Puella Magi Hinako Magica
- Thread starter Enetious
- Start date
- Location
- United States
Well, it's more just to better portray how it's more intuition than anything else, rather than conscious thought.
Maximum Power
The Unchosen One
- Location
- The Ormulum
Right now I can't think of anything urgent that we need to add, so i'll hold off on voting for now. But if someone else comes up with something good I might go with their vote.
Nice update though, it's good to know more about the situation in Urahama. I'm already plotting how we could potentially deal with those other magical girls should we encounter them at some point.
Nice update though, it's good to know more about the situation in Urahama. I'm already plotting how we could potentially deal with those other magical girls should we encounter them at some point.
- Location
- Nowhere Island
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Here's the invisitext for reference.
[X] Apologize for offering the Grief Seed; you just realized you actually left it at home, so you couldn't give it to her right now anyway.
[X] Ask her if she wants to be friends, even outside of Magical Girl life. You just moved here and you're still getting your bearings; you'd love to get to know her better! She seems so nice!
[X] Politely ask what book is in her bag. Since you're a bit sickly, you don't get to do as much as you'd like; you'd love to try some new books and talk about them together!
[X] Ask if she wants to train with you and if there are any good spots to do so. You still don't really know much about your powers, and you need some good practice before you can hold your own in a fight. Maybe she can hunt witches together with you later to help stockpile?
[X] How do territory scuffles work? Do you have our own territory? Does she? Or do you share? Is there some kind of magic border we know not to cross, or do we just need to be careful?
Looks like Nanako needs a friend just as much as we do, so it'd be remiss of us not to try and get to know her better, I think. I suspect the hostile magical girls will be overarching villains, or at least important at the start, but I don't know how to approach that yet. We need to get ourselves ready for a fight if we have to, though. Also, she may know of the lichbomb or witchbomb, judging by how freaked out she was when we offered our seed - no way to really follow up on learning for sure though, plus it might just be her politeness/loneliness making her so frazzled at the offer. Also, she might be taking us to a good spot for training anyway, but better safe than sorry.
Edit: Added a note about our Seed. I think it's in-character enough to apologize for offering something we didn't actually have on us, and hopefully she'll inform us that we really should have it on us.
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Maximum Power
The Unchosen One
- Location
- The Ormulum
I spent some time thinking this over and noticed a few things I wasn't sure about, but none of it invalidates any part of the vote so it should still work just fine.
It did take a truly Herculean level of effort to resist the urge to add "again" after "Apologize" though.
[X] Apologize for offering the Grief Seed; you just realized you actually left it at home, so you couldn't give it to her right now anyway.
[X] Ask her if she wants to be friends, even outside of Magical Girl life. You just moved here and you're still getting your bearings; you'd love to get to know her better! She seems so nice!
[X] Politely ask what book is in her bag. Since you're a bit sickly, you don't get to do as much as you'd like; you'd love to try some new books and talk about them together!
[X] Ask if she wants to train with you and if there are any good spots to do so. You still don't really know much about your powers, and you need some good practice before you can hold your own in a fight. Maybe she can hunt witches together with you later to help stockpile?
[X] How do territory scuffles work? Do you have our own territory? Does she? Or do you share? Is there some kind of magic border we know not to cross, or do we just need to be careful?
- Location
- Nowhere Island
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Feel free to tear it apart a bit if you notice anything, even if it isn't super major. I'm definitely prone to doofery so it's good to scrutinize. Plus, in all my years of lurking, the votes that are made with the ideas of multiple people are usually better than ideas from one person.
Maximum Power
The Unchosen One
- Location
- The Ormulum
The things I noticed really weren't all that important.
Hinako has already apologized for the grief seed, but not about not even having brought it as you mentioned. We're currently heading off to be "shown the ropes" as it were, but the vote can refer to future training and working together, which is important too. And Nanako doesn't seem to be all that familiar with the concept of territory beyond that other Magical Girl she encountered, but that doesn't mean we can't discuss it.
So overall, there isn't anything wrong with the vote.
- Location
- Europe
[x] Neebles
Shadowhisker
Asylum Escapee
- Location
- The Mines of Mercury
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[x] Neebles
- Location
- United States
Vote Results
[X] Apologize for offering the Grief Seed; you just realized you actually left it at home, so you couldn't give it to her right now anyway.[X] Ask her if she wants to be friends, even outside of Magical Girl life. You just moved here and you're still getting your bearings; you'd love to get to know her better! She seems so nice!
[X] Politely ask what book is in her bag. Since you're a bit sickly, you don't get to do as much as you'd like; you'd love to try some new books and talk about them together!
[X] Ask if she wants to train with you and if there are any good spots to do so. You still don't really know much about your powers, and you need some good practice before you can hold your own in a fight. Maybe she can hunt witches together with you later to help stockpile?
[X] How do territory scuffles work? Do you have our own territory? Does she? Or do you share? Is there some kind of magic border we know not to cross, or do we just need to be careful?
Hinako's gotta let Nanako's poor heart rest, but I guess that's not going to happen any time soon. /s
Kkutlord
Prince of Breath
- Location
- Indianapolis, Indiana
Hmm, those last two Magical Girls... are they just viciously competitive / protective of their 'territory'? Not much is known, but you'd think Nanako would of mentioned if there was a pair of roving murderhobos.
Then there's the... more 'optimistic' notion, that they know what Witches really are and thus ruthlessly cutting down any 'proto-Witches' they come across.
Aside from that... I think Hinako has enough info to start being suspicious of Kyubey. He 'conveniently' left out a bunch of details for Nanako, didn't bother personally telling Hinako about the psycho Meguca, and Grief Seeds do kind of look like Soul Gems if she stops to think about it.
Then there's the... more 'optimistic' notion, that they know what Witches really are and thus ruthlessly cutting down any 'proto-Witches' they come across.
Aside from that... I think Hinako has enough info to start being suspicious of Kyubey. He 'conveniently' left out a bunch of details for Nanako, didn't bother personally telling Hinako about the psycho Meguca, and Grief Seeds do kind of look like Soul Gems if she stops to think about it.
- Location
- Europe
It isn't the right time for that. Let's wait until we become stronger, so that we would be able to handle the witches we will need better.
