[5] Put hairpin back in box (and hopefully Yukari-san with it)
[5] Give Yukari-san a tour to satisfy her
-[5] Ask her all about her friends
-[5] Look through the photos in the cabinet for her and her friends
The main thing seems to be to get Hitomi back sooner rather than later; you're certain that a tour would be harmless enough, but it's ultimately a tool to make this happen.
"So what's up?" asks Yukari Hitomi, whirling around idly and looking for her reflection on shiny surfaces. "Am I a princess? Am I magic?" She claps her hands in excitement, and spins around.
"No, you're not a princess," you say. "Believe it or not, Japan in 2011 is still a democracy…"
"That's totally unfair!" she complains. "If it's the twenty first century, I should be a moon princess."
"Isn't monarchy pretty unfair?" asks Ryouko, with distaste. "I wouldn't want to be a princess of any celestial body, in any century..."
"Ryouko's just jealous," Yukari says to you, then sticks out her tongue at your girl.
"What?" asks Ryouko, confused. "I'm not … what??"
"Yes, you are," she says, with a twinkle in her eye. "Now kneel, minion!"
Ryouko does not kneel.
"Worth a shot," shrugs the interloper.
[2] Ask her if she recognizes us
[5] Point out the possibility of a past Simona
[4] Question Yukari-san on past Simona
Ryouko is a little alarmed at the possibility of Simona being in the eighties, and about as eager for answers as you are.
"Okay, serious talk" you declare. "First question. Do you actually recognize us?"
"No, Clarisse," she giggles, "it just says on the thing." She points at her eyes.
Of course. Thanks, technology, you think to yourself.
"Okay. Second, more important question. Have you seen this girl?"
You send a picture, and she turns her head around, attempting to understand the sensation of having a second window of perception available for file-sharing purposes. It's somehow a lot less natural for her — less work on computers, perhaps?
"… Oh! Yes, her!" replies Yukari Hitomi. "The sneaky girl! Who is she? What's her deal?"
"We were hoping you might have some insight," you hedge. "She seems to show up where she's not necessarily supposed to be."
"Is she magic?" asks Yukari-san.
"… yes," you tentatively admit.
"So maybe she sent me here," proposes the would-be princess, spinning about.
Of course, you remark to your girl internally, because that would be just what we need right now.
You decide to try the easy way first.
"Say, Hitomi," you say, holding up the jade box. "Can we have the hairpin back? We were just finishing with it."
"Oh, sure thing," she allows, and puts it in there. It doesn't seem to change anything. An inconvenience.
Should I try the ribbon, then? asks Ryouko.
Go ahead, you say.
"What is this?!" asks Yukari Hitomi, as Ryouko attempts to apply a ribbon to her forehead.
"It's not working!" says Ryouko.
We might need the pin, too, you tell her internally. But don't touch it, it might send you somewhere!
"No! Let go!!" squeals the girl, squirming out of the way.
We might even need intent, too, you realize. And wouldn't that just be perfection?
Your girl attempts to convince Hitomi with words, in a somewhat… direct manner.
"You need to go back home!" she demands.
Hitomi is unmoved. "You can't just send me back! It's not fair! What kind of isekai adventure protagonist gets sent back after three minutes? That's totally boring!"
"You don't understand," says Ryouko. "We need our Hitomi back; her father will kill us if anything happens to her!"
"Who says he has to know?" enquires the interloper.
"Listen, Yukari-san," you address her, attempting a gentler approach, "if you head back, I have a feeling that adventure will be right under your nose—"
"That's total crap!" says Hitomi. "I want magic. Real life magic, not life lessons."
"Kinomoto-chan is a magical girl," interrupts Ryouko. "Or about to become one."
Hitomi raises her hand to cover her mouth.
"Oh my gosh." she says. "Really for serious?"
Well, if you're going there, might as well try to sell her on the adventure.
"This place right here," you say, pointing at the cabinet, with the camera and the boxes, "is set aside for all the memories you're going to make," you tell her. "These memories are so precious that one of your best friends named their baby girl after you, and now she's the most precious thing in the world to both her mother and father both. Please don't take their little girl away from them, please don't spoil those memories before they can happen… and please don't take Hitomi's adventure away from her, either."
Hitomi looks at you, considering your proposition.
"Here, let's just take a peek," you propose. You open the other box — it's a photo box, it says so on the side — and gingerly withdraw the top two photo. Sure enough, the top picture shows a girl who looks very much like Asami, wearing a pastel dress with very fluffy skirts, frills everywhere, and white gloves, as well as the flower hairpin. She's with a group of friends, including a younger version of Hitomi's mother. In the second, she's in a by some lockers hallway, wearing in the same outfit, eyes closed as she's being kissed on the cheek … by … Simona del Mago?
