Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

[Firnagzen]

Spoiler: Winning vote

[x] What are your morning plans?
- [x] Go visiting somewhere?
-- [x] Noriko, Akemi, and the Soujus

You make it over to Madoka's place at a stroll, content and warm with Mami at your side, despite the chill steadily creeping into the air. The weather forecast predicted unseasonal snowfall tomorrow, if you recall correctly, though you're not sure that's still true given the way the Iowa girls were messing with the weather.

In some ways, unseasonal snowfall might be a good thing - it'd lend additional credence to warnings of other unseasonal weather, like, say, a monstrous superstorm arriving with very little warning.

The windows of the Kaname residence glow with light, an almost palpable sense of cheer radiating into the dark of the night. It's a quiet neighbourhood at this hour, lush greenery transformed into soft, waving shadows by the glow of the street lights and moon.

Madoka's the one to greet you at the door, beaming happily with Tatsuya toddling along at her feet.

"Hi Mami, hi Sabrina!" she says cheerfully, taking a smooth half-step back and expertly scooping Tatsuya up in a side-long carry before he can escape, grunting slightly with the effort. "Good timing!"

"Hi Madoka, hi Tatsuya," you say, returning the smile and carefully ruffling Tatsuya's sparse, dark pink hair. You give him a solemn look. "Tatsuya, I must tender my most sincere apologies to you. The last time we met, I referred to you as a baby. I have since concluded that this was in error, and I apologise from the bottom of my heart for not referring to you as a toddler, as I should have."

Tatsuya stares at you with big, uncomprehending eyes as you bow.

"Um?" he says.

You lean slightly towards Madoka even as Mami muffles her laughter into her hand.

"He is, like, four years old, right?" you stage-whisper to her.

"Just three years old!" Madoka whispers back, giggling. "But he's tall for his age. Come in, come in, Hitomi says it'll be soon and they were thinking of calling you, but you're here a little early. So come in, it's a homework party!"

"Huh, must be your father's fault he's so big," you say, snickering as you shuck your shoes and step in after Madoka.

"Ah, that reminds me that I'll have to do catchup, too, since I wasn't in school today," Mami says ruefully as she follows, swinging the door shut behind her.

"I hope it isn't too bad..." Madoka says as she lets Tatsuya down. He immediately toddles over to you and latches on to your leg, staring up at you in undisguised fascination. "If it's anything like taking a sick day, catching back up with everyone else is always the worst part."

"I'm sure it won't be," Mami says. "And besides, I have Sabrina to help!"

"That's right, you get to monopolize Sabrina," Madoka says, giggling.

"I do indeed," Mami says gravely.

"I, of course, am an entirely neutral party and have no opinion on the matter," you say loftily, reaching down to ruffle Tatsuya's hair again. "What about you, Tatsuya? What do you think?"

"You're like papa!" he says, holding his hands out to you. "Up, please?"

"Sure, sure," you say with a laugh, and bend down to scoop him up into a side-long carry.

"Ah, he likes you." Madoka beams. "C'mon, let's go!"

You share a smile with Mami as you follow Madoka, Tatsuya happily snuggled into the crook of your arm. Madoka heads up the stairs, to the room you recognise as hers, side-stepping around a new chair in the corridor -plain, lacquered wood, but expertly carved- and pulling the door open.

"Hey, everyone," you say cheerfully as you breeze into the room. "Did you know that the word 'rosette', which in English is a French-derived word that could be used to refer to reddish or pinkish shades of hair, also refers to a kind of sausage?" You beam at everyone, especially Madoka. "I'm definitely not imagining you with, like, charcuterie in place of your ribbons, by the way."

"I like sausage!" Tatsuya contributes.

"... so, logarithms, inverse trigonometry, algebraic functions, regular trigonometry, and exponentials last of all?" Hitomi says over Kyouko's muttered 'Jesus Christ,' turning deliberately away from you to face Homura.

Homura nods at you in acknowledgement, then turns to focus on the homework sheets.

"It's a guideline, not a hard rule," Homura murmurs. "And even then, it can be complicated. Look at the next question."

"Mm... arctan," Hitomi says, frowning thoughtfully. "Uhhh..."

"Oh, I know this one!" Madoka says brightly, lowering her hands from her hair and skipping over to grab her pen. "v is one, and arctan is u!"

"Is one an algebraic function?" Sayaka muses. "I mean, x to zero is one, right?"

"Bah, no-one appreciates my genius," you say, sniffing haughtily. "Also, yes, constants are formally zeroth order polynomials."

"I appreciate you," Mami says, patting your shoulder.

"Bah, I say," you grumble as you carefully let Tatsuya down and settle in for the homework session.

It's a little odd to have Kyouko and Yuma here at all - by all accounts, Sayaka wrangled them into showing up with the promise of food, the stack of takeout boxes in the corner testifying to the noble sacrifices of the meals in question. That they're still here is probably testament to Kyouko being bored, but... you're hopeful that it means she's a little more amenable to being social.

And certainly she's content to laze about and throw out the occasional jibe, despite mostly focused on sucking down an ice-pop and the manga she'd produced from somewhere - Yuma flopped on Madoka's bed with an earlier issue of the same series. You don't recognise it, but she and Yuma seem to enjoy it, so it's not like you're going to argue with that. Given the situation, you consider raising that idea of getting Yuma enrolled in school, but... it doesn't seem like the right time to press Kyouko on the matter.

You're happy enough to spend your time helping out with homework, chatting with everyone, and helping Mami catch up on the day she missed. Tatsuya dozes off on your lap at some point, apparently unbothered by the noise and rampant math occurring all around him.

But all good things must come to an end, and in this case, it's interrupted by Hitomi's phone lighting up with a cheerful, tinkling ringtone. She steps out into the corridor to answer it, and when she returns, it's with a firm nod and a slight smile as she catches your and Homura's eyes.

The four of you -Homura, Hitomi, Mami, you- promise to return soon, Madoka gently lifting Tatsuya off you and making you promise to come back soon. And so you head out into the night to meet a harried-looking man who brushes off your apologies with a confused look and a rejoinder that he's being paid overtime for the rush job. Hitomi gives you a sheepish smile when you look at her, and notes that her father helped pull some strings, and you choose not to think about the fact that strings pulled or not, there's apparently little fuss in handing over a house to a teenager.

Homura signs the paperwork with a steady hand and a cramped scrawl of her name.

Yuki meets you and Mami at Warehouse-kun, declining a flight from you, instead choosing to take in the view of Mitakihara at night: a breathtaking web of light and life, woven together by human hands and spirit, and the three of you rejoin Homura and Hitomi before the house, just a few streets over from Madoka's.

It's a sleek, modern building -made with modern materials and standards, apparently- and smaller than the Kaname family home, of course, but it still has a generous, inexplicable garden and patio space. Two stories tall, a grand floor-to-ceiling window 'round the side... entirely dark, for the moment, the utilities not yet set up.

"A lovely place," Yuki says. "Miss Akemi, seeing as the building is yours, would you care to do the honors and to go in first?"

"Does it matter?" Homura asks, looking down at the keys in her hand.

"My magic works best on homes," Yuki says. "If you would care to live here, that would be even better, but I understand that this is a means to an end. Even so, small gestures help - I could have taken claim of this house even before you signed for it, but this is easier and stronger."

"We might turn this into a way station of sorts, I think?" you note, glancing at Homura for permission. She just seems pensive, motioning for you to continue. "We don't have any particular plans nailed down yet."

"I'm aware," Yuki says, flashing a sharp little grin to take the sting out of it. "A waystation... a transitory home, a transitory transport hub. It does feel right."

"I do like the idea of Mitakihara becoming a hub of international magical girl travel," Mami says. "Well... it feels like it already is, some days! But I think that's a topic for another day."

"I still have homework to do," Hitomi notes mournfully. "And don't you dare apologize, Sabrina. This is a worthy cause, and it isn't even remotely you driving all this to happen, or even at this hour."

You shut your mouth with a click.

"You can be terribly predictable sometimes, Sabrina," Mami says, her words bolstered by a firm nod from Hitomi.

Homura snorts softly and strides forward. A jingle of the keys, and the door swings open to reveal the darkness beyond - right up until Homura produces a flashlight and continues onwards, shoes discarded.

"Tadaima," she murmurs. I'm home.

"Okaeri," you respond as you follow her in. Welcome back.

It doesn't take much longer to resolve the business of joining the house to Yuki's network. Cold and empty the house might be, but you do have hopes that it won't always be, and judging by the satisfied smile on Yuki's face as she sinks her magic into the walls and ground and space of the house, it will suffice. Hitomi hangs back and watches with a curious eye, observing the glow of purple limning the house with faint awe and sharp interest.

Still, that's all there is to it, Yuki noting that her she'll revoke her claim on Warehouse-kun and departing with a wave over her shoulder as she vanishes through the doorway. Literally so, disappearing between one step and the next with a pulse of her magic.

"Do you think it'll work?" Homura asks, amethyst eyes on you. But there's something about the way she asked, the set of her jaw and the tension in her shoulders that tells you that the question runs deeper than her words.

Do you think that putting something like this, so close to Madoka, was the right choice? True, it would mean that emergency reinforcements for Madoka would always be close at hand, beyond Homura herself or anyone she can wrangle. But it means trusting another magical girl, it means putting magic near Madoka.

"I think so," you say, and grin. "And even if it doesn't, I'll make sure it will."

"As Sayaka is not here, I feel it is my solemn duty to take up her exhortations in her stead," Hitomi says, raising an eyebrow before she smirks. "Lighten up, you two. Homura, I know it's a lot of money, but you certainly didn't seem to care up until now. If it doesn't work out, I'll help with figuring out what next, too. Maybe renting?"

Homura shrugs.

"You know how it is with realizations setting in only after you commit to a course," Mami chides gently. "Besides, I think we'd all like for this little project to work out."

She gives Homura a meaningful look.

"True, true," Hitomi says. "Shall we head back to Madoka's? I still have a bit of homework I'd like to tackle before we head home for the night."

"Yeah," you say. "Let's go."

Homura is the last to leave, giving the empty house a long, lingering look before moving to catch up. You offer her a smile as she joins the group, and she nods slightly. Worried, but for the moment, satisfied.

The rest of the night passes uneventfully, Tomohisa stopping by with snacks midway through the little homework party. You wind up running late enough that Madoka offers to let everyone sleep over, but ultimately, no one takes her up on that offer, lured away by the siren song of your own beds, and Madoka sees you all off with a smile.

It's late by the time you and Mami make it home, Kyouko and Yuma in tow - Yuma yawning widely and leaning against Kyouko.

"Long day," you say, yawning yourself.

"It does feel like it's been a long day," Mami agrees, sighing happily and stretching. "But a good one. Kyouko, would you and Yuma like to shower first?"

"... you first," Kyouko grumbles, and turns a scowl on you. "In return, you don't wake us up in the morning."

"I make no promises if the smell of food wakes you up," you say with a grin. "But yeah, thank you. Ah... I won't be joining you for hunting Witches tomorrow morning, but maybe later?"

"Tell me 'bout whatever and we'll see," Kyouko says, rolling her eyes and ushering Yuma off to the guest room.

You exchange a helpless glance with Mami, who shakes her head slightly. Best not to press right now, and you've already discussed ideas for how to work things out. Best to leave it be for the moment.

By the time you and Mami have taken your showers, dried off your hair -with a trick of magic Mami shows you- and bedded down for the night, you're stifling yawns of your own. It's not that late by any grand standard, but it sure feels like it's been a long day, and you're grateful for the rest. You're asleep moments after your head hits the pillow, Mami curled up in your arms.

=====​

You awaken to a chill in the air and the alarm in your ears, for once. You almost start reaching out to silence the noise before realizing that it would let the cold air into the nice warm cocoon of blankets, so instead, you smack the button down with just a bit of Grief. You take a moment to luxuriate in the warmth and of Mami's arms around you, but a discontent murmur against the back of your neck tells you that Mami's waking up too.

"Time t' get up?" Mami mumbles.

"A few more minutes," you tell her.

Mami makes another wordless, grumbling noise and tightens her embrace.

It's chilly today - not quite the snowfall promised, you think, but definitely unseasonably cold. You lie there for a few minutes longer before sighing and reluctantly starting to sit up.

"Cold," Mami whines, latching stubbornly onto you to try and retain the heat.

"It is, rather," you say. "But we've got to get up now to make breakfast."

"Do we really have to?" she mumbles.

"'fraid so," you say mournfully. "Wish we could just stay here the whole day, but..."

Mami sighs, eyes still firmly shut as she curls herself tighter around you in an attempt to prevent you from escaping the bed. Sadly, you have to harden your heart and gently chivvy her out of bed and off to the bathroom to ready herself for the day.

By the time Mami emerges, significantly less dishevelled, you already have breakfast started - a corn potage in the pressure cooker, rice in the cooker, and eggs being whisked for omelettes enough to add to lunch. An incongruous mix of food, maybe, but you think Mami would enjoy it, and there's nothing that says a breakfast has to be thematically aligned. And some warm soup against the chilly day sounds perfect.

"'morning, Mami," you say cheerfully.

Mami smiles sleepily and shambles towards you, only stopping when she butts her face against your back and wraps her arms around your waist.

"Good-" you feel her crack a yawn, "-morning, Sabrina. I don't understand how you're always so awake."

"Magic," you say solemnly.

"Must be," she mumbles into your back.

With Mami there, it's your turn to go wash up, and she gives you an amused look when you return - commentary about the mismatched breakfast, but then again, she started frying some fish to go with it, so really, who can say? Either way, it's a good breakfast, your telepathic call full of the usual grousing and morning cheer.

Kyouko and Yuma are still asleep by the time you and Mami head out for the day, to your surprise - you'd half expected the smell of food to wake them up again, but then again, you can respect a determination to sleep in. Still, whenever they do wake up, they've got a big half-pot of soup and fish and omelettes waiting for them. You even remember to collect the cake for Kagoshima girls, storing it in your hammerspace.

The day is beautifully crisp, the chill hanging off the wind and dew and swirling with the wind, and yet, a brilliantly blue sky stretches overhead, the sun just barely beginning to peak over distant buildings. Light jackets and coats abound, the people of Mitakihara undaunted by the cold snap. It's just another Tuesday, after all, unusual weather or not.

"Good morniiiing!"

You're greeted by cheerful calls as you make it to the park in front of Mitakihara Middle School. Madoka and Hitomi have their uniform coats on, but both Homura and Sayaka seem to have decided to eschew them, Sayaka waving enthusiastically at you as she always does.

"'morning, everyone!" you say, beaming at everyone. "Hope you all managed to sleep OK?"

"Ahh, it's fine, I've stayed up later," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes. "'sides, we cleared our homework. That makes it productive."

"Unlike staying up to play video games, you mean?" Madoka snickers, giving Sayaka an impish look.

Sayaka gives her a betrayed look.

"Call of Duty?" you ask idly, a vague memory tickling your mind, of Sayaka identifying one of Homura's shotguns with rather specific terminology.

"... no," Sayaka says rather unconvincingly, looking away.

"Hmm," you say, narrowing your eyes. Sayaka refuses to meet your gaze. "Well, we should get some multiplayer games to play sometimes... Hitomi, do you play, actually?"

