WanderingTwix
Posting something good once in a full moon
- Location
- United Kingdom
[X] Switch perspectives to Archer
Confringentur, Mk.2; a Madoka Magica / Fate/Stay Night crossover
- Thread starter SVS
- Start date
- Crossover
[X] Switch perspectives to Archer
Day 34 Chapter 4
- Location
- Around here
[X] Switch perspectives to Archer
"Akemi-san, do you have a moment?"
What perfect timing Mikuni Oriko has, that she would send you a message at just the moment when her lover appears in your sights. Tomoe-san and Kure Kirika are standing by the main gate, waiting for you, and each gives a polite wave and says hello in their own way.
"Good morning, Akemi-san."
"Hey, what's up?"
Sayaka departs with Hitomi once Kure Kirika opens her mouth, but paying close attention you notice she's no longer storming away in anger at the sight of the chocolate-haired girl. Progress. "Yes, I have a moment," you respond to Mikuni Oriko, while Madoka and Hitomi join Tomoe-san in some light morning conversation. "I hope it's not something too serious."
"It may be; I'm not sure. Have you had a chance to cleanse Koito-san's Soul Gem yet?"
"No." Her Soul Gem had been kept in its ring form, and Asako Koito's hand had been kept in the pocket of her pants for the majority of your time in the Sakura Church's basement last night. Even if you had forced it out of her while in time stop, you aren't sure you would have been able to cleanse it while it was still in its ring form. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"Again, I'm not sure. I can't see into Koito-san's future very well, but what I have seen... I don't have any proof, but I'm worried that the witch I see Namekata-san going to her death to fight might be Koito-san's."
You've already told Mikuni Oriko about Asako Koito's offer; how she'll only accept the terms of your Geis when she sees Mikuni Oriko begging her sister's spirit for forgiveness. She has yet to give you an answer as to whether or not she's interested in accepting Asako Koito's offer. "Do you think she's planning on turning herself into a witch for the chance to take revenge on you?"
"Again, I can't say for certain; and I don't even know if the witch I saw was Koito-san's or not. But if it were, then I would like to hope she isn't so consumed by her hatred of me to go as far as that. I... It would still be my fault if she took that path; and I don't want to be responsible for any more deaths than I already am."
"Perhaps it's something we could meet up later to discuss," you suggest. "And speaking of things we should probably discuss later, Archer picked up a present for Kure Kirika last night..."
You check the time on the kitchen clock; just a little before ten. Rin's train should be arriving at the station soon. You would have waited until later to get started on making lunch for Kure Minako, but with most of your morning almost certainly spoken for, you've opted to get the food prep out of the way now, storing the finished product away until it's time to bring it to her office. "Alright," you say to yourself as you wipe clean the last of the dishes. "I should probably get going now."
You make sure that you're wearing your best shirt - your only shirt - and set out.
It's about a five minute walk from Homura's house to the train station, and by the time you've arrived you can see the train pulling into the station as the overhead announcement calls out "Now arriving: Ten-o-clock express from Tokyo." You hope you didn't make a mistake in not bringing a sign that says "Tohsaka" on it for you to hold up, but the uniqueness of your appearance against the backdrop of the crowd, combined with Rin's familiarity with your appearance, should make it easy for her to spot you.
"Archer!" You hear a familiar voice call out, as your eyes catch a flash of a hand attached to a red sleeve waving for you. Slowly, Rin makes it through the packed terminal and-
"I see we're both wearing the same shirt," you make sure is the first thing you say to her. Turning on the charm, you add "I guess one of us will have to go home and change, won't we?"
Rin's done some growing up since the last time you saw her. She's taller, and she's filled out a bit more. She's changed her hairstyle as well; from twin-tails, her dark locks are now free to fall where they please, trailing along the back of her jacket and falling over her shoulders like Wonka's chocolate waterfall. She looks the way you remember the Rin from your own time, the last time you saw her. "Very funny Archer," she says, tapping her foot against the floor as her arms cross over her chest. "I guess that'll be you then?"
"Sorry, but I've only got the one. You'll have to be the one changing shirts." The two of you smile, and you say to her "Come on, let me show you around before we get to talking. You did remember to bring the stuff I asked for, right?"
Rin pats the smaller of two rolling travel bags she's towing behind her, saying "I've got a bunch of introductory tomes I don't need in here. So, when can I meet this first-gen wunderkind of yours?"
"Maybe later; she'll be in school right now."
Rin nods, muttering to herself "I knew that, idiot." "What's her name?"
"Shizuki Hitomi. She's a nice kid; and brilliant, too. If she had a few more circuits to her name, I could see her making real waves in the Association when she's older."
Rin scoffs at your words, responding with "El-Melloi might have been on to something with his idea that generations aren't the be-all-end-all, but it'll still be a cold day in Hell before those stiffs let a first-generation make waves." Unfortunate as it is, you have to nod your head and silently agree with Rin's statement. "if anything, it'd be more of a shock to them that there's even still first-generations being born in this day and age. She'd probably end up being more of a curiosity than anyone taken seriously by the Association."
"Shame; I really think she's got the potential to go far." Your chat with Rin for the duration of the walk back home goes much the same as this, and once you arrive back at the apartment, "Well, here we are," you say as you grab the key out of your pocket and open the door. "This is where all the magic happens."
"Good," Rin says, kicking off her shoes at the entrance. "I can finally drop the 'nice girl' act and get serious." Her tone changes with those words; she's no longer the cool queen of Homurahara High; now she's the firebrand who gave you no end to your frustrations over the course of so many repetitions. "Do you have any idea how much shit your master and her friends are in with the Association?" Oh. Right. There's still that to deal with. "You're lucky I was able to have Zelretch smooth things over with the brass, or this city would have been wiped off the map yesterday. Seriously, six-hundred dead in the blink of an eye? Just what the hell is going on around here? I thought McRemitz would have been enough, but apparently she was asleep at the goddamn wheel this whole time! She must have been, because I can't think of any other reason why an Enforcer of her caliber would have fucked things up as badly as she did."
Rin pauses, taking a moment to stop and catch her breath, before saying "At least, that's what I'd like to say; but I can't because, as you made painfully obvious to me the other day, there's a lot more going on in this city than either McRemitz or anyone else that's been reading her reports knows. But these girls of yours are on thin ice, Archer. The Association is spooked that what's going on here will reveal their secrets to the world. One wrong move, and even the pull I have with Zelretch may not be enough to have an entire team of Enforcers sent to do what McRemitz clearly hasn't been able to."
"Is there a problem, Archer?"
Rin's head turns as a female voice penetrates the living room, and Assassin appears as your side. A high-pitched "Eep!" is the first sound to escape from Rin's mouth, but in a flash she's calmed and composed herself again, saying "By that mask of yours, I'm guessing you must be True Assassin, right?" Assassin nods; and though Rin doesn't catch it, you notice that the dagger which Assassin held behind her back is returned to its sheath once Rin acknowledges her presence. "Have to say, you're a lot cuter than the Hassan I once knew. Eugh."
