Shards of a Broken Sun [Megaten/Shugo Chara/Exalted]

[Baughn]

Spoiler: Voting results

[X] Evacuate Saaya, then take a moment.

- [X] Dash out the wall and get Saaya to a safe distance.

-- [X] Do not fly. Keep that in reserve in case the adults outside are hostile. They aren't helping evacuate, so they likely aren't teachers. This place hirers for quality and/or psionic involvement, and standing around indicates neither.

-- [X] Don't leave Saaya and the Humpty Lock with the adults unless they are safe to do so with.

--- [X] Text Rima to head your way for hand off if need be.

--- [X] Ping Ami to send Miki to you with telepathy if possible, for the same purposes.

- [X] Once out, call Lulu and update her on the developments. Yes she's going to yell at you, but if she's calling people in to help, they need to know what they are rushing into.

-- [X] Take Lulu's advice on what to do, while circling around to reinforce Tadase and Nagihiko once Saaya is secure.

-- [X] Specifically ask how long reinforcements are going to take. If they will be there shortly, check if Tadase can hold it back for long enough to let the professionals get there.

- [X] Do these actions in the most efficient order once a safe distance from the rift. As in, call Lulu and text Rima while on the phone with her, if possible, and move with Saaya while on the phone.

Saaya looked shocked for a moment, then nodded, a determined look in her eyes. "Okay," she said, "Let's go."

A chunk of concrete tumbled from the ceiling, crashing to the floor in the middle of the classroom.

"On second thought, run," Amu said.

"What?"

"Run! Just run!"

The two girls ran. Saaya stumbled slightly, feet catching on some rubble, but Amu steadied her and a moment later they were through the shattered wall and into the flowerbeds. The building shuddered behind them, the walls rippling as if the concrete was melting. The light from the rift was so bright that it cast shadows right through the walls.

"Where are we going?" Saaya asked, panting slightly.

"Away!"

"Away where?"

"Somewhere not here," Amu said. She reached out, touching the mental space around her, and found-

She clamped a hand over her mouth. Someone had been hit by collapsing concrete, killed on the spot. The viewpoint she'd got was from a girl in her class, who was hysterically hauling off the concrete with strength that wasn't remotely human. Then, from the corner of the same girl's eye, Nagihiko—no, that was Nadeshiko right now—was rushing towards her, shouting something Amu couldn't quite make out.

Amu's blood went cold. Tadase wouldn't be able to hold back the rift forever. Or even maybe another five minutes.

She looked back towards the school, then made her decision.

"-come on," she muttered, grabbing Saaya's hand. She couldn't risk flying, with no idea who could see her and Saaya scared of her. Instead she pulled her towards the garden at the centre of the academy, her legs pumping as fast as they could without scooping the other girl up. Saaya kept up, her gaze darting towards the school and back again.

They stopped beneath a tree, a safe distance from the classroom. Here the unlight from the rift was faint, just a shimmer in the air.

Amu stopped, panting.

"I think I'm going to throw up," Saaya muttered.

"Just- here," said Amu.

Saaya doubled over, and promptly emptied the contents of her stomach onto the ground. Her arms were shaking. Amu couldn't tell if that was a lingering effect of the rift or simple panic. Probably a mixture of both, she decided.

She put an arm around her then glanced around, scanning for her classmates. Some of them had gotten out; more were streaming from the front entrance, running and stumbling as the ground buckled and twisted beneath them. She could sense Tadase still in the hallway, flaring like a bonfire, but that was all. Amu felt like she might throw up herself, but pushed it down. There would be time for emotions later.

"Are you okay?" she said, giving Saaya a careful squeeze.

"No," Saaya muttered, then spat on the ground. She looked exhausted, her skin pale and her clothes stained with dirt and sweat. She didn't even have the strength to brush the hair out of her face, so Amu did it for her, gently tucking the locks behind her ears. "Why are you doing this?" Saaya whispered. "I don't- I don't-"

"And I already told you I don't care," Amu replied. She glanced around, looking for help. Surely some of the teachers had gotten out?

"Why not?"

Amu hesitated. "Because we're not enemies. Because if you're scared of me, then I don't want that. If I'm hurting you, then I want to know. Because… Because I'd hope someone would do the same for me."

"I wouldn't."

Amu gave Saaya an incredulous stare. Had she, or had she not, just attempted to sacrifice herself just so Amu would have an easier time? "You just did."

"Yeah, well." Saaya paused, a slight blush colouring her cheeks. "That doesn't mean I'd do it again."

Amu didn't know how to respond to that, and a moment later, the opportunity passed. She was feeling it too. Not exhausted, precisely—wired, if anything, her thoughts buzzing with energy. But the rest of her wasn't quite keeping up, and she could tell she wasn't the only one. Saaya was leaning against her, her weight getting heavier by the second.

"It's okay," Amu murmured. "You did good. You can relax now."

"No, no," Saaya muttered. She tried to stand up, but her legs buckled, and Amu caught her, carefully lowering her to the ground. Saaya started trembling. It was like her muscles had simply given up, and a moment later, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

This was not in the plan.

Saaya was staring at her hand, her eyes wide. She coughed again, spattering the grass with blood.

"Oh," she whispered.

Amu felt like someone had punched her in the gut. "Saaya?"

"I'm-" Saaya started, her words turning into a hacking cough. A second later, her body arched, and she slumped down, her eyes glazing over.

"Saaya?" Amu repeated, her voice shaking.

She didn't respond, blood dripping from her nose. Then her eyes refocused on Amu, full of fear. She tried to say something, but it came out as a wet cough.

"Saaya!"

Amu knelt down, cradling the other girl. She looked around frantically. There was nobody here, no-one who could help. She had to...

She could fix her! She knew she could.

She was reaching out, focusing her attention, when she heard a distant roar.

Something was coming out of the rift.

⁂

It was a bird. If birds could be two metres tall, and had a face like a human with the teeth of a shark, and wings the size of a small plane, and the claws of a velociraptor, then yes, it was a bird. And now she felt Nadeshiko's presence. A moment later she saw her. The 'bird' rocketed out through a fresh hole in the school's side, a stream of feathers and smoke trailing in its wake. It crashed into the tree line, a small figure leaping from its back as it hit the ground on its back.

Nadeshiko hit the ground rolling and was on her feet a moment later, naginata held at the ready. She was wearing the girl's school uniform, her long hair tied back in a braid, but even so Amu recognised her. She decided not to worry about the how or why.

A moment later Kukai ran into view, carrying the girl from her vision under his arm. Amu's heart leapt.

"Kukai!" she shouted.

"Hey, Amu," he called back, giving her a thumbs-up. "Give us a moment."

The two of them looked like they'd seen better days. Both of them were covered in scratches and bruises, and Kukai was limping slightly. The girl looked shell-shocked, her expression was blank, and her arm was hanging at an angle that indicated it was badly broken.

Amu watched as the 'bird'—a roc, or a gryphon?—scrambled back to its feet, its claws reaching for Nadeshiko but snapping at air.

Kukai took a deep breath, then took off running. Away from Nadeshiko, towards—right—the rest of her classmates, who had gathered near the football field. That looked like a plan, so Amu looked away, back to Nadeshiko, who was now in mid-air. Her naginata spun in her hands, its tip aimed directly at the 'roc's' chest.

There was a flash, and then a boom. The roc went down, the ground shuddering under the impact. It let out a startled shriek, but it didn't look like the blade had pierced its skin. Still, Nadeshiko had it on the back foot.

Her eyes moved on and caught on a group of adults standing by the front entrance. They were arguing loudly, one of them attempting to push past the others, and although they were too far away for her to see clearly-

Oh. That was Dad.

Dad was there, and he was... fighting to get into the school. Trying to push his way through the other adults there. With his fists, not his brain, which meant he was being an idiot, and also she had no time. Amu closed her eyes, her hands balling into fists, but she couldn't go over there now. Saaya needed her.

So she turned away, her mind focusing on Saaya. Saaya was still, too still, but she could feel her heartbeat, her breathing, the soft hum of her mind. The sharp edges where the shards had been pulled back into alignment, and the gaps left between them.

Amu reached out with her senses, feeling the wounds that had appeared in her body. One of her lungs had a hole in it, and the blood vessels connected to her heart were... Her skin was starting to look like a single enormous bruise. It was like someone had taken a shotgun and blasted her insides. It didn't look fatal, not right away, but Amu wasn't a doctor and she was going to assume the worst.

"Su," Amu muttered, her lips barely moving. She could almost hear Su's reply. 'Yes, I know,' the Chara would say. 'Fixing things is my specialty! Just give me a moment!'

She opened her eyes, and was just in time to see Nadeshiko—now on the ground—dodge a slash from the pseudo-roc's claws, its teeth snapping at the space where she'd been a moment ago. That was great, really. Nadeshiko cast a glance her way, but she didn't look too concerned by the demon she was fighting. She looked calm. Like this was just another day.

She closed her eyes again, relying on her sense for Nadeshiko to tell her if the fight moved in her direction.

"I'm sorry, Saaya," she said. "I'm not great at this, but I promise I'll try my best."

The most useful skill she'd inherited from Su was 'fixing things'. All sorts of things. One damn thing after another, as Miki was fond of saying. She could fix holes in the walls, and holes in her clothes, and the cracks in her pencils. She could fix broken glass, and contusions from when she fell, and Nikaidou's broken dream. She could, given time, even fix the scars in Utau's mind. Though that had been as much friendship and intuition as deliberate and she hadn't even noticed them until after meeting Kana.

But none of that was enough. It wouldn't fix Saaya, not unless she spent hours on it.

That wasn't an excuse not to try.

= = =

To everyone who was predicting an interrupt: Um, yeah, there may be one or two of those. The rest of the plan is still running, but you can redo as much or as little of it as you want, after dealing with this situation.

Your dice luck could have been better, but maybe this will be for the best. Incidentally, let me know if you prefer me to do rolls publicly; the ones in this chapter were ad-hoc calls to random.choice in a python interpreter…

So. XP rules. I'm going to do a proper write-up later, but some things you need to know right now:

• Standard Exalted level-up costs are in effect for attribute and ability increases. They're priced as though Amu is a Solar, for Reasons™.
• Increments to psionic skills cost max(1, [pre-increment # of dots] / 2) XP. This is up for adjustment later. If I reduce the cost, I'll refund any previously spent XP in excess of the new cost.
• Training time follows the standard for a solar exalted, except-
• You can pay 2x the required XP to skip the training time for a psionic skill. This has in-story consequences, but nothing terrible. It must be done at a stressful moment in which the relevant skill would be useful.
• While I haven't done the full computation, Amu at present has a pool of at least 2 XP from events so far.
• Which means that, given the rules as planned, you could take her biokinesis skill from 1 to 2 dots. XD
• I'm going to need to find some other character to torture, aren't I?

[ ][Saaya] Stabilise her, then move on.

• "Moving on" means continuing with the plan as defined, unless voted otherwise. Yes, that does imply you'd be ignoring Nadeshiko's combat situation for the moment. Is there any difference just because you can see her?
• Maybe.

[ ][Saaya] Heal her fully. Then move on.

• Cost: 2 XP for biokinesis upgrade…
• Also it'll take a little longer.

[ ][Saaya] Write-in.

• I'm not sure what other options there are here, but that's why write-ins exist.

[ ][Plan] Continue as planned
[ ][Plan] Write-in

 

[Baughn]

Amu flinched, as Saaya coughed another glob of blood into her hand. She had only a vague idea of what she was trying to do. Su's ability was basically 'fix things', yes. She could put pieces of glass back together. She could glue broken pencils back into shape and yes, she'd fixed scratches on herself before, but there was a world of difference between fixing her own bruises and fixing a hole in someone else's lung.

If she tried, and failed, would it kill her quicker?

The roc once again crashed into the ground, the grass around its neck burning. All around her there was shouting, the wind rising, the earth rumbling, but Amu was focused entirely on the girl in her arms. She couldn't fix Saaya, not completely, not like this. But she had to try.

Saaya looked up at Amu, her eyes swimming. Now that she'd accepted Amu wouldn't let her die, the pain had returned, and with it, the fear. "H-hey," she managed.

"Hey," Amu whispered.

"It hurts."

"I know," said Amu. "Bear with it. I'm going to try something stupid. Don't resist, okay?"

Saaya stared at her for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay."

Amu closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt her own body, and Saaya's, her awareness sinking deeper and deeper. She could compare the one to the other... maybe? She'd never done this before.

There was the damage. Saaya's entire chest was a mess of bruised and damaged flesh, with a dozen veins that had ruptured or had been cut by a rib fragment. Amu wasn't sure how she'd managed to run—had adrenaline overridden the pain?

Her lungs had a hole, her stomach and intestines had several tears, and her heart was pumping blood out of a dozen tiny wounds. And, of course, she was practically all bruise. Bruises on your skin weren't dangerous, even if they hurt, but Amu wasn't sure that worked the same way if it was your kidney. And- Amu clenched her hands.

And she couldn't do this.

She didn't know how.

Yes, blood should stay in the veins, and no, that wasn't how the heart was supposed to look, and no, her stomach definitely shouldn't be leaking like that, but those were the obvious things. There were a hundred thousand smaller parts, a thousand ways they could go wrong. She didn't know what she was doing.

…didn't blood leave veins into smaller veins…?

She felt Saaya's hand tighten.

"Amu," Saaya whispered.

She took it, squeezing back.

But that was fine, right? It had to be. Because she didn't think a hospital could fix this.

The Humpty Lock's energy was a constant buzz in the background, holding Saaya's mind together. That wasn't helping. It was just making the process more painful.

Amu opened her eyes again, imprinting the image of Saaya's face in her mind. The other girl was looking at her, her face pale, her eyes wide, and now that Amu was looking, one of them had blood in it. Just a few burst capillaries, but it was there. Her lips were going white, which Amu wasn't sure, but- right, the blood wasn't getting there. She spent a moment wondering if she should force it, before deciding that would probably hurt Saaya more than help her. The thought made her feel a little sick.

She had to, somehow, do better than she could...

The first time Amu had undergone a chara change, she'd been nine. Too young to understand any part of what was happening or to wonder at how she was suddenly bubbly, confident and outgoing. She'd just known Ran had done it, and part of her was terrified—and part of her, a larger part, had thought it was fun. Hop, step, jump! Forget your embarrassment, you can do this!

She'd gotten used to it, had stopped needing Ran's guidance, but she'd never stopped to think. Never asked herself how Ran's personality had become hers, or where Ran went while they were transformed, or why she could suddenly fly. And to be fair, she'd been nine. Asking a nine-year-old for deep thought wasn't fair.

But she was thirteen years old now, and-

-and she'd seen Utau, what her transformations with Eru and Iru did. Not just the physical changes, though the thought of Utau with wings was still enough to make her giddy. There were mental changes too, and they'd gotten more and more obvious to Amu. Even more so recently. Like Miki's skill with drawing or Ran's at exercise and sports. The skill came from the chara-

But where had the chara gotten it?

Amu reached out into the mental knot surrounding her. The same knot she'd just barely glimpsed before, the web-whirlpool-starry-cloud-pattern-thing that she'd only ever seen clearly when she was chara changed with Dia. She was acting half on wishful thinking, half on intuition, but...

Amu reached out and pulled.

The world spun, and then everything was dark.

It was cold. She couldn't see, or hear, or sense anything, not really. Around here there were points of light, less seen than sensed. They were all around her, a vast sea of distant lights. A universe full of stars.

There were four bright spots in front of her. She could barely make out the first three, a trio of shapes that were almost identical. The fourth was a little fainter, and a little further away.

The world was a sea of darkness, an endless expanse, and the lights were everywhere. A million points of light, each one a mind. A million minds, each one a star, a billion stars, a billion billion, a trillion trillion- a vast road of lights leading into the distance, stretching on and on and on and-

A spiderweb of shining lines.

It was hard to focus. Amu's own mind was fading in and out, and every time it did she was a little more disoriented, a little further from herself. Su overlapped with her, Ran and Dia, their personalities merging and blending together. Miki sat in the distance, the bond stretched and frayed, but still very much there.

And some of the lines-

She reached out as Su, grasping for the minds that had given birth to herself. The sea shifted, most of the lights growing dim, but the ones she'd grabbed flared brighter and- her mind stuttered. And she yanked at them, insistently. They rebuffed her. She was guided by nothing more than intuition and fragments of memory from when she'd been born, but it was all she had. A vast cauldron of souls. Amu's desire, to be like her mother, to- to help people, to be there for them, and-

-it wasn't enough. It was more than her mother, journalist-caring-help-plasters-on-cuts, could fix.

She could fix some scratches, but Saaya needed more. She cried out for help, no longer holding back her emotions, hoping—begging—for the answer to come.

There was no reply, and her panic built.

She couldn't lose her here. Not now, not like this. She'd saved her. She'd held her and said she'd help her and promised and- she didn't care that this wasn't what she was for. She had to save Amu, she had to save Saaya, fixing things was her job, stop holding back, just let go, do it, do it, do it!

Amu screamed, the sound echoing across the sea.

She was falling. She was a rock tumbling through the air, a bird plummeting towards the ocean, a-

-a lost child begging for someone to find her.

Something heard her, and answered.

A light rose up to meet her, the light of an entire nebula, and the universe was gone.

⁂

Su- Amu- opened her eyes, and found herself staring into Saaya's. She was so close their foreheads were almost touching, and-

'Pay careful attention,' a voice whispered.

And she did.

She looked down at Saaya, her vision no longer that of a teenage girl. It would be difficult to explain the difference, except that everything she saw had been imbued with meaning. Every colour, every shape, every curve and line, was a piece of a puzzle, and the puzzle was-

Saaya.

Through this lens she saw not just a wounded girl but a complex biological system in urgent need of repair. Saaya's condition was critical: a pneumothorax, the collapsed lung evident from the ragged tear in the pleura. Her heart was strained, showing signs of traumatic pericarditis, a dangerous inflammation from the blood leaking into the pericardium. Tachycardia; the rapid, thready pulse visible through her throat. A number of lacerated and punctured blood vessels, their bleeding slowing but not stopped. Multiple abraded ribs, some splintered, one driven into her liver. The bruising had spread throughout her entire body, a dark, sharp, ominous red that spoke of internal bleeding and organ damage.

Easy enough to fix.

Her newfound perception didn't stop there. She studied the abdominal trauma, the ruptured intestines and the damaged stomach lining. Every bruise, every internal haemorrhage, was catalogued with an almost clinical detachment, yet underlined with a sense of urgency and care.

Bacterial infection was inevitable, but could be set aside for now. The cardiac seepage was slow, and wouldn't become critical for another five to ten minutes.

The knowledge flooding through her was overwhelming, yet strangely coherent. She understood the intricacies of human anatomy and physiology as if she had spent a dozen lifetimes studying them, but there was a strange sense of lagging-behind. As if Amu's mind wasn't the one thinking these thoughts, but was instead being fed a series of observations, which she then translated into comprehension.

Her focus next turned to the pneumothorax. She knew instinctively that re-expanding the lung was crucial, but also that it needed to be done with utmost care to prevent further damage.

-damage? But why?

A mild sense of consternation.

The answer came instantly. It was possible to simply inflate the lung, but that would put strain on the chest wall, and could rupture the already-weakened pleura, allowing fluid to build up in the chest cavity. 'Fluid' meaning blood.

She would have to drain the excess first.

Amu blinked, her thoughts stalling for a moment, her vision blurring. The sense of urgency increased.

-how, she asked.

She had no tools. Nothing to remove the excess fluid, no way to drain the blood. Her fingers were the only tool she had.

-no.

Was she, or was she not, a telekinetic? Hadn't she healed contusions in the past? Couldn't she do that, only on a larger scale?

-oh, right.

Her hands moved, the air around her shifting. She felt Saaya's body, felt the damaged blood vessels, and-

She focused, and the blood stopped seeping into her lungs. She could feel Saaya's heart beating, could feel the strain it was under. The heart was a pump, and the valves were mechanical, and they were designed to move a certain amount of blood per second, but there wasn't quite enough blood left even after it had pulled as much as it could to her core. It was straining itself, and Amu could feel it starting to falter. She had to-

Amu's hand pressed down on Saaya's chest and the other girl coughed, blood and bile splattering against her shirt. No, no, this wasn't working. She was too slow. It would take long minutes to heal Saaya this way and by that time the heart would fail and then the brain would starve, and-

Amu's hand slid upwards, to Saaya's face, once again brushing the hair away from her eyes. She could feel the other girl's fear, her terror at her own body failing. She could also see her own skin shimmer, as if in a mirage.

-she wasn't human.

-she was a creature of air and water, the light of stars and the flow of blood, and the air was hers to command.

-the air was hers to command, and the blood was hers to command, but Amu couldn't channel the full force of her power, not without killing the girl. She refused to countenance the death of a child.

-so instead-

She rose to her feet, tapping into a secondary aspect of the demon which called itself Su. Amu's clothing faded away, replaced by green robes like those of a Silky. That was good. In Amu's mind it was associated with helpfulness, kindness and comfort. That was better.

She was restricted, in this place, at this time. All she could do was follow in the trails blazed by Amu. However, Amu had a great deal of potential. She could use this. She'd healed before, and one of the... 'attacks', her host would dub it. One of the tricks this child had learned, and called an 'attack'...

-was this a pixie's joke?

The being's eye twitched, as it contemplated the frivolity of children. Very well. Why e'er not. It should work as well as any other story it could tell.

-as you will, the being agreed, and reached out to its host.

⁂

The mental picture of Saaya that she held was one torn apart, damaged and missing shards.

Once upon a time, there had been another picture of someone cherished that Amu had seen torn, damaged and missing bits - a precious photograph of her mother that her father had tucked away in an old magazine, accidentally donated. When she'd found it again, Yoru had fought her bitterly over it, leaving it in tatters by the end. But Amulet Clover had managed to fill the gaps, mend the holes.

Water healed, and what was honey but a stickier form of water?

-there was something wrong with that thought, but Amu couldn't figure out what it was.

Honey healed, honey revitalised. Honey kept bees alive throughout the winter. Like the blood running through a person's veins, no cheap fake could compare to the true thing—and Su made the best honey of them all.

Amu wasn't sure if it was a memory or just an analogy, but either way, it seemed to fit.

The blood that is lost must be replaced.

-the blood was already going back to where it belonged, Amu thought, even as her clothes burst into flickering flames that reformed in the familiar form of Su's transformation, one she hadn't used in months.

Honey healed, and fire burned. Fire purified, fire drove out infection and disease. Blood flowed through the veins, and fire was the fuel of life.

The being's voice was a whisper, a susurration that was barely a part of her, and yet guided her thoughts in a way that felt more like a friend's hand on her own than an instruction.

She knew what to do.

Blood flowed back into the vessels, a trickle becoming a torrent, a river, a stream. Flesh stitched itself together and Amu had never had such perfect control over her abilities before. A dozen tiny lacerations sealed themselves shut, and then a hundred, and then a thousand. Fragments of bone and rib were drawn back together and where the flesh and bone were gone, eaten away by the desolation that this child held at her core, honeyed fire filled the void.

The being's attention lingered on the wounds to the child's abdomen. It was a shame that it could not repair her fully. There was only so much it could do; already Amu was flagging, the energy needed to heal this degree of damage was enormous, the child had reached her limit. It would have to make do.

Amu felt a twinge of regret, then nodded. Yes, it was a shame. But Saaya was breathing easily again, her heart was no longer trembling, and the bruises were superficial. She'd be able to move on her own, and-

The being's attention returned to her abdomen, and a moment later it gave a soft, mental chuckle. Infection would not be an issue. The girl would not bleed out, and would not sicken.

She might be a little hungry, though.

That was okay, in a world as rich as this one.

The being withdrew, satisfied.

⁂

-as Amu found herself standing above Saaya, uncertain what she'd been thinking mere moments before. Her mind felt sluggish and heavy, and her limbs were trembling, but those were the least of her problems.

There was a monster in the middle of the school grounds.

