Day 41 Chapter 10
- Location
- Around here
[X] Plan Homura's Pissed
Í̸̘̙̺̆̎'̴̝̠̱̹̳̹̖͐̀́̀͒v̶̧̹̻͓̦̦͙̘̌́̈̽͊̓̐̏̈́͐͘͜ě̴̬̪̖̭̻̂͗ ̶̨̲̞͈͑̑̆̿̕͝g̸̡̼̜̽̄̒̊̿̎̃̏͒̒͝ȍ̴͕̅́̇̉̔̈́t̴̢̘͚̹͉̻̟̯̲̻̏͋ͅ ̵͙̙͎̺̭̳̌͊s̵͙̖̯͎̟̣̺̏̓̓̈́̈̊͐̓̔̕͝o̶̟͓̱̘͆͠m̵͕̼̦̖̺̰̱̙̜̓e̸̥̦͙̪͚͂̈́͜ͅť̶̨͇͎̱̟͚͓̞̟̞̟̈́̅̐͛̓̈́h̵̠͌̏̊i̶̪͎̮͉̪̗͔͇͋́̐͑̇̀̅̇̿͂͘n̶͚̟̖̖͕͇̩̠̲̿͌͜g̸̝̈͒͑̿́̂ ̵̧̦̬͕͎̪͔̬̣̲̉s̸̢̘͕̤͛̈́͐̓͘p̵̡̲͙̱̌͐̃̏̅̋͋̾́ë̶̢̳̞͙̼̹͕͇͙́̏͌̎̅̚͠c̴̛̖̽́̐͊̇̈̏̕͘i̶̫̤̘̺̝̖͂̈́ͅͅä̷̱̪́͋̀̈͑͠͠͝l̴̢̨̧̺͔͓͕̿̂̈́̈́,̷̲̙̫̱͕͈̥̲̖̜͐̌̅̿̋͛͂͘̕ ̷̬̪̲̊́̾j̸̧̨̠̞̹͚̯̜̣͉̐̔ͅu̶̪̲̼̣̜͙̙͑͆̈́̈́̑͝s̵̤̹͖͓̥͕͎̐͗̈̈͒̅ͅt̷͍̹̻̩̥̻͛͒̓͌̌͋͛͛̅͠͠ ̴̹̩̪̯̈́̓̾͆͜f̸̨̛̲̼̦̝͖͕̩̼͔̓́̽͒͌͘ò̷͚̈́͛̕ŕ̷̝̜͕͎̰̜̤͋̒͂̓͊̎͑̚ ̴̪̩̱̭̌́̈͑͠y̷̢̧̩̎̓͌̔̉͒͐̾͂͜͝o̵̢̻̘̪͈̬̺̯̖̙̾̅̓̓͠ư̶̢͚̖̺̙͇̟͖̅̆͑͠.̷̦̹͔͆̋̔̓̈́́̏̿̃̚
Finally, you get your first glimpse of the witch responsible for all of this. It floats down from the ceiling, bearing an extra-large television set with a single looping image on repeat. A gigantic, grotesque figure rising from the broken body of the person you love most, twisting and turning against a sky of burning gold and a backdrop of broken buildings as it reaches up towards the heavens with a height that grows ever more massive with each passing second. An image you've worked so hard to prevent, yet have failed to, again and again.
The end of the world, and the witch of Kaname Madoka.
Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
At that most horrible of sights, you feel something within you snap. Time comes to a sudden halt, dragging you and Kirika into your world of frozen time. "Hey, big sis? We're killing this witch right now, so please help me shred it into little tiny pieces-"
"Okay, seriously, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do when we get back home, and-"
"I already said I'd tell you later." You don't mean to snap at Kirika; she's not trying to provoke you. Not the way this witch is. "I'm sorry," you say, sighing as you check your Soul Gem. No wonder you snapped at her. "I didn't mean to yell at you. I just..."
Kirika places a hand on your shoulder, saying to you as you cleanse your Soul Gem of curses "I get it. I mean, I don't really get it, but I get that whatever this witch is showing you is painful. Like, really painful. Hell, I know how bitchy I'd be in your shoes if it was Oriko I was seeing, so I won't hold it against ya." Your big sis claps you on the back, adding with a smile "But I totally will if you don't tell me what's going on after we're done here."
