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Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

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Hazard Course Pt. 38
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Back to Mitakihara
    - [X] Invite Yuki along to claim a random building
    -- [X] Warehouse-kun!
    - [X] Do not invite Yuki along for lunch. We'll see her later

    "Then let's go," you say, beaming.

    You feel lighter as Mami stands gracefully and twirls to offer you a hand up, the weight of that penultimate secret lifted from your shoulders and replaced with the comfort of knowing, knowing that Mami has your back. Fully, and wholeheartedly.

    You let the privacy construct unravel - you'd considered hanging on to it just in case, but you have enough enchanted Grief to make another if you need to, so there's no real point. And you find yourself smiling goofily at Mami, holding her hand still as reality floods back in, the low hum and groans of a living building and a city beyond filling your ears once more.

    "Oh, done talkin'?" Kirika cracks open the teddy-bear-print door, one citrine eye and a segment of her fanged grin visible in the gap. "The sulky girl and her daughter's back."

    "Never call Yuma that in front of Kyouko," you say. "... and don't call Kyouko that either, if you value your kneecaps."

    "Eh, I can take her," Kirika says. "She's too wound up in her own head to fight properly. But c'mon, everyone's gone up to the roof already."

    You give Kirika a dubious look. She's probably right about Kyouko being too stuck in her own head, and Kirika might be a monster in melee, but so is Kyouko. And Kyouko's experienced in a way most magical girls aren't, having carved herself a life alone with nothing but her spear and sheer, bloody-minded force of will.

    Mami chuckles softly as Kirika grins and bounces away.

    "Shall we?" she says.

    "Yeah," you say. "Time to head back home."

    Mami's smile widens, and she goes up on her toes to press a kiss to your cheek. And without giving you a moment to recover, she takes your hand and tugs you out of the room, heading for the stairs. Her grin, glimpsed in little glances back, does little to quell the helpless delight driving your own giggles.

    As you step out onto the roof, squinting against the midday sun even as a pleasantly cool breeze winds its way past you, ruffling your coat. You find, as promised, everyone gathered on the roof - Kirika draped over Oriko, Kyouko slouched against the wall of the stairwell with Yuma beside her, both sharing a bag of chips. And Kazumi's perched on top of a humming air conditioner vent, conversing with Yuki and taking advantage of the additional height to keep Niko from escaping with one hand stroking through her hair.

    Kyouko flicks a glance over to you, then away.

    Niko's sleepy, lazily satisfied eyes settle upon you as the stairwell door swings shut behind you and she brightens, murmuring something to Kazumi, who pats her hair one more time before allowing the blonde to duck away from her hand to march over.

    "So, the Gems," she says briskly, combing her hands through her hair. "I've got a good idea of what needs to be done now, and scratch the thing about maybe needing a strong healer. I need one, or you're getting a revive rate of about one girl every two weeks, and that's if I can dedicate all my time to it. And I'd need a Clear Seed to dedicate to the girl being revived if I'm doing it manually."

    "Strong healer, got it," you say, nodding. "I'll find us one, then."

    "Cool," Niko says, and props her fists on her hips. "Don't keep me waiting for too long, I want to see how this works."

    "Will do," you say. "And, uh, I really didn't expect you to be able to figure it out this quickly."

    "Oh, I haven't," Niko says airily. "I'll still need a couple days. I've got a good idea of the actual mechanics involved, but I need to actually confirm it all."

    "... ah. That makes more sense," you say. "OK! Let me know if you hit any snags or anything, I'll be happy to hop on over. And on that note, uh... Miss Tsuruya? Am I interrupting?"

    "Not at all," Yuki says, looking up. "We were just discussing a potential visit later; I would like to speak further with Miss Wakaba."

    "Huh," you say. Right, yeah, they've got that whole probably-playful rivalry going, with Mirai having allowed Yuki to lay a claim to the teddy bear museum that is their home. "Well, if you're sure-" You wait for Yuki to nod before continuing. "-then I just wanted to double-check that you're good to come over to Mitakihara to lay a temporary claim on a building, right? I've got a place in mind - it's not exactly a home, but it'll do until Homura and Hitomi can get the house?"

    "I was under the impression that Miss Shizuki would be expediting the process so I could claim the house this evening," Yuki says, frowning lightly. "A matter of crossed purposes, I suppose. But I have no objection - I'll simply take a lighter hold, and it would save us a trip later this evening."

    "Great," you say. "In that case, Miss Kanna-"

    "Oh, come on, Niko-san will do," Niko interjects.

