You don't let go of Mami, smiling at her instead. You regret the way some things have gone. You regret the way you'd broken the news to her, the way you broke
her. You could have done better, and you
should have done better. But you don't regret
this.
You don't regret your decision to be her friend. You don't regret being with her.
"Sabrina?" Mami asks.
"Just thinking," you say, and pull her into a hug. "I'm lucky to know you."
"I'm luckier to know
you," Mami mumbles into your shoulder, her arms warm and tight around your waist.
"I know you think so," you say, pulling back and smiling at her. "I disagree. So let's just leave it at that, and agree we're
both really lucky to have each other?"
"I... Alright." She takes a breath, and smiles at you. A touch wan, but warm and adoring. "Shall we start preparing for our guests?"
"Yeah," you say. "Let's."
You hook your arm through Mami's, and head to the kitchen, splitting up at the door. Mami raids the kitchen for ingredients, and you start getting all the dishes and pots and pans ready, Grief setting a dozen different items dancing through the air. You shoot Mami a grin - if you're going to do this in time, then you're going to
need the time.
Mami smiles back, and starts setting out food on the countertop. "Mackerel, we can grill that, shrimp for sushi? We have some fresh tuna we can make sashimi with."
"Chicken, hmm," you say, glancing over at the counter. "Simmer that with the tofu for one of the courses. Vegetables... Soup?"
"Vegetable soup. Miso soup, too," Mami agrees, stepping past you to grab the chopping board.
"I'll chop," you say, stopping her with a hand on her wrist. "You're better than me for the actual cooking, I'll handle the labour."
"You're just as good-" Mami protests, and smiles at you. "-but I know you'll disagree."
You huff, and grin right back. "Besides." You spread your hands demonstratively, Grief fanning out with the motion into razor sharp blades.
"Make sure it's clean!" Mami says, laughing.
You fall into an easy rhythm with Mami - she
does in fact let you take the grunt work, starting the ricecooker, chopping vegetables and meat. Mami sets the soup on the two inner stoveheads and gives you a smile, and you take over with Grief. And since you don't actually have to reach over to stir, Mami mans the stove with two pans. One with a lightly seasoned mackerel sizzling away and another to brown some chicken, and both smelling absolutely
heavenly.
"
Hey, Yuma!" you call out telepathically as you work. "
How's it going?"
"
Miss Sayaka told Yuma not to say anything to you!" Yuma says. "
Or else she wouldn't give Yuma candy!"
"
... really?" you say. Huh. Candy.
"
Big sis hit her for that, and took away the candy," Yuma says, mental voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. "
But big sis shared the candy with Yuma and
Miss Sayaka! So Yuma can tell you."
"
Ah, that's good!" you say, giving the vegetables a contemplative look. Nice, even cuts, but then you wouldn't expect anything less of yourself. Not when you're using Grief. You send all of it gliding over the pot, and lower it in gently. "
What news do you have for me?"
"
Big sis was really surprised at how much Miss Sayaka has improved!" Yuma tells you. "
She wants to know what you're feeding her. Can Yuma have some?"
"
A steady stream of powers and magic," you say, giving Mami a smile as you walk past her to the cupboard. "
I'm sure you're no slouch yourself, at this point."
"
Yuma beat Sayaka in the spar earlier!" Yuma says. "
Miss Sayaka wasn't expecting Yuma to fight so hard."
"
Oof, that's got to be a blow to the ego," you say. "
Well done, Yuma!"
"
Thank you!" Yuma says. "
Big sis and Miss Sayaka are sparring now, no powers. Big sis said, since Miss Sayaka liked the clones so much, she needs to be better with them."
"
Makes sense to me," you agree. "
Kyouko's a good teacher, honestly."
"
Big sis is big sis!" Yuma says happily.
"
Hah, well, keep me updated if anything interesting happens?" you say.
"
Yuma can do that!" Yuma says. "
Will you be coming next time?"
"
I should be," you say. "
See you later, Yuma!"
"
Bye-bye!" Yuma chirps.
Mami gives you an inquisitive look as you dart past her, reaching for the cupboard.
"Checking on Sayaka," you tell Mami, fishing a package of seaweed sheets from the cupboard. "Sushi, right?"
"Mmhm!" Mami says, smiling at you. "Ah, don't forget to put the sashimi into the fridge."
"Whoops, good point," you say, tucking the seaweed under your shoulder and ferrying the sliced fish to the fridge. "Where's the wasabi- ah, found it."