Apparently only seconds had passed, because Nadeshiko was still fighting the roc. A second blade had appeared in her hands, and she was now holding it at the ready while the first hovered, blade towards the demon, a short distance above her. The ground around her was scorched and blackened, the grass dead, and a few nearby trees were burning from—what, precisely? Amu hadn't seen what set them on fire, but it must have been the roc, somehow.

Nadeshiko's head was tilted towards Amu, her attention clearly split between the fight and the two girls behind her. The roc was—was it trying to fly past her, towards Amu? It did, and a second later that indiscretion cost it because Nadeshiko's naginata was in motion, slashing across the bird's chest and leaving a line of black smoke in its wake. The creature screeched, then a moment later another line was scored across its neck. A moment after that Amu had a chance to see where the fires had come from; the roc's blood was literally burning, and when it hit the ground it ignited, leaving a trail of flame.

The creature was badly wounded. Amu could tell it was slowing. It was a matter of moments until it fell, and-

"Saaya!" Amu shouted, finally remembering what she'd been doing. "Are you okay?"

"I... think?"

Saaya slowly rose to her feet and Amu quickly went to help her. She looked pale and unsteady, still covered in bruises, but she was breathing easily and moving. Amu stared at her. She was also covered in honey, like someone had—oh, well, right, yes, she'd done that hadn't she. She couldn't help herself; she started laughing.

"Amu?"

"You're fine," she said.

Saaya brushed herself off, her hands still shaking. "I... don't feel fine," she muttered, "but I'm not..." she shook her head, her hand clutching at her chest. "How am I not dead?"

"Magic," Amu replied, giving her a quick hug. The honey got all over her clothes, but it wasn't like the stains would stick around.

"Magic," Saaya echoed. "Right. That makes perfect sense."

Amu giggled again, and then looked back towards the roc, only to see Nadeshiko had gotten her naginata wedged inside its chest, and was currently holding it aloft by its ribs. The creature had its wings outstretched, its feet clawing at the air, and a moment later Nadeshiko ripped the blade out sideways, slicing through the demon's rib cage. Lava sprayed everywhere, but a second later the creature's entire body began to melt and burn, falling to the ground in a pool of molten stone.

Saaya followed her gaze, and her eyes bugged out.

"Is that-"

"Yes," Amu interrupted. "Don't worry about it."

"But-"

"It's dead, isn't it?"

Saaya hesitated, but nodded. Amu giggled again, then squeezed her harder. Not actually hard. Not enough that the bruises would hurt. But she'd been so sure Saaya might die, and now she was here, and alive, and-

And she was maybe a little bit delirious.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Amu babbled, pulling Saaya closer.

"Um, Amu?" Saaya whispered, the arms settling around her.

"You're a good person. I'm not going to let you die. I'm not."

"O...kay."

Amu looked up, her attention caught by a flicker of light, and found Nadeshiko now- crap- there was another pseudo-roc. This one was smaller than the first, but already well up into the air and flying directly towards them. Nadeshiko was sprinting, but-

-the hovering naginata flew, impaling the demon. Its flight was knocked off course and a moment later Nadeshiko had jumped, catching it mid-air and using it as a foothold, jumping again to plant a second naginata's blade into its back. Wow, Amu thought.

A moment later she realised her mistake. The new pseudo-roc was smaller, yes, but that meant it was faster and more agile. It turned and twisted and a moment later it was facing the same way it'd come and Nadeshiko was in mid-air, and-

"Amu?" Saaya asked. "Are you okay? You're, uh, crying. And your face is covered in blood."

"Yeah," Amu said, a smile blooming on her face. She wiped the tears away and watched as the naginata was wrenched out, and the pseudo-roc crashed to the ground, where it promptly melted. She heard more cries coming from the portal now, from more rocs. This didn't seem like a battle Nadeshiko could win.

"Yeah," she repeated. "I'm going to help. You're okay, right?"

Saaya glanced at the roc. "I guess," she said, taking a step backwards.

"On second thought, I'm taking you to dad." Amu looked down, then blinked, and a second later her transformation faded. So did the honey, leaving Saaya looking mostly human. Mostly. The bruises hadn't faded, but the colour was lighter, and it looked like the swelling had gone down. "I should carry you," she decided, reaching for her.

"Uh," Saaya began, but was cut off by Amu scooping her up and running off.

"Hold on," Amu ordered.

"Wha- hey!" Saaya exclaimed, grabbing onto Amu's shoulders.

"Don't worry," Amu said, smiling down at her. "I'm really, really strong."

"I- okay."

Amu nodded, her smile getting a little lopsided, and a moment later—in Amu time, which right now was very, very irregular—they were near the school entrance. Dad was still arguing with someone, but they weren't important. What was important was that he was right there.

"Dad," she said, skidding to a halt.

She grinned up at him.

—

Now, it would be best to describe her appearance objectively.

Amu felt wired. Not tired at all, but like her brain was buzzing with electricity. Her muscles were full of energy, her lungs were full of air, and her skin was practically humming. That was all good and fine, except she'd just run halfway across the school grounds carrying a girl who was just about her own size.

She'd had a rough afternoon, but she was fine, really.

So why was her dad looking at her like he was going to faint?

She drew a finger across her face. It came away covered in blood. Saaya's, obviously. Her uniform was covered in dust from when the school had been collapsing on her, as well as a few tears from where she'd sprinted past rebar. And she still had some remnants of honey in her hair. Right, yes.

That had been a thing, so Amu looked like she'd just escaped a combat zone. She also looked—and felt—a little loopy. She was slowly starting to realise that.

—

"Hi, dad," Amu said, misplaced grin finally fading to a simple smile. "I need you to look after her. Okay?"

He didn't reply, so she carefully transferred Saaya's weight over to him, glancing worriedly back at Nadeshiko. She seemed to be okay, but beleaguered. There were two pseudo-rocs now, and their attacks were starting to overlap.

"Dad," Amu repeated, tugging on his arm.

"Am... Amu," he whispered.

"Yes," she agreed, nodding. "This is Saaya. She's a classmate, and she's- um." Amu looked at Saaya, who was starting to protest being lifted. "She's injured, but not bad. Can you look after her for a while? Don't let anyone remove the locket she's wearing, that's mine! She has to wear it, or she'll die. And her parents are out of town," she said, which they probably weren't.

"Amu-" he began, and stopped.

"Dad?"

She looked up at him, her thoughts catching up with reality. Dad was not having a good day.

"Amu," he repeated.

"Yes, dad. It's me. I'm here. Everything's okay." Her eyes glistened and her smile faltered. "Um. Except- can you keep an eye on Saaya, and- and tell her everything's okay, and- let me go? Because I still have to fight the, um, big flying things. Because if I don't then my friends might get hurt. Or my classmates. Okay? Please dad."

She rubbed at the blood on her face, smearing it. Why wouldn't this go away?

Her dad nodded, his arms tightening around Saaya. He was staring at Amu like he'd seen a ghost, his expression blank. She smiled again, but the tears were flowing freely, and her breath caught in her throat.

"Amu," he repeated. He'd stopped paying attention to the others, his eyes focusing solely on her.

"Dad?" she said. "It's- it's not my blood, I promise. It's Saaya's, and she's okay now, and- and I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I didn't want to scare you, I didn't mean to- I-" she stuttered, her vision blurring. "I'm sorry. But I have to go, okay? I can't- I can't stay here. I'm sorry."

She turned, her feet already in motion, and-

Amu stumbled, and felt her dad's arms close around her. She was enveloped in a warm embrace, her father's breath tickling her ear. She felt him trembling, his grip so tight that her ribs creaked.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice ragged.

She twisted around to look at Saaya, who was standing on her own two feet now, her face set in an odd expression of mixed jealousy and concern.

"Um, dad," Amu managed. "Can you take care of her? Please?"

"I wanted to take you to the park," he whispered.

"Okay. We'll go. And maybe I'll bring Utau? But I have to go."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Okay."

And for a while, the three of them stood together, and Amu did her best to hold it together. But only for a little while, because Nadeshiko was still in danger—acute danger, she literally couldn't stay here—and so she gave her father one last squeeze, and broke away.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Me too," Amu replied, smiling through the tears. She could feel his distress, but the feeling was distant, like she was watching from outside herself. Saaya was holding on to his arm and there was a crowd forming behind them, and mutterings. And one or two camera flashes. There was a part of her that wanted to run and hide, but that would mean letting down her friends. And she wouldn't do that, not ever.

She gave herself a moment to think.

Nadeshiko was fighting, now barely holding her own against two of the things. Kukai was- was on the roof? Was on the roof, carrying third-graders down. Some of the flashes were aimed at him. And Tadase was somewhere. She could still feel him inside, but the response was weaker now, like he was tiring out. She needed to get back to her friends before something happened to them.

"I love you, dad," she said, and then turned away, her legs already moving.

"I love you too," he whispered, but by then she was gone.

= = =

I decided to roll for the social interaction at the end, instead of having an interrupt for the sake of a… two paragraph update. Things seem to be going fine for Amu.

It has now been 5 minutes since the start of this situation.

[ ] Help Nadeshiko
- She's the one in active combat. She's still holding her own against two of the rocs, but who knows for how long?

[ ] Help Tadase
- Finding him is easy. Getting to him might not be, and then how do you help him?

[ ] Help Kukai
- He's searching for students who've been trapped by the collapses. You could do the same, probably better, though you're scared of what you'll find.

[ ] Try to close the rift
- It's incredibly risky, but you're not completely out of ideas. The rift is a hole. You can patch the hole.
- Difficulty 5, Stamina / Occult / Illusion. Amu will be exhausted whether or not it works.
- This is the default approach. A stunt can change how she does it, but will only be accepted if it makes a modicum of sense, and can alter the difficulty.
- What I'm trying to say is, it doesn't matter how well written the stunt is; you can't resolve this with Bureaucracy. You're not a Sidereal.

[ ] Write-in

 

[Baughn]

Not much time. That had been the watchword for today, but- not much time, so she made her decision quickly. Tadase would be okay. She could still feel him pulsing away inside the building, and he was clearly getting weaker, but Amu couldn't imagine him actually getting hurt. That wouldn't be like him at all, so she trusted him to handle himself.

Kukai was, if anything, doing too well. Every few seconds he carried another student down from the roof and there were going to be lots of photos. Not that she wanted him to leave them there, but- no, never mind, he was probably enjoying the challenge. He'd be fine.

Nadeshiko however was fighting. While Amu ran, she saw one of the demon-harpy-roc-things finally get past Nadeshiko's guard, its claws lashing out and into her side. Nadeshiko flinched but her naginata was there a moment later, slashing down, almost taking off the demon's claw and- the monster's talons were sharp, but Amu couldn't see any blood on them. Nadeshiko's kimono had been torn into ribbons though she wasn't 'dancing' like someone who'd been hurt. Maybe it had only hit her clothing?

The creature recoiled, but not fast enough to avoid a naginata to the eyes.

A moment later the second harpy swooped in to back its fellow up, but Nadeshiko's weapon was already moving to catch it. It let out a screech as it tried to brake in midair, wings beating the air frantically, and then-

Was caught by a flash of steel, slicing cleanly through the wingtip and sending the demon spinning to the ground. A moment later it crashed, and a moment after that, a second flash, and a burst of lava as the second one died. Amu couldn't pay too much attention, because three more rocs were making their way out of the building and down towards the two of them, but she'd nearly made it to Nadeshiko now and-

Okay, yes, she'd definitely had the right idea to stay here.

Closing the rift would be wonderful if she could do it, but she couldn't. She couldn't. Almost definitely not! Saaya had nearly killed herself trying, and, and-

-and it was a stupid plan, anyway.

It wasn't like she could just pretend-

"Hey!" Amu shouted, drawing Nadeshiko's attention. The other girl glanced her way, eyes widening. Her mouth opened a little as she saw the state of Amu's uniform. There was more than a little bit of blood there, wasn't there.

"Are you-" Nadeshiko began, before cutting herself off. "What are you doing here?"

Amu's mind stuttered, her mouth hanging open. A moment later she shook her head.

"Helping," she answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "It's, uh, not my blood. I'm fine. Mostly. Um. What do you need?"

Nadeshiko was still looking at her, her expression unreadable. Then her eyes flicked back to the building. Amu didn't need to turn to know the new group of demons was getting close. The sudden shift in Nadeshiko's posture was clear enough.

"Watch my back," she decided.

"Right."

It took Amu just a moment's focus to project her not-a-magical-girl-outfit, her clothes transforming into something a little more appropriate for a fight. And maybe a little less appropriate for being outside her house, she thought, cringing slightly as the photographers came to mind. She'd never thought of it that way but she'd never gotten photographed while wearing it either! She could practically feel the cameras going off.

That wasn't to say it was immodest, exactly. Her outfit was a riotous combination of a green bodice with a pink, floofy skirt. The top covered her chest, and the bottom covered her hips and her legs, so it wasn't like she was indecent. It was just...

Nadeshiko snuck a glance her way, her lips quirking upwards fondly.

The outfit was just really childish, wasn't it?

"I know, I know," Amu muttered, her cheeks reddening. "I didn't have a lot of time."

Nadeshiko giggled, and turned back towards the building, a new lance appearing in her hand.

"I think you look nice," she said.

Amu felt her cheeks heating, and her mind stalled.

"Um, thanks," she murmured.

And that was another whole thing, because 'Nadeshiko' was actually Nagihiko, a boy, even if she was acting and looking like a rather cool girl right now, and- and- and it wasn't important! Demons! Fighting!

⁂

Two teenagers were harder for the monsters to deal with than one, even if one of them was tired.

Amu didn't have a weapon. That was, she didn't have a bladed weapon like Nadeshiko. She did have a club, and there were broken branches from the trees lying all over the place, so realistically she always had a weapon. If they'd had the time, they could have had a bonfire. Which was the sort of thing she shouldn't be thinking about, but her brain was really having trouble settling down.

The two rocs dived down, screeching in a way that made Amu instinctively flinch back, but then her mind latched onto a piece of wood stuck in the ground and flung it up towards the demon. It was an inaccurate throw, but sufficient to hold it off while Nadeshiko spun the weapon around her position. The harpy in front went down in a shower of black feathers, the weapon impaled straight through its torso. They weren't getting weaker, Amu thought. Nadeshiko was getting better at fighting them.

The second swooped towards Amu. Later on she'd remember only glimpses. Sharp claws and burning eyes, and-

She grasped a club that hadn't existed a moment ago—the heart rod, demoted to bludgeoning weapon—then flung it up hard enough that both her muscles and mind burned. It shot up and caught the thing in the chest, its claws bare millimetres from her skin. There was a screech, and a crunch, and her arm went numb from the impact. She felt its claws rake across her arm, trying to cling as it was sent flying, but the damage wasn't much. She could fix—did fix it, though—she felt a burning, bone-deep ache in her arm as the flesh knitted itself back together, blood soaking through the dress the demon had just cut to shreds, but she had too much adrenaline in her system to stop.

In the meantime three more of the monsters winged their way towards them. She spared a moment's thought in gratitude that it was only three, only a few at a time, and that they didn't go for the other-

She corrected herself, catching a glimpse of Makoto—her classmate—and two others standing between another roc and a group of possible second-graders. There were more demons. She just hadn't seen them. Makoto shouted something angry, while behind her a girl Amu swore she'd seen at lunch was lying on the ground, pale and motionless. A fifth girl was bandaging her with- was that frozen light? It looked like the moon-shard in her bedroom.

The demon went for Makoto, then had a wing ripped off for its trouble. A sharp bang- an electrical arc skittered across Makoto's skin- Makoto screamed, though the demon got ripped to pieces.

Amu looked away. Down. Then stepped back sharply; the ground underneath her was starting to melt. She cast a desperate glance at Nadeshiko, who nodded. They stepped sideways, away from the trees. And lava.

Then the trio that were winging towards them were there, almost upon them, so the next moments were a blur of motion. Her mind seized on another broken piece of wood laying at her feet. It was only a moment's effort to send it flying upwards with as much force as she could manage—it shattered mid-air, but—the almost supersonic shards of wood caught the demon in the gut with a sickening, staccato of wet impacts.

The creature let out a scream. A second later the air was filled with burning black feathers as it tried to twist away, its body sheared nearly in half.

The lava-like blood spilled towards her. She caught it on a telekinetic umbrella. A few drops still touched down in her hair, setting it on fire.

She patted it out. Her hair was left a little singed but otherwise unharmed.

That had been exhausting. She couldn't do it again.

Nadeshiko's blade took another demon's head clean off, the body falling neatly to the side, molten blood igniting the ground to her friend's side.

She tried to be smarter with the third one. As it winged its way towards her, Amu conjured the thickest pair of jump-ropes she possibly could, capped at the end with the largest jawbreakers she could manage. The roc was moving fast, though, so the bolas she lobbed at it weren't especially accurate. The demon managed to dodge to the side, and the first one missed, though the second one clipped the tip of one wing, causing the demon to falter in mid-air.

The roc screeched triumphantly, turning on its side to dive towards them, and-

Amu grinned a little madly as she watched the monster's expression falter. A moment later it realised its mistake, but by that time the makeshift bola was already hurtling towards it from behind under the control of her telekinesis, and the only thing it could do was scream.

A second later the bola's weighty, hard jawbreaker slammed into its back, wrapping its wings together and sending it careening until it slammed into the ground. Amu didn't give it a chance to recover, but sprayed it with sticky, goopy honey, pinning it to the ground.

Nadeshiko's naginata flicked, the range put to artful use. That was three more demons dead.

Three more packs took off from the rift. Amu's breath caught in her throat as she watched the demons fly, a dozen black specks rising above the school grounds. She glanced back towards her dad, who was standing there impotently. Holding Saaya, who seemed to have fallen unconscious. She could see some students running for cover, or just running away, and- and-

She staggered. It took her a moment to recover.

She looked at Nadeshiko, who was also staring upwards. For a moment her friend's composure broke. Nadeshiko's fingers whitened on the hilt of her naginata as she took a deep breath, and-

More of her classmates were organising themselves. In the distance she saw Utau, dressed in a gym uniform, her face set and focused. She was standing with a small crowd of girls Amu had never seen before.

An intangible pulse rose from the grade-school building. A single one of the demons screeched, seizing in jittery, spasmodic flight, and then it fell. It hit the concrete roof head-first, though Amu couldn't tell if it was unconscious or-

"Hey!" she shouted at the remaining demons. "Over here!"

She punctuated her shout with a glob of honey.

It fell a good two dozen metres short, but it was the intention that counted. One of the packs wheeled around, and began making their way towards them.

Nadeshiko shifted her weight, her stance lowering.

The second pack didn't join the first. Instead it banked, turning away and towards the high school. The third pack split; a few of the demons followed the second, while the rest continued on towards Amu and Nadeshiko. This wasn't... optimal. Nadeshiko threw her a worried glance, but Amu was a bit too busy to pay it any mind. She'd decided the situation had a simple fix. They couldn't let the demons notice Kukai, still busy on the roof, so-

She stretched out her hand, trying to pretend like she was holding a gun, and fired a pair of bolas at the incoming flight.

Then another.

She missed the first shot , but the second was more successful. One of the demons slammed into a tree with a screech, punctuated with snapping branches and shattering bones. Another demon plummeted to the ground and was pinned by a glob of honey, its wings glued down. A third was knocked off course, and then a fourth-

She was getting the hang of this. Her mind burned, but she was getting the hang of this.

Amu didn't bother watching to see if they were killed or not; she left that to Nadeshiko. Instead she settled in to play anti-air, keeping them from swooping down to attack them—well helped by repeated pulses from what she was sure was Hikaru, slamming into the demons' minds and causing them to falter. She could practically see his smug grin from here, and-

"How many are there?" Amu wondered, not really asking anyone.

The other pack, however, didn't make a move towards her or Nadeshiko. Instead they turned and started towards the high school, where Utau was waiting for them. Amu couldn't see it well from here, and didn't have the time to spare in any case, but she spotted repeated beams of pure telekinetic force peppering the sky from the corner of her eye.

Then the rift pulsed. A loud crack filled the air and Amu was thrown to the ground by the sheer force of it, her ears ringing. For a moment she could only stare up at the sky, her thoughts disordered. A huge block of concrete tumbled past. It crashed into the ground nearby, crushing the remains of one of the demons she'd just killed.

When she looked up again, she saw a hole in reality.

It was the same size as the rift, except it wasn't there. Her eyes refused to focus on it. A darkness so absolute that it wasn't darkness at all. It was a hole in the world. The school around it flickered like a broken television, red-and-green-and-blue-and-purple light spilling from the gap, and-

Her head hurt.

She slowly got to her feet. Her legs were shaking.

No more demons seemed to be coming. She cast a glance towards the high school.

The other flight had been decimated. There were two demons still in the air, but as she thought that she saw one of them caught in a burst of fire.

Fire? Fire. Not Utau, then. Amu turned in a circle, searching for more enemies, and found nothing. A burning tree crackled in the background. Continuing her turn, she saw a group of trucks just skidding to a halt in- in the middle of the garden.

One of them had sirens blaring.

Amu hadn't heard it until now.

She was barely hearing it now. Her ears rang. Her head ached. She was tired. So very, very tired.

Someone was shouting, and-

"Are you okay?" Amu asked, turning towards Nadeshiko.

"Fine," she replied. Her voice was steady, despite the blood on her clothes. She was staring at the rift, her grip on her weapon slack. "I think," she added a moment later, and then shook her head.

"Me too," Amu whispered.

Nadeshiko let out a weak chuckle, her posture slumping a little, leaning on the naginata.

"Is it over?" Amu asked.

"I hope so," Nadeshiko murmured.

They kept watch on the rift until a group of men and women in dark fatigues and helmets approached them, carrying guns. Amu slumped to the ground. Really, she ought to have been scared. Or at least worried. But all she could muster was a mild curiosity.

They stepped right past her, anyhow.

Amu turned her attention back towards the rift, watching as they set up a barricade, as well as some kind of machinery. A few remaining demons had attacked, and been shot down. She watched as the hole in the world flickered, the image of the school behind it stuttering.

A woman dressed in a lab coat with short black hair implausibly set in twintails started gesticulating up at it, talking in an excited tone to a man wearing a black suit, but Amu couldn't quite make herself pay attention.

She looked away.

The school was a mess. There were chunks missing from the building, and even if the worst had been dealt with, there were still injured students. She could still feel Tadase inside the building, apparently trapped. There were a lot of paramedics running about and she could hear people shouting, but her attention was caught by something else.

Makoto was sitting on the ground, next to the girl who'd been hurt, a worried frown on her face.

Amu stared for a moment, then blinked. She could heal Makoto's friend. That was-

No, she couldn't.

Her mind ached at the thought of doing pretty much anything.

She dropped back onto the grass, staring at the sky, which was still how she'd last seen it, clear and sunny.

Then she closed her eyes.

⁂

She woke up a few minutes later, staring up at a man(?) roughly Ikuto's age. He was dressed in all black. Black boots. Black pants. Even a black jacket, with a black cape. White hair and white gloves, though. And the outfit was actually kind of cool-looking, she had to admit.

He spared barely a glance for Nadeshiko, still sitting with the lance on her knees.

"Himamori Amu," he said. It wasn't a question.

She blinked, staring at him.

"Yes?" she asked, a moment later.

His eyes were dark, and his lips pressed into a thin line. He wasn't happy, that much was obvious. But he didn't seem upset with her. They took in her appearance, singed and covered in blood, and his expression shifted into a slight frown. At some stage her transformation had worn off, revealing her school uniform, which was torn and stained, and-

"Do you know why we're here?"

She shook her head.

"To deal with the rift?" she hazarded, glancing over at the black hole in the world.

"There is also that," he agreed, "but I was asked to come here by my... cousin. She can be very- insistent."

His lips quirked upwards.

"Ah," Amu murmured, and sat up. She rubbed at her eyes, and her fingers came away wet. She wiped them off on her skirt, then rubbed her eyes some more. She wasn't crying, she didn't think. Her eyes were just full of soot, and now she wasn't fighting anymore, her body felt heavy. She wanted a nap.

