Puella Magi Adfligo Systema - Story only

[Firnagzen]

The conversation lapses, awkward and tense. Imai's gaze flickers to you for a moment, then away, the air thick with tension and the low, ever-present rumble of a living city beneath the afternoon sun - the timbre different in some indefinable way from Mitakihara's, but familiar nevertheless.

... well. In the end, it's not that difficult, you suppose. You don't know enough of the specifics, and you arguably fucked up. So.

"I... I apologise," you say, slow, but with increasing confidence as you settle into your new course of action. "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, and not listening to you. I was... worried about Kyuubey's interference but that's no excuse."

You take a deep breath, and bow at the waist.

"I apologise," you repeat, looking down at the dirty concrete of the roof. "I came here in hopes of helping everyone, and got wrapped up in my own thoughts instead."

When you straighten, Imai's staring at you with something like disbelief in her eyes and slack-jawed shock on her face.

"I'm not here as Toshimichi's iron fist," you say quietly. "I mean, we hadn't even met before today. We're here on our own pressing cause - and yes, part of that is that we're here to offer our help to all who need it. We're here to prevent suffering, so: I'm listening, Miss Imai. I need facts. If your friend's death was orchestrated by someone - by anyone, then I want to know."

It takes a moment for Imai to gather herself, a moment for her to respond. You wait patiently, ruminating on your own thoughts for a bit. You've learned some patience, you like to think, if only for the purposes of letting people come to terms with the conversation. Some things can't be forced, and silence on your part can be something to draw them into engaging. Sometimes, you have to listen.

"I don't know what you want me to say," she mutters at last. "I told you. It was a border skirmish with Otsuka's gang. That's the Tower group, yeah."

"Would you mind if I were to ask you for more details?" you press gently. "I need more information if I want to even begin addressing this, and I..."

You grimace, and hold up both hands before she can continue speaking.

"I feel I may have to temper expectations?" you say, lowering your hands and giving her an apologetic look. "I... it depends, really, but... like I said, Walpurgisnacht is something Constellation is gearing up to deal with. I can promise I will listen, and we will investigate, just... not exactly when. But it will happen. In the short term, though..." You give her a sharp, direct look. "If you're in danger, your team, or anyone else, or you think you are, we'll get you out. That much I can promise."

Imai sighs in turn, shifting uncomfortably on her feet. She starts to cross her arms, then seems to think better of it, letting them hang at her side, then hooking her thumbs into her belt and slouching against a pillar, out of the direct light of the sun.

"We're not running," she bites out. "We're not seeing anything we can't handle, anyway, and we're not leaving, that's... we're not running." She scowls at nothing, fidgeting with her belt. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Well... for starters, when was it?" you say. "And... what exactly happened?"

"... six months ago," Imai says, her expression darkening. "November last year. She went on the hunting rotation with Chiyoda, came back, and was quiet the entire week. Then three days later, she sat us all down and told us all. She shared her memories with us, and we all saw it."

Imai grimaces, jamming her hands against the leather of her belt.

"Then... look, we... most of us were still in school, right? Normal stuff, busy, homework, whatever. Life went on. We're all freaked out, but... whatever, we managed," she says, shrugging. "Four days after she told us, Sora got out early and went to go scout for Witches. Also normal stuff for us. Scout, then call in everyone after school. This time..."

She falls silent. You hold your tongue, biting back your words - sometimes, it's better not to push. You don't know her, and she doesn't have a reason to like you in the slightest, but oh it burns to just stand there and watch her crumple in on herself.

"When you find a Witch on the edge of a territory, and no one's around, it's first come, first serve," Imai says. "So Sora sat tight, waiting 'til we could all show up and to wave off Tower if they found it. And of course they do, and... Sora told us that it was fine, she'd just talk to them, and maybe there was an opportunity. Then she went quiet, told us to focus."

Imai makes a disgusted noise, and spits on the ground.

"When we got there, the Witch was gone, Tower was gone, and Sora..." Her expression shatters. "Sora was also gone." She looks up at you, raw pain carved deep into the lines of her face, harsh and unabated by time. The kind of pain that fuels the burning rage and hate that curls her lips into a snarl and her hands into fists. "We searched. We found her corpse and her Witch."

"... I'm sorry for your loss. I truly am," you say quietly, and hesitate. "I... would you be OK if I cleansed your Soul Gem?"

"Save your pity," she grunts. Still, she pulls out a Grief Seed of her own and cleanses her Soul Gem, set into the buckle of her belt, so you'll take that as a win.

Six months ago. That timing checks out with what Kurenai and Terumi had said - Imai and her group had come to the Council meeting in a towering rage. And then Toshimichi had done her thing, and blunted that entire altercation, and Imai had noticed, somehow, that her demand for revenge had been blunted. You think. And they've been belligerent since then, trying to goad the Tower group into attacking, or... possibly goading Toshimichi into doing something.

The trouble is that you don't know what happened to Sora. Not directly. Only the Tower group would know, and you hope that Kazumi found out something, but... she didn't know that she should be looking. It might not be too late to change that, though.

"Kazumi?" You reach out telepathically. "Are you still talking to Miss Otsuka?"

"Nope, I moved on!" Kazumi says. She sounds... vaguely perturbed, actually, the usual bright cheer in her voice blunted for once. "We should talk later, though."

"Gotcha," you say.

"So there's your storytime," Imai mutters, a challenging, pugnacious tilt to her jaw as she tucks away the Grief Seed. "Satisfied?"

[] Head back to the meeting
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Next update will wrap up this conversation and see you heading back to the main meeting, hopefully! Talking to everyone, including Kazumi will be an automatic action. And ideally, the next update will come much sooner.

 

[Firnagzen]

"I... suppose," you say, scrubbing your hand through your hair as you think. "Ah, sorry, I don't mean to sound ungrateful. Thank you - I can't imagine that must have been easy, and I sincerely appreciate it. The incident... does seem deeply suspicious, and I don't know what to make of it. It sounds like a Grief spiral, but that wouldn't fit, from what you've told me."

Imai shrugs, a what-can-you-do sort of gesture. Six months sounds like an eon ago, and yet, not nearly enough time to grieve, evident in the pain etched in her expression. Tragedy cares not for the whims of humanity, you suppose.

"Well. I... again, thank you for sharing this with me," you say. "I do promise that it won't end here - I'm definitely going to be questioning the Tower group, and see what they know, and I'll get back to you when I've got a plan of action, OK?"

"Good fucking luck," Imai mutters, shaking her head. "They're a bunch of assholes."

"Well, one of my friends was already talking to one of them - Otsuka, you said?" you say. You'll take that evaluation under advisement, you feel. Imai seems like she might be a little biased. Just a little. "I'll be following up on that, at least."

"Vee, I don't..." Imai sighs again, then shrugs, and hooks her thumbs back into her belt properly, seeming at a loss. "Go do your whatever. If you're telling me this because you want me to stop fighting, just... stop. It's never gonna happen. You seem like a nice girl, but... you don't get it. I guess maybe you can't, and honestly, I hope you never will."

She straightens, seeming to swell like a fire catching light. Alive in a terrible way that she hadn't been, minutes ago, the kind of drive that someone clings to in the wake of unbearable loss.

"Sora is dead," she says. "And I will fight for my revenge."

"And if that revenge is pointed in the wrong direction?" you ask softly.

Imai falls silent for a moment. Taeko falls silent for a moment, you suppose. She probably deserves the first name in your thoughts, given how much she's opened up - she could have blown you off entirely and left you in the dark. It wouldn't have been a complete loss, if Kazumi came through with anything, but even so, things could have gone worse. Much worse.

"Good luck on the vote," Taeko says, finally. "And... I'll see."

She turns, and without waiting for you, stalks off back towards the stairwell. You stare after her, jumping as the door slams shut behind her.

You regret that you can't offer her more. For all that you don't quite like her, for all that you resent her, just a little bit, for trying to Witchbomb the entire Council and all your friends and Mami... and maybe this wasn't the worst outcome. Not by a long shot. But you just can't shake the feeling. You hate that you failed to help her.

Maybe it was too much to hope for. In some ways, this was the best you could hope for; it's not like you could have expected to unravel her trauma with one magic trick. The progress you've made with Mami, and Homura, and Sayaka, and Madoka are all the results of continuous effort and love. Even so, you'd wanted to help, but... She wanted an ally, but you didn't know enough to jump into it. You still don't. The best you've managed, perhaps, is to offer her the tiniest sliver of hope.

You stand there on the roof for a minute or two, rooted in place as your thoughts chase themselves around in circles. You soak in the warmth of the sun, and the rumble of a living city... and beneath that, the hum of Toshimichi's magic, woven throughout the building. From up here, you try to imagine the web of connections that stretch outwards from her, winding through the city.

... ah, well.

You shake the thought free, and start back down the stairs yourself, footsteps scuffing over concrete that gives way to lacquered wood. Sunlight shifts to soft lantern light, the roar of Tokyo subsumed into distant murmurs of conversation.

Your return draws little attention as you arrive at a scene not all that different from the one you'd left: small groups of magical girls coming together in conversation and drifting apart, vibrant costumes and loud laughter and subtle snubs a distant backdrop to the traditional opulence of the room. The table you'd spotted earlier now bears dozens of platters of food, largely picked clean while you'd been talking to Taeko.

Little attention, not no attention.

Mami spots you at the same time you spot her, her face brightening as her eyes snap over to you as if drawn by some preternatural sense. She excuses herself from her conversation with a girl you don't recognise, and hurries over in your direction.

You meet her halfway with a spring in your step and a grin on your face, resisting the urge to sweep her off her feet in a hug. Professional. Professional, you're in the middle of a big meeting. And also, she's carrying a plate, balanced on one hand.

"Sabrina," Mami says, smiling softly at you. "How was the talk with Miss Imai?"

"Hey, Mami. It... went," you say, returning the smile. "Not perfect, and it's given me more information to work with, but I'm still missing pieces. How's the mingling going?"

"Well enough," Mami says. "I think the vote is leaning towards accepting our proposal, though it's hard to say for sure."

She offers you the plate with a smile - and now that you're looking at it, it seems that she raided the refreshments and saved you a few choice snacks. Sashimi might be an odd thing to have with little French pastries, but they're separated by an artful buttress of fried finger foods. You accept it gratefully, your fingers lingering over hers as you exchange the plate.

"Get a room, you two," Sayaka says, joining you with an easy smirk. "How'd it go, Sabrina?"

"Heya," you say. "Like I said to Mami - not perfect. I don't think I convinced Miss Imai to change her vote, but I don't think that was ever actually on the cards. She's got... what she thinks is legitimate cause for anger at both Chiyoda and Tower."

"Mmm," Mami says, tilting her head. "Our course?"

"Unchanged for the most part," you say on. "But I think I really need to talk to the Tower group."

"We may not have time for that before the meeting is reconvened," Sayaka warns. "'s like... ten minutes to go?"

"Kazumi did manage to talk to Miss Otsuka too," Mami says.

"Right, and I need to find out what's up there," you say. "Any idea?"

"Nah, we've all been split up talking to people," Sayaka says. "Saw her a while ago, though, somewhere over there?"

[] Go look for Kazumi (talking to her will be automatic)
[] Go look for Miss Otsuka
- [] What do you want to ask? (Write-in)
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

A bit shorter than I'd like, but this is a bit of a transitional update. So it goes.

 

[Firnagzen]

"... well, I guess we should go see what she found out?" you say a little hesitantly.

"I believe that Miss Toshimichi will shortly be calling the Council back into session shortly to vote on the matter, in any case," Mami says. She takes your free elbow, smiling slightly. "Unfortunately, as the appellants of the vote, we definitely aren't invited to be there during the vote."

"It's not like we'd really try to intimidate them or anything," Sayaka mutters, rolling her eyes.

"Eh... even if we didn't, our presence would still influence the vote," you say, trying one of the sushi rolls Mami had saved for you. You chew and swallow, then continue. "It's probably reasonable. Plus, given that we're magical girls, they probably can't guarantee that none of us have any kind of mind-affecting powers, yeah?"

"... yeah, that's true," Sayaka says. "Still sucks. It means we have to wait to know."

"I'm sure it'll go well," Mami says, nudging your elbow. "Kazumi's over there, Sabrina."

"You think so?" you say, heading in the direction Mami's indicating and trying to spot Kazumi yourself - fifty-odd people in one place isn't exactly an inconsiderable number, and the hall might be spacious, but not that spacious. You could probably find her by her Soul Gem and Witch name, but... eh. And nanofog would be just rude, in a place filled with magical girls. "I don't exactly have a feel for the pulse of the vote."

Mami hums thoughtfully, considering the matter. The crowd drifts apart ahead of the three of you, cautious and speculative glances thrown your way. Your absence was presumably noted, as was your return. And they probably correlated that with Taeko leaving, too.

"It's difficult to say for sure," Mami says after a moment. "But I do feel that most seem in favour of the idea. Our... demands, such as they are, are quite non-invasive, and I think our coming down in person definitely helped to swing the vote towards us. There was an undercurrent of, mm, disbelief?"

"I talked to, uh... whatsherface." Sayaka scowls, snapping her fingers as she tries to recall. "With the reddish-orange hair, uh. Fujimaru! Fujimaru Ikue, yeah, I've talked to too many new people today." She shakes her head. "Anyway. Miss Fujimaru, from the Kyuedo group."

"One of the groups Miss Toshimichi indicated was particularly bellicose," Mami supplies telepathically. You shoot her a swift smile as thanks, tilting your plate to offer her some, but she shakes her head quickly, smile growing a little. She'd eaten her fill.

"Go on, Sayaka?" you say.

"Er, yeah," Sayaka says, scanning the crowd for a moment, presumably to check that her outburst hadn't actually gotten Ikue's attention. "So I suppose there's three parts to it. The first two are pretty obvious. What you do with your magic's supposed to be impossible. That we're giving it away is also, er, pretty improbable. The third part..."

Sayaka exhales hard enough to puff her cheeks out.

"I mean, we knew about it," Sayaka says, her voice lowering enough that you have to strain to hear her over the buzz of the crowd. "They like to play politics here. Everyone wants free stuff, but they don't really want everyone else to have it. And I can... sort of see why. Fujimaru... I talked to her, and she didn't seem like a bad person, but she was kind of gleeful about being able to slap down 'invaders' on their territory."

"... do you think it'll be a problem?" you say hesitantly.

"Probably not?" Sayaka says. "'All within legal limits,' she was pretty insistent on."

"I imagine Chiyoda will also discreetly avail themselves of the Clear Seed," Mami adds. "So they in turn would have the ability to act against such aggression. I would hope that that would help keep the conflict down, along with the threat of our own promised reprisal against those who might abuse the cleansing offered by the Clear Seed."

"Right, that was my point before I got lost in it," Sayaka says. "Our offering to back the Clear Seed with our own fighting ability was... like, we're putting an armed embassy in their city, and it's something they're wary of but also something that made them sit up and take it more seriously."

"A spoonful of medicine helps the sugar go down?" you say, rolling your eyes.

"A spoonful of medicine to make it seem real," Sayaka says with an ambivalent shrug.

"Yeah, I guess," you say, sighing a touch morosely. Mami squeezes your elbow, smiling gently at you as the conversation lapses for a moment. A few of the Council glance your way, vibrant colours shifting in the crowd, but no-one approaches as you finally spot Kazumi and make your way over.

"Over here, Sabrina!" Kazumi calls, waving energetically at you. Perhaps a bit less so than her usual exuberance, but you're not sure whether that's just your expectations biasing your observations. She did sound somewhat out of sorts when you'd spoken with her telepathically, after all.

Predictably, Umika and Niko are both there too, flanking Kazumi on either side. Niko's gaze focuses on nothing in particular, sharp and intense in thought. Umika pushes Kazumi's hand down firmly, smile quirking her lips.

"They're right here, Kazumi," she chides, not bothering to hide her fond amusement.

"Are we?" you say, grinning.

"Are you?" Kazumi asks, eyes going wide. "I know Sayaka's here as a clone, I didn't know you were too, Mami, Sabrina!"

"We aren't," Mami says, giggling. "My clone technique still needs time!"

"Ahh," Kazumi says with a sage nod. "Of course. What about you, Sabrina?"

"... I mean, I could extend my chibi technique to full size," you say. "I've thought about it before, even. The only problem is, y'know." You roll your wrist vaguely. "Witchy."

"It wouldn't be a problem for those of us used to you," Mami says firmly. "But we might be getting off topic?"

"Ah, yeah," you say, nodding. "So... Kazumi, you had something to tell us about the Tower group?"

"Right. Yeah," Kazumi says, bubbly cheer fading into a more serious mien. "I spoke to Miss Otsuka there."

"Yeah?" you say carefully. You don't think Kazumi learned about Witches, not like this - you sort of imagine that her girlfriends would be more worried about it than they are, otherwise.

"So they hate Miss Toshimichi," Kazumi says quietly. "I mean hate her, and want to kill her and her friends, and Miss Otsuka wasn't... shy about it." Kazumi shudders, tugging at the brim of her voluminous hat. "And I think she knows about the whole... you know. She was hinting about it."

'It' being Toshimichi's true nature, you suppose. So that's two groups in conflict, both of them seemingly aware of Toshimichi's nature, and Sasaki Sora caught in between. Tower seemingly caused Sora's Witchout, or maybe Sora Witched out on her own and Tower just happened to be in the area, but... something's missing in that gap there.

Kazumi steals a chocolate puff off your plate and crams it, whole, into her mouth in one go to bulge her cheeks out like a chipmunk.

"She definitely does," Umika says. "She was remarkably brazen about it, and accusatory that Toshimichi could not possibly be a true descendant of the Imperial line."

She sniffs.

"As if that truly matters, in this day and age," she mutters, with an air of delivering a decisive judgement. "Toshimichi's a leader, and she's clearly been doing a good enough job to have kept them together this long."

"'nd thr's th' oth'r th'ng," Kazumi mumbles. "Umika?"

"Right," Umika says, nodding. "Miss Otsuka was also curiously insistent that it was her fate to destroy Toshimichi. Destroy, not kill." She glances at Niko, who's still staring off into the distance, lost in thought. "Niko thinks that her Wish might have been something to do with it."

"... right. That's interesting," you say. You frown, trying to think it through. "Did she mention one Sasaki Sora at all? She was from the Meiji Group, and Miss Imai was certain that both Miss Toshimichi and the Tower Group somehow had their hands in it."

"Not directly," Umika says slowly, glancing around. "But Miss Otsuka did mention that they wouldn't hesitate to kill whoever Toshimichi put in her path. She... wasn't specific, but... now that you've mentioned Miss Sasaki, I can't help but wonder if it wasn't just posturing. Under what circumstances were her death?"

"... I don't think I should talk about it where people might overhear," you say.

On the one side, a story of someone who seemed to have Witched out in mysterious circumstances. And on the other, someone seemingly murderous. There's several ways you could fill in the gap between Sora wandering off on her own, encountering the Tower group, and her Witch-out, and none of them are pleasant. A fight doesn't sound likely - Sora would have called for help, you imagine.

So... for some reason, she encountered the Tower group, and presumably, they talked. She'd already been shaken by her encounter with Akane, and... something she learned from the Tower group tipped her over the edge?

Or maybe Akane had done something to her. You don't think that that's likely, but you can't entirely rule it out, you suppose.

That said, you can probably rule out the idea that the Tower group was in some way collaborating with Chiyoda, you suppose, given their apparent staunch opposition. An alleged lack of legitimacy... well, you suppose that if they know Akane was created in some way, then it's true that she can't possibly have Imperial descent.

You can't help but agree with Umika on that score, though. It doesn't matter.

A squeeze of your elbow brings your attention back to the world, and to Mami smiling slightly at you. You can't help the reflexive, answering smile, even as your mind churns through your next course of action.

[] Hurry to grab Otsuka Renko before the session gets called for the vote
- [] What do you want to talk to her about?
[] Ask Kazumi, Umika, and Niko more questions
- [] What do you ask?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

If you choose to go after Renko, keep in mind that the session will be called midway through the conversation.

 

[Firnagzen]

"I-" You scowl, checking your phone. You don't have much time left before the vote, and if you go after Otsuka, then she might well miss the vote. But that's...

You're tired of this murder mystery, you have to admit. Akane pointed you at Meiji and Taeko as a threat, Taeko pointed you at Otsuka as a cause. And Kazumi's telling you that Otsuka is a danger, one apparently entirely cheerful to expound at length about her intention to murder other people. It's a massive, tangled web of weirdness half-lost to the unending march of time.

"I... think want to talk to her. Miss Renko, I mean," you say slowly, thinking. "Anyone see her? And..." You hesitate for a second, even as your friends start scanning the crowd. "... look, something's bothering me. If she's so... open about her intention to kill people, how come she hasn't been thrown out yet?"

"Means and motive, no?" Sayaka says. "Either Toshimichi doesn't think they'll actually do it, or is confident they can stop it. More bark than bite, that sorta thing."

"And that it can't be proven that she has actually killed anyone, no matter how much they might like to talk about and around it," Mami adds quietly, her lips pursed. "I can't say I approve, but I suppose the Council, or maybe Chiyoda, might rather err on the side of caution."

"Collective enforcement in such a fractious environment might be rather fraught," Umika muses, adjusting her glasses thoughtfully. "But my impression is that however clear her intentions against Miss Toshimichi are, she seemed content to await the arrival of her 'destiny'."

"More bark than bite, then, like I said," Sayaka says. "Hrmph."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Umika says. "She sounded terribly certain about it, somehow."

Kazumi nods frantically, still trying to work around the chocolate puff in her mouth as she gestures at Umika to indicate her agreement.

"I see her," Mami adds. "She was the girl with the tophat, was she not?"

You hesitate for a moment.

If you walk away here, what then? Things continue as per normal. The vote proceeds, and you should win it, and you bring cleansing to the Tokyo Council. And... hopefully Taeko simmers down a little. You'd promised her to get to the bottom of it, and you will, but such things aren't completed in a day, after all. You didn't ask her not to fight, and you can't expect her not to. But the status quo should hold.

And if you do go in, you pull Renko before the vote... well, it depends on what she's like, and how she reacts to you. And that's not exactly something you can predict, but given what Kazumi had said? It probably wouldn't go quietly, at the very least.

[X] Telepathically contact Imai.
-[X] Run Kazumi's account of Renko past Imai, see if she corroborates or has anything to add -- Renko's powers, maybe?
[] Hurry to grab Otsuka Renko before the session gets called for the vote
-[] Ask her what happened to Sora
[] Leave Otsuka be

=====​

OK, so. First of all, I apologise for the short update after the long wait - but that ties into the rather lengthy author's notes here. I'm going to do something rather unusual here and lay quite a few of my cards on the table. This is something I've been ruminating on for a while.

This arc has gone on too long, real time. Over a year, because I had to go on hiatus to finish my thesis, and when I tried to get back into it, I was plagued with various meatspace issues, and worst of all - writer's block. I haven't been able to get back into the groove of what is, ultimately, a rather tense political skirmish coupled with a murder mystery, and my writing speed has suffered hard for it.

So I'm opening the vote here: If you guys are alright with it, we'll close out this section relatively soon, and get back to Mitakihara. Tokyo won't stand still, but things won't blow up in the short or even medium term, and we'll be back when I'm properly locked in and ready to write this.

If you guys prefer, however, I am willing to continue to write this arc. I've got my plans in mind, I'm just having difficulty getting them out on the page.

 

[Firnagzen]

You hesitate for a long moment, and shake your head slightly. Mami's expression shifts to curiosity and a hint of concern, but she nods, smiling.

"I... no, on second thoughts, no," you say quietly. "I think I'll leave her be for the time being."

"Probably a good thought!" Kazumi says, having finally swallowed the pastry. "'s voting time in like... a minute, isn't it? She might actually want to vote. Civic duty and all." Kazumi pauses thoughtfully, tilting her head. "... is it a civic duty to vote? I mean, yes, it's a civic duty to vote, but is it a civic duty to vote here?"

"I think it might be for the best for the moment," Sayaka agrees, frowning. "I don't like the idea of leaving her be if she's a murderer, but... it's kind of a cold trail by now, isn't it? We've got what we came for - the votes for us giving them a Clear Seed. Hopefully. Solving this murder mystery is something we got dragged into on top of everything else, right?"

"Yeah, but..." you grimace. "I- we're here to help, right?"

"Sometimes it might be best left to those closer to the problem," Umika observes.

"And sometimes, you might need to take a step back to re-evaluate the situation," Mami says, taking your elbow and squeezing gently. "I don't think it would do any real harm to take that step back, Sabrina. And I think that the distance might help everyone involved - not just us. Miss Imai wasn't exactly calm after the meeting, right? Waiting before approaching Miss Otsuka might be prudent."

Mami smiles up at you, the honey-gold of her eyes warm and reassuring.

"... OK," you say, taking a deep breath. "And... they've been stable for this long. I suppose we can extend them the trust that things won't blow up if we don't stick our noses into this further, yeah?"

Even so, you glance where Mami was looking, trying not to too obviously be trying to spot Renko through the crowd.

"There," Mami whispers into your mind, nudging you gently.

You follow her gaze to spot Renko. She's not particularly tall, even with the jauntily-tilted top hat. Even so, you spot her easily, with just that nudge from Mami. There's something about the way she holds herself, the way she holds herself at a distance to everyone else, even now when she's speaking to someone.

A top hat.

An idol's costume, you'd thought, and you don't think you were wrong - not with the frills and the uncomfortably short skirt and all. But there's something in the rich blacks and reds of her costume that has you making a mental association to high society, to stage magicians and invisible strings and manipulations and puppet masters that in turn is a connection to Kazumi told you: that Renko considered it her fate to kill Toshimichi.

But it's also seemingly something that makes her complacent to wait. Which means you have a little time, time enough to retreat and regather your thoughts and come at this with a clearer mind.

Alright. You're resolved, then.

You nod to yourself, and exhale slowly. You take a moment to dial Madoka's number into your phone again, continuing that call. You don't expect there to be much politicking left to do, but hey, you'd said you'd call back.

"Sabrina!" Madoka picks up almost immediately, her voice sounding at the back of your mind a moment later. You can feel Hitomi's presence in the telepathic call, as well as Homura's, to your lack of surprise. "How did it go?"

"... well enough, I think," you say. "It's... a little confusing and more than a little frustrating - there's a mystery to solve on top of the politics going on. But I've decided to leave the mystery for the moment, since it's... mm. It's part of the motivation for Meiji's aggression, but it's also not as immediately relevant."

"Ah! I see..." Madoka says. You can feel her ruminating on it for a moment before she evidently sets it aside. "OK! How's the politicking?"

"I'm just catching up on that!" you say, and switch to speaking out loud. "Alright. We'll leave them to it. If things blow up... I hope they'll call for us. But I hope they won't need to, either."

"If what blows up? Are we blowing something up?" Mika's voice heralds the return of the girl herself, arriving in a flurry of fern-green robes and irrepressible energy. "Also, I do believe I've secured myself some business meetings." She grins, sharp and eager. "To the benefit of Constellation, of course, and myself."

"The situation, but through no fault of ours. But do tell?" Mami asks, her voice all but overlapping with Hitomi's urgent request for you to follow up on that.

"More development opportunities, maybe unsurprisingly," Mika says, grinning. "Everyone who's anyone has their fingers in Tokyo, of course, there's always buildings going up and being torn down. But now, on the ground research on where magical girl fights happen? Where mysteriously unavoidable property damage happens? Where neutral ground might be? Now that's worth its weight in gold."

"That does sound like it will be useful," Mami says, smiling.

"But not immediately, right?" Sayaka ventures. "Sounds like it's the kind of thing that'll take months to set up?"

"Oh, absolutely. Initial works can happen within days if I really push it, but overall it will take months if not years. But we have global ambitions, don't we? And we've got to lay down the groundwork early for that kind of thing," Mika says. She grins, tucking her hands into the sleeves of her robes. "And the rep boost is immediate. Or as immediate as word-of-mouth gets, anyway."

"Nah, was just checking my understanding," Sayaka says. "That was Miss Takada, right? Did you manage to talk to her about the vote?"

"I really should talk to Miss Nakano," Hitomi observes telepathically. "I'll trouble you to set us up a meeting sometime, Sabrina?"

"Sure," you say. "But I would like to note that I quake in fear at the thought of the kind of shenanigans the two of you will get up to."

"So noted!" Hitomi says cheerily.

"Oh, yeah, it's actually why she wanted to talk to me -us- in the first place?" Mika says with a sharp grin. "I mean, she wanted to know what the profit angle for it was -she's voting for it, by the way- but also on the basis that, you know, me. That there's no profit angle other than wanting to help was a bit of a hard sell, by the way."

"... yeah, it does seem that way, doesn't it?" you say, sighing in annoyance.

"It's why-"

That's as far as Mami gets before the chime of a gong resounds through the hall, slicing effectively through the chatter of dozens of magical girls. No one seems surprised, though, and they're already starting to head back towards the screen door back into their meeting room, footsteps a susurrus against the hardwood floors.

"The recess is now over. Delegates, please return to the main discussion hall." Akari's voice seems to emanate out of the air, everywhere and nowhere at once - somewhat redundantly, but the formalities have to be followed, you suppose. "We will now be holding the vote on the matter put before us by the Constellation."

"And we still don't get to go, huh," Sayaka complains.

"Unfortunately not," Umika says, sighing lightly as she adjusts her glasses. "I can't say I like the anticipation."

"Me neither," you say, grumbling. "Anyway, what were you saying, Mami?"

"Um..." Mami blinks, thinking for a moment, then smiles. "Ah, yes. I was about to say that it's why we're here. It's harder to deny our sincerity, face to face."

"True," you agree, and exhale, smiling slightly. You do feel better about this whole thing, you suppose - your time here definitely wasn't wasted. With nothing left to say for the moment, you take the moment to nibble on a few more snacks from the plate, watching the magical girls as they head out of the room. None of them move with any particular urgency, and most continue chatting quietly with each other still.

You can see the divisions running between the groups, you imagine, in the little cliques and conversations and which girls shy away from each other.

"Hey, anyone see Miss Nishimura or Miss Nanami? They didn't miss the message and go with everyone else, did they?" Sayaka says, blinking and looking around. "Oh, wait, no, there we go."

"We were speaking to one last group about the vote." Shinobu has to raise her voice a little to be heard as she and Moe return.

"Ah, good timing. Welcome back!" you say, pivoting to make room in your little circle for them to join in. "How did things go?"

"Not awful, not amazing," Shinobu says, sweeping a hand through the short curtain of her hair as she thinks. "I've got a good feeling about the vote, but the rifts between groups are... troubling."

