Office Complex pt. 19
"I asked because..." you purse your lips. They deserve to know, for good or for ill: They're here, in Mitakihara, under your protection. Which means they're caught up in this. "Well. It's something I'd rather discuss under some privacy, if you don't mind?"
"Huh?" Noriko asks.
"It's a secret, and I'd rather keep it that way from any prying ears," you explain as you grab the enchanted Grief to you. "So I'll be using Grief to set up a privacy sphere, and it'll feel quite Witchy. If you don't mind?"
"Um..." Both Norikos look at Akemi, who nods firmly. "OK?"
"Thank you," you say with a smile, already raising the Grief between both hands. "Give me a moment?"
It only takes you a moment to form the privacy construct, Grief flowing under your fingers at your will to form the familiar green band on a pedestal. The world goes fuzzy around you, blurred darkness beyond the boundaries of the sphere, Noriko and Akemi swaying away from the blare of Witch, Witch, Witch!
"It's alright," you murmur, and grin faintly at them. "This is just something I can do with Grief - I control it, and I can imitate what Witches do."
Akemi nods, thin-lipped and wary and safely wrapped in Noriko's arms.
"Sorry, just- this is an important secret," you say, gesturing vaguely. "I'll take down the privacy bubble as soon as we finish this discussion, and just to be clear, you aren't actually trapped in here in any way. You can step through the boundaries of the bubble, actually - it's just that nothing can eavesdrop on us in here."
"OK," Noriko says with a stiff nod. "What's the big secret?"
"I... well. One of my goals is de-Witching," you say, resting your elbows on your knees and leaning forward a bit, hands clasped. "Turning Witches back into magical girls. I've only just begun, and I don't have enough info to say how it'll turn out, but... yeah. If you'd had Misato's Grief Seed..."
Akemi's expression freezes, and then she laughs, short and bitter as her expression crumples.
"'Lucky'," she mutters. "What good is it?"
"Akemi, no," Noriko whispers, both of her bodies moving to hug her fully. "It wasn't your fault."
"No, it wasn't," Akemi snarls quietly. "It wasn't my anything, because I wasn't even there."
You wince. That does explain a lot, but you feel like you shouldn't be here. You want to give them their privacy, but you can't move without attracting their attention.
"Neither was I," Noriko snaps. "Neither was I, Akemi. Is it my fault?" She looks up at you, green and yellow eyes hard, and from the way one of her bodies jerks her chin towards Akemi, she expects you to say something.
... You're not sure why, but if she's sure...
"I don't know the full story," you admit quietly. "But I..." You break off with a sigh. "You know about Sendai, right?"
"Right," Noriko answers for the both of them. Akemi looks up at you, wordless, simmering rage in her expression - the lines around her eyes, the tension of her jaw. But it's not directed at you.
"People died," you say. "It was, in a way, my fault. I wasn't fast enough to stop the fighting. They were collateral damage." You almost spit the words. "But I was there. I didn't stop it from happening, either."
You sigh, meeting Akemi's eyes. "I don't know whether this works for you, but... the only thing we can do is to try and do better."
Maybe Homura didn't mean it in quite that way, but it's good advice, you think. It's how she keeps going, you imagine - seeking to do better, every time she turns back the clock. It's what you need to do, to look forward and strive.
Akemi closes her eyes, breathing deep.
"I'll... take your advice under consideration," she says after a moment and exhaling hard as she straightens. "I apologise for my outburst, Miss Vee."
"There's nothing to apologise for," you say firmly. "Emotions are only human. Would you like me to cleanse your Soul Gems?"
"... sure," Akemi says, and with a nod from Noriko, you proceed to do just that.
"So, um," Noriko says. "You're... working on de-Witching?"
"Yeah," you say. "And if you've heard anything about the subject, I know that other attempts have ended badly. I'm being as careful as I can, and, well... I can devote a lot more resources to the subject, thanks to my powers."
Noriko nods.
"And, um," you say. "I'm sorry I wound up inadvertently touching on some painful matters."
"There was no way you could have known," Akemi says quietly, and sighs.
"Nevertheless," you say, shaking your head. Still, you can read the mood, and it is definitely in favour of changing the topic right now. "Anyway. Do you have any questions about the project?"
"What do you need us to do for it?" Akemi asks.