"Right," you say, nodding your head as you relish in the freeing sensation of a Soul Gem newly cleaned. "Now, let's take care of this witch, shall we?"
"You got any special way you wanna do this?"
You shake your head, and trace Isa runes in the air in front of the witch. "Nope."
If this witch hadn't inflamed you the way it did, you might have felt some modicum of sympathy for it as you allow time to return to normal. Might. You're sure there's worse ways the witch could have gone than to be skewered by endless spires of ice and torn to shreds by lengths of chain and claws, but for the torment this witch would have forced onto you - onto every one of your other teammates had you not put a stop to it when you did - the punishment is equivalent to the suffering.
"̵̹̋̑̒̅̓͒̌̋͘I̷̜͓͈͙͇̳͋̂ ̸̨̛͍̻͈͙͑̑ṙ̸͍͖͚̜͍̖̙̜̒́ͅȩ̵̡̹̲̤̖̤̰̾͆͂́͜ä̴̢͔̫͂̿̍ļ̷̟̭̟̼̻͓̺͚̌ļ̵̡̨̭͍̝̯̓̿̓͛̽͊̈̎͠ͅÿ̴̖̻́̔̋̃ ̵̲̝̰͙̼̞̬͉̑̅͑͜h̶̨̛͓͓̜̖̳͙̆́̓́͛̕͠a̴͖͔͔͍̝̠̦͖͇͑̀̍͋͝d̷̻̥̹̼̏ ̸͔͌f̴̥̝̖̠͉̙̓̎́̂̐͂̓ṵ̷̢̦̐̒̽͗̕͝ņ̷̹͕͔͕̒̈́̽̀̓͒͠͠ ̷̭̗̬͍̀̊̊̉̓̓t̷̜̹̟̩̕õ̷̜̣̓̎͋̇͜d̵̢̰̹̯̺͔́ͅä̶̡͎͇̺̘̻̺́̆̃͛̃̂͠ỹ̸̢̨̠̫̥̟̗͎̍̈́̈́̑̚͜,̶̼̘̟̼̗̺̟͉̾̊̈̚ͅ ̷̥͈̼͍̲̫̘̅̆̀̀̈́̈́̀͘͝Ḯ̷̧̠̩̩̳̗̲̯͈ ̸̧̛̛̙͓̺̬̀̃̊̃̐̀̚w̷̲͌̓̑̈͂̈́̌̏ā̸͇̗͉́͐̾͒͜ń̴̮͎̻̻̹̞̹͇̫̫̉́̽̚͝t̸̗̳̱̳͒͂͋̃͆̀̓̄̕͝ ̶̳̝͉̾ṱ̷͖̒̓͜ō̵̧͍̙̉̀ͅ ̵̤̫̱̮̪͈͕̙͈̄̏̐̒͊́̽͘͜d̴̛̠͎̦͍̘̤̦̍͂̐̊̊ō̶͍̥͈ ̴͙͚̃̊̔̽̏͜ĩ̴̖̣̭̠̟̫̖͂̓̂t̴̨͖͇̠̺̳́͛̇́̋͒͌̔͝ ̷̧̡̺͚͙̰̌͝ä̴̧̡̻̲͔͇͍͙̲͖̿̅̈́̉͒̚g̶̣͖̈́͊͐̚a̸̡̧͖̯̬͗̔ͅi̴̥͕̠̤͓̞͊͌̉̎̎́͋̀̕n̷̺̻̝̗͙̳̘̳̯͂̆͆̋̾̆̄.̵̨̨̛̺̞͕̭̻͛̒̃ ̷̢̪̼̙̘͚̬̊̓͠͠Ǹ̵̲̣̲̊ȩ̶̛̒̔̂̊̂̌́͝ͅx̶̡̮͇̘͕̤͈̹̭͈͗̈̉͋̆͊̀̕t̷̪̥́̎̾͆̇̓͒̾̽ ̵̖̱̖̩̫̍͐̊̒̍̓̈́̎̚͠t̵̞̬̪̖̭͔́̍̈̔̓̌į̸̻̘̲̠̫̹̩͑̄̓͜m̴̨̭͙͂̄̕ę̷̠̟͔̟̮̟̝̠͇̒̾́͐̌͑̍̿̿͘,̶̞͖̘͓̝͗͐͜ ̷̨͔͚̲̭̮̹͛͜I̵̭͕̫͇͙͐̽͘͜͠ͅ'̴̫̰̮̞̣̺͎̤͙͆̈̈́͂̽̒͠l̵̛̳̣͔͔̯͖͖̗͂̽̀̑̊̄̀͌͋͜l̷̹̄̓̌̀̅̂̓̃͜ ̸̡̲̪͇̮͙͍͔̈̏́̌̈̀̒̂̅b̶̢̡͉̗̫̝͙͐̋̾͒r̶̡̢͈͕̻̯͔͠i̶̢̲̝̥͌̾̈͝͠n̵̢̨̝͍̽̂̉̑̎͂g̶͙̘͖̠̪͖̝̞̣̐̇̎̌́͝͠ͅ ̸͓͚̠̝̥̤͗̈́͒̋́̊̎̈́̔ͅa̴̮͎̞̓̌ ̵̧̼͉̗̣̮̥̈́̐̓̀̽̈́̈͛͘̕b̸̨͙̗͎͓̺̻͓̄̏̓ë̵̳̄͜ņ̶̝͚̤͋̂́͌t̵̢͉̠̟̝̟͎̀̂ō̵͚̣̞̬̥̪͖͎͖͐̐̏̐̂̇͝.̶̨̞͇̹̰͕͛̎͑͗̕͝͝"̴̨̱̲̙͚̞̓̆͆̓̔̃̄
Broken and defeated, the witch falls to the ground, and as the labyrinth fades you are left with only a single broken image, the kind you might see if you turned your TV off to quickly. On the broken television set, the image of Madoka's witch stares back at you, its soulless blank eyes fixed on you. It's the last image of the labyrinth you see before the labyrinth finally fades from existence, leaving behind only a single proof that a witch had ever been there.
You pick the Grief Seed up off the ground; not necessarily to keep it for yourself, but rather just for temporary safekeeping. You'll figure out who it should go to later. "Alright team, that's a wrap for tonight. You all did good work."
"But, we hardly did anything," Nagatsuki Miyuki says. "I know it was pretty much all on you for defeating the witch; the rest of us didn't really get a chance to do anything."
