[X] Ask Madoka about how she's been doing recently.
"So, will you consider joining our team as a master?"
Nurse Ortensia is fairly unresponsive when you approach her after archery practice with your offer. Even after disclosing the situation to her, she seems at best tepid about the prospect. Whether she's hiding some deeper emotional dialogue, or whether she genuinely doesn't care about your situation, you can't say from the stony look on her face. "You know, as the Church's representative in Mitakihara, I'm supposed to remain neutral in the event of something like this," she says.
"I also know that neutrality is a load of bull," you reply. "Archer told me about the Fifth Holy Grail War, and I've heard from Rider that the Church's representative in his War was hardly neutral as well. You've got no reason to lie; if you don't plan on getting involved, you're free to say so. I promise I won't be offended."
"Is that so?"
"That is so."
"Well, I suppose I don't have a choice, then." Nurse Ortensia shrugs as you look on in confusion. "I'll admit, I'm curious to meet this homunculus you girls have found, and my getting involved on your side makes it easier for me to do my job and keep tabs on all of you. On top of that, even if I went off and summoned a servant on my own, chances are pretty good I'd end up getting drawn into things one way or another. Either the enemy will see I have a servant and treat me as an enemy, or that annoying cousin of mine will end up dragging me into this somehow. At least this way, I can set my own terms for joining."
It's a power play, then; "And, what are your terms?"
"We summon as soon as we can. Tonight, if possible. You bring your team and whoever you've pegged to be your seventh master to the basement of the Sakura Church by nightfall, and we'll take care of things right then and there."
"Any particular reason you've chosen the Sakura Church?"
"The city's leylines are fairly robust in that location. It'll take some of the burden of summoning off my magic circuits if we do it there." Huh. That wasn't even something you had thought to consider. If nothing else, you're glad Nurse Ortensia took it into consideration if it really is as important as she makes it out to be. It probably is. She's got prior experience with this sort of thing, after all. "The same should apply to your other master as well, I imagine."
You nod, and are about to speak when you feel your phone vibrating in your pocket. "Do you need to take that?"
It's Madoka. "I probably should." Your eyes glance over Madoka's text; it's nothing urgent, just her asking when you would be ready.
<Homura: I had to speak with Nurse Ortensia first. I'm just leaving now.>
You return your phone to your pocket, and say to Nurse Ortensia "I need to be leaving now. I assume Oriko will get in touch with you when we're ready."
Nurse Ortensia waves you out of her office, making sure to say before you leave "Don't forget. Tonight, at the Sakura Church. I'll be waiting."
Nurse Ortensia will be waiting several hours still before nightfall; that gives you plenty of time to spend with Madoka before you and the rest of your team have to be ready. You'll be seeing two servants summoned tonight, and you can't help but wonder which servants, and of which classes, Hitomi and Nurse Ortensia will be summoning. Saber and Assassin still remain; who will be summoning a servant of which class?
Madoka is waiting for you when you arrive at your apartment. "Hey, Homura-chan," Madoka says, hugging you as you fish your keys out of your pocket. "I hope I didn't drag you out of anything important, but I wanted to see you."
"It's fine. Nurse Ortensia and I were just talking; it's nothing serious." Reluctantly, Madoka pulls away from you so you can unlock the door. She waits outside, while you leave your shoes at the door so you can fetch Amy. You find her in your room, hiding under your bed. "Come on," you say, trying to coax Amy out with one of her toys. "It's just the vet; nothing bad's going to happen, I promise. You're just getting a checkup today, that's all. No shots." You can still remember how much Amy protested the first time you took her to get her shots.
"Come on, Amy, you've got to go to the vet." Madoka wasn't content to wait for you at the door, after all. She grabs another one of Amy's toys, joining you as the two of you, together, are finally able to coax Amy out from under your bed. Madoka smiles as Amy bats at the toy in her hand, saying "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
Getting Amy into her travel cage is easier than getting her out from under your bed. Once you and Madoka relinquish your hold on her toys, she goes quietly, uttering only the occasional "Mew" as she bats her toys around inside the travel cage. "This'll be over quick, I promise," you say to Amy, as you and Madoka set off for the vet's office. It's not a very far walk, fortunately; just a few blocks, plenty of time for you and Madoka to catch up. "So, what have you been up to lately?"