Ryouko stifles a jealous noise, attempting to remind herself it's not really the same Asami, while you hide your own shock.
Yukari Hitomi considers the photos carefully.
"Oh," she says. "Okay, fine… I'll go back."
"Thank you for understanding," you say, finally relaxing a bit. "Tell you what, we can show you around the place a little before you —"
"Kidding!"
She runs out the door and into the hall.
You sigh.
Well, location tracking is on, at least.
"Oh, nice place," she calls back. "Totally princess grade. I want to swing from the chandelier!"
"Noooooo," you say. "Sliding down the bannister was bad enough…"
"Oh! Nice idea!"
You discuss the tactical situation with Ryouko.
Among other things, you're not quite confident who's home right now, or what Mama does during the day, and if she caught Hitomi running around that could be awkward… but you could always pass it off as shenanigans, while seeing Ryouko teleporting would be a lot messier. And there could be other people, too, a housekeeper perhaps; you haven't seen one but you doubt this place stays tidy without one. You would ask Hitomi, but …
"Awfully fancy place for someone who's not a princess!" Hitomi calls out.
Ryouko has settled on a plan.
You chase after her, she instructs. Once you've cornered her in a room and you're sure she's by herself, I'll teleport in, grab her, and bring her back here. We'll tie the ribbon on her, then try the pin. No one touches both at the same time.
Got it, you say, giving chase.
You run after Yukari Hitomi, following her across the central living room, up the grand stairs, in a loop around the upstairs balcony — where she tries to fake you out — down the hall, past the other stairway, and into Hitomi's room. For a moment, you think you have her, but she heads straight out onto her balcony and climbs the drain-pipe up to the roof, where she runs a short distance to an open window on the third floor.
I really don't want to climb that, you tell Ryouko, concerned for the structural integrity, and general escalation of the stakes of the chase.
I'll head her off, then, replies your girl.
Ryouko leaps up from the ground floor to the balcony railing, then steps down, just in front of the third floor stairs. And it looks like there's only the one staircase to the third floor, so you'll should her cornered unless she starts off for another window…
"Oh, Hitomi!" says a voice from upstairs — her mother. "Can your mother borrow you for just a moment?"
"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…. y-yes?" she says.
"Oh, thank you so much, darling. See, the theatre called, and I was going to send this off, and I just wanted to see how this looks on someone first."
"Oh…" says the girl, at a loss for words. "Oh. Umm."
"It won't be more than a minute, I promise."
You and your girl are camping out, just outside the door.
You do see why I'm worried about external influences manipulating your thoughts, though?
Yeah, acknowledges Ryouko, this is a little much.
And now we have two magical artifacts to worry about keeping safe.
I don't think the hairpin is magic, says Ryouko, holding the ribbon gingerly. It didn't seem to do anything by itself. What if the pin is just a focus? Something to connect the two Hitomis together.
Oh? you ask. Is the ribbon telling you that?
She shrugs externally. I don't know.
Well, assuming that's true, you question, why would I be wearing it later?
I don't know, says Ryouko. Maybe you have something to do with Nadeshiko.
Who's that? you ask.
Ryouko shrugs.
Hitomi's voice wafts from behind the door. "Is it safe to move yet?" she asks.
Her mother replies. "No, just hold still, I need to fix this, it's all wrong."
Ryouko entertains second thoughts.
Are we really sure we shouldn't let her stay a while? asks Ryouko.
Do you want to tell Papa? Remember what he was like when he thought something had happened to her?
… okay, okay, she acknowledges. It's just… well… it seems kinda sad.
She's going to become a magical girl, and it's basically a death sentence, and it's especially sad because, well… she looked just like Asami. So sending her back seems somewhat like sending Asami off to die.
We're not sending her off to die, you say, we're sending her off to the life of a middle schooler. What she does with that is her decision.
It's still sad, says Ryouko. I don't want to lose Asami.
You squeeze her hand.
We won't lose Asami, you promise.
She smiles, but she's still worried.
A message catches your attention.
Hey, good news, you tell Ryouko. Machina says it looks like the police are done with Mami.
You spend a while sorting things out with Machina; Mami wants to stop by her apartment first, despite your explicit warnings to Machina about what she's going to find.
About fifteen minutes later, the door slips open and your quarry emerges, very quietly, then surrenders herself to you of her own free will.
"You didn't say I'd be her human test subject," she whispers, grabbing at your arm for security.
