

You draw in a deep breath, and look up again. Your eyes are shining now. "I can't help but feel excited too! To be able to see Kimiko again," you exclaim with increasing determination. "I want to see her again, I want to reconnect with her. There's just so much I want to tell her, and do with her. She's my sister after all, it's a chance I have to take."

Your aunt nods along quietly, prodding you to go on and let it go while you still can. It reminds you of something else on your chest, and something you need to make clear.

"And… Also, I think I'm pretty nervous? You told me that Tokyo is a bad place," you say, dragging on the sentence unsurely. "Do you mean there are too many witches there? Or are there so many bad Magical Girls?"

You've actually talked about this before, about how there are no bad Magical Girls as much as desperate ones. But at the same time, you know full well how bad people can be even without magic. And desperation makes people dangerous. "Kishi has warned me several times that they exist, but all I've met have been friendly so far."

Your aunt sighs. "You've simply gotten lucky, and that's good. But it's not something you can trust to keep happening, given how reality can be." You bite your lips as she goes on. "Remember when I told you how it's like gambling? Well, the big cities are the worst, as the competition is usually harsh in all of them with the amount of very experienced Magical Girls to hunt down the witches... as quickly as they appear."

Your aunt takes a momentary pause to think. She's frowning heavily. "Well, sufficient to say, just being a Magical Girl there is enough to paint a bright target on your back, and someone will come down on you if given a chance. Tokyo is one of those places where you don't want to play with your chances if you run across a Magical Girl."

You nod along with reluctance and hesitation, but inside you're once again wondering about everything. Why can't everyone just get along? Why can't everyone just be friends with each other? "Is it even safe to go there at all?"

"Not as safe as simply staying here," your aunt answers you. "But that's not exactly an option, is it now?"

...No, it's not.

"Besides, you can get by as long as you avoid exposing yourself as a Magical Girl, or at least don't cause any ruckus. Attacking another unknown Magical Girl is always a risky bet for them. So if you're simply passing through without hunting, they tend to play it safe and let you be."

"...But we're practicing for the chance that we still end up getting into an encounter with them, aren't we?" you ask dejectedly.

"...Yes," your aunt admits with a heavy sigh. "I'll be briefing both you and Mariko together later. But for now, just remember that you should always take the chance to run." The woman frowns again. "Well, this is a very rare time when your curse actually works to your advantage. You're about as safe as it gets if you don't talk with the local Magical Girls."

Yeah, you can understand where she's coming from. It doesn't stop it from feeling horrible to have anything to do with that.

"But, well, it's Mariko who's more at risk anyways," she sums it up. "Which is why we're practicing the Veil, and we're going to do it properly. I'm not going to sugarcoat this - should the worst come to pass, having the ability to cloak your friend at hand can save her life."

What do you do?

[] Talk more with your aunt.

[] Move on to the training.

[] Write-in.

===

Heh, April Fool's over and all . The picture and appearance of Kimiko are both legit, though.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Talk more with your aunt.
-[X] But I cannot move with Star Veil activated. What happens if a hostile magical girl decides to check the place we just were?

"But, auntie," you ask, confused and worried in equal measure. You know that the Star Veil has some glaring flaws, pretty visual effects aside, which you can't just ignore. But at the same time, the very idea of keeping your friends less safe than they could be is unthinkable. "How would Star Veil help with that?"

Before the woman can retort, you rush to explain your worries and reasoning. "I mean, I cannot move with the Star Veil activated. It dissipates too fast. What happens if a… hostile Magical Girl-" the words leave your mouth tasting like ash. "-decides to just check the place we just were in?"

Your aunt gives you a look, caught somewhere between amusement and incredulity. You're taken aback by the strange expression, and immediately go on the defensive. "What? That's how it works. Right?" You bite your lips, suddenly unsure. "Right?"

"Well, that one's true, yes," your aunt allows, while scratching her head. "And you've pretty accurately described the problem with that application of your magic as well, the lack of much needed mobility. You need every possible option to the latter half of fight or flight. Fighting in Tokyo is a bad idea."

Oh, so you're vindicated then?

"Which is why we're going to be working on it right here, right now," your aunt proclaims, and raises her eyebrows as her eyes linger on you. "You didn't forget that we came here for training, did you?"

"Err, no?" Maybe for a teeny-weeny bit? You admit nothing!

"Well, regardless, that's what we're going to do, get your Star Veil as far as we possibly can. I trust that you understand full well why I also want you to put everything you have, even more so than all those times before, into this," she says.

And you do. You understand it all too well. But...

"Mariko's going to feel like a burden again when she realizes the reason for this practice," you say in a low voice and bow your head. Your aunt simply nods.

