Chapter 127 - Just Everyday Things
Despite a somewhat rocky start, your conference with Hitomi's parents goes well once you've confirmed exactly what kind of people they are. The Shizukis aren't bad people, and you would even go so far as to call them acceptable parents, but they have flaws like anyone else. And some people's flaws are more dominant in their decision-making process. For the Shizukis, that flaw happens to be an excessive desire to conform to cultural standards and be seen as exemplary within them. It's a simple compulsion, but unfortunately one that tends to feed itself as time goes on. Their respect for you goes from almost zero to surprisingly high rather quickly once they get the impression that you're a person of importance. Haruka seems desperate for help, a laudable desire for any parent, but the way she went from cold and haughty to obeisant really rubs you the wrong way. Asahi isn't much better, approaching the whole thing like a business deal. Nevertheless, you aren't here to play therapist. You're here to deliver information.
As it turns out, proving the existence of magic and sufficiently advanced technology is very easy when you can visibly perform both. From there, it's just a matter of explaining all the key details in a way that doesn't prompt the Shizukis to panic and do something foolish. A tenuous proposition to be sure, but not beyond your scope of abilities. Especially after having the Kanames as a practice round. Hitomi's parents aren't exactly the same paragons of understanding that Madoka's are, but you also don't have to juggle the implications of allowing their daughter onto a battlefield, so it all evens out in the end. Without anything to discuss regarding the ongoing threats to Mitakihara besides a recommendation to keep a beach house in a foreign country in mind to leave to if it comes to it, all that's left is Hitomi.
"If this aberration-"
"Abnormality." you correct on instinct.
"-is the cause of Hitomi's unwellness, can't you simply produce a cure? If your technology is really so advanced." Haruka asks in a strained voice.
"It's more complicated than that." you explain flatly. "For one thing, the poison Hitomi was afflicted with is a sort of super-opiate. Even with all the difficulties of correcting the effects it has on brain chemistry, the memories of the experience can still lead to an addiction persisting. More importantly, though," you continue, your voice steadily lowering. "Is the fact that she has already been 'cured' as much as is possible. The poison is out of her system, its lingering effects have been dispelled, and Madoka was able to treat the withdrawal before you even returned from your trip. Any further symptoms Hitomi is experiencing are psychological, not physiological."
Asahi frowns. "Hitomi's fine. There's been no history of mental illness on either side of the family, so there's no reason she should have anything wrong with her. Once this all blows over, everything will go back to normal."
"I'm not talking about mental illnesses here. I'm just proposing that the expectations placed in your daughter in combination with the derision she is facing for something she has no fault in would be stressful for anyone." you explain. The father scoffs.
"What do you want us to do? I wish I could simply dismiss all these rumors about my daughter in an instant, but that isn't possible."
"I would suggest a therapist, honestly. She has her friends to support her at school, and you can do the same at home, but talking with a professional rarely makes things worse." you propose calmly. Honestly, that advice goes for a lot of people you know.
Asahi looks skeptical. Haruka, on the other hand, seems actively amused by the suggestion. "Hitomi's a strong girl, you know. She never needed anything like that before. Surely it would only worsen things to further stain her reputation like that?"
You want to snap back at the clear fallacy. Asking for help isn't weakness. It shouldn't be seen as a stain to somebody's reputation to seek aid when you need it. How is Hitomi supposed to feel better if nothing's done about it?
But you can't. The Shizukis won't suddenly become better parents after one conversation, and you would break down whatever goodwill you built during this conversation. You're an outsider, and trying to push your way into Hitomi's family and fix what you see as wrong would do more harm than good. There's nothing you can do from this end of things.
"It's only a suggestion." you say with a weary sigh, sitting up from your chair. "Now, I must be on my way. I have a lot of work to do, after all."
At least she'll still have her friends to rely on.
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When you arrive back at the apartment, you very nearly run into Kyoko as she steps out the door. The red-haired girl stumbles from the surprise of your sudden appearance, but quickly catches herself.
"Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." Kyoko mutters. You shake your head.
"It's my fault for showing up literally out of nowhere. That said, what's got you in such a rush?" you ask.
Kyoko's eyes dart to the sides for a moment, then turns back to you. "I'm going hunting. There's not much else for me to do around here."
"Oh? Finished your study prep already?" you say. You know homework is boring, especially to somebody who hasn't had any for the past several years. But it's important for establishing skills, especially for a person who needs to make up for lost time.
Kyoko must notice the doubt in your words, because there's a note of indignation in her voice when she responds. "Yeah. I'm done with today's work and didn't want to waste any time."
"It's literally the middle of the day. You know you aren't going to find many Witches around here about now even with this massive rise in population density?" Not only that, but Grief Seeds aren't really a limited resource for you anymore. Two teams of vastly superior fighters with above-typical sensing abilities in an area with far, far more Witches than anyone else in the world are able to build up a stock rather quickly. On top of that, hatching Seeds can be slain over and over again to reuse them. You might have to start handing them to Kyubey or just not using them after a fourth or fifth use just to be safe, but with the current stock you have spread between only Mami and Sayaka that won't be happening any time soon.
"I know," Kyoko says. "I just feel like I need to be doing something. It's easy to just follow a familiar habit, y'know?"
