One does not simply walk into Mitakihara...
... Without getting some free hugs and an Empty Seed!
"What do you think, Mami? Nadia?"
The aforementioned girls shared a look.
"I... don't think memes are the best way to publicize our Seed campaign," said Mami with an apologetic smile.
Sabrina pouted.
"I mean..." the blonde's smile faltered, "it's not quite..."
Sabrina pouted harder.
"..." Mami turned to look at Nadia, pouting just as hard as Sabrina.
The olive skinned girl's eyes widened; she raised her hands as if to fend off the two girls' begging stares.
"It is fine with me!" she said. "Memes are... good? Hip? Cool. Memes are cool!"
"Yesssss..." grinned Sabrina, clenching her fists under her chin.
Mami smiled, happy for her... partner.
'Sabrina!'
The white haired girl bolted up into a sitting position, wide eyed, Homura's agitated voice reverberating through her skull.
With a soft groan, Mami shifted, compensating for Sabrina's change of position, cuddling on the girl's side, arms firmly wrapped around her waist.
After a second, Sabrina realizeed Homura was ranting into her metaphorical ear.
'-a line, Sabrina, there's so many and one of them hugged me and it felt weird, what did you do? This is your fault somehow, right, of course it is, how did you get so many-'
'Breathe, Homura!' interrupted Sabrina. 'Well, I guess you are breathing, because telepathy doesn't- anyway!' the white haired girl shook her head, stopping herself. 'What did you...' a big yawn escapeed her lips.
She took notice of the time: Yellow sunlight beams filtered through the windows; dawn still not over yet.
'What did you say the problem was?' she asked.
'There's...' Homua hesistated, 'there's a line, Sabrina. Of magical girls. Waiting to enter the city.'
It took a few seconds for Homura's halted explanation to filter through Sabrina's mind.
Then she covered her mouth with one hand.
'Oh shit.'
'... Sabrina?' asked Homura in a dubious tone, as if dreading the answer.
The blue eyed girl's explanation came out as a whisper.
'It's the power of memes...'
Sabrina stared, wide eyed, her lips curved into a half panicked, half elated smile.
Mami's arm tightened around the taller girl's own.
"There's an actual line..." she muttered, as if she could not believe it.
And there was. A long, long line of what must have been hundreds of meguca were waiting... some more patient than others, observed Sabrina, as a heated discussion broke around a quarter down the line.
Meanwhile, the girls at the front seemed tense, throwing glares at a fidgeting Homura, or rather, at Homura's minigun, which she seemed to be using as a shield with which to fend off the impatient meguca.
"Heeeeeey!" a girl in a dark red dress waved at Sabrina and Mami. They recognized Nadia as she approached, and waved back.
"What are you doing here?" asked Sabrina. "I thought you left?"
The info broker laughed. "What? And miss this?" she asked, waving an arm to indicate the congregation of magical girls.
"What happened?" asked Sabrina. "Homura's explanation... was less than elucidating."
"Don't tell me you weren't expecting this?" asked the moroccan magical girl, tilting her head. "I mean, everybody loves memes, and you know how big Lord of the Rings is, so..."
Sabrina blinks. "Uh... Lord of the Rings isn't that big, is it?"
Nadia's head tilts to the other side.
Mami turns and leans forward, so she can give Sabrina a look.
"What?" shrugs the white haired girl.
The golden haired magical girl sighs. "Oh, Sabrina..." she patted the taller girl's arm.
"What?" she exclaimed again, as Nadia snorted in laughter.
Sabrina sighed. "I guess we shouldn't question our good furtune," she muttered.
Mami ruffled her hair.
"Now you're free of that which weigthed down on your mind, and I set you free," entoned Sabrina, hugging a red haired magical girl tightly. Wisps of Grief drifted away from the girl's flame-shaped Gem, who sagged into the taller girl's embrace.
After a moment, she stepped back, and with a mumbled "Thanks", she accepted the Empty Seed Sabrina offered, and walked away.
"Next!" called Sabrina, looking around for a moment.
The long, long line of Magical Girls had split into six, each leading a different girl, who were doing exactly as advertised, handing out hugs and Empty Seeds. Except for Hitomi, who was taking care of the those who were only interested in the Seeds.
At the back of Sabrina's mind, she kept track of everyone, and as she heard Mami whispering kind words to a meguca's ear (a trend she had started), she drew away the corruption from said meguca's Gem.
Sabrina took special attention of Madoka and Homura, the pink girl being the one receiving the foreign meguca with so much kindness Sabrina was sure she saw some girls walk away with tears in their eyes. Homura, meanwhile, stuck close behind Madoka, fidgeting, glaring, and all around looking like she wanted for nothing of what was happening to happen.
Sabrina spared a thought to wish her friend's blood pressure would hold, then turned to receive the next meguca in line.
"Welcome," she said as she drew the girl into an embrace, "to a place where you do not need to fight for your life, where you can just be yourself, and..." as she talked, she tried to cleanse the girl's gem... to find it pristinely clean.
Sabrina drew back, confused, to stare at a blonde, short haired magical girl who looked back sheepishly.
The white haired girl blinked. "Haven't I met you before...?"
The blonde magical girl laughed. "Well, yes, earlier, I mean," she babbled, "I already got my Seed so I don't need another, I just got back in line because I think you're pretty and, uh..."
Cheeks red, the girl threw herself against Sabrina, hugging her tight enough to make her choke.
A few metres away, a green haired magical girl approaching Mami with open arms flinched and drew back; Sabrina shivered as she felt her blonde's gaze boring into the oblivious girl still trying to choke the air out of her lungs.
Sabrina laughed nervously, patting the strange girl's shoulder. In an instant, she drew back, still as red faced as earlier, stammered some apologies, and quickly walked away... to rejoin the dwindling line.
Sabrina gulped, chancing a side look at Mami, who seemed to be trying to burn a hole through the other blonde's skull through sheer effort of will.
A giggle from her other side drew Sabrina's attention to Sayaka, who gave her a thumbs up.
Sabrina's eye twitched.
Sayaka paled suddenly, looking away and quickly receiving the next magical girl in line as Mami's glare moved her way.
Sabrina sent the golden magical girl a pleading look, which seemed to have some effect, the glare diminishing into a simple displeased look, before finally Mami sighed, and turned to the still cringing magical girl at the front of her line with a smile.
"Yeah..." said the greenette, shotting Sabrina a quick look, "I'll just have the Seed, please..."
Mami's smile turned turned into a grimace.
The magical girl shivered and looked from Mami to Sabrina.
'Help...' she mouthed.
"... Five minutes break?" asked Sabrina, watching as a group of at least two dozen magical girls teleported in.
The five minutes were spent chatting amiably, Sayaka talking with Hitomi and Madoka, and Sabrina was glad to see the pinkette smile so radiantly, she was actually considering making herself some grief shades.
Homura, of course, was still hovering over Madoka's shoulder.
Nadia was busy writing in her book, throwing furtive glances at the waiting meguca lines now and then, while drinking a can of cold tea.
Mami spent the entire break burrowed into Sabrina's side.