Mami Said Knock You Out, a Yuma Quest (PMMM)

The sight of two middle school girls walking through the streets of Mitakihara of a Saturday afternoon would not have been at all unusual, but for the somber expressions on their faces and the sullen, oppressive silence that accompanied them.

The shorter, pink-haired girl walked behind, nervously tapping her fingers together and occasionally tugging at the blouse of her Mitakihara Middle School uniform. Every now and then, she would open her mouth as if to speak, but always seemed to decide against it, her chin falling and her eyes returning to their downcast contemplation. In front of her, her blue-haired friend alternated between a forceful, angry gait - clenching her fists and lips turning into a scowl - and a slower, more introspective shuffle, directionless and halting.

The city's steel skyline glowed a deepening orange, the skyscrapers of downtown obscuring the setting sun early and dappling the lonely canal bridge in shadow. With a sudden, dramatic jerk, the taller of the two girls spun on her heel to regard the other.

"Madoka," Sayaka's sudden exclamation almost caused Madoka to jump in surprise. The blunette's face was stern, but her eyes danced with confusion. "Am I - you don't think I'm crazy, right?"

"Eh?" Pink eyes blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Those girls!" Throwing her hands up in exasperation, Sayaka began pacing back and forth with sudden, manic energy. "They're - you can't just - it's wrong, isn't it? Even if they're...if things are as bad as she said they are...I can't just let them feed people to monsters..."

Madoka didn't have an answer: determining what was right and wrong when confronted with that sort of hardship - or if there even was a 'right' answer - was beyond the ken of a weak and vacillating girl like her. Moreover, she was afraid of her friend's reaction, whatever reply she made: when a fight had threatened to break out between Sayaka and that intimidating new magical girl last night, she'd been gripped by a terror she'd not felt since that awful day in a labyrinth full of grotesque pantomimes of candy and sweets.

Sayaka had always been the more hotheaded and impetuous of them, but Madoka still couldn't believe just how quick her childhood friend had been to escalate hostilities yesterday. She'd been afraid for Sayaka ever since she became a magical girl, of course, but there had also been a moment there when she'd been afraid of her; or rather, of the strange, zealous determination that had overcome the girl she thought she knew so well. Thank goodness for little Yuma-chan - the tiny girl had managed to interrupt the conflict before things got out of hand. The poor thing was somehow adorably precocious and heart-rendingly sad all at once, and Madoka almost felt tears well up in her eyes once more that such a plight should be inflicted on anyone so young.

"I just - I wish Mami-san were still here." Sayaka concluded her venting mournfully, almost seeming to collapse in on herself as she kicked a stray stone off the path. "She'd know what to do."

"Sayaka-chan..." In lieu of further verbal response - for what could possibly be said to that? - Madoka timidly approached her best friend, and clutched her hand in what she hoped was a comforting manner. Such a gesture seemed hollow and inadequate, but it was all she could offer.

With a heavy sigh, Sayaka blew a strand of blue hair out of her eyes, and gazed off into the dimming afternoon sky. Her voice became soft and distant, as if speaking to herself and forgetting Madoka was still present.

"When we were first trying to decide on what we'd wish for, I said that we were blissfully ignorant - that we couldn't make up our minds because we hadn't suffered anything worth risking our lives for." Sayaka's hand gripped more tightly onto Madoka's as she continued musing. "Are those two what that kind of suffering looks like? Am I just being...?"

"W-well, at the very least," Madoka finally gathered her courage and spoke up, "It wouldn't hurt to keep talking to them, instead of fighting, right? I don't think they're bad people."

"The kid's a total sweetie," Sayaka begrudgingly admitted, "But even without considering what she's done to innocent bystanders, something about that redhead just rubs me the wrong way."

"But..."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you: I'm not gonna just race out and hunt her down or anything. I'll sleep on it, at least."

The pair had, by now, traveled far enough that it was time for them to part ways. With some reluctance, Madoka made to release Sayaka's hand and part, but before she could turn towards home, the taller girl pulled her back around and clutched both of Madoka's smaller hands in front of her.

"Hey." With renewed focus, Sayaka gazed down into her eyes. "Whatever happens, thanks for sticking with me through all this. Even if last night was a bit of a disaster, and even if I might have let things get a little out of hand, it really helps knowing you've got my back. You're the best friend a rookie hero of justice could ask for, y'know?"

"O-Of course," Madoka replied automatically. "I want to help however I can, even if I can't do all that much. You're my best friend too, Sayaka-chan."

"Just you and me against the world, huh?" A tired smile crept onto the blunette's face, the sight of which calmed Madoka's troubled thoughts - if Sayaka could still muster a smile for her, even after confronting the upsetting and complex situation they'd had explained to them, she was still the same friend Madoka had cherished and relied on for more than half of their lives. "Well, g'night, Madoka!"

