Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

[Firnagzen]

The DBJ building, that single towering spire in downtown Mitakihara. It's not the tallest building around, but it's one of the tallest, and it's certainly distinctive, with its dense forest of antennas reaching for the sky.

You take to the skies, wings of corruption unfurled from your shoulders. Probably best to get them put away before Sakura gets there - there's no reason to feed her assumptions, after all. They might be accurate, but really. It's just not good PR to be known far and wide as 'Witch Girl'.

Hm. You do have Nadia working your case there, at least, though you're not quite sure about her thoughts of your grand dewitching schemes. Still, if you're any judge of character, she'll deal fairly.

You coast in for a landing atop the antenna dishes of the DBJ building, perching amongst the steel spars like a particularly overgrown bird. Just for a moment, to let your wings melt away, and then you scramble down to maintenance platform. It's steel mesh, but comfortable enough for you to sit down on and lean against the scaffolding.

Vwwp.

Sharp clangs and a slight lurching of the platform under newly arrived weight accompany the distinctive sound of Sakura's teleport. You hop to your feet, turning.

Rin looks a little... heavier than she used to. Not literally. Physically, she looks the same, emerald figure-shrouding haori wrapped around a cream-coloured undershirt, trimmed with frills and bands of yellow. But the worry lines around her deep green eyes and across her forehead are perhaps etched in a little harder, her motions perhaps a little weightier as she releases Sakura's arm and starts forward.

Or maybe you're imagining things, projecting the responsibility as team leader's she's taken on.

Sakura looks unchanged, really, brown eyes sharp and scowl ready on her face, framed by brown hair shades darker than her short jacket. She doesn't have a katana out, which you'll take as a blessing, but there's a sharp snap to her boots as she falls in beside Rin.

"Hey!" you say, grin already on your face. "Thanks for coming to pick me up, Rin-san, Tachibana-san!"

"Fuck you, Witch Girl" Sakura snaps, almost on reflex.

"Sakura!" Rin scolds.

You laugh, shaking your head. "Nah, I expected that," you say. "'sides, it's probably fair."

"Admitting it, are we?" Sakura asks.

"Nah, but I get it," you say with an aimless shrug. "And you're here and shuttling me about, so..."

Sakura snorts, rolling her eyes.

You sigh, and smile. "Miss Tachibana? Look, I'm not going to ask you to like me. But I can't help what my powers are like. Yes, my magic feels Witchy. It's what I got when I Wished to control Grief."

Sakurai scowls, folding her arms across her chest. "Yeah, that's why I call you Witch Girl, fucking genius."

"I mean, you don't seem to like me very much," you say, spreading your arms. The wind tugs at your coat, pulling it taut against your side. "Part of it is my powers, I'm sure. And the other part... Look, I'm sorry for ruining the status quo. And I'm not going to moralise at you, so all I'm going to say is that I'm truly, genuinely sorry for what happened."

Sakura studies you for a second, and snorts. "Fuck you, you're not sorry. You don't know how to keep your hands to yourself."

"If I'd known, I'd have done it differently," you say, letting your arms drop. "I don't want people to suffer. In any way."

"We've got nothing to fucking talk about," Sakura snaps "Get on with it. The... stuff in the air's yours, right? Pull it in."

"Sakura," Rin says reprovingly, and gives you an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about Sakura, Sabrina."

Sakura's eyes find Rin's, hard brown against steely green.

"I don't... I don't really mind that much," you say with another sigh, snatched away by the wind. "Or, well, I understand the dislike. I'd like to resolve it, but..."

"Keep your resolving to yourself," Sakura spits. "We going, or we going?"

You nod, deciding discretion to be the better part of valour for now. You have a meeting to get to, after all, and so, you will your Grief to accrete. Your cloud storage you pull in, checking the contents: Homura's little black book of Witches, yakuza gold and cash. Your obrez is still sitting in your bag, slung across your shoulders.

... Huh. You'd almost forgotten about your bag, omnipresent as it is.

"... fuck," Sakura swears, staring at your building monolith of Grief.

"You saw... hm, right," you say, letting the block of Grief build. It's already taller than you. "You weren't there when I made the Clear Seed for your group, but a Grief Seed has a lot of Grief in it. I've, uh. Made quite a few."

"It's true, Sakura," Rin murmurs. "I did see Sabrina make the Clear Seed."

"Witch Girl," Sakura mutters under her breath. Not so quietly that you can't hear it, either.

"How's things in Sendai been?" you ask, glancing at Rin.

"Uneasy," Rin says. "We're not really sure what to do. We give the University group a wide berth, and we just... hang out, now that we're not forced to fight."

"We weren't being forced-" Sakura's cut off by Rin.

"I meant Witches, Sakura" Rin says, voice a hair louder.

"Right. Sorry," Sakura says, subsiding and glaring at you. "You fucking done?"

"Yeah," you say, flattening your palm against the deep purple surface of the Grief block. Out of curiosity, you leave the tiniest, barest sliver of Grief hanging in the air - under your control, but not touching you. You wonder if it'll teleport with you? You offer your arm to Sakura, who scowls deeply and grabs you by the wrist.

Rin takes Sakura's other arm, and the teleporter nods before scowling in concentration.

Vwwp.

Your surroundings blur, and-

Sakura gasps, hand tightening instinctively on your wrist as she staggers into Rin's side. The black-haired girl instantly loops her arm around Sakura, supporting her weight.

"Jesus fuck," Sakura spits, dropping your arm like a hot potato and glaring at you. "That's a fuckton to shift."

"Cleanse?" you ask, holding up your hand.

"Fuck you," Sakura snaps, fumbling in her pocket for a Grief Seed. "You can have this after I'm done."

"Right," you say, exhaling slowly. You can't blame her, precisely, so you let her handle that while taking in the surroundings.

Which are... green.

A lot greener than you expected.

You're standing in a little copse of trees, hardwoods and cherry trees sprouting densely from rocky ground. Blades of grass sprouts from gravel under your feet, waving gently in the breeze, and you can smell the faintest scent of cherry blossoms in the air. Sunlight filters down through the sparse canopy, and now that you look, you can see through the trees and down craggy, overgrown slopes to the city sprawling far beneath you.

"... where are we?" you ask, still looking around. The city is a riot of building styles, old meshed with new, thirty-storey apartments squeezed in next to traditional Japanese buildings.

"Fukushima City," Rin answers. "This is Mount Shinobu. We're just off the main path - we'll be meeting Miss Tsuruya at the observation deck. There shouldn't be any other people there right now."

"Gotcha," you say, tilting your head and trying to place the geography. "Do you always meet the Fukushima group here?"

"I don't know about always," Rin says. "Sakura?"

"Tsuruya always prays at the shrine after accepting a mission," Sakura mutters grudgingly. "So yes."

"Oh. Huh," you say. "Gotcha, thanks."

Your Grief... interestingly, you still have that sliver of Grief you didn't touch with you. It seems Sakura's teleport has no problems with that.

Regardless, it'd be a poor first impression to come to a meeting surrounded by your Grief fog. If this Tsuruya Yuki's as experienced as you imagine, she can probably sense it. Hell, Sakura noticed it, so you'll play it safe and leave the Grief out of sight and hopefully out of mind, barring what you keep in your bag.

The monolith of Grief shatters at your will, exploding into hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of marble-sized spheres. You send them skittering out into the trees, a seething, rolling carpet of darkness dispersing into the shadows.

Sakura flicks the Grief Seed at you, and you snatch it from the air. It's nearly full, and you tap your finger against the surface, drawing off the Grief with a thought before offering it back to the teleporter.

Who promptly ignores you, Rin taking it with an apologetic smile.

"We should go," Rin says, motioning towards the trees. "It's almost meeting time."

"Lead on," you say with a smile.

The three of you make your way between the trees, emerging onto a paved path a few minutes later. You start uphill, surrounded by the sounds of the breeze curling through the forest, and the pervasive sound of bugs. No cicadas, thankfully, not at this time of the year. And as you walk, a magical presence enters the edge of your detection, approaching the same destination you are from the opposite direction.

Tsuruya Yuki, then.

You emerge onto a clearing, paved with rough-cut stone. Sturdy granite railings run along the edge to reveal a breathtaking view of Fukushima city, sunlight dappled and bracketed by distant mountains. Stone benches litter the platform, empty at this time of the day as predicted.

You take a deep breath of the crisp air, looking around. Mountains to your southeast, and to your west. "That's the... Ōu range?" you ask, pointing.

"I think so," Rin agrees, walking up to the railing.

"Cool," you say.

"There's a volcano over there," a light, cheery voice says. Tsuruya. "And there's a magical girl group over there. A bit too supervillainous, in my opinion, but what do I know? Good afternoon, Miss Mori, Miss Tachibana, and you must be Miss Sabrina."

You turn away from the railing, smile firmly in place, and meet Tsuruya Yuki for the first time.

She's young.

Or maybe she's young-looking.

She's a tiny little waif of a thing, her head barely level with your collar with delicate cheekbones, all wispy and skinny and probably light enough to blow away in a breeze. Delicate cheekbones are framed by dark purple hair pulled back into a severe ponytail that dangles down her back, only adding to the overall impression of smallness. Huge green eyes and a tiny button nose on a face with barely any room to spare. Corners were clearly cut in the chin department.

Of course, the bright, vicious grin gives lie to that impression of fragility. There's an air of sharp watchfulness to the way her eyes rake your body, noting your distinctly un-Asian features and costume.

And then the grin disappears, and she wilts into a woeful pout. She looks absolutely miserable, shoulders hunched under the straps of her emerald dress. "U-unless I got it wrong?"

Oh that's beautiful. You'd just seen that razor-edged intelligence lurking behind that artfully innocent look but you still feel the urge to pick her up and hug her

... then again, you have this constant urge to pick up everyone and give them a hug. Mami more than anyone else, granted, but still.

Hm.

Sakura snorts, folding her arms and slouching. "Yo, Miss Tsuruya," she grunts.

"It's good to see you, Miss Tachibana. And you too, Miss Mori. Congratulations on your promotion," Yuki says, the spark returning. She turns a wicked grin on you, sensible sneakers swishing under her dress as she approaches with her hand held out. "I'm pleased to meet you, Miss Sabrina. I've heard a lot about you."

"I'm pleased to meet you too," you say. Your hand dwarfs hers, but you shake firmly. "Uh... I have to ask, though - you've heard about me?"

"After you handed three of my girls their asses?" Yuki drawls. "Yes. I made a point of finding out."

"Sure, but from whom?" you ask. "I haven't made that much of a splash... Actually, more important question: what have you heard?"

Yuki gives you a considering look, and starts ticking off points on her fingers. "One, you are powerful. Two, it appears you can truly cleanse Soul Gems and Grief Seeds. Three, you are not shy about exercising your power. Four, you're apparently with Tomoe Mami? I'm not sure whether I give that any credibility."

"Nothing about my intentions or what I want?" you say, making a face.

"Granted, you only seem to have appeared on the scene a few days ago," Yuki says, taking a step back and propping her fists on her hips. "Perhaps a few weeks. It's unsurprising that your most distinctive traits have made their rounds first. How much of it is true?"

Hopefully Nadia will be able to make a difference.

"All of it," you admit with a sigh. "I'm kind of annoyed that what I'd consider my most distinctive trait hasn't made an impression, though. I want to help."

"Sabrina has been more than generous," Rin volunteers. "I'd vouch for her good intentions, Miss Tsuruya."

Sakura snorts, turning away from the conversation to glare out over the city.

Yuki glances at Rin, nodding in acknowledgement before regarding you carefully. She tilts her head, managing to look unreasonably cute. "Even the last point... interesting," she decides. "I can see that. So, onto your purpose for being here: you want to hire us. Tell me more."

"I'll leave you to it," Rin says, dipping into a shallow bow and moving away to join Sakura.

"Well..." you say. "To begin with? I want to set the tone, as it were. When I say I want to help, I mean I want to help. All magical girls, everyone I can reach, and I don't want to stop there."

Yuki's expression gives nothing away, blank as her namesake. "And?"

"So, first of all, I want to discuss payment," you say. "Have you heard about Clear Seeds?"

"Not much," Yuki says, staring unblinkingly at you.

"A Witch's Barrier is made of Grief," you say, waving a hand. "When it dies, all of it folds into the Grief Seed. And the amount of... free capacity we can use to cleanse is a pittance beside that amount."

"And I have heard that you can refresh Grief Seeds," Yuki says, giving you a narrow look. "Judging from the name and what you've hinted, you have succeeded in removing all the Grief from a Grief Seed. And you're offering to pay us with one."

"Yep," you agree. "One of them theoretically will last any given magical girl centuries on the low end. Thing is, I cannot promise exclusivity. I've been giving them out, and I'm planning on giving out more."

"Air is no less vital for all that everyone has access to it," Yuki muses. "But only the foolhardy and the rich try to sell air."

"Well, yeah," you say, grinning.

"Consider me intrigued, then," Yuki says. "Tell me about your prisoner."

You sigh, glancing back at the Sendai girls and motioning Yuki away from them. You need a bit of privacy for this one.

Yuki's smirk smooths out, and she nods. Together, you walk along the length of the observation deck, your right hand tracing along the worn stone railings.

"Airi Anri, from Asunaro City," you say.

"Which is all the way in the north-west coast," Yuki says, eyes flicking up to you.

"Yep. One of Mami's old students leads the group there, the Pleiades Saints," you say, and take a breath. Nadia confirmed this, and you trust that her information is good. "So. I'm told you know of the nature of Witches?"

"And their origins," Yuki says, going still.

"Airi Anri had a friend named Yuuri," you say. "And Airi happened to be the witness to Yuuri's fall, and subsequent defeat at the hands of the Pleiades, who I should emphasize didn't and don't know."

"Would that we were all so lucky in ignorance," Yuki says with a sigh. "So, at a guess, revenge plots?"

"Yes," you say. "Familiar story?"

"Unfortunately," Yuki agrees, scuffing her sneakers against the rough paving stones of the observation deck.

"Airi struck while half the Pleiades were over in Mitakihara, visiting," you say. "Mami and I felt behooved to intervene, and we did, along with more of our friends from Mitakihara. Ultimately, we captured Airi, but..." You grimace unhappily. "Mami doesn't know about Witches, and I want to protect her from that. I can't in good conscience ask one of my friends to hold her."

"Which leaves an external contractor!" Yuki finishes the thought, smiling brightly. "And that's where we come in. Tell me more."

"Airi Anri is unstable," you say. "I've negotiated considerations with her in return for her cooperation, but as I said - unstable. It hasn't been that long since Yuuri... died, and she's prone to bursts of violence and grief and anger both. I suspect being away from Asunaro should do wonders for her stability, but you never really know."

"Hm," Yuki says. "Her powers and motivation?"

"Biological control of some kind," you say. "Up to and including manufacturing knockout gas potent enough to knock out magical girls, and an entire apartment building. I suspect she can also grow large scale organisms, and probably alter her own body? I'm not absolutely sure."

"That makes her tricky to hold," Yuki says.

"Yes, but with my friend's help, I've already fabricated an anti-magic manacle to hold her," you say. "I'm rather more worried about what she could say, and even more so about how she might hurt herself."

"And you want her imprisoned in relative luxury," Yuki says.

"I don't... I don't want her put in jail, or anything analogous. I want her to be held, securely, and I'd like for people to try and talk her through her issues," you say. "I plan on doing it, but I have a lot of things to handle, and until then, I want her held under humane conditions."

"I see, I see," Yuki says. "I think we can do that, but it will cost."

"Are you willing to accept a Clear Seed as payment?" you ask.

"Certainly," Yuki says. "But you'll need to sweeten the deal. I think you underestimate the worth of getting in on the front door, as it were, you might be handing them out, but us having one now solves our need for Grief Seeds."

"I can pay in..." you trail off awkwardly. "OK, I've got two trains of thought running into each other here. First, I have to put caveats on the Clear Seed. I ask that you try and help people with it, or at the very least, do no harm. If a magical girl comes into your territory, don't fight them if it's at all possible. If you don't want to deal with them, send them my way. Don't persecute vendettas or wars or whatever with the Clear Seed behind you."

"Do no harm," Yuki says, stopping under the dappled shade of a tree to frown at you. "Miss Sabrina, you understand our hands are not the cleanest, right? We are mercenaries. Fukushima is not a town rich in Witches, and we are not the only group of magical girls living here, merely the most famous."

"I know," you say. "And I'm asking you to try and be better. It behooves the metaphorically rich to try and be generous. And..." You sigh. "I know this is a negotiation and all, but I have to say this: If you abuse my Clear Seed, I will come down on you."

"Live and die by your reputation," Yuki says, snorting delicately. "I think I know that one better than you."

"Well. The other train of thought I had is that, uh," you say, rubbing at the back of your neck. "You uh... don't have any yakuza ties, do you?"

"... no, though I may or may not know of girls outside my group who do?" Yuki says carefully. "We maintain no direct ties, obligations, nor dealings with them."

"I can pay in cash and gold in addition to the Clear Seed," you say. "But, uh, it's stolen from the yakuza."

"That's... acceptable," Yuki says, and starts walking again. "You're aware that there are yakuza affiliated magical girls, correct? Perhaps not in Mitakihara, but it's something you should be aware of."

"Yeah, well..." you say. You have perfectly good reason to believe that Homura knows exactly what she's doing, but you can't tell Yuki that. "Anyway. One last thing... I am giving out Clear Seeds, but the fact is that I haven't given out many yet. Until I do, each one is immensely valuable."

"But we are known far and wide to be combat monsters," Yuki says with a wolfish grin distinctly unsuited for her face. "There must be softer targets."

"If you're confident, then that's fine," you say, shrugging. "But it's only fair that I warned you."

"And it's appreciated!" Yuki says, smirking. "And I suspect that should anyone steal, or attempt to steal, a Clear Seed, you would similarly go after them. Am I right?"

"I will not have them be used for harm," you say. "So yes."

"I think we can work something out, then," she says. "By payment, by contract, and by deed. I have a location proposed to hold your prisoner, which I can show you now. I don't think we can handle... therapy, though if you wish to arrange for visits, we'd be more than happy."

The girl stops again, and turns to look at you. "I would be interested in acquiring several of your friend's antimagic enchantments," she says. "Not as manacles, but perhaps something throwable. It could be factored into the balance of payment."

[] Yuki
- [] Ask to see the location
- [] Counter-propose guarding in Mitakihara
- [] Finalize details
-- [] Include anti-magic enchantments
-- [] Stick to Clear Seed, gold, and cash
[] Rin and Sakura
- [] Ask more about events in Sendai
-- [] Ask about Akiko
- [] Try and clear the air
-- [] How?
[] If details are finalized, bring Anri over
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Apologies for this being a day late. Also, warning Yuki about the hazards of a Clear Seed will be an automatic action.

 

[Firnagzen]

Antimagic, huh. It's not precisely a trump card of yours- hell, it isn't even yours, and therein lies more than enough reason for you to not immediately agree. Besides, it's a negotiation, and you have to presume she expects some back and forth.

You... kind of approve of the notion of the Fukushima girls having better ways to take down opponents rather than transforming into giant metal monsters and tearing up a few city districts, of course. And it's just not yours to give out. You need permission, and you need to not come off as grossly unprepared for this negotiation.

"I'll have to give the antimagic enchantments some consideration," you say. "In the meantime, how many would you be interested in acquiring, and in what form? We could talk about it while I see the, ah, facilities you propose? It may be preferable for you to guard Airi in Mitakihara."

And you stretch out with your mind at the same time, not letting any of that show on your face. "Kirika? Oriko? Are you there?"

"Certainly," Yuki says, motioning towards the edge of the observation deck. "Your associates from Sendai?"

"Of course," Oriko responds. "What do you need?"