"The occasional single player game," Hitomi says. "But I've never touched competitive games, no. What about you, Homura?"

"... I've never tried," she admits quietly.

"Well, we can't have that," Sayaka says. "Bet you'd be great at FPSes or something... well, actually, maybe you'd enjoy something calmer? Hm..."

Homura blinks at her, then you, carefully hidden bafflement on her face. You grin back and shrug slightly - Sayaka means well, after all.

"There are plenty of co-op games releasing, too," Mami contributes with a smile. "We can definitely find something that will suit all of our tastes, I imagine."

"It's settled, then," you say cheerfully. "We'll figure out something that works for all of us... no, wait, we need to figure out what Homura likes, first."

"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Madoka says, clapping her hands. "Oooh, maybe Homura would like Pokemon?"

"It's mostly single-player, though, and I'm not playing competitive against Hitomi," Sayaka grumbles. "Never again."

"It was an aesthetically appropriate team," Hitomi says smugly, turning her nose up.

"Rayquaza," Sayaka says simply.

"Aesthetically appropriate," Hitomi repeats, raising a hand to pat her hair.

"A life orb Rayquaza!" Sayaka complains. "And a tyranitar."

"It could have been worse," Madoka says philosophically. "She could have, ah... what was it? The training for stats?"

"EV training?" you offer.

"Yes, exactly!" Madoka says. "Could have been worse, Hitomi could have EV-trained it!"

You snicker, and nudge Homura.

"Hey, Homura, had a thought - you have a smartphone, right?" you ask, even as Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi slip into an easy rhythm of banter and teasing.

"I do, yes," Homura says. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was thinking that I might make us a game of some kind if we can't agree on one," you say. "Something we would all like."

"If you say so," Homura says. "You're visiting Kagoshima today, correct?"

"Yeah, in the afternoon," you say. "I'll do my best to get them on board, but did you have anything specific in mind?"

Homura hesitates, then shakes her head.

"You'll probably have an easier time recruiting them," she murmurs.

"I won't let you down," you promise.

The six of you fall into an easy, ambling rhythm, meanderingly slowly towards the school, wending past dew-studded greenery alongside all the other students drifting in the same direction in herds and cliques. You're just one of many, friendly teasing and gossip and complaining about school abounding, and it's achingly normal, not a hint of magic coming up.

Finally, it's time for them to head in, and for you to head off. You say your farewells, sharing a hug with Mami. You're graced with a kiss on your cheek, as has become tradition, and then she's off, glancing back at you every few steps. A familiar ritual, at this point, but one that still pulls at you - it will take time for Mami to set aside her fear of abandonment. But she'll have that time, you've long since promised yourself.

You find the truancy officer eyeing you as Mami vanishes beyond the school doors.

"Miss Tomoe's on my list to watch for today," he says gruffly. "She was sick yesterday?"

"She wasn't feeling well, yeah," you say. "But she's feeling much better now."

"I'm glad to hear that," he says. He gives you a long look, then nods. "Best wishes to her, then."

"I'll pass them on," you say, and grin cheekily. "See you tomorrow!"

He nods at you, and you head out. It's only a few minutes before you leave the school behind, a telepathic call reaching ahead of you to check whether the formerly-Shiogama girls are alright with you visiting - and they are, so you take to the rooftops. It's not a long trip across the city before you're dropping down to the apartment, letting yourself into the building via the rooftop access.

"Our angel!(She has come!)" the Souju's twinned voices ring out in your mind well below you actually reach their shared apartment. "What is your wish?(What do you command?)"

[] How do you want to approach the Soujus?
- [] Try to dissuade them from calling you an angel
- [] Try not to show your discomfort with it
[] You're here to check in on the living situation with the Shiogama girls and the Soujus, are you after anything specific?
- [] Also, the Soujus shared a technique for handling Grief. Investigate it more
- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Gaaah, I hate to have left the update this late, but here we go, at least?

Also, so - according to official material Tatsuya's four years old. But as @Godwinson pointed out to me, he's depicted younger than that in the anime, just in terms of what we see on screen, and I was treating him as being younger the last time we saw him here, so... yep. Splitting the difference.

Also also, you know what? It's been a dang long time coming, and it feels good to say this again: thus ends Hazard Course, and thus begins a new chapter: Riding Shotgun!

 

[Firnagzen]

Spoiler: Winning vote

[X] How do you want to approach the Soujus?
-[X] Try to dissuade them from calling you an angel
--[X] Tell them that you'll discuss the accuracy and theology(?) of that later, but that for now you're just asking them to not call you that sort of thing because it makes you uncomfortable. You've got all this power and responsibility, sure, but you prefer to think of yourself as a fellow magical girl first and foremost. Even if they think it's being disrespectful, you'd consider it a personal kindness if they were to be disrespectful like that.
[X] You're here to check in on the living situation with the Shiogama girls and the Soujus, are you after anything specific?
-[X] Also, the Soujus shared a technique for handling Grief. Investigate it more
-[X] Make sure that there's not been too much friction between the Soujus and Noriko, and that immediate needs are handled and any medium-term concerns can be brought up.

"Good morning to you too, Miss Ayase, Miss Luca," you respond evenly, despite the squirm of discomfort and vague annoyance. It's not like you have the right to be annoyed about it yet - you're uncomfortable, yes, but it's not like you've properly asked them to stop yet. That'll be something to do today.

"Good morning!(Good morning, o angel!)" they respond, that familiar bright, feverish intensity burning in their voices.

"I'll be there in a moment, OK?" you say, tamping down on your reaction as you make your way down the steps. "Then we'll figure things out."

"Of course,(As you command!)" they respond.

You take the stairs two at a time, a quick, bouncy pace, and you arrive at the apartment just in time for one of Noriko's bodies to pull it open.

"Good morning!" she says with a quick smile. "Miss... ah, the Soujus told us you were here."

"Good morning!" you respond, smiling easily. "I hope I'm not keeping you from breakfast or anything?"

"No, no, we woke up earlier and ate," Noriko says, waving it off. "Ah... before we go in..." She lowers her voice, bracing one hand against the doorframe to lean forward. "They seem to have concluded that Akemi and I are your followers in some way, and we haven't done too much to dissuade them of that? And it's not totally inaccurate, so..."

"... if it works, I suppose," you say dubiously. It's just as well you'd only planned to ask the Soujus to stop calling you an angel, for now. "Though, er, you know that I'm not-"

"-not an angel?" Noriko says, a smirk flickering across her face. "Weeellll... I don't know about that, considering your magic and all."

You roll your eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," you say. "But no, I mean that I'm not demanding obedience or supplication from you or anything like that."

"Ah," Noriko says. Her expression turns serious, yellow eyes meeting yours. "Yeah, that we do know. We're here because you gave us an escape when we had a dire need for it, and you asked for very little in exchange. It was an easy choice to make." She snorts softly, wonderingly, and shrugs. "But at this point... we're happy to be here."

"I'm glad to hear it," you say, smiling.

"Anyway," Noriko says, rolling her eyes and stepping aside. "Come in, come in."

"Thank you," you say.

You head in to the apartment - it's changed a little since the last time you were here, with a rug, two new chairs, and a few potted plants making their appearances, as well as a poster hanging on the wall, of an idol group you don't recognise. Akemi greets you with a smile, and by the sounds of it, Noriko's other body is in the kitchen. As for the Soujus...

You know where they are, of course, their Soul Gems bright in your minds' eye, but it takes a second for your physical eyes to acknowledge that they are, in fact, sitting slightly apart in a cat-patterned bowl on the coffee table. An admittedly cute cat-patterned bowl, but that just makes it even more incongruous. At the same time, you can sense the antimagic enchants from Kirika - it seems Akemi and Noriko are each carrying one, ready for emergencies. Smart.

"'morning, Miss Saito, Miss Ayase, Miss Luca," you greet as you step into the room. "I hope everyone's well?"

"Good morning!" Akemi says brightly, waving you towards one of the seats. "We're well, thank you for asking, and the Soujus have been model guests, given the circumstances. Ah... roommates?"

"I can certainly imagine worse," Noriko says as she steps past you.

"Of course we were!(How could we do any less?)" the Soujus say indignantly. "We'd never be rude guests!(We had our misgivings, but we trust our angel's command!)"

"I'm glad to hear it," you say, smiling and allowing yourself to be ushered into a kneeling seat at the coffee table. "Honestly, that's one of the reasons that I'm here today - I wanted to make sure that you're settling in alright, and to check if there's anything you need?"

Noriko and Akemi shake their heads in answer to your questioning look.

"As Akemi said, the Soujus haven't been any trouble at all," Noriko says, giving the Soul Gems an awkward look. "Quiet for the most part, and... well, they don't have to eat or anything."

"Almost too quiet," Akemi says, blushing slightly.

"If you're going to do that sort of thing, you should do it in private!" the Soujus protest.

Akemi clears her throat delicately.

"Yes, that was our fault, we're, ah, not used to having such quiet roommates," she says. "Um. Well, they don't even need to use the toilet or anything, and they're mostly content to do their own thing, so... apart from cleansing and, ah, that one incident there hasn't been any trouble at all since yesterday."

"Your Clear Seed is a marvel,(Further proof our journey was worth it.)" the Soujus add. "And you give it so freely.(Our angel's generosity is unmatched.)"

"... Ah, and yes, we've had a little difficulty understanding them when they speak at the same time like that," Akemi notes. "But we discussed it with them, and they were kind enough to try and remember to take turns when talking to us." She smiles fondly at Noriko. "I mean, even Noriko has four sets of ears, but only one soul."

"Sorry!(It's a habit,)" the Soujus say, almost sheepish as their voices slow down, one speaking before the other. "Our angel understands us, but we know that not everyone can. We're trying to remember not to!"

"It's quite alright," Akemi says, smiling slightly. "There's, ah, always growing pains with new roommates, I suppose?

"It's a learning experience!(For our sisters- ah, wait-)" the Soujus chirp. "And we're happy to make accommodations for our sister-followers."

"Yes, just so," Akemi says, giving you an awkward look.

"Oh, before I forget, there's something on my mind I'd like to talk about before you leave, Miss Sabrina?" Akemi says, her eyes flickering briefly to the cat bowl containing their Soul Gems. "Not related, so it can wait until later."

"Ah, sure?" you say, blinking, then purse your lips briefly. This is probably as good a segue as you're going to get. "Though uh... I'm very sorry, given that this is your home, but I hope it would be OK if I have a private word with Miss Ayase and Miss Luca for a moment?"

Noriko and Akemi exchange a quick look, and Noriko gives you a nod as she stands.

"We'll be in the kitchen," Akemi says. "Can we offer you some tea?"

"... thank you, but no," you say, smiling sheepishly at her. "I know it's just proper hospitality, and I appreciate it, but I have drunk so much tea these past few days I'm expecting my back teeth to float away, and I'm expecting to drink more today. I like tea well enough, but like..." You wobble your hand. "Y'know. Also, that phrase is mostly a Southern US thing, I think, and I have no idea why I said it. It's usually about needing the toilet, even, and I don't. Hm. Never mind, let's just forget the last thirty seconds."

You scratch your head, bewildered, as Akemi chuckles.

"It's evocative," she says cheerfully as she stands. "So definitely no tea, then."

"Did we do something wrong?" the Soujus ask, their voices small as Noriko and Akemi leave the room.

You're... not going to get into the whole kidnapping thing right this moment. That one's a gigantic can of worms big enough that you'd have to consider walking without rhythm. For now, you're just taking aim at a much more modest goal, you hope. But even through the trepidation creeping into their mental presence, you can still feel that dancing, fervent spark of hunger. Hunger like a flame, a yawning void: and not one that's pointed at you. Something, someone superficially like you, perhaps, a devotion to their own warped vision of salvation.

"I have a request for you," you say, rather than any of that.

"Yes, anything!" they say, that trepidation turning to instant, fawning glee. Maybe it's your imagination, but even their Soul Gems glow a little brighter, their magic pulsing eagerly.

"Alright. Well... I would like to request that you not call me an angel, or anything along those lines?" you say, and hold up your hands. "We... can discuss the accuracy of that later, but for now, I'm just asking you not to call me that sort of thing because it makes me uncomfortable."

The Soujus don't respond immediately, the glow of their Soul Gems a dull throb. You can feel the magic flowing between their Soul Gems, a flurry of conversation you're not privy to, and rather than interrupt, you simply fold your hands on your lap and wait. To anyone else, you wouldn't consider this a big ask. To the girls with their minds warped by their Wishes, who near-worship you, or at least the idea of you...

You don't know.

You keep your magic poised at the back of your mind, ready to reach out. You're reasonably confident it won't come to a fight, but you can't help but be a little paranoid: and more importantly, this is not your home. This is Noriko and Akemi's home, and you absolutely will not allow their place to be messed up if it turns out that you misread the situation.

"But you are,(Have we displeased you?)" they ask sullenly.

"I don't..." You trail off with a sigh. "That sort of phrasing makes me uncomfortable. I don't like being put above others like that - I've got all this power and the responsibility that comes with it, but I prefer to be just a fellow magical girl, first and foremost."

"But you're more than that,(It wouldn't be right to treat you as any less than you deserve,)" they say, indignation and that impassioned fervour burning in their mental voices as their words spill and twine and tumble over each other, reverberating in your mind. "We knew, we knew it from the moment we were in your presence. We understand that you wish to hide it from others, but we know.(You are the End of Grief, Her hand upon this world. You are the angel of salvation, born of the shattering of that Which Was. It is your prerogative to hide what you are, o angel, but we understood.) We beg your understanding, our angel, but we don't(we can't) believe it right for us to be so casual."

"I..." You hide your grimace, and tamp down the urge to rub your face. The most you allow yourself is to lean back in the sofa, staring down at the pair of Soul Gems glowing softly in the morning light.

There's something about the way their conviction rings in their voices that makes you bite back your instinctive denial. It's not that you entirely disagree with their perspective: you have power unheard of, and a colossal pileup of circumstantial evidence that's difficult to dismiss, and you will reluctantly concede that you do also have the attitude to match, in many ways. You do want to save people, after all.

So they're not really wrong. Entirely the opposite, even, they're most likely right - in broad strokes. You're all but certain you were created by Madoka's Wish, after all. But all those epithets that hang uneasily upon you, and the idea of being divine and of being above others like that... there's just something about the whole construct that sits poorly.

But your mind keeps circling back to the way they say it. That ardent belief. You suspect it's something too deeply enmeshed with the Soujus' worldview: you fit, exactly, that slot in their beliefs. You can't win this fight without getting through that same worldview that led them to conclude that kidnapping magical girls from their bodies was saving them, and that's not a fight you're willing to take on. Not right now.

"I would take it as a personal favour," you say softly. One last try. "I... appreciate that you think that that sort of, ah, respect is my due, but at the same time it makes me genuinely uncomfortable to be called an angel, or anything like that."

There's another long silence, as the Soujus presumably debate between themselves.

"We don't think we can,(We're truly sorry, our angel, but we can't.)" they say at last, their mental voices small. "It's no less than is your due, Lady Vee, and we can't not. We apologize.(We're sincerely sorry.)"

Well.

You tried.

And it's useful to know that to them, the idea of you is more important than you. Maybe it's a result of the warping of their mindsets from their Wish, but even so. It's important to know.

