Rose opens the door wide. You immediately begin walking forward, even as you frantically consider whether this is a trap or not. You're outnumbered, you don't know what this room might be equipped with, and you don't know much anything about the people you are meeting.
You consider calling Kyouko. She would be more than happy to pick a fight, knows how to take care of herself, and would be good to have watching your back. On the downside, however, she
would be more than happy to pick a fight, which could cause negotiations to collapse.
You'll have to handle this on your own then, save the rookie. Bringing in Mami would likely cause troubles of an entirely different kind, after all.
As you step inside, you quickly review the room, looking for potential dangers and learning your battlefield. It's about forty feet long, you estimate, and perhaps half of that across. Fairly large, by USFJ standards, and too large for the conference room it appears to be.
There are five exits; the one you entered through, and one in each corner of the eight-walled room. The ceiling and walls appear to be smooth, burnished metal of some sort. The floor, in contrast, is cherry wood. Neither is military standard, for certain. You see no unusual marks or crevices on them, that might denote concealed weaponry; of course, concealing such things with holograms or illusions is entirely possible, so you can't be certain.
The windows lining the side walls, each decorated with white-embroidered, dark green curtains, are an impossibility in this part of the building, meaning they must be wall screens, and thus likely cameras and microphones as well. You will need to watch your words until you are certain about the room's security. They show rolling green hills and cloudy skies, reminding you of photos you've seen of Great Britain.
The large conference table running the length of the room matches the floor, save the sheen of it's touchscreen tabletop. It's a nice piece, actually, looking more like something your grandfather would have favored, and would have looked just as at-home in a formal dining room as it does here. A long, dark green carpet runs beneath both it and the chairs, shielding the hardwood floor from any harm. You make a note to steal them before you start shooting, if it comes to that. You could use a nice dining set.
Your inspection of the surroundings complete in only moments, your attention quickly turns to those awaiting you.
There are two more Magi--or, at least, you assume they are both Magi--standing opposite you.
The first, standing behind at the other head of the table, is already transformed. Her dark green and white regalia matches the curtains and carpet perfectly; if the room is decorated to match her, then she is likely the highest ranking person here. Her pale skin marks her as a foreigner; between that and the images shown by the "windows," you guess that she is British. In spite of that, though, something about her puts you at ease, although you can't place what.
To her right stands a young woman in a suit--she looks too old to be a Magus, and her outfit looks far too much like that of a government official of some sort to be her regalia, but the ring on her finger contradicts that. You resolve to be cautious with her; if there is some conflict between this group and the U.S.F.J., then this girl may not be on the same side as the others.
As you look those two over, you note Rose blurring over to stand next to her apparent leader, opposite the suited woman. She flashes you a smile and a salute as she does so, earning her an amused glance and a harsh glare from the others, respectively.
You notice the central girl's gaze is slightly unfocused as she looks across at you, but it soon sharpens as she speaks, "It is a pleasure to meet you both. I'm Freya, this is Tsunemori Akane, and you've already met Rose. Please, have a seat." Her introduction's respectable, you note--not exactly traditional, for Japan, but correct for Magi--polite and given in order of authority, with surnames given at individual discretion. Few Magi wish to expose family ties, when war is a possibility between groups. No one bows, of course--breaking line of sight can be a deadly mistake, and you know some girls consider it dismissive.
You take the seat at your head at the table, idly noting it as Ruki takes the one to your immediate left, "As you know, I am Akemi Homura, and this is Ruki." You cast a look over to Ruki, but her eyes are fastened on Rose. You should probably scold her later, for chatting during negotiations.
The military group take their own seats, and Freya gives a slight nod, beginning to speak, but you cut her off with a direct telepathic message even as you speak aloud.
"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. I've heard about you around the city, and thought I should come meet you. How are you finding our Mitakihara?" You see Akane stiffen slightly at your claim of ownership.
'How secure is this meeting? Are any of your members a risk?'