"Good question," you say. To both, really, but you turn and raise your voice. "Uh, Rin, Sakura? We're going to see Miss Tsuruya's proposed location. Do you wanna come with?"

"Uh... well, the Fukushima Group's leader is apparently interested in getting antimagic for their own use," you tell Oriko. "Would Kirika be interested or willing to make a few? And let me be clear, saying no is perfectly fine. I'd negotiate something else."

Rin pushes herself up from the railing, glancing at Sakura, and shakes her head. "We'll find a coffeeshop or something, if that's alright? Give me a call when you're done."

"Ah, that's perfectly fine," you say, smiling at Rin. "Thanks for your patience."

"Sure I'd be willing!" Kirika chirps. "Whatcha need?"

"Of course," Rin says, waving. She grabs Sakura's arm and starts dragging her towards the path.

"Er... the idea is something throwable," you say. "Like... a bolas, or a length of chain, or a net or something?"

"Or a boomerang?" Kirika says. "I know there's one around here somewhere!"

"... er, yeah, something along those lines?" you allow. "Probably something more conventional, though?"

"I suspect the job of being a leader sounded easier before she took up the mantle," Yuki muses, toying with the end of her purple braid as she watches the Sendai girls leave. "Especially in such a contentious time."

"Yeah, sure, can do," Kirika says. "Though I gotta warn you, I can only make it general in this case. I have to tailor the ignore list and all."

"I'm a little worried about her." You sigh, nodding at Yuki. "She seems to be under a lot of pressure. Lead on?"

"I'll help Kirika with this," Oriko says. "It's something to occupy us while we wait for this situation to be resolved. I believe it would be best for such an enchantment to ignore all of us from Mitakihara, just as a precaution?"

"Might be good," you allow. "I'll give you a quick update as soon as I confirm all this. Thanks, Kirika, thanks, Oriko."

"Good fortune," Oriko says drily, and sends the call.

"Indeed," Yuki says, rolling her shoulders as she strides over to the railings that rim the observation deck.

With one issue handled, you pick up another, letting nothing of it show on your face. "Hey, Homura?"

"Yes, Sabrina?" Homura asks, nearly instantly.

Yuki transforms in with a blaze of light that casts stark shadows on the ground, forcing you to squint a little.

"Do you know anything about the Fukushima group's rates?" you ask, watching as Yuki's silhouette wavers and runs. "I'm negotiating for them to take custody of Airi, and hoping to parley them into helping with Walpurgisnacht eventually."

Yuki's transformation is over in a split second. The light fades to leave her in a hooded cloak, shimmering green under the sun. You spy the dark gleam of metal under the cloak, the overlapping plates of lamellar armour that flare out into a skirt and leggings.

She vaults the railing in a single fluid motion, darting off down the slope. You follow dodging trees as Yuki leads you down the mountainside, bounding from craggy rocks and darting under low-slung branches. The forest is alive around you, muggy air filled with the buzz of insects and smell of earthy loam.

"Their rates for Walpurgisnacht would be high, if they were willing to even try," Homura says slowly. "Most likely more than a hundred Grief Seeds."

You wince at that. Ouch. And she's couching it in less than definitive terms... eliding the fact that she's tried it before, elsewhen. She mentioned Ramiel -Koizumi Sasami- being useful for Walpurgisnacht before.

"And a Clear Seed?" you ask.

"I don't know how to value those," Homura says, matter-of-factly.

Your Grief seethes through the forest, hundreds of thousands of marbles churning along the ground on parallel courses to you. You try not to disturb anything, and try to keep the marbles low and hidden and away from any animal life, but you map the rocks and the trees and the terrain all around you, giving you warning enough to keep a sure footing.

"We're nearing the edge of the forest, going high," Yuki warns, not slowing her pace.

"Got it," you say, and watch closely as she hits the concrete of pavement and leaps, bounding high above an empty street for a building on the opposite side.

"That's fair," you tell Homura. Your foot strikes the pavement, and you spring after Yuki. "Do you know what she'd want to guard a prisoner for a long time? And, uh, she wants anti-magic enchantments from Kirika."

"You're not paying them in Grief Seeds," Homura pronounces, less an indictment and more of a statement of fact. She's right, too. You could probably hunt down that many Witches, but not in the immediacy that you'd need to pay the Fukushima girls for this. "I would expect five Grief Seeds a week. Money is a useful bargaining chip. Anti-magic enchantments..."

You wait out the pause, staying hard on Yuki's tail. Fukushima's an old city, built in a basin and rimmed by mountains on nearly all sides. It's not the site of the nuclear powerplant meltdown from a tsunami that never arrived - that's far out to the sea, within the province but not the city of Fukushima.

"A useful bargaining chip," Homura decides at last. "If they are willing to accept it, there is no reason not to."

"Cool," you say. "Thanks, Homura."

Bounding over the rooftops, you can see a mixture of snow-caps and verdant hillsides rising in the distance... and there, in the distance, a volcanic caldera. Mount Azuma-kofuji, if you recall, and presumably where that supervillain group lairs. You should probably ask about them.

"You're welcome," Homura murmurs.

"Still, thanks, Homura," you say. "See you soon."

Yuki lands on the roof of an old office building, cloak fluttering around her. You can immediately feel the magic saturating the entire structure, tingling against your mind in intricate webs. They wind tighter, twisting into a dense nexus within the center of the building.

"Ah," Yuki says, smirking faintly at you. "Yes, the more sensitive magical girls notice that the first time they arrive here."

"Yes?" you say, raising your eyebrows. You can feel the magic rising around Yuki. Almost affectionate, twining around her, and the only word you can really use is that it's welcoming her back.

"This building is mine," Yuki says simply. "This city is mine."

"... Interesting," you say. You have this oddest feeling that anyone who might attack her here is probably in for a rather bad day.

"Rather," Yuki says, motioning towards the stairwell. "Feel free to remain transformed. There's no one else in this building, bar my friends."

"Oh?" you say, pulling your Grief into the building after you, hundreds of thousands of Grief marbles roiling through the air in a diffuse constellation to settle on the roof. "How are they, anyway? I... hope they don't hold grudges?"

Yuki pauses for a heartbeat.

"You scared the everliving shit out of them," she says, leading the way down the stairs. "And you hurt them. But these things happen when you're on the opposite sides of a conflict. That said, if you wish to meet them, we all live here. Moe and Atsuko are around today, though Sasami and Shinobu are out. I don't believe you've met the latter?"

"No, I don't think so," you say. It's actually a touch difficult to sense anything in this building - not so much that they're disguised. You can sense two presences in here, other than yourself and Yuki, but there's just so much magic they're almost unnoticeable against the background noise. "Are they OK, though?"

"They've recovered perfectly well," Yuki says, tone neutral. "We are magical girls, and we've all taken worse. Though perhaps not as comprehensively. Your chastisement... I watched the news."

She stops mid-stair, one foot on a lower step, and twists to look at you. "I think we all acknowledge that your point was well made."

"Right," you say. People died in the fight. Perhaps Atsuko hadn't intended to, and perhaps she'd even tried to avoid people, during her rampage - but it was a rampage, through the streets at rush hour. Simply panicking people had been enough.

Yuki shrugs delicately, and continues down the stairs.

"As you can no doubt tell," she says. "The entire building is fortified with magic. It's as secure a location as we can provide, and there are plenty of unused rooms in here. It's easy enough to have one furnished for someone to live in, and they won't be getting out without my say-so."

"... actually, how do you keep the building running?" you say, gesturing at the fluorescent lamps lighting the stairwell. "You have electricity, and I assume you have flowing water and so on."

"Of course we do," Yuki says, sounding faintly offended. "It's a collaborative effort between Shinobu and I. I control the building, she produces the smaller items we need."

"Huh. Cool," you say.

"It rather is," Yuki says with a grin back at you.

You follow her, soaking in the sense of the building. It doesn't feel hostile, precisely, but it feels deep and unyielding, like the enduring weight of a mountain powerful enough to weather out virtually anything.

You can feel Yuki's gaze flickering up to you as she rounds the stairwell for the next flight, thoughtful and interested.

"Do you feel ready to discuss more specifics of the antimagic enchantment yet?" she asks.

"Yeah. What form do you want them in? How many?" you ask. "Keep in mind that I'm not the one producing them - they're from my friend. Also, I should warn you that they'll disable magic on touch."

"How do you handle them, then?" Yuki asks.

"She can tailor it if she knows you," you say. "But you haven't met her, so..."

"Ah," Yuki says, nodding. "That would be... Mm. I would need it keyed to myself, at least." She motions towards the walls of the building.

"Right, then we'd have to work something out there," you say.

"I'd be willing to travel to Mitakihara for this," Yuki says, and grins faintly. "An opportunity to visit Tomoe Mami's redoubt shouldn't be passed up, regardless."

"Mami's pretty awesome," you agree, matching her grin. "That said, uh... I'll have to check that with my friends, so I'll get back to you on that."

"Of course," Yuki says. "I'd like to request three antimagic enchantments. If you can shape them, something like a frisbee or a weighted string would be best."

"Right," you say. "Tabling that for a moment, what else would you ask in payment? Again, I can offer a Clear Seed, as well as cash or gold."

You reach out mentally as you speak. "Kirika, still negotiating and just checking - would you mind meeting someone so you could key the antimagic to them?"

"Eh? 'course not!" Kirika says.

"Our standard fee is typically Grief Seeds," Yuki notes. "Most magical girls don't have much spare cash to pay with, so cash is more than welcome. We are self-sufficient, but luxuries paid for by money..."

She shrugs delicately, purple braid bouncing behind her as she takes the last step down to the next landing. "Right this way."

"Right, thanks, Kirika," you say, following Yuki through the stair lobby.

It's the same floor the other two magical presences -Moe and Atsuko- are on, but Yuki leads you down the corridor past that door. It's very definitely a former office building, carpeted with Standard Grey, Grey, and Gray Office Patterning™ and walls painted white. But it's bright and cheerful and clean, splashes of green in the form of potted plants everywhere, and it smells lived in rather than the existential despair of officework.

Yuki nudges open a mahogany door to reveal what must have once been some executive's luxurious, personal office, a gigantic wooden desk dominating the room, in front of a glass display cabinet. Opposite is a huge window, commanding a soaring view of the city beyond.

"One moment," Yuki says, pausing at the door and frowning. You feel the magic ripple through the building, almost shuddering through your senses as the entire room melts and runs like hot wax.

You blink, watching as curtains draw themselves across the huge window, and the glass-fronted display cabinets wavers into, well, actual cabinets. The wooden table dissolves into a bare bedframe, sturdy and grand, while the office chairs skid across the room and reform into small, comfy-looking sofas.

"Do you think that will suffice?" Yuki asks, blinking huge green eyes up at you. "Shinobu will provide an actual mattress, sheets, pillows and such, of course."

"Yeah, more than sufficient," you agree. Barring the fact that it lacks a Mami for you to share it with, it's nicer than the room you share with Mami back home. On a purely technical level, of course.

Out of curiosity, you check Yuki's Soul Gem. Transmuting an entire room seems to have barely taxed her at all.

"Excellent," Yuki says with a nod. "As to payment... we'd be happy to accept a Clear Seed and cash."

"Gold?" you ask, raising your eyebrows.

"Not to put too fine a point on it, gold is harder to spend than money," Yuki says. "We'd accept it, but in commensurately larger quantities."

"Then let's talk numbers," you say, shrugging. You're willing to be generous here, really.

Yuki frowns, waving you inside the room. You follow her obligingly, sinking into the sofas as she does.

"Clear Seeds and cash are gladly accepted," she says slowly. "But I don't suppose you'd be interested in a mutual defense pact?"

You raise an eyebrow, interested.

"Oh?" you say.

"Yes," Yuki says, crossing one leg over the other, drumming her fingers on her thigh. "I suspect you appreciate honesty, and so: With your Clear Seeds alone, it's clear you intend to upset the balance of the world. Even if you should vanish off the face of this earth tomorrow, potential disruption you have already sown would cost us less than a long-term partnership of some variety."

"About that..." you say, rubbing at your nose. You're kind of pleased she offered, truth be told. She's an interesting person, and shrewd to boot, and in more immediate terms, Homura wants them on board for a certain upcoming Queen of Witches. "You should know that Walpurgisnacht is due to arrive in Mitakihara in a matter of weeks."

"Ah." Yuki falls silent, frowning.

"I have to ask if your friends would be alright with that?" you say. "I mean... I've already dealt you one defeat, and I suspect you know my stance on rules of engagement and so on."

"As I said, a mutual defense pact," Yuki says. "I think... How much time do you have, Miss Sabrina?"

You reach for your flip phone, checking the time. "About an hour to go," you say. "Why do you ask?"

"I would like to take your measure in combat," Yuki says, leaning back. "In a location I choose."

[] Spar
- [] Agree
-- [] Rules of nature engagement
--- [] Go all out (barring gem shots)
--- [] Barring Gem theft
--- [] Barring dismemberment
--- [] Write-in
-- [] Lose
--- [] How?
- [] Disagree
-- [] Why?
[] Business
- [] Agree to defense pact
- [] Turn down defense pact
-- [] Attempt to enlist their aid for Walpurgisnacht regardless
- [] Agree to provide antimagic enchantments
-- [] Bring Yuki to Mitakihara now
- [] Ask about quartering Airi in Mitakihara
[] Vote in abeyance
[] Write-in (word count limit: 200 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

-[x] Finalize:
--[x] Mind Homura's advice. Haggle, erring on the side of generosity.
-[x] Discuss hiring them again in the future.
--[x] Ask about payments/services they're interested in. You're assembling a team to tackle Walpurgisnacht.
[x] Chat topics (intersperse as appropriate):
-[x] "Supervillains"... just volcano base aesthetic, or something more? What other groups are in town?
-[x] The active soul in Grief Seeds "hibernates" when you Clear them. Whenever you visit, you'd like to check if that's changed.
[X] Rin (private?).
-[X] We never really thanked for what she did, despite how we put her on the spot.
-[X] Thank and acknowledge her for her efforts: Standing up to her friends; taking charge of a difficult situation; doing the right thing.
-[X] We owe her. Show concern, ask what's wrong.
[x] Kyuubey.
-[x] Dump Grief. Keep two seed's worth.

=====​

Have another big update.

 

[Firnagzen]

You lean back in your chair, mirroring Yuki's posture as you think. A defense pact... well, it's eminently desirable, especially after you tell her that you're facing Walpurgisnacht, and she's still interested in committing to it. Homura would be thrilled - she'd named the Fukushima girls as being helpful.

Of course, the thought that follows on is wondering why she might want a defense pact so very much.

And it isn't wholly your decision to make, either.

"Hey, everyone?" You link in Mami, Homura, and Sayaka for a telepathic conversation. "Sorry to interrupt, but something's come up that everyone ought to have a say in."

"Mmm?" Mami's the first to respond, warm and interested. As Sayaka and Homura chime in, you turn your attention to Yuki.

"I'm willing to spar, but-" you raise a hasty hand, alarmed that the 'location of her choosing' might be here and now. "Rules?"

"Not here, if that's what you were thinking," Yuki says with an amused glint in her eyes. "This is where we live, after all, even if this is where I'm the most powerful. One of my satellite bases that we use as a sparring ground."

"Hmm," you say, frowning at her. "I assume your friends told you what I did in Sendai."

Your mind's busy as you speak, considering the situation and speaking to your friends.

"So... Tsuruya Yuki from the Fukushima group is offering a mutual defense agreement," you say. "It affects all of us, and yes, I'll be getting more information, but you all should be in the know."

A satellite base certainly doesn't do wonders to inspire confidence in her lack of enemies. Having a satellite base suggests a need to control a swathe of territory - a strongpoint to fall back to, to provide support from, to sally forth from.

"Walpurgisnacht?" Homura asks.

"They did," Yuki agrees. "You're free to use any tactics you feel necessary, barring smashing my Gem."

"No, I'm not," you say. "There are degrees to which I'm not willing to escalate to, so we need to lay down rules."

"I told them about Walpurgisnacht," you inform your friends. "She's still interested."

"Seems... shady," Sayaka says. "I mean, what are they expecting, that they're willing to throw down with a city destroying Witch to get our help?"

"They're a mercenary group," Mami explains. "They must have enemies."

"Precisely my thoughts," you say. "Which is why I'm putting it to everyone, whether we should go for it or not? Also, uh, she wants to spar with me, and I'm inclined to take her up on that at least."

"That's reasonable," Yuki allows, making a motion to the side. "Do not worry about harming me, or the location we'll be fighting in, and don't worry about exposing magic - I contracted an illusionist to conceal it before, since my team uses it for training. I can rebuild it, and I will commission Miss Mori to be on standby."

"Take care, Sabrina," Mami says. "She's dangerous."

"Kick her ass!" Sayaka says. "I'm gonna be disappointed with you if you don't!"

"Which means I'll be limiting for collateral. I assume it's not so remote as to have no one around it?" you say. "I'd ask the same of you."

"I'll be careful, Mami," you tell your friends. "I promise. And I'll do my best."

"Done. It's an abandoned shopping center on the outskirts of the city, with few people around," Yuki says. "Are you conferring with your friends about my offer?"

"Yeah," you say. "I didn't come here expecting an offer of a defense pact, and I can't rightly agree to it myself. I have questions, of course, and I think my friends would like to meet you for discussions before we can agree to anything."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Yuki says, nodding. "And again - an opportunity to visit Mitakihara is something I won't turn down."

Really, how else are you supposed to take a statement like that as something other than her being a fan of Mami?

"I'll try my best," you tell your friends. "Still, thoughts about the defense pact?"

"I think we need to know more," Mami says.

"Agreed!" Sayaka says.

"I've suggested that we should all meet her face to face before we can come to a decision," you say. "But yeah, I'll be asking her."

"Their support would be good for Walpurgisnacht," Homura murmurs.

"You're sure you're OK with... dismemberment and so on?" you ask cautiously. There's a tingling sense of paranoia at the back of your mind - she's got to be packing something potent if she knows what you can do and still wants to take you on no holds barred.

"It would," Mami agrees with a sigh. "We know what they bring to the table in terms of their abilities, but we don't know what enemies they bring to the table. An agreement would hinge on that."

"Yes," Yuki says. "Shall we move to the sparring location?"

"Sure," you say. "In the meantime, I have some questions."

"I'll find out," you tell Mami.

"There will be no meantime, if you are amenable," Yuki says with a faint smile. "I can bring us there."

"Hold on," you say, slicing your hand through the air. "No surprises, please. Do you have some form of teleport?"

"Between locations I have secured, yes," Yuki says, eyes curious and searching. "Should we make a defense agreement, with your permission, I'd establish a lesser nexus in Mitakihara."

"That's... interesting," you allow. "I'd have to get back to you on that. But allow me to secure my... well, do you remember that I described the creation of Clear Seeds as the removal of Grief from a Grief Seed, right? I typically hang on to that Grief."

"So that's what that is," Yuki says, eyes lighting up. "I see. You'll need to secure it for teleport?"

"Yeah," you say. "Fair warning, Miss Tachibana was strained pretty hard by teleporting it."

"I see," Yuki says, glancing up - and you can feel the entire building shudder, a circular shaft opening all the way up to the rooftop where you'd parked your Grief.

"I was going to just bring it down by the stairwell," you note, Grief cascading down the shaft in a seemingly endless torrent of purple, fractal spheres. You start coalescing it all, swirling into another solid monolith.

"This is more direct," Yuki says with an ambivalent shrug.

"True!" you say with a grin. "So, this'll just take a moment, but in the meantime, a question. Why?"

"Why do we want a defense pact?" Yuki asks, rising to her feet. "What enemies do we face that we are willing to face Walpurgisnacht for a defense pact?"

"That, yes," you admit, raising your eyebrows as she folds her arms behind her back and starts to pace, dodging around your forming Grief monolith.

