Fool Bloom (A Magical Woman Quest)

After leaving the museum, Miyako found Sfira first, not that hard given their telltale mossy green hair and pretty boy form Miyako had been begging them to try on. But now there was an extra reason she could spot them this quickly. As a crowd struck by dizziness made their way off a flashing, futuristic pendulum ride, Sfira was the only one left standing perfectly straight.

"<Oh Miyako, well met. I got a little confused,>" Sfira said upon seeing her, "<I thought this was an actual Earth-make spaceship when I got on, or at least a training vehicle. I should have known better though; the Zinnia made it sound like spaceships weren't so easily accessed here.>"

Kinda weird they still call Vasilisa-san 'the Zinnia'. I get having issues with her, but Arisugawa-sama did tell me she at least tried to rescue them. Though maybe calling her by her flower is respectful on Pathragada, I guess? Miyako thought. She then waved to Sfira, a motion that took a little while for them to register, and then asked "Hey there, how's it been? Take it you knowing all about spaceflight is why you totally no-sold this ride, huh?" A ride which got her shivering just looking at it; rollercoasters were about the limit of what she could handle.

"<No-sold?>" Sfira had to ask, but then said, "<But yes, it was tame compared to spaceflight. Not to say I'm that well-versed in spaceflight, you probably know that already from my, ahem, landing attempt. Though I still made it to Earth, I suppose that's something.>" They then sighed, "<I know humans don't have them, but still, it would've helped if that ride gave me something to put my roots down. Even my piloting could've stopped the ship from doing so many loop-de-loops.>"

"Think that's the point of the ride," Miyako said on instinct, not that her stomach was much of a fan of loop-de-loops though.

"<I know, but it's the sort of thing our flight instructors told us not to do, think your term for it is 'showboating',>" Sfira said, but then admitted, "<Well, the instructors I listened in on, or found recordings of on psychic waves. One of my caste wasn't meant to receive such instruction...>" they drooped, or was that withered?

Pathragada being so caste-bound made Miyako squirm every time she was reminded of it, so fortunately she had a more casual question about the planet already prepared. "Hey, speaking of Pathragada, they had a 3D projection of it in this Frost Decade exhibit I went to. Except, uh, no idea whether it's at all accurate, they made it look like one big field with a bunch of flowers popping up."

"<Er, we don't exactly 'pop up' on Pathragada,>" Sfira said, "<but I guess few people here could've told them what home, my species' home anyway, looks like. No Hanazakari was ever invited there, after all.>"

Though if Hanazakari had gone to Pathragada then Miyako surely would've heard by now, she still gasped and asked, "Wait, why not?"

"<Because it's... not of the way of things. The higher castes have always been rigid about which species can and can't come to Pathragada,>" Sfira said, sounding like it was a question they never thought they'd be asked.

"But they finished off the Frost Fair," mostly, "just like you told them too!" Miyako said. If it was over the Dandelionhearts dying, she'd at least understand, but that didn't even come up.

"<Miyako, this is not something my caste has really any authority to speak on,>" Sfira said as they took a few steps backwards, "<I hope you'll understand. And you asked what Pathragada really looks like, well, that's part of the answer I know. We're the closest planet to our sun, Cocytus being the furthest. Pathragada would've stopped being inhabitable long ago, if not for the psychic shields that keep our sun at bay. To have your spirit join with a shield upon one's sacrifice is one of our greatest honours.>"

Again, Miyako winced hearing the word 'sacrifice'.

"<So the higher castes would know it's not the most bearable place for others. From what I've seen of humans, the streets being mostly vertical, all vines, would pose a problem too,>" Sfira finished. But Miyako had to wonder whether the higher castes really would change their tune if Pathragada's biosphere was more human-friendly.

She was about to ask Sfira if they'd change anything, were they higher-caste. But by now she expected them to say it wasn't their caste's place to speculate such, or something like that. And she did have to agree that the thought of vertical streets made her head spin. What she did ask was, "Y'know Sfira, isn't getting not to care what the higher castes think the whole thing about coming to Earth?"

"<I, er, wouldn't phrase it quite so bluntly,>" Sfira said, though they didn't object either.

"Okay, cool, I see. Well, I'm off to go find Arisugawa-sama, she has to have made progress finding out about that weird sword," Miyako said, her tone gradually brightening again.

"<Ah, if RUNE and the cult are still looking for her, could I mimic her form again to throw them off?>" Sfira asked.

