"Who is this?" Mami murmurs to you.
"Older magical girl," you say. "Hope it's not a bad time to call... but if what I know is correct, she should be around twenty, maybe a bit over? She'd be good to have on our side, if nothing else as someone who can provide us with an adult perspective from
within magical girl life."
"Ah," Mami says, nodding. "You... asked Miss Bennouna about her before, right? When she was here in Mitakihara. It would be good to have her on our side."
Mikoto Tsubaki. Surrogate mother to Hinata Kagari and Hinata Matsuri, neither of them magical girls, and later, Amano Suzune. Who isn't a magical girl when Tsubaki finds her, but eventually Wishes to become one. And then... Suzune winds up consuming too many Grief Seeds, and Tsubaki Witches out.
Of course, according to Nadia, Suzune isn't a magical girl yet, or hasn't encountered Tsubaki yet.
"Yeah," you say, cuddling up against Mami. She leans into the hug, setting her pen down so she can return it, too. You toss the pain-relieving enchantment aside and toddle across the table, throwing your arms as far around
her arms as they'll go. Which is not very far, admittedly.
You let the anti-pain enchantment dissolve as you think.
Grief controllers aren't quite unprecedented, according to Nadia, and according to what you remember. But Grief controllers truly capable of a positive gain, removing Grief without injecting it into a Grief Seed or someone else's Soul Gem?
That is unprecedented -
you are unprecedented.
With Tsubaki around for as long as she has been, she must have heard of the former.
"
Nadia," you murmur. "
Could you stay on the line for a while after introducing us?"
Nadia acknowledges, sounding distracted, and you feel someone new connected to the telepathic conversation.
"
Good evening," a new voice says, careful and guarded. "
I am Mikoto Tsubaki. Who am I addressing?"
"
Miss Mikoto, this is Sabrina, and Tomoe Mami," Nadia says. "
Sabrina, Miss Tomoe, this is Mikoto Tsubaki."
"
It's a pleasure to speak with you, Miss Mikoto," Mami says.
"
Yes, pleased to meet you," you agree, smiling warmly at Mami in thanks.
"
Tomoe Mami? Ah... your name seems familiar," Tsubaki says. "
Still, it's good to make your acquaintance."
You blink, and then blink again. She hasn't... she hasn't heard of Mami before?
She hasn't heard of
Mami before?
Mami giggles, and pushes your jaw shut.
"
They are from Mitakihara," Nadia interjects. "
Miss Tomoe is known for holding the city by herself for several years, though she has recently..." Nadia mutters to herself for a second. "
Recently gotten a team."
"
Oh!" Tsubaki seems to brighten. "
It's good to meet a fellow veteran, Miss Tomoe. Did you wish to speak about something in particular?"
"
It is!" Mami says. "
Ah... It isn't me, but rather Sabrina."
"
Ah... yes," you say, floundering a little. Mami takes your hand, squeezing gently. "
You've been in this business for so long, and... well, that's amazing, right there."
You give Mami a smile, and cuddle a little closer even as you clamber up her arm to perch on her shoulder, nestled comfortably under her hair. Mami giggles, and snuggles right back.
"
It's nothing, really, just one day at a time," Tsubaki says. "
Ah... I can't imagine you simply called to pay me compliments?"
You pause for a split second. Honesty, then, if she's cutting to the chase.
"
I... well, I wanted to introduce myself, and make your acquaintance," you say. "
I am
genuinely impressed with what I've heard about you, Miss Mikoto, and... I'd like to be on your good side, as it were."
"
I'm... flattered, Miss Sabrina, but I'm not sure I follow," Tsubaki says. "
After all, Mitakihara and Hozuki City aren't exactly neighbouring."
"
Ah... well," you say, rubbing your chin. You want to get her on board, which means, perhaps, going a bit roundabout. "
I... look. I'm sure you understand how hard magical girl life can get, probably better than I do. You've lived it for longer than I have, and I'd love to hear your story someday, but to get to the point, I want to help."
There's a long, long pause. "
Why me?"
"
You've survived in a profession that... well, kills young," you say. "
And most of us aren't even adults, many of us are children
. Most don't have the maturity to deal with this kind of thing easily, and we lack perspective
."
