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Puella Magi Urbem Magarum

The building rattles and bucks, knocks Yui out of her daydreams and onto the floor. Her mouth is full of dust and her ears are full of ringing, her head is a dusty bell. Her heart is racing. She jumps to her feet, and time seems to slow. The facts of the situation crash onto her like waves, one by one. This is what she thinks:

a) There is a God, and he has let her out of math class early.
b) This is not natural. This is magical. She can hear and smell and taste and feel magic, without doing any of these things, in that peculiar way that magic behaves. Yui knows this well, even being relatively new to magic. [1]
c) This explosion is caused by fighting. This fighting is currently ongoing, at the other end of the hall, and, most probably, is being done by other magical girls.
d) This presence of magical girls in her school was not something Yui had previously considered, given that it entails thinking about other people, ones that she has no desire to interact with. As a thirteen year old girl, this is not something Yui is inclined to do.
e) Her classroom is evacuating. There is yelling, and the fire alarm is going off. People, it would seem, have not noticed the paranormal[2] brawl ongoing nearby. This affords her options. She can:
f) Leave, or
g) Very carefully see why some girl is so wound up she's attempting to magically get her murder on in public.

The choice is pretty simple. Carefully, Yui slips through the line of evacuating students. This is something she wants to see for herself.

Good decision made, she creeps forward toward the combat, just close enough to try and make out what's going on.
[1]: Yui arrived at this conclusion late one night [a] after rigorous debate between her, herself, and myriad shadow puppets. The methodology involved was widely regarded as seminal in its innovation. The shadow puppets are, to this day, widely unrecognized for their contribution, according to some people. Don't ask some people. They do not like being asked questions. They do not like being asked, or recognized, given that they are figments of a girl's imagination. Do not make them feel self-conscious.
-[a] It was 11 and three quarters. Almost midnight.
[2] To Yui, the best kind of normal.
 
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Omihara Private School

Pushing through the evacuating crowds towards the sound of combat, Yui is soon by herself on the second floor of the school near the science classrooms. The sound of fighting hasn't stopped, so whatever's going on is still happening. She can see that the doorway to lab 2-B is blocked off by a wall of vines, with wisps of a nasty-looking purple cloud seeping through the vines. As Yui approaches, she sees what looks like black sand punch through the lab wall, carving through a support pillar in the wall, which is shortly followed by several small explosions that start a number of small fires in the corridor.
 
Turn Stat Assignment:
Attack: Magic (10)
Defense: Fury (7)
Support: Heart (3)
11/36 Resolve, Bleeding

Misaki knew her plan entailed some risk. She was going to get hit at least once for this, but she should have had the upper hand unless something drastic happened. Misaki's worst enemy and a healer breaking onto the scene was... outside of Misaki's window of expectations. Emiko appears to be trying to kill Misaki's enemies right now, which is a relief, but who knows if that will change? Not only that, but most of the damage from Misaki's risky maneuver has been undone.

All of that is secondary to the fact that the hit Misaki took was... much more devastating than she anticipated. If she takes another hit like that, she'll die. She can't be here, but she must be here. Misaki has to drop back, she has to retreat. But she can't leave the fight. Doing so means revealing her ability to make shadow clones of herself to the Peacekeepers, but keeping that secret is so far down Misaki's list of priorities right now. Furthermore, Misaki wants to play a part in ending these three. More people are dying around her because of them. One of them was the teacher. He was a good teacher. He had a four year old daughter. He's a stain on the floor now. Misaki is surprised at how angry that makes her.

Misaki's not bailing out without leaving a parting shot. Misaki thrusts her weapon through the armor of the metal one. Shards of metal whistle through the air as a little blood that deserves to be spilled hits the floor for a change. As the metal girl visibly staggers, Misaki sends a message to Claire.

@Sightedjt
"Claire. I can't take another hit like that. I'll die. I'm dropping back to the science classroom. I'm not abandoning the fight. I can still fight from there. The armored one is almost down. Focus on her."