"Yuki always kept us away from taking combat missions in Tokyo," Moe adds thoughtfully. "What few there were, anyway. I suppose none of us really knew about Toshimichi, but everything about this city screamed bad idea on that front, I'd say. Leaving that aside, though, it means we brought no bad blood with us here." She grimaces slightly. "Toshimichi's been doing a good job on keeping the lid on the powderkeg, I have to say."

"... yeah, I got that impression too," you admit. "For now, we've decided to leave the Meiji-Chiyoda-Tower conflict alone, but I'll be doing what I can to investigate."

"Now that Yuki might want a hand in," Shinobu says, nodding. "Information is power, and all."

"I'll see what I can do," you say. "That said, er..."

You turn on the spot, surveying the now-largely empty room, still with its robust, wooden construction, a legacy of days past, and the omnipresent glow that casts soft, ill-defined shadows. The detritus of a much more modern buffet line sits on the table off to the side, picked clean by the attentions of ravenous magical girls.

"... well, we're kind of waiting now, I guess?" you say, finishing the thought. "Er. Do we just wait here?"

"If you so wish, Miss Vee." The door nearest to you slides open, revealing the armoured form of Akari, striding towards you with a confident, soundless stride. "Apologies for the delay. You may return to the waiting room at your leisure, or stay here. The vote will be the first matter put before the Council, so you won't have to wait long."

"Oh!" You glance around at your friends. Unfortunately, no one seems to have any particularly strong feelings about where to go, leaving the decision squarely in your hands. "Er... I guess we'll head to the waiting room, then."

"This way," Akari says, bowing slightly and turning to lead the way.

"Come on, Niko, we're moving," Kazumi says, her voice quieter and fonder than its usual exuberance. Between her and Umika, they tow Niko along, following after Akari.

You smile, and head on after them, frisbeeing your now-empty plate towards the buffet table. All it takes is a bit of Grief to guide it to a safe landing, clinking into place with other used dishes - and it's not like there's anyone else around to alarm, anyway. Mami stifles a giggle and takes your elbow as you follow Akari down the wooden hallways.

"Dorks," Sayaka mutters.

"And proud of it!" you say, unrepentantly cheerful.

Conversation lapses as you enter the familiar meeting room you'd first spoken to Akane and her group properly, the same tatami mats underfoot and painted screens and polished wooden pillars that leave the faintest earthy undertones hanging in the air, refreshing in some ways. The cushions have been rearranged from before; gone are the ones that the Chiyoda group had sat on, leaving eight for you, arranged in a circle in the center of the room.

Akari bows slightly as you all file in, but before departing, hesitates, one hand on the screen door.

"If I may share a more personal view of the situation at hand," she says quietly. "Thank you. Not only for bringing the offer of the Clear Seed to us, but for your presence today."

"We're glad to be here," Mami says, smiling. "But I don't believe I understand what you might be thanking us for, Miss Matsui."

"Your presence here has created uncertainty," Akari says. "Tokyo has been... perhaps a touch insular. We focused largely on our own internal affairs. The simple presence of another group with enough weight to disrupt our infighting will leave things muddled and shaky. I expect that we'll see less fighting in the near future."

"Then we're glad to have helped, even if only tangentially," Mami says.

Akari inclines her head slightly, then sweeps out of the room, footsteps silent despite the heavy armour that seems to be her costume.

"... so, now we wait," Sayaka concludes a moment later.

"Argh!" Kazumi throws herself down on the matted floor. "The suspense is killing me!"

"It shouldn't be too long," Umika says, chuckling as she sits down beside Kazumi, delicately removes her giant hat, and pats the smaller girl gently. "The first thing, they said."

"Have we thought about when we might open the embassy?" Moe asks, taking one of the cushions for herself.

"Honestly, that's more or less entirely on Miss Tsuruya?" you say, plopping down cross-legged. Mami settles in beside you, smiling. "I'll be happy to provide transportation if needed, and also to bring in the Clear Seed, of course, but other than that... oh, wait, no, it also depends on when Tokyo figures out where to put it. That's probably its own debate, huh."

"I imagine Chiyoda would prefer it closer to home," Mika says, pacing over to the grand window to admire the grand view of Tokyo. "That said, territory issues aside, maybe I should see about buying up the property..."

"To what end?" Moe asks.

"Ensuring that no-one asks questions, for one," Mika says with a shrug. "Maintaining the building, maybe making room for magical girls to stay... I'm actually not sure! Was just a thought that crossed my mind, really."

"It could be useful," you say. "But as you mentioned - territory issues. The Council might not be OK with the idea."

"Yeah," Mika says with an ambivalent shrug. "Something to discuss more in the future."

Conversation lapses for a few minutes, all of you having run out of things to discuss for the moment, and all of you waiting eagerly for the results of the vote. You find yourself all but vibrating with anticipation - Kazumi's right, the anticipation's getting to you. Mami takes your hand in hers, smoothing it out and tracing her fingers along your knuckles.

Then again, you can tell that even Mami's nowhere near as serene as she seems, with the way she keeps glancing at the screen doors, then back at you with a slight smile when she notices you noticing. You can't help but giggle, leaning into her.

The only one who seems unaffected is Mika, to your complete lack of surprise. She's got to be used to this kind of thing.

And finally, you sense a magical girl approaching. All your friends still, eyes going to the door as each of you notice in turn, and you could swear the window buckles in a little with the force of breaths held.

Aoi's the one to open the door this time, and-

-well, you can guess from the smile on her face.

"Congratulations," she says. "The Council has voted in favour of accepting your offer, and the Clear Seed."

Your breath comes out in an explosive exhale as Kazumi cheers, joined by her friends. Shinobu laughs, clapping you on the back, while Moe just nods in satisfaction. Sayaka's on her feet, cheering, and Mika's grin is wide enough that you fear the top of her head falling off.

You exchange a smile with Mami, and relax.

"Do you wish to address the Council?" Aoi asks, after a few moments.

[] Yes, we want to speak to them
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
[] No, we need to head back

=====​

I'll be honest, I'd hoped to progress things further (especially after the long break - apologies for that). But I had difficulty with getting the next scene, and the speech right, so I figured I'd open it up as a vote.

 

[Firnagzen]

You vaguely feel like you should get out there and shout I love communism, for some reason. It's not even communism! But then, you might also be leaning on Mami a little bit, knees a little wobbly - it feels like this has been a long time coming. A massive step forward for your goals.

This certainly isn't the first time you've done good for people, and it's... not even international, not at all. Not like Myanmar, but you'd barely been there, barely gotten to know them. And you're not done here, not by a long shot. You're done for now, but the work is not yet done.

And yet.

This is the first time you've really tried to put what you can do out there, and offerred your aid to... not to a person, but to an organization. As part of your own group, coming together to meet a much more established group as equals, and they accepted. It's a major step, no matter how you look at it.

It's a relief, it's triumph, and it's vindication.

And Aoi's still waiting for an answer. You focus back on her, trying to stifle the grin that's threatening to crack your face in half.

"... yeah," you say, managing to keep a level tone. "Yeah, I think we do. Uh... can you give us a minute or two?"

"Of course," Aoi says, inclining her head slightly. "We'll proceed to other business in the meantime - please contact me when you're ready to address the Council. And again, congratulations, and... on a personal note, thank you. It will be nice to not have to worry about hunting for Grief Seeds."

"You are very welcome," you say, beaming. "We won't take long, I think."

"Ah, a question, before you go?" Shinobu says. "Will we be arranging the location of the Clear Seed station today, or another time?"

"Does Miss Tsuruya have a preference?" Aoi asks. "We can start preparing as soon as today, but negotiating the Clear Seed will likely be another session, albeit one that comes sooner rather than later. That will be an internal discussion, so your presence will not be required for that, of course, unless you have a preference for any given location?"

Shinobu frowns slightly, head tilting to the side as she presumably communicates with Yuki.

"No, we have no particular preference on that front," Shinobu says after a moment, and glances around. "Ah... anyone?"

"Not me," you say, your voice joining a chorus of denials from your friends.

"I'd like to be kept in the loop about the decision, but apart from that, I have no particular preference," Mika adds.

Aoi nods sharply.

"Understood," she says. "We'll make sure you're informed of the decision, regardless. Was there anything else?"

And with that settled, Aoi departs the room, the screen door sliding shut with a click. You wait a few moments for her presence to recede into the distance, and then you relax.

"Yes!" you crow, grabbing Mami in a delighted hug that lifts her off the floor.

Mami laughs, clinging to you as you spin her around.

"You've been holding that in, huh," Sayaka observes mildly.

"Gotta have some dignity in front of the Council people," you say, nodding firmly as you gently set Mami back down on the floor.

"Lies and slander," Kazumi chirps happily. "Dignity's overrated."

"Fair point," you say, grinning and turning to face the group proper. "Alright. I... think I've got an idea for what I want to say to the Tokyo Council - we want to thank them for their time and trust, and emphasize that we're looking forward to working with them."

"Not soliciting their help for Walpurgisnacht?" Umika asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I... hrm," you say. "That's a good point, but no, I think not at this point? It has come up, and it'll be on their minds - but we'll be back here, and I think that would be the time to ask."

Umika nods, satisfied.

"Madoka? Hitomi? Any suggestions?" you ask.

"No, there isn't much else to suggest other than to gracefully accept," Hitomi says. "Any real conversation has already happened, or will happen at a later time - this really is just for formality's sake."

"Alrighty, thanks!" you respond. You rub your chin, grinning. "We've got to leave with a bang, right? Make an impression as we head out? Or..."

You frown.

This is another Grief awning thing, isn't it? It's a tense, dangerous situation, with all the Tokyo girls still presumably on edge. You want to be showy, to leave with flair and panache, but. Even with your introduction, Mami had to wave you off the full Presentation you'd wanted to do. It might, perhaps, be OK now, but you're not sure you want to risk it.

"Sabrina?" Sayaka prompts.

"Well," you say slowly. "I was going to say we should have a big, showy exit, but after second thoughts I don't know if it's a good idea?"

"Because we might spook them?" Mika says. "I don't know. Rather - yes, it might spook them, but I don't know if we would spook them too badly."

"... perhaps with some restraint?" Mami says, tilting her head in consideration. "I do like the idea of exiting with some flourish. If we aren't too overtly demonstrative, I don't believe it will cause any issues. Which perhaps does preclude the use of too much Grief, Sabrina?"

"Pity we don't have any teleports," Moe says. "It's always a good exit strategy."

"Is this a bad time to say I have a teleport spell?" Kazumi says, raising her hand. "It's kiiiind of a party trick, though, takes too long to use in a fight? And it's a little costly with this many people, buuut a party trick is exactly what we want?"

"Kazumi..." Umika says. A frown flickers across her face, slightly concerned.

"Uh, maybe we shouldn't use it if the cost is that high?" you venture. "I'd be happy to supply cleansing, but if it's that bad..."

"Nah, nah, I can do it," Kazumi says, her grin unflagging. "It's not bad bad, it's just a lot. Enough to get us, um... above the roof? I can't really position it well either."

"Well, OK, then," you say. "That could work, maybe? Though I could also try, uh... OK, so, I've had this idea for a while. Everyone here knows how to hide things elsewhere, right? Like Mami's teacups and so on."

"What, you mean like-" Kazumi dips her hand sideways, the shadows darkening around her fingers for a moment as she pulls a bucket out of nowhere.

"Yeah, like that," you say. "I could also try and pull everyone into my hammerspace and zip us all out of the room?"

Mami shakes her head.

"It doesn't work very well, unfortunately," she says, taking your hand and squeezing gently.

"Sensory deprivation," Umika adds. "Niko was a mess when she tried that one out. Isn't that right, Niko?"

"Huh?" Niko blinks, evidently replaying the last few seconds of conversation in her mind. "Oh. Yes, it's terrible. Don't do it. And you can't get Soul Gems like that, anyway."

"... huh, right," you say, scratching your head. "I suppose that makes sense. And I guess now wouldn't be a good time to test a new technique, either."

"It'd help keep them guessing about what magic we have available to us, too," Mika says, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "It's not like we expect it to come to a fight, but keeping up the mystique could be useful. I'm... tentatively on board with the idea. Something star themed, perhaps?"

From there, it's just a quick discussion on how you should pull off the exit. No drowning the room in a storm of Grief, since that would definitely come off as far too threatening. Dramatic, definitely, but far too threatening to be practical in any way. No loud noises, or sudden movements either.

And so, a few minutes later, you're filing back into the main auditorium, fanning out to face the Tokyo Council once more. You exchange a nod with Akane, flashing her a quick smile before you turn to face the Council proper, Mami and Sayaka flanking you, the rest of your friends fanning out to stand before Chiyoda's presiding dais.

You scan across the rising tiers of seats, of the opulently furnished wood and paintings of the room, across all the magical girls here today. You pick out Kurenai in the crowd, a splash of flame-red hair amidst a riot of colour. She offers up a smile, pleased and relaxed. There too is Kaede, her expression pinched. You try to convey reassurance in your look, an assurance that if her sister volunteers, you'll do your best to dissuade her... but you don't know if that comes across as her eyes skitter off yours, avoiding your gaze.

You don't see Taeko anywhere, but there's Renko, self-assured and utterly unbothered.

"Representatives of the Tokyo Council," you call, pitching your voice to carry. "Thank you for your time in hearing us out today, and for placing your trust in the Constellation. We will not let you down, and we hope that the Clear Seed we'll be bringing to Tokyo will help everyone breathe a little easier. We look forward to working with you in the near future, and Mitakihara remains open, for any who would wish to speak to us, or simply to visit a new location. Until then, farewell."

You take a breath, sweeping your gaze across the room once more, and bow deeply. The wind picks up as your friends likewise dip into their own bows, a bloom of gold spreading across the floor, starting from Mami's feet to link to each and every one of you in a radiating, starburst pattern. From Moe spreads shadow, and mixes with a dense fog of Grief from you to create the rich, dark purples you associate with the false colours of interstellar space, of nebulas and stellar cradles alike, a rising fog that shrouds all of you.

Not the delegates, nowhere near, and not even Chiyoda, sitting calmly behind you. You'd warned them, of course, and the rising darkness keeps a perfect circle around them and a sharp border away from the watching girls in the seats above.

As Sayaka sparks lights within the darkness to form stars, you feel Kazumi's magic twist.

... and suddenly, you're plummeting out of the sky over Tokyo, the rooftop of a building looming large ahead of you.

You squawk, Grief boiling around you - it'd teleported with you, and it's already all around your friends. Mami's already flipping around to land on her feet, golden ribbons lashing out for you. The wind picks up to a roar around you, Mika evidently having the same thought as you to try and catch everyone as Sayaka lights up blue to soar upwards and Moe moves to snag Shinobu out of the air and Kazumi suddenly starts falling upwards with an ungainly grab for Umika and Niko and your Grief is already there and ready to catch everyone, but none of your friends actually need it. Mami pulls you to her, ready to catch you, and-

Well, you could just arrest your fall with Grief, or with wings. But in that split second as Mami's ribbons reach out to pull you over, well, really...

Mami lands on the roof, reeling you in. Somehow, you wind up wrapping your arms around her neck as she catches you in her arms, your eyes sparkling up at her. Your friends, likewise, all land safely in their own ways, but that's a distant second thought as you grin up at Mami, eyes sparkling.

"Hi!" you chirp.

Mami laughs happily, squeezing you gently before letting you down on your feet.

"You're heavy, Sabrina," she says accusingly.

"Am I really?" you say, trying to pout and failing miserably.

"Not at all," Mami says. She takes a deep breath and beams at everyone - now that you've had a moment to reorient yourself, you realize that you haven't gone far at all - Akane's palace-building is right over there, the next building over to the one you'd all crash-landed on. "That was fantastic, everyone."

"We should try and coordinate these things more for the next time!" Kazumi says happily as she reaches for her Soul Gem. "Ah, Sabrina, could you-"

"Yeah, of course," you say. A flicker of thought is all it takes to set her Grief free once again, ripping forth a streamer of bilious purple.

"I think we did rather well," Mika says, brushing off her robes. "So! What next? I take it we're heading home now?"

[] One last thing in Tokyo
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
[] Head home, dropping everyone off!

=====​

And we're finally on the tail end of this arc! I'm so sorry it took so long, everyone, but we're free. Unfortunately, I will not be updating this weekend - I've got work to handle and two interviews next week to prepare for. Ugh.

 

[Firnagzen]

"Time to go home," you say, exhaling with a grin as you survey your friends. "We did what we came here for. There are follow-ups to be made and more things to handle in the future, but we did it. So yeah, definitely time to go home. Past time to go home, even..."

You pause, cocking your head for a moment.

"Well, unless anyone has anything they want to do in Tokyo?" you amend. "I guess we could stick around a little later for that. Shopping or sightseeing or whatever? I figure the Council knows we're here, so we have that leeway for it, and if anyone has any pressing need to head home I could make a second trip?"

"Eeeenh," Kazumi says. "Not us. Niko's brain is still overheating and if we stick around here too long she's gonna get her instruments and try to measure Miss Toshimichi."

"Huh?" Some life returns to Niko's eyes, apparently prompted by hearing her name, and she blinks at Kazumi for a moment before processing her words. "I would not."

"Yes, you would," Umika says, looping an arm around Niko's shoulders. "Remember that incident when we first met?"

"That was one time," Niko says.

"How about when you first met Saki?" Umika continues mercilessly.

"That was also one time!" Niko whines. "I like knowing things! You know that!"

"There, there, Niko," Kazumi says fondly, planting a kiss on Niko's cheek. "We know, and we love you. Also, you'll definitely tell us all if you figure out anything for sure about Miss Toshimichi, right? Especially Miss Sabrina? She'd want to know, I'm sure."

"Yes, yes," Niko says, nodding and flashing a brief smile at Kazumi. "I will."

"Yeah, I really want to know, too," you admit. "I'd love to stick around and talk to them and such, but... nah, next time. Anyway, uh... so does anyone want to stick around Tokyo for a while, or shall we head home?"

"I'm good," Mika says. "I can come here whenever I want myself, anyway."

"Uh..." Shinobu cups her chin. "... nah, I think we're good."

"You sure?" you say, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"I sort of want to pick up a souvenir for Yuki, but eh," Shinobu says. "She'll be coming here again soon enough, anyway. So yeah, I'm sure."

"Alright. Mami, Sayaka?" you prompt, and grin. "I hear there's a big 40k store over at Akiba."

"Nah, I'm good," Sayaka says. "The one back at Mitakihara's just fine. And anyway, I gotta get back home, make sure Homura isn't getting corrupted by Madoka."

"I'm ready to head home too, Sabrina," Mami says, smiling softly at you.

"Alright. Home it is, then!" you say, already starting to form a flight platform and cheerfully ignoring Sayaka's "Ow!" and muttered complaints about her friends being traitors. For completely unrelated reasons, you're reminded that you should probably end the call with Madoka and Hitomi, and so you do, bidding them thanks and a fond farewell by telepathy.

Grief seemingly coalesces out of thin air, swirling together to form the outline of your flight platform. You raise the sides to form a proper cabin -it's only proper for a longer flight like this- and add more Grief to form the seats. Easy, familiar motions, the Grief flowing into place with little more than a thought, and hazing from the deep nightmare purples to sky-blue camoflage: all the harder to spot against the clear skies.

You smile as it finishes, and offer Mami a hand up as everyone crowds around, and soon enough, you're on your way home, soaring into the clear skies and the warmth of the late afternoon sun. Happy chatter fills the cabin and the tension drains away, almost a physical presence left behind with Tokyo, receding into a grey smudge on the horizon.

Mami shares a smile with you as she leans her head against your shoulder, satisfaction and joy and delight for the successes today, and you beam back at her. You couldn't have done it without her help - without the help of your friends. You can't help but think of the fact that they did a lot of the face-to-face politicking for you, while you'd gone to talk to Taeko. You don't think that was the wrong decision, but if you hadn't had your friends backing you up, the vote wouldn't have gone nearly as well.

It's not even a long flight back to Fukushima at this point, with the practice you've had shaping the aerodynamics of your flight and how fast you can push the flight platform. Japan blurs past beneath you, the stitched patchwork of forests and farmland and roads and villages and cities blending together. Before long, you're descending towards the rooftops, Yuki's tiny, cloaked form emerging out of the concrete ahead of your arrival.

"Welcome back," she says as you guide the platform in for a safe landing. She smiles slightly. "Shinobu and Moe have been keeping me abreast of developments, so I believe congratulations are in order."

"It was a team effort," you say with a grin, nodding at Moe and accepting Shinobu's high-five as they alight. Your hand stings a little, but you ignore it and lean over so that you can talk to Yuki properly. "Not least of all for your part in it, Miss Tsuruya, even if you weren't there in person. So thank you, Miss Tsuruya, and Miss Nanami and Miss Nishimura."

Yuki grins at you.

"You've handed me the keys to Tokyo, so, no, I do not accept your thanks," she says, tucking her hands under her cloak. "Thank you, Miss Vee." Her gaze flickers over your shoulder to Mika, from whom you can sense the radiating smug. "And Miss Nakano, I believe I would like to assist in your development efforts. I am no great economist or educated on the subject, but I feel like my magic is highly relevant. Might we talk later?"

"I was hoping you'd ask!" Mika says cheerfully. "I have my doubts that Tokyo would allow you to flagrantly claim every building, but we should see if we can hash out something that they might accept. So yes - we should talk, and see if we can figure out something to discuss between all of us as Constellation sooner rather than later."

"I'll be in touch, then," Yuki says, nodding.

"Don't wreak too much economic havoc now," you say, snickering.

"Oh, proper economic havoc takes time to get going, anyway," Mika says. "I'm just planning a few buildings for now."

"Fair enough," you say with a snicker. "Alright. Er, Kazumi, are you getting off here, or do you want me to drop you off back home?"

"Oh, yeah," Kazumi says, beaming. "Just didn't want to get in the way. C'mon, Umika, Niko."

She nudges Niko out, then hops off herself with a scrape of shoes on concrete. She flashes you a cheerful grin, crimson eyes dancing, before turning and offering Umika her hand with a grand flourish. Umika chuckles, accepting the hand and stepping out far more sedately.

"Oh, that's how it is, huh?" you say, narrowing your eyes at Kazumi.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Kazumi says, her expression the picture of innocence as she takes Niko and Umika's hands. "Anyway! See you, Mami, Sabrina, Miss Mika!"

"Uh huh," you say. "Well, not like I didn't have plans, anyway. But, uh... right. Before that - Miss Tsuruya, I have an offer for you from the parents of my friends?"

"Oh?" Yuki says, tilting her head curiously.

"Right, yeah - they have some interest in discussing the notion of bulk shipping or courier services via magic with you?" you say. "I told them I'd pass the offer on and make some introductions, if you're interested."

"Ah!" Yuki brightens. "It was something that I had considered before, but without any way of establishing a legitimate business front, I decided there was no real way to start something like that. Yes, I would be most interested in speaking to your friend's parents. This would be one of your friends you had on the phone today, correct?"

"It would be - Shizuki Hitomi, and her parents, Shizuki Haruka and Ichiro," you say. "I'll let them know you're interested, then, and follow up on that."

"Thank you," Yuki says, nodding. "I look forward to that then."

The conversation pauses for a moment, before she nods decisively.

"Very well," she says. "Was there anything else?"

"No, I don't think so. Mami, Sayaka? Miss Nakano?" Seeing a few headshakes, you continue. "In that case, then, see you all - until next time!"

"Until next time!" Yuki says with a sharp grin. Shinobu lifts her hand in a farewell, Moe mirroring her.

"See you!" Mami waves, smiling at Kazumi as you start to lift into the air, who waves back enthusiastically as Fukushima falls away. Mami settles back at your side with a happy sigh.

"It's been a long day," she muses.

"Yeah, it'll be good to be home," you say. "Next stop, Ishinomaki, then home!"

Mika laughs, now sprawled loose-limbed in the recently vacated space. "I appreciate it," she says. "Though really, after today, I wouldn't mind even if I had to fly home from Mitakihara. It's been a heck of a fruitful trip."

She snorts, looking thoughtful.

"Responding to that call from Miss Inoue was one of the best decisions I've made recently, and I've made quite a few good ones, if I do say so myself," she says. "Opportunities galore."

"Well, we're glad to have you on board," you offer with a grin.

"Glad to be on board," she says.

The rest of the trip to Ishinomaki you spent in relative silence, though you do take a few minutes to let Hitomi know and make the telepathic introductions. You dip across the coastline for a moment on the final approach to Ishinomaki - it's quite the sight in the late afternoon. Sun-dappled waves sparkle far beneath you, glitter and gold and white-churned froth at the great harbour to the city with distant specks of ships puttering along.

Mika doesn't bother waiting for you to descend to the rooftops, simply standing, moving over to the side of the cabin, and eyeing you with an expectant look. You can't help but laugh as you pull aside the Grief to open the way for her, the howl of wind ripping through your cabin and setting your hair fluttering for a moment - and then Mika throws herself out, the winds swirling around her as she takes flight.

She parallels your course for a moment, robes all but glowing verdant green before she tosses a lazy salute in your direction and peels away, heading towards Ishinomaki proper even as you turn away from the city.

And then there were three: Mami, Sayaka, and you.

But now, you're homeward bound. Home, to Mitakihara. You've only been away for a few hours, but it feels like it's been forever, especially with that tantalizing glimpse as it slipped by on the way to Ishinomaki.

[x] Dinner out with Mami!
[] Discuss stuff on the way back?
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Well, that took too long, both meatspace for me and this update. But hopefully, the worst is over!

Also, this is the opportunity to raise any heavy topics if you want.

 

[Firnagzen]

Home, home, home!

Maybe you're being a bit silly, but it feels nice to be headed back to Mitakihara, even if you haven't actually been out of the city for that long. It's been your first real jaunt out for politicking, and it was, overall, a success - not as ideal as you could have hoped for, perhaps, but not a failure by any means, either. You're allowed to look forward to heading home and having a nice evening!

Ishinomaki isn't far from Mitakihara nor Kasamino - near enough to Mitakihara that it's already starting to loom on the horizon, silver spires reaching out to the heavens and throwing back the ruddy orange of the setting sun. Afternoon shading into evening, really. You've made good time today, to your surprise.

Come to think of it, you've gotten everyone else back with enough time that even Kazumi would hopefully get to pick up her dinner plans with her girlfriends, too.

Sayaka blows out a breath, cracking an eye open. She's been half-dozing most of the trip back, apparently tired - which you can't exactly blame her for. She's been maintaining awareness of two locations at once, keeping an eye on everything during the hobnobbing in Tokyo and back home.

"Y'know," Sayaka mutters. "Something's bothering me a little?"

"Yeah?" you say, shifting so you can glance at Sayaka without bumping Mami off your side.

"Miss Sugahara," Sayaka says, leaning back and hooking her arm over the backrest. "The girl who was worried about her sister?"

"... what about her?" you say. Sugahara Kaede, who worried about her sister metaphorically running off and joining the army - joining you, against Walpurgisnacht.

"Just stuck in my mind, I suppose," Sayaka says. "We're on this path because we want to make lives better for people, and that inspires others to join us. And that should be a good thing. Right?"

"Ah, yeah," you say, exhaling slowly. "It stuck with me too. I mean... I can't say our path is gonna be the safest one in the world, you know? We've had it pretty good so far, but it can't last forever. If people join us, they're walking into danger with us. It's just... yeah. They are walking into danger with us, however much we can stack the cards on our side. And I just..."

You trail off into a morose silence. You'd promised Miss Sugahara that you'd talk to her sister if she volunteered, but you can't expect to account for every case like this.

"... yeah," Sayaka mutters, shaking her head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring the mood down, it just stuck in my mind."

"Nah, it hit me too," you say with a sigh. "I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"In a way, it's better that Miss Sugahara did come to us today," Mami says. "Imagine if we hadn't known, and she found out that her sister had, mm, run away to join us? That would have been far uglier."

"That's true," you say, beaming at Mami. "I wish it wasn't the case at all, but... yeah. Maybe they'll talk it out? That would be nice."

"Doesn't sound very likely," Sayaka grumbles. "Not with our luck. But it would be nice."

She shakes herself, stretching and popping her spine with a wince.

"Why do I get achey?" she grumbles. "We're magical girls, and I'm a clone. I shouldn't get achey. Anyway. Drop me off at Hitomi's? We're all still there, and... ah, right, Hitomi told me to ask if you want to come and hang out too? We're probably going to do dinner soon."

"Ah... I'd love to, but I've got plans with Mami for this evening?" you say, smiling. "Give everyone my regards, and... wait, does that include Homura?"

Mami gives you a curious look out of the corner of her eye.

"Can do, and yeah, Homura's coming along too," Sayaka says. "Why?"

"Tease her a bit for me, then," you say, nodding with satisfaction. "Since I won't be there."

"Can do, o fearless leader," Sayaka says, throwing you a lazy salute. "But you should know that if Homura complains I'm throwing you under the bus."

"Yeah, I expected you to, anyway," you say with a grin, before softening a little. "But don't be too hard on her, yeah? It's... Look, you know what she's like. If she's, y'know, actually hanging out without prompting and without me hovering, then that's good. Just make her feel welcome?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sayaka says, waving it off. "I know. She's my friend too, and you don't have to tell me how to treat her."

"Good," you say. "Thanks, Sayaka."

She rolls her eyes, but she's smiling. The conversation lapses there, falling into a comfortable silence, and by the time you reach Hitomi's building, Sayaka's dozed off again.

She yawns as you nudge her awake.

"I should've just gotten you to deliver the powers back to me," she mutters as she stands, rolling her shoulders. "Think I know why Koizumi didn't pull this sort of stunt with her clones. It's kinda draining after a while. Mentally, I mean, not my Soul Gem. Been keeping an eye on that."

"I guess that makes sense," you say with a frown. "I'll keep an eye on that next time."

"Hmm?" Sayaka says. "Oh, nah, nah, I'm fine. It's not bad at all, just a stamina thing. I think? Might be the distance, I need to check. Doesn't mean I'm not up for doing this sort of thing."

"Right, gotcha," you say, nodding. "Well... know your own limits, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says, walking over to the edge of the platform with a swish of her cloak. "See you, and have fun!"

"You too," you say.

"Give everyone my best," Mami says with a smile.

Sayaka salutes, and lets herself tip backwards out of the platform. A moment later, blue magic sparks from somewhere beneath you, signaling her safe fall.

"Was she this much of a drama queen before?" you muse, already turning the platform home.

"I don't think so," Mami says thoughtfully. "But I only knew her for a little bit of time before you came in, Sabrina. So I believe I shall simply conclude that you've been a bad influence on all of us."

"Guilty as charged," you say with a laugh. "A bad influence, that's me. Getting everyone to work together and understand the true importance of Presentation, as my dear Lady Tomoe would decree."

