A Red Letter Day pt. 18
Your gaze drops to your lap for a second. Akiko... Akiko's probably your biggest failure. You don't really like to think about it, but you drove her to that, even if unintentionally.
Mami, seated beside you, covers your hand in both of hers and squeezes gently.
You sigh heavily, drawing strength from the contact. "That's good," you say, looking back up at Rin. "Is there anything I can do to help her recovery?"
"Supplying cleansing to ease our burdens helps a lot," Rin says slowly and carefully. "But probably not beyond that. Your concern is appreciated."
"Yeah, well," you say, rubbing at your face. "I'm sorry. I wish it hadn't happened. We had our... differences, but Akiko's as much a victim of this whole magical girl system as anyone else."
Rin inclines her head slightly. Tamiko and Yumi both look a touch mollified, and Sayaka... Well, Sayaka doesn't say anything, though it looks like she really wants to. You're thankful for her having that much tact, at any rate.
"I suppose that seeing her would be out of the question?" you venture. "I'd understand, of course."
"I think it would be best not to," Rin says.
"Yeah, I understand," you say with a nod, and sigh. "For what it's worth, I really am sorry."
"It would've been better if you hadn't done it- mmph!" Yumi's grumbling is cut off by a glittering, iridescent orange hexagon clamping her mouth shut. Tamiko has her finger raised, eyes narrowed at her teammate.
"Thanks, Tamiko," Rin says. "Yumi..."
You sigh again. "I'm sorry. I truly am," you say, meeting the other girl's eyes. "There was no way I could have ignored it, and I hate that it's come to this."
Yumi manages to scowl, folding her arms. Rin frowns at her, rebuking her telepathically if you're any judge.
Rin shakes her head. "And I apologise for Yumi, too," she says, grimacing. "Is there anything else?" Unspoken is the promise that Yumi will probably get a proper earful after this.
"Um, yes, actually," you say. "And I understand. But yes, there's one last thing." You reach inside your pocket and pull out Hildegard for the... Third? Fourth? Something-th time today.
"This is what I call a Clear Seed," you say. "It's... Well, I developed this recently. I control Grief, right? This is what I get when I empty a Grief Seed out all the way. It cleanses as normal... Sayaka? Do you mind?"
Sayaka rolls her eyes, but grins and flips her hand palm up for her Soul Gem to materialise. You lob Hildegarde at her, and she catches it easily, presenting her Soul Gem to the Sendai girls. The thin, filmy patina of Grief is clearly visible in the slanting afternoon sunlight, and soaked away by a simple touch of Hildegarde's Seed.
"Ta-dah!" Sayaka says, displaying her sparkling clean Soul Gem with a flourish.
"So it lasts longer?" Rin guesses.
"A few thousand times longer," you say, tilting your head and smiling. "Maybe a few tens of thousands? I don-"
"WHAT?!" The forcefield clamping Yumi's mouth shut shatters with the force of her cry as she explodes to her feet. "You- wh- I don't believe you-"
Tamiko frowns, gesturing with both palms flat. Forcefields form against Yumi's thighs and lever under her knees, forcibly folding her legs and sitting her back down on the bench.
"Yeah, I admit, I've never tested them to that extent," you admit, smiling placidly. You know that's not her objection, and you'll never admit to intentionally missing it, but you're allowed a little mischief now and then. "But the theory holds up, and they've behaved properly so far for most part."
"What's the catch?" Rin says, over Yumi's fuming complaints.
"I suppose... well, the catch, if you want to put it that way, is that I'm offering to make these free to every magical girl group I come across," you say. "The University Group has already accepted one, in anticipation of you accepting one."
"I... see," Rin says. "I- yes, Tamiko?" She glances at the orange haired girl, who gestures at her. "Yes, of course. We'll accept, Miss Sabrina. Is there any other catch?"
"Yes." You flatten both palms against your thighs, leaning forward and looking her dead in the eye. "My one condition for this is that you don't use these to harm other magical girls. In fact, I ask the opposite - I ask you to help other magical girls if it's at all tenable. And if we hear of any magical girl conflict over a Clear Seed, from either side, we're coming down on them. Hard."
Rin swallows, and nods. "That... that won't be a problem," she says, and sighs. She opens her mouth, as if to say something, but shuts it. After a moment, she settles for a simple, "Message received."