"We have enemies, of course," Yuki says. "It's all but inevitable, in our position. Few of them are foolhardy enough to attempt to mount an attack on us, and fewer still have the means to do so. We've repelled attacks before, and I don't forsee any issues if the status quo remains."

Green eyes cut to you, cool, calculating analysis behind them. "I don't anticipate the status quo remaining," she says. "I assume you will base yourself out of Mitakihara, and I assume that you nevertheless intend to extend your reach internationally. Whether you succeed or not, Mitakihara is going to become the fulcrum on which this turns."

"That's fair," you say. "So you want to... hitch your star to mine?"

"I will be honest: no," Yuki says. "But you wanted to know what enemies I anticipate facing? You, and others. I do not want to wind up on the opposite side of a conflict to you. Neither do I want to become collateral - there are currently no actors with an international reach targeting you, but that will only change."

"You don't have to make a defense pact with us for that," you point out. Homura would probably be annoyed with you trying to dissuade Yuki, but you feel like you have to be honest. "I'm not going to fight you unless you do something egregious."

"I need to be sure," Yuki says, blowing out a sharp breath. "For myself, and for my friends. Miss Sabrina, I don't know if you realise it, but your actions and your very existence means we'll have plenty of work to do in the days to come. Whether you succeed or fail, and even with Walpurgisnacht against you."

"I... see," you say, blinking.

"In the most concrete sense, sources tell me that the Iowa group was last sighted in India, barely a month ago. If they should make their way here..." Yuki sketches a diagonal line through the air, as if drawing a path between India and Japan. "We are in the line of fire. They would be merely the first."

"I have been considering this for a while," she says, catching your eye and smirking. "I'm telling you all this because you are the beneficiary and opponent to my plans, and I understand you are new. I doubt that Tomoe Mami is used to thinking in such political terms, and I think that you knowing this benefits everyone even if you should turn me down."

"That's... fair, and comprehensive," you say. You gesture at your Grief block, dominating the room like the ominous monolith of congealed despair it is. Probably a good thing Yuki made a shaft, in retrospect - you needed the extra room. "Uh, I'm done, by the way."

"Excellent," Yuki says, nodding. "Which brings me to my last point - I want to gauge your abilities, personally. If we're going to fight Walpurgisnacht personally, I want to know that you can pull your weight."

"Right," you say, and grin. "Though you know, I'm arguably not the strongest among my friends?"

Yuki squints at you, pursing her lips.

You take the decidedly awkward pause to relay what she told you about her reasoning to your friends.

"I guess I kinda buy it," Sayaka says. "You are kind of a troublemaker, Sabrina."

"I resemble that remark," you say. "Mami? Homura? What do you think?"

"I think we could agree with it," Mami says. "I think it would be good to meet her face to face, though."

"I don't believe you," Yuki says flatly. "I could credit Miss Tomoe winning in a fight between you, but I don't believe she has any less raw strength than you might... though that is what we will be ascertaining, right? Brace yourself."

You feel the flare of magic reaching up around you as you lay your hand against your Grief monolith, all but a tiny sliver you leave free floating, just to check. The floor yawns away beneath you without moving, magic surging and engulfing you in a discordant jolt-

-and you find yourself elsewhere. Yuki still stands in front of you, an empty, dusty atrium stretching out before you instead. It's an abandoned shopping center, as promised, dilapidated shop facades lining the building. You can feel the brilliant fire of magic curling through the floor and ceilings and walls alike.

And your Grief... all accounted for, monolithic block, free hanging speck, and marbles in your bag alike.

"Hey, girls, it's the spar now - I'll be careful, I promise!" you say as you take in the new location. "So I gotta drop for now, OK? Keep discussing, I'll catch up when I'm done!"

"All the best, Sabrina," Mami says.

"Kick her ass!" Sayaka says.

And Homura murmurs just as you disconnect, "Win."

Well, if you weren't going to try before...

"I'd like to invite my friends to watch," Yuki says, looking up at you. "If you're amenable. And I've contacted Miss Mori, so she should be here soon."

Right on cue, you feel two presences blink into existence, snapping into place like a rubber band released. Sakura and Rin, you presume - they're outside the building, hunkered down.

"Should be charging for tickets," you say with an amused snort. "If I'd known, I'd have brought my friends along too, but they're in school. But sure, by all means."

"Excellent," Yuki says, rubbing her hands together. You feel another two presences pop into existence in the building, noticeable against the background magic more for their sudden appearance than anything, and then move outside at a trot. Yuki gives you a wolfish grin. "We'll start on their say so?"

"Sure," you say, rolling your neck - and with the same motion, you dissolve your Grief into fog. The entire monolith sublimates, outline wavering as you tear it into countless tiny particles you hurl away from you.

Yuki throws you a two fingered salute and vanishes with barely a flicker of magic.

Huh.

The magic here isn't quite as potent as Yuki's office building, but it's bright enough that it's hard to find Yuki - but you do spot her. Her Soul Gem, an abyssal pinprick of Grief. You map the shopping center out with your mind and a billion little spheres skating along the walls.

Four stories tall, a big square shape with perimeter shopping avenues, and another two corridors that meet in the center. A cross, if viewed from above. The intersection forms a large atrium, opening to all four stories. There are fountains in the atrium, defunct, but they're there. A basement, too, with what you think used to be a food court.

You're standing on the first floor, at the tip of one of the corners, and Yuki... Yuki's on the third floor, on the corner to your right.

The speakers crackle. "Yuki, Miss Sabrina. Combat beginning on go. In three..."

A less familiar voice - Akiyama Atsuko, you think. The metal controller. Not that it matters, right now.

You take a breath, shucking your bag from your shoulders to be carried away in your Grief cloud. No need for it right now, and you'd rather have it out of the line of fire.

"Two..."

Your wings billow from your shoulders, void purple cutting swathes through the air.

"One..."

You center yourself, Grief fog curling dense around yourself and Yuki. You build armour under your coat, wrapping Grief into dense armour plates moulded to your body.

"Go!"

You crush your Grief down, snatching for Yuki's Soul Gem-

And she vanishes.

Meh. You'd kind of expected that, anywa-

Instinct screams at you, and you bound straight up. The floor punches up at you, a pillar smashing from the ground.

You meet it with Grief, a flash-formed disc meeting it with a reverberating thud but magic surges ahead of the pillar like a cresting bow wave that breaks and weaves twining strands into jaws gaping wide to gulp you down whole but you're not interested in seeing what that might do and so-

Your wings flare wide. Midnight fractal edges shear through the magic, leaving you clear to hurl yourself upwards and smashing shoulderfirst through the ceiling to the next floo-

You nearly pancake yourself against the ceiling. The building shudders under the impact, latticework of magic groaning. But it holds, and the magic flares incandescent into scorching flame you barely get your wings around in time to block. The heat scorches, painfully hot even through your wings.

You whirl, wingtip slashing through the ceiling and this time it gives in a hail of masonry. You rocket through, senses spreading wide. You need to find Yuki.

There.

But there is entirely too far, on the opposite side of the building but you're already hammering Grief blades at her but the floor ripples up to intercept her and you are under attack by the walls sprouting spikes and attempting to catch you and you deal with that by smashing through with a Grief disc hurled ahead of you.

You tumble out onto clear ground as walls crash together behind you, hurling concrete dust into the air. You pick it clean, Grief fog intercepting the dust, because even that is laden with Yuki's magic.

More blades lash at Yuki, a feint for the curl of Grief slicing around her torso. She's already gone, far too mobile within her own building. You feel the magic flaring bright around you, cables bursting through the floor to tangle and ensnare but that isn't the real attack, the threat is the electricity crackling in snarling arcs driven by magic into a blinding bolt that hurls you into the wall.

That's fine. It scored into your armour, but armour is ablative and instantly reformed. More of concern is the wall behind you, but your wings are behind you and all you have to do is ripple them to shear through brick and mortar and magic.

You let yourself fall backwards into a store, jolting upright with your wings. An old clothes shop, judging from the all-too-alive mannequins clawing at your face. Your right hand snaps out, hammer flashing through one, then two, and there's Yuki on the floor above you. A mistake to come this close to you, and you're already carving through the ceiling wing-first.

You burst through like an angel, hammer flicking out to crush a mannequin leaping at you from the floor below. A flash of purple hair, a braid fluttering after her. You hurl yourself at her, and she pops into a backward handstand to meet you with a foot to the face. You duck and sweep at her arms and freeze Grief around Soul Gem, but she's gone again, pushing off the ground to complete the flipping kick and vanishing into a wall.

The hole in the floor slams shut behind you. No exits in this room. Big room, bare of anything else.

Trap.

What kind?

Magic in the walls. Too much magi-

Behind you. You whirl, hammer rising just in time to meet a bright flash of steel. Yuki's grin is feral as she spins her weapon -nodachi, giant curved sword taller than her- away from the clash. The blade kicks out at you, far faster than it rightfully should but your Grief scissors into a manacle around her wrist and ankle and neck and Soul Gem-

And she's gone again, cloak flowing and twisting into nothingness.

Fuck that.

Distract her and break out.

Your Grief isn't following her teleports, but it's already there when she lands. She owns this building - you've got a claim on it. Your Grief fog saturates it, and right now, you have Grief blades. Every room, every nook and cranny you have Grief in is now a blender as you charge for the wall, wings wrapped tight around you.

Your blades bite home, chest and leg, but she's fast, flickering away again. Where?

Light. Blinding light, glowing from the walls. It reminds you of Prima Luce and that's not a good comparison right now. You crash through a wall, painful brilliance scorching the back of your head-

Trap. A box, grey and bright with magic pointed at your face.

Grief, Grief, Grief-

You hurl Grief in front of you, a forming barrier. Barely in time as the air shatters, noise enough to hurt and a concussive blast that hurls you into a wall hard enough to leave a crater with your body.

Armour. Gotta love it.

And your wings, because you're up again. To the atrium, to the clear space in the middle. Almost certainly a killbox, a risk you're willing to take, and right there as you punch into the open air. Water slashes at you, bursts fired from the fountains, but that's fine. You have Grief in the air, enough to disassemble each burst of water into fine spray before it hits you.

You're on the defensive. Where's Yuki?

There. A sealed room of some kind, where you didn't have Grief. Smart. Everywhere you could reach with your Grief, you filled with blades. She's there. Pinned down?

Nowhere else she can go, not now.

The escalators.

Steel and wire and magic and alive for all of that, swinging through the air like gigantic flails moving too fast for their mass. You dodge and you weave and block one with crossed wings but there's enough impact for it to hurl you back into another one that spikes you towards the ground below but you have wings and you don't have to obey the laws of motion.

You soar upwards, towards the glass roof. Steel stanchions supporting the glass swarm with crawling mannequins limned in glowing teeth of magic. Grief slashes out ahead of you, swooping blades carving through steel and plastic with whickering chimes.

An arm, an entire arm, hits you. It clings to your coat. The rest of the mannequin leaps after you and you yell wordlessly before kicking it away.

And then you're in open air, above the building. Except it isn't quite so open, because the roof seethes and buckles, steel beams breaking through concrete. Magic and electricity crackles along the beams, and you're forced to dodge crackling bolts roaring through the air.

You dive and swerve and roll through hissing, criss-crossing beams sizzling past bare centimeters from you. You juke one, noting that it dissipates harmlessly past you. Yuki's not in that room any more, darting away for the stairs. Favouring one leg, so you got a good hit in.

Grief. You'd let the blades fade away, but here she is, presenting a target. You gather the fog around her. Blades are a threat but you don't really want to hurt her too badly and so your Grief surges into tendrils snatching for her limbs and cloak and Soul Gem.

And they close on nothing. There's disorientation as your Grief isn't where it should be, passing impossibly through her.

The moment of surprise almost costs you, a bolt of white-hot flame sheathed in magic searing past your leg.

The impossible isn't.

Some kind of illusion?

No. You can sense her Soul Gem.

She's still walking on the floor. It only takes you a moment to decide, grief answering your will in an instant. A disc below, a disc above, and above.

You take a breath, and you bring the ceiling down on her.

You bring all the ceilings down. You bring it all crashing down on her, and you tear the ground out from beneath her in a single rolling pulse of will that sends a plume of dust surging throughout the building.

Yuki flails, and falls. You can feel her blade dancing, smashing aside chunks of rubble - but for the first time, it's uncontrolled. The fire reaching up for you goes wild, erratic. Uncontrolled.

You dive. You plunge through the hail of fire, and you rocket down the hole you'd carved. She senses you coming, nodachi flickering up, but that isn't the attack.

You're the distraction.

She senses the Grief gathering behind her too late, and you twist aside to let the blow slam her into the air. You pivot and kick off the lip of the hole as Grief seizes tight around her, hauling her spread-eagle and dragging her up and up and up, away from the building.

You hold her suspended in the air, and you drift up to her, wings now actually beating slowly. "Surrender?"

Yuki considers this for a moment, still bound on every limb with Grief, and nods. "I yield."

"Hoo," you say, and relax, grinning at her. "Good spar."

"Was it?" Yuki says, not struggling in her restraints at all. She sounds genuinely curious, if winded. "You had your... Grief in every part of my building. You could have brought the entire thing down from the very beginning."

"I... could have," you allow, starting to drift down towards the shopping center roof. "But no, it was a good spar. I've never fought anyone like you before."

"How would you fight?" she asks as you set her down on the roof. She rolls her neck as she makes contact, dismissing her nodachi and stretching her limbs. You can see the blood now, a clean gash carved through her thigh. Still bleeding sluggishly, for all that she shows no sign of recognising the pain. "If I were a Witch you had to take down?"

"I mean..." you say, rolling your hand. "My most effective way of taking down a Witch is Dissoluzione Bianca. I control Grief. Witches are made of Grief, so I just... tear them apart with my mind."

"Then why is Walpurgisnacht even a concern?" Yuki asks.

"It's a contest of wills," you say, letting your wings dissolve. "The stronger the Witch, the harder it is to dissolve. And Walpurgisnacht is the Queen of Witches."

"Ah," Yuki says. Her eyes slide shut for a second, and you can feel her magic surging through the shopping center. Before your very eyes, the cables and beams start to bury themselves again, holes and craters healing over.

"Hey, everyone!" you rejoin the conversation with Mami and Homura and Sayaka.

"Oh hey," Sayaka says. "Didja win?"

"I won~" you say cheerfully. "Didn't even get hurt."

Well, not really.

"That's good, Sabrina," Mami says warmly. "Miss Tsuruya has quite the reputation."

"How would you have fought, if you had to win at all costs?" Yuki asks, eyes flickering open again. "If you didn't have to care about collateral?"

"Wouldn't happen," you say firmly. "There's no circumstance where I wouldn't care about collateral."

"That's good," Homura murmurs.

"Humor me," Yuki says.

You shrug. "Vaporize the building, probably," you say. "Or uproot it in sections and toss it into orbit. And since we're asking questions, I have two, if you don't mind?"

"So what did you guys conclude?" you ask your friends.

"Er... well, we had class, so we didn't discuss that much," Sayaka says.

"We're... broadly in favour, Sabrina," Mami says. "But we do agree that we should meet Miss Tsuruya for ourselves."

"Alright. I'll let her know!" you say.

"Please," Yuki says, motioning at you. You can feel her magic at work still, healing the building.

"So... what was with that intangibility trick?" you says, holding your hand out as your bag drifts back to you, borne on Grief. You check that the contents -bagful of marbles, obrez, a bit of cash- are all still there, and nod.

"Ah. The same technique that I use for teleporting," Yuki says, nodding. "It's a trick of folding space within a zone I claim, but it's harder to use. It's the basis for the microwave room as well - I have another room full of stored sunlight."

"Stored sunlight... you mean you teleport sunshine from the roof and keep it in a room?" you ask, blinking.

"In a word, yes," Yuki says, shrugging. "Now, I require healing, so..."

"Ah, yeah," you say. "Sorry about that, by the way. Do you want a seat or something?" You gesture, forming a bench out of Grief and floating it over to her.

"No need," she says, the roof warping to form a concrete chair behind her. She sinks into it gracefully, propping her wounded leg up. "I did ask you to fight without reservation, and it's not like I wasn't trying to maim you too."

Vwwp.

"We're here," Rin announces, releasing Sakura's arm and stepping forward. "Ah, Miss Tsuruya."

The healer steps forward, already gathering magic to her hands. Sakura seems to be in a marginally better mood, glowering at you but not saying anything as Rin starts to heal Yuki's leg.

You feel another two presences bounding up the sides of the building - the other two Fukushima girls, you presume. Atsuko and Moe.

"You had another question, Miss Sabrina?" Yuki prompts you.

"Yeah... I... OK, this is probably a dumb question," you say slowly. "But given that magic is magic, I just wanna be clear. You have some kind of power to claim locations, bend them to your will, that much is clear. You also have a teammate named Shinobu, and Mount Shinobu is... right there."

You gesture towards the mountain.

Yuki stares at you for a second, and then throws her head back and laughs, bright and loud and genuine. Rin startles back, even as Sakura starts to snigger quietly.

"I wish!" Yuki gasps. "I wish I'd brought a mountain to life to be my friend."

"Look, magic is bullshit," you say. "You've got a room full of sunshine you use to fry intruders. It's not an unreasonable question!"

"I wish," Yuki says, smothering giggles. "But no. Shinobu is, as far as I know, an ordinary girl and a good friend."

"Wouldn't say she's ordinary," Moe says as she approaches. She doesn't look that different from the last time you'd seen her, albeit dressed in a simple blouse and jeans this time rather than her magical girl costume. Curly black hair held up with an elaborate hairclip casacades down one shoulder, a contrast to crimson eyes giving you a cautious once over. "But Shinobu's certainly not the spirit of a mountain, no."

"Miss Nishimura. It's good to meet you again," you say, smiling at her and turning to her companion - Akiyama Atsuko. "And you too, Miss Akiyama."

"Huh, you remembered our names," Atsuko murmurs. Black eyes regard you with equal caution. "Nice to meet you?"

"Yup, hi!" you say. You're a little uncertain, truth be told. You... don't really know how to feel about them. There's still that deep kernel of anger. They'd killed people, if by accident.

Yuki stands, testing her leg for a moment. "Thank you, Miss Mori," she says. "Stellar work, as usual. The standard payment?"

"Ah... no need," Rin says, with a glance at you. "We're covered."

"Which reminds me," you say. "Cleansing, Miss Tsuruya, Rin? And Miss Akiyama, Miss Nishimura, if you have a need?"

"I'm clean, thank you," Moe says, shaking her head.

"What the heck," Atsuko says. "Could go for it. What do you need?"

"Uh, I just need to see your Soul Gem," you say.

Rin's already presenting you hers, and Yuki carefully lifts her cloak aside to display the Soul Gem worn on a sash around her waist. You twist your hand, pulling free Grief with the motion and letting it drift into the air, a filmy banner before you dissolve it into fog.

"There," you say, smiling. "All better?"

"Thank you, Sabrina," Rin says with a smile.

"Indeed," Yuki says, inspecting her Soul Gem carefully. "Thank you, Miss Sabrina. Shall we proceed to business?"

You check the time on your phone. "Yeah, that'll be good," you agree.

"Very well," Yuki says. "I'll be bringing us all back home. Miss Sabrina, are you ready?"

"Yeah," you say. "I checked, earlier, your teleport seems to bring my Grief along no problem." Nevertheless, you draw the fog closer to yourself. You'd rather not have any of it wind up in things.

Yuki nods, closing her eyes, and the world jolts away once more. The jarring transition leaves you back in the same room you'd left, where you're going to leave Airi.

You glance at Rin, then Sakura, then Atsuko, and Moe. It's a little crowded in here with six of you.

"Will you be much longer, Miss Tsuruya, Sabrina?" Rin asks, apparently having the same thought.

"We shouldn't?" you say, glancing at Yuki.

