In the Name of Love and Hatred! [PMMM / LoR]

Go and heal everyone you can, even if it takes some time to prepare!

In the end, it is so easy. "I will heal everyone."

The table is silent, allowing Ai to convince herself fully of the idea. Not that there was much convincing necessary. "Yes, it's perfect. There are so many injured in this building, why only help one?"

Hitomi's eyes are wide while her parents exchange conflicted looks. It is Saki who speaks up afterward: "Ai, dear, there is no way you can sweep this under the rug. There are coma patients, people with terminal cancer, and so much more. If you cure them all, it will be a national incident."

She has a good point. But at the same time, Ai does not care much as long as she can keep to Kyubey's request. "But nobody will think it was magic, right? Outside of the people who already know. And, uh, I don't think I can heal everyone, anyway. Just a lot of them." Seeing their expressions, she explains sheepishly: "It's kind of... well, okay. See, I can't heal what's not broken. Scars, lost limbs, all good. But if it's a sickness or someone was born with it, my magic won't work."

The ensuing silence lasts for a while. Ai plays with her hair while the Shizukis mull it over; in the end, it is Reiji who nods. "Well, if you made up your mind I will support you. But this will require a decent amount of planning to pull off. Just walking in during visiting hours is not enough."

"I can join my friends when they visit tomorrow or the day after and procure a floor plan," Hitomi offers. "Although I may be late for my afternoon classes."

Saki frowns, still in thought. "I really do not think this is a good idea," she begins, only to transition into a smile. "But I do appreciate your kind spirit. I know a few of the nurses and doctors, so I can find out when they do their rounds and who is on staff." She pauses. "Assuming you do not have a spell to cover the entire hospital in one go?"

"I... kind of do?" Ai puts a finger to her chin, pondering. "But for a building with hundreds of people in it, to cover that area. I probably have to spend a few hours casting."

"How noticeable would that be?" Hitomi inquires, more curious than anything. The entire family listens with rapt attention.

"How common are bright pink pillars of light?" Ai responds, both in response and out of genuine curiousity. Hitomi nods in understanding and drops the subject, which tells her enough.

Reiji summarises the situation: "So you have to cover each room one by one. Preferably without anyone seeing you... yeah, this is not happening during the day. Any chance you can turn invisible?"

"Nope. But I can make people forget me."

"Oh, that's good. No need for a mask then."

It is certainly not the usual after-dinner conversation in the Shizuki household, but over time they seem to get into it. If anything, all three are enthusiastic to plan Ai breaking and entering a hospital. Maybe that should worry her, but she decides it is fine. They do it for a good cause after all.

The next few days are spent gathering information and drawing up a route for Ai to follow. That is mainly Hitomi's and Saki's work. Reiji is too busy with whatever he does for a living to contribute much. Ai continues her patrols beside her part-time work in the mornings. Delivering mail and newspapers at the crack of dawn is strangely exhilarating in its mundanity. Boring perhaps, but it expands Ai's path through town greatly. The pocket money is nice, too; she can buy small cakes and pastries every day, whenever she wants.

There is little evil to be found this early, but she catches a murderer the second day, just shy of noon. He is too busy disposing of the victim, unfortunately deceased, to spot Ai before she konks him on the head. Offering a grimace and a quiet "Sorry", she turns to the evildoer and produces Izabel's Grief Seed. What follows is a quick object lesson in how to spot evil, an examination of the corpse, and... weirdness. Izabel pumps that same dark sludge into her chosen victim until his body contorts. The flesh comes apart at every joint, bones and viscera slide out and neatly order themselves. Izabel then begins distributing parts to her existing servants. Then she constructs a new one from the parts; it vibrates in expectation already, but hold still under her attention.

Inspired by Ai's tale of good and evil, Izabel turns this evildoer into a black-ish form, spindly thin and sporting arms twice the length of its legs. Something akin to a black suit garbs this one, its face a blank layer of flesh.

Ai applauds for the marvelous work, then spends a while chatting with Izabel. The artist Witch has little interest in subjects beside art, but she can talk about it at length. In addition, Ai learns that whatever structure she attaches herself to is temporary. A distraction at most. Izabel herself is merely the shadowy blob resting on top or a side. Her tentacles can elongate to wrap around Ai in a hug, which she does for long minutes before collapsing her barrier again.

On the fifth day, a Saturday, Ai jogs up to one of the houses on her route. Before she even gets to approach however, Homura appears in her path. Ai grinds to a halt, windmilling her arms in an attempt to stop before she bowls the other girl over; thankfully, Homura warps two metres back to avoid a crash. She stares at the still suited girl, who waves shily. "Hi?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Um." Ai gently raises her magical bag filled with mundane objects. "Delivering the mail?"