"Good," you say, leaning back and rubbing wearily at your eyes. You take a moment and force yourself to relax, listening to the hubbub of a weekend at the park filtering in from beyond the little pavilion. You can hear children playing, and adults enjoying their break. Mami claims your hand again, squeezing gently. "I'm sorry to have to put it in such strong terms, but..."
"I understand," Rin says, and frowns at Yumi. "Right, Yumi?"
Tamiko apparently gives Yumi permission to speak, removing the force field from the grey-haired girl's mouth. "I- c'mon, Rin, this isn't about that, this is big. How can you be so calm, we- we'd never have to fight for our lives again." She looks at you. "You're giving us one? This is..." She makes a bitter noise, expression twisting. "This is the ultimate security, isn't it?"
You catch Nadia's amused expression out of the corner of your eye. Seems she's familiar with that turn of phrase, too.
"I suppose so," Rin says, chuckling humourlessly. "Ah, well. Do we have to take care of these in a special way or anything, Miss Sabrina?"
"Yeah, actually," you say. "OK, so keep in mind I only developed these things recently. If there are any problems, you need to let me know. The only thing I've found out so far is that you can't put normal Grief Seeds and a Clear Seed together, because the Grief Seed will suck the, well, Grief out of the Clear one and spawn the Witch again."
"Don't put them together, understood," Rin says, blinking.
"Hey Sabrina," Sayaka's voice pulses inside your head. "I suppose it would be a bad idea to ask if I can copy their powers."
"Yeah," you say, to both of them, and continue telepathically to Sayaka. "I was hoping they hadn't, ah, simmered in their resentment over what I did. Unfortunately, well..."
"Then, once again, we accept," Rin says, nodding. "I assume you require a Grief Seed to make a clear one?"
"Yep," you say, ignoring Sayaka's sarcastic, "I wonder why." At least Sayaka's getting better at hiding when she's using telepathy.
"Then here," Rin says, extracting a Grief Seed from a pocket and passing it over to you. "How long will it take?"
"Uh... a couple of minutes? But I'll need a quieter spot," you say. "It's, uh, not the most inconspicuous process."
"Yumi? Your place?" Rin asks.
"No, no, I just need a rooftop or something," you say, standing. "You're welcome to come and watch, but it's not that interesting."
"No, no, it is very interesting!" Nadia offers, grinning.
"Um," Rin says. "We... don't have anything else scheduled for now?"
And that's how you gain a little cometary tail of magical girls following you out of the park, down a conveniently deserted alley, and up to the roof of an apartment building. You've already guided the primary mass of your Grief over - it's much more manageable, now that you've cut it down. Fewer UFO reports, or so you assume.
You plant your feet and hold the Grief Seed out on the point of one finger, feeling a little self-conscious about the way you're the focus of four curious pairs of eyes - Sayaka's sitting on a vent and popping out power gem after power gem. The University girl's powers, presumably. Mami's also watching you with a gentle smile on her face, but that you're fine with.
You take a breath, and you begin, drawing the Grief out of the Grief Seed in thick, viscous streams. Grief billows free in the air, dizzying fractal patterns enough to make Rin and Tamiko avert their eyes after a second, but you pay them no heed, guiding the Grief into a whirling accretion disc that you crush into sphere after sphere.
Finally, you're done. You gesture at the huge pile of Grief now lying all around you. "That's how much Grief the Seed can store," you say, and summon a single marble of Grief to orbit your upraised finger. "Two or three of these are an average cleansing."
The Sendai girls' eyes are very, very wide. You don't think you'll ever stop enjoying that look of awe and gratitude and disbelieving hope.
You relinquish the Clear Seed to Rin, who receives it with cupped, shaking hands.
"Thank you," Rin whispers. "Thank you, Miss Sabrina."
"Yeah," Yumi says, eyes still wide. "If this- if this works, Miss Sabrina, I- thank you."
Tamiko bows deeply to you, bending nearly ninety degrees at her waist.
"You're welcome," you say, smiling at them.
Rin shakes her head, eyes still wide and shocked. "I- no, you've been more than generous, Miss Sabrina. Is there anything we can do?"
Voting opens
[] Ask to let Sayaka copy powers
[] Ask about regional magical girl affairs
[] Ask to see Akiko
- [] Write-in specific phrasing
[] Take your leave
- [] What next?
[] Time-skip...
- [] When to?