"Anyway," Rin discards whatever attention she had been paying to Assassin, returning it to you and saying "Back to business. I want to meet the masters; I want to know what the hell McRemitz has been up to to have completely dropped the ball like she has; and I want to know what the hell happened here that's got the Association in such a tizzy."
[Archer]
[ ] When do you introduce Rin to the masters of this War?
[ ] What do you tell Rin McRemitz has been up to?
[ ] What do you tell Rin about what's happened here?
[ ] What do you do afterwards?
[Homura]
[ ] What's your plan for the school day? (write-in)
"Akemi-san, do you have a moment?"
What perfect timing Mikuni Oriko has, that she would send you a message at just the moment when her lover appears in your sights. Tomoe-san and Kure Kirika are standing by the main gate, waiting for you, and each gives a polite wave and says hello in their own way.
"Good morning, Akemi-san."
"Hey, what's up?"
Sayaka departs with Hitomi once Kure Kirika opens her mouth, but paying close attention you notice she's no longer storming away in anger at the sight of the chocolate-haired girl. Progress. "Yes, I have a moment," you respond to Mikuni Oriko, while Madoka and Hitomi join Tomoe-san in some light morning conversation. "I hope it's not something too serious."
"It may be; I'm not sure. Have you had a chance to cleanse Koito-san's Soul Gem yet?"
"No." Her Soul Gem had been kept in its ring form, and Asako Koito's hand had been kept in the pocket of her pants for the majority of your time in the Sakura Church's basement last night. Even if you had forced it out of her while in time stop, you aren't sure you would have been able to cleanse it while it was still in its ring form. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"Again, I'm not sure. I can't see into Koito-san's future very well, but what I have seen... I don't have any proof, but I'm worried that the witch I see Namekata-san going to her death to fight might be Koito-san's."
You've already told Mikuni Oriko about Asako Koito's offer; how she'll only accept the terms of your Geis when she sees Mikuni Oriko begging her sister's spirit for forgiveness. She has yet to give you an answer as to whether or not she's interested in accepting Asako Koito's offer. "Do you think she's planning on turning herself into a witch for the chance to take revenge on you?"
"Again, I can't say for certain; and I don't even know if the witch I saw was Koito-san's or not. But if it were, then I would like to hope she isn't so consumed by her hatred of me to go as far as that. I... It would still be my fault if she took that path; and I don't want to be responsible for any more deaths than I already am."
"Perhaps it's something we could meet up later to discuss," you suggest. "And speaking of things we should probably discuss later, Archer picked up a present for Kure Kirika last night..."
You check the time on the kitchen clock; just a little before ten. Rin's train should be arriving at the station soon. You would have waited until later to get started on making lunch for Kure Minako, but with most of your morning almost certainly spoken for, you've opted to get the food prep out of the way now, storing the finished product away until it's time to bring it to her office. "Alright," you say to yourself as you wipe clean the last of the dishes. "I should probably get going now."
You make sure that you're wearing your best shirt - your only shirt - and set out.
It's about a five minute walk from Homura's house to the train station, and by the time you've arrived you can see the train pulling into the station as the overhead announcement calls out "Now arriving: Ten-o-clock express from Tokyo." You hope you didn't make a mistake in not bringing a sign that says "Tohsaka" on it for you to hold up, but the uniqueness of your appearance against the backdrop of the crowd, combined with Rin's familiarity with your appearance, should make it easy for her to spot you.
"Archer!" You hear a familiar voice call out, as your eyes catch a flash of a hand attached to a red sleeve waving for you. Slowly, Rin makes it through the packed terminal and-
"I see we're both wearing the same shirt," you make sure is the first thing you say to her. Turning on the charm, you add "I guess one of us will have to go home and change, won't we?"
Rin's done some growing up since the last time you saw her. She's taller, and she's filled out a bit more. She's changed her hairstyle as well; from twin-tails, her dark locks are now free to fall where they please, trailing along the back of her jacket and falling over her shoulders like Wonka's chocolate waterfall. She looks the way you remember the Rin from your own time, the last time you saw her. "Very funny Archer," she says, tapping her foot against the floor as her arms cross over her chest. "I guess that'll be you then?"
"Sorry, but I've only got the one. You'll have to be the one changing shirts." The two of you smile, and you say to her "Come on, let me show you around before we get to talking. You did remember to bring the stuff I asked for, right?"
Rin pats the smaller of two rolling travel bags she's towing behind her, saying "I've got a bunch of introductory tomes I don't need in here. So, when can I meet this first-gen wunderkind of yours?"
"Maybe later; she'll be in school right now."
Rin nods, muttering to herself "I knew that, idiot." "What's her name?"
"Shizuki Hitomi. She's a nice kid; and brilliant, too. If she had a few more circuits to her name, I could see her making real waves in the Association when she's older."
Rin scoffs at your words, responding with "El-Melloi might have been on to something with his idea that generations aren't the be-all-end-all, but it'll still be a cold day in Hell before those stiffs let a first-generation make waves." Unfortunate as it is, you have to nod your head and silently agree with Rin's statement. "if anything, it'd be more of a shock to them that there's even still first-generations being born in this day and age. She'd probably end up being more of a curiosity than anyone taken seriously by the Association."
"Shame; I really think she's got the potential to go far." Your chat with Rin for the duration of the walk back home goes much the same as this, and once you arrive back at the apartment, "Well, here we are," you say as you grab the key out of your pocket and open the door. "This is where all the magic happens."
"Good," Rin says, kicking off her shoes at the entrance. "I can finally drop the 'nice girl' act and get serious." Her tone changes with those words; she's no longer the cool queen of Homurahara High; now she's the firebrand who gave you no end to your frustrations over the course of so many repetitions. "Do you have any idea how much shit your master and her friends are in with the Association?" Oh. Right. There's still that to deal with. "You're lucky I was able to have Zelretch smooth things over with the brass, or this city would have been wiped off the map yesterday. Seriously, six-hundred dead in the blink of an eye? Just what the hell is going on around here? I thought McRemitz would have been enough, but apparently she was asleep at the goddamn wheel this whole time! She must have been, because I can't think of any other reason why an Enforcer of her caliber would have fucked things up as badly as she did."
Rin pauses, taking a moment to stop and catch her breath, before saying "At least, that's what I'd like to say; but I can't because, as you made painfully obvious to me the other day, there's a lot more going on in this city than either McRemitz or anyone else that's been reading her reports knows. But these girls of yours are on thin ice, Archer. The Association is spooked that what's going on here will reveal their secrets to the world. One wrong move, and even the pull I have with Zelretch may not be enough to have an entire team of Enforcers sent to do what McRemitz clearly hasn't been able to."
"Is there a problem, Archer?"
