Renascence: A Homura Quest

[] See if you can summon the Spear from that... Not-Dream that you had.
-[] If you can, maybe see if you can summon a Gun? You're much better with those after all.
-[] Check in with Ruki and Nanoha with at least a phone call. Try to keep it somewhat short, Sayaka hurt herself with her own magic pretty badly and you need to dig into how that happened.
-[] Sit down with Sayaka and really talk about The Sword. What it does, what it shows her, what it knows, how it teaches her/she learns, etc. and offer insights where we can hopefully.
--[] Maybe a light spar if you summoned that Spear and it won't make too much noise somewhere nearby?
-[] Read a few pages of the untitled book you got from the weapon stash you raided to at least figure out what it is.
-[] Read: A Guide to Basic Research and Information Analysis. 1st Ed. Honya. [Amateur | Research] [0/7]

"Here we go!" Sayaka says, as you look around the Mikis' dojo. You must have missed the large room in your previous inspection of the Miki home--understandable, perhaps, considering how many doors there are around. You'll need to be careful not to tear the place up. The wood feels ever so slightly springy under your feet as you cross the room, turning to face Sayaka as she takes her own place across from you and draws her sword, holding it firmly beside her head with both hands, the blade pointed at you.

You transform and summon your new spear, settling into a thoughtless, comfortable stance--Magi usually can use summoned weapons instinctively, so you up that applies with this. You're confident you have enough control of the weapon to not kill her, at least.

"Trace on." Sayaka declares, to your confusion.



She grimaces, as if in pain, and glowing, pale-green lines slowly spread across her skin in circuit-like patterns.

'Was that an actual incantation?' You wonder, "How does that work, Sayaka? Does the sword use Magic based on your incantation, like a Device, or...?"

She shakes her head slightly, not dropping her stance for a moment, "No, it's not the sword. It's autohypnosis. It takes some getting used to, and my body really isn't made to channel magic like this, but it works." She smiles, "Now, en guarde!"


She hurls herself into a desperate sprint, leaning forward as she closes with you at half the speed of a transformed Magical Girl--only to swerve to the left just before you think to thrust your spear in response, pulling to a stop just to your side and twisting into a powerful thrust towards your chest.

It almost works. You had expected her to be faster--you had seen her speed during the laser tag match--but you had expected maybe half of what she just demonstrated. If you were less experienced, you probably would have been too surprised to respond in time.

Unfortunately for her, you are not inexperienced, and you have already begun to turn, spear swinging up like a staff to knock her blade away at the last moment, leaving her guard open for you to kick her hard in the chest, sending her tumbling back across the room. You hear a crunch as you do so, and cringe at the sound. You'll have to heal those ribs later.

"Good try, but you're still not quick enough, Sayaka."

She tumbles with practiced skill, managing to reorient herself to face you, already up on one knee in an instant. Her expression is hard and determined--whatever playfulness was there moments ago seems to have been pushed down by something else, and her eyes flash silver for a single moment.

"Trace on." She incants again, but this time it is not her body that shines. In her hands, the sword she is holding glows--and shifts, taking on a completely different form.



"Maybe I can't keep up with you yet, Homura, but you won't score another hit on me. The Blessed Sword by Which Force is Slain(Ascalon)!"

You blink at the name, frowning, "The legendary sword of Saint George? Is that new sword supposed to be--?"

You're cut off by her blade swinging for you again, the swordsgirl having closed again with that speed of hers, but you simply hop backwards out of her reach, then go on the offensive yourself. She's left herself open with that slash, so you quickly thrust, aiming for her shoulder.

Her sword whips around at many times the speed from before, intercepting your spear with ease. That shouldn't be possible, but you don't let it unsettle you, giving yourself over to the instincts that come with this weapon. A thrust for the right ankle is blocked, then one for the left shoulder, then the left knee, then the air just to the left of her right shoulder--

Blood sprays, as wounds suddenly appear in both her shoulders, her left ankle, and her left knee. She's clutching her right shoulder, eyes wide in pain and confusion as the sword falls from her grip, "...What...? How...?"

You banish the spear and catch her as she collapses, immediately beginning to heal her, glowing bandages springing into existence around her wounds. She winces at the pain, shaking a bit, "I blocked those, right Homura? You wouldn't have kept going if you hit. So...?"

You shake your head, unsure. Your instinct had told you to aim to the right of her right shoulder, but you'd missed her body. You'd definitely missed it. Even if she had somehow not blocked the others, which was ridiculous, the last one shouldn't have done anything.