"What fresh nonesnse is this?" you enquire, staring at her outfit. It's like some high-fashion take on a jester's outfit, with jingle bells ornamenting all the tails, including the twin tails on the front and the back. Even the shoes have bells on the tassels. She moves very slowly, so as not to jingle any of the bells.
"You were right, I was wrong," she says. "I'll go home."
"Oh," you say.
"Quickly!" she insists. "Before she finishes adjusting the hat. Only I can't move too fast, or she'll hear!"
Ryouko nods. "Quickly, you say?"
In the blink of an eye you're all down in the office again.
"Ah!" says Yukari Hitomi. "More magic!"
"Yes," says Ryouko. "Please, remind me again how I'm jealous?"
"I was teasing," replies the girl.
"Yukari-san," you say, "just one more important question before you go — who is Nadeshiko?"
"Oh, she's the new transfer student," says Yukari, jingling. "She's super pretty, her hair's totally like this long," — she gestures down just below her knees — "but really shy. It's so funny. Tomoyo-chan always knows just exactly how to tease her. Just says something nice about her. It's super fun."
It doesn't ring any bells.
Ryouko can't think of anything either.
"I bet your Hitomi's fun too," says Yukari-san, affixing the pin. "It's a pity I didn't get to meet her."
"Oh. Well…" says Ryouko, handing her the ribbon, and racking her brain for some sort of farewell. "Good luck. I know we weren't together very long, but, I guess it was fun…"
You wave back.
Hitomi smiles, and closes her eyes.
You wait a moment.
When she opens them again, they're glowing golden.
"Shizuki Hitomi?" asks Ryouko, looking at the slightly spacey expression.
Hitomi doesn't reply, but leans forward towards Ryouko.
"What are you — hey!" She squeals. Hitomi has carefully placed a delicate kiss on Ryouko's cheek.
"Hitomi!" you exclaim, as Ryouko stumbles backwards a few steps.
The glow dissipates, and Hitomi shudders like she has goose-bumps all over.
"Hitomi? Are you all right?" you ask.
"… oh thank goodness, I'm back" she says, in a more familiar cadence. She doesn't seem to be perfectly aware of what she just did to Ryouko, but touches her face and hair and breast to make sure the familiar shape of the body is there. "That was quite horrifying," she concludes as she finishes.
"Oh, no, what happened?" you ask.
"Please tell us we didn't just send the other Hitomi back to a battlefield or anything?" asks Ryouko, recovering from the surprise and only blushing a little, but quite worried.
"No, not like that," says your Hitomi, "Mama was there, but she was my age, and she was making me help her with — what am I wearing?!?"
"Ah, Yukari-san ran into Mama upstairs, as well," you say.
"Here, too?!?" Hitomi's eyes go wide. "Oh, no. I have to get out of this, and … hide."
"You got yourself into this fair and square," you tell her. "What were you thinking, by the way?"
"I was thinking that it was a very special treasure," she said, "and that a magical adventure of my own would be fun too."
"Right — can you do me a favor and take that pin out of your hair?" you ask. "Then put it in the box and give the ribbon to Ryouko."
"Oh," she says, "okay — wait, it was in that box?!?" Her eyes go wide. "You opened it?!?"
"You opened it, Hitomi," says Ryouko.
"… Oh," she says. "Oh, dear. I broke a promise to Papa… "
[3] Tell Papa afterward
[1] Keep it quiet
"I see," you say, holding up the box gingerly as she returns the pin. "Would you be willing to help us explain this to Papa, later?"
"You're going to tell him?" she asks, a little alarmed.
"Of course," you say. "He's offering us his family, Ryouko and I owe him that much."
Hitomi frowns, and shakes her head. "Just … let me figure out what to say first, okay?"
You nod. "Okay.
"Anyway," she says, putting the matter aside, "I met your friend. Simona."
"Yes, Yukari-san mentioned that she was there," you note. "Did the two of you talk?"
Hitomi nods.
"Did she call herself Simona del Mago, or did she use a different family name?"
"Neither," she says. "Just Simona. And she said, tell Ryouko, 'don't worry, I'll take care of her.' And, um, to send you all her love, and tell her how much she misses you."
"She said what?" you ask.
"And it was, um, sort of awkward," adds Hitomi. "Like she was about to kiss me. I was sneaking away from Mama, and she had just told me to put the pin back on my head…"
You sigh. "…But she knew it was you, then, I suppose?" you ask.
Hitomi nods. "I think she was waiting for me."
"Was there a Nadeshiko?" asks Ryouko.
"Yes," says Hitomi. "She had incredibly long hair, and was very demure, except she got pretty huggy with everyone, but, I think that was normal for them?"