Rin's head turns as a female voice penetrates the living room, and Assassin appears as your side. A high-pitched "Eep!" is the first sound to escape from Rin's mouth, but in a flash she's calmed and composed herself again, saying "By that mask of yours, I'm guessing you must be True Assassin, right?" Assassin nods; and though Rin doesn't catch it, you notice that the dagger which Assassin held behind her back is returned to its sheath once Rin acknowledges her presence. "Have to say, you're a lot cuter than the Hassan I once knew. Eugh."
"Anyway," Rin discards whatever attention she had been paying to Assassin, returning it to you and saying "Back to business. I want to meet the masters; I want to know what the hell McRemitz has been up to to have completely dropped the ball like she has; and I want to know what the hell happened here that's got the Association in such a tizzy."
[Archer]
[ ] When do you introduce Rin to the masters of this War?
[ ] What do you tell Rin McRemitz has been up to?
[ ] What do you tell Rin about what's happened here?
[ ] What do you do afterwards?
[Homura]
[ ] What's your plan for the school day? (write-in)
Last edited:
Surprise Setting Shift!
- Location
- Around here
Well, you know how it goes with Fate; everyone famous was secretly a woman, so at least this once, let someone be a man for a change.
[x] [Archer] Try to get a meeting set up for the Masters of this war ASAP.
-[x] Tell Rin that McRemitz may have been in bed, but not because she was sleeping.
--[x] More seriously, McRemitz had her arm torn off by the thing responsible for those deaths. She had to go to get a replacement and barely made it back in time for round two.
-[x] Tell Rin the truth about The Witch of the Black Mountain to the best of your abilities.
-[x] Afterwards get started on Minako's Lunch.
[x] [Homura] Actually pay attention in class and focus on your work.
-[x] Tell Rin that McRemitz may have been in bed, but not because she was sleeping.
--[x] More seriously, McRemitz had her arm torn off by the thing responsible for those deaths. She had to go to get a replacement and barely made it back in time for round two.
-[x] Tell Rin the truth about The Witch of the Black Mountain to the best of your abilities.
-[x] Afterwards get started on Minako's Lunch.
[x] [Homura] Actually pay attention in class and focus on your work.
Last edited:
- Location
- United States
[X] Plan Classic Fate/Stay Night Incredibly Lengthy Explanations
-[X] When do you introduce Rin to the masters of this War?
--[X] After school; telepathically ask Homura if she could set up a meeting through her group chat sometime after school to meet your former Master, who happens to have significant sway in the Mages Association and probably shouldn't be ignored since she's been covering for the city and made sure that the Association didn't try to have Mitakihara wiped off the map
-[X] What do you tell Rin McRemitz has been up to?
--[X] Tell her everything Bazett has done since arriving in Mitakihara that you're aware of
-[X] What do you tell Rin about what's happened here?
--[X] Tell her everything you know about Elsa Maria and how it ended up in the massacre that it was, including the insanity that was the final battle
-[X] What do you do afterwards?
--[X] Exchange the Grief Seed Homura gave to you with the material Rin got for Hitomi and Sayaka, and inform her that she should be careful when handling it as to not revive the Witch within the Grief Seed, and that she should probably return it or exchange it for a fresh one should it accumulate too much Grief
--[X] Deliver Lunch to Minako
-[X] (Homura) What's your plan for the school day?
--[X] Pay attention to class
---[X] Though spend a minute or three so telepathically asking Assassin about if she's given any thought about what she wants to do in recompense for not bringing her along on the trip
---[X] Between classes text everyone in the group chat asking them if everyone could meet up to talk with Archer's former Master, who happens to be the reason why Mitakihara wasn't wiped off the map and its inhabitants exterminated or hypnotized by an army of Enforcers
----[X] Your apartment will work since Rin is already there, unless anyone else wants to offer their residence for the place of the meeting
--[X] Work on your school project
--[X] Go to Lunch and sit with your friends
---[X] Ask everyone if it'd be okay to invite Kirika to the table; if the majority agree then do so
---[X] Talk to
----[X] Madoka
-----[X] about Saotome-sensei's latest boyfriend debacles, and brainstorm with her on how their teacher could fix her dating habits
------[X] and be joined in by some of the others at the table, like Sayaka and/or Kirika (if she was invited)
----[X] everyone at the table, telling them further details on the whole situation with the meeting with Archer's former Master
I'm fully expecting Archer to use the Tohsaka Explanation PosesTM while he's infodumping everything to Rin in true F/SN VN style. Also can't wait to see how Minako's coworkers react to Archer delivering her lunch.
Votes getting really long, and I'm not sure what else to include in the conversation topics for today's lunch period. Any ideas, anyone?
EDIT: Changed the specifics of what Archer's explaining; specified that Archer's only explaining everything about the Elsa Maria situation; reformatting a bit
EDIT2: Put a space separating Archer and Homura's portions of the vote, as they're both pretty much their own votes in of themselves.
-[X] When do you introduce Rin to the masters of this War?
--[X] After school; telepathically ask Homura if she could set up a meeting through her group chat sometime after school to meet your former Master, who happens to have significant sway in the Mages Association and probably shouldn't be ignored since she's been covering for the city and made sure that the Association didn't try to have Mitakihara wiped off the map
-[X] What do you tell Rin McRemitz has been up to?
--[X] Tell her everything Bazett has done since arriving in Mitakihara that you're aware of
-[X] What do you tell Rin about what's happened here?
--[X] Tell her everything you know about Elsa Maria and how it ended up in the massacre that it was, including the insanity that was the final battle
-[X] What do you do afterwards?
--[X] Exchange the Grief Seed Homura gave to you with the material Rin got for Hitomi and Sayaka, and inform her that she should be careful when handling it as to not revive the Witch within the Grief Seed, and that she should probably return it or exchange it for a fresh one should it accumulate too much Grief
--[X] Deliver Lunch to Minako
-[X] (Homura) What's your plan for the school day?
--[X] Pay attention to class
---[X] Though spend a minute or three so telepathically asking Assassin about if she's given any thought about what she wants to do in recompense for not bringing her along on the trip
---[X] Between classes text everyone in the group chat asking them if everyone could meet up to talk with Archer's former Master, who happens to be the reason why Mitakihara wasn't wiped off the map and its inhabitants exterminated or hypnotized by an army of Enforcers
----[X] Your apartment will work since Rin is already there, unless anyone else wants to offer their residence for the place of the meeting
--[X] Work on your school project
--[X] Go to Lunch and sit with your friends
---[X] Ask everyone if it'd be okay to invite Kirika to the table; if the majority agree then do so
---[X] Talk to
----[X] Madoka
-----[X] about Saotome-sensei's latest boyfriend debacles, and brainstorm with her on how their teacher could fix her dating habits
------[X] and be joined in by some of the others at the table, like Sayaka and/or Kirika (if she was invited)
----[X] everyone at the table, telling them further details on the whole situation with the meeting with Archer's former Master
I'm fully expecting Archer to use the Tohsaka Explanation PosesTM while he's infodumping everything to Rin in true F/SN VN style. Also can't wait to see how Minako's coworkers react to Archer delivering her lunch.