That's not true; Kirika helped you out a lot in terms of defeating the witch. But you can't say that. "We all put the work in to defeat the familiars. Without them, the witch lost the majority of its fighting ability."
"So now that we're done, let's all go and celebrate!" Kirika says, wrapping an arm around your shoulder as her voice rings with cheer. But her face says otherwise, and she leans in to whisper to you "You wanna get some ice cream on the way back? I know I didn't say it, but I appreciate you being concerned for me last night, and since you're looking a little down after what that witch showed you I thought I'd return the favour."
"Thank you," you say. "Some ice cream does sound nice." You can't help but smile as you, feeling a little like taking advantage of the situation, ask "Does this mean my big sis intends to treat me?"
"You dummy." Kirika directs her fist into your arm as gently as she can, saying "Course it does," before immediately changing her tone as she adds "But don't think this means I like having you for a sister or anything! I'm just being nice to you because you're one of Oriko's friends, that's all!" You shrug. Well, you win some, and you lose some, you think, as Kirika begrudgingly accepts the hug you give her in spite of her attitude.
It isn't just you getting ice cream this time, either. Kirika might have been the only one to get any last night, but tonight has been taxing on more than just yourself, and there are other members of your team deserving of some comfort food. After checking to make sure the ice cream here is suitable for her dietary restrictions, you pay for Assassin, and offer to pay for Berserker as well when Kirika says "So, hey, I've only got enough on me for you and me," but Berserker declines you.
"The offer is appreciated, but you need not trouble yourself on my account," Berserker says. "Besides, if I were to spill any on my suit, the mistress would be most displeased."
You look in Kirika's direction as Berserker declines your offer of ice cream, and say to her "Even if he doesn't want any ice cream, I'd still recommend checking on Berserker later to make sure he's alright. I figure you know more about what the witch was showing him than I do, so you're probably in a better position to make sure he's alright than I am."
"Relax, I wasn't planning on just ignoring the guy or anything. He..." You aren't sure what brought on this pause of Kirika's, not until she says "Oh my god. The psychic lady at the faire last month was right."
"Come again?"