"I decreed no such thing!" Mami says, sniffing haughtily and sticking her nose in the air.

"Perhaps not out loud," you say loftily. "But as you know, actions speak louder than words."

"I suppose I can't deny that," Mami concedes, and cuddles back against your side, tugging your arm to drape around her shoulders. After a moment, she speaks again. "So, we have plans for this evening?"

"We do!" you say. "The first step of which is that we're heading home and changing to something nice, maybe..." You glance at the sun. "Rest for a bit, too."

"Oh," Mami says. She gives this some thought, then nods decisively, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Alright."

[] Just enjoy dinner
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Alrighty. Shorter update this time - I'm experimenting with getting myself back into a more regular once-a-week update schedule, since I've gotten a bit more breathing room meatspace-side.

Next update will be the date, and also, Chouko will finally call back about the Tome group!

 

[Firnagzen]

It doesn't take you long to get home, and you and Mami practically skip down the stairs, hand in hand. You feel like Mami might have an idea of what your plans are, but you don't see how that could possibly be the case. You've been completely subtle and extremely secretive about where you're headed, after all.

Still, she does seem to be looking forward to it, sneaking you little smiles as you jostle to be the first to unlock the door. Mami gets her key out first, but you block the keyhole with Grief as you pull out your own, only to find your arm swinging wide of the door as a ribbon wraps around your wrist and yanks.

You stare at Mami, and she stares right back, her key held pointedly at the ready.

"Oh, fine, I give," you say, huffing and unblocking the keyhole.

"Mmm?" Mami hums, in turn giving you a clueless, curious look.

"Nothing, I'm sure," you say. Your facade cracks after a moment and you snicker, leaning in to press a kiss to Mami's cheek.

Mami sashays past you and into the apartment with a dignified, utterly smug little grin.

"I'm back~" she calls, and flicks the lights on with one hand, bent over to remove her shoes with the other.

"Welcome back," you say warmly - but you're not the only one to respond. A chirruping caw echoes from within the apartment, and a flutter of wings precedes the emergence of Mugin from somewhere inside the apartment.

You laugh, holding up your hand for him to alight upon.

"Yes, yes, we're back," you tell the bird. "Good to see you too, Mugin."

Mami giggles, reaching out to rub gently behind his head.

"Considering that we left a window open for him, I suppose this is home, too," she says. "I'll go get him some bread."

"Not too much," you say. "Bread is a sometimes food for birds?"

Mami nods and departs for the kitchen, a bounce in her step as you settle Mugin down on the coffee table, and yourself on the sofa. Maybe you should put up some proper perches and such, if he's going to be this much of a fixture. And you're definitely glad that Sayaka talked to Mugin about house-training. Not having bird droppings everywhere is a definite plus, thank you very much. Though really, you wonder if Sayaka had to do much more than explain that the entire house was considered a nest, and that it should be kept clean?

... you take a moment to clean the apartment while you're here, a blizzard of Grief nanoparticles sweeping through the room to collect the dust and wipe away grease. It doesn't take too long, and it barely takes any more effort to chase the dust bunnies from underneath the furniture and cobwebs off the ceiling. You don't find any droppings, either.

"Weren't we going to change, Sabri-" Mami bustles back from the kitchen, a handful of breadcrumbs in hand -the fancy stuff you use for breading cutlets, even- and pauses, cocking her head to the side as she surveys the room. "... did you do something?"

"Did a bit of clean-up," you say, holding your arms out. "And, well, yes, but we can sit down for a bit! We've had a long day."

"Ah, I see," Mami says. She sets the offering of bread on the table, then obliges your silent request, plopping down on the sofa beside you for a hug. "I still don't know what our mysterious evening plans might be, of course."

"Of course," you agree solemnly. "But I thank you for indulging me."

"Of course," Mami echos, equally as solemn and serious. She relaxes, leaning bonelessly into both your arms and the sofa. "Ahh. It has been a long day, hasn't it?"

"It has," you say.

The conversation lapses for a few minutes, as the both of you simply luxuriate in the peace. Mugin seems to sense the mood somehow, pecking quietly at the bounty of breadcrumbs with little chirrups.

All too soon, you have to get moving again, and you stretch.

"You go change first?" you offer.

"Ah, alright," Mami says, nodding. "How nicely should I dress?"

"Well, drawing a totally random example with no basis in our actual plans, you should dress as if you're going to a French restaurant. Fancy but not fancy fancy," you say. "Purely hypothetically, of course. And, of course, I'd note, from a strictly assumptive standpoint, that I'm sorry, I couldn't make a reservation anywhere nicer without a credit card."

"Ah, I see," Mami says. Her eyes dance with amusement, the corner of her lips twitching into a smile she tries in vain to stifle. "What a curiously specific but useful example. I shall endeavour to follow your guidelines, and, if it were actually the case, chide you for being silly."

"It is my preogative to be silly," you say haughtily, sticking your nose into the air.

That lasts for as long as it takes for Mami to lean in and press a kiss to your cheek, of course, and you grin at her as she stands.

"I won't take long," she promises.

"We're not in that much of a rush," you say. You glance at the clock, nod decisively, and beam at Mami. "Yeah, not much of a rush."

"Alright," Mami says. She heads off to the bedroom with a spring in her step, and you can't help but smile as you watch her go.

"It's the little things," you tell Mugin.

"Caw." Mugin flutters over to you, abandoning the remains of the breadcrumbs to land on your knee and butt his head insistently against your hand. You snicker, and oblige with careful scritches as you flick on the television to the news channel, keeping an ear out for any major occurrences.

"Oh, is there anything interesting happening?" Mami emerges from the bedroom, looking amazing in a modestly cut spaghetti dress of pale green, cinched in at her waist and flaring into multi-layered skirt, the outermost layers translucent and styled to almost seem as if they're floating. She's left her hair in those distinct drills, but swapped her usual hair clips for fancier ones with blue gems winking at their centers. A gentle touch of makeup doesn't quite manage to hide the trace of nervousness in her eyes, and nor does she quite manage to not fiddle with the matching purse hanging over her shoulder.

"You look absolutely gorgeous, Mami," you say, remembering how to speak after a moment. You stand and meet her halfway, taking her hands. "I can only hope to look half as good as you do."

"Oh, you," Mami says. That nervousness dissolves, replaced with a simple delight and a bright, beaming smile that you can't help but share too, a warmth that goes beyond the physical. "Thank you, Sabrina."

"Always," you say. "But now - my turn!"

You squeeze her hands again before letting go and hurrying to the bedroom to change. You only have the one nice dress, of course, that one velvet dress you'd bought when shopping with Mami and the Asunaro girls, but it's a very nice dress. Mami definitely seemed to agree back when you were trying it out, and really, that's the only opinion that matters.

It's a sleek thing of deep, shimmering blue, a touch lighter than your coat, with a nice pleated skirt falling to your mid thigh, and it does suit you rather well, you think. And since this is a special occasion, you raid the makeup kit you'd bought - nothing extravagant, that's not your style, but just a light touch. Lotion, primer, foundation, a bit of blush, and... you hesitate for a moment, squinting at yourself in the mirror before reaching for the neutral eyeshadow, then white mascara.

... this is the first time you're really going out properly with Mami. You're allowed to want to look nice!

You look at yourself in the mirror one last time -you're not sure whether the mascara really added much?- and nod decisively to yourself, then turn and stride towards the living room.

Mami's eyes snap up to you, and widen a moment later, the smile on her face softening as she stands and walks over to you. Her gaze never leaves yours until she stops in front of you to give you a once over.

You blush under her attention, and Mami laughs, soft and melodic and delighted.

"Oh, Sabrina," she says, beaming at you. "You look absolutely wonderful. I feel a little underdressed, beside you."

"I- ah?" you shake yourself, and smile at her. "That can't be right. I need the help so I can stand beside you and not look plain."

Mami regards you for a moment, and shakes her head ruefully.

"We'll agree to disagree," she says, and takes your arm. "Shall we?"

"We shall!" you say.

It takes a bit of maneuvering and a bit of awkwardness to make it out of the apartment, especially as Mami seems disinclined to let go of your elbow even for vital tasks such as putting on her shoes, but you manage, somehow. You even find the time to give Mugin another gentle scritch before heading out. Even so, you wind up hesitating at the door.

"Mm?" Mami gives you a curious look.

"Well..." you hum thoughtfully. "We could take public transport. Or I could fly us there?"

"Mmm... not public transport, I think," Mami says. "Not at this hour, on a Sunday."

"Point," you say. "Up to the roof, then."

"Mm," Mami hums in agreement. "But not flight tonight, I think?"

"Roofhopping?" you say.

"I'm in the mood to stretch my legs, I think. If it's not too far?" Mami says. She nudges you towards the elevator, and you oblige, reaching out with Grief to press the button before you even get there. "It'll be a bit of a shame to transform so soon, but... we'll have the rest of dinner in our nice clothes!"

"... it won't affect our makeup or anything, will it?" you venture. "I mean, I don't... think it would? And no, definitely not too far to roofhop to it."

"Oh, no, I just meant that we'd be wearing our costumes until we arrive," Mami says. "That's all."

You snicker.

"Well, it'll only be a few minutes," you say. "So, up we go!"

It only takes you a few minutes to head up to the roof, taking the elevator up to the top floor then ducking into the stairs. Twinned flares of light herald your transformations, and then you're off across the rooftops. There is something to be said about the sheer exhilaration of bounding over rooftops, you can't help but think. The long shadows thrown ahead of you by the rosy glow of the setting sun, the roar of Mitakihara beneath you, snatched away by the wind rushing through your hair, the slight burn of exertion in your muscles as you push off the roof and throw yourself across the chasm between buildings...

Yeah, Mami had a point, it's nice to stretch your legs like this, an exultation that just flying with your Grief platform doesn't quite capture. Some instinct has you glancing at Mami, only to find her already looking back at you. You both smile, and speed onwards.

It doesn't take you long to arrive downtown, descending from the rooftops and joining the crowds of people with Mami taking your arm once more. People throng through the streets, and for once, you don't stand out much, just one more couple going out for dinner on Sunday. You still get looks for your height and your appearance, but here in downtown Mitakihara, awash in colour and noise and painted in hues of ruddy orange by the evening sun and streetlights beginning to wink on, you pass unremarked. You're not even the tallest person around today, which shouldn't really be a surprise given that you've met Tomohisa.

... you're still one of the tallest people around, though.

You keep an eye on Mami as you head in through a crowded shopping center at the base of a massive building complex, then direct her to the elevator. Not quite to the top, but certainly one of the upper floors, and with your attention on her, you spot the moment her expression lights up when she realizes your destination.

"Really, Sabrina?" she asks, laughing slightly as she nudges your arm.

"Yes, really," you say, smiling at her. "I hope you like Italian food?"

"It's not the only kind of food I like, you know," Mami says. But there's a laugh on her lips and a delighted look in her eyes, so you're entirely too pleased with your decision anyway. "I will concede to a fondness for Italian food, however."

"Then I hope it doesn't disappoint," you say with equal gravitas, then add, sotto voce, "This was the nicest place I could find that would take a reservation without a credit card."

"I'm looking forward to it," Mami says, beaming at you.

"Then let's head in!" you say, and so you do. Thankfully, your reservation's good. Well, not that you'd expected otherwise, you'd only made it a few days ago. It's crowded tonight, the restaurant seemingly near occupancy, conversation and the clinking of cutlery filling the air. You take in the restaurant as you follow the waiter in, modern art decor and tasteful carpet and soft shadows cast by incandescent bulbs blending together into smooth harmony, decorative, off-kilter steel poles to weave around as the waiter leads you to a corner table, by the window.

And since you can't possibly pass up the opportunity, you take two quick, darting steps to get ahead of the waiter and pull out the chair for Mami with a grand flourish, beaming at her as she blushes and daintily takes her seat.

You settle into the seat opposite her, beaming at Mami and glancing out the floor-to-ceiling window. You're high up enough to overlook a breathtaking view of Mitakihara, a blaze of light sparking to life in defiance of the encroaching night. Sadly, you don't have a good view of the sunset, but it's nevertheless a glorious sight, and when you turn back to Mami, you find that she's looking instead at you with a warm, thoughtful look.

"Something on my face?" you ask, smiling at her.

"No, just thinking," she says, shaking her head with an answering smile. "You know you don't have to do this sort of thing, right, Sabrina? I'd have been just as happy to have a nice evening at home, or even with our friends."

"I know," you say. "But I want to. You deserve nice things, Mami, and I want to do nice things for you. And... it's not like I don't enjoy this, either."

"Thank you, Sabrina," Mami says warmly, reaching across the table to rest her hand over yours. "But I just... wanted you to know that we don't have to, that's all. And that I'll plan the next one."

You blink, feeling like you've been verbally judo-flipped. Then you laugh, turning your hand over so you can interlace your fingers.

"Alright, you've got the next one," you say fondly.

"Good!" Mami says happily. "Now, shall we order? It smells so good in here, it's making me hungry!"

"It does," you say with an almost-groan. The air is rich with garlic and herbs and something deep and nutty. "We should steal their recipes."

"We'll see~" Mami says, giggling as she flips open the menu.

Neither of you are all that hungry, especially not after grazing at the buffet spread in Tokyo, and so you wind up agreeing to skip the starter to save room for dessert - and this place isn't so fancy that they'd look askance at you for doing it 'wrong', anyway. You settle back with a happy sigh, beaming at Mami.

Her expression softens after a moment as she looks at you.

"... something on your mind, Mami?" you prompt.

"No, just..." Mami shakes her head. "Just thinking how lucky I am. That everything... well. I'm so lucky, Sabrina, I... I am. To know you. I don't... really like to think about how badly things could have gone, had we met differently. I'm happy now. To be with you, Sabrina, and to be friends with everyone else."

You reach for her hand once more, curling your fingers together with hers. Mami's eyes drift down to your joined hands, then back up to your face, warmth replacing pensive contemplation.

"I'm alright, Sabrina," Mami says, smiling. "I am. Just thoughtful, after..." She trails off with a little shrug.

It takes you a moment to make the connection. After talking to Homura, she means. After Homura revealed the secret of her magic, of her wish - neither of which Mami voices out loud, to keep Homura's secret, but it's something that nevertheless weighed on her mind, it would seem.

"We can talk about it more when we get home?" you say, smiling gently as you trust Mami to pick up on the offer of pulling up your privacy construct to interdict any conversation fully. "But well-"

Mami's already shaking her head, her smile unflagging.

"I meant it," she says. "I'm alright, Sabrina, and I'm happy. I truly am. Reflective, but happy." She giggles slightly, her thumb tracing over the back of your hand, and she gives you an inquisitive look. "What were you going to say?"

"OK," you say, squeezing her hand. "I was going to say that I'm the lucky one to have the opportunity to be with you, because, well... I meant it too, when I said that you were the one who helped me see that I could have... more than just my mission in life. That there is more to me than that."

"I'm glad," Mami says, her smile turning gentle. "I'm glad I can do that for you."

Of course, that's when your orders arrive, the waiter clearing his throat with an embarrassed look. You exchange a look with Mami and laugh, sitting back so that you can be served.

[] Any particular subjects to raise over dinner?
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
[] Just keep going

=====​

... OK, this update just kept growing and I had to cut it off somewhere. Consider this one a bit of a transitional chapter. Next update will be Chouko calling. I was considering having it be in the middle of dinner, but... eh.

 

[Firnagzen]

You catch Mami's eye across the table, and you share a swift, private little smile with her, just between the two of you even as the waiter sets down your main courses. You thank the waiter as he departs, meet Mami's gaze again, and completely fail to stifle the giggles bubbling in your throat, bright, simple joy that you'd never really thought to have until Mami simply gave it to you.

Mami laughs too, clear and bold and unashamed.

"Oh, Sabrina," she says fondly.

"Don't you 'Oh, Sabrina' me," you say, beaming back in response. "You're the one who inspires it in me."

"Hm..." Mami taps her chin in consideration. "No, that can't be right. You were definitely you before I met you."

"You can't prove that," you say, nodding firmly, and beam at Mami. "Besides. That may be true, but as we've just established, I might have been me before you met me, but I'm not sure I would be me without you. I'd be... mm. I'd be just... my mission. To help. Everyone, everywhere. And that's not bad, I suppose, but... it's not the healthiest thing in the world, really."

You suppose that an unkind comparison for that attitude would be Homura. Homura, who focused so hard on saving Madoka, who turned it into the focus of her entire life and being. Who, once upon a never, turned on it so hard she tore Madoka from the heavens to save her, and even now, even with you trying to help her, barely believes that she deserves to spend time with her friends, and with Madoka. And, well, if you're right about Madoka's Wish being your genesis, then you'd cheerfully

But then again, she's having dinner with them right now, and you are having dinner with Mami!

"You were the one who inspired me to be just me. And besides," you say, your grin softening to something gentler as you pick up the thread of conversation again. "I... I like you just the way you are, Mami, confident and happy and... luminous. And... maybe you needed some help to get there, but it's you. It's always been you."

You'll take Mami's blush as a point in your favour.

"Anyway!" you say cheerfully. "Shall we eat?"

Mami takes a deep breath.

"Thank you, Sabrina. I... I'm glad, Sabrina," she says, the slightly stunned blush fading a little. "However, you're right. Let's not let our food get cold!"

And with that, you dig in. You'd dithered for too long over the lasagna before deciding that even if it is lasagna al pesto instead of the usual ragù-based lasagna, you just had that yesterday and finally settled on the chicken cacciatore - chicken seared, then braised in a lovely wine sauce.

You savour the first taste, dipping the crusty bread into the sauce and popping it into your mouth. It is remarkably good, you will concede, though you think you could probably do better.

"May I?" Mami asks. She smiles at you, holding her fork out towards your plate in question.

"Noooooooooookay, but only if I can try some of yours," you say, beaming back at her and nudging your plate over so she can reach it more easily.

Mami laughs, responding in kind, and you proceed to steal a forkfull of her dinner - tagliatelle al ragù, broad, soft noodles smothered with what's known in most places outside of Italy as bolognese sauce.

"We should come here again another time," Mami decides after a thoughtful moment full of chewing and careful consideration.

"... yeah, we should," you agree, and then laugh. "You know, I had to talk myself down from a picnic on the moon?"

Mami blinks.

"We'll save that for a special occasion," Mami says after a moment, her smile widening.

"We will," you say. "Though I'm worried that the atmosphere won't be the same."

"That's terrible, Sabrina," Mami says cheerfully. "But the company will be perfect, here, or on the moon, or at home."

"W-well, I-" you stutter. You feel your cheeks heating up. "Um. Thank you."

Rather than try and top that, you proceed to stuff your face with bread. Tasty bread dipped in lovely, rich wine sauce with chunks of nicely seared chicken and vegetables and perfectly cooked and it doesn't help at all, you can feel the blush going all the way up to your ears as Mami giggles and digs in to her own dinner.

And that's how you spend the rest of dinner, chatting and teasing and relaxing over good food with Mami. The restaurant fills up a little more over the course of your meal, but it never gets so crowded as to be bothersome, a pleasant background hum of distant conversation that never really encroaches on your little bubble.

Eventually, you both finish, comfortably sated after splitting a panna cotta with Mami for dessert, and sit back with a happy sigh, waving down the waiter to ask for the bill. You share a smile with Mami as you both relax.

"It's a good thing we don't have to worry about our waistlines," you says, patting your belly as you lean back in your chair.

Mami giggles.

"It is. Kyouko's living proof, after all," she agrees. "And as much as it seems we'll be travelling and meeting new people, well... food is a nearly universal way of welcoming people."

"True!" you agree, then tilt your head. "Huh. Wonder where she and Yuma went off to, actually. I mean, they obviously weren't home when we got back."

Which, in retrospect, might have made things a little awkward, but... even if it were awkward - she's your friend. You think. It's a work in progress. More importantly, she's Mami's friend, estranged or not, and those bridges are mending.

"She's always been a bit restless even before... you know. I don't think I've seen her sit still for more than half an hour at a time," Mami says, tilting her head in consideration. "I would have been surprised to see her at home, really. I suppose she went out to look around the city?"

"Yeah, I guess that's true," you say.

"She'll be back," Mami says. "She's... abrasive, but she's not a bad person."

"I know," you say, returning the smile. Even now, even after how Kyouko had hurt Mami, she cares. On the flip side of the coin, you know that Kyouko must care, too, considering that she agreed to come live in Mami's apartment. And that, right there, is all the reason you need to help them patch things over properly.

Mami's expression softens. Maybe she gleans some of your thoughts from your face. Goodness knows you've never really bothered to hide them from her. And certainly you could make a joke about not having anything to hide on that front, but... really, you mean it. You have your secrets, but you don't want to hide anything from Mami.

"Thank you," she murmurs.

"For you, the world, Mami," you say.

Mami's cheeks tint red as she returns your smile, warm and gentle. You hold her gaze with your own, a wordless promise of eternity... and then you're forced to look away with a mutual laugh as you notice the waiter approaching with the bill. He looks between the two of you, dithering for a moment before setting it down in front of Mami.

You blink.

"Eh? Wait, I'll get i-" you start, but it's far too late as Mami hands him her credit card already, so you simply wilt instead.

"You'll need to be faster than that to defeat me," Mami says smugly.

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," you say with a laugh. "Can't blame a girl for trying, though."

"Perhaps not," Mami says, smiling. "And I certainly wouldn't blame you for trying, Sabrina."

"Well, that's good, because I'm not going to," you say.

"Good!" Mami says happily. "Now- ah, thank you."

The waiter returns with Mami's credit card and the receipt, which Mami inspects carefully before standing.

"Shall we, Sabrina?" she asks.

"Yup!" you say.

Mami takes your arm once more as you head out of the restaurant. Neither of you are in a hurry, and neither of you make a move to leap up to the rooftops, lazy and content to take a slow walk together as you step into the evening air. Here and now, with chill on the wind and the velvet darkness of the night beaten back by the glow of the streetlamps, with the roar of traffic and buzz of the crowds and most importantly, with Mami snuggled in against your side as you meander onwards, you feel at peace.

More than that, you feel happy. Happy in a way you never thought you could be. All too soon, you'll be busy again, running around from fire to fire and wrangling people, but this is enough. More than enough.

Of course, it doesn't last all that long. You're just about halfway home, crossing a street, when you feel a telepathic presence in the back of your mind.

"Miss Sabrina? Is this a bad time?" It takes a moment to place the voice - Tsubaki Chouko, of the University Group. She doesn't sound particularly worried, so you're not too concerned either.

Mami does give you a look, though, smiling curiously at you. Her expression flickers before you can respond, quirking into an amused grin before she presses a finger to your lips.

"No," she says. "Bad Sabrina. No apologizing."

You pout at her.

"Of course you weren't," she says airily. "In any case, I was curious, not annoyed."

"Miss Tsubaki, from the University Group," you say. "A couple days ago, I asked if she was willing to check in on her friend, and the Tome group by extension?"

"Ah," Mami says, smiling and squeezing your arm. "Well, you'd better get back to her, then."

"Alright," you say, smiling and laying your hand over hers. And sure, you have multitasking enough to have talked to Chouko while talking to Mami, but... Mami deserves better than that. And she would notice, to boot, and you're sure she would completely understand, but Mami deserves better than that.

"Ah, Miss Tsubaki?" you respond, finally. "Apologies for the delay, I was handling some important matters. How are you?"

"I'm quite well, thank you," Chouko says. "I... no, I should be the one apologizing. It took me a while to work up the nerve to talk to Fukui again."

"Oh," you say. "Well... in that case, may I apologize for putting you in that position?"

"You may not," Chouko says, her tone cracking like a whip. "I agreed to it, and it was long overdue. The only reason I hadn't was cowardice on my part."

"... I... er," you say. You might be a bit taken aback. "Right. Erm, well, I hope it went well?"

"It did," Chouko says. "In any case, you wanted me to make introductions, correct? Would now be a good time?"

You take a moment to recall what you knew of Fukui. A friend and former teammate of Tsubaki Chouko, apparently having drifted apart as Fukui left the Tohoku University group after the death of a mutual friend. You'd wanted to get in touch with Fukui as part of your outreach, since as far as you know, she'd moved to Tome, up north of Ishinomaki, and at the very least, you seem to have rekindled their friendship by proxy? You hope?

[] Just give your standard spiel - cleansing, Clear Seeds
- [] Raise the matter of Walpurgisnacht
- [] Mention the Constellation
-- [] In what context?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

This has been put off for far too long. >_>

 

[Firnagzen]

You glance at Mami, who smiles encouragingly at you and squeezes your elbow gently. You beam back at her, pleased and vaguely guilty and just a touch overwhelmed in equal measure - sometimes, it feels like no matter how much you've done for Mami, you don't do nearly enough for how much she cares, how much she understands. That she's perfectly happy to let you take what amounts to a business call even at a time like this.

You beam back at her, covering her hand with yours to squeeze gently.

"Now would be a good time! Though... mm, there's something I'd like to raise with you first?" you say to Chouko. "It shouldn't take long, but if Miss Kazue's waiting we can get to her first?"

"Ah... no, it should be fine?" Chouko says, sounding confused. "Is something up?"

"Well, I'm... not sure if you've heard, but I've... sort of started an organization? It's a semi-formal thing - a mutual defense pact and a way for us to reach out to others, to make contact with new groups and offer our help, that sort of thing," you explain. "Any involvement is entirely voluntary even within the group, of course, so really we're mostly just a group of friends. I don't suppose you'd be interested in joining?"

"Uh..." Chouko says, audibly taken aback. "We'll... think about it?"

"I don't need an answer anytime soon," you hastily reassure her. "And it's perfectly fine if you're not interested! It doesn't change the Clear Seed I gave you guys and stuff either. I just thought I'd extend the offer, since, well... you were practically the first group outside of Mitakihara that I really worked with in any real capacity?"

"I'm not saying no, Miss Sabrina," Chouko says, some steel entering her voice. "I just hadn't thought about it before, that's all. Will you be extending the offer to Fukui, by the way?"

Movement in the corner of your eye is Mami tilting her head to glance at you, smiling slightly. You quirk an eyebrow right back, only for Mami to giggle and pat your arm in a vaguely consoling way. You huff, amused despite yourself, and Mami's smile widens.

"Ah, right, sorry," you say. "I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have? And as to your other question - no, or at least, not immediately. While I'm not opposed in principle to anyone joining, I don't... know her? Or her team?"

"That makes sense," Chouko says. "I'll discuss the notion with my team, then get back to you - we'll definitely want more details."

"Yeah, that's completely fine," you say. "I just wanted to make the offer, since, well, you're some of the earliest friends I made outside of Mitakihara."

"Well... thank you!" Chouko says.

There's a moment's lull in the conversation, you and Mami crossing the road under the aegis of a traffic light, the glare of headlights throwing wide a dozen shadows. Just another couple out on a Sunday night, Mami's hand on your elbow a reassurance and promise both. That even if you couldn't split your attention, she'd bring you home safely.

"Ah, anyway, uh... that's what I wanted to ask you," you say before the pause can get too awkward. "So, um, about Miss Kazue?"

"Right, yes!" Chouko says. You can feel the vague relief radiating from her end of the telepathic conversation. "I can introduce you to her right now if you want?"

"Please and thank you!" you say.

"Then one moment, please," Chouko says.

You find yourself humming cheerfully as the mental connection lapses, presumably while Chouko checks in on her hopefully-not-so-estranged friend. Another introductory pitch hadn't been on your schedule, especially not after Tokyo, but given Chouko's lack of urgency or concern, you're not expecting any trouble to come up there, either, which leaves the rest of your evening free to enjoy with Mami - who seems to sense your thoughts, shooting you a smile as you continue to amble along the crowded sidewalk, unhurried and relaxed as you head home.

"Miss Sabrina?" Your attention returns to the telepathic conversation as Chouko speaks again - and you can feel her including another presence, too. "Ah... this is Kazue Fukui. Fukui, this is Sabrina Vee."

"Hello!" Fukui says. Her voice is a pleasant soprano, a musical lilt even to her mental voice even as she tries to stay reserved. "I've heard a lot about you, Miss Vee, and it's very nice to make your acquaintance at last."

"You have?" you say, a little surprised despite yourself. "Ah, it's nice to meet you, Miss Kazue."

"Chouko told me about you helping them," Fukui says. "And I'm glad for that! And even if you hadn't, you've been making waves recently, and we're only a little north of Mitakihara, anyway."

"I'll leave you to it," Chouko says.

"Thanks for the introduction!" you blurt hastily, and just in time as you sense her presence withdrawing. "... uh, right. Right, yes, that does make sense, Miss Kazue."

"And if I may, I am glad you helped Chouko out," Fukui says, her tone quieter. "I... things are... awkward, but I'm glad she's alright. For that, I'm grateful."

"I'm glad to have helped," you say. You try to project reassurance across the telepathic call, trying to project a warm smile that you can feel reflected on your face.

"Thank you," she says, pausing for a heartbeat before continuing. "That said, I doubt this is just a social call, Miss Vee?"

"Well... kind of, yeah," you say. "I just wanted to offer my help, if you need it. Did Miss Tsubaki tell you about my magic? Or, er, have you heard about my magic, I suppose. Or about Clear Seeds?"

"She did - your magic is to control Grief, and you can do true cleansing," Fukui says. "But I haven't heard about Clear Seeds, no?"

"Ah! Well, it's... well, Grief Seeds contain Grief. Tautological, I know," you say, huffing a self-deprecating laugh. "But I control Grief, and it turns out that I can empty a Grief Seed far, far past the point where it would be even if freshly obtained from a Witch, you know? Enough that one should last a magical girl years if not decades of normal use."

"Oh," Fukui says. "I... suppose that makes logical sense?"

"Well... I'm offering Clear Seeds for people who want it," you say. "Cleansing as well, as you've presumably heard?"

"I have," Fukui says. "And your conditions are... essentially, that we 'play nice', correct?"

"Pretty much, yes," you say. "I ask that you don't use the excess of magic to attack others, and that you help others in need if you find them - or at least direct them to me. And that's the only real condition I put on it, if you want a Clear Seed, or even just my help with cleansing and so on."

"I see," Fukui says neutrally. "That does largely fit with what I've heard."

Mami shifts her grip on your elbow, nudging and guiding you insistently until she can take your hand, interlacing your fingers and squeezing gently. You blink, giving her a curious look, but she just smiles enigmatically, swinging your hands with a cheerful air as she turns pointedly forward.

You huff, a helpless grin spreading across your face. The crowds are starting to thin out now as you head away from the heart of the city - though given that this is Mitakihara, that's a relative term. It just means that the crowds are thin enough that you're not squeezed right up against Mami, that the occasional fresh breeze sneaks by, that conversation doesn't have to be shouted over the roar of people.