Votes getting really long, and I'm not sure what else to include in the conversation topics for today's lunch period. Any ideas, anyone?
EDIT: Changed the specifics of what Archer's explaining; specified that Archer's only explaining everything about the Elsa Maria situation; reformatting a bit
EDIT2: Put a space separating Archer and Homura's portions of the vote, as they're both pretty much their own votes in of themselves.
Last edited:
- Location
- Around here
Aozaki's workshop is still in Japan, so Bazett wasn't going back to London to get it fixed. But between a cumulative day of travel, four days wait time for the arm to be finished, and two days of physical therapy to get used to the new arm will still take a week even if you're in the same country.
We already went through this stuff with Rin before when we called her. What she wants to know is just the nitty gritty of the Elsa Maria stuff.
I'll be honest, aside from asking to touch us more/get further with us than we've gotten with Madoka, I can't think of anything Assassin would want from us; and I"m not going to go there for obvious reasons, so...
Not sure about conversation topics, but I do need to ask that you restructure your vote into a more legible form.
Alright. Fixed, I think.
- Location
- United States
Meant everything to do with Elsa Maria, not everything.
I did however remove the extraneous stuff like the info about Grief Seeds/Witches/Incubator's system/etc., as I'm guessing that Archer explained all that completely in-depth off screen to Rin over Caster's phone.
If you want something out of a slice-of-life anime plot, then Assassin could ask for Homura to go on a date with her, wherein someone she knows will see them together and cause chaos even if it's not serious.
If you want something more realistic, then Assassin would probably want to enjoy something with Homura that Homura enjoys herself, considering how fanatic and devoted Assassin is now to Homura due to her personality. Homura is literally the most (and just about only) important thing in the world to Assassin at the moment, so I think that'd probably be reasonable in order to learn more about and share something with the object of her affection.
Not really restructured, but made less of a pain to read by reducing the details in the vote itself while still sticking to the format that you made the vote as.
Last edited:
- Location
- Around here
So... We have to take Assassin on a date with Madoka? Find a secluded spot and teach Assassin how to use a gun? Magic ourselves into finding a Kyubey body and teach Assassin the joys of vermin exterminatin'?
[X] Plan Classic Fate/Stay Night Incredibly Lengthy Explanations
WanderingTwix
Posting something good once in a full moon
- Location
- United Kingdom
This is clearly the reason why SVS made this quest in the first place, and we should all be thankful for happy coincidences
[x] enetious
Day 34 Chapter 5
- Location
- Around here
[X] Plan Classic Fate/Stay Night Incredibly Lengthy Explanations (part 1)
"I want to meet the masters; I want to know what the hell McRemitz has been up to to have completely dropped the ball like she has; and I want to know what the hell happened here that's got the Association in such a tizzy."
Rin's demands are easy enough to acquiesce to; she is the one currently holding back a team of Association mages coming in and doing to this city whatever it takes for their fears to be abated. "Well, first things first; you're going to have to wait until after school to meet with Homura and the other masters, and that's assuming they aren't already preoccupied with other important matters. If you give me a moment to speak with Homura, I'll do what I can to get the gang together for you; but sometimes fighting Cthulhu's spawn takes priority."
Rin gives you a look, saying "I know that, idiot. I'm not expecting to pull them out of school for this. Geez, even I never skipped class to deal with stuff like this." To which you can't help but give Rin a look in return. "... Maybe there were a few times; but they were really important, okay!"
You laugh, leaving Rin to fume while you let your mind's conversation wander elsewhere. "Homura, we need to talk."
"Should I have a bad feeling about this?"
"Probably. I've got Tohsaka Rin with me right now, and she says she'd like to speak with you and the girls after school today. This isn't just idle talk, I assure you; the Mage's Association is in a tizzy over what happened on Friday night; they're afraid it'll reveal their secrets to the world; and right now Rin is the only thing holding them back from wiping this city off the map."
"Your former master must have quite the say to be able to hold off an entire Association so casually."
"It's not casually, I assure you. Her master is easily one of the most powerful magicians ever; but if she doesn't get some concrete answers to bring back to London, she's afraid that not even his word will be enough to save this city from what the Association might do if their secrets were to be revealed because of something that happens here."
"Alright, I'll do my best to get the team together for a meeting after school. Should I assume my apartment, since Tohsaka is already there; or would the large size of our party make Mikuni Oriko's mansion a better location?"
"I guess it depends on what the others are willing to offer. Having it here would mean less overall travel for more people; but Mikuni's mansion would probably be a more familiar setting. Old mage families like the Tohsakas have a lot of wealth, and seeing that wealth reflected in Mikuni's place might make Rin feel more comfortable than meeting in a tiny apartment."
"Right. I'll see what the others are willing to offer."
"Okay," you say to Rin as you exit your telepathic conversation with yourmaster daughter. "I've spoken with Homura, and she said she'll do what she can to get the team together for a special meeting with you tonight." Satisfied with your answer, Rin nods.
"Alright, and what about everything else? Why did McRemitz, an Enforcer with more years of experience than I've had training with Zelretch, drop the ball as hard as she did; and what the hell happened here where six-hundred people were killed in the blink of an eye?"
You sigh; "Alright, sit down," you say to Rin, doing as you suggest that she does. "This is going to be a long one." Rin follows suit, taking a seat on the couch across the table from you. "So to start, McRemitz shows up at the start of the month. That Ortensia lady you told me about, as far as I can tell, was the one who asked for her after she got wind that a War was going on."
"And is there? Because reading McRemitz's reports, I never got the impression that that was the case. All the masters seem to have some kind of uneasy alliance going on, if her reports are to be believed."
"Eh," you wag your hand in place, saying "Yes, but also no. There's no Grail, as far as I've been able to figure out, but for awhile the five masters were split into two rival factions, and servants were brought into play to fight one another. However, by the time McRemitz arrived, the other faction had been defeated. She was right, at the time, when she said that the five of them had an uneasy alliance, but by the time the incident took place they'd managed to work out their issues and are now more or less a single unified front." You don't need to tell Rin why Homura and Tomoe were fighting Mikuni and Kure; you'll leave that to her imagination. You're sure she can think of enough reasons that two mage factions might fight to feel like you don't have to tell her about all the skeletons Mikuni and Kure have in their massive closet.
"Okay, so what about the rest of McRemitz's activity? The brass thought she'd be in and out in less than a week, but it's been two and she's still on the job. What gives?"
"Unlike what I told you over the phone the other day, McRemitz never had anyone to tell her that what's going on here isn't magecraft like the Association thinks it is, so a lot of the time she's been here has just been spent investigating the masters and trying to hunt down the Incubator for answers. When she didn't get the answers she was looking for, she decided to stick around until she had them." Rin nods; it's a reasonable enough explanation, and hopefully one that keeps McRemitz out of trouble as well once they both return to London. "However, just around the time she was scheduled to be returning to London with the answers she didn't have, she got caught up in a battle with a particularly nasty familiar - and I'll be coming back to this familiar in a bit - that, with no trouble at all, bit her prosthetic arm clean in half. So she ended up having to take off for a week to have her arm repaired by a specialist, and she only just made it back in time for the shit to hit the fan."