Misaki could choose to flee in the direction the students are fleeing, but if the enemy decides to chase her down... more students will die. Misaki doesn't think she can take that. She doesn't think she can accept the blood on her hands that advantage could give her. So a wild-eyed Misaki sprints through the wall into the neighboring science classroom, instead of towards the evacuating students.

When she arrives in the classroom, Misaki sees a very young student in the hallway- Misaki is pretty sure her name is Yui, making her way towards the fight. Misaki has no idea what the hell's gotten into her, but she doesn't make any move to stop her. As far as the enemies know right now, Misaki has abandoned the fight. And she's not about to correct them.

No matter how much this senseless slaughter appalls Misaki, she's not about to trade her life for anyone else's.

[Misaki toggles Recover.]
[Misaki uses Killing Blow on Metal, deals 9 damage.]
[Misaki uses Bypass to move to the science classroom.]
[+8 Corruption, 24/127]
 
Sightedjt said:
As Yui approaches, she sees what looks like black sand punch through the lab wall, carving through a support pillar in the wall, which is shortly followed by several small explosions that start a number of small fires in the corridor.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yui appreciates violent explosions. She appreciates it in the way that people appreciate things like 'spiritualism' or 'eating healthy'. It sounds good on paper. Yui may appreciate violent explosions in an abstract sense when she's bored, but she is very much not bored now. She has come to a conclusion: Appreciating something does not mean liking it. And Yui most definitely does not like violent explosions going on before her.

Yui catches a glimpse of something through the door of the science lab. There's a trail of blood on the floor. She looks and sees a girl, through the door's glass, bleeding. The injuries don't look mundane. Maybe...

Yui ducks into the room, swiftly locking the door behind her.

@Schwer-Muta

"You can hear me, can't you? Is this your fault? Are they here for you?"
 
Misaki takes a long, deep breath once she lands in the science classroom. She knows from experience touching her wounds doesn't help anything, but it's still hard to resist the urge. Fuck. That was far more dangerous than Misaki thought it would be. The masked girl tries to take another breath, but a fit of coughing overrides it. More blood splatters onto the floor. Damn it.

Misaki staggers back a few steps, and notices the she can still see Yui through the door. She's neither moving towards the chaos or away from it. She's just... looking at her. Misaki's eyes dart from the door to the wall she moved through, in case one of the attackers has an ability like she does. While she's looking at the wall, Misaki hears the turning of a doorknob, and the chaos of outside becomes louder again for a moment until the door shuts again, with Yui now inside.

Misaki doesn't know if she's relieved that Yui's not about to become a random stain on a random wall, or if she's scared that she just somehow revealed that Misaki didn't really run away like it looks like she did. Misaki's not in any state to... fight against any of those girls directly. Then she hears a voice in her head, and Misaki becomes acutely aware that she is completely at this girl's mercy. Which is a little bit completely terrifying. If the worst happens, Misaki really will have to run away, and the best case scenario is that she'll have bled all this blood for nothing. If this new girl isn't an enemy, however, this is quite a turn of good fortune. If Misaki's really lucky, maybe this girl is even a healer. The masked girl certainly could use one right now.

@Rook

Misaki tries to take another breath, which ends being another cough, and replies ,"Yes. I can hear you. No, this isn't my fault. The attackers are here for someone else. ...It's not her fault, either." Deciding she'd really like to know where the hell this random new magical girl she's never met actually stands, Misaki also sends out, "I haven't seen you around before. ...Have the Peacekeepers made contact with you, yet?"
 
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@Schwer-Muta

Yui takes a moment to take everything in, process what's going on. It doesn't really work. Eventually she realizes that her senpai - Yui thinks her name is Misaki? She should ask at some point - has asked her a question, and her brain boots back up. She answers, "Peace...Peacekeepers? No. I don't know who they are. I haven't met anyone else like me. Except for the part where I have. Just now. Um. "

Flawless. Smooth as sandpaper.

"If they weren't here for you, then why did you get messed up so bad? Are you going to be okay?" Yui forces herself to flip through her mental catalogue of what she can do that might help. It's a bit hard to think levelly given all of the... everything that's happening. She thinks that she may be able to heal Misaki, but the idea of touching her without permission is not something that she likes.
 