"So, with that said - that's my offer," you say after a moment. "I'd be happy to give you a Clear Seed for you and your team's use, without any further strings attached. I'd also be guaranteeing the safety of the Clear Seed, as it were. If anyone tries to steal a Clear Seed, I and my friends will come down on them like a ton of bricks. I'm entirely aware of the amount of harm someone could do with unlimited magic, and I can't let them become disputed items."

"That's very generous, Miss Vee," Fukui says. "It's..." She pauses, apparently trying to find the words. "I don't... I'm sorry, I don't mean any offense, but I'm kind of at a loss for words or a decision? It's a lot. It's not that I don't trust you, not after you helped Chouko, but... it's a lot to take in, that's all."

"Ah, sorry," you say, frowning slightly. You may have overestimated her composure? She seemed like she was following along well enough until you'd actually pitched the offer to her. "That said, well, there's absolutely no rush in making a decision on the Clear Seed. You don't need to decide now, and the offer will always be open?"

"That does help, thank you," Fukui says.

"And... if it helps, I have... one and a half more offers?" you say. "The half offer being that I'm always happy to come visit and talk about it in person."

"I... we may take you up on that offer," Fukui says. "But not today, if that's alright?"

"Ah, yeah, definitely not tonight," you agree, shooting Mami a smile.

Mami hums, giving you a considering look for a moment, then bumps her shoulder against yours.

"Right, right," Fukui says. "What was the other offer?"

"Ah... well, if you want a Clear Seed, but you're worried about making yourselves a target, I- we would be willing to help you keep it safe?" you say. "If you've heard of Miss Tsuruya from Fukushima, we're collaborating on little... embassy stations? Her power is perfect for securing a location or room, so if you want, it's an option to let her claim a room or something and keep the Clear Seed there as a cleansing station."

"Oh," Fukui says. "Yes, I have heard of Miss Tsuruya, though I know her more as a mercenary? It must be quite an interesting life, really."

"I could make introductions there if you're interested?" you say.

"Maybe another time," Fuki says. She sounds vaguely overwhelmed, you have to admit. "I... that's also a very generous offer, Miss Vee. We may very well take you up on that offer too? I'll have to discuss it with the rest of my team here."

"Again, take your time," you say. "Seriously. I'm happy to answer any questions if you have them, or just hold the offer indefinitely?"

"May I have a few minutes to think first?" Fukui says.

"Absolutely," you say. "I'm sorry if I'm being, uh, too much."

"No, no," Fukui says. "It's fine! I'm very happy you wanted to offer this to us, and it's very generous, I just need to think about it and talk to my team here? We may not have a decision for you tonight, but I'll figure out what we else we might need to know to decide."

"By all means," you say. "Take your time. Really!"

"Alright," Fukui says, and falls silent.

"I think I may have oversold it a little?" you say thoughtfully, outloud.

"Mm, Sabrina?" Mami says, smiling up at you.

"Just thinking out loud, I suppose," you say. "Miss Kazue seemed a bit overwhelmed after I actually explained what I was offering."

Mami laughs.

"You do have that effect sometimes," she says. "But I suppose it's a different affair, to hear things put in concrete terms. You offered her a Clear Seed, right?"

"Yeah," you say. You quirk an eyebrow at her just talking about it openly, but it's not like anyone in the crowd brushing by would be listening in, you suppose. And even if they did, you don't really have anything to hide? You want the Clear Seeds to spread, and if by some bizarre chance someone in the crowd knows a magical girl and understands what you're talking about, it's really not much of a problem at all.

"Well... as I said, it is a lot, Sabrina," she says, smiling. "I think it's normal for someone to be surprised."

"And she said she needed to talk to her team, which is, yeah, completely understandable," you concede.

"Mm!" Mami agrees happily.

[] Anything else to bring up with Fukui?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Ugh, this took too long, and I'm sorry. The next update should, all going well, close out the night and bring us to Monday!

 

[Firnagzen]

Mami's hand in yours is a grounding presence as you await Fukui's response, the telepathic connection silent as she confers with her teammates. But that just leaves you more time and attention to savour the moment, to soak in the peace. You bump your shoulder against Mami's, golden eyes flicking over to yours with warmth enough to banish the chill on the evening air and buoy your spirit.

And that is flying high as it is. It feels like some part of you lives for this moment: at a distance, muted behind the telepathy, uncertain and disbelieving and just a bit scared, but... that moment when you reach out to help someone, and they believe that maybe, just maybe, things can be better.

And sure, you can throw a dozen excuses to mute this one. Maybe Fukui and her team won't accept. Maybe they're too suspicious. Maybe they're well off enough that it doesn't matter - Fukui didn't sound particularly desperate. Eager, perhaps, but not desperate. But then again.

You're here to help.

The dawning flicker of hope in her mental voice, the carefully concealed joy. Your bona fides with Fukui were proven with Chouko, you think, and however complicated the feelings between those two are, it's undeniable that they care for each other. And so, all that's left, really, is hope.

That things can be better, that things can improve.

Mami laughs quietly, drawing your attention.

"You look radiant, Sabrina," she says, just loud enough to be heard over the buzz of the crowd and the rumble of the cars. "I take it things are going well?"

"I do?" you say, blinking.

"You do," Mami says firmly, and smiles back at you.

"Well... that's weird, because I'd say you are radiant," you say. "You always are."

Mami huffs, her cheeks tinting pink.

"Flatterer," she says.

"But it's true," you say, beaming. "You are."

"Mm... if I am, then it's only since I got to know you," Mami decides. "You give me reason to be."

"Right back at you, Mami," you say. You smile at her, even as both of you weave a step to the side in easy synchronization, dodging a knot of... rowdy, probably-drunk undergrads, by the look of them. "I couldn't do this without you."

"Which brings the conversation full circle," Mami says with an easy, cheeky grin. "I take it things are going well?"

"I think so," you say. "Miss Kazue's talking to her teammates still, and... like I said, I think I came off a bit too strong? I might want to figure a script, work up to this kind of thing more slowly."

"I disagree," she says, shaking her head, but smiling. "It's part of your charm, Sabrina, and... I think it helps to sell the idea. Maybe it'll make sense in the longer run, when we have more of a reputation and general knowledge backing us up, but being too polished is suspicious, you know?"

Mami's expression darkens for a moment.

"Those of us in the know of... certain secrets, especially," she adds. She takes a breath, and visibly shakes it off, the smile returning as she adds in a lower voice, "I'm alright, Sabrina. It was just... a passing thought."

Even so, you can't help but pull her a little closer to yourself. Mami's more than happy to tuck herself against your side with a pleased little hum, the warmth of her body soaking through your dress.

"... a fair point, but I think some structuring to ease into it a bit gentler wouldn't be out of place?" you say, squeezing her hand gently. If Mami wants to brush the topic off, you'll respect that. "Not a, a salesman's pitch, but some refinement."

"Mm, I suppose that's true," Mami concedes. Her eyes catch the streetlights, all but glowing gold against the soft curve of her smile and contours of her face. "But I meant it when I said it was part of your charm, Sabrina."

"I believe you," you say. "Thank you."

"No, thank you," Mami says, her smile widening.

You laugh. The conversation lapses into a comfortable silence, a little bubble with just the two of you amidst the crowded streets of a Sunday evening. You can smell the coming rain on the air, you think, just a touch of ozone and wetness beneath the odour of a living city - petrol fumes and car exhaust, the fresh edge of flourishing greenery and people, people, people.

"Miss Vee?" Fukui says, finally.

"Ah, Miss Fukui!" you say. "How are things?"

"Well enough," she says. "Ah... I've talked it out with my team here. If it isn't too much trouble, could we ask that you visit us?"

"Of course," you say. "Maybe sometime during the coming week? And... well, it occurs to me that I'd need to come over to deliver the Clear Seed even if you'd accepted that, anyway. So it works out!"

"That would be fine, we are... some of us are still in school, but not all of us," Fukui says. "So, ah, whenever you're free."

"Alright! I'll be in touch, then," you say. "Thanks for hearing me out, and thank you for letting me help."

"No, thank you," Fukui says. "Until we speak again, then."

"Yup!" you say.

You sigh happily as the telepathic connection fades. All it takes is a bit of hope. Hope that things can be better, that there's something better out there, if only people are willing to accept it.

Mami peers up at you and smiles.

"A visit to Tome soon, I take it?" she asks.

"Yeah," you say, beaming and squeezing her hand. "Do you want to come along?"

"Absolutely, but only if it's practical," Mami says, and giggles. "What else is on the itinerary next week?"

"Hmm..." you consider the question. "The Soujos are due to arrive in Mitakihara, according to Oriko. Will have to figure that out. But for travelling... just Tome and Kagoshima, so far."

"Remind me?" Mami asks.

"The Soujos are travelling, dangerous magical girls. Twins in a shared body," you say. "They will... probably be hostile? I'm not sure. And Kagoshima... well, it's half an excuse to trek down to the south end of Japan for a look around and to get to know the people there, and the other half is that Homura did mention they might have useful powers and be willing to help with Walpurgisnacht?"

"Ah, right, I remember," Mami says, considering. "I do recall hearing about the Kagoshima girls before too, they have a reputation for being a bit shy, I think? But I suppose that's somewhat normal."

"Well, you're absolutely welcome to come along," you say, and crack a grin. "As long as you've finished your homework. School is important!"

"Is it really, Miss Delinquent?" Mami asks, giving you a lidded look.

"Perhaps," you say. "But... really, if you want to come along, I'll always be glad to have you, Mami."

"I'll be glad to, if I'm not in school," Mami says. She looks thoughtful for a moment. "I've never travelled so much in my life, you know. Even..." Her expression cracks for a moment. "Even before."

Before she became a magical girl, your mind fills in for you. Before her parents died. Wordlessly, you release Mami's hand so that you can hug her against your side instead, Mami burrowing into the offered comfort without hesitation. You don't pressure Mami, giving her the time to gather herself.

"And definitely not after I became a magical girl," Mami continues after a moment. There's a quiet vulnerability in her voice, raw pain and echoes of memories past. "Having the opportunity to travel like this is... I can't even say that it's a dream come true. I never really thought about it."

"I'm glad," you say. "I'm glad that I could help you find that option."

Mami exhales, and a smile shines through on her face as she shakes off the mood.

"You said you'd give me the world, Sabrina, but you already have," she says warmly. "Stay by me. That's everything I could ever want."

"I will," you say. "I promise."

"Then that's enough," Mami says. "That's everything."

You don't know what to say to that, and so you don't, simply returning the smile until you're both forced to look up to cross a road, and you both laugh. The silence that returns is a comfortable one, and Mami relaxes under your arm, that bit of tension bleeding away.

On your way home, you take a moment to destroy Hisaomi's diary. You've been meaning to get around to that for a while, of course - you quite firmly consider Oriko a friend now, and even if you didn't, knowing that you're carrying around a diary of her father's confessions, one that you know would hurt Oriko, that Kirika wanted you to get rid of...

Yeah.

You've been carrying it around in hammerspace this entire time. It's the work of a moment to rifle through it with Grief, taking a record that you firmly refuse to actually think about, and then another to shred it down to a slurry of complex carbohydrates and ferrocyanide salts and various bits of plastic polymers. Wood pulp, ink, and various bits of glue and other stuff, rendered down into so much molecular slush you could probably repurpose to other stuff.

... huh, you still have that katana you'd acquired in hammerspace. You should find a use for that, really.

With that bit of unpleasantness over and done with, it doesn't take long for you to arrive back home, only to find it not quite as empty as you'd expected.

Of course, you sense the presences well before you even approach the apartment, the bright flare and burning magic of a magical girl glowing on the edge of your senses. And burning is the right word there, a firebrand blazing angry defiance at life and fate. Kyouko, and beside her, the playful, vibrant spark of Yuma.

Mami glances up at you, smug smile dancing upon her face, and you can't help but huff and drop an amused smile on her cheek. Yes, of course Mami's right. You never doubted her for a moment.

You're glad that they came back.

"I'm home," Mami calls as you step inside together, slipping out of your shoes.

"Welcome home!" Yuma chirps happily, craning her head to look over the back of the sofa. You can see the crimson puff of Kyouko's ponytail hanging over the back of the sofa, Kyouko evidently having joined Yuma in watching... what seems to be a game show on the television.

"... welcome back," Kyouko says after a moment, flipping a peanut into the air, only for it to be snatched up by Mugin.

Kyouko doesn't seem particularly surprised by the aerial intercept, nor by the way Mugin flutters over to the two of you, cawing happily.

"Found this bird lazing 'bout like it owned the place," Kyouko adds, finally looking up at you. You can feel her gaze flicker over your dress -and Mami's- before returning to her resting scowl. "Figured you probably had something to do with it."

"Yeah, he's a... pet? I guess?" you say, reaching up to rub Mugin's head gently.

"Roommate," Mami supplies.

"Roommate," you agree.

Kyouko rolls her eyes.

"Hope you had a good evening," she says, dry bite of annoyance in her voice. "I've been doing some scouting. Y'know. For the big hunting trip tomorrow?"

"Oh, thank you!" you say, smiling. "That'll definitely be helpful."

"Yeah, I'm sure," she says, and settles back into that loose sprawl of limbs that occupies most of the sofa, leaving enough room for Yuma to cuddle up against her side.

Mami exchanges a look with you and shakes her head slightly. You quirk a questioning eyebrow at her, at which she just nods. Yes, she's sure that you shouldn't poke at it right now, but... Mami's eyes flick to the clock, then over to the window and Mitakihara beyond.

Not now, but possibly tomorrow, during the hunt with Kyouko might be a good time to talk to Kyouko. After all, it is going to be just you, Kyouko, and Yuma - everyone else'll be at school. It makes sense, and so you nod slowly.

Mami smiles, and nudges you towards the bedroom.

"You can change first, Sabrina," Mami says with a smile. "In the meanwhile, Kyouko, have you had dinner?"

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbles. "'course I have."

"Well, how do you feel about supper?" you hear Mami say as you head into the bedroom, smiling to yourself. When in doubt: bribe Kyouko with food. It's really a good thing none of you have to worry about your waistlines.

[] Anything to bring up with Kyouko right now?
[] How do you greet the morning?
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

The next update will bring you through to Monday morning!

 

[Firnagzen]

You wind up taking a shower instead of just changing, and emerge towelling your hair dry and dressed in a loose, comfy T-shirt, which has you musing upon what you should wear tomorrow. It is supposed to rain tomorrow, so a cardigan over a nice blouse wouldn't go entirely amiss, maybe. You pass through the living room on the way to the kitchen, trading a wave with Yuma and a narrow-eyed look from Kyouko, the television still blaring merrily in the background.

By the time you arrive in the kitchen, you find Mami busily mixing up the batter. It's already starting to smell amazing, in that butter-and-sugar way of not-yet-baked goods.

"Hey, Mami," you say, wrapping your arms gently around Mami's waist from behind. "I'll take over so you can change?"

"I'm almost done, really," Mami says, tilting her head so she can smile at you, her hands never stilling on the batter.

"Then I'll handle the cleanup," you say firmly.

"Oh, very well," Mami says with a lilting note of fond amusement in her voice. "If you insist."

"I do!" you say.

Mami laughs, and you release her so she can finish up. You lean against the kitchen counter, watching Mami as she expertly pours the batter into the ridged half-donut of a bundt pan with a flourish and nary a drop spilled, and slides it into the oven with casual grace and a twirl that finishes to dip in a curtsey face you.

You laugh, and bow back solemnly.

"Now off with you, Lady Tomoe," you say, trying, and failing, to hide the grin tugging at your lips. "Shoo, go shower! I'll clean up."

"As you say," Mami says, stepping up so that she's right in front of you, and you can't help but huff and pull her into a hug that she happily nestles into - but she only indulged for a moment.

"I suppose I should go shower," she says with a put-upon sigh. "You'll be alright with the cleanup?"

"'course," you say, smiling. "I'll be here."

Mami smiles, and disentangles herself fully so she can breeze out of the kitchen. A moment later, you hear the bedroom door shut, and you busy yourself returning everything to the cupboards and cleaning up, Grief and hands both busy in a swirl of activity, soaping and rinsing and drying off, with a cloud of Grief fog to intercept any splashing suds or water. You'd just showered, after all.

By the time you finish washing and drying everything, the kitchen smells absolutely heavenly with the fragrance of the baking cake. But it's not done yet, and Mami's still showering, so you dry your hands and wander out into the living room, flopping down on the opposite end of the sofa from Kyouko and Yuma. Mugin joins you in a flutter of wings, plopping down on the arm of the sofa beside you, and you gently scratch behind his head.

Kyouko gives you a sidelong look, but rearranges her loose sprawl of limbs slightly to make room. She doesn't say anything, and neither do you, letting the burble of the gameshow fill the silence - but then, you're pretty sure that Yuma's the only one actually paying attention to it, if her giggles are any indication.

"... so," you say after a moment. "Kyouko - I don't know if you remember, but I mentioned the Soujos to you a while ago, yeah?"

Dusky red eyes slide over to you, Kyouko regarding you from beneath her fringe for a long moment. Yuma stills, her gaze darting from the television to Kyouko and you, and then she curls into Kyouko's side.

"Yeah, I remember," Kyouko drawls, shifting to accommodate Yuma. "Freaky twins in a single body or something, hunting Soul Gems. Expecting 'em tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yep," you say. "And... look, I don't want to make any assumptions. If we run into them during the hunt-"

"Yeah, yeah," Kyouko grumbles, cutting you off. "I remember. But whatever happens, happens. If she comes at me, then she gets it. If you're gonna talk at her... whatever."

"... ah. OK," you say. If Kyouko's not going to press the issue, then you're not going to either.

She flaps her hand dismissively at you, and turns back to the television. Yuma pokes her head around Kyouko's elbow, grins at you, and similarly returns to watching the show, which is, in turn, now showing some kind of food-themed obstacle course that reminds you rather disconcertingly of Charlotte's Barrier.

You firmly set that thought aside, musing instead on your plans for tomorrow. It's not like you object to the idea of Kyouko helping out if it comes to a fight, but you weren't sure if she'd see it that way, as opposed to you luring her here into the hypothetical fight. And there's the whole... ambiguity of where Kyouko wants to be. You don't know whether she wants to be here in Mitakihara, with all the attendant memories, good and bad, or in semi-exile over on Kasamino.

You're really not sure Kyouko knows what she wants, either. That's probably half the problem.

You let the noise of the television wash over you, Yuma's cheering and Kyouko's raucous laughter mingling together to lull you into a half-doze. Before too long, the fragrance of baking cake starts to permeate throughout the apartment, prompting Kyouko to not-so-subtly sniff the air and look hopefully towards the kitchen.

Well, ok.

Kyouko doesn't know what she wants apart from food.

The bedroom door opening heralds Mami's return, freshly showered and dressed in her usual pajamas. It's not really time to sleep yet, but really, pajamas are comfy, so you can hardly blame her. Her face lights up with a smile as your eyes meet, and she hurries over to join you on the sofa, happily leaning into your side.

"Welcome back," you say. "The cake's almost done, by the by."

"Mmh!" Mami agrees. Then her eyes flicker to Kyouko for a split second, then back to you, dancing with mischief. "Of course, it'll still need a bit of time to cool before we can eat it. It would be too fragile to cut otherwise."

"Of course, of course," you say, grinning at Mami and watching out of the corner of your eye as Kyouko slumps. You definitely wouldn't dare taunt Kyouko, but hey, if Mami's taking point, you're entirely happy to play along. "And it'd just scald you if so."

Mami nods solemnly.

"Of course, only someone very silly would do something like that," Mami says. "Especially since they'd been warned."

"Jeeze, I get it, I get it," Kyouko grouses. "Shaddup."

Mami giggles, leaning into your side, and you can't help the laugh bubbling up your throat as you relax yourself. It's something, that no matter how complicated Kyouko's feelings are, she's not that tense around Mami. You might hope that things are changing, but you'll see. You glance at Mami, finding her already turning to look up at you with a smile. She winks at you, and settles in to watch the television, never budging from your side.

Of course, the oven dings a moment later as the timer ends.

"I'll get it," you say, and Mami aborts her motion to stand, happily nestling back down.

You get a side-eye from Kyouko, probably over your lack of movement, but it's not like you need to walk over. You fill the kitchen with a cloud of nanofog, outlining the counter and stove and everything in your mind's eye, a sense of touch that extends far beyond your skin, and from there, it's a simple matter of hauling the oven door open, checking the doneness of the cake, and floating it out to sit on the cooling rack.

Kyouko up far enough to peer over the back of the sofa, squints vaguely in the general direction of the kitchen, then shrugs and sits back down.

Eventually, of course, it is time to turn the cake out from the tin and slice it - just a simple, butter-vanilla sponge cake, but just as expertly made as you'd expect from Mami. Everyone gets a big slice, Mugin included, and you should probably actually put some thought about overfeeding, but that's a thought for another time. Speaking of overfeeding, Kyouko gets the biggest piece of all, of course, and you all dig in happily.

Mami pulls out some homework after you finish -you had to banish her from the kitchen so you can do the cleanup- and you help her finish it off, sitting at the coffee table and accompanied by Yuma's giggles and the rarer, reluctant snort from Kyouko as the gameshow plays out.

Ultimately, though, it's time to go to sleep. Back to school tomorrow for Mami, and that means you're going to be up early with her.

"Goodnight, Kyouko, Yuma," Mami says as she stands, covering a yawn with her mouth.

"Oh, yeah, Kyouko," you say, letting Mami pull you to your feet. "Want me to wake you up in the morning, or shall I come back after everyone's gone to school?"

"... Like hell I'm waking up that early," Kyouko grumbles, Yuma making a vaguely agreeing noise.

You snort.

"Yeah, I suppose I can't blame you," you say amicably. "'night, then."

"Yeah, yeah," Kyouko says, flapping her hand at you.

"Goodnight!" Yuma says cheerfully.

You beam at them both, and head off to sleep, brushing your teeth and then bedding down. Mami curls around you as you pull the blankets up, sighing happily. You reach out with Grief to flick the lights off, leaving the room illuminated with little more than silvery moonlight and the distant glow of streetlights from below.

"Today was wonderful," Mami murmurs into your hair.

"Even with Tokyo?" you ask.

"Even with Tokyo," Mami says firmly. "We succeeded. And it's Constellation's first real action together - reaching out to offer our help. I can't think of a better start. And we did it together. You, me, everyone. I think that that's entirely a success."

"That's... true," you concede. "And... it's not like I'm giving up on figuring out what's up with Miss Imai. Or with Miss Toshimichi."

Mami chuckles quietly, tightening her grip around your waist.

"It's not a bad thing, you know," she says. "To decide that you don't have to handle everything the moment you see it. And... I know you wouldn't be you, Sabrina, if you didn't want to. If you didn't try to. But I don't think there's anything wrong with taking a moment to let it breathe, either."

"I... know that," you say. "But it's hard to know that, sometimes."

"I understand," Mami says warmly. "Be yourself, Sabrina. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Quite the opposite. All I'm saying is that there's room to step away, sometimes, and... regardless of what might happen, I'll be here with you."

"Shouldn't that be my line?" you say, and soften, snuggling back into Mami's arms. "Thank you, Mami."

"It's the least I could do," Mami says, and you can feel her muffle a yawn as she tries to press a kiss to the back of your head.

"Even so, thank you, Mami," you say. "But now, to sleep with you!"

"Mmmm... Goodnight, Sabrina," Mami says, sounding half-asleep already. She tugs the blankets up a little more snugly and relaxes.

"'night, Mami," you murmur. You let your eyes drift shut.

=====​

You drift into awareness amidst the patter of rain, and also Mami trying to sneak out of bed again. This time, she has a bloom of ribbons wrapped around you to mimic the pressure of her arms as she tries to ease out of the blankets.

She freezes, then makes a quiet, ruefully amused noise and settles back in to the bed, arms returning to proper cuddling configuration.

You can feel her pouting as she buries her face in your hair.

"Slept well?" you offer, throat just a touch scratchy.

"Mmhm," Mami says softly. "I've been... sleeping much better, in general."

"I'm glad," you say. The conversation lapses there, and you doze contentedly, luxuriating in the patter of rain against the windows and the kind of warmth that only comes from a chill in the air and warm, cozy blankets. You find yourself running your fingers through stray tresses of Mami's hair as you soak in the moment and take the time to simply exist. It's not yet time to get up, so you're in no hurry.

You feel a vague prickle of paranoia about the rain, but you can't imagine the sheer coincidence of having two weather mages consecutively try to scry Mitakihara via the rain, so you set that thought aside. Besides, Mika hasn't said anything.

Eventually, though, you have to go to the bathroom, and so you lever yourself up with a groan. Mami makes a protesting noise, but lets you escape, and before long, you've both finished your morning ablutions and reconvened in the kitchen.

"Do you think we should make lunches for Kyouko and Yuma too?" you ask thoughtfully as you fill up the rice cooker. "I'm not sure how long the hunt will run, after all."

"Mm... it can't hurt?" Mami says, slightly muffled as she rummages through the refrigerator. "Persuading them to join us for lunch might be a bit difficult, though. Are you making enough rice for breakfast too?"

"Not yet, but I could. What do you think? I mean, it's free food," you say, quirking a grin. "Bribing with food always works."

"Mm... rice for breakfast. And that's certainly true," Mami concedes. "There's no guarantee that Kyouko will be willing to eat with everyone, but at the very least, she will take the lunch - she doesn't like to waste food, you know?"

You can't help but huff out a laugh as you add more rice and rinse it out, then shut the rice cooker with a definitive snap.

"Yeah, I know," you say, smiling slightly. "I don't think I mentioned it to you, but the first few times I actually talked to her, I, er. Well, I bribed her with food by offering to pay at an all-you-eat buffet, so I had to take a plate for myself, right? I was terrified of not being able to finish what I took."

"She's not that bad, Sabrina," Mami says, giggling.

"Kyouko would stab as a warning," you say solemnly.

"That... is true, yes," Mami concedes. "But not in public!"

"So she'd just wait until we're in a dark alleyway to shank me," you say, peering at the food Mami pulled from the fridge, then pulling out the frying pan and brandishing it triumphantly at her.

Mami laughs, and makes room for you at the stove while she moves to start cracking eggs. You fall into the familiar, easy rhythm, as you weave smoothly past each other to prepare breakfast and lunch enough for four, a coordinated dance to a tune only the two of you can hear.

You check on Kyouko and Yuma as you cook - thankfully, they'd retreated to the guest room rather than fall asleep on the sofa as you'd half-expected. To your complete lack of surprise, they're still sound asleep, as far as you can tell.

Before long, you're settling down for breakfast with Mami: grilled mackerel, miso soup, pickled plums, and omelette rice Mami snuck in at some point while you were cheerfully bickering over what to have for lunch. You'd blanched some vegetables as part of your retaliatory salvo, of course. Another two full servings of breakfast sit to one side, covered and ready for Kyouko and Yuma.

You settle in opposite Mami, meeting her eyes with a warm smile. Another day, but you'll face it together. With a cheerful 'itadakimasu!' you dig in.

"Do you want to do the honours, Mami?" you offer after taking the edge off your hunger.

Mami laughs, shaking her head.

"It wouldn't be the same," Mami says.

"Well, if you're sure..." At Mami's nod, you shift to telepathy, including Homura, Madoka, Sayaka, Hitomi, and, of course, Mami. "Goooooood morning Mitakihara! I'm your host, Sabrina Vee, with my lovely co-host, Tomoe Mami! It's shaping up to be another rainy day in our lovely city, so join us, listeners, as we welcome the new day!"

Sayaka groans wordlessly into the telepathy.

"Good morning!" Madoka chirps, giggles bubbling in her voice. "Sorry, I'll be a moment, I need to wake mama up!"

"Good morning, everyone," Hitomi says. "Ah, no music today, Sabrina? I did quite enjoy the composition you played last time."

"Good morning," Homura says.

"I hope everyone slept well?" Mami asks.

"Not enough," Sayaka grumbles. "Why is it Monday."

"Well, Sayaka, there's this thing called the linear progression of time," you say. "Yesterday was Sunday, so today is Monday."

"Mm... I'm not so sure!" Madoka says. "I think it would be more accurately blamed on, ah, Pope Gregory the... um. The something? If he didn't make the calendar, it wouldn't be Monday."

"The Thirteenth," Hitomi offers. "Pope Gregory the Thirteenth."

"Ah, yes!" Madoka says. "His fault!"

"... technically correct, yes," you concede.

"It's not an either-or situation, I would argue," Mami says. She winks at you across the table even as she delicately spoons up some miso soup. "If we lack either a linear progression of time or Pope Gregory, it wouldn't be Monday."

"Mmmmmuuuuuggggh," Sayaka contributes.

[X] Meet up with everyone on the way to school
- [X] This morning, we should make time (hint, Homura) to talk about that infohazard incident yesterday
[] Meet back up with Kyouko for the hunt
- [] Grab a Sayaka first
- [] Anything to talk over during the hunt?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

The next update should bring you through to actually embarking on the hunt!

 

[Firnagzen]

"OK, Sayaka, I'll make you a promise," you say seriously, sneaking a grin at Mami. "If for some reason I ever wind up in the 1500s, I'll take revenge on Pope Greg for you. Yeah?"

"Muuhhhhhh," Sayaka says.

You'll take that as profuse, overwhelming gratitude, expressed eloquently in the language of the sleep-deprived. Mami giggles, eyes dancing as she beams at you.

"And all his predecessors," you add thoughtfully. "I mean, he's the one with his name on the calendar, but he's really just the culmination of a long, long line of Monday committers that stretches all the way back to Caesar. So there's going to be lots of revenge to spread around, and Pope Greg would be just the start."

Madoka giggles, clear peals of laughter filling the telepathic channel.

"'Pope Greg' sounds so weird somehow!" she says. "B-but yes! Down with Mondays!"

"But wouldn't that just result in a replacement that would be just as bad?" Hitomi muses. "Tuesday, perhaps?"

"... um. Hm," you say. "I mean, are we sure that there wasn't another, more hated day before Monday that got Wished away?"

"Is that possible?" Hitomi asks.

"It's not im possible?" Mami offers.

"Don't mention that around my mama, she might hunt down Kyuubey so she can Wish," Madoka says.

"How would that work, I wonder?" Hitomi muses. "Would we simply have six day weeks instead?"

"Uuuuugh no," Sayaka groans. "It's too early for existential terror, and my dad is looking at me funny. No. Stop. Cease. Desist."

"What is a good time for existential terror?" Mami wonders. "Not the morning, and not at night. The afternoon is also terrible for existential terror, but for perhaps the opposite reason - a nice, cheerful afternoon sun does tend to drive the existential terror away."