You smirk, and the look on Rin's face when you say to her. "Oh, and most recently, she's gotten her Lancer servant back from Ortensia. So, while you were right that she's been in bed, it isn't because she's been asleep," is priceless.
"Well," she says, trying to pretend like she didn't hear that, despite being barely any better herself. "Moving on; tell me more about the familiar that bit McRemitz's arm up. Does it have anything to do with Friday's incident?"
"Actually, yes. The familiar belonged to the same witch that was responsible for the incident. See, the witch brainwashed a father and daughter pair, and used them to con people into joining a cult worshiping the witch. The pair gave the 'faithful'-" a word which you put in big air quotes "-little rosary necklaces with the witch's emblem carved into them, and once the witch decided to show itself, its familiars all popped out from those necklaces and massacred anyone in sight."
"That's pretty devious, isn't it? I mean, based on what you told me I thought witches - that is, witches here - were just mindless, eating, killing machines; so how'd this one get the smarts to plan all this out?"
"You're correct; most of the witches I've encountered so far have just been mindless, eating, killing machines. But this one was... Intelligent, is how Homura's taken to describing it, and I have to agree. The degree of planning it put into this scheme of its, combined with just how frighteningly successful it was, has me completely baffled as to why this one witch in particular was so intelligent compared to the others; and the worst part is, if we hadn't been there to interfere with its plans the way we did, there would have been nothing stopping the witch from eating the entire city once it decided to show itself."
"That bad, huh?"
Your mind flashes back to the sights you saw on Friday night; "The witch showed up riding the Statue of Liberty across an ocean of familiars. I wish I were kidding when I say that." Rin nods; you guess there's no way something like what happened on Friday could have remained in Mitakihara. "If I hadn't kept most of the fight inside my Reality Marble, there's no telling what that thing could have done to the city."
Rin runs a hand through her hair, fretting to herself words you don't bother paying any mind to. "Well," she says, though the look on her face is clear that she doesn't know where else to go from there. "I mean, I know that what's going on here isn't what the Association thinks it is; but you know how they can be. I've got to at least say I've done my due diligence at smoothing over enough ruffled feathers that nobody feels like McRemitz needs to be replaced by an entire team of Enforcers. But I mean, I don't really know where else to go with this. I guess talking to the other masters will decide where the rest of this goes for me."
"If you'd like, after lunch I can show you around the city," you offer, trying to be hospitable to your former master.
"Why not now? We've got plenty of time."
"Because," you say to Rin. "I've got to be somewhere to deliver lunch to somebody, and there's too much for me to show you for us to be done in the time we've got." You set an alarm in the kitchen for a little before when Kure Minako's lunch break starts, but you have yet to hear it. After speaking with Rin, though, you're doubtful you have any more than an hour, at the most, before you have to get going. "So, in exchange for those introductory tomes you've brought, allow me to present this-" You reach into your pocket, producing for Rin the small black Grief Seed. "-is a Grief Seed. It's what a witch leaves behind after it's defeated. This is one Homura set aside just for you, because I told her you wanted to study something from her world."
Carefully, you hand the Grief Seed over to Rin, who takes into her hands with equal care. "It's so light," she says, turning the empty Seed in her hands. "What's it made of?"
"Dark magic, I assume. Do exercise caution when studying it; this one is empty, but if it starts to fill up again bring it back and we'll do what we can to trade you for a clean one."
"Incredible..." Rin muses out loud. "I can't believe I get to study a kind of magic heretofore undiscovered by the Association. Oh man, am I the luckiest girl in the world or what?"
You nod, saying "You're definitely up there, that's for sure."
"I want to meet the masters; I want to know what the hell McRemitz has been up to to have completely dropped the ball like she has; and I want to know what the hell happened here that's got the Association in such a tizzy."
Rin's demands are easy enough to acquiesce to; she is the one currently holding back a team of Association mages coming in and doing to this city whatever it takes for their fears to be abated. "Well, first things first; you're going to have to wait until after school to meet with Homura and the other masters, and that's assuming they aren't already preoccupied with other important matters. If you give me a moment to speak with Homura, I'll do what I can to get the gang together for you; but sometimes fighting Cthulhu's spawn takes priority."
Rin gives you a look, saying "I know that, idiot. I'm not expecting to pull them out of school for this. Geez, even I never skipped class to deal with stuff like this." To which you can't help but give Rin a look in return. "... Maybe there were a few times; but they were really important, okay!"
You laugh, leaving Rin to fume while you let your mind's conversation wander elsewhere. "Homura, we need to talk."
"Should I have a bad feeling about this?"
"Probably. I've got Tohsaka Rin with me right now, and she says she'd like to speak with you and the girls after school today. This isn't just idle talk, I assure you; the Mage's Association is in a tizzy over what happened on Friday night; they're afraid it'll reveal their secrets to the world; and right now Rin is the only thing holding them back from wiping this city off the map."
"Your former master must have quite the say to be able to hold off an entire Association so casually."
"It's not casually, I assure you. Her master is easily one of the most powerful magicians ever; but if she doesn't get some concrete answers to bring back to London, she's afraid that not even his word will be enough to save this city from what the Association might do if their secrets were to be revealed because of something that happens here."
"Alright, I'll do my best to get the team together for a meeting after school. Should I assume my apartment, since Tohsaka is already there; or would the large size of our party make Mikuni Oriko's mansion a better location?"
"I guess it depends on what the others are willing to offer. Having it here would mean less overall travel for more people; but Mikuni's mansion would probably be a more familiar setting. Old mage families like the Tohsakas have a lot of wealth, and seeing that wealth reflected in Mikuni's place might make Rin feel more comfortable than meeting in a tiny apartment."
"Right. I'll see what the others are willing to offer."
"Okay," you say to Rin as you exit your telepathic conversation with your
"Alright, and what about everything else? Why did McRemitz, an Enforcer with more years of experience than I've had training with Zelretch, drop the ball as hard as she did; and what the hell happened here where six-hundred people were killed in the blink of an eye?"
You sigh; "Alright, sit down," you say to Rin, doing as you suggest that she does. "This is going to be a long one." Rin follows suit, taking a seat on the couch across the table from you. "So to start, McRemitz shows up at the start of the month. That Ortensia lady you told me about, as far as I can tell, was the one who asked for her after she got wind that a War was going on."
"And is there? Because reading McRemitz's reports, I never got the impression that that was the case. All the masters seem to have some kind of uneasy alliance going on, if her reports are to be believed."
