You jerk upright in your seat, banging your shin against the seat in front of you, and scream a little -OK, maybe a lot-, inside your head. Your heart thunders in your chest, and you think your eyes are probably the size of dinner plates right about now.
There's a little high pitched '
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' noise escaping your mouth.
Deep breaths.
Deep breaths, Sabrina.
Calm down. You are calm. You are stillness. You are the placid mountain lake in the dead of winter.
Deep breaths.
Through it all, Oriko watches with that damnable not-quite-smirk on her face. Because smirking would be too
unrefined.
"Hello," you manage, finally. Your voice isn't quavering at all, honest. Not a bit. You brush your hair back with your left hand, the one bearing your Soul Gem ring. "Oriko, I believe?"
The grey haired girl inclines her head a centimeter. "Indeed."
"... have we met before?" you ask, carefully. Well, maybe she'll believe you don't know anything?
"We have not, Sabrina," the precog replies, placidly folding her hands in her lap.
You sit in silence for a few long minutes, unwilling to broach further conversation, and Oriko seems perfectly happy to sit there, staring at nothing in particular. Carefully, you crane your neck, looking around for a certain black haired girl.
Kirika is nowhere to be seen.
Somehow, this reassures you not one bit.
"Uh... don't you have a girlfriend? Is she around?" you probe.
"Kirika? Oh, she's in school, I'm sure," Oriko replies, vaguely.
You glance outside, and see that the bus is coming up on the Shirome Academy stop, and then look at Oriko again. She's still staring at nothing in particular, and humming tonelessly.
... she's making no move to get off.
"Hey, uh..." you try tentatively.
"Yes?" she replies.
"Isn't this your stop?" you ask. Maybe... maybe she'll get off?
Oriko peers out of the window, clearly taking in the sign that says 'Shirome Academy'. "Yes, I do believe it is."
She remains firmly in her seat, blocking you from the aisle.
"Uh... I think I'll be getting off here," you try.
She places one hand, her
left hand, with her puella magi ring gleaming on her finger, against the seat in front of her. "No. You will not. I know what you intend. Better, I think, than you yourself know."
You grimace. She just might, you have to admit. It's not like you've made
any plans at all.
Perhaps that should change.
... nevertheless, you're afraid to try anything against Oriko, here and now, where she'd obviously prepared for you. You subside in your seat, even as the bus doors shut and it continues past Shriome Academy.
"You are not, by the by, a student at Shirome," Oriko observes, a while later.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" you challenge, slightly sullenly. It's clear you're playing
her game right now.
"Well, you don't. But it would be a waste of time for you to check, and I'm
sure you have better things to do with your time," the precog replies. "You're due at the hospital this afternoon, don't forget."
The two of you lapse into silence again, and a long, nerve racking period of time passes. People come and go on the bus, giving curious looks to the pair of girls sitting together - one calm and placid, the other,
seemingly calm and placid. Nobody comments, though, and eventually, over an hour later, the bus reaches its terminal.
"Well, this is where I get off," Oriko breaks the silence again. She rises gracefully to her feet, and turns her back on you, completely unafraid, which only lends weight to your earlier reluctance to attack.
You
think you could beat her in a fair fight, but you're
extraordinarily reluctant to see what contingencies she has.
You don't exactly have anywhere to go, and so, you get off the bus behind her, frowning at her back as she slowly walks away from the bus terminal. You look around, thoroughly unfamiliar with your current location. You're in one of the older districts of Mitakihara, you think, without the ludicrous skyscrapers. You know roughly which direction Mami's house is in, but the maze of buildings currently surrounding you makes seeing any landmarks difficult.
"Oh, by the way. It's a nice apartment you and Mami have, don't you think?" Oriko calls over her shoulder.
... did she just threaten Mami's apartment?
Was this just a diversion?
[] Head back to Mami's apartment
-[] Top speed roof hopping
-[] Bus
[] Nah, it's probably nothing
[] Write-in
=====
It is now 9AM, in Quest.
