Day 33 Chapter 13
[X] Enetious



The hour draws near to the sun's departure over the distant hills, and just as the sky first takes on the shades of the setting sun, you take Madoka's hand into your own, saying to her "Do you want to watch the sunset with me? I know a really good spot around here, if you'd like to."

Madoka's eyes light up at your suggestion, and she responds "Ah! of course I would!" as she allows you to lead her from the cabin, to the easternmost edge of the hill overlooking Lake Ashi that Archer pointed out to you. "I can't believe it; watching the sunset with Homura-chan!"

The two of you take your seats as far to the east as you can go, never minding the grass and sand at your butts as you sit down together. It's the most beautiful sunset you've ever seen. The sun cresting just barely below the western edge of Mount Fuji and the distant hills still shines faintly with gold, and in its fading light Madoka's eyes appear to be flecked with gold as well; while overhead, encroaching from the east, are beautiful shades of violet and pink mingling together. Your feel your cheeks flush when you find your mind drifting to thoughts of other things of violet and pink which you would like to see mingling together, and in your reflection in Madoka's eyes you can see that, in addition to your face, the setting sun's light has dyed your own eyes a deep wine-red. And yet, you think, smiling for Madoka as you breathe in and out contentedly, Madoka's love is a liquor more potent to you than any wine, and one which you would gladly drink with a boundless thirst.

"It's beautiful, Homura-chan," Madoka says, giving your hand a squeeze as she draws just slightly closer to you, the closing gap helping to preserve your warmth in the encroaching cool of the coming night.

"Not as beautiful as you," you say back to her.

"Not as beautiful as you." You hear your words echo in your ears; but that wasn't your voice which you heard speaking them. Your attention is stolen from Madoka by the arrival of guests; true to Archer's word, Mikuni Oriko and Kure Kirika have also decided to make their way up the edge of the hill to watch the sunset. "Still, if there's anyone I'd wish to share this view with," Mikuni Oriko says to her lover; why are you paying attention to other girls, when your girlfriend is sitting right beside you? "I'm so glad it's able to be you, dearest."

"Mhm." Kure Kirika leans in close to her lover, and the pair nuzzle at each other's noses with smiles on their faces, before going in for the kiss which you had been expecting from them from the very beginning. "I love you."

"And I love you," you say, responding to their words with your own declaration of love for the girl sitting beside you. "I love you so much, Madoka." It's unconscious; you aren't telling your body to move this way, but you can feel your face and Madoka's face edging closer to one another. Guided by the call of their magnetic other, your lips reach out for Madoka's own, but for the third time are met with the flesh of her hand instead.

"I'm sorry, Homura-chan," she says, her face coloured the same flushed scarlet as yours. "It's beautiful- Ah; I mean, you're beautiful, but I still feel like we're going a little too fast." Madoka tries to smile for you, and once more her hand meets its mate in your own. "I know; I know how much you want to kiss me, and I'd really like to kiss you too, but... Maybe next time, okay?"



"Aren't they cute out there?" Kure Minako asks you as, standing on the patio with her arms leaning against the wooden railing, she watches the two couples as they watch the sunset. "Your daughter and mine, I mean; aren't they so cute out there watching the sunset with their girlfriends?"

You give Kure Minako a noncommittal "Mhm," as you make your way out onto the patio to join her. "They sure do look like they're enjoying themselves," you say, handing Kure Minako a beer you pulled from the fridge. "Figured you'd want one of these, after the morning you've had."

With a "Thanks," Kure Minako takes the can from you, popping the top and eagerly sipping as you watch. You're not very thirsty right now. "I needed that."

You watch the mother Kure nurse her drink with a melancholy look; she needs more than just a few beers to be able to turn her life around. "I was hoping we could spend some time, if you're not busy right now, talking about our plans going forward. I said I'd be willing to help you learn to cook, and tutor you for your equivalency certificate, but before I can do that I need to know what your schedule looks like, so we can figure out what times would be best for that."