"
You sound like you've put a lot of thought into this," Tsubaki says. "
I... agree, but I'm still not sure what this has to do with me."
"
I have," you say. And now for the moment of truth. "
I control Grief, Miss Mikoto."
"
Is that so?" Her voice is suddenly
very careful, guarded.
"
I know that others exist, and they're usually bad news," you say with a mental sigh. "
However, I control
Grief, without simply transferring it into a Grief Seed or another Soul Gem, and so I can truly cleanse Soul Gems."
"
It is true," Nadia says. "
I have seen it with my own eyes, fimti
? And so has Miss Tomoe."
"
And several others, in Ishinomaki and Sendai and Asunaro. And Fukushima City," you add. "
But... my point is, I want to help. Not just you, but I want to help
magical girls everywhere."
Mami gives you a warm, proud smile.
"
I'm doing well for Grief Seeds, thank you," Tsubaki says. "
But the offer is appreciated. Do go on?"
"
I'm not stopping with just the magical girls I've reached," you say. "
I want to help magical girls everywhere
, and... well, I'd love to have your help, and help you in turn. As I said, I can cleanse Soul Gems, and I can make Grief Seeds last much longer."
"
Ah... I'm not exactly free to travel," Tsubaki says. "
I am
tentatively interested in hearing what you have to say, however?"
"
That's great!" you say, brightening. "
Er... I mean, thank you, Miss Mikoto. I... well, to be frank, my power puts me in a position to really help
. It means that magical girls can afford to be kind
, instead of being forced to fight for Grief Seeds, and I want to spread that as far as I can."
"
That's a laudable goal, Miss Sabrina," Tsubaki says. "
You'll definitely need plenty of help with that."
"
Yeah," you agree. "
I've got some allies now, but I'm always interested in getting more, and I'm distributing my Clear Seeds as far as I can."
"
Clear Seeds?" Tsubaki asks.
"
Oh, my bad - that's what I call a Grief Seed which I extend the life of," you explain. "
I call 'em Clear Seeds because... well, they're clear. I empty out all the Grief from them, and they have vastly
more capacity. We haven't been able to hit the limit on them yet."
"
I see!" Tsubaki says, her voice brightening a little with interest. "
I'd love to see one, someday."
And
that is an invitation.
"
I could drop by Hozuki some time?" you say. "
I'd be happy to meet you in person, and I'd definitely provide a Clear Seed."
"
You're welcome to!" Tsubaki says. Her voice darkens into something deadly serious. "
But be warned that I will not
tolerate violence against me or mine, Miss Sabrina. I'm sure you have the best of intentions, but I've had to deal with my share of troublemakers."
"
We want to help," Mami says, voice frosty. "
The warning is unnecessary, Miss Mikoto."
You cuddle a little closer to Mami, giving her a warm smile.
"
Then I apologise, Miss Tomoe," Tsubaki says. "
But... if you've held Mitakihara City by yourself, then surely you must understand the need for caution. I mean no offense."
You can sense Nadia stirring on the line, but she doesn't say anything.
"
I want to help," you say, echoing Mami's words. "
I can't make any promises on when we might be able to drop by, but I'll arrange it with you when practical?"
"
Just let me know, Miss Sabrina," Tsubaki says.
"
Alright, then," you say. "
Have a good night, Miss Mikoto!"
You exchange farewells, and cut the connection. Not before thanking Nadia for her help, of course.
"That went well," you say.
Mami gives you a look, and smiles. "Even with Nadia's introduction... she seems to keep to herself. She was suspicious," she says gently. "But
you are too good to be true, Sabrina."
You blush, and lean in to brush a gentle kiss against her cheek.
"Thank you," you murmur to her.
"Thank
you, Sabrina," she whispers back, blushing red even as she nestles into your arms. You relax, resting your chin against the soft thatch of your hair.
"... say, Mami?" you ask after a moment. "Where
is Hozuki City, anyway?"
"Ah... it's in Hokkaido," Mami says, and giggles.
"Oof, all the way to the north," you say. "Well, when we have the time, then. Or maybe when we get a teleporter on board."
"Oh, Sabrina," she says fondly.
