"Oh," you say. "It's kind of a long story... maybe you should sit down."
Mami smiles a little as she moves over to the sofa to sit beside you. "What adventures did you get up to today, Sabrina?"
"Heh," you chuckle, though it's a little strained in anticipation of what's to come. "Well, OK. This morning, I tried to get in contact with this Oriko again by telepathy. Yes, I know, but as you said, she hasn't actually been very hostile, has she?"
Mami, who was about to protest, subsides.
"And anyway, I'm pretty sure that I can handle myself if it comes to fighting her, thanks to my... unique abilities," you add, wiggling your fingers. "In any case, she didn't respond to telepathy, so I thought maybe I'd go over to Shirome Academy, since that's her school, and have a look around."
You shake your head. "That's the point where this other magical girl caught up with me. Short black hair, a bit longer than mine, yellowish-brown eyes. She introduced herself as Kirika, and told me that Oriko wasn't available."
"Huh?" Mami says. "Is this the Kirika you mentioned at the hospital?"
"Yes, and exactly!" you complain. "Turns out she's working with Oriko... and I think she's new. Newer than me, even. She was... a bit odd. Very, uh, intense. She said she loved Oriko, and kinda threatened me a little when I stepped too close to that subject. In any case, that didn't really go very far, but I asked her a few questions. Among other things, she said that Oriko 'went to hire someone'."
Mami opens her mouth as if to say something, but closes it again.
"So the first thing that I thought of was that maybe she was hiring another magical girl to help contest Mitakihara," you forge onwards. "And, well, you'd mentioned two magical girls in this area, one to the east and the west, right?"
"Ah... I suppose that's not a bad idea," Mami admits slowly. "Did you go to the west? How's Masami doing?"
"Um, actually, I went east to Kasamino," you say. Mami's hand, still resting loosely at her side, clenches into a fist. "I ran into a young kid, freshly contracted, I think. Maybe about ten years old? She was just running. I mean,
just running, you know, not at magical speeds?"
Mami blinks, surprised. "
Ten? Uh, sorry, go on..."
"Yeah, she was running to a Barrier. She seemed to be in a huge hurry, so I uh... helped her along," you say, tactfully omitting how you picked her up and carried her in a football carry. "The Witch was... Well, there was
another magical girl in the Barrier fighting the Witch. She wasn't exactly doing well, but between the two of us -the new girl, Chitose Yuma, has healing powers- we managed to save that other girl."
"Sakura Kyouko," Mami says. It's not a question, and both of her hands are tightly fisted now, old pain echoing in her eyes.
You nod slowly. "Yeah. Well. It seems like Kyouko was taking care of Yuma for at least a while. Kyuubey took the opportunity of Kyouko fighting to pressure Yuma into a contract. Kyouko... wasn't happy about that, and scolded her for it, I think. I kinda offered both of them lunch for an opportunity to talk to them about Oriko, and gave them a warning," you sigh. "In the end, she didn't really seem to trust me, though, and told me to go away. I left her with an offer to drop by for cleanses if need be."
Mami is, at this point, slumped and cradling her face in her hands. "I see," she says at length, muffled by her hands. You move over, and gently rub her back soothingly, not sure of what else to do.
"Mami, I'm guessing there's history between the two of you," you say gently. "It's OK-"
"It's not just that, Sabrina," Mami whispers. "Sabrina... I can't lose you. I can't lose another one."
[] Write-in
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There's more than one layer to Mami's sadness. It'd be worth thinking through them.