[X] Plan Nest Egg
"You see, while my rings work just fine when going from ring to egg, I still haven't figured out how to make the jump from ring to body gem, and if I can't do that..."
"... Then there's not much your charms can do to protect our Soul Gems in combat," you say, finishing Mikuni Oriko's sentence.
Mikuni Oriko nods. "Exactly. But maybe a second pair of eyes will spot something that I haven't been able to see."
You stare at the material lain out before you; the rings, and the notebook containing all of Mikuni Oriko's findings. You pick up one of the rings, turning it over in your hand as you carefully pour over the notes left for you. Back and forth your eyes flit, from ring, to notebook, and back to ring again as you try to think of some way to salvage the work already put into these protective charms.
Why did they have to be rings? you ask yourself. Based on what you're seeing, the best way to salvage Mikuni Oriko's work - because there's no way you could feasibly start over at this point - would be to change the rings into another shape entirely, or do something to them to make them change their shape to correspond to the contours of the Soul Gem they're protecting. Except, you aren't sure if you'd be disrupting the protective runes by forcing the rings to change shape so drastically. You shake your head; that wouldn't work, you think to yourself.
"Did you think of something?"
"Maybe," you reply. "The best thing would be if we could make these rings change shape to fit out Soul Gems when we're transformed, but I don't know what that would do to the protective runes you already have in place. Maybe if the rings could be expanded, so that instead of clamping onto out Soul Gems they instead clamp our Soul Gems onto ourselves..."
"Perhaps we could wear our Soul Gems as necklaces, or something similar?" Mikuni Oriko asks. "That way, even if we're unable to figure out how to move my charms from ring to body gem, we'll still have the protection afforded by the work I've already done."
"But if we take a hit that causes us to lose that necklace, that Soul Gem could go flying, and whichever of us lost it wouldn't be able to break away from the battle to go searching for it. If it turns out wrong, we could be in serious trouble because of that." Mikuni Oriko nods her head solemnly, and you return to looking through her notes for anything that might help you. The work she's done regarding the nature of souls and the puella magi system is extensive, and if she were a proper mage you can imagine this sort of thing would make waves in the magical community; except Mikuni Oriko isn't a mage. She has a clear talent for what she's done, even if some of it is horribly unsavoury, but she's only been at this for a few months.
No, what you need right now is the help of an actual mage. You need someone who can look at what Mikuni Oriko has already accomplished, and find a way to salvage her work within the time you have left. You need Archer.
"Do you think you could join me at the Mikuni mansion?" you ask your father. "We're working on something, and we could use an actual mage helping us out."
"Alright. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be there."
"Thank you." You close the line to your father, and say to Mikuni Oriko "I hope it's alright with you, but I've asked Archer to come over to help us out. I thought he'd be more useful than I am right now."
"Of course," Mikuni Oriko responds. It doesn't take her very long before she stands, saying "Ah, there he is," as she excuses herself to the front door. Outside the livign room, you can hear her voice saying "Archer, so good to see you. Please, come in; Akemi-san is waiting for you."
Your host leads Archer into the living room, and he says "Hi," as your eyes meet. "Bet you weren't expecting me to come in through the front door, were you?"
"It is a bit too normal for you, I suppose," you respond. Archer takes a seat next to you at the living room table, and you pass him Mikuni Oriko's notebook along with one of the rings she's been working on, and you ask him "So, what do you make of this?" as he thumbs through her notes.
"Impressive," Archer responds. "Some of it's a little dark, but on the whole it's still an impressive treatise on the inner workings of the magic system you girls have got going in this city." It's also probably the only treatise on the puella magi system, at least that you're aware of. "Now, as for these rings..." Archer sets the notebook down, exchanging it for a ring, which he turns over in his hands much the same way you did before. "We can do two of them tonight, but the other four are going to have to wait."
"Why is that?" Mikuni Oriko asks.