"Beef hotpot for the main course," Mami decides. "Could you help me slice the beef? And prepare the mushrooms?"
"Of course," you say, beaming.
The entire apartment smells absolutely,
ridiculously good by the time you're done. Yuma's shared a few more pieces of choice gossip, mostly about Sayaka being chased up and down the training area by Kyouko, and you're pleased that everything seems to be going well on that front. And Mami even took the time to create decorations out of ribbons, little ribbon flowers and ornaments while you painstakingly formed food into shapes.
You flop on the couch with Mami. "Do you... do you think we may have overdone it?" you say, toying with the pendant around your neck.
Mami giggles, nestling comfortably under your arm. "Maybe a bit."
"Ah, well," you say, reaching for the television remote. It goes to some gameshow or another, but really, it's just there to provide a bit of white noise while you wait.
"Mmmnm," Mami mumbles, cuddling closer.
It isn't too much later when you feel two presences enter your sphere of detection. "They're here."
"Oh!" Mami says, stirring. You tighten your arms around her waist.
"Not
here here, they're still at the ground floor," you say. "But they'll be here soon."
"Oh," Mami says, and smiles. "Alright, then. Is everything still warm?"
"Yup," you say. You wait patiently as they take the elevator, and wait as they walk down the corridor looking for your apartment. And then-
"There we are!" Mami says, hopping to her feet at the sound of the doorbell.
You open the door together to greet the Shiogama girls. Saito Akemi, with her sharp features and eyes of dark pink, is the first to step forward. She bows, wavy brown hair hanging like a curtain around her face.
Noriko -and there's only one of her for now- bows too, a touch belatedly. Her hair's a solid mass of vivid green drawn back into a ponytail, with just a few yellow streaks peaking through.
"Thank you for inviting us, Miss Tomoe, Miss Sabrina," Akemi says, a bit too loud, a bit too nervous.
"There's no need for that," Mami says. "Please, come in."
They straighten, and let Mami usher them inside. Both of them seem to have dressed up a bit, both in neat, matching dresses. They look around the room, apparently curious.
"Welcome," you say, smiling at them. "Glad you could make it. Dinner'll be just a few minutes, OK? Go ahead and take a seat."
You bustle off to the kitchen, and back with the first few courses. A
proper kaiseki has a dozen or so courses, half of them bite-sized, all of them prepared with fresh-as-in-collected-the-very-same-day-
fresh, but by mutual agreement with Mami that it would take too long, you serve multiple dishes at once.
"Itadakimasu!" you all chorus. The two Shiogama girls sit opposite to you and Mami, digging in tentatively.
You watch as they take their first bites, and give Mami a proud smile at their widening eyes.
"It's good," Noriko murmurs.
You pop the shrimp appetizer into your mouth and nudge Mami, still smiling.
"Thank you, Miss Watanabe," Mami says. She's already on the sashimi. "But really, this isn't a formal dinner. Please, there's no need to stand on ceremony."
"Yeah," you say, smiling. "Really, we just want to get to know you."
"It's appreciated," Noriko says, chopsticks moving daintily. "In truth, there's not much to tell that... you don't already know."
Her expression falls, Akemi shifting a little closer.
"Well... we don't really know each other, right?" you say, smiling gently. "So, um... I'm Sabrina, as you know. Vee Sabrina, on paper, but the surname is a bit of a weird thing. My powers are Grief control, and I enjoy spending time with Mami and my other friends, and helping people."
Mami blushes, and you beam at her.
The Shiogama girls exchange a look before Noriko speaks. "T-then... I'm Watanabe Noriko," she says. "Um... my power is that I have a second body? It's very useful. Uh, well, I like Akemi, and I sculpt a bit, and, ah, I like video games. Calligraphy, too."
"And I'm Saito Akemi. And
I like my girlfriend Noriko! Uh... my power is luck. It's, um, mostly passive," Akemi says, and smiles sheepishly. "I suppose it might be one of the reasons we're here? Um... yes, I like Noriko, I like experiencing new things, and... I like reading."
She elbows Noriko. "
You like reading too," she says.
Noriko's smile falters a little. "I do," she says quietly. Her eyes flicker up to meet yours. "We were all in the book club... before. It's how we met."
"Do you want to talk about her?" Mami asks, her tone soft and gentle. "It's alright if you don't."
"I... we'd rather not," Akemi says. Noriko picks at her sashimi, before picking it up and cramming the entire portion into her mouth, followed by the wasabi paste.