"Don't do that," the boy… man? Teenager? -snapped. "You'll hurt yourself. Here, pour this on your eyes."

A moment later he handed her a bottle of water.

"Right," Amu said, her voice slurred. She blinked a few times, but- no, the tears weren't going away. She stared at it blankly for a moment, her mind going blank, and then nodded. She did her best to pour it on her eyes, and-

She let out a little yelp as the pain hit. The water was freezing, and-

"What is this?" she demanded. "Ice-cold water?!"

"Obviously," the man replied, his voice flat.

Amu glared up at him, then at the offending bottle, which it seemed he'd gotten from a vending machine.

"This is cruel and unusual punishment," she accused, but he just shrugged, throwing a second bottle at Nadeshiko. Amu went back to cleaning her eyes, and-

Oh.

Oh, yes, that was a good idea.

It took a while, and her eyes stayed sore and bloodshot, but her vision cleared up.

"Thank you," she muttered, blinking her eyes open. "What's your name?"

"Hotsuin Yamato," he replied, then paused. Amu didn't fill the silence. She was feeling more alert, but that only made her realise just how tired she was. She wanted to sleep. "Himamori," he said after a moment. "Do you remember what happened?"

She tilted her head, frowning at him.

"The Yamamoto girl-" He almost bit out the name, like it had an unpleasant taste. His mind stunk of annoyance. "-broke every rule in the book to get us here just one minute earlier, and she was right to do so. Can you tell us what happened?"

Amu hesitated. She remembered a lot of things that had happened, but...

= = =

I can't imagine why Amu would consider her outfit at all childish.

Spoiler: Amu's outfit

The fight seems to be over, but here comes the aftermath. You have a number of decisions to make, and I think this is going to be a plan vote—so start your votes with "[X] Plan Foobar"—but here's a number of points you should probably hit.

- Hotsuin wants to know what's going on.
[ ] Try to get away. You have a dad to go back to. Among others.
[ ] Tell him as little as possible.
[ ] Avoid mention of Saaya, specifically.
[ ] Avoid mention of how you personally function.
[ ] Avoid mention of <insert friend group here>.
[ ] Avoid mention of exactly how you think the rift got started.

- Tadase seems to be trapped inside the building.
[ ] Just point out that he's trapped.
[ ] Do that, but also explain how helpful he was.
— At least, Amu assumes he was being helpful. It's plausible.

- Demon fight
[ ] Explain as little as possible
[ ] Explain what exactly you did
[ ] Leave it to Nadeshiko

- Utau is probably ready to tear her hair out. You can try to get some word to her, though at this range a burst of emotion is about the best you can do. Alternately you can shout at her.
[ ] Ask her to come help
[ ] Warn her away.

- Ami is outside as well and feeling very proud, you can feel it from here.
[ ] Warn her away? It's unclear if that'll work.
[ ] Punt her towards dad? It's also unclear if that'll work.

- Miki is probably headed your way.
[ ] Let her. You can use the support.
[ ] Warn her away.

- Hotsuin would probably accept being asked some questions in return.
[ ] Ask some!
— Which ones?
[ ] Don't. You're tired.

= = =

As you can see, there are entirely too many possible options for a traditional voting setup. Don't feel too bothered if you miss some important element; I'll think up options that fit with whatever vote wins.

 

[Baughn]

She lacked the energy to object. And if she were being honest, the reason as well. The only reason Amu might have objected to Hotsuin's question was simple obstinance, that of a child not feeling sure adults were ever really on her side,but... she didn't want to be that child. Not really. Not now. She didn't have the energy for a facade.

"Okay," she said. She closed her eyes. It was easier than meeting his gaze.

She was sitting on the ground, her eyes sore and bloodshot, her muscles aching, her clothes ripped and burnt, and- and she'd had a long day. She was tired. That was all.

She opened her eyes again.

"Where to start?" she wondered.

Hotsuin didn't reply, but he did catch her eyes. He was looking rather intensely at her eyes, actually. She blearily blinked and then shook her head.

"Right," she muttered. "Sorry. Um. Do you mind if I ask my friend to come here?" And then, without waiting for a response, she raised her voice. "Utau! I need to talk to you!"

There was a pause, and then a burst of movement from the crowd, and a few moments later Utau was pushing through. Her cheeks were red, her face was sweaty, and there was a smear of blood on her skirt, but otherwise she looked fine. Until she saw Amu, and then-

Amu winced.

"You're alive," Utau said. "Are you- of course you're not okay. You look like- you look like hell. Are you hurt?"

Amu smiled at her, but it was a wan, watery thing.

"I'm glad to see you, too," she said, her voice cracking. "I'm fine. Just scratched."

Utau knelt in front of her, her hands twitching uselessly at her side, before finally reaching out. She slowly embraced Amu, her grip light and careful.

"I was afraid," Utau admitted, her voice quiet.

Amu hugged her back, a little tighter than perhaps was comfortable. Utau's body heat felt nice, and the touch grounded her. Amu rested her chin on the taller girl's shoulder, and just breathed.

"Sorry," Amu murmured.

"Idiot," Utau retorted. She pulled back, her expression fierce, but her eyes were misty. "Never mind that." She looked at Hotsuin, her expression puzzled. Then at Nadeshiko, who was leaning against her naginata, and beyond her, to the rift and all the various gesticulating... uniformed people. "What happened? We all felt something- weird, a little while ago. Then there was an explosion at your school, and... oh, Amu."

"I believe that's something we'd all like to know," Hotsuin smoothly interjected. He sounded a little stressed. "If we're going to resolve this- incident, we'll need a clear explanation of how it started."

He looked towards the middle school building, where the rift was still there, although weirdly pixelated—it shimmered as though overlaid with a soap bubble. The building, however, was done for. Fragments of concrete and other rubble still occasionally tumbled down from the roof, the entire thing was cracked, and-

A woman with short twintails was setting up some kind of oversized computer, which looked completely out of place on the damaged, broken pavement in front of the building. Several of the uniform-looking people they'd come with were carrying boxes of equipment back and forth, though none of it looked familiar to Amu.

Amu blinked, and then rubbed at her eyes, the water and her tiredness combining into a bad case of eyestrain. It all looked very official. And expensive.

She'd broken the school. And possibly reality. And at least one boy had died.

Amu didn't have time to get properly depressed, though, because Utau was right there, in her head, strenuously objecting to the very idea of blaming herself. It wasn't her fault! It was those- demons. The rift. All of it. They weren't having a conversation, not really—they were too tired for that, and Kana could've easily pulled her side of a conversation but Utau wasn't good at it—but Utau was bullying her, refusing to let her spiral into the loop of self-blame Amu knew she probably deserved.

And Amu was too tired to disagree.

She didn't want to, even. The feeling was a little weird, and she thought some fragments of Saaya might have gotten stuck to her. She needed time to process, and work that out, and- Hotsuin wasn't giving it to her.

"Okay," Amu said. "Okay. So. The thing. Um. I can't promise to know everything, but- I guess- yeah."

Hotsuin gave her a look.

"I'll explain everything I can," she said, shoving her thoughts into a kind of order. She leaned a bit harder against Utau."This is my best friend, Nikaidou Utau. She was involved in the fight, so I think it would be better if she hears this too. And, um, this is Fujisaki Nadeshiko." She motioned vaguely. "She was also fighting."

"Fujisaki," Hotsuin murmured. He turned towards her. "You're one of their 'daughters', then?"

Amu could plainly hear the undertones. Nadeshiko clearly could as well; she stiffened a little.

"Yes," she said. "And who are you?"

She didn't mean his name, obviously. Hotsuin hmm'd, a thoughtful sound, but didn't immediately answer. He looked around, fiddled with his phone, then seemed to come to a decision.

"JPs," he said. "We're an organisation that handles occult-related incidents."

Amu blinked.

"What, like... the government?"

Hotsuin's lips twitched.

"Part of it, yes. Officially."

Amu frowned.

"And unofficially?"

"Unofficially," he replied, "we still handle occult-related incidents. You can ask Lulu about it, as I'm sure you will regardless. Let her know I've told you she can talk. She'll feel less guilty about doing what she'd no doubt do regardless."

"Ah."

"As for myself," he continued, "I am the Chief. In practice, that means I make the final decisions."

Amu wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

"Hm." Hotsuin nodded, and then turned back towards Amu.

"So," Amu said. "Um." She took a deep breath. "First, the rift is- the rift might be my fault." Utau's hug strengthened slightly, though she said nothing. "I was having an argument with my friend, Yamabuki Saaya. She's... over there," Amu said, motioning vaguely towards her father. Who, though he was a bit far away for her still blurry eyes, seemed to have trouble deciding whether to watch her or the girl he was carrying. Saaya was still unconscious and Amu knew she ought to worry about that.

And she did. It was a sharp, fragmented sort of worry, because this just wasn't the first time she'd hurt Saaya. Or that Saaya had hurt her, for that matter. She'd thought of the other girl as a bully—like the princess types from her old grade-school, the ones that never really cared about anyone—but she'd been wrong. Or had she? Saaya had been a showoff, not much else. But no, this wasn't the time. She was explaining.

"The rift just- appeared," she said, her words coming out in a rush. "Between us, while we were shouting at each other. I- I think Saaya did something, and I parried it, and somehow it made the rift."

There was a long pause.

"Is that possible?" Utau asked.

"Unfortunately," Hotsuin agreed. "Although not with the force of two middle-schoolers, no matter how gifted."

Amu flinched, her cheeks reddening, and then slumped a little. She hadn't thought about it, but- Hotsuin was probably right. That was a stupid idea.

"That doesn't mean you weren't the final straw," Hotsuin added after a moment.

Amu blinked, and looked up at him. He looked back, straight in her eyes, his own slowly narrowing. It was uncomfortable, so she looked away, and-

"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice small.

Hotsuin didn't answer. Instead he kept studying her, his mouth set in a frown. Not like he was angry at her, though. More like he was... puzzled? Confused? She couldn't see his mind properly, and she was too tired to try. There was something like foggy glass panes between them and Amu wasn't sure she liked it. But he seemed confused, because-

"What happened next?" he asked.

-well, because he was talking like he was, mostly. Amu suspected she wasn't good at reading tones of voice, but that one was 'confusion', right? That was how people sounded on the TV when they were confused. He was asking simple questions, but his eyes kept flitting between her and Utau like he wasn't sure what he was seeing.

"We ran away," she said. "I had to drag her out, but the rift was getting bigger, and- the school was full of children, but Saaya was hurt. So once we'd gotten outside I helped her sit down, and- well, I healed her. She was coughing up blood," Amu said for an explanation. 'Healed her' was a super-oversimplification, but she couldn't remember what she'd been doing, mostly. It didn't make sense in her mind. Maybe she'd work it out later.

"Was that when the demons appeared?" Hotsuin prompted.

Amu looked uncertainly up at the rift.

"Um. I don't think so. Tadase was still indoors, holding it back-" She paled. "Tadase! He's still in there! Somewhere under the rubble." She tried struggling to her feet, and-

"Stay here," Hotsuin told her. "We'll deal with it."

"But-"

He didn't give her time to argue, because he was already speaking on his radio and Utau didn't let her go. Amu ran through her mental checklist of friends, then paled a bit more. Kukai! Kukai was—she looked around—over there, by the rubble, helping a pained-looking boy up onto a stretcher. He was fine.

"It's not your responsibility. You've done enough," Utau murmured, and Amu sagged against her.

"Yeah," Amu whispered. "Maybe."

She stared up at the rift. It was oddly pretty. So like a soap bubble. She blinked, and her vision blurred a little. Her eyelids were heavy.

"Amu?" Utau asked. "Hey, don't fall asleep yet."

"'m not," Amu mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. "M'just... resting."

"Right," Utau said, and shifted position a little, settling her chin on the top of Amu's head. "Just don't fall asleep yet, okay? Not until we know what's going on. And we can find a nurse."

"I'm not hurt," Amu muttered.

"Let someone else be the judge of that," Utau told her.

Amu grumbled something wordless, and then blinked. She was looking at a pair of shoes. Nice black shoes. And black pants. And-

She tilted her head back a little and was confronted with the sight of a very unsure looking Hotsuin. As well as Miki, and- Ami, her little sister, her eyes wide and scared as she looked around at the ruined school, at-

At Amu.

Amu struggled—and failed—to get to her feet, her thoughts jumbling together. She didn't want to look like this in front of her little sister. She didn't want her to be scared. And- and…

A small limpet stuck itself to her front.

Amu froze, then a moment later hugged her sister back. Ami was tearing up. Her mind at least was an open book and Amu could tell the smaller girl was afraid, but- but relieved. And proud. And… a dozen other emotions. She wasn't quite able to understand the mix of feelings, though, because her own emotions were getting mixed in there—she wasn't quite awake enough to sort out who was who. But Ami could tell she wasn't hurt, not seriously, and-

Amu hugged her sister, her eyes squeezed shut, and tried not to cry.

"I'm okay," Amu said, her voice rough, for the third time that day.

"Yeah," Ami mumbled. "'neechan, there was a monster! And it was a big one, and it was all like 'rarr!' and- and then- and then there was fire, and-"

"And Ami killed it," Miki interjected, her tone heavy.

"It was hurting Micchan," Ami said, her voice quiet. "'neechan, there was lots, and… yes… I killed them. So did Hikaru. And Yukari."

Amu just hugged her tighter, and looked up at Miki. Her other self was frowning.

"It was," Ami insisted, her voice getting stronger. "And 'neechan was fighting, and she was hurt, and- and I helped. Oneechan... you're okay? You're not hurt?"

"Not- not badly," Amu managed. "Just scuffed. I'm- I'm sorry."

"'sokay," Ami mumbled, and pulled back a little. Her eyes were still a little teary but her face was determined. "You're really tired, and sore." She looked at Miki. "Help her."

Miki let out a sigh, and settled down on Amu's shoulder instead. That freed up her sightline to Hotsuin again, reminding her that—yes, he was here, and- and he was looking at Miki, completely unbothered by Miki being a four inch tall flying mini-Amu with blue hair.

"Wish I could, but I think the only thing that can help her is sleep. Don't worry, little sis," she added, looking down at Ami. "She's fine."

'Fine enough', Miki added mentally. 'Amu, what the heck? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?'

'I'm not,' Amu replied. She looked up, and her cheeks reddened. 'I'm sorry, Miki. I was-'

'I can hear you, you know.' Ami pouted.

"We'll sit on you if we have to," Utau added. "You'll be fine."

Amu blinked, and looked down.

'You'll get photographed if you stay here,' she told them. 'Dad's here. So's a lot of reporters.'

Utau and Ami glanced over, and then shared a look.

'Neat!' said Ami. And a "So?" from Utau. They weren't leaving; they didn't even need to say. Amu felt a little silly from thinking that they might have, and… and she didn't really want them to go. They were warm and comforting.

"Thanks," she said.

"Yeah, yeah," Utau said.

Amu let out a chuckle. A moment later she realised that- yeah, she was tired, and Hotsuin was still expectantly looking at her, but Utau was still holding her and Ami was radiating relief at her. It felt good, and- she blinked, realising she'd lost a few seconds, and now Hotsuin was clearing his throat at them.

"Is this a poor time?" he asked, a little sarcastically.

"No, sorry," Amu said, her cheeks heating. She pulled herself upright. "Sorry. Just- tired. What was I saying?"

Hotsuin seemed to struggle with himself. After a moment he relaxed slightly, seeming to accept her answer.

"You said your friend, Yamabuki, was injured, and that you healed her. I have a mountain of questions, but—as I don't wish to spend time being shouted at—I'll keep them to a minimum." He sounded grumpy, which Amu thought looked out of character. Then again, she didn't trust her own judgement right now. "Keep your answers limited to anything you feel I should know, anything about the rift and anything about the demons you were fighting. Anything else can wait. Although I do have one other question..."

His eyes fixed on Miki.

"What are you?"

"Me?" Miki pointed at herself, her eyebrows raising.

"Yes."

"I'm... her," Miki said, motioning at Amu. "Well, part of her. One of her. Um." She glanced at Amu. "A chara. Name's Miki."

"Short for 'character', yes. There's another word for that." Hotsuin frowned, staring at Amu's eyes again. She was getting really uncomfortable with that stare. "Miki," he said, a moment later. "Who is Himamori Amu to you?"

Miki's eyebrows furrowed. "The name's Hinamori."

"Ah." Hotsuin didn't apologise, though Amu could feel a faint, muted sense of embarrassment. "Hinamori Amu, then. Who is she to you?"

"She's- my friend. And... my sister," Miki added. "It's complicated. We're the same person. Well, kinda. She's my true self, that's- she always was."

"Ah," Hotsuin said again. He looked towards Amu. "And she's... sane?"

Amu blinked.

"Er," she said, her mind blanking.

"Ignore that," he ordered. "It's plainly obvious. Two impossibilities in one day... and yet, not. How strange. What happened after you healed your friend?"

So she told him, and then she told him everything she remembered from being next to the rift—every little detail, even the weird mindspace ones she doubted he'd get, though he nodded along anyway. Nadeshiko took over shortly thereafter; she'd had a much better view of the demons and had actually managed to kill several of them. Utau had only seen the stragglers, but she'd taken down a handful herself. Ami, of course, had to take the opportunity to brag about her kills, and-

Hotsuin had stopped paying attention to her, because Nadeshiko, Ami and Utau were all talking over each other and trying to make sure that- that their parts in the fight were described properly, so Amu was slumping down in Utau's arms,her eyelids heavy, and-

She blinked.

And Hotsuin was walking away.

"Wait!" she called, forcing herself back into wakefulness. He glanced at her. "Saaya is- I have to-"

"She'll have a doctor look her over. The paramedics have already arrived," he added, motioning at a few ambulance-people, who were indeed hurrying back and forth with stretchers. There were an awful lot of stretchers. And kids on the stretchers. Amu hoped they were mostly okay, but- but- some of them, she couldn't feel at all.

She let out a little sigh, and rubbed at her eyes.

"She's hurt," she told Hotsuin, her eyes pleading. "I used the humpty lock to hold her mind together. It's, um, a small locket—she's wearing it around her neck. If they take it off she'll die."

"Ah," Hotsuin murmured. He was giving her an odd look.

"Can you have them look at her without taking the locket off? I don't know how it works, but Tsukasa—the headmaster—he might."

"Very well," he agreed after a pause. "I'll make sure it's taken care of. If you'll excuse me..." He took a half-step away, then stopped, sighing. Once again he seemed to struggle with himself before coming to a decision.

"Thank you," Hotsuin told her. His words were flat, emotionless, and yet there was a sincerity to them. "We'll do what we can do for your friend and your classmates. If she's taken mental damage then I assure you there are no doctors on the planet better suited for treating it than ours."

"Th-thanks," Amu said, blinking. He gave her a last nod, then hurried off, his hands on his phone.

Amu stared after him, wondering- and then-

He argued with a white-clad woman—she looked like a doctor—and then came right back, right as Utau was pulling her—half lifting her—to her feet. Amu's head was swimming by this point. The only reason she didn't fall over was Utau. She staggered on her feet, her head spinning.

Why was he back?

"Amu," Hotsuin said. Amu blinked at him and tried to focus. He sighed. "I have been told that I often miss the obvious. When you said that you were fine, I believed you." He looked at her, and she had a feeling she ought to be worried, because he looked annoyed. "This was obviously false. Would you like to go with your friend?"

To the hospital, he meant.

= = =

I mean, define 'hospital'.

[ ] Yes
- Amu is not okay. This is the only sensible choice in any reasonable universe. I'm not sure you live in one, and neither are you.
- Utau will certainly object to letting her go alone.

[ ] No
- Amu is fine, honest!
- Truthfully, there are no long-term drawbacks to her health if you choose this. The question here is whether or not you want to go with Saaya, on the face of it.

[ ] Write-in

 

[Baughn]

She said yes, obviously.

And then she fell asleep, so she didn't remember any of the trip. She woke up once, briefly, as someone lifted her onto a stretcher, and was about to struggle against them when-

Utau was there, holding her hand. Amu squeezed it.

She drifted. The stretcher was a nice smooth ride and the gentle motions made her sleepy, even in her dreams. Sometimes she heard her father's voice, or Ami's. Utau disappeared after a while. Amu would have liked her to come too, but her sleepy mind admitted that she wasn't family. Despite their history. Even though Amu would quite like her to be. Utau's golden hair would fit nicely in with her pink and blue.

That was a dream. But it was a nice one, one she clung to even as her mind fell further and further into the depths of sleep. Sirens rang in the background. She wasn't sure what it was. Probably nothing important.

She stayed asleep for quite some time.

⁂

Amu woke up.

Her ears rang. Her head ached, if not nearly as badly as it had the last time she remembered being awake—back at school with Utau hovering over her. Speaking of which, where was she? Or Utau?

She sat up, blinking slowly as she looked around. White walls. Teal floor, and a soft, syncopated beeping in the background, sounding somehow dulled. She'd been moved while she was asleep, which was maybe obvious, but... the memories were still coming back to her. She'd been completely exhausted; that was for sure, and Amu couldn't quite make sense of half of what she remembered from back there.

Oh, the impressions were there. The demons. Saaya, coughing up blood. Her father. Hotsuin. Saaya. Saaya!

Amu tried to sit up. She made it halfway before she was stopped by a gentle tug on her left arm. She turned her head, and-

A drip was connected to her arm, as well as- a number of other things. Monitors. Heart rate. Blood pressure. Oxygen levels. There was a needle under her skin. Amu's heart started beating faster. What was this? Why-

She didn't want to panic, but-

Then her eyes refocused and she saw Saaya sleeping in the bed sitting across from her.

Amu went still, and her breathing slowed. Saaya was alive. Alive. She was alive.

There was a small, black box next to the bed, sitting on a side table, with a single button and a speaker, as well as a paper note saying 'Push this if you're awake'.

Amu didn't push it.

Instead, she leaned back into the pillows and took the opportunity to study her surroundings. She was in a hospital room, and the beeping was, in fact, the sound of her heart. She'd- she'd survived. She hadn't felt scared at the time, not really. Not about her own survival. She'd had to save her friends, and the rest of the students. And the teachers, and the janitor, and everyone. It was kind of silly to have thought that, looking back on it, but...

She had saved Saaya, hadn't she..?

Amu sat up without stretching the wires attached to her arm, dropping one foot off the bed to balance on, then looked over at the girl sleeping in the other bed. She was wearing a thin, off-green hospital gown. Her skin was pale. Her hair had been cut, the long, wavy strands trimmed down to something like a buzzcut. There was a bandage on her head, and-

Her right arm was in a cast.

Amu couldn't see anything else, because the blankets were pulled up and hiding everything, but she could definitely feel the Humpty Lock underneath it—still sitting on Saaya's chest. A weight settled onto her shoulders and then Miki was settling herself onto her hair, and Amu looked up at her.

"Morning," Miki whispered. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Amu said. "My head's a little sore, but- not as bad as it was."

Miki nodded and settled a little further onto Amu's hair. Amu took the hint, relaxing a little.

"What happened? After I fell asleep?"

Miki paused for a moment.

"They took you to the hospital," she said. "You and Saaya, though Dad and Ami went along. Utau tried but-" Miki shrugged. "She wasn't allowed. They checked her out on the spot and let her go."

"She wasn't hurt, wasn't she?" Amu asked, her eyes darkening.

"A bit. She didn't even notice, so- not very badly, just some scrapes. I made Eru promise to keep an eye on her. She's been back a couple times."

Amu said nothing.

"The school's closed, by the way." Miki sighed. "Ami says the news have been reporting it as a gas explosion, but I caught Dad going over photos of demons while he was sitting here waiting for you to wake up, and I bet he's not the only one. He's a little shaken though," Miki added. "And they're definitely demons. I overheard the people in black—JPs—calling them that."

"I think I'm gonna have nightmares for the next week," Amu muttered.

"Same."

Amu looked over at Saaya, and Miki patted her shoulder.

"They'll figure it out. You did what you had to, Amu. We all did."

Amu swallowed. "Ami?"

"She's fine. She was really brave. She's with Dad, and- yeah."