"... alright, fine," you concede. "But please don't try and convince others to take up that terminology. And no scripture!"

"Thank you for clemency,(We thank you for your forbearance,)" they say, sounding relieved. "We will hold our tongues - your work speaks for itself.(They will understand in time. Just as our work brought us to you!)"

"That... will suffice," you say, trying not to sigh. At least they're not insistent on proselytizing about it. Or continuing on their self-appointed mission of 'salvation'.

Feeling eyes on you, and realizing that the noise from the kitchen has died down, you glance over to find Akemi peeking out, and you nod slightly. You're done with the private conversation, as much as it was.

"Ah..." the Soujus venture, uncertainty creeping into their voices. If they had a body or two, you could imagine them poking their fingers nervously together. "May we ask a question, o angel?(It's just a small question, to indulge our curiosity!)"

You nod, then remember that they can't really see.

"Go on?" you say.

"The souls that we saved,(It was your due to claim them,)" they ask. "How are they?"

"They're well. I've left them in the care of a trusted friend of mine," you say, and because you suspect you know what they're going to ask next, you continue, "She has a Clear Seed which she will use to keep them cleansed."

"It's good they're being taken care of,(We never doubted you, our angel! Thank you for indulging our curiosity)" they say, that sharp-edged, fawning cheer seeping back into their mental voices. "Thank you for helping.(They were the ones we could save.)"

"I'm always glad to help," you say firmly, covering the squirm of unease - their idea of helping is very different from yours, after all. You nod at Akemi and Noriko as they return, the latter offering you a brief smile with one of her bodies as they settle back down on the sofa.

"Welcome back!" the Soujus chirp, all evidence of the previous dismay and concern completely gone.

"Er, thanks," Noriko says. "So, were there any other concerns, Miss Vee?"

"Not really any concerns, no," you say. "But ah... OK, so, I came here to check if there were any problems settling in. With that sorted out, if it wouldn't be an imposition on your time, I was thinking we could spend a little time investigating the Soujus' Grief removal technique?"

"Ah, there's no need to worry about taking our time," Noriko says, shaking her head. "The most we were thinking of doing this morning was to go out hunting - but we can do that at any time, anyway."

Akemi snorts.

"And Miss Sakura's haunting the rooftops the whole day, anyway," she says.

"... You ran into Kyouko?" you say, blinking.

"Yeah, couple days ago. And Miss Chitose too," Akemi says. "It's always safer to hunt with numbers, so we mutually agreed that the next time we were out on a hunt we should see if the others were around."

"Yeah, it's always good to hunt with numbers on your side," you agree. Good to know that Kyouko's reaching out, too. "Well. If you're sure I'm not taking up too much of your time, then?"

"We're sure," Noriko says.

"And we're happy to help!" the Soujus say. "Anything for our angel."

"Right, well... I was thinking that we could start with a demonstration, maybe, so we're all on the same page?" you say. "Miss Ayase, Miss Luca? And... mm, well... ideally, this technique is something everyone can learn. So... Miss Watanabe, Miss Saito, if you could take a look too? I'd value a second opinion on it."

"Of course!" the Soujus chirp. "It's nothing compared to your power, o angel, but it's a more humble technique, perhaps better suited for more humble souls."

"That's... the idea, yeah," you say, a little awkwardly. "Though honestly, I'm really, really curious to see how it works."

"We're beginning!" the Soujus say.

Curiosity overrides wariness as the Soujus get to work, and all three of you lean forward, watching. Noriko and Akemi lack your sense of Grief, but even so, you hope they can feel the weft of magic flowing between the Soujus' Soul Gems, cycling in a tight, closed loop until it almost locks in place. To your senses...

The Soujus aren't carrying much Grief in their Soul Gems, having clearly been cleansed recently - possibly just before you'd arrived. Sparkling and shiny, even, and you can imagine they'd requested it to look their best for you. But that's a thought for another time: more relevantly, there is no amount of Grief too little for you to sense, and you can feel tiny wisps of already minuscule traces of Grief peeled away and dragged along by the flow of magic, a willing give and take of Grief transferred between Soul Gems.

And you watch with interest as they turn the flow into a circulation, the wisps of Grief flowing in a loop, tugged along by the flow of magic, and... you watch as slowly, agonizingly slowly, shreds of Grief simply drift free, shaken free. It's a delicate, painstaking dance executed by two souls in perfect synchronization, sleight of hand played with the universe.

You watch even as an indefinable sense of sourness burns through you.

You watch as the freed Grief tries to clump back up. Some of it rejoins the flow, and some of it drifts back to their Soul Gems. But it's overall a net reduction - a glacial, finicky process built on the perfect synchronization of two souls. And it doesn't really handle the Grief, simply releasing it into the environment to merge with the ambient background, but...

You just witnessed Grief being removed from Soul Gems. Not transferred to another, not by Wish magic, and not by you.

By ordinary magic, if such a thing exists.

By a technique that might be learnable.

And yet... your excitement is gone.

"We are done!(There we go!)" the Soujus say. "We... hope it meets your expectations?(We hope you do not consider it trespass upon your domain, o angel.)"

"That... that's a hell of a technique?" Akemi says. "I... I'm not the most magically astute girl out there, but I reckon I'm far from the worst. Noriko, too. And I have no idea how I'd even start pulling something like that off."

"Oh, that's an-(Oh, that's easy- pardon-) that's an easy fix," the Soujus say dismissively. "The more Soul Gems in the loop, the easier it becomes."

"Ah," Akemi says, looking more thoughtful.

It feels like you're burning. Not in any tangible way, physical or magical. But it burns.

It's everything you've been hoping for, after everything. A way to give cleansing to other people, without them having to depend on you. A way to replace Clear Seeds. It's fussy and slow and presumably needs considerable training, but it works.

So why does it burn like this, now that you have it in front of you, that you've seen it happen instead of just hearing about it?

It's a good thing that someone managed to figure out something like this, even if it's a demanding difficult technique to pull off. Something that you can spread to the world, something that people can learn and distribute. It's not gonna be easy. The Soujus might be a unique case, but the technique itself isn't so complicated that you can imagine that it's entirely unique.

A denial claws at your throat, fighting to be set free.

It's something that must have been invented before, by others, and... lost. Forgotten. Suppressed. Suppressed by a certain alien rat. Distributing this technique is something that threatens the Incubator's profit margins, and that will make it a fight, but it's something that doesn't depend on your Wish.

Something that doesn't depend on your Wish.

"Our angel?(Did we do wrong?)" the Soujus prompt, their mental voices subdued.

You blink, shaking yourself. Right. You haven't responded.

"Sorry, sorry," you say, grimacing as you hastily assemble an excuse. "It's just... I got stuck thinking through the implications. It's... maybe I should have put up a privacy sphere for this. It's dangerous, because it's a threat to a certain something's bottomline, you know? And it might intervene if we try to teach this more widely."

"... shit, you're right," Akemi says, frowning. "Didn't think that far."

"Disruptive but also easily disruptible," Noriko says thoughtfully. "And it seems fussy enough to actually pull off that convincing people to not use it might not be that hard. I mean, yeah, it's a good backup technique, but... Miss Ayase, Miss Luca, your Soul Gems weren't even that dirty, were they?"

"No, but it is easier with more Soul Gems," they say. "Besides, any amount of effort is worth it, to cleanse the filth blackening the shine of our Souls."

"I'm not saying it is, but it does mean that other means might seem more worth it," Noriko says.

"It has never spoken against us, but it's inevitable that the work of salvation will not go unopposed," the Soujus add. "We believe you will overcome, o angel!"

"It's never that easy, is it?" you say, sighing and raking both hands through your hair. "Sorry, give me a moment to think. And... don't worry about trespassing on my domain, or anything like that. It's a good thing that techniques for cleansing don't only depend on me."

And even as the lie rolls off your tongue, it burns.

Is it just that it comes from the Soujus? That they, who keep calling you an angel and put you up on that pedestal to all but worship as a divine figure, who kidnapped and disembodied so many people, were the ones to figure it out? Maybe that's part of it, that of all people, it had to be them. That if they have a point about this, genuine insight into your... domain, in their words, then what else might they right about? But it's not the whole of the reason, you don't think.

You glare at a potted plant that has done nothing to earn your ire.

Well.

Feelings aren't rational, you know that.

"I think... I think I need more time to figure this one out," you say, biting your lip as you frantically try to cudgel your thoughts in order. "So we keep this under wraps for the moment, if that's OK with you? And I'll keep thinking about it. But if you figure out a good way to sort this out, let me know, how's that?"

"That sounds reasonable," Akemi says with a measured nod.

"As our angel commands!" the Soujus say cheerfully.

"... and if a certain rat comes sniffing around, you let me know, alright?" you add after a moment. "I... mm. This and the eventual telepathy project... ugh, I'll figure out something. I will."

"If you say so," Akemi says, levelling a doubled, dubious look at you. "I mean, it's not like chasing it off is hard."

"I mean, yeah, but it always comes back, doesn't it?" you say, meeting first her yellow eyes, then the green ones. "But yeah, OK, let me rephrase - let me know if it starts harassing you and you need help getting it to go away? I can try running interference or something."

Akemi nods, satisfied.

"We'll be grateful for your help!(We shall deny that creature at every turn we can, we promise,)" the Soujus add. "Thank you for your consideration, o angel!"

You bite back the flare of annoyance at that, and nod instead.

"Alright. Well... that was about all I wanted to know today, so... I should probably head out. And ugh, I don't want to nag," you say, pulling a face. "But yeah. Any troubles, rat-related or otherwise, let me know, please?"

"We shall," Akemi says. She gives you a level look, the dark pink of her eyes serious. "Miss Vee. You've given us so much just for us to be able to find our feet, and we have. We can hold our own, and this is a small thing for us to handle, by comparison."

"... well, good," you say, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry."

"We appreciate it," Akemi says, sitting forward. "But it sounds like you're headed out?"

"Yeah, I've got some thinking to do, and I don't want to impose while I do that."

"You wouldn't be, but if you're sure-" Akemi waits for your nod befoe continuing, "-then let me see you out."

"Until next time, o angel!(Please return soon, our angel!)" the Soujus call. Their Soul Gems buzz a little in the bowl, Akemi giving them a careful look, but they don't stir any further than that.

Akemi leaves her girlfriend behind to follow you out, waiting politely as you put your boots back on before speaking.

"So, our guests," she says in a quiet voice.

"Yeah?" you say.

"They're well behaved, and I have no complaints about them," she says, the dark pink of her eyes intense beneath her fringe as she focuses on you. "They even seem happy."

"... sounds like there's a but coming?" you prompt.

"Mm," Akemi says, giving you a serious look. "It's not going to last forever. I don't know exactly how long they're willing to wait, but they've been talking about your grand mission and plans and all. More importantly, they talk like they expect to be given a part in it, some mission of their own, which they want to prepare for. They've convinced themselves of it. You get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah. Yeah, alright, I hear what you're saying," you say, frowning. "Uh. Right. I am working on figuring out mental health specialists for us, but... if it gets to a critical point, let me know?"

Akemi snorts.

"Yeah, duh," she says, rolling her eyes. "I'm letting you know of a potential future problem because we're not planning on running into it facefirst."

"You wouldn't believe how many people I know who would. Myself included, sometimes," you grumble. "But alright. Thanks for keeping me in the loop. See you around?"

"Mmh," Akemi says. "Pulling our weight is the least we can do, with what you've given us. See you around."

You smile as the door closes, and only as you turn away do you let it fade. Thankfully, none of them seem to have cottoned on to your discomfort. You head for the roof, then take flight, soaring up over the rooftops of Mitakihara as you try to clear your head.

The mid-morning sun blazes bright and cheerful in the clear blue skies, illuminating a bustling Mitakihara in a gentle radiance. Even with the students in their schools and officeworkers at their offices, the streets throng with activity, of construction, of transport, of people living their lives. It's enough to buoy your mood even as you climb into the skies and they dwindle away to tiny specks amongst the great monoliths of the buildings.

Ugh.

Emotions aren't rational, you know that much. There doesn't need to be a good reason for the Soujus' cleansing technique to burn in your gut like this, but you'd rather think there should be a reason for it. And it can't be just the fact that it's cleansing that doesn't involve your Wish, didn't involve you. It's a good thing, dammit. It is.

You stew on it, banking slowly -and unnecessarily- on the thermals rising high over Mitakihara. But your thoughts go nowhere, circling those same concerns round and around, until you're finally startled from your funk by the feel of a telepathic connection being made.

"Oi. I can see you flapping about up there," Kyouko thinks at you, dry and drawling. "Got a tough Witch here, come earn your keep."

[x] Go help Kyouko and Yuma
- [] Strike up a conversation about...
-- [] The Soujus
-- [] Kyouko's thoughts about...
--- [] Mami
--- [] Sabrina
--- [] Sayaka
--- [] Someone/something else?
- [] Continue hunting with her afterwards
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

And here, finally, we are. I am so, so sorry this one took so long - something about being on vacation just completely drained me of energy for the first while, and it took me a while to get the momentum for writing back. But we're back, with the first update of the year, and it's a big one! Hopefully I can keep this momentum going.

Do feel free to speculate on Sabrina's thoughts there too! She's gonna be thinking about it throughout her hunting with Kyouko.

 

[veteranMortal]

exploertm has been removed from the thread for a week per qm request.
Do not engage with his posts in that time.

 

[Firnagzen]

Spoiler: Winning vote

[X] Witch Hunting therapy
-[X] Check your Soul Gem as you fly over there. You aren't Grief Spiralling, you would've felt that, but better to be sure and see what happened in your Soul.
[X] Ask Kyoko and Yuma if they would be willing to take a turn being the therapists this time.
--[X] Yes, really.
---[X] No, this isn't a prank.
----[X] 5 star buffet?
-[X] Pull a Marshmallow proof barrier out of Hammerspace. No need for space lawyers to have another true-from-a-certain-point-of-view rumor to spread about Sabrina actually just wanting all the grief to herself or whatever.
--[X] Thank Kyoko for putting up with us once again. Yuma is young, but children can see things about people that others miss. (eye-glance at Kyoko super sneakily)
-[X] "So, all of 5 minutes ago, I might have discovered that actually succeeding in removing Grief maybe feels like going against my Wish..."
--[X] "Do you want to hear my Wish before or after I tell you what happened?"
--[X] Soul Gem in hand, start from the Soujou's demonstration and........tell Kyoko and Yuma about how it felt. Honestly.
--[X] Fear of cabbits and/or grief monsters? Jealousy of others intruding on our Wish? General control issues? .....actually desiring Grief to still exist?
-[X] Your soul probably hasn't changed much even if you were directly rejecting your Wish, but you can take a look at it with the Scanner. Maybe the blinker fluid is low?

... you know what?

Witch hunting therapy sounds perfect right now.

Less perfect than all this.

"On my way," you say. "Gimme a direction?"

"East of ya," Kyouko drawls. "Next to the big banana."