"Well, my birthday was yesterday," Madoka responds. "I got to see my girlfriend; that was really nice."
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." You do your best to smile, as you say to Madoka "I'm sorry I haven't had that much time to spend with you these past four weeks. Things have been a little hectic for the girls and I, and we're nowhere closer to being done even though it's taken up more time than I'd like to admit."
A quiet "Mhm" escapes Madoka's lips as she nods her head. "It's okay, Homura-chan, really. You're doing a good thing for the city. I just wish you had more time, that's all."
"So do I, Madoka." Ah! You know what you can talk about. "I didn't see your brother at all at your birthday party yesterday; how's he doing? He must be, what, five? Six? How is he?"
"Takkun is fine," Madoka replies. "Papa was watching him upstairs so he wouldn't bother us, but I guess I wouldn't have minded if he came down to say hi. He's in his first year of school now; he's already making friends, actually." Madoka smiles, saying "You know, I was about his age when I met Sayaka-chan and Hitomi-chan. I hope he makes some really good friends, just like I did."
"And what about girlfriends?" you ask, your lips turning upwards into a coy smile as you ask "How old do you hope Takkun is when he starts dating?"
"Well, I met my first girlfriend when I was fourteen," Madoka says, returning your coy smile with one of her own. "I guess I'd be okay with him meeting his first girlfriend at that age, too." One of Madoka's hands finds its way to your free hand, and her fingers slip in-between your own. "Of course, I really hope that my first girlfriend turns out to be my only girlfriend, so I guess I'd hope the same for Takkun as well." Madoka lets out a small "Oh!" as she hastily adds "But I'd also be fine if Takkun had a boyfriend! You know, don't they say there's a higher chance of being gay if you've got an older sibling who's also gay?"
"I wouldn't know," you reply, shrugging as best as you can with your arms weighted down as they are. "I'm adopted, so I guess there's no relation between me being a lesbian and my older sister also being a lesbian."
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised if Takkun brings a boy home when he's my age. I wonder how Mama and Papa would take it, though; they're both riding on Takkun to give them grandkids..."
You and Madoka continue to exchange smalltalk as you make your way to the vet's office, a tiny clinic located on a somewhat-busy street a few blocks from your apartment; an when you say tiny, you mean it. It isn't as though the veterinarian is a poor one, but you don't think you've ever seen more than a handful of people in the clinic at a time. Not that it could fit more than a handful of people at a time, that is. You check in with the lady at the front desk, after which you and Madoka take your seats underneath a poster with information on feline dental hygiene, and you wait for your name to be called.
"Akemi?"
"That's me." Amy comes with you, while Madoka stays behind, engrossed in some animal health pamphlet she's picked up for reading material. "It's her regular checkup," you say, letting Amy out of her travel cage once you've found your way into the examination room. "I haven't noticed any problems with her health since the last time you saw her."
"Good, good." The vet, a bespectacled twig of a man by the name of Yoshida, takes over once Amy settles in. Doctor Yoshida's routine is, well, routine to you by now; he checks her ears, nose, mouth, and eyes; he feels her underside looking for problems with her stomach and intesites; he checks her reflexes; and he checks her coat for parasites. The whole process takes about ten minutes. "Well, she's in perfect health, as always," Doctor Yoshida says. "You know, I'm amazed at how healthy she is, considering she's a former stray and all. You must take very good care of her."
"Only the best." Only the best for your best kitty; because the alternative is Madoka contracting to revive her. "See?" you say to Amy as you nudge her back into her travel cage. "That wasn't so bad, was it? No shots, just like I said." Once you have Amy secure in her travel cage, you say to Doctor Yoshida "Thank you. See you in six months?"
"See you in six months, Akemi. Take care."
Doctor Yoshida sees you out of the examination room, and you return to Madoka to deliver the good news. "Well, how'd it go?"
"She's in perfect health."
"I'm glad." Madoka smiles, and the two of you make to return to your apartment. "So, Homura-chan, we've got some time before you've got to meet up with the others, right? What do you want to do?"
What do you do while you wait for nightfall?
[ ] Spend your time with Madoka
-[ ] Doing what? (write-in)
[ ] Meet up with your teammates to get everything ready
-[ ] What needs to be done to get everything ready? (write-in)
[ ] Other (write-in)