Taking one final sip, Kure Minako downs the last of her beer. Unconsciously, perhaps, she motions her hand as if to say "Give me another," but you have no such second beer on your person. "Well, usually I'll wake up at around five, maybe five-thirty at the latest if I've had a really rough night. I have to be at my first shift by six-thirty at the latest, and from there I'll work until nine-thirty. That gives me just a half-hour to get from my first shift to the office before my second shift starts at ten. I get a half-hour break at noon, but unless I threw some microwaved meal in my bag I usually don't have time to go out and get something to eat. Once lunch is over, I'll be at the office until seven, and that gives me three hours to go home, have dinner, and take a nap before my third shift starts at ten. I get home from my third shift at around two in the morning; and after a beer or two I hit the hay and wake up at five again."

You have to give your mind some pause to consider what Kure Minako has just told you. By her schedule, which you have no idea for how long she has kept it, but can probably assume all seven years since she divorced her ex-husband, she gets less than six hours of sleep each day; and it's not even all at the same time, at that. And yet, for less than six hours of sleep a day, for the past seven years, she still manages to look amazing. "On Thursdays and Sundays, I don't work the morning shift, and on Fridays and Saturdays I don't work my night shift; but generally, that's been my schedule for the past seven years. It's been an uphill battle, you know; trying to find the time to take care of Kirika while also working what I need to to keep her fed and clothed, so for as much as I've missed seeing her these past few months, I'm actually really grateful to Oriko for taking her off my hands."

You nod; perhaps there was more going on in the daughter Kure's mind than just her obsession with Mikuni that spurred her decision to accept the offer of cohabitation. "Well, from the sound of things, Friday and Saturday nights are going to be the best times for me to help you," you say; your words earn you a smile from the mother Kure. "Maybe other nights as well, since going forward I'd like to see you be able to drop at least your night shift. You're not getting enough sleep, and if you want to get your Cert and go to college you'll need to be ready mentally as well as academically."

"I don't know if I can afford to drop it, though." Kure Minako sighs, staring out into the rapidly-approaching darkness at her daughter. "I mean, I guess I could; but all the money I'm earning working there I'm saving up to send Kirika to college. I'd much rather see her succeed, even if it means I won't be able to." Faintly, you can see tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "But, after what my daughter told me about... How she and her friends are, I don't... I don't even know if she'll live long enough to make it that far. So... Do I keep that money for myself, knowing that my future success hinges on my only daughter being killed by something I don't even understand; or do I keep saving it for her future, knowing she might never even get to have that future?"

Inside, you're warring with the various ways in which you can show your support to the woman standing beside you. You can do nothing; save for being the mother of one of your master's allies, this woman is a virtual stranger to you, and it would be incredibly easy to never see her again. You can hug her; she's not exactly someone you know well or are close to, but from your travels across lands much worse off than Mitakihara you've found that a little bit of physical comfort is all it takes to put a smile on the face of someone who is suffering. Eventually, you compromise, placing a hand on her shoulder as you say "I could lend you the money."

Great job idiot; where are you supposed to get the money from? Your master's father left her a pretty big sum, but that money isn't for you; and even if it were, you wouldn't be touching a single Yen until she's twenty. So how are you supposed to get the money now that you've made your offer?

Of course; the Yakuza. Your master, by her own admission, hasn't had any problems stealing from them; and she's just a fourteen-year-old girl. Imagine how easy it would be for you, an all-powerful guardian of humanity, to swipe a few stacks from the local gangsters' hideout?


Kure Minako's eyes go wide at your words; she can't believe what you've said any more than you do. You won't tell her what your plan is, of course, but you can tell her "If you drop the night shift, and put the money you earn from one of your other shifts towards your daughter's future, I could lend you however much you need to stay afloat while I'm helping you out; and in addition to teaching you how to cook and helping you study, this would also be a good incentive to help you learn some financial planning fundamentals."

"I..." Kure Minako swallows, saying to you "That... That's too much. I couldn't possibly ask you to do that for someone you've just met. No, I... I'm sure I can think of something, just..." She wipes away the tears from her eyes; though at this point it's hard to tell whether she's crying from the worry she feels towards her daughter's future, or from your own generous offer. "Just give me some time to think about it, okay? We can definitely meet Friday and Saturday nights; and even Sundays if you'd like, since the office is closed on Sundays. But just give me some time to think of how I might be able to leave my night shift without making you pay for me."

"That's perfectly fair," you say. "But, even if you're averse to me helping to pay your way, I hope you won't be averse to me making your breakfast and lunch each day, at least until you're in a better position to cook for yourself."

"You'd do that, for me?"

