Seeing Red [PMMM x LoR]

Ask about this world's magic

After a moment of consideration, Yuki leans forward. Her academic interest was woken and drives back the tiredness.

"Tell me more about this magic," she asks. "Why is it finite, and where does it come from if it is?"

Kyubey's head tilts faintly at her, then they hop into Yuki's lap. She allows it and begins petting the bunnycat once they start their lecture.

"Human magic, in this world, is bound to emotion. The specifics are still a point of some contention and require further study. Overall, the magical abilities of a human correlate to the strength of their emotions. The phenomenon does occur naturally, which the people of this world call psychic abilities, but can not be focussed enough for any meaningful effects. Party tricks, effectively."

Yuki nods along, cataloguing the information. She is reminded of The Library's workings; emotional turmoil was required to draw out as much of a person's essence as possible, before it could be condensed into books.

"And you give this magical ability focus with a Soul Gem?" she queries of Kyubey, scratching behind their ear. They nod.

"Yes. The exact specialties a magical girl obtains depend on the wish she makes, but a certain set of core abilities is always present. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, magical girls only have limited amounts of magic at their disposal. The current working theory is that the taint that slowly fills up a soul gem is a residue left behind by the use of this same magical energy. It keeps adding up until it is cleansed."

"By a Grief Seed," Yuki finishes thoughtfully. "Why is it that Grief Seeds can clean the dirt out of a Soul Gem? Them being able to absorb this exact energy makes an odd coincidence."

She looks down at Kyubey, whose gaze never wavers from her own. Although their tail keeps wagging. "It isn't," they admit easily. "Witches are beings of curses, so they are drawn to these negative energies. Witches and magical girls are opposites of each other, in effect."

"I see," Yuki murmurs, then gives Kyubey one last pat. "Thank you for taking the time. I think I'm going to take a nap now."

The bunnycat hops from her lap and stretches out, then gives her an understanding nod. "Have a good night then. If you need me, just call," they transmit, then scamper out of view.

Yuki spends a few minutes returning the books and newspapers she read, then she curls up underneath the desk. No thought is spent to what she learned just yet, nor the murmurs of people around her. Night is about to fall regardless, meaning she will have quiet.

A minute later, she is out like a light. Her dreams are dominated by gentle, golden light and antediluvian crimson. Both are familiar yet distant, observers much like she herself. Their glow soothes Yuki even in her slumber.

By the time she wakes, the library already opens for business.

"So much for a nap," Yuki murmurs to herself, then lets our a jaw-rending yawn. Shaking her head to get rid of the sleepiness, she blearily looks around. Tiphereth is nowhere to be found, nor are her seniors.

A moment later, she remembers that this is a different library. Tiphereth may well be dead, considering the battle Yuki herself fell in. But that her first thoughts went to the spirited young woman gives her pause; attachments are to be avoided, so why is she feeling tender at the memory of Tiphereth?

Shaking her head again, Yuki reapplies her notice-me-not charm and heads out. The first few minutes under the morning sun are spent carding through her voluptuous hair; it usually curls back into shape on its own, but she prefers to help it along. Her blindfold remains in place, unruffled by sleep or motion.

Rather than aiming for a particular place to go, Yuki wanders around town for a while. She now has fresh eyes and new context to study Mitakihara, as well as Japanese society. There are a great number of social niceties to be observed, unwritten rules of behaviour that an outsider could easily get wrong. Yuki only has a very basic overview and few books could teach her these.

The only person she can think to ask for information is Oriko. But considering her bad intel, Yuki will keep her distance a while longer until she knows what to do. There will definitely be questions when the time comes.

And then there is the information about magic she got from Kyubey. They were quite helpful in understanding the primary difference between Yuki and the local magical girls; specifically, that she has unlimited magic. Meaning that she can win any battle by attrition.

"Would you look at that!" a familiar voice calls out, disrupting her thoughts. "Heya, weird girl!"

Yuki looks aside, having ambled around near the harbour. Now a second person walks with her; it is that same, pink-haired girl she first met. She waves at Yuki with a fanged smirk, once again dressed in black shorts and top. But she also carries a hockey stick with her, which Yuki takes notice of.

"Haven't seen you in a bit," the pinkette greets amicably. "Yuki, right? Your head's in the clouds, pretty much, isn't it? Something on your mind."

"A few things," Yuki admits, then motions for the stick. "What do you have that for?"

"To play hockey? Duh?"

She swings it for emphasis, producing a satisfying whoosh each time. Then she shoulders it, more like a weapon than equipment for sports. The girl's stride is confident, as if she owned the streets. A soft breeze ruffles her hair.

When Yuki just nods, the stranger's grin widens a little. "Anyway, what are ya thinking about? Anything happen?"