"I concur," Yuki says.

"Then we'll wait nearby," Rin says.

"Atsuko, would you-"

"'course, Yuki," Atsuko says, waving Yuki off. "This way, ladies." She bows grandly, ushering Sakura and Rin out of the room.

Yuki reclaims her seat, folding one leg across another, and you take the seat opposing her.

"To business, then," she says.

"Yeah. So, the defensive pact... we're interested," you say, nodding. "But my friends would like to meet you first."

"Of course," Yuki says, nodding. "And since I will have to meet them anyway for the antimagic enchantment, we could do it today?"

"If you can, yes," you agree. "Now, the other matter would be payment?"

"Today is fine," Yuki agrees. "Payment. I feel that with the Clear Seed and with the defensive pact, I would ask for cash."

"Can I just say - the Clear Seed is not contingent on this deal?" you say.

"You are terrible at bargaining," Yuki says flatly.

"I want to help people," you say. "Which means I don't withhold something that's a basic need."

"I stand by my statement," Yuki says. "I would ask for five hundred thousand yen a month."

"Done," you say without blinking. You're actually running a little light on actual yen, after paying for the apartment. You could afford this, but it'd be better if you can conserve it. "Do you take gold?"

"... again, you are terrible at bargaining," Yuki says. "The first offer is set high, and you are supposed to at least offer a lower price. Yes, I would take gold."

[] Bargain
- [] Confirm it
- [] One last thing...
-- [] Write-in
[] Yuki
- [] Back to Mitakihara
- [] Introduce her to your friends
-- [] How?
[] Rin and Sakura
- [] Talk to them along the way?
-- [] What about?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

-[X] Provisionally agree, invite Yuki to Mitakihara for ratification by Mami, tailored antimagic, and Airi transport.
--[X] Provide Clear Seed - it's not contingent on the rest of the deal. Usual safety warnings.

=====​

You'll reach Mitakihara more or less as school ends.

 

[Firnagzen]

You purse your lips, considering Yuki's less-than-stellar opinion of your haggling skills.

You know what?

You're OK with that.

You want to help. And in this instance, it means being a bit more generous with money. You're not especially attached to said money, after all, though you may have to spend a bit of time getting more. Perhaps more legitimately, this time.

A matter for a bit later, though perhaps you could brainstorm methods of acquiring money in the meantime.

"Yeah," you say, grinning at Yuki. "You know what? You're right. I am haggling badly - but I'm not trying. Look at it this way. Doing the math, I'm paying you below the average wage, setting aside the value of the antimagic enchantments. Which I don't know how to value, anyway. But it's a bargain at that rate, even if I weren't trying to help."

Speaking of the enchantment, you really need to thank Kirika, and do something nice for the two of them.

"That's not how haggling works," Yuki says, looking faintly disgruntled.

"It is if you want it to!" you say, grinning. "By the way, do you want the gold shaped in any particular form? I can press it into rings and jewellery and stuff. Speaking of, why don't you just manufacture stuff to sell, since you've mentioned Miss... uh, Miss Shinobu being capable of that?"

"Her name is Nanami Shinobu," Yuki supplies, and waves her hand. "There's only so much gold you can fence at a time before it becomes suspicious. Even more so for other items - we can't exactly sell in bulk with no visible paper trails."

"Ah," you say, frowning and tucking your hair back behind your ear. "Hm. I see. Then is gold an acceptable payment?"

"It is," Yuki says, nodding. "I was simply presenting reasons that we aren't absolutely flush with money. Gold is... hard for Shinobu to make, in any case, so it's more than welcome."

"Right," you say, raising a hand and summoning your gold storage sphere to you. Absently, you account for all the stuff stored in your Grief cloud. Uploaded to the cloud, even. Assault rifle stolen from yakuza, check. Katana also stolen from the yakuza, check. Gold bars, right here. Stacks of yen notes... over there. Homura's little book of Witches, safely wrapped and secured.

Feather... check. At least it hasn't done something spooky, like disappear on you when you weren't paying attention.

You peel the Grief back from the sphere, revealing the stacks of little gold bars.

"So, jewellery?" you say, pulling out two of the little bars for a solid kilogram of gold and setting them down on the sofa armrest. If you're sneaky about it, perhaps you can overpay them. You do have a fair few gold bars, just not that much actual money. "Rings, necklaces, bracelets? Mind you, this is twenty four karat gold, so make sure you get full value when you sell these."

"Of course," Yuki says, eyeing the stack. "Earrings as well, if you can do patterns."

"Sure," you agree, sealing up the storage sphere. You mould Grief around the two bars set out, crushing it into shapes. Perfect, cold-forged rings and seamless necklaces are easy, albeit without any settings.

Well, actually.

"Can Miss Nanami produce gemstones, actually?" you ask. "I could do empty gem settings fairly easily."

"Nothing that..." Yuki shakes her head. "I feel I should explain in more depth - Shinobu has little problem creating something that behaves as it ought. She can easily create sheets smooth as silk and soft as a cloud. But they're not real material. Creating gems that stand up to inspection is significantly taxing."

"Miss Tsuruya," you say, raising an eyebrow and easing off on the pressure for a second so that you can give her an appropriately smug grin. "I am giving you a Clear Seed. Don't crash the economy."

"... Touché," Yuki says, blinking. "I... forget that that's a possibility. And there shouldn't be any fear of that - not terribly easy to do without clear lines of distribution."

"So, empty gem settings?" you say, smushing all the gold back together into a big blob to start anew.

You turn your attention to the moulding. It takes focus, but not that much that you can't spare the attention to check in with your friends.

"Hey, Homura? Got a question," you say telepathically.

"Yes, Sabrina?" Homura asks.

"So... I'm bringing Miss Tsuruya back with me to meet everyone, right?" you say. "What do you think about... well, if we're meeting after school, then Madoka and Hitomi will be there, right? Is that OK with you?"

"I-" you can hear the hitch in Homura's thoughts. "No. She- she should be kept away from this."

"OK," you say. Rings are the easiest, empty gem settings not too much harder. "If that's your opinion, I will respect that, Homura. I promised to do better. But... just one thought? It might be good to let them see we're taking measures to face Walpurgisnacht?"

"It- tell them afterward," Homura mutters.

"OK," you say, trying to send her soothing reassurance. Necklaces you can form seamlessly, pressed into links with simple, unyielding pressure. "Then I'll leave them at a cafe or something and then come meet you at school, alright?"

"That's fine," Homura says.

"Alright then," you say. And bracelets... you could leave them with gem settings, but you have an idea. "One moment? I need an opinion on something else from both you and Sayaka."

You expand the call to include Sayaka.

"Yo!" Sayaka says. "What's up?"

"So I'll be bringing Miss Tsuruya back to Mitakihara to meet after school," you say. "About the defense pact, yeah?"

"Yup?" Sayaka says.

"I... would like to put Oriko and Kirika on speakerphone so that they can listen in," you say. "If that's OK with the two of you?"

"... For what?" Sayaka asks. "Why the hell do they have to listen in?"

"To keep them in the loop," you say. "And honestly, I was thinking they could help negotiate things in our favour."

"How're they gonna negotiate over the phone?" Sayaka asks.

"I mean... they can listen in?" you say. "And speak."

"We're meeting Miss Tsuruya face-to-face, aren't we?" Sayaka says. "I... she burned my house down."

Which twigs a memory in your mind. When you'd rescued Sayaka from the fire... her door had been shut. Her parents', too. And a closed door is exactly what you're supposed to do in the event of a fire - it reduces the smoke seeping into the room, reduces the heat, increases how long it takes for a fire to reach your room.

Overall a good thing. It doesn't mitigate the fact that Oriko had set fire to Sayaka's apartment, but... it's something.

"I guess... I can see why you wanna keep her in the loop," Sayaka says, grudgingly. "Make sure she knows the new order and stuff. I dunno why would you ask them to negotiate on our behalf?"

"I agree with Sayaka," Homura says.

"I..." you keep your expression blank, intent on the Grief. You've resolved to listen to your friends, and you promised Homura to do better. Hell, Homura is agreeing with Sayaka, and they're agreeing on a compromise. You're certain both Sayaka and Homura would rather Oriko and Kirika be cut out of the loop.

"Yeah, OK," you say. "Makes sense. But we'll let them listen in, right?"

"Yeah, sure," Sayaka says.

Homura makes a non-committal noise.

"Right. Thanks, guys," you say. "So, uh, I have a very bad habit about this, but one last thing?"

"Yeah, sure?" Sayaka says.

And you expand the conversation to include Mami. "Hey, Mami," you say warmly.

"Sabrina!" Mami says. "Are you coming back soon?"

"Yup, and bringing Miss Tsuruya with me, as agreed," you say. "We'll meet you outside of school!"

"Alright," Mami says. "I- good."

"I'll be there, Mami," you murmur. "I promise."

"Alright," Mami repeats. You can feel her gathering herself. "What did you want to talk about, Sabrina?"

"Well - I don't know how much you know about Miss Tsuruya's powers, but it seems to be some kind of... sanctum claiming. She can take a building and essentially enchant it, turning it into a stronghold," you explain. "She suggested she could form a nexus in Mitakihara, as part of the defense pact. It allows her to teleport between buildings, you see, something like a Nydus network?"

"That sounds interesting," Mami says. "Maybe we should discuss that later, though? When we're all face to face?"

"Ah... that's true," you agree. "Oh, and uh. Um. Well, Miss Tsuruya seems to be a bit of a fan of yours, Mami?"

"... oh?" Mami says.

"Yeah, just an impression," you say. You probably sound rather distinctly sheepish right about now. "She just seemed really pleased with the opportunity to go to Mitakihara and meet you."

"I... see," Mami says, sounding mystified.

"Yeah," you say again. "Just thought you should get a headsup. Um. Well. See you soon? I'll be headed back in a few minutes, just finishing up the payment and so on."

"See you soon!" Mami says.

"See you," Homura echoes.

Sayaka's the last to sign off. "See you, but- the hell's a Nydus network?"

"Gah. Come on, I thought you of all people would get it," you say. "You know, Starcraft. The zerg's transport system?"

"Oh, Sabrina," Mami says, warm and fond.

"Eh," Sayaka says. "Never played it much. Not really my thing?"

"Fiiiine," you grumble. "Anyway yes. Later, all!"

You end the conversation and nod to yourself, splitting the Grief to reveal the fruits of your work: an array of rings, some of which with empty settings, some necklaces, and of course, the bracelets. Decorated with the same delicately beautiful patterns that are on Mami's muskets.

On Mami's muskets, they bely the deadly power of Mami's skill. Here, they're just decorative, but they look good.

"Careful, they're hot," you warn as you float them over to Yuki. "Pressure, heating and all that."

"Understood," Yuki says, leaning in close to inspect the jewellery.

"I hope that's satisfactory?" you ask.

"More than," Yuki says, nodding. She stands, walking over to extend her arm to you.

"Pleasure doing business with you, then," you say, standing to take her hand.

"Indeed," Yuki says, shaking. She's got a nice, firm grip, for all that she has to reach up to take your hand.

"Right then, Clear Seed," you say. "Do you have a spare Grief Seed I can empty out?"

"Certainly," Yuki says, holding her hand out. A hole opens in the floor and a Grief Seed bounces out with a faint ping, landing in her upraised palm. "How long will this take?"

"Eh, just a few minutes," you say, accepting the Grief Seed. "By the by, what's your opinion on Kyuubey?"

You're already turning your attention to drawing the Grief from the Seed, deep purple torrents surging thick and roiling into the air in eye-twisting whorls. But you're not so focused that you don't catch the way Yuki's attention snaps from the Grief Seed to your face, grimace flickering across her expression.

"He's a disgusting little rat," Yuki says, tone even.

"Excellent," you say, smiling. "That said, you don't mind if I call it in for a moment? I'll need to dump off this Grief before we teleport off."

"Be my guest," Yuki says, eyeing the Grief Seed in your hand.

The dark, smoky crystal ebbs and wanes, the colour bleeding away rapidly as you bring your will to bear. You dissolve the Grief into fog, letting it drift away into the cloud - time enough to handle it.

"So Miss Tsuruya," you say. "You mentioned the group of magical girls living at the volcano?"

Yuki huffs out a faintly amused snort, shaking her head. "They're not actually villainous, if that's what you're asking," she says. "Perfectly pleasant girls, but we don't have much contact with them. They just so happen to be living in a rather lovely grotto, and one of them has volcanic powers of some kind. They have a hotspring backlit by glowing magma."

"... that's kind of cool, gotta say," you note. "So... hm, maybe I'll drop in on them sometime, see how they're doing."

Yuki shrugs.

"How about the Iowa group?" you ask as the torrent of Grief from the Grief Seed slows to a trickle. "I don't actually know much about them."

"Ah," Yuki says. "An excellent question. They are raiders, from America, as you might guess. They move into areas and demand Grief Seeds from the locals by dint of their powers. The locals typically do not have the firepower to fight back - the Iowa group knows to pick their targets. They stay for weeks to months before moving on."

"Gunboat diplomacy, ugh," you mutter, scowling. Yuki's face twists, and she nods, grimacing.

"Precisely," Yuki says, tone even.

You sigh, offering the completed Clear Seed to Yuki. "It's done. I'll be calling Kyuubey now, if you don't mind?"

"Certainly," Yuki says, accepting the Clear Seed. She holds it up to her eye-level by the point, inspecting it closely.

"Kyuubey," you cast the call out telepathically. "By the way, Miss Tsuruya - a warning, don't let it come into contact with normal Grief Seeds. They'll suck the Grief out from them, practically hatching them instantly. Also, uh, I'd like to check in on the Clear Seed every now and then."

"I am here," Kyuubey's voice echoes inside your head. The alien stalks out from behind the sofa you'd been sitting on, tail waving slowly. "What do you need, Sabrina?"

Yuki scowls, folding her arms and taking a step back. "Noted, Miss Sabrina."

"Just to be sure that all's going well with them," you continue smoothly before turning to Kyuubey. "I need to dispose of Grief."

"Of course!" it says in that unchanging, faux-cheerful tone. It turns around and plunks itself down like a cat, the marking on its back sliding open to reveal empty void.

You immediately start feeding Grief in, coalescing it into a single, continuously formed rod and ramming it down the hole. The faster you can get this done the better.

"I shall pass the Clear Seed to my friends for safekeeping, and contact Miss Mori and Miss Tachibana to inform them we are readying to leave," Yuki announces, giving you a polite nod before heading for the door.

"Sure," you say. "Do me a favour and let Rin know I'd like a word before we leave?"

"Certainly," Yuki says, nudging the door shut behind her.

"Doesn't like you much, huh," you tell Kyuubey, almost amused.

"Unfortunately not!" Kyuubey responds.

"Right," you say, monitoring the capacity of your cloud and starting to slow the feed. You'll keep two Grief Seeds' worth of Grief, you think. One, plus what you'd just drained, and it takes you just a few minutes to reach that point. "That's about it. You may leave."

"Thank you for the Grief," Kyuubey says, and stalks over to the window, hopping fluidly up before vanishing into the great outside.

You nod to yourself, just as Yuki pokes her head back into the room, giving the window a narrow-eyed look of suspicion.

"Sorry about that," you say. "Had to get rid of some Grief before the teleport."

"I'm sure Sakura appreciates it," Rin says, entering the room behind Sakura. "You wanted a word, Sabrina?"

"I'll leave you to it," Yuki says, half-bowing and stepping out of the room again. Which leaves just the three of you: Rin, yourself, and a glowering Sakura.

"I'm not going anywhere," Sakura bites out. "If y' wanna say anything, you can say it with me here, Witch girl."

[] Rin and Sakura
- [] Share the University Group's improved situation
-- [] In what context?
- [] Ask if Sendai is interested in a similar agreement?
- [] Thank them
-- [] For what?
[] Back to Mitakihara
[] Oriko and Kirika
- [] Confirm putting them on speakerphone
[] Mami
- [X] Hugs
- [] Write-in
[] Madoka and Hitomi
- [] How much do you tell them?
[] Oriko and Kirika
- [] Confirm them on speakerphone
[] Defense pact
- [] Light touch, let everyone else discuss
- [] Suggest...
-- [] Write-in
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Bah. I meant to get back to Mitakihara with this update, but you guys wanted to talk to Rin and Sakura - this deserves a bit more detail.

 

[Firnagzen]

You take a deep breath. Sakura, Sakura, oh Sakura...

Why is she so angry? It's been bothering you for a bit now. Yes, you absolutely made a horrible impression on her. Not quite from the get go, but very close to it. You'd torn apart her life and sent one of her closest friends into a catatonic coma.

Anger is understandable. Some part of you bridles at the sheer vitriol directed at you, but...

You can understand it.

But why is she angrier with you today than she was before?

You blow the breath out, and smile at Rin, and yes, Sakura. You don't care for her personality much, you admit. Just because you don't like her, and just because she doesn't like you doesn't mean she's a bad person. She cares about people - she cares about Rin, and she cares about Akiko.

"So..." you say, making sure you meet Rin's eyes, and then Sakura's. "I think I might be busy later, so I wanted to get this out now. I'm grateful for your help, both of you. So thank you."

Rin lays a quelling hand on Sakura's wrist, and returns your smile. "You're very welcome, Sabrina. What did you need to talk to us about?"

"I wanted to know how you're doing," you say. You raise your voice, and speak faster to get your words out first as Sakura bristles, puffing up with anger. "Because, Miss Tachibana, I do actually care. You can disagree with my methods or what I've done or whatever, but you can't tell me what I think. I care."

"I'm... OK," Rin says, a bit too quickly. "Just tired."

"I..." your mouth works for a second, fumbling for words that aren't prying too hard. "You look exhausted."

"Yeah, what the fuck do you expect?" Sakura snaps. "You dumped everything on her!"

"Sakura," Rin says, hand still gentle on Sakura's wrist. "It was my choice." She looks up at you, green eyes sharp and resolute. "I chose this, Sabrina. I didn't know what I was getting into, but I chose to take up leadership."

"And I respect that," you say, smiling. "Seriously, it's a good thing you're doing. You've made people's lives better, you know?"

"You mean the University group?" Rin bites her lip. "Yes, I imagine so."

"Yeah, I mean them," you say. "I know you haven't really had contact with them, so... call it passing on a message. They're doing better, and that's in no small part thanks to you."

"I... OK, that's good," Rin says, nodding.

"Though... that doesn't really answer the question," you say, smiling to take the sting out of it. "Are you OK?"

Rin's expression firms up. "Yes. It's nothing I can't handle," she says. "We're having... some internal issues."

Sakura growls quietly in the back of her throat, meeting you with a glare. "I've seen this before," she snarls at you. "We fell apart once. Akiko dragged us back together. And you fucking tore us apart again and you dumped it all on Rin."

"What would you have had me do?" you ask, returning her glare with a calm, even gaze. "You know how Hamasaki was. She was bleeding groups dry. I couldn't have let it go on."

"I don't fucking care about other groups," Sakura snarls. "I care about us."

"Sakura, please," Rin says, tugging gently on the other girl's arm.

"No," Sakura snaps. "She should fucking know what she's done-"

Rin slaps her hand over Sakura's mouth. "Then let me explain, Sakura," she says firmly, and turns her attention to you. "Since you have half the story already, Sabrina, I suppose there's no harm in filling in the rest."

"I'd... appreciate it," you say, shaking your head. "But... truly. I didn't mean to cause all this."

"I know you had the best of intentions," Rin says with a sigh. "The road to hell. Regardless... with your Clear Seed, and without a direction, we are... drifting. Akiko is coherent, sometimes, and still has enough in her to drip her thoughts into our ears. Sometimes, it sounds like a good idea to just step back, just to have someone else lead. Apathy is the killer, Sabrina. But I will not be a party to this once more."

You blow out a slow breath. "Fair enough," you say. "What can I do to help?"

