[X] Keep hugging and comforting Kishi. Wait for her to calm down and cry it out. Wait as long as you need to.
[X] Telepathy Mariko as you wait.
-[X] Tell her that Kishi is beginning to calm down. Apologize, but tell her that you still need a little more time to talk to her privately.
[x] Ask Kishi how her soul gem is doing. If she needs it, cleanse her gem with any seed that can handle her grief without excessive overcharge. If you end up with a full or overfilled seed, discard it.
[X] Talk to Kishi.
-[X] Tell her that you can explain what happened. It may be a bit upsetting, but she should know. Is she ready to hear it?
--[X] Last night, you ran into a Witch's barrier. There was an unconscious woman and trail of blood leading inside, so you went in immediately. You found a badly injured magical girl being attacked by familiars and saved her. Afterwards you looked at the magical girl... and it was Mariko. She's a magical girl.
-[x] Wait and gauge Kishi's reaction. Answer her questions or comfort her. Anything she needs. Otherwise continue.
-[X] Assure her that she doesn't know that Kishi is also a magical girl.
--[X] Re-iterate what you said before. Mariko isn't here to hurt or scare Kishi. And there's no way you would let her. She honestly wants to apologize.
[x] From what I remember, I was shocked and angry. Of all the people it could've been... I wanted to leave her there. I wanted to pretend I never found her. But that would've been horrible. I would've been horrible.
[x] Mariko didn't recognize me. She thanked me for saving her life. There was no way she could continue fighting with how badly injured she was, so I called Cathy and made to escape the barrier with her. It was a close call too. The witch really didn't want us to leave.
[x] There's more. (Break for a new vote if you get to this point.)
You blink in surprise at the sudden embrace but gather your wits quickly. A long, content sigh escapes your lips as you realize that Kishi has finally calmed down enough to believe and listen to what you have to say. You worried yourself sick over her reaction! But now you can finally explain things to her, and...
...Well, you still decide to stay like this longer. Your friend needs the time to gather her thoughts too, and it is admittedly a nice feeling be able to hug her.
As such, you continue embracing the girl and repeatedly stroking her braided hair. Kishi keeps sobbing lightly and letting her tears wash onto your blouse.
"It's okay Kishi, I am here for you," you quietly console her,
"Just let it all out, I know this must all be very abrupt and confusing…"
Kishi's arms tighten around your sides in response, as if to confirm your guess and hold on to something for more support. She has you for that, and so you keep comforting her to the best of your ability.
At the same time, however, you take the chance to contact Mariko through your telepathy. She is still waiting for you on the stairs, probably wondering what is taking you so long…
'Um, Kishi is beginning to calm down now,' you explain and nearly wince at your words,
'S-sorry about this… but please bear with me here. I still need some time to talk to her in private.'
'It's okay… I-I'm not in any hurry,' she answers to you reassuringly, even if she sounds very distant,
'But… T-that expression on her face… She must be very upset with… well, everything?'
She's not wrong,
'Yeah… And that is the reason this is so important!'
'Yeah… I understand,' she trails off dejectedly, leaving the conversation at that. The timing works well for you, though, as Kishi manages to gather herself enough to talk back to you again.
"...I-I'm sorry," she weakly stammers out to you and raises her head away from your clothes. However, her hug remains as resolute as before,
"I-I thought… F-for a while I-I thought that you had…"
The thought remains unfinished, but you can easily guess what she was after.
"It's alright, I understand... And I still stand by my words, you know! Nothing can ever make me leave you."
"...T-thank you," Kishi whispers to you with a shaking but grateful voice.
"Don't mention it," you answer and gently break your hug on her. You dig up one of your two grief seeds and lift it between your faces. It is the one you got yesterday and barely filled with grief,
"But before I tell you everything… How is your Soul Gem? You might need to cleanse."
Kishi brings her gaze down and reluctantly eases her hug on you. She brings out her Soul Gem and frowns at the sight.