"This is
good!" Noriko says. There's just a hair of an edge warbling under her bright, cheery tone. "Is this fresh?"
"Yep!" you say, smiling. If she wants to change the topic, you're perfectly willing to go with it. "Freshly cut about... er, about an hour ago. And that's fresh wasabi, too."
"Mmmmm," Noriko says. "It's excellent! You and Miss Tomoe should open a restaurant."
"Honestly, I'm not convinced Mami's power isn't cooking," you say, giving Mami a fond look. "Magic's just something you picked up on the side, right, Mami?"
Mami nods gravely. "Alas, you've revealed my secret," she says, a hint of a smile curling her lips.
"Well, of course," you say, grinning. "How could I ever let such majesty be hidden away?"
Mami blushes, smacking your shoulder lightly. You grin at her, and take the moment to pop the last of your sushi into your mouth.
"Can't be better than
my power," Akemi says after a moment.
"
Excuse me?" you say, and grin at her.
"
My power is the reason we're here, after all," Akemi says. She holds out one hand, fingers spread. "If it weren't for that, then we wouldn't be meeting
the Tomoe Mami."
"... that's a fair point, but Mami's still better," you say, just as firmly. You stand, reaching across the table. "Anyway, everyone's done with the first few courses, so let me get your dishes..."
You grab
everyone's dishes, some of them floating on Grief. When you return from the kitchen, you're bearing the main courses - a small bowl of vegetable soup as a palate cleanser, beef and mushroom and vegetable seasoned and simmered to perfection, miso and tofu soup...
"That smells amazing," Akemi says, sitting up and peering at the dishes as you set them up. This is going to be
so much washing later.
"Thank you," Mami says, smiling. You take your seat beside her, and you all start digging in.
"So do you have anything in mind for what you want to do, Miss Saito, Miss Watanabe?" you ask, sipping gently from your bowl of soup.
"Not really," Akemi says, shaking her head. "Do... do you have something in mind for us?"
"We do not," you say firmly.
"We've invited you here because you need somewhere to live, not because we want something from you. But..." Mami adds, smiling gently and glancing at you. "There
are things you should know."
"I promise you that we have
no intention of making you fight, or make payments or anything," you say. "I swear it. But as Mami says, there
are complications. I... well, I'm willing to go into it now, but the food will get cold. Would you rather hear it now, or later?"
"I..." Noriko exchanges a look with Akemi before clearing her throat and looking up. "We appreciate that, Miss Tomoe, Miss Sabrina. If it's alright, we'd rather go into the details after dinner?"
Akemi essays a weak smile. "It would be a shame to waste your efforts cooking."
"That's not a problem," you say, smiling back. Your hand finds Mami's under the table, and she squeezes gently. You switch your chopsticks to your other hand, fumbling before using Grief to stabilize them.
"Miss Saito, Miss Watanabe, you mentioned you were in the book club?" Mami breaks the silence with a smile. "Have you any good book recommendations?"
"Ah... well, we've... not been in school," Akemi says. "But we've been reading the Haruhi Suzumiya series again! A new novel is being released soon."
"Oooh," you say, and snicker. "Did you watch the anime?"
Noriko cringes, chopsticks freezing midair. "Don't talk to me about the Endless Eight."
An anime to show Homura sometime between the sun burning out and never, really, but you can definitely talk about it. Especially the decision to reanimate and revoice the
exact same episode eight times in a row to show the effects of a timeloop.
"Aw, it wasn't so bad," you say, grinning. "Right, Mami?"
"I only watched it after the fact," Mami says. "It wasn't too bad."
"Noriko was watching it as it aired," Akemi says. "Made
me watch it, too. Misato..." Her smile fades.
Noriko takes a deep breath. "We all watched it together," she says. "It was
agonizing."
"It was probably worse for Nagato, who had to go through it, uh... fifteen thousand times," you say, grinning. "I mean it was honestly a really clever gimmick."
"Fifteen thousand, five hundred and thirty two. Clever doesn't mean
good!" Akemi protests.
"I always thought it was because of a last minute studio decision to turn Disappearance into a movie," Noriko says. "Seven episodes would have been more than enough to cover it, but then the decision would have left them searching for filler."
You shrug, mouth full of beef and mushrooms. Delicious, delicious mushrooms.
