Puella Magi Falsus Magica (A PMMM Quest)

[X] "Where are we going? What's your plan now? How do we catch this Killer?"

You decided not to ruminate on heroics. It would be better if you were more proactive in your current situation, namely asking the right questions. Your body has been warmed up enough compared to when you first woke up.

You felt like you had a better control of yourself than before. You decided that it would be better for you to think about what you wanted to ask. Thinking and making use of your cognitive processes more and more was an experience. For a corpse, you were able to think and rationalize better than you first expected. Was it because of your body? Was the previous owner smart that's why her brain was so well developed?

You would expect so given the high praise you heard about her. Still, you felt that it was something you can think about for another time. For now you had other things to think about.

"Where are we going? What's your plan now? How do we catch this Killer?" You rasped, realizing that your voice wasn't all that well off.

It was dry. Your throat was dry and caused your voice to come off as gravelly as if you were gargling glass. Still, you got your point across as Sai glanced at you from the rearview mirror. She drove to the bright lights of downtown.

The woman cracked as smile as she replied, "Well aren't you chatty? We're going to somewhere safe. Your sister, or rather creator, should be there by now. It's a little haven I got for you. As for a plan... Well we'll think about that later."

"You sound like you don't have one," you pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, hey I make an effort. But we'll see. As for the last question, well, it'll depend on you. You're the target so she'll come for you. Until then, we can get you settled down," Sai said as she pulled up before a dingy looking building, "Say hello to your new home."

You looked up the sign on the building as it's neon lights reflected off your face. It was named Sanctuary but it didn't feel like it looked the part. Sai opened the door and walked out, signaling you to step out as well. You were in a rather quiet street than normal. It didn't seem like there was enough foot traffic to attract customers here.

Sai led you to an elevator to which you both took to ascend to the second floor where the bar proper was. There was a short hall leading to the bar before Sai opened up the door on the far end to let you in. It was a bar alright, not filled with a drunks or shady people either. The smell of alcohol did linger in the air. Behind the counter was a young man dressed in a bartender's outfit.

He flashed you a kind smile while he was cleaning some glasses before glancing at the older woman beside you.

"Miss Sai, I presume business went well?" The youth greeted her.

"Well enough, Kaito. Did those two return yet?" Sai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mishima brought back the Uchida girl as instructed. They're probably at the back," Kaito politely replied as he glanced at you, "I have several questions, however."

Sai perked up before turning to you, "Oh. This little bird is... Well, let's call her Yukina for now. We'll come up with a better name later."

"Understood. Nice to meet you, Miss Yukina," Kaito greeted you as you could only manage a small wave. He then glanced at Sai, "Then I'll go get the two girls for now. Would you like the usual bottle?"

"Yeah. Sure," Sai replied as she sat on one of the bar's booth.

You took your seat before her and looked around. Soft piano music played overhead as the whole place brought about a rather classy feel. You didn't know how others bars would compare but this was quite high quality from the looks of it. The workers were nice and there was a nice selection of drinks on display.

You can't just help but notice the total lack of people. It was evening so there should be some customers walking in. The atmosphere still managed to calm you down a bit especially after that rather exciting time in the abandoned building.

"So are you willing to tell me what your plan is?" You frowned as you crossed your arms.

"You're pretty excitable. But like I said, it would take a bit before that snake catches wind of you being alive," Sai said as she smiled your way, "For now it would be better for you to settle down and understand more of the big picture. Namely your place in our society."

"And what place would that be?" You asked her with a confused look.

"Prime target," Sai replied. "GriefBorne people are let's say... Akin to weapons banned from war like chemical weaponry or bioweapons. Factions would want a piece of you or at least want your Allegiance in the coming battle. So you're either going to have groups like Reika that will kill you or groups that will try and kidnap you for their own ends."

"Which group are you?" You asked.

"The group that wants to stop the goddamned war by going after the psycho on the loose," Sai replied with a grimace.

"I can understand that much... So what is this place?" You asked as you frowned. You glanced at the bar, "That man seems to be familiar with our existence. Is that normal?"

"No. Not really. Normally Kyubey deals with civilians outside of the business but that guy is a special exception. The Boss asked Kyubey for the favor actually," Sai answered as she smiled your way, "Anywho, this bar is my personal office. I'm not affiliated with either of the two groups that are under the Boss's wing since I'm taking on the role as a diplomat."

"Seems like magical girls are a bit more organized than I thought," you noted as you looked around.

"You can stay for the moment while we sort out this mess," Sai advised you as she crossed her arms, "I need to keep the flames of war snuffed out while my friends hunt down our assassin target. On the side, this place is a hub for Magical Girls."

You raised an eyebrow at that to which the glorified diplomat coughed.

"They don't drink alcohol," Sai said with a sheepish look. You didn't exactly trust that look on her face. Sai cleared her throat and said, "This place doubles as an information hub where Witches are located and where who's who is. We take revenue in terms of cash or Grief Seeds, though the latter goes straight to the organization."

It would seem like in order to create you, your sister had to pilfer some of those seeds from the organization. No wonder they would be furious given that it was supposedly for the use of members only. Then if that's these then Sai would have more grounds to be angry given that her shop was taking in the seeds.

But she wasn't. She was willing to set aside your awakening to have you work on this assassin case. That was as much as you could gather for the moment. Well it would seem that she was on the eccentric side if she was willing to work with a civilian, it wouldn't be too far to assume she was willing to work with you too.

"I would assume that an information hub would be on top on whatever was going on with this Killer. Lots of people are also investigating her is what I'm guessing," you admitted as you leaned back on your seat.

"Indeed. Which is why the Boss gave us this task specifically. If any info comes out, it goes through us and we can act fast," Sai said as she crossed her arms with a nod. She gave you a more serious look before continuing, "The Boss gave the permission for you to operate for as long as you work to catching this assassin. This would also be the measure for you to prove yourself to be harmless. If you could accomplish as much, you'll have our promise that you won't be hunted anymore."

"Is that how it works?" You frowned as you leaned forward, "What of the treaty?"

"It stands but only for dangerous GriefBorne beings. So you'd do best to be in your good behavior," Sai smiled as the door to the back opened.

You turned your head to see your sister walk out accompanied by another magical girl. A tanned girl with short maroon hair, she seemed like a cold person at first given that she simply poked and prodded your sister to get her to walk.

Your sister stopped before you and Sai, her eyes refusing to meet with you for the moment as she kept her head down. Sai smiled brightly as she brought her hands together as she got up. Hooking her arm around your sister, she then gestured to you.

"You two may know each other but I think introductions are in order. This is Yuri Uchida, magical girl by 3 months and a verified Tuner of our organization," Sai said as she pushed the younger girl, "Go on. Say hi to your creation."

Yuri stepped forward hesitantly before she met your gaze, "I... Hi."

"Hello, my name is..." you replied as you studied her face. You stopped your words before grimacing.

"Well now. That's awkward. What's wrong?" Sai frowned as she crossed her arms.

"I think it would be in our best interest if we didn't refer to me as Miss Yuri's sister," you suggested as you glanced at Sai, "After all, I'm not her."

"It's fine!" Yuri piped up as she looked at you, "I-I don't mind."

Sai cleared her throat and shrugged, "Well what do you think, little GriefBorne?"

[] "If she says so, then I'll keep this name. It's nice to meet you, Yuri. My name is Yukina."
[] "We can think of a name later. It's not important. We should figure out how will we proceed from now on."
[] "I'm more concerned with the Seeds implanted in me. I would like to know how I could stabilize them if you don't mind."
[] Pick a name..? (Write in choice)
[] Write in...