Maybe? Her face seems a little thinner just before she transforms, but it is a little tough to tell, because in one frame she's standing with her mouth open and the next she's smiling. Her sudden hairstyle change makes her look younger, but I don't know about de-aging.
"OK," you say, relaxing against the bench. You're still worried about Hijiri Kanna, but it seems like Niko having a minder isn't out of the ordinary, given how out of it she appears to be.
Heh.
Mami emerges again, wearing another sleeveless dress cinched in at the waist to accentuate her figure - this one a nice pink, with dark grey washing in floral whorls across it. She meets your eyes, smiling in anxious question.
You huff, and smile at her. "Mami, you look wonderful. You'd look wonderful wearing a potato sack," you say, and tap your chin. "Turn around?"
Mami blushes, and obliges.
"Not this dress, I think," you decide. "Looks good, but I think there's better."
"The green one was nice," Kaoru offers.
"Yup," you say, and smirk. "Kazumi's choice was a bit scandalous, though. I mean, have you people heard of pants?"
You gesture down at yourself, just as the dressing room curtain swishes open again and Kazumi emerges, this time wearing a strapped, burgundy red dress cut mid-thigh. You take that in in the corner of your vision, and wave her over.
"Hey Kazumi, come over here for a moment?" You might have let your allegiance to rightful and proper lower garments slip for a bit, but no more. You hop to your feet, waiting to make sure Kazumi and Kaoru finish. "Mami, I'll be right back - not leaving the store, but I need to pick out a few suggestions for Kazumi!"
The store attendants give you tolerant looks as you tug Kazumi over the pants section, Kaoru following with curiosity in her gaze.
"These are pants," you explain with a grand gesture at the racks. "They're like skirts, or the bottom bits of dresses. You should try them!"
Kaoru exchanges a baffled look with Kazumi, who mouths something back at her. The orange-haired girl takes off.
"Hey," you say, grinning at her back. "C'mon, they're not that scary, right?"
"We... we know what pants are, Sabrina," Kazumi says.
"Not judging from your costumes!" you say as you start rummaging through the racks. "Hm, skinny jeans. You might look good in these, so... Hrm..." You squint at her, trying to estimate her size before snagging one off the rack and dropping it in her arms. "Try this. You might like it!"
"Uh huh," Kazumi says, starting to grin. "Tell me more about these... 'pants'."
"Well, imagine a skirt," you say, continuing to sort through the clothing on display. You can feel Kaoru approaching too, with Mami and Umika in tow. "Except you have two of them, one for each leg. Hi, Mami!"
You turn, and beam at her. She's wearing another of the dresses, this one cream with dark green and splashes of red to form floral patterns and flaring out into a wide skirt. She has an amused look on her face as she approaches, and your smile only widens.
"But wouldn't they only cover your legs?" Kazumi asks. "Hi, Mami! Sabrina's telling me about these mysterious things called pants."
"No, you see, pants have a top part too, see?" you say, holding up a pair of shorts for Kazumi to see.
"Oh, Sabrina." Mami shakes her head, fondly exasperated.
"Dress." You point first at Kazumi, then Kaoru, and finally Umika. "Skirt. Skirt."
Kazumi grins, pointing at Mami. "Skirt."
"Yes, but Mami's perfect, pants or no," you say, waving a dismissive hand. You point at yourself. "Pants."
"She has a point," Kaoru murmurs to Umika. "Our magical girl uniforms are all skirts."
"So are everyone else's!" Umika retorts.
You toss a pair of jeans at her, grinning. She catches it, rolling her eyes.
"Such wondrous creations," Kazumi marvels, plucking them from Umika's hands and holding them up to examine.
Mami laughs, shaking her head. There's a bit of a blush on her face, and the look she gives you is utterly warm and adoring.
"I think I might try for a pair of jeans too," you say, smiling back. "And I saw a nice dress I want to try, too."
"Hah!" Kaoru says, pointing an accusing finger at you.
"What? I wear pants most of my time," you say, sticking your tongue out at her in an absolutely stunning display of class and maturity. "Even my magical girl costume has pants. As any sensible costume should have."
"Mami's costume doesn't have pants either," Kazumi points out.
"Yes, but as I said, Mami's perfect," you say. "Speaking of which, that dress is lovely, Mami. Maybe?"
"There are still a few more to try," she says, blush reigniting. You laugh, beaming at her.
"True enough!" you agree. "I wanna try some clothes on-" for you "-too. Kazumi, really, do try the skinny jeans? I think they'd suit you."
The black-haired girl throws you a sloppy salute and heads back to the dressing room, friends in tow. "Will do!"
You smile at Mami, patting her arm. You want to hug her, but she's wearing the dress, and you also don't want the attendants to fuss at you for wrinkling the merchandise.