"Because what I'm going to do is apply some basic Alteration to these rings to allow them to change shape when you girls transform. But the way I'm going to have to do it requires me to apply custom Alteration schemes to fit each of your Soul Gems."
"You can do that? But earlier, Akemi-san thought doing that might get in the way of the protective runes I've inscribed."
"That might have been the case if a pair of amateurs tried their hand at it." Make that just a single amateur, you think to yourself as you're reminded how your Origin prevents you from using Alteration magecraft. "But you're looking at a genuine fake mage; a bit of Alteration won't be too difficult for me."
Mikuni Oriko eyes Archer, asking him "Are you sure we can trust you, when you're selling yourself as a fake mage?"
"Better an honest faker who tells you that he's a faker, than one who tries to sell himself as genuine." Both you and Mikuni Oriko need a moment to wrap your heads around Archer's logic twister, but before you're able to figure out what he said, he's changed gears and is asking "Now, would the two of you mind transforming for me, so I can see what I'm working with?"
Violet and silver light envelops the Mikuni living room as you and your host transform into your battle costumes. Archer stands over the two of you, cupping a hand to his chin as he eyes your Soul Gems. "Alright, I should be able to do this," he says, reaching for the first ring. "Do you girls mind if I do Mikuni's first? She's got an easier design to work with."
"Sure."
"If you wish, Archer," Mikuni Oriko says, unclasping her Soul Gem from its place on her chest, handing it over to Archer. "I do hope you'll take good care of me."
"You've got nothing to fear," Archer says, as he lays Mikuni Oriko's Soul Gem down on the living room table. "Alteration is so basic I'd have to be an idiot to mess this up." You and Mikuni Oriko watch Archer at work as he tinkers with the ring for several minutes until, his work completed, he hands Mikuni Oriko her Soul Gem, saying "Well? give it a try."
Mikuni Oriko stares at Archer's handiwork as she turns her Soul Gem over in her hands. The plain brass band framing the emerald gemstone is now a shiny silver, adorned with the same protective runes as the ring, which is now nowhere to be seen. "Well, even if it doesn't work, it's certainly pretty to look at," Mikuni Oriko says. A moment passes, and she returns to her normal clothes. Your eyes and hers meet atop her left middle finger; the ring Mikuni Oriko had been working on is right there on top of her Soul Gem ring, just as it had been for her earlier demonstration to you. She tries again, changing into her battle costume once more; the silver band encircling her emerald Soul Gem remains.
"Satisfied?"
"Quite," Mikuni Oriko responds. "Akemi-san, it's your turn."
You nod, saying nothing as you remove your Soul Gem from the back of your left hand and give it to Archer. "Yours is going to be a bit harder to do," Archer says. "Since the frame around yours isn't circular, and there's more going on than on Mikuni's." You nod, and Archer diligently returns to his work, tinkering away over your Soul Gem until his Alterations are complete, and he hands your Soul Gem back to you. Archer's work is immaculate; the four points of the brass diamond framing your violet Soul Gem are the same shiny silver as the band framing Mikuni Oriko's Soul Gem; and not just the corners, either. Archer enclosed the entire Soul Gem in a frame of silver, and even did the twin tines at the bottom that rest on your wrist.
Just as Mikuni Oriko did, you out Archer's Alterations to the test, changing out of and into your battle costume several times to make sure that his work is solid. "It's a shame we couldn't do the others tonight as well," you say. "But what we have is a good start, and we can do the others tomorrow night."
Mikuni Oriko nods her head, and the two of you, satisfied with Archer's handiwork, change out of your battle costumes for the last time. "Will you be staying the night again, Akemi-san?" she asks. "I wouldn't mind the company if you said you wanted to."
You are forced to reject Mikuni Oriko's offer. "Sorry," you say. "But I think I'd prefer to sleep in my own bed tonight. I'll see you tomorrow night, and I'm sure we'll all be staying the night at Tomoe-san's apartment then."
"Of course," Mikuni Oriko says, seeing you and Archer off and into the night. "Good night, Akemi-san. I'll see you tomorrow."