"That's good," Amu whispered. "That's good. That's- Miki, she said she killed them. The demons. That's- that's wrong. She's a kid."

Miki didn't say anything.

Amu sat there for a while, staring blankly at the wall. Then her stomach growled, and her cheeks heated. She'd been sleeping for… she had no idea how long, but she was hungry. She'd missed dinner, and breakfast, and-

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Um, about a week," Miki said.

Amu's jaw dropped.

"They're probably gonna want to keep you in here a little bit longer," Miki added. "They had you on sedatives. Just to make sure, and-" She shook her head. "Your mind felt a little… weird, after the fight, and I've been a little dazed myself. Your cellphone's in the cupboard, by the way, but it isn't working here. I think we're underground somewhere."

"Oh," Amu said.

She turned to Saaya again, and this time she closed her eyes to focus on her. There were- there were bits missing. Saaya's mind had been cracked and broken, not so much 'hurt' as- 'jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces missing'. It was...

Broken. Burned.

Broken, and held together by a series of tiny, delicate, glittering threads. The Humpty Lock, presumably. It felt that way. She was too scared to actually touch the threads, though. There were a lot of them, and they looked very, very delicate. One wrong move, and-

Amu didn't know. Even the simple effort of looking at her was making her head hurt. Literally, not metaphorically.

But she was sure that whatever was left of Saaya wouldn't be the same, if she broke them.

"They said something about grade five mental abrasion," Miki told her. Amu opened her eyes and looked up at her.

"Which is... what?"

"Something to do with magic." Miki sighed. "Whatever that means to them. The same doctor said you had grade one, which is why they put you in here together. The room is supposed to help."

"Help?" Amu echoed.

"With healing," Miki clarified. "I think. I don't know. And they ran out of rooms. Amu, are you feeling alright?"

Amu glanced at Saaya, her eyebrows furrowed. Saaya hadn't moved. Her chest rose and fell, but- otherwise, nothing. Her face was blank, her eyes shut, and her mind was mostly silent. It felt a little like she was asleep. But it also didn't.

"Will she- be okay?"

Miki hesitated.

"We did our best," she finally said.

Amu bit her lip, but didn't argue. She was still tired, so she laid back down on the bed, and Miki wobbled onto her lap. Amu petted her and then closed her eyes, and-

Instantly fell asleep.

Again.

⁂

She was a princess, and princesses were supposed to be pretty, and she was. Her parents said so, whenever they bothered to notice her. Her father was almost never home, but when he was, he usually spent the time arguing with her mother. So she spent most of her time by herself.

Her parents had given her everything a child could ask for, so she'd grown up knowing she was the prettiest girl in the world, the smartest girl, the richest, and-

And a liar.

She didn't remember when the lying had started. She'd always been a princess. Princesses were pretty, and popular, and rich, and- and they had lots of friends. She hadn't been able to be any of those things. Not properly.

She'd wanted to be pretty. Her parents had bought her a lot of clothes, and toys, and- and stuff. It was a lot of fun, having everything she wanted. It made her classmates play with her, which made her feel good. But-

And the other kids didn't tell lies. Lies like "We're going to a spa, so you can't come visit", or "Isn't my hair pretty?" or "My parents love me more than anyone in the world".

They just didn't usually tell her anything at all.

⁂

Her father was reading in the corner when she woke up.

Amu stared at him for a moment, and he glanced up, and smiled.

"Good morning, Amu-chan," he said, closing the book.

"Hi, Dad." She wanted to say more than that. She wanted to say- a lot. About Saaya, and what had happened. She didn't. She didn't want to think about that because it made her want to cry. Saaya might never wake up and- and in a way that was her fault. She was the one who'd-

Who'd done what, exactly? Amu went over her memories of Saaya and couldn't find anything terrible. They'd argued, sure, but Amu had never said anything terrible. She'd never paid much attention to her at all, in all honesty. Maybe that was why, or maybe it wasn't.

A couple of seconds passed. Her father studied her, looking for… she didn't know. They stared at each other, until…

"Are you staying awake?" he asked.

She blinked. "Um, yeah?"

"You still look tired," he noted.

"Yeah," she agreed, and yawned. "A little. It's not bad anymore."

The wires and needles were gone from her arm. She was still wearing the hospital gown, but that was fine. She felt fine. The slight aches and pains from earlier had all gone away, which left her pensive and uncertain. She ought to be feeling worse than this.

"Are you okay, Amu?"

Amu bit her lip.

"I- don't know. How are you, Dad?"

Her father got to his feet and came over to her. He hugged her gently, and kissed her forehead.

"I'm worried about you," he admitted. "The doctors here- they know what they're doing, and well, you're not injured, but they're not telling me much." His arms tightened a little. "Amu, are you hurt? I mean- not physically, but you had me worried. A lot."

"Sorry," she whispered, her eyes burning. She couldn't-

"Don't be." He sighed. "Ami has been having nightmares. She won't stop talking about monsters, but the headmaster from your school found her a counsellor, I don't know where. There are a lot of people hurt, and... some dead. They haven't told us much."

"Oh," Amu whispered, burying her face in his shirt.

"Your school is closed, until the damage can be repaired."

"Yeah," she said, remembering Miki saying the same. She'd known, and not thought about it.

"They're still planning on running classes, though. Starting next week. Some arrangement with the neighbouring districts, they arranged it all quite fast... your class shouldn't get split up."

"Dad…" Amu mumbled into his shirt. She didn't want to know, but… "How long have I been asleep?"

"About a week and a half," he said. "More or less. You've been talking before, but this is the first time you stayed awake for more than a minute at a time. You had everyone worried."

He stroked her hair. She didn't pull away. She didn't really want to let go. She was shivering slightly, trying not to show it, but with his arms around her she couldn't manage that.

"The doctor said you're fit to leave when I came here today, though," he continued. "Assuming you don't fall asleep again. They've been ramping down the drugs, and… you'll have to have a check-up before you leave, and another in a day or two, but... you can go home. They could use the space, apparently."

"Saaya is..."

"Not doing very well," he finished. He sounded a little frustrated, and was radiating sadness. "Her parents haven't visited."

"What?" Amu asked, pulling back to stare at him. "They haven't- what? Why?"

He let out a sigh.

"I have no idea. They live right here in Tokyo. I phoned them to schedule the visits so we wouldn't disturb you more than necessary, but no interest." He looked at her, his expression earnest. "She's your friend, Amu. Did she ever say anything?"

"Um." Amu hesitated, and then shook her head. "No. Not about her parents. She's- we weren't close, Dad. I don't know that much about her."

He nodded.

"I see."

"Sorry."

"Amu, no. I didn't mean-" He stopped, and rubbed at his eyes. "Never mind. What matters is that you're healthy, and..."

His words faded out. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears trickling down her cheeks, and tried to remember. What was it Saaya had accused her of? 'Everything', yes, but... specifically?

In the classroom, with the rift just opening. She'd reached out for Saaya's mind, wanting to prod her and make her just leave, and... Saaya had felt it and gotten angry at her. Worse, she'd started crying.

Before then, when it hadn't even started yet.

"It's true," Saaya had said. "You all know it is. You just don't want to admit it. She's got her hooks into everyone. She's got the whole school wrapped around her finger, and she's not even doing anything. Just by existing, she gets her way. That's how Amu is."

What had she done?

She was an easy target. It was so obvious, she was so obviously lying about herself that even a cinnamon roll like Tadase would- no. Everyone could tell how fake Amu was. Saaya wouldn't have to do anything.

Why weren't they noticing?

She wanted-

She'd wanted-

To be loved. She was a liar, and no one wanted her, and she'd hated Amu for being better than her, and-

It was all her fault.

"Amu?"

Her nails were digging into Dad's back. She hadn't noticed until just then, and her nails weren't sharp, but there were tiny marks in the back of his shirt. Her throat felt hoarse. Her eyes burned. She hadn't noticed the tears, or the quiet, muffled sobs. The memories she was reliving weren't hers, they were—Saaya's, had to be—shrapnel from a mind that had shattered itself into pieces, but-

She'd caused it.

"Amu," her father murmured, holding her tight.

"I did it," she mumbled. "Dad, I-" She fell silent. He waited for her to speak, and didn't interrupt.

"It's my fault," she whispered. "It's all- I did this."

"How?" her father asked, his voice gentle, but that wasn't something she could answer. Knowing that Saaya blamed her wasn't the same thing as understanding what she blamed her for. And even if she had, Saaya had already been-

Was that it?

It couldn't be.

She'd been so jealous of her. Of all their classmates. She'd lived with that ugly emotion. She'd-

"Dad," Amu managed. "Can we come visit? To see how Saaya is doing?"

He didn't immediately reply. When he did, his voice was a little uncertain.

"Yes, of course. Why?"

"I need to- say sorry," Amu mumbled. "Even if she doesn't hear. And-" She stopped.

"Amu," her father said. He pulled back a little, his hands resting on her shoulders, and stared into her eyes. "If this was- whatever this was, if it's anything like your old grade school... look at me, Amu." She'd looked down, her face flushing. Her father didn't let her get away with it. He put his hand under her chin, raising her head until she was looking at him.

"Listen," he told her, his tone firm. "If you're blaming yourself for whatever happened, then- fine. But I want you to think about this, and ask yourself- did you want this to happen? Were you the one who did it?"

She shook her head, half-heartedly.

"Then don't take the blame for surviving."

"I wasn't- I didn't mean- Saaya, she's hurt, Dad. I-"

He hugged her.

"And you pulled her out of there. She'll live, thanks to you. Listen Amu. I don't care if she was bullying you, or- if you were bullying her, even." He stopped, and took a breath. "Was anything like that going on?"

Amu shook her head, her face flushed. "No, Dad. It wasn't."

"I didn't think so," he said. "Then whatever's wrong, it isn't your fault. That's all you need to know, okay? It's not your fault. Whatever happened, whoever did what they did, it wasn't you."

She buried her face in his shirt again, and didn't argue.

"Now," her father said. "You should get changed, Amu," he said. "The doctor's been very insistent that you not miss your meals. Your clothes are in the bag. Let's get you a shower, and something to eat."

Amu nodded, her voice too raw to speak. She managed a smile, then got to her feet. She felt a little stiff and sore, but it was a familiar sort of sore—the kind from practising football or gymnastics too much. Nothing serious. Her body wasn't protesting.

"Okay," she mumbled. "Thanks."

"That's okay."

"Um, can you... look away? I want to change."

Her father nodded, and turned towards the wall.

The clothes he'd brought her weren't inspired. Just one of her shirts, a light-green one with a few pink hearts on it, and a pair of jeans that didn't match. He'd probably packed them in a hurry, so Amu didn't complain. She was happy enough to get rid of the hospital gown and the shirt smelled faintly of detergent.

"I'm done," she said, once the jeans were buttoned.

"Good," her father replied, turning back.

They both paused, and stared at the bed, which was now empty. She'd slept there for...

"A week and a half?" Amu muttered, staring at the spot where she'd been lying.

"Just about," her father agreed. "You needed the sleep. Now, you need breakfast."

She snorted and walked over to the curtains, Dad hovering behind her, but behind them was- not a window, like she'd expected. Instead there was a large, flat lamp. Amu's eyebrows furrowed. Underground, huh. Speaking of which, where had Miki gone off to?

"Miki?" she whispered, just to check.

"Over here," Miki replied, her voice coming from somewhere above Amu's head. "I was exploring. They've got a lot of weird stuff. Hey, look."

Amu blinked.

Miki was flying over to her, her hair and clothes fluttering a little. Amu frowned, and then blinked again. The light behind her seemed to be shining through her.

'You're... see-through?'

"Yep," Miki agreed. "I couldn't get out of the room. There's something stopping me, like a bubble or something. Once I stopped trying to exist, it worked." She held out her hand, and Amu tried poking it. Her hand passed right through it, like it was air. "See?"

"That's..."

"Amu?" her father said, stepping up beside her. "Oh, the 'window'. We're actually underground. Underneath the Diet, would you believe it?"

She blinked up at him.

"Um."

"There's a lot of interesting technology. It's all very hush-hush though, so I wasn't allowed to take any photos. They're not telling us much about anything. I suppose demons are real? That was a bit of a shock."

"Yeah," Amu agreed. She stared at Miki, who now looked as opaque as she was normally supposed to. "They are."

Her father hesitated, wanting to say something. His mind was a mess, full of questions she couldn't—or didn't—pull out of there. In the end he didn't ask, and Amu didn't peek.

"Well, anyway," he eventually said. "We should probably head home."

"Yeah," said Amu. She could feel her stomach rumbling, but- "Can you give me a minute with Saaya first? Please?"

Her father nodded.

"All right. I'll wait outside."

"Thanks, Dad," Amu whispered, her voice thick. He smiled at her, then turned and left.

Amu waited until the door had closed and the footsteps stopped before sitting down on the edge of Saaya's bed. Saaya was still sleeping, the machinery still beeping its quiet rhythm. Amu didn't have the courage to try to wake her, so instead she sat there and held her hand.

"Saaya," she said. Her voice was hoarse. She cleared her throat. "Hey, I'm- I'm sorry." She huffed. "I haven't figured out what I'm sorry about. Probably a lot of things. I wish- I don't know. I wish you'd told me. That you'd trusted me, I guess."

Saaya didn't respond. She didn't move. Her hand was warm, but not particularly responsive.

"I hope you'll get better soon, so you can tell me," Amu told her. She rubbed at her eyes, and tried to stop herself from crying. "I didn't- I didn't mean for you to get hurt, you know. You saved me," Amu said. "Or, I don't know. You were right there with me, and you kept the rift from catching us, and- and I'm really glad you escaped with me. I'm glad you're not dead. I'm really glad."

She leaned forward, her eyes shut, and tried to think of the words to say. There weren't any. Instead she just sat there for a while, holding her hand. Miki hovered next to her, waiting patiently.

There was one more thing she had to do before she left.

Amu focused. She had a vague idea of how to do it now. She couldn't fix Saaya—she couldn't repair the damaged portions of her mind, but-

Saaya had shattered, and some fragments of her mind were stuck inside of Amu. Not a lot. Bits and pieces. Amu had tried not to absorb them, and not to reject- destroy them—and she was pretty sure it had worked, but—there was still something there. A lot of memories.

"Look, Amu-chan, look," the girl had said, pointing at the small, grey lizard scuttling along the roadside. "Isn't it cute?"

Yes, it certainly had been. Saaya had been there as well, had laughed that awful laugh of hers and stalked away, but had been thinking something like 'it's so cute!', and... that was it. Just a single moment of happiness, followed by fear of Amu and annoyance that she couldn't stay.

"I can't fix you," Amu whispered. "But you can have these back."

It would have been so, so easy to change what Saaya would remember. Give her Amu's point of view as well—she and Charlotte had spent fifteen–twenty minutes chasing the little thing about, and it had been the most fun they'd ever had together. That memory would make her happy. Had made Charlotte's day, a week before her return to England. Amu had her phone number. Somewhere.

She didn't do that.

She pulled the fragmented memory out, leaving it as intact as possible. Fear and annoyance included. As soon as it was free of her, the Humpty Lock grabbed on to it and drew it inside itself. The fragments were absorbed. She felt Saaya's mind settle slightly.

'Did you see it, Saaya?' she thought. 'Didn't it look cute? Why didn't you say so?'

The girl didn't answer. Amu pulled another fragment loose, and another. Her mind had started aching by the end of it, but she was able to finish without losing too much time.

"Amu?" her father said, knocking at the door. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she lied. "Just... yeah. I'll be out in a second."

She squeezed Saaya's hand.

"Bye, Saaya."

She patted Saaya's arm, then got to her feet. Her stomach rumbled and her mouth felt dry.

Miki settled on her shoulder.

"I'll come back later," Amu decided. Her father was opening the door, a concerned expression on his face. "Dad, I'm hungry."

⁂

It wasn't as easy as all that. There were tests. Reflexes, strength and hearing, plus more she didn't understand.

Apparently she'd burst her eardrums in the fight, and hadn't noticed until they told her. The doctor looked at her a little weirdly, but took her rapid healing in stride.

The doctor also wanted to do some scans in two days, or something. The words 'brain activity' were used. Amu wasn't a doctor, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't tell them much. Why, three quarters of her had spent years flying around as a group of chibis! How did you even scan for that?

...probably wasn't how it worked, but she'd take it.

Then, before they let her leave, she had to sit down and sign a few forms. There was a bunch of legalese involved, a few "non-disclosure agreements" and some other paperwork she didn't really understand, but...

Amu was distracted.

This wasn't a hospital.

They were underground; okay. Under the Diet. Sure, maybe that explained the couple of soldiers. They were dressed in black and yellow, but what else did you call someone who carried assault rifles? Not just the one, either—they were everywhere, guarding all the corridors that weren't marked with 'Observation', or 'Radiology', or... medical stuff, going by her father's mind. But 'mess hall'? Didn't that mean kitchen? Why did that need a guard?

There was also the fact that Amu wasn't getting much attention from the doctors. They didn't seem hostile, just... busy. Each and every one of them had that same dulled, foggy-glass-pane feel to their mind, so it wasn't like she could find out why. But she'd seen an upperclassman she vaguely recognised be rushed into what she thought was surgery, and- so she had a pretty good idea why. Her father hadn't mentioned it, and she wasn't sure if he knew, but...

Well.

"Dad?" she asked. He looked at her, and smiled.

"Ready to go?"

"Um," Amu said. They'd already checked out at the desk, but she'd gotten distracted. There were a lot of people here in the lobby, and she couldn't stop noticing them. Lots of parents. Some of them she recognised. One or two recognised her, and their emotions ranged from worried to-

"...yes," she decided, looking away. She didn't want to know why they were feeling envious.

"Amu." She blinked. He was looking at her, his expression serious. "You don't have to pretend. If you want to cry, it's all right."

"No," Amu said, her voice firm. She shook her head. "No. I'll be fine, Dad."

He stared at her for a few seconds.

"Okay," he said, taking her hand. "Let's go home."

= = =

They did.

Some of what happens in the following days is quite obvious. Some of it's not, and much will depend on what Amu chooses to focus on. She's got a week off from school, which her parents expect her to spend resting; but 'resting', of course, doesn't have to mean on the couch.

She also has a lot of worried friends.

What does she focus on? Pick as many options as you want, the top two will win. This affects both her actions and the story focus. Anything that doesn't get chosen isn't abandoned, per se; this vote is purely for the next week. Feel free to add subvotes or write-ins.

[ ][Focus] Lulu
- There's about fifteen increasingly worried texts from Lulu on her phone.
- Amu will obviously want to call her, and Lulu will half-heartedly try to hide her true involvement. It'll take more than one phone call to get through to her, but if she works on it, she's sure she can wear Lulu down. Especially with Hotsuin having practically OK'd it.

[ ][Focus] JPs
- JPs wants her back, to make sure she's healing properly(?). Which is nice of them, but Amu's pretty good at convincing people. And at sneaking around. Miki found a bunch of giant clockwork, and- she's curious, is the point. Might need a sub-vote to decide what she's most curious about, JPs or the demons.

[ ][Focus] Tadase
- Tadase is, predictably, unhurt. Tadase is, almost predictably, spending his time running from Seiyo student to Seiyo student to make sure they're alright. A lot of them aren't.
- Amu isn't sure she wants to join in with this, but she could at least get his perspective on the rift.

[ ][Focus] Ami
- Ami left half a dozen texts on Amu's phone, even though she visited. Most of them are 'please get better soon'.
- Amu's little sister is extremely cute, seriously worried, and concerningly okay with having just killed half a dozen demons. Actually, Amu hasn't had a proper talk with her about psionics in, um, she did do that at some point, right? Didn't she? …did she?

[ ][Focus] Utau
- Utau didn't leave a text.
- Instead she left a voice message that's an entire song. The lyrics add up to 'get better soon'.
- There's absolutely nothing happening with Utau, and that's precisely why visiting her sounds like a great idea. Two out of two parents agree, as do four out of five Amus. The fifth is asleep.

[ ][Focus] Kana
- There are no texts from Kana.
- The Scavengers said to come back in a week, and if she hadn't just nearly died, she would have. Kana must be worried sick… right? But she's not answering her cellphone.

[ ][Focus] Saaya
- Saaya is… unconscious. Amu will definitely visit, but that's about all she's sure she can do. If you pick this focus without a subvote, she will mainly spend the time worrying and trying to remember her life.

[ ][Focus] Tsukasa
- Amu knows—or has a good guess, at least—that the headmaster is precognitive, so… why? Just why? Did he not see this coming? She hopes that's why.

[ ][Focus] Nagihiko
- There's a single 'get better' text message, marked 'from Nadeshiko'.
- Last time Amu physically saw her, it was after she fought a longer fight than anyone else did. And now she's basically radio silent, nearly as much as during her 'studies abroad'. Something is up with Amu's best friend amongst the Guardians, more than the looming topic that has hung over the pair for the last two years.

—

That's a lot of focus options, and not a lot of other tasks. The reason is to let you pick a training option at the same time. I'll write down the full price list in an information post in a minute, but here's some considerations:

- Amu is treated as always having a teacher, for the purposes of training time. This does not mean that actually having a teacher isn't beneficial—if you can find a good one, that reduces the cost of abilties by 1 XP. This is only relevant for good teachers. Mechanically, they would need to (before training) have at least two more dots in the relevant skill/attribute/ability than Amu does.

- The list of psionic skills on Amu and Ami's character sheet is not actually exhaustive; it's only the set of skills that those two are capable of learning. You'll find other people to have different choices.

- If you want Amu to spend the time finding e.g. a good karate teacher or something, you can. You should put that in as a [Focus] action.

- If you want to spend XP, put [X][Training] whatever in your vote.

 

[Baughn]

Early evening. October 17, 2009

"No looking!"

Ami let out a dramatic sigh.

"Aw. But why not, 'nee-chan?"

"Because," Amu said. "It's not finished yet."

"But-"

"No."

Ami giggled, diving back under the table before she had to push her. Miki and Eru were sitting on top of it, both of them looking a little amused; Utau's 'angel chara' had been keeping watch on her all day. Her father sat in the corner chair, his laptop out—pretending to work—but his attention was firmly on what Amu was doing, even though he was trying not to show it.

Amu looked at the box in front of her, and frowned. It had taken her the entire afternoon to decorate. She'd gone a bit overboard, perhaps, in spending the whole day experimenting. She'd covered the sides with little pictures and her little sister's name was written across the top in bright pink letters. The box, it must be said, was real. It was a genuine cardboard box, discovered in the attic and repurposed. She'd come down coughing and covered in dust, but victorious.

The pictures, and the inside of the box, were... less so.

It had started out as a simple design, but she'd gotten bored partway through and added a bunch of things. One side was a painting of the garden—a bit amateurish, yes, but not too bad. Better than she could do by hand even with Miki's help, though she'd gotten better in the last few months. Mostly because Miki kept showing her all the ways she could cheat. Only-

She wasn't doing it by hand, was she?

Underneath her father's watchful eye Amu had used her finger as a pencil. And she didn't need to do that either, but pointing at the line she was trying to draw made it easier to keep her thoughts on track. She had a trick for that—she could make a small part of her mind into a kind of frozen lens, holding a single thought still and letting her examine it. Or build an illusion from it.

It helped, because the rest of her mind liked to jump from one topic to the next like a frog on a hot plate.

She added a frog to the picture, giggling a little.

The overall impression was... well, a little silly. Ami would like it, but it wasn't her best work. On the other hand, the inside was a completely different matter. She opened the box, giving another poke to the black, illusionary sphere inside. It wobbled, and then-

A miniature version of the garden popped up, with a tiny version of their house in the background. There was a tiny tree, a little pond and a number of colourful, cartoonish animals bumbled across the ground. It took a bit of focus—this was by no means automatic—and it scattered like mist if she shoved her finger through it, but it would last a minute or two if she didn't mess with it.

Which, obviously, she couldn't help but do. A frog jumped out of mid-air and landed in the pond. It added a little to the strain she was feeling, but it was worth it for the laughs it'd provoke.