    "Right, yeah - if you hit any snags or whatever, let me know," you say. "I'll be happy to come over, and if Miss Tsuruya's willing to lend her aid, it won't be a problem."

    "Cool!" Niko says. "See ya around, then!"

    And with that last bit of discussion done, you exchange goodbyes with everyone- "Umika says bye and thanks but she's going to be screaming into her pillow for a bit" -and then you're abruptly in Fukushima, courtesy of Yuki's magic. And with a tiny effort of will, you get everyone airborne, cradled safely within the confines of your flight disc and soaring into the clear blue sky with the sun beating down from above.

    Mami snuggles happily into your side, Oriko and Kirika behind you, and Kyouko seated in the back as Yuma hangs over the edge, taking in the view and the rush of the wind. Yuki asked for a seat in the rear but seems little interested in actually sitting down for the moment, joining Yuma in enjoying the blurring landscape and roaring winds, albeit with considerably more dignity.

    "So, Mami-sempai, Sabrina," Kazumi's voice speaks into your mind as the sprawl of Fukushima gives way to the rolling checkboards of fields. "I spoke to Kyouko, and I promised I wouldn't tell you what we talked about."

    "I did expect as much," Mami says. She doesn't stir, perfectly comfortable with your cheek leaned against the crown of your head, but you can feel the wave of tension thrumming through her body.

    "She's hurting," Kazumi says bluntly. "There's things that past me and current her share in common, Mami. And it's been a long time for her, you know?"

    "It has been," Mami agrees gravely. "But I don't know what to do about it, either."

    "I don't know either, her situation... isn't the same as mine," Kazumi says. "I helped her where I could, and I think I did get through to her a bit, but she's been stewing on this for a while. So I thought you should know, if you didn't already."

    "Thank you," Mami says. "We had an idea, but the reminder was definitely welcome. We'll work on it."

    "That's all I wanted!" Kazumi says, cheer returning. "I'll see you later~"

    You sigh lightly as Kazumi breaks the mental connection, leaving the two of you in a contemplative silence.

    It's not like Kyouko hasn't been on your thoughts, what with her circling resentment and that mysterious request to go talk to Kazumi. She's been doing better, you think, and trying to reach out more, but you're... worried. You're worried that you're just not the right person to help Kyouko, for many reasons.

    Because you are Mami's replacement for Kyouko, in her eyes. And that's not true in anything more than the superficial sense, because you can't replace people like that. Kyouko herself should know - Yuma isn't a replacement for Momo. She might have picked Yuma up because she reminded her of Momo, but Yuma's her own person, and you're certain Kyouko knows that.

    And you're pretty sure, at this point, that Kyouko has a crush on Mami. To your surprise, the though doesn't leave you particularly jealous - rather, it leaves you worried. Because that on top of everything else Kyouko's feeling only leaves her issues more complicated. The mix of guilt and awful self-esteem and potentially romantic feelings and everything else is a volatile mix.

    "... we're... going to have to talk about Kyouko, later," you murmur to Mami.

    "We are," she agrees, her mental voice soft but warm, even with the worry underlying her tone.

    "We'll figure out how to tackle it," you promise. "And we'll do it together, just like everything else. Kyouko's your friend -our friend- and she's worth that."

    "I know," Mami says, but even so, that tension ebbs.

    The rain's finally let up fully by the time you make it back to Mitakihara, the sullen clouds having finally broken up at some point since you left, and the city practically sparkles beneath the midday sun as you cruise in to drop off Oriko and Kirika at their mansion. Oriko offers you a contented smile and a stately nod as she takes Kirika's hand, stepping off the flight platform.

    You return the nod, remembering her pronouncement even as you all exchange goodbyes. She wants to live, and you're going to do everything you can to make sure she does. They deserve their happy ending, too.

    "Kyouko, Yuma, d'you want me to drop you off somewhere?" you ask as the Kures wave you off. "You're welcome to come along if you want, of course."

    Kyouko grunts.

    "Drop us off at the mall," she says, then adds, grudgingly, "Please."

    "Sure," you say, smiling.

    And so you drop Kyouko and Yuma off, Yuma giving you a big smile as she waves enthusiastically enough to make her hair bounce. The platform you shrink down, since it's just you, Mami, and Yuki now, the latter taking in Mitakihara with a practiced, interested eye as you glide past.

    "Mitakihara is a beautiful city," she notes.

    "It's home," Mami says, smiling.

    Yuki laughs softly.

    "I suppose that's all we can ask for," she says.