Also, are grief seeds really that similar to a soul gem? They have a different forms and, probably, on the magical level, they feel completely different.
Kkutlord
Prince of Breath
- Location
- Indianapolis, Indiana
Hmm, yeah, guess it might be a bit too early to go "Wait a minute Kyubey is bad". If only because Hinako is still a hugely inexperienced novice, so Kyubey might decide she's just not worth keeping around if she becomes problematic too quickly.
As for Grief Seed / Soul Gem similarity, it is most apparent when you compare them side-by-side. Hinako could do with seeing a few more Soul Gems and Grief Seeds first, so she realizes the symbols at the top are indeed unique to each one.
The main physical difference is just Grief Seeds being darker and having a spike at the bottom. Besides that, if it wasn't for Kyubey 'conveniently' saying Witches are born from humanity's despair, the fact Soul Gems generate stuff that Grief Seeds can absorb would of been suspicious too.
- Location
- Europe
This is only valid if you don't consider that magical girls have a magical sense. For what we know, it could bring them entirely off course by itself.
Chapter 9
- Location
- United States
[X] Apologize for offering the Grief Seed; you just realized you actually left it at home, so you couldn't give it to her right now anyway.
[X] Ask her if she wants to be friends, even outside of Magical Girl life. You just moved here and you're still getting your bearings; you'd love to get to know her better! She seems so nice!
[X] Politely ask what book is in her bag. Since you're a bit sickly, you don't get to do as much as you'd like; you'd love to try some new books and talk about them together!
[X] Ask if she wants to train with you and if there are any good spots to do so. You still don't really know much about your powers, and you need some good practice before you can hold your own in a fight. Maybe she can hunt witches together with you later to help stockpile?
[X] How do territory scuffles work? Do you have our own territory? Does she? Or do you share? Is there some kind of magic border we know not to cross, or do we just need to be careful?
Sunday, January 2nd 2011
Even as you're leaving, you can't help but to think about what Nanako had just told you. W-why would anyone, magical girl or no, resort to such horrible things? ... Are they some of the very few psychopaths that Kyubey previously told you could slip in through the cracks when he's recruiting?
It's almost hard to believe that they're so close to home, though. They live in the same city as you! A-and, Nanako has been dealing with all this for weeks now, even when Kyubey hadn't told her about people like that for some reason.
...
Maybe Kyubey was just really busy? Maybe the Witch situation in Urahama is worse than you thought, and he's just desperate to recruit as many girls as possible to combat such a threat? You don't know, but you'll have to ask Kyubey later, that's for sure.
A slight ring sounds out as you and Nanako leave the building out into the afternoon sun. You lay a hand over the pocket where your Soul Gem is, feeling it's form through the fabric separating it from your hand.
Oh, you really offered to share your Grief Seed with Nanako even though you left it at home, didn't you?
"A-ah, Nanako-senpai, I just want to apologize..."
Nanako turns to you with a confused expression.
"Hm? Whatever for?"
You stop fumbling with your Soul Gem and tap your fingers together shyly.
"Well, you see... I kind of left my Grief Seed at home. I didn't realize I forgot it when I offered to share it with you, and it seems really rude of me now..."
A look of understanding crosses her face at this.
"O-oh, Hinako-san... you can't just go out without at least one Grief Seed on you. You can't, what if you ran into trouble and had to use a lot of your magic? I understand that you're new at all this, so this could be a lesson learned... just promise me you'll remember to bring one with you in the future?"
She says her last sentence with a slightly unsure tone... Phew, you thought she might get mad at you.
"Of course, Nanako-senpai! I won't forget again!"
It's nice having a magical girl senpai that you can rely on. She probably knows so much more than you, even with only a few weeks of experience.
"We shouldn't have to go back to your home to retrieve it, since what what I saw earlier your gem is pretty clean. We shouldn't be using that much magic, but if something goes wrong you could always use some of my Grief Seed. But hopefully it won't come to that."
Yep, having a magical girl senpai is the best!
"Thanks Nanako-senpai! But if I do use some of your Grief Seed, I'll definitely pay you back!"
Seeing your bright and cheerful expression, Nanako turns away slightly and her flush grows a bit.
"... Okay," she quietly responds. You're heading more westward into the city, you note.
After a minute or two passes, you work up your courage and speak up again.
"U-um, Nanako-senpai? Would... would it be okay for us to be friends? I mean, outside of being magical girls. I just moved here and I'm still trying to get my bearings. B-but, I'd love to get to know you better, you seem so nice!"
You've never tried to make a friend on your own, not without your sister helping you anyways.
Nanako stops walking and just stares ahead unmoving.
...
Um... she's still not reacting at all. Moving ahead to catch a look at more than her back, you see that she's really blushing hard. I-is she suffering from heat stroke? What do you do?!
She lets out a stutter when she sees you before she quickly turns around and hides her face in her sleeves.
Oh no! W-what did you do? Was it something you said? Does she not want to be friends with you?
"U-u-um, Nanako-senpai? A-are you okay? Was it something I said?"
You resume your previous finger touching as you suddenly feel a whole lot less confident about your friend making skills.
Nanako just mumbles something at you through her arms, even though she's facing away from you. She spends another few moments like this, then another few, until she slowly lowers her arms and using both her hands to slightly slap herself on both cheeks.
Passerbys are staring at the two of you strangely, but don't really comment on the scene that you're putting on.
"... Yes," she mumbles out, before turning back towards the way they were walking and continuing. Then she starts as if realizing what she just said, and says more.
"I-I mean, yes, I'd like to be your f-friend, Hinako-san..."
... Yes! Score two for Hinako! You don't know what just happened, but everything turned out well, right? You go on to catch up to her.
"Thanks, Nanako-senpai! Do you think we could exchange numbers after you show me the ropes? I'd love to hang out with you sometime, a-aside from today I mean. Maybe after school tomorrow?"
Nanako quickens her pace a bit.
"S-sure," she quietly lets out.
Quickening your pace to match hers, you find that she's decelerating back to a normal pace and you do the same.
Actually... looking at her bag, you see that it's still slightly opened with a corner of that book you saw earlier poking out of it.
"So... Nanako-senpai, I was wondering..."
She slows down a bit more so that you're walking right alongside her as she gives you her attention.