"What?" you say.
She shakes her head. "Saying you'll visit her before you even know where she lives?"
You can't help the giggle.
"Yeah, that
is me," you agree.
She nestles up against your side, and the both of you simply relax for a few minutes before Mami stirs.
"I think it
did go well," Mami says. "Does she have... dependents, Sabrina?"
"Adopted daughters, twins," you say.
"I thought so," Mami says. "Or something like that. She mentioned 'me or mine', after all."
"Yeah," you say, not mentioning Suzune for now. No need to bring her up where there might be prying ears to listen too closely. "Neither of them are magical girls, as far as I know."
"Ah, I see," Mami says, nodding, and beams at you. "I think it went well. A call isn't the best way to introduce yourself, but... she's interested in talking again."
"You think so?" you ask.
Mami nods firmly, smiling.
You smile back at her.
Mami's smile widens, just a touch.
And then she taps you on the nose. You scrunch up your nose, going cross-eyed as you stare at her finger, and you both dissolve into giggles. You trail off into a warm, contented smile for Mami.
The evening settles into an easy silence. Mami returns to working on her essay. From your position nestled under her hair, you can watch over her shoulder, by virtue of
being over her shoulder. You offer your recommendations - not that she needs much, truth be told. Her English is excellent. At the same time, you return to your Grief experiments. Which...
You eye your smaller self thoughtfully, and summon a
large chunk of Grief to yourself, letting the fog coalesce before you. You could volumize the Grief with your Banach-Tarski trick, but that's perhaps something to try another time. For now, you start kneading on the Grief.
... there is a
lot of it to work. Mami gives you a look as you rise forward on your hands and knees, channeling magic into the giant lump of Grief and kneading it like an exceptionally large lump of dough. Mami smiles, patting you gently on the shoulder as she moves off to grab her laptop for some research.
It takes you a good forty-five minutes before you feel like it's ready. And you've sunk enough magic into it that you feel beholden to cleanse your Soul Gem, too. Nothing anywhere dangerous, but it's
definitely effort expended, enough Grief to form a good handful of marbles.
You give Mami a quick smile, and
focus.
And then you sit up from the living room floor, smirking first at yourself, and then Mami.
"... Sabrina?" Mami says. Her eyes go wide, mouth opening into a perfect 'o'.
"That's me!" you say from three mouths. Your grin spreads across three faces.
Mami blinks, and you pounce. You tackle her, wrapping your arms around her from both sides. Mami laughs, letting herself go tumbling to the floor with you on both sides of her. You cling to her hair, squeaking happily as you go sailing to the floor, nearly thrown free, but you take the opportunity to cuddle closer to her, from every side.
"Hi!" you giggle brightly. "So I can make a full clone now."
"So I see!" Mami says, laughing loud and clear and
happy. She pokes you in the cheek, seeming to marvel at it.
"Does it feel right?" you ask, curious. "It should."
Mami turns and pokes you in the cheek. "Yep!" she says brightly. "Seems good to me!"
"Good," you say, covering her hand with yours. Mami's ribbon gleams on your wrist, like a little bracelet. And it's the one thing that you didn't clone, that you wouldn't
want to clone, anyway. It's Mami's.
You beam at her, and you stay for a few moments before disentangling yourselves. You stretch with both bodies, twisting from side to side. So, that's definitely a viable self-cloning ability. Now, what would be
interesting is if the enchantment is useful at all for leaving your range.
You'll test that in a bit. First, you want to check on that odd four dimensional thing you'd discovered with your Grief. You're fairly certain it can't be a fully
physical dimension. Physics should work a lot
differently if it were, and so...
You take a deep breath, and
shift your smallest body away from the three spatial dimensions.
It's dark. It's dark, and it's cold, and you can't see a thing and actually it's not that cold, oddly enough. Kind of warm, like being wrapped in a really,
really thick blanket, thanks to the insulation of vacuum.
Mami makes a disappointed noise at the loss of your presence from your shoulder. You grin at her, resting a chin on either of her shoulders. "Hey, I'm still here~"
"I know," she says, smiling at you.
It's not quite dark in here. You can't feel anything beneath your feet, and your eyes sting against the vacuum. But none of that is really a
concern to you as you swing yourself about, Grief manipulation twisting your Grief-formed body.