"Nothing!" Sakura snarls. "You're going to do nothing because you are the problem!"

"Sakura," Rin snaps. "We've gone over this. But... she's right, Sabrina. I'm not sure there's much you can do. You can't weld us back into being perfect friends - for all that Akiko did wrong, she... gave us direction. We've been struggling against Ishinomaki, struggling for Grief Seeds, struggling against the University girls for so long... And we've had a lot of time to think about what we've done."

She shrugs, slumping to lean against the sofa. Sakura moves beside her, defensive and prickly.

"I..." You grimace, looking down. "Dumb question, but I suppose you've considered trying to... do good? You have the powers to help."

"Like you?" Sakura snorts. "See where that got us?"

"I have," Rin says, steady and firm. "I can't think of a way to sell it as a motivation, especially considering that it's only Sakura and me who can make the most... tangible differences without turning into an interventionist group."

"I get where you're coming from, yeah," you agree. "I... if I come up with any ideas, I'll pass them on? Strictly as suggestions."

"I'd appreciate it," Rin says with a nod.

"And, um..." you scratch your head. "Touchy subject, and I apologise in advance, but... if Akiko's a problem, well. I am here to negotiate a deal with Fukushima to hold a prisoner. Would it help if..."

Rin's already shaking her head. "We'll take care of our own," she says.

"Gotcha," you say, nodding. "I'm sorry for offending you, if I did, I just wanted to offer options."

"We don't need 'em," Sakura mutters, arm folded as she glares away.

"It's appreciated, Sabrina," Rin says, nodding at you. "If that's all?"

"Yeah, I guess so," you say. "I'll go find Yuki?"

At Rin's agreement, you head over to the door, pulling it open to find Atsuko just about to knock. Metal girl, obsidian black eyes and shoulder-length dark grey hair with a single red hairclip.

"Ah, hi!" she says, and offers you something.

You blink intelligently at the DVD case she shoves in your face. "Uh?"

"Recordings of your fight," she says. "Yuki thought you should have these."

"... Recordings?" you say.

"Yeah... how did you think we were watching?" Atsuko says, raising her eyebrows. "Magic. Good fight, by the way."

"Huh," you say, accepting the DVD and tucking it into your bag. "Thanks?"

"Complimentary, of course," Yuki says, stepping out of a wall. She settles her braid fastidiously as she gives you a nod. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," you say. "Back to Mitakihara."

"To Mitakihara," she agrees, and shifts smoothly into telepathy as she stops in front of you, tilting her head back to look up at you. "I believe I shall find some time to talk to Miss Mori later."

"Hm?" you respond, giving Atsuko a wave as she retreats down the corridor.

"I feel I could offer her some advice on leadership. Similarly complimentary, of course. I'm not entirely a heartless mercenary," Yuki says, and pauses before continuing. "I mean no offense, Miss Sabrina, but you strike me as someone who has not... worked to become a leader before."

"Well, no," you say. She's got you pegged, really. "You're right. I'm not the leader of our group - that's Mami, if anyone at all, but mostly we try and decide things together."

"It's not a criticism. Just an observation. And besides," Yuki says, voice turning amused. She steps past you, smoothly greeting Sakura and Rin. "I happen to be an expert in crisis management."

"Were you listening to us?" you ask.

"It's my building," Yuki says, an audible shrug in her voice. "I can't not. It makes receiving surprises... tricky. In both meanings."

Bad for privacy, that. You should have expected it, perhaps, from how she knew precisely where you were during that fight.

"Sabrina, Miss Tsuruya, if we're ready?" Rin says, holding her hand out. Sakura's gripping the other tight.

"I've gotten rid of a good chunk of my Grief," you volunteer. "So it shouldn't be so bad, Miss Tachibana."

Sakura's jaw tightens, and you can feel her magic gathering and flooding out. With a sharp jol-

-t, you're elsewhere.

You recognise the location immediately, from the wind ruffling your hair to the breathtaking vista spread out before your feet. Mitakihara's familiar skyline greets you, and you greet it back with a smile. Home. Home, because this is where your friends are. This is where Mami is. Your Grief fog ripples out, painting you a picture of the many antenna spires of the DBJ building.

You turn to smile at your... allies. Yuki, and Rin, and Sakura, the latter looking irritated and a touch pale, but upright. The former presses two Grief Seeds into Rin's hand, before nodding at you.

"Lead on, Miss Sabrina," Yuki says.

"I'll be dropping you off at a cafe while I go meet up with my friends, if you don't mind," you say. "The defense pact was... an unexpected development."

"Understandable," Yuki says.

"Alrighty then," you say. "This way!"

You turn, and take a long hop off the side of the antenna spars. It's a long way down to the next one over, but you savour the sensation of the wind snatching at your hair and your coat snapping at the air behind you.

"Oriko, Kirika?" You cast your call out as you fall. "I've got good news and bad news."

"Good news first!" Kirika chirps.

"Hello, Sabrina," Oriko says. "Does the good news mean that you have closed the deal and are arriving to collect Airi?"

"Yes, the deal is confirmed," you agree. "We'll be collecting her shortly - and I'm bringing Miss Tsuruya with me so that the anti-magic enchantments can be tuned to her. And again, thank you so very much for agreeing to do that."

"You are welcome," Oriko says.

"Yeah!" Kirika says. "Happy to do it!"

"Still, I do have a bit of bad news, and it comes tied with a bit more good news," you say. The roof is coming up fast, and you tuck into a shoulder roll to bleed momentum. "Miss Tsuruya's interested in forming a defense pact with Mitakihara city, and another part of the reason she's coming over is to discuss said pact."

"That is good news," Oriko agrees. "It will only help. Is the bad news that the discussion will be taking place first?"

"Yeah... it shouldn't be too much longer, but still," you say, taking off at a run. "I'm sorry about that. And... I tried to convince Homura and Sayaka to let you sit in on the talks, but they, ah, strongly vetoed the idea. I'll be putting you guys on speakerphone, as in actual phone speakerphone as opposed to telepathy if you want?"

"That's acceptable," Oriko says. "The consideration is welcome."

"Means I can still cuddle while you're all doing the boring talks!" Kirika says brightly. "That's an upside!"

"I haven't forgotten that I need to talk to them later about letting you have more freedom, either," you say. "I'll get it done, I promise."

"Very well," Oriko says. "Thank you, Sabrina."

"Thank me when I have results," you say, leading a path across Mitakihara. You can't help but notice the interest Yuki takes in Mitakihara, looking around with bright wonder she can't quite hide.

"We shall," Oriko says. "Good luck, Sabrina."

You bring Yuki, Rin, and Sakura to a cafe, apologising to them for making them wait. Yuki seems curious, but acquiesces, and heads to the counter while Rin automatically takes another table.

And it's off to Mitakihara Middle School. You can't help but check the time as you take wing - you shave it close, but you make it just as the bell goes off, landing in an alleyway and darting out to the school gates.

You comb your hair down with your fingers as best as you can while you watch the doors, and there's a smile on your face as Mami shoves them open. She takes the steps down three at a time, and you open your arms to sweep her up into a tight hug that lifts her off her feet.

"Hey, Mami," you say, beaming at her as you gently set her down. Her cheeks are rosy, but she's laughing, and more than happy to lean against you.

"Hi, Sabrina," she says, nestling comfortably into your hug.

You wave cheerfully to your friends, only now filtering out of the building, mixed in with the crowd. You spot Homura, Sayaka, Madoka, and Hitomi, all walking close together.

"Yo!" Sayaka calls. "Where's the girl from Fukushima?"

"Waiting at a cafe," you answer, releasing your hug so that Mami can shift to face your friends. "Also, her name's Tsuruya Yuki."

"Oh?" Hitomi asks, seeming interested. "Do we have a visitor?"

"Ah, yes, I didn't tell you- sorry about that," you say, gesturing down the path to start walking. You are rather blocking the way. "Been a busy afternoon. The long and short of it is that we encountered a group from Fukushima before, yeah? They're mercenaries, and fairly powerful ones, but they're interested in forming a defense pact with us."

"A defense pact?" Madoka echoes. "Like the treaty between Japan and the United States?"

"More modest than that," you say, catching Homura's eye and nodding slowly. You know you need to urge Madoka away. "But that's the idea. Among other things, they've agreed they'll help with Walpurgisnacht, so that's good."

"Ah, that's great!" Madoka says, beaming. "More help is good, right?"

"I remember watching the news about the... gas explosion," Hitomi observes, polished doubt dripping off the words. "Was that them?"

"Yeah," you say, mentally thanking Hitomi for the perfect segue. "They've done their share of less than stellar... stuff."

"They sound nasty," Sayaka says, scowling and scuffing at the pavement with one foot.

"Being a magical girl can be hard, Sayaka," Mami murmurs, distant and a touch sad. You hug her close with your arm around her waist.

"Mami's right. And honestly? They want a defense pact in part because they're looking for something better," you say. "From what I can tell, anyway. But that's why we're going to meet them right now, so that everyone can evaluate them for themselves. But that said... Madoka, Hitomi, can I request something of the two of you?"

You stop, turning to face them as they give you curious looks.

"Could I ask you two to sit this one out?" you ask. "I'm hopeful, but... I think it would be safer if you didn't attend this meeting."

"I understand," Hitomi says, nodding. "Perhaps... I have been neglecting club activities."

Madoka blinks, wilting a little and then brightening. "Ah! Yes, the gardening club has been wondering what happened!" she says. "I could do that, too."

Oh, thank Madokami. No fuss, no rush, not even very much Madoka being disappointed.

... or maybe thank Madoka.

Eh, theology can wait.

"Let me walk you back to school," Homura murmurs, earning her an elbow to the ribs from Sayaka. "Hitomi, I'd like to discuss something."

"Oh? Certainly," Hitomi says, blinking at Homura as she turns to head the other direction.

"I'll rejoin you at the cafe," Homura tells you and Mami. "Where is it?"

You raise curious eyebrows at Homura as you give her the address.

"If Yuki intends to fortify a location," Homura murmurs to your mind. "I would prefer it be near Madoka's house."

Ah. Ah.

And she'd want Hitomi's help to ease the buying or renting process, presumably. You feel... kind of proud that she's actually working with someone else to bring about a desired outcome. Apparently some of that work you're putting into socializing her has taken.

"OK!" you say cheerfully, smiling at Mami and giving Homura, Madoka, and Hitomi a wave. "Have fun."

"I'll meet you before you arrive at the cafe," Homura murmurs, to you, Mami and Sayaka before cutting the connection.

Mami sighs happily as you stroll along the pavement.

"Soooo," Sayaka drawls. "How was the fight?"

You grin, and fish in your bag for the unmarked DVD case. "Yuki was kind enough to give me a recording."

"... seriously?" Sayaka says, blinking at the case.

"Apparently," you say. "Haven't watched it yet, but hey. Though to answer the question... basically, imagine fighting an entire building at once. Not in the sense of it getting up to punch you, but in that every floor, every wall, everything is trying to kill you."

"That almost sounds like a Witch's Barrier," Sayaka says.

"A Witch's Barrier on steroids, if anything," you say.

"I've heard stories about Miss Tsuruya," Mami adds. "She's part of the reason the Fukushima girls are so successful - she can and has singlehandedly defended their holdings."

"I can see that, yeah," you agree.

As promised, Homura emerges from a side-street a bare few minutes later, wordlessly joining the group. You spend the rest of the walk chatting about their day at school, as well as sharing interesting bits from the fight and your trip to Fukushima.

Yuki's claimed an outdoor seat by the time you arrive. She glances up as you round the corner, her eyes finding your group. They go momentarily wide, and she stands, hand outstretched.

"Miss Tomoe!" she says. "It's very nice to meet you - your reputation precedes you."

"Thank you, Miss Tsuruya," Mami says, straightening and separating from your side to shake her hand. "It's good to meet you too. I hope your associates are well?"

"They are, thank you," Yuki says. "May I be introduced to your friends?"

"Of course," Mami says. "You already know Sabrina - this is Akemi Homura, and Miki Sayaka. They're both good friends, and powerful magical girls."

"I'm pleased to meet you all," Yuki says, inclining her head.

After a round of pleasantries, you all take a seat, and make your orders. You decide on a hot chocolate. You can't help but notice Rin having taken one of the indoor seats, and is apparently appeasing Sakura with an ice cream.

"Ah... Miss Tsuruya, I'll be letting another two magical girls listen in by speakerphone, if you don't mind," you say. "They're... associates of our group, but not members."

"Of course," Yuki says, nodding. With her permission, you dial Oriko's number on your phone, setting it on speakerphone and leaving it on the table.

"Hello? Oriko?" you ask.

"Hello, Sabrina," Oriko says through the phone. Just the sound of her voice gets a subtle twitch from Homura, and a look of faint dislike from Sayaka.

"Right. So, this is Tsuruya Yuki," you say. "And Miss Tsuruya, on the line are Mikuni Oriko and Kure Kirika. They happen to be guarding our prisoner right now, actually."

"I see," Yuki says, nodding.

"Alright," you say, rubbing your hands together. "So, thank you for being here today, Miss Tsuruya."

"The pleasure is mine," Yuki says, eyes flicking from person to person. Mami takes your hand, squeezing gently. "Thank you for being willing to hear out my requests of a defense pact."

"Of course, Miss Tsuruya," Mami says. "We should begin at the start: What would you expect of a mutual defense pact, to ensure we are on the same page?"

"Just that - should we be attacked and require help, we can expect to call upon help from you, and should you be attacked, we would be ready to answer a call for help," Yuki says.

"Why are you interested in one, anyway?" Sayaka asks. "Haven't you taken all comers so far?"

"It's always good to have allies," Yuki answers calmly. "But as I told Miss Sabrina, the most important part of this defense pact is to ensure that I do not wind up facing you - politically or physically. Miss Sabrina intends to upend the foundations of the magical girl world."

"Oh, come on," Sayaka says, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "It's not that bad."

"I don't anticipate your group slowing down," Yuki says, leaning forward. "Miss Tomoe, you are famed for your skill and magnanimity. Miss Miki, I have not heard much about you yet, but I have heard about a power copier associated with your group. Miss Akemi... I have heard nothing about you, and if you are as much of a veteran as you look, then I will admit: I am wary of you."

She spreads her hands. "Miss Sabrina, I do not need to elaborate upon. But the fact is that you are all powerful, I suspect, and you are all optimists enough to believe in changing things," she says. "And even if Miss Sabrina never creates another Clear Seed, the seeds of conflict have already been sown, if you'll pardon the pun."

"So you want to be on the winning side," Sayaka says.

"I want to not be on the losing side," Yuki says simply. "I have not fought so long as to be rendered irrelevant or be ground under the wheels of change."

"What irrelevancy?" Oriko murmurs to you. "You gave her a Clear Seed, I assume?"

"I've already given you a Clear Seed," you point out. "With that alone, you're all set for life, and if you never raise a hand unjustly, then we'd have no cause to fight you, either."

"I don't want to rely on that," Yuki says. "Having my eggs in one basket is a bad idea."

"You understand that Walpurgisnacht will be a dangerous fight?" Homura says, amethyst eyes hard and clear.

"I suspect that with your team, it won't be as dangerous as it might be," Yuki says. "Much less with our power added to the mix."

Homura falls silent, leaning back.

"I've heard you've wrecked towns before," Sayaka says, eyes narrowing a little.

"We've done things we're not proud of," Yuki agrees.

"Sayaka, be nice," Mami reproves. "That said... Miss Tsuruya, are you going to change that? The past is fixed, but we cannot tolerate such destruction if we are to be allied."

"We are," Yuki says. "The fact that Sabrina has already been generous enough to provide us with a Clear Seed means that we can afford to be less ruthless while carrying out our contracts."

"Are there any enemies that we should be aware of?" Homura asks, taking a sip of her tea.

"None that matter," Yuki says. "We've defeated them before."

"Do you expect to be attacked anytime soon?" Homura asks.

"Ah, I see," Yuki says, frowning. "None that I expect, but I will not deny that we have enemies."

Mami nods thoughtfully. "You've mentioned wanting to establish a stronghold in Mitakihara."

"Yes," Yuki says. "Among other things, I am able to teleport between buildings I have claimed, as well as fortify it against attacks. If we agree, it would be beneficial to all of us to have a rally point of sorts."

"Would your fortified building be able to stand against Walpurgisnacht?" Homura asks.

"I've never tested myself against the Queen of Witches, naturally," Yuki says. "But I would imagine I could at least make it an even fight."

Homura nods thoughtfully to herself.

[] Defense pact
- [] Anything more to ask?
- [] Lay down more terms?
[] Yuki's Nexus
- [] Homura's suggestion
- [] Warehouse-kun
- [] Somewhere else?
[] Sakura and Rin
- [] Something more to say?
[] Move on to transfer Airi and the antimagic enchantment
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Homura will suggest that she could rent a house near Madoka's district, naturally.

 

[Firnagzen]

You hum quietly to yourself and sip your hot chocolate as you consider matters, squeezing Mami's hand gently. Also, on second thoughts, you're amending your reaction to Homura allowing another magical girl to have a stronghold within the same district as Madoka to a resounding 'holy shit, Homu'.

Holy shit, Homura.

Not only that, she's actually willingly working with someone else to get what she wants.

Holy shit Homura.

You hug Mami, leaning against her and wrapping your arms around her waist as you think. Mami squeaks and blushes, but happily cuddles up against you.

"You look like you had an idea, Homura?" you say.

"I am considering buying a new house," Homura says.

"I should note that I'm aware of everything that happens in the buildings that I've claimed when I focus on it," Yuki says. "I typically do that only when I'm doing a sweep or in combat, but it's something you should be aware of."

Homura blinks slowly. "That's fine," she says. "It would be more of a safehouse than a living place."

"Do your teammates live with you, Miss Tsuruya?" Sayaka asks, managing to look simultaneously interested and just a touch scandalized.

"Yes," Yuki says, and takes a sip of her tea. "We have our arrangements."

"I see, I see," Sayaka says, subsiding.

"We could also use Warehouse-kun?" Mami suggests, smiling at you.

"Mami!" you say, faking indignation. "How could you suggest we just give up Warehouse-kun like that!"

Mami giggles, while Sayaka just shakes her head.

You turn to Yuki. "Sorry, in-joke there," you explain. "There's an abandoned warehouse that I use for experimentation, and I suppose it's a viable location, but it's not terribly central nor near anything important. I think Homura's idea would be best, here. Also, out of curiosity, would it help to have... large statues and stuff?"

"For me to animate?" Yuki asks, and shakes her head. "Unnecessary - my magic is versatile enough. Anything on the premises are simply props."

"Alright, but what if you went and claimed something like the Statue of Liberty?" you ask. "Would that count as a building you could claim and animate."

"... I've speculated about that before," Yuki allows. "But for obvious reasons, I've never had the opportunity to test it. I would presume so."

"Well, we are gearing up for a fight with Walpurgisnacht," you say, and pause. "Pun unintended. Would it be a significant help?"

"Not particularly," Yuki says, and allows a hint of a smirk to show. "It would be spectacular, but not a particularly large improvement."

"Fair enough," you say. "Homura?"

"I'm told it will take a few days, even with the process expedited," Homura says. "We'll contact you then."

You beam at Homura approvingly. She meets your gaze unflinchingly, and nods slightly.

You find yourself wondering what a veteran magical girl looks like. There's not that much similarity between Mami and Homura, after all, but then again... they're veterans in different ways. Mami is pure, bold grace and flash and simple preternatural excellence, mastery of magic infusing everything she does.

Homura...

You suppose you can see it, the way she holds herself tight and controlled at all times. She's not watchful, precisely. Her gaze is unyielding steel, monofocused with laser-like precision, but you can't shake the impression she's aware nevertheless, and you can't ever shake the impression that she's always ready to fight. Something in the lines of her shoulder and the tension in her arms that never quite goes away.

