Seeing Red [PMMM x LoR]

Go to Kazamino, like Oriko indicated

Yuki mirrors Oriko's posture for a time. She has a number of options, each of which are relevant. But the support of a seer would be quite helpful; confirming Oriko's words and spirit are just as important as potentially saving a life. If she lied, it is better to know her nature now.

"You are a seer," Yuki opens after a time, prompting the two girls to look at her with a semblance of interest. "Have you foreseen your own death before?"

Kirika bristles at that, but a faint motion from Oriko has her calm down. The blonde inclines her head minutely, expression unchanged. "Many times," she offers. "I have no plans to interfere in anything beyond this point. But you will return, miss Yuki. I have foreseen it."

"I could tell you that without any prophetic abilities," Yuki quips back drily. There is a binary option here; if Oriko is truthful, Yuki might ask her counsel again. If she lied, there will be harder questions asked.

"Unless you do not wish me to return?"

"Do as you wish. I will do much the same. Although, please do not return before tomorrow morning. I have plans for the night."

Yuki simply nods, satisfied with that answer. Kirika becomes attentive, though. "Oh, are we going out? Where to?"

"No," Oriko chirps, "rather the opposite. We will stay in, and you will catch very little sleep."

Yuki does not need to see the black-haired girl blush and let out a startled eep to catch the euphemism. She rolls her eyes under the blindfold, half tempted to ask if Oriko foresaw that too. But she swallows the remark with her last sip of tea and stands.

"Then I will get out of the way of your lovemaking. Good tidings, Oriko, Kirika."

"Until next we meet, and good luck."

"B-Bye!"

Yuki absently returns Kirika's embarassed wave, but pays the two no further mind. Whatever they get up to on their own time is not her business.

Once around the corner, she stops and leans against the wall. Eyes closed, she can just about make out the conversation they pick up. Kirika remains flustered for a minute, though she also drops something curious once the subject changes.

"Did something else come up in Kazamino? You just sent me there yesterday."

"No such thing as making sure, my dear," Oriko answers enigmatically.

Yuki makes to actually leave on that. She mulls over what she just learned while hopping over the gate; despite her words, Oriko does seem to have involved herself in things before now. Whether she just reached a point where she decided to stop or will keep doing so in the future is up in the air.

Shaking off the thought, the magical girl glances back up at the sky. She is somewhat pressed for time now, so she decides to forego walking. While there is a sizable bridge connecting the sister cities, getting there on foot would be too slow. Likewise, she has no money to afford transportation.

Meaning, she teleports on top of a skyscraper. The winds up high ruffle her clothes and hair, trying to pull at her as she floats atop its roof. Yuki closes one eye and peers into the distance, careful not to jostle any antennae. Then she forms one hand into a tube in front of her open eye to aid her study.

By all accounts, Kazamino seems a little... older than the city she is in. Mitakihara, if she understood Oriko right. The name certainly sounds like nothing she ever heard before. To name a city in the first place would require having several, so it makes sense there is no such practice in The City. It needs no more a name than the world if it is the only one a people knows.

After scoping out the slightly smaller city on the canal's other side, Yuki decides on a landing spot and teleports again. Green light shines brighter than before, only to vanish as quickly as it appeared. Her previous perch looks small from the alley she arrived in.

Now if only Oriko had told her anything beyond 'be in Kazamino'.

Yuki's brow twinges in annoyance, her expression growing a shade grumpier about the lack of information. To anyone else, the change is too minute to even notice. She pauses a moment to listen, but no convenient directions are given. So, after heaving a soft sigh, Yuki begins to walk again. She figures that if Oriko gave no further instruction, she will eventually stumble over whomever she is meant to find.

In the worst case, Yuki loses a few hours of time. Although she is starting to get tired, the feeling is easily pushed aside.

Unfortunately, nothing presents itself at first. She strolls around Kazamino for a while, thankful for her notice-me-not enchantment. It still holds, though she will need to refresh it in a few hours. Yuki can walk the streets unaccosted, peek into nightclubs and retreat from the wall of noise greeting her. People dance the night away in short order, inhibitions are lowered by alcohol and other substances. Yet there is still a certain order to the nightlife.

Yuki soaks all these impressions up like a sponge; they are not what she came here for, but they might be useful later.

An hour after the last rays of sunlight caressed these streets, Yuki stops in a somewhat dilapidated alley. Looking around, she frowns and climbs onto a brick wall to rest her feet, wondering if she missed the person. Did Oriko lie, or was her information simply incorrect? Or did Yuki somehow mess something up, which she can not be blamed for due to lack of information?