"What do you think?" Amu said.

"I think she's gonna love it," Miki replied, a smile on her face. Eru nodded in agreement.

"Dad?" Amu asked, her voice a little tentative.

Her father wasn't quite staring but wasn't quite not-staring either. It was a look that suggested he wasn't sure what to think. She'd sprung this on him fairly suddenly. It was Saturday, two whole days after getting home from JPs—she'd been back there earlier that day, and they wanted her back for a final check in a week—but she was 'fine', apparently, and free to do as much 'magic' as she wanted again. Or to come and check on Saaya, so long as they followed the rules.

-she was not a magical girl! No matter what everyone said!

They'd told him everything anyway. So could you blame her if...

"I love it," he said, a smile spreading across his face. He put his laptop aside. "Ami's going to, too. It looks just like Miki's drawing."

"Ah," Amu mumbled.

She looked down at her hands. They were shaking a little. She hadn't eaten much of her dinner.

"Um. You know..."

Her father came over. He put his arms around her, and kissed the top of her head. Then he waved to Miki, a 'come-here' sort of motion. He couldn't see Eru—the girl wasn't good enough with illusions—but Miki was, and so Miki did. She came over, and perched on Amu's shoulder, and their father hugged them both.

"I'm so proud of you," he said. "Both of you."

"Ah," Amu managed.

Miki was crying. Amu didn't need to look. She could feel it, and-

Amu closed her eyes, trying not to start crying herself. They should have done this ages ago. They'd been scared, both of them, but she couldn't imagine. Not being able to hug or talk to Dad?

It would be-

No. She wasn't going to cry.

She didn't want to let go, but... she had a present to give.

"Ami," Amu called, letting her voice get louder. "Are you ready for your gift?"

There was a slight rumble under the table. "Yes!" came the response, echoing weirdly—as though there was a large cave underneath there. The carpet looked a little smoky. Less fire, more very low-lying fog. Ami was having fun.

New family rule, Dad had said. No more secrets. He'd been prepared to let her- 'Keep fighting', in Mom's words. They'd been so... 'proud' wasn't the word for it. Not when they were so scared, radiated so much fear it made her want to cry.

"Ami?" Amu called again.

"Yes?"

"Come up here, please."

"I'm stuck in a rut," her little sister declared, her head poking out from under the table. Ami's hair was messy, and her shirt a little rumpled. Amu felt her father's amusement.

"That's no good," Amu agreed, hiding her smile. "Any way out of that?"

"Ummm." Ami thought about it. "If I get a big, strong 'nee-chan, can you give me a pull?"

Amu snorted.

Dad knelt and reached under the table. There was a small squeal, and a brief, high-pitched scuffle, before he emerged with a giggling seven-year-old in his arms. Amu took a quick look under the table before whatever Ami had been doing stopped existing, and was a little surprised to see the 'rut' was a three-foot-deep hole in the carpet.

"That was fun," Ami said, a bright smile on her face.

Dad sent her a questioning look. Amu shrugged. "It'll go away," she assured him. "Eventually."

"Ah," he said, sounding a little confused.

"Better than fighting demons, isn't it?" She couldn't help but ask. They'd had this conversation. She kept repeating it.

"Well... yes, but-"

"Dad." Amu stared up at him. "That was a once-off. I told you. I'm not fighting anything, unless they attack me, and... um. That's not helping, is it?" It really wasn't. He wasn't scared the way they'd been, but he didn't like that way of putting it. "Let me rephrase. I'm not going looking for any trouble. There."

He didn't argue.

"Anyway," Amu said, her cheeks a little flushed. She reached out to poke Ami's nose. "Told you, we're not magical girls."

"I can be if I want to be!"

"Ami!"

"Well, I can!"

"Ami, no," Miki shot in.

"Aw. Fine. You're no fun, 'nee-chan."

"No fun at all, apparently," Dad agreed. "You'll just have to live with two boring big sisters, and a very, very exciting hole in the floor." He squinted down at it. "Is that moss? Ami dear, did you add moss?"

"Yes!" Ami agreed, a bright smile on her face. "I was stuck in a hole, so I gathered some moss. It's pretty, isn't it?"

"It's a very nice moss," Amu agreed, her cheeks burning a little. "But not alive. And you're not a stone."

Miki snorted, and Dad had to hide his grin.

"I could be," Ami insisted.

"No. I don't think so."

"Not allowed." Her father nodded at her, putting Ami down so she could... climb onto Amu's lap, apparently. Amu gave her a hug. "And, Amu?"

"Huh?"

"It's okay to be a magical girl. If you want more pink in your wardrobe... or stars..." He paused, his face thoughtful. "Maybe a few sparkles, actually. You could use them. But don't go hunting for demons, all right? I want my girls safe."

Amu didn't say anything. She'd been expecting some sort of lecture, for days, and...

"I'm going to keep saying this until you're tired of hearing it," he added, a smile on his face. "You did a wonderful job. But I'd prefer you didn't. I'd prefer you stayed home, and didn't leave, and didn't get hurt, and didn't fight demons—or anything, really—but- you weren't looking for trouble, were you. You were in class. So stop expecting me to get upset at you. It won't be happening."

"Dad."

"I won't tell you what to do, Amu," he told her, his tone firm. "Not so long as you're trying to stay safe. But you can talk to me. Just... do that, please? If there's anything at all. And that goes doubly for you, Ami." He smiled. "I love you both more than I can say. Even if you're making... holes in the... living room floor."

"Oh, Dad." Amu's cheeks were burning. This really shouldn't have gone anywhere near this well. "It's just an illusion. She didn't ruin the carpet."

"Okay," he agreed. "And-"

"You love us soooooooo much!" Ami cut in, a bright grin on her face. She jumped off her lap, ran over and gave Dad a hug.

Ami was right. The sheer amount of love Dad felt for them...

'Essay contest: Describe the love of a parent for their child,' Amu thought. To herself, she believed. That didn't stop Miki from snorting, though. 'I'd win.'

"Yes, yes, I do," Dad agreed.

"Good," said Ami. "'cause we can tell. You don't need to say it."

Dad blinked at Amu, a slightly bewildered look on his face.

"She's not wrong," Amu muttered. She looked down at her hands, mostly to hide her blush. "And- uh. Thank you, Dad.For being there."

He nodded, and then went and sat down next to them, Ami on his lap. "So, the present?" he asked, to which Amu grinned.

"The present," she agreed. Ami refocused, her attention sharpening. "Present!" she said, and leaned forwards.

Amu held on to her waist, her eyes a little wet, as she watched her sister take a closer look.

She felt nothing but warm.

⁂

October 18, 2009

"Hi, Saaya."

She was back at JPs' hospital. A whole three days had passed, and Saaya was still in a coma.

"I- um. I got you a card." Amu paused. "I know it's kinda stupid. We barely even talked. We've been in the same class for years, and all I remember is... well. But I-" She looked around. The room was bare. There was no hint that anyone had been there, anyone at all, and Dad was arguing about that with the nurse-in-charge. Saaya's parents hadn't showed.

Amu couldn't describe the emotion that rose up in her chest from that thought.

"I wanted to talk. So I'll- yeah. Talk." She swallowed, and sat down.

She had no idea what she was going to say.

"I told Mom and Dad," she said. "About everything. Being the Joker. Easter. The Humpty Lock and the Dumpty Key. It was- scary. I don't- I wasn't sure they'd still love me."

She stared at her hands.

She'd been an utter idiot. Her parents loved her. Of course they did. That was why-

Why she'd been afraid.

"But they do. They didn't even get angry. I thought they would, and- maybe Dad was, a little, but I couldn't tell. He was scared, but less scared than when he thought I'd been fighting... those. Lulu told them I'd been fighting her, and what that had been like, and…" Amu giggled. The look on Mom's face. "Mom said 'I served dinner to a dark magical girl!' And Ami brought Hikaru to visit, so..." She let out a breath. The Easter thing was over. Amu could go back to being a regular girl, or at least that's what she had been telling herself. Truthfully, not so much. Regular girls probably didn't...

"And Ami made a hole in the floor," Amu admitted. "Which was- I'm not sure how that happened, exactly. I don't think she knew, either. She was trying to make a cave, which- Saaya, she was underneath the living room table and it was... um. Well, I'll show you, maybe. I could... try to draw it. Maybe."

Saaya didn't say anything.

Amu grabbed a blank sheet of paper from her bag, quickly drawing the scene. Not perfectly. She wasn't much of an artist; that was Miki, who was exploring JPs again. But-

It was passable. She'd gotten better.

A second card soon joined the first, this one with fewer words and more pictures.

"Um, so. I know you don't- like me. Much. Or at all? I don't- I've never understood you. And I've never really- talked to you, have I?" Her face was rebelling against her. She didn't want to cry. She wasn't going to cry. These were hiccups. "I didn't- mean for any of this to happen. If- if I'd known what you were thinking, I'd have tried to help. Where are your friends? You had at least a couple, right?" Amu was sure she'd seen them talking, but that might have been a year ago. "I didn't- I never thought- I wasn't even sure what I'd done wrong."

Amu let out a long sigh.

"Sorry. It's... yeah. Utau's been great. I think she thinks I'm made of porcelain, though. Like, I can't take care of myself? She's- um. I wouldn't tell you this if you could hear me. She kissed me yesterday. On the cheek. But it was... really nice." She flushed. "I- really, really like her. I want to tell her that, but- it's kind of- confusing, I guess. To both of us, maybe. She was all 'you need to focus on getting better', and I was upside down on the back of the couch feeling perfectly fine, and I don't even remember how that happened, but... um."

Amu was blushing fiercely.

"We're- good friends, I guess. I think. She was trying to reassure me. We've been spending a lot of time together. She's- she's been- I was a bit- it's kind of..."

Amu couldn't think of how to say it.

"Anyway," she said, changing the subject. "Nagihiko's doing some family thing, but everyone in our class is fine. Ami brought Hikaru over. To reassure Dad, you know. He wasn't happy about the mind control. I could tell he wanted to shout at Hikaru, though he didn't. He had a long talk with Utau afterwards, and- Utau won't tell me what they were talking about. But I can guess, I think."

Amu looked up.

"Saaya, did you think- did you think everyone hated you?"

Silence was the only reply.

"I'll come back later," she decided.

⁂

October 20, 2009

There were reporters in the front yard.

Amu hid in her room, sipping a cup of tea while she poked at her computer. Miki was sitting on the desk, staring out the window through a gap in the curtains, while Eru was floating next to her. They were both looking a little amused, but Amu didn't feel much like laughing. Mom was downstairs arguing with them, and—if her shouts were to be believed—soon there'd be a policeman or two.

"I wonder what they want," Amu mumbled.

"You, apparently," Miki said. "Hero of the hour."

"Hah."

She could make them leave. She wasn't going to, but- she could.

'Himamori Amu, the Heroine of Seiyo!'

Ugh.

'Local Children Survive Horror of Demon Attack!'

Double ugh.

'Psychic children—heroes or monsters?'

UGH.

'Eleven children dead in alien invasion.'

She'd thought that the world wouldn't really change. Everything had been a secret. How could they possibly figure it out? Apparently it hadn't been that secret. The government had released a statement about 'alien technology' and that the police were 'investigating'. The big news corporations were talking about gas explosions. They'd gotten the story ninety-five percent wrong, were leaving her alone on purpose, and yet it seemed like nobody in Japan was buying it.

There'd been riots in America, apparently.

'Magical Girls: Fact vs Fiction'

"How are people this stupid?" Amu demanded, glaring at her computer.

"I dunno," Miki said, shrugging. "People are weird."

"Yeah."

"It'll blow over," Eru reassured her. "Eventually."

"That's- not the point. They're outside the house. They're harassing Mom. She doesn't- she doesn't have a lot of patience."

Miki giggled.

"No," she agreed. "But she has a lot of yelling."

"Yeah. She does." Amu let out a long sigh and closed her eyes. Then she reached out, her mind extending.

Her mother was very close to shouting at another reporter. There was indeed a policeman outside, watching the situation with a neutral expression. His name was Officer Nakagawa, and he was waiting to see if the reporter's next question would cross the line. Amu didn't quite get what that 'line' might be, because as far as she was concerned they'd left it behind in the previous prefecture.

She reached past them. There was a camera pointed towards her bedroom.

'Click.'

The camera shorted out. The reporter cursed, dropping it on the ground. She'd accidentally made it smoke.

"Serves them right," Amu muttered, pulling back. "I hate being the centre of attention. Why is this even a thing?"

"'Cuz people are weird," Ami replied. Amu blinked, and turned around. Ami was leaning against the doorframe, a pout on her face. She'd been downstairs sleeping on the couch. Amu could have sworn. "They're being stupid, 'nee-chan," she added, "And Mom's shouty."

Amu giggled.

"Yeah. I know. I was eavesdropping. Did they wake you up?"

"Uh huh. Can I tell them to go away?"

Amu shook her head. Her little sister looked rebellious, but didn't argue.

"Fine. Can I borrow your manga?"

"Of course," Amu replied. Ami grinned, and walked over. There was a stack of manga on the bedside table, next to a few of Miki's miniature portraits. She didn't need to hide them now. Ami pulled a volume from the top of the pile, and sat down.

"Ami," Amu said. Her little sister paused.

"What, 'nee-chan?"

Amu reached out, and gave her a hug. "Hey," she said, in a low, conspiratorial tone. "I'm not gonna let them bother you, okay? No one's allowed to pick on my little sister."

Ami smiled, her cheeks flushed. "Okay," she agreed. "No picking."

"Except me," Amu added, poking her in the cheek. "'cause I'm allowed."

"Okay, 'nee-chan." Ami leaned against her side, and Amu gave her another hug. On a normal day that would've made her run away giggling.

Today was not a normal week.

"Hey," she added.

"Yeah?"

"Can you teach me how you do the dream thing?"

"Umm," Ami said. She looked up at Amu, her eyes bright. "You want to learn?"

"Yep," Amu said. She poked her sister's cheek again, and then her nose. "I mean, I've seen what you can do. It's really interesting. I wanna know how you do it."

"Um, okay." Ami looked a little flustered. "You really want to?"

"Sure," Amu said. She glanced at Miki.

"I'm good, thanks." Miki grinned. "I already know how. Go play with the kid. It's fine."

Ami stuck her tongue out.

"Don't tease," Amu said. She gave Ami a smile, and poked her nose again. "How's that work? Should we wait until it's nighttime?"

"You're silly, 'nee-chan."

"Yeah, I know. Nighttime?"

"Um, not really," Ami said. "It's kinda hard to explain. You have to lie still, and then while you're lying still you have to walk through a door of some kind. And then you're there. It's easier while you're asleep, except you'll forget. I could come get you?"

"Ah. Sure. If you want to?"

Ami nodded. "Okay, 'nee-chan. Tonight?"

"Tonight," Amu agreed.

"Yay," Ami said, her smile bright.

They sat there for a while. Ami read her manga, and Amu tried to go back to the textbook she was supposed to be reading, but it was a bit difficult to keep her head off the reporters. Eventually she went to grab a manga, something more mature—Naruto, she decided, picking up a volume at random. She settled down on the bed next to Ami and started reading.

It was a nice afternoon.

Apart from the reporters.

That evening she went to sleep at the same time as Ami, and woke up in a field of flowers. That... was what she remembered later, at any rate. Though according to Ami-

"You acted like you were drunk," her little sister told her, a grin on her face. "Like, really drunk. You kept falling over and laughing. And then you tried to fight a tree, but it wasn't really a tree, and the tree started crying. Even the friendliest shadows are scared of drunk 'nee-chan. I had to put you back to sleep. Eventually."

Ami kept grinning for most of the day. She was sure, by then, that her little sister had an evil streak. Amu couldn't remember a thing except for the flowers.

Everything was fine, except… Kana…

It had been four days since she got out of hospital, and Kana still hadn't called.

Her phone wasn't even on. Every single call was instantly going to voicemail.

= = =

"Let me rephrase. I'm not going looking for any trouble."

This is technically true. With Amu's personality and upbringing there's every chance she'd run off to Kana, knowing full well Kana inherently is trouble, without thinking for even a second that this might cause trouble and her parents might want to have a say. There is, however, also a chance that she might not.

Kana isn't answering her phone. Amu doesn't have the number of anyone else in her group. Probably this means her phone is broken, and you have to get her new phone number.

[ ] Tell Dad you're going to visit Kana, but nothing else
- Plus: No chance of being stopped. Also you're not saying things you promised not to say.
- Minus: No chance of support. And it's lying, sort of? You're not sure.

[ ] Tell Mom and Dad the basics about Kana
- Meaning what, precisely?

[ ] Full disclosure
- They're Mom and Dad! They'll help.

 

[Baughn]

October 21, 2009

It was early morning, and Amu was having a war council with herself. Which is to say: She was in her bedroom with the door locked. So was Miki, and so was Ran and Su. It had the usual effect on her—she felt prickly, easily annoyed and her eyes were glowing a fair bit brighter than usual, enough so that anyone watching would be able to tell—but that was easily made up for by the opportunity for seeing more angles on the problem.

There were no reporters outside. They'd given up once it became obvious that Amu would not ever be coming outside, and also because of some less-than-gentle nudges from the police.

That was the only thing that made her happy this morning.

"I call this meeting of the trans-Amu council to order," quipped Miki, who half-sat, half-lay against the edge of their pillow. "And all jokes aside, Kana worries me."

Miki, it must be said, had barely even met the girl. They'd seen each other at the birthday party, and Kana had a basic idea of how she functioned, but they couldn't be said to be friends. That didn't make her wrong. Miki looked tired, her hair a bit unkempt; she'd been up late last night going over everything they knew about the situation. Miki was still very Amu. By personality, if nothing else. Shy, artistic and a bit introverted—yes—but she'd still save anyone you put in front of her, without ever asking if she should.

Much like the rest of them.

"She worries all of us," said Ran. The little redhead was sitting next to Amu on the bedside table, holding hands with Su, tightly clenched.

This would be the part of a war council where someone presented their status or offered a plan. Unfortunately, Amu didn't work that way. The girl herself stared glumly at the undone bedsheet, vaguely wondering if she should fix it—she certainly didn't have any plans. If she'd had them, then Su and Ran would have already known them.

There was the plan of running straight up to Kana's house and knocking on the door, of course, but that didn't sound like a great one…

"You called her last night, right?" Miki hesitantly offered.

"I'm pretty sure you were there," said Amu, before pulling back on the… bite with a stabilising breath. Miki didn't deserve it. "But yes. And the night before. And the one before then. Straight to voicemail."

Ran and Su just let out a synchronised sigh.

"We can't keep delaying."

It doesn't matter who said that—they were all thinking it—but for the record it was Miki. The girls nevertheless sat still another half-minute, before she decided to take the lead.

"We've got two problems," said Miki. "First off, Kana. She's… I mean, either we find them there on their own, and that's fine. Or there's someone else there, spying on them or something. Or…" She might not be there at all. They all knew it, but saying it was something else.

"Or she might not be there at all," said Amu. The glow in her eyes intensified slightly.

"...yeah," said Miki, somewhat glumly. "And then there's the other problem. Mom and Dad."

"What? Mom and Dad aren't a problem!" said Amu, jerking her head up to stare at Miki.

"They are if they try to stop us," Miki replied. "Which they will, if they know we're doing anything dangerous." She blinked, then smirked. "I think this is why most magical girls don't tell their parents they are."

Ran threw a miniature pillow at her, which Miki dodged with a laugh, Su smiling at the pair. Amu didn't manage the same, but the joke did succeed in making her feel a little better. She leaned backwards and let out a breath, thinking about it.

"This evening," Amu decided. "One way or the other."

One thing was for sure. She couldn't let them know.

⁂

The rest of the day felt like she was marking time by checking her phone, same as the last few days.

Amu quietly padded her way into the kitchen, where her mother was making a fresh pot of coffee. It was late afternoon, and her mother was angry.

It wasn't that she'd ever, even once, aimed that at her or Ami. Or Amu's father, at least genuinely. But she was furious with the reporters, and the government, and the police, and a whole bunch of other things and the way she was holding her shoulders was a big sign that if Amu brought it up, she'd be stuffed with chocolate cake, given a cup of hot cocoa, a blanket and told to stay put for the next two hours while her mother took care of her.

So instead of saying anything of the sort, Amu sat down at the table and watched her mother prepare coffee.

"Good afternoon," her mother said, her voice soft. She had a bright smile on her face. "Do you need anything, Amu?"

She shook her head, watching her mother.

She wasn't sure how she knew, but she always did. Whenever Amu was upset or stressed, or having a bad day—or a good one—she always seemed to know. She was a great mom. Amu didn't want that to stop. Which meant she didn't want to mislead her.

"How are you feeling?"

Amu shrugged. "Okay, I guess. A little tired."

Her mother nodded.

"Feeling ready for school?" she asked.

Amu shrugged. School was Friday, this was still Wednesday. She'd been cramming as best she could for several days. It seemed to be going well, but she had no idea what she had to learn so she'd been taking 'measures'. Measures like fiddling with the way her mind processed the books, just to make sure it stuck better. It was an interesting trick, and passed the time.

One read-through still wasn't enough—she remembered what they'd written on page forty-one but not how Gustav the Great actually died and that was no good. She needed to spend the time thinking it through, and there was maths and English as well. She'd found some quizzes on the internet. It still sped things up.

"More or less," she said uncertainly.

"You're sure you're not going back too early?"

She looked up. "Not really. I feel fine, and Ami's already gone." She let out a huff. "It'll feel weird not having her in the next building over."

"Ami's new school isn't far," her mother reassured her. "And you'll have all your classmates there."

"Not the other classes, though." Amu's mouth was a little dry. Her hand tightened on the strap of her skirt. Everyone else, with the exception of a few others who'd been hospitalised, had already gone back to school that Monday. Amu was the exception. "I'm not worried. Not really."

"It's just different," her mother said. She smiled.

"Yeah." Amu stared at her feet. School was something she was worried about, but it wasn't really at the top of her mind. "Um. No-one gave me a curriculum or anything. I'm not even sure how different the schools are. But... um. It can't be too hard. Right?"

"I'm not the person to ask," Mom replied. "I've never been good at tests."

"That's a flat-out lie," her father interjected with a smile, not looking up from his laptop. He was picking out photos to use. A thousand shots for each good one, apparently… though he didn't feel bored. Amu would have been bored out of her mind if she did that.

"Oh, hush," Mom said fondly, drawing her attention back. "Amu, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Yeah," Amu mumbled. Miki settled on her shoulder, summoned by her dour mood. "But, um. I'm not sure. What if... I mean. I don't know. I'm supposed to be taking placement exams on Friday.

"You'll do fine." Her mother took her by the shoulders. "Seiyo is a high-class school. This one isn't; the tests will be easy. If you have any problems you can always come to me, but I don't think you will. Now are you going to help me cook, or are you going to keep sitting around?"

"I can do both!" she laughed. "But okay, I'll help. What's for dinner today?"

"Well, what do you want? We've got..." She gave Amu a look. "Do I need to actually tell you? Or can you pick that up from my head?"

"I could probably tell, but..." Amu paused, because she'd been avoiding the idea. Something about it made her feel uncomfortable, and now that Mom had put her on the spot, she had to ask herself why.

Saaya had given her a bad shock when a simple, exploratory mental touch had made her angry enough to shout, and Amu was about ninety percent sure that—this sounded weird to Amu, would sound weird to anyone who'd slowly grown into that sense—she was about ninety percent sure that Saaya simply disliked Amu reading her mind. Or even giving it a gentle poke.

Especially weird when their other classmates didn't mind. They did it often enough themselves.

Amu hadn't ever thought about it. She pensively chewed her lip.

"You can read my mind, but you don't really want to?" Mom asked, a wry smile on her face. She reached out to stroke Amu's hair, and then gave her a quick, one-armed hug.

"Pretty much."

"You're not in trouble," her mother reassured her.

"I didn't think I was," Amu muttered.