"So Yuki," you say, shaking yourself out of the introspection and turning your attention back to her. "What do you think about aggressive, proactive befriending?"

"What?" Yuki says, blinking in confusion at you.

"Sabrina, no," Sayaka says, putting her hot chocolate down and covering her face with that hand.

Mami giggles faintly, leaning into your side as you straighten.

"... magical girl anime called Nanoha?" you venture. "The main character is known for deploying massively overkill but non-lethal attacks on her enemies, who typically turn out to be not-that-bad and then proceed to become friends with her?"

"Ah," Yuki says, and makes a face. "I... we make it a point not to watch those. Too much and too little like real life."

"Bah," you say, rolling your eyes. "Anyway. Point is, how do you feel about seeking out potential troublemakers and extending them diplomatic overtures first? And no, to be clear - this is an initiative I'm suggesting, so I won't expect you to be following in for it."

"What do you expect me to say to that?" Yuki says, spreading her hands. "I am naturally going to agree to anything that means we have less enemies gunning for us without us lifting a finger."

Sayaka snorts, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like 'at least she's honest' under her breath.

Yuki shoots Sayaka an amused look, and leans forward on the table. "Miss Sabrina, Miss Tomoe, Miss Miki, Miss Akemi... you must realise, I look after my interests and those of my friends. I'm more than willing to work with you, and I will, in good faith. That's why I'm here."

She gestures at you. "But when you suggest something like that, of course I am going to agree. And I won't even look askance, because you have a track record and demonstrated ability to do these kinds of things."

"Should you be worried about your reputation by association with those actions?" Oriko speaks into your mind.

"Point. Thanks, Oriko," you respond, and shift lightning-quick to speak to Mami and Homura. "Oriko suggests that we should be worried about our reputation for those actions. What do you think, Mami, Homura?"

"She has a point," Mami allows, and continues smoothly out loud. "We'd have to be careful with our targets for, ah, befriending, of course."

You squeeze Mami's hand in yours.

"I am not asking for you to go out there and stomp every single one of my enemies into the ground," Yuki says. "We're perfectly capable of fighting defensive battles against them by ourselves, much less with your aid. But I am more than happy to help you extend diplomatic overtures towards them, though I should caution you that they generally do regard us with hostility. Being affiliated with us will make things difficult."

"That's fine," you say. "As Mami says, we'll act on our best judgement there, but for that, we're going to need a list."

"I'll write it down for you before I leave," she agrees. "Names, location, cause of conflicts, powers?"

"Potential allies they might call upon," Mami adds.

Yuki nods.

"Speaking of allies," you say. "Might you be willing to share your metaphorical phonebook? I'd be interested in outreach to any allies or... past clients of yours. More allies, hopefully, more Clear Seeds distributed, and I'd rather try to pre-empt conflicts by talking them down."

"I would be pleased to make introductions whenever you wish it," Yuki says, frowning. "But introducing you to everyone will take time."

"Yeah, that's fair," you agree. "But in the future, then."

"Certainly," Yuki says, nodding.

"We should delineate the responsibilities covered under the defense pact directly," Mami suggests.

Homura purses her lips thoughtfully, and reaches over to extract a pad of paper and a pen from her schoolbag. She clicks the pen, giving you all an expectant look.

"If one of our groups should be attacked by magical girls, the other should send reasonable reinforcements to defend," Yuki says, looking around at all of you. "'Reinforcements' defined as a good faith contribution of combat strength without rendering the reinforcing team unable to defend their own holdings."

"A clause about cleansing," you say. "I'd supply all Soul Gem cleansing as necessary for the fighting and subsequent healing, of course."

"Um... what about prisoners?" Sayaka asks.

"Rules of engagement in general," Mami suggests. "Attempt to fight non-lethally if at all possible, and, ah, prisoners..."

"I'll attempt to talk to them," you decide. "We'd have to decide on a case by case basis. I'd be, ah, reluctant to remand them to you, Miss Tsuruya. For obvious reasons."

"Sayaka - your power copying?" you ask, opening the channel to Sayaka, Mami, and Homura.

"Of course," Yuki says, frowning slightly in consideration. "Both clauses are fine with me."

"Not in the contract, I think?" Mami suggests.

"Yeah, I'll ask her afterwards," Sayaka says.

"Uh... hm," you say. "Should we include Miss Tsuruya claiming a building?"

Mami hesitates before shaking her head. "No, but perhaps a clause about transportation?"

"Oriko?" you murmur. "Anything you feel should be added?"

"No prisoners for us, if possible," Oriko says. "But I feel that can be left out of the explicit wording."

"Yeah, I can do that," you say.

"Transport to be facilitated with all possible speed?" Yuki suggests. "It is in everyone's interests to ensure it happens, after all."

"Yeah," you say. "Hm. Anything else?"

"Walpurgisnacht," Homura murmurs.

"Right, right," you say, frowning.

"When attacked by magical girls or major threats?" Sayaka offers.

"I think that covers everything," Mami says. "Miss Tsuruya?"

"Acceptable," she pronounces.

Homura frowns minutely at the pad before turning it over and starting to write again. It takes her a few minutes of work, but eventually, she presents everyone with a neatly printed contract written in block letters. You pass it to Yuki first, who scans it carefully and signs.

You nudge Mami to take the paper, smiling at her.

She does, reading the paper carefully before signing with a flourish.

"Thank you for agreeing to this," Yuki says, inclining her head.

"We're happy to," Mami says, smiling warmly.

"I didn't expect anything like this when I set out to hire you this morning," you say, grinning. "I'm glad you offered, though!"

"It was my pleasure," Yuki says.

You lean forward to pick up the phone. "Hey, Oriko, Kirika, thanks for listening in and helping," you say. "I'll be along soon, alright?"

You all spend a few minutes finishing your drinks. Mami cuddles up against your side, and you lean over her shoulder to skim idly over Homura's neatly printed contract. Brief, but sufficient for your purposes, with Mami's signature beside Yuki's.

It's funny. You're the one who tends to give direction to the team, but you don't really think you're the leader. If Mami said otherwise, you'd follow instantly, and you would for Homura and Sayaka, too. And they would for you, as well.

It comes down to the fact that you're all friends. Even Homura, now. You all look out for each other, and even if you disagree, you wouldn't force them to do anything. You wouldn't be able to bring yourself to force your friends to do anything against their wills. Disagree and cajole and argue, but... you'd never force them to do anything.

Even Homura socialising... You're not forcing her to do it. You wouldn't be able to force her to do it, were she not willing.

"Hey, Miss Tsuruya?" Sayaka asks. "So uh... you guessed correctly. I'm a power copier, and I was wondering if you would allow me to copy your magic? It wouldn't reduce yours at all."

Yuki purses her lips. "I would prefer not to, if it's all the same to you."

"Ah, that's fine," Sayaka says, waving it off. "I gotta ask and try to grow my powers!"

"Understandable," Yuki says. "My teammates may be willing, when you meet them, but I would prefer to keep my powers to myself. I hope you understand?"

"Yeah, it's not a problem," Sayaka says, nodding.

Mami finishes her drink, and tucks the contract away. "I'll get this copied and send you a copy as soon as possible, Miss Tsuruya?" she asks.

"You can send a scanned copy by email," Yuki says, shaking her head. "It won't be a problem."

"Well, with that done - shall we move on to passing Airi to you?" you suggest. "And the antimagic enchantments, of course."

"Certainly," Yuki says, rising to her feet.

"I'll come with you?" Mami asks, and you pull her into a sidelong hug.

"Of course, Mami," you say warmly. "Ah... Homura? Sayaka?"

Sayaka scowls, tapping her chin. "I'll pop into the hospital?" she says. "We've still got the enchantment practice later, right?"

"Yeah," you agree. And that talk with her and Homura about Oriko and Kirika. "We shouldn't take too long."

"I have business to take care of," Homura murmurs as she rises.

"Alrighty," you say. "We'll let you know!"

You all split up, Sayaka turning to head to the hospital while you collect Rin and Sakura to head over to the Kure's with Yuki and Mami.

Kirika's waiting for you outside when you arrive, waving enthusiastically and letting you in. Airi's nowhere to be seen, but you can sense her sitting sullenly in another room as you make introductions. Sakura plonks herself down on the end of the sofa, seemingly still annoyed, while Rin sits next to her.

"So, antimagic needs to be tuned to you, right?" Kirika chirps, with a grin at Yuki.

"Just so," Yuki says.

"Cool," Kirika says, flopping over on the sofa next to Oriko. She grabs a pile of chains, each link the size of your knuckle, off the table. "These'll do?"

"They were the most throwable objects we could acquire on short notice," Oriko notes.

"That will be more than sufficient," Yuki says as she seats herself.

"Hey, uh..." you say, raising a finger. You've taken the loveseat, Mami cuddled happily up against you. "So, Miss Tachibana, you'll be teleporting Miss Tsuruya back, right? Is that gonna be a problem?"

"Oh, I can just include Miss Tachibana easily," Kirika says, squinting at the brown-haired girl. "Should be fine?"

"That will be fine," Yuki says, eyes sweeping the house, and the Kures, with interest. Her eyes flicker over to you, and you feel the connection snap up. "Who are they?"

[] Yuki's question
- [] Explain
-- [] In detail, eliding Homura's feelings
-- [] Briefly (which parts?)
- [] State you'd rather not answer
[] Rin and Sakura
- [] Muggle moneymaking methods
- [] Thank them
- [] Anything else to say?
[] Yuki
- [] Thank her for helping Rin
- [] Anything else to say?
[] The Kures
- [] More thanking
- [] Anything else?
[] What next?
- [] Talk to Homura and Sayaka about Oriko and Kirika
-- [] Privacy bubble?
-- [] With Mami around?
-- [] What arguments do you make?
- [] Head to the hospital to visit Koqwusiko
- [] Just do the enchantment practice
-- [] What do you try?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

[X] Before you forget, ask Kirika to check the IRCs Nadia provided.
[X] Rin and Sakura
-[x] Test for interest in muggle monemaking schemes. Mention that you have a contact with Ideas. It's something for them to do with their time, if nothing else.
-[x] Thank them again before parting ways.
[x] Thank Yuki for helping Rin.

=====​

And we're back!

 

[Firnagzen]

"They're the Kures. Mid-to-late-stage aggressive befriending," you tell Yuki. You spend a moment considering how much more to tell Yuki, but she's definitely noticed something's up with them. Probably a combination of factors, if you have to guess, starting from Homura and Sayaka's reactions, to the fact that they're here.

"Former enemies being rehabilitated?" Yuki says, watching as Oriko excuses herself and walks to the kitchen.

"Yep, though... honestly, more misguided than really enemies," you say. "I'm... helping Oriko with her demons, and she's mostly over them, but Homura and Sayaka still have their reservations. Entirely understandable, and I don't blame them for it, and in any case, it's ongoing."

"Magnanimous in victory," Yuki muses. "Do you expect to do the same with the prisoner you're remanding to us?"

"If at all possible, yeah," you agree. "But she needs time to calm down, first."

Oriko returns with a tray bearing a steaming pot and cups for everyone, setting it down and pouring tea for everyone with an easy, practiced grace. You and Mami and Kirika and Yuki and Rin and Sakura too, the latter of whom gives the cup a suspicious look before sipping.

"Understood," Yuki says. "The... Kures?"

"They might as well be married," you say with an amused lilt to your mental voice. "But yes - still on probation. I consider them friends... well, a friendship that cost an arm and a leg. My leg, Oriko's arm. And most of her neck."

There's a faintly startled silence, Yuki freezing in place.

"We got better?" you offer. "I mean, we're magical girls."

"I see," Yuki says, falling silent to consider this. "Thank you, Miss Oriko. This is excellent tea."

Oriko gives you a sharp look.

"It is," Mami agrees, smiling.

"Mmmhm!" you agree, raising the cup slightly in salute, smirking at her. "Thanks, Oriko."

"You are very welcome," Oriko says, inclining her head.

Mami cuddles up against you, and you all fall silent for a moment but for quiet sipping of tea and the clanking of steel as Kirika thumbs through the chain links.

"By the way, Rin?" you say. The blonde looks up, eyebrows arching in curiosity. "Have you ever considered going into... well, earning money? Or earning money? I've got a... contact, friend's mother, who recently rediscovered magical girls and has Ideas."

"It's not so easy," Rin says, with a sigh. "That said... what do you mean?"

You snort, and grin. "The first thing she wondered, when she found out that we were magical girls, was whether there were magical girls in business," you say. "Right, Mami?"

"'Though I suspect savvy magical girls could make a killing out there'," Mami quotes, sounding faintly amused. "She is likely correct. As a healer, as a teleporter, you could earn enormous amounts of money with the appropriate intermediary, Miss Mori, Miss Tachibana."

"Yeah, and that leaves everyone else out," Sakura snaps.

"Forcefields and gravity?" you muse. "Sounds perfect for rescue work, or physics work, or manufacturing. Look, I'm not gonna say it's something you must do, I'm just... offering an option, I guess?"

"It's appreciated, Miss Sabrina," Rin says with a nod.

"I want to help," you say simply, and leave it at that.

The conversation lapses after that, and you take the opportunity to cuddle Mami closer. Yuki's eyes flick around the room, assessing and curious as she soaks in every aspect. Rin and Sakura...

You know, you're not really sure whether they're together or not? You think they might be - certainly Sakura seems exceptionally protective of the healer, and certainly they're sitting pretty close together, but you're just not sure. You could ask, but Sakura would probably bite your head off. And you're not even sure whether that would be just metaphorical, either.

"Miss Tsuruya?" you murmur telepathically. "May I ask a favour?"

"What is it?" she responds, sipping her tea.

"Well... if I'm making any obvious mistakes, can you point them out to me?" you ask. "Forest doesn't matter if I miss the trees, and all that - and you're better at some things I'm bad at. So please, if you have any feedback, I'd seriously appreciate it."

"Your style is entirely too different from mine to give any specific advice," Yuki says simply. "I would advice you to hedge, to mislead and negotiate hardball, to conceal your greatest strengths, but you are simply so open that the only real recourse for you is to be honest and allow that to speak for you. It's not an approach that will work with everyone, and it's not the approach that would work for most of the people on this planet, but you seem to be doing something right."

"Huh," you say. "Well... that's reasonable, yeah. But still, if I'm doing something obviously wrong?"

"Certainly," Yuki says. "But there is nothing that sticks out to me right now."

The conversation lapses once again, Mami seeming to notice and snuggle closer to you, tucking her head against your shoulder.

"Done!" Kirika chirps happily, holding up the lengths of steel chain. "Catch!"

She lobs them at Yuki, who catches them one handed without even spilling a single drop of tea. The chains clink and wrap around her fist, heavy and greasy with the feel of antimagic.

"Kirika," Oriko chides gently, smiling to take the sting out of it.

"What? I did good, right?" Kirika pouts.

"Yes, dear, but you don't just throw them at someone," Oriko says, patting Kirika's shoulder.

"Nevertheless, thank you very much, Miss Kirika," Yuki says, nodding. "I will put these to good use."

Oriko nudges Kirika.

"Eh? Oh, uh... yes, you're welcome, Miss Tsuruya!" Kirika says, beaming.

You really need to do something nice for Oriko and Kirika. At this point, you're pretty sure they're actually on your side now, and... you really should try and ease the restrictions on them, if only to let them go shopping and such. You can't help but remember how pleased they were to go out, in Asunaro.

If nothing else, you're pretty sure they'll need groceries again soon. It'd be better if they could buy it for themselves.

"Miss Sabrina, Miss Tomoe, Miss Oriko," Yuki says. "If there's nothing else, I should be returning to Fukushima now, along with your prisoner, of course."

"Nothing much from me," you say. "Mami? Oriko?"

Mami shakes her head, smiling gently, and Oriko answers in the negative. And so you all stand, Oriko leading the way to another room, where you can sense Anri.

It's as opulently furnished as any other room in the Mikuni mansion, of course. A study, judging from the massive table and bookshelves dominating the room, and Airi's curled up sullenly on the chair.

Stark yellow eyes flicker open as Oriko pulls the door open, fixing on you.

"You," she hisses.

[] Airi
- [] Apologise
- [] Explain what you're doing
- [] Anything else to say to her?
[X] Vote in abeyance
- [] Modifications?
[] Now what?
- [] Enchantment practice
-- [] Just you, Mami, Homura, and Sayaka
-- [] With Madoka and Hitomi in addition
- [] Ask Homura and Sayaka for that discussion about Oriko and Kirika
-- [] Approach?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

[X] Rin and Sakura
-[X] Thanks again before they leave.
[X] Yuki.
-[x] Schedule list-sharing.
[X] Kures.
-[X] Ask Kirika to check the IRCs Nadia provided.
-[X] Good job today.
-[X] Ask Oriko if you can/should finish removing the graffiti.

=====​

So here's something: For acquaintances, you'd refer to them by "Surname-san", which I transliterate as "Miss/Mr Surname". Consider, then, what happens when you have two people of the same surname (relatives, spouses, etc). This isn't the first time you've seen it, either.

 

[Firnagzen]

"Me," you say, mind awhirl with responses. You settle for a smile -courteous, bland, maybe a touch apologetic- and a sigh. "Miss Airi, this is Tsuruya Yuki, from Fukushima. I've made arrangements for you to stay with them."

"Ah, so you're just throwing me aside like a piece of trash," Anri says. "Nice! I guess I was just that insignificant."

She grins at you, too sharp, too bright. Fever-bright. Her eyes track you as you give Mami's hand a squeeze and release it to step forward into the room, and you're not so naïve you don't watch your breathing, even with the antimagic on her. You remember what she did, back in Asunaro. Grief fog blankets the room, a light touch but subtle threat held poised and ready.

And as much as anything else, you're terrified of what she might blurt out, with Mami here. One of the biggest reasons you need to get Anri away is to keep the nature of Witches away from Mami and Sayaka and Madoka.

"Nah. You're not insignificant," you say. If anything, she's too significant, for what she knows. "The simple fact is that I don't have the facilities to keep you held here, so I'm hiring people who do. I have no intention of just leaving you there, either - I will be visiting."

You smile, and continue by telepathy. "I haven't forgotten the deal, either - I intend to honour it."

Anri doesn't say anything, just grins at you.

"Well," you say, and exhale slowly. "Miss Tsuruya?"

She nods at you, eyeing Airi carefully as she steps into the room. The chains clink, resting as they are over her shoulder. "That manacle is antimagic?" she asks.

"Yeah," you say, backing away. "Steel. Should be pretty hard to pry off. By the way, can we schedule a time for the, uh, sharing of your contact list?"

"Certainly," Yuki says. "How does the weekend sound?"

"Should be good," you agree, and turn to Rin and Sakura. You give both of them a broad smile. "Rin, Miss Tachibana... sincerely, thank you for helping today."

"It was our pleasure, Sabrina," Rin says. You can't help but notice the way she grips Sakura's elbow in warning, granted. "Farewell!"

"See you sometime soon," you say, and step aside to let them into the room. "You too, Miss Tsuruya!"

"Indeed!" Yuki agrees, smirking at you. "Have Miss Akemi contact me when she has the location ready for claiming!"

"Can do," you agree. You watch as Yuki grips Sakura's arm, other hand on Anri's shoulder.

And with a quiet vwwp, they're gone.

You blow out a breath, and let yourself relax. She's gone, along with her inconvenient facts of life. Mami cuddles up against your side, a worried frown creasing her brow and silent question on her face. You smile at her, reassuring and warm. You're fine.

You straighten.

"Hey, Oriko, Kirika?" you say, and beam at them. "Thank you both so much for today. You both did a great job. Not just this whole mess with Airi, but just... for everything."

"Thank you, Sabrina," Oriko says, inclining her head. "It was a good experience."