Maybe, she reasons, she will meet whomever it is later into the night. There are still copious amounts of people about. The danger may only stalk these streets after a certain time.

As she follows her idle thoughts and kicks her feet, Yuki almost misses the soft thud of boots hitting stone. Her gaze rises to the side, where a girl with a gleaming red gem on her collarbone peers down at her. Its light barely illuminates her features and only gives faint impressions of clothes, casting long shadows.

"Now what do we have here?" the newcomer drawls playfully, brandishing a spear that shines in the light of her Soul Gem. "A little Witch out of her barrier?"

"I am not a Witch," Yuki retorts stoically, unimpressed with the attempt to intimidate her. "Do you need something?"

The cold response gives the girl pause. Her motions falter for just a moment, confusion warring with surprise. She balances easily on the wall Yuki also sits on, but her expression remains cast in shadow. The way the shadows dance when she draws back her weapon are easy to spot, though.

"Yeah, actually. How about you turn into a Grief Seed for me?"

And the spear lashes out on the last word, like a vengeful serpent ready to bite into her flesh.

Yuki bats it aside with the back of her hand. The sheer force of her motion sends the other girl stumbling off the wall, though she catches herself and lands on her feet. Her sudden glare is hardly visible, but its intensity can be felt.

"You do not want this fight," Yuki tells her, still seated. Even as she says it however, her hands clench into fists. Familiar anger works its way up her throat like bile, ready to turn physical on a moment's notice.

The newcomer growls back, brandishing a newly created spear.

"Oh, believe me, I want it," she hisses.

Then she leaps forward. Yuki pushes off the wall just before chains and heavy morningstars pulverise the spot she just sat. Quick steps carry her aside, eyes trying to discern how that spear actually moves. The light is too low to see more than shadows. And worse, her enemy pursues with the ferocity of a beast, constantly stabbing forward and forcing Yuki to dodge.

Curiously, the spear does not segment again. Her opponent's stance seems experienced, offering as little surface area to Yuki as possible. She tries to harry her and Yuki allows it, studying her motions as best as she can in the dark.

Then she manifests her mallet, almost in the shape of an hourglass, and shatters the girl's spear with a firm strike. Metallic ringing gives the redhead pause, surprise evident in even her shadowed expression. She recovers in moments, flinching back before Yuki can get in her face. The smaller girl could extend her reach with her mallet, but she is not trying for lethal yet.

"Stop," she orders, not that her demand is heeded.

And so their dance continues in the darkness. Only the gleam of a crimson gem illuminates the pair, rapid breaths and the occasional clang of clashing weapons the only noise. Yuki is not as good a fighter as Happiness, but she is not unskilled. She knows her reach and has no interest in killing right now, so she fights defensively.

Unfortunately, something has to give. Yuki tries her best to give no openings, but her assailant is skilled and swift like a viper. From one moment to the next, a heavy boot connects with her chest and sends her flying out of the alley. The girl in red pursues, spear at the ready.

Yuki arrests her momentum and turns it into a backflip, coming to stand in the glow of a streetlight. Her frown has grown minutely, the bile becomes more caustic in the back of her throat.

And the approaching enemy... pauses.

She stops just outside the circle of light, staring at Yuki. The two magical girls size each other up for a moment.

"Are you for real?"

The question comes unexpected. Yuki tilts her head ever so faintly, but has no further answer. She does not even know what that girl is talking about. She does not seem willing to elaborate, either.

Yuki just opened her mouth to ask when her attacker shakes her head and steps forward. A wild, red mane of hair flies this way and that, barely tamed in a haphazard ponytail. Her spear glints in the streelight, the crimson gleam of her Soul Gem now casting a less ominous glow.

"Is it really that much to ask for a straight fight, no mental crap? Just this one time? Nooo, of course not."

She grunts in displeasure and lunges. Her spear segments again, slicing up the ground as much as the streetlight's pole. Cast in shadow again as the light shorts out, Yuki leaps backward and barely escapes the grinder. Heavy chains follow, swinging heavier weapons that somehow hid in the shaft.

Suddenly, she has to face a sobering realisation: the yet unnamed girl was playing before. Like a cat with a mouse.

Now she is not playing anymore.

Concrete and steel are torn up in their wake, Yuki barely ahead of the berserking spear wielder. Yet for all the chaos in her style, the redhead never loses sight of the fight or Yuki. She follows her like a bloodhound, passing street by street and leaving them all damaged in her singular desire to take her down.