Freya covers her surprise well enough, playing along smoothly, "Mitakihara is a beautiful city, but I do find it a bit strange. You have architecture from countless nations integrated together here, and half of the etiquette I studied before coming seems to not apply in Mitakihara. That's not mentioning some of the strangest parts of the city; the city planners and architects must have been very eccentric."
Her telepathic response is quick in coming,
'No. Akane and Rose are both firmly loyal to our group, not the USFJ, so there is no need to worry. I would
be concerned about listening devices, if we didn't conduct regular inspections. As it is, this place is the most secure one can be under these conditions; the screens have no intranet capability and no microphones.'
You nod, "My grandfather told me once that this city is, in his words, an abomination--a place which should not possibly exist, yet does. That's why he loved it so much; it didn't allow the laws of the world to force it into order or sanity, instead building itself to its own whims, or so he said."
Akane's eyebrows rise, "You speak as if the city's alive. That's…well, I would say preposterous, but life has been proven strange."
"Exactly. Mitakihara shouldn't exist, yet it does. It is like us--both we Akemi, and
we," You raise a hand, giving a sweeping gesture to indicate the room around you and its occupants, "Magi. This city is a mystery, and is a wondrous place for it."
You sit back, allowing them to mull your words over as you attempt to temper the heat building in your heart. Losing yourself in it would be risky, at best. Briefly, you recall your studies on Mitakihara's history; it's ancient, in one form or another, and has always been known as a strange place. Not surprising, perhaps, but it always made you wonder
why. You should--
"This lovely city aside, I think it's time to move onto business?" Freya's voice snaps your focus back into the present, "Now that we've established basic security, I believe we speak safely."
You nod, leaning backwards slightly as you feign relaxation, "Good. So, before we move on to the heart of the matter, would you mind informing us," You almost say "me," unsure about including Ruki in this, but the battle lines, such as they are, have already been drawn, "About the reason for your presence here. Rose has given us a rough idea, but more detail would be appreciated."
Freya nods, tapping on the touch screen as she answers, "Of course. I suppose we'll start with the basics, for those less informed among us." She gives Ruki a small, familiar smile.
A hologram extends up from the tabletop, forming a world map.
"As you may be aware, around half a decade ago there was a period of intense conflict between the United States and China--primarily, this revolved around their struggle for economic dominance, but there was great concern that it might escalate into military conflict, in light of the rise of anti-nuclear technology." You notice Rose flinch slightly, breaking eye contact with Ruki as she does so, but Freya continues on, "Thankfully, this was averted by a sudden breakthrough in talks between the two nations, wherein most of the primary concerns of each were resolved at only moderate cost to the other." She gives you a long look, making clear that this wasn't a natural occurrence.
She pauses, giving you a moment to respond, but you wave for her to go on. She nods, and taps on the touch screen again. Several nations glow a faint blue, and various cities in those nations previously marked as dots rise up from the landscape. Japan is one of those nations, and Mitakihara one of those cities. Other nations include Great Britain, France, and Taiwan.
"During the period leading up to those miraculous negotiations, however, the U.S. took steps to protect their allies against potential attacks by Chinese forces, establishing public, and occasionally secret, military bases in major cities they deemed under threat. These cities were thus equipped with the best nuclear countermeasures currently available, and armed to the fullest with modern technology. Teams of elite soldiers were also stationed, to assist in the training and preparation of local forces."
She reaches over and taps on the touch screen beneath Mitakihara, causing the hologram to "zoom in," displaying a clear map of the city.
"Mitakihara was, in particular, of great concern to the United States. This city has always been a central hub for technological innovation, after all, and a cultural keystone both here in Japan and internationally, due to the intense success organizations and individuals alike tend to experience here." She smiles at that, trying to be complementary, but her bitterness is plain to see as she goes adds, "For all that America wished to be the "shining city on a hill," and our Great Britain sought to be the world's Camelot, it is your Mitakihara which has captured the hearts of many. A place of opportunity and potential, where everyone and everything comes together." She sighs slightly, almost wistfully, but moves on.