"Okay, so remember last month how me and Oriko went on a date to the festival in Downtown the same day as you and Pinkie did?" How could you forget? That was your first date with Madoka in who-knows-how-long. "Oriko and I thought it would be funny to stop by this one booth to get our fortunes told; you know, because Oriko can see the future and this old lady clearly couldn't." You nod your head; you do, in fact, remember seeing the happy couple as they left the old lady's stand.
"Can you believe that old lady? Telling me that I'll 'meet the man of my dreams'? What a load of bull, right? A man... You're the only one for me, Oriko."
"Yes, but what of it? I seem to recall you saying that her fortunes were a 'load of bull' is that right?" You also recall thinking, at the time, that you almost preferred to think of the pair as serial killers, rather than as a stereotypical sappy couple. Oh, how times have changed.
"Yeah, I thought that that too. I mean, I love Oriko; I wouldn't just leave her for a guy like that. Guys are gross; they've got... Thingies, and if a guy got me pregnant I know it'd make mom cry. But then I summoned Berserker, and it just hit me now that he'd kind of fit the bill. I mean, I get all kinds of glimpses into his past thanks to that whole dream cycle thing, right? So in a way, that old lady was right."
Nagatsuki Miyuki rolls her eyes as you and Kirika share a laugh at the latter's realisation. "You two are weird," she says. "I don't recall Koito-chan being so weird with Komaki-san..." There's a moment of silence as Nagatsuki Miyuki's voice fades. She shakes her head, turning away from you and Kirika as she says "Sorry. Forget I said anything. Let's just get going. I'm sure the others will want to hear our report."
You and the others follow Nagatsuki Miyuki's lead out of the sweets shop, with Kirika taking over once the journey becomes one of returning to the MIkuni mansion. "I... Kind of feel bad for her," Kirika says to you. "I mean, I know that she and Komaki were mean to Oriko, but at the same time... If I lost Oriko, I know I'd be just as upset myself."
You don't know if there's a way to cheer Nagatsuki Miyuki up. You too know what it feels like to have lost the person you loved; and even if you were more welcoming of the part of you that loved the person you had lost than she is, you know the pain doesn't go away overnight.
Or ever.
[ ] Wat do?
Í̸̘̙̺̆̎'̴̝̠̱̹̳̹̖͐̀́̀͒v̶̧̹̻͓̦̦͙̘̌́̈̽͊̓̐̏̈́͐͘͜ě̴̬̪̖̭̻̂͗ ̶̨̲̞͈͑̑̆̿̕͝g̸̡̼̜̽̄̒̊̿̎̃̏͒̒͝ȍ̴͕̅́̇̉̔̈́t̴̢̘͚̹͉̻̟̯̲̻̏͋ͅ ̵͙̙͎̺̭̳̌͊s̵͙̖̯͎̟̣̺̏̓̓̈́̈̊͐̓̔̕͝o̶̟͓̱̘͆͠m̵͕̼̦̖̺̰̱̙̜̓e̸̥̦͙̪͚͂̈́͜ͅť̶̨͇͎̱̟͚͓̞̟̞̟̈́̅̐͛̓̈́h̵̠͌̏̊i̶̪͎̮͉̪̗͔͇͋́̐͑̇̀̅̇̿͂͘n̶͚̟̖̖͕͇̩̠̲̿͌͜g̸̝̈͒͑̿́̂ ̵̧̦̬͕͎̪͔̬̣̲̉s̸̢̘͕̤͛̈́͐̓͘p̵̡̲͙̱̌͐̃̏̅̋͋̾́ë̶̢̳̞͙̼̹͕͇͙́̏͌̎̅̚͠c̴̛̖̽́̐͊̇̈̏̕͘i̶̫̤̘̺̝̖͂̈́ͅͅä̷̱̪́͋̀̈͑͠͠͝l̴̢̨̧̺͔͓͕̿̂̈́̈́,̷̲̙̫̱͕͈̥̲̖̜͐̌̅̿̋͛͂͘̕ ̷̬̪̲̊́̾j̸̧̨̠̞̹͚̯̜̣͉̐̔ͅu̶̪̲̼̣̜͙̙͑͆̈́̈́̑͝s̵̤̹͖͓̥͕͎̐͗̈̈͒̅ͅt̷͍̹̻̩̥̻͛͒̓͌̌͋͛͛̅͠͠ ̴̹̩̪̯̈́̓̾͆͜f̸̨̛̲̼̦̝͖͕̩̼͔̓́̽͒͌͘ò̷͚̈́͛̕ŕ̷̝̜͕͎̰̜̤͋̒͂̓͊̎͑̚ ̴̪̩̱̭̌́̈͑͠y̷̢̧̩̎̓͌̔̉͒͐̾͂͜͝o̵̢̻̘̪͈̬̺̯̖̙̾̅̓̓͠ư̶̢͚̖̺̙͇̟͖̅̆͑͠.̷̦̹͔͆̋̔̓̈́́̏̿̃̚
Finally, you get your first glimpse of the witch responsible for all of this. It floats down from the ceiling, bearing an extra-large television set with a single looping image on repeat. A gigantic, grotesque figure rising from the broken body of the person you love most, twisting and turning against a sky of burning gold and a backdrop of broken buildings as it reaches up towards the heavens with a height that grows ever more massive with each passing second. An image you've worked so hard to prevent, yet have failed to, again and again.
