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

Go for Kyoko!

Ai nods to herself. Homura was hesitant to engage with her before, so it makes sense to try this Kyoko girl. Once she tells Kyubey, the bunnycat nods. "I see. Do you have a particular time you want to meet her? If it helps, she is usually free in the mornings and before noon."

"Uh.... do you think tomorrow works for her?"

"Yes. I do recommend to consider an offer to make her ahead of time." Ai nods, already starting to ponder. Then Kyubey continues, drawing her attention back. "On that note, I would like to scan you. It is not possible to gain a complete understanding of your composition from the outside. Is that okay?"

Ai blinks, then she nods slowly. "Sure. Do I need to do anything?"

"Physical contact will suffice."

Kyubey strolls forward and stands on her crossed legs. She feels slightly awkward in the ensuing silence, but continues to meet their inscrutable gaze. She can feel some sort of energy emanating from their paws, coursing through her body in waves. It echoes back, drawing some of her internal energy along. Some of her essence follows the probe as well, almost instinctually. It just feels right to embrace the foreign bits, to synchronise like she once did with Roland.

Then it abruptly cuts off, and Kyubey drops on their face. Ai stares for a moment, uncertain what happened. She hesitantly calls their name, but receives no response. Softly poking the limp bunnycat yields nothing. Seconds pass, then a full minute.

When Ai does touch them, she realises that the body is rapidly cooling. Kyubey is dead.

"Kyubey? What happened? Please talk to me? I didn't mean to. Oh no, oh no, what did I...."

A ray of pink breaks through the back of her head while she frets. The anguish and guilt rumble around her mind, dragging back with them all the feelings since suppressed. But before it can cascade, Kyubey's voice cuts through it all: "Apologies, I did not expect this." A tap on the window has Ai's head snap around, revealing another one. "This body had to be terminated. All data I gathered from you was lost with it. Apparently, your nature is a cognito-hazard to my kind. I can not interact with it directly without risking infection."

"O-Oh. I'm sorry."

"You could not know. If it is any consolation, we now know you share another trait with Witches. They, too, pose that particular threat. I will set up the meeting with Kyoko now. Are you amenable to 10am, tomorrow?" Ai nods, still dumbfounded by the chain of events. "Very well, I will suggest this time. Unless I approach you later today, you can expect her to have agreed. I will see you tomorrow and lead you to her."

"Okay?" After a moment of silence, Ai remembers her manners. "Thank you. Um, what do I do with this?"

She presents the cooling body in her arms; Kyubey tilts their head at it, then turns to leave. "For safety purposes, please dispose of it in a permanent manner. Complete disintegration is recommended. Have a good day."

"You too."

Still a little puzzled, Ai studies the dead body. This is not the first entity she met that has several, but Kyubey is the most surprising. In the end, she just shrugs and does as they asked. The corpse is enveloped in pink light and destroyed as completely as she can manage. When she sits down with the Shizukis for dinner however, there is a question on her mind: "What's a cognito-hazard?"

After a befuddled but clear explanation, with some research on Reiji's phone involved, they all turn in for the night.

Just before falling asleep, Ai sees a gleam of pink shine through the window. It is unlike her own, more pure. She forgot all about it by the time she wakes.

Breakfast and a run to deliver mail later, Ai stands at the shore again. It is the same spot she originally woke up in, just as inconspicuous as before. Nothing about it stands out. Looking up however, just for a moment, Ai can spy the air shimmer high above. "What is that?"

"That is the anomaly." Kyubey supplies. "It has not changed since yesterday." They paw at Ai's leg to be picked up, then nod toward the distant skyline. "Kazamino is over there. First we need to cross this channel."

Ai takes one look at it and the ship currently passing by. Then she teleports to a deserted corner on the other side. Kyubey studies the entire process. "Good. Now down this street."

Under the bunnycat's guidance, Ai traverses Kazamino with no small amount of curiousity. This city appears little different from Mitakihara. Again no one pays her much mind, thanks to the reapplied suit. Passersby vanish altogether as she closes in on her destination, however; the area becomes more dilapidated, and the building Ai finds herself in front of is clearly abandoned. The green space is wild and untended. Windows are broken, the large main door hanging on but one hinge. It is huge, though. "What is this?"

"A church," Kyubey provides helpfully, but the term means nothing to Ai. They wiggle and hop out of her grasp. "This is where I take my leave, too. As I said, Kyoko is not particularly fond of me."

"Okay. Take care." Kyubey darts away and vanishes again. Ai looks down at her suit and, with no one in sight, has it flow back out into pink and purple. In a meeting of magical girls, she ought to present herself as one too. Not to mention that, as much as she likes the suit, this is just the most comfortable. A soft "Hello?" precedes her wiggling through the open door, trying not to dislodge it fully. But she receives no response.