"Mmmrmph," you say, swallowing. "Oh, since we're on the subject of books... or
were, really, but before I forget, I've got a book recommendation. Upcoming novel, The Sky of Seven Stars. A friend of ours wrote it, so I'm obliged to plug it."
"I think I've heard about it," Akemi says, frowning. "Or... I saw an ad for it somewhere? I'll keep an eye out!"
"Let me know if you spot it in the wild," you say. "Because now that I'm telling you this, I just realised I have no idea when it's actually going to be in the bookstores."
Mami giggles faintly, bumping against you. You spend the rest of dinner with amiable, light chatter, letting the topics ramble on. You watch them relax, but it's clear enough to you that they're still grieving, the kind of deep, pervasive loss that cut
deep and would probably stay with them forever.
Finally, though, dinner finishes with dessert, ice cream topped with fruit. The clinking of utensils against dishes stills, and an almost expectant silence falls.
"So," you say, stirring your spoon through the remains of your ice cream. Noriko and Akemi sit up straighter, expectant and worried. "The elephant in the room."
"Just tell them, Sabrina," Mami murmurs to you, and looks across the table. "There's no easy way to break this news, I'm afraid."
"The first, big thing is Walpurgisnacht," you say. "Do you know what she is?"
They both shake their heads.
"The Queen of Witches," you say, setting your spoon down. "A Witch big enough, powerful enough, to exist without a Barrier. It is due. Here. In Mitakihara, on the night of Walpurgis. Thirtieth of April."
You look up. Their faces are slowly draining of colour as you meet their eyes. "I do not expect you to fight. We do not
want you to fight if you don't want to. You've just moved here, and you are under
no obligation to defend this city."
"But Walpurgisnacht is coming to Mitakihara," Mami says. "You'll have to evacuate, and... we're going to win, but the city is most likely going to be damaged."
"Mm," you say, and smile at them. "The real issue is that the damage is probably going to be on par with a hurricane hitting. Reconstruction will probably take a while, but the
good news is that we're already starting to arrange for that."
"Oh," Noriko says, sounding faint.
"We've got it handled," you say, smiling. "Or we
will have, by that time. It's just going to take time."
You're leaving out Feathers, of course, but one thing at a time, one shock at a time. Akemi reaches out to Noriko for support, grabbing her hand. And you can tell they're speaking to each other by telepathy. You let them, smiling softly at Mami as you wait. They need the time to process it, and so you let them have the time. Mami smiles back, and cuddles closer.
"You..." Noriko breaks the silence. "You said Walpurgisnacht was the
first thing?" She stumbles over the unfamiliar word.
"The second thing isn't nearly as earthshaking," you say with a smile. "Just that... well, with my powers, I can help a
lot of magical girls, and I intend to. We're expecting quite a few more immigrants to Mitakihara City - I think I did mention that you might be getting roommates, right?"
"You did," Akemi says. "That's..." She smiles weakly. "That's a lot more manageable, as far as bad news goes."
"I'm sorry," you say. "I really don't know if there's an
easy way to break the news of a giant, city-destroying Witch. Aaaaaaaanyway, I have to say - the worst case, on the topic of incoming magical girls, would be girls who specifically want to cause trouble."
"Because... of you," Noriko guesses. "I've never
heard of anything like your magic existing before."
"It hasn't," you say. "And I'm expecting that people will want to have that for themselves."
"They can't have you," Mami says, fingers tightening around yours. You smile at her, squeezing back.
"I know," you say. "This is my home. Here, with you." You smile at her, and turn your attention to the Shiogama girls. "Still, that's what we can expect, in the coming weeks."
They both nod wordlessly.
"I would..." you purse your lips, and start again. "I completely understand if you don't feel up to doing much. I understand, and I
want you to take as much time as you need to settle in and recover. But there
are a few things I could ask for your help with, if you're willing?"
"What do you need?" Akemi says.
"We don't have as much time for Witch hunting as we used to," you say, and hurry onward as you see their expressions fall. "And I'm not asking you to fight them! But if you're willing, helping to locate and tell us about them would be enormously helpful. And... well, as I said. We're expecting refugees. If you were willing to help us manage them, it would be an amazing help."
Akemi exchanges a glance with Noriko. "I think... I think we could do that," she says quietly.
[] Akemi and Noriko
- [] What else do you want to talk to them about?
[] After dinner activities
- [] Invite them to do something?
- [] See them off
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
It's currently about seven. The next vote will take you through to about nine-ish, so vote accordingly. Targeting a Saturday/Sunday update.