It takes all her skill to not get skewered by that spear. Yuki has no time to think, no time to act; she can only react to the next attack, constantly giving ground as she retreats across town. She does not know where they are, nor where the next abandoned corner is to take their fight. She barely has a thought to spare on the innocent people who might get dragged into this.

And within, she has to wrestle her own anger. It comes far more readily today than it ever has before, demanding she fight back. Demanding that she kill.

She does not even know why this is happening.

"Last chance," Yuki growls as she rolls under another morningstar. She tries to grab the chain, but a flick of the redhead's wrist takes it out of reach. That same motion hammers another iron ball into her side. It barely hurts, but the force sends her flying and the damage will add up if she lets it.

So Yuki realigns in mid-air, lands in a backflip to bleed off momentum, and turns toward her approaching enemy.

One dainty foot rises up, then stomps down onto the ground. The concrete shatters underneath as she pushes off, but the redhead stumbles from the sudden shake. Yuki darts forward, right into the girl's guard, and slaps her into the wall.

Dust and stone chips fly from the force of her impact. She almost bounces back, still off-balance from the sudden retaliation.

Yuki stands in the sudden lull, panting. Her flat palm slowly curls back up, eyes focussed on the momentarily stumbling spear wielder. Yuki barely held back her full strength in time, else that head would be off now. Almost incandescently bright, green acid pools in the back of her mouth.

Rather than try to capitalise, she quickly teleports onto a nearby rooftop, then further away. That moment of distraction was not enough for a killing blow, so she might as well cut it short before that girl gets really hurt.

After disengaging all the way to the canal, Yuki takes a minute to breathe deeply. She then clears her throat and spits out a glob of acid, which sizzles its way into the concrete by her feet. The noise provides focus in the now quiet night. Her anger slowly recedes, going back to a dull thrum rather than a roar.

Yuki is tired now.

But after looking to the neon lights of Mitakihara's skyline, she turns back to Kazamino. Hyper-aggressive redheads aside, she still has something to do here.

And so she walks back into town.

She does not meet anyone else that night.

With the first light of dawn, Yuki gives up. Her eyes are drooping, her feet hurt from walking all night, and she just wants to curl up into a ball somewhere. The anger gnaws on her insides, an everpresent tickle of annoyance.

Knowing that there is danger for her in Kazamino, she returns to Mitakihara. Whether or not Oriko lied, Yuki can not quite tell yet. She needs clarity to think, so she can not return there yet. But she also has no funds to stay anywhere.

Looking around as she hovers along the streets to spare her poor feet, Yuki eventually settles down on a park bench. Hands folded in her lap, she leans back against the cold wood and nods off in seconds.

When she wakes after dreamless slumber, the sun stands high in the sky.

Noise filters in from all sides, though none of it registers with Yuki yet. Drowsy though she may be, her attention is taken up by the girl peering at her from up close. She is young, perhaps twelve, and snow white hair rolls down her shoulders. The child bent forward a little, peering hard at Yuki. As if she meant to look into her eyes through the blindfold.

When the magical girl stirs, the human girl pulls back a step in curiousity. "Why do you wear a blindfold?" she asks innocently.

Rather than answer the now-familiar question, Yuki allows herself a big yawn, mouth covered with her hand. The child giggles, coming closer again.

"And why do you sleep on a bench? I tried sleeping on the floor once, but it was so hard!"

Yuki shrugs, unperturbed by the curiousity. "I was tired, so I slept," she says simply.

The girl nods sagely, as if it made perfect sense to her. "I wish I could do that," she gushes, beaming. "But didn't you have school? Skipping isn't a good thing, you know? You need to learn a bunch so you can get a good job later."

"I already graduated," Yuki lies. Explaining her actual age is more trouble than it is worth, and this is close enough to the truth.

"Wow, really? That's amazing! What do you work as?"

She wants to heave a sigh, but refrains just barely. Children are full of questions, it seems.

Before Yuki can actually start thinking of an answer however, her stomach growls audibly. It is a gurgle more of roiling acid from last night, but the girl in front of her perks up at hearing it.

"Are you hungry? I got an extra big lunch today, so I can share some with you!" She almost vibrates in place, excited at the prospect. Then she offers her hand with a big smile. "I'm Nagisa Momoe, nice to meet you."

"Yuki, a pleasure," she greets the child back.