"I'll be right over as soon as I pick out a few things, alright?" you tell her.
"Can I help you choose?" Mami asks. The blush still hasn't faded.
"Of course," you say, smiling. "Maybe change out first?"
Mami glances down at herself. "Ah, good point. I'll be just a moment, is that alright?"
"Always," you say. "I'll be over here, alright?"
"Alright," Mami says, and heads off to change.
You take the quiet moment to reach out telepathically. Blue and red... "Hey Sayaka, hey Kyouko."
"Hi, Sabrina! And Kyouko?" Sayaka says.
"Yo," Kyouko drawls. "Th' hell do you want?"
"Training for Sayaka," you say. "Are you good for it? And you, Sayaka? After school today?"
"Ah... yeah, it's an hour or so, right?" Sayaka asks. "That works for me. Where are we meeting?"
"Industrial district here? There's a junkyard, or a warehouse area we can use. Or somewhere over in Kasamino?" you ask.
"Yeah, 'm good for it," Kyouko says, voice sounding oddly hitched. "I know a spot."
"Alright. All settled, then," you say. "See you both later!"
By the time Mami returns, back in her school uniform, you're rummaging through the dresses. You pull her into a hug, smiling.
"You're not done trying out new dresses~" you say. "But help me pick out something you'd like to see me in?"
"Mmmm," Mami agrees, nestling into the hug.
"I think I like this dark blue one," you say, huffing fondly and gently guiding Mami to turn around so that she can see.
She leans back against you, warm and comfortable. "I think you'd look good in anything," she says.
"But not as good as you," you say. "So I need the help."
"Lies," she says, reaching up to pat your cheek.
In the end, you do manage to pick out a handful of dresses, and retreat to the changing rooms to try them on. You meet Kazumi going the other way, practically strutting as she drags Umika and Kaoru to get skinny jeans.
You can't help but laugh in triumph, beaming at Mami before heading in to change, as does she.
Mami's waiting with eager eyes when you emerge in a dress of deep, shimmering blue velvet with sleeves up to your forearms and a pleated that falls to a modest midthigh. She clasps her hands in front of her, smile widening.
"What do you think?" you ask, twirling with your hands out and skirt flaring a little.
"You look lovely, Sabrina," she says warmly.
"Thank you, Mami," you say. "But the dress?"
"It's a wonderful dress," she agrees. "I... I think it might be the best, really."
"We'll see," you say, touching her lightly on the elbow and smiling. Kazumi waves as she passes you on a beeline for the changing room behind you, Umika and Kaoru both with armfuls of clothing. "Now come on, there's a few more dresses I want to see you try on, and there's more for you to see me in, right?"
Mami nods.
In the end, you do get that velvet dress, with both Mami and the Asunaro girls' approval. Mami gets a cream-coloured dress with a narrow, hip-hugging skirt and floral patterns of deep grey, one part of an absolutely fabulous outfit you can see perfectly in your minds' eye. She needs sunglasses, which she has at home, and a nice capelet to complete the look, so you note that down for later.
Kaoru leaves with a dress -burnt yellow, with not a scrap of orange to be seen, thank goodness- while Umika decides that nothing really suits her. And Kazumi... Kazumi gets skinny jeans. You'll count it, and Mami's agreement that it works for Kazumi, as a victory.
You're all in high spirits as you walk out of the store, chatting amiably. It's time to head back to school - and that reminds you of something. You wave to catch everyone's attention, Umika pausing her diatribe against publishers in general.
"Sorry, hold that thought for a second, Umika? Uh- we should probably not go right up to the school gate," you note as you stroll along the street, bag of clothing on one arm and Mami on the other.
"Oh?" It clicks for Mami a second later. "Oh."
You smile at her, bumping your shoulder gently against hers. "No. You needed a break, and there's no shame in that."
"I needed..." Mami shakes her head wordlessly, and nestles against you.
"Hey. I had fun," you say, smiling at her. "And there's more to come, right girls?"
"Right!" Kazumi agrees enthusiastically.
"Hmm..." you say, rubbing your chin. The shopping bag bumps awkwardly against your chest. "So, I was thinking- well, I should wait until everyone shows up, so we can all talk it over."
Umika picks up her rant right from where she left off, and you head to school. You wait a block over from the school, to avoid any awkward questions from the teachers or other authority figures. Your friends find you in short order, exchanging greetings. And you take a moment to propose something that's been percolating in the back of your mind for a while.
"Karaoke, anyone?" you say with a grin. "Later this evening?"
"Oh, I've never been before..." Hitomi says, perking up with interest.
"Hmm..." Sayaka scowls, making a face. "I was kind of hoping to get a visit in for Kyousuke, actually. You guys go ahead?"
"I don't know if I can really sing..." Madoka says, looking down.