You spare a moment to check your Soul Gem as you heel over and reorient east, wings slicing through the air. Negative emotions... that sour burn clenching at your belly and fighting for you to say something sure feels like a negative emotion, and... yes, your Soul Gem has certainly filled up rather more than you'd expect out of a casual morning. But then again, a bad magical interaction might also have the same result, so you're not entirely sure that's indicative of anything. Maybe you need to fill up the blinker fluid? Wait, are tears blinker fluid? Tears are certainly fluids associated with and aiding in the process of blinking, after all. Your eyes feel perfectly fine, they don't need topping up.

You put the matter out of your mind for now - time to meet up with Kyouko.

... hang on.

"... Did you say banana?" you venture.

"Surprised lil' Mis-" Kyouko starts, and chokes her words off before continuing in a milder tone. "Surprised you haven't seen it before. You'll know what I mean."

"... okay..." you say dubiously, continuing to wing your way east.

Kyouko's wayyyy more insightful than anyone would expect from her manner, you reflect ruefully a little later as you glide in to a landing right next to the giant banana, your boots whispering across the sloped roof tiles. Then again, insight or not, you're not sure about this one: some manner of sculpture, you're pretty sure, some kind of big, hollow metal thing curving over the top of some corporate headquarters.

"'s supposed to be horns," Kyouko grumbles as she hauls herself up beside you, both your heads craned back to stare at the giant banana. "Bull market or something. Makes a good landmark, anyway."

"Ah," you say, looking down at the building beneath you to give it a filthy look. "Finance."

Kyouko shrugs, crunching on something in her mouth.

"Tokyo has a giant poop!" Yuma says brightly as she clambers up on Kyouko's other side, perching on an outcropping on the roof.

"... giant poop?" you say, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Giant poop," Yuma says, nodding. "Asahi beer building or something. Yuma saw it on TV!"

"... oh, that one," you say. "It's allegedly a flame, but I don't see it. Why would you have a flame for a beer company, anyway? Alcohol's flammable! A flame is the opposite of what you want for a beer company!"

"Why would it have a giant piece o' shit?" Kyouko asks, giving you a dead-eyed look even as Yuma giggles.

"Well I mean," you say, shrugging. "It's beer. So, y'know."

Kyouko rolls her eyes and dips a hand into a pocket to flick something at your face - a hard candy, it turns out, which you unwrap it with a crinkle of plastic. Tart, lemony sweetness explodes on your tongue, and you hum, tilting your head so that you can feel the breeze on your face, the flutter of Kyouko's hair red-hued movement in the corner of your eye.

"So, the Witch?" you say, somewhat rhetorically.

You can sense the Barrier entrance just down in the alleyway below, the pressure a heavy pulse in the back of your mind. And you can guess why Kyouko called you in to help: there's a weight to this Barrier in your mind's eye, an indefinable sense of power to it. Nothing you expect to be unable to handle, but you're glad Kyouko didn't stand on her pride.

"Mm," Kyouko says, crunching pointedly on her own candy. "Big 'un."

"Alright," you say. "Lemme cleanse us all, and we'll head in."

Kyouko snorts, pointedly fishing out a Grief Seed and using it on her own Soul Gem - Yuma, on the other hand, offers hers up to you with a beaming grin. All it takes from there is a quick, sweeping gesture to pull the Grief free of Soul Gem and used Grief Seed alike, and a thought to condense it into a single wing of blades folding tightly against your shoulder, ready to be used.

And that's fine. Better than fine, even, your stomach loosening a little from that acid clench that you've decided you're not giving any thought to right now. So that just means you can focus on the fight ahead, especially not now with all three of you are plunging towards the Barrier entrance, Yuma whooping as she pivots midair into a picture-perfect diving posture.

Kyouko disappears feet first into the Barrier, and you have a moment with the wind in your hair to brace yourself before you make contact, to brace against that jarring sense of-

-wrong, wrong, Witch!-

-and dislocation as you slip between worlds. Some instinct has you snapping your arm up to block, hammer forming in a flash.

The impact reverberates up your arm with a sharp clang as you dive forward, something cracking past your head. Behind you, the clatter of Kyouko's chains, Yuma shouting as her mace pounds out a strike. Forward flip with your left hand, hammer in your right, instincts screaming - and something massive crashes into the ground just where you were a split second ago. Feet on the ground, pivot, and swing.

You have a moment to take it in, in that crystalline moment between heartbeats. Cloth, animated and colourful and quilted, a little worn and fuzzy around the edges, and yet too sharp to your eyes, standing out in stark relief against the oily static of the world beyond.

Impact.

The cloth folds over your hammer, tearing a little - and then lunges up the shaft, the motion almost scuttling as if it had hundreds of legs. You yelp, releasing your hammer. Grief answers your call, sweeping over your head in slicing blades, only for the thing to flap and skitter off.

But Grief moves as fast as you want it to.

The air shatters as nightmare-dark blades slash forward, tearing into the cloth creature with contemptuous ease, and it dies.

Yuma, behind you, shockwaves rumbling through the ground.

You're already pivoting, her struggles against her own opponent coming to the forefront of your mind - her mace is a blunt thing, battering and hurling the thing about, but unable to do much more than tear a few rips in the cloth thing. She's learned well from Kyouko, her expression undaunted behind an impenetrable defense of blurring strikes and parries of her mace, but it's a battle of endurance she's barely winning.

But that's why you're here. Another thought sends blades of Grief slashing through Yuma's opponent, slicing it to shredded, drifting rags even as a shout and the shriek of ripping cloth heralds Kyouko's triumph over her own foe.

Silence, but for your breaths.

"And those were just three Familiars," you mutter.

"Yep," Kyouko says crisply, slamming the butt of her spear against the ground and retracting the chains. "Guard up. Keep moving. Yuma, middle."

"Got it," you say, nodding.

Kyouko takes the lead, spear held ready at her side and head swiveling constantly as she prowls forward with an almost catlike tread, boots silent. Yuma sticks right behind her with mace clutched tight in her hands, but no matter how nervous she is, she likewise keeps an eye out, her attention focused on the opposite side to Kyouko's.

You have a moment to look around as you fall in at the back of the little formation.

The ground is uncomfortably soft underfoot despite it looking like scuffed hardwood, rought and splintery and yet yielding beneath your boots. The same material bleeds up cavernous walls of smooth, plasticky off-white, fighting for domination. The Barrier fades into the gloom ahead of you, the dim, sourceless illumination leaving little to see but the slight upward slope of the... cave?

There's no banter or jibing, friendly or not - just the crunching of yet another handful of hard candies, silently passed back from Kyouko. You're constantly aware that you could simply dissolve this Barrier. The Grief is there, within reach of your will and your soul, and you could simply reach out and take it. The Familiars would vanish, and the Witch would simply be gone.

You have more respect for Kyouko and Yuma than that.

If, if things get dire, you'll do it. If you need to do it, to save someone. But the temptation is there, the pressure in your mind that is Grief not under your control.

... Grief, not under your control.

You can't help but seize upon that thought, even as your instincts scream at you, and you duck under a lunge from one of those blanket-Familiars peeling itself off the wall. A roll of your hand reverses your hammer so you can use the spike to tear into the cloth. Kyouko's spear skewers it halfway, and you both heave, tearing the Familiar apart. You finish the job with your own Grief, thoughts circling.

Grief, not under your control.

You turn the thought over in your mind as the three of you make your way through the Barrier, wary as Familiars try to ambush you, only to be met with spear, mace, and Grief. You can't spare too much of your attention away from watching your friend's backs, but you can't help but think.

It's not that simple, surely. It's not that. You know what it's like when there's Grief out of your control. It's this: the screaming sense of wrongness inside of a Barrier. There's that sense of Witch that raises the hairs on the back of your neck, yes, and you're pretty sure every magical girl gets that. The sense of danger, of warning, an instinctual thing that helps you fight. And at the same time, you can feel the Grief moving just beyond your mental grasp, a friction on your mind that's grating and cloying and forceful all at the same time, like your limbs somehow moving without your permission, like your body being moved by an outside wil-

"Behind!" you bark.

Kyouko and Yuma are already turning. You sweep to the side, Grief slicing through the air. You feel the impact, through your blades. One.

Two.

Three.

And four.

And then the chunks of Familiar are flying past you, carried on momentum and splattering gore you just barely evade. It's an insectoid thing, you notice as it dissolves, all hard, dark angles and far, far too many legs, wriggling as the Familiar dies - a very different form than the cloth things.

"Built for ambush," Kyouko mutters, lowering her spear. "But they just can't resist. Good. We keep moving."

"Got it," you say, Yuma echoing your words with a slightly worried grin.

You put your thoughts aside for now, the three of you delving deeper and deeper. The plasticky whiteness of the walls wins the battle with the faux hardwood of the floors as you descend, creeping down the walls and across the floor until you're left with a sliver of uncomfortably soft wood running down the middle of the cave, almost like a guidestrip for any daring enough to invade the Barrier. Which is, of course, the three of you.

The Familiars are a constant, unrelenting pressure, diving at you in ones and twos and threes, small groups working in tandem - not very many of them, but they're far stronger than the usual Familiars you're used to cleaving through. It's a very different experience, enough to keep you on your toes and your attention focused, blades and hammer in constant motion.

It is, in some ways, almost a meditative experience, stretching your powers and your skill. You're nowhere near close to cutting loose, but there's an exhilaration to fighting alongside your friends, adrenaline and fierce joy thrumming through your veins. It's almost a disappointment when you take another step forward and the world shivers as the Witch reveals itself.

Though 'reveal' is perhaps the wrong word, as a blizzard enfolds you, snow and hail blasting past you in howling drifts... and beneath your feet, that same strip of hardwood, pointing unerringly at a half-buried form in the snow. The cold bites deep, a chill far beyond the physical that nearly drives the breath out of your lungs.

"We've got the initiative," Kyouko says, her voice just loud enough to be heard over the roaring winds. "Yuma and I've got the first strike." She grimaces, indecisive for a moment, then nods sharply. "'Brina. You back her up. Y'hear?"

"Got it," you say tersely, and the three of you move together. You break left, and Kyouko and Yuma charge straight for the Witch, their passage leaving behind swirls in the snow.

Yuma pulls ahead as Kyouko's spear grows in her hands, and with a grunt of effort, she hurls it, up high. And with a yell, Yuma leaps, emerald green flaring in her wake as she soars through the air.

You have a split second to realize what they're doing before Yuma brings her mace down to slam into the butt of Kyouko's spear with an earsplitting crash. The world flares bright.

The air shatters.

And a thunderbolt cuts through the blizzard.

Yuma's aim is true, Kyouko's spear slamming dead center through the huddled mass at the center of the blizzard. The Witch screeches in protest, an earsplitting cacophony of pain, pain, pain that claws beyond the physical to sear at your mind and it stands, a living, thrashing mountain of jagged spikes and too many legs, and Yuma flinches in midair and that's why Kyouko told you to back her up because there's no way Kyouko can catch her in time but you can because Grief moves as fast as you want it to and-

-just so.

You enfold Yuma in Grief, yanking her out of the way of a glacier of ice slashing through the air, and then again, out of the path of the followup hit. The Witch screeches once more, almost drowned out by Kyouko's howl of effort as she punches up towards the sky, Soul Gem blazing. The ground erupts, one spear becoming four, writhing like living things as they fight to pin the Witch down.

"Kill it!" Kyouko yells.

You're already bringing your blades down. The Witch is a massive, centipede-like thing of dark blue ice, too many legs with too many joints thrashing frantically, and none of that size is any help to it as you smash through its icy shell. It's durable, terrifyingly durable, limbs flailing even after you smash it into quarters with great, groaning cracks of disintegrating ice, but finally, you feel something crucial give.

You feel the world shudder as reality starts to reassert itself, the blizzard wavering as deadly cold giving way to something more mortal chill. Your boots crunch on gravel as the real world wavers into focus, the humidity and rattle of wind on steel telling you where you are before you even see it: all the way over to the riverside dock area. You feel metal creak under your feet, the gantry crane all three of you are perched on swaying slightly in the wind.

You ignore the ping of the Grief Seed nearby and tilt your head back, eyes sliding closed and a smile quirking your lips as the warmth of the sun chases away the last of the frost.

"Better," you mutter, rolling your shoulders and bouncing lightly on your feet, and cleansing your Soul Gem with a thought. It hasn't solved anything, but a bit of distance from the problem has helped. You feel lighter.

Kyouko snorts roughly, and beans you neatly on the forehead with another piece of candy. You just about manage to not fumble the subsequent catch, grinning at her in thanks.

"Decent hunt," Kyouko concedes, hooking her spear behind her head with one arm as she fishes for that already-used Grief Seed. "Could've gone worse with less people."

"Yeah! Thank you for catching me!" Yuma says, beaming as she grabs the fresh Seed. "Big sis and I practiced that move lots, but the big combo moves like that are hard!"

"Glad to help," you say, and fall silent.

Kyouko scowls, folding her arms and leaning against a cracked, cinderblock wall and glaring at you.

You unwrap the sweet and pop it into your mouth, eyeing her from the corner of your vision.

You know she knows you want to ask something of her.

Yuma sighs.

Your mind races, thoughts sleeting through your mind as you search frantically for a strategy. It takes you a moment to seize on the way forward, the only reliable way you've ever figured out for starting off a conversation with Kyouko on anything like a solid footing.

"... so I saw a five-star buffet earlier today?" you offer.

Kyouko groans, pinches the bridge of her nose, and looks up at the sky, lips moving in silent prayer.

"Just fucking spit it out," she mutters through gritted teeth.

"I think..." you hesitate for a moment before barrelling on. You're already in this deep, after all. "I think I need someone to listen and make understanding noises? And maybe give me some insight, because... I'm confused?"

That gets Kyouko's full attention, her head snapping in your direction fast enough that her ponytail tangles on her shoulder. She stares at you for a full minute, silent and unblinking.

"And you're asking me," she says finally, her voice flat.

"I'm asking both of you, if you're willing," you say, and grin. "I trust Yuma's opinion just as much, and I mean hey, Yuma's young, but that just means she might see things that we're too grown up to figure out."

"Just... I'm taking an IOU on that damn buffet," Kyouko groans. She looks like she can't believe what she's saying, either, the words forced between gritted teeth. "It's too early for that and shut up, I'm fine, we ate the damn breakfast this morning. But I am going to collect, and we are getting snacks first."

"... good, because I have to admit I'm not sure it's actually open yet," you admit. "It's one of those fancy hotel restaurant deals."

Kyouko makes a grumbling noise and sighs.

"Aight," she says reluctantly. "Not here, I figure. 'Less you want t' pour your heart out in the ass end of nowhere."

You look around at the steel frame of the gantry crane, one of those massive things used to unload cargo. This crane isn't currently in use, but the dock area is a bustling thing, shouts and the rumble of machinery echoing up to you. Frankly, it's a matter of time before someone spots the three of you up here.

"... yeah, no, not here," you agree. "Uh."

"Top of the bridge," Kyouko grunts. "We'll hit a convenience shop along the way or something. You're buying, since you're so worried 'bout that sort of thing."

"Yeah, sure," you say. The bridge... there's plenty of bridges in Mitakihara, but there's only one that you'd call the bridge, without specifying - the big suspension bridge that links Mitakihara to Kasamino, across the widest part of the river, and it's not far.