"Good. Though I think Dad and I would both be upset if you read anyone's mind outside of emergencies," Mom casually stated, as if she wasn't messing with Amu's. "I love you, sweetheart, and I'm proud of you—you're doing a wonderful job, by the way. But-"

Amu ducked her head, flushing. "Thanks, Mom," she mumbled.

Her mother studied her.

"It's good," Mom told her. "To give people their privacy. Not everyone wants that, of course, but reading someone's mind if they can't even tell you're doing it is wrong. I can see why you might find it tempting."

Amu flushed again.

"What about people who can?" Miki asked, and Amu could have sworn that her voice held a hint of amusement.

"Then make sure they don't mind," Mom replied. She smiled. "Don't worry. Your Dad and I love you, and we're so, so proud. I never expected you to get everything right on the first try. So," she said, gesturing towards the fridge. "Let's see what mysterious ingredients I may have bought."

"Okay," Amu agreed.

Eggs, it turned out. Lots of eggs. For a soufflé.

They cooked.

It was nice. It was quiet. Miki helped by drawing a portrait of them, but didn't join in—she didn't enjoy cooking. Normally she'd be with Ami this time of day, but Mom didn't see why she shouldn't make both of them rest, and Miki for that matter worried about Amu. So Mom instructed Amu, while Miki chatted with Mom, and sometimes the two of them would stop and stare at each other as though lost in thought.

Amu didn't stop working when that happened. Mom could see through her—always had—so she knew Amu felt guilty. There was no point dwelling on it; she had a soufflé to make.

Her mother's words were left to long, slow rumination, while Amu let herself think about other things.

Putting the soufflé in the oven. Cleaning the dishes. Watching Miki hug their mother, and wondering how long it'd be until she asked for a transformation so she could do it properly.

Maybe she should offer?

It was another quiet, peaceful moment in her life, which didn't have enough of them. The soufflé got made. Kana didn't call. Ami was off to school on her own, and Amu couldn't fully relax, though she tried.

She loved her little sister, she truly did, but Amu was starting to worry she'd do something unforgivable before Amu got around to talking with her, even if that notion was still foggy in her mind. It was, unfortunately, very foggy. And she should talk to Mom about that, but then she'd get Ami scolded, maybe. She needed to speak to Utau about it, but Utau was busy, but…

She weighed those in her head, and not-hurting-people definitely ranked higher, but not so high that she'd let herself get distracted from Kana right now. Even if there were a lot of distractions. Demons, JPs, Lulu and her cousin, Saaya… Amu couldn't help but feel frazzled, torn in a few directions too many, and her mother could tell.

She thought about it while the soufflé cooked. So, it turned out, had Midori.

"Amu," she said.

"Yes?"

"You were actually listening?" Mom gave her a look of mild surprise. "Usually when you look like that, you're thinking of Utau."

Amu flushed.

"That's- that's not- not right now, Mom. I was just- I was just-"

"Staring into space," Mom interrupted. "Your thoughts were all over the place. Right? But you were making that face."

"Face?" Amu squeaked.

"The face," her mother said, nodding. She sat down at the table. Amu mechanically joined her. "When you think something's wrong and you're going to do something about it, which hasn't been Utau for over a year. So what's wrong, and what are you going to do about it?"

"Um."

"At least, I hope it's not Utau," Mom continued, a slight smile on her face. "Saaya, maybe? Or is it that boy you were hiding in your bedroom two years ago? He had a cute face, but he was a bit strange."

"Mom!"

"No, that can't be it." Her mother tapped her chin, thinking. "Utau-chan said he went missing. Is that why? You didn't tell me you still had a crush on him."

"I didn't- he's- um. Well." Amu's cheeks were burning. "That's- not it, I don't- um. Mom!"

"Oh, honey. I'm teasing. I know. Now tell me what's wrong."

Amu looked down at her plate. She was doing this. One way or the other, she was doing this.

"It's- um. Kana. They told me not to visit her last week. For a week."

"Kana-chan." Mom nodded, sounding a little confused. "The friend you made recently. She never gave me her family name. The doctors told you not to visit?"

Amu stared at Mom, then blinked at Miki, who shrugged. She could in fact feel her mother's confusion. No choice in that; she couldn't choose not to feel emotions.

Even so, she didn't want to say it. She mumbled something indistinct and incoherent.

"No, it was Aoi," Miki said. "Kana's friend, or maybe 'Kana's older sister' would be more appropriate, the way they act around each other. She didn't say why. Then the thing at school happened and..." Miki glanced at Amu.

"When I got out of hospital, I had no messages from Kana," Amu blurted out. "No missed calls, nothing. But Kana was always messaging me. She's not answering her phone at all! I'm worried."

"Okay," said Mom, smile fading. "What do you want to do about it?"

"Huh?"

"Amu. I've noticed this." Mom gave her a look. "When something goes wrong, you always try to fix it. Whether that's making pancakes or stuffing a boy into your wardrobe. You get into this mindset and then you don't ask us for help. You just- try to do everything yourself."

"Um."

"Which is why I'm asking." Mom's voice was very kind. "What are you planning to do about it? And how can we help you? We're your parents, Amu. You can talk to us. You should." And very firm, in all the ways that made her feel guilty for thinking about how to worm out from under it.

"Mom..."

Well, there was the part where Kana-chan was hunted, and a murderess! Amu looked at Mom, a little twitchily. Her heartbeat raced as she tried to think of something to say. She opened her mouth.

She closed it again.

She couldn't say it. Couldn't make her mother think of Kana-chan that way. Amu knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that Kana was a killer, several times over even. Yet the thought of her mother thinking less of Kana, of Kana being treated like a criminal, made her feel a little sick. It wasn't who Kana was, wasn't anything she'd have chosen, and even if Amu didn't think it was right-

But she'd been trying not to lie.

"She- um. She- she was- I mean, she might not want me to say this? But Kana's- um. They're- she's- they have some- issues," Amu mumbled, looking everywhere except her mother's eyes.

"Like Utau?" Mom prompted.

"Not... not quite." Amu's voice was hesitant. "Utau doesn't like talking about it, but- it's- it's not the same, and Kana's not being abused or anything, and it's- um. They're- not like Utau. They're- kind of like me, but-"

"Amu."

"And- and- I promised not to say anything. It's their story. They'd be- they'd be so angry if I- um. And- and I- I really don't think it's demons. Probably. Aoi would have- warned me." Amu stared down at her hands.

Mom nodded and walked around the table, giving Amu a hug. The dinner was temporarily abandoned, in favour of comforting her daughter. "I see," she said.

"Kana doesn't have- didn't have a lot of friends," Amu continued.

"Amu, relax," her mother murmured into her hair, tickling her ear. Her shoulders were tense and hunched up, but Mom leaned against them, slowly unfolding her. "Breathe. It's okay. I won't push. Not on this." She let go of Amu, keeping a hand on her shoulder. "You want to help your friend and that's okay. Great, even. Just tell me one thing. Is Kana-chan safe?"

Safe? The idea of Kana being safe was something Amu couldn't comprehend. She twisted around to stare at Mom, eyes wide. Is there a safe version of her?

"Probably not," she mumbled.

"Amu, honey." Mom's voice was gentle. "I meant to ask if you think she's in danger, and I think maybe you answered a different question. Let me turn that on its head. Do you think you'd be in danger?"

"Um. No." Amu blinked. She hadn't even considered that. "No, I think I'm okay. If anything happens, I can fight back- um. Nothing's going to happen, Mom. Kana's... not dangerous. She doesn't like hurting people."

"Okay. And does Kana need help?"

She shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I was planning to visit her after dinner."

"So we need more information." Mom nodded. "Okay. Tell me about the plan."

"Plan?"

"I assume you have one, with the reporters still canvassing the neighbourhood." Her mother smiled. "You weren't planning to waltz through the front door, were you?"

She hadn't really thought about it. There wasn't anyone outside. Part of her flagged that Kana wasn't in range either.

"I- well."

"Oh, Amu."

"I didn't think..."

"Okay." Mom sighed. "Let me rephrase this. Do you want my help getting out of the area without them seeing? They're still everywhere. I ran into two of them while shopping."

"Please?"

Her mother snorted.

"Well," she said. "We have a car. But if I were a girl with illusion powers and a friend who's a famous idol, I'd probably be thinking about disguises. Remember when Utau came to dinner wearing that baseball cap, with the ponytail and glasses? That was a very nice idea. Maybe she could come with you?"

"Um," Amu mumbled. The thought made her blush, in a whole other way than her mother's gentle scolding earlier. She couldn't stop a grin, even as her face reddened.

"Amu?" That smile. It kept getting wider.

"No, Mom."

"Are you sure? You look like you'd enjoy it. I think she'd like the chance to show off. She's a lovely girl, and you look so happy together."

Amu slowly, but elaborately, dropped her face into her hands. It helped to hide her burning cheeks.

"Maybe you could call her, and see if she's free?"

"Mom!"

"Sorry, sorry," Mom laughed. "I'm only teasing. But if not," she mother continued, smile stuck on her face, "We'll have to figure something out. It sounds exciting, even if all you're doing is visiting friends. Can you change your appearance? Make yourself taller? Older? Maybe a bit younger, so they don't recognise you? Or maybe just change your hair colour? Actually, could you make yourself invisible?"

"Not that one," Amu admitted. "I- don't really understand how to. It's- kinda weird. If I try to hide my hand, it's like it stops existing."

"I'll take that as a no."

"It's- it's really weird."

"I did it yesterday," Miki put in. "When I was exploring."

"You're usually invisible!" Amu retorted.

"Not that sort of invisible." Miki grinned. "It's like I made myself invisible to the walls as well, so I was able to fly through them. But, um, I'm not sure it'd be safe for Amu. Can you show me, with just the hand?"

"Maybe later," their mother interjected. "And I think you should experiment on something other than yourself. A brick, maybe…"

They heard the front door opening, as well as two rapidly pattering feet.

"-we'll keep thinking," said Mom. "But I think Ami's finally here. Any longer and the soufflé would've burned, so-" Mom drew a deep breath, then hollered. "Dinner is served! Amu-chan made it!"

"Coming!" Ami's voice echoed from the entryway. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Amu sank back into her seat, head full of thoughts about Ami again. Dad joined them at the table, and Ami herself rushed in not a minute later, her eyes full of glee. The five of them sat down at the table. Mom served Miki using a tiny, cardboard plate.

It was a nice meal.

⁂

It was a nice meal, and then Mom insisted on helping with her disguise.

"How about hair colour?"

"Hmm…"

She looked into a hand mirror. Normal Amu.

In lieu of answering, Amu turned her hair a dark brown. Then blonde, then red—it was like turning a dial, easier than expected, a change she chalked down to practising so much the other day. In fact she got through every colour of the rainbow in less than a minute before settling on orange-gold, the same colour as her eyes.

"Oh," Mom said. She reached out and touched Amu's hair, then shook her head. "It's beautiful, but the pink was already eye-catching. We'll need something less conspicuous. Brown?"

"Brown is good," Ami supplied. The girl was busy with her GameStation, but took a glance at Amu when she said that. Then a double take. "...wow."

Hiding her hair dye? She could do that. Her hair turned brown, the same exact shade as Ami's, which made her clap. Only for a moment; fighting Magma Man being clearly more important. Amu smiled at her anyway.

"And," her mother added, "I'm thinking you can't disguise your face enough. So let's try... oh. Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Bathroom. You're getting freckles."

"Freckles?"

"Yep." Mom's smile was wide. "You'll look different enough, especially if we give you twintails as well."

"Freckles," Amu repeated.

Mom patted her on the shoulder.

"Freckles," she agreed. "Ami will love them."

Twenty minutes later Amu was staring at a stranger. The face in the mirror was the same as hers, but a whole lot of freckles had been added, and her eyes were hazel instead of gold. That had been... weird. She'd tried, very hard, to convince her eyes to be a different colour—should have been easy, she'd done far more complicated things with Ami's box just a day ago, not to say the hair—but they'd refused to budge.

Until Mom's careful freckling with the paintbrush had convinced them somehow that yes, her eyes were a different colour now, and should be brown. Then they went gold again, right as she was celebrating. Then brown, and it took her minutes to figure out it depended on who she was at the moment. If she tried to follow the makeup process—if she borrowed Ran's skill to see what exactly Mom was doing—then the illusion slipped into place, and her eyes accepted being brown. Or blue, or purple for that matter.

If she stopped trying to be Ran, then they went back to being gold. Mom had noticed, of course.

"Can you keep your eyes from changing?" Mom asked, studying her.

"Maybe," she said. "It's hard."

"I imagine so." Mom reached out and touched Amu's cheek. "You look like a different person with or without them, but your eyes are distinctive. Do you think anyone will recognise you?"

Amu shrugged.

"I hope not."

"That's not a no." Mom smiled. "If you run into any reporters, just walk right past. If they shout your name, ignore them. You're not Amu, okay? You're- oh. What's your name?"

"Huh?"

"What do you want me to call you, like this?"

Amu paused, staring at herself in the mirror. A mousy, freckled girl stared back, her hair a dull brown. Instead of dressing up fancy, as she usually did, she'd gone for the same sort of clothes Utau wore on the street. Baggy hoodie, baggy jeans and not very stylish. No sunglasses, because that would miss the point of changing her eye colour.

"I'm..."

She thought about it.

"I'm Ran," she said. She'd already done the whole 'being Ran' thing. It was easiest. "Um. Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Ran," her mother said, patting her on the shoulder. Something slid into place, and the faint luminescence still stuck in her eyes faded further, until she was looking at an entirely ordinary, freckled teenager. "You're not Amu right now. You're a completely different person. Understand?"

"Sure," said Amu, and nodded. "I'll remember," she said, a smile on her face. "Mom, um. Thanks. For this. I was thinking of asking Utau, but I'm glad you helped."

"You're welcome, sweetheart," her mother replied. "And if you need anything, you can always call, okay? I'm not going to make you sit through a lecture."

"But you're still going to lecture."

"At some other time," Mom agreed. "When you're not off on a secret mission."

"Mom!"

"Now shoo," Mom said, giving her a hug. "Don't get in too much trouble and- try to get some information, all right? I'm trusting you when you say you're not in danger. Don't make me regret it."

She looked down, her cheeks burning.

"I'll try."

There was a moment's silence, as Amu realised her 'lying ability'—as Ami had recently put it—was not so much 'poor' as simply nonexistent.

"That's not reassuring," Mom said, letting go of her.

"I'll try," Amu repeated, looking away.

"Try not to get into a fight."

"Okay."

Mom studied her. "Okay," she agreed. "You're going no matter what, aren't you? Even if I tell you not to?"

Amu looked down.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Don't apologise," her mother told her, smiling. "Amu, honey, you're not wrong. If someone you care about needs help, and you have the power to do so... I'd be an awful hypocrite if I didn't let you. Just- remember, all right? I love you. All of us love you, and we don't want you to get hurt."

"Yeah," Amu agreed. "I- um. Love you, too."

Her mother's face fell further.

"I'd thought this was just a bit of fun," she said, softly. "Amu, please tell me one thing. Does it have to be you?"

"I- yes. Kana's my friend, and- I think I'm the only one. Anyone else who came visiting might get shot at. Or, or, um. Turned around and made to go home."

That was even less reassuring. Amu could see it in her mother's eyes and feel it in her mind. Mom did not like that. Not one bit.

"Can you bring one of your friends?" her mother asked, her voice trembling slightly. "Utau? Nagi-chan? Kukai, even?"

Amu shook her head.

"Kana doesn't... well, Kana does, but the others don't know any of them. It's got to be me, Mom. I can't explain, it's- not my story to tell, but I'm the only one who can help them. I won't get hurt, Mom, I promise. Don't stop me. Please."

Her mother's sigh was heavy and her shoulders slumped. "Would you let me, if I did?"

Miki, who'd been sitting this out, looked up. Her eyes met Amu's, and she shook her head slightly.

"Maybe," Amu whispered. "I'm sorry."

"I see." Mom's gaze was distant. She was silent for a long, long minute.

"Well," she said, forcing a smile. "You'll call me the second you get there, all right? And- stay safe. I'd rather not get a visit from the police. Or have you brought home with a gunshot wound."

"Um," Amu squeaked. "No. No guns."

Her mother's expression was dry.

"Is this something you want to do?" she asked. "Or is it something you think you have to? I know you, Amu. I know the other day was a shock, but you're acting completely unlike yourself. Are you trying to prove something, or-"

"Mom," Amu interrupted. "It's not about that. It's not about proving- proving I can do it. It's- Kana's a friend. I'm worried about her." She looked down. "I'm- really, really worried. And I'm scared. What if- what if she doesn't answer? What if something bad's happened, and she's lying dead on the floor, and- and-"

Her eyes, Amu noticed, had gone golden again.

Her mother gave her a hug, her voice quiet.

"Do you have any reason," she said. "Any at all, to think that's what's happening?"

"No," Amu mumbled.

"Yet you're a stuttering mess. Oh, Amu, I don't want to argue. We've established you're going. But you should be clear on why."

Miki let out a slight sigh.

"Miki?" Their mother frowned. "Do you want to tell me something?"

Amu shook her head. 'Miki, no.'

'Miki yes,' Miki responded. 'This isn't going anywhere, and it's hurting Mom. We need to give her something.'

'We promised not to-'

'You promised not to,' Miki said. 'I'm not going to tell her much. Just enough so she stops worrying.'

Amu wasn't sure that was possible, but she couldn't stop her. She slumped.

"It's not really my secret," Miki told their mother. "But I think, whatever you're guessing, you're not far off. Kana's a good person, I can tell you that much; a girl not that different from us, except that she's had it harder than Amu ever has, and she's been through a lot. So please, trust me when I say she trusts Amu with her life. Her friends might not be quite as accepting, but Kana likes us, and they like Kana. One of them's already adopted Amu as an honorary older sister.

"So trust us, Mom. We're not in danger from Kana's friends, and we're not going to go rushing into a dangerous situation if there's someone else there. Amu's got enough experience with that."

"But she's going."

"To check," Amu insisted. "To see if everything's okay."

Mom shook her head. "It sounds dangerous."

"That's why I have an idea," said Miki.

"An idea?"

"I was meaning to keep this a secret until it worked better," Miki confessed, "but we can't do that now, not with Kana's safety on the line. So- um. I'm a bit like Amu, in that I can make illusions. You know that, right? And if they're good enough, you can even touch them. They're a bit fragile, but touchable."

"What does that have to do with- oh," their mother said. "Your body's an illusion?"

"Yup," Miki confirmed. "So..."

Miki got off of Amu's shoulder and floated in midair, concentrating.

"So," she continued, "what would you say, Mom, if you had to repurpose the guest bedroom?"

"What do you mean-"

Amu closed her mouth. Her mother stared as the air shimmered around Miki. Then, the small blue-haired girl grew a few centimetres taller. Her hair darkened, from azure to a deep shade of blue. Her eyes followed suit, the unnaturally vivid blue fading into a warm, ordinary colour.

She kept growing and growing, until a few seconds later there were two copies of Amu standing there. One with freckles, one without. One with brown hair, the other's a deep-ocean blue. One grinning, the other flabbergasted.

Their mother opened her mouth, then closed it again, and Amu could see the gears turning behind her eyes.

"Surprise," said Miki cheerfully. She stretched, looking herself over. Her clothes had changed too, into an oversized hoodie and a pair of paint stained baggy jeans, not entirely unlike the ones Amu was wearing. "Hi, Mom," the girl said, waving. Then, "Hi, Amu. Neat, huh?"

"I'll be," her mother muttered. She inspected the girl, carefully touching her cheek, as though she thought Miki'd'd pop like a soap bubble. When Miki did no such thing, Mom drew a hand through Miki's hair. "I'll be," she repeated.

Amu didn't have words.

"So, Mom," Miki continued, a grin on her face. She was leaning into the touch a little. "Amu and Miki. We're identical twins, obviously. I was being raised by our dead great-grandmother in a forest, and discovered Amu when I was stumbling through the city a week ago, while starving. You rescued me."

"Dead great-grandmother in the forest," Amu's mother murmured.

"We can work out the details later," Miki assured her. "Maybe she was actually a great-great-aunt or something, and the 'forest' was our garden, and her name was, I dunno, Sakura. It doesn't matter. Point is, I was raised in a secluded location, and I was only introduced to society recently, after-" Mom poked her on the forehead. "Oy. I'm not joking around."

"I'm just checking that you're real," Mom absently told her. "You're real. We'll need a bunk bed. You can take the downstairs guest room for now?"

Miki blinked. When their mother showed no signs of recovering from her shock anytime soon—nor Amu, for that matter—she dragged out the stool and sat down, waiting for the two to recover while trying not to giggle. Maybe she should have brought a book? This reaction was everything she could have hoped for, really. Well, she wasn't too sure Amu would enjoy the bunk-bed lifestyle, but that was something they could work out later; right now they had a time limit.

"Yeah, so," she said, materialising her beret from thin air and sticking it on her head to tug down, obscuring her eyes slightly from their mother. "I was thinking I could go there instead of Amu. Then you don't need to be so scared, Mom. I'm not exactly a real girl, and even if something happens, I keep all my important parts inside of Amu."

Amu felt her blood freeze.

= = =

No, Miki, that's… no.

This is actually an author's saving throw, though I'll treat it like an interrupt. I've already written the continuation, it's just that this is already huge, and it involves making a choice that I really should leave to you lot, as obvious as it might be. So you get 24 hours to think about events, and also to make a choice.

Write-ins are not accepted at this time, though I'll absolutely pay attention to what else you say. It should be noted that, even if Amu isn't superb at this 'spycraft' thing, her mother has some decent ideas; but this vote is about one thing only.

What is Amu's spur of the moment reaction?

[ ] No, Miki, absolutely not
- Miki can't pretend to be you, that's not how that works.
- Miki absolutely isn't less important than you.
- Miki absolutely isn't less real either.
- Furthermore, Miki isn't as capable as you. She'd be in a lot more danger.

[ ] Okay…
- It's not okay, but she'll let Miki talk her around.

 

[Baughn]

"Yeah, so…" Miki materialised a beret from thin air and tugged it down, slightly covering her eyes. Amu could sense she didn't like what she was going to say. She didn't look for what Miki was planning to say—she wouldn't do that, not now—but Miki's heart was a cauldron of ugly, cheerful-but-missing-foundations… self-deprecating? Angry? Worried? This was hard to read-

-plenty of emotions, none of which she liked-

"I was thinking I could go there instead of Amu," said Miki, while Amu felt her blood begin to freeze. The emotions coming off of Miki weren't… upset. All the conditions were there for it, Miki should have been screaming, but she wasn't. Instead, just that fake-cheerful- real cheerful, even though it shouldn't be-

Mom was catching on almost equally fast, and Mom didn't have the benefit of seeing it happen.

"Then you don't need to be so scared, Mom," said Miki. "I'm not exactly a real girl, and even if something happens, I keep all my important parts inside of Amu."

-Miki, whom Amu had long since stopped thinking of like a chara-

"Miki..." Mom's tone of voice was a warning, but underneath it- Amu was too shocked to talk. Mom, it seemed, had no such problems. She was also shocked, however. Shocked, angry, horrified—the cauldron of emotions brewing inside her was easier to read, and it wasn't within Amu's means at that moment to keep from listening in. Staying wholly out of her head took focus, focus which Miki had already obliterated.

-had Miki stopped thinking of herself as a chara?

Her ears were ringing.

"And it's not like anyone would be able to tell the difference," Miki added, looking herself over. She ran a hand through her hair under the edges of the beret, feeling her new features while, bizarrely, smiling. "This is weirdly like being in a chara transformation, only quieter. Like it's only me, instead of me and Ran and Dia and Su and you all together. I wonder..."

"Miki," their mother said. "If you're trying to make me feel better, this isn't it."

"You're worried about her," Miki shot back, "and I can't blame you. Amu's- well-"

That's not it. That wasn't it. Amu could feel Mom's growing horror, which Miki certainly couldn't. Miki wasn't much of an empath, nor any good at mind-reading in general, but she shouldn't have needed to be. Mom was worried about both of them. She loved both of them. That should have been obvious.