"Unlike a lot of other guys, I actually like to cook. I make breakfast and lunch for Homura every day; and from the way your schedule sounds I can see why you wouldn't have time for anything but microwave meals. So yes, making an extra set of breakfast and lunch each day wouldn't be a problem for me. Just tell me where to deliver them and I'll be there." You shoot Kure Minako a cocky smile, adding "Of course, I won't take no for an answer. You'll have three meals a day from now on, no matter what your schedule looks like."

"Thanks, I..." Kure Minako stops herself, and under the last light of the setting sun she drums her fingers against the wooden patio railing as she says "I haven't had a guy bring me a home-cooked meal since... Since I was married to Kirika's father. He couldn't cook worth a damn; but at least back then, I thought his heart was in it."

"Rest assured, my cooking could beat your ex's any day." Kure Minako smiles at those words, and you ask her "Hey, the girls should all be coming back now, so how about we get started on dinner?"

Kure Minako nods, saying to you "You must be able to read me like a book."

[Archer] Wat do?
[Homura] Wat do?​
 
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I had the vote for this sitting in an open Word document, so I thought I'd get it taken care of so I didn't have it sitting around all week. You probably shouldn't take this as a sign of things to come, as it's likely that I still won't be able to give you guys anything more than this until Saturday or Sunday.
 
[x][Homura] Try not to sulk about being denied Madoka's kiss once more.
-[x] Fail
[x][Archer] Try not to freak out when Lancer suddenly hugs you from behind.
-[x] Freak out a little on the inside.
 
[x][Homura] Try not to sulk about being denied Madoka's kiss once more.
-[x] Fail
[x][Archer] Try not to freak out when Lancer suddenly hugs you from behind.
-[x] Freak out a little on the inside.

I have no idea where the Archer part would go, but I'm eager to find out.
 
[x][Archer] Try not to freak out when Lancer suddenly hugs you from behind.
-[x] Freak out a little on the inside.
[x][Archer] Try not to freak out when Lancer suddenly hugs you from behind.
-[x] Freak out a little on the inside.

I have no idea where the Archer part would go, but I'm eager to find out.
Catfight, probably, with Minako pissed that Lancer touched her man, and Lancer having to intentionally hold back to avoid killing her master's girlfriend's mother. With Archer just standing there, staring, watching, not sure what to do because nothing in his training prepared him for this.
 
"And I love you," you say, responding to their words with your own declaration of love for the girl sitting beside you. "I love you so much, Madoka." It's unconscious; you aren't telling your body to move this way, but you can feel your face and Madoka's face edging closer to one another. Guided by the call of their magnetic other, your lips reach out for Madoka's own, but for the third time are met with the flesh of her hand instead.

"I'm sorry, Homura-chan," she says, her face coloured the same flushed scarlet as yours. "It's beautiful- Ah; I mean, you're beautiful, but I still feel like we're going a little too fast." Madoka tries to smile for you, and once more her hand meets its mate in your own. "I know; I know how much you want to kiss me, and I'd really like to kiss you too, but... Maybe next time, okay?"
Even when we don't vote for it Homura still can't manage to kiss Madoka. (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ /s

[X][Homura] Try not to sulk about being denied Madoka's kiss once more.
-[X] Fail
[X][Archer] Try not to freak out when Lancer suddenly hugs you from behind.
-[X] Freak out a little on the inside.

Might as well go for for NMS' vote considering there's still stuff to do in the main vote. Nothing worth making everyone revote and all that, anyways. :p
 
Even when we don't vote for it Homura still can't manage to kiss Madoka. (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
I mean, it should be pretty clear by now what I'm saving the kiss for. We can try all we want, but Madoka won't be ready until we check one very specific and important flag.

EDIT:
Might as well go for for NMS' vote considering there's still stuff to do in the main vote. Nothing worth making everyone revote and all that, anyways. :p
Could you remind me what else is left from the previous vote? Just dinner I think, right? Do we have any dinner conversation topics/partners lined up to talk during our meal?
 
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Us almost dying/turning into a Witch? In which case it's the one and only thing capable of saving us?

Maybe if/when Homura finally breaks down and admits to Madoka about the whole years of timelooping trying to save her girlfriend from superdeath?