"Well, I only just got out of the hospital recently, and I was quite sickly for a while so I couldn't do as much as I'd liked. I saw that you have a book there," you say gesturing slightly to the corner of that book hanging out of her bag. Nanako seems a bit surprised at this.
"I'd love to try out some new books, so maybe we could read the same book together? That way we could talk about it!"
Agh, this is awkward. You hope Nanako doesn't mind.
Nanako takes this change to fumble with her bag before pushing the book fully in and closing it with an embarrassed flush.
"N-no, you probably wouldn't like that... book. T-that isn't to say that we couldn't start on a new book together, i-if you'd like!" She waves her hands slightly placatively. You pout.
"Hey, I'm sure that book is good! I like all kinds of books, and I'm sure that anything you read can't be bad, right?"
Nanako stutters a bit with a large flush that seems to be just as omnipresent as her usual one since you first starting talking to her.
"I-I-It's really not that good, t-trust your... s-senpai, okay?"
You stare at her, then at her bag, and then back to her. This is suspicious, but as her graceful kouhai you'll play along for now.
"... Fiiine, but only because you're acknowledging yourself as my senpai, Nanako-senpai."
Nanako makes a noise from the back of her throat that you can't quite make out, before the two of you continue on your trek towards wherever Nanako is taking you.
That place ended up being in one of Urahama's many forested parks. Nanako took you deep into the "forest" off the usual paved path until you both entered out into a clearing. Beds of flowers of all colors litter the treeline, as if someone were maintaining them.
The air here is very clear and refreshing, and away from the noises of most of Urahama it's quite peaceful. You let out a contented sigh and bask in the nature around you, stretching your arms out into the air. You thought you heard Nanako give out a little giggle, however when you looked at her her expression hadn't changed at all.
"So, this is where I wanted to take you. This is where I've done most of my testing when I'm not fighting Witches or their familiars."
... Wouldn't fighting one necessitate fighting the other, regardless? You relay your thoughts to your new friend. *squee*
"A-ah, I suppose you wouldn't have run into any of them away from their Witch yet. When a familiar departs from it's Witch, it generates it's own miniature Labyrinth as it searches it's surrounding for victims to turn it into a full Witch."
Familiars get their own Labyrinths, too? Well, at least they aren't as expansive as a Witch's.
Laughter echoes out from the abyss in the Birdcage Witch's Labyrinth...
"Oh... good to know?"
It is good to know, however the thought of familiars roaming the streets looking for victims still bothers you.
Nanako sets aside her bad before clapping her hands and transforming, blue light flashing over her form for a moment with ethereal blue five-petaled flower symbols wisping in the air around her.
She's now wearing a blue dress with the skirt splitting out into five "petals". Thin white heeled boots reach up to her mid-calf, and her short sleeves are poofy. Her Soul Gem takes its place on the left side of her head, now seeming to tie one of her twintails.
Her Soul Gem glows with an iridescent sapphire light, and it's form is that of a five-petaled flower.
In her right hand lies a large metal bladed whip, it's colors alternating between blue and silver. It seems to be stiffened into a sword-like shape, currently.
You clap with an awed expression on your face. That was amazing! Nanako blushes a bit, fingering the bladed whip's handle in her hand.
"A-alright, let's get started! We should first figure out what you can do before we start, Hinako-san."
Yep, now it's your time to shine... literally!
You slip your hand into your pocket to touch your Soul Gem and you transform into your magical girl outfit with your silver rod in hand.
Nanako scans over your form, and levels a curious look at your weapon.
"Oh, this thing is a bit odd, right?" You ask her in response to her curious looks, shaking the rod in your hand back and forth. "S-so, what it does- I mean, what I've managed to figure out so far is that I can shoot green magic shots at things, and I can make a sort of... beam sword I think."
You demonstrate by shooting an orb up into the air, and then forming your beam sword. You wave it around for a bit before it winks out of existence.
"Y-yeah, it doesn't last that long, but it's really good at cutting things!"
If anything, Nanako's looking at your weapon even curiously now, before she speaks up.
"... I don't think I've ever seen a magical girl with a... focus, I would presume, as a weapon. Hinako-san, could you walk me through the process that it goes through?"
You can!
"Well, when I push some magic into this thing, it kind of builds up at the end. I have to kind of force it off to shoot those magic shots, and the... beam sword thingie is from using too much magic while I was trying to shoot a magic beam. You know, like in magical girl anime!"
Nanako's lips twitch into a slight smile at your enthusiasm.
"... Well, why don't we test how effective your magic shots and... beam sword, are?"
Nanako goes off to the treeline and hefts some short but thick logs out from the bushes. Some of them are cut into already. Picking one out, Nanako returns and positions it in front of you a ways away.
"I would start with the magic shot, and then move onto the beam sword Hinako-san."
Alright, you can do this. Don't let your amazing magical girl senpai down, got it.
Aiming your rod carefully towards the log, you collect some magic on the tip of it and force it off of it, sending an orb of emerald green light careening towards the log.
*THUNK*
A decent chunk of bark and wood shatters off the log as green magical energy splashes off of it, sending the log rolling away on the ground.
... Eh?
"U-um, that was supposed to do a lot more damage, I think. It could destroy familiars in one shot, I swear!"
"Hm..." Nanako continues as if unaware of your exclamations. "Try our sword now, if you would please?"
You sigh. This wasn't how you thought this was going to go. You're making yourself look bad in front of Nanako!
Sending magical energy through the rod as if you were going to shoot a continuous beam of energy, your "beam sword" manifest itself in the shape of... well, a long beam of energy that sticks to the tip of the rod.
Walking over to the fallen log - which you note has a fist size chunk bitten out of it now - you reposition it and swing your sword into the side of it. Green light slashes in deep into the log, but not all the way through. It isn't burning at all, you note.
Blade winking out, you look at your feet feeling embarrassed.
"... The sword thingie cut through everything in the Labyrinth like a hot knife through butter, agh, I don't understand!"
Nanako just walks up to you, hesitates, and then pats you on the shoulder as if to comfort you. You pout a bit, but let her do so. It is nice though, you must admit.
"I think that there's something more to your weapon than meets the eye, Hinako-san. Perhaps it's effective against magic, or maybe just Witches and their familiars in particular?"