Sure enough, Kyouko leads you up along the river, and points out a convenience store. You don't quite buy it out, but the shopkeep manning the counter does look at you oddly as you walk out with a sampling of virtually everything on the shelves, from cake to chocolate. You ignore that and catch up to Kyouko and Yuma atop one of the big bridge pylons, cars rumbling along far beneath you and boats even further below.

"Alright," Kyouko grumbles as you settle down on the sun-warmed steel plate atop the bridge. She props her elbow on her knee and scowls at you. "Spill."

"Privacy first, I'm not giving the white rat any ideas," you say, sitting cross-legged. You'd unravelled your last construct, but with enchanted Grief at your disposal, it's only the work of a couple minutes to form a new one, Kyouko grumpily peeling a few oranges to share with Yuma as they wait.

"Alright," you say as you set the privacy construct down before you and accepting an orange slice from Yuma. "So. Mm. I guess... about forty-five minutes ago, I... found out that actually succeeding in removing Grief maybe feels a bit like going against my Wish?"

"Oh, fuck off," Kyouko says, scowling. She's halfway to her feet, orange peel tossed to one side by the time you blink and lurch forward to snag her by the wrist.

"Wait- please, I'm serious," you blurt. "I'm not joking- Kyouko, please-"

"What the fuck, Sabrina," she spits. She doesn't sit back down, but she doesn't leave, either, tugging out of your grasp so she can fold her arms. "You?"

"I don't know," you say. "I don't know, and that's why I want to talk to someone about it."

"Jesus Christ," Kyouko mutters. "Why me?"

"You're insightful, when you want to be, and Yuma's always been a smart cookie?" you say. You start to shrug, and grimace, thinking better of it. Might as well be truthful. "And honestly, you caught me right as I was needing a distraction, so I went with it."

"Yuma is smart," Yuma says, nodding in satisfaction.

"Fine," Kyouko groans, collapsing back into a seated position with a thump. "But you better believe I'm cashing in that IOU."

"I mean, I meant the offer," you say, relieved. "I always do."

"And you-" Kyouko makes a vague, encompassing gesture in your direction. "You're telling me you are rethinking your Wish?"

"No, I'm not," you say. "I'm certain of my Wish... speaking of, uh. I don't think I've told you exactly what it is, so... do you want me to tell you my Wish first, or the story first?"

Dusky crimson eyes regard you, that sharp annoyance fading into something more serious, more analytical.

"Wish first," Kyouko says.

"... well. Right," you say, inhaling. The words spring to your lips easily, carved indelibly in your memory and ringing out just as clearly as they did that day not so long ago. "'I wish to control grief! My own! That of others! The grief of the Witches! All of it!'"

"Ambitious," Kyouko allows, expression flat. "And what's the problem?"

"Well..." You take a deep breath and launch into the story, recounting what had happened. And even like this, just recalling it, just talking about it, you can feel your stomach churning, that sensation clawing at your throat.

"... and it just..." you roll your hand, trying to demonstrate what it feels like. "It feels awful. It burns, like... I dunno, acid reflux or something. It doesn't feel right, it just- I thought it might be my Wish or my magic interacting weirdly with theirs, but I'm not sure and-"

Kyouko makes a wordless, aggrieved noise that has your mouth clicking shut as she buries her face in her hands. Yuma gives her a concerned look, then a slightly accusatory glance turns your way, to which you can only grimace - this sort of is your fault for asking, after all.

"Jesus Christ," she groans, muffled. "Just- just go ask Ma-" She chokes off her words, eyes flicking up to look at you. "No- no, ignore that, I- fuck, give me a minute."

You nod silently. As much as you want to ask, you resist, letting Kyouko finish gathering her thoughts.

"OK. OK," Kyouko mutters, raising her head to glare at you. "Here's what we're gonna do. You are gonna shut up and listen to me. If I ask a question, it's gonna be a yes or no. You nod or you shake your head. I know how much you love the sound of your own voice, but it's my turn now. You need to listen. Understand?"

You want to argue, but... that would defeat the point, so you just shut up and nod, as instructed.

"Right," Kyouko says, her drawl thickening. "First thing. You've mentioned you have... amnesia before. Yeah? You know all 'bout magic and how to talk and all. But no like... childhood memories and stuff. Yeah?"

You raise an eyebrow, then nod slowly. You've mentioned as much to her before, sure, though you're not really sure why that's relevant.

"Mrg," Kyouko says. Her eyes bore into you, unyielding, dusky crimson all but flensing you to the bone. Dissecting, and thoughtful. "And guessin' from your expression, just talking about the whole thing with the twins makes you feel the same way as when you first saw it. Exactly the same, exactly as bad. Yeah?"

A slower nod, because if anything, 'bad' is an understatement.

"Then it's not magic, dumbass," Kyouko says, rolling her eyes and making a starburst gesture with her hands. "Congratulations, you experienced a negative emotion. 's called jealousy. No, shut up." She jabs a finger at you. "Shut up and think about it."

You rock back.

... sure, the idea of it being jealousy had occurred to you. But it doesn't make sense. You want other people to be able to do what you do, to genuinely be able to Cleanse Grief. That's your entire mission - you want to help people. If someone else can do the same, so much the better. And there had always existed the possibility that you hadn't Wished for what you did, it's a good thing that a 'backup' method exists.

"No," Kyouko snaps. "Close that mouth and think about it for longer than two seconds."

You close your mouth, mutinous, and you can feel your jaw clenching with the effort of not arguing. But you did promise, and so you subside, force yourself to exhale, and force back the words clawing up your throat, and force yourself to untense your shoulders, and you think.

It doesn't make sense for you to be jealous. That's obvious, right? You're not the type of person who gets jealous about things, especially not something as silly as this. Not about something that is, objectively, a good thing.

So why does it burn?

Why that jolt as you remember the Soujus' trick, tugging Grief back and forth until it dissipates, that pang in your stomach like acid eating at you?

Kyouko says it's not magic. But it could be some kind of interaction she doesn't know of - after all, given the sheer breadth and depth of human experience, given magic in all its myriad, individualistic expression, she might be wrong. Some kind of instinct, warning you of a problem or something. That's what instincts are for, after all - warning you of danger. Of spoiled food, of predators lurking in the dark.

But...

But you do know what it's like, when your instincts are screaming at you. You know what it's like, when Grief is under the control of something else. You'd just experienced it, after all, tearing through the Barrier of a Witch. The screaming wrongness of something you oppose with every fiber of your soul. You know what it's like when you need to dodge, the sum total of your senses warning you of danger before you even think it through.

What you'd experienced with the Soujus, or even just thinking of the Soujus isn't that. Isn't any of that.

"Normal people deal with emotions by having other memories. Good times, bad times, whatever," Kyouko says, softer, meditative. "Things have been worse before, and things get better eventually, it's contrast. You've got not a single thing in that empty head o' yours, and the tiniest bit of jealousy and you blow it all out of proportion."

You can't possibly be that petty.

Can you?

But emotions aren't rational. You know that. But maybe... maybe Kyouko's right. Because ultimately, you've just... never experienced this sort of thing before? Never looked at someone else who could do what you thought only you can, and worried about it. Never worried that maybe you aren't necessary after all.

"Oi. Sabrina." Kyouko's voice startles you out of your reverie, and you look up to find her kneeling in front of you, expression serious. "Ease up on yourself."

"What-" When did you start clenching your fists like that? When did you hunch in on yourself like that? You feel Yuma's hands trying to smooth yours out, much smaller fingers gently nudging at yours with worried eyes peering up at you.

You force yourself to relax, to not wince at the little divots left in the base of your palm by your fingernails, to not tighten your shoulders like that. It only takes a thought to wipe away the Grief seething in your Soul Gem, that little bit more weight leaving your shoulders, and you shoot Yuma a grateful smile. Strained, maybe, but honest.

It's... not about being necessary, or not, or whether someone else has some small overlap with your magic or not.

Being able to cleanse Soul Gems isn't even the greatest thing you can do. It certainly helps, yeah. You doubt that it would be as easy to get Homura to go along with you if you didn't have your magic, after all. But even then, you'd be able to get through to her. To Mami, to Sayaka, to Kyouko... to Madoka. It might be harder, but you believe in yourself that much, at least.

... maybe you are a bit jealous.

You shouldn't be.

There's no good reason to be.

You can find that path to the happy ending, regardless. Regardless. You know you can.

But... emotions aren't rational.

Dammit.

"There y' go," Kyouko says, and sits back on her haunches, snorting out a rough laugh. "'fraid I've got no good advice for dealing with jealousy. Else I'd take my own damn advice, eh?"

Your eyes snap up to her.

"Oh, don't worry 'bout me getting between you and Mami," Kyouko grumbles. "I'm over it. So, y'know. Welcome to humanity. It kinda sucks sometimes."

"Mami doesn't resent you or anything, you know," you say. You know Kyouko told you to just listen, but it feels like the right time to speak up. "And she still worries about you, and wants to get to know you again. Things aren't completely blown up between the two of you."

"I know that," Kyouko says, rolling her eyes. "But you damn well know what I mean. Just... just too much said and done 'tween the two of us. Just gotta deal with it."

Just gotta deal with it.

... yeah. It still sits uneasy with you, that acid burn in your stomach at the thought you might not be necessary, but... you know that's not true. You've just got to deal with it.

Kyouko pats down her pockets and produces a trio of chocolate bars, chucking one at you while passing the other to Yuma. Full-sized chocolate bars, at that. You hesitate for a moment before unwrapping it and taking a big chomp out of it, letting the nougaty, sugar-loaded sweetness fill your mouth and occupy your mouth, at least for a bit.

You let yourself savour the sensations. The steel plating, warm beneath you, mirroring the sun above. The cool wind, winding past you, the rush of waves along the river and the rumble of cars on the bridge-road beneath, the chocolate on your tongue, disappearing in a few quick bites. The creamy goodness settles in your stomach and soothes it, just a bit.

You let it ground you.

"Big sis is a bad influence," Yuma observes, snacking daintily on her own chocolate bar.

"Yeah, definitely," you say, snickering for a moment before sobering. You smile at Kyouko, putting every scrap of sincerity and gratitude you can into it. "But... thank you, Kyouko. I needed to hear that, I think, and... well, I'll learn to deal with it, I suppose."

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome," Kyouko grumbles and looking away uncomfortably. "And like I said, welcome to being human. It sucks. An' I'm taking you up on that buffet one day soon."

"I'm good for it," you say, nodding firmly.

[] Continue hanging out with Kyouko (this will be Witch hunting)
[] Telepathy Mami, see if she's free to talk
- [] Discuss recent revelations
[] Something else?
- [] You haven't seen the Animators in a while!
- [] Maybe Niko's body-creation efforts would benefit from your help?
- [] Someone else?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Finally got the update here. I'm really sorry about how long this one took - I'm saying that a lot, these past few updates, but man, this one was egregious, and I'm so sorry about that. Travelling across multiple timezones totally wiped me out, and I wasn't able to write properly. But we're finally back, and hopefully I'll be able to keep it back!

 

[Firnagzen]

Spoiler: Winning vote

[x] Continue hanging out with Kyouko (this will be Witch hunting)

You finish the rest of the chocolate slowly, the sweetness helping to chase out the lingering malaise. It's not like that feeling, that jealousy, is gone - but you feel lighter now, for having recognised it. You know what that feeling is now, and you can deal with it. You will deal with it, just like everyone else does.

... you're really glad you came to Kyouko for this.

You let out a breath, snatched away by the wind, and a thought dissolves the privacy construct into simple Grief, which you frown at briefly before banishing it into your hammerspace storage. You'll have to enchant more, but that's something you can do at any time.

Kyouko eyes the vanished construct and snorts, demolishing the last of her chocolate and scrunching up the wrapper of her own chocolate bar. She winds back her arm to toss it away... and catches Yuma's look and somehow transitions the motion smoothly into a scratch at the back of her voluminous ponytail. The wrapper vanishes somewhere in between, presumably tucked away in her hammerspace instead of trapped in her hair.

"We're gonna continue huntin'," she says gruffly. A sweep of her hand vanishes the remaining snacks into her storage for later as she cocks a challenging eyebrow at you. "You coming?"

"... yeah, actually," you say, tearing your eyes away from her hair. "If you'll have me, I'd be happy to."

"Yay!" Yuma cheers, perking up. "It's always more fun when you come along, Sabrina!"

"Awesome," Kyouko grumbles. "And stop starin' at me."

"Right, yeah," you say, hopping to your feet with the metal of the pylon clonking beneath your boots. There's no way Kyouko just stuffed a plastic wrapper in her hair. She takes care of it, dammit. "Lead on?"

"Yep," Kyouko says, shouldering her spear and likewise rising, albeit considerably more fluidly than you. She pivots on the spot, staring out towards Mitakihara with eyes narrowed, then nods decisively. "That way."

She takes off, and you and Yuma fall in behind her, bounding from bridge pylon to bridge pylon, and then onwards past the river docks of Mitakihara and into the city proper.

You find a smile stealing across your lips as the three of you bound across the rooftops, the air bracing and crisp, the roar of Mitakihara distant beneath you. The skies above are beautifully blue and the concrete of the rooftop is rough, but that only helps you control your momentum as you land and spring from your roll into a sprint, leaping again after Kyouko and Yuma.

You take a moment to ponder Kyouko. Jaded and rough and so, so angry with life, yes, but given how much shit was shoveled on her by life and by Kyuubey... people have done worse, been worse in her position. Given half a chance, she took it, not to mention the obvious care she has for Yuma. Far more insightful than she lets herself show, most of the time, because in many ways, she's hiding from her own hard truths. But you'd asked, and she helped.

"So I've got a question," Kyouko's voice drawls into your head. "Why the hell do you move like that?"

"Like wh-" You blink at her back as you bound over an air conditioner unit, one hand planted on the humming metal while you kick yourself over... the same unit that Kyouko and Yuma had just leapt over in a smooth, fluid motion. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Kyouko says, tilting her head back to eye you midjump, the trailing crimson of her ponytail flowing in the wind. "I don't think Mami taught you that."

"I... don't actually know," you admit. Why do you parkour like this, instead of the more acrobatic magical girl thing? "It's... just what came naturally to me?"

"Hng," Kyouko grunts. "So it isn't something you decided to do?"

"Yeah," you say. "It feels normal to me - it's basically just what I started doing when I first started roofhopping."

"Well, whatever, then," Kyouko says. "You're not having trouble keeping up like that. So if it works, it works, and I ain't gonna try teaching you the proper way to do it."

"You know, I actually do wonder if there are cultural differences between magical girls from different regions," you muse. "Like, maybe European magical girls do more of the parkour thing, too? It's more of a thing in the culture there, I believe, or at least more than here."

"Are you from Europe?" Kyouko tips a dubious look at you as she weaves around an antenna.

"Nah, I'm from Mitakihara," you say, ducking under the same antenna spar. "And I mean that. My first memories are here, and this is my home. If it's a cultural thing... well, I don't know. Like, I guess I just like that it's practical? Uses proper body mechanics and all, based on just plain mundane parkour."

"Mm. Anyway, nothing 'bout what we do is practical," Kyouko snorts, her mental voice scathing. You can feel the force of her eye roll, even through telepathy. "Magic and giant monsters and all. Speakin' of, hup."