Misaki decides to answer the questions about the current situation first. They feel more relevant. It feels kind of embarrassing to admit that Misaki is bleeding everywhere right now because of her own poor judgment. But maybe that will sound sympathetic. That seems like a feeling she would like to cultivate with this girl, especially if she may possibly be a healer (the most valuable resource a magical girl can have)."I thought there were only two of them. I decided to back Claire- that's the girl who was attacked, up by taking one of them by surprise. I didn't know there was a third. Things went downhill fast when she showed up. To answer the other question, I... I can survive this. But I really wouldn't call my situation 'okay'. I'd appreciate it if you have some magic that can help me."

Misaki lets out a gurgle-y sigh as she thinks about how to explain the fact that the city is controlled by magical warlords. Yui shouldn't have to deal with this. Nobody should, but her especially. She's so young. But... that's all the more reason to be straightforward, to be clear about what her situation is. "The Peacekeepers... control everything in this city that has to do with magical girls. All magical girls in Takiwa have to recognize their authority, and either give them a Grief Seed a week or do favors for them. Things don't go well for people that resist them. They're... not nice people. And their organization is every magical girl who lives in the city. They're going to know about you, sooner rather than later."

Misaki swallows, and then shudders at the feeling of blood sliding down her throat. This fucking sucks. It shouldn't fall on Misaki to inform some this young how the world is actually terrible and she'll likely be under the jackboot of the Peacekeepers in less than a week. This sucks. This is garbage. This is such garbage. If only things actually were the way Yuuko sees them. Attacks like this wouldn't happen. Organizations like the Peacekeepers wouldn't exist. ...These aren't helpful thoughts. These sorts of emotions have no use. Misaki does her best to push them down.

Misaki decides not to bring up the fact that the leader, that Rina is coming here. That would probably force Yui to leave to try and avoid her, and if she can heal Misaki... Misaki would like to be healed.

"I'm sorry that this is the way things are, but you need to understand if you're going to survive. When the Peacekeepers make threats... they're not bluffing. It is very important that you listen and do what they say. That's how I've survived up until now."

Misaki coughs painfully a few more times.
 
Takiwa High

Minako chuckles to herself in response to Yuukos message. "You really are a strange one aren't you? You've got a lot of nerve acting like this. What an interesting day this is turning out to be- first those idiots from kyoto and now you." There's a certain air of... satisfaction? In Minakos reply.

Omihara Private School

As the skirmish within the classroom continues, Emiko sees the word Null appear in the centre of the room, traced out of orange light. The word vanishes, and for a brief moment she feels a pressure pushing down on her, dampening her magic.

In the other classroom, Misaka and Yu both feel the edge of this pressure, like they're standing just at the edge of a waterfall. When the pressure passes, both Emiko and Misaki find that the poison is no longer eating away at them.

Her vines withering away from this pulse of magic, the plant clad girl immediately starts backing away from Emiko. "RUN!" she screams, before she jumps out the hole in the wall, down onto the playing fields.

Her companions turn to follow, but the metal-wielderfinds herself snared by Claires chains, locking her in place. Claire walks towards the captive girl, staring coldly. "The time of your judgement is now." she says, her chains forcing the captive girl to her hands and knees as the feather-clad girl watches, frozen in horror. "Your sins are known. You have murdered, lied and stole, both now and in the past, and you have had nothing but your own greed in mind. With her taint as strong on your soul as it is, there is no hope for redemption. Your sentence is death." With that, the golden sword hanging in the air over the metalwielders head drops, slicing through the girls neck, and shattering the soul gem set in the girls choker.

As the metalwielders lifeless body drops to the floor, the feather-clad girl snaps out of it and charges at Claire with her rapier, only for her strike to deflect off a shell of amber light. As the shell vanishes, Rina enters through the classroom door, orange runes glowing in the air around her as she traces her hand across the pages of her tome. Taking in the sight before her, she stares icily at the last attacker. Rina passes her hand over her tome once more. "Break" Appears in midair for a moment, before the feather-clad girls legs are crushed, sending her crashing to the broken floor.

