[X] Plan Oh Boy Here We Go Again
"A'ight, come on Blueberry, let's get going." Kyouko's first words upon exiting her one-on-one conversation with Tohsaka Rin are, to the surprise of no one, directed to her date. "I'm interested ta see where yer planning on taking me."
Sayaka opens her mouth to speak; doubtless Kyouko's demanding attitude is grating her nerves, but Kure Kirika just gives her a look, saying without saying "Just remember what I told you." Sighing, Sayaka takes her advice to heart, saying "Well, I guess we'll see you all later," as she stands up, taking Kyouko's hand into her own. You give her a thumbs up and a silent "Good luck" as she and Kyouko walk out into the great unknown of their first date.
"Alright Kure!" Tohsaka Rin calls out. "You're up next!" One by one, Tohsaka Rin calls each of your allies into the kitchen to speak with them alone; until at last, she's finished interviewing your allies and frinds, and she makes one final call; "Akemi, I want to speak with you again."
You and Mikuni Oriko pass each other, you leaving as she returns, and you take your seat at the table as you enter the kitchen, Tohsaka Rin seated on the opposite side. "Was there a reason for speaking to my allies in the order that you did?"
"Not really; I just wanted to hear what each of them had so say about things, and I picked the order at random." You nod, and she continues. "You sound upset; is there a reason you didn't want me talking to them by themselves?"
"None what so ever. But I think I have the right to be curious and cautious, especially of someone I've never met before. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt because Archer trusts you, but that doesn't mean I won't let my guard down completely."
"Well, just in case you're wondering, your teammates basically just said the same thing that you did- Witch was big, strong, took a lot of hits, probably would have wiped out the city if you hadn't stopped it." Well of course they'd all say the same as you had; they were there. "I was thinking I might be able to catch them up if I spoke with them by themselves, but everything checks out; I see no reason to doubt your story. However, I do have one last question for you before I let you go- Are you absolutely sure you have things under control here? I'm not going to go back to London, tell them they don't need to get involved, and then find out in a week or two that something like this has happened again, am I?"
Tohsaka Rin gives you a look, staring into your soul as if she already knows the answer that awaits her. What should you tell her? Do you lie and tell her that everything in Mitakihara is peachy-keen, knowing that, when Walpurgisnacht hits, whatever is left of the city might be put at risk because your lie blindsided the Association and has them spooked worse than before? Or ot you tell Tohsaka Rin the truth, that there is a witch just as strong as Elsa Maria coming to Mitakihara in short order, and that you don't know how under control you'll really have things when it makes landfall?
Caught between a rock and a hard place, you decide that the truth is ultimately the better reflection on you than obfuscation. "I have reason to believe that another witch just as strong as the previous one may make landfall in the city on the morning of May the first."
"Well, that's unfortunate," Tohsaka Rin says, lacing her fingers together as her eyes bore into your own. "Though not wholly unexpected, either. The others did all mention something to the effect of another super-powerful witch making landfall. To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to just come out and say it. But-" There always has to be a 'but', doesn't there? "-that leaves us with a bit of a problem. See, if I go back to London and tell the Association that everything's fine, how do you think they'll react when this other witch just completely blindsides them?"
"I asked myself the same question, actually. It's why I decided to tell you the truth, rather than letting you go back home unaware."
Tohsaka Rin nods her head. "Good call. But at the same time, how do you think the Association will act if I go home and tell them that this whole affair really is going to happen again? Do you think they'll be comfortable letting another event like this happen under their watch? An event which, might I remind you, already has them terrified that their secrets will be revealed. Do you think they'll just let that slide either?"
"It won't be exactly the same situation. I don't know why, but this witch appeared outside of its labyrinth in its true form; that's never happened before. This witch is also powerful enough to appear outside of its labyrinth, but it cloaks its true form in the guise of a natural disaster. There's no risk that magic will be revealed to the world because of this witch, unless someone who shouldn't be there-" Someone like Madoka "-slips out of the shelters."
"You're talking as though you've had experience with this witch before." Oh, if only she knew.
"Not necessarily." That's a lie. "It's something of a well-known secret among, well, my kind, that super-powerful witches like this one tend to appear on the date of the festival of Walpurgisnacht. This wouldn't be the first time a witch like this has made landfall somewhere, at some point in history, but only people like myself, who can see the witch for what it truly is, have any idea of its existence. The previous witch was an aberration in every sense of the word; but this witch, for all its power, is a fairly regular occurrence among my kind, common enough that word gets around when one of them is heading our way."
