[X] Answer questions:
-[X] I've got two partially filled grief seeds plus this one, Kishi has at least one, and I'm not sure how many Arianne has.
-[X] The only Magical Girls I've met are Kishi and Arianne, and Cathy I guess. Kishi said she ran into some not very nice girls in Kasamino, but I don't know much about that.
[X] Ask questions:
-[X] Do you know of any other magical girls around here?
-[X] So how did you learn about magical girls anyways?
-[X] Do you think Cathy would help us train, if I asked?
-[X] What do you mean, this city is oversaturated? Mr. Kyuubey didn't mention anything like that.
-[X] Why did you have a grief seed in your room?
"Um…" you mumble and hastily attempt to recall the grief seeds currently in your possession,
"A-aside from this one... I only have two partially filled ones that are over half full? K-Kishi has at least one,... maybe even more? Uh, I-I'm not sure how many Ariane has to be honest."
Your uncle nods but doesn't comment yet, letting you answer his questions without interruptions.
"I-I haven't really met any other Magical Girls, the only ones being Kishi and Ariane… and now Cathy I guess?" you slowly list, but pause for a moment as you remember another small tidbit that might be relevant,
"Oh… I-I think Kishi has run into some not very nice girls in Kazamino! B-but, um, I don't know much about that, she doesn't like speaking about that."
You focus your attention fully on your uncle now that you have answered all of his questions. You have some of your own too, and now is as good of a chance to ask as it gets.
"B-but speaking of Magical Girls and grief seeds, do you know of any other Magical Girls around here? Why did you have a grief seed in your room? H-how do you even know of Magical Girls? A-also, what do you mean this city is oversaturated? Mr. Kyubey didn't mention anything like that?" you fire off your questions rapidly but stop when a sudden idea occurs to you...
"D-do… Do you think Cathy would help us train? I-I mean, if I asked really, really nicely…" you ask your uncle with an enthusiastic, high-pitched voice and stare at him with star-struck eyes. It dawns on you just how much all of you could improve your skills and abilities if you had an experienced Magical Girl to help you.
And if she is powerful, and thus strong like your uncle claims, then it would be like being instructed by a Magical Girl equivalent of a movie star! No more panicking with Ariane's abilities, no more accidentally blasting yourself with your sword! The thought almost makes you squee, learning magic has been something of an uphill fight for you so far…
"Earth to miss daydreamer: try not to doze off just yet," your uncle chuckles in amusement and ruffles your hair. You pout and puff your cheeks, but refrain from protesting as the man continues,
"But fair's fair I suppose, I'll try answer all your questions, starting from the easier ones."
Your uncle draws in a long breath before sighing out loud,
"Well for the first thing, I don't actually know about any Magical Girls in the cities around. Cathy and I have been thinking about checking things out, but that would be a large project and one neither one us has found the time to do. It is not that easy to find a Magical Girl in a city, especially if you don't want to accidentally start drama with them."
Your uncle turns his stare at his hand as his expression turns more speculative.
"As for the witch activity… Well, first of all, Kyubey is the sort of personality that doesn't really share information of his own initiative, so I'm not surprised," he notes slowly, almost carefully, giving you the impression that there is more to that than he lets on.
"But that is neither here or now," he says and turns his attention back to you with a frown,
"Now to the point… To put it simply, Northern Mitakihara seems to be experiencing an over-abundance of witches within its borders when compared to the size of its population... but only few of the active, the visible ones are even trying to spread their kisses. Speaking as someone who has seen Paris, Tokyo and then some… This is just unnatural, and the implications worry me greatly…"
The man shakes his head and chuckles,
"But you don't need to worry about that. For you that means just some extra work to keep the people safe... and conversely more grief seeds to gain."
You nod slowly in turn, trying to wrap your head around what your uncle said. You can't really comment on the relative situation of your home town compared to other cities around the world... but the way your uncle puts it makes you feel worried.
"However, I think Cathy would like doing that actually. She has taken quite a liking to you… But for the moment, I'll be taking it upon myself to give you some training and tips. In fact, we will be taking some time tomorrow just for that after you're done with school," your uncle tells you you turn to look at him in shock. What on earth?