... That's an idea!
"O-oh, thanks Nanako-senpai! That might be it!"
She retracts her and and steps away a bit.
"Maybe you should try and reflect on your powers a bit and try something new? It seems like your weapon is pretty free-form, if it responds to your will like that. It doesn't seem like you were using enchantment to make those attacks, so perhaps it's a function of your weapon?
You glomp Nanako as you give her a quick hug in excitement. Yeah, maybe you just have to use your imagination just like so many other magical girls in anime had to use? Maybe your weapon is more... what's the word... versatile, than normal!
"Thanks Nanako-senpai, I'll get on that right now!" you say as she stiffens and stutters something incomprehensible before you quickly let go and drop down next to her bag.
Holding out your rod in front of you with both hands, you try to concentrate and get a feel for your magic. Your magic seems to want to stick to the rod when you put it in, maybe you should just let it do what it wants and see what happens?
You let your magical energy flow into the rod with nothing in particular in mind, and it coalesces at the tip of it in verdant glowing light. Concentrating hard on it, it feels like it's trying to... move about to do something, but it's not doing anything.
Pumping more energy into it, the orb at the end of it becomes bigger, and the energy in it seems even more erratic, as if it's trying to escape it's ovular form in order to spread and do something.
You supply more and more magic and it becomes more and more bigger before it pops and green light goes careening off everywhere with a concussive blast. It seems like it got to the point where your magic needed to move, and staying stationary wasn't helping it. You're knocked back and roll a few feet backwards, relatively unharmed but dazed.
You hear Nanako exclaim something as she was pushed back as well, before turning your head to your left. Nanako's bag undid itself in the "blast", and her book is peeking out more fully this time. You're pretty sure you could take a peek at the cover while reorienting yourself without Nanako noticing.
Do you take a peek?
[ ] Yes, you must figure out your new friend's tastes in literature!
[ ] No, though she was acting suspicious about this book, take her word for it that it's a bad book that you wouldn't like to read.
"S-sorry!" you yell out as you set yourself back up. Well, you guess you could make a shockwave using your magic, but at what cost?
[Soul Gem: 172/1750] The slight "shockwave" cost around 100 Grief.
Oh, at that cost, you think peering at your Soul Gem. For a light shockwave, that was pretty expensive! Maybe you aren't going about this the right way...
Standing back up, you go to check on Nanako. It appears she just fell onto her backside with not even a scratch, and is already in the process of getting up.
"S-sorry again, Nanako-senpai! I-I think I may have overcharged by weapon a bit, but I don't think it would be very useful in a fight. It was kind of expensive."
And it was, for what amounted for a very slight localized shockwave.
Now back up, Nanako shakes her head in bemusement.
"You should be more careful about that in the future, Hinako-san."
Yeah, she's probably right.
"Don't worry, I will!"
Hm, now you've got an idea.
"A-actually, I've got another idea for how to use my magic. I should probably step away from everything this time just in case, shouldn't I?"
Still sporting a slight smile, Nanako nods.
"That would probably be for the best. B-be careful!"
You move more towards the center of the clearing, before trying out what you had in mind.
Taking ahold of your rod once more in both hands, you reflect upon your wish. You wished to be useful, to be inspiring to others, and to give them hope, right? Maybe you should focus on that and try to feel out how it manifests through your weapon?
Feeding it energy again, you focus on on somebody you've interacted with that you've given hope - even if you were cheating a bit - after getting your powers; Nanako.
Seeing her in her magical girl uniform and with her weapon in hand across from you in the clearing, you think back to how you comforted her back in the fast food place. You think back towards that feeling of Hope that you channeled within her and her Soul Gem, and you can feel the energy at the tip of your rod reacting.
Stretching out from the rod almost at its own accord, you continue focusing on Nanako with a slight flush on your face. It must be kind of weird, what with you looking at her so intensely like this, but you feel like you're making progress!
Suddenly peering towards her weapon, you find that this feels more natural. The green light morphs from simply being a stretched out blob of emerald light to being an exact replica of Nanako's weapon recreated in translucent green magic with your silver rod as a handle.
Y-you did it! You stop focusing energy into your weapon, and it settles in its current form looking just as sharp and deadly as Nanako's.
You see the blushing face of Nanako give a gasp as she looks towards your weapon.
Testing it out, you flick it into the air and the emerald green energy whip loses it's blade-like form and lashes out with a deadly shearing sound as it cuts through the air, and you find that you can control it with your intent.
Flowing it through the air, you position it so that it travels between you and Nanako before calling it back into it's "blade" form. It seemed like it could continue to stretch out from the hilt, forming more links of blades for a while before being unable to extend it any further.
Slashing it through the air in front of your a few times, you turn back to Nanako with a huge smile on your face and you dismiss the newly formed weapon.
Running back towards Nanako, you fly into her with a hug in your excitement once more.
"I did it, Nanako-senpai! That was so amazing! I couldn't have done it without you!"
Your old friends in Nagaoka would always tell you how you were too touchy-feely when you got excited, but you don't care right now since you figured out an awesome new way to use your powers!
Speaking of, Nanako's whip was really cool! You could do so many things with it, and it didn't feel like it would disappear after a certain amount of time has passed like your previous "beam sword" would either! You wish you had it while you were in that Witch's Labyrinth, maybe then you wouldn't have gotten so hurt...
Nanako goes limp in your arms and you pull back. It looks like she's overheating and going into shutdown mode. What should you do?!
Letting go of her, she kind of slumps in position while standing up looking as if she doesn't know what to do while you give her apology after apology.
"I-I'm so sorry, N-Nanako-senpai! I didn't think, I was just so excited, y-you know? I'm really, really sorry," you plead while clapping your hands together and bowing a bit.
"Nghmghngh"
Uh-oh, that's not good. Maybe you should let her calm down a bit before continuing?
You've figured out that you can form your energy into Nanako's magical girl weapon. Is there anything else you want to test out, or is there anything else you want to ask or do?
[ ] (Write-in)
[X] Ask her if she wants to be friends, even outside of Magical Girl life. You just moved here and you're still getting your bearings; you'd love to get to know her better! She seems so nice!