~~
Finally managed to catch up to the story after several days of binge reading :3
 
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Us almost dying/turning into a Witch? In which case it's the one and only thing capable of saving us?
Maybe if/when Homura finally breaks down and admits to Madoka about the whole years of timelooping trying to save her girlfriend from superdeath?
I mean, from a certain point of view... At least one of you is proposing a reasonable position we can attempt if getting that kiss is so important to us. But as for whether either of you are right... Well, that's just something you'll have to chance and find out, isn't it?
Finally managed to catch up to the story after several days of binge reading
Hey, welcome aboard. I'm glad you've liked what you read enough to stick with it. Stick with it some more, hopefully you'll find even more to enjoy.
 
I am the ghost of quests dead!

I have been summoned by the cries of a disappointingly unpopular, yet decent-quality quest!

[x] NMS
 
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I am the ghost of quests dead!

I have been summoned by the cries of a disappointingly unpopular, yet decent-quality quest!
Oh, we're not dead. I've just been really busy this week and haven't been able to update at my usual pace. Still, it's always nice to see new faces, and you're the third new face we've had in just a little over 24 hours. Nice. Welcome aboard, stay awhile if you like what you see.

Also, mostly @Enetious but also anybody else that remembers- I asked this before but never got an answer; what else is missing from the previous vote outside of dinner and girl gossip? Because it's been awhile and if I'm missing something I would appreciate some clarification from the peanut gallery as to what direction you've already voted on.
 
Also, mostly @Enetious but also anybody else that remembers- I asked this before but never got an answer; what else is missing from the previous vote outside of dinner and girl gossip? Because it's been awhile and if I'm missing something I would appreciate some clarification from the peanut gallery as to what direction you've already voted on.
Sorry, I must've missed that question. x.x

Anyways, Archer was supposed to ask Oriko about Rin's location during the Magecraft study session, and if Rin ended up being in Fuyuki he'd probably be traveling there with the empty Grief Seed Homura gave him instead of traveling with everyone back to Mitakihara (unless they're leaving a lot later which could work out in our favor for maximum Archer-Minako interactions, or maybe if they leave earlier Archer could depart after they arrive in Mitakihara).

Also I bet you can't wait for the oncoming storm of relationship changes that you'll have to account for in the character informational post at the end of the day. ;) Speaking of that, did you add in everyone's cleansed Grief Seeds yet? I couldn't tell since I don't remember how many everyone had beforehand. :p

Also @Solacen @ChaoticCPU @Akasha, welcome! Sorry I hadn't really greeted you all yet, been really sick as of late so my focus hasn't been as up to par as it usually is.
 
Anyways, Archer was supposed to ask Oriko about Rin's location during the Magecraft study session, and if Rin ended up being in Fuyuki he'd probably be traveling there with the empty Grief Seed Homura gave him instead of traveling with everyone back to Mitakihara (unless they're leaving a lot later which could work out in our favor for maximum Archer-Minako interactions, or maybe if they leave earlier Archer could depart after they arrive in Mitakihara).
Okay, talk to Oriko, get Rin's location, do the thing. I thought I was missing something, but for the life of me I couldn't remember what.
Also I bet you can't wait for the oncoming storm of relationship changes that you'll have to account for in the character informational post at the end of the day.
Oh boy. I can't wait. Hopefully everything's cool and nobody's gone and shot themselves in the foot.
Speaking of that, did you add in everyone's cleansed Grief Seeds yet? I couldn't tell since I don't remember how many everyone had beforehand.
To be honest, I've actually forgotten myself. I'll have to go digging through the... First thread, I think, was the last time I made mention of # of Grief Seeds before this, but if I can't find anything I'm either going to have to guess and hope I don't cause a continuity error, or just give back a few and say that whoever is missing any must have handed them over to Kyubey when we weren't looking.

I also don't think I've been as good at keeping track of used Seeds as I should have been, so there is also the chance that we've got the right number we're supposed to right now, give or take the 5 I can clearly remember subtracting from us at an earlier point. Oriko and Kirika are probably out about... 10 each, if I"m remembering correctly, but I'll have to go back and check what I said earlier. Mami and Kyouko, if I can find anything, are still the most likely of the five to have handed seeds over to Kyubey, so if I don't find anything for them I can at least have an excuse for why their numbers didn't change.
 
Oh boy. I can't wait. Hopefully everything's cool and nobody's gone and shot themselves in the foot.
Don't worry, as you could probably already speculate it's relationship increasing galore!