"Nonsense!" Kazumi declares. "Karaoke isn't about singing well, it's about enthusiasm! Right, Umika, Kaoru?"
"Kazumi can't sing," Kaoru adds in a stage-whisper, earning her a betrayed look.
Homura looks almost terrified, from the way her face is set. And it only worsens when Madoka turns big, soulful eyes on her.
Violet eyes turn to you, a faint plea for help buried deep in the cracks in her poker face, and you just smirk back at her. You can see the wheels turning inside her head, and you know that she knows that you know that she's heard your arguments before, and you'll be willing to trot them out on a moment's notice.
Homura caves without a single word spoken. It's almost unfair, with both you and Madoka ganging up on her like this.
"I'll go, if we're doing it," she mutters.
"Huh, really? Wouldn't have pegged you for the karaoke type," Sayaka says. "Mami, Sabrina, we're still doing the hunt tonight, right? Um, Kazumi?"
"Eh? Oh, I suppose so..." Mami says. She'd huddled against your side, fretting anxiously with the handle of her bag.
"Yeah, unless something's come up, Sayaka?" you say.
"Nah, I should be good for it," Sayaka says. "Homework will be a bit of a bother..."
"Ah, we could study together?" Madoka says. "Homura too?"
"Yeah, sounds good to me!" Sayaka says.
Kazumi wrinkles her nose. "Ew, homework."
You turn your attention to Mami with a warm smile, wrapping your arms around her.
"Hey," you murmur in a low voice. "I promise I'll be back, safe and sound. Sayaka too."
"Alright," Mami whispers.
And- you've done this before, but not in front of everyone, but now's the best time for it, so-
You lean forward and kiss Mami on the cheek, quick and fleeting and just the barest brush of your lips over skin that's suddenly flaring as red as your own cheeks are.
"See you later, Mami." You just manage to keep a level tone and spin, ignoring the cheers -from Kazumi and company- and stares -from Hitomi and Homura and Madoka and Sayaka- and you grab Sayaka by the wrist and drag her away from the group. "C'mon time to go for training Sayaka."
Sayaka's laughing as she stumbles after you.
Voting opens
[X] On the way, remind Sayaka to not ask about Kyouko's powers
[] Write-in suggestions for Sayaka to use
[] After meeting up with Kyouko...
- [] Anything to talk to Kyouko or Yuma about?
- [] Let Kyouko take charge
- [] Offer to spar?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
I left out asking for Homura to talk later on purpose, by the by. Sayaka's still waiting for that raincheck on a conversation.
In the end, you do manage to pick out a handful of dresses, and retreat to the changing rooms to try them on. You meet Kazumi going the other way, practically strutting as she drags Umika and Kaoru to get skinny jeans.
Okay so just to be clear: We should in no way whatsoever offer to spar. We can offer Kyouko use of our grief as a training aid, should she so desire, but other then that we should stay the hell out of the way.
Sayaka is already above our level of melee, and the discrepancy is only going to get worse. This is a training session for Sayaka, with limited time to spend, so "wasting it" on us will slow down her progress.
If we can, we should try and get Sayaka a copy of Yuma's power - having healing available is going to be super useful in any number of crises, plus it makes her essentially strictly superior to vanilla Sayaka.
So I'd go for something like:
• Warn Seyiku about Kokos issues
• Share plans to make Seyiku OP OP
• Tell Koko what Seyiku's power is
• Offer to provide grief for training purposes if wanted, otherwise you'll stay the heck out of the way
• Observe at enough of a distance that they won't feel too bad about bonding over insulting you if they want
• Reshape the gold you're giving her for maximum fenceability
• Discuss letting Sayaka get a copy of Yuma's power
• The belated Sayakatalk (metabomb + probing if she's an ANGERU)
• Rejoin friends, hug mumi
This will take multiple updates, and is obviously still super rough, but that's the general shape of the plan at this point.
Okay so just to be clear: We should in no way whatsoever offer to spar. We can offer Kyouko use of our grief as a training aid, should she so desire, but other then that we should stay the hell out of the way.
Sayaka is already above our level of melee, and the discrepancy is only going to get worse. This is a training session for Sayaka, with limited time to spend, so "wasting it" on us will slow down her progress.
If we can, we should try and get Sayaka a copy of Yuma's power - having healing available is going to be super useful in any number of crises, plus it makes her essentially strictly superior to vanilla Sayaka.
So I'd go for something like:
• Warn Seyiku about Kokos issues
• Share plans to make Seyiku OP OP
• Tell Koko what Seyiku's power is
• Offer to provide grief for training purposes if wanted, otherwise you'll stay the heck out of the way
• Observe at enough of a distance that they won't feel too bad about bonding over insulting you if they want
• Reshape the gold you're giving her for maximum fenceability
• Discuss letting Sayaka get a copy of Yuma's power
• The belated Sayakatalk (metabomb + probing if she's an ANGERU)
• Rejoin friends, hug mumi
This will take multiple updates, and is obviously still super rough, but that's the general shape of the plan at this point.