[X] Politely ask what book is in her bag. Since you're a bit sickly, you don't get to do as much as you'd like; you'd love to try some new books and talk about them together!
[X] Ask if she wants to train with you and if there are any good spots to do so. You still don't really know much about your powers, and you need some good practice before you can hold your own in a fight. Maybe she can hunt witches together with you later to help stockpile?
[X] How do territory scuffles work? Do you have our own territory? Does she? Or do you share? Is there some kind of magic border we know not to cross, or do we just need to be careful?
Sunday, January 2nd 2011
Even as you're leaving, you can't help but to think about what Nanako had just told you. W-why would anyone, magical girl or no, resort to such horrible things? ... Are they some of the very few psychopaths that Kyubey previously told you could slip in through the cracks when he's recruiting?
It's almost hard to believe that they're so close to home, though. They live in the same city as you! A-and, Nanako has been dealing with all this for weeks now, even when Kyubey hadn't told her about people like that for some reason.
...
Maybe Kyubey was just really busy? Maybe the Witch situation in Urahama is worse than you thought, and he's just desperate to recruit as many girls as possible to combat such a threat? You don't know, but you'll have to ask Kyubey later, that's for sure.
A slight ring sounds out as you and Nanako leave the building out into the afternoon sun. You lay a hand over the pocket where your Soul Gem is, feeling it's form through the fabric separating it from your hand.
Oh, you really offered to share your Grief Seed with Nanako even though you left it at home, didn't you?
"A-ah, Nanako-senpai, I just want to apologize..."
Nanako turns to you with a confused expression.
"Hm? Whatever for?"
You stop fumbling with your Soul Gem and tap your fingers together shyly.
"Well, you see... I kind of left my Grief Seed at home. I didn't realize I forgot it when I offered to share it with you, and it seems really rude of me now..."
A look of understanding crosses her face at this.
"O-oh, Hinako-san... you can't just go out without at least one Grief Seed on you. You can't, what if you ran into trouble and had to use a lot of your magic? I understand that you're new at all this, so this could be a lesson learned... just promise me you'll remember to bring one with you in the future?"
She says her last sentence with a slightly unsure tone... Phew, you thought she might get mad at you.
"Of course, Nanako-senpai! I won't forget again!"
It's nice having a magical girl senpai that you can rely on. She probably knows so much more than you, even with only a few weeks of experience.
"We shouldn't have to go back to your home to retrieve it, since what what I saw earlier your gem is pretty clean. We shouldn't be using that much magic, but if something goes wrong you could always use some of my Grief Seed. But hopefully it won't come to that."
Yep, having a magical girl senpai is the best!
"Thanks Nanako-senpai! But if I do use some of your Grief Seed, I'll definitely pay you back!"
Seeing your bright and cheerful expression, Nanako turns away slightly and her flush grows a bit.
"... Okay," she quietly responds. You're heading more westward into the city, you note.
After a minute or two passes, you work up your courage and speak up again.
"U-um, Nanako-senpai? Would... would it be okay for us to be friends? I mean, outside of being magical girls. I just moved here and I'm still trying to get my bearings. B-but, I'd love to get to know you better, you seem so nice!"
You've never tried to make a friend on your own, not without your sister helping you anyways.
Nanako stops walking and just stares ahead unmoving.
...
Um... she's still not reacting at all. Moving ahead to catch a look at more than her back, you see that she's really blushing hard. I-is she suffering from heat stroke? What do you do?!
She lets out a stutter when she sees you before she quickly turns around and hides her face in her sleeves.
Oh no! W-what did you do? Was it something you said? Does she not want to be friends with you?
"U-u-um, Nanako-senpai? A-are you okay? Was it something I said?"
You resume your previous finger touching as you suddenly feel a whole lot less confident about your friend making skills.
Nanako just mumbles something at you through her arms, even though she's facing away from you. She spends another few moments like this, then another few, until she slowly lowers her arms and using both her hands to slightly slap herself on both cheeks.
Passerbys are staring at the two of you strangely, but don't really comment on the scene that you're putting on.
"... Yes," she mumbles out, before turning back towards the way they were walking and continuing. Then she starts as if realizing what she just said, and says more.
"I-I mean, yes, I'd like to be your f-friend, Hinako-san..."
... Yes! Score two for Hinako! You don't know what just happened, but everything turned out well, right? You go on to catch up to her.
"Thanks, Nanako-senpai! Do you think we could exchange numbers after you show me the ropes? I'd love to hang out with you sometime, a-aside from today I mean. Maybe after school tomorrow?"
Nanako quickens her pace a bit.
"S-sure," she quietly lets out.
Quickening your pace to match hers, you find that she's decelerating back to a normal pace and you do the same.
Actually... looking at her bag, you see that it's still slightly opened with a corner of that book you saw earlier poking out of it.
"So... Nanako-senpai, I was wondering..."
She slows down a bit more so that you're walking right alongside her as she gives you her attention.
"Well, I only just got out of the hospital recently, and I was quite sickly for a while so I couldn't do as much as I'd liked. I saw that you have a book there," you say gesturing slightly to the corner of that book hanging out of her bag. Nanako seems a bit surprised at this.
"I'd love to try out some new books, so maybe we could read the same book together? That way we could talk about it!"
Agh, this is awkward. You hope Nanako doesn't mind.
Nanako takes this change to fumble with her bag before pushing the book fully in and closing it with an embarrassed flush.
"N-no, you probably wouldn't like that... book. T-that isn't to say that we couldn't start on a new book together, i-if you'd like!" She waves her hands slightly placatively. You pout.
"Hey, I'm sure that book is good! I like all kinds of books, and I'm sure that anything you read can't be bad, right?"
Nanako stutters a bit with a large flush that seems to be just as omnipresent as her usual one since you first starting talking to her.
"I-I-It's really not that good, t-trust your... s-senpai, okay?"
You stare at her, then at her bag, and then back to her. This is suspicious, but as her graceful kouhai you'll play along for now.
"... Fiiine, but only because you're acknowledging yourself as my senpai, Nanako-senpai."
Nanako makes a noise from the back of her throat that you can't quite make out, before the two of you continue on your trek towards wherever Nanako is taking you.
That place ended up being in one of Urahama's many forested parks. Nanako took you deep into the "forest" off the usual paved path until you both entered out into a clearing. Beds of flowers of all colors litter the treeline, as if someone were maintaining them.