As she watched Sayaka walk off into the distance, Madoka felt the sudden weight of a small, fuzzy animal perch on her shoulder, and a familiar voice in her thoughts.

If you're still worried about an altercation between Sayaka and Kyouko Sakura, Kyuubey advised in his usual chipper tone, the safest course of action would be to form a contract with me. Alone, Sayaka's just a single, inexperienced straggler, but even a veteran magical girl would be hesitant to provoke conflict with a group. That's what you'd call 'deterrence,' right?

"Maybe you're right," Madoka replied, idly wondering where her small friend had gotten off to - she hadn't seen or heard from him since before they'd arrived at the cafe. "But I'm still hoping everything will work out without any fighting at all."

As she finally began the remainder of her walk home, Madoka consoled herself that, if nothing else, it seemed she now had at least one ally for the cause of reconciling the magical girls of Mitakihara in Yuma Chitose.

[x] Hunt the witch
-[x] invite Homura
--[x] Invite her over for dinner after the witch is defeated.

"We should hunt it," you say. "And we should get Homura to help. Knowing how to work together is really good, and we should kill the witch before it can hurt anyone."

"Sounds good to me," says Kyoko. "Imma nominate you for the position of Homura whisperer, so you do your thing."

"Hey, Homura," you say over telepathy, giving Big Sis a thumbs up. "Kyoko and I found a witch on our way back home. Do you want to team up with us to hunt it?"

"A witch?" says Homura. "Are you inside the barrier?"

"No, we just found it," you say. "We were going to hunt it, but I figure we should see if you want in, since we should be trying to work together."

"Yuma Chitose, are you trying to assemble the magical girls of Mitakihara into a team?" says Homura.

"Well, I mean, maybe," you say. "I don't know if you or Sayaka would want to be working so closely with us, but if everyone can get along and work together…"

"Then in that case, why not make it official," finishes Homura. "It is an… interesting idea, sure."

"Is there some big problem with magical girl teams?" you say. "It seems like they'd be a good idea, for taking down super-tough witches and whatnot, but you probably know more about them than Yuma does."

There's a brief pause before Homura speaks again.

"Teams of magical girls tend to end rather violently," she says. "Most tension either comes from lack of grief seeds or interpersonal drama, both of which result in corrupted soul gems and clouded judgment. Combined with the stressful lifestyle of a magical girl, teams usually end with quite a few of their members dead, and the rest shells of their former selves."

As insightful as this discussion is, you're getting a bit off track. Kyoko's begun tapping her feet, looking at the sky as she waits for you to finish your conversation.

"Actually, we should talk about this later," you say. "Maybe over supper, after we hunt the witch? Even if teams of magical girls aren't that bad, getting better at fighting side-by-side can't hurt, right? It would make us better as a team, but we wouldn't have to do anything else together."

"I suppose not," says Homura. "Where are you?"

"We're right outside Hotel No Hankyu, where Big Sis and I are staying," you say. "How soon will you be here?"

"Give me a minute," she says.

You nod, walking back over to Big Sis Kyoko.

"What'd she say?" asks Big Sis.

"She'll be here in a minute or two," you say. "But she didn't really seem to like the idea of everyone working as a team…"

"Honestly, I'm not that into it myself," says Kyoko. "Sure, it would be great to not worry about fighting for territory, but I've heard of some truly epic collapses."

"Big Sis..."

"Look, Yuma, I get that you want everyone to work together, and maybe it could work, but we're doing fine by ourselves. Why risk that?"

"Because I don't want it to be just us," you say. "Right now we're surviving, but we could be living! But like Yuma said to Homura, we should talk about this during supper. We have more important things to do now, and Homura should be here for that talk."

"Wait, Homura's coming over for supper? Man, you really are the Homu whisperer."

You smile to yourself, content with Kyoko's praise. After only a minute of waiting, you hear the click-clack of heeled shoes on cement.

"Greetings, Yuma Chitose, Kyoko Sakura," says Homura. "Now that I am here, I can indeed sense a witch. Shall we make our plan of attack on the way?"

You and Big Sis nod, following Homura as she leads the way to the witch.

"So, ya said something about a plan of attack? Says Kyoko.

"If we are to face this witch, we would be prudent to have some sort of battle strategy before we go in," says Homura. "Unless you would prefer to simply walk up to the witch, and ask politely if we could kill it?"

"Actually, I was thinking we could try to punch it to death," you say. "Maybe do some super-cool martial arts?"

The two of them turn to stare at you disbelievingly, Homura with a raised eyebrow and Kyoko with a look of horror.

"Y-Yuma…" says Kyoko. "That's a terrible idea..."

"Big Sis, I was being facetious," you say.

An awkward silence ensues, no one knowing exactly what to say. Homura looks disappointed in Kyoko and also… proud? Big Sis herself seems embarrassed, eyes flicking from you to Homura as she slowly backs away.