The end of the world, and the witch of Kaname Madoka.
Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
At that most horrible of sights, you feel something within you snap. Time comes to a sudden halt, dragging you and Kirika into your world of frozen time. "Hey, big sis? We're killing this witch right now, so please help me shred it into little tiny pieces-"
"Okay, seriously, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do when we get back home, and-"
"I already said I'd tell you later." You don't mean to snap at Kirika; she's not trying to provoke you. Not the way this witch is. "I'm sorry," you say, sighing as you check your Soul Gem. No wonder you snapped at her. "I didn't mean to yell at you. I just..."
Kirika places a hand on your shoulder, saying to you as you cleanse your Soul Gem of curses "I get it. I mean, I don't really get it, but I get that whatever this witch is showing you is painful. Like, really painful. Hell, I know how bitchy I'd be in your shoes if it was Oriko I was seeing, so I won't hold it against ya." Your big sis claps you on the back, adding with a smile "But I totally will if you don't tell me what's going on after we're done here."
"Right," you say, nodding your head as you relish in the freeing sensation of a Soul Gem newly cleaned. "Now, let's take care of this witch, shall we?"
"You got any special way you wanna do this?"
You shake your head, and trace Isa runes in the air in front of the witch. "Nope."
If this witch hadn't inflamed you the way it did, you might have felt some modicum of sympathy for it as you allow time to return to normal. Might. You're sure there's worse ways the witch could have gone than to be skewered by endless spires of ice and torn to shreds by lengths of chain and claws, but for the torment this witch would have forced onto you - onto every one of your other teammates had you not put a stop to it when you did - the punishment is equivalent to the suffering.