The air here is very clear and refreshing, and away from the noises of most of Urahama it's quite peaceful. You let out a contented sigh and bask in the nature around you, stretching your arms out into the air. You thought you heard Nanako give out a little giggle, however when you looked at her her expression hadn't changed at all.
"So, this is where I wanted to take you. This is where I've done most of my testing when I'm not fighting Witches or their familiars."
... Wouldn't fighting one necessitate fighting the other, regardless? You relay your thoughts to your new friend. *squee*
"A-ah, I suppose you wouldn't have run into any of them away from their Witch yet. When a familiar departs from it's Witch, it generates it's own miniature Labyrinth as it searches it's surrounding for victims to turn it into a full Witch."
Familiars get their own Labyrinths, too? Well, at least they aren't as expansive as a Witch's.
Laughter echoes out from the abyss in the Birdcage Witch's Labyrinth...
"Oh... good to know?"
It is good to know, however the thought of familiars roaming the streets looking for victims still bothers you.
Nanako sets aside her bad before clapping her hands and transforming, blue light flashing over her form for a moment with ethereal blue five-petaled flower symbols wisping in the air around her.
She's now wearing a blue dress with the skirt splitting out into five "petals". Thin white heeled boots reach up to her mid-calf, and her short sleeves are poofy. Her Soul Gem takes its place on the left side of her head, now seeming to tie one of her twintails.
Her Soul Gem glows with an iridescent sapphire light, and it's form is that of a five-petaled flower.
In her right hand lies a large metal bladed whip, it's colors alternating between blue and silver. It seems to be stiffened into a sword-like shape, currently.
You clap with an awed expression on your face. That was amazing! Nanako blushes a bit, fingering the bladed whip's handle in her hand.
"A-alright, let's get started! We should first figure out what you can do before we start, Hinako-san."
Yep, now it's your time to shine... literally!
You slip your hand into your pocket to touch your Soul Gem and you transform into your magical girl outfit with your silver rod in hand.
Nanako scans over your form, and levels a curious look at your weapon.
"Oh, this thing is a bit odd, right?" You ask her in response to her curious looks, shaking the rod in your hand back and forth. "S-so, what it does- I mean, what I've managed to figure out so far is that I can shoot green magic shots at things, and I can make a sort of... beam sword I think."
You demonstrate by shooting an orb up into the air, and then forming your beam sword. You wave it around for a bit before it winks out of existence.
"Y-yeah, it doesn't last that long, but it's really good at cutting things!"
If anything, Nanako's looking at your weapon even curiously now, before she speaks up.
"... I don't think I've ever seen a magical girl with a... focus, I would presume, as a weapon. Hinako-san, could you walk me through the process that it goes through?"
You can!
"Well, when I push some magic into this thing, it kind of builds up at the end. I have to kind of force it off to shoot those magic shots, and the... beam sword thingie is from using too much magic while I was trying to shoot a magic beam. You know, like in magical girl anime!"
Nanako's lips twitch into a slight smile at your enthusiasm.
"... Well, why don't we test how effective your magic shots and... beam sword, are?"
Nanako goes off to the treeline and hefts some short but thick logs out from the bushes. Some of them are cut into already. Picking one out, Nanako returns and positions it in front of you a ways away.
"I would start with the magic shot, and then move onto the beam sword Hinako-san."
Alright, you can do this. Don't let your amazing magical girl senpai down, got it.
Aiming your rod carefully towards the log, you collect some magic on the tip of it and force it off of it, sending an orb of emerald green light careening towards the log.
*THUNK*
A decent chunk of bark and wood shatters off the log as green magical energy splashes off of it, sending the log rolling away on the ground.
... Eh?
"U-um, that was supposed to do a lot more damage, I think. It could destroy familiars in one shot, I swear!"
"Hm..." Nanako continues as if unaware of your exclamations. "Try our sword now, if you would please?"
You sigh. This wasn't how you thought this was going to go. You're making yourself look bad in front of Nanako!
Sending magical energy through the rod as if you were going to shoot a continuous beam of energy, your "beam sword" manifest itself in the shape of... well, a long beam of energy that sticks to the tip of the rod.
Walking over to the fallen log - which you note has a fist size chunk bitten out of it now - you reposition it and swing your sword into the side of it. Green light slashes in deep into the log, but not all the way through. It isn't burning at all, you note.
Blade winking out, you look at your feet feeling embarrassed.
"... The sword thingie cut through everything in the Labyrinth like a hot knife through butter, agh, I don't understand!"
Nanako just walks up to you, hesitates, and then pats you on the shoulder as if to comfort you. You pout a bit, but let her do so. It is nice though, you must admit.
"I think that there's something more to your weapon than meets the eye, Hinako-san. Perhaps it's effective against magic, or maybe just Witches and their familiars in particular?"
... That's an idea!
"O-oh, thanks Nanako-senpai! That might be it!"
She retracts her and and steps away a bit.
"Maybe you should try and reflect on your powers a bit and try something new? It seems like your weapon is pretty free-form, if it responds to your will like that. It doesn't seem like you were using enchantment to make those attacks, so perhaps it's a function of your weapon?
You glomp Nanako as you give her a quick hug in excitement. Yeah, maybe you just have to use your imagination just like so many other magical girls in anime had to use? Maybe your weapon is more... what's the word... versatile, than normal!
"Thanks Nanako-senpai, I'll get on that right now!" you say as she stiffens and stutters something incomprehensible before you quickly let go and drop down next to her bag.
Holding out your rod in front of you with both hands, you try to concentrate and get a feel for your magic. Your magic seems to want to stick to the rod when you put it in, maybe you should just let it do what it wants and see what happens?
You let your magical energy flow into the rod with nothing in particular in mind, and it coalesces at the tip of it in verdant glowing light. Concentrating hard on it, it feels like it's trying to... move about to do something, but it's not doing anything.
Pumping more energy into it, the orb at the end of it becomes bigger, and the energy in it seems even more erratic, as if it's trying to escape it's ovular form in order to spread and do something.