Huh, you don't like the form I picked for you? Miyako thought, but kept it pleasant as she said, "Sure, just be careful not to get, er, captured again." Still a bit blunt, though Sfira didn't seem to mind. "Oh, and you know not to recast your illusion in public, right?" she then asked. That, Sfira actually looked put off by, it sounding like they'd only come to Earth yesterday. "Great, see ya round."

---

Not having much of a clue where exactly Koyomi would be, or where anyone would go to see about a cursed sword, Miyako ran into someone else before her. She saw Emi in a luckily short line for a fortune-teller, to which Miyako ran up and asked, "Ooh hey, Daimon-sama! Investigating- er, investigating if this place could be an Earthly Purified front?" she toned her voice down just in time.

"What? Er, I came here because I knew this place wouldn't have anything to do with- with them," Emi said, with such a sudden appearance nearly making her stumble over. "There, telling one's past and future is reserved to those already cloistered within, that's how you know regular fortune-tellers aren't with them. And, well, the Earthly- the Earth- they don't really have 'fronts', they tend to let you know."

At first Miyako nodded, with Emi's reaction making her regret bringing it up, but she then had to ask, "Wait, why would you need your past told?" then gasped, "Hold on, you mean they could divine your past incarnations or something? That is so-" she promptly slammed her jaw shut before she could call the EP 'cool' in front of Emi, saying "That is something," instead.

"Kamizono-sama said all of us Hanazakari first came from the stars, of course," Emi needed no prompting to repeat, a glazed look on her face, "but she also I was once both a god and down in the demon realm, and my human lives included being Toriyama Sekien, Artemisia Gentileschi, and the Gakutensoku, er, well the last one wasn't exactly human," she then sighed, "Just artists, no full authors though. Then again, she said Minakata-sama was once Marie Antoinette, Linda Hazzard, and Hans Christian Andersen which is, er, quite the statement." At least that was something close to doubting her former leader.

"Right, so probably hot air," Miyako said, as much as she could fantasise over past lives. Though Emi still calling Freesia of all people '-sama' made her clench up, how could she refer to a torturer like that? Well, she knew why, conditioning, but still. Maybe there was also a kinship there, as Emi's Cultivar was also about torture- No, that's stupid. Daimon-sama would never revel in hurting people like Freesia would, she thought. Though that still left guilt from Hibiki using Emi's Cultivar on Freesia to account for.

That exhibit now had Miyako wondering about how Emi handled the Frost Decade, but before she could ask Emi was already at the fortune-telling tent. With Emi heading inside, Miyako followed right behind because eh, why not?
The tent looked like an average red-and-yellow striped deal on the outside, but inside it was a mix of deep reds and ghostly violets, with rugs and carpets covering every inch of it. Incense, possibly sandalwood, flooded every inch, and in the middle of it all a robed woman with her skin wholly shrouded sat cross-legged shuffling cards, a medallion placed in between her brows.


Fortune-telling was something Miyako kept needing to tell herself to be skeptical of, but maybe if this was a Hanazakari she could be legit? Sure enough, the fortune-teller introduced herself in a voice as wispy as her incense, "<Thou stand before Eyebright in Full Bloom, what be it thou wish to know?>"
That got Miyako buzzing to go first, now that thought-speak meant this could be a Pathragadan of all people. Then the buzzing stopped, as it meant this could be a Pathragadan of all people. Well, that or a Hanazakari showing off, a Dandelionheart could've taught it to at least one. But with Miyako realising whose idea it was to come here in the first place, she let one of her favourite mangaka ever take her spot.

"Er, hello, I am Daimon Emi. Ah, I'm no longer with the P-Purified, I don't come here at all to harass you!" she quickly clarified.

"<I am well aware,>" Eyebright said, "<After all, what sort of oracle would I be if I were not?>"

"Oh, good, glad that's no issue," Emi said as she took a few deep breaths, which wasn't so advisable here with all the incense. "I just-" she came down coughing before she could continue, "I just wanted to know if I even have a future, really, after everything that's happened?"

"<A trifle of a question to ask one of my trade,>" Eyebright said, "<But given thine circumstances, understandable. Orange in Full Bloom, know this is not the end for you, despite how thy life now seems. The stars and planets continue in their orbits, the days and season still pass, and thine heart still beating means this is not the end. And were thou dead, perhaps not even then.>"

Something more specific may've been preferred, but it's not like anyone ever expected 'specific' from a fortune teller. And a smile did make its way across Emi's face, as she said, "Thank you, it... means a lot to hear that."

"<I predicted what thou needed to hear the most, I hope I was not too off the mark,>" Eyebright said.

With Miyako now up, she immediately asked, "Are you a Pathragadan? 'Cause you know, thought-speak."