And then it's time for another plunge into a Witch's Barrier, albeit with a less literal plunge, this one once more near an office building, but hovering just above its roof. Offices are a plentiful source of despair to attract Witches, you suppose - if you could harvest the literal emotion, you'd probably have long since filled up the infinite space of your hammerspace in its entirety.

Of course, that just means that you wind up thinking about the difference between grief and Grief, as you find yourself in a pastel-hued world of fuzzy edges, one where even simple movement feels sluggish and somehow tepid. It's... not actually true that you can't sense the grief of non-magical girls, it's just not as vivid. You suspect you could do something with it, but there's just something about magical girl souls that catalyzes it into something more.

But those are thoughts for later, because now is the time for you to fight your way through waves of, well, waves. The Familiars take the form of ripples in the fabric of the air, of the background, vaguely humanoid but amorphous and ethereal as they surge towards the three of you in hungering swarms.

It's a mildly surreal experience, fighting soapbubble distortions in the texture of the world, but well... magic. Witches, Familiars, and magic. Yuma takes it entirely in stride, answering the seething crush of Familiars with a cry and devastatingly effective shockwaves that smash through their ranks, dozens at a time. And Kyouko, of course, meets the Familiars with bored contempt and an endless flurry of spear strikes both concealing the predatory, eternally watchful alertness.

You can't do any less than match them, of course, with magic and brute force, if not raw skill. You let your wings bloom this time, swathes of nightmare purple to act as both weapon and shield and mobility all at once, slicing through the swarming Familiars in great, cleaving sweeps and darting pounces.

... of course, you don't do any more. Here, in the midst of a Barrier, you're aware of the weight of the Grief. Always.

You can't not be.

It'd be like not being aware of, say, your arm. It's there. You could force yourself to keep your arm still, to stop thinking about it, but you can feel it dragging at you with every motion you make, every whipcrack-fast blow you dodge, every swing of your hammer, every retaliatory slice of your blades. You force yourself to not just... claim the Grief, tear the Barrier asunder, because to do so would just disrespectful to Kyouko and to Yuma.

You can feel Kyouko's eyes on you as the three of you carve your way through the Barrier and tear the tree-shaped Witch apart. It's not a particularly strong Witch, you feel, but even so, you feel like Kyouko's evaluating you for something, and you have no idea what.

... it's a good thing you don't get particularly nervous under scrutiny like that, because it doesn't let up. You cleanse up after that fight, refreshing the Grief Seed for Kyouko, and head right off to the next Witch, finding it uncomfortably near a primary school. The fight goes reasonably smoothly, at least, the three of you smashing through something you can only describe as a monkey made of matchsticks, one that was aggravatingly mobile as it bounded all over the great dome of its chamber - more aggravating than dangerous, between Kyouko's experience, Yuma's training, and the brute force you bring to the table.

One Witch flows into another as the three of you carve a path from one to the next, efficiently claiming another two Grief Seeds with little conversation but for shouted warnings and directions to the next fight, but it's not an uncomfortable experience. Well, other than Kyouko watching you like a hawk, but she's clearly working through something.

Still, there's been something on your mind, and now seems like as good a time to bring it up as any. And so, as the three of you find yourselves cooling down from the fourth Witch of the day in the shade of one of Mitakihara's many vertical wind turbines, you speak up.

"Hey, Kyouko, Yuma - so," you say. "Do you want... and, uh, this is directed to the both of you, but more to Yuma- do you want to go to school?"

Yuma makes a confused noise, blinking at you.

"Fat fuckin' chance of that," Kyouko says, rolling her eyes.

"I mean, I can make it happen," you say firmly. "If you want."

"The hell would I want that?" Kyouko asks - but you can see that despite her words, she's thinking about it... and by the way her eyes flicker to Yuma, not for herself. "'s nothing they teach that we'll use in the future."

"It's not just about the classes, or else I'd just say we can hire a personal tutor," you say, turning your gaze from the distant skyline of Mitakihara to give her a level look. "It's about having friends your own age, and about the social skills which can't be taught, only learned. It's about learning how to think."

Kyouko snorts, but she looks thoughtful.

"And if your worry is about the Witches or Grief Seeds," you continue. "We'll be able to sort something out."

"... I'll think about it," Kyouko mutters, a note of finality in her voice.

"Big sis..." Yuma says, grabbing her hand.

Kyouko reaches down and ruffles her hair.

"We'll talk about it, OK?" she says gruffly. "But I wanna actually think 'bout it first."

"... OK," Yuma says, relaxing, but not letting go of her hand.

That was surprisingly painless, you can't help but think to yourself. She didn't even call you out for not being in school. It must've been something Kyouko had considered before, at least for Yuma - and why wouldn't she, you suppose? She was in school before everything happened, after all, and she's not so willfully blind as to ignore what you can learn there. And she cares about Yuma.

Still, that was a pretty blunt request to drop the topic for now, so you drop it, and continue on.

By the time the next hunt is done, you find yourselves in a shady, out-of-the-way corner of a park, shaded from the main path by a blooming flower bush. You grin lightly as everyone cleanses, rolling your shoulders and letting your wings dissolve as you catch the Grief Seed and toss it to Yuma, who catches it with a grin and tosses it back. That was a good fight, you think, a chance to stretch your legs and your wings properly.

Kyouko beans you on the forehead with another sweet, this one some chewy, milk-flavoured thing.

"Aight. We're putting the hunt on pause," she declares. "And you an' me, Sabrina, we're gonna spar."

"... I'm not doing that badly, am I?" you ask, that exhilarated buzz in your veins instantly replaced with what you're trying to not let be dread curdling in your stomach. Magic or not, you know Kyouko can kick your ass from here to Sunday.

"Eh..." Kyouko waggles her hand, unwrapping her own sweet with the other.

You wince.

"That bad?" you say.

"Eh," Kyouko repeats unhelpfully, scowling and looking around. "Not here, though. Public park, people'll notice."

"... yeah, alright," you say.

"It won't be that bad!" Yuma says, walking over and reaching up to pat your elbow. "Big sis is a great teacher!"

"Yeah, I know she is," you say, deciding to surrender to fate.

You're joking.

Mostly.

Kyouko is a damn good teacher, you know that. You're just also aware that she's a very physical person, and if she decides you need a lesson, you're damn well going to learn that lesson. One way or another. Though you are kind of mystified about the sudden sparring - you've been improving with your hammer, you're pretty sure, and you don't think there's much to complain about, with regards to the way you use your magic.

And besides, Kyouko's still snacking away, this time on a taiyaki produced from somewhere and shared with Yuma. So it can't possibly be that bad.

You fall in behind Kyouko as she takes off, detransforming so you can cross the street to duck into an alleyway, then hit the rooftops once more - and it's off towards the old industrial district. It's never really properly empty, no modern city would ever let such a large space be empty, but it certainly doesn't see that much use, either, and it's easy to find a quiet corner amidst some rusting old cranes and warehouses.

"Arright," Kyouko says, turning to you with narrowed, thoughtful eyes. "Your hammer, my spear, no magic, no fancy weapon tricks. That means I don't use the chains, and you don't... do you even do any special techniques with your hammer?"

"... alright?" you say. "Uh. Does throwing my hammer count for a special technique? I don't... yeah, stuff like turning it into a polearm or something, sure, but I don't really do much else with my hammer. I do hit harder with it than its actual mass should?"

"You use your magic for throwing, dontcha?" Kyouko says, scowling, then clarifies. "No external magic, no altering your weapon or anything. Just your hammer. The weight thing's whatever, basically every magical girl weapon does that."

"I'm gonna get my ass kicked," you observe, mildly resigned. No chance of a clever trick to catch Kyouko off guard - not that chances of that had been high, but at least they weren't zero.

"Yuma will cheer for you!" Yuma says brightly from her perch atop a section of some old steel frame, kicking her feet and bracing her hands on the rusty metal. It's a good thing she doesn't have to worry about tetanus, really.

"No you won't, you'll cheer for Kyouko," you say, grinning at her.

"Yuma will cheer for you a bit!" Yuma admits shamelessly. "But Yuma thinks big sis is the best!"

"Well, I can't argue with that, can I?" you say, turning to face Kyouko, standing just an arm's length away from you.

She glances back at you, and scowls before stalking three steps away before popping her spear off her shoulder with exaggerated slowness, levelling it at you for a second and grounding it firmly on the ground.

"Begin," she drawls laconically, and moving with... not blazing speed, jabs her spear at your face.

It'd be about average for a trained human, you think? But that's a snail's crawl for her, and you're so astonished you almost fail to block it, summoning your hammer at the last moment and knocking it away with a sweep of your hammer. The clank of metal on metal that rings loud across the courtyard as Kyouko rolls her eyes, unfazed.

She snaps a jab at your belly, moving with that same glacial slowness, and this time, your block comes fast and crisp. Kyouko nods -to herself, you think- and flicks the butt of her spear at your shins for another easy parry of your hammer. And you spot an opening, which you're sure she left deliberately, so you reverse the sweep of your hammer into a swing at her shoulder-

-which, predictably, she blocks, the dusky crimson of her eyes intently focused. She presses the attack, footwork steady, and you give ground, falling into the rhythm of the spar. The speed ramps up, her spear twisting and darting and dancing like a living thing, your own hammer meeting it in crashes and chimes of steel as you find yourself weaving defensive sheets of silver. You find that on even ground, you can hit harder than she can, with grunts driven from her as she blocks the few attacks you manage to make - but she has triple the reach you do, and she's faster to boot.

Yuma whoops and cheers at every good strike, every clean parry.

Kyouko's eyes bore into yours.

You hold your own, defense to her offense, your boots cutting tracks across the sandy courtyard as you let her drive you back, let her drive you in circles. It's almost comfortable, even as her speed escalates further, until she's almost blurring in your eyes, an endless flurry of spear strikes crashing down upon you. Hammerface, piercing spike, and shaft - all used to block, all used to attack.

And then something shifts.

Kyouko bounds two steps back, no faster than she has been throughout your spar, but the disengagement takes you by surprise. Not so fast that you don't see her reversing direction into a vault with her spear, boots launched at your head.

You duck.

She whips around you, spear probing at your back. No faster than before, but now far more mobile, vastly more agile by far. You dart forward, a clumsy dodge, and a clumsier strike with your hammer as you whirl on her.

Her spear meets yours in a crash of sparks, her hair flying as the butt of her spear comes up to your face and she drops down beneath the arc of your hammer and beneath your guard, smooth enough that it almost looks rehearsed when a rising kick slams up towards your face-

-and you catch her by the ankle, just barely, just barely, but it's enough for you to sway backwards and for her to continue the motion into a flip and-

-her spear, poised at your throat.

Kyouko doesn't hold it, doesn't gloat, simply retracts her spear and backing away, her eyes still boring into you as if trying to divine some great secret from you.

"Whooooo!" Yuma cheers, clapping happily. "That was amazing, big sis! You too, Sabrina!"

"Thanks, Yuma," you say, shooting her a grateful smile. You held your own, you think, right up until Kyouko changed things up, so...better than you expected, to be perfectly honest. "So... are we done, Kyouko?"

"Nah," she says. "Here."

Kyouko tosses you her spear, and you nearly fumble the catch. Just nearly, though, and you blink at her, hammer in your right hand and spear in your left.

"One last time," she says, summoning a fresh weapon. "Spear to spear, same rules as before."

"... with your spear?" you say dubiously.

"Yep," Kyouko says, narrowing her eyes - and then rolling them. "I'll explain later, 'kay? Take a few to get used to the spear if you need to."

"Right..." you say, keeping your dubious look on her for a moment before turning your attention to the weapons in your hands.

You sigh, and let your hammer fall, dissolving it into silvery mist before it hits the ground. You shift Kyouko's spear into both hands and test the weight, swinging it with some minor trepidation - it's way too tip-heavy for your tastes with that massive spearhead, but it doesn't feel too bad in your hands, and you suspect that you could probably treat it as an axe... or as a poleaxe, actually. Perfectly normal length for a normal knight's poleaxe, really.

Gold-hued metal, seemingly plain but richly textured under your hands, a wickedly sharp spearhead with intricate details picked out in crimson traces. Heavy, much heavier than any real spear, you think - heavier than if it were made of solid steel from tip to tail. But still...

Not too bad.

Tentatively, you drive forward into a thrust at the air, low-high-mid, a good pattern to disorientate and strike, bash forward with the haft, swipe with the edge of the blade...

Not too bad, though not exactly right.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I think," you call, looking up to find Kyouko giving you that inscrutable look again.

"You don't look like you like it," Kyouko observes.

"Eh... it's not my usual weapon, is it?" you say. "And... no offense, but it does feel like the head on this thing's too big to be usable without magic. Maybe something with a more, uh, normal-sized spearhead?"

"Maybe for normal people," Kyouko allows. "But you're a damn magical girl, and I want to see how you measure up with it."

"Yeah, yeah," you say, hefting the spear into a ready guard, braced in both arms and held diagonally across your body. Poleaxe it is, then. "Well, it's your experiment. Ready as I'll ever be."

"Cool," she says laconically, and darts forward with that same speed - and the exact same jab at your face that started your first spar.

Once more, you give ground, and knock her spear away. And now you actually have an equal amount of reach, so your spear slips past hers to flick for her belly, only to be slapped aside with the haft of her weapon that finishes in a lunging thrust for your legs. You sidestep, letting it bounce off the haft of your weapon, and drag the head into a bind, hooking Kyouko's spear out of position for a high thrust of your own.

Kyouko ducks, and counters with a whipping strike at your side. You step back, and once more, combat settles into a steady rhythm, metal sparking back and forth across the sandy asphalt. You find yourself on much more even ground, to your surprise, the reach of your loaned weapon letting you press the attack more often, and the circling strikes and jabs of the poleaxe style prove a decent match for Kyouko's spear.

Of course, all that lasts exactly as long as Kyouko allows it to. In an eerie mirror of the previous match, she bounds back two steps, further than any human could possibly jump - but then, you're both magical girls, with the strength and agility to match. You charge for her, closing the distance, but it's enough distance for her to whip a stab at your feet, one you're forced to dance away from, and then she's dashing to the side.

She moves like lightning, probing stabs and deadly flourishes whipping at you from impossible angles. At your back, from your sides, from over your damn head- it's like trying to catch flowing water. And yet she's not any faster than she was before, simply pressing with relentless aggression and movement far beyond any ordinary human.

It's all you can do to stay ahead of her. Your spear is a blur in your hands, desperate blocks and parries filling the air with the clangs of steel and just barely keeping ahead of the onslaught.

When it ends, it's with a single, fluid motion of Kyouko's spear hooked under yours and the shaft whirling to crack your feet out from under you. You try and resist, try and turn it into a flip, a roll, a launching point for flight yourwingsaren'tout, but Kyouko's right there, flat of her spear whipping straight for your face and forcing you to block and sending you sprawling to the dirt and your borrowed weapon clattering uselessly against distant flagstones.

She thumps the butt to the ground beside your face, scowls, and offers you a hand up.

"Grrrmrmrmrm," you mumble, cheek mashed into the sandy tiles, and before she can think better of it, you grab her hand and let her haul you up to your feet. "Grng."

"Are you OK?" Yuma hurries over to you, peering up at you with big, worried eyes.