Tohsaka Rin cocks a curious eye at your words, and she asks "So, how do you know it'll be making landfall here? If a witch like this can appear anywhere, what makes you sure that it's coming to this city?"
"Tracking this witch is a lot like tracking a tropical storm. Technically, it could make landfall just about anywhere along the coast. Our projections show a fairly good chance that it'll make landfall in Mitakihara, but they aren't flawless. Mustering an Association hit squad to pre-emptively wipe out the target city would be wasteful, especially given that they might hit the wrong city if our models prove to be incorrect."
Tohsaka Rin sighs, scratching the back of her head as she says "Well, you've certainly given me a lot to think about. Send Shizuki in on your way out, will you? I'd like to talk with her before I head out."
"Will you be staying in the city for long?"
"Maybe a day or two longer, I don't know. Just to observe how things are going, you know? I'll probably have McRemitz stay here until all this blows over, just so there's one other person besides Ortensia around to keep an eye on things... Assuming I can get in touch with her, that is."
I see." Just as you did for McRemitz-san, who to your surprise still hasn't responded to the text you sent her, you offer your phone number to Tohsaka Rin, saying "Feel free to get in touch with me if you need anything during your stay."
"Right. I'll do that."
At last, it's over. While you're indebted to Tohsaka Rin for sticking her neck out for you and this city, you can't deny that her appearance here so suddenly has been unduly stressful. Dealing with Asako Koito will be, by comparison, a walk in the park. "Now, what are we going to do about Asako Koito?" you ask. "The way I see it, we have two options; we can either convince her to give up her Soul Gem for cleansing, or we can make her hand it over by force."
There is a third option, but one which you don't have to bring up, as Mikuni Oriko does so for you. "And, what are the chances of getting her to cooperate if I agree to her own terms, and beg her sister's spirit for forgiveness?" It's fair to say that you've been trying to avoid taking that route; your team has the position of power in negotiations; Asako Koito has nothing except her stubbornness. And yet, that stubbornness has managed to hold out and given her a power position all her own, hasn't it? It's to the point where you need her cooperation just to keep her from witching out. "Even if no one else does, I want to have faith that she will relent if I accept her terms."
"I can ask Caster if there's something he has in his possession which we can use to... How do I say this?" Tomoe-san has to pause and think about her choice of words, before settling on "Forcibly activate, I guess you might say, her Soul Gem- To get to to change out of its ring form so that Akemi-san can grab it and cleanse it during a timestop."
You nod, and say "Good. While you're doing that-" you turn to Mikuni Oriko "-can you take a look at the future and tell us what sort of time frame we're working with? I'd like to know if, while we're sitting here debating what to do, we're not accidentally giving Asako Koito the time she needs to turn into a witch." Mikuni Oriko nods, and Kure Kirika takes her hand as she enters her trance state.
While you wait for Mikuni Oriko to give her report of the future, your gaze turn expectantly to Tomoe-san, on whom you wait for Caster's response. Unfortunately, "Caster tells me that he does not have something which could force Koito-san's Soul Gem to behave as we wish; at least, not something that would accomplish that without also killing her in the process, he says."
"That's unfortunately," you say; it also means you'll have to be able to convince Asako Koito to give up her Soul Gem willingly. If she turns into a witch now, she'll only succeed in damning the people she calls her friends out of nothing more than spite.
Then again, you're not quite sure she cares about anything but her revenge, at this point. Hopefully, Mikuni Oriko has better news. "We do have time," she says; but there's more, you know that tone all too well. "However, I am still fearful of the witch that I saw in Namekata Akira's future. I don't know if it is Koito-san's witch or not, but if it is we may not have much time. We should have addressed this matter sooner, I'm afraid."
"But there is still time, right?" Mikuni Oriko nods; good, even in delaying dealing with this there is still time; but you don't trust that time to last. Forcing Asako Koito won't work, at least not without whatever Caster has in store also killing her; so you'll have to hope that diplomacy, that appealing to whatever human decency Asako Koito still has left that she hasn't discarded in her quest for revenge, will be enough to convince her to comply.
"Then we have only one option."
[ ] Wat do?