"̵̹̋̑̒̅̓͒̌̋͘I̷̜͓͈͙͇̳͋̂ ̸̨̛͍̻͈͙͑̑ṙ̸͍͖͚̜͍̖̙̜̒́ͅȩ̵̡̹̲̤̖̤̰̾͆͂́͜ä̴̢͔̫͂̿̍ļ̷̟̭̟̼̻͓̺͚̌ļ̵̡̨̭͍̝̯̓̿̓͛̽͊̈̎͠ͅÿ̴̖̻́̔̋̃ ̵̲̝̰͙̼̞̬͉̑̅͑͜h̶̨̛͓͓̜̖̳͙̆́̓́͛̕͠a̴͖͔͔͍̝̠̦͖͇͑̀̍͋͝d̷̻̥̹̼̏ ̸͔͌f̴̥̝̖̠͉̙̓̎́̂̐͂̓ṵ̷̢̦̐̒̽͗̕͝ņ̷̹͕͔͕̒̈́̽̀̓͒͠͠ ̷̭̗̬͍̀̊̊̉̓̓t̷̜̹̟̩̕õ̷̜̣̓̎͋̇͜d̵̢̰̹̯̺͔́ͅä̶̡͎͇̺̘̻̺́̆̃͛̃̂͠ỹ̸̢̨̠̫̥̟̗͎̍̈́̈́̑̚͜,̶̼̘̟̼̗̺̟͉̾̊̈̚ͅ ̷̥͈̼͍̲̫̘̅̆̀̀̈́̈́̀͘͝Ḯ̷̧̠̩̩̳̗̲̯͈ ̸̧̛̛̙͓̺̬̀̃̊̃̐̀̚w̷̲͌̓̑̈͂̈́̌̏ā̸͇̗͉́͐̾͒͜ń̴̮͎̻̻̹̞̹͇̫̫̉́̽̚͝t̸̗̳̱̳͒͂͋̃͆̀̓̄̕͝ ̶̳̝͉̾ṱ̷͖̒̓͜ō̵̧͍̙̉̀ͅ ̵̤̫̱̮̪͈͕̙͈̄̏̐̒͊́̽͘͜d̴̛̠͎̦͍̘̤̦̍͂̐̊̊ō̶͍̥͈ ̴͙͚̃̊̔̽̏͜ĩ̴̖̣̭̠̟̫̖͂̓̂t̴̨͖͇̠̺̳́͛̇́̋͒͌̔͝ ̷̧̡̺͚͙̰̌͝ä̴̧̡̻̲͔͇͍͙̲͖̿̅̈́̉͒̚g̶̣͖̈́͊͐̚a̸̡̧͖̯̬͗̔ͅi̴̥͕̠̤͓̞͊͌̉̎̎́͋̀̕n̷̺̻̝̗͙̳̘̳̯͂̆͆̋̾̆̄.̵̨̨̛̺̞͕̭̻͛̒̃ ̷̢̪̼̙̘͚̬̊̓͠͠Ǹ̵̲̣̲̊ȩ̶̛̒̔̂̊̂̌́͝ͅx̶̡̮͇̘͕̤͈̹̭͈͗̈̉͋̆͊̀̕t̷̪̥́̎̾͆̇̓͒̾̽ ̵̖̱̖̩̫̍͐̊̒̍̓̈́̎̚͠t̵̞̬̪̖̭͔́̍̈̔̓̌į̸̻̘̲̠̫̹̩͑̄̓͜m̴̨̭͙͂̄̕ę̷̠̟͔̟̮̟̝̠͇̒̾́͐̌͑̍̿̿͘,̶̞͖̘͓̝͗͐͜ ̷̨͔͚̲̭̮̹͛͜I̵̭͕̫͇͙͐̽͘͜͠ͅ'̴̫̰̮̞̣̺͎̤͙͆̈̈́͂̽̒͠l̵̛̳̣͔͔̯͖͖̗͂̽̀̑̊̄̀͌͋͜l̷̹̄̓̌̀̅̂̓̃͜ ̸̡̲̪͇̮͙͍͔̈̏́̌̈̀̒̂̅b̶̢̡͉̗̫̝͙͐̋̾͒r̶̡̢͈͕̻̯͔͠i̶̢̲̝̥͌̾̈͝͠n̵̢̨̝͍̽̂̉̑̎͂g̶͙̘͖̠̪͖̝̞̣̐̇̎̌́͝͠ͅ ̸͓͚̠̝̥̤͗̈́͒̋́̊̎̈́̔ͅa̴̮͎̞̓̌ ̵̧̼͉̗̣̮̥̈́̐̓̀̽̈́̈͛͘̕b̸̨͙̗͎͓̺̻͓̄̏̓ë̵̳̄͜ņ̶̝͚̤͋̂́͌t̵̢͉̠̟̝̟͎̀̂ō̵͚̣̞̬̥̪͖͎͖͐̐̏̐̂̇͝.̶̨̞͇̹̰͕͛̎͑͗̕͝͝"̴̨̱̲̙͚̞̓̆͆̓̔̃̄
Broken and defeated, the witch falls to the ground, and as the labyrinth fades you are left with only a single broken image, the kind you might see if you turned your TV off to quickly. On the broken television set, the image of Madoka's witch stares back at you, its soulless blank eyes fixed on you. It's the last image of the labyrinth you see before the labyrinth finally fades from existence, leaving behind only a single proof that a witch had ever been there.
You pick the Grief Seed up off the ground; not necessarily to keep it for yourself, but rather just for temporary safekeeping. You'll figure out who it should go to later. "Alright team, that's a wrap for tonight. You all did good work."
"But, we hardly did anything," Nagatsuki Miyuki says. "I know it was pretty much all on you for defeating the witch; the rest of us didn't really get a chance to do anything."
