Ask about Magical Girls
"Actually, one other thing."
Kyubey sits down again, their tail swishing evenly. When they say nothing else, Ai carries on: "I was wondering, you give the Magical Girls their magic, right?"
"Not quite," they deny, head tilting slightly. "The magic comes from them. I simply make adjustments to enable its use."
"I see." Ai climbs to her feet, pondering the conundrum. "It's just, why do they need Grief Seeds to restore their powers? I can use as much as I want without any trouble beyond getting tired."
Kyubey nods at that. "There is any number of possible explanations for this circumstance," they begin. Ai listens attentively. "For one, your status as an Abnormality may allow for a different set of restrictions. Witches, whose signature resembles yours more than Magical Girls, possess no limitations on their magical expenditure either. That is, beyond the strain of casting their various spells simultaneously, while maintaining their barriers."
"Okay, I guess?" It makes sense in way. Different rules and all. Ai still wonders. "Do you know where that taint on their Soul Gems comes from?"
Thankfully, Kyubey has a proper response this time: "Naturally. The act of drawing on their magic is tied into a Magical Girl's nature and her emotions. I give them access to that well of power when I create their Soul Gem, but the taint stems from the same origin. Using one always brings with it the other in equal measure. A positive force and negative force that cancel each other out overall. A wish and a curse. You may provide any two opposite terms to describe this relation. Does that answer your question?"
Ai's face is scrunched in thought; she could follow, but the concept as a whole is not that easy to understand. "I think so," she ventures, smile reemerging. "Thank you for taking the time."
"It was no problem. Until next time, Ai."
"See you!"
Ai waves at the bunnycat until they vanish behind the rooftop entrance. Then she takes a deep breath and turns toward the roof's edge; she has a great view from up here, perfect to decide on her route. While scanning the skyline however, Ai remembers her change of clothes; she wears a perfectly serviceable suit now, keeping to the rooftops is not technically required.
So it is that after making her way downtown, Ai descends to street level. Instead of leaping from place to place, she joins the crowds and lets them sweep her along. Her appearance still stands out as foreign, but nobody pays more mind than that.
Unfortunately, being amidst the throng of bodies means she has trouble seeing the big picture. No crime happens in her vicinity, nothing she can act on. Even when she deliberately wanders into the back alleys, the worst she finds all morning is a stray dog. The poor thing flees her presence before she can even get a close look. It is doubly frustrating now; no cute critter to pet and no evil to fight. There has to be something there. Maybe the Shizukis will know where to find some?
As noon comes and goes, the crowds change. Ai weaves in and out, trying to cover the more desolate areas as well; her attempts to draw out evildoers fail.
About an hour after noon, she comes upon something peculiar. Unfortunately, it is not the evil she seeks; no, it seems to be a half dozen students. All girls, all in the same sweaters and skirts Hitomi bore. Four of them wear breathing masks, one has her sweater bound around her waist, and two of the group carry baseball bats. Their eyes are on her as soon as she enters the alley they dwell in, not at all friendly.
Ai takes in the sight, confused. "Um, did school let out already?" She doubts it from the lack of students around. But what else can she say to express her confusion?
One of the bat-wielders scoffs and steps forward to confront her. She is taller than Ai, but not enough to loom. She is also bad at it... but anyone is when the frame of reference are Gebura and Roland. And Angela, but she can loom even without being tall. Ai tilts her head while the girl sneers down at her. "None of your business. Get lost, this is our spot!"
So they should be in school but are not. Ai's head trails from the girl's face to the bat resting on her shoulder. "Are you planning to hurt someone with that?"
It is an honest question, even; people in the City often wear weapons to deter potential attackers. All it leads to is the other five appearing behind their apparent leader, who intrudes on Ai's personal space. The magical girl stays where she is, fearlessly meeting her irate gaze. "And what if I am, huh? You gonna stop me? How about I-"
The bat lifts from her shoulder and Ai acts. Her fist slams into the girl's solar plexus, folding her over Ai's arm. She wheezes helplessly and drops her weapon. Curling up in the fetal position while gasping for air, she leaves five others to stare at Ai.
"You pay for that," another cries before the lot comes at her.
Ai does not, in fact, pay. She may not have a strong body, but even her physique is more than enough to deal with five unaugmented humans. In fact, just like with the first one, she holds back so as to not cause internal bleedings. A number of attempts to hold her in place are answered with sloppy punches. Then the second bat hits her head and makes searing pain blossom through her skull. Ai blinks as her vision grows red. Blood runs down one side of her face as she stares at the one responsible; if anything, that girl is more shocked by her success than Ai is by the hit. They are the only two left standing.