"Uh, u-uncle…" you unsurely manage to let out but stop as you can't seem to find it in you to state the obvious. Luckily, your uncle doesn't seem to mind your behavior.
"Don't worry, I can help you quite a bit… more than you probably realize... But to explain that, I'll need to answer the rest of your questions first," he says and digs out his wallet from his jacket. He quietly shuffles through the contents and picks out a photo, one he has shown you before. He hands it to you, letting you take a look at the contents.
Five girls are present in the picture, most of them around 15 or so if you had to guess. They are surrounded by a verdant and lush green scenery of a sunny park around them. On the right stands a girl with long and straight dark grey hair brushed neatly behind her, Shizuko if you recall correctly. She is holding her arms in a fold and is looking at the people next to her. She looks like she is desperately trying to stay serious despite the mirth clearly having overcome her already.
Going left, your eyes meet a girl with short, navy blue hair who is clad in an informal blue skirt and white top combo. She contrasts the serious, school uniform -wearing Shizuko quite clearly. However, this girl is clearly more open about her happiness, and grins toothily towards the camera while holding out her hands with victory signs on both of them.
Next to the blunette is a another smiling girl, one with her light brown hair tied into a braid behind her. Your hearts skips a beat. Even if she appears so much younger, you can easily recognize the face of your mother. You force yourself to move your eyes away from her but can't stop yourself from tightening your grip on the picture.
Your mother is holding another girl in her arms, having grabbed her from the waist and lifted her up. The girl is easily younger than the others and has a shoulder-length pink hair. Unlike the others, she is clad in time-worn sandals, shorts and a t-shirt, fitting for summer you suppose. She is also clearly embarrassed at her situation, as she stares at the camera with dawning horror. Her eyes are wide and shaking, while a scarlet blush adorns both of her puffy cheeks.
The last girl in the picture has her right hand on the head of the younger girl and is messing with her hair. She is openly laughing at the impromptu prank she and your mother have played on their friend. Her hair is curly and orange, the strands reaching way behind her back. Her joyful face is covered in freckles and she has red square-framed glasses on her eyes.
"Hmm, I see you have clearly noticed your mother already…" your uncle notes and you turn to look at him in puzzlement.
"U-uncle, who are these people?" you ask him, even if you are slowly starting to realize just what he means to show with this picture.
"Your mother and her friends," your uncle simply states,
"...But also Magical Girls. If you look closely, you can see their ring-form Soul Gems on their fingers."
You turn to look at the picture again, and sure enough you can find a ring on all of them. The design is identical to the one Ariane had that one time…
"Well, the one on the right is Shizuko who we're going to meet next month. She was always quite serious and down to earth, but nonetheless kept hanging out with everyone despite being so quiet." your uncle begins to list out the people without you having to even ask. However, you frown at his tone. He seems almost… sad...
"The blue-haired one is called Ayame. She was an energetic person, always ready to do something without thinking things properly through. Still, she meant well and it was always fun to hear her talk about her latest tricks on her teachers..." he continues the melancholic recount without paying any heed to your reaction.
"The orange-haired on the other hand is Megumi. I liked her the most… well, after my big sister. She was always very busy with everything, and would do her utmost to help everyone with their troubles," your uncle and a slight if sorrowful smile enters his face,
"She and Ayame were a thing… And they rest with each other now."
There is a long, awkward pause as your uncle draws in a long breath and lets it out as a long sigh before finishing the explanation.
"The little pink moeblob there is called Hicchan. She was more of a whiny tag-along to the group really… But everyone nonetheless took her in and made a point of helping her out," your uncle notes with a sudden smirk, as if inwardly laughing to some inside joke or memory you could never understand.
However, the man closes his eyes for a second and slowly shakes his head to dispel the smile,
"Well, I think that covers most of it… but you probably have another slew of questions ready for me, right?"
What do you do?
[] Write-in.
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This evening is turning into quite the info-dump
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