The moment she takes Nagisa's hand to shake, Yuki is pulled forward and dragged along to a set of picnic tables. Nagisa does not have the strength to force it, but her current victim sees no reason to free herself. Before long, the two sit next to each other and Nagisa pulls open a half-empty lunchbox.

"I'm still stuffed from earlier, so you can have the rest," she explains happily before pushing the box at Yuki. "Auntie always makes way too much."

"I see. Thank you."

Yuki has little else to say beyond that. She studies the pair of wooden sticks Nagisa gives her; translucent memories of eating like that in Lobotomy Corporation return as she does. Chopsticks are among the more curious means she recalls using.

And the food is good, too. Omelets, small but cooked sausages, tomatoes, lightly salted rice, each piece is nice and flavourful. Yuki methodically eats her way through the entire thing, almost disappointed when she reaches the end. Nagisa fills the air with idle chatter in the meantime, talking about her classes and what friend so-and-so has done recently.

"You live with your aunt?" Yuki interrupts during a rare pause, curious despite herself. Nagisa mentioned the woman several times, and she does recall the mention of her having made that lunch as well.

Her question prompts a moment of sullen silence. Nagisa nods, eyes dropping to the table. "Yeah. My mom's in the hospital, so she can't look after me. But auntie's got it covered, don't worry! She's super nice!"

Yuki nods her understanding. A sickness that makes one unable to care for their own child must be severe indeed.

"But nevermind that, let's go play!"

And just like that, Nagisa keeps dragging Yuki along. Yuki herself is less enthusiastic about it, having other things planned, but figures she can spend some time entertaining the girl. Pushing Nagisa on the swings even is somewhat fun, though the other girl returning the favour is less so; if one can fly unassisted, a swing just loses most of its mystique.

Yuki still manages to enjoy the experience a little bit, though.

By the time Nagisa realises she should get home and runs off with an enthusiastic "Bye Bye, Yuki!", the sky has once again turned orange. Yuki raises her hand but does not wave, mulling over what to do next.

After a minute, she turns resolutely. It is time to hit the books.

Retreading her steps until she finds one of the public libraries, Yuki makes sure to reapply her notice-me-not charm after realising that it wore off. Then she builds herself a small nest of books in a corner and begins to read, wiling away the hours as she learns about history, politics, and the state of the natural sciences in this world.

Apparently, she landed in a country called Japan, situated on the continent of Asia. Japan is an archipelago and industrial powerhouse despite its comparatively small size. Interfacing with the internet over the offered computers, Yuki is sure to gather outside opinions on the country as well; there are many more than just the one, this world's population far more decentralised than in The City.

The subjects are fascinating, each and every one. Japan markets itself as a polite and future-oriented society, though there are clear cracks in that facade. Yuki does not have time to investigate in-depth just yet, not with the number of subjects she wants to study, but she can tell there is much room to improve. Perhaps not as much as what she reads about happening in other countries, but still.

She also learns a little more about Oriko in her time at the library. Apparently, her father was an influential politician who was caught in something highly illegal. And who then committed suicide, leaving his teenaged daughter to fend for herself.

Yuki pours over those newspaper articles for a while. While the elder Mikuni's deeds were clearly wrong, the sins of the father are not the sins of the child. She does neither understand nor like the way people were vandalising her home even after her father's passing.

"May I have a minute of your time?" a high-pitched voice inquires as she puts the article aside. Looking up, Yuki is about to decline when she spots something clearly inhuman staring at her.

They look feline, if with a second pair of ears sprouting from the first. Pink markings run down the white fur on their back, and equally pink eyes stare at Yuki unblinkingly. Yuki stares back in a similar manner, head tilting ever so slightly. The creature mimics her motion in turn.

"What do you need?" she finally asks. "And who are you?"

"I'm Kyubey," they introduce themselves with a bounce of their fluffy tail. "And I want to ask about you. Are you aware that you spent seven days and seven nights in this library, neither eating nor sleeping?"

Yuki blinks and stares at a nearby clock. Has it really been that long?

Now that her focus is broken, she can actually feel how tired she is. A yawn sneaks its way out of her.

"I was not," she says, frowning ever so faintly. "But it is not that unusual for me to lose track of time while I read. That aside, what are you?"

Kyubey traipses forward until they sit right in front of Yuki, almost on eye level with her. "I contract and support magical girls to fight Witches," they explain readily, the pitch of their voice not changing in the slightest. "Can I assume that those terms are familiar to you?"