Then Ai kicks her in the stomach, sending her down to the rest. "You really should go back to school," she tells the incapacitated bunch. "Or at least don't try to pick fights with random strangers. It's not good for you." Their only answer is faint sobbing.
Wiping off the blood, she strides deeper into the alley; they will all be fine. A swirl of magic removes all crimson from herself while her body knits itself back together. The pain fades swiftly, an old companion to her. Ai can not help but frown, thinking that this was not evil she fought. She is not happy having hurt these girls; but at the same time, they might have hurt someone else if Ai did not come by. Which, again, makes them not good either. How does she treat this? Was she justified beating them down? Should she have been softer?
The faint throb in her temple reminds her that no, she was perfectly justified in her use of force. A hand absently runs over the cross on her collarbone, still in place despite the wardrobe change. Ai begins to ponder how many people are so casually ready to hurt others? Most of them, really. Perhaps all of them. Even though they were kind, she barely knows the Shizukis. Reiji freely admitted, or implied, that he would murder a man for his family if he had to. Would Saki? Hitomi? Homura? Ai does not know. Her eye twitches again as she stops in her tracks, staring forlornly at the growing crowd.
Again, if none of them are good, why are they not all evil? Some are evil, and they will be rooted out. But what of the rest? Why is Ai protecting them? Does it not make more sense to destroy them all before they turn evil?
She finds no answer in that alley. No evil is found either, and some whispering to Izabel's Grief Seed assures her the Witch is content staying in Ai's pocket. When looking at it though, she can not help but find the miasma within its cage familiar. It is too viscous to be fog, but too fleeting to be liquid. Faint shapes flicker and fade all over it like an ever-changing kaleidoscope. Yet despite her inspection, Ai can not figure out where she saw it before.
Putting the matter aside, she returns Izabel to her pocket and examines her surroundings; the bench Ai picked for her break is near a large mall, as weird as the concept of it sounds. Something like this is incredibly vain by City standards, or at least the Backstreets. Smaller shops are easier to build, remove, and populate. But the mall is not what draws her attention, it is the many students about; school let out, apparently.
More importantly, a familiar shock of green hair stands out of the crowd. Hitomi is looking at her phone like many of the teens and adults surrounding her, completely missing Ai. The magical girl smiles and hops to her feet, sliding into the crowd to walk by her side. At first she wants to speak, but decides to wait and count.
Hitomi needs seven turns and two streets to glance sideways. Her eyes widen when she spots Ai, who offers a small wave. The crowd thinned out greatly by now. "Oh, Ai. I did not notice you there. How have you been with your, ah, errands?" She puts no special emphasis on the last word, but the way she glances at the people around them makes her desire clear. Not that Ai was planning to spill here, considering Kyubey's request.
"Oh, it went okay. I did not find exactly what I was looking for, but I will eventually. How was school?"
Like this, the two share some anecdotes of how their respective days went. It is mostly Hitomi talking of her friends and acquaintances, although the tale of their mysterious transfer student quickly catches Ai's attention. Specifically, her name. "Akemi? As in, Homura Akemi?"
"Why yes," Hitomi confirms with clear surprise. "Do you know her? From what I heard, she was quite peculiar when one of my friends spoke with her."
Ai frowns at the memory of her encounter. Peculiar is certainly a good term for it. "We met yesterday, is all. She left an impression."
"Is that so? Well, I can certainly see it. Miss Akemi is a model student and quite composed." Hitomi nods gently.
This is, however, the exact moment they step into the elevator. With no one else present, Ai adds to her previous statement: "She is also a Magical Girl."
"Oh." For a moment, Hitomi stares at her in befuddlement. Whatever previous train of thought she had is derailed. "Really?"
"Yup. I just wanted you to know, please don't confront her about it."
"Of course. I may be curious, but Miss Akemi clearly values her privacy. Although this would explain her impeccable display in P.E."
On those words, the two step out of the elevator; Hitomi announces their return soon after, prompting a smiling Saki to greet them. Reiji is already back as well, much to his daughter's surprise; as it turns out, he took off early to 'deal with Ai'. His subordinates put together a list of ventures where she can work part-time, if she wants. An influx of money does sound useful and she really does not want to impose too much. But being a waitress or something does not really appeal. On the other hand....
"Well, I guess magic makes that one pretty easy." Reiji chuckles once Ai points out the newspaper delivery. "Just run with the wind or something."
"Or something," Ai agrees cheerfully. "It gives me another reason to be all over town, too. Maybe if you can find other courier-related things for me to do?"
"I'll see what I can find."
He smiles indulgently before returning to his meal. Into the pause however, his wife takes over: "Now, I believe we meant to have a conversation about magical girls? Eat up first, we have time," she adds when Ai immediately tries to swallow everything in her mouth. She can not help it that the food is great. Not quite like HamHamPangPang sandwiches, however she knows how those taste, but still great.