You ponder for a moment.
"Can you send me a memory recording?" you ask.
"How would I do that?" enquires Hitomi.
You send her instructions, and she starts reviewing.
"… wait," she says, "it's just showing what the other Hitomi did here…"
"Oh," you say. "That's funny. I wouldn't have expected that now…"
The ribbon does that all the time, though, Ryouko notes internally.
Yes, but the goddess tends to be involved, you note. I had imagined the rule attached to her presence. If it wasn't, though… maybe some of the visions are just people switching places into a small, purpose-made universe. You file it away as an interesting idea.
"Oh!" says Hitomi, who seems to have been fiddling with the replay. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't get to meet her either… wait, what?" She makes a face.
She must have gotten to the kiss.
"Yessss," you say. "That happened."
"… I'm going back to my room," she concludes, wincing, "and changing into something normal."
You're alone with Ryouko for a moment, as you finish putting the things in the cabinet back together. You carefully don't look at any more of the pictures, just in case they somehow have more Simona surprises.
"So," you tell your girl. "I need to figure this afternoon, and you were going to write a letter."
"Yeah," she says, half-heartedly. "I guess I was."
"… What's the matter?" you ask her, sliding the cabinet door shut. "You were just about to jump onto the next plane to America, not half an hour ago."
She shrugs. It just somehow doesn't really seem important to her anymore, and writing it seems a lot more like a chore.
You look over to the ribbon, which she is still holding in one hand.
"… Ryouko, my dear," you state, "I do believe that ribbon's been manipulating the way you feel, perhaps extensively."
"What?!" she asks.
"Honestly," you continue, "you've been throwing all my models for a loop since … well, since about when you put it in your hair! Unexplained feelings for Simona are just the latest and most extreme; it's almost like it's changing your personality … just … like … Akemi Homura," you realize. "Only, less extreme."
Ryouko frowns. "Oh," she says. "… I don't want to turn into a Homura, though, she's… cold."
"Well, it wouldn't necessarily be the same," you note. "Besides the fact that you're not Homura, the effect on you seems far less extreme. Maybe for now just keep it off your he—"
The door to the room opens, interrupting. It's Hitomi's mother.
"Excuse me, girls," she says. "Have either of you seen Hitomi?"
"She was here a little while ago," says Ryouko, covering for her. "I'm not sure where she went, though."
"Oh, that's a shame," she says, turning to go. "I'll keep looking for — Oh!" She stops. "Say, Clarisse."
"… yes?" you ask, hesitant.
"Do you think maybe you could help me out?" she asks.
(deferred from earlier)
[5] Find a quiet spot in the park
[4] Make sure someone is bringing food
"Oh, uh," you say, "I sort of need to figure out a picnic with friends this afternoon…"
"Oh, splendid!" she says, taking your hand. "I'll help you out with everything once we're done, and show you where everything is! It won't be more than a moment, I promise."
"And I'll go work on that letter," says Ryouko, who is feeling far too much schadenfreude right this moment to intervene on your behalf.
It's a good thing you have on-board Internet…
The lady of the house leads you upstairs, and is discussing the specifics situation.
"So the music is Stravinsky," she says, "which is, quite frankly, the last thing that the world needs. I swear, he attracts choreographers like moths to a flame, and they all wind up burnt. But, that's not really my business, now; I just do the costumes, and they're going to be a highlight if I do say so myself."
You nod. "The ones I've seen so far are quite lovely."
She smiles. "Why, thank you. Anyway, for this next staging, they're trying to put a twist on things a new production in an abstract, far future setting, so we need something Different, and I think we have a good start, but it's still missing a certain je ne sais quoi."
"I see," you say.
The attic space has a sloped roof with dormers, in the Western style. One end appears to be Shizuki Tomoyo's workshop, with three different sewing machines and various forms for putting clothes on. The back of the room has several rows of costumes on racks.
"It's just over here," she says, going for one of the closest ones, next to a bright red bodysuit with a spiky headpiece and a tag labeled 'Firebird'. "Does this say twenty-fifth century haute couture ceremonial to you?" She holds up a white dress which is about 85% of the way to being the same one you saw yourself wearing in the time-window.
> dress-up fun time
[] help shizuki tomoyo and try on the dress
-[] then add the ribbon and hairpin, just for fun™
[] propose changes based on what you saw in the future
[] propose radical changes in the hopes of averting that future
[] nope on out of here, do not pass Go, do not collect food for picnic-date
[] destroy the offending garment with scissors, then burn it
(Other write-ins remain welcome.)