"Two AM," Homura says, her voice dry as a bone. "It's when the ghosts come out."

Madoka giggles, your cackling laughter following a moment behind, then everyone else. Somehow, you never quite expect the humour from Homura, and every time, it's absolutely devastating.

"That sounds about right," Mami agrees, laughter bubbling in her voice. "Thankfully, everyone's asleep at that time. Right?"

"Right, Sayaka?" Madoka asks.

"Hey, don't look at me, Miss Three-cups-of-coffee," Sayaka says. "I'm a good student! I sleep early!"

Homura makes a doubtful noise.

"That was one time!" Madoka protests over Sayaka's complaints about being ganged up upon. "I don't even like coffee!"

"Except when it's doused in enough syrup that it's more sugar than coffee," Hitomi says.

"Vanilla and hazelnut are good flavours!" Madoka says.

You laugh out loud, meeting Mami's eyes as the bickering continues, good-natured and cheerful. Mami beams back at you, setting down her chopsticks so she can reach across the table to take your hand, interlacing your fingers and squeezing gently, and in her expression you read gratitude and joy alike, so raw and vulnerable it almost hurts to see.

So you smile back at Mami, smoothing your thumb gently against the back of her hand. And maybe that makes finishing breakfast a little awkward, but you both manage, because neither of you are willing to let go.

You banish Mami off to change first while you do the cleanup, cheating outrageously with Grief as you usually do, and leave a small handful of birdseed out for a dozing Mugin. Then Mami finishes changing and so it's your turn, dressing yourself into a nice, grey blouse and a cute, knee-length skirt patterned with a few red flowers and butterflies set against stripes. And since you were thinking about it, and since it's raining and a little chilly anyway, you toss on a bold, deep red cardigan over top to complete the look.

Mami beams at you as you exit the bedroom.

"You look wonderful, Sabrina," she says.

"So do you, Mami," you say. "And yes, I know you're just wearing your school uniform. I stand by what I said."

"Flatterer," Mami says, smiling fondly at you. She separates from the hug a moment later to grab her schoolbag and an umbrella. "Shall we?"

"We shall!" you say happily, taking the umbrella from her and tucking it into her bag.

Mami gives you a quizzical look.

You smile innocently.

Mami giggles fondly, and takes your arm.

And so you head out, locking the door behind you. You step out into the streets, the falling rain chilling the air and pooling underfoot, clouds dulling the morning sun to a sullen glow behind the clouds. It's not too heavy at the moment, and there are even some people that are foregoing their own umbrellas, hurrying about their business.

Even so, there's rain enough to form little curtains of privacy, bubbles of quiet sliding past each other as people make room, avoiding the splash of puddles and the collision of umbrellas. The drumming of rain and murmured conversation and busy rumble of Mitakihara waking up blend into background texture, ignorable but everpresent.

Mami's eyes flick upwards as you walk, giving the gloomy grey skies a considering look, and then giving you that same look. Then she hums contentedly and smiles.

It might have to do with the way you're batting the raindrops away with a churning cloud of Grief nanofog, leaving the two of you perfectly dry as you head onwards to school. Not the first time you've pulled this trick, and it won't be the last, weather permitting - but it's a fun one! When you can get away with it, anyway.

You wind up arriving earlier this morning, and decide to wait in front of the school's grand campus as hordes of students mill past you, some stopping as they wait for their own friends. Umbrellas bob in the rain, dizzying splashes of colour amidst the greenery-shrouded path and drizzling rain.

"Good morning." Homura materializes behind you - literally, this time, as you feel the barely-there flare of magic as she steps out of timestop.

"'morning, Homura!" you say, turning to grin at her. "Sleep OK?"

Homura appears to give the question serious thought, then nods.

"Good!" you say happily.

It doesn't take much longer before Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi arrive as a group, all huddled under one large umbrella and waving enthusiastically at you as they approach. You exchange greetings, and head off towards the school proper, meandering slowly to take in the morning.

"Oh, yeah - two things. Sayaka, want to join Kyouko and Yuma and me for the hunt today?" you say as you amble along, just at the edge of the umbrella Sayaka's holding.

Mami glances sidelong at you, and you shoot her an adoring, reassuring smile, shifting your arm so you can take her hand properly. You're hers. Her smile softens in turn, and she squeezes your hand gently.

"Hmm?" Sayaka says, blinking at you. "Oh, uh... this morning? I mean, it is a school day..."

"I'll take notes for you!" Madoka volunteers.

Sayaka grins at her, still looking thoughtful.

"... ah, you know what, my grades can take it," she says finally. "But you better help me with my homework after!"

"'course," you say. "Maybe another study session or three sometime this week?"

"Group study!" Madoka cheers. "I like learning this way much better, anyway."

"You're all always welcome over at our place," Mami adds. "Study session or not."

"Thanks, Mami, Sabrina," Sayaka says, grinning. "Alright, then yeah, I'm in."

"Great!" you say, and clear your throat. "Right, right, in that case... I'll get one Miki-Ds Sayaka to go, and can I get fries with that?"

A moment of silence.

Sayaka turns, ever so slowly, to glare at Madoka and Hitomi.

"Who told her?" she demands. "Which of you traitors?"

"N-not meeeeeee-!" Madoka squeals, barely suppressing laughter, and then she's forced to dance to the side as Sayaka starts chasing her. Hitomi bursts into giggles, catching the now-abandoned umbrella.

"... what?" you say, blinking.

Madoka ducks behind you and Mami, juking left, then right, as Sayaka tries to get around you.

You pout.

"A joke from, oh, three years ago," Hitomi says, swallowing her giggles. "We were covering American slang in class, and Madoka came up with it."

"Dammit," you grumble. "I'm not as original as I thought I was."

Madoka trails laughter as she cowers behind Homura, who's now giving you a look of muted surprise and dawning realization.

... huh. Not sure what that's about.

"What was the second thing, Sabrina?" Mami asks, nudging your side.

"Um?" You blink, then remember. You raise your voice a little, over Madoka's shrieking laughter as Sayaka catches her and starts tickling mercilessly. "Ah, right, er. I was going to say, er... Homura? We should maybe make some time to talk about yesterday's, ah, incident?"

Taeko's little attempted Witch-bomb yesterday, in other words. It should probably be discussed at some point - it's just good practice to talk these things out, even if the fallout was safely contained. If nothing else, you should keep in mind the potential for future recurrences and if you want to put in some preventative measures.

Amethyst eyes flicker over to you, and Homura nods.

"Now?" she asks.

[] Now!
- [] What do you want to talk about?
[] Later, at lunch
[] Head back to pick up Kyouko and Yuma for the hunt!
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

So, apologies for the weird cut-off point, however: I wanted to update earlier (especially as I'll be busy for the rest of the week), and this is a bit of a genuine decision point, anyway. From an OoC point, I want to get to the hunt sooner, but a scene talking with Homura would be fine, too.

 

[Firnagzen]

You consider for a moment, wrestling with the thought. The thing is, you're... considering trying to bring Madoka and Hitomi in on a few secrets, too. About the nature of Witches, and maybe, just maybe, why Madoka making a Wish is a bad idea. But even if you can finagle it so that Homura isn't in the loop about the latter point, it just... doesn't sound like a good idea, with more than a few arguments against it. Not least of which being the nagging feeling in the back of your mind and not wanting them to be stewing about it for the rest of the school day. So no.

Not now. Maybe another time, if events ever conspire to line up better.

That said, you probably should talk to everyone at some point about that mess with Taeko trying to drop the Witchbomb. There's a reason almost every large organization conducts after-action reports, after all, it's how you learn from mistakes.

You nod slowly. Now's a good time for that, you think.

"I think so, yeah," you say. "Now, I mean. It's not the biggest deal in the world, but I don't want to leave it aside. And have a word with Sayaka too in a moment?"

Likewise, Homura nods. And... now that you're looking at her more closely, there's something less guarded about her posture this morning, the way she carries herself a touch lighter than she usually is. Even so, the lines around her eyes soften just a little more as a not-quite-smile flits across her face.

You beam at her, and then she finally turns away to catch Sayaka by the collar and tug her away from a flailing, giggling Madoka.

"For the record," you say loudly. "I came up with that joke myself."

"Uuuugh," Sayaka grumbles, somehow contriving to hang from Homura's iron grip despite being taller than her. "Yeah, that figures."

"There are certainly worse jokes that could have been made," Mami observes, nestled comfortably against your side.

"Like what?" Sayaka asks, narrowing her eyes and worming out of Homura's grip.

"Mm..." Mami's smile widens a little. "I suppose you'll just have to find out someday."

Sayaka stares at her for a solid thirty seconds, the silence pooling and spreading throughout your little group. Then she turns that accusing stare on you.

You raise an eyebrow at her.

"One day, I will find what your weakness is," she declares, levelling an accusing finger at you. "And on that day you will rue ever crossing me."

"What did I do?" you say plaintively. "I am innocent of all wrongdoing! Innocent, I say!"

"Sure," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, uh..."

Homura nods again.

"I'll be back in a moment," she murmurs, striding away.

"Do you need your privacy?" Mami asks, smiling up at you.

You smile at her in return, disentangling yourself just far enough so you can press a kiss to her cheek.

"We won't be long, OK?" you tell her. "It's a quick talk, but, um. Secrets, you know?"

"Alright," she says warmly. "I trust you, Sabrina, and I know you'll tell me when the time is right. But you had better hurry, alright? I won't be kept waiting for too long!"

You laugh, even as you ease away so that Homura can gra-

-b you.

You blink in a world of muted greys, reorienting yourself to face Homura with a smile, only to find her giving you a considering, curious look even as she shifts her grip, making way for you to keep contact with a scrap of Grief settled against her forearm.

"Something on my face?" you ask.

She shakes her head.

"No," she says. "Just a thought. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well... I wanted to ask you for your thoughts about Miss Taeko trying to drop the Witchbomb, back in Tokyo?" you say, waving your hands vaguely. "It's... best to review for mistakes, yeah?"

Homura frowns thoughtfully, a slight furrow of her brow.

"Did you know she knew?" Homura asks.

You shake your head.

"Unfortunately not," you say, shaking your head and grimacing. "I mean, I... had a guess, but I didn't know for sure. And... I guess given what Miss Toshimichi said, I suppose it was a possibility that she'd try and use it?"

Homura nods, her eyes fixed on Madoka's motionless form, greyed and frozen mid-laugh. She swallows, at once wistful and pained and maybe a little relieved.

"Madoka knows something's... secret. That you're keeping a secret," she says slowly, not looking at you. "She doesn't know what it is. And she's... not worried about it. Not... stressing about being a burden."

You bite your lip.

"Not entirely," you caution. "I... I've been working on it, with your help, and we've been making progress, but it's an ongoing progress. And..." You meet Homura's eyes. "You know her better than I do, Homura. She feels like she has to Wish to be meaningful, and we... need to keep talking her through it."

"Yes," Homura agrees, then frowns, and shakes her head. "But that's not what I meant. Even after yesterday. She was worried and annoyed. Indignant. Not at herself, or you. For you, for us, that someone tried to attack us with it. Hitomi, too."

"Ah," you say. And as much of a nonsensical thought Madoka being angry is, you can sort of imagine it. Madoka being angry that someone tried to attack you, fretting and being indignant and worried that her friends were in the line of fire... yeah, you can imagine that.

"And she didn't... she wasn't thinking about making a Wish," Homura says, picking through her words slowly. "I... maybe she was? But she wasn't..."

"She wasn't beating herself up about what she couldn't do?" you ask, trying to complete the sentence for Homura as her words fail her.

"Yes," Homura says. "She wasn't self-recriminating. It's good."

"Ah," you say. "I'm glad."

Homura nods, turning away from Madoka to face you, her frown long gone. Amethyst eyes scrutinize you for... something, and for once, you're not entirely sure what she's looking for, but you smile at her nevertheless, holding your tongue and letting her order her thoughts.

"I didn't like how close it came," she says after a moment. "But you reacted fast enough, and Madoka wasn't affected much. It's fine."

"Yeah, I did, and she wasn't," you agree, exhaling slowly, and smile softly at her. "But... how are you feeling about it? And not just this, just... everything that's happened?"

Homura tilts her head to the side, eyes going distant as she thinks it over.

"I'm worried," Homura says slowly. "It's... it's good that Madoka wasn't affected by it. But she was so close to all of it, and..."

She trails off, making a helpless little gesture half-reaching towards Madoka, then letting her hand fall.

"Yeah," you say with a sigh. "That's completely valid, and honestly, I'm worried too. It..." You bite your lip. "I really don't like how close it came, either, and I'm going to work to preventing it from even getting that close in the future. That said, I... if you're OK with it, Homura, I wanted to talk about this with Sayaka too? But it's just a discussion, nothing firm."

Homura's eyebrows knit together again as she considers this. Her eyes widen, and then she nods.

"It would make sense," she agrees. "I forgot she knows about it now. Where Witches came from. And... Sayaka's a lot more thoughtful. She was never stupid, but..."

She gestures vaguely, and you can't help but laugh.

"Yeah," you say. "I get it, Homura." You take a breath, smiling. "I... yeah. Alright. In that case, we can bring her in, if you're sure you're alright with it, but first-"

You raise your arms, smiling slightly at her in silent offer. Homura eyes you for a long moment, then huffs lightly, the frown on her face easing just the tiniest bit in favour of something that's not quite a smile, but certainly not distaste, either. And so you step forward, drawing her into a gentle hug, and after a moment, she relaxes, and wraps her arms around you too.

She's still too skinny, slender and paper-thin beneath your touch, as if a strong wind might be able to blow her away. You know that isn't true, you know about the furious strength lurking in her frame, but you can't help the pang that goes through you, a physical reminder that she's gone through so much, borne so much pain. How could you not want to help?

Still, you don't want to press Homura too much, and after a few minutes, you ease back, smiling at her.

"You're alright with this, Homura?" you ask, peering at her. "Not just logically, but emotionally and all? With what happened, and talking to Sayaka about this?"

"I am," Homura murmurs.

"Then OK," you say. "Let's go get her?"

You could just grab Sayaka with a bit of Grief, but you'd rather leave it to Homura, to let her step around Madoka to grab Sayaka by the wrist. You spare a glance for Mami, frozen with that gentle smile on her face that sends warmth rushing through you, even in the dull grey hues of Homura's timestop.

"Sap."

You turn around and raise your eyebrow at Sayaka.

"I said what I said," Sayaka says. "You are such a sap."

"Eh, yeah, sappier than an entire maple forest," you say, shrugging and then grinning. "That's me."

"Dork," Sayaka accuses.

"Yep!" you say. You stick a dab of Grief to her wrist, and Homura gives that a look before nodding, and stepping away so that the three of you can look at each other properly. "Anyway! Back on track."

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says. "So what's up? Is this about the hunt later?"

"No, actually," you say. "Discussion about yesterday."

"Oh," Sayaka says. "That thing with Taeko?"

"That thing with Taeko," you agree, scrubbing your hand through your hair. "And also, er, it occurs to me that on a completely unrelated topic, I promised I would tell you both if things changed for Oriko and Kirika?"

Sayaka's scowl is immediate and reflexive, as is Homura's grimace of distaste.

"Yeah?" Sayaka says.

"Well... this didn't occur to me at the time, but when we were going after Iowa, she was helping us to scry on them, right?" you say. "And during our trip to Tokyo too, she was helping keep an eye out. During that time, she mentioned that she could see and follow karmic connections."

"Uh-huh," Sayaka says. Her scowl deepens. "What does that mean?"

"She can follow connections between people," you say. "And it lets her track people more easily by their relationships?"

"Right," Sayaka mutters grudgingly. "I suppose she can't get up to too much with that? Or... at least, I can't think of anything more she can do with that than 'just' being able to scry on people. Homura?"

"It's no worse than her original power," Homura says.

"... yeah, there's that," Sayaka concedes. "Right. And, well, I guess we can't tell her not to have that power? So."

"Yeah," you agree with a sigh. "But, well, I thought you'd want to know, and I did promise."

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha," Sayaka says. "Thanks."

"It's appreciated," Homura murmurs. "Thank you, Sabrina."

You hold your tongue rather than respond, simply smiling and letting them think it through in their own time. Predictably, Sayaka's the first to crack, blowing out an explosive breath and scuffing her feet against the pavement.

"Alright! Tokyo?" she says.

"Right, well... like I said to Homura, I don't like how close it came to revealing, y'know. The other horrible secret about being a magical girl to Madoka," you say, summarizing for Sayaka. "And even though it didn't, it means that Madoka knows that there's a big secret surrounding that, one that we don't want her to know."

"Mmrg," Sayaka says, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "So I was out for a good part of that, but for what it's worth, Madoka wasn't... isn't that concerned about the secret?" She turns to address Homura directly. "Like, I know you didn't get nabbed by Toshimichi's freeze-field so you got a read on her the whole time, but y'know. I've known her since we were kids."

Homura nods wordlessly, startled surprise flickering across her face for a second.

Sayaka rolls her eyes.

"I'm not blind, you know," Sayaka grumbles. She turns back to you, planting her fists on her hips. "Anyway. So we're talking prevention?"

"Prevention and sorting out what we're all thinking about that situation, yeah," you say. "Just to get everyone on the same page."

"How are you feeling?" Homura asks. "Mami was there too."

"Huh, right, yeah," Sayaka says. "She got frozen too, but... yeah. You're worried about what'd happen if she finds out, right?"

You blink in surprise, a rush of warmth flooding through you for the consideration.

"I was..." You blow out a breath. "In the moment? I was too caught up to be scared. After, I was angry that Miss Taeko would try to hurt us with that knowledge. Intellectually I know that no harm was done, but... yeah. So I guess I'm in the same boat as Homura - worried, but aware that we kind of threaded the needle?"

"Mmrm," Sayaka says. She gives you a curious, pensive look.

"I..." you start, then trail off hesitantly, flicking a glance at Mami's frozen form, then facing Homura properly. "That's... actually something I wanted to discuss. And I do mean discuss, Homura?"

"What is it?" Homura gives you a grimacing look, as if she already knows she's going to dislike it.

"I... well, she knows that the secret exists already," you say. "And it might be worth giving her the same talk I gave Mami and Sayaka? To tell her that there is a secret, but it's dangerous to know. I know you don't want her to get involved in this, Homura, and I entirely agree. But... she's our friend, and she cares about our opinion. If we ask her to not look into it, I think she would."

Homura grimaces, hunching in on herself and looking away, and that just makes you feel like an absolute heel.

"I... like I said, Homura, this is a discussion. I don't know the best way forward here, either, and we don't need to make a decision now," you say. "And regardless of what we decide, even if we decide now, we're definitely not going to act on it right now."

Sayaka snorts.

"Yeah, let's just leave Madoka and Hitomi with that hanging over her head for the entire schoolday," she says. "Not."

"I don't know," Homura whispers, her hands tightening into fists. "It's..."

Words fail her, and she shakes her head mutely.

"Hey, hey." You put your hand on Homura's shoulder, and squeeze gently. "Easy, Homura. We're not going to do anything without your agreement. Yeah?"

"Yeah," Sayaka agrees. "Madoka and Hitomi are my friends, but... so are you, Homura, Sabrina. And your opinions matter too. And like... I can't even disagree with the idea of keeping Madoka far, far away from this business, as much as we can. It's not that she's weak, but this is, is, it's horrible. And before you say anything, Sabrina-"

She looks at you, confident and assured.

"I don't regret asking," she says. "I wouldn't wish this knowledge on anyone else, least of all my friends, but I don't regret learning about it. It means I can help protect them too. So don't you beat yourself up about it, OK?"

"I..." You huff. "I wasn't going to. Probably fret about it, but not beat myself up."

"Uh-huh," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes. And you can see what she's doing, distracting away from Homura to give her a moment to recover her equilibrium, and you can't help but be grateful for it.

"She's... she's already not interested in it," Homura whispers. "Can't we leave it at that?"

"I'm just worried that if we don't say something, Kyuubey might," you say. "It's why I suggested warning her to be careful. But again, it's not something that we need to rush into, not at all."

"Not like Kyuubey's gonna just pop up while we're in school," Sayaka says. "Bet you'd just shoot it if it did, anyway. So yeah, Sabrina's right. We don't have to rush it."

Homura doesn't respond to that, her eyes turning to Madoka's petrified form as if trying to divine an answer from her face. She doesn't shrug off your hand, so you keep your hand on her shoulder, offering what comfort and reassurance you can, and after a moment, Sayaka moves over too to squeeze her other shoulder.

That gets a minute twitch from Homura, but she doesn't pull away either. Sayaka's eyes meet yours, over Homura's head, and she gives you a searching look as if trying to figure out something - but you have no idea what, so you just raise your eyebrow at her. She raises her eyebrow right back, and turns that contemplative look on Homura.

Lots of speculative thoughts going around today, it feels like. You should get in on that.

The silence stretches out in the endless greys of the timestop, leaving you with just the sounds of your heartbeat and your breathing. It's something that's long become familiar, almost comforting for you - it's Homura's magic, it's her bubble of safety, and one she's willing shared with you. But for Sayaka...

You can see the unease start to creep in, in the way she starts to look around nervously as if spotting movement in the corner of her eyes, the way her breaths shorten a hair. And at the same time, you see her steel herself, exhaling firmly and keeping herself steady and unyielding, staying strong to offer Homura what comfort she can.

Finally, Homura stirs, sucking in a shaky breath and looking up at you.

"I'll... I'll think about it," she says. "I... I will."

"Alright," you say. "And I promise, Homura, that I won't do anything about this without your permission, OK?"

"Me too," Sayaka adds. "Just... yeah. The three of us, we'll figure it out." She grimaces. "And honestly, I don't want to tell Madoka and Hitomi either. It's fucked up, and I... dunno if they'll take it well. I know we're gonna work on trying to... fix the Witch problem, and it helps to keep that in mind, but... man, it's..."

"Yeah," you agree with a sigh.

"My gut feeling says telling them there's a secret and asking them to stay away would work," Sayaka says, and snorts. "Well... Hitomi might want to know eventually. I think Madoka would agree to not look into it, though, so... that leaves the other half of the equation. Prevention."

"Right," you say. "Mm. I can definitely keep up what I already did - it's... pretty obvious if someone's intending to drop a bomb like that, and I can cut off communications in various ways if they're listening in. Heck, I'm... I mean, I need to shield Mami from that, too."

You rub your forehead, frowning.

"The obvious downside is that that's, well, obvious. But like..." you wave your hand vaguely. "The idea of an infohazard that should be defended against isn't... out there? I think?"

"Mm," Sayaka agrees, frowning. "Not like we can keep Madoka or Hitomi away from all this. Especially if... y'know." She fidgets with her Soul Gem ring. "I think... well, there's three of us, and at least two of me. We could always try to have one of us with Madoka and Hitomi in this sort of situation? On top of you keeping a lid on things from your end of things, Sabrina."

"That could work," you agree. "And... Correct me if I'm wrong, Homura, but it shouldn't be a common thing, right? Someone trying to use the secret of Witches against us, I mean."

"It isn't," Homura says, her lips thin. "But the cases where it does happen are... not good."

"Understatement of the year," Sayaka grumbles. "Heck, I can't imagine how I'd react if you hadn't broken it to me gently, Sabrina."

"Yeah, well..." You grin at Sayaka. "Here you are. And I know I said it before, but thank you for... y'know, actually listening through it all before screaming in abject horror and clawing your eyes out."

"You know me," Sayaka says, nodding. "Calm and reasoned and thoughtful, that's me."

Homura gives her a dubious look, disbelief apparently overriding her thoughts. You can't help but laugh, relieved and glad. It's a painful topic for Homura, yes, but she listened, and she's thinking about it. That's all you can ask for.

"Alrighty," you say. "I think that's everything, so... Cleansing for everyone? Any last things to raise?"

"Nah, I'm good," Sayaka says, offering her Soul Gem. "Oh, actually, I'm gonna go ahead and clone myself now, then go lurk, uh... over there somewhere?"

She motions vaguely past the greenery surrounding the path as you cleanse her.

"Sure, that sounds like a plan," you say, and turn to peer at Homura.

Wordlessly, she nods, and holds her hand out to you. A thought drains away the Grief in her Soul Gem, a part of you following Sayaka as she transforms in a blaze of light and splits off a clone, but mostly, you're focused on Homura.

She looks OK.

Perturbed, yes, and obviously thinking hard, if that little furrow in her brow is any indication. More settled than earlier, and neither distressed nor fraying in that way that's painfully familiar to you. Concerned and focused, but not so much so that she doesn't notice your attention.

She catches your eye, and nods slightly. She's OK. There's a lot on her mind, but she's OK. And that's enough for you.

"I'll do better, Homura," you promise, quiet and fervent. "Things.... didn't go as badly as they could have, but they could have gone better, too. I'll do better."

Homura nods again, slower, but there's a hint of concern in her eyes, now.

"Are you OK?" she asks.

You give the question some thought.

"I am," you say. "I'm... thank you, Homura."

"Good," she says, and turns to help Sayaka adjust her posture.

It takes a couple moments of fussing and shuffling about before Homura's satisfied, striding away into the greenery before allowing time to resume with a shudder, life and sound and colour crashing back into you like a wave. Of course, that leaves you right where you were in the first place: right next to Mami.

You catch Mami's eye, beam at her, and reel her in for a hug. And then you tug on one of her hairdrills.

"Sabrina!" Mami giggles.

"Boing," you say solemnly.

"I take it the talk went well, then?" Mami asks. She laughs as you reach for her other hairdrill and boing that one too, retaliating by capturing your hand in both of hers.

"Well enough," you say, looking around and spotting Homura as she re-emerges from the treeline, squeezing her hand gently. "Settled some issues, and we've all got some stuff to think over, but we're good."

"Homura!" Madoka bounces over to her, beaming. "Is everything OK?"

Homura regards her for a long moment, then nods.

"It is," she says. "As Sabrina said, we have... things to think about, but it's OK."

"Weird to hear you say things are OK, Miss Grumpypants Transfer Student," Sayaka says, moving over to clap her on the back. Well, Sayaka's clone, anyway, the real Sayaka retreating somewhere beyond your sensing range.

Hitomi clears her throat.

"We should start moving," she says. "We're in no rush, but we can walk and talk, surely."

[] Head off for the hunt
- [] Something else to do this morning? (word count limit: 150 words)
[X] Call Shin and confirm the meeting later tonight, once you've seen your friends off at school.

=====​

Here we go! Sorry this one was a bit later, was rather wiped last week.

 

[Firnagzen]

"Yup, yup," you say, waving your hands to chivvy everyone. You're not the only ones starting to pick up the pace towards the school either, vague Brownian motion of clumps of students turning into more purposeful motion. "Don't wanna be late for school, ladies."

"But what about you, Sabrina?" Madoka asks, giggling as she starts to walk.

"Regular delinquent, that's me," you say cheerfully.

"Ah, the delinquency of rising early and making sure everyone gets to school on time," Mami says fondly, leaning against your side. "Such a terrible, corrupting influence."

"And ensuring that we have ample balance between work and play," Hitomi adds.

"And worst of all!" Sayaka declares, levelling a dramatic, damning finger at you. "A morning person!"

"Guilty on all counts," you say in the exact same cheery tone.

"Incorrigible," Homura says drily.

You snicker, beaming at your friends as you continue onwards, joining the stream of students and soaking in the crisp, cool morning air, the rain having slackened to a drizzle. All too soon, you reach the gates of Mitakihara Middle School.

"See you later!" Madoka says, waving.

"Yup!" you agree. 'Later' being lunch, of course. "See you all!"

You exchange farewells with your friends, and they head off, Homura nodding at you as they leave you in the lee of the walls. Mami is, of course, the exception, lingering by your side and smiling softly at you, and, well, how could you possibly resist the urge to pull her in for a tight hug? She wraps her arms around you in turn, sighing happily.

"I'm going to miss you," you murmur into her hair, unheeding of the other students passing you by.

"I would tease you that it's only a few hours, but..." Mami huffs, the warmth of her breath soaking through your shirt. "I know exactly what you mean, Sabrina. Especially right after the weekend."

"Yeah," you say, and sigh, forcing yourself to step back. "Alright. I'll see you at lunch?"

"You will," Mami says. She takes a deep breath, then leans in again to brush a gentle kiss against your cheek, and smiles. "Stay safe, alright? You owe me a kiss, and I will collect."

"With interest, I know," you say, blushing. "And... I will. I'll always come back to you, Mami."

"Alright," Mami says, smile unwavering. "Try not to let Kyouko bully you too much, alright?"

You snort, blush fading in favour of a laugh.

"No promises on that," you say. "I'm still figuring out an equilibrium with her, but I'm hoping to actually talk to her today."

Mami accepts that with a nod, but she doesn't move, and neither do you, simply looking at each other with smiles on your faces. You jump as a throat is pointedly cleared nearby, and you blush sheepishly as you glance at Mr Truancy Officer.

"Well, um," Mami says, her cheeks similarly red. She takes a step back. "I should head in."

"Until later, Mami," you say warmly.

Mami nods wordlessly and turns to head in to the school, glancing back every now and then. It's a familiar ritual by now, and you stay there, ignoring the last few students rushing past you and waiting until Mami disappears into the school building with one last look back.

You sigh, smile fading a little, then turn to the truancy officer and bow politely.

"Sorry about that," you say.

"Just doing my job," he says, scratching his chin and regarding you seriously. "Wouldn't want to unnecessarily get someone in trouble for being late. Speaking of which, Miss, I'm sure you have your own school to hurry to?"

"No, actually, I have my accreditation," you say. And it's even true, for a given value of true. The documents prepared for you by Yuuki say so.

"Ah," he says. "Congratulations, then, but you should still be off."

"Understood, thank you," you say, smiling.

You offer him a wave as you head back down the path, making a turn past the neatly manicured trees to where you can sense Sayaka waiting. Rock crunches underfoot as pavement turns into a gravel pathway, shaded by gently waving trees that dump fat, lazy droplets that you bat away from you. She meets you halfway, poking her head out from around a tree and looking around in a manner that's not very surreptitious at all.

"Miss Saotome's in fine form today," she reports. "Not five minutes in and she's picking on Nakazawa already."

"Weekend date turned bad?" you hazard.

"Mmmhm," Sayaka agrees, grinning as she joins you in ambling along the shaded path. "So, where to?"

"Back home to pick up Kyouko and Yuma, they were still asleep when we left," you say.

"And you didn't wake them up?" Sayaka asks, giving you an impressive side-eye.

"I'd get stabbed," you say.

"Coward," Sayaka accuses.