It's not quite dark in here, because
there's your Soul Gem, a glowing, silvery crystal. The same shape as it is when you're transformed, a glittering diamond bright against the darkness of endless light.
Huh.
You look around, trying to see if you can spot
Mami's Soul Gem. She's right next to you in 3-space, after all, and if you can see
your Soul Gem, hers must be somewhere around. And it'd be obvious, too what with the glowing... but you don't see it.
Doubly huh.
It's just empty in here.
You put that aside to ruminate on, and pop back onto Mami's shoulder, reaching up to pat her ear gently. "I think I'm going for a walk," you tell her.
"Oh?" she asks.
You snicker, and lean your weight against her shoulder, careful not to jostle her writing hand. "More like a flight," you say. "Just with my chibi."
"Ah," Mami says, nodding. "I see!"
"Mmmhm," you agree. "Range test. Also, ah... you could consider rephrasing this last point here?" You tap on her paper. "Or maybe elaborate more before the conclusion."
Mami considers this as your chibi takes off from her shoulder. You're mildly tempted to add wings, but it's not like you
need them, simply levitating with your Grief control. You zip straight out of the window in a straight line.
You have a
precise feel for where the very edge of your range is, and you head straight for it, narrowly dodging a bird on the way up. Mitakihara is a
glorious sight from above at night, rivers of light coursing through the streets and glowing in reflection off the buildings.
You stop at the edge of your range, staring out at the invisible boundary. Taking a breath, you thrust your arm across it.
Your arm dissolves. Not into loose, free-floating Grief, but into...
enchanted Grief. Raw and uncontrollable, but still
coherent. And it doesn't
hurt, it just... doesn't feel like
anything.
You pull your arm back. A thought, a second's worth of focus, and your arm reforms.
Huh.
Very interesting.
Still, that's what you wanted to know on that front. You nod to yourself, and dissolve that body, freeing the Grief to rejoin your fog.
Mami finishes her essay, and you settle in for the night. A bit of cleaning around the apartment, and then you take your showers.
You can't help but eye the door, thinking as you shower. You're still out there, with Mami clinging to you, but you worry about her. She's getting better. Slowly, ever so slowly, but... she's still so very scared of you leaving. She's
terrified of it. Sometimes, she's still afraid of contradicting you.
You tilt your head back and let the water cascade off your face.
You're helping her, yes. And she's getting better. She laughs and smiles and
lives, each more genuine than the last, but you can't help but worry about her
dependency on you. You have no intention of taking advantage of her, and you try not to, but...
There are
reasons a therapist needs to maintain a professional distance from their patients.
And yet there's no one else who can help.
It's a thin,
thin tightrope for you to balance on.
Towelling yourself dry and changing, you step out. Mami's gaze snaps to you, and you hug her tight as you join her on the sofa.
"Hey," you say, smiling at her.
"Hi," she says, and cuddles into your double-sided hug.
You smile at her, banishing the melancholy. You're here, and you're here to
help.
Mami smiles back.
"Bit of television before we sleep, or something?" you suggest.
"Good idea!" Mami agrees, waving her hand vaguely for the remote. You laugh, and fetch it for her with a bit of Grief.
The two of you settle in and relax, watching some gameshow or another until it's time to sleep. You walk to the other room and dissolve your clone, smiling at Mami. You'd considered testing the persistence overnight, but then again, you don't want to disrupt Mami's sleep.
She tucks herself against you as you crawl into the bed, wrapping her arms around you. "Goodnight, Sabrina."
"Goodnight, Mami," you murmur, and let your eyes slide shut.
[] Radio Morning Mitakihara
- [] Anything in particular to say?
[X] Prepare breakfast and lunch
[] Walk Mami to school
[] What do you do after?
- [] Go and experiment
- [] Check in on...
-- [] Kyouko
-- [] Oriko and Kirika
-- [] Rionna Mag Aiodh (with Nadia intercept)
[] Call Hijiri Too early!
[] Call Hijiri later
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
And here ends book 2, chapter 11: To the White Forest. The next post begins chapter 12: Point Insertion.