The inside is just as bad as the outside; worn or broken furniture greets her in an entrance area, which opens into a vast chamber. Rows of dusty benches line a central corridor, bare stone no longer clad by carpet. It terminates in a set of stairs leading up to some sort of altar... where Ai spots a person, framed by large, glassless windows. She is thin and wears a red tunic with pink skirt. On her shoulder rests a golden spear with crimson head, and on her collarbone a Soul Gem gleams bright red. A mane of equally red hair runs down all the way to her knees, disheveled and in poor condition.

Their gazes meet from opposite ends of the chapel. The stranger says nothing, merely stares her down from her higher elevation. Ai is certainly intimidated, just a bit, but not enough to shy away. Instead of shouting however, she begins to walk. Still no response.

At the foot of the stairs, now that Ai no longer needs to shout to be heard, she stops. After the incident yesterday, she will not just take it on faith. Her staff materialises and the other girl clearly tenses. "I will not start a fight," Ai begins, loud and clear. Her voice echoes in the large room. A dozen pink circles form along the walls, yet inert but ready to be unleashed. Then another dozen. "But if there is a fight, I will end it."

She snorts, brandishing her spear with ease and familiarity. The weapon is held ready, but not raised to challenge her. "Yeah, good one. Kyubey said you'd be odd, but I didn't expect a Witch of all things to come here. Trouble with other girls, eh?"

"Yes," Ai returns frostily. "Are you going to attack me, too?"

As she begins to ascend the stairs, the other girl lazily descends to meet her halfway. She smirks, displaying a fang. "Eh, who knows? You look like a free Grief Seed, I'm not saying no to that. What's stopping me from taking off your head in a moment?"

Anger about her flippancy bubbles in Ai's gut, but she swallows it down together with the fear. "First of all, I'm not a Witch and don't have a Grief Seed." Another snort, but she ignores it. "Second, I can and will level this entire building with you in it, if I must." Now the redhead flinches, her step faltering almost imperceptibly. Ai holds her narrow-eyed gaze. "And third... there is no third, that was all I had."

The sheepish admission draws a low chuckle out of the other magical girl. The tension flutters and fades somewhat as the two stop in front of each other. Thankfully, no sudden swipe comes. She just stares at Ai, smirking once more.

Instead of using her spear, the other hand comes up, presenting a small package. "Heh, fine. Want one?" Ai blinks, befuddled, but reaches out. She awkwardly pulls one of the sticks, coated in chocolate, and starts to nibble on it. The other girl's smirk grows into a proper smile, her spear vanishes. "Name's Kyoko Sakura."

"I'm Ai. Nice to meet you."

"Same. Come on, this way." She takes a step back and walks back up the stairs; Ai can tell the tension in her shoulders, well aware she still expects an attack. Her own pink circles fade away again, thankfully unneeded. She takes the final steps to the dilapidated altar; a paper bag sits on it. Kyoko hops on top next to the bag, leaning back. "Alright, so. What do you want from me? A place to stay or something? Did word get around? Actually, how do you Witches talk to each other?"

"Still not a Witch," Ai cuts off the stream of casual questions. "I don't think they talk much, but I can speak with them just fine." Or at least one. "Anyway, I want to make a deal with you." She knows she has Kyoko's attention and presents Izabel on her palm. "I want you to use this Grief Seed for cleaning your Soul Gem until the Witch in it revives."

A beat.

Kyoko stares at Ai with no small amount of confusion. She slowly bites into a banana from that bag. "Okay," she begins between swallowing and tearing off another chunk. "Why? What do you get out of it?"

Ai sighs and stares at the Seed morosely. "She's my friend and I want her back. I don't have a Grief Seed or Soul Gem, so I can't wake her myself. You get free cleanses, I get Izabel. That's fair enough, right?"

The redhead hums in thought. She finishes her snack and throws the peel behind herself; it sails right out the window. Its arc draws Ai's gaze to the countless shards of coloured glass nearby, glittering in the sunlight. A crunch from Kyoko draws her attention back; the other girl started munching on a bag of cookies. She wordlessly offers it and Ai takes one.

"Most Seeds can take two full cleanses," she muses. "If you wanna wake that one, I get three out of it. And you're basically giving it to me for free. I mean, if you're fine with that? I'd throw in some more, would feel a little bad to rip ya off like that."

Ai is about to deny her, say that is all she needs, but an almost overwhelming sense of indignation quiets her. Once again Roland's memories, but also her own. City life offers no freebies. If a better trade is on the table, she ought to at least consider it. "Can I give it some thought?"