"On this? Yeah, yep," you say shamelessly. "Tell you what, if they're still asleep when we get back, you can wake her up."

Sayaka squints warily at you.

"Listen, it's no big deal, riiiight?" you say, grinning. "So you do it, show me how it's done."

"... this is a trap," Sayaka decides.

"Nuh-uh," you say. "I've told you exactly what's going to happen, it's just that you don't believe me. Ergo, not a trap. More of a... dare."

"Hmph," Sayaka says. "Maybe I will, then."

"Maybe you will!" you say. "Also, hm. Let's get to the rooftops, I've got an excuse to be out of school, but you don't."

Sayaka shrugs, but follows your lead as you transform and break from the cover of the greenery, bounding up the rain-slick sides of the nearby office buildings until you reach the roof. She gives you a questioning look as you slow to a stop instead of launching yourself at the next building over, looking curious.

"Two reasons," you say, before she can ask, raising fingers to count off on. "Well, three, I suppose. One, I need to make a phone call. Two, I wanna actually talk to you, so we need to not be going full tilt? Three, if we take our time, maybe Kyouko'll be awake by the time we get back."

"Talk?" Sayaka asks, blinking.

"Nothing bad," you say hurriedly. "Just some organizational stuff and wanting to just get your thoughts on a couple of things."

"Ah," Sayaka says, looking relieved. "Sure, cool."

"But first I'm gonna make that call," you say. "So gimme a minute."

"Sure, sure," Sayaka says, shrugging.

She wanders over to the far side of the roof, propping up one foot on the ledge to peer out at the city as you fish out your phone and dial Shin's number. One ring, two rings, three rings... It takes a while before he picks up, but pick up he does.

"Hello, Miss Sabrina!" Shin's voice crackles through your phone. In the background, you can hear... what sounds like him driving? "Are you alright? Though I'm afraid that if you're hoping to talk to Nagisa, I just dropped her off at school."

"Oh! No, no," you say. Back to school, huh? It makes sense, you suppose, and that presumably means that he's on his way to work. "I mean- I wouldn't have objected to talking to her, but I actually wanted to confirm that I'd be available for dinner tonight, if you are?"

"Ah, certainly," he says. "Thank you for following up, actually, I might have forgotten it myself otherwise."

"Thank you for being willing to hear me out," you say. "I didn't want to have to leave Nagisa aside on Saturday, but... well, the reason I did is a pretty long story. Hence, um, wanting to meet up to discuss it properly."

He chuckles into the phone.

"I have to say, I'm intrigued," he says. "Something to do with your mysterious presence here in Japan?"

"Hardly a mystery, Mr. Momoe, but... ahhh, it's really too much to explain over the phone," you say. "So, again, thank you for being willing to hear me out, Mr. Momoe."

"It's not a problem," he says. "I'll text you the address later when I'm not driving."

"Got it," you say. "Until this evening!"

"Until this evening," Shin says, and ends the call.

You exhale.

Alright, that's settled then. For now, though, you turn to glance at Sayaka, who's still peering over the city, as if trying to look for something.

"Penny for your thoughts?" you call to her.

"Mitakihara looks weirdly small from up here," she responds. "And we're not even that high up. But there's so many people living here for us to protect."

"Small? Really?" you join her at the edge of the roof, surveying the cityscape stretching nigh-on from horizon to horizon.

"You know what I mean," Sayaka grumbles, gesturing at the webwork of roads dizzyingly far beneath your feet.

You snort.

"Yeah, I do," you say. "It is a big responsibility for us to take on."

"Mm," Sayaka says, casting one last look out at the city before turning to you. "So, what did you want to talk 'bout?"

"Well, first of all, uh..." You frown thoughtfully. "OK, you haven't talked to Kyouko about our Soul Gems, right?"

"No?" Sayaka asks.

"Right, right," you say. "I... well, I've been looking for the opportunity to tell her, and haven't found one so far, but- we are expecting the Soujos in Mitakihara today. The Soul Gem thieves Oriko predicted, yeah?"

"Yeah, I remember, and that's... that's probably a good idea," Sayaka concedes, grimacing. "I... yeah."

"Mmh," you say. "Frankly, I'd appreciate your help with that, so."

"Right, yeah, you've got my help, of course," Sayaka says, raking her hand through her hair. "Sheeeeesh."

"Yeah," you agree with a sigh. "Anyway. That makes an OK segue into my next topic, which... let's walk and talk?"

"Sounds impractical, but sure," Sayaka says, giving the boundaries of the bare, sodden roof a dubious look.

Still, she obligingly follows your lead when you take off at a light jog towards the next building. A long bound later, you pick up the conversation, raising your voice a little.

"So," you say slowly. "This is more of me sounding out a few thoughts that've been bouncing around my head than anything, and I wanna hear your thoughts about it?"

"Uh-huh?" Sayaka says.

"Right, so..." you ruminate on it for a minute, the wind whistling by you as you jog onwards. "You said something a while ago, about how we're an extraordinarily privileged group, with Mami and Homura to act as our safety nets. To make it easy to be safe. And, er, myself. And that's, well, true."

"Yeah, I noticed," Sayaka says. "I mean... yeah, I've gotten to see what other groups do to get Grief Seeds and to survive. I bet I haven't seen the worst of it, either. Fighting all the time just to live, instead of us fighting because it's the right thing to do... yeah."

"Yep," you agree. She's behind you, but you tilt your head far enough to catch an arched eyebrow, her curiosity held in check for now. You slow to a walk on the next office building roof, giving her a serious look. "The thing is, well... you've probably seen it by now, but Mami and Homura are... vulnerable, too. Just in different ways from us."

"From us, huh?" Sayaka says, the tone of her voice amused. "I... know what you mean, sure. But I don't think I'm in the same category as you are."

"Hm?" you say, tilting her head. "Oh, uh... yeah, I suppose so. Though I... wasn't trying to downplay myself, just that... well, Mami and Homura alone are formidable. If you had them both as your sempais, you'd still be incredibly well-off as a newbie magical girl."

"Like I said, I know what you mean," she says, rolling her eyes. "But you're also a huge part of the safety net I do have, and it's not like you don't freak out sometimes too. But that's fine, we're all here for you too. We're all here for each other, right?"

"Well, yes," you say. "However, ahem. The point I was going to make before I was so rudely interrupted-" You pointedly ignore Sayaka's snicker. "-is that I could just tell you you've made a great deal of impact on both Homura and Mami, and yes, me. Or I could simply tell you that under the cover of her own power, Homura's told me the same thing, when no one else was around to hear."

Sayaka blinks.

"... really?" she says.

"Yes, really," you say, smiling. "I'm not going into the details, because those aren't my place to share, but yeah. She did. And you know what she's like."

"W-well," Sayaka stutters, rubbing her nose as her cheeks bloom an embarrassed red. "Yeah, I... she's... gah!" Sayaka throws her hands in the air, kicking her feet against the concrete of the roof and splashing rainwater over the edge. "Where the hell do you get off, dropping something like that on me?"

You snicker, flicking her in the shoulder.

"You're part of the team, Sayaka," you say. "Even Homura appreciates you. Mami does too, and so do I."

"Yeah, I-" Sayaka shakes her head. "Man. Really?"

"Absolutely," you say with a smile. "So chin up, Sayaka. I'm not saying this to butter you up or anything, just... I wanted you to know. I wanted you to know, Sayaka, that you're valued."

Sayaka huffs.

"Yeah, well, so are you," she grumbles. "Like, I gotta say it. I get that you're... I dunno, scared about your power sometimes, but you're part of the team as well. You know that too, right?"

"I... uh?" you say. "I'm not scared of my power?"

"No, uh-" Sayaka makes a frustrated noise. "Not of your magic, of your power. You're terrified of becoming a, a, tyrant. Of just... overrunning us. Yeah?"

"... kind of, yeah," you say, frowning. "I mean, it's a real concern."

"Mmh," Sayaka says. "Right, but my point is that you're part of the team. And we'll help you with that."

[] Proceed with vote
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

---[X] You used to spend a lot of time fretting about her wishing "to be able to do something." It's... there can be disconnects, between wishes and outcomes. Sometimes they're severe. Sometimes other people can make them worse. A lot of the time, people wish for what they think will get them what they want and then find out that they're not happy with it. She was always going to be able to do something, but you were worried about whether she'd end up actually feeling that *what* she was doing *was something*.
------[X] You spent a lot of time fretting about her wish, after she made it. You don't really think about it anymore. It really seems to be working out for her. (We would REALLY LIKE to hear what Sayaka's response to this is!)

=====​

I've got something of a headache, so here, a three-quarter-ish update. A bit of a mid-vote cutoff here, but I wanted to update today.

 

[Firnagzen]

You stare at Sayaka for a moment, then grin ruefully, conceding the point.

"I'm trying to make a point here, and then you had to show me up," you grumble. "I appreciate that, Sayaka, thank you."

"What're friends for, hey?" Sayaka asks, then glances away and scuffs her feet against the rain-slick concrete. "Also, I'm allergic to too much sincerity, you know that."

"Better take your antihistamines, then, because I'm not done yet," you say. "And I'm not just trying to embarrass you via compliments or something, I both have a point to make and I actually want to get a feel for where you are on things?"

"I reserve the right to deflect with snark," Sayaka says, raising her eyebrows. "But sure, hit me."

You grin.

"Well... so, I have to admit, I was actually kind of worried about your Wish, after you made it. Spent a good bit of thought fretting about it, even," you say, waving your hand vaguely at the rain-soaked world beyond. "And I'm not saying that as a dig against you - the opposite, actually. It's context for the fact that I don't worry about it any more, and it's just..."

"Being a magical girl has a lot of downsides?" Sayaka completes for you.

"No- well, yes, but I meant about your Wish specifically," you say, grimacing. "And again, it's not a dig against you. It's that a lot of the time, people... there's disconnects between what people want or expect, and the actual outcomes. People get what they Wish for, not necessarily what they want."

Sayaka frowns, mouth opening as if to protest, then shuts it, looking thoughtful for a moment.

"I... well, you know what I was thinking about Wishing for, don't you?" Sayaka asks, looking awkwardly away from you. "I... well, I guess I'd sort of have gotten what I wanted with that Wish, but... yeah, I guess I can see the problem."

"Yeah," you agree with a sigh. It feels like it's been forever ago, but then again - you'd stepped in to help heal Kyousuke's hand in place of Sayaka's Wish. And that had been one more straw on the camel's back that led to Sayaka making her Wish to be able to help.

The conversation lapses for a moment, the silence stretching between the two of you. The drizzling rain continues to patter off the concrete roof in a neat circle around the two of you, muddling the distant roar of traffic.

"People Wish for what they think will get them what they want," you say eventually. "Problem is, knowing what you actually want isn't the easiest thing in the world. So there's disconnects, like I said. Some people wind up rejecting their magic, even, and that's... not great."

"And you were worried about me?" Sayaka asks, scowling at you and folding her arms.

"Past tense, yes," you say with an easy grin. "I was worried about whether you'd be happy like this, that what you're doing is something, you know? Wishes are... tricky things."

"... eh, I suppose I get it," Sayaka concedes, the frown breaking. "I mean, I don't get it get it, but I get it. I... well, thanks, I guess. I mean... I was a little irritated when I figured out the constant upkeep thing meant going independent wouldn't be an option, but it took like thirty seconds to ask why I would want to?"

She unfolds her arms and grins at you.

"I've got the best team in the world, and it's with my friends," she says, pride shining through her tone. "You and Mami are kind of massive dorks, but that's fine, Homura's cool enough to make up for the two of you. Madoka and Hitomi are in on it too, and we're all doing great things together, and it's not like I'm just a follower there. I'm part of it, from start to finish. So... I mean, yeah, I'm happy."

"... good," you say, exhaling and smiling at her. "I'm glad, Sayaka."

"Honestly, it's almost like my Wish was pushing me in this direction?" Sayaka muses. "I mean, it kind of made it so I'd want to be a part of a team. Which isn't..." The frown returns, this time pensive and thoughtful. "Which isn't really what I had in mind at the time, but isn't isn't what I had in mind? I dunno."

"That made sense," you say drily. "But I suppose I kind of get what you mean. Though really, it... look, trite as it sounds, you were always going to be able to do something, you know? I was worried that you wouldn't be happy with the Wish you'd made for it, but I can see you're making things work for you. So I'm glad. I really am."

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says, waving it off and looking thoughtful. "Y'know, I don't think it's really normal to find your calling in life at fourteen, but like..." She snorts. "I wouldn't mind considering this mine. Feels like fate, somehow."

"Fate is also a tricky topic," you say, making a face. "I mean, magic. Heck, we know girls whose magic can mess with fate, maybe, probably. Fate, karma, etcetera, etcetera. It's weird, and I really don't know enough about it."

"Yeah..." Sayaka says, scratching her head thoughtfully as she glances out at the city. "... hey. You mentioned rejecting magic, right?"

"Yeah?" you say.

"That's... what happened to Mikuni," Sayaka says slowly, as if she's trying to piece a few thoughts together.

"... yeah?" you encourage.

"... so... that's also what happened to Kyouko, isn't it?" Sayaka says. Her frown grows deeper. "I... hrm."

"Huh," you say, blinking as you're reminded, once again, that Sayaka's honestly not at all stupid, no matter the bad choices she made elsewhere and elsewhen, and that Kyuubey's far, far better at grooming magical girls than you'd care to admit. "Well, it's not my place to give any details, but I will say that it's a delicate topic and you should be careful about raising it."

You meet her eyes, sky blue to clear cerulean, and she looks back for a moment before nodding, expression solemn. Message received, then.

"Anyway!" you say after a moment, clapping your hands and grinning. Your face wasn't built to be serious for too long, really. "So, that's what I wanted to say, Sayaka."

"Yeah, alright," Sayaka says, bouncing lightly on her toes. "And, er, thank you, I guess. I appreciate it. I... hope my response was... useful? I dunno what you were looking for, really, and I'm not you, I can't drop entire monologues impromptu."

She sticks her tongue out at you, and you laugh.

"I just wanted to get a sense of where you are with your Wish and what you're doing, honest," you say with an easy grin. "It wasn't so long ago that you made your Wish, after all, and it's important to keep an eye on this sort of life-changing thing."

Sayaka makes a vague grumbling noise.

"Anyway, shall we go?" she says. "I wanna get moving!"

"Eager to see Kyouko again, huh?" you tease. "But yeah, let's go!"

Sayaka doesn't dignify that with a response, simply pivoting on her heel to leap for the next building, sure-footed and undaunted by the drizzling rain. You join her, snickering under your breath as you extend your rain-repelling effect.

You make it back to the apartment in time to witness a ball of red hair shambling to the table, a smaller lump of green attached to her side as both of them unerringly home in on the still-warm breakfast. There's a moment's worth of confusion as sleep-addled brains figure out the covers, and then the swarm of piranhas descend.

"Where does it all go?" Sayaka whispers to you, watching in avidly morbid fascination.

"I'll be honest, I have no idea," you whisper back.

You glance at Sayaka.

She looks back at you.

Twin nods of perfect understanding, two souls in sync for a moment.

You both beat a hasty retreat from the kitchen, lest you be next to be devoured, and decide to wait on the sofa until Kyouko's a bit more coherent. Mugin flutters over to greet you with a sleepy chirrup, and you happily lavish him with scritches.

"... did you really give him cake last night?" Sayaka says after an exchange of chirps.

"Yep," you say. "Seemed fair, everyone else had a slice. Besides, he'd probably have stolen it if we didn't."

"Braaawk," Mugin offers.

"Yes, yes, braaawk to you too," you say.

"Caw," Mugin says, mollified, and fluffs his wings up.

"Do you think Kyouko'll be muc- oh, there we go." Sayaka cuts herself off as Kyouko shambles out of the kitchen and throws herself at the free sofa seat beside Sayaka, landing with a thump. Yuma crawls onto her lap and curls up, eyes firmly closed.

"'morning!" you say.

"'mrng," Kyouko mumbles in response. She yawns hugely, jaw cracking as she rubs blearily at her eyes, focusing on you for a second then staring at Sayaka in blank incomprehension while the gears slowly turn.

"... oh, it's you," she decides after a long moment.

"Good morning to you too," Sayaka grumbles.

"Mrg," Kyouko says. "Too f'ckn' early."

"Oh come on, you big baby," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes. "I had to get up early and I'm in school right now."

"Mrrrrrrrrg," Kyouko counters, reaching out blindly to shove Sayaka into you.

See what I mean? you mouth at Sayaka, who just rolls her eyes. At you, as if you don't have perfectly well founded and completely reasonable cause to be afraid of Kyouko, especially a sleepy, grouchy Kyouko that's just been shoved clear off the sofa in retaliation.

There's no justice in this world, there really isn't. You'd get a spear right in the gut for trying something like that, you're definitely very completely sure, and also definitely very completely sure you're not exaggerating at all about that, but Sayaka gets the velvet gloves. Even Yuma gets gentle handling, rolled off the sofa and onto the floor as she is.

Still, you're not going to risk it, so instead you take a moment to fish Yuma off the carpet -still asleep, somehow- and levitate the coffee table so they have room to wrestle on the floor. Yuma makes a sleepy, content noise and buries her face in your side.

You poke her in the cheek, ignoring the sounds of Kyouko and Sayaka wrestling on the floor.

"You awake?" you ask.

"No," Yuma says.

"Oh, ok," you say, and ruffle her hair gently.

You watch as Kyouko wrangles Sayaka facedown into the rug and sits on her back, knees digging into her shoulders. Sayaka continues to struggle in vain, flailing in annoyance. A fairly decisive win for Kyouko, and pretty much the expected result - the only real surprise is that it took so long. Sayaka's getting better, you suppose.

"More awake now?" you enquire mildly.

"Fuck off," Kyouko grumbles as she hauls herself upright. "So. Wondergirl along for the hunt?"

"Yep," you agree. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Nah, just checking," she says, and turns to glare at Sayaka. "You better be keeping up."

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says. She hasn't bothered to get up, her face still mashed into the carpet.

"So, how've you been handling all the shit that's been going down?" you ask, eyeing Kyouko sidelong.

Kyouko narrows her eyes at you.

"Out with it," she snaps.

"Well, I ask mostly because I'm about to drop some shit on you," you say. "And yes, it is actually important, as in maybe life-and-death thanks to the Soujos."

"For fucking real?" Kyouko groans, closing her eyes. "What is it this time?"

"Just listen to her, Kyouko, it's important," Sayaka says, kicking her feet out and pulling herself into a cross-legged sitting position, the humour fading from her face as she regards the two of you.

"Well," you say. "I told you about the Soujos, right?"

You peer down at Yuma, who's cracked an eye open to listen in. Gently, you nudge her to sit up, steeling your heart against the woebegone pout she levels in your direction. She should listen too.

"Crazy magical girls, two of 'em in one body who collect Soul Gems," Kyouko says promptly. Despite the annoyance in her face, she is paying attention.

You grimace, and... you should probably go right for it. You doubt Kyouko would appreciate you dancing around the topic, anyway, and you know that Kyouko doesn't usually take it too badly. You exhale, and look Kyouko in the eyes.

"The term 'Soul Gem' is completely literal," you say. "Kyuubey extracts our souls and puts them in our Soul Gems."

Kyouko doesn't react beyond her jaw tightening, the lines of her neck going taut as Grief spikes in her Soul Gem. Not to any dangerous degree, no, but nevertheless something you're keeping an eye on. Neither does Yuma react much, making a curious noise and holding her hand up to observe her Soul Gem ring.

"Jesus Christ," Kyouko says, the words leaving her in an explosive rush. "You're sure?"

"Completely," you say. "I'm sorry."

"Big sis?" Yuma asks. She, too, pulls herself fully upright to give Kyouko a look of concern. "Is... is this bad?"

"I... fuck, no, it's- it's fine, Yuma, just a shock," Kyouko shakes herself from trying to bore a hole in the walls with her glare. "I... fuck, I suspected, but..."

She kneels down in front of Yuma, visibly forcing herself to relax, and gently pats her on the head.

"Our Soul Gems are even more important than I told you before, OK?" Kyouko tells Yuma, her voice almost disconcertingly gentle. "You must keep yours safe. That's all."

"OK," Yuma says, looking up at Kyouko with huge, wobbly eyes. "Are you OK, big sis?"

"Yeah, Yuma, I am," Kyouko says softly. "We'll talk about this more later, alright? But keep your Soul Gem safe."

"Yeah," you agree with a sigh. "That's important."

"Mmrg," Kyouko grunts, standing and turning back to you with a raised eyebrow, as if challenging you to comment.

"Well. As to why I'm raising this now," you say, taking that as a cue to continue. "The Soujus are Soul Gem collectors. Recovering those Soul Gems is a priority, because those girls are still alive. Unconscious, but alive. Which leads me to the second point - if your Soul Gem and body are separated by over a hundred meters, you'll disconnect from your body. And as far as I know, the Soujus have an attack that can disconnect you directly."

"Christ," Kyouko mutters. "Fine. Fucking fine. Knew movin' back here would be a pain in the ass. What's the tell?"

"As far as I know, which in this case could be wrong, it requires direct touch," you say, eyeing Kyouko. "So watch out for her trying to touch you."

Sayaka nods at that, looking thoughtful.

"Aight," Kyouko says with a sigh. "We headin' out, or d'you have any more bombshells to drop?"

[] Head off for the hunt!
[] Actually...
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Augh, slightly weird cut-off point again, I'm sorry. But I'm sleepy and wanted to actually update today. Also, reminding Kyouko to cleanse will be an automatic action.

 

[Firnagzen]

"Girl, do not fucking tempt me," you say, levelling an accusing finger at Kyouko.

She raises an eyebrow at you, thoroughly unimpressed, even as Sayaka stiffens, glancing at you.

You roll your eyes.

"A couple more, but nothing that I'm going to drop right now," you say, scowling. "They're... big, but yeah, no. Not now."

"Yeah, I wasn't gonna listen even if you wanted to anyway," Kyouko says, shrugging and transforming in a blaze of red. She summons her spear and slings it over her shoulder, giving you a pointed, annoyed look. "Let's fucking go."

... you know, that's almost a relief, somehow. You ignore Sayaka's snickering as you push off the sofa, Yuma bouncing to her feet beside you with a still-sleepy cheer. You transform, set the coffee table back down, and grin.

"Lead on, O fearless leader," you say.

"Keep up if you can," Kyouko retorts.

She lunges for the window, spear flicking out in a delicate movement to pop the latch and shove it open as she dives through in a single, flowing motion. Yuma bounds after her, her much smaller frame slipping through feetfirst without any problem and leaving you and Sayaka looking awkwardly at each other.

"... I'll reinforce the window so it doesn't break," you decide.

"Probably a good idea," Sayaka concedes, and bounds for the window.

You can't help but wince at the awkward clunk and yell of pain as her elbow collides with Grief, but it's better than getting broken glass in her arm, you hope. At least the Grief gives you a sense of the window, and you manage to avoid slamming into anything, more Grief boiling forth ahead of you so you have a surface to land on.

"Took your time!" Kyouko jeers, clinging to the rain-slick side of the building with one arm and a leg. There's a faint red glow under her fingertips, anchoring her there, and Yuma seems to have picked up the same technique as well, glowing green. You catch a glimpse of a Grief Seed as Kyouko slips it back into hiding with her free hand - just cleansed, then, so you don't need to raise it.

"Yeah, but you're still here," you say drily.

Kyouko rolls her eyes and pushes off the wall, throwing herself at the next building, Yuma following with ease. Sayaka catches your eye for the second time in as many minutes, and you shrug helplessly as she follows on a streak of glowing blue.

Still, Kyouko doesn't push too hard, and you manage to catch up, dismissing the Grief platform in favour of getting in more roof hopping practice. The four of you race across Mitakihara, the drizzling rain driven against you by the wind stealing heat from the air that the meagre sun entirely fails to replenish.

All in all, a nicely ominous morning for hunting Witches, you think. And for confrontations with probably homicidal magical girls. Well, arguably homicidal. Is it homicide if you just leave your victims in suspended animation? Arguably probably homicidal doesn't have the same cachet to it.

... Definitely a serial kidnapper, at least.

Kyouko veers to the side, and you can sense the first Barrier of the day - far off, but you're approaching fast.

"Straight in!" Kyouko calls, and that's your warning as she dives straight through the rain, straight into the Barrier entrance floating right between the office buildings. Yuma follows with a whoop, slamming her mace down and rebounding into a somersault with a flash of green.

Sayaka plunges into the portal, leaving you to take the rear. You fall after them, bracing yourself for the inevitable wrongwrongwrong of a Witch's Barrier, a shock to the senses like a slap to the face after the cold chill of the rain.

You jolt through the veil between realities, and don't bother to restrain yourself. This Grief is yours and no one else's, the distant screech of protest notwithstanding. The colour drains from around you, the Witch's reality fraying from-

From-

Uh.

Well, you're not quite sure what you're looking at. Around you is little more than crumbling grey, shattered edges around a crater gouged from an endless labyrinth of virulent, fluorescent light and colour, a riot of every shade of the rainbow bubbling slowly through a winding tangle of vaguely rubbery tubes. Neons, you realize - lighting neons, like those used for signs, by way of lava lamps: slowly bubbling, glowing liquids running through tubes and rise up to form skeletal walls in demented imitation of the city beyond. A city, if it were built out of those long balloon animal balloons filled with neon slime, and baking slowly from the heat radiating from the lights.

Something goes gloop.

Ahead of you, Kyouko and Yuma have already taken off in a sweeping blur of red and green, dull by comparison to the blaze of colour, spear and mace held ready as they dash through the 'streets'.

"C'mon!" Sayaka yells at you, already taking off after them - first sprinting, then taking to the air with a musical chime, lines of blue igniting beneath her feet.

You jolt into motion, bounding after them with wings boiling out to full span as you leap after them. Not as propulsion, not now, save maybe to help you bound along, but as weapon and shield alike. You stare into the technicolor murk, scanning for the Witch or its Familiars, and...

"There!" you call. "The windows!"

Dozens -hundreds- of faces peering dully at you through windows. Faceless faces, scrawled words replacing any features that you might expect, somehow managing to stare listlessly at the four of you.

"On it!" Sayaka barks, slicing at the air with one sword, then the other, lightning crackling through the air to carve through the glowing walls. Electricity arcs in dancing strikes, Familiars and neon structures alike exploding into virulently coloured goop. An acrid smell, like burning plastic, starts to seep through the air, Sayaka grimacing and leaping back.

You twist to lead with the edge of your wing, cleaving through the walls without breaking stride. Grief forms into blades at your will, hunting through the building in deadly, spiraling patterns and smashing through Familiar after Familiar. It's a dance you've gotten to know well, some part of your mind effortlessly guiding each blade on its jagged path.

Motion up ahead is Kyouko flicking a glance back at you for a moment. But whatever passed through her head in that moment, she slows to bark an order to Yuma, and their headlong charge shifts to something more deliberate, Yuma bounding into a leaping smash of her mace that sends shockwaves of luminescent green rippling out to crash into the buildings, blasting apart the snaking tubes and Familiars alike. Kyouko's spear follows, whipping chains and extending sections striking like a living thing to hunt through the survivors.

The four of you rip through the Barrier in search of the Witch, accelerating as you hit your stride. The Familiars don't attack either, endless ranks of dark scrawls staring down at you uncaringly as you tear through their fellows.

"Witch ahead! Swing left, cut it off!" Kyouko barks over the crash of weaponry and magic, spear swinging wide to gesture towards one of the side roads.

You sense the Witch - you see it too, just a glimpse in the distance. A scrabbling mass, endless arms and legs of different sizes and skin colours, all clawing over each other in a horrid, ungainly gait as the Witch flees with deceptive speed down the streets. Kyouko leaps for the walls, spear dragging through the twisting pipes in a spray of sparks and slime, and that's all you get to see as you dive around the corner, Sayaka hard on your heels.

The Witch flees down the street, bizarrely silent but for the constant slap-slap-slap- of hands and feet against the ground, audible even one street over, even over the detonation of Yuma's magic and clatter of Kyouko's chains. You can hear it crashing into the pipework walls, and it-

You can sense Familiars winking out of existence as the Witch careens drunkenly from one side of the street to the other, the Familiars snatched through windows by their progenitor and crushed into the ground even as it continues to flee from Kyouko.

And...

There.

A slash to the left, then to the right with your wings, Grief flooding forward in a roiling wave. And you've timed it just so that as the Witch slams once more into the tangle of tubes on the side opposite to you, the weakened parts groan under its weight and the entire building slumps. And then Kyouko cannons into it from the back, and the pipes explode.

The Witch crashes through, hurled through an exploding, stinking spray of technicolour goop that you weave through. Hundreds of limbs do the Witch little good as it tumbles through the flood, flailing wildly to no avail.

You could kill it, you know. At any point it was in your range, really, just tear it apart. But no. Not when you're asking Kyouko and Yuma to help, not when Sayaka's at your back, sparking brilliant blue as she gathers lightning between her palms. Not when-

"Hyaaah!"

Kyouko yells wordlessly as she thrusts a hand skyward. The ground explodes, the gleam of a titanic spearhead visible for a moment before it slams through the Witch in a spray of rainbow gore, transfixing it from beneath, then curling and crushing like an anaconda. A heartbeat later, a bolt of lightning crackles past you and-

Propelled by some sixth sense, you duck behind your wings, folding them around you. And just in time, as the Witch pops.

Pops with a sound like a balloon popping.

Pops, and splatters that goo everywhere.

A stunned heartbeat as the Barrier wavers, and then-

"Ew!" Yuma wails. "Ew, ew, ew!"

"Not dangerous," Kyouko observes. "Good work, Yuma, except that last bit."

You poke your head out from the tent formed by your wings, just in time to see Kyouko dismiss the chain wall she'd summoned to shield herself from the explosion. The death of the Witch left you atop what looks like an apartment building, the many air conditioners silent with the residents departed for the day. The steady drizzle continues to puddle underfoot, the chill in the air a sharp contrast to the dry heat of the Barrier.

"Id god in Yuma's mouth!" Yuma wails, spitting out bits of rainbow gunk.

"Gotta duck faster. We'll work on that," Kyouko says, smirking, but kneels down, pulling a bottle of water from somewhere. "Here. Rinse and spit."

"Yuck," Sayaka mutters. It looks like she'd managed to hide behind her cloak in time. A quick snap, and the rainbow viscera slides off, dissipating in the sullen sun and leaving her cloak pristine white.

"You need a better big attack," Kyouko grumbles, turning on her. "That took, what, twenty seconds to charge? That's fucking forever. The lightning's not even yours, right?"

"Yeah, but it's the easiest one to use I've got," Sayaka says with a frown as she pulls her Clear Seed out and cleanses.