Eyebright was silent a while, but then told her, "<First, thine question pertains not to divination. Second, no.>"
Biting her lower lip and blushing, Miyako was about to open her mouth again, but Eyebright intervened with, "<As it pertains to that sword, I had the Black Rose visit me earlier to divine its nature. So thou should simply ask her.>"

Now Miyako felt liking hiding under one of the rugs here. Still, it showed Eyebright really was a fortune-teller, unless there was some deduction thing she'd missed, and that the sword mystery had been solved. She finally got to ask, "Who's my soulmate? The one I should really fall in love with?"

"<That I shall not answer exactly,>" Eyebright told her, leaving Miyako's face to droop. "<Choice is key to love. Should I divine who thine red string leads to, I would deny thou choice, thus deny thou true love. However, thou certainly hath options, options thou hast already met. Reach out to them, at least one shalt answer.>"

No wonder Koyomi trusted her, she'd had nearly the same attitude when Miyako asked about soulmates that long ago. And being told she was already on the right track just made her feel guilty for not realising, well, not realising more. "Thanks! I... guess I should've known," she said.

"<How about I do thee both a favour? I shalt allow both of thee an additional question each, as neither of my answers involved much scrying,>" Eyebright said.

Article:

"R-really?" Miyako asked, with Emi blushing to hear that. They both had to come up with something pretty good then [one each].
Miyako:
[ ] "Will my RUNE expose do well?"
[ ] "How can we track Blue Lotus?"
[ ] "Can we turn Maimi-san back to human?"
[ ] "When will Kazuya-kun's emotions all be back?"
[ ] Write-in
[ ] "Will Arisugawa-sama ever accept her past?" (Embler write-in)

Emi:
[ ] "Do I still have a future in manga specifically?"
[ ] "Do I still need to fear Kamizono-sama?"
[ ] "Hibiki-sama's last word was 'Shiori'. What did she mean?"
[ ] "What is Narcissus now planning?"
[ ] Write-in

"<Thou mean Maidenstears, the swan Hanazakari?>" Eyebright said, like she didn't even need to ask. Miyako nodded anyway, and Eyebright followed with, "<A Cultivar changes with the heart, and one broken must be repaired. To have her Cultivar be as it once was, or change again entirely, thou must change her heart again, so her flower will grow once more.>"

"I-I guess that makes sense," Miyako mumbled, but then said, "Wait no, it can't be that easy. If that was all it took, Arisugawa-sama would've already known and told me."

"<Did I once say it would be easy?>" Eyebright asked, presumably looking closer at Miyako from under those robes. "<If the Black Rose still struggles to change Maidenstears' heart, that implies it is quite the uphill battle.>"

"Then does that also mean," Emi asked while attempting a smile, "That I don't have to be stuck with a Cultivar that brings nothing but pain?"

"<Well, that is for thou to decide, Orange. Now, as for your question,>" she said, with Emi wincing at being called by her flower, "<It is simple who this Shiori is. The Hellebore's daughter.>"

Both Emi and Miyako had to take a step back. "But Izumi-sama, she- she never had children, she was never even married!" Emi gasped.

Miyako then did the same and said, "Shiori, that's Ogami-san's daughter. Okay, hold on, if Arisugawa-sama were here she'd probably say lots of people are called Shiori."

"<If this answer disturbs thee so,>" Eyebright said, "<Then I bid thee pursue this mystery no further, else its depths prove too dark.>"

"Oh come on, how does that help?" Miyako asked.

"<I thought thou would already know,>" Eyebright said to Miyako, then pulled back her hood to show that her eyes were the only fleshy thing in her head, "<that the dark secrets around us Hanazakari are without end.>" Her robot face made Miyako immediately back away and a trembling Emi look down at her hands, having now seen the extreme form of her roboticization surgery.

"Well, uh, thanks for letting us have those bonus questions, that was, eheh, really nice of you," Miyako stuttered as she staved off chills. She then took Emi's sleeve and kept telling Eyebright, "We'll be going now, probably the best time to leave and all."

"Come back anytime," came Eyebright's spoken, droning metallic goodbye, with Miyako just nodding at that as she beckoned Emi out of the tent.

---

Back in the fairgrounds, the crowds slowly thinning as it was well into the afternoon, Miyako tried to think of something to get Emi's mind off Hibiki having somehow had a daughter, plus seeing Eyebright… like that. Get her mind off it too. Though to think, had she been told she was going to meet a robot Hanazakari earlier, Miyako would've thought it was the coolest thing ever. But actually seeing a Hanazakari having put themselves through that was… something else.