"Eh," you wag your hand in place, saying "Yes, but also no. There's no Grail, as far as I've been able to figure out, but for awhile the five masters were split into two rival factions, and servants were brought into play to fight one another. However, by the time McRemitz arrived, the other faction had been defeated. She was right, at the time, when she said that the five of them had an uneasy alliance, but by the time the incident took place they'd managed to work out their issues and are now more or less a single unified front." You don't need to tell Rin why Homura and Tomoe were fighting Mikuni and Kure; you'll leave that to her imagination. You're sure she can think of enough reasons that two mage factions might fight to feel like you don't have to tell her about all the skeletons Mikuni and Kure have in their massive closet.
"Okay, so what about the rest of McRemitz's activity? The brass thought she'd be in and out in less than a week, but it's been two and she's still on the job. What gives?"
"Unlike what I told you over the phone the other day, McRemitz never had anyone to tell her that what's going on here isn't magecraft like the Association thinks it is, so a lot of the time she's been here has just been spent investigating the masters and trying to hunt down the Incubator for answers. When she didn't get the answers she was looking for, she decided to stick around until she had them." Rin nods; it's a reasonable enough explanation, and hopefully one that keeps McRemitz out of trouble as well once they both return to London. "However, just around the time she was scheduled to be returning to London with the answers she didn't have, she got caught up in a battle with a particularly nasty familiar - and I'll be coming back to this familiar in a bit - that, with no trouble at all, bit her prosthetic arm clean in half. So she ended up having to take off for a week to have her arm repaired by a specialist, and she only just made it back in time for the shit to hit the fan."
You smirk, and the look on Rin's face when you say to her. "Oh, and most recently, she's gotten her Lancer servant back from Ortensia. So, while you were right that she's been in bed, it isn't because she's been asleep," is priceless.
"Well," she says, trying to pretend like she didn't hear that, despite being barely any better herself. "Moving on; tell me more about the familiar that bit McRemitz's arm up. Does it have anything to do with Friday's incident?"
"Actually, yes. The familiar belonged to the same witch that was responsible for the incident. See, the witch brainwashed a father and daughter pair, and used them to con people into joining a cult worshiping the witch. The pair gave the 'faithful'-" a word which you put in big air quotes "-little rosary necklaces with the witch's emblem carved into them, and once the witch decided to show itself, its familiars all popped out from those necklaces and massacred anyone in sight."
"That's pretty devious, isn't it? I mean, based on what you told me I thought witches - that is, witches here - were just mindless, eating, killing machines; so how'd this one get the smarts to plan all this out?"
"You're correct; most of the witches I've encountered so far have just been mindless, eating, killing machines. But this one was... Intelligent, is how Homura's taken to describing it, and I have to agree. The degree of planning it put into this scheme of its, combined with just how frighteningly successful it was, has me completely baffled as to why this one witch in particular was so intelligent compared to the others; and the worst part is, if we hadn't been there to interfere with its plans the way we did, there would have been nothing stopping the witch from eating the entire city once it decided to show itself."
"That bad, huh?"
Your mind flashes back to the sights you saw on Friday night; "The witch showed up riding the Statue of Liberty across an ocean of familiars. I wish I were kidding when I say that." Rin nods; you guess there's no way something like what happened on Friday could have remained in Mitakihara. "If I hadn't kept most of the fight inside my Reality Marble, there's no telling what that thing could have done to the city."
Rin runs a hand through her hair, fretting to herself words you don't bother paying any mind to. "Well," she says, though the look on her face is clear that she doesn't know where else to go from there. "I mean, I know that what's going on here isn't what the Association thinks it is; but you know how they can be. I've got to at least say I've done my due diligence at smoothing over enough ruffled feathers that nobody feels like McRemitz needs to be replaced by an entire team of Enforcers. But I mean, I don't really know where else to go with this. I guess talking to the other masters will decide where the rest of this goes for me."
"If you'd like, after lunch I can show you around the city," you offer, trying to be hospitable to your former master.
"Why not now? We've got plenty of time."
"Because," you say to Rin. "I've got to be somewhere to deliver lunch to somebody, and there's too much for me to show you for us to be done in the time we've got." You set an alarm in the kitchen for a little before when Kure Minako's lunch break starts, but you have yet to hear it. After speaking with Rin, though, you're doubtful you have any more than an hour, at the most, before you have to get going. "So, in exchange for those introductory tomes you've brought, allow me to present this-" You reach into your pocket, producing for Rin the small black Grief Seed. "-is a Grief Seed. It's what a witch leaves behind after it's defeated. This is one Homura set aside just for you, because I told her you wanted to study something from her world."
Carefully, you hand the Grief Seed over to Rin, who takes into her hands with equal care. "It's so light," she says, turning the empty Seed in her hands. "What's it made of?"
"Dark magic, I assume. Do exercise caution when studying it; this one is empty, but if it starts to fill up again bring it back and we'll do what we can to trade you for a clean one."
"Incredible..." Rin muses out loud. "I can't believe I get to study a kind of magic heretofore undiscovered by the Association. Oh man, am I the luckiest girl in the world or what?"
You nod, saying "You're definitely up there, that's for sure."
Last edited:
- Location
- Around here
We're covering just Archer's half of the vote with this one. A Minako omake is up next, followed by the Homura half of the vote.
No votes needed from the audience right now, obviously, but engagement is still encouraged. Does my Rin feel enough like Rin to be believable; or do I need to rewrite her parts to be more Rin-ey?
No votes needed from the audience right now, obviously, but engagement is still encouraged. Does my Rin feel enough like Rin to be believable; or do I need to rewrite her parts to be more Rin-ey?
- Location
- Florida
She comes across as a bit tired and pissed off/irritated at the situation but still reasonable and highly intelligent. So yeah, you did a great job. I heard all of Rin's lines in her voice, so kudos.
- Location
- United States
What Slayer said, basically. It matches up quite well with how she was depicted in the VN, at least when she isn't teased or pissed off by someone. Rin musing as she did as if noone was in the room was a nice touch as well due to how single-minded/tunnel-visioned she could sometimes be when it comes to Magecraft stuff.
Last edited:
WanderingTwix
Posting something good once in a full moon
- Location
- United Kingdom
As someone who doesn't know fate, I give this a Rin/Rin for Rin-i-ness.
Rin felt like Rin, so you did good
Omake, side Minako - Meetings Over Lunch
- Location
- Around here
A little before noon.
Minako did her best to stifle a yawn as she drummed her fingers against the counter in the employee common room, waiting for her cup of coffee to fill up. She was glad that she was able to keep her nice clothes at the office, because there was no way she'd ever have the time to go back to her apartment, get changed, and make it to the office on time. Another yawn came on, this one lesser than before, and Minako reached for the cup she had sitting under the coffee maker, drowning out her weariness with a hot drink.
"Morning Minako," came a voice from behind her; female, familiar, and imminently important. "How was your weekend?"
Minako spun around, greeting her boss' right-hand woman with a deep bow. "Good morning to you too, Kaname-san," she said. "I got to spend time with my daughter and her friends, so I would consider my weekend to have been a pleasant one."