"Can...can I see that spear?" Sayaka asks, grimacing through the pain, and you hesitantly summon it, not sure what to make of the weapon at this point. She stares at it, looking carefully, "Trace on."

Her eyes glow silver for a brief moment, before she starts coughing. Your healing magic doesn't show any more injuries forming, but you scramble to find the cause anyway, "What's wrong, Sayaka? Is it difficult to breathe?"

She shakes her head, the coughing subsiding as she grins, laughing slightly, "Sorry, no, just shouldn't try to laugh with cracked ribs. I couldn't tell you who or what made that spear of yours, but I know how it works, now. It pierces two seconds into the past. You stabbed me before I could block the rest of your attacks, so the rest of your thrusts got past my guard. Retroactively. It's complete BS."

You look down at the weapon consideringly, "Huh. That'd have been a big help against that abomination. It would have nice to figure it out without stabbing you, though."

She chuckles, nodding as her breathing eases, "Yeah, that'd have been nice. I'll make sure I always Trace new weapons, in the future. He never had to worry about it--it happened automatically. I sometimes get impressions like that, but not always--and I paid for it this time."

You nod, "Yes, you did, but you'd have had me on the ropes if it weren't for that spear."

She rolls her eyes, "Nah, you could have stopped time and beaten me any time you wanted. It was a good spar, though, even if you didn't bring your shield out."

You slowly look down towards you arm, eyes widening as the world seems to slow, and find your shield missing. Your only companion, for all this time. You weapon and hope...and your only vessel back to the beginning.

It's gone. It's gone. It's gone. It's gone. It's gone. It's gone. It's gone.

You immediately scramble to your feet, looking around, searching the floor as if you could have possibly dropped your spear, "Where--!?"

Sayaka, her wounds mostly closed now, falls back laughing, "HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, wow, I didn't realize you'd missed it. It vanished when you took out the spear. Maybe if you reverse that?"

You glare at laughing form with real rage, stricken by the sudden desire to stab her again, but shake it off and search through your mind, quickly finding your shield--it sits there as a nexus in the center of your self, where all your memories and feelings intersect.

You pull it out, and the spear vanishes the moment your shield appears. You heave a sigh of relief as Sayaka's laughter dies down, "Hah...I needed that. Looks like it's only one at a time. Guess that makes sense, considering how absurdly dangerous they both are."

You nod, drawing your shield up close to your chest, eyes locked on it as you remember that short moment of horror. You're still angry. You shouldn't be. Sayaka was sure you'd find it again. You try to let it die, hiding it away for the moment, "It seems that way. Anyway, I think that's enough sparring for one day." You sit down upon the ground across from her, "Now that I have an idea of what you can do, why don't you tell me how you gave yourself brain damage?"

She flinches at your words, slowly nodding as she studies her sword, which reverts back to its normal form as you watch, "I was trying to Trace a new Noble Phantasm--a legendary object, like Ascalon--but I messed up. Magecraft is pretty dangerous, and I failed when going through the process--I strained myself too far, and the Prana I was using burnt out something in my head. Like I said, I won't be experimenting without a healer around anymore. Not unless I'm forced to during a fight."

"Prana?" You ask, unfamiliar with the term.

"Magical energy. He says the energy I use is strange, but I've managed to make it work so far."

"I see. What you are learning is very different from the magic I use; I am not certain I can teach you anything useful." You explain, your anger fading as regret moves to the forefront. You should not have grown angry, and you should have been able to help her learn, but you failed in both.

She smiles, scratching the back of her head, "Oh. Hey. I didn't expect you to teach me or anything. I'm here to help you, not the other way around. I just wanted to see how I measured up. And...well, making sure I don't die practicing is already a lot. So definitely don't feel bad about it, okay?"

You sigh, "Very well. Anyway, I think I understand enough for the moment. You go play some SAO. I've got some work I need to get done today."

"Like what?" She asks, tilting her head.

You give her a long, deadpan stare, "Reading a textbook."

She looks at you for a few moments, searching your expression for something, then sighs, "Dammit Homura. Fine, you go study, I'll go play video games." She stands, pursuing her lips, but keeping a friendly glint in her eyes, "Wake me up before you leave."

"Of course. Have fun." She nods firmly and walks off, waving as she goes.

You go hit the books, intending to dig into the research textbook by this mysterious "Honya" person, but decide to take a look at that odd book from the Yakuza compound.

It's a fairly thin, black, hard-backed notebook. There's no title that you can see.

You crack it open, reading over the first page, and find a list of names, addresses, and (in some cases) what you assume to be passwords. You'd maybe be worried, if you didn't recognize some of them.