Kishi grief: 450/1300
Yeah, she is definitely in need of a cleanse. You immediately bring the grief seed in contact with the red jewel and watch as the black substances is absorbed into it in a swirling tar-like mass. Kishi lets out a sigh of relief and her body relaxes with her worries pretty literally having been taken off her shoulders.
The seed looks to be about only a third filled in the aftermath and you pocket it with a happy nod.
It's good that the witch from yesterday had a quality seed like this!
"Feeling better now?" you ask Kishi and receive a slow nod in return.
"Y-yes, thank you… B-but you shouldn't use your seed so much," she tells you uncomfortably,
"W-we haven't actively hunted in a while… M-maybe take the time to do that today?"
Well, about hunting witches…
"Y-yeah, maybe?" you murmur with a shrug,
"But back to the matter at hand… I can explain what happened now, if you're ready? It may be a bit upsetting, but you deserve to know. Are you ready to hear it?"
Kishi nods at you slowly. She is still feeling unsure about this, but seems to realize that putting this off wouldn't work very well for her. You sigh and launch into a recap of last night's events.
"Last night after having escorted Evelyn home, I ended up running into a witch barrier. There was a woman lying unconscious on the ground and a trail of blood leading through the entrance, so I went in immediately."
Any potential critique of your actions seems to die in Kishi's throat before she can let them out when she hears your description. She is probably not happy, or at least she might be after this, about you refraining from telling her about the witch. It was a clear risk you took yesterday, after all.
"Yeah, I know… Anyways, I ended up finding a badly injured Magical Girl being attacked by the familiars and rescued her," you continue the explanation, but pause for a moment as Kishi winces at the mention of you running into another Magical Girl,
"I only looked at her face afterwards… and it was Mariko. She is a Magical Girl."
Kishi is visibly shocked at the news and she begins to visibly shake. Her expression first turns into one of panic and disbelief, before slowly morphing into crushing despair. She wobbles weakly on her place and slumps against your body. You hastily bring out your arms to catch her fall and wrap them around the girl for another hug.
"S-so not even the world of magic lets me get away from her anymore…" she murmurs quietly in a disheartened tone, while at the same time weakly hugging you back,
"S-she just follows me here too… W-why? W-why can't I have just this one place where I-I don't have to be so afraid of her presence?"
The girl's voice keeps rising as she goes on, and she turns more and more frantic. You bite your lips and stare the your friend's face. The knowledge is hurting her a lot...
"Kishi… You don't have to be afraid of Mariko anymore. She isn't here to hurt or scare you, and there's no way I would let her! She honestly wants to apologize for everything she has done," you firmly reassure Kishi,
"She doesn't even know that you're a Magical Girl."
Kishi remains silent, and avoid meeting your concerned eyes again. The expression on her face seems to fade away a little, but to you it looks more like she is simply trying to appear calmer than she actually is and mask her true feelings.
"...And I understand very well how you feel, Kishi. From what I remember, I was shocked and... and angry! Of all the people it could've been... I wanted to leave her there! I wanted to pretend I never found her!" you let out and Kishi suddenly lifts up her gaze. She stares at you with wide eyes, and the crushed expression begins to make room for surprise and puzzlement.
It's still better than pure despair in your opinion.
"But that would've been horrible... I-I... I would've been horrible," you continue. While the feelings still appear superficially justified, you feel more and more appalled for having even thought of something like that.
"Mariko didn't recognize me, though. She just earnestly thanked me for saving her life! But there was no way she could continue fighting with how badly injured she was... So I called in miss Cathy and tried to escape the barrier with her in tow. It was a very close call too! The witch really didn't want us to leave its barrier for some reason."
"Wh-what then? W-what happened? Y-you didn't get hurt, did you?" Kishi asks you nervously all of sudden and gulps. Despite everything, she still seems to be worried about what happened to you yesterday...
What do you do?
[] Write-in.
===
Something something... But yeah, Imagine if you had refrained from following uncle's advice a couple of updates ago and had had Mariko waltz outside in her Meguca outfit
.
All the despair...