"This is over." Rina says softly, pointing towards the fallen girl. A single word appears on the pages of Rinas tome, before the feathered girls soul gem glows with a bright white light for a single moment, before shattering. Death.

With that, calm returns to the classroom once more.

[Emiko and Misaki are no longer Bleeding]
[Claire attacks Metal using Damocles. Metal is slain.]
[Feathers attacks Claire, blocked by Spirit shell.]
[Rina attacks Feathers with magic detonation, deals 9 damage.]
[Rina attacks feathers with Last Word. Feathers is slain.]
 
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Emiko's grip on her pistol tightens as the flames engulfing her body recede. She stares at the newcomer. One of them. She grinds her teeth at the possibility of putting a bullet in the back of Rina's head, but she saw how quickly the girl dispatched the trash. Besides, the coward is right in the hallway, ready to support her master. There's no way Emiko can win this.

With a Herculean effort, Emiko removes her index finger from the trigger and extends it to rest on the cylinder. That's all this Peacekeeper bitch is going to get.

---

Yuuko snorts back a chortle. "I mean, we're a pair of magical girls havin' a conversation through telepathy in the middle o' class while apparently there's a turf war goin' on one school district away between other chicks with city-levelling powers. Is me bein' friendly to my new classmate really the strange part?"
 
"I think I can help you. I'm not sure how, but I think I can do it. Please give me a moment to think about how," Yui replies. She means it, too. She really does. But even more than that, she needs the moment to stop the room from spinning, and to stop her breath from running away from her in a panic attack. Because she is, if Misaki is to be believed (and there is little reason not to believe her), completely fucked.

When this business started, Yui was bored and disappointed. The most interesting thing in the world - actual magic - and she was in budget Sailor Moon with less glamour and more work. Turns out, no, instead she gets Junji Ito. Yui loves Junji Ito. When it's in manga format. Not "Can Fucking Kill People And Ruin Their Lives" format, and she has a sneaking suspicion that there's no way out of this.

But there is a way out of here.

As the sounds of violence crescendo Yui breathes in, and pulls deeply from herself. She feels the magic rise, feels it fill her, feels it in her teeth, in her eyes, feels it hot in her fingertips. Yui breathes out, and she turns with the sound of crinkling paper, shimmering. For a moment there is a hole in the world, and she is inside it, like so much ink thrown on glass. She wears something halfway between a school uniform and old Shinto priestess robes. Her hair is in a bun and her feet are socked on large geta. She comes back into focus, holding a slim staff of dark wood.

"I will help you, but not right now. Right now I'm getting out of here. I can't--I can't let them find me. You can contact me here!" Yui points her staff at a wall, and blackness congeals like the tip of a large brush at its head. She gestures, and thrown onto the wall is a cell phone number.

That done, Yui moves her staff up, across, and down, violently inked lines in the air. They make a door, and between the lines the air bubbles, and turns black as pitch.

"I'll see you soon."

With that, she's gone.
 
Misaki commits the number to memory, and then slashes the wall containing it with her weapon, destroying any evidence that particular section of wall ever contained anything. Maybe it's better this way. If she reappeared through the wall magically healed and was pushed on how that happened, Misaki's only choice would have been to give Yui up. Now she has the freedom to leave Yui out of her account. It's still unclear if she's really a healer or not, but if she is it's worth the risk of playing a little fast and loose with the rules.

As she completes that thought, Misaki notices that it's a lot quieter on the other side of the wall now. Rina must have arrived, then. Well, then it's time for Misaki to make an appearance and get what credit and brownie points she can for participating in this shitshow. It's shameless, but her position is still terrible with the Peacekeepers, and frankly shame is for people whose lives aren't on the line.

A still bloodied Misaki goes back through the wall. She tries her best to keep her cold demeanor as she looks over the dead bodies. Two magical girl's bodies in a sea of blood and Misaki's dead classmates. Misaki raises up her mask and immediately and violently vomits. A blob of blood and mush splatter on the floor. It doesn't look out of place in this scene. Her teacher doesn't even have half a body. He was a good teacher. He had a wife and a daughter, Misaki remembered. Now he has nothing, he is nothing. Because he fought back. Because he pushed the class president out of the way. Because he was a good and brave man, who sacrificed for others.