Kaname Junko rolled her eyes as Minako straightened herself upright. "Come on Minako, it's been seven years; I think you've earned the right to speak a little more freely around me."
"Sorry, Kaname-san." Minako didn't want to be impolite, even if Kaname Junko had been insistent for some time now. If it weren't for her, Minako might not have even landed this position; and even now, every day she continued to work at this office, Kaname Junko was sticking her neck out and silently vouching for a fuckup like her who hadn't even finished high school.
"Come on Chief, at least give her a chance. I know she doesn't look like much, but she's got a little girl she's taking care of, maybe no older than Madoka; and I know she'll put in the work if it means providing for her kid."
"Alright. She gets one chance, Junko. But if she screws up, it'll be on your head."
So for seven years, Minako had done her absolute best to not screw up, to not disrespect the woman who had stuck her neck out for her. "Come on," Junko said, following Minako as she walked back to her desk, cups of coffee held in both of their hands. "Tell me about your weekend. I want to hear all the juicy details."
"Well..." Minako smiled as she thought about the events of her vacation, saying to Junko as she toyed with a few strands of her dark-chocolate hair. "I met a guy, actually."
"Oh?" Junko leaned in close, smirking as she said to Minako "Tell me everything. Is he single? Does he like you back? Is he hot?"
Minako wanted to say "yes" to all three of Junko's questions, but in truth she could only answer truthfully to two; she had no idea whether Archer was willing to help her because he liked her back, or because he really did just feel sorry for her. "He is single; and he's actually got a girl of his own, too. Well, she's not really his by blood, but watching the two of them together, I could tell blood didn't matter between them." Junko continued smirking, silently egging Minako on; and Minako complied. "He's a teacher, and-" Minako couldn't hold back her smile as she said "-he said he'd help me study for my Cert, and maybe even help me get into college."
"That's great, Minako; good for you!" Junko gave Minako a thumbs up, saying "How does Kirika feel about you and him?"
"Well, I'd imagine it probably feels a little strange for her; I mean, she hasn't had a male role model in her life since I divorced her father; and what a terrible choice for a role model he was." Junko nodded. "But she's good friends with his daughter, so I imagine if things work out between us that she'd warm up to him quick enough."
Junko's smile was wiped from her face, and her smirk returned as she asked "Okay, now tell me honestly; how hot is he?"
Just then, the chime on the door to the main office rang, and both Minako and Junko were torn from their gossip as a face familiar to both of them walked through the door. "Archer?" Junko asked, as the man responsible for her daughter's girlfriend walked across the floor of the office. "You and Homura thinking of moving into a bigger place? I know a really nice spot near the school; I can cut you in with a really good price if you're interested."
Minako sighed, smiling as Archer let out a nervous laugh in the face of Junko's professional pestering. "Can't say I expected to see you here, Junko." His eyes darted past the woman in front of him, briefly locking with Minako's own as she mouthed a silent "Hey" to the man. "I'm not looking for a new place; actually, I'm here to deliver lunch to the woman behind you."
With the hand holding lunch, Archer motioned to Minako, causing Junko to turn. Her eyes went wide as Archer passed her, dropping the lunch box off at Minako's desk. Both he and Minako shared a brief smile, cut short as Archer checked the time, saying "Well, that's lunch. I hope you enjoy it."
Without another word, Archer turned around, walking out the way he came as swiftly as he had come in. Minako cracked open the lunchbox, greeted to the delightful smell of food she had only dreamed of treating herself to. "No way," Junko said, leaning over Minako's desk once again, her eyes still frozen open in shock. "No. Fucking. Way. The guy you met is Archer?"
"Yeah," Minako responded, her voice shaky as she asked "Is... Is that a good thing?"
"Honey, that might just be the best thing. That man is a catch, let me tell you." Junko made a playful growling noise, snapping her jaws as she said "If I weren't happily married to Tomo, I'd be chasing after him so fast your head would spin."
"Yeah, I guess he is a really great catch, isn't he?" 'If he'd give the time of day to a fuckup like me,' Minako thought as she took her first bite of lunch; thin-sliced fried chicken cutlets, marinated in a spicy sauce and plated over a bed of rice with finely chopped red and green peppers. 'Oh, if he can do other things as well as he can cook...' "But, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know him?"
"Oh, you're not going to believe this, but his daughter is dating my daughter. Small world, ain't it?"
"You mean..." Now that Minako thought about it, there had been something strangely familiar about the pink-haired girl she had seen Homura with for much of the weekend. "That was your daughter? Kirika's girlfriend took us all to her beach house on Lake Ashi for the weekend, and there was this cute little girl with pink hair that Archer's daughter was really close to. You mean to tell me that was your daughter?"
"Kaname Madoka, proud girlfriend of Akemi Homura, foster daughter to one incredible catch named Archer?" Junko nodded, giving Minako a massive grin as she said "You got it." She laughed to herself, adding "I guess that makes us practically sisters then, doesn't it; since you're dating Archer, and my daughter's dating his daughter. Maybe one of these days I should invite you over for dinner, then? Bring the whole family, why don't we; you, and Kirika, even her girlfriend can come if she's interested. Tomo and Archer can do the cooking, and Madoka and Homura can spend some much-needed quality time together. What do you say?"
"You don't have to trouble yourself on my account, Kaname-san."
"Come on, it'll be fun, I promise! We can even do it on a day when you're not working your night shift. How's that?"
"Well, I mean we're not even dating just yet, forget about us all being one big family or anything like that. Don't get me wrong; I like him a lot, and I'd be over the moon if he ever agreed to go out with me. But, for right now he's just a nice guy who's willing to help me out of this hole I've dug for myself."
Junko rolled her eyes, reaching over to pat Minako on the shoulder as she said "Girl, you've got to stop being so hard on yourself. So you made some mistakes, big deal. We all have. Just appreciate what you've got, work hard to get where you want to be, and go after that man before someone else beats you to him." She winked, and with her smirk never once leaving her face she said "Your bed may not appreciate it, but the rest of you sure will."
Minako's face went red, and she shied away from Junko's smirk. She couldn't remember much of anything that had happened last night, but a nagging voice in the back of her head whispered to her "I know I'm drunk right now... But... I wouldn't mind... If it was with you..." Gods above, she hoped she hadn't said or done anything stupid that would make Archer hate her. She didn't want to ruin her chances before she was even in the running.
'Lunch is really good. I'll have to think of some way I can thank Archer later for all his hard work.'
Minako did her best to stifle a yawn as she drummed her fingers against the counter in the employee common room, waiting for her cup of coffee to fill up. She was glad that she was able to keep her nice clothes at the office, because there was no way she'd ever have the time to go back to her apartment, get changed, and make it to the office on time. Another yawn came on, this one lesser than before, and Minako reached for the cup she had sitting under the coffee maker, drowning out her weariness with a hot drink.
"Morning Minako," came a voice from behind her; female, familiar, and imminently important. "How was your weekend?"