"-not good at this stuff," Miki finished, oblivious. "So send me instead."

"I'm better at it than you!" Amu shouted. She didn't mean to. She was just completely off balance.

"That's not the issue, and you know it," their mother shot back, her voice calm. "I'll leave aside that-" She looked between them, then shook her head. "One week ago I thought I had two daughters. Now I know I have three, and I want to keep them. That, Miki, includes you!"

Amu squeezed her eyes shut. Her ears were definitely ringing.

"You're not a replacement for Amu, nor would I want you to be. Amu is my daughter, and so are you. I love you both, and I won't pretend otherwise." Mom gave Miki a very gentle pat on the head, which turned into knuckles rubbing through the beret. Miki's eyes widened.

"Mooooom," she mumbled, not even attempting to move away.

"No, don't you mom me. Not until you've learned that you're not replaceable."

"But-"

"Do you think you're a burden, Miki? Is that it?"

"What?" Miki's eyes were wide.

"Because if so, then you should remember that we love having you. And we'll be happier with you here, not in danger. And if that's the problem, and you're just doing this for our sake, then please. Stop."

"But I'm not-"

"Then tell me why you want to put yourself in danger!" Mom's voice had risen. "I've had enough of this! I want a real explanation, or else neither of you is allowed out of the house until next year. And if Kana's in trouble, we can call the police. That's what they're there for."

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"It's-" Miki paused, then looked at Amu.

Amu shook her head, still not able to speak. Kana was a distant second in her mind right, a distant, almost unimportant thought. Mom was doing the right thing, but she didn't have the right idea. Miki didn't think she was a burden, Miki just thought—still thought—she'd go away. That her lifespan was limited, and-

"I'm not really a person," said Miki. She was talking slowly, and her voice was low and quiet, a little bitter, and not like her at all. "I wasn't always this, uh... talkative. I mean, I was always a bit, um. Outspoken, I guess? But..."

She couldn't listen to this.

"Miki." She didn't mean to. "Shut up."

"Amu..." Her mother's voice was soft.

"Shut up," she said, again. Her hands were clapped over her ears. It wasn't helping. "Miki. Shut up. You're wrong. Just- just shut up, okay?"

"I'm not," Miki mumbled, quiet enough that it sounded like she didn't consider the argument worth having.

She was, though. Amu wasn't sure how to get it through to her.

"I know what you're thinking," she said, voice rising, "Because I'm Ran and Su and Dia, too, not just Amu. I remember everything, the way you do. You- you're not a burden, or an illusion, or anything like that, Miki. And you're not going to go away, ever. So stop trying to- to- do stupid things. Like getting yourself shot at. That's- it's- dumb."

"It's not," Miki said.

"Yes it is!"

"You were planning to go alone."

"So?"

"So?" Miki looked at her, and the pain in her eyes was almost physical. "Amu, you're my... you're the most important person to me, ever. More important than any of us. How can you not understand that?" She looked up at Mom as well, eyes pleading. "If Amu dies, we all die. If it's me, then it's just… me."

"Nobody's dying!" Amu's voice broke. She grabbed Miki by the shoulders, wanting to shake her. "Stop- stop thinking like that! Because I'm- you're just as important, and- and-" She drew a deep breath. Mom seemed content to let them sort it out on their own, her expression pained, but that wouldn't last. Not with this sort of awfulness. "Mom's right. You're a person. So am I. Miki... do you remember when you were born?"

"Not really." Miki looked away. She was lying.

Amu remembered the egg. Remembered the first time she'd seen her. Miki running away, because she thought Amu didn't want her. She'd followed her, eventually. Amu had chased her… Amu had also told Ran to go away, and she remembered that from both sides.

"But you remember meeting me," she continued, ignoring the pang in her chest. "Don't you?"

Miki nodded.

"Do you remember how you felt, the day you were born? The first time you woke up? What was it like? Were you scared? Confused? Happy?"

Miki didn't answer.

"Because I'm also Ran, and Su, and I remember everything," Amu continued, her voice soft. "'I'm Miki. Amu-chan's 'wanted personality'. But it's unclear if I can go on by myself. I'm at the point of vanishing…'" Amu trailed off. That was something Miki had told them a long time ago, the first time they met. Even if Miki had forgotten, it wasn't the sort of thing Amu forgot easily.

She'd never treated her like an appendage... had she? That tiny, doll-like girl hiding in her eggshell. She'd been so timid and frightened. Miki had never been just a 'chara' to her.

She drew a deep breath.

"Miki," Amu repeated. "Please tell me. If we can't- if you're going to go away, tell me, so I can fix it. Because I didn't fight to get you back, just so you could vanish, okay?"

"But I'm not- Amu, why are you so upset by this?" Miki sounded genuinely puzzled. "If visiting Kana is safe, then why does it matter who does it? And if it's not…"

"Because I didn't get you back because I wanted my 'Shugoi Charas'," Amu retorted, her voice laced with a raw pain that belied her attempt at steadfastness. "I got you back because- because- I missed you. You're my sister. I don't want you to disappear, okay? Not ever. Not- not like that. I want you here, and- and..." She trailed off, burying her face in Miki's shoulder. It felt hot, and her nose was running.

"Amu-chan..."

"You're my best friend, Miki," she mumbled. "I'm counting Utau in that. You're the only one who's always believed in me, even when I was being dumb. You're the one who taught me how to draw, and- and-" Amu shook her head. "You can't- you can't think like that. You're not allowed. You can't. Because I'm- I'd cry forever. I can't- we can't lose you. Please don't make us lose you. Please."

"Amu-chan." Miki was trying to argue. She wouldn't let her.

"Shut up, Miki," she muttered. "Shut up and let me finish. Because you're not- you're not an appendage, or a replacement. You're you. Okay? And- and we're twins now. And you can't make decisions for me, okay? So you can't decide to go instead of me. Or to- to- just-"

"Amu-chan," Miki repeated, and Amu didn't have the words to fill the air with. "And Mom. Listen, please. I used to be a chara, and those are only people because their hosts are people. Amu treats me like a real girl, but... it's not the same. I don't need to eat, or drink, and- um." She gave them a nervous smile. "The whole point of… this-" Miki gestured at her body, twin to Amu's own, "-I was thinking, maybe I could pretend? To be a person. Just like the two of you."

Oh, bull.

Amu pulled back, her pulse quickening. She gripped the side of the table.

"That's not even remotely funny."

"But I'm not joking?" Miki said. She made to continue, then trailed off, eyes falling on the table. The corner was splintering under Amu's grip. There was a loud crack-

-which everyone there ignored, though Amu tried to at least relax her fingers. It wasn't easy.

"Miki," their mother sighed. "Honey, what are you talking about? You are a person."

"I'm really not," Miki muttered.

Amu grimaced, and if she wasn't worried she'd break her like the table, would have tried to shake some sense into her. Yes, maybe that had been true once, years ago. But not now.

"Yes, you are," she told Miki. "Just like Eru and Iru, or me, or Kukai. And- um. About what you said. If you could... pretend. To be a person." She hugged herself. "Don't say that. That's- That's not okay. Not when I'm right here."

"But-"

"No," Amu insisted.

"You know charas aren't people," Miki said, her voice plaintive.

"And you aren't a chara!" Amu snapped.

"But I-"

"Not anymore."

Miki opened her mouth, then closed it and looked away. Amu was aware that her mother was staring at her, and her cheeks went red, but she didn't look away from Miki.

"You're a person, okay?" Amu continued, her voice softer. "Just like the rest of us."

"You are, and you're also my daughter," their mother said, stepping in. "And I'm not going to let you run into some disaster of a situation because you think you're worth less, and definitely not as a decoy. Do you understand?"

"Yeah." Miki looked down, then up again. "But Amu's going to run in there and risk us anyway. I could do it instead of her."

"Miki," Amu complained.

"No," Mom said.

"But-"

"No," Amu said.

"Furthermore, no," Mom agreed. "Miki-chan. Please. I can't pretend to understand everything you've been through. It's not fair of me to claim I do, and I'm not going to, but I know a teenage girl when I see one. I know my daughter when I see her. You're a person, and I love you, and I won't treat you as anything less than human."

"I'm not really a human," Miki mumbled. "Not like the two of you."

Mom exhaled. Her face was painfully drawn. She found Amu's hand, giving it a squeeze before continuing.

"Then neither is Amu," she said. "Nor Utau. Nor the rest of your friends, as far as I can tell. I've never had children before, and I have to say- it's a challenge, especially knowing I can't understand what they've been through. But you know what?"

"What?" Miki asked, looking up.

"I don't need to." Mom's voice was gentle. "I love you both, and I'm happy with having you as daughters. Stop trying to categorise it as anything else." She smiled. "And if you ever try and pull a stunt like this again, you're grounded until graduation. No arguments."

"Sorry," Miki whispered.

"I know," Mom told her. She wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged her, holding her tight. "Just- don't do it again. Please. Because the thought of losing either of you... it's terrifying. And you don't need to prove anything."

"Okay," Miki mumbled, leaning into her.

"And the next time you feel like this, talk to us, all right?"

Miki's nod was slow, hesitant.

"I'll try."

"Good," Mom said. She drew a deep breath. "We'll go shopping for a bunk bed tomorrow morning, Miki, and some other important bits. Clothes, too—I know you can make your own, but let me do this. Now. Let's see if we can figure out a solution to this mess, before either of you run off on me and get in trouble."

She paused, arms still around Miki before turning her gaze on her oldest daughter.

"Amu?"

"Y-yes, Mom?"

"Why are you so insistent you're the only one who can help Kana? Why is it dangerous, and why not the police? No deflections, please."

= = =

Ah, publicity; there's really nothing like it. You needn't worry that Kana will be left high and dry, as Amu came by her personality honestly, but there's a number of different ways this could go. Instead of just answering Midori's question, let's have a general vote on how this should be approached.

[ ] Deflect
- You were literally asked not to.
- Contested Socialise roll. Amu will almost certainly fail.

[ ] Use an analogy
- Does this really count as not giving anything away?
- Roll wits to make a good one. This has no storyline effect.

[ ] Call in help. Mom will accept not knowing if you aren't the one to go. Probably.
- [ ] Who?
- This is more true if you ask for help from an adult, or better yet JPs.
- It's far less true if you put Utau or Tadase in harm's way.
- Potentially a contested roll of… Manipulate + Socialize.

[ ] Play the risk of death down. Realistically, checking Kana's house shouldn't be that risky, right?
- Would have been more believable earlier.
- Contested roll, specifics depend on subvote; Manipulate + Socialize by default.

[ ] Explain that you have a 'radar' ability, to check inside without actually entering. This is true, and if it's empty you won't have to enter, right?
- Prepare for another argument if there is a danger inside, because you aren't going to be able to leave it alone at that point.
- [ ] Get Miki on side by promising (telepathically) that you will let her scout invisibly if there's a need?

[ ] Write-in

 

[Baughn]

Amu didn't have internal arguments, usually. That was a hallmark of the old, nervous, uncertain her, the sort of her that had quietly died across the last two years. There was a new her now, the sort of her that didn't hesitate or doubt herself, and the new her was very good at making decisions.

That's what she liked to tell herself.

She wasn't, however, the sort of girl who'd ever had to explain why she was rushing into danger, and it was surprisingly difficult. She didn't usually have internal arguments? No, but she was having one now. There didn't seem to be a decent answer that didn't hurt one of her friends, her parents, or both-

"Amu?"

"I'm thinking!"

Thinking yes, but what could she do? Miki had messed this all up. Going to visit Kana was- well, it wasn't safe but-

She glanced at Miki, and immediately felt bad. Miki… she'd messed it all up? Yes, but only because she didn't want her to be hurt. Amu couldn't hold that against her. Wouldn't, even if she could. She hated the thought of Miki being hurt, obviously—hated it like she hated the idea of any of her family being hurt. But more than that...

She hated the thought of Miki running into danger. Of treating herself as less than human.

That was what was wrong with that picture. Amu hadn't thought of her as less than human in ages. Not since the first couple of weeks- and she'd only been nine back then.

"Amu-chan..."

"I'm thinking, Miki."

Miki didn't continue.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Amu shook her head, almost absently.

"Please, please stop that," she said, still looking down. "I'm not mad. Not at you, Miki. Never. I'm just… I'm realising you were right, Mi-chan. And Mom's right- I'd hate it if you ran off into danger instead of, and-"

'Mi-chan?' Where had that come from? She took stock of herself, but there was nothing odd going on. It was just-

She peeked up at Miki. Dark hair, so deep a blue it was nearly black. Blue eyes. A heart-shaped face, identical to her own except for the painted-on freckles, and- Amu felt guilty. She hadn't thought of Miki as 'just a chara' no, but could she say she'd thought of her like a girl? A classmate? A sister?

No.

She couldn't pretend she'd thought of her like that.

Amu spontaneously pulled her sister into a hug, one of the far, far too many that Miki hadn't had yet. Mi-chan was warm. She was real, and Amu found herself quietly crying. Not so Miki could tell, but Mom, standing behind her, saw. Her mother's eyes were soft. She didn't interrupt.

She surreptitiously rubbed at her eyes, hoping but doubting that Miki wouldn't notice, then pulled back.

"I don't want you to get hurt," she said, hands staying on Miki's shoulders. Warm, and comfortingly solid. "So you don't want me to get hurt. And Mom doesn't want either of us to get hurt."

That was all it was. She'd hate it if Miki got hurt instead of her. Hence none of them could.

"It's not the same," Miki muttered.

"It's exactly the same." Amu swallowed. "Isn't that right, Mom?"

She looked up, making sure that Miki was as well, and her mother nodded. Amu was sure she knew the answer, but she'd had enough experience with her parents to know when she was expected to do the thinking herself.

"You're a person, and you deserve to live. That's the easy part. I want you to realise it's true. You're not just something I made. You're real. And- and you're my friend, and my sister, and I want to live a life with you." She drew a breath. "Go to school together. Chat about boys, deep into the night. Show you my paintings, even if you laugh at them." Amu shook her head. "The hard part is- um. I don't want you to be part of me."

"Amu..."

"If you can't believe it yet," Amu continued, "I understand. But can you try and understand, even if it's just a little? That- that you're a real person, and I don't want you hurt, or to do something scary, and- Mom sees us both the same way." She stared into her mother's eyes. "Right?"

"Yes," her mother confirmed.

"I know," Miki mumbled.

"You're my sister," Amu continued, her voice soft, "and I love you. I want to be here with you, always, and I'm not going to let you run off to get shot- even if that wouldn't happen, Miki, why did you say that?" She was crying again, her vision blurred, but her mother was there and pulled them in for a hug.

"It's all right," her mother told her, her voice soft. "Let it out. It's okay. I'm here."

That just made it harder. She stiffened, her body trembling as she fought herself, but in the end it was a foregone conclusion. She had to tell them- she couldn't keep this to herself. Not if that hurt them, the way Miki was hurting Amu.

"I have a lot of things to say," Amu sniffled, "I'm sorry that I scared you. But- but Kana's in trouble. And- and I'm going to tell you everything."

"We're listening," said her mother, rubbing her back.

"-can we go downstairs?" Amu asked. "I don't think- Um." She wiped at her eyes. "Can I have a cup of tea?"

"Sure."

"And maybe a cookie?"

Her mother laughed, the sound quiet and not entirely without concern, but there was a smile in her eyes.

"As many cookies as you want, sweetheart. Should we go surprise Ami? I bet she isn't expecting a second older sister."

"You're the best," Amu whispered.

"I'm your mother." Mom patted her on the shoulder then turned to Miki, holding out a hand. Miki looked at her, then slowly took it, her expression unreadable. Her emotions weren't though, and Amu's heart squeezed painfully. Miki was a roiling mix of guilt, shame and hope.

"We'll talk," Mom told Miki. "As much as you want. But for now, let's go downstairs. We can have a nice sit-down, and I can introduce you properly, and Amu can say what she needs to say. It's all right, Miki-chan. We love having you here."

"Yeah," Amu said.

Miki looked down, not saying anything, so Amu took her other hand and held it tight. She gave her a slight tug, and after a moment, her twin followed along.

"Thanks," Miki whispered.

Amu didn't respond. What was there to say?

They were halfway down the stairs when their mother turned, her smile wry.

"Now, Miki," she said, "Before we get there, let me make a couple of things clear. Firstly, no running off to play hero. You're a young girl, not a secret agent."

"I wouldn't!" Miki protested, uselessly. She would. They both would.

"Second," her mother continued, "your sister is grounded until the end of the month, and so are you. We'll work out what to do about your friend, but you're not going anywhere without either me or your father. Understand?"

Miki's eyes were wide. Amu would have protested… but that was barely a week. Her shoulders still slumped. She'd never been grounded before.

"Um," Miki said, her cheeks red. "I- yes."

"Good." Their mother gave them a smile, then turned back to the stairs. "Third, this is the only chance we'll ever have to confuse Ami with the two of you. Don't spoil it."

Miki was silent, but she was also smiling, and there was a glimmer of humour in her thoughts.

'Won't she already know?' Amu thought at her sister.

'Maybe,' Miki thought back, 'but I doubt it. I never told her I was doing this.'

'Why not?'

'She's a little...' Miki shrugged. 'Excitable. She'd never have kept it a secret from you.'

Amu looked at her, her eyebrows raised. Miki's blush deepened.

'I had plans,' Miki continued. 'For- um. Making you all think you'd gone insane.'

'Miki,' Amu told her. 'That's mean.'

They entered the living room and then Amu stopped, watching. She could do little else.

⁂

Ami had her back turned when they came in, which would have helped Miki escape into the kitchen, had she been inclined towards shenanigans at that specific moment. She was not. She was rooted to the floor next to Amu, and for the very same reason.

The couch had been transformed into a miniature battlefield along with the coffee table. There was a miniature lego fort on top, complete with lightning bolts and fog (of war?), where Ami's lego men were engaged in epic battle with her stuffed animal army. This was not, of course, some simple game of make-believe—no, that wouldn't have been Ami. The lego men were moving, shouting, dozens of them ganging up on individual—relatively giant—rabbit plushies. The floor was a wasteland of lego bricks, and a small, plastic horse lay in pieces, victim of the conflict.

Dad hadn't joined Mom to talk to them. This was why: He was busy playing with Ami, a small smile on his face as he ordered the lego men around.

"Attack," he ordered, then pushed them onto the battlefield, plastic sabres drawn and ready. "Charge! For the kingdom!"

"For the honour of the king!" the lego men replied.

The lego soldiers walked across the wasteland, picking up the odd brick and sticking them onto themselves—they melted—and to Amu's great confusion another group walked out from behind a sofa pillow, carrying a box full of bricks.

The stuffed army- growled. A rabbit bared its teeth, a bear raised its claws, which looked a great deal sharper than they had any right to look. Amu stared, transfixed. Miki- Miki, with a jerk, crept towards the kitchen. Dad gave them a quick glance, but just raised an eyebrow, to which Mom shrugged. He went back to the battlefield.

The two sides faced off in the middle of the coffee table.

Lightning, dramatically, flashed.

As the two sides faced off on the coffee table the atmosphere in the room grew tense. Ami, with the poise of a seasoned general, directed her stuffed animal army with a subtle flick of her fingers. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, a testament to how much she was enjoying this, and a small happy smile lit her face.

Amu could do nothing but continue to watch. She wasn't sure what was happening, only that Ami was having a great deal of fun.

The lego soldiers under Dad's command marched forward with determination, their plastic sabres clashing against the surprisingly robust fur of the stuffed animals. The rabbit, with teeth bared, lunged at a group of lego men.

Amu, still rooted in place, watched in awe as the illusion continued to unfold. The bear swiped at the lego soldiers, sending them flying across the room. But Dad was quick to react, manoeuvring a squadron of lego men to flank the bear, their tiny sabres poised for a strike.

The brutal conflict ended with the lego army victorious. The stuffed animals surrendered and were marched away in chains.

"You won this time," the commander of the cotton army, a stuffed bunny, announced. "But we'll return, and then your fortress will fall!"

"Never!" shouted the legos.

"Never is a long time," the stuffed bunny retorted—no, Ami retorted— and with that the prisoners were led away into the depths of the couch, to the toy box Ami had placed there. Dad looked up, catching her eye—winking to Miki, who had squirrelled off into the kitchen and was peeking around the corner, regardless of the absurd scene they'd just walked in on.

"Welcome back," her father told her. He looked her up and down, then smiled. "You look... different. …Amu?"

Amu shrugged, a little uncomfortably. "Mom helped."

"Brown hair looks good on you," her father said. "And freckles? Are those real, or..."

"Paint," said Mom. "Don't embarrass your daughter."

"I wasn't! I honestly think she looks cute."

Amu looked down. Ami perked up for a moment, twisting around to blink at Amu as she caught her mood, and then her face fell.

"Yeah, um," Amu procrastinated.

Dad frowned. "Hey," he said. "What's the matter?"

"Um," said Amu, not certain how to respond. Her mother stepped forward, giving her a pat on the shoulder, and she took a deep breath. "Um," she repeated. She had to haul the words out. "Dad? I've got something to tell you. It's kind of a long story, though. Can we-?"

Dad blinked.

"We can," Mom agreed. "Dad, could you make us some tea? And- bring out the cookies. We're going to need them."

"Cookies," Ami mumbled, and she turned around, eyes bright, though they faded a little as they hit Amu again. "I'll help carry," the little girl told her father. Ami was radiating concern. "Can I?"

"Of course," he replied, ruffling her hair, and the two went off into the kitchen. Amu watched them, her expression pensive.

A few moments later they spotted Miki and Amu had the rare pleasure of watching Ami do a double-take. The little girl stopped and stared.

"Neechan?" she asked, edging backwards. "You got a clone."

"That's Miki," Amu said, trying to hide a smile.

"I grew," Miki added, waving.

"Oh."

⁂

Explanations were in order, as was planning. Miki's sudden existence would be a problem, even if just logistically, and they had to figure out a story to tell. Because Amu wasn't sure her parents were okay with hiding her. At all, ever. Amu was kicking herself a little for having done so.

Miki wasn't exactly eager to be presented, however. She'd wanted this for a while, but the actual reality of the thing was something else. She was shy, not entirely comfortable being around other people, and the idea of attending school as a real person instead of a ghost sitting on Amu or Ami's shoulder, was-

"It's intimidating," she told them, after Amu had finished explaining the situation. Miki sat leaned against Dad, her face red. She was sandwiched between him and Amu, who was, for her part, trying to ignore the smug look on her mother's face.

"Intimidating?"

"All this new stuff." Miki was quiet for a moment. "I like learning, but going to school? And- and making friends?" She looked down. "It's not what I imagined. When I was younger."

Amu gave her a nudge, which Miki responded to by elbowing her. Ami watched the byplay with wide, sparkling eyes. She at least had no compunctions, and Amu suspected her 'second nee-chan' would be advertised far and wide as soon as Ami went back to school the day after.

"You'll do fine," Amu promised. "I'll be there. So will Kukai and Tadase, once we return to Seiyo. And everyone else, too. So don't worry."

"Returning to Seiyo, huh." Miki looked thoughtful, her eyes distant. "I wonder when that will be. Didn't the building collapse?"

"Not completely," Dad stated. "Although, well…"

"A-and there's everyone from our class," Amu retorted, trying to pretend that hadn't happened. "Like Mako-chan. They'll be excited to meet you, I'm sure. And Utau's family. They know you of course, but…"

"Really?"

"Y-yeah!"

Miki shook her head, still not looking convinced.

"We can worry about that later," Mom interrupted. "Are you okay sleeping in Amu's room, Miki? We've got a guest bedroom, but it's a bit cluttered right now."

"I'm not sure I can stay 'big' for much longer," Miki said, before pausing. "But I've been sleeping there for years so... and this feels... easier than I was expecting."

Amu let out a breath of relief.

"I'd love to have you there," she said.

"I'm even a bit hungry," the black-haired girl admitted, rubbing her stomach. "Wasn't expecting that. How does that even work?" She took a cookie, looking at it for a moment before taking a bite.