Being good and brave didn't count for shit. Heroism's only reward is death. That's the final lesson Mr. Kazanagi had to teach. It's a review of material she already knew, but Misaki takes his lesson even more seriously than any he gave with words. The masked girl's resolve hardens once more. She will never be like her teacher. She will never trade her life for another's. Whatever sacrifices or indignities she must endure... it's all worth it for another day, another hour, another second. ...This isn't going to be her. What use does a person like you have for a friend? You're just going to betray her in the end.

Two dead magical girls, it registers to Misaki. Not three. No matter. There is nowhere in Takiwa to run for the last one. She can either skip town and treat the city limits as if they're covered in lava for the rest of her life, or Enforcers will track her down and kill her. Misaki doubts she'll ever see or hear of that girl ever again. Misaki lowers her cracked mask back down, which helpfully conceals the tears she's shedding, and turns towards Rina.

"I was going to jump back in and try to take who remained by surprise, but I see that didn't turn out to be necessary." God, this is so fucking lame. It was a dangerous combat situation, so Misaki doesn't regret not staying in it, but it's really going to get her down if it destroys the good graces she should get for fighting psycho out-of-town magical girls. "Are there any survivors here? Is there anything I can do for them?"

The question served two purposes. Firstly, it shows that her concerns align with Rina's, with the Peacekeeper's. I value what you value so please please please let me out of the doghouse and give me some work to do again! The second purpose is that focusing on the alive and potentially alive can keep her mind off all the dead people around her that she knows the names of because if she can't do that soon she is going to break down and scream and maybe not ever stop.
 
Takiwa High

"It's strange to see people talk to us at least. It's almost like they're afraid of us. No idea why." Minako sends back to Yuuko, sarcasm creeping into her voice. "And don't call it a turf war, you make it sound like they had a chance. Had." Minako chuckles to herself there, looking over towards Yuuko.

Omihara Private School

"Kana was taking everyone away... so I think this is it.." Claire says, hesitating slightly as she glances around the ruin of the classroom.

"Then there is nothing more for you to do here." Rina tells Misaki flatly, writing the word "Mend" in her tome. Orange light flickers around Misaki, Claire and Emikos wounds, and they feel their flesh start to knit together. "This is not over; there is more to discuss... but not here. You should go, before people think you are missing as well. I will be waiting on the rooftops." As Rina dismisses them, Claire starts making her way to the exit, motioning for Misaki to follow her.

"That includes you." Rina says to Emiko, gesturing towards the hole where the outside wall used to be. "Go to the rooftops. I am not finished here."


[Emiko, Claire and Misaki will heal 3hp a round until fully healed. So unless you're going to pummel each other right now, it's a full heal.]
 
Oh my god did she really just unironically do a stereotypical villain boast.

Yuuko knows Minako's implicit threat isn't empty. That doesn't stop it from being hilarious. She needs to share this with someone...but would any of her friends appreciate it?

Yuuko squints at the whiteboard, ruminating. Does she actually still have friends after what she did? The only people who'll actually talk to her are Yumi, Misaki and Haruna. That's something, at least.

It takes a minute or two for Yuuko to reply. "Y'all motherfuckers need better PR. You hiring?"

---

Emiko grinds her teeth. This murderer just healed her. She wants to spit at this girl's pity but she knows, deep down, that Rina could end her with little effort. With a grunt, she heads to the rooftops.
 
"Understood," Misaki responds as she exits her transformation. Before leaving after Claire, she turns towards the more intact of the two dead magical girls. A significant part of her wants to scream, kick the body, spit on it. But she does none of those things. It wouldn't help anything. It's not even her real body, that's all the little pieces of crystal on the floor. After a few moments, Misaki turns away and follows after Claire.

...There's so much Misaki wants to know about what the hell just happened and what Claire had to do with it, but nothing she's dumb enough to actually ask Claire. So she just hurries to catch up to Claire, and then once she does slows back down. Misaki only then realizes what a wreck she looks like without a mask to hide it. Her eyes are puffy, her walk is a bit unsteady, and she's clearly gritting her teeth. Claire's a good person who wouldn't take advantage of this obvious weakness, but it still galls Misaki to be showing it.