She could say she was attacked, but the existence of magical girls is obviously a hidden truth. And with how this particular person has yet to even say a word about Yuki being a Witch, she reasons that one is not involved. But conversation is a give-and-take, so she has to give her something.

"I assume that I was scammed a few days ago," she finally settles on. "But I can not say for sure. It may be that the other person shared bad information without knowing. I was mulling over when and how to approach them about it."

"Yikes. That sucks."

She makes a face, then gestures with her stick. "If you knew you'd been scammed, ya could just whack 'em good. Are you sure that other person wasn't in on it?"

"I do not know, hence why I need to think it over," Yuki retorts, then motions for her companion. "That aside, what is your name?"

This time the other girl pauses in surprise. She blinks at Yuki, then frowns into the middle distance. "Huh, I really didn't say," she mutters, then huffs. "Sorry 'bout that. The name's Ai, nice to meet ya."

"A pleasure," Yuki returns, cataloguing the name alongside her face. She does look familiar, just a little bit. Now that she actually examines Ai, Yuki realises it is the hair; Ai's is almost the exact same shade of pink as Madoka Kaname had in the picture she saw. Only where the supposed bringer of the end wears hers orderly and in pigtails, Ai's is a little wild and flows down to the small of her back.

"Anyway," Ai breaks the momentary silence with aplomb, "you're not getting anything done by overthinking. I say you should go there now and clear the air. Don't be like my mom, Yuki."

The suggestion is noted and put aside. Yuki shrugs minutely. "Rushing ahead without thinking it through is just as detrimental as overthinking," she says. "I plan to get it done soon. Is your mother prone to overthinking?"

"Something like that, yeah."

Ai makes some vague motions, huffing again. She does not elaborate, but rather changes the subject back in clear curiousity: "So, let's say you were scammed. What's gonna happen then? Do you need help whacking them?"

Thinking of Oriko and Kirika, Yuki is uncertain. She knows her own abilities, but a seer and an unknown magical girl make a potent combination. Then again, she will certainly not pull a bystander into it, if she even plans to make good on her threat.

"If I was scammed," she reasons, "then it was not debilitating enough to invite bodily harm. I will simply be aware of the issue and avoid that person in the future. That is that, and this is this."

"Oh? That sounded pretty cool there," Ai comments cheekily. "But it also sounds pretty dismissive. If someone's done you wrong, that shouldn't stand."

Yuki shrugs at that. She truthfully does not care much, beyond that no real harm was done. "I heard it from someone else," she explains absently. "And I concur, in a sense. Denying the impact everything has on you is bad for you. But there are some things one simply does not care about. I expect nothing from others, so I am never disappointed to begin with."

"Meh. Doesn't sound like a good way to live for me."

Ai bounces a few steps ahead and turns around, walking backward now. Her eyes glitter with mirth, despite the subject matter and despite her serious tone: "I don't wanna live a life where I can't expect anything from anyone. There's gotta be a reason we're all here, right?"

"There is," Yuki agrees, unable to suppress a faint smile. "But a meaning to our existence is not equivalent to finding meaning in other people."

Ai gives a thoughtful hum in response. "You're not wrong," she admits, rejoining Yuki's side. "But I still don't like it. People are great, even if they suck a lot."

"Is that why you skip school?" Yuki quips, which prompts a laugh from Ai. Guilty as charged, apparently.

The pinkette does not actually give response beyond that, though. Silence descends, and an oddly comfortable one at that. Yuki does not mind it much, so they keep walking side by side; their strides are almost even with each other.

At some point, Ai begins to hum a tune. It sounds nothing like the few songs Yuki knows, yet it evokes a buried memory; not of herself, but of Roland. She shudders faintly as that unforgettable melody reverberates through her mind for a moment. Then she pushes it back down.

That song is better left buried.

"Why are you out here?" she finally asks Ai, who makes a noncommittal sound.

"I like being out and about, is all. So much stuff to do, so many people to prank. What about you?"

"Curiousity, mainly. Seeing a place for yourself is a much different experience than reading about it, or seeing pictures."

Yuki has heard the bit about pranking people, but decides to leave it uncommented. What others get up to in their free time is their business, at least as long as nobody gets hurt. Ai seems to think much the same, seeing how she drops the matter.

Rather, Ai bounces forward once again, another cheshire smirk on display. "I gotta go again," she says with a little wave. "Still got stuff to do. I'll see you around, Yuki."

"Alright. Until next time."

She returns the wave and watches Ai dash away into a side street. Only in retrospect does Yuki wonder how Ai could see through her notice-me-not charm; she reapplies it just in case, reasoning that it must have given out earlier. Not that she minds, the occasional conversation is nice enough; Ai is an intriguing character, too.