"Which is why you should probably avoid rubbing it on her face. But at the same time, don't even try to force yourself into pretending it to be anything else," she tells you. "Mariko's a bright girl, she'll figure it out eventually. She can also understand it's because she's cared about, even she might not believe it first."

For what should be an important and joyous moment in your life, the Tokyo trip is appearing quite glum and depressing on every level today so far.

"Well, that's a worry for later. Are you ready to begin the training, Tamiko?" your aunt asks you.

What do you do?

[] Not yet, talk more with your aunt in private.

[] Move on to the training, and skip to going back to your friends.
-[] Talk with your friends.
-[] Talk with Cathy and auntcle

[] Write-in.

===

Goddammit, Mariko

 

[DrZiztah]

[x] Not yet, talk more with your aunt in private.
-[x] Hugs and thanks, cause after you gonna be super tired.

[X] Move on to the training, and skip to going back to your friends.
-[X] Talk with your friends.
-- [X] What have you guys been talking about?

No, not yet.

You're not ready to start training just yet. You know the time you have here is limited, but you don't want to begin immediately. There's something you need to let off your heart first, lest it try to weigh you down too much during the practice. And you don't know if you're even going to be in shape for it after you're done.

Your aunt isn't particularly surprised when you pounce at her for the all-too important hug, and embraces you gently in return after a quiet sigh. She already knows to expect this from you at any moment, what with the closeness addict that you are. But it's not like either one of you minds it either, really.

"Thank you," you tiredly tell your aunt. It's not just the fatigue from the hand-to-hand practice, even if that's also bearing down on you, the last one to have a go. "We're going to make it work amazing." And no doubt you will be even more super tired once you're through here. "And then… Yeah."

"Mmm, shall we get going then?" your aunt asks you, and you nod at her without loosening the hug one bit.

"Yeah, let's," you say quietly. It's for your friends who rely on you, and you can't let them down by being weak. "What did you have in mind?"

"It's what we call endurance training," you're told. "Between your friends and this, I guess we're actually going to get that grief seed filled in one go..."

===

You're Tamiko Higekino, and you've made it back to the civilized world at last. Though you feel spent after everything, your steps nonetheless keep getting lighter and lighter as you approach your friends and miss Cathy. A toothy grin creeps onto your face as the sense of accomplishment washes across you in steady waves.

You're not coming back to disappoint them.

You had considered trying to sneak behind them, true, but couldn't really muster the will to go through with it back there with your aunt. It occurs to you that you probably missed a good chance for showing off, much like Ariane likes to do with her new tricks.

Why is it that she gets to be the Saber Magical Girl?

But really, you suppose it's not that big a loss in the end. You're done, you're here, and you're about to hang out with your friends again. What's not to like there? With that in mind, you run the rest of the way to the group that's been waiting for you and your uncle to come back as well.

"Hi, I'm back again!" you exclaim cheerily as soon as you're within talking distance. "What have you been talking about? Did I miss anything important?" The smoothest start to a conversation you've got there…

"Oh, you haven't missed anything, really," Ariane tells you with a lazy wave. You quizzically look down to see her lying on her back, eyes closed and her smile tired. You have to blink when you see the bare ground underneath her, a dry spot she seems to have melted for herself to specifically lay on. It's no rolling green meadow, but she seems to like it anyways.

"Uh, are you sure about that?" you keep pressing the topic, trying your best not to comment on the position she's in.

"W-we were mostly planning the weekend, actually," Kishi butts in next from the closest edge of the occupied bench. "W-we didn't agree on much yet, though."

Next to her is Mariko who looks almost relieved about your arrival. The topic hasn't pertained to her, and she has probably tried to make herself as invisible here as she humanly could. Next to her on the other end of the bench is Evelyn, who's pointedly trying to look elsewhere as her arm rests between her chin and crossed thighs.

You feel a twinge of guilt in your guts. You're really going to have to talk about everything with her soon. It's not getting any better with time.

"I mean, that's actually pretty nice!" you try to offer Kishi, drawing your eyes back to her. That's as far as you get, however, as you're interrupted by Miss Cathy hollering at you.

"Alright then, could we have your attention, please?" she announces, nodding at your uncle next to her. "I imagine you'd prefer to go home sooner rather than later, after all. And it's getting pretty damn late."

Well, you're really open for anything, actually? It would probably be rude to mention it out loud, though.

"I don't really have much to say from today," your uncle picks up from there, his demeanor quite serious for the occasion. "Good job, stay responsible and take care of each other, alright?"

"Aye. That does remind me of something else too," Cathy continues again, hanging her arms on the shaft of her scythe resting on her shoulders. "As you might well know, half of you will be in Tokyo over the weekend, which is why those here should probably exercise caution about any hunting. More so than usual, at least..."