"Thus, this base was built by the United States as a shield to protect your home, so that the coming conflict would not destroy it. After the success of negotiations, however, it became largely meaningless. The USFJ maintains it, in case of future conflicts, but it has become largely a symbolic facility." She taps on the base on the map, zooming in again, "However, it remains a location occupied primarily by military personnel and their families. I do not need to point out that this brings with it trauma--nor do I need to point out that Witches are drawn to such. Thus, even a largely unused base such as this one draws an abnormal number of Witches to it, and Magi are needed to secure it against them. The USFJ has two of their own girls stationed here, but they have proved entirely insufficient recently--the Witch populace of Mitakihara has grown tremendously. Inviting Mami Tomoe to become the primary protector of the base was immediately dismissed; this was not only because of national and military security concerns, but also because the United States has strict rules about official interaction with any of the Rulers." You blink at the audible capital, gesturing for her to pause for a moment as you wrack your mind for some memory of the term. It seems familiar, bringing with it a feeling of wariness that you usually associate with the approach of Walpurgisnacht. You faintly recall--
Your thoughts are cut off by Ruki, this time, as she simply asks the question you were pondering, "What do you mean by rulers? What does that have to do with Akemi-san's friend?"
Freya smiles graciously, beginning to speak, but is cut off by Akane. The suited young woman gives her an apologetic briefly before explaining, "The so-called Rulers are Magi of overwhelming power, who are able to hold entire regions under their control. Many of them fancy themselves actual monarchs, reigning over the Magi of cities or nations, while a few, such as Tomoe-san, simply have an expansive territory that others will not threaten."
She flicks the screen, and you see colorful images of almost forty Magi, apparently taken by security cameras. You recognize a handful of them--the seven Magi of the Tokyo Council.
"These thirty-six Magi composed the Tokyo Group several years ago. A massive team that was expanding rapidly throughout Japan, subjugating every independent Magus they found. The USFJ Magi immediately stood down, allowing them Mitakihara in exchange for control of the base, and the expectation was that Tomoe Mami would do the same, trading most of her territory for her life.
She did not. Our limited information leads us to believe she objected to their handling of the human and Witch populations in areas they controlled, but that is only a rumor. What we
are certain about, is that the invasion was followed by a full six months of quiet but intense conflict between Tomoe and the Tokyo Group. When those six months had passed…" She flicks the screen, and most of the images fade, turning greyscale. Only nine remain--among them, seven of them compose the girls of the Tokyo Council.
"...Only these nine, who fled the city, were still alive. The rest were dead, hunted down and slain by Tomoe Mami, as far as we know."
As she finishes the story, the memory from before comes rushing back. Not of anything Mami said, but of a conversation with Kyouko.
---
"Listen to me, Homura. I get that you want to go build up your arsenal for the big day, but don't go to Moscow
, or even Russia, for that matter. There's a Ruler there, and she's a real
monster. Goes around calling herself Catherine the Great."
You raise an eyebrow, "She isn't actually that
Catherine, is she?"
Kyouko shrugs, box of pocky held firmly in hand but unopened, "No clue. A lot of people say Magical Girls can live forever, but…I can't imagine she would survive this long, no matter how tough she is. Still, though, you're never safe over there. You use magic once, and her goons will be all over you in no time."
You grunt, annoyed, but don't raise any objection--this Kyouko might actually try to stop you from leaving, if you tried to go anyway, "Anywhere else I shouldn't go?"
"Just stay away from anywhere with a real Ruler. Shanghai comes to mind. London…"Arthur" is known to be okay with tourism, but I wouldn't try to steal anything if I were you."
"Do you have a list? It would make this easier."
She pops open the box of Pocky, taking a stick out and angrily biting it in half, "Nope. It's why I don't go to far from home. You kinda have to ask around a lot about any given city, and the girls online tend to be less than trustworthy."
You sigh, and decide to stay local, for now.
---
"So, Mami is considered the Ruler of Mitakihara, because of that?"