"So, uh... before we head off, I've got a few things," you say.

"By all means?" Oriko says, and gestures back towards the living room.

You follow her down the corridor, taking a few seconds to marshal your thoughts. "So uh... first thing. Would you like me to clean up the graffiti on the outside?"

Oriko blinks slowly at you. "Yes, that would be nice, if unnecessary," she says.

"Alright, cool," you say, Grief fog already moving to your will. Really, you just need to scrape it away. Shouldn't be too hard. "I'll get that done before I leave, then."

"Thank you," Oriko says, inclining her head.

"So... second," you say. You've reached the living room, and you'd take a seat, but you're just about to leave. Not much point sitting down again. "Kirika, could I ask a favour? And I'm sorry to put it on you after everything I've already asked of you today."

"Mm?" Kirika says, blinking bright orange eyes at you.

"Could you help me check some IRCs?" you ask. "I've got the addresses of a couple of magical girl IRCs from Nadia."

Oriko purses her lips. "Are you sure you should be giving those to us?" she asks. "After all, we are under house arrest, nominally to keep me from plotting against you. I would rather... not hand Miss Akemi more metaphorical ammunition. She certainly has enough literal ammunition as it is."

"I... guess that's fair," you say, biting your lip in thought. Yeah, you can see Homura being unhappy about that. It's not like Oriko couldn't have found them out beforehand, were she truly plotting against you, but it's about trust. And Homura's extended you so much already as it is. "Yeah. I... thanks."

Oriko inclines her head slowly, sea-green eyes steady and unflinching. Mami tucks herself under your arm to hug you.

"Right." You blow out a slow, careful breath, and smile at Oriko. "Last thing. Are you, uh... OK with the 'Kures' thing?"

Oriko stumbles. Oriko stumbles, and flushes a bright, instant red, a shade only rivalled by Kirika, who makes a high-pitched squeal and clings even tighter to Oriko's arm.

Mami giggles. It's infectious, and you find yourself smothering your own giggles as you turn to face them properly. As amusing and utterly adorable as it is... you don't really want to belabour the joke if you're making them uncomfortable.

"Y-yes," Oriko manages. "Yes, I- we're fine with it."

Kirika squeals and pulls Oriko into a clinging hug.

You grin at Mami, a little red yourself. "Shall we give them a moment? Or... the rest of the day?" you ask.

"Oh, Sabrina," Mami says, taking your hand and towing you towards the glass doors.

"Well, see you two later!" you call over your shoulder. You don't get any answer, sliding the doors shut and giving the exterior walls a quick once-over. A good job, you think, white paint untouched but graffiti removed. The only traces remaining are where the vandals scored deep enough to carve into the wooden finish itself.

Mami smiles at you. "Fly us home?"

"I'll fly us halfway," you say, winking at her and opening your arms. "And, mm... invite everyone over for the practice session?"

"Definitely," Mami agrees, giving you a brilliant smile and transforming before stepping into the offered hug.

You close your arms around her, one arm around her waist and one around her shoulders to pull her close as wings bloom from your shoulders, rippling out across the garden. A single powerful stroke lofts you airborne, Mami holding tight in your embrace.

"Hey, everyone," you call out across the ether of telepathy. Mami, of course, and Homura and Sayaka and Madoka and Hitomi. Your friends. "Enchantment practice at Mami's apartment, if everyone has the time, and Madoka, Hitomi - you're invited if you want to come along!"

"Ah... maybe not?" Madoka says hesitantly. "I haven't been at club for ages! And I already told mama and papa I'd be home for dinner tonight... I'm sorry!"

"Ah, that's fine," you say. "Um... Hitomi?"

"Similarly, I feel beholden to stay for club activities," Hitomi says. "And I am expected home for dinner, too."

"Yeah, uh... ditto for dinner?" Sayaka says hesitantly. "Sorry. I'll head over soon, though!"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," you say. "Don't apologise. It just means more of Mami's cooking for me! Homura, what about you?"

"I will be there," Homura murmurs.

"Alright, excellent," you say. "Don't worry about it, Madoka, Hitomi. Also, uh, quick update - the meeting with Miss Tsuruya went well, and I think we're all quite hopeful about the alliance. Things look good!"

"Oh, thank goodness!" Madoka says. "It's great that everyone's getting along!"

"It is," Hitomi agrees.

You chat with them for a few more minutes, giving them a few quick details before signing off. You beam at Mami, her face so close to yours. Her hair streams out in whipping strands of perfect, flaxen gold as she meets your eyes and smiles back. You don't bother shouting over the boom of your wings or the roar of the wind, and instead you breathe words into her mind.

"Looks like we'll get a quiet night at home tonight after everything," you say.

"It would be nice to have some peace," Mami says. "After last night's excitement."

"Yeah, it would," you say, your smile softening as your wings carry you higher over the city, away from the bustle and noise of the millions of people.

You savour the peace.

"Penny for your thoughts, Sabrina?" Mami asks, watching your eyes.

"Many things," you say. "Thinking about our friends, about math, about the future, and about magic."

"Oh?" Mami asks, tightening her arms a little around you.

"I am lucky to have the friends I do," you say softly. "And I'm lucky to have you."

"I'm lucky to have you," Mami says, smiling.

You'd duck your head, but you're kind of carrying Mami right now. Instead, you give her a sheepish grin, that's maybe just a touch abashed. "And... I haven't talked to Nagisa in a while," you say. "Should spend a bit of time to catch up with her sometime."

"I'm sure she's busy settling into her new home," Mami says. "You're a good person, Sabrina."

"I try to be," you say.

"You are," Mami insists.

"Thank you, Mami," you say, returning her smile. What can you say, in the face of the unwavering faith in the way she looks at you?

The conversation lapses for a minute or two, before Mami speaks again. "What about the math?"

"Oh, um, well..." you say, glancing aside. "So, uh... are you familiar with the Banach-Tarski paradox?"

"Ah... broadly? I've heard about it, but we'll only be taught set theory next year," Mami says. "It's a neat trick, but I don't really understand it yet."

You blink at her. Set theory. Anywhere else, you'd call it university level math, but this is Mitakihara.

... To be fair, you're not sure what education standards are like elsewhere. Hm.

"Sabrina?" Mami prompts.

You shake off the disbelief, and grin at her. "Well, the long and the short of it is that if I have a mathematically ideal object consisting of an uncountable infinity of points, I can split it into two objects that are exactly the same as the initial one, right? Because infinities are weird."

"Mmmhm?" Mami says.

"Well... the thing is, I've noticed that Grief is... strange," you say. Understatement right there, right up next to 'Homura's a bit fussy about Madoka's wellbeing'. "And in some ways it does behave like mathematically ideal... stuff."

"So you want to try and see if you can realise the Banach-Tarski paradox?" Mami hazards. "And... multiply your Grief?"

"Yep," you say. "I have no idea what'll happen."

Mami giggles, and cuddles into your arms. "Don't blow up the universe."

"I won't," you say. "It's where Mami is, after all."

Mami blushes a rosy pink, ducking her head against the crook of your neck. Her face is warm against your skin.

The next few minutes pass in a comfortable silence as you soar onwards and upwards, towards the halfway mark over Mitakihara City, as promised.

"Are you ready?" you ask Mami, smiling.

"I am," Mami says, returning the smile. You can feel her magic tightening.

You let her go, trusting her.

And she falls for just seconds, before her own wings ripple into existence, bright gold slashing across the afternoon light. They practically glow under the sun, a brilliant mirror to your own wings, and you laugh as she catches the wind and soars.

You glide alongside her, wingtip to wingtip, and your delighted laughter joins hers as you fly back home together. You tumble down the stairs together, hand-in-hand and still a touch breathless with the simple delight as you pile back into the apartment, flopping down on the sofa.

Homura and Sayaka aren't here yet - still watching Madoka and lingering with Kaoiske, if you had to guess. That gives you time to relax, though, and perhaps brainstorm a little.

"Say, Mami?" you ask.

"Yes, Sabrina?" She doesn't lift her head, draped comfortably over you.

"So... I want to give Oriko and Kirika a bit more freedom, yeah?" you say.

"I remember," Mami says.

"Right, so... I've been thinking a bit over it. As it is, the house arrest works by two things: one, Oriko's goodwill, and two, the fact that it's a known location that we can check. If they're not there, then we know they've broken the arrest, right?" you say, waving a hand in the air.

Mami's silent for a moment, thinking it over. "I... think I see where you're going," she agrees.

"Yeah. So... if we put some kind of tracker on them, it establishes essentially the same effect?" you say slowly. "It creates a known way for us to check on them at will, but gives them freedom."

Mami nods slowly, her hair rustling over your shirt. "But Homura's fear isn't only that of not knowing where they are," she says. "It's of... what manipulations they might set up, correct?"

"Mmm," you agree, frowning.

"So the tracker would let us check on them," Mami agrees hesitantly. "But the freedom means that Miss Mikuni could leave her house, talk to people, and set plans in motion, correct? She has a considerable fortune still, even if she has lost her powers of foresight. If she decided to, she could still do considerable damage."

"That's a fair point," you say, and grimace unhappily. "Do you think it can be done, though?"

"Certainly," Mami agrees. "It should be doable with enchantment... I could work on it later!"

"Do you know if there's a way to do it by mundane means as well?" you ask. "It might be more... reassuring to have some kind of doubly-guaranteed method."

"A personal tracker?" Mami asks, considering. "You could... probably purchase one online?"

"Huh," you say. "Point."

"And..." Mami hesitates for a second. "Sayaka might not be happy regardless. Her concern is in punishing Miss Mikuni and Miss Kure for burning down her house, isn't it?"

"Yeah," you agree with a sigh. "I figure... I need to try and convince her that justice has already been served, which is a tall order, or help her sympathise with Oriko's position, which is... possible, maybe, but it'd take a miracle."

"Perhaps if we convince her that Oriko can be punished by... community service?" Mami suggests. Her tone suggests she doesn't think it too likely. "That her excursions with us are part of her sentence?"

"Maybe," you agree, and fall silent to ruminate on it.

[] Mami
- [X] Hugs
- [] Any other discussion?
[] Science session
- [] Per vote in abeyance
- [] Banach-Tarski
- [] Write-in other avenue of experimentation
[] Homura and Sayaka
- [] Discussing Oriko and Kirika
-- [] Write-in avenue of attack
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

Spoiler: Vote in abeyance

[X] Telepathy Masami, Hiroko: re: Ono, progress finding Kuroki.
[X] Practice session.
-[x] Homura: Suggest protective magic development.
--[x] "Her shield might indicate an affinity for it."
-[X] Assist Sayaka with power testing
-[x] Confer with Mami on enchantment curriculum
--[x] Practice analyzing/copying enchantments?
--[x] Non-witchy clone, and components thereof, (sight, coloration, etc.)
--[x] Default: Try replicating basic elements of your power.

=====​

Homura and Sayaka will arrive by the next post. The science session will happen, followed by at least the initial parts of the discussion about Oriko and Kirika (unless voted otherwise, of course).

Also, you can, in fact, purchase personal GPS trackers online.

 

[Firnagzen]

For some reason, you can't stop yourself speculating about the Banach-Tarski paradox. It's just... interesting, honestly. If it works, and you can duplicate Grief, then you have something truly potent on your hands. And not only that - if you can duplicate Grief, then you can destroy it, too. And at that point, you have something that's a bargaining chip against the Incubators. Carrot and stick.

... You have more important things to consider right now, though.

Mami shifts a little, squirming in the circle of your arms. She's half-lying on top of you, head on your chest and facing up.

"Say, Mami?" you murmur.

"Yes, Sabrina?" she asks.

"What do you think about Oriko and Kirika?" you ask. "I'm... looking for your personal opinion, because... I guess I never really asked. I should have."

"You've had a lot on your mind," Mami says.

"That doesn't excuse me not asking your opinion," you say, shaking your head. "I... I need to respect your opinion more. Everyone's opinion, but... yours especially."

"Oh," Mami says, shifting so that she can curl that much closer to you. "Thank you, Sabrina."

You stroke her hair gently, soaking in the peace for a moment. "So what do you think?"

"I... I don't think Oriko's telling us everything," Mami says slowly. "I think I do believe she lost her powers, and I do believe she's staying under house arrest out of goodwill. I think... I think your initial assessment was right. Someone who wants to do the right thing, but was misled by her... attitudes and her powers."

"I see," you say, idly toying with Mami's hair. She leans into your hand, and you take the opportunity to capture one of her hair drills and begin twirling it around your finger. "What do you mean you don't think she's telling us everything?"

"I don't know," Mami admits. "It's... I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, but I think she's holding something in reserve? Maybe it's something she truly believes needs to wait in the wings? But, ah... this is speculation, Sabrina. I don't know for sure, it's just the impression I get."

"Yeah, but you're Tomoe Mami," you say, smiling even if she can't see it. "Your impressions are what lesser mortals take hours of study and thinking to figure out. That's me, by the way."

You can feel Mami's blush, warm against your hand. "I'm not- you're amazing too, Sabrina."

"Definitely!" you agree. Hm. You can sense someone coming down the stairs outside, a magical girl. "In some ways, anyway. I'm amazingly dorky, for example."

Mami giggles.

"No, but seriously," you say. That's Sayaka approaching the apartment door, you think, just judging from the way she walks. "You're good at a lot of things, Mami, and I respect your opinion. So... thank you."

The doorbell rings, and you make a grumbling noise. Mami shifts as if to get up, but you tighten your arms around her waist. "Nuh-uh. Comfy."

"But- the door?" Mami protests.

"Nah, I got it," you say. And indeed you do, Grief moulding around the door lock and handle. You click it open and pull the door open, forming a floating Grief hand that beckons with one finger.

"Stop being creepy, Sabrina!" Sayaka yells, stepping inside and toeing her shoes off.

You briefly consider forming up some Grief instruments to play some properly creepy music. But that would be unprofessional, and much more importantly, that would be counter to Mami cuddle time. Instead, you swing the door shut behind Sayaka as she steps into the living room.

"Yo," you say, waving lazily. "How was the hospital visit?"

"Kye- Kyousuke's doing great," Sayaka says, plopping herself down on the far end of the sofa. She gives the shatter-crazed glass of the coffee table a slightly guilty look, before returning her attention to you. "Hi Mami, hi Sabrina. How's it going?"

"Hello, Sayaka," Mami says, giving Sayaka a warm smile. She sits up, just far enough to shuffle to your side so she isn't practically lying on top of you. "Good, thank you."

"Got Airi shuffled away to Fukushima for confinement," you say. "Whatcha think of Miss Tsuruya, anyway?"

"She seems cool?" Sayaka says, shrugging. "Her power is... buildings, right?"

"Yeah, it's interesting," you say. "She can basically control the gross structure and everything inside a building, as well as some more exotic effects like teleporting, and extending that into some kind of intangibility. I don't think that's the limit of everything she can do, though, just what she was willing to show off."

"Hey, speaking of, we're gonna watch that video they made, right?" Sayaka asks, grinning.

"If you want to, I guess?" you say, shrugging. Ah, there's Homura, just entering your range of detection and striding down the stairs. "I've got it around somewhere."

"Cool," Sayaka says. "Also, where's Homura?"

"She should be arriving soon," Mami offers.

"In five, four, three, two, one..." you offer. The doorbell rings. "Zero. Perfect timing."

Sayaka rolls her eyes. "Cheater. How'd she get here after me, anyway?"

"... well I mean, yeah. And she had business to take care of. So fair's fair," you say, clicking the door open with Grief. And by business you mean stalking Madoka and-or Oriko, of course, but that's not something you say out loud. "C'mon in, Homura!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says, stretching as Homura walks into the living room. "Hey, Homura."

"Hello," Homura murmurs.

"It's good to see you, Homura," Mami says. "I hope your business went well?"

Homura nods, seating herself on the single sofa.

"So what've we got today?" Sayaka asks, grinning and slumping onto the sofa. "Now that we're all here?"

"For you, Sakura, you need to start working on getting your wand," you say. "Can't control your cards without it."

"My name's not-" Sayaka's eyes narrow as she cottons on. "No."

"Yeees?" you say, grinning. "Mami? Yes?"

"Yes," Mami says, giggling.

"Cardcaptor Sayaka," Homura murmurs, as if delivering judgement of great import after considerable deliberation.

"Traitors, all of you," Sayaka mutters.

"But seriously," you say. "I think you should be figuring out more about your power cards. See if you can combine them, see if other people can use 'em, that kind of thing. And maybe practice with using them. Do you have to touch them to use them, that kind of thing."

"Touch... them," Sayaka says, and smacks herself on the forehead. "I'm an idiot."

"... oh?" you say.

She holds up the keychain full of little faux-Gems. "Why do I even need this?" she says. "I should use get a bracelet or belt or something with all of them facing inside."

"I did consider suggesting that," Mami offers. "But I wasn't sure if you'd be able to choose between all of them, or crystallise your powers from somewhere that isn't your hands."

Sayaka frowns, scratching her head. "I'll find out," she says, nodding. "Thanks for the idea!"

"Hey, all yours," you say. "I was just talking. Like I usually do."

Sayaka just shrugs, looking very thoughtful as she starts fiddling with her chain of powers, running her fingers between them.

"I shall practice my enchantment," Homura says, and hesitates, eyes flicking over to yours for the barest split second before going to Mami. "May I ask for guidance?"

"Of course, Homura," Mami says with a warm smile. "How about you, Sabrina? What will you be doing?"

"I was hoping you'd have advice for me," you say. "Last time, I figured out what my... base enchantment was, I suppose. So how should I proceed from there? Do you think it would be worth it for me to try to learn how to analyse and copy enchantments? And I was thinking I could try to figure out a non-Witchy clone, or try an enchantment that can exert the, ah, basic elements of my power?"

"Ah... I think you should have more experience before trying to copy enchantments," Mami says, smiling at you. "You need to know what you're capable of before you can expect to copy someone else's enchantment, really."

"Alright," you say. "I... oh! Actually, before I forget, Homura - have you tried making protective enchantments before?"

"No," Homura says, blinking slowly at you. "Why?"

"You have a shield," you say, motioning at her left arm. "It's... possible that you have protection magic of some kind."

You hold her gaze, trying to impart emphasis to what you're saying. Homura Wished to do over her meeting with Madoka. And for that, she got her time magic. But she also Wished to be strong enough to protect Madoka. And maybe, just maybe, there's something there that Homura could use.

"I see," Homura says. "I will try."

"Excellent," you say, beaming at her. "Mami? Do you have any pointers for Homura?"

You can kind of see why Homura never tried it before, too. The same reason you're sometimes loathe to sink time into enchantment too, really - it doesn't have obvious or immediate dividends. It's something you invest in over time, and while she might have timestop, that takes Grief Seeds, and until she met you... well, Grief Seeds might have been easier to come by for her, but still a resource to be conserved and used as sparingly as possible.

"Ah, yes," Mami says, half-rising before shooting a glance back at you.

"I'm fine, Mami," you say, smiling and motioning towards Homura. "Help Homura get started? I'll be right here, and I've got an idea to try before going into enchantment first. Sayaka, sound off if you need help?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka says, still distractedly focused on her chain of power crystals.

"Alright," Mami says, walking over to Homura.

You condense Grief out of the air, moulding it thoughtfully over your fingers. The Banach-Tarski paradox... not so much a paradox, mathematically speaking, just something which has no plausible physical mechanism to achieve, since it requires mathematically perfect objects. Of course, your Grief regularly achieves the impossible on a regular basis.

You press a ball of Grief between both hands, shooting Mami a smile when she glances up at you from her low, murmured suggestions to Homura. You can feel magic flickering in fits and starts from her, and from Sayaka too.

So...

The mathematical proof is... not that hard, relatively speaking. Set theory isn't the most obvious of things, but one thing follows from another. It's just completely nonsensical in physical intuition. But you can focus and impress your will upon your Grief.