Chances of Sayaka pulling us aside to have a conversation about our relationship with Mami within the next 5 Minutes: 47%
Chances of Sayaka pulling us aside to have a conversation about our relationship with Mami within the next 24 Hours: 62%
Chances of Sayaka pulling us aside to have a conversation about our relationship with Mami within the next 1 week: 85%
Chances of Sayaka pulling us aside to have a conversation about our relationship with Mami within the next 4 weeks: 100%
Also, we must thank the Doka for her assistance in getting Homura to karaoke. She should be rewarded with Homuhugs (or better, if we can convince Homura that she's in some sort of competition with Us and Mami for Public Displays of Affection, Homukisses & Homubluescreens).
Kazumi in skinny jeans... It's a Pantslessian Renaissance. More like Ren-ass-sance, am I right Sabrina, Kaoru, Umika, and maybe even Mami?
On sparring: Definitely let Koko run things, and only get involved if she asks. She's the master here, so we should let her teach (and seduce) Sayaka in her own way with Kokoplomacy. Maybe we could call her Koko though, just to give Yuma something else to irritate her with. As far as the church - I do think we should just get information on it. Kyouko's emotions regarding that church are probably very complicated, and we stick our foot in our mouth daily, so it's best not to get stabbed because we decided to dive into her PTSD headfirst.
I can't believe we kissed Mami in front of all our friends. Can we [X] die of embarassment somewhere? I mean soon, before Sayaka blows our cover and tells Koko that Mami's taken in the worst possible way?
"Oh, by the way, Sakura-san, you knew Mami-senpai before right?" "...You're pretty damn brave. Yeah, I did. What about it?" "Did you know? Mami's an adult now."
Okay so just to be clear: We should in no way whatsoever offer to spar. We can offer Kyouko use of our grief as a training aid, should she so desire, but other then that we should stay the hell out of the way.
Sayaka is already above our level of melee, and the discrepancy is only going to get worse. This is a training session for Sayaka, with limited time to spend, so "wasting it" on us will slow down her progress.
If we can, we should try and get Sayaka a copy of Yuma's power - having healing available is going to be super useful in any number of crises, plus it makes her essentially strictly superior to vanilla Sayaka.
So I'd go for something like:
• Warn Seyiku about Kokos issues
• Share plans to make Seyiku OP OP
• Tell Koko what Seyiku's power is
• Offer to provide grief for training purposes if wanted, otherwise you'll stay the heck out of the way
• Observe at enough of a distance that they won't feel too bad about bonding over insulting you if they want
• Reshape the gold you're giving her for maximum fenceability
• Discuss letting Sayaka get a copy of Yuma's power
• The belated Sayakatalk (metabomb + probing if she's an ANGERU)
• Rejoin friends, hug mumi
This will take multiple updates, and is obviously still super rough, but that's the general shape of the plan at this point.
"Uh, so if you don't mind my asking - are you related to the Nakano Corporation?" you ask.
"Oh, yeah. My grandfather owns it," she says. "Why?"
"Hm..." you say. "Is it alright if I don't answer that right away? It's nothing bad, per se, I just need to think about a course of action."
"Oh, pssht, don't worry 'bout upsetting me," Mika says. "You've got to actually work to do that."
"... right," you say, raising an eyebrow at the indifferent landscape rolling past. A split second later, you're deprived even of that simple pleasure as you hit a cloud bank. "Still, by that token, do you mind if I don't say?"
"Oh, sure," Mika says. "But now I'm gonna be curious about it."
I figure we could telepathy Mika while Sayaka and Kyouko do their thing. Maybe ask for details on what Nakano Corporation is gonna do with the plot of land; then tell Kyouko what we know after the spar is over.
Also, we should have a niiiiice chat with Sayaka on the way there.
I figure we could telepathy Mika while Sayaka and Kyouko do their thing. Maybe ask for details on what Nakano Corporation is gonna do with the plot of land; then tell Kyouko what we know after the spar is over.
Agree. That sounds like an excellent use of time, and if we get a positive result it means we can tell Kyouko about it and put her in touch with Mika after trainig is over and before we head home.
Well, we could salvage this! We just all need to go look for songs Homu could sing good, so she makes a good impression on Madoka, and then she'll feel good about all of this!
So, nothing super cheerful, but also no glum. What can we have Homura sing?
Yeah, makes sense. We're sitting out the training anyway, and reshaping some gold won't take that long, so working on that in the meantime is a good use of time.
How much of Kyouko's story do we want to tell, and what's our actual goal here? "Stop the demolition" is super nebulous and Kyouko hasn't even decided yet that if that's what she wants.