That's not true; Kirika helped you out a lot in terms of defeating the witch. But you can't say that. "We all put the work in to defeat the familiars. Without them, the witch lost the majority of its fighting ability."
"So now that we're done, let's all go and celebrate!" Kirika says, wrapping an arm around your shoulder as her voice rings with cheer. But her face says otherwise, and she leans in to whisper to you "You wanna get some ice cream on the way back? I know I didn't say it, but I appreciate you being concerned for me last night, and since you're looking a little down after what that witch showed you I thought I'd return the favour."
"Thank you," you say. "Some ice cream does sound nice." You can't help but smile as you, feeling a little like taking advantage of the situation, ask "Does this mean my big sis intends to treat me?"
"You dummy." Kirika directs her fist into your arm as gently as she can, saying "Course it does," before immediately changing her tone as she adds "But don't think this means I like having you for a sister or anything! I'm just being nice to you because you're one of Oriko's friends, that's all!" You shrug. Well, you win some, and you lose some, you think, as Kirika begrudgingly accepts the hug you give her in spite of her attitude.
It isn't just you getting ice cream this time, either. Kirika might have been the only one to get any last night, but tonight has been taxing on more than just yourself, and there are other members of your team deserving of some comfort food. After checking to make sure the ice cream here is suitable for her dietary restrictions, you pay for Assassin, and offer to pay for Berserker as well when Kirika says "So, hey, I've only got enough on me for you and me," but Berserker declines you.
"The offer is appreciated, but you need not trouble yourself on my account," Berserker says. "Besides, if I were to spill any on my suit, the mistress would be most displeased."
You look in Kirika's direction as Berserker declines your offer of ice cream, and say to her "Even if he doesn't want any ice cream, I'd still recommend checking on Berserker later to make sure he's alright. I figure you know more about what the witch was showing him than I do, so you're probably in a better position to make sure he's alright than I am."
"Relax, I wasn't planning on just ignoring the guy or anything. He..." You aren't sure what brought on this pause of Kirika's, not until she says "Oh my god. The psychic lady at the faire last month was right."
"Come again?"
"Okay, so remember last month how me and Oriko went on a date to the festival in Downtown the same day as you and Pinkie did?" How could you forget? That was your first date with Madoka in who-knows-how-long. "Oriko and I thought it would be funny to stop by this one booth to get our fortunes told; you know, because Oriko can see the future and this old lady clearly couldn't." You nod your head; you do, in fact, remember seeing the happy couple as they left the old lady's stand.
"Can you believe that old lady? Telling me that I'll 'meet the man of my dreams'? What a load of bull, right? A man... You're the only one for me, Oriko."
"Yes, but what of it? I seem to recall you saying that her fortunes were a 'load of bull' is that right?" You also recall thinking, at the time, that you almost preferred to think of the pair as serial killers, rather than as a stereotypical sappy couple. Oh, how times have changed.
"Yeah, I thought that that too. I mean, I love Oriko; I wouldn't just leave her for a guy like that. Guys are gross; they've got... Thingies, and if a guy got me pregnant I know it'd make mom cry. But then I summoned Berserker, and it just hit me now that he'd kind of fit the bill. I mean, I get all kinds of glimpses into his past thanks to that whole dream cycle thing, right? So in a way, that old lady was right."
Nagatsuki Miyuki rolls her eyes as you and Kirika share a laugh at the latter's realisation. "You two are weird," she says. "I don't recall Koito-chan being so weird with Komaki-san..." There's a moment of silence as Nagatsuki Miyuki's voice fades. She shakes her head, turning away from you and Kirika as she says "Sorry. Forget I said anything. Let's just get going. I'm sure the others will want to hear our report."
You and the others follow Nagatsuki Miyuki's lead out of the sweets shop, with Kirika taking over once the journey becomes one of returning to the MIkuni mansion. "I... Kind of feel bad for her," Kirika says to you. "I mean, I know that she and Komaki were mean to Oriko, but at the same time... If I lost Oriko, I know I'd be just as upset myself."
You don't know if there's a way to cheer Nagatsuki Miyuki up. You too know what it feels like to have lost the person you loved; and even if you were more welcoming of the part of you that loved the person you had lost than she is, you know the pain doesn't go away overnight.
Or ever.
[ ] Wat do?
Last edited:
