Bring Oriko and Kyoko
"You're coming with me today," Yuki tells Oriko over breakfast. "I'm visiting Madoka's mother. And you're coming too, Kazuko. We're doing all of this in one go."
Her host nods attentively, nibbling on a slice of apple. Oriko does the same.
"What about me?" Kirika asks between bites.
"I need Oriko to be social for me, you're more like the opposite."
"Hey!"
Kirika pouts, even more so when Oriko starts laughing, bright as a bell. Kazuko smiles at their banter, but she keeps observing for the moment.
While Oriko talks her girlfriend into spending the day on her own, Yuki ponders how to go about getting the rest of her entourage. Kazuko will want to drive them, certainly. But making a detour to Mami's place would be a waste of time.
"Kazuko? Did Junko give a time?"
"Mhm. She said around eleven."
"Another hour," Yuki observes with a glance at the clock. "Alright. Then I will go get Kyoko, she's coming with. You haven't met her yet, anyway."
"Oh, I'm looking forward to that. Junko said she was a nice girl."
"That's one way to describe her."
Kirika huffs at that, but says nothing.
Yuki gives a quick wave and teleports away. She up and misses Kazuko's bout of confused surprise; her host had yet to see that particular trick, after all.
She arrives in front of Mami's door, knocking politely. Two pairs of feet scamper up audibly, then the door is thrown open to reveal Nagisa and Yuma. Both of them hug her with happy calls of "miss Yuki!".
Kyoko and Mami follow more sedately. They look less well than the younger girls, though Mami is the worst off. She has bags under her eyes and her golden mane falls openly today. Mami's expression is still forlorn. Kyoko seems more relaxed than her friend, but her eyes are a little dull as well.
"Hello, you two," Yuki greets the enthusiastic pair, holding them up with ease. "I'm seeing Junko in a bit, so I can't stay. I'm just here to take Kyoko along."
"How about you ask nicely if I want to come along first, huh?" Kyoko snarks, leaning against a dividing wall. Her smirk takes the sting out of that comment.
In response, Yuki looks her straight in the eye, expression blank as usual.
"Will you go out with me today, Kyoko?" she deadpans, making the redhead bluster in surprise.
"Alright, fine!" she snaps, embarassed. "You didn't have to say it like that!"
"As amusing as this is to watch," Mami injects herself with twitching lips, "maybe you should not have that conversation in the hallway?"
Yuki agrees and lets them pull her inside for a few minutes. And even though she meant to go quickly, Yuma and Nagisa hold her up for a little while. They are just too excited about their sleepover and keep chattering. Yuki can not bring herself to cut them off.
She may also be mystified and amused by the sight of Kyubey locked up in a cat carrier. The bunnycat makes no attempt to speak, and Yuma explains that they are in timeout for not telling them the truth earlier.
Once Kyoko is properly dressed to go out, she quickly leans close to the younger girls. Only Yuki can hear her whisper, by virtue of standing close enough.
"You two keep Mami company while I'm out, yeah? Don't let her go anywhere alone."
"Okay!"
"Can do, big sis!"
"Atta girls."
She rubs their shoulders affectionately, then looks to Yuki. "I'm ready. See you later, Mami."
"Take care."
A round of goodbyes follows, then Yuki and Kyoko stand in Kazuko's living room. Which is a mite embarassing for the redhead, who basically just barged in. Kazuko takes it in stride, though; she introduces herself with exuberance and a kind smile.
And soon after that, the three of them plus Oriko file into Kazuko's car, a simple but clean model in deep navy blue.
Yuki could have teleported them, but why bother? They are not in a hurry. Not to mention that sitting in the passenger seat and looking out the window is a new experience altogether. Yuki rests her chin on one fist, looking thoroughly bored as she drinks in the distant skyline. It looks so much nicer by day, with glittering skyscrapers and bright blue sky behind them.
And just this once, nothing happens to bother them on the way. No complications whatsoever. They drive through downtown Mitakihara, reach one of the nicer neighbourhoods, and park right next to a larger, black car at the Kaname residence.
Junko's husband opens the door for them with a friendly smile. He looks relaxed, with soft features and light colours in his clothes. He introduces himself as Tomohisa and sees them inside, then offers refreshments.
Junko joins them a minute later, greeting Kazuko with a hug. Then she cocks her hips, offering her other visitors a confident smile.
"And hello to you three. I know Yuki and miss Sakura already, of course. But we didn't have the pleasure before. The name is Junko Kaname, but just Junko is fine."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Oriko Mikuni, please call me Oriko in turn."
"And please just Kyoko for me," said girl chimes in a little awkwardly.
"Of course, of course," Junko agrees readily, though her gaze has become thoughtful. She turns back to Oriko with a question: "Are you related to Senator Mikuni?"
Yuki's hand twitches, just like Oriko's expression morphs into something defensive.
"I am," she confirms warily. "He was my father."
"I see. My condolences, then. How are you holding up on your own? I heard from Kazuko that you weren't well, but it doesn't look that way to me."
Oriko smiles at her, back to being pleasant. "Oh, my recovery happened yesterday evening. And it is a part of what we were here to talk about."
"But before that," Yuki interjects, "I owe you an apology. My behaviour to you wasn't acceptable, and I'm sorry for that. Were you hurt when I pushed you?"
Junko receives Yuki's words with a soft shake of the head and an encouraging smile. "Just some bruises that have already healed. I had Tomo kiss them better."
"Junko!" Kazuko interrupts, mildly scandalised but mostly resigned. Her friend cracks a smirk in response.
"You know I will always brag about having snagged the best husband there can be."
"Kirika must never meet her," Yuki deadpans, startling a laugh from Kyoko.
Oriko hums in thought, idly stirring her drink. "Why not?" she questions. "Adoring one's partner is not a sin, it's a goal."
"Well," Kazuko huffs, "I for one don't need to have them try to out-brag each other. I get enough reminders how horrid my own love life is, thank you very much."
"Come now," Tomohisa assures her with a smile. "You will find someone right for you eventually."
"Thanks, Tomohisa. Some days it's just hard to believe. And being surrounded by happy couples doesn't help."
"Oh my," Junko teases, glancing to the three girls at the table. "Since when is our Yuki seeing anyone? Or perhaps she brought her girlfriends right along?"
Kyoko slowly shakes her head, cheeks flushing pink. Oriko is unaffected by the teasing, she just smiles. And Yuki stares back at Junko, whose mirth falters a little.
"I brought friends. And Kazuko meant Oriko mostly, because her girlfriend basically lives at her place too."
"Aww, no sense of humour at all, have you?"
"I have a difficult conversation ahead of me," Yuki deflects. "Besides, you're not funny."
This time Kazuko is the one to chuckle.
Junko heaves a theatralic sigh and raises her shoulders. "Well, can't say I didn't try. But yes, I heard some disturbing things from Kazuko. Where do you want to start?"
Yuki, never one to beat around the bush, looks back stoically.
"I killed five people, and I would do it again to protect my friends."
A surprised noise comes from Kyoko, as well as Tomohisa. Junko's brow ticks up a notch and Kazuko grimaces.
"Wait, what?" Kyoko interrupts, flabbergasted. "When did that happen? And why?"
Yuki opens her mouth to answer, but Oriko bids her to wait with a touch to the shoulder.
"Perhaps," she reasons, "we should start at the beginning. There is a little more to this story than that. It also concerns Yuki's nature as an Abnormality, or a former Abnormality."
Seeing that she has everyone's full attention, Oriko begins to explain in Yuki's stead: "I believe you two were already aware that Yuki is not human. Your husband seems to not be made aware yet, and we can answer questions later if that's alright. As an Abnormality, Yuki was bound to a certain behaviour, though she was among the more coherent and complex specimens. The pattern she follows is suppression of the self, befriending a person she bonds with, and ultimately transforming that person into the likeness of another being that once betrayed her. She then kills them in a rampage."
Oriko was a good choice, Yuki thinks. She has a clinical way of explaining without being too blunt. The Kanames and Kazuko hang on her lips, as is Kyoko.
"It was I who became that designated friend," she reveals, nodding to Kazuko. "The sickness I suffered was an odd interaction I had with the transformation, as well as Yuki breaking out of her pattern. It came gradually, rather than being instantaneous. But she also suffered from frequent bouts of aggression during that time."
She leaves a pause for the others to digest what they learned. Junko slowly nods.