Witch, pinging against your senses from the two blobs in your hands.

"Damn," you mutter, frowning at the Grief, and rear back when Sayaka tosses a cushion at you. "Hey!"

"Hey yourself!" Sayaka counters, grinning at you. "Ruined my concentration."

"Well, I didn't actually mean to do this," you say, frowning at the Grief. There's more of it, volumetrically, but it's Witchy Grief. You collapse it back down into regular Grief, the sensation fading from your mind, and... yup. Back to the same amount.

"Were you attempting the idea you brought up earlier, Sabrina?" Mami asks, smiling at you. "With the Banach-Tarski paradox?"

"Oooh, that's the thing which you can turn a sphere into an infinite number of spheres, right?" Sayaka asks, brightening.

"Yep and yep," you say. "Didn't work. Or at least, I was hoping it'd work without going all... Witchy."

"Win some, lose some," Sayaka says, shrugging philosophically.

"Mm," you say. "How's it going?"

"Trying to figure out how quickly I can distinguish and activate powers if I have multiple available," Sayaka says, holding up the chain. "Not that well. Kinda confusing."

"Ah. Well, let me know if you need help?" you say. "Also, maybe try with a clone or two?"

"Yeah, maybe," Sayaka agrees, frowning in thought.

"How 'bout you, Mami, Homura?" you ask.

"It's going well," Mami says, giving you a warm smile. "Homura has experience with basic enchantments, which is a helpful bonus, so we're trying to express her innate magic."

You nod, beaming. "Hang in there!"

Homura nods slowly, focused on the smooth rock in her hand. In fact, there's a small pile of rocks on the table in front of her, and she's transformed, shield out, and you're pretty sure Mami doesn't have a pile of rocks just lying around, not even hidden somewhere in the display shelves.

You give the rocks a long look before shrugging and turning back to the Grief in your hands. Somewhere along the line of speculating about the possibly mathematically perfect form of Grief, you'd had this notion about dimensions, and Grief.

Carefully, you fold Grief into a cuboid, and then you... rotate it.

The Grief vanishes without fuss.

To your eyes, anyway. It's still there, in your Grief sense.

Huh.

You start shuffling the Grief around. It seems to move just fine, and with another twist, you pop it back out on the opposite end of the sofa, near Sayaka, who gives you a look. You grin apologetically, and pull the Grief back to you.

Well, that's interesting.

Mami settles next to you, her warm weight familiar and comforting. "What are you doing, Sabrina?"

"Four dimensions," you say, showing her the block of Grief and popping it out of existence.

"Aw," Mami pouts. "You figured it out."

"Hmm?" you ask, wrapping your arm around her waist and pulling her into a hug. "Figured what out?"

Rather than answer, she holds up her hand and twists it, an empty teacup twisting out of the air to rest on the palm of her hand. Now that you're looking, you can see the twist of ribbon that flickers away quick as thought. Mami flicks her hand again, and the cup vanishes with another lash of golden ribbon.

"Oooh," you say, and grin at Mami. "Oooh- wait, isn't the tea cold?"

"I only fill it when I think I'll need it," Mami says, giving you a wink. "And it's not too hard to keep it covered and warm."

You laugh in delight. "Well, you are the genius," you say, giving her a fond smile.

She blushes, ducking her head against your side.

"So how's it going, Homura?" you ask, glancing at your friend.

"Practice," Homura mutters, frowning at the rock. She hasn't broken any yet, but you can feel the magic twisting in fitful little splutters as she tries to shape it.

"Homura just needs to keep practicing," Mami affirms. "Everyone's magic is different, and my guidance can only help so much."

"Hang in there, Homura," you say, giving Homura an encouraging grin.

"So what do you feel like trying, Sabrina?" Mami asks. "Trying to replicate your powers, or a non-Witchy clone, or...?"

"What do you think would be best?" you ask.

"I think it might be best to explore your basic enchantment magic," Mami suggests. "That's where I started. It's... the best foundation, in my opinion."

"Then so it shall be," you say, grinning. "Can I have a rock, Homura?"

"... certainly," Homura murmurs, gesturing at the pile. You grab one with a bit of Grief, bringing it over.

"You're gonna get fat doing that," Sayaka mutters, giving you an amused, sidelong look.

"Magical girl~" you lilt. "Don't have to get fat if I don't wanna!"

Sayaka harumphs disapprovingly.

"Just you wait, you're gonna have a clone doing all the work for you eventually," you say, grinning.

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka grumbles, sliding off the sofa and standing. She transforms in a brilliant flash of blue, and flicks her cape out with a smooth sidestep. Somewhere in the flowing cloth, another Sayaka emerges, moving in easy tandem with the original.

"See?" you say, pointing a finger. "Clone!"

Sayaka sticks her tongue -tongues- out at you, but you can see her lips twitching into a smile.

"What are you doing, Sayaka?" Mami asks, curious.

"Oh, I'm trying to see if swapping powers between myself and a clone is easier," Sayaka says. "Is that... do you think that's a good idea, Mami?"

"It's an excellent idea," Mami says, nodding. "Your versatility is one of the key parts of your magic, Sayaka, so working on how quickly you can trade powers can only be helpful."

"Agreed," you say. "Maybe try and figure out how many powers you can effectively use at once, too?"

"I think I want some kind of thinking power," Sayaka says, frowning. "To organise them, somehow."

"Makes sense," you agree. "We'll keep an eye out?"

"Yeah," Sayaka says, smiling. "Appreciated."

You return the smile, and settle back on the sofa, frowning at the rock in your hand. You remember how to channel the magic into your own innate enchantment, of course, the rock melting into pliability at the touch of your magic. You frown, remembering what Mami taught you, and try to twist your magic just so.

It takes on the fourth try, and you smile.

"Try this, Mami?" you ask, handing the rock over to Mami. She takes it with a smile, and the rock squishes in her grip.

Mami giggles, drawing both Sayaka's attention from what's almost a game of patty-cake with power crystals. They look on curiously.

"I don't really get it," you confess. "Bit of a weird enchantment, isn't it?"

"I'm sure there must be something to it," Mami says. "It's similar to the way you control Grief, isn't it? You can just..." She smooshes the rock flat between her palms, suddenly all-too-liquid stone squeezing between her hands.

"It is a bit," you say, reaching out to grab another rock from Homura's pile.

"May I have one too?" Mami asks.

Homura's eyes flick up, and she motions wordlessly at the heap, so you grab one for Mami, too. The four of you fall into a comfortable silence, each one working on your own techniques. Mami's fingers trace magic over the rock she took, wordless concentration on her face as delicate fire follows her motions. You watch, interested, but she only winks at you when she catches you looking.

For your part, you poke at what seems to be a malleability enchantment. You can see how it follows from your Wish - it's control. But you're hoping there's some way to parley control into control over Grief. That's the second part of your Wish, after all.

You haven't really gotten anywhere by the time Homura makes a faintly startled little noise.

You glance up, and find Homura staring at a rock floating, suspended in a translucent little bubble. A glowing lavender shield surrounds it, ripples shimmering out from where her hand touches the sphere.

"Oh, well done, Homura!" Mami says, clapping.

"Ooh. Cool!" Sayaka says, both of her looking up from the wordless interplay and swap of power gems. "What's it do?"

"Congratulations, Homura," you say. You give her a bright, beaming smile.

"It's a shield," Homura murmurs, poking at it.

"We'll need to test that!" Mami declares. "Not indoors, however. Maybe tomorrow?"

Homura nods, taking the shield between both hands and attempting to crush it. It flickers brighter, but holds firm.

You laugh, bright and clear. "Well done, Homura," you say. She catches your gaze and holds it, nodding slowly.

"Thank you," she murmurs, gaze shifting from you to Mami.

"Gimme?" Sayaka asks, beckoning with bright-eyed interest.

Homura hands the shielded rock over wordlessly, and one Sayaka takes it while the other pulls out one of the power gems, pressing it to the first Sayaka's hand. Sayaka grins, eyes lighting up as she activates the power.

"Not indoors, Sayaka," Mami reproves.

"Oh, right," Sayaka says, pouting. "Was just gonna try Miss Bennouna's power."

"I suspect you'd end up with rock powder," you say drily. "And a hole in the wall."

"Oh, I've realised that my clones can have powers activated at the same time I do!" Sayaka says, grinning. "So I can be both the hammer and anvil."

"Sure, but what happens when an unstoppable Sayaka meets an immovable Miki?" you say, waving your hand in the air.

Sayaka snickers. "I have no idea."

"Outdoors," Mami says firmly.

"Fiiiine," Sayaka says, still grinning.

You laugh, delighted as you relax into the sofa. You can't help but glance at the time, though - you need to start the discussion soon. On the other hand, you don't really feel like ruining the mood, but... you've got to.

"Hey, Homura? Sayaka?" you say slowly. "There's something I've been meaning to bring up, and now is as good a time as any."

"Yo?" Sayaka asks. Homura's eyes flick over to you.

[] Discuss O&K with Sayaka and Homura:
-[] Respect their feelings; err on the side of caution. Stay positive.
-[] Ask what they want.
-[] Discuss long term viability of house arrest:
--[] Restitution: Financial reimbursement? Continued community service? Oriko enjoyed doing good today.
--[] Complications: Ongoing psychological harm from confinement; Mikuni mansion; Kirika's family.
--[] Alternatives: Relocation, surveillance, restricted freedom with chaperones/tracking devices? Sayaklones?
---[] If Sayaklones, can Sayaka handle it? You'd worry about them keeping their cool around each other.
--[] Justice?: Magical girls don't have laws, police, or courts. Should that change? How? When? You don't like making decrees.
-[] Tentatively propose involving more adults with the Shizukis' help. Legal experts, therapists, the Mikis...
[] Never mind.
[] Write-in (word count limit: 200 words)

=====​

So, I know this is a weird spot to end the update, but it's already enormous at it is. I'm aiming to update again on (my) Wednesday, writing to the existing vote, but if there's any last changes to make, now's the time. Feel free to add specific phrasing if you feel it's necessary.

 

[Firnagzen]

You exhale, stomach twisting a little. Your mind churns with thoughts about your recent advances in your understanding of your magic. You're almost disappointed by what your enchantment does, really. There's got to be something more there that you haven't figured out yet, and you're kind of annoyed with the relative failure of the Banach-Tarski Grief duplication, too.

On the other hand, the multi-dimensional Grief is interesting. Very interesting. You should probably send in a chibi to explore - you're half tempted to go yourself, but you're terrified of not being able to return, for whatever reason. And it's kind of funny. Theoretical physics suggests that access to a fourth spatial dimension alone is sufficient to reverse particle chirality, and that is sufficient to create antimatter.

And yet, magical hammerspace seems to be a pretty common trick, and the planet is not swiss cheese with holes from antimatter detonations by magical girls of years gone past. There's something else at play there, and you're inclined to say that something is magic. It does, after all, seem to follow... gentler rules than physics. You remember the time the television turned on in Homura's timestop, but not the water, after all.

You're stalling. You really don't want to drop the other shoe.

It's funny, because you're usually waiting for the other shoe to drop, but this time you're the one dropping it and you're still stalling. Mami squeezes your hand gently, reassuring and warm.

"Sabrina?" Sayaka prompts. "Something wrong?"

"Nah, it's just that there's been something I've been meaning to bring up," you say slowly. "Well, dropping Anri off got me thinking about it, anyway."

"Yeah, go on?" Sayaka says.

"Yeah, well... I'm sorry, it's just that this is a heavy topic," you say.

"Just spit it out," Sayaka says, rolling her eyes. "C'mon, you're getting me worried here. Even Homura's worried too, see?"

You certainly have Homura's attention, a slight furrow on her brow the only thing giving lie to her thoughts. But on Homura? That speaks volumes.

"I... I've been thinking about meguca justice," you say, and try for a smile. "Just... it's a really heavy topic. I mean hey, legal scholars have wrestled with regular justice for a couple millennia and it's still not perfect, right?"

"Oh. Is that all?" Sayaka says, relaxing. "Sheesh. You actually got me all worked up and anxious and everything."

"No, I mean-" you shake your head. "OK, look, it's not an easy topic. Look at Airi, right? She was just one girl - with an accomplice, true, but the worst damage she did was on her own. And we're getting refugees and everything into Mitakihara soon. All it'd take is just one girl."

Aaaand you dodged the topic.

Mami squeezes your hand, silent support in the way she snuggles up against your side.

"Then we just hunt her down," Sayaka says, grinning and holding up a clenched fist. "This is our turf. No one's getting away from us."

"Yeah, no, you're right," you agree despite the stomach-twisting worry gnawing at you. "Hunting them down is a... solved problem. It might be tricky in practice, but we know we can do it. Hell, you could probably do a decent job all on your own, with your clones - not that we're gonna drop the entire thing on you. And maybe we could even get the incoming people to help with, ah, policing. The problem is what comes after."

"Yeah, I can see that." Sayaka scowls thoughtfully. "And you don't want to just toss them in jail."

"Heck no," you say. Your gaze flicks over to Homura for a split second. She's relaxing, somewhat, following your conversation. "I mean... no. I don't want to just leave them to rot - it's just... not good for anyone. For the ones imprisoned, or for the ones doing the imprisoning. I mean, it's not like we have an actual jail, or police, or lawyers or judges or anything for magical girls."

Sayaka makes a face. "I guess I see what you mean, but... do we need all that?"

"I think we do, if we're going to handle this many magical girls," you say, spreading your hands. "We can't handle everything ourselves. Which means professionals of some kind, or at least people who can handle these things."

"Yeah... I guess so," Sayaka says. "Ugh. Lawyers."

"I mean, hey, how else do we see justice done?" you says, shrugging. "And again - jail can't be our only option. We shouldn't be locking people away permanently or anything, you know?"

"So... what, therapy?" Sayaka asks, making a face.

"You have plans to return to talk to Airi, right?" Mami asks, leaning into your side.

"Yeah," you say. "I want to see what I can do for her. But I'm not a professional, and more people means more problems and more people who need to be talked to, and I... just can't be everywhere."

"Yeah... I guess we need more help," Sayaka agrees. "But don't ask me where to get that help."

"Other magical girls," you say. "And... I dunno. Do you think we could bring in the Shizukis? You know them better than I do."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Sabrina?" Mami asks.

"I don't know," you say. "That's why I'm asking. I know Mrs Shizuki knows about magic already, and she seemed interested enough. I don't know her."

"She's always been pretty cool," Sayaka says. "And... she and her husband came through for us, after, you know. Because Hitomi asked, but our families have been friends forever, and..." Sayaka trails off into a shrug. "It could work. I dunno, I-"

Her eyebrows snap together.

"What about Mikuni?" she asks, voice suddenly hard.

Well.

Fuck.

The tension is an almost tangible thing, thick and cloying. Eyes lock on you, cerulean blue and amethyst purple for once united in their hatred of another. Fortunately not you, but you're the one arguing for them, here and now.

Mami squeezes your hand gently. You draw strength from the touch, straightening.

"I... did want to bring them up at some point," you admit. "I... OK. Sayaka, Homura, hear me out?"

"You- you wanted to get me to agree to all that- and then apply it to her?" Sayaka snarls, fists balling.

"No!" you protest, waving your hands. "No, not at all! I don't- I don't do that, Sayaka!"

"Then what?" Sayaka snarls. "You talk about all that justice and therapy and stuff and it's not for her? She burned my house down! She put my family in the hospital!"

"She did," you say, and grimace. "She did. Sayaka, I'm your friend, and I'm not denying that she has done you wrong." You shift your gaze, meeting Homura's unyielding glare. "Homura, you too. I know. That's why I'm talking to the both of you. I'm not going to do anything without your agreement. I just... please, hear me out?"

You can respect Sayaka's anger, and you can respect Homura's hatred. Sayaka had her house, all her material possessions, nearly everything ripped away from her by the fire. And Homura...

Homura got to see her nightmare playing out yet another time, at Oriko's hands. Just when things were seemingly going well. Oriko murdered Madoka, once upon a never. Homura's seen what Oriko can do, and built her up into a terrifying threat. It's not unjustified.

They're your friends, and you have to respect their anger and hatred and paranoia. You're willing to take the back foot, here.

"What do you want?" Homura murmurs, monotone. Blank, almost, her emotions shuttered away behind her implacable mask... but you can see the anger written in the tension of her neck and the clench of her jaw.

She's letting you speak. She's listening.

"First off?" you say, suppressing the rush of relief. That's just a beachhead, a testament to how much trust Homura extends you. And you hope you're not going to let her down. "I'm not intending to let her go. I'm not saying she should be let off without punishment."

You sigh, and meet Sayaka's eyes squarely. "I know she burned down your house," you say. "And that was horrible, and stupid, and it was wrong. In no way am I saying otherwise. But... I have a point to make here."

"Yeah?" Sayaka says. Her knuckles are white, clenched tightly into fists.

"She used her precog to ensure no one suffered lasting physical harm-" and that's as far as you get before Sayaka cuts you off at what's nearly a roar.

"We were put in the hospital!" Sayaka snarls.

"I know," you say. "And she was wrong to have tried it at all! She was doing her best to minimise the harm - you know your inside doors were shut, right?"

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Sayaka throws her arms out, a sharp, convulsive jerk that barely misses Homura.

"It means that Oriko took measures to make sure you didn't suffer from smoke inhalation, and it means that the fire took longer to burn," you say. "I- Sayaka, listen to me. I'm not saying she was right, or she was justified, I'm saying that she was trying to make sure she didn't kill you."

"Fine, whatever!" Sayaka says. Her voice is rising again, not quite a yell, but... she's angry. You can understand that anger, at least. "She still burned my house down!"

"And, again, she was wrong to," you say. "Sayaka, I'm agreeing with you! I'm on your side!"

"And you want to- what?" Sayaka demands.

"House arrest isn't going to work forever," you say simply. "As is, they're going stir crazy in there." You cut Sayaka off with a gesture. "Yes, it's supposed to be a punishment. But punishment is not justice, Sayaka."

Your eyes flick over to Homura, and you nod slightly.

"I'm not saying let them go or anything like that," you repeat. You want that hammered in, because if anything, it's one of Homura's deepest fears and one of Sayaka's sticking points. "I'm saying give them limited rein. Trackers, mundane and magical, maybe surveillance, maybe escorts, something. I don't know what exactly, and I'm not gonna do it without your agreement."

Sayaka sits back, seemingly a touch mollified. "Fine. Why?"

"Again, I don't want to punish them for the sake of punishment," you say, shaking your head. "They're under house arrest for what they did, fine. Let me put it to you, Sayaka: what do you want?"

"I want her to have not burned my house down," Sayaka hisses, eyes burning fierce blue.

"I know," you say. "But I can't change that. What would you accept? If they did community service under our guidance? If they paid you back?"

"How the hell is that practical?" Sayaka snaps, sweeping her hand out wide. "Suddenly money just drops magically on me?"

"Community service?" you ask. "They can do plenty of good work as extra hands when we need to leave the city."

"So like they've already been doing?" Sayaka asks, folding her arms.

The conversation lapses for a bit, Mami a warm presence at your side. She's worried, you can tell that much. So are you.

Sayaka is angry. Not furious, perhaps, but... angry. Righteous, seething... There are plenty of adjectives to use, but little enough to encompass the anger worn openly on her face and balled fists.

And Homura.

Homura is unreadable, expression perfectly blank but for the corded tension of her muscles - and she's not moving, sitting statue-still and rigidly upright, staring down at the table in front of her. She's closed off, held tight under her own self-control.

[] Sayaka
- [] Continue providing points
-- [] What?
- [] Ask Mami to calm her down
[] Homura
- [] Ask to speak to her privately
- [] Provide her with arguments
-- [] What?
[] Apologise, back down
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

=====​

Welp.