But now that she is on her own again, Yuki keeps on walking. She makes her way through the industrial district again, faintly unamused to find that the graffity is back. It only took a week for that to happen. An absent wave of magic has it erased, once again sparing the more artful renditions.

Around noon, on the way past an abandoned building, she hears it. A faint whisper at the edge of her mind, beckoning her for just a moment before shying away.

"Leave," the voice comes louder now, a faint gurgle to it. "I don't want any others near. Leave."

Yuki pauses and looks around, but there is no one to attribute the voice to. It is different from Kyubey's telepathic message, more like the wind carried it to her ear.

"Who are you?" she tries, but receives no answer beyond another demand to leave.

So Yuki does the exact opposite and follows the voice. Its tone grows more agitated every other minute, but Yuki pays it no mind; she flicks her fingers to produce gentle waves of viridian, mapping out the surrounding area for traces of magic. She finds some, though they are a little older. Nothing fresh.

"I told you to leave me alone!" the disembodied voice growls eventually, just as Yuki stops to study an abandoned six-story building. "Is it that hard to understand?"

"I understood you fine," Yuki says, still scanning the area. "But I would like to talk to you properly, first. Is that acceptable?"

She has already found a stronger source of magic in the building, if weirdly. The signature wobbles and wavers, as if it were only half there. Yuki keeps in place for the moment as she waits for a response. She wants to give diplomacy a chance, but she will not waste the opportunity to speak with what might be a Witch. And even if they are not that, they are clearly an irregularity.

In the end, an answer does come: "Hmpf, fine. But only if you promise to leave afterward. I don't want anyone around but my roses."

"I can accept that," Yuki says, which is implicitly not the promise she was asked to give. The other person does not pick up on the deception, either. Or if she does, she says nothing of it.

"Then come on up. Anthony will see you in."

The voice vanishes and Yuki begins ascending the stairs. There is some more graffiti on the walls, which she leaves for the time being; casting more magic right now might be taken the wrong way. These letterings are just gloomy, talking about abandoning all hope and that no gods will answer one's prayers.

Once she reaches what should be the source of the magic, Yuki is faced with an empty room. After casting her gaze around aimlessly for a moment, a gleaming disc of light becomes visible at the far wall. Runes glitter along its rim, spelling out 'Gertrud' with little floral patterns.

Yuki approaches cautiously, half-expecting a mirror image of herself or some sort. But on the other side stands a rather more unusual entity; even 'stand' is not quite right, as its feet are a butterfly absently flapping its wings. A stick thin body follows, only to run out in a puffball of a head that makes up a third of the creature's size. Yuki can spy no eyes, only a prominent, black mustache.

"A weed!" The creature crows, brandishing a garden shear. "The mistress invited a weed!"

"Your mistress still invited me," Yuki counters evenly, to which there is no response. Thankfully, what must be Anthony does not try to attack her either. It flutters backward, bending this way and that as its center of gravity shifts.

When Yuki steps into the odd space, her senses try to tell her that up is down. The entrance flickers out behind her, becoming a wall overgrown with ivy. Nothing looks quite right in this enclosed space, Yuki notices; faintly distorted, just enough to catch the eye.

She is still inside, though not the same building as before. She knows well how teleportation works, so this is more likely a pocket space of some sort. A lair, not unlike the book Yuki was living in for a time. The corridors seem endless, only to suddenly terminate at circular doors and portals leading to other areas of this twisted space.

There are more of Anthony, too. They go every which way as if patrolling, an orderly chaos of fluttering wings. With how they all look the same, Yuki reasons that they are not individual entities; going by their whisperings about her being a weed and green, she also determines they can not be very smart. Declaring her function in life based on her favourite colour is silly.

Eventually, after what could be a minute or an hour, they arrive at a sudden drop. The floor gives way into a cavernous room, where a small cohort of Anthonies is busy tending magnificent, red roses. They grow free and wild, carefully pruned.

And on a couch the size of a house, overseeing her minions, sits the person she came to meet. Even Yuki has to pause in surprise at the sight of her enormous body. The flesh-coloured slug barely fits onto that couch, a pair of colourful butterfly wings folded on her back.

"Finally," she grouses, her gurgle now more pronounced. A thick head of mossy green sponge tilts this way and that, then leans forward. A dozen eyes not unlike the roses she cares for point at Yuki from across the room.

"Come here and get it over with. Mind the roses."

Yuki nods back and takes off the ground, floating a few centimetres. She is the guest, so following her host's request is only good manners. The Anthony stays behind, idly clacking its shears before fluttering away. Not a single one of its compatriots so much as turns to look when she passes by them over the flowerbed; they merely flutter around her, just like they avoid each other in their work.