Maybe we should add in Minako to the relationship chart considering she may or may not become Homura's (pseudo)step-mom? :V
To be honest, I've actually forgotten myself. I'll have to go digging through the... First thread, I think, was the last time I made mention of # of Grief Seeds before this, but if I can't find anything I'm either going to have to guess and hope I don't cause a continuity error, or just give back a few and say that whoever is missing any must have handed them over to Kyubey when we weren't looking.

I also don't think I've been as good at keeping track of used Seeds as I should have been, so there is also the chance that we've got the right number we're supposed to right now, give or take the 5 I can clearly remember subtracting from us at an earlier point. Oriko and Kirika are probably out about... 10 each, if I"m remembering correctly, but I'll have to go back and check what I said earlier. Mami and Kyouko, if I can find anything, are still the most likely of the five to have handed seeds over to Kyubey, so if I don't find anything for them I can at least have an excuse for why their numbers didn't change.
I don't think anyone would blame you for simply giving them a reduced amount of Grief Seeds to be safe about continuity errors (though Homura would probably be able to retain more due to her hax shield). Plus, I doubt that everyone else (including Oriko/Kirika, unless Oriko precogged this) kept too many that were near full since they didn't have any way of storing said Grief Seeds to make sure they don't accumulate more Grief over time, so I think you're all good to make a safe guesstimate. Now that they have a method of cleansing their Grief Seeds, it should be less of any issue having less anyways assuming things continue as they have been.

Don't subject yourself to looking through the entire quest for a small detail or two, please. xD
 
Don't worry, as you could probably already speculate it's relationship increasing galore!

Maybe we should add in Minako to the relationship chart considering she may or may not become Homura's (pseudo)step-mom?
Well, I don't know. Sayaka and Kyouko have been acting even more aggressive and obnoxious towards each other than normal, so maybe I thought we were going to knock them back a point or two.

I probably will add Minako, but we haven't interacted with her nearly enough to have warranted giving her a rating, have we? Unless we're rating her based on how we see her interacting with Archer... ? Are we?
Don't subject yourself to looking through the entire quest for a small detail or two, please. xD
Well, I don't know if I'll have the time for that for another week, so at the very least you don't have to worry about me doing anything of the sort while I don't have the time.
 
Well, I don't know. Sayaka and Kyouko have been acting even more aggressive and obnoxious towards each other than normal, so maybe I thought we were going to knock them back a point or two.
Them being annoying to one another isn't going to cause Homura to view Sayaka less as a friend, nor is Kyoko going to lose standing. In Kyoko's case, it still appears that she's making an effort in comparison to how she usually acts so that'll increase the odds of Kyoko's rating being increased at least. This isn't to mention how they might act on the way back before the day ends.
I probably will add Minako, but we haven't interacted with her nearly enough to have warranted giving her a rating, have we? Unless we're rating her based on how we see her interacting with Archer... ? Are we?
Actually, yeah we are (assuming other people aren't voting for relationship changes that contradict my own). Granted, she won't exceed a 6 until she actually interacts directly with Minako meaningfully for a while, but Homura will at least view her in a positive light (equal parts thinking that Archer genuinely might want to become romantically involved with Minako and she trusts his judgement and wants to support him, and some pity and feeling bad for her due to her circumstances; it helps that Homura's aware that Kirika's behavior isn't in any way genetic, so she isn't going to compare Kirika's hostile/bad behavior to Minako).
 
This one goes out to every member of the peanut gallery, so;
@Enetious @WanderingTwix @NMS @Nuew @SaintBenot @Rgal @hyrushoten @Slayer 10321 @Signupname @Solacen @ChaoticCPU @Akasha
And that's just the ones that have interacted with this page. I know there are more of you out there.

I need dinner gossip topics. At minimum 3, as well as 3 conversation partners, but some in the audience think we can cover all the girls, so if you've got something for a 4th girl please make it known. I don't know what my chances are of hearing a response from each of you between now and when I'll be in a position to throw up the next update (expect it some time later tonight (my time), best-case scenario) so if each of you gives me one topic and one girl to talk to, I'll take whatever I've been given and go with that. No overlap between posters, please, unless you want us talking about the same thing with more than one person; we're not voting on these. I just want to hear from you about who and what you want us to talk about over dinner.

If one or more of you also wants to throw me some Archer talking points outside of getting Rin's location from Oriko, please do so.
 
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