"Well, um, nothing?" you say, shrugging. "I only asked because... y'know. And if you'd like to know more, I'd be happy to explain? But no, there's nothing I would demand from you, for this or anything else." You smile at them. "You're here because you need somewhere to stay, and the only thing I want from you is for you to be happy."
"... so you've said," Akemi says after a moment.
"Because it's true," you say, and grin. "Anyway. Do you have any more questions for me? Do you need a moment alone? I can step outside."
"A moment alone would be nice," Noriko says, before Akemi can say anything.
"Alright," you say with a smile. You hop to your feet. "Uh. Remember, nothing passes through the privacy field, so... you'll have to actually step out to get my attention."
"Got it," Noriko says.
The last you see of them as you step past the boundary of the bubble is Akemi turning to the blonde Noriko, burying her face against her girlfriend. You sigh quietly to yourself, glancing back at the blacker-than-black bubble of your privacy sphere for a second before meandering over to the window.
They've gotten some plants, you notice, a few small pots lined up neatly to catch the sunlight in an eclectic mixture. An aloe vera, a bromeliad, and a peace lily. Still, you approve, because you want them to be more comfortable here, and if this helps, you're not complaining.
Mugin joins you, cawing quietly, and you let him clamber up to your shoulder. "Had a good explore?" you ask. He caws in response.
"Miss Vee?"
You turn, smiling, to find Noriko, Noriko, and Akemi stepping out through the bubble. They all look more composed, though Noriko's bundling Akemi off to the bathroom, presumably to wash up. Noriko nods at you.
"We'll be ready to go in a few minutes," she says. "If that's alright?"
"Sure," you say, smiling. "I'll be here."
It turns out to be about fifteen minutes, including the time for them to change to outdoor clothes - a nice pair of dresses for the Norikos, and a sleeveless blouse-and-jeans combo for Akemi that shows off the muscles in her arms.
You sort of want to introduce her to Shinobu, now that you think about it. You have a vague notion that they'd get into a flex-off the moment they caught sight of each other.
With that thought lurking at the back of your mind, you lead the way to the roof, mind and powers ranging ahead so that a Grief platform is ready and waiting by the time you arrive. You step up, smiling, and plop down on the forward Grief seat - you have four seats, arranged one-and-three.
"Have you ever considered cushions?" Akemi asks, giving the platform dubious look. One of the Norikos steps up, offering her a hand.
"Yeah, but then I'd have to lug them around with..." You trail off, blinking. That's not actually a concern, now that you've properly figured out how to use your hammerspace. "You know what, I should get cushions at some point. All ready?"
"Sure," Akemi says.
"Ahem. Please keep your arms and legs inside the ride while it is in motion," you say, raising the windscreen and walls with a bright grin and a grand sweep of your arm. Mugin caws in annoyance, ruffling his feathers and hunkering down. "Mitakihara Meguca Airlines flight 008... ready for takeoff."
"... aren't you mixing planes and rollercoasters?" Noriko asks. You can feel the perplexed look directed at the back of your head.
"Yes, but meh," you say happily, and lift skywards. "Hey, Hiroko, Masami? We're on our way over."
"Got it," Masami responds. "I told you the address, right?"
"Yup," you say. "See you soon."
"Ono's on her way over too," Masami says. "See ya there!"
You disconnect, humming quietly to yourself. The Shiogama girls are peering out of the windows with interest, drinking in the sight of the city laid out below you in a vast, shining expanse of skyscrapers and roads.
It doesn't take too long for you to reach the... approximate location of the dessert parlour Masami mentioned. It's definitely the right neighbourhood, anyway - you can't exactly read street signs from the air, and while it helps that all the blocks are laid out in an orderly fashion, they're not perfectly orderly.
"There?" Noriko ventures cautiously.
You follow her pointing finger to spot a slender figure standing on a roof, with hands clasped demurely and lustrous black hair blowing gently in the wind. Lustrous black ringlets, of course, a lesser league than Homura's.
That would be Ono Megane, then. You haven't seen her in ages, and... she wanted to speak to you. Alone, apparently, if the fact of her presence on the roof by herself is any indication.
"Looks like it," you say, and wince. "That's Ono Megane, another of the magical girls around Mitakihara... she doesn't really like me, so I kind of threw her at the Animators, otherwise she'd probably have killed herself within a week."
"Oh," Noriko says.
"Yeah," you say, because what can you say to that? You bank towards the building, descending rapidly towards the roof. Megane's eyes snap to you as you approach, and you can see her chin lift as you land.
She marches right up to you as you step off your platform, expression perfectly unruffled and even. You can sense her Soul Gem - and it seems it's still filling up at a slow, slow trickle. Slower than you remember it being, but present nevertheless.
"Miss Sabrina," she says stiffly. Her eyes flicker to Mugin, perched happily on your shoulder, and back to you.
"... hi, Miss Ono," you say, giving her a little wave and a smile. "It's been a while. I hope you're well?"
You see her jaw twitch.
"Thank you for sending Miss Wakahisa and Miss Gaikotsu my way." She says in a painfully formal voice. "They've helped me understand that habits I was keeping to were somewhat questionable."
"I'm glad to have helped," you say with a broad smile. And you are, because you hadn't been able to convince her to stop whatever magic she was using. Something to do with appearance, you remember, though you hadn't figured it out in full.
"That said," she continues as if you hadn't said anything. "I do hope you realise that your arrogance was the reason I didn't listen to you."
You give her a blank look. What she views as arrogance, you kind of see as trying to get her to just save her own life. A different approach would have been better, in hindsight, but you didn't know what was ailing her. You still don't, in fact.
"I was trying to save your life," you say, echoing your thoughts out loud.
"Yes." She gives you a haughty, regal stare. "Additionally, you threw me at a pair of... ruffians. Helpful ones, but nevertheless."
[] She's probably just fishing for an apology from you. Apologise, and be done with that.
[] She's thanking you, in her own way. Acknowledge that.
[] You're still not happy with this outcome - she's still burning Grief. Subsisting off the Clear Seed you gave the Animators, presumably.
- [] Write-in something you want to raise?
[] Anything else to raise with Megane?
[] Onwards to meeting the Animators!
- [x] Vote in abeyance
- [] Anything specific to hit?
How's this for a weird update time?
I honestly had this update ready to go last night, but I decided to sleep on it instead. Still, I'm trying something slightly different with the voting this time.
"Huh?" Noriko asks.
"It's a secret, and I'd rather keep it that way from any prying ears," you explain as you grab the enchanted Grief to you. "So I'll be using Grief to set up a privacy sphere, and it'll feel quite Witchy. If you don't mind?"
"Um..." Both Norikos look at Akemi, who nods firmly. "OK?"
"Thank you," you say with a smile, already raising the Grief between both hands. "Give me a moment?"
It only takes you a moment to form the privacy construct, Grief flowing under your fingers at your will to form the familiar green band on a pedestal. The world goes fuzzy around you, blurred darkness beyond the boundaries of the sphere, Noriko and Akemi swaying away from the blare of Witch, Witch, Witch!
"It's alright," you murmur, and grin faintly at them. "This is just something I can do with Grief - I control it, and I can imitate what Witches do."
Akemi nods, thin-lipped and wary and safely wrapped in Noriko's arms.
"Sorry, just- this is an important secret," you say, gesturing vaguely. "I'll take down the privacy bubble as soon as we finish this discussion, and just to be clear, you aren't actually trapped in here in any way. You can step through the boundaries of the bubble, actually - it's just that nothing can eavesdrop on us in here."
"OK," Noriko says with a stiff nod. "What's the big secret?"
"I... well. One of my goals is de-Witching," you say, resting your elbows on your knees and leaning forward a bit, hands clasped. "Turning Witches back into magical girls. I've only just begun, and I don't have enough info to say how it'll turn out, but... yeah. If you'd had Misato's Grief Seed..."
Akemi's expression freezes, and then she laughs, short and bitter as her expression crumples.
"'Lucky'," she mutters. "What good is it?"
"Akemi, no," Noriko whispers, both of her bodies moving to hug her fully. "It wasn't your fault."
"No, it wasn't," Akemi snarls quietly. "It wasn't my anything, because I wasn't even there."
You wince. That does explain a lot, but you feel like you shouldn't be here. You want to give them their privacy, but you can't move without attracting their attention.
"Neither was I," Noriko snaps. "Neither was I, Akemi. Is it my fault?" She looks up at you, green and yellow eyes hard, and from the way one of her bodies jerks her chin towards Akemi, she expects you to say something.