[14/36 Resolve]
 
Takiwa High

"It's not like dressing it up in pretty words would change what we do though, and that's not my style anyway. Saki's the one who really tries to seem all nice, but even it's kinda cold." Minako sends back, a grin creeping across her face. "But if you're wanting to work for us, we won't say no."

Omihara Private School

As Misaki leaves the classroom, she sees Rina kneel by the closest of the bodies. It looks like she's whispering something, but Misaki can't hear what's being said. As her and Claire start walking towards the evacuation point, Claire detransforms as well. "...Fuck." she sighs, her voice weak as she turns to Misaki. "Thanks for sticking around. I really owe you one for that."
 
Claire and Misaki aren't friends, but they've known each other long enough for each to know what the other is about. It's unspoken, but Misaki still hears 'I didn't think you would actually stay.' Which is fair. From the outside it does look like a break in character.

"You're welcome," Misaki responds. "...I'm glad I stayed."

It's not even a lie. She took on more risk than she thought she was taking, but she's still standing and now she can reap the rewards. And if Misaki left Claire to fight 3-on-1 with the attackers, she'd probably be dead right now and that-

...Oh. That's probably why Claire's so shaken. Not only did she almost die, her fate was in Misaki's hands. And Claire knows Misaki well enough to know that Misaki isn't a person who risks herself for others. She probably thought she was on her own when the attack came. But that's not what happened.

Truthfully, Misaki's pretty shaken too. It's not the first time she's seen a dead body, but it's the first time she's seen so many, in that kind of state, of people she knew of even if she didn't really know them.

Misaki's right hand is trembling a bit. "...god, these last few days..." Misaki lets out an extremely exhausted sigh. "I really hope things quiet down soon."
 
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"Yeah... the last thing we need right now is fucking Ryoko showing up again." Claire sighs as they keep heading for the exit, venom creeping into her voice.
 
Misaki has never heard of this Ryoko, but it's pretty obvious Claire hates her and probably has some history with her. Misaki wonders if the girls that attacked the classroom were underlings of this Ryoko. There's really not enough information to say if they were or were not, so she files that idea away in her head for another time.

"I haven't heard of her, but if she starts shit here I'm sure the bosses will put her down too," Misaki responds. It's the most encouraging thing she can think to say, and she's pretty sure it's even true.
 
Yuuko grimaces. The informational imbalance is getting really frustrating. "Here's the thing, though. Obviously y'all believe in what you're doing or else you wouldn't be doing it... whatever 'it' is. But we can totally have philosophical discussions about the burdens of rulership an' how to be an effective overlord after school's out. Math is important."
 
Takiwa High

"Yeah, no." Minako sends back to Yuuko, her tone final. "Amusing as you might be, you do not get to say anything like that as an outsider. All you need to do is stick to the rules, doesn't matter what you think of them." With that, Minako cuts the connection.

Omihara Private School

"If only it was that easy." Claire sighs, as her and Misaki make their way to the evac point, arriving shortly after the rest of their classmates, who've clearly already had their memories tampered with by Kyuubey. Neither of them have any problems getting themselves registered among the people who're present, after which Claire disappears into the crowd. After a few minutes, the announcement gets made that school's closing for the day. As the crowd begins to disperse, Claire returns, and begins taking Misaki up to the rooftops.

Emiko had spent most of the time on the rooftops waiting; whatever Rina was doing in the classroom, it took long enough that she only arrived on the rooftops a few minutes before Misaki and Claire arrive.

As Misaki and Claire arrive, Rina steps forwards from where she'd been standing. "Firstly, all of you have my thanks. All of you had the choice to flee, but you did not. Without your presence, there would have been more deaths." Rina says, giving a brief nod of thanks. "As payment for this service, both of you have two less seeds to pay us. This leaves you with two to pay Misaki, while your group has four, Emiko. There will be more work for you soon, if you are interested. We are done here."
 