"I guess this is an opportunity to do this socialising thing," Gertrud says when Yuki stops before her. She leans down so far that her head is right atop the magical girl, their colours curiously similar. Yuki has to crane her neck to meet her gaze, but is otherwise undaunted by the sheer difference in mass.

"You do not seem the type," Yuki answers evenly.

Gertrud nods, almost hammering her guest into the ground with the motion. "I don't," she agrees. "But you're small and don't take up much space. You don't talk a lot either, not like the others I met. That's good. I'm Gertrud. So what do you want to talk about?"

She is getting mixed signals here. Maybe actually minding the roses helped soothe Gertrud's defensive attitude? Regardless, Yuki keeps meeting her gaze; Gertrud clearly sees her with those roses she has for eyes, though there are no visible pupils or anything.

"I am Yuki and I never met a Witch before," she said. "So I was curious what you were like. This is not quite what I expected."

Gertrud's head tilts minutely, which is a massive shift from Yuki's point of view. "I don't know what a Witch is. If you mean another like yourself, then I'm surprised: we aren't that rare. I came by at least two others when I moved in."

"So you would say we are the same?"

"You definitely feel the same. Or... hm. Hold on."

Gertrud leans closer again and inhales, the only indicator of which is that a sudden draft tries to pull Yuki upward. She keeps herself at the previous height and watches the slug-Witch lean back. Her rose-eyes shrink in suspicion.

"Your smell is very similar, but it could be different" she judges. "So if you don't think you're my kind, why did you want to meet me?"

Yuki is unaffected by her sudden distrust. "I met others who said we're one and the same, but I know we are not," she answers. "At the same time, that does not tell me why others think us the same. We certainly look nothing alike."

"None of my kind look alike," Gertrud comments with another gurgle. "And if you aren't one of us, then what are you?"

"An adjacent existence, most likely. Our general abilities and attributes are similar, but some of the specifics vary."

"Okay, and? Why does it matter what we are and aren't? You can't grow roses from knowledge alone."

"But you need knowledge to grow roses," Yuki counters simply. Gertrud harrumphs and falls silent, sizing her up from above.

The more she speaks with her, Yuki comes to understand that one primary property of Abnormalities is also true here: Gertrud has a one-track mind, caring primarily about her roses and little else.

"How do you grow those roses, anyway?" she tries instead. Kyubey said something about Witches preying on humans, which means she needs to gather more information.

Her host perks up in response. Some of her hostility bleeds away again as she sways from side to side. "Oh, it's quite the elegant process," she gurgles with something approaching happiness. "Each of them grows from a seed, you see. I only pick the very best of each batch, all the rest get to become Anthony or Adelbert. They're much better for tending the flowers' delicate needs, so I oversee and teach them. And once a rose is fully grown, I have them take it from the field to plant in a nicer spot near the surface, where they can get sunlight."

She keeps on babbling about various methods to tend the flowers, more than Yuki honestly wants to know. She dutifully absorbs it all, though.

"Oh, and fertiliser is important, too! I usually make my own, but it isn't high enough in quality."

Saying that, Gertrud shudders and casts a flutter of magic toward the wall; it vanishes a moment later and she turns back to Yuki. "I hate, hate, hate those little creatures from outside trampling through my home. They resemble you a great deal, come to think of it. But they're overall dumber and far less pleasant. But they make great fertiliser, especially their energy. My roses gobble that right up, taking on this vibrant shade of scarlet you see over there."

And there it is.

Yuki tenses minutely, but forces herself to relax. Perhaps, she reasons, diplomacy may win the day again.

"Are you aware that these 'creatures' are people like you and I?" Yuki tries. "Killing them for minor reasons is not acceptable."

Gertrud harrumphs in response. "Bah. What greater purpose could they serve than feeding my roses?"

"They each have their own hopes and dreams. Much like your roses, those things are to be cherished, not to be trampled."

"Do I look like I care?"

Yuki pauses there. She tried to make a moral argument and it failed. Will any others actually yield better success? Much like an Abnormality, Gertrud seems beholden to her nature. Even Lobotomy Corporation, a mega-corporation, could only mitigate the death toll its Abnormalities caused their trained handlers.

Should Yuki spend more time on this, or take the final measure?

---

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

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[] Diplomacy is worth another shot, perhaps another track will help
weight: x1

[] She clearly can not be reasoned with. Destroy her for the good of the people outside.
-[] Use her roses against her
-[] Leave her roses alone
weight: x1

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-Unlocked Character Sheet: Ai ???

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Gertrud, the Rose Garden Witch
-Threat Assessment: HE
-Threat Description: She is large and seems fairly durable, but also cumbersome without limbs. Her minions are plenty. But her roses are an obvious weak spot, if one wants to risk her wrath in attacking them.