"So the person we saw that day on that screen, that was them?"
"Yes," Yuki answers this time. "The Hermit of the Azure Forest. Her betrayal left scars in my mind that took me far too long to overcome."
"Which brings us to the events of the last few days," Oriko leads in.
And from there, she and Yuki summarise what happened; Yuki going out of contact, the fire and successive murders, and the emergence of the Hermit. Kyoko chimes in on occasion, but she mostly stews in silence.
"I can't say you did the right thing," the redhead says once the tale finished. "Snuffing those five people out. But I get it, I really do. I'd have done the same thing in your place."
"Can you really say that so easily?" Junko questions, which earns her a grimace from Kyoko.
"I've done worse to more people for less. Those homeless guys, I get them too. But that just means their bad karma caught up to them sooner rather than later."
"The hidden world we live in is a brutal one," Oriko then tells the adults. "Only the ruthless survive, while the kind and compassionate die. And this is by design, to foster competition rather than cooperation. It is why miss Akemi makes such an effort to keep your daughter out of it. Madoka has the steel it takes to thrive, but she's too compassionate to make it far as a magical girl."
"You mean beside that angel-like version of her coming in," Kyoko adds, prompting a faint nod.
Oriko hesitates there, though. "Something about that 'ideal self' of hers bothers me," she admits, "but that's a matter for another day."
Junko gives a thoughtful hum in the meantime. She, Kazuko, and Tomohisa all have open bottles in front of them; Yuki was offered a drink as well, but declined.
"Getting back to the actual point, that's a lot to take in," Junko says. "I understand that the circumstances were difficult. I get why you did what you did. Heck, I probably would've done the same thing, too. If it was to protect Tomo or the kids, or Kazuko. But what worries me is that you don't seem to feel bad about it at all."
Yuki can only shrug to that. She is who she is, and she feels how she feels.
"I'm not going to lie and say I am. You deserve honesty."
Junko's crooked smile says it all about her feelings on those two statements.
In the ensuing silence, Tomohisa eventually begins rubbing his face. "I can't say this is what I expected of today," he begins absently. "This is... a lot, to be frank. And I have a lot of questions, too. But I think that us adults," here he indicates himself, Junko, and Kazuko, "don't have all the information to judge things properly. To be honest, I'm more worried that Madoka is wrapped up in this than I am about whether your actions were justified, Yuki."
Yuki nods. She understands the feeling well.
"Don't worry. Madoka is my friend, too. She will be fine."
Her conviction seems to soothe the man. Tomohisa offers a grateful smile, then glances to his wife. "That's really the best we can ask for, isn't it?"
"I suppose," Junko allows. Her brows remain creased, but she cedes the point to her husband.
Kazuko heaves a sigh, but whatever she means to say is disrupted when Oriko shoots to her feet.
The young woman dashes out of the room without a word, her steps gracefully light with E.G.O extended. Several strands wrap around the doorframe, allowing her to turn at a sharp angle toward the staircase.
A surprised shout and a thud follow, after which everyone else scrambles after her.
What they find is Oriko kneeling halfway up the stairs, holding a little boy in her arms. She takes careful breaths while he squirms around, babbling something incomprehensible.
"Tatsuya!" Tomohisa calls, running over to take his son from Oriko. "How did you get out of your playpen?"
The boy's round face tilts aside as he looks up innocently. He can clearly tell by his father's tone that something is wrong, but does not acknowledge any guilt on his part.
"It seems he outgrew it," Oriko says gently. "He got lucky this time that I was here, and that I still had this up from my demonstration. I barely foresaw him falling down the stairs in time."
She then has to bear profuse thanks from Tomohisa and Junko, deflecting modestly. Any doubt they might have had about her personality is washed away.
The meeting dissolves into something ultimately less tense from there. Subjects change to more domestic ones, although the magical girls and Oriko need to weather a number of questions about their circumstances and magic. Especially Oriko's E.G.O is of interest to Junko, seeing that it contains the possibility of learning the technique.
Kyoko is soon off entertaining little Tatsuya, though; the youngest Kaname child took an immediate liking to her. She wears the softest smile Yuki ever saw on her face while playing with him.
They part with a promise to meet up again soon.