You supply more and more magic and it becomes more and more bigger before it pops and green light goes careening off everywhere with a concussive blast. It seems like it got to the point where your magic needed to move, and staying stationary wasn't helping it. You're knocked back and roll a few feet backwards, relatively unharmed but dazed.
You hear Nanako exclaim something as she was pushed back as well, before turning your head to your left. Nanako's bag undid itself in the "blast", and her book is peeking out more fully this time. You're pretty sure you could take a peek at the cover while reorienting yourself without Nanako noticing.
Do you take a peek?
[ ] Yes, you must figure out your new friend's tastes in literature!
[ ] No, though she was acting suspicious about this book, take her word for it that it's a bad book that you wouldn't like to read.
"S-sorry!" you yell out as you set yourself back up. Well, you guess you could make a shockwave using your magic, but at what cost?
[Soul Gem: 172/1750] The slight "shockwave" cost around 100 Grief.
Oh, at that cost, you think peering at your Soul Gem. For a light shockwave, that was pretty expensive! Maybe you aren't going about this the right way...
Standing back up, you go to check on Nanako. It appears she just fell onto her backside with not even a scratch, and is already in the process of getting up.
"S-sorry again, Nanako-senpai! I-I think I may have overcharged by weapon a bit, but I don't think it would be very useful in a fight. It was kind of expensive."
And it was, for what amounted for a very slight localized shockwave.
Now back up, Nanako shakes her head in bemusement.
"You should be more careful about that in the future, Hinako-san."
Yeah, she's probably right.
"Don't worry, I will!"
Hm, now you've got an idea.
"A-actually, I've got another idea for how to use my magic. I should probably step away from everything this time just in case, shouldn't I?"
Still sporting a slight smile, Nanako nods.
"That would probably be for the best. B-be careful!"
You move more towards the center of the clearing, before trying out what you had in mind.
Taking ahold of your rod once more in both hands, you reflect upon your wish. You wished to be useful, to be inspiring to others, and to give them hope, right? Maybe you should focus on that and try to feel out how it manifests through your weapon?
Feeding it energy again, you focus on on somebody you've interacted with that you've given hope - even if you were cheating a bit - after getting your powers; Nanako.
Seeing her in her magical girl uniform and with her weapon in hand across from you in the clearing, you think back to how you comforted her back in the fast food place. You think back towards that feeling of Hope that you channeled within her and her Soul Gem, and you can feel the energy at the tip of your rod reacting.
Stretching out from the rod almost at its own accord, you continue focusing on Nanako with a slight flush on your face. It must be kind of weird, what with you looking at her so intensely like this, but you feel like you're making progress!
Suddenly peering towards her weapon, you find that this feels more natural. The green light morphs from simply being a stretched out blob of emerald light to being an exact replica of Nanako's weapon recreated in translucent green magic with your silver rod as a handle.
Y-you did it! You stop focusing energy into your weapon, and it settles in its current form looking just as sharp and deadly as Nanako's.
You see the blushing face of Nanako give a gasp as she looks towards your weapon.
Testing it out, you flick it into the air and the emerald green energy whip loses it's blade-like form and lashes out with a deadly shearing sound as it cuts through the air, and you find that you can control it with your intent.
Flowing it through the air, you position it so that it travels between you and Nanako before calling it back into it's "blade" form. It seemed like it could continue to stretch out from the hilt, forming more links of blades for a while before being unable to extend it any further.
Slashing it through the air in front of your a few times, you turn back to Nanako with a huge smile on your face and you dismiss the newly formed weapon.
Running back towards Nanako, you fly into her with a hug in your excitement once more.
"I did it, Nanako-senpai! That was so amazing! I couldn't have done it without you!"
Your old friends in Nagaoka would always tell you how you were too touchy-feely when you got excited, but you don't care right now since you figured out an awesome new way to use your powers!
Speaking of, Nanako's whip was really cool! You could do so many things with it, and it didn't feel like it would disappear after a certain amount of time has passed like your previous "beam sword" would either! You wish you had it while you were in that Witch's Labyrinth, maybe then you wouldn't have gotten so hurt...
Nanako goes limp in your arms and you pull back. It looks like she's overheating and going into shutdown mode. What should you do?!
Letting go of her, she kind of slumps in position while standing up looking as if she doesn't know what to do while you give her apology after apology.
"I-I'm so sorry, N-Nanako-senpai! I didn't think, I was just so excited, y-you know? I'm really, really sorry," you plead while clapping your hands together and bowing a bit.
"Nghmghngh"
Uh-oh, that's not good. Maybe you should let her calm down a bit before continuing?
You've figured out that you can form your energy into Nanako's magical girl weapon. Is there anything else you want to test out, or is there anything else you want to ask or do?
[ ] (Write-in)
[X] Ask if she wants to train with you and if there are any good spots to do so. You still don't really know much about your powers, and you need some good practice before you can hold your own in a fight. Maybe she can hunt witches together with you later to help stockpile?
[X] How do territory scuffles work? Do you have our own territory? Does she? Or do you share? Is there some kind of magic border we know not to cross, or do we just need to be careful?
[X] How do territory scuffles work? Do you have our own territory? Does she? Or do you share? Is there some kind of magic border we know not to cross, or do we just need to be careful?
I swear Nanako isn't supposed to be that much of an embarrassed mess, it's just Hinako (and the voters by proxy) keep on pushing her buttons. 😅
On a slightly related note, I should mention that while I do custom design characters in this quest, I fill in the blanks when it comes to some of their interests, favorite foods, hobbies, some little facets of their personalities, etc. somewhat randomly while creating them. The small things, you know?
So! You get to see another facet of Hinako's power, specifically how her weapon works. I'm not going to go into details - as spoilers - however now Hinako can recreate Nanako's magical girl weapon before any enhancements Nanako would make to it using her magic.
For Nanako's weapon specifically, it costs 50 Grief to create it, and another 25 Grief per additional minute she's maintaining it (she can maintain it unlike the "beam sword" thing). The blades of the whip are large enough that one could theoretically block certain blows with it, but it's not large enough to form a wall or "barrier" or anything.
The shockwave isn't supposed to be a weaponizable ability or anything. That's just what happens when Hinako focuses too much energy without giving it form, first.
Also no, the book vote isn't a trap option.