- [] What to cover?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
So, what's next on the agenda? It's getting on in the afternoon, close to five.
Mami, seated beside you, covers your hand in both of hers and squeezes gently.
You sigh heavily, drawing strength from the contact. "That's good," you say, looking back up at Rin. "Is there anything I can do to help her recovery?"
"Supplying cleansing to ease our burdens helps a lot," Rin says slowly and carefully. "But probably not beyond that. Your concern is appreciated."
"Yeah, well," you say, rubbing at your face. "I'm sorry. I wish it hadn't happened. We had our... differences, but Akiko's as much a victim of this whole magical girl system as anyone else."
Rin inclines her head slightly. Tamiko and Yumi both look a touch mollified, and Sayaka... Well, Sayaka doesn't say anything, though it looks like she really wants to. You're thankful for her having that much tact, at any rate.
"I suppose that seeing her would be out of the question?" you venture. "I'd understand, of course."
"I think it would be best not to," Rin says.
"Yeah, I understand," you say with a nod, and sigh. "For what it's worth, I really am sorry."
"It would've been better if you hadn't done it- mmph!" Yumi's grumbling is cut off by a glittering, iridescent orange hexagon clamping her mouth shut. Tamiko has her finger raised, eyes narrowed at her teammate.
"Thanks, Tamiko," Rin says. "Yumi..."
You sigh again. "I'm sorry. I truly am," you say, meeting the other girl's eyes. "There was no way I could have ignored it, and I hate that it's come to this."
Yumi manages to scowl, folding her arms. Rin frowns at her, rebuking her telepathically if you're any judge.
Rin shakes her head. "And I apologise for Yumi, too," she says, grimacing. "Is there anything else?" Unspoken is the promise that Yumi will probably get a proper earful after this.
"Um, yes, actually," you say. "And I understand. But yes, there's one last thing." You reach inside your pocket and pull out Hildegard for the... Third? Fourth? Something-th time today.
"This is what I call a Clear Seed," you say. "It's... Well, I developed this recently. I control Grief, right? This is what I get when I empty a Grief Seed out all the way. It cleanses as normal... Sayaka? Do you mind?"
Sayaka rolls her eyes, but grins and flips her hand palm up for her Soul Gem to materialise. You lob Hildegarde at her, and she catches it easily, presenting her Soul Gem to the Sendai girls. The thin, filmy patina of Grief is clearly visible in the slanting afternoon sunlight, and soaked away by a simple touch of Hildegarde's Seed.
"Ta-dah!" Sayaka says, displaying her sparkling clean Soul Gem with a flourish.
"So it lasts longer?" Rin guesses.
"A few thousand times longer," you say, tilting your head and smiling. "Maybe a few tens of thousands? I don-"
"WHAT?!" The forcefield clamping Yumi's mouth shut shatters with the force of her cry as she explodes to her feet. "You- wh- I don't believe you-"
Tamiko frowns, gesturing with both palms flat. Forcefields form against Yumi's thighs and lever under her knees, forcibly folding her legs and sitting her back down on the bench.
"Yeah, I admit, I've never tested them to that extent," you admit, smiling placidly. You know that's not her objection, and you'll never admit to intentionally missing it, but you're allowed a little mischief now and then. "But the theory holds up, and they've behaved properly so far for most part."
"What's the catch?" Rin says, over Yumi's fuming complaints.
"I suppose... well, the catch, if you want to put it that way, is that I'm offering to make these free to every magical girl group I come across," you say. "The University Group has already accepted one, in anticipation of you accepting one."
"I... see," Rin says. "I- yes, Tamiko?" She glances at the orange haired girl, who gestures at her. "Yes, of course. We'll accept, Miss Sabrina. Is there any other catch?"
"Yes." You flatten both palms against your thighs, leaning forward and looking her dead in the eye. "My one condition for this is that you don't use these to harm other magical girls. In fact, I ask the opposite - I ask you to help other magical girls if it's at all tenable. And if we hear of any magical girl conflict over a Clear Seed, from either side, we're coming down on them. Hard."
Rin swallows, and nods. "That... that won't be a problem," she says, and sighs. She opens her mouth, as if to say something, but shuts it. After a moment, she settles for a simple, "Message received."