"Sure," crunch "I've got time." Crunch.

So Ai ponders what she might ask about. Kyoko does not seem wealthy or influential; her appearance may be deceiving, but she is so thin, too. Despite constantly eating. It is a familiar sight for the Backstreets, but the first time Ai really sees it here. It does not feel right... but there is nothing she can do, is there? Is some kind of evil creating this situation?

"Hey, got a question."

Ai snaps out of her thoughts, to find a finger pointing at her bow. "You a Christian or something?" She looks down, only to find that finger pointing at the odd cross. Kyoko giggles. "Heh, Christian Witch. That'd be something, wouldn't it?" After a second she stops chewing, frowns, and shakes her head before addressing Ai again: "Anyway, are ya?"

Ai can only give one answer: "What's a Christian?"

Kyoko stares at her with a dumbfounded "Huh?", the empty package slowly falling from her hand. She blinks at the other magical girl. "Are you for real?" Ai nods, Kyoko grumbles. "Ugh, seriously? I know it's not that big here, but you're a foreigner! Or, are you? You don't look Japanese... does that even matter for Witches? Whatever. Religion? Like, the bible? Jesus? God? Worship? Does this ring a bell?"

"Oh. I know what that is!" Ai smiles. She may never have been on the Floor of Religion, but she heard Hokma pontificate about faith and stuff. She saw Blue Star gleam once, too. "What gods are we talking about? And what's a Jesus?"

Kyoko stares at her for a long moment. Long enough that Ai's smile wavers. Then the redhead slowly reaches into her bag, produces some kind of lollipop, and tears off its wrapping. She then proceeds to bite it off and chew the pieces. Her crunching is the only sound between them. By the time she swallows, her temper seems to have calmed. "Okay, let's do this the other way around. What gods do ya know? What do they do?"

"That's a good question." Ai lowers her gaze to ponder. Hokma's favourite kind of questions comes back to her, too. "To start with, what is a god? Is it just a super powerful being? A person? Can a person be a god?" Kyoko's eyes narrow while Ai muses. "I mean, I know a few really strong people. Us Magical Girls, too. If there's one strong enough, would the regular humans see her as a goddess? And what of Witches?"

"Get back to the point," Kyoko growls. For some reason that entire tangent soured her mood.

Ai averts her gaze. "Sorry. Anyway, gods. I don't know which ones are actually gods, but from what I put together... uh, Blue Star? Who is a, well, a blue star. I never really understood it, but it sings to people." It never sang to Ai, though. "And it has a thing where people throw themselves into it and commit suicide." She winces, well aware of Kyoko's stare. But Ai saw it once, and that pure light did fill her with vigour. "I think it is supposed to inspire hope in a better future, but people take it too far."

"Uh huh. Sure."

Kyoko is not convinced. Ai heaves a sigh. "What other gods do I know." Two One more comes to mind, gleaming chitin and glistening eggs as well as and that is White Night. "Only one, really. White Night is... uh, I don't know much about Him. But I know He can make people immortal and heal every wound." There was a day this awful light shone through the Library. The upper floors shook under His power.

Ai shudders before remembering her companion. "Sorry. That's all I know. There is not much worship where I'm from."

"Yeah, I could tell." Kyoko does not sound upset or anything, just... confused. She ultimately shakes her head and points at the cross again. "Then what's this?"

"Hm? That? A gift. I don't know who it's from, though." Speaking of worship however, Ai remembers the place they stand in. An altar, the questions about gods... so that is what a church is. She does not share her epiphany, though. Instead, she asks a question of her own: "So what is that Christian thing you mentioned?"

Kyoko's hand snakes back to her bag. She munches through two more snacks before sighing. "Yeah, no. Don't feel like it. Let's get back to our deal. Anything you want?"

She looks kind of sad. Smaller than before. "...nevermind that," Ai murmurs, "do you want a hug?"

Kyoko's head snaps up, her previous wariness gone. Now she is very much annoyed and tries to stare Ai down. She fails, now that the other girl saw the crack in her demeanour. The silence stretches until a single, sharp "No" is given. She then speaks very deliberately: "Last chance. What. Else. Do. You. Want?"

Ai frowns. Is there anything else to put in this deal?

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Pick one or several; if more than one, format them as a plan. You may add additional offers for Kyoko, too. Note that she may not accept.

[] Hugs!
weight: x1

[] Training and instruction to not suck in cqc
weight: x1

[] Information about local religions
weight: x1

[] Nothing
weight: x1

[] Something else? (write-in)

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Unlocked Character Sheet: Kyoko Sakura