"...why?"

Homura's almost monotone voice bothers her. There is a strange intensity to it, but Ai has no idea why. All she can do is answer the question: "Because someone nice found me a job to earn money. Is, is there a problem?"

Lilac eyes trace her features in search of falsehood. Whatever Homura sees, she seems satisfied and strides past Ai. A flick of her wrist sends that glistening black hair flying. "No. Simply stay away from the people in this house."

Ai glances back, wondering what may be so important about this one. The air has a strange current to it, yes, but nothing worrisome. Then she spots Kyubey peering out one of the windows. "Oh, so-" But upon turning around, she realises Homura is gone. "Damn it."

Seeing that she is already a bit late, Ai swiftly handles the mail, waves at the bunnycat, and carries on. The early morning encounter slips from her mind two houses later. Her round is completed without anything else of note. The few dogs in the front yards keep hiding when she draws near. No one leaves their house while Ai is around this morning.

On the way to buy herself a treat, she muses. The 'heist' as Reiji jokingly calls it will happen tonight. Ai has to go alone, but Hitomi insisted on staying awake until she returns. With the plan beginning at midnight and lasting at least an hour or two, there will be little left of the night. Hence their choice of Saturday, so that everyone can sleep in on Sunday. She needs to get back and take a long afternoon nap while Hitomi is out with her friends, to be up and ready for her own endeavour.

Exactly as Ai thinks that, something tugs at her leg. Then, with a surprised shriek, she is pulled off her feet and into a nearby alley. There is barely any time to comprehend, all Ai can do is cushion the impact against walls and pipes as the yellow ribbon around her ankle drags her along. Deeper into the shadows, then up the building's side and onto its roof she goes; while on the apex of her ascent, Ai's hand lashes out and tears off the ribbon. She realigns in mid-air and lands in a crouch, only to stare down a musket's silver barrel.

The weapon's owner stares at her in a way reminiscent of Homura. A mask of cold indifference sits on her face, her golden hair shaped into ringlets that bob ever so slightly. Yellow skirt, a brown corset, and white blouse set her apart, but the beret makes it clear. A yellow Soul Gem gleams on it, almost crowning the top of her head. Her feet are planted firmly in their heavy boots.

Ai is stumped by this violent greeting, faintly raising her empty hands. "Um-"

The narrowing of her eyes is the only warning. Her finger twitches and a loud boom follows; Ai barely leaps sideways to dodge the bullet. The roof where she just stood shatters on impact. "Hey, what-"

Another shot sounds. This time Ai's staff slams into the bullet mid-air, breaking the lattice of yellow strings. The hostile magical girl's eyes widen the slightest bit before she lowers her musket. "So you can talk," she begins frostily.

"Yes!" Ai retorts at once, crossing her arms. Her staff flickers away when she sees the used weapon do the same. "You could have led with that and not a gun to my head!"

"I see no reason to be curteous with a Witch. I do not care what your aim is in this city, I will not tolerate your presence."

"But I'm not a Witch!"

A single brow is arched imperiously. Ai can tell the other girl is not convinced. "I imagine you feeling like one is a mere coincidence, then?" she taunts. Ai has no response to that. The gunslinger's eyes narrow once more. "Although, now that I found one of you that can talk, tell me: where do Witches come from? And why are you so intent on spreading misery?"

"What in the...." Ai trails off, well aware of the ribbons creeping up on her from the sides. Maybe if she uses that time to convince her somehow? "Listen, it's not like that. I'm not here to make trouble or-"

The ribbons shoot from their hiding spots, binding Ai in place; her arms are pressed against her torso, legs spread apart. The ribbons quickly grow taut, then continue squeezing until they cut into her skin. The other magical girl watches impassively. "Then perhaps you should have stayed wherever you came from," she responds, another musket forming in her hand.

Ai's expression narrows as well. There is no talking this one down. The bindings grow ever tighter.

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM96WWORDdY

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Ai's fight or flight response kicked in. No write-ins except subvote-plans for the given options.

[] Fight her!
weight: x2

[] Hate her!
weight: x0.5

[] Flee!
weight: x1

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Unlocked Character Sheet: Mami Tomoe

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Tomoe Mami
Threat Rating: WAW
Threat Assessment: Highly skilled, experienced, efficient, and cautious; her greatest weakpoint is her limited magic.