And the rest of the day passes in a pleasant haze. Oriko did not say a word of the approaching end, so Yuki keeps her mouth shut as well. They do not need to know about that yet.
What her best friend did was tell Kazuko to buy a lottery ticket. In her words: "When I had nothing left and nowhere to go, you opened your home to me despite never having met before. Kindness deserves kindness in turn, so I will ensure you live the rest of your life safely and comfortably."
Kazuko actually bursts into tears at that, surprise-hugging Oriko.
Kyoko and Mami wear fond smiles when Yuki finishes telling them about it the next day. Yuma nods along sagely, clearly agreeing with Oriko's words.
"That is a very sweet thing of her to do," Mami says. "More people should think and act like this."
Yuki agrees, though she feels Oriko has a much easier time of it than most. Helping another is much simpler when one can see the future, especially with something like the lottery existing.
"I'm sure they will," Kyoko answers absently, lifting another slice of cake onto her plate. "We always see the worst, but people do get better. Sometimes."
"They do!" Yuma agrees at once. "I met Mr. Kurosawa on Friday, and he invited me to meet his family! He was really polite and nice, too. Oh, and he said I can bring friends if I want."
"Pardon, who?"
Mami's question reminds the others that she is out of the loop. Kyoko summarises for her.
"A Yakuza patriarch from Kazamino. Yuma's mother had a huge debt to him, and Yuma contracted to pay it off. That is, his wife was suffering from cancer. Was. I'm pretty sure he's in Yuma's debt now, so Yuma's the safest girl in the entire city."
Yuma preens, not even noticing Mami's owlish look.
She does notice when the older girl looks down sadly.
"Having to sacrifice your soul for money just isn't right. It's worse than either of us."
"No, it's okay," Yuma says, surprising Mami. "Like I said, I don't mind the Witch thing. Or the Soul Gems. None of it changes who I am, or who you are, miss Mami. And big sis will be big sis, no matter what.
Yuki sips her tea, watching a well-treaded argument unfold. Mami has recovered, but her stance on Witches and becoming one remains fatalistic. Yuma remains steadfast in living for the now, rather than the later. And Kyoko stands between them, trying to caution Yuma while also consoling Mami.
Yuki can understand hating a part of oneself. Even if Witches are not exactly them, they are born of them. She is not sure how to advise, either.
"Have you spoken to Kyubey since then?" she asks eventually, cutting the girls off. "I learned some curious things when we talked about differences in Witch behaviour."
Mami slowly shakes her head, a pained expression crossing her face. "I can't bring myself to look at Kyubey the same way. He, he lied to all of us for so long. And he doesn't even feel sorry."
"Kyubey can't feel sorry, Mami. They don't have emotions to begin with, so all their interactions with us are based on pattern recognition and logical reasoning. You don't have to like what they did, but you can still see how they got there if you keep a lid on your feelings."
"You say that like you're such a rational person," Kyoko quips back with a huff, spearing another piece of cake on her fork. Then she points it at Yuki. "We all saw that you aren't on Friday, y'know?"
Yuki smiles at her. "In case you forgot, I'm the foremost expert on denying parts of yourself. Rationality is something I'm familiar with, if just because I forced myself into it. But I get where Kyubey is coming from. If their information is accurate, then you turning into Witches was not actually their plan, either. It's a natural occurence that they exploit."
"I fail to see how that makes anything better," Mami replies curtly. Her mood soured fairly quick with this subject.
Yuki's smile turns toothy in response.
"Because if it were engineered, then breaking it would be much harder. But it's natural, Mami. And that means we can overcome it, either through force of will or ingenuity."
Mami pauses, as does Kyoko. Yuma just cheers her agreement.
All the while, Yuki thinks. They already saw two cases of alternate development on Friday: Oriko ceased being a magical girl altogether and manifested E.G.O. Meanwhile, Nagisa harnessed her Witch form, staying in control throughout.
Either of these cases happened under special circumstances, though. A third option Yuki can see is to test with a regular Witch, see whether they deviate from Abnormalities in some form. If Yuki could change, they might be able to do the same.
What to do....
[] Investigate Oriko's E.G.O, and whether the feat can be repeated
[] Examine Nagisa's new ability, see if it can be taught
[] Do testing with regular Witches
[] write-in
I don't know why but I can almost see a pattern there. 