"Mmm..." you check over yourself for a moment, but really, the only thing bruised is your dignity. And you'd known you were going to get your ass kicked, anyway, even if Kyouko mostly held back enough that you didn't get completely flattened. You smile at Yuma, patting her gently on the head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Yuma. So, Kyouko - what's the diagnosis, doc?"

Yuma beams back before turning her attention to Kyouko, checking over her adoptive big sister for a moment, and bouncing back to her seat.

"Hng," Kyouko says, eyes narrowed at you. "I said that was the last one, but you asked for a 'normal' spear. You want to try that?"

"... would it help with your conclusions, whatever they are?" you ask, starting to shake the sand off your coat. You're... sort of surprised at her consideration for you, to be honest, that she actually asked.

"Hell if I know, 'cuz hell if I know what my conclusions are right now," Kyouko grumbles.

"Well... you could tell me what you're trying to figure out, and I'll try and help?" you venture.

Kyouko pinches her nose with her free hand and exhales hard through her mouth.

"'s the sort of experiment with the... th' hell is it called, observer effect?" she says. "If I tell you, it changes the outcome."

"Yeah, OK, I gotcha," you say, resisting the urge to point out that by participating in the study at all, she's biasing the results. Now is not the time for pedantry. "Then... your call, I guess."

"Uuuugh," Kyouko grumbles. She thumps her spear into the flagstones again, the spearhead shrinking until it's about as long as your index finger - a proper size, in other words. Wordlessly, she tosses it at you. "We'll keep this one brief."

You heft the new spear, and spin it in your hands, finishing in a crisp, one-handed snap to the side.

Better.

You find yourself grinning as you angle yourself sidelong to Kyouko, spear held two-handed at your waist with one hand near its base, leveled at her. A classic yari ready stance. OK.

Kyouko nods, and launches forward again - another thrust straight for your face. You bat it away, whipping a swift circle around the tip of her spear and counter with a jab towards her face and forcing her to back off. But just for a moment, as she takes the momentum on her back foot and springs forward, spear matching yours in a clash. The clatter of metal rings loud as you duel her, sharp jabs and delicate parries, battering back and forth.

This time, the combat only lasts for maybe two minutes before Kyouko springs back fully, grounding her spear and staring at you.

"Sabrina," she says slowly. "Why the hell can you fight with a spear?"

"Hm?" you say, looking down at the spear and shrugging. "Same way I can speak Japanese, or English, or Korean, or Welsh, or whatever, I guess. Knowledge stuck up here."

You tap the side of your skull with a finger, earning yourself a frustrated noise.

"You fight like a damn veteran with that thing- with my spear," Kyouko grunts, hauling a whole candy cane from her pocket and pointing it at you accusing. "In my early days, we-" her expression tightens briefly before she soldiers on, "-we were looking at videos of spearfighting, to see if I could pick up tricks. You fight like that. Same as with your hammer, I bet- the moment, the damn moment I start moving like I'm supposed to, you stumble."

"... huh," you say. "I... don't know? I just..."

You frown, because Kyouko's right. Your parkour, too. You move like an ordinary person who happens to be good at it and then gained the supernatural strength and agility of a magical girl.

"You don't... you mostly don't fight like a magical girl," Kyouko mutters, half to herself, and half to you. "I was thinking it was a matter of getting you to listen to your instincts, but it's more like you've... got wrong instincts. And the one thing that actually works for you..."

Kyouko trails off, frowning.

"The one thing that actually works for you is your damn Grief," Kyouko adds. "Don't think you've noticed, but you damn well move the stuff like it's an extension of you, whether it's the knives or the giant fuckoff clouds, like..." She makes a vaguely swooping motion with her hand, her frown deepening. "And your wings. Your wings are like they're properly parts of you, like a damn bird."

"Well... they are, I think," you say, feeling your own frown growing. "I mean, you remember that one Barrier where we could see them, right?"

"Sure," Kyouko says. Her eyes flick up to you, holding your gaze for a long moment before she continues, her tone deceptively mild. "You sure those nutcases don't have a point?"

"Those nutcas-" The Soujus, you realize, and you find yourself snapping an answer. "Yes, I am damn sure I'm not an angel or whatever!"

"... mm," Kyouko says, considering you. "Why do you hate the idea so much?"

"Because I'm not," you say, folding your arms. "And I don't... I hate the idea of being put up on a pedestal and people following me just because. I want people to do the right thing because it's right, and I want people to help others because helping people is a good thing! I mean, I'll settle for bribing it out of people, but... I just, the idea of people fucking worshipping me or anything like that makes me sick."

Kyouko holds her hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright, calm your tits," she says. "If you say you're not, you're not. But you are damn weird."

"Good," you say tightly. "Good."

You force yourself to unfold your arms, and unclench your fists, letting them hang uneasily at your side. What do you normally do with your hands, anyway? You settle for sticking them in your pockets, and try not to hunch your shoulders.

"Oi," Kyouko says. "Catch."

You manage to not fumble it this time, yet another bar of chocolate lobbed underarm at you. Tearing the wrapper open, you savage the bar with a few quick bites, cramming your mouth full of nougat and chewing. You find the tension in your shoulders ebbing quickly, and you look up at Kyouko, finding her having joined Yuma by that rusty old steel frame. They're sharing pieces of the candy cane, Yuma darting a worried little glance at her.

You manage a reassuring smile for her, then face Kyouko properly.

"... sorry about that," you mutter. "Didn't... didn't realize I'd react like that. I mean... well, you're right. I am damn weird."

"Nah, I'm sorry for pokin' a sore spot like that," Kyouko says, shaking her head.

"Mmph," you say. "So..." You cast around for a topic, anything to change the topic. "Got any advice for fighting?"

"Your instincts are wrong," Kyouko says. "Or maybe all that 'practical'-" she makes airquotes with her fingers, last quarter of the candycane hanging off her pinky, "-fighting stuff has proper fighting instincts buried. But there's a sweet spot t' be found somewhere - I've seen hints of it in the way you move."

"... oh?" you say.

"Yeah," Kyouko says, shrugging. "We're stronger, faster. More agile. Sometimes you behave like you know that."

You find your frown returning as you think about it. You know what she means, you think - you've found yourself doing flips, sometimes, or kicking off terrain, or manuveuring in the air. Superhuman movement, meshed into your own style.

"But in a serious fight? Use those damn wings," Kyouko says. "Use your magic, throw Grief around. Your hammer's there for whatever gets close, but y' should be avoiding that. An' I'm not saying you can't learn proper skills with that hammer, I'm saying you're not there yet, and if you gotta get serious, use what you've got."

"About what I figured, then," you say with a sigh. "But it's good to have confirmation on it."

Kyouko shrugs, and falls silent, crunching on more of her candy cane.

[] Say something more? (Write-in)
[x] Continue on until lunch
- [] Vent about having emotions
-- [] In private, to Mami
- [] Something else? (Write-in)
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Ugh, another four week delay. I'm sorry. All I can say is that my energy levels have been a mess lately, and getting into the right state for writing has been difficult - but hey, like I said before, I'm still here! Let's keep it going, eh?

Also, the next vote should finish up with the hunt and on to lunch with the gang at school.

 

[Firnagzen]

Spoiler: Winning vote

[X] Say something more? (Write-in)
- [X] Grumble about how angels being a human with two wings isn't even biblically accurate and that stereotype is ruining things for regular winged people
[x] Continue on until lunch
- [x] Vent about having emotions
-- [x] In private, to Mami

You find yourself staring off into the distance as you think, staring at the distant spire of the DBJ building, just barely visible amidst the crowded skyline. You're definitely not an angel or anything... well, alright, you're reasonably sure you were created by Madoka's Wish, and she might or might not will be a goddess, but dangit, that doesn't make you an angel.

And anyway, just having wings and weird memories doesn't mean anything other than you having wings and memories.

And angels being winged humans isn't even biblically accurate, anyway. You either had Just Regular Human-shaped Angels or the burning wheels with too many wings, and nothing in between. Well, there's also the Regular Human But Glowing Angels.

"It might not be accurate to the Bible, but a whole load of depictions of angels had wings, includin' the Church-approved ones," Kyouko drawls. "The generally accepted explanation is that the wings represent their sublime nature, and all that. And that explanation is as old as the Bible itself."

"... did I say that out loud?" you ask, refocusing on Kyouko, and trying to avoid her gimlet stare.

"Yep," Kyouko says, popping the 'p'. "I say you're too much of a dumbass to be one of His angels, but it is dang weird that you've got wings as part as your soul."

"Well..." you say, scowling and tossing the spear in your hand back to her. "I stand by my complaint. That dang stereotype's making life hard for the rest of us normal be-winged people, officially endorsed or no."

Kyouko rolls her eyes, evidently deciding that your whining doesn't deserve the dignity of any further attention. She doesn't even look at you when she catches the spear one-handed, other hand pulling out a packet of M&Ms to share with Yuma.

Kyouko's right that your fighting style with your hammer isn't really much of a magical girl's fighting style, not particularly taking advantage of your magical physicality, and you can't deny that, and...

Well, OK, she seems to consider your fighting style more weird than actually being a deficiency or a liability, and you see her point. It's not like you can't fight, and fight effectively - just not with your hammer, when your Grief and your wings are the more effective weapon and tool. And it's not even much of a revelation when you've thought of yourself as a squishy caster, after all.

But you are a magical girl, dangit. You like being practical, but you're still a magical girl, and you have a hammer, and sometimes you want to drive some nails, dangit. And so you can't help but think about whether you can fix your lack of instinctive skill. Maybe you need to watch more anime, but you're not sure there's any One Weird Trick to this other than practicing.

You sigh, running both hands through your hair.

"Alright, well," you say. "Thinking done. I... reckon I've got time for one more Witch, and then I'm headed to school for lunch. Kyouko, Yuma, do you want to come wit-"

"Nnnnnnope," Kyouko says, rolling her eyes and chucking a handful of M&Ms at you.

You nearly fumble the catches, but you manage, and raise an eyebrow at Kyouko - you're tempted to press the issue. You think the two of you have bonded a bit today? Kyouko even apologised and backed off earlier, after all, which you'll take that as a step forward... but then again, understanding boundaries is definitely part of being a good friend.

So if Kyouko says no, you're not going to push any harder.

"Well, alright," you say, shrugging and popping the M&Ms into your mouth. "One last Witch, then?"

Kyouko grunts, handing the rest of the packet off to Yuma.

"Whatcha think, squirt?" she asks. "One more, or lunchtime?"

"Yuma isn't hungry yet!" Yuma says, beaming and crunching on more sugar-coated chocolate. "Let's do one more! It's nice to have Sabrina around too!"

You grin at Yuma, nodding at her, which she returns with solemn gravity. An opportunity to continue hanging out with your friends, as well as an opportunity... maybe not try your new realizations out, but to keep an eye out for it yourself.

"Mmh," Kyouko says, hopping to her feet and frowning, sighting towards the skyline of Mitakihara. "Let's go."

The last Witch of the day, the three of you find hovering near a hospital. Not a hospital you're familiar with -not the one Kyousuke was in- but it earns a scowl regardless as the three of you dive in, Kyouko in the lead. Sure, it's just the instinctual behaviour of a Witch that led it here, but it's still not something you're happy about. And yes, you do know his name, you just choose not to most of the time.

You brace for the entry, and are greeted almost immediately by a hollow, massive rattling noise. And then all three of you are dashing away from a giant rolling cube - a giant die, slamming towards you in great, reverberating thumps down a brassy gold corridor, just a few meters behind you.

"Why are we running?!" you shriek at Kyouko. She's running, and she's running away from something, so you're running too.

"Terrain, not Familiar!" she yells back. "Not a big deal! Just avoid it!"

"Heck with this!" you bark, and let your wings bloom. You grab Kyouko by the wrist and scoop Yuma under your other arm, and leap skyward. Kyouko, to your faint surprise, doesn't struggle, instead grabbing your arm for a more secure grip, spear ready in her other arm.

The rest of the labyrinth turns out much more straightforward when you can fly over the obstacles: a brassy tower of ornate, patinaed filigree, standing alone amidst a void of velvet darkness, clawing for the non-existent sky beyond. Familiars swarm towards you, skittering spidery things that also happen to try and turn the terrain against you, more giant dice and trapdoors and spikes.

You try and pay attention to the way you fight, the way you move, trying to lean into your supernatural strength and speed, but really you just wind up become self-conscious and nearly get clipped a few times by the weird spider things. In the end, you fall back on what works: your wings, and your Grief, with your hammer as a last-ditch thing.

Ultimately, though, the three tear your way through the Familiars and find the Witch, a slimy, gloopy creature slowly eating its way up the tower, subsuming its way through the brass. It goes smoothly, Kyouko finding a solid core within the sludgy mass and Yuma cracking it with a single strike.

"Phew," you say as you get spat out back in reality, atop what smells seems some kind of factory building, the rattle of machinery reverberating from beneath you. "That was an interesting fight."

Kyouko grunts, snagging the Grief Seed out of the air and flicking it at you.

"You're overthinking it," she notes. "Don't force it too hard."

"Yeah, I noticed," you say with a sigh, catching the Grief Seed. "Thanks. For the advice, and for the Grief Seed."

"Don't mention it," Kyouko mutters, looking away and pulling out a box of pocky, sharing it with Yuma. "You're going to school now, right?"

"Right," you agree. You squint at her for a moment, and... OK, you can take a hint, and that set of her shoulders and her jaw hints that Kyouko would really like a bit of space now. "So... you two're sorted for lunch?"

"Yep," Kyouko says, waving lackadasically at you.

"See you!" Yuma says brightly. "This was a really fun morning, Sabrina!"

"It was," you agree. "We should do this again. But yeah, lunchtime now, take care, you two."

You stretch your wings and leap, a powerful stroke launching you up into the clear blue of the noontime skies. You feel... satisfied, for most part, with the morning. Your meeting with the Soujus and the formerly-Shiogama girls might have ended a bit awkwardly, but you'd learned things, both about yourself and about them, and the time spent with Kyouko and Yuma was far from wasted. You can still feel that pit of jealousy gnawing at your stomach when you think about it, but that's something for later.

Still, you find yourself speeding across the city. You're looking forward to lunch with your friends, and you're looking forward to seeing Mami again! That said, you are a little early, so you wind up circling the thermals above the school, an ominous shadow too far to be easily seen from the ground as you strain your ears, listening for the school bell. And the moment it goes off, distant and tinny and far below, you dive.

You flare your wings wide at the last second so you don't smash the roof, cutting your velocity to a whisper-soft landing and a tooth-rattling jolt that might very well be fatal to an unenhanced human. But none of that matters, because you can hear racing footsteps and you can sense a presence speeding up the stairs and a moment later, Mami's throwing herself at you.

You catch her in your arms, wrapping them around her and lifting her off the ground in a laughing, spinning hug. You feel yourself relaxing, beaming at Mami as you set her down carefully, holding her close. It feels like- it feels like safety, like everything's going to be OK. The tension doesn't leave you entirely, but you're safe in Mami's embrace, and it's made all the better as you hear Sayaka's strident tones echoing up the stairwell.

"Hey, Mami," you murmur to her, smiling.

"I missed you," she murmurs back, flushed, and beaming.

"Get a room, you two," Sayaka jeers as she strides out onto the roof, grinning and followed by Madoka and Homura and Hitomi. "'sup?"