    You soar out westwards, swinging past the bustling, glittering heart of Mitakihara's central business district, past the towering spire of the DBJ building and onwards to the old industrial district. Soon, you're descending towards a familiar, battered old warehouse, surrounded by that same rusting chainlink fence.

    "... oh, this must be Warehouse-kun," Mami says, smiling as she accepts your hand to step off the flight platform, her shoes scraping on the sandy floor. She cranes her head back, taking in the dilapidated old building, and smiles.

    "Sayaka told you, didn't she?" you grumble.

    "No comment!" Mami says brightly.

    Yuki huffs out an amused laugh as she hops down behind Mami, her cloak fluttering and settling about her.

    "Old and abandoned," she observes, padding over to the main door and looking around. "The walls are rusting, and so is the roof. No furniture, of course, or even a proper floor inside... but it's whole. A leak or two in the roof, a draft through the doors." She smiles. "It'll do."

    Gently, she nudges the doors shut, the hinges groaning, before placing her hands against both halves and closing her eyes.

    Her magic is a slow, tectonic thing, spreading like the slow seep of magma across the ground. Grinding and warm and longing and ponderous, the steady bedrock of looking forward to going home at the end of the day. Comforting and somehow achingly yearning, pouring through the doors and suffusing the entire building. There's no grand crescendo or blaze or light, simply a sense of completion, of satisfaction as her claim fills the warehouse.

    Yuki takes a breath, and opens her eyes, smiling distantly.

    "If we wish to keep using this location for much longer, we should so some maintenance. Patch up the ceilings, perhaps re-do the floor and bring in some furniture," she says. "But for now, this will suffice."

    "Thank you, Miss Tsuruya," you say, smiling. "Hopefully we'll have news for you this evening."

    "Indeed," Yuki says with a measured nod. "I'll see you later, then."

    "Until next time!" Mami says.

    You watch as Yuki steps forward into Warehouse-kun... and simply vanishes between one step and the other, a rush of magic and the faintest puff of cooler air all there is to mark her vanishing from Mitakihara.

    You laugh abruptly.

    "I can't say I expected Miss Tsuruya to be quite this gung-ho about our alliance, about Constellation," you say. "But here we are. I'm honestly glad I invited her to it, really."

    "I would say that she always seemed the ambitious sort, but lacked a good way to truly expend that ambitiousness. Mercenary work can only go so far, with magical girls being what they are," Mami says, squeezing your arm lightly and smiling at you. "They were surviving, but not more than that. But you, Miss Vee, gave her an outlet and a goal for that ambition, not to mention the surety of a Clear Seed. Why wouldn't she be enthusiastic about it? Also."

    Mami gives you an amused grin.

    "Wasn't she the one to propose it?" she asks.

    "... well, you know what I mean," you say, beaming at Mami. Struck by a sudden impulse, you lean down to press a kiss to her cheek, then straighten up again. "Now, we've made good time so we'll be a little early, but shall we head to lunch?"

    "We shall!" Mami says happily.

    [x] Lunch!
    - [x] Talk about the Soujus
    -- [] Any particular approach?
    -- [x] Talk about housing their victims
    - [] Other discussion topics?
    -- [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

    =====​

    Also, I basically never do this, but I'm going to endorse this analysis here as being quite accurate to Kyouko in PMAS. It's about time Sabrina got a clue about Kyouko, really. :p

    Also, yes, I'm going to lock in the Soujus as a discussion topic - mainly because Sayaka's reaction to the sheer violence was something Madoka and Hitomi (and Homura) both witnessed, plus, Mami rushing out of class as she did would be school gossip, so it's kind of inevitable. You can write in any specific approach for the topic if you want to hit some specific notes, of course.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Thanks for another update (p.s forgot to treadmark)


    Edit: Thanks @Torgamous
    [x] Lunch!
    - [x] Talk about the Soujus
    -- [x] They think you're an angel, which makes them very receptive to anything you tell them, but it feels gross to take advantage of. Maybe people who they don't worship should take the lead on this pretty please.
    -- [x] Talk about housing their victims
    --- [x] Hitomi, don't you dare buy each of them a luxury apartment.
    --- [x] Since most of them presumably had lives that they'd like to get back to, depending on the rate that Niko can recover them we might be able to put them up in our or Asunaro's guest rooms while they work out how to do that.
    ---- [x] For the ones that stick around, now's the perfect time to get started on the Best Exotic Mamigold Hotel. You've been thinking of asking the Sendai University Group's plant girl to grow a Telvanni apartment building.
     