These are Yakuza-run or managed facilities and businesses, as well as what you'd assume to be the private homes of a large portion of their membership. Either the person you stole this from thought it was a bright idea to hide a tremendous amount of confidential information in his locker for some reason, or they were a police plant, collecting information. You can definitely use this to get a lot more looting done, and maybe clean up Mitakihara on the way, but you might also want to get a copy of this to the police for their use. You recall that Mami has at least a contact or two in the police force, so she could probably arrange to have it placed in the right hands.

For now, you return it to your inventory and get out the textbook, digging into it.

introduction

In our lives, we often spend a tremendous amount of time studying, working, and learning as hard and fast as we can. We seclude ourselves in libraries, burying ourselves in everything we can find that might apply to a given problem, and learn as best as we can, even when it's dangerous during high-tide, or when the bookcase we're balanced on is unstable, threatening to cast us into the abyss below at a moment's notice. We do this because we love knowledge and we love books, but this kind of recklessness is not necessarily advisable. Sometimes, the clumsy pursuit of knowledge can consume you, taking you from the people you love, isolating you from them socially by monopolizing your time, and eventually drowning you in the depths of the library.

This book is written by someone who's been there, and knows what it's like to spend a long night alone in a strange place, listening to strange noises and hoping it's just the wind. Someone who has been alone, and was only saved because other book lovers stood beside her, and gave her the support she needed to survive and thrive in the pursuit of knowledge. In it, I will teach you the basic skills and techniques you will need to effectively identify quality information sources, efficiently cross reference gathered information, and build off that information to draw meaningful conclusions. I will also do my best to help you learn how to use that information, share it with others, and preserve it when it is in danger from the elements or hostile actors. This book will not cover essential survival skills such as foraging, hunting, self defense, bomb defusing, or climbing--these can be found in the companion textbook "Survival in Hostile Urban, Natural, and Educational Environments." Please pick this up if you find yourself routinely dealing with high-risk situations, as book enthusiasts often do.

You close the book, looking at the title to make sure you read it correctly.

"I would like to meet this "Honya" some day. She's probably a Magical Girl." You say to no one, entirely aware that Kyouko is listening.

'She sounds insane, but that's not really something I'd feel right judging anyone on, anymore. Would love to see whatever libraries she's been digging through, though.'

You nod, opening the book up and beginning to read, "I would too. Maybe they actually have books on magic, unlike every other library I've been to."

'We can dream. Now start turning pages, this is interesting.'

The two of you spend the next few hours reading the book. It's engrossing, actually, if odd. Honya has clearly been dealing with some very strange things in her lifetime, or is just very good at making up comments for entertaining textbooks, but her actual guidance on the subject matter--research, as an individual or group--is shockingly insightful, and leaves you with a much deepened understanding of how to go about such things.

You also pick up some tricks in unrelated fields, from a few sidebars dealing with "Common Research Risks." Including, to your great interest, advice for supplicating and expelling hostile spirits. You think you can guess why this isn't a popular text book, considering that, but some of what she recommends makes an interesting amount of sense.

research results

Completed 4 Chapters of "A Guide to Basic Research and Information Analysis."
+4 Research, +2 Magical Theory, +2 Mechanics Expertise, +2 Stealth

Eventually, however, someone knocks at the door, though, dragging you from your book in the process. You reluctantly stow it, and make your way over to answer the door.

Outside waits one of your father's guards--one of the friendlier ones, you'd judge by his demeanor--sipping at a foam coffee cup like the plebian he is.

"Hey there Miss Akemi. Your old man asked me to come pick you up." He looks at you for a second, tilting his head, "Heh, you're really looking a lot healthier, since the last time I saw you. You've got that look."

"Look?" You ask, perhaps a bit impatiently.

"That look your Dad gets when he's deep into something. Hard to describe, but he gets really, really intense, and suddenly he's the center of whatever room he's in. Kinda scary. He says it's a family thing, and I can kinda see it in you now." He explains, smiling with a simple joy that catches you a bit off guard, "Anyway, mind if I step in while you let your hosts know you're going? I won't leave the foyer."

You nod, opening the door. You can break him in two if he tries unwise, after all.

Quickly, waking the Mikis, you say brief goodbyes before allowing them to return to their game, and make your way back to the man, who is looking at a photo of Sayaka and her mother which sits on the front table.

"Huh. Seems a bit familiar, but I can't place her. Maybe I've just seen her around town."

"Which one?" You ask, although you can already guess he means the Sayaka's mother.

"The older one. I'm sure it's nothing. Anyway, you ready to go?"