A part of you wants to stop her from wandering off on her own. But at the same time, what's the real risk? If you didn't trust Kyoko to keep her powers in check you wouldn't be keeping her in the same house as two other children. You've already established that there probably won't be any Witches out right now. Even if there were, Kyoko was hunting alone for years even before she was a living inferno who could literally burn monsters to death just by standing in the same room as them. Ironically, you don't need to treat her like she's made of glass when it comes to this.
You shrug in acceptance and offer a quick "Happy hunting, then. Good luck." Kyoko grins, and it is the smile of the Kyoko you've only ever seen in memories and illusions, the Kyoko you've never met.
The Kyoko who was Mami's sister.
"I've never needed luck before. But thanks anyways."
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"Kyubey?"
"Do you need something?"
Without fail, the alien's proxy body of indeterminate species appears the moment you call out for it, sitting on the desk you're using in Mami's room and staring at the sketches you've made.
"This machine is designed to manipulate cellular replication." it observes. You nod.
"Yep, though this is only one design. I've already run things through a few specifications, so now it's just a matter of which materials can be procured the fastest." you explain. Time isn't quite of the essence, but you prefer to solve any issues that arise swiftly. It stops problems from piling up when done successfully, though doing things fast hasn't really been possible here in Mitakihara.
As a result, your mission to restore Nothing There's victims to proper bodies has fallen by the wayside in the name of more pressing tasks. The Library can sustain them indefinitely, but they can't leave and at least some have to have families that would miss them or lives to get back to. Otherwise, it'd be far too depressing.
Regardless, full-body clone replacement seems the most effective solution to you. You don't even have to design anything, since the process is common enough in the City for Ayin to have learned more than one way to do it. Soul Gems make the process significantly easier, letting you just stick the person's mind back in the body without all the messy brain surgery and moving of people's spinal cords and all. The only hurdle is materials.
Cloning an entire person from nothing but genetic information is a feat. Actually, that's an understatement. It's difficult beyond what most people have words to explain. Even with all your knowledge, you're only halfway to a solution. Because all of these machines will need to be made. And that means they will need parts. Esoteric, rare parts that are illegal to own, let alone purchase in this world. This would be a significant roadblock. Would be, were it not for a particular individual.
"Say, which of these designs to you think is most efficient here? Mostly in terms of construction time, but growth speed is important too."
"The fourth machine would be the third quickest to bring to full function and has the highest growth speed. Overall, it will be superior for large batches." Kyubey answers helpfully, its voice a total monotone in contrast to the bright, unchanging smile plastered onto its proxy body.
"Right. Four it is, then. Say, would it be too much to ask for you to get some of these materials delivered for me? I'd rather not be arrested for unlawful possession of radium." you joke, though your request is earnest.
"It can be done without much difficulty. The materials for the design should arrive in a few days." Kyubey answers blankly. You pause from your planning and blink at the ferret-cat-thing.
"Really? Just like that? No favors in exchange or anything?"
"It's more efficient to work with you and suffer minor expenses in the name of that relationship than it is to try and do what you're doing alone." Kyubey explains, never once breaking their cold, logical drone. "Besides, observing your work is useful. It's been predicted that integration of the displayed concepts could raise overall efficiency by between six point nine three four and seven point four five five percent overall."
Having inherited memories of a man who ran the City's largest energy providing company and then run that company yourself, you know what a seven percent overall increase means. Still, it's funnier to you to cross your arms, pout, and say "Seven percent? Is that all you could get out of me?"
Kyubey seems to understand that you were joking, because they move on without acknowledging your jest. "Additionally, combating Abnormality presence has been unsuccessful without your assistance. Unless a large amount of energy were to be expended, they would remain as interfering factors."
Ah, mutual enemies. A tale as old as time. In the end, you don't expect your little alliance with Kyubey to last forever. You're both using one another to get what you want, and the moment that stops being possible you'll be opposed, if not outright enemies. Even if the Incubators weren't interested in unraveling the secrets of your entropy-violating sciences, you would oppose them and their whole meat grinder of a system on principle. You can rely on the Incubators to do whatever benefits them most, and once the other Abnormalities are gone your alliance will no longer have benefits outweighing the negatives. Likewise, you'll have nothing left between you and tearing their whole empire to shreds. It would make a nice parting gift for the kids before you disappear.
Yes, Kyubey is only a resource you can exploit for as long as you can be exploited. But until then…
"By the way, I've got a few ideas I want you to look over. Just to see if you have any suggestions."
…you're going to make sure you get a lot more out of this alliance than the Incubators do.
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Plans For Kamihama
[] Communication Plans
- Kyubey cannot reach into Kamihame, and so telepathy won't function inside the city limits. That doesn't mean staying in contact will be impossible.
[] Barrier Plans
- You already have a way to sneak yourself and others into Kamihama, but it's good to have redundancies. If you could somehow interfere with the Barrier Kamihama is set up in, you could disguise your entry points.
[] Information Plans
- The dimensional layering on Kamihama along with its various obscuring enchantments have left its contents concealed. While you do have some reports on the interior, they'll be outdated by the time the attack starts. If you could see further in, you'd have more options and know what to expect
[] Write-in.
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Der Freischütz's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Schadenfreude's Sapling - Observation Level 1/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED
What is there to really say? A war is coming, and you'd best be prepared.
: Don't double post little bug. You can just re-edit your previous comment.
: Don't double post little bug. You can just re-edit your previous comment.
: Also, HAH! As if. There's a reason why even dear Carmen follows my plan! It's PERFECT!!
: I'm muting you.