"I heard the term 'Witch' before," Yuki answers. She does not take her eye off Kyubey. "And that I apparently ping as one. The person who told me so also spoke of a Soul Gem reacting to me, and a Grief Seed that Witches drop. Does that fit into your role?"

"It does. In exchange for a single wish of her choosing, I provide a magical girl with a Soul gem to cast magic. She then has to fight Witches, who spread curses upon the ordinary people across the world. Which is why your case is rather odd; Witches that leave their barriers are known, as are peaceful specimen that can coexist with those around them. Finding both of these qualities in the same entity is an anomaly."

"That is because I am no Witch."

This is the third and likely not the last time Yuki has to repeat herself on that. At least Kyubey does not seem to doubt her word, seeing how they nod.

"I figured something like that. May I take a scan of you for further study?"

Yuki's eyes narrow fractionally. While she has no issue agreeing, she is still a little wary.

"What exactly does that entail?"

"A simple procedure that is safe and requires no further input from you, Yuki. All I need is a minute of physical contact."

She nods minutely, offering a finger for Kyubey to press their paw against. Her mind is awhirl with ideas and questions, most focussed on the being in front of her. She can feel the energy being released into her body, slowly rolling over every fibre of her being. It pings back on occasion, delivering data of some form. But at the same time, it feels familiar; calling to her essence, as if to embrace it.

Yuki follows the instinctual reaction and reaches out with her most inner self. The Abnormality's very being rises from the depths and touches the probe.

And Kyubey drops dead.

The probe fizzles out, confusing Yuki for the moment. She sits a little dumbly, then lifts the limp body by the waist. Staring at it curiously, she mulls over what she just learned; Kyubey is involved in making warriors to fight these Witches, which she has yet to find any of. Kyubey knows her name despite never being given an introduction, which means they were observing her beforehand. And apparently, Yuki spent a whole week cooped up in this place.

As much as she wants to read more, she has to stop for now.

"Apparently," another Kyubey says as they climb onto the table, "something within your nature prevents me from taking accurate readings. This is another characteristic you share with a Witch. Do you happen to have any insight in why that is?"

Yuki hums in thought, absently hugging the dead bunnycat to her chest. "My being an Abnormality, most likely. I do not know the scientific process of creating beings like me, nor our greater purpose. What I know is that we are not human and can not be killed permanently."

She wisely keeps quiet about the energy generation and the potential to drive humans insane. Kyubey does not need to know that at this juncture.

"Thank you for clearing that up," they say, or rather transmit telepathically. Their mouth has yet to move. "Can you point me to where exactly these Abnormalities are created?"

"Not in this world," Yuki deflects. "I am from another world. And no, I do not know how I got here."

"I see. Again, thank you. Unfortunately, the data this last body obtained is contaminated with the cognito-hazard that infected the node itself. Would you mind deposing of that body for me?"

Yuki looks down at the corpse in her arms. She took to petting it without realising. The empty eyes stare up at her, at least until they dissolve in a small ball of acid. Yuki looks back up to Kyubey, who watches the display with interest.

"So you are capable of casting magic as well? Is there a limitation?"

"I can, and no. I might grow tired sooner or later, but there is no limit. Why do you ask?"

Kyubey's head tilts the other way, as if the bunnycat were confronted with a particularly interesting riddle. "You certainly are closer to a Witch than a magical girl, at least by this world's terminology," they muse. "Regardless, while you are already aware that your presence is similar enough to a Witch to make a Soul Gem react, you seem unaware of the implications. Not only are magical girls contracted to seek out and destroy Witches, they must do so. Only a Grief Seed can clean the stain that using magic leaves on a Soul Gem."

"And why is that relevant?"

"Why, if the gem turns completely dark, the magical girl ceases to exist."

They say it so nonchalantly that Courage almost snorts. That at least explains why Kyubey asked about a limit to the magic she has at her disposal. So with what they say, these local magical girls will try to kill Yuki for a hypothetical Grief Seed, which she does not drop. Like that girl in red last night... or rather last week.

"So I can presume most magical girls will be hostile as a matter of course."

"Yes."

With that, Kyubey rises to their feet.

"If there is nothing else, I will take my leave now. Call for me if anything comes up."

Is there another question Yuki should ask?

---

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XgK_ME-EJE

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[] Ask about the girl in red
weight: x1

[] Ask about Oriko
weight: x1

[] Ask about Madoka Kaname
weight: x1

[] Write-in
weight: x1

[] No further questions
weight: x1

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-Unlocked Character Sheet: Kyubey