"Work out something with your own magic," Kyouko says.

"Er..." Sayaka says, scratching her head. "My magic's copying. I'm not sure I can get anything offens... oh, like your spear. OK. I'll... think about it?"

The Grief Seed interrupts the conversation as it falls to the roof with a quiet ping, landing near you on the edge of one of the few air conditioning units still running. It glimmers in the rain, balancing impossibly on its point as Kyouko marches over and scoops it up.

She glances up at the drizzling rain for a moment. You're sure she sees the way it veers away as it enters your range, leaving a circle clear of raindrops around all of you, but she doesn't comment on that, simply staring at the blobby grey clouds scudding across the sky before turning her glare on you.

"You work on using your hammer," she says with a ferocious scowl. "You still suck with that, no matter how fancy your magic is."

"... Yeah, alright," you say. You doubt that you'll ever be good with it, but Kyouko's right, there's no reason not to practice.

The scowl intensifies, before Kyouko breaks the glare and turns away deliberately.

"Next Witch is... that way," she says, swinging a new spear out to indicate the direction. "Let's get a move on."

You dismiss your wings as you race after them - really, practice aside, roof hopping is fun, a kind of pure exhilaration you don't think you'll ever get tired of as you leap across the chasm between buildings, footing secure despite the puddling rain. And there's that whole thing about practicing not using your wings against the next Witch, of course.

The next Witch you run down uncomfortably near a primary school. Kyouko leads the charge into the Barrier, as expected, Yuma bounding right after her while you and Sayaka take the rear.

This Barrier is a world of silhouettes, each of you a shadow of bold colour amidst the deepest, empty black of the Barrier. Kyouko spares a moment to glance at herself and Yuma, the two of them featureless cutouts of faded crimson and living green, movements leaving trails of luminescent red and green.

OK, that's new, Sayaka says. Her eyes widen as she spins on the spot, outline flaring wide with her cloak. What the fuck?

You blink. You can hear her, despite not actually hearing her - and for that matter, you can see her expression despite the fact that she's just a cutout of cerulean blue.

Barrier fuckery, Kyouko says. Don't worry about it, Wondergirl. Just go for the Witch. And you. Kyouko scowls at you. You're supposed to be practicing with your hammer, not your fancy wings.

Huh? I- you say, and cut off as you catch movement in the corner of your eye.

You're the monochrome white you might expect of this Barrier, but-

Your wings. You'd resisted the urge to form them, but they're there. Invisible outlines, somehow more vivid than the flat monochromes of the Barrier despite not actually having any colour. Movement makes them even more visible as you twist your shoulders back and forth, watching as colour realer than the rest of the Barrier trails in their afterimage.

I... didn't form those, you say, waving your hand through where the wings seem to be. Perhaps unsurprisingly, you manage to wave right through them - intangible, non-existent, but nevertheless present.

Christ, Kyouko mutters. You and your bullshit.

[] Examine/speculate your wings more in-depth
- [] How? Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
[] Just get on with it

=====​

And a happy new year to everyone!

 

[Firnagzen]

You can't help but sneak a look at Sayaka, but all you see is her cloak billowing dramatically upon an unfelt wind. Which, by the way, is so unfair. You don't get dramatically appropriate winds when there shouldn't be one. If you want dramatic billowing you've got to do it yourself.

OK, you know what? Dibs on this one's Grief Seed, if you guys don't mind? you say. Let's not bog the hunt down. I'll probably do a few tests on the go, but nothing major.

As long as you don't get distracted, Kyouko grumbles. She glares at you for a moment longer, a faceless silhouette, and then turns away and starts off at a light jog.

Yuma falls in at her side, bouncing along cheerfully, and Sayaka waves you on with a nod, scanning the featureless horizon. You shoot her a grateful grin - it's not that you're not going to watch for attacks, but having Sayaka watching your back gives you rather more peace of mind to study your wings.

And these are your wings, you're sure of that. Intangible, and... unfeathered, maybe - where Sayaka and Kyouko and Yuma and yourself are all silhouettes of colour, your wings are just outlines, a texture against the flat darkness of the Barrier. Even so, they're your wings. They move with you, attached to your shoulders, and you can flex them with as much ease as raising your hand or taking a breath, Sayaka swaying out of their way without breaking step as you extend your wings to their fullest extent.

Sorry, you mouth at her, but she just grins, waving it off.

I'd definitely do the same if I found out I had wings, she whispers to you. Or, you know, ghost wings. Whatever.

Well, still, you say. Thanks.

Sure, sure, Sayaka says, amused. Now get on it, angel.

The next thing you try is to try and fly. It doesn't work. Not the usual way you fly with your Grief wings, simply willing yourself upwards, nor with flapping. Flapping emphatically does not work, no matter how hard you flap or how stupid you look or how much Yuma stifles her giggling.

Hey, you say, clearing your throat pointedly over the giggling. Is it just me, or is it... really empty in here?

Not all Witches have Familiars, Kyouko grunts. Don't think this is one of 'em, though. They're waiting to ambush us.

Ah, you say, hefting your hammer a little tighter. Briefly, you consider making it one of those silly, cartoonishly large mauls, but quickly set that idea aside. You're... not entirely sure you'd wield it like that, truth be told - it doesn't feel right, even just thinking about it. You probably could, and you could probably figure out some special attacks with it much like Kyouko uses the giant form of her spear, but it'd be just that. A special attack, to be brought out for special occasions and specific uses.

You take advantage of the lack of combat to test your wings a little more. Namely, you leak some Grief into your wings from hammerspace, enough to fill them out to arm's length. And you watch in fascination as they blossom out in the same pure white as the rest of you.

Colour floods down the ghostly outlines of your wings and stops abruptly, exactly to the extent that you'd expected - just a little wider than your outstretched arms. They feel perfectly normal, too, to the touch and to your proprioception, moving and touching exactly as they should. And yet, beyond the monochrome white, the ghostly outlines of your full wings stretch against the darkness of the Barrier.

After a moment of prodding, you dismiss your wings fully, letting the Grief flow once more into hammerspace and leaving the outlines behind.

It's quiet, Sayaka says. Too quiet.

It's quiet because there's no sound! Yuma supplies helpfully.

... yes, thank you, Yuma, Sayaka says, pouting. Look, you can't pass up the opportunity to say that kind of thing, and it's not like Sabrina was taking the bait! Sabrina, back me up here.

It's true, you agree solemnly. And-

A premonition cuts you off with a frisson of warning, and all four of you leap upwards at the same time. Just in time for-

-something-

-to pass through the spot you'd just been standing. And of course, you don't even have the time to land before something explodes on the ground beneath you, a flat, shuddering crack of sound and concussion set loose in the wake of whatever that was.

And then another detonation, and another, and another, rippling blasts of lightless, soundless explosions somehow managing to be bright and loud enough to hurt your ears, reverberating through the endless dark of the Barrier.

Ah, fuck, Kyouko grumbles tiredly as you all reach the individual apexes of your individual jumps and start to fall. Hate this sort.

You've never seen anything of this sort before, but you're inclined to agree as you descend towards the minefield. You could just flare your wings and fly over all the trouble, just as you could dissolve the Barrier, but really, this is Kyouko's hunt. So you'll do it her way, which is-

-which is to take off running, her spear jabbing out at the darkness ahead of her. You can imagine her spear carving furrows in dirt that isn't there, slicing instead through utter darkness with crimson glowing at its tip. Yuma follows suit with a whoop, her mace drawn back over her shoulder as she shifts into a steady sprint.

Yeah, that figures. Aggression, in Kyouko's hands, honed to a razor's edge and shaped into the lynchpin to every strategy. It works for her, and judging by Sayaka's delighted grin as she follows, it works for her too. You snicker to yourself as you follow, hard on their heels.

And speaking of heels: the Familiars of this place are far more aggressive than those of the previous Witch, unseen monsters surfacing out of the darkness to snap at your feet. You get the impression of mandibles and lightless eyes, hard shells and scrabbling claws, looming out of the darkness to rattling cracks of the minefield.

The four of you meet them with magic and steel and ringing shouts, Kyouko and Yuma swapping off from minesweeping duty while you and Sayaka dash into the fray with swords and hammer carving grisly arcs through the Familiars.

Animators really conserving the budget on this one, you observe to Sayaka, swinging your hammer underarm into a pouncing Familiar and watching as it smears into more of the same invisible, unseeable black ichor, somehow stark against the unending darkness of the Barrier.

And the voice acting budget! Sayaka complains. I bet we're subbed right now or something. We better have a cool fight scene coming up.

Big sis, what are they-

Ignore them, Yuma, it might be infectious, Kyouko says. She suits action to word, jamming her spear into the ground and vaulting forward to bring her spear down axe-style into another Familiar.

OK! Yuma says cheerfully, waving at you before scampering on after her.

You focus on your hammer technique, as Kyouko instructed. It's a bit of a struggle to not send Grief slashing out in front of you, and to meet the Familiars with just your hammer. Even so, you manage to fall into the flow of combat, bouncing over a clawing sweep to smash the Familiar into the ground, twirling to hurl that same hammer at the next one, and ducking so that Sayaka's sword can hiss over your head to carve another Familiar in half.

Experimentally, you twist to lead with the outline of your wing against a Familiar - and when that fails to do anything, you finish the twirl by twisting into a chambered side-kick that launches the Familiar into one of Yuma's shockwaves.

The Witch, when you find it, is all but anticlimactic, little more than a dimly glowing orb hanging amidst the darkness. Getting there meant that you'd carved through an entire horde of Familiars amidst the constant explosions of the minefield, but now that you're here - the Witch doesn't even seem to be able to attack. Or at least, it raises no protest to your arrival.

Kyouko snorts, and puts her spear through the Witch.

Reality wavers around you with that familiar shiver in the air, depositing you out atop a forested hill. One of the nature-reserves-slash-parks within Mitakihara's borders, you think. You'll be able to tell when you get past the trees, anyway. Particularly sodden trees at that, fat, lazy droplets collected from the steady drizzle splashing down around you. And-

Yeah, your wings are definitely gone now. Back to being fully invisible and intangible now.

"Hate that sort of Barrier," Kyouko grumbles, then whirls on the spot, snatches the falling Grief Seed from the air, and tosses it at you in a single flowing motion, her costume fluttering around her. "There. Yours."

You barely manage to catch the Grief Seed aimed at your face, but catch it you do, and grin back.

"Thanks," you say.

Kyouko scowls and turns away, scanning the horizon - what she can see of it, anyway, what with all the trees in the way.

"Can't tell where we are, nothing in range," she grunts after a moment. "Let's get up to the rooftops."

You follow as Kyouko bounds up the trees, spear and the glow of magic lending her purchase enough to springboard much further into the air. The Grief Seed you slip into your pocket, reaching out for her name out of curiosity as you do so.

Ichnaea.

The name shivers in your mind as you launch yourself after Kyouko, the four of you soaring through the air in long, graceful leaps. If anyone's looking out of the windows of the highrise office buildings bordering the park, well... that's Kyuubey's problem.

"North-west!" Kyouko barks over the rush of wind and chill rain.

"No rest for the wicked!" you call back merrily, and redirect your path to follow her lead. You can feel Kyouko's eye-roll too, even though she refuses to look back at you.

And since you probably have a few moments to spare before you get to the next Witch...

"Hey, Mami," you call warmly. "How are you?"

"Sabrina!" Mami's response is immediate, and bright and cheerful. "Ah, I'm in biology class now, it's going alright. How are you? How's the hunt going?"

"Quite well!" you say. And the smile probably shows on your face, judging by the way Sayaka squints back at you for a moment in between leaps, then smirks knowingly at you. "Just cleared the second Witch, was a bit of an odd one, but both have been pretty smooth so far."

"I'm glad!" Mami says warmly. "Are you alright, with the rain still going?"

"Yup, staying dry," you respond. "Besides, a little rain wouldn't hurt anybody!"

"Still, do take care of yourself, Sabrina," Mami says.

"I will. I promise," you say. "How's bio class?"

"We're covering more about evolution today," Mami informs you. "Ring species and intergradation - we're currently talking about the Larus genus of gulls."

"Oh, yeah, one of the classic examples of evolution, yeah?" you say.

"Exactly so!" Mami says, sounding amused. "How did I know you'd know about them?"

"Because you know me?" you say.

"It's true, I do," Mami says.

"Anyway, I suppose I should focus on the hunt, and you should focus on class," you say. "See you at lunch, Mami."

"Alright," Mami says. "Stay safe."

You find yourself smiling goofily as you end the call. Talking to Mami never fails to lift your mood, really. Even so: you should focus on the hunt, since it's always a learning opportunity. If nothing else, on how to hunt Witches - Kyouko's far better at finding them than you are, even with your Grief sense.

"Speakin' of the wicked and all," Kyouko drawls a few moments later. "So, there's those couple of extra girls Mami's let into Mitakihara, and not just you."

"Miss Gaikotsu, Miss Wakahisa, and Miss Ono? They've actually been here for a while," you say, blinking. You... huh. You squint at the city whipping past, far below. "... and we're headed for their territory, if you weren't already aware."

"Mmmhm," Kyouko says, and OK, there's got to be a trick to that. You're all but shouting to be heard over the rain and the wind as you hurtle onwards across rooftops, and yet you can hear her just fine. Normally you'd just use telepathy.

"And the other two squatting over east, of course," Kyouko adds after another moment.

"Miss Watanabe and Miss Saito, yes," you say. "They are here on my invitation."

"Another two strays you'n Mami picked up, huh?" Kyouko asks, tilting her head just far enough to give you sidelong glare.

"They couldn't stay in Shiogama," you say mildly. "And it's not like they could up and move that easily."

"Uh-huh," Kyouko says. "Cool."

Her tone is completely even, not a hint of stress in her delivery - but well. Even Yuma looks askance at Kyouko's back, ahead of the group as she is. Sayaka catches your eye, exchanging a wary look with you.

Sayaka motions towards Kyouko, then herself, then you, and arches her eyebrow. Not a difficult message to decipher, but actually answering that message is a rather more difficult proposition.

You or me?

[] Let Sayaka talk to Kyouko
[] Talk to Kyouko yourself
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
[] Wave off, just focus on the hunt

=====​

Apologies for the somewhat shorter chapter after the wait, but ahem. It's not like I could break at a later point than this, really.

 

[Firnagzen]

You can't help but cringe a little at the thought of confronting Kyouko about this. On the one hand, you've been hoping for an opportunity like this, and thought that one might come with her opening up a little during this hunt, but on the other, she's Kyouko. More than that, she's cranky. It's not even the threat of violence, really, if you're being completely honest, you don't really mind getting lightly stabbed.

It's just... you're afraid of it going wrong. She's Kyouko, and, yes, she's cranky. You want to be her friend. You want her around - for Mami's sake, for Sayaka's sake, for Yuma's sake. For your own sake, because jaded and cynical and generally irascible she might be, but she's also smart and unflinchingly loyal and caring. Deep down, but still.

And Mami still considers her a friend.

That, alone, is enough reason.

Even so, you're not entirely sure how you should be approaching this one. Kyouko's insecurities about being a charity case, about Mami having replaced her with you and all the other girls new to Mitakihara, about how secure she might be here. Fear for her place here, uncertainty about where she stands with Mami, with you an ever-present reminder that any attempt she might make to re-establish their old dynamic would be doomed from the beginning.

Mami thinks that all she needs is time, and maybe she's right. Heck, maybe this is the time she needed, she has been opening up more, and you'd been hoping that this hunt would be what she needed for that last little step.

So there probably is no better time than now. You haven't reached the next Witch yet -and you do rather hope Kyouko didn't set you all up to poach from Masami, but you're pretty sure she wouldn't have- so you have the room to call a halt. And Kyouko brought it up now. Snidely, obliquely, aggressively, but she brought it up now, and you're savvy enough to read between the lines, thank you very much. Then again, it's more like she's wiggling at a loose tooth with her tongue than anything, a sort of morbid, can't-help-herself kind of poking around the edges of an uncomfortable topic.

You flick your gaze back to Sayaka as you land on the next roof, motioning towards her. She can take point on this one, you think, and you'll back her up. You're at least one of the biggest causes of Kyouko's discomfort, and that makes you... not the best person to broach the topic.

Sayaka nods, slowing to a halt with a loud scrape of boots on wet concrete. Kyouko, already on the far edge of the roof, skids to a stop, snagging Yuma by the collar when she fails to stop in time and nearly shoots right over the edge of the roof.

Kyouko turns to face you and Sayaka, eyebrow raised.

"Don't give me that," Sayaka says, planting one fist on her hip and raising both eyebrows aggressively. "You're the one picking at this."

"Picking at nothing," Kyouko growls. "You don't know what you're talking about, Wondergirl."

"Oh please," Sayaka says. "You're not subtle, Kyouko."

... you're... not sure having Sayaka lead was the best idea.

Alright, sure, Sayaka's probably the only one who can talk to Kyouko like that. You sure can't, Mami wouldn't. Kyouko actually respects and likes Sayaka. So Sayaka can. And, well, you're trusting Sayaka to know what she's doing, up to and including annoying Kyouko. And maybe that's a winning strategy?

"Christ," Kyouko mutters, closing her eyes. "Are we doing this? We're doin' this. Fine. Yuma, this is going to be loud. D'you mind going over there for a bit?"

"Uh..." Yuma glances between the three of you.

"We'll be fine, we just need to talk 'bout some personal stuff," you say. "It won't be long, OK?"

"Nuh-uh," Yuma says. Her jaw sets as she turns back to Kyouko. "Someone needs to be on your side, big sis."

"Yuma-" Kyouko kneels down to take her shoulders gently, looking at her seriously. "Please, just-"

"Nuh-uh," Yuma insists. "Yuma will stay. Yu- I will listen for big sis."

Kyouko closes her eyes briefly, tipping her head back to stare blindly at the sky for a moment. The silence spreads, the drumming of the rain shrouding out even the insistent press of the traffic below.

"That's your choice, then," Kyouko grunts. "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Big sis warns me about many things," Yuma mutters rebelliously.

Kyouko makes a quiet, inarticulate noise, and rounds on Sayaka, folding her arms. Behind her back, Yuma's stubborn scowl, a mirror of Kyouko's own, dissolves into a look of faint worry. You catch her eye and nod slightly, both of you stepping aside to give Sayaka room to face Kyouko full-on.

"Let's have it, then," Kyouko growls at Sayaka.

"Yeah, well-" Sayaka falters for a second, then rallies, squaring her shoulders to face Kyouko. "Get that stick out of your ass, Kyouko. Enough of your damn pity party."

The rain continues to drizzle down, pattering off the roof around you in a wide circle.

"What did you just say?" Kyouko's diction sharpens, her customary drawl disappearing.

"You heard me," Sayaka snaps back. "You're not subtle, Kyouko. I can see you being all... tip-toey around Sabrina and Mami."

You know.

Some days, you're glad your hair's already white. It means you can't go prematurely grey out of stress.

Unless maybe your hair does the opposite and darkens so that it goes grey anyway? That wouldn't even make any sense, but what do you know? Magical girls are magic, magic is subjective, people go grey when they're stressed, you are repeatedly and frequently stressed. Quod erat demonstratum.

"Not subtle, hm," Kyouko says, silken. "And why not?"

"Heck if I know," Sayaka says with a shrug, her expression carefully neutral. "But you're the one who keeps picking at the scab. Heck, I wouldn't be talking to you now if you weren't just making a fuss about it. I'm barely even a part of it, other than by being friends with all of you."

"If you're not part of this, and you know it," Kyouko says, quiet and furious. "Then butt out, Wondergirl."

"Sure," Sayaka says, unfolding her arms. "You know who is a part of this?"

She gestures at you, and before either you or Kyouko can open your mouths to protest -you're not sure if you appreciate being thrown under the bus, even if it's a tactical throwing- Sayaka whirls to confront Kyouko, her cape swirling.

"I care about this because you're all my friends," she snaps. "But the only one who's being a passive aggressive ass about it is you. Grow up and talk."

"Yeah, because that's easy," Kyouko snaps right back.

"Of course it isn't," Sayaka says. "But it's not going to get better if you just let it fester."

She takes a step forward, shoulders squared and unwavering in the face of Kyouko's glare. Kyouko, by contrast, sways backwards, one boot on the precipice of the rain-slick roof, and Sayaka stops.

"You've got to make a choice, Kyouko," Sayaka says softly. "No, it's not easy. But no one's laughing at you - no one's judging you."

Kyouko stares at Sayaka for a long moment, then laughs, sharp and bitter.

"I've lost everyone I ever cared about," Kyouko says, her voice dead. "You want to know what this is about? I lost my home. I lost my family, and it was my fault. I lost the only other home I ever knew, the friend who gave me that home, because I pushed her away. And now I'm back here to do it all over again because I can't fucking help myself!"

"And everywhere I go," Kyouko snarls, jabbing her finger at you. "Miss Perfect. Always so eager to help."

By the end of her rant, Kyouko's shaking with rage, Yuma peering worriedly at her as she falls silent. Sayaka's jaw is set stubbornly, and you're... pretty sure that she's ready to rebut Kyouko if you don't step in quickly.

[] Proceed as planned
[] Continue to let Sayaka speak
[] Change your approach
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

-[X] Back Sayaka up, carefully, should the conversation turn in your direction. You don't - won't - regret reaching out and offering to help people. But that doesn't make Kyouko's own feelings invalid.
-[X] Your bottom line is this: Caring for others isn't a zero sum game. You trying to help as many magical girls as you can doesn't mean you don't care about your friends, and Mami caring about you doesn't mean that she can't also care about Kyouko.

=====​

Here we go.

 

[Firnagzen]

Sayaka threw you under the bus, then snatched you back, but now the bus has your scent, metaphorically swerving off the road to bear down on you with deadly intent. Except that said deadly intent is mostly directed internally and you're more like a concrete bollard the bus hopes to wreck itself on as self-flagellation?

That metaphor might have gotten away from you.

The point, then, is that your earlier guesses had been right. Kyouko's problem is with herself, the same simmering anger and self-hatred that had led to her rejecting her Wish. Of course, you're still stuck with the same dilemma as you were before: unravelling that twisted tangle of issues isn't easy.

Of course, you have an idea.

"You know," you say meditatively. "You're not going to push us away, no matter how much you insist on trying."

Kyouko's laughter is derisive and bitter.

"Yeah, of course you'd say something like that," she says, rolling her eyes. "Little Miss Perfect, always loves hearing herself talk."

You sigh pointedly, and fold your arms. Sayaka gave you a lead and a cue, and in a way, so did Kyouko. And it sure seems to be the tone of the conversation, doesn't it? You catch Sayaka's glance out of the corner of your eye, shaking your head slightly.

"What, nothing to say now?" Kyouko says, scorn dripping from her words.

"Oh, is it my turn to speak?" you say mildly, and continue in a perfectly even tone. "Because honestly, it seems to me that your real problem is that you're the one who loves to hear herself talk."

It's your turn to take a step forward, leaning in to glare at Kyouko across the roof, and wonder of wonders, she does shut her mouth and stop trying to dig herself deeper. Yuma's hand tightens on the fabric of Kyouko's costume, preventing her from backing away further - not that she can, with the way she's already right up against the precipice of the roof.

Maybe you could take that as a metaphor, but frankly, it feels like your stomach's in freefall. Yes, you're just following on the tone of the conversation so far, but good grief is this out of your usual wheelhouse.

The shock on Kyouko's face melts into anger as she starts to swell up for a rebuttal, but you beat her to the punch.

"I'm not done," you bark. "Because, Kyouko, the last time you tried this self-destructive bullshit, the only reason you got away with it was because Mami let you get away with it."

"She didn't let me-"

"Yes, she did!" you roar. And you put your diaphragm into it, pitching your voice to cut through Kyouko's reflexive denial. "Both of you thought the other would be better off without yourselves, you, you colossal dumbass! She let you go because she couldn't bring herself to hurt you any more than you could her!"

The silence rings out in the wake of your shout, even the rain seeming to retreat for a moment. And really, you can't help but feel a little satisfaction in the way Kyouko stares at you, mouth agape. Sayaka glances sidelong at you, but doesn't say anything, returning her glare to Kyouko, and Yuma...

Yuma keeps her hand fisted in Kyouko's costume, clinging tightly to her.

"I'm not particularly a fan of shouting," you add after a moment. "But dammit, Kyouko, think. Do you honestly think I'd be the only one coming after you if you fled? Mami, Sayaka, me. Homura... wouldn't. She'd be playing backline defense while we go haring off after you." You give her a flat look. "Yeah, it's probably convenient for your, your emotional self-injury habit to believe that yeah, Miss Nosy Busybody-" you gesture sarcastically at yourself, "-would be the only one who cares enough to come after you, but you'd be wrong."

"'Emotional self-injury habit'?" Kyouko demands incredulously. It seems she's managed to gather herself while you had your turn, leaning forward in the face of your speech.

But that's fine. You're not trying to browbeat Kyouko into compliance. There's no way in hell that would actually work, anyway, not on her. All you're trying to do is... speak her language. You don't even mean that sarcastically, you want her to listen to you. And if you've taken one lesson from her, from what she's taught Sayaka and what Sayaka used against her, it's aggression.

Controlled, finely tuned and carefully aimed, but aggression nevertheless.

"What do you call it when you keep trying to flagellate yourself for problems you dream up?" you reply evenly. "Seriously. What does that thing you said even mean? 'Here to do it all over again'? Neither of you are the same people you were back then, and what are we, chopped fucking liver? It's a new chance - and dammit, fragile as she is, Mami knows your bullshit this time."

"And it's still fucking happening!" Kyouko snarls back at you, taking a step forward. "I can't- I can see the way she looks at me! All pitying and like I'm some- some pet-"

Ah.

There it is.

"Nope," you say, folding your arms.

"I'm- you do it too," Kyouko says, managing to sneer, but the bite's gone out of it. You can see her blinking rapidly, as if trying to force back angry tears.

"Nope," you repeat.

"I have fucking eyes," Kyouko snarls. "I can see all of your damn projects-"

"Nope," you say, just a touch louder this time.

"What the fuck do you mean, 'nope'?" Kyouko yells, taking another step forward. Yuma tries to tug her backwards, to little avail.

"It means nope," Sayaka says slowly, flicking you a glance. "You're doing it again, Kyouko, we're not... we're not going to yell at you or anything. We like you, dumbass."

You nod slightly at Sayaka. You'd been about to bounce the reins back to her, anyway.

"Really? Because I don't think Miss Perfec-"

"Yes, I do," you say sharply. "Heck, I respect you. Even when you're being a dumbass like this."

"Spare me," Kyouko says, her head dropping. "Christ, I should have just stayed in Kasamino."

"You're a stubborn dumbass, not an idiot," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes and planting her fist back on her hip. "Come on, Kyouko. You're smarter than this, I know you are. Your teaching certainly showed me that much."

"What good is that?" Kyouko snaps, but really, it's all but a wail. "What am I if I just keep on fucking up?"

"Big sis hasn't fucked up." You're not quite surprised when Yuma speaks up, her normally voice dead serious and strident, cutting through the ever-present drumming of the rain. "Big sis, nobody hates you. Nobody wants to hate you."

She's been listening this entire time, that hand twisted in the skirt of Kyouko's costume. But now she releases Kyouko and steps aside to stare up at her, green eyes huge and solemn.

"Big sis, Mami and Sabrina are giving you, us, a home," she says. "A home. Not like my... my old home. A real one, a good one. They wouldn't do that if they hated you, big sis. I know you had... bad arguments with Mami before, but she doesn't care. You know that, right?"

Kyouko... fails to meet Yuma's eyes, her jaw clenched tight.

"Who cares if you deserve it or not?" Sayaka says abruptly. "Take it from someone who's there. If you don't think you do, then make yourself deserve it. Not that complicated."

You glance sidelong at Sayaka.

"What, that easy?" Kyouko snorts.

"Who said anything about easy?" Sayaka asks. "It's simple, but sure as heck isn't easy. But I mean like... you want this, right?"

Kyouko sighs, her expression crumpling as the defiance drains out of her.

Sayaka's frown deepens, and she flicks a glance at Yuma, then you.

"Hey, Sabrina," she murmurs. "You mind taking Yuma, uh, over there so I can talk to Kyouko a moment? Shouldn't be too long, I think."

[] Give them their privacy
- [] Anything to talk to Yuma about?
[] Say something else?
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Ugh, apologies for the late update. Jetlag kicked my ass.

 

[Firnagzen]

"Yeah, I can do that," you murmur back to Sayaka. You don't miss the way Kyouko's eyes follow you and Sayaka - Sayaka hadn't bothered to use telepathy, and low whisper or not, you're sure Kyouko heard, and Sayaka meant her to.

You clear your throat.

"Kyouko, I'm gonna steal Yuma for a bit, 'kay?" you say. You wave vaguely northward. "We're gonna go, uh, over there, and check out the Barrier. We won't go that far."

Kyouko glares at you, then deliberately breaks eye contact to glance down at Yuma, her expression softening. Yuma peers worriedly up at her, looking between her adopted older sister and Sayaka for a moment. She swallows, and nods, letting go of Kyouko's skirt and stepping aside.

"Well, let's leave the adults to talk for a moment," you say, beckoning Yuma over and shooting Sayaka a quick grin.

Her returning smile's a little less than confident, but really, you trust that she's got it. Kyouko actually listens to her most of the time, which is more than you can say for yourself. You can't exactly blame Kyouko for that, given the way you were in the beginning, and how... well, frankly, you've been stomping over every single one of her insecurities and fears in all but the literal sense.

Yuma follows obediently, joining you as you hop over to the next roof over. That leaves you with plenty of range to keep the skies clear over Kyouko and Sayaka, of course, and...

Well.

You could eavesdrop by sneaking Grief in, but giving them their privacy is just the right thing to do.

Instead, you slouch against one of the air conditioning compressors, the machine humming away merrily despite the chill in the air from the unceasing drizzle. Your coat proves waterproof enough to ward off the raindrops coating the warm metal, and you simply exhale slowly, tipping your head up to watch the way the falling droplets part above you like an invisible umbrella.

"Big sis will be OK," Yuma says.

And perhaps that statement is less of a statement and more of a question, but can you blame her?

She's turned out steadfastly strong through all this, supporting Kyouko without hesitation and just as equally offering gentle counterbalance to Kyouko's more self-destructive impulses. Things could have gone so, so much worse otherwise. She deserves good things, and you could certainly offer her some reassurance.

"She will be," you say, studying her for a moment.