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    Firnagzen said:
    "I can't say I expected Miss Tsuruya to be quite this gung-ho about our alliance, about Constellation," you say. "But here we are. I'm honestly glad I invited her to it, really."
    Click to expand...
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    Yuki: "I made this."
    Sabrina: "I made this."

    [x] Lunch!
    - [x] Talk about the Soujus
    -- [x] They think you're an angel, which makes them very receptive to anything you tell them, but it feels gross to take advantage of. Maybe people who they don't worship should take the lead on this pretty please.
    -- [x] Talk about housing their victims
    --- [x] Hitomi, don't you dare buy each of them a luxury apartment.
    --- [x] Since most of them presumably had lives that they'd like to get back to, depending on the rate that Niko can recover them we might be able to put them up in our or Asunaro's guest rooms while they work out how to do that.
    ---- [x] For the ones that stick around, now's the perfect time to get started on the Best Exotic Mamigold Hotel. You've been thinking of asking the Sendai University Group's plant girl to grow a Telvanni apartment building.
     
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    People seem to think we've given up doing Science! with Warehouse-kun. I supported Yuki claiming it so we can turn it into a super-Science! lab where we can test even bigger ideas with Niko, who can now walk from her home lab to ours in seconds. We could probably fix the place up in no time using Grief to mold and construct materials to our desired specifications. We should have somebody look up who owns the building, as there's a good chance that the city itself owns it and would be willing to sell it to us(through some of the adults who are in on the secrets) so that we can really make it into a research department, a location with both living and Science! accommodations for when we have more and more people interested in studying the mysteries of the universe together.

    Edit: Oops, left out: So Yuma doesn't qualify as a good enough healer? Well, we do know one healer who is in charge of her team after their previous leader went nuts, a healer so good she was paid lots of Grief Seeds just for consultations.
     
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    Firnagzen said:
    "So, the Gems," she says briskly, combing her hands through her hair. "I've got a good idea of what needs to be done now, and scratch the thing about maybe needing a strong healer. I need one, or you're getting a revive rate of about one girl every two weeks, and that's if I can dedicate all my time to it. And I'd need a Clear Seed to dedicate to the girl being revived if I'm doing it manually."

    "Strong healer, got it," you say, nodding. "I'll find us one, then."

    "Cool," Niko says, and props her fists on her hips. "Don't keep me waiting for too long, I want to see how this works."
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    We should definitely find a healer for this, as I also want to see how it works. I don't want to be super involved in the process, but I really want to see the first person she revives. I think it would be a really good scene, seeing her return to the world of the living, and learning how much has changed both for magical girls and in general. It probably wouldn't even have been that long for her objectively, but with unlimited cleansing achieved and a meguca government created, it would feel like she woke up in the far future. I wonder if she would have friends or a family to return to, although anyone the Soujos took must have been declared missing by now, or possibly legally dead if they left behind a body. Dealing with that would be a mess in its own right. And many of them would need therapy, since I imagine this would be a traumatic experience for many people.
    Firnagzen said:
    Mami snuggles happily into your side, Oriko and Kirika behind you, and Kyouko seated in the back as Yuma hangs over the edge, taking in the view and the rush of the wind. Yuki asked for a seat in the rear but seems little interested in actually sitting down for the moment, joining Yuma in enjoying the blurring landscape and roaring winds, albeit with considerably more dignity.
    Click to expand...
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    Firnagzen said:
    And so you drop Kyouko and Yuma off, Yuma giving you a big smile as she waves enthusiastically enough to make her hair bounce. The platform you shrink down, since it's just you, Mami, and Yuki now, the latter taking in Mitakihara with a practiced, interested eye as you glide past.

    "Mitakihara is a beautiful city," she notes.

    "It's home," Mami says, smiling.

    Yuki laughs softly.

    "I suppose that's all we can ask for," she says.
    Click to expand...
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    So is the extravagant architecture that we see in this setting unique to Mitikihara, or is Mitikihara just unusually extravagant even by the standards of this world. I feal like its the latter, as wishes should result in other cities having weird building like the bear museum too.
     
    Torgamous said:
    [x] Lunch!
    - [x] Talk about the Soujus
    -- [x] They think you're an angel, which makes them very receptive to anything you tell them, but it feels gross to take advantage of. Maybe people who they don't worship should take the lead on this pretty please.
    -- [x] Talk about housing their victims
    --- [x] Hitomi, don't you dare buy each of them a luxury apartment.
    --- [x] Since most of them presumably had lives that they'd like to get back to, depending on the rate that Niko can recover them we might be able to put them up in our or Asunaro's guest rooms while they work out how to do that.
    ---- [x] For the ones that stick around, now's the perfect time to get started on the Best Exotic Mamigold Hotel. You've been thinking of asking the Sendai University Group's plant girl to grow a Telvanni apartment building.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Since the Soujus are cooperating we should try to get some useful time estimates out of them. How long ago did they collect their first victim? when was their most recent one? etc. How long these girls have disappeared for makes a big difference to what we need to do to help them
     
    Firnagzen said:
    I'm sure I don't know what you mean. :V
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    Mami bops both of them on the head: "We made this."