"...SO, anyway!" says Kyoko, a fake smile plastered on her face. "Howsabout that witch? Are we hunting it or what?" Big Sis turns away and starts walking, adopting a brisk pace,

You and Homura shake your heads, but follow Kyoko on her journey to retake her pride.

"On a more serious note, we really should have some plan, if only a general outline of what to do," says Homura. "The three of us against one witch will most likely result in the corruption being too spread out among us. To maximize our gains, I propose that two of us go on the front lines, fighting against the witch and any familiars that make themselves too much of a threat, while the third person keeps close behind in case of an emergency."

It sounds like a good plan, actually, but only if the goal is to get as much use out of every grief seed as humanly possible. It's not a bad goal, not at all, but it's also not the only one. You want the three of you to get used to working together, and this plan would certainly cut down on the experience you get as teammates.

"Who would be backup?" asks Kyoko, hands in her pockets.

"Either Yuma Chitose or myself," says Homura. "Yuma Chitose, your magic is primarily supportive in nature, correct?"

"Well, yeah," you say. "How did you figure that out?"

"Kyoko Sakura mentioned that your wish was to help her," says Homura. "Logically, your magic would be geared towards doing just that."

"Well, you are right," you say. "I can do healing magic, and my mace is good at stunning and smacking things."

"My magic is mainly transportational in effect," says Homura. "It allows me to move from place to place very quickly, similar to teleportation. In addition, I use firearms in the place of a magical weapon; as such, I believe it would be efficient to have myself as backup in case anything goes wrong, while the two of you fight on the front lines."

"But what about learning to work together?" you say, trying to stay calm and collected. "If we do that, then we won't get any better at fighting together as allies!"

"I think Homura's got a point," says Kyoko. "Three magical girls, that corruption's going to be spread out between us, and we 'll probably have to cleanse once this is over. Hell, depending on how it goes, we may end up using the seed just to cover the cost of the battle."

Kyoko turns to face Homura, eyes narrow.

"But I think it should be you and I who fight at the front, Homura. Yuma's got healing magic in case anything goes wrong, so why not put her at the back and let us experienced girls handle the witch?"

"If Yuma Chitose's magic was picked for supporting you, then I have no doubt she would be more than capable of fighting by your side," says Homura. The three of you stop, seeing as well as feeling the crack in reality a few feet ahead of you. "In any case, we're at the witch's barrier. We should pick something, if only for the sake of getting this done in time for a good night's sleep. While I would prefer the two-and-one formation, I can also see how experience fighting as a unit would be useful."

She has a point with the sleeping thing. Time waits for no man, none of you are so hung up on the issue to keep debating, and all the options have their perks.

And then there's the issue of what to say during the hunt. Do you make conversation as if everything's normal, or do you go all business-like?

So what do you do?

[ ] The formation...
--[ ] You and Kyoko in front, Homura as backup.
--[ ] Homura and Kyoko in front, You as backup.
--[ ] All three of you on the front lines, with no backup.

[ ] What do you say during the hunt?
--[ ] Keep silent, only speak when spoken to.
--[ ] Talk only about things relevant to the hunt; strategy, details you notice, any suspicions.
--[ ] Talk about light-hearted things; a laugh or two never hurt anyone!
--[ ] A mix of the last two; Try to stay light-hearted, but bring up any suspicions or thoughts you have.

[ ] Something else? (Write-In)

Why can I only think of this?

Lord Chungus said:

"So, ya said something about a plan of attack? Says Kyoko.

"If we are to face this witch, we would be prudent to have some sort of battle strategy before we go in," says Homura.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Yuma pulled out a book.

"Yuma found this book has some great strategies." She cleared her throat and reads "After you enter the labyrinth, the Witch will probably throw lots of disposable minions at you, and you must... answer in kind?"

"Sayaka," Homura nodded.

"Send the weaker girl first," Kyouko also nodded, to Yuma's consternation.

The green haired girl continued: "... Good rule of thumb: If a girl asks for Seeds two seconds after meeting you, front lines. If they hijack conversations to rant about morality, front lines."

"Hey, there's some good points being made here," Kyouko hummed and took the book off Yuma's hands, quickly leafing through a few pages. "Here we go: Once your front lines startle the Witch, you should initiante a strategy called The Final Solution-"

The book promtly burned up in ashes under Kyouko's glare.

"Yuma?"

"Eek- y-yes, Big Sis?"

The redhead's hissed a murderou whisper. "Who gave you this thing?"

---

At the same time, the Kure couple sent worried looks at their daugther, who suddenly seemed beset by a fit of sinister chuckling.

---

"N-nobody?" Yuma squeaked.

"..."

"Uh- Yuma wants to know what's the Final Solution-"

"Fuck it," interrupted Kyouko, "Homura, get Sayaka."

The time traveller sighed. This was gonna be a long timeloop.