"Good," you say, leaning back and rubbing wearily at your eyes. You take a moment and force yourself to relax, listening to the hubbub of a weekend at the park filtering in from beyond the little pavilion. You can hear children playing, and adults enjoying their break. Mami claims your hand again, squeezing gently. "I'm sorry to have to put it in such strong terms, but..."
"I understand," Rin says, and frowns at Yumi. "Right, Yumi?"
Tamiko apparently gives Yumi permission to speak, removing the force field from the grey-haired girl's mouth. "I- c'mon, Rin, this isn't about that, this is big. How can you be so calm, we- we'd never have to fight for our lives again." She looks at you. "You're giving us one? This is..." She makes a bitter noise, expression twisting. "This is the ultimate security, isn't it?"
You catch Nadia's amused expression out of the corner of your eye. Seems she's familiar with that turn of phrase, too.
"I suppose so," Rin says, chuckling humourlessly. "Ah, well. Do we have to take care of these in a special way or anything, Miss Sabrina?"
"Yeah, actually," you say. "OK, so keep in mind I only developed these things recently. If there are any problems, you need to let me know. The only thing I've found out so far is that you can't put normal Grief Seeds and a Clear Seed together, because the Grief Seed will suck the, well, Grief out of the Clear one and spawn the Witch again."
"Don't put them together, understood," Rin says, blinking.
"Hey Sabrina," Sayaka's voice pulses inside your head. "I suppose it would be a bad idea to ask if I can copy their powers."
"Yeah," you say, to both of them, and continue telepathically to Sayaka. "I was hoping they hadn't, ah, simmered in their resentment over what I did. Unfortunately, well..."
"Then, once again, we accept," Rin says, nodding. "I assume you require a Grief Seed to make a clear one?"
"Yep," you say, ignoring Sayaka's sarcastic, "I wonder why." At least Sayaka's getting better at hiding when she's using telepathy.
"Then here," Rin says, extracting a Grief Seed from a pocket and passing it over to you. "How long will it take?"
"Uh... a couple of minutes? But I'll need a quieter spot," you say. "It's, uh, not the most inconspicuous process."
"Yumi? Your place?" Rin asks.
"No, no, I just need a rooftop or something," you say, standing. "You're welcome to come and watch, but it's not that interesting."
"No, no, it is very interesting!" Nadia offers, grinning.
"Um," Rin says. "We... don't have anything else scheduled for now?"
And that's how you gain a little cometary tail of magical girls following you out of the park, down a conveniently deserted alley, and up to the roof of an apartment building. You've already guided the primary mass of your Grief over - it's much more manageable, now that you've cut it down. Fewer UFO reports, or so you assume.
You plant your feet and hold the Grief Seed out on the point of one finger, feeling a little self-conscious about the way you're the focus of four curious pairs of eyes - Sayaka's sitting on a vent and popping out power gem after power gem. The University girl's powers, presumably. Mami's also watching you with a gentle smile on her face, but that you're fine with.
You take a breath, and you begin, drawing the Grief out of the Grief Seed in thick, viscous streams. Grief billows free in the air, dizzying fractal patterns enough to make Rin and Tamiko avert their eyes after a second, but you pay them no heed, guiding the Grief into a whirling accretion disc that you crush into sphere after sphere.
Finally, you're done. You gesture at the huge pile of Grief now lying all around you. "That's how much Grief the Seed can store," you say, and summon a single marble of Grief to orbit your upraised finger. "Two or three of these are an average cleansing."
The Sendai girls' eyes are very, very wide. You don't think you'll ever stop enjoying that look of awe and gratitude and disbelieving hope.
You relinquish the Clear Seed to Rin, who receives it with cupped, shaking hands.
"Thank you," Rin whispers. "Thank you, Miss Sabrina."
"Yeah," Yumi says, eyes still wide. "If this- if this works, Miss Sabrina, I- thank you."
Tamiko bows deeply to you, bending nearly ninety degrees at her waist.
"You're welcome," you say, smiling at them.
Rin shakes her head, eyes still wide and shocked. "I- no, you've been more than generous, Miss Sabrina. Is there anything we can do?"
Voting opens
[] Ask to let Sayaka copy powers
[] Ask about regional magical girl affairs
[] Ask to see Akiko
- [] Write-in specific phrasing
[] Take your leave
- [] What next?
[] Time-skip...
- [] When to?
- [] What to cover?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
So, what's next on the agenda? It's getting on in the afternoon, close to five.
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