Yuma's grown her fringe out a little, and perhaps trimmed it a little so her hair's less of a shapeless mess. Kyouko's handiwork, perhaps. And even then, with deep green hair hanging over her forehead, it's almost enough for you to forget about the cigarette burns there. But she looks better. Not quite so painfully thin as she once was, healthy and even happy in a way she hadn't been before, even with her adopted sister stressed out of her mind. She fidgets under your gaze, then evidently decides to mimick you and slouch against the humming air conditioner.

"Sayaka knows how to talk to Kyouko," you add after a moment of silence. "And... heh. You know, I'm glad you're with us, and with Kyouko in particular."

"Big sis is the best person in the world," Yuma says, defiance sparking in her gaze as she straightens to glare at you.

"She's pretty good, yeah," you concede. Mami's clearly the best person, but you'll allow that other people are entitled to their incorrect opinions. Even if it's Yuma. "I honestly admire her in a lot of ways, for how damn strong she is. But my point was that you've done her a lot of good too. And..."

You huff a helpless little laugh.

"I'm glad you're helping to convince her to stick around?" you say, waving your hands vaguely. "I can hardly pretend I'm perfect, but... well, she wants to reconnect with Mami, I can tell that much, and I'm happy to help you guys out in whatever way I can. And she and Sayaka are friends too, and I'm glad for that, if only because the two of them can actually talk."

Yuma stares up at you, considering you with hard-eyed seriousness that just about breaks your heart to see on someone so young. Too small, too young to have seen as much as she has. But she found something in Kyouko, as Kyouko did in her, and here and now, she finds something in you. You think.

"I want to stick around too," she says at last, reaching out to pat your hand. "Being here is good for big sis, I think, but all of you big people are kind of dumb."

"... ouch," you say, pressing an overly dramatic hand to your heart.

"It's true!" Yuma harrumphs and folds her arms.

"No, no, I'm not disagreeing, just ouch," you say. "When you're right, you're right."

Yuma stares at you suspiciously, then nods, and then, having apparently expended her store of patience for talking to you, proceeds to peek around the humming compressor at your backs to see what Kyouko and Sayaka are up to. And because you apparently have about as much self-control and patience as she does, you join her in leaning ever so slightly around so you can see.

They're far away enough that the rain draws a light, filmy barrier between you, muffling any sound that might make it over to you, but even so, you could probably read her lips if you wanted to. Or follow the conversation with Grief. You resist that urge, though - what would be the point of giving them privacy if you don't actually give them their privacy? But you know what? Peeping over at them is perfectly valid.

They're talking. Or at least, Kyouko is, gesticulating and seemingly ranting angrily. Sayaka's moved closer, just an arm's length away and facing Kyouko with her back to you, her shoulders calm and braced evenly. You watch as Kyouko jabs a finger in your direction -while you hastily duck, but it doesn't seem like she noticed you- and continues.

You watched, impressed, as Sayaka waits patiently until Kyouko runs out of steam, and then she folds her arms. You can't say for sure, since she has her back to you, but she's presumably making her rebuttal.

Kyouko rolls her eyes so hard you can see it from all the way over where you are, but... she doesn't turn away from Sayaka, either. You'll take that as a good sign, you think.

"... we should give Sayaka a bit more time to work on it?" you offer Yuma. "We did say we'd go check out the Barrier, right?"

"Um, right," Yuma says distractedly, still staring at the distant conversation with worry on her face despite her earlier confidence.

"I trust Sayaka," you say. "And you trust Kyouko, yeah? They've got it."

"Mmmh," Yuma says. She reaches up wordlessly, and you take her hand and guide her gently over to the far edge of the roof, in the direction of the Barrier, and-

"I did not!"

Even an entire building away, even with the constant patter of the rain, the force of Kyouko's outrage pushes through like the fist of an angry god.

You wince, resolutely not looking back.

"... I trust Sayaka," you reiterate.

[] Intervene
[] Anything in particular to talk to Yuma about?
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
[] Just proceed

=====​

Uuugh. I'm really sorry to put out such a short update after skipping a week, and one that doesn't actually advance much, but this update has been fighting me in addition to me still settling in after moving to another continent. I'm going to devote more time to it, however, and I'm aiming to update again (and properly) this weekend.

 

[Firnagzen]

You're not going to indulge yourself. Nuh-uh, nope. You're going to trust Sayaka and leave her to it - she doesn't need you hovering over her shoulder all the time, and besides, she has a handle on Kyouko that you don't. Even if she's pushing Kyouko, it's with a purpose and properly considered.

OK, one glance back as you halt on the edge of the roof, because you have about as much self-control as Yuma, who has absolutely zero shame and is staring avidly over her shoulder. You trust Sayaka, sure, but you're curious, dammit!

Kyouko's face is flaming red, almost as red as her hair and glowing like a damn beacon even through the curtain of the rain and dammit, now you're even more curious. There's not that many things that can actually embarrass Kyouko, and embarrassed she is, with her arms folded in a huff and eyes averted from meeting Sayaka's gaze. Sayaka herself seems to be speaking still, having stepped a little closer to Kyouko with her head ducked down - the kind of posture accompanied by a soft, urging tone, you imagine, aaaaand that is enough indulging your curiosity.

Dammit.

You rather hope you can weasel some tidbits out of Sayaka later, or this is going to bother you forever.

You clear your throat and tug lightly on Yuma's hand.

"Let's give them their privacy," you say.

"You first!" Yuma says.

"Yeah, yeah," you say. Off the side of the roof, an easy vault to the next building over -another office building, by the looks of it- brings you into view of the Barrier. Not too far from Sayaka and Kyouko, as a sudden burst of paranoia brings a reminder of the Soujous floating to the forefront of your mind.

You're pretty sure that you yourself would... probably be the target, but you can't rule out the chance that she might attack others, or even hold them as hostage against you. Best to play it a bit safer and not split up entirely - but you're close enough that you can just amble over to the far edge of the roof and peer at the Barrier entrance.

Yuma joins you a second later, bounding over and landing in a crouch, then immediately pivoting and trying to catch a glimpse of Kyouko and Sayaka. To no avail, this time - not with the building in between.

"You know," you say after a moment. "I'm not sure I thought this through."

"Yup," Yuma agrees, having given up on trying to see what's happening and moving up to stand beside you, peering at the Barrier.

It's a Barrier: a hazy, glowing latticework of symmetrical geometry, glowing faintly against the sullen rain and drifting vaguely eastward at just barely above walking pace. And more importantly, you can't really tell much about it from the outside, though you do get the vague impression of jaggedness? You're sure Mami or Homura or, indeed, Kyouko, would be able to tell more, but to your inexperienced eye, it's just... a Barrier entrance, and little more.

No Witch-kissed victims here either, not with the way the Barrier's just floating lazily between buildings. Maybe it's hunting for targets? But then again, you weren't expecting any - you can sense them from a good ways away.

It's also unpleasantly warm on this particular roof, the humming air conditioning compressors radiating enough heat to banish the chill of the rain, proving an unpleasant contrast with the chill in the air.

"Sssssooo," you say after another long minute drags by. "Watched any good shows lately?"

"Mmm... Yuma doesn't kno- wait, no- I don't know if it's good?" Yuma says. "But big sis let me watch Saya no Uta with her! She said it was a classic, very worth watching."

"Huh," you say. "I don't think I've watched that one."

"Big sis would call you a philistine," Yuma says solemnly. "Um... well, maybe she might not admit she watched something so, um, sweet?"

"She'd probably stab me is what," you say.

Yuma tilts her head, giving you a look out of the corner of her eye, the slight smile sliding right off her face.

"Big sis doesn't hate you," she says in a bare whisper, just loud enough to be heard over the rain.

"I know," you say, sighing and scrubbing a hand through your hair. "I know she doesn't. Not hate, but she doesn't like me, either. And like... I sort of know where she's coming from, but I don't understand."

Yuma nods, falling silent again.

"Some of it is anger, maybe jealousy, that I 'took' her place," you mutter, mostly thinking aloud. "Which... well, it's sort of true, but not completely. She still has a place with Mami. It's just... not the same as what they used to have together. And I don't think it can ever go back, because so much has happened since then. And that's one of the biggest parts of what's bothering her."

You blow out an aggrieved breath, rubbing your eyes, then pushing your fist into your temple. Unspoken, of course, is Kyouko's enormous guilt complex. You know where that one started from, too, considering what happened to her father - but again, you're not sure it's possible for you to unravel that. You hope Sayaka's making progress.

"'course, this is all speculation on my part," you say. "I don't know her that well. I really, really hope Sayaka's getting through to her."

"Sayaka doesn't let big sis get away with anything," Yuma says, nodding in agreement. "And big sis always complains about how you just go with everything she says."

"Yes, well, I like to try and accommodate others," you grumble. "I like being nice to people. Makes me happy, makes others happy, except for certain people who are just congenitally contrarian and don't let themselves accept good things."

"I'm not sure what that means, but I'm sure you're right," Yuma says, reaching over to pat your hand condescendingly. "But big sis came here, didn't she?"

"Oh, she did," you say. "That much gives me hope, anyway."

You blow out an annoyed breath.

"Anyway. Enough about that, I trust Sayaka," you say. "How're you liking Mitakihara, Yuma?"

"It's huge!" Yuma says, shining up at you with a smile. "Big sis always told me stories about here, and I could always see it across the river. It's so nice!"

"It is, at that," you say, finding yourself smiling in kind at Yuma's sheer infectious joy. "How's the food and such?"

"You and Mami make good breakfasts," Yuma says. "Even big sis agrees. But she won't admit that, either."

"Hope we make enough, bottomless pits the both of you are," you say in amusement. "Where does it all go?"

"Right here!" Yuma says, patting her stomach.

"... yeah, I walked into that one," you concede. "Anyway. Do you think they're done?"

Yuma screws up her face.

"Won't big sis and Sayaka come over if they're done?" she asks.

"That's probably true," you say. "I- hold that thought."

You cock your head, because you can sense Kyouko and Sayaka moving now, both of them bounding over in your direction, and appearing a moment later. Kyouko flicks a glance over to you, her expression blank, then nods, and brushes past you.

"Big sis!" Yuma cheers, hurrying over and pouncing to wrap herself around Kyouko's leg.

"Hey, squirt," Kyouko says, ruffling her hair, then giving you a challenging look. "We continuin' the hunt, or no?"

You meet Sayaka's gaze, and she nods slightly.

[x] Continue the hunt
[x] Ask Sayaka what happened
- [] How much detail do you fish for?
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Alrighty! Quick-ish update, with more details/fallout to unfold over the next few ones.

Gonna try and keep up the momentum.

 

[Firnagzen]

You nod back at Sayaka, then turn to Kyouko and grin. A success, then, or at least enough of one that Sayaka feels satisfied. Which means, of course, that you're going to spend the next while fishing for as much detail as Sayaka is willing to offer you, because you can't help but love gossip, dammit.

"Yeah, we're continuing, unless you've gotten tired or something," you say.

Kyouko scowls and turns her back firmly on you, at which point you take the opportunity to tip Sayaka a knowing wink. She blushes slightly, then schools her expression and raises a thoroughly unimpressed eyebrow at you.

"You weren't eavesdropping, were you?" Sayaka's the first to reach out telepathically, as you fall in behind Kyouko, her mental voice just as unimpressed as her expression.

"Of course not, what do you take me for?" you say, grinning at her. "I'm winking enigmatically at you so I look like a cool and mysterious manipulator pulling the strings behind the scenes to ensure optimal outcomes for all my friends, even though I have no idea what you actually did. Seems to have gone well, though?"

"... right, sorry," Sayaka says. "Just... that was a lot, and... I suppose it went well enough. Also, sure, everyone definitely thinks you're cool. Definitely. Absolutely. And you're unquestionably mysterious, I have no idea what goes on inside that head of yours most of the time."

"Why thank you for the nice compliments!" you say. "But OK, I'm nosy, so I gotta know, if you feel you can share, what happened? Though... look if it's private and you can't answer, I understand. I'm shameless, but not that shameless."

"Oi, move your asses!" Kyouko yells from up ahead, bounding off the edge of the roof with a smooth leap, summoning her spear midair with a whirling flourish. Yuma follows with a whoop.

Sayaka gives you a sidelong look as you both jolt into motion after Kyouko.

"I'll tell you some of it, since some of it does involve you and Mami," she concedes. "But only part of it! And let's get into the hunt first."

"Yeah, entirely fair," you agree.

It's two short hops across the roofs to catch up to the Barrier, still drifting eastward, but by the time you reach it, Kyouko and Yuma have already gone straight in. With a shrug, you follow, bracing yourself for that horrid, jolting transition and the slap of Witch, Witch, Witc-

-and heat. Blistering, scorching heat, a sharp contrast after the chilly rain. The kind of dry, furnace-blast heat that dries your face and sears the breath from your lungs, accompanied by a roaring gale of sand tearing at your clothes and hair and exposed skin and your eyes as you plunge downwards with no ground in sight.

That's all you have time to see before you're forced to squeeze your eyes shut against the sandstorm howling past you, hurricane winds and clawing sands drowning out virtually everything past a few meters, anyway.

Grief.

All it takes is a thought, Grief unfolding from hammerspace to shield yourself from the sandblast in a million million invisible specks - a shard of Grief to meet every oncoming sand. The same trick as your rain repellent, now turned to a full dome. And even with the relief, even with just those few seconds of exposure, your skin stings, abraded and red on your hands and probably on your face.

Falling, falling, falling. You could flare your wings, but something tells you that the only way to go here is down, and so you spread your arms and legs in the usual skydiver's posture, slowing your descent.

Sayaka. You can sense her over there, that nauseating feel of antimagic radiating from her in short, stuttering pulses and limned in glowing blue with arms thrown over her face as she tries to repel the sand. With a thought, you include her in your protection, enfolding her in a shield of Grief shards too small to see.

Her eyes flicker open a moment later and she flails to stabilize her fall and coughs, hacking up phlegm that she hesitates with before spitting into the wind.

"That sucked," she shouts at you, scrubbing at herself and her costume in a futile effort to get the grit. "Where's Kyouko and Yuma?"

"I can't see them," you say. "Or sense them. Down, most likely?"

"Yeah..." Sayaka says, peering worriedly downwards into the endless brown murk of the sandstorm. "Yeah, feels like we've gotta go down? And I think... maybe a giant sword next time to block the sand?"

"Kyouko?" she shifts smoothly into a telepathic call.

"Down!" Kyouko responds instantly. "Get down here before we finish all the Familiars without you."

"Heh. Well, you heard her," you say, angling yourself into a dive to fall faster, the wind picking up to snatch at your coat and hair. You switch to telepathy, rather than shout over the howling gale. "Now c'mon, spill."

"Well," Sayaka says, joining you in the dive. "Uh. So, the upshot of it is that Kyouko's agreed that she's going to stick around for longer?"

You plunge downwards through the haze of sand, Sayaka at your back and both of you silent for the moment.

"Was... was that really on the table in the first place?" you ask hesitantly. "I mean, I know she was, y'know. Being really hard on herself for being a detriment and all that?"

"Solid maybe?" Sayaka says. "It's hard to tell, honestly, but you heard the way she was talking. She's got this... weird pride thing going on in her head?"

"You say weird pride thing, I say self-flagellation," you grumble. "But that's just semantics, I suppose."

"It'd be admirable if she weren't so stupid about it," Sayaka grumbles. "Being all noble and self-sacrificial for your friends isn't bad, but she's being stupid about it."

You can't help but remember the once upon a never of another loop. Of Sayaka Witching out, and Kyouko sacrificing herself to defeat her Witch, unable to accept living afterwards. And of the past, of Kyouko tearing herself away from Mami, spitting poison to sunder that relationship, because of her own self-hatred.

"Yeah," you say. "She does that, I- whoa!"

You plunge into a different layer of the storm, powerful crosswinds instantly snatching you into a flailing tumble that takes you precious seconds to stabilize. A glance back shows Sayaka sticking close with a determined look on her face, apparently having profited from your warning.

"So how'd you convince her to stay?" you ask Sayaka after a moment.

"Hang on, I wasn't done yet," Sayaka says. "Part of the problem you probably already know? She feels like you're her replacement in a lot of ways. Which I know you can't do anything about, but you should know that. It's frustrating, and I don't know if any of us except Kyouko herself can do anything about it."

"That's about what I expected, yep," you agree. "Heck, I told Yuma as much."

"So yeah, there's that," Sayaka says. "She does... well, she's looking for reasons to stay, right? But she's also looking for excuses to leave. To cut her losses, and avoid the... emotional pain. If that makes sense?"

"It does," you say with a sigh. "Though... honestly, it's a good sign that she's willing to open up to you, if not me? I'm not sure if she'll ever be willing to be open with me, or at least not any time soon, but I'm glad she has you to talk to. And Yuma."

"I tried an appeal-to-Yuma too," Sayaka notes, her tone turning amused. "She said something 'bout Yuma knowing a good grift when she saw one. Which I'm pretty sure means bumming food off of you."

You roll your eyes, even if Sayaka can't see it.

"Yup, that sounds about right," you say. "Though really, I'm happy to feed them. Bribing Kyouko with food's the only reliable way to get into her good graces, anyway, so yeah, I'll keep doing that."

"Anyway. So... I think you gotta give Kyouko and Mami the opportunity to actually hang out. Without you being around," Sayaka says. You can feel Sayaka's grimace all the way from over here. "And... I'm pretty sure you're not the jealous type, but I also know you and Mami are basically attached at the hip outside of school, and you two are absolutely sickening together. So. One of the big reasons Kyouko came back is 'cuz she misses Mami, right? You've got to give them the chance to actually do that."

"Hm," you say, frowning thoughtfully. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Kyouko's only been back a couple of days, but you're right that we haven't really... hm. Part of the problem is that Kyouko's mostly been doing her own thing, of her own volition, but no, it makes sense."

"I didn't tell Kyouko I'd be talking to you about this," Sayaka adds. "Maybe consider giving Mami a push? But subtly."

"Maybe," you say. "Yeah, I'll keep it in mind."

"... also, where the heck is the damn Witch?" Sayaka grumbles. "Feels like we've been falling forever and we haven't even caught up to Kyouko. And- ugh, dammit."

"Did I miss some sand?" you ask, twisting against the wind to peer back at Sayaka. "And, uh, some Witches have really big Barriers. Guessing this is one of 'em."

"No, no, just- sand," Sayaka says, making a face. "It's a Sand Witch. And it's gotten everywhere."

"It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere?" you offer, grinning.

"Yes," Sayaka grumbles. "Yes, it has."

You laugh.

"I'll see about speeding us up so we can catch up," you say. "Though hey, you never did answer how you convinced Kyouko to stay."

And with yourself falling backwards, the wind dragging your coat upwards, you're in a perfect position to watch Sayaka's face shift to a very deliberate, studied neutrality.

"We're gonna hang out more," Sayaka says. "Maybe grab dinner sometime, but really, just hanging out as friends."

"... huh," you say, blinking in surprise.

"I know what you're thinking, and it's not a date," Sayaka says. "I made that clear. I still like Kyousuke. We're hanging out, but as friends. And Yuma's probably coming along too!"

"No, no, that's fair," you say after a moment. You could pick at that particular denial, but really, you respect Sayaka. You respect her enough to not tease her about her reaction. "I'm just surprised that worked."

That doesn't mean you won't rub it in her face if it develops into anything more, though. Or that you won't speculate about it to yourself. Like the fact that the thought did occur to Sayaka, but she's very insistent that it's not a date.

"It wasn't an explicit, like, 'I'll treat you to dinner and you'll stay around' sort of thing, just, I figured she needed more reasons to stay around Mitakihara," Sayaka says. "And she's not a bad person, and I really do want to be better friends with her, so I thought I'd offer to show her around what's new in Mitakihara, and that's all it was. And she was interested enough to hear me out."

"Sayaka," you say firmly. "I believe you. If you say it's not a date, then it's not."

"I- really?" Sayaka peers suspiciously at you.

"Really," you say. "Listen, look, I like to tease my friends, right? But if someone's uncomfortable about it, that stops. Seriously. So. I agree that it has a certain, ah, look to it, especially in our little circle, but if you say it's just hanging out as friends, then that's that. It's as big a deal as you want to make it."

"Oh," Sayaka says. "OK, good. Because really, I do like Kyousuke still. He's so... him."

"Anyway!" you say. "We've dawdled enough, let's go catch up with Kyouko before she gets more annoyed?"

[] Continue with the humt!
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Apologies, not the most interactive of votes lately, but this section's largely done. Still, feel free to vote for any particular additions as you guys want!

Also - in case you guys missed the discussion after the last update, yes, I am entirely aware of what Saya no Uta is here.

 

[Firnagzen]

"The hunt must go on!" you declare, and shift into a full dive downwards.

Which is, of course, exactly when you sense the first Familiar, careening at you out of the sandstorm: a strange, jagged thing, all jutting angles and broken shapes crushed into a vaguely boxy shape devoid of limbs or any real features, even its flight path jerky and haphazard.

Weird, but you've seen weirder. Today, even.

You twist backwards, instantly-formed hammer lashing out into a silvery, backhand arc that cleaves right through the Familiar and smashes it apart into a burst of yet more sand. You're supposed to be working on your fundamentals, and so, the first order of business - you complete the swing of the hammer, an effort of will snapping the haft out to double its length to make it a polearm.

You spare a fraction of a second to think about whether Kyouko might be flattered or offended, but that's a problem for later, because the next Familiar's swooping at you from above, diving right through the sullen heat of the sandstorm. You meet it with a shout and flashing steel, wide, sweeping arcs giving you more than enough reach even as you plunge downwards through the murk. Behind you, you can hear the sound of combat: Sayaka's swords clashing, and the dull booms of launching blades.

And ahead.

The billowing sands light up red, then green, glowing bursts dimly glimpsed and accompanied by the familiar metallic clatter of Kyouko's spear and ringing chime of Yuma's mace strikes, snarls and battle cries sounding through the storm. You flick a glance back at Sayaka, still sticking close at your back, and she nods, grinning widely as she summons fresh swords.

You announce your arrival to the fight with a Grief-thrown hammer, a gleaming silver streak blasting a momentary gap through the sand. In that moment, you catch a glimpse of Kyouko and Yuma, darting through the air on flares of magic as they smash through Familiars with such ease it almost seems choreographed.

Kyouko's eyes flick up, and then past you to Sayaka.

"Finally," she barks, twisting without looking to dodge another of those bizarre, jagged Familiars. "Took your own sweet time, didn't you?"

A backhand stab with her spear takes out that Familiar, without her even looking.

"Yeah, well, it was a long way down!" Sayaka yells back.

Even with the sandstorm closing back in, Kyouko's eyeroll is distinct, and you can't help but laugh. She's just so congenitally contrary, and exasperating it might be, she wouldn't be Kyouko without it. And yet, you know that for all her orneriness, for all her abrasiveness and bluster, she's a good person, as much as any of your other friends.

Ah, well.

You put that thought aside in favour of joining the fight, laying into the Familiars with your extended hammer, whirling steel serving to drive the swarm back - but with more than enough room and maneuverability for them to dart in and out, you find that that's just about all you manage to do.

You throw wide your sphere of safety, encompassing Kyouko and Yuma in your anti-sand bubble - and you force yourself to keep it as nothing more than that, to let the Familiars careen on through.

But that's not all you can do, even fighting the instinct to reach out with Grief. It's like trying to fight with an arm held behind your back - it's instinct to flare your wings or just smash your attackers with Grief. Still, a twist of magic is all it takes to summon a slew of hammers, falling lazily alongside you. You snatch one out of the air and smack the tail end of one, sending it into a spin, and then you slam a baseball swing into the pommel as if driving a spectacularly large nail.

Clink-clong goes the chime of steel, the sound of two strikes blurring into a single noise, your second strike turning the hammer into a silvery streak blasting across the battlefield. You whirl with the momentum, slamming a second hammer into a missile, and then again, and again, and again, shattering the sound barrier multiple times over, and blasting tunnels through the sandstorm and the clumps of Familiars alike.

"Ah... big sis, where's the Witch?" Yuma asks, blasting apart another clump of Familiars with a glowing burst from her mace and shouting over the din of battle. "Yuma hasn't been able to sense it..."

"Not surprised," Kyouko calls back, halfway through a flurry of strikes with her spear, each precision thrust blowing apart a Familiar. "'s all 'round us."

"Wait, it's the sand?" you ask, eyes snapping out into the brown murk of the sandstorm.

"Nope," Kyouko says, popping the 'P' and kicking off a bank of chains, there and gone again in a flash of red. "Yuma?"

"Oh!" Yuma says, brightening. "It's a swarm? The Familiars are actually the Witch?"

"Yup," Kyouko says. "Not too common, these."

"Do we have to kill the-" Sayaka ducks a clawing Familiar midsentence, backhanding it with her sword as it passes, "-them all, then?"

"That or hope it clumps back up," Kyouko grunts. "Sometimes it happens."

"Ugh," you mutter. "Annoying."

"Suck it up," Kyouko says, utterly merciless. "And keep practicing!"

And so you do, the four of you plunging ever downwards through the infinite sandstorm. The crosswinds come without warning, sending you tumbling through the layers even as the Witch keeps swarming around you like piranhas around a carcass, snapping jaws and jagged edges, but you're magical girls. You fight together. Maybe not a team, not yet, and not the same ease as fighting with Mami or Homura or even just Sayaka alone, but with more than enough raw firepower and ability to watch each other's backs and annihilate the oncoming foes.

Of course, the next experiment you try after that is expanding your hammer out to a full on maul. It forms readily enough, magic blossoming out into a weighty, massive hammerhead that sits heavy in your hands, heavy enough that you actually have to put effort into moving it.

Then you swing at a Familiar, and things go rather wrong.

It sends you flailing backwards, barely hanging onto the haft as the sheer momentum sends you tumbling gracelessly across the storm. The Familiar surges forward, darting under your swing, and bites you.

You yell, trying to scrape the thing off as the jagged edges clamp onto your arm, hard enough to draw blood. Pain sears up your arm as it claws up your arm despite your best efforts, tearing through cloth and leaving bloody furrows. Training be damned. You reach for Grief, and then-

It explodes into sand as a massive spearhead flashes past your vision to bisect it.

"Th' fuck was that?" Kyouko barks, sweeping past you in a blur of red, spear exploding into cracking chains that lash out to fend off more Witch-Familiars.

"Trying a new technique," you grunt back, summoning enough Grief to seal your wounds and flicking your arm to send bloody droplets spiralling into the storm. You can heal it later.

"I'm here!" Yuma darts in on a somersaulting flip, flashing green for a moment - and then the pain's gone, your arm good as new. Yuma flashes you a grin, not bothering to stop as she sails onwards to clobber another Familiar.

"Got your back," Sayaka calls. You hear the booming report of her swords as she launches yet more blades, a spray of projectiles to drive back the swarm. "You OK?"

"Yeah," you respond. "Yeah, I'm OK. Annoyed. Thanks, everyone, I've- I've got this."

You're a little more circumspect after that one, and you don't push too hard on the whole rocket-hammer idea you had, either. It doesn't want to coalesce, either, your magic simply failing to form anything even remotely similar, but... the longer handle does work a treat, and all it takes for a thought to tweak the momentum of the hammer and launch yourself across the battlefield.

When the end comes, it's just about entirely anticlimatic, and entirely a coincidence that you even spot it. Sayaka levels her sword, arm extended, and fires the blade through one last Witch-Familiar- and the Barrier unravels.

You find yourself falling out of the sky, reality jolting from simmering heat and dense brown murk into blessedly fresh air and chill rain. You have all of half a second to enjoy that, of course, because you're still falling out of the sky, with unforgiving concrete rapidly approaching below and decaying steel buildings all around you.

Your wings flare wide, Grief blooming across the sullen grey sky and sending you swooping upwards. Cerulean blue ignites in the corner of your eye, a fluttering banner of white twisting into controlled flight as Sayaka's magic sparks, and she soars up to join you. And...

There's Kyouko, her spear lashing around a protruding steel spar and Kyouko herself swinging up to join you, Yuma latched to her side for a moment before throwing herself free and snatching the falling Grief Seed with a cheerful whoop.

"Got it!" she calls, arcing towards the far building and landing with a loud clang that shakes the entire structure - another decaying chemical plant. Or perhaps a concrete batching plant, by the looks of it, multiple cylindrical towers clustered around a squat, moldering steel structure. The only reason Yuma isn't covered in rust, you suspect, is because the rain made it all too wet to be shaken free.

"Man, we went quite a ways in that fight," you note, looking around, because this is definitely the old industrial district, way out east of where you'd entered that Barrier. You wing toward an easy landing on the same warehouse Kyouko's reeling herself towards, Sayaka drifting lazily in the same direction.

"Eh, it happens," Kyouko grumbles, hopping up to the top of that steel spar and slinging her spear over her shoulders. She eyes Sayaka, and adds in a grudging tone, "Doin' better, Wondergirl. Keep it up."

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says, brushing her cape off. "I'm trying."

"And you," Kyouko adds, turning a ferocious scowl on you. "Sloppy execution. Sometimes the only time to actually test a new trick is in a fight, sure, but damn well drop it if it isn't working and try again later."

"Gotcha," you say, nodding. Hey, you won't complain about actual advice from Kyouko. "I mean, I did, but not soon enough, apparently. That said, I don't think that particular idea's gonna pan out. Big hammers don't seem to fit."

"If it doesn't work, it doesn't," Kyouko says with a shrug. "Get a feel for whatever's natural and whatever works. Drop it quick if it doesn't feel right, and if y' want, practice in safety until it does."

"Right," you say, nodding. "I'll be less reckless."

"You'd better," Kyouko grunts. "Yuma, go ahead and use that Grief Seed."

"OK!" Yuma chirps, and obediently cleanses her Soul Gem before passing it to Kyouko, who cleanses her own, then holds the Grief Seed out to you with a pointedly raised eyebrow.

You snicker, and empty out the Grief Seed. Kyouko rolls her eyes as she puts the Seed away.

"Aight," she says, already starting to walk. "Next Witch is... thisaway. We're gonna have to double back west after this one."

"Makes sense," Sayaka says as you all fall into formation. "Also. Sabrina, buddy, friend, pal. Hey." Without breaking step, she swivels to nail you with a glare. "What did you mean, 'especially in our little circle'?"

"Statistics!" you say cheerfully, launching yourself off the roof. "And statistical anomalies!"

"You're a damn statistical anomaly!" Sayaka grumbles as she follows you.

"Guiiii~iiilty as charged!" you carol.

Sayaka groans, and takes two long steps to catch up with Kyouko and leaving you laughing as you take the rear.

[] Onwards!
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

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Another transitionary update, I'm sorry - was honestly hoping to get to the next real plot beat this one, but apparently not. Gonna try to get some writing momentum back, since I've got a good idea of what's coming next, anyway!