On a slightly related note, I should mention that while I do custom design characters in this quest, I fill in the blanks when it comes to some of their interests, favorite foods, hobbies, some little facets of their personalities, etc. somewhat randomly while creating them. The small things, you know?
So! You get to see another facet of Hinako's power, specifically how her weapon works. I'm not going to go into details - as spoilers - however now Hinako can recreate Nanako's magical girl weapon before any enhancements Nanako would make to it using her magic.
For Nanako's weapon specifically, it costs 50 Grief to create it, and another 25 Grief per additional minute she's maintaining it (she can maintain it unlike the "beam sword" thing). The blades of the whip are large enough that one could theoretically block certain blows with it, but it's not large enough to form a wall or "barrier" or anything.
The shockwave isn't supposed to be a weaponizable ability or anything. That's just what happens when Hinako focuses too much energy without giving it form, first.
Also no, the book vote isn't a trap option.
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Kkutlord
Prince of Breath
- Location
- Indianapolis, Indiana
[X] Yes, you must figure out your new friend's tastes in literature!
Hmm...
Hinako: "Oh right, Nanako-senpei, is it true that every Magical Girl is either lesbian or bisexual?"
Nanako: *Blushes and stammers fiercely*
Hinako: "I never dated other girls before, so how would I find a cute Magical Girl to date?"
Nanako: *Is a cute Magical Girl, blushes even fiercer*
Ahem... honestly that's the main impression I got for Nanako wanting to hide her book. Unless she's secretly uber-goth or something, which would be impressive frankly.
[X] "Oh, Nanako-senpei, can we compare our Soul Gems? I'm curious about the design of them."
[X] If your magic has Anti-Witch properties, perhaps you can empty out Grief Seeds or clean Soul Gems?
[X] Maybe your magic lets you learn techniques faster? Ask Nanako-senpei to teach you about common/universal techniques.
Hmm...
Hinako: "Oh right, Nanako-senpei, is it true that every Magical Girl is either lesbian or bisexual?"
Nanako: *Blushes and stammers fiercely*
Hinako: "I never dated other girls before, so how would I find a cute Magical Girl to date?"
Nanako: *Is a cute Magical Girl, blushes even fiercer*
Ahem... honestly that's the main impression I got for Nanako wanting to hide her book. Unless she's secretly uber-goth or something, which would be impressive frankly.
[X] "Oh, Nanako-senpei, can we compare our Soul Gems? I'm curious about the design of them."
[X] If your magic has Anti-Witch properties, perhaps you can empty out Grief Seeds or clean Soul Gems?
[X] Maybe your magic lets you learn techniques faster? Ask Nanako-senpei to teach you about common/universal techniques.
- Location
- Europe
I think we should push our efforts on combat capabilities for now. Also, it's more likely that we would destroy grief seeds and maybe even the soul gems.
We actually may know more about them than herself due to what happened during and after the witch fight, so I think we should try something more than that.
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- Location
- Europe
I think this would be better after we finish our training, because, at the moment, they are morphed by our magical uniform.
Kkutlord
Prince of Breath
- Location
- Indianapolis, Indiana
Basically the logic I was working with is "Since Witches are human despair, then [Hinako] is specifically Anti-Despair, therefore reusable Grief Seeds and not needing them at all would be a huge deal."
As for the second... Nanako is still Hinako's senpei by several weeks, even if she doesn't have much more experience with Meguca techniques she still has more than Hinako. So best to test if Hinako has Super-Learning powers before she figures out too much on her own.
Finally, as for the Soul Gems... I'm pretty sure they could revert their Soul Gems to Egg Form even when transformed. Even if not, it costs nothing to transform and back.
- Location
- United States
I wasn't kidding when I said that I rolled for some of the characters' interests. I just...
You wouldn't believe the combination of interests/hobbies I rolled for Nanako, and Kyubey just had to roll so highly on the "Find MG" roll to get her. And to think, Hinako could have been groomed by [unnamed purple magical girl] to come around to her worldview like Kyoko tried with Sayaka instead.
- Location
- Europe
[X] Yes, you must figure out your new friend's tastes in literature!
[X] Ask to our senpai what does she think of what we showed up to now. Did she has an idea on what kind of powers you have?
[X] Try to repeat the process that allowed you to copy your senpai's weapon, only this time don't think only about her, but about something she and you could find useful in a fighting situation. Shape your magic in the first form it takes in your mind.
[X] Try to see if you could push your magic on your uniform to increase your protection. If you can, try to do the same with your senpai.
[X] Ask your senpai if she can train you in combat and dodging. Try to see if you can clone or summon another of your weapon.
[X] Ask to our senpai what does she think of what we showed up to now. Did she has an idea on what kind of powers you have?
[X] Try to repeat the process that allowed you to copy your senpai's weapon, only this time don't think only about her, but about something she and you could find useful in a fighting situation. Shape your magic in the first form it takes in your mind.
[X] Try to see if you could push your magic on your uniform to increase your protection. If you can, try to do the same with your senpai.
[X] Ask your senpai if she can train you in combat and dodging. Try to see if you can clone or summon another of your weapon.
Kkutlord
Prince of Breath
- Location
- Indianapolis, Indiana
I wasn't kidding when I said that I rolled for some of the characters' interests. I just...
You wouldn't believe the combination of interests/hobbies I rolled for Nanako, and Kyubey just had to roll so highly on the "Find MG" roll to get her. And to think, Hinako could have been groomed by [unnamed purple magical girl] to come around to her worldview like Kyoko tried with Sayaka instead.
So...?
Nanako's Thoughts: "Calm down, Hinako is cute, sure, b-but you just met and s-she totally doesn't like girls r-right?"
Hinako: *Hugs Nanako*
Nanako's Thoughts: "No, bad Nanako, she's your kohai! D-dating a student would be completely improper!"
Hinako: *Pokes at Nanako's book*
*Nanako.exe crashes*
Like, this is a Magical Girl Quest and a Puella Magi one at that, there's a pair of lesbian Meguca somewhere. Better luck next time Unnamed Purple Magical Girl, you'll find a Sayaka to recruit
Being more serious, would it be a reasonable assumption for Hinako to think her magic has Anti-Despair properties? If she already thinks she has Anti-Witch properties, then she would have to wonder what about Witches/Familiars makes her magic so effective.