"Hey Sayaka, hey everyone," you say. You pull back enough to give them an apologetic grin. "What's happening is that I'm stealing Mami away for a bit. I need to vent, and I don't want you all to think I'm not cool-"

"We already know you're not cool," Sayaka mutters.

"-and Mami's mine, anyway, so I get to abscond with her at any time if want," you say, ignoring Sayaka and the way your own face definitely hasn't lit up bright red with a blush. "Right?"

"Right," Mami says, smiling and squeezing your hand.

"I hope you're OK, Sabrina?" Madoka asks, shifting worriedly as her steps slow, turning to face you fully. Beside her, you can see Homura giving you a sharp, evaluating look, concern drawing faint, barely-visible furrows in her brow.

You tilt your head, considering the question for a moment - considering your entire morning, from the visit to the talks with Kyouko.

"... yeah, I think I am, actually," you say. "Really. It's just... I think I might have had a whole Character Development this morning, and I want to whine about it a bit."

Madoka scrutinizes you, then beams.

"That's good! I think?" she says.

"Probably!" you say. You catch Homura's eye, and nod slightly - you're OK. You are.

Her answering nod is almost imperceptible, but that frown has eased up, and you can't help but offer up a little smile in response to that. She shrugs, expression flickering to faint amusement - she trusts you to be honest if something's wrong, which... well, you would, if you were sure that something were actually wrong.

Mami chuckles softly, squeezing your hand and passing her lunchbox to Hitomi to hold.

"How far are we going, Sabrina?" she asks, smiling at you.

"Just out of earshot, I think," you say. "It's just awkward and private."

"Alright," she says, tugging you away. "Just back here, then?"

"Yeah," you agree with a smile. You let her lead you round the back of the stairwell, hidden from the main group by the miniature flying butresses and short spires. It's a lovely day, the noon-day sun a pleasant warmth on your shoulders and radiating from the stone all around you in contrast to the chill in the air.

Mami guides you over to the fence at the edge of the rooftop and nudges you into sitting, not letting your hand go as she gives you another once-over.

"What's on your mind, Sabrina?" she asks softly.

You smile at her.

"I'm OK, Mami," you say. "I really am. It's just been a weird morning. And, ah... give me a moment, first?"

"I believe you, Sabrina," Mami says, returning the smile. "I know you'd tell me if something were wrong. But I can't help but worry, you know?"

You return the smile, leaning against her as you pull a blob of enchanted Grief from your hammerspace and take a moment to form it into the privacy construct - that's just about the last of the stuff, and you'll have to remember to enchant more. Maybe on the way to and from Kagoshima later in the afternoon.

But for now, you focus on the Grief, Mami squeezing your hand gently as you finish forming the construct and let it dangle from your finger.

"It's..." You stare, once more, at the skyline of Mitakihara as you start to speak. "Today, I discovered that I can be jealous? And I'm just... I never thought I would be."

"Jealous?" Mami prompts gently. She lets go of your hand, but only so she can wrap her arm around you, drawing your head to rest on your shoulder.

"Of the Soujus, of all people," you say with a snorting laugh. "I went over to check that they were OK, and we talked a bit - the topic of their method of 'cleansing' came up, and they demonstrated it for me."

You frown, ignoring the twist in your stomach at the memory of that scene.

"And seeing it in front of me was... a shock?" you say. "I mean, they'd already told me they could do that, but somehow seeing it with my own eyes was different. Just... it felt like... bad acid reflux, or something, and it was bad enough that I thought maybe it was some kind of weird magical interaction?"

"Seeing something with your own eyes can make all the difference," Mami agrees quietly. "It makes things more real."

"Yeah," you say. "I... made my excuses and left."

"Does it still feel like that when you think about it?" Mami prompts.

"... do you know, Kyouko asked me the same thing?" you say. "But yeah. It does."

Mami chuckles ruefully, her arm tightening briefly around you.

"She's a good magical girl," she says.

"I thought about asking to talk to you," you confess. "And I... honestly, I might have been selfish enough to do it, but Kyouko asked me for help with a strong Witch just as I was thinking about it. And I figured, well, might as well vent a bit hunting a Witch, you know?"

"It's not at all selfish to ask for help," Mami murmurs. "Especially not from me, Sabrina. I would have been delighted to make the time for you."

Wordlessly, you turn and wrap both arms around her.

"I know," you say, warm and sincere. "And it's definitely not that I didn't want to, it's just... circumstances. And I mean... heck, the moment you were actually free, I came to whine to you, didn't I? Here I am."

"Here you are," Mami agrees, leaning her cheek against the top of your head. She takes a breath, ruffling your hair, and you feel her lips curl into a rueful smile. "But you weren't finished?"

"Well... there's not much more to tell, honestly," you say. "Kyouko pointed out I was being a dumbass and not recognising basic human emotions, and also that I don't have any actual memories, so the... jealousy hit harder because I don't have any similar experiences to help, ah, offset it, you know?"

"Kyouko's always been insightful when she wants to be," Mami says. "But... it seems to me she missed out a piece of crucial advice."

"Oh?" you say, sitting up to give Mami a curious look.

She holds your eyes with hers for a long moment, honey-gold on clear blue, clearly hesitant and thinking something through... and then she steels herself and smiles, wry but warm and with an entire world of emotion in her gaze as she takes your hand and interlaces your fingers together.

"I think, instead, I'll make a confession of my own," she says. "And I want you to let me finish, alright?"

"Alright," you say, squeezing her hand. You're not letting her go.

Mami inspects you for a moment, then nods.

"When you told me that you'd gone to Kyouko about this, I felt a little jealous. A little worried that I'd... lose what we have," Mami says, her voice wavering a little - but before you can say anything, presses a finger to your lips with your free hand. "I know, Sabrina. But emotions are silly things, you know?"

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way," you say, despite her finger to your lips, despite her request that you let her finish. Because it has to be said. Because you know Mami has been abandoned before, far too many times. It's your turn to stare into her eyes, trying to convey every scrap of your sincerity and your own adoration for her. "I'd- I'd never abandon you, Mami. Never."

Mami chuckles softly, rueful as she withdraws that finger.

"I... I suppose I should have known better than to ask you not to say anything about that," she says. "So... I'll say thank you, Sabrina. Thank you for caring, thank you for reassuring me. I believe you, I believe in you. I wouldn't have the courage to have admitted something like that, if it weren't for you being here with me."

"Always," you promise, raising her hand to your lips so you can press a kiss to her knuckles. "Always, Mami."

Mami blushes a little, smiling.

"You've gotten me off track," she chides, tone light despite the serious look she gives you. "Now, I have a question for you, Sabrina. Knowing all that, knowing what I thought... does that make me a bad person?"

"What? No, neve-" You blurt your answer as you bolt upright, staring at Mami, and then blink as the words process.

"You're not a bad person for having bad thoughts, Sabrina," Mami says with soft, deadly serious emphasis, her eyes holding yours once more. "Especially not for something you can't control, or of being jealous over something very similar to what you'd staked your very soul on. I certainly don't think any less of you, any more than you do of me, and nor should anyone."

... well.

It's not like you can argue with that.

You huff out a fond, amused breath, unable to stop the smile from breaking out across your face.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you, but it can't possibly have been enough," you say, pulling Mami into a proper hug. "Thank you, Mami. I... suppose I still need to learn how to actually deal with it, but... that helps. Thank you."

"I don't know what I did to deserve you," Mami says, her smile returning, warm and strong. "I... I truly don't think I would have possibly dared to that admission two weeks ago. You changed that for me, Sabrina."

"I'm glad," you murmur. "I'm glad I can help you."

"More than that," she says. "Much more than that. But come, we... if there's nothing else, we should get back to our friends? I hope they haven't been waiting for us to eat..."

You blink, and grimace as you let your privacy construct dissipate.

"Ugh, I didn't even think of that," you say. "Suppose that goes to show how out of sorts I was."

"Which is more than understandable, given everything," Mami tells you, smiling.

She rises gracefully to her feet, offering you a hand up, and together you return to the benches to find that your friends have, indeed, started on their lunches.

"Sorry," Sayaka mumbles around a mouthful of rice. "Hungry."

"No, no, I'd have been upset if I kept you all from lunch," you say, waving it off as you make your way to the empty spaces left for you, on the bench opposite to Madoka, Sayaka, and Homura. "As it is, I've kept Mami from lunch, which is totally unforgivable."

"I forgive you, regardless," Mami says with a magnaminous smile, nodding thanks at Hitomi as she reclaims her lunch box.

"Not to belabour the point, but you're sure you're alright, Sabrina?" Sayaka asks, peering at you.

"Yeah, I am," you say, popping open your lunchbox. You're not even annoyed - Sayaka's asking because she cares, and because you were behaving a bit oddly, and from the way Madoka and Homura are waiting for your answer, Sayaka's just giving voice to everyone's concerns. "I... look, my leitmotif was definitely reprising, but not in a minor key, you know? I'm genuinely fine. Also, here, I brought this to share."

You pull a thermal flask out of your hammerspace along with a set of small bowls, pouring out extra corn potage from breakfast for everyone.

"Oh, well, if you put it that way," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes as she accepts a bowl of thick soup.

"Yep," you say, tapping your chin with the back of your chopsticks and scowling vaguely skywards. "It was... just the piano motif being played softly and all, but still a major key. Though honestly, that's somehow more insulting, if you think about it?"

"Musical character analysis was last term, Sabrina," Hitomi says, turning her nose up at you with a haughty sniff. "You're far too late for it to be relevant. Well... no, I suppose we are still doing musical theory."

Madoka makes an unhappy face at the reminder.

"Don't remind me," she says. "I'm still worried that essay I submitted..."

"Oh, don't be silly," Hitomi says. "Your essay was excellent. I had to ask for help, and I'm not happy with the final product."

"I still refuse to believe you have trouble with music theory," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes. "You've been taking those piano lessons since you were in diapers."

"I can play perfectly fine, yes," Hitomi sniffs. "But that's very much different from understanding the theory in proper depth. That said, we were discussing Sabrina's theme music?"

You laugh at the byplay, having taken the moment to stuff some rice into your mouth.

"Music theory aside, I'm fine," you say, chewing and swallowing. "Really. Thank you for caring, everyone. And... it's really not that it's, uh, 'so bad' that I'm not sharing, it's just... genuinely kind of awkward and embarassing."

"You're our friend! We definitely wouldn't judge you for it, whatever it was," Madoka says, then ducks her head, embarassed. "Right, Sayaka?"

"Hey, I'm not that bad," Sayaka grumbles. "Why am I being singled out here?"

"I'm not so sure about that," Homura mutters quietly.

"Oh, come on, Homu, you too?" Sayaka says, rolling her eyes and clicking her chopsticks in Homura's general direction. "Anyway. Theme music! What've we got? Wait, I remember you made one for Mami, ages ago. Do I get one?"

"Yep," you say, grinning at Mami, then back at Sayaka. "Strings, mainly, violin, cello, bass and... bells. Definitely bells. It's gotta sound big. Something like..." You gesture with your hands, about to form instruments to play it for her, before blinking and looking around at the school building. "... like something that I need to remember to play for you at some point that is not here."

"Aw, come on, no one else ever comes up here," Sayaka says.

"It might be better to play it safe and keep it for somewhere in private," Mami offers. "I do know teachers don't come up here often, but if they hear something, they might check."

"Oh fiiine," Sayaka says. "But I'm collecting on that sometime."

"And... let's see," you say. "For Madoka, something choral with light, slow strings, light on the percussion, and reprise it as something pop-y for less serious moments, no, I'm not giving you a metal theme, Madoka."

"Aww," Madoka says, pouting and not quite managing to hide her pleased grin. "I'm not sure the choral music fits for me, though... what about Homura?"

"Nah, trust me, it works for you, I'll show you all sometime. And for Homura, some fast strings, sharp percussion, and woodwinds," you say, nodding firmly and beaming at Homura, who looks vaguely bemused by the conversation.

"I think... piano?" Sayaka says, giving Homura an evaluating look. "I think I can see piano for Homura."

"Piano, yeah," you agree.

And Hitomi-

You mentally stumble for a moment as you realize you don't immediately
have any musical association for her, but-

"And last but certainly not least, for you, Hitomi..." You cover up your confusion with a thoughtful look as your mind races furiously, trying to cover up for the lack. "Something light and airy for you, I think. Woodwinds... flute lead? Clarinet? Some strings... acoustic guitar. Definitely nothing too heavy."

"Hm..." Hitomi gives you a doubtful look. "I would have thought some piano, I feel. I do take lessons, after all. A guitar?"

"No, no, I- well, OK, piano could work too, but I want to-" you say, waving your chopsticks to try and illustrate. "Wait, no, here, I had a thought - I can't do the full musical instruments, but I can make us a speaker, and keep an eye on the stairwell? And uh... I can muffle the sound further out so they can't hear it down the stairs?"

"That sounds... manageable?" Hitomi says. There's a glint in her eyes as she sits up, ready to pick over the musical choice. "I'd be interested."

"Alright, alright-" you say, drawing some Grief out of hammerspace and forming a free-standing speaker, fake plastic casing and all, and at the same time, you let your Grief nanofog flood invisibly across the roof and through the floors and wall to the level below.

It doesn't take that much effort to mute the music beyond the immediate rooftop, simply muffling the soundwaves with a careful touch - and so, that's how you spend the rest of lunch. You take the opportunity to play Credens Justitiam for Mami, of course, right after you finish arguing discussing Hitomi's theme with her. You're allowed to be biased, after all, but after that, it's right into Homura's theme, then Madoka's, then Sayaka's...

By the time you finish running through all the music and talking about them, lunchbreak's coming to an end.

"We'll be going to Kagoshima after school, right?" Mami says. "And we'll be seeing if we can stop by Kyoto afterwards?"

"Or maybe before? I'm genuinely not sure whether we can fit it in," you say. "After's probably better."

Homura catches your eye, and you nod slightly. You remember what she said: it'd be good to try and recruit some of them for Walpurgisnacht. You'll be there to offer your help first of all, but you won't forget what Homura wants, or that you're preparing for a big fight either.

"Ah! Sabrina, we'll be getting together at my place after school today - Sayaka, Hitomi, Homura, me," Madoka says, brightening as she finishes packing up her lunch and getting up. "If you get into any politics or anything, you can call us too?"

"It... shouldn't come to that," you say. "But I'll definitely remember!"

"What will you do now, Sabrina?" Mami asks, smiling faintly.

[] It's been a while since you checked in on Masami, Hiroko, and Ono Megane
- [] Just a check-in
- [] Something specific?
[] It's been a while too and Sendai isn't that far...
- [] Just a check-in
- [] Something specific?
[] Second try at visiting Noriko, Akemi, and the Soujus
- [] Another attempt at understanding the Soujus' cleansing technique
- [] Find out more about their victims
- [] Something else?
[] Let's go see what the Kures are up to!
- [] Something specific?
[] Time for some science at Warehouse-kun
[] Back to hanging out with Kyouko
- [] Time to practice with Basic Meguca-ing 101
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

In case of linkrot, the tune I picked out for Hitomi is Postmeridie, from the original anime! It's not strictly her theme, but I think it suits her, personally.