Yuuko chews on her tongue when Minako cuts the conversation off. At least she learned something, and at least she's not public enemy number one...but the lack of progress is still frustrating. Fortunately, she now knows who to grill next. But that can wait until after school.

---

Emiko doesn't want charity. She doesn't want the Peacekeepers' pity. She wants desperately to put a bullet between those smug eyes, but she has a feeling it wouldn't do much good. She needs power–seeds. She needs time, and this "payment" is going to help buy it for her. She briefly thinks about separating herself from her "group" for tax purposes, but that'd mean abandoning Haruna.

Hasn't she already, though?

Her head hurts. She doesn't know whether it's from too much alcohol or too little.

She glares at Rina: her way of saying she understands without wasting words on filth. She backs away, revolver still in her hand. She doesn't dare show her back to these cowards. She isn't going to give them the chance to–

Emiko takes one step too far and falls off the roof.

Fuck.
 
Misaki nods to Rina to show that she heard, and then immediately leaves. Her hands are still shaking. Even away from that fucking classroom, she can't get any of this out of her head. The sights, the sounds, the smell of it... it feels like it will never go away, like the scene has been etched into her mind forever and ever. Desperately trying to think of anything else one dumb little thought rises up and pushes back against this oppressive feeling, at least a little bit.

Even though it's stupid, even though it's not the truth, Misaki really wants to hear Yuuko tell her that everything is going to be okay. It's the only idea that makes any sense. Misaki has no other friends. She has no one else she can truly confide in. She has no one else she can be weak in front of. Misaki can tell that she's barely holding together right now, so if she's going to crack... it should be in front of the one person Misaki trusts won't take advantage.

@NormalSightMan

"Y-Yuuko... Something very bad has happened at my school. I don't want to talk about it over telepathy. W-What school are you at? I... I really need to see you right now."
 
Yuuko stiffens in her seat.

@Schwer-Muta

"Misaki?! Where are you? Wh–"

Yuuko doesn't have to be a genius to correlate what happened to Misaki with the "idiots from Kyoto" Minako mentioned. Her first instinct is to get confirmation of her suspicions but Misaki literally just mentioned she didn't want to talk about it over telepathy.

"Takiwa High. I'm at Takiwa High. Where should I meet you?"
 
Takiwa High. That's pretty far, and she's still healing from... before.

"I can be there in... twenty minutes. I'll be... on the roof."


After pointing herself in the right direction and starting to move there, a stupid thought slips into her mind about how the last time she confided in Yuuko over telepathy the whole conversation was dropped to go dote on Emiko and before Misaki can think better of it she sends out, "...Promise me you'll be there."

Fuck. Fucking fuck. Misaki wouldn't have done something this fucking stupid if she was thinking clearly. God freaking... fuck. Well, what's done is done. Should try to get there quickly, before she does some other moronic thing.

---

(I'm going to assume Misaki finishes healing on the way there)

---

After the trek to Takiwa High, Misaki considers sneaking through the school to make it to the roof. No that's... definitely a bad idea. After quickly looking around to make sure nobody's around to see her, Misaki quickly transforms. In this state it's pretty trivial to get up that high. With a jump she makes it most of the way, and the surface is uneven enough that it's not hard to make it most of the way. After getting up to the top and climbing over the fence, Misaki looks around to see if Yuuko is here yet.
 
Twenty minutes. Yuuko looks at the clock. Luckily, class is almost over so she'll be able to make it to the roof on time.

@Schwer-Muta

"I promise," Yuuko sends back.

Wait, what? Yuuko knew Misaki as a pretty self-reliant person. It isn't like her to ask for a promise. Whatever Misaki needs right now, it must be extremely important...much more important than respecting classroom etiquette. Yuuko curses herself for checking the clock as if it mattered.

I'm the worst friend.

Still, best not to draw undue attention. As long as she has time, Yuuko might as well play it cool. She has a feeling that Misaki wouldn't appreciate it if she was followed, anyway. As soon as the bell rings, Yuuko hustles to the roof.

"Misaki?" She calls out as she emerges from the stairwell. "I'm here."
 
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