Freya's eyes widen slightly, as her attention turns from Ruki's horrified expression to you, "…You didn't know?"
You shrug, "Mami never mentioned anything of the sort. I knew there was some situation with the Tokyo Group, at one point, but nothing more than that."
She bites her lip, "Worrisome. I hope she trusts you as much as you think she does. I'd have thought she'd tell you." After a few moments of quiet, she shakes her head, shrugging, "Well, I suppose you're still our best chance at surviving."
You nod, holding back any objections in favor of exploiting their fear, and return to the original topic, "So, that is why the USFJ didn't contact her, and why you were brought in to reinforce the base, I assume."
"Yes. We were needed."
You tap a symbol on the touch screen, zooming it back out to show Mitakihara, "This is Mami's territory. She is generous enough to allow myself and Kyouko to hunt here, and I'm sure she will at least be understanding regarding Ruki, but you and your employers have been hunting within this city without her permission for years--"
Akane cuts in, "Only in the base, with only very rare exceptions."
"You should know as well as anyone that Magi aren't interested in national boundaries. This base is within Mitakihara, which we have well established is Mami's territory." You pause, letting that sink in for a moment, "If you want me to speak with her on your behalf, then I need to know a few things about you first."
Akane looks to Freya, who holds her gaze for several seconds before looking to you, "Alright. I'll answer your questions, within reason."
You nod, "You've made it clear the United States is aware of the existence of Magi. What more do you know about that?"
Freya taps on the screen a few more times, and a number of files open up. She slides them over to you, and you peruse them as she explains.
"For those few individuals informed about us, these are the primary documents regarding the interaction with Magi. As you can see, their primary options when dealing with us are avoidance, supplication, recruitment, and elimination."
"Any Magus that is not an active threat to society, such as one of the serial killer or terrorist types, is to be avoided as much as possible--altercations with us rarely end well, and open battle on the streets is too dangerous to risk. The general teaching is that Magi are best left alone, and that any crime short of murder is to be ignored."
"When interaction becomes inevitable, the objective becomes supplication--giving them what they want, within reason, so as to keep them from becoming an active threat. Generally, this means leaving them alone, openly agreeing to ignore any crimes they commit, and perhaps giving them a stipend of money."
"When a forced interaction goes particularly well, or when a girl is found immediately after contracting, recruitment is attempted; they are offered an official position, paid extremely well, and provided a cover story. With new Magi, this can avert many of the social and professional consequences of the Magus lifestyle before they occur. This rarely lasts, though--those girls are deployed against any supernatural threat the U.S. encounters. Often, this means deploying them in warzones to eliminate newly-formed Witches, familiars, and occasionally enemy Magi. Sometimes, it instead means being assigned a city or region to protect against Witches or dangerous Magi. Both of these roles are incredibly stressful, and the demands placed upon them by these jobs well exceed what a normal Magus needs to deal with in many ways. Most of those girls either go insane, die, or quit their positions within a few months. Contractors like us, who can refuse jobs, survive far longer."
"Finally, there are those Magi that need to be eliminated. These are extremely rare--as a general rule, only Magi that actively and repeatedly kill non-Magi are ever dealt with like this, and the vigilante-types are excused even then. When it
does come up, however, recruited Magi and mercenaries are sent out to kill them. That doesn't always end well, but it's generally a necessity."
You nod, but Ruki insists on asking, "Do you have to kill them? I mean, there must be an alternative, right?"
It's actually Rose who responds, cutting off her teammates in the process, "Nope. I mean, we've tried--lots of groups have--but a Magus who gets away can kill dozens, if not hundreds, before we catch them again. After the fifth "natural disaster," it was decided that any girl deemed violent and unstable enough to be targeted was too dangerous to leave alive. I…still don't like it, but I saw the aftermath of some of those. It's not worth gambling on. No one should lose their family because we held back."
Ruki looks ready to argue, but heaves a sigh and drops it.
You ponder for a few moments, trying to think of any more questions you'd like to ask.
---
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