Minako spun around, greeting her boss' right-hand woman with a deep bow. "Good morning to you too, Kaname-san," she said. "I got to spend time with my daughter and her friends, so I would consider my weekend to have been a pleasant one."
Kaname Junko rolled her eyes as Minako straightened herself upright. "Come on Minako, it's been seven years; I think you've earned the right to speak a little more freely around me."
"Sorry, Kaname-san." Minako didn't want to be impolite, even if Kaname Junko had been insistent for some time now. If it weren't for her, Minako might not have even landed this position; and even now, every day she continued to work at this office, Kaname Junko was sticking her neck out and silently vouching for a fuckup like her who hadn't even finished high school.
"Come on Chief, at least give her a chance. I know she doesn't look like much, but she's got a little girl she's taking care of, maybe no older than Madoka; and I know she'll put in the work if it means providing for her kid."
"Alright. She gets one chance, Junko. But if she screws up, it'll be on your head."
So for seven years, Minako had done her absolute best to not screw up, to not disrespect the woman who had stuck her neck out for her. "Come on," Junko said, following Minako as she walked back to her desk, cups of coffee held in both of their hands. "Tell me about your weekend. I want to hear all the juicy details."
"Well..." Minako smiled as she thought about the events of her vacation, saying to Junko as she toyed with a few strands of her dark-chocolate hair. "I met a guy, actually."
"Oh?" Junko leaned in close, smirking as she said to Minako "Tell me everything. Is he single? Does he like you back? Is he hot?"
Minako wanted to say "yes" to all three of Junko's questions, but in truth she could only answer truthfully to two; she had no idea whether Archer was willing to help her because he liked her back, or because he really did just feel sorry for her. "He is single; and he's actually got a girl of his own, too. Well, she's not really his by blood, but watching the two of them together, I could tell blood didn't matter between them." Junko continued smirking, silently egging Minako on; and Minako complied. "He's a teacher, and-" Minako couldn't hold back her smile as she said "-he said he'd help me study for my Cert, and maybe even help me get into college."
"That's great, Minako; good for you!" Junko gave Minako a thumbs up, saying "How does Kirika feel about you and him?"
"Well, I'd imagine it probably feels a little strange for her; I mean, she hasn't had a male role model in her life since I divorced her father; and what a terrible choice for a role model he was." Junko nodded. "But she's good friends with his daughter, so I imagine if things work out between us that she'd warm up to him quick enough."
Junko's smile was wiped from her face, and her smirk returned as she asked "Okay, now tell me honestly; how hot is he?"
Just then, the chime on the door to the main office rang, and both Minako and Junko were torn from their gossip as a face familiar to both of them walked through the door. "Archer?" Junko asked, as the man responsible for her daughter's girlfriend walked across the floor of the office. "You and Homura thinking of moving into a bigger place? I know a really nice spot near the school; I can cut you in with a really good price if you're interested."
Minako sighed, smiling as Archer let out a nervous laugh in the face of Junko's professional pestering. "Can't say I expected to see you here, Junko." His eyes darted past the woman in front of him, briefly locking with Minako's own as she mouthed a silent "Hey" to the man. "I'm not looking for a new place; actually, I'm here to deliver lunch to the woman behind you."
With the hand holding lunch, Archer motioned to Minako, causing Junko to turn. Her eyes went wide as Archer passed her, dropping the lunch box off at Minako's desk. Both he and Minako shared a brief smile, cut short as Archer checked the time, saying "Well, that's lunch. I hope you enjoy it."
Without another word, Archer turned around, walking out the way he came as swiftly as he had come in. Minako cracked open the lunchbox, greeted to the delightful smell of food she had only dreamed of treating herself to. "No way," Junko said, leaning over Minako's desk once again, her eyes still frozen open in shock. "No. Fucking. Way. The guy you met is Archer?"
"Yeah," Minako responded, her voice shaky as she asked "Is... Is that a good thing?"
"Honey, that might just be the best thing. That man is a catch, let me tell you." Junko made a playful growling noise, snapping her jaws as she said "If I weren't happily married to Tomo, I'd be chasing after him so fast your head would spin."
"Yeah, I guess he is a really great catch, isn't he?" 'If he'd give the time of day to a fuckup like me,' Minako thought as she took her first bite of lunch; thin-sliced fried chicken cutlets, marinated in a spicy sauce and plated over a bed of rice with finely chopped red and green peppers. 'Oh, if he can do other things as well as he can cook...' "But, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know him?"
"Oh, you're not going to believe this, but his daughter is dating my daughter. Small world, ain't it?"
"You mean..." Now that Minako thought about it, there had been something strangely familiar about the pink-haired girl she had seen Homura with for much of the weekend. "That was your daughter? Kirika's girlfriend took us all to her beach house on Lake Ashi for the weekend, and there was this cute little girl with pink hair that Archer's daughter was really close to. You mean to tell me that was your daughter?"
"Kaname Madoka, proud girlfriend of Akemi Homura, foster daughter to one incredible catch named Archer?" Junko nodded, giving Minako a massive grin as she said "You got it." She laughed to herself, adding "I guess that makes us practically sisters then, doesn't it; since you're dating Archer, and my daughter's dating his daughter. Maybe one of these days I should invite you over for dinner, then? Bring the whole family, why don't we; you, and Kirika, even her girlfriend can come if she's interested. Tomo and Archer can do the cooking, and Madoka and Homura can spend some much-needed quality time together. What do you say?"
"You don't have to trouble yourself on my account, Kaname-san."
"Come on, it'll be fun, I promise! We can even do it on a day when you're not working your night shift. How's that?"
"Well, I mean we're not even dating just yet, forget about us all being one big family or anything like that. Don't get me wrong; I like him a lot, and I'd be over the moon if he ever agreed to go out with me. But, for right now he's just a nice guy who's willing to help me out of this hole I've dug for myself."
Junko rolled her eyes, reaching over to pat Minako on the shoulder as she said "Girl, you've got to stop being so hard on yourself. So you made some mistakes, big deal. We all have. Just appreciate what you've got, work hard to get where you want to be, and go after that man before someone else beats you to him." She winked, and with her smirk never once leaving her face she said "Your bed may not appreciate it, but the rest of you sure will."
Minako's face went red, and she shied away from Junko's smirk. She couldn't remember much of anything that had happened last night, but a nagging voice in the back of her head whispered to her "I know I'm drunk right now... But... I wouldn't mind... If it was with you..." Gods above, she hoped she hadn't said or done anything stupid that would make Archer hate her. She didn't want to ruin her chances before she was even in the running.
'Lunch is really good. I'll have to think of some way I can thank Archer later for all his hard work.'
- Location
- United States
You know (can't remember if this was previously stated before this omake ooc or not), this was a great reveal. Didn't expect Minako to be Junko's assistant at all, though it's a nice coincidence all the same. Just another way to make literally everybody family in the future, amirite?
It wasn't outright stated but some hints have been dropped here and there.