You definitely do. You haven't actually hunted as a full group yet, now that you think about it, but you get the idea. "...This is also because I won't be available to save your butts if something goes horribly wrong."

That on the other hand is a complete surprise, which you actually voice in semi-panic. "Wait, are you leaving!?"

"From 4 am tomorrow until next week. I think the plane's here on Wednesday night?" the woman tells you. "But anyhow, this is because I'll be in Paris to see some old acquaintances of mine. It's nothing you should worry about, even if it's good to inform you of my absence."

What do you do?

[] Talk more with your friends-slash-teachers.

[] Write-in.

===

I'll be compiling the results from the training later. This week's been a doozy one.

Now for something else from the Author:
But that does actually remind me of something else I needed to ask all of you about. See, I've been thinking of going over the mechanical parts of the quest at some point. Though the d100 system does offer its fair share of hilarity and awesomeness, it's not without its flaws. I would like to ask you to tell me whether you think it works for the quest and for you personally. And if not, are there any particualr shortcomings?

Please don't take that as anything to be set in stone just yet. It's no poll or a decisive vote (do vote normally, though!), and I'm merely trying to map out whether we're on the same page about it, and whether things are working out as they are. I don't want to start shoving changes down your throats without a good reason.

 

[DrZiztah]

[X] Talk more with your friends-slash-teachers.
-[X] Wish Miss Cathy well on her trip.
-[X] Lend your superior (non-existent) planning skills to your friends and help them with the weekend and sleepover activities.
--[X] After all, your visit to Kimiko is a sleepover too, from a certain point of view. You need to refresh your sleepover skills!

"Huh, I see," you say, trying to calm down a bit before continuing. Miss Cathy's a grown-up woman who has every right make her own decisions. She no doubt has her own important people back in her home and has probably been looking forward to this particular trip. Even if it does make you a bit nervous, it's not your place to complain. You'll just have to hope you don't run into a situation too large for you to handle during that time.

But that's something you can worry about later. You have managed to make it without her several times, it's alright. Besides, it's not like you aren't going to go on a family trip of your own soon.

"Have a nice trip!" you follow up with a growing smile, just barely managing to prevent yourself from actually asking for souvenirs. It would be pretty rude, even if you'd honestly like some. It's Paris after all! "And safe travels! Hope it goes well."

Your friends follow suit after you, telling miss Cathy to have a safe trip each in their own words. It's probably just you, but Kishi especially appears to be a bit relieved and honestly conflicted at the same time.

"Ah, thanks, I'm sure I will." miss Cathy smiles at you. "But if we're done here, I will be taking my leave to get some sleep and pack my stuff. Remember to be responsible kids, and don't do anything stupid! Just because you have the house for yourselves, it doesn't mean you should throw a party."

With all said and done, miss Cathy's the first one to depart from the abandoned amusement park. You stay there for a bit, though, as before anyone can follow suit you turn to your friends with a goofy grin splitting your face in two. "So, about that sleepover…"

"Uh, wh-what of it?" Kishi asks.

"Well, you see, I believe it is only proper that I, Tamiko Higekino, lend my expertise on the matter of sleepovers to you!" you announce as pompously as you possibly can.

"Oho, what are your credentials then?" Ariane challenges you immediately, eyes narrowing slyly. You're forced on your back foot right there. Technically speaking, you haven't had a sleepover for years, because of… very understandable reasons. If you remember correctly, the last time was when you got your hands on the tomatoes.

Great times.

But you don't really want to mention that. And you're more or less forced to admit that maybe your expertise on the matter might be a wee-bit smaller than you just claimed. But at the same time, it doesn't really matter that much. You're going for a weekend trip yourself, and seeing Kimiko again might as well be a sleepover after all. And you need all the practice you can get for that.

"Uh, I'm willing to learn?" you offer weakly.

"It's a start," Ariane notes somewhat dismissively. "But certainly no master plan."

"I mean, what have you decided so far?" you return the challenge to her.

"Um, w-we were hoping to watch movies?" Kishi offers. "A-and Ariane did say something about introducing us to her hobbies, whatever they are?"

The aforementioned girl's coy smile turns absolutely gleeful as Kishi goes on. "Oh, you're going to love all that."

You don't answer just yet, as out of the corner of your eye you can see Evelyn rise up from her seated position and start walk away from you. You feel another pang in your gut at being reminded of what happened earlier this day…

"Uh, I-I hope so?" Kishi tries unsurely from your side, drawing your attention away from the departing girl. "Y-you certainly seemed enthusiastic about it."

What do you do?

[] Excuse yourself and go after Evelyn.

[] It can wait, talk more with the rest of your friends.

[] Skip to the evening
-{X} Time to go hunting.

[] Write-in.