"Well," Dad said, looking contemplative. "If we assume your body's just an illusion, it doesn't. But if you are, in fact, real, then I guess it's not entirely surprising. People need food, and the only one here who's ever claimed you're not a person, is you. So..."

"It's just a trick," Miki said, her voice soft. "Like Ami's powers. It's an act."

"It's an unbelievably good act," Mom said, her voice dry. Dad placed an arm around Miki, squeezing her gently. So did Amu, her other arm snaking over, and soon Miki was squished between the two of them.

"I guess," Miki mumbled.

The toy soldiers came back out, and Amu watched as the stuffed animals began to emerge from the couch, crawling over to their fallen comrades. That was, however, all completely under Ami's control. The younger girl had her eyes fixed firmly on Miki, not even pretending she wasn't paying attention.

They could feel her. Not the usual way, like they could usually feel her. Ami was radiating doubt, shoving it in Miki's face. The strings she dangled her toys from were blatant—not just implicitly there, but practically shining. That probably wasn't the best way to put it. It would have to do.

"You don't believe me?" Miki asked, a little helplessly. Amu shook her head.

"'course not," Ami replied. "You're my Neechan, duh. You're not gonna go away. And you're not an illusion."She picked up one of the lego men, staring at it. A moment later it stood, and began to walk, and she put it down and picked up another, examining it. "And Neechan's just Neechan. Even if you're big, I've known you for years. Can I see your hand?"

"What?"

"Your hand," Ami repeated.

Miki did as she was asked, holding it out for the girl, and Ami grabbed hold of it, squeezing it.

"I can feel your hand," she decided.

"And I can feel yours," Miki said, a little bemused.

"Good. Because that would be weird, otherwise."

"I don't see how this proves anything."

"That's 'cause you're dumb."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Girls, girls," Mom interrupted, "Please. Miki's not stupid. If she doesn't believe she's real, that's something we can work on. Ami, explain?"

Ami nodded, and sat up. She let her fingers trail over the stuffed animals, and the lego men, and they all stopped what they were doing and listened, like a class of students.

"Miki," the little girl said, "what's 'real'?"

"That's..." Miki trailed off, thinking about it. "The way the world is, isn't it? It's what you can touch, and feel, and taste."

"You can't touch my mind," Ami said, holding up a finger. "And you can touch the lego-men," she added, pointing at them. "Or yourself. That doesn't work, 'cause I can touch you, so try again."

"Um," Miki mumbled.

"Real things are things that have an inside," Ami decided. "Like a box. When you're real, you have an inside. Your mind is an inside. My mind is an inside. But not this." She picked up a toy soldier, and shook it. "It's just a shell around a lego piece. It doesn't have an inside."

"I don't follow," Miki said.

"If you have an inside," Ami explained, her tone long-suffering, "then you're a you. It doesn't matter how small you are. Or how big. It's not about that. And your body's not just a shell, 'cause I can feel it." She poked Miki on the cheek, and the older girl scowled at her. "It's got blood and stuff."

"But-"

"And you're smart," Ami interrupted, holding up a finger. "I can't tell what you're thinking, 'cause your thoughts are in your body, not just in your mind."

"That's..." Miki trailed off, looking uncertain. She pinched a finger. "That's not what I was trying to do."

"Doh, 'cause you're stupid," Ami said. "But it's what you did. Stop being stupid and maybe I won't call you 'stupid'. You big stupid."

"Ami," Dad warned, then sighed. "But she might be right. I'm no expert on philosophy, but that sounds about right to me.

"So that's four people saying you're real, for four different reasons," Mom added. "Giving up yet?"

Amu tried not to smile, while Miki looked flummoxed. A moment later, she yawned.

"Tired?" Amu asked, her voice teasing.

"No," Miki mumbled, not meeting her eyes. "Yes. Maybe," she admitted. "I could go for a nap. 'Was expecting I'd pop back down to fairy-sized, but I'm getting tired instead."

"Well, then."

"I give up," Miki mumbled, leaning on Dad. He pulled her a little closer, and she let him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'll have a lot to explain, won't I. The Guardians, and..."

"It's not so bad," her father told her. "There's precedent. Transfer students, anyway."

"There is?" Miki sleepily rubbed at her eyes. "Who? Utau?"

"There was also Nagihiko," Dad pointed out.

"And Hikaru," Mom added.

"And Amu back in fourth grade," Dad added. "More or less."

"Hikaru's different." Miki yawned. "And Nagihiko is- um. Rich."

"Not the point," Mom told her. "Don't you worry. We'll figure something out. It'll be all right."

"Yeah," Amu said.

"Mm." Miki's eyes closed, and then she jerked partially upright. "Sorry. I'm falling asleep."

"Then sleep," Dad told her.

"But I-"

"Sleep," Mom said, giving her a smile. "Don't worry. Everything will work out. I promise."

"I've never slept on a couch before," Miki mumbled as Amu and Dad helped her lie down. "Feels comfy. Like a bed."

She settled in for her nap. Amu, a bit worried by her sudden tiredness, took a good look at Miki's 'insides'—the way Ami apparently had—but found that Ami was apparently right. This wasn't a shell of illusion that she'd made for herself. Miki's body was…

'"Real" isn't quite right,' she thought at Ami, who stuck out her tongue at her. 'But she's getting there. Somehow.'

It had heart, lungs, a stomach, everything bodies were supposed to have, and though Amu had never tried scanning a chara with her… biology-sense? She was sure they didn't. Even so, it was a little misty; less a real girl than the imprint of one, though the difference might be academic and was getting more so by the moment. No wonder she was tired.

How Miki had turned herself fully human by accident was something Amu couldn't begin to guess at, but at least she didn't seem to be in danger. She curled a lock of Mi-chan's hair around her finger, then told Ami as much—and smiled, relaxing a little.

"I'll get a blanket," Ami told them, hopping off the couch.

"Thanks," Miki sleepily replied.

"Neechan, are you still gonna be big tomorrow?"

"Probably," Miki mumbled, her eyes already half-closed. "Might have to stay this way forever. Dunno."

Amu watched them and really couldn't help but smile. She was glad Ami wasn't upset, frightened, or anything like that. Her younger sister had a remarkable capacity for accepting weird things, and a healthy sense of curiosity. She was a sweet kid, really.

Which made Amu all the more worried for what was next...

Miki fell asleep, her head in Dad's lap, leaving her with just her parents and Ami. The lego army had resumed its work. Amu found herself watching it. This was Ami fidgeting, really. How long had she kept this to herself just because she thought that she had to?

They sat in silence, listening to Miki's soft breaths. It was... a surreal feeling. Amu didn't know what to say. What could she say?

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and her mother's face hardened.

"Don't apologise," Mom said. "Just don't scare us like that again. And- well. I'm glad you think that way of Miki. You too, Ami-chan. That was a great pep talk."

"Yeah," the little girl said, a little glumly. "Will 'neechan be okay?"

"I hope so," Amu said. "But this is the first time she's been like this, and we'll have to see."

"She's very self-deprecating," Mom added, a frown on her face. "If I thought for a second that was your doing, Amu- but no, let's not start this argument again. I know it's not. We have a bigger problem, don't we? I can't imagine the sort of trouble your friend's in."

"Neither can I," Amu muttered. "But... um."

"It's a good thing you've got friends," Mom said, smile softening again. "But I think it's time you come clean. Is this something Ami can be here for?"

"Maybe not," Amu admitted, glancing at her little sister. "Ami, could you go to your room for a while?"

"Why?"

"Because this is serious," Mom interrupted. "Like a scary movie, I imagine. Not for little ears."

"I'm not afraid," the little girl retorted. "I have a sword." She pointed to the stuffed bunny, who was currently leading a squad of soldiers in the reconstruction effort. It was, indeed, holding a sword.

"A stuffed animal sword," Dad said.

"It's a sword. It counts."

"Ami," their mother said, and the girl slumped.

"Fine," she said, standing up and picking up the bunny.

"Thank you."

"It's fine," Ami mumbled. "Miki-neechan needs my help. I'll help her. Don't worry."

"Good girl," her father told her, giving her a gentle pat on the head. "But I think the best way you can help her is to be yourself, all right? Let her settle into being a person. Understand?"

"Fine," Ami mumbled, though her voice was less annoyed than before. "Bye-bye, Amu-neechan. See you, Miki-neechan.Have a good dream."

"Bye, Ami," Amu said.

"I'll come get you later," Dad added, and then the girl was gone, leaving their parents with their older daughter. Amu went silent, not quite certain how to begin, and her mother let the silence linger.

"Amu," her mother finally said.

"I know," Amu said.

"Then tell me."

She drew a deep breath.

She didn't want to. She'd been hesitating for days, torn between worry for Kana and the need to keep her secret. But Mom was right. She needed help, and there wasn't anyone else. She had to force herself to trust her mother, to believe she'd do the right thing, even if-

-even if that meant hurting Kana, somehow.

"Kana," she began. "She's twelve. Just a little bit younger than me, they think."

"Think?" Mom's eyes were sharp.

"They're not sure," Amu admitted. "None of them remember anything from before they were nine. Or six in Yui's case."

"They," her mother repeated.

"The 'Scavengers'," Amu confirmed. "Kana's… I want to say family, but it's more like a gang that's forced to stay together because no-one else will help them? Mom, dad-" She looked up, into their eyes, willing them to believe her. "Please don't think badly of them? They don't have parents, but they're not just runaway kids. They're more like… Ikuto? Except instead of Easter they're running away from Manticore, and Manticore's..." She hesitated. "A government agency, at least I think so. Like JPs. Except evil. And- um. They're trying to kill Kana." She groaned inwardly. "Or maybe not kill? Capture. I don't think they'd kill…"

She hesitated there, but honesty compelled her to go on.

"Probably."

Her mother's expression was pensive. She thought. She wasn't reading their emotions.

"Go on," Mom said.

"Manticore were the people behind Easter," Amu told her. "Kind of? Or... we know two of their scientists were working for Easter, but Kana thinks they were fired from Manticore. They weren't very good, so maybe they just were fired? Though they still nearly captured Miki once..." She shook her head, returning to the point. "When I showed Kana that memory she got really sad and angry. It's why Naomi lets me visit, I think. They're scared of being found, and- um. Kana's scared. And so are the rest of them. They've been hiding since they were kids. Since- well, Yui was seven when they found her, and Kana was ten."

She should have thought this through. Talked with Miki about how to word things.

"How old are they now?" her mother asked, her voice thoughtful.

"I don't know," Amu admitted. "Between nine and seventeen, I think. Naomi's probably the oldest. Yui says she's nine but..."

"Is she?"

"She acts eight, maybe," Amu replied. "But I don't think she knows. And she's shorter than Ami."

"Ami's taller than most second-graders," Mom noted, a tight smile on her lips. "So tell me about Naomi; I take it she's the leader. Is she the one who told you about Manticore? What do you know about her?"

"I don't know much," Amu admitted. "But- no. I saw Manticore in Kana's memories. Naomi, I- well, I've met her a couple of times, but only for a little bit , and we didn't speak much. She's... intense. But, well..."

She told her parents everything she knew about Naomi and then about the others. It really wasn't very much. With the exception of Kana, whom Amu knew practically inside and out—and Aoi, who was a transmitting empath in the same style as Utau and- most of Amu's class, Amu suspected—she didn't know them that well. She did mention her apparent drug dependence, which—well, her mother didn't seem happy about that, but what was she going to do, exactly?

And then she told her about what Kana hadn't deliberately shown her. Not the murder- never that, she couldn't stand the thought of Mom thinking of Kana that way- but that they'd been captives, and that Kana and the others had escaped them. That made her parents go very quiet.

Amu was left sitting uncomfortably on the literal edge of her seat. Dad tried to give her a reassuring hand on her back, but he had Miki to keep hold of, and Miki to stroke the hair of, and- Amu didn't mind that, not in the least, but it was just-

"I'm not sure what to make of this," Mom finally said, rubbing her forehead. "It sounds like she's not a particularly nice person, but she's also a victim of circumstance. And- I have no idea what I'd do in her position. It's a difficult situation."

"Do you think Naomi's evil?" Amu asked.

Mom was quiet for a long, long moment, and when she spoke again her voice was hesitant.

"Good and evil aren't simple things, Amu," she said. "There are no black and white answers. People are a mess, and everyone has their own reasons. Did you think Utau-chan was evil?"

"Of course not," Amu protested, her voice quick.

"Really?" Mom raised an eyebrow. "Even after she pushed an entire stadium of children to the brink of depression? That was a fairly evil act to commit, and she thinks she has a lot to atone for."

"Well," Amu mumbled, "it wasn't her fault, was it? It was those awful people. Those- those... idiots in Easter."

"Was it?" Her mother's voice was placid. "You seem awfully quick to defend her, and she's hardly an innocent, Amu. She did a bad thing, and I know she feels terrible about it, but it will take a long time to make amends. Utau might not want you to forgive her so easily. In fact I doubt it. She was old enough to know better."

Amu said nothing. She knew that was true.

"But," her mother added, her voice a touch softer, "you're a kind person, and I think you see the best in people. I'm proud of that." She reached forward to pat her daughter's arm, her eyes warm. "Nor am I saying that was all Utau's fault. If she's feeling responsible, that means it won't happen again. Truth be told, I completely agree that it's Easter at fault. Children—even teenagers—are easy to manipulate. They can be twisted, if someone wants them to be. Utau was used, and she isn't responsible."

"So what are you saying?" Amu asked.

"That we can't know for certain," Mom said. "About Naomi. Maybe she's a terrible person, and maybe she's a victim. Or both. Either way, I want to meet her. Do you know if she's a mind-controller, by the way?"

"Huh?" Amu was taken aback. "...no. That's just Kana."

"That's a relief. But you should try and convince her to stay out of people's minds," her mother added. "And I mean that. If you can, that would be for the best. Mind-reading is a violation of privacy."

"Oh," Amu mumbled, her cheeks red.

"Now," Mom said, "I have a feeling Kana's the most important thing, right now. You've spent a lot of time with her, haven't you?" she said, her tone a little wry.

"Well- yeah," said Amu. "She's a good friend."

"Just a friend?" Her mothers tone, for the first time since Miki had fallen asleep, lost a little of the stoniness.

"Mom," Amu muttered, her cheeks red. "I'm not interested in her. Not that way. She's just a friend. I care about her."

"All right," Mom conceded. "Same as Utau, then. I understand completely."

"Mom," Amu whined, her blush spreading from her cheeks to her ears.

"Your father and I are happy to accept Utau into our family," her mother said, her eyes glimmering. "If you want us to accept her as a daughter-in-law, all you have to do is ask. We're fine with that. Though, admittedly, I'd rather it wait until you've graduated college, if only for appearances' sake."

Amu grabbed a pillow, burying her face in it.

"That said," her mother continued, her tone a little more serious, "How certain are you that Manticore is governmental?"

"I don't know," Amu mumbled through the cotton. "Very certain? Kana thinks so."

"Well," her mother said, her voice thoughtful, "then that's something we'll have to confirm. It's possible they're an extremist group. A cult, or some other sort of criminal organisation. They may have claimed to be government just so the children would think there'd be nowhere to go for help."

"You think they aren't?" Amu's eyes went wide. She dropped the pillow.

"It does not entirely matter," her mother continued, her eyes distant. "Regardless of the truth... there were always rumours. But Amu-chan, do you think the government's a single, unified entity? That everyone works together?"

She blinked.

"Manticore sounds… grotesque," Mom told her. "But the government is a large and unwieldy bureaucracy. It's hardly a person. In any organisation the higher-ups don't always know what the lower-downs are doing. Some departments are secretive even among themselves and there are always bad apples...

"Imagine," her mother went on, leaning forward for emphasis, "a school with many different classrooms and teachers. Each classroom is like a department in the government. They all belong to the same school, but they don't always know what the others are doing. Some teachers might have secret projects with their students that other teachers don't know about. And just like in school, where most teachers are good but a few might break the rules, in the government, most people are good and want to help, but some might misuse their power or hide things.

"So, when we talk about Manticore," she continued, "it's like a secret club in one of the classrooms. The headteacher might not even know it exists. It could be doing things that are against the rules of the school, but it's hidden away. That's why it's tricky. We can't just say 'the school is bad' because of one secret club. In the same way, if Manticore is part of the government, it doesn't mean the whole government is bad. It could be just a small part that's doing things they shouldn't.

"But," she concluded, her eyes locking with Amu's, "it's important we find out the truth. We need to understand what Manticore really is, and if they really are as bad as you're thinking, then we need to expose it. Just like in school, if there's a secret club causing trouble, it's important to tell someone who can help sort it out. The truth matters, Amu-chan, and sometimes it's not simple."

Dad raised a hand.

"Question," he said. "Does Manticore have anything to do with JPs?"

Amu opened her mouth.

"Um," she said, her brow furrowing. "I don't know."

Dad leaned back, and went back to stroking Miki's hair. The beret—Amu spotted, to some surprise—had fallen off her, and sat on the couch next to the two.

"Well, you might want to ask," he said. "I've been looking into them. The organisation itself has existed for decades; it's listed as part of the meteorological agency, but that's plainly just a smoke-screen. There's rumours that they've had a focus on the paranormal, which I think we can consider confirmed—the internet's a real mess right now. But if we look back in time, those same rumours also claim it only recently expanded to include 'xenobiology'." He looked at Amu. "That's a fancy word for 'strange animals'.

'I know,' Amu thought, but didn't say. It had been in one of her books.

"The thing is," Dad added, "that there's a lot of strange animals. Deep-sea fish, jellyfish, eels... the number of species humans have found is in the hundreds of thousands, yet some say ten times as many remain undiscovered. On land, it'd be mainly insects and small animals. But I don't think it's either of those, do you?"

"You're saying demons?" Amu's expression was puzzled. "And JPs are studying them. Were studying them."

"Defending against them," Dad corrected. "I was impressed by what I saw when I visited their facility, but it's pretty obviously military. I didn't tell you, Amu, but while you were visiting Saaya I decided to strike up a conversation with some of the guards and other staff members. It was quite an interesting talk. They were extremely professional, but some things bleed through. And I don't even mean the style of signage."

"Such as?" Mom prompted.

"Well, a desire to do good," Dad said. "I don't know the details, but they're certainly taking their work seriously; I don't think a single person treats it as payroll. That, and there's an interesting pattern. A number of the staff are veterans of the Self-Defence Force, and a few are retired police officers. They don't all have excellent records. A number were ejected for 'discipline reasons', but from reading between the lines-" He coughed. "It seems that, well. They were ejected for being liabilities, because of whistle-blowing, 'excess initiative' or speaking out against corruption. There are also a number of foreigners."

"Foreigners?" Amu repeated.

"Americans," her father clarified. "Former USFJ. It's not the only country represented; I met a number of British, French and Canadian soldiers, and I'm pretty sure there were a few Russians in the crowd. It paints a very interesting picture."

"It does," Mom agreed. She patted Amu's hand. "And this is why we need information. I'm going to have a talk with some of my associates and see if we can get to the bottom of things. Your father can probably help, too, can't you, dear?"

"Of course," he said. "Though, honestly, the government does keep secrets, so don't get your hopes up."

"I won't," Mom assured him.

"You will," he said, his smile wry. "It'll take a couple days. Weeks. Dear, I'm hardly a detective."

"But you know a few," Mom said.

"True."

"So... you're saying they're good guys, so they aren't likely to be linked to Manticore?" Amu frowned. "Or that you don't know?

"It's possible," Mom said, her voice dry. "That they're a group of rogue operators. It's more likely that they're criminals. I shouldn't need to say this, Amu, but few people look kindly on child abuse, let alone murder or experimentation. If there's a conspiracy in JPs, then it's unlikely the entire organisation is corrupt—but from what your father is saying, it's unlikely they're connected at all."

Amu frowned.

"But Easter did basically that?" she attempted. "Minus the murder. And Kana's just scared, it's not like she's seen anyone murdered by them. I think." She was trying to put her thoughts together, because something didn't make sense. What Manticore did... "What they're trying to do is... pretty evil," Amu decided, her brow furrowed. "Kana thinks so too. It's a bad thing to take kids and make them into- whatever they do. And I think that's probably why she's so easily scared. But it's not..."

Her mother waited patiently for her to speak.

"I mean, I guess I'm not that surprised?" Amu finished, a little lamely. "Manticore's just... Easter, but... better at it? Maybe?" She winced. "Or worse?"

She went quiet. She'd wanted not to say that.

Her parents didn't immediately respond, and in the silence Amu began to wonder just how crazy her words had sounded. It wasn't as though she had the words to describe what she meant. It was a feeling. A vague, ill-defined, awful feeling, like a bad taste in her mouth. If she had to put a word to it, it might be 'fear'. The world wasn't very nice, sometimes, and she'd wanted to keep it out of her home.

"Better or worse than what, exactly?" Mom asked, her voice very calm. "What was Easter trying to accomplish?"

"I'm not really sure," Amu mumbled, thinking back. "'Find the Embryo', they said. But that was just a broken-off part of Hikaru's soul and it mostly wasn't what they really did. They didn't really have a plan at all? They were just experimenting, throwing stuff at the wall to see what stuck. They were idiots."

"That's true," Mom agreed.

"Manticore," Amu mumbled, trying to put the two ideas together, "they're doing the same thing, but to kids kept in captivity. So they're smarter."

"Keeping children locked up is 'smart'?" Dad repeated, his expression baffled.

"Isn't it?" Amu looked up. "I mean, we... sorta... broke Easter's skyscraper, right? If you're experimenting on kids… instead of letting them fight you, it'd be better to just…"

The silence this time was profound.

"You're not saying much," Amu finally mumbled, glancing at her parents.

"I think," her mother said, a hint of sadness in her voice, "that the word you're looking for is 'revolting', not 'smart'. Amu, you shouldn't ever be unsurprised by the things bad people do. And yes, they're bad people." She paused. "I'd ask what on earth happened to you that made you think like that, but maybe I don't want to hear it." She stepped over to Amu's side of the table, pulling her into a hug that was so tight it was almost painful. "Maybe I'm a bit angry, too. Maybe I want to go down to Easter myself and tell those people exactly what I think. I don't know. I wish I'd known sooner."

Dad was staring at Miki, his brow furrowed.

"Do you think they'd do the same to Miki, if they found her?" he murmured.

"Easter?" Amu asked. "Oh, well, yes. Su got kidnapped once, and I-" She paused. Her eyes, unbeknownst to her but visible to her parents, flickered back from yellow to brown. They'd done a lot of that, this conversation. "I told you I sorta am Su, right? She's not gone, she's just... me. So anyway, she got kidnapped by Nikaidou once, because he wanted to experiment and make a better... um, I don't really remember. Some sort of X-egg-creation machine. By squishing me into a pancake."

"X-eggs," Mom said, her voice blank. "I recall you talking about those. They're the reason why you became a guardian, correct?" She grimaced. "That name is… indicative."

"Yeah," Amu replied. "That's most of what Easter was doing. Just causing more X-eggs and using them to make even more X-eggs. I'm not sure if they did that by making kids depressed, or if that happened because of the X-eggs, but- anyway," she added, before her mother could react. "Nikaidou tried to kidnap Su, but Su talked him around. She... uh. I think mostly she undid his brainwashing. He's not a bad person, I promise."

"He's Utau's adoptive father," Mom pointed out, her tone flat.

"He is," Amu confirmed. "I know he feels bad about it. He's been helping us, and- I mean, I didn't really like him back then, the whole Himamori thing, but I know he's a good person now." She waved her hands, trying to cheer them up. "And hey, I'm still right here. Nothing bad happened."

Mom stared at her.

Dad gave her a meaningful look and Mom's shoulders sagged.

"Of course," she sighed. "Yes. Well. As for Manticore... it seems to me that they're a much more dangerous group than Easter was, but you're also right." She gave Amu a tight-lipped smile. "It's hard to compare the two. What Easter did was wrong, but... well. It's not a competition."

"You're worried," Amu said, her brow furrowed.

"I think, if Kana was in trouble, then it started last week. The girl you've described would have sent