She must've gotten seriously hurt, given what Daimon-sama went through, Miyako thought, assuming it wasn't for spiritual reasons with Eyebright being an unusually perceptive fortune-teller. She then started a whole other conversation with Emi, then started worrying she'd only made things worse. "Hey, Daimon-sama, I noticed you've never brought up your original Hanazakari days that much?" Miyako asked, then gulped, "Er, if you're alright talking about them."

Emi stopped, then just shook her head and shrugged. "I, er, don't know why you'd ask that really. I was nowhere near the level of Arisugawa-sama or Izumi-sama, I am no Shin Sekigahara veteran. It was just me and any other Hanazakari who'd have me trying to swat any Frostfarer who attacked us, that's all. At least my Cultivar wasn't, wasn't what it is now," she said, then drooped lower, "Then the Veil broke, and I was… scared. Really scared, of what it'd mean to be on my own, to get declared a Witch. So I joined with the first company I could, and…" it was then she found herself able to speak no more.

Not that she needed to, Miyako already knew what she was about to say. That like Izumi, she'd been forced to fight her fellow Hanazakari. "Hey, sorry, I wasn't thinking. What Hanazakari did in the Frost Decade is something I always wonder about, so I guess I asked on that instinct."

"Oh, it's okay," Emi said despite what Miyako expected, though what she then said was a little more precedented, "You've been around Arisugawa-sama longer than I have, so she would've really raised your expectations. She fought at Shin Sekigahara for humanity, she stuck to her principles even if it meant being a Witch, she kept her Dandelionheart alive than any of us ever did," quite the turnaround from Kamizono blaming Koyomi for the last of their deaths. Then she finished with a sigh, "She… did more than I ever could."

"Haven't I told you that you need to stop putting yourself down like that?" Koyomi then said as she appeared right in front of the two. "Or that you need to stop acting like I'm some great hero for doing what should be the Hanazakari minimum," she shot out, "And really Arisugawa-'sama'? You're older than me."

As Emi was about to apologise, Miyako cut in by whispering to Koyomi, "Er, Arisugawa-sama, was just thinking if you want Daimon-sama to be more confident and independent, maybe it'd be good to be a little nicer to her?"

"A little nicer? I speak like this to everyone," Koyomi said, but then she looked at Emi flinching again and had to admit, "I, ahem, see what you mean."

"Okay, so anyway we were at this fortune-teller, she said you'd been to. So now you know what that sword is, huh?" Miyako then asked at her usual volume.

And then Koyomi was all unsettled again. "Wait, she told you I was there? Hasn't she heard of client confidentiality?!" she said, then had to take a deep breath. "Well, if she just got told Daimon and you, I suppose it's… alright."
She then took out the sword, handling even its scabbard with tongs. "According to her, a Hanazakari had a Cultivar where their weapon would keep on existing after death, drawing power from the emotions of whoever wielded it. In short, we do indeed have a phantom sword on our hands."

Miyako's eyes couldn't help but widen hearing that. "I know, I know," she cryptically began, "Ryoichi-kun couldn't control it at all and seriously hurt Reiji-kun, but… could I have it?! Er, just for safekeeping of course, eheh," she said, smiling but with her hands behind her back.

Again, Koyomi glared. "You want it because wielding it's the closest thing you'll ever et to being a Hanazakari, am I right?" she asked.

"Come on, that's-" Miyako began, then sighed and said, "-exactly right, you got me. Then, er, how about giving it to Daimon-sama? It's like giving her a Cultivar she can use without her having to use her actual Cultivar."

"Er, that's thoughtful of you Miyako-chan, but" Emi said in a no more comforted voice, "You said Ryoichi-kun couldn't control it at all. I don't think I should be wielding it then; I can't imagine anything good coming from it channelling my emotions. They're the reason my Cultivar is… what it is, after all."

Article:

Hearing that, Miyako decided she should maybe hold back on the Phantom Cultivar for now. Though a little later, when Koyomi was in a more agreeable mood, she'd ask:
[ ] For herself to have the sword, she'd be waiting for this all her life.
[ ] For Emi to have the sword, a Cultivar she could actually use.
[ ] For Maimi to have the sword, if she could fit it in her beak. She defeated it, she could handle it.
[ ] For the sword to be shared around, so anyone not anointed could defend themselves against Blue Lotus, RUNE, or the Purified.
[ ] For… the sword to be hidden away till further notice, the safe if dull option.
[ ] Ask Maimi-san if she'd want it, if she doesn't then keep it. (PrincessScribe write-in)
[ ] Write-in