Once everyone is finished, Ai begins recounting what she knows. She keeps a lid on being from another world, well aware that there is a limit to how much she should tell. Kyubey was a separate case, seeing that they already knew she is an irregular. It is not really important right now, either. After relaying what she learned about magical girls and Witches, the entire family is stumped. Reiji brought out some kind of alcohol he sips from, as does Saki. Even Hitomi is allowed to steal little sips from their glasses.
"That is certainly something," Reiji says after some time spent in introspection. "And we can't see them? At all?"
Ai shrugs at that. She has no idea how such a cognition filter would work. After some thought, the magical girl pulls out Izabel and presents her Grief Seed. Three confused looks are thrown at it. "Can you see that?"
"Yes?" Saki ventures after a moment. Her brow furrows. "Wait a second. Is this one of those Grief Seeds?"
"What is that inside of it?" Hitomi inquires right after, too curious to keep quiet.
Ai has to shrug in response. "This is a Grief Seed, yes. I have no idea what that stuff is, but so far it was harmless." A wisp of darkness trails around her fingers, then turns pink and dissipates. "It feels a little slimy. Anyway," she continues while pocketing the Seed again. "You can see it. Maybe Kyubey meant ordinary people can't spot their barrier thingies? And I guess you wouldn't be able to fight them even if you could."
"How strong are they?" Reiji inquires, studying his fist. "Like, what does it take to bring one down?"
"I don't know," Ai has to tell him honestly. She only has her fellow Abnormalities for reference. Then again, that may be enough to give him an idea. "Witches vary in strength. I'd say a well-trained gunman can take down some of the weakest." So far there was no trace of augments or cybernetics. If those do not exist, there are no Fixers. Then again, perhaps magical girls count for this particular circumstance?
"All this aside," Hitomi disrupts her musings. The young woman firmed up, more serious than before. Her parents look to her while she focusses on Ai. "I was meaning to ask a question about your powers. Are you capable of healing people?"
Whatever her intention, Saki catches on immediately. With how her expression softens, Ai figures it is something personal. "I do," she confirms. There is nothing she can demonstrate on, but Hitomi will not doubt her now. "Short of death, I can heal just about any injury. I can soothe mental turmoil, too." Magically relieving stress was one of the reasons she had so many friends in Lobotomy Corporation, after all.
All three Shizukis mull this over, but Hitomi is the one to carry the conversation further: "In that case, I wish to make a request."
"I'll do it."
Ai's immediate response has her friend stumped. "Pardon? I have not even said what I need."
The magical girl smiles back. "It's obvious you want me to heal someone. And after being so kind and accepting to me, that is the least I can do for you. Even if they're a bad person." Though she might kill them afterward if they are evil. But Hitomi would not associate with evil people, now would she?
Hitomi's shoulders slump in relief, though her brow creases the slightest bit. "I appreciate this greatly, Ai. But you should not get in the habit of doing everything a friend asks you for. Especially with magic, that will just incentivise people to exploit you."
A rush of foreign memories follows. Favours owed and paid, carefully selected freebies, never an act of kindness, for anyone. Trust broken. There is nothing concrete among them, but the sentiment makes Ai shudder. Roland's paranoia is unfounded here, but she gets what they both want to tell her. "Thank you for the warning. I will keep it in mind. Now, your request? Who is it?"
"...a musician." Hitomi fidgets under her father's curious and her mother's knowing look. "A friend of a friend who recently suffered a terrible accident. He lost most feelings in the hand he plays the violin with." She pauses and seeks Ai's gaze. "You already said you would, but still. Will you help him?"
"Of course." There is no hesitation. It takes a moment until Ai remembers that Kyubey asked to keep magic quiet. "But how do we go about it? I can not just walk in and do it, can I? People would see."
"That is true," she concedes with notable disappointment. "Seeing that you are the expert in magic, what would you suggest?"
Again, a good question. Reiji comments that an overnight infiltration could be called 'a miracle' and left forever unsolved. But the talk of hospitals reveals to Ai there are a great number of injured people all in one spot. If she wants to, she can do more than heal just one person. People will notice, but if nobody sees her it should be fine. Saki comments they could easily smuggle Ai in during visiting hours, too.
Decisions, decisions....
[] Infiltrate at night
weight: x1
[] Go in during visiting hours
weight: x1
[] Go and heal everyone you can, even if it takes some time to prepare
weight: x1.5
[] Write-in
No, there is no choice for whether Ai will heal him. PMMM canon is about to be perforated.
If you wish to put details to your chosen options, feel free. A decent plan is never remiss.