You nod, making your way to the door and waving him out. You lock the door behind you as you close it, and the two of you proceed to the cushy-looking car waiting at the curb. You take shotgun, not having a license or the desire to show off your experience with cars, and he quickly sits down in the drivers seat, putting his blasted foam coffee cup in one of the cupholders.

He apparently spots you sneering at it, but misreads your expression, "Want one? There's a place on the way. They do hot chocolate too, if that sounds better. Lots of caffeine isn't really a good idea, with your heart." You get the feeling he actually wouldn't buy you anything caffeinated, even if you asked, but is trying to avoid being an ass about it. He gets a few points for that, you suppose.

"Thank you, but no. Why don't you tell me what my father's planning, instead? He mentioned something about my future."

He chuckles, shaking his head, "No can do, I'm afraid. I don't even know the details, anyway. Don't worry, though, I'm pretty sure it's nothing bad--well, I mean, nothing nefarious. He loves you way too much for that. Never stops sharing pictures and telling stories. Drives us a bit crazy, but, hey, it's for a good cause, right?"

You doubt your father put him up to saying that, but you can't be sure. He might be trying to get in your good graces through this kind of manipulation. Maybe.

'Homura, I'm pretty sure your Dad loves you and isn't trying to run a long con to get you to do things for him instead of using his parental rights to force you into something. Because that's how a shitty parent would actually interfere in your life.'

'He can't. Grandfather arranged for my emancipation. Manipulation is his best option.'

You get a growl of frustration in return, and tune Kyouko out, but you do take a minute to consider it. What if he's actually bragging about you to his employees? For what? You were a sickly child last time you saw him, not even well enough to make more than a pocket watch--not that you'd been provided any parts.

You decide to reserve judgement, for now, but remain cautious.

"Anyway...what do you think of SAO? I heard your Dad had a copy sent over, so I know you must have played it by now, and I've been neck-deep in the game since it came out. Pretty scary sometimes--okay, a lot of the time--but getting in there and dueling monsters with my friends is the best. So, whatcha think?"

You sigh, realizing you can either humor the man or sit in extremely awkward silence for the rest of the drive, "It's fun. The bosses are tough, so far, but a good team can handle them, with a bit of sacrifice. Hopefully, that will be less of an issue as we level up, but I haven't gotten to play much the last few days. I've been busy getting moved in, making new friends, and studying."

"Trying to get prepped for school? Rumor has it you're a genius, but I guess a hospital bed and books isn't the same as a teacher, is it?"

"Books are wonderful, and must be protected at all costs!" You counter instantly, voice rising, only to realize your words moments later, one hand slowly rising to cover your mouth in embarassment.

The man--you need his name, dammit--looks at you briefly, an eyebrow raised and his lips turned up in clear amusement.

"...Sorry, I've been reading a bit too much recently, it seems. Forget my outburst." He nods and obediently says nothing of it, looking back to the road. "What's your name, anyway?"

Stopping for the light, he looks at you, expression crestfallen, and you feel a bit like you just kicked a puppy, "It's Daisuke, Miss Akemi. We played chess together just a few weeks ago--when your Dad couldn't make it to the hospital, remember?"

You remember playing chess with one of your father's guards, very faintly. You actually remember doing that quite a few times, now that you think about it.

You scramble to repair the damage quickly, doing your best to sound convincing, "Of course I remember, Daisuke. It was fun, as always. I meant your family name."

He smiles at that, clearly relieved as he puts the car back in motion, "Oh, right! I guess it is kinda forgettable, huh? I'm yet another Watanabe."

You nod, trying the name out in hopes of jogging some recollection, "Daisuke Watanabe. Hmm...I'll try to remember it all, this time."

He chuckles, "Thanks! Anyway, are you okay, Homura? I know you probably don't feel like being dragged across town today, but you seem really dour. Something bad happen?"

'Ooh boy. That's a question for the books.'

"...Let's just say it feels like it's been an eternity since I left the hospital."

He glances over out of the corner of his eye, apparently not satisfied.

"It's an Akemi thing. I'm fine."

He actually doesn't seem to buy that, but drops his questioning anyway.

The rest of the drive is a balance of silence and occasional chatter, which you humor as best you can, but you eventually find yourself in Tokyo, staring up at a massive skyscraper.

ATLUS.

"Here we are, Miss Akemi. I believe," He checks his watch, "Your father is still in a meeting. Would you like to wait for him in his office, or wait with me and some of the others? I think we're a pretty fun bunch, but his office will definitely be more peaceful."



Wait...

[ ] In your father's office.
[ ] With Daisuke and his friends.