    Romka said:
    For the vote, much as it pains me to say, its time to give away Warehouse kun. I will always look fondly on our time together, doing science, but its time to move on.
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    We're not giving Warehous-kun away. We are formally inviting him into the family.

    Romka said:
    We should definitely find a healer for this, as I also want to see how it works.
    Click to expand...
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    We did see that one girl essentially regrow half of a body in one go. She's probably our best bet, and while she may not be enthusiastic about helping us, she displayed enough caring that I think she'd be all in on regrowing these girls' bodies. We may need to have a Yuki claimed apartment building for people to stay in, since it would provide a measure of security that some of these girls are going to need, psychologically speaking.
     
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    Ok, this is probably a dumb idea, but we could, in theory, date Kyouko as well? Like, make a Triad of adorableness. I'm not sure how Mami would take the idea of dating Sabrina and Kyouko at the same time, and I'm really not sure how Kyouko would react, but it's hard consider someone your replacement when they're also your girlfriend. Again, this is probably dumb.
     
    Architect Iront. said:
    Ok, this is probably a dumb idea, but we could, in theory, date Kyouko as well? Like, make a Triad of adorableness. I'm not sure how Mami would take the idea of dating Sabrina and Kyouko at the same time, and I'm really not sure how Kyouko would react, but it's hard consider someone your replacement when they're also your girlfriend. Again, this is probably dumb.
    Click to expand...
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    Meguca take note:
    You are not Kazumi.
    Polycules take a lot of effort, hard work and communication.
     
    Architect Iront. said:
    Ok, this is probably a dumb idea, but we could, in theory, date Kyouko as well? Like, make a Triad of adorableness. I'm not sure how Mami would take the idea of dating Sabrina and Kyouko at the same time, and I'm really not sure how Kyouko would react, but it's hard consider someone your replacement when they're also your girlfriend. Again, this is probably dumb.
    Click to expand...
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    Yeah, I don't think we'd have a problem with a polycule in principle, but it seems like a post-quest thing, and even then, probably just Mami with us and Kyokuo without us and Kyokuo necessary having a romantic relationship.

    Regardless, Kyokuo seems very unlikely to be interested anytime soon given she's still a bit reticitent about homosexuality, much less polyamory. Mami, we just don't know, and I don't think it would be wise to invest the time necessary to find out and talk out the consequences thereof given how likely it is that she wouldn't be.
     
    Sayaka can use multiple abilities at the same time. What if she copies multiple healers? Could she stack their abilities for improved effect?

    Also, hard veto on trying to meddle (or god forbid, join) in Kyouko's love life. It's not our place and that's not how poly works. Give the girl her space and direct her to therapy or conversations with mami or others. When you're the face of the angst, nothing you say matters. We could carry the message but we could never be the messenger.
     
    Yeah, as a fan of realistic polyamory-of-equals: I'm also gonna hard-veto on trying to poly up with Kyouko.
     
    No Sabrina, you can't seduce Kyoko. (Bonk)

    DataSnake said:
    Did Sayaka ever get around to copying Yuma's power? Because that would give us two strong healers in Mitakihara.
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    Redshirt's wiki indicates that she did, although I can't find the specific chapter in which that happened.

    [x] Lunch!
    - [x] Talk about the Soujus
    -- [x] They think you're an angel, which makes them very receptive to anything you tell them, but it feels gross to take advantage of. Maybe people who they don't worship should take the lead on this pretty please.
    -- [x] Talk about housing their victims
    --- [x] Hitomi, don't you dare buy each of them a luxury apartment.
    --- [x] Since most of them presumably had lives that they'd like to get back to, depending on the rate that Niko can recover them we might be able to put them up in our or Asunaro's guest rooms while they work out how to do that.
    ---- [x] For the ones that stick around, now's the perfect time to get started on the Best Exotic Mamigold Hotel. You've been thinking of asking the Sendai University Group's plant girl to grow a Telvanni apartment building.

    Plant building sounds cool but someone's gonna have to install the utilities. That aside, seems reasonable enough.
     
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