"I'll do my best to be there, Mami," you say, smiling at her. "Honestly, it's not like I
have to meet them at lunchtime, right?"
Mami nods, looking somewhat relieved, and you ease back from the hug to slip a hand into your pocket. Withdrawing your phone, you click through the menus and set an alarm forty-five minutes before noon - that should be plenty of time to get back, even from Kasamino. You'll probably make it with time to spare if you push yourself hard, in any case.
You smile at Mami again, reaching across the table to rest your hand on hers. "
And no matter what, you can always reach me. Whenever you want."
Another slow nod, a faintly worried smile on her face.
"A-alright," Mami says. "U-um. I'll give you the money after breakfast?"
"Sure," you say, squeezing her hand lightly, before returning to eating your breakfast. "There's no rush."
Breakfast is quickly finished, and Mami prepares for school, doing her hair with a snap of her fingers and short-lived flicker of magic. As you walk past Mami to the door, you reach out, lightning quick, to pull one of her trademark hair-drills out, and then let it snap back. "Boing," you say with a grin.
A startled, breathless giggle escapes Mami.
Your grin widens. "Well, shall we head to school? I'll walk you there, of course."
Mami nods, a small smile spreading across her face. She unlocks the door, stepping outside and putting her shoes on with quick, practiced motions.
You follow her out, and the two of you walk slowly, merging into the sparse early morning crowds of people. Half an hour and the pavement will be crammed shoulder to shoulder with people, but for now... A comfortable silence falls between you and Mami as you listen to the rumble of passing cars, the susurration of a dozen different conversations going on in the background, and the ever-present sensation of Mami at your side, bumping into you every now and then.
"Oh," Mami says, as if remembering something. She fumbles in her bag, and pulls her purse out, transferring the bag to her shoulder. She pulls out a few notes and hands them to you.
You take the notes, deliberately closing your hands over hers for a moment, and smiling at her. "Thank you, Mami." You tuck the notes away into a pocket in your sling bag.
"You're welcome," she says, smile fading.
You pause, turning to her and giving her a smile. "I'll do my best, OK?" you repeat patiently.
"O-OK," Mami says, her smile returning fractionally. Hesitantly, she reaches out, bumping the back of her hand against yours, and you turn your hand, grabbing taking her hand in yours.
The two of you get some odd looks, but eventually, bustle of the awakening city fades away as you turn into the lush vegetation of the path to Mitakihara Middle School, the burble of the stream beside the path a constant companion. You spot Madoka and Sayaka waiting further up the path, conversing with each other. Sayaka spies you a moment later, raising her hand to call out a greeting.
"'morning, Mami, Sabrina!" she calls.
"Good morning, Madoka, Sayaka!" you return the greeting brightly.
"Good morning," Mami says. She looks around, scanning the groups of students passing by. "Isn't Homura around?"
"Good morning, Mami! Good morning, Sabrina!" Madoka says, smiling softly at the two of you. "Ah... I haven't seen her this morning."
You sense Homura before you see her, the black haired girl suddenly
appearing in a side path, stepping out from behind some trees a moment later. "Hey, Homura," you call, raising your free hand in a lazy wave.
"Good morning," Homura says, amethyst eyes resting briefly on you, then Mami, then Madoka.
"Good morning, Homura!" Madoka says.
"Good morning, Homura," Mami says, smiling a little.
Chatter between the five of you whiles away the time as you walk to school. Sayaka stops at the school gate, looking down the road as if waiting for something. Her smile slips a little as she stands there, setting her bag down at her feet. "I think I'll wait for Hitomi," she says, faux cheeriness in her voice. "You girls go ahead."
"We'll wait too," Madoka says, stopping and glancing worriedly at Sayaka, her own shoulders sagging slightly, and she gives you a mournful look. You sigh, Mami squeezing your hand slightly. Homura gives the bluenette a minute, nearly imperceptible frown, before turning to regard the school.
A few minutes later, Hitomi's car pulls up, a middle-aged man -her father, presumably- bidding her farewell. Sayaka moves forward, taking Hitomi's bag, while the green haired girl disembarks from the car, manoeuvring her cast carefully. "Good morning, everyone. Ah, thanks, Sayaka."
"Good morning, Hitomi!" Madoka greets brightly, and the rest of you echo greetings.
"So anyway, guess I'll see you girls later," you say.
"Ah, see you later, Sabrina!" Madoka says.
"See you!" Sayaka says, a school bag in either hand.
"See you, Sabrina," Hitomi says.
Homura nods. "See you."
Finally, Mami turns to you, looking up at you. You smile softly at her, and catch her in a quick hug. "See you, Mami," you say quietly. "I promise I'll do my best."
"A-alright," Mami says. "See you soon, Sabrina."
You step back, and watch as your friends head in to school as a group. You exhale slowly, and turn, walking briskly away. Things to do, today.
The first thing to do... you feel mildly paranoid today, as if some interloper might come by. You circle around the perimeter of the school, walking along the fence while checking for any... unexpected magical girls, or Witches. Simultaneously, you reach out telepathically. "
Rin? This is Sabrina."
It takes a moment before Rin replies. "
Sabrina? Good morning. Is there anything wrong?"
"
Good morning! No, just checking in. How's things going, how's Akiko?" you ask.
"
Acceptably," Rin says cautiously. "
Akiko is... not well."
"
Ah," you say as you squint up at the top of the school building. "
Do you... need my help to cleanse her?"
A pause. "
No need, but thank you. She's just... she's not responding to much. We have to feed her, or else she doesn't eat."
You wince. "
... ah."
An awkward silence ensues, as you consider the absurdly ornate fence surrounding the school rooftop, your feet continuing to trace a path around the school. Seriously, it's like a castle up there. A fantasy castle, not one of those brutish, boringly practical castles of real life.
"
Is there anything else, Sabrina?" Rin asks.
"
No, not really. All the best, I'll probably drop by again some time soon," you say. "
Oh, and say hi to Sakura for me?"
"
Noted, and OK," Rin says. "
Bye."
"
Bye." As that call closes, you start a new one, to the
other Sendai group. "
Chouko? This is Sabrina."
"
Mmmn?" Her response is muffled and sleepy.
"
Um... hello? Did I wake you up?" you ask. Well, if she doesn't go to school...
It takes a while before Chouko responds again "
Mm. Good morning," she says muzzily.
"
Well, I'll be quick. Are things going OK for you?" you ask.
"
Yes, thank you, Sabrina," she says.
"
OK. Then I won't disturb you any more. Sleep well," you say.
"
Mmmn thanks," Chouko replies.
... huh. Whoops? Well, not really. Just, uh. Bad timing, but no harm done, you suppose.
And finally... "
Kyouko?"
"
Yo. Still alive?" the redhead replies.
"
No, I'm a ghost, back from the dead to haunt you," you reply, deadpan. You've reached the school gates again, and you watch as the teacher on duty starts taking down names for latecomers for a moment, before walking away.
"
Go haunt someone else," she grunts. "
Whatcha want?"
"
To meet you for a talk, actually," you say. "
I'll buy lunch or something, and cleanse your Soul Gem."
"
Why? Whatcha want from me?" Kyouko asks, suspicion in her voice.
"
To talk, honestly," you say. You turn down a secluded alley, and with a few ricochets, bound up to the rooftop of the apartment building. You plonk yourself down on a clean-looking vent, looking up at the sky.
"
You're offerin' your cleanses?" she asks, still sounding suspicious.
"
Yeah," you confirm.
"
Ugh, fine," she says. "
When's good?"
"
Was going to ask you
that, actually," you say.
"
Y' think my schedule's particularly tight or something?" she asks. "You
pick a time."
You shrug to yourself. "
Well, lemme get back to you on that in a moment, then," you say.
"
Sure, whatever," Kyouko says.
You close the connection, and reach out instead for the Grief marbles in your bag. You pull them up, forming them into a thin sheet that you wrap around yourself in a hollow sphere. There's not exactly a lot of Grief, and you're force to hunch over in the dark, cramped confines. A small effort of will, and a small segment starts glowing with a gentle luminescence, enough to read by. You focus your will, and you try to imbue the Grief with an absolute interdiction of outside observation.
The entire sphere, all around you, lights up with the distinctive feel of a Witch signature.
You smile in satisfaction, and reach for the notebook sealed in Grief, opening it up and starting to flip through it, looking for anything that might be happening today.
Nothing that much, it seems, but you find a mention of a glass Witch, written in a precise, delicate hand. A note beside it says that it doesn't show up every timeline, unlike... you flip through the notebook in the other direction, noting that some Witches are common, and others infrequent. Charlotte, for example, crossed out, appears nearly every timeline, apparently.
Which is... odd, considering Nagisa and Kyuubey's apparent complete disinterest in her. Hmm.
You check the book again - it does seem that there won't be much by way of notable Witches today. You're not sure if Homura recorded
every Witch in here, though, probably just the more notable ones. She doesn't have a perfect memory, after all.
You sigh softly, considering what to- well, actually. You seal the book away in Grief again and dissolve the sphere, taking deep, grateful breaths of the fresh air outside the sphere. You're pretty sure you don't actually need to breathe, but the air in there
was getting rather stale.
[] Write-in
=====
Well, yeah, the sphere was airtight.