... You're not sure why, but if she's sure...
"I don't know the full story," you admit quietly. "But I..." You break off with a sigh. "You know about Sendai, right?"
"Right," Noriko answers for the both of them. Akemi looks up at you, wordless, simmering rage in her expression - the lines around her eyes, the tension of her jaw. But it's not directed at you.
"People died," you say. "It was, in a way, my fault. I wasn't fast enough to stop the fighting. They were collateral damage." You almost spit the words. "But I was there. I didn't stop it from happening, either."
You sigh, meeting Akemi's eyes. "I don't know whether this works for you, but... the only thing we can do is to try and do better."
Maybe Homura didn't mean it in quite that way, but it's good advice, you think. It's how she keeps going, you imagine - seeking to do better, every time she turns back the clock. It's what you need to do, to look forward and strive.
Akemi closes her eyes, breathing deep.
"I'll... take your advice under consideration," she says after a moment and exhaling hard as she straightens. "I apologise for my outburst, Miss Vee."
"There's nothing to apologise for," you say firmly. "Emotions are only human. Would you like me to cleanse your Soul Gems?"
"... sure," Akemi says, and with a nod from Noriko, you proceed to do just that.
"So, um," Noriko says. "You're... working on de-Witching?"
"Yeah," you say. "And if you've heard anything about the subject, I know that other attempts have ended badly. I'm being as careful as I can, and, well... I can devote a lot more resources to the subject, thanks to my powers."
Noriko nods.
"And, um," you say. "I'm sorry I wound up inadvertently touching on some painful matters."
"There was no way you could have known," Akemi says quietly, and sighs.
"Nevertheless," you say, shaking your head. Still, you can read the mood, and it is definitely in favour of changing the topic right now. "Anyway. Do you have any questions about the project?"
"What do you need us to do for it?" Akemi asks.
"Well, um, nothing?" you say, shrugging. "I only asked because... y'know. And if you'd like to know more, I'd be happy to explain? But no, there's nothing I would demand from you, for this or anything else." You smile at them. "You're here because you need somewhere to stay, and the only thing I want from you is for you to be happy."
"... so you've said," Akemi says after a moment.
"Because it's true," you say, and grin. "Anyway. Do you have any more questions for me? Do you need a moment alone? I can step outside."
"A moment alone would be nice," Noriko says, before Akemi can say anything.
"Alright," you say with a smile. You hop to your feet. "Uh. Remember, nothing passes through the privacy field, so... you'll have to actually step out to get my attention."
"Got it," Noriko says.
The last you see of them as you step past the boundary of the bubble is Akemi turning to the blonde Noriko, burying her face against her girlfriend. You sigh quietly to yourself, glancing back at the blacker-than-black bubble of your privacy sphere for a second before meandering over to the window.
They've gotten some plants, you notice, a few small pots lined up neatly to catch the sunlight in an eclectic mixture. An aloe vera, a bromeliad, and a peace lily. Still, you approve, because you want them to be more comfortable here, and if this helps, you're not complaining.
Mugin joins you, cawing quietly, and you let him clamber up to your shoulder. "Had a good explore?" you ask. He caws in response.
"Miss Vee?"
You turn, smiling, to find Noriko, Noriko, and Akemi stepping out through the bubble. They all look more composed, though Noriko's bundling Akemi off to the bathroom, presumably to wash up. Noriko nods at you.
"We'll be ready to go in a few minutes," she says. "If that's alright?"
"Sure," you say, smiling. "I'll be here."
It turns out to be about fifteen minutes, including the time for them to change to outdoor clothes - a nice pair of dresses for the Norikos, and a sleeveless blouse-and-jeans combo for Akemi that shows off the muscles in her arms.
You sort of want to introduce her to Shinobu, now that you think about it. You have a vague notion that they'd get into a flex-off the moment they caught sight of each other.
With that thought lurking at the back of your mind, you lead the way to the roof, mind and powers ranging ahead so that a Grief platform is ready and waiting by the time you arrive. You step up, smiling, and plop down on the forward Grief seat - you have four seats, arranged one-and-three.
"Have you ever considered cushions?" Akemi asks, giving the platform dubious look. One of the Norikos steps up, offering her a hand.
"Yeah, but then I'd have to lug them around with..." You trail off, blinking. That's not actually a concern, now that you've properly figured out how to use your hammerspace. "You know what, I should get cushions at some point. All ready?"
"Sure," Akemi says.
"Ahem. Please keep your arms and legs inside the ride while it is in motion," you say, raising the windscreen and walls with a bright grin and a grand sweep of your arm. Mugin caws in annoyance, ruffling his feathers and hunkering down. "Mitakihara Meguca Airlines flight 008... ready for takeoff."
"... aren't you mixing planes and rollercoasters?" Noriko asks. You can feel the perplexed look directed at the back of your head.
"Yes, but meh," you say happily, and lift skywards. "Hey, Hiroko, Masami? We're on our way over."
"Got it," Masami responds. "I told you the address, right?"
"Yup," you say. "See you soon."
"Ono's on her way over too," Masami says. "See ya there!"
You disconnect, humming quietly to yourself. The Shiogama girls are peering out of the windows with interest, drinking in the sight of the city laid out below you in a vast, shining expanse of skyscrapers and roads.
It doesn't take too long for you to reach the... approximate location of the dessert parlour Masami mentioned. It's definitely the right neighbourhood, anyway - you can't exactly read street signs from the air, and while it helps that all the blocks are laid out in an orderly fashion, they're not perfectly orderly.
"There?" Noriko ventures cautiously.
You follow her pointing finger to spot a slender figure standing on a roof, with hands clasped demurely and lustrous black hair blowing gently in the wind. Lustrous black ringlets, of course, a lesser league than Homura's.
That would be Ono Megane, then. You haven't seen her in ages, and... she wanted to speak to you. Alone, apparently, if the fact of her presence on the roof by herself is any indication.
"Looks like it," you say, and wince. "That's Ono Megane, another of the magical girls around Mitakihara... she doesn't really like me, so I kind of threw her at the Animators, otherwise she'd probably have killed herself within a week."
"Oh," Noriko says.
"Yeah," you say, because what can you say to that? You bank towards the building, descending rapidly towards the roof. Megane's eyes snap to you as you approach, and you can see her chin lift as you land.
She marches right up to you as you step off your platform, expression perfectly unruffled and even. You can sense her Soul Gem - and it seems it's still filling up at a slow, slow trickle. Slower than you remember it being, but present nevertheless.
"Miss Sabrina," she says stiffly. Her eyes flicker to Mugin, perched happily on your shoulder, and back to you.
"... hi, Miss Ono," you say, giving her a little wave and a smile. "It's been a while. I hope you're well?"
You see her jaw twitch.
"Thank you for sending Miss Wakahisa and Miss Gaikotsu my way." She says in a painfully formal voice. "They've helped me understand that habits I was keeping to were somewhat questionable."
"I'm glad to have helped," you say with a broad smile. And you are, because you hadn't been able to convince her to stop whatever magic she was using. Something to do with appearance, you remember, though you hadn't figured it out in full.
"That said," she continues as if you hadn't said anything. "I do hope you realise that your arrogance was the reason I didn't listen to you."
You give her a blank look. What she views as arrogance, you kind of see as trying to get her to just save her own life. A different approach would have been better, in hindsight, but you didn't know what was ailing her. You still don't, in fact.
"I was trying to save your life," you say, echoing your thoughts out loud.
"Yes." She gives you a haughty, regal stare. "Additionally, you threw me at a pair of... ruffians. Helpful ones, but nevertheless."
[] She's probably just fishing for an apology from you. Apologise, and be done with that.
[] She's thanking you, in her own way. Acknowledge that.
[] You're still not happy with this outcome - she's still burning Grief. Subsisting off the Clear Seed you gave the Animators, presumably.
- [] Write-in something you want to raise?
[] Anything else to raise with Megane?
[] Onwards to meeting the Animators!
- [x] Vote in abeyance
- [] Anything specific to hit?
[X] Group meeting with the Animators and Shiogama girls
-[X] Make polite introductions.
--[X] in stage whisper, ask the Shiogama girls not to tell the Animators that you call them Animators.
-[X] Make polite introductions.
--[X] in stage whisper, ask the Shiogama girls not to tell the Animators that you call them Animators.
=====
How's this for a weird update time?
I honestly had this update ready to go last night, but I decided to sleep on it instead. Still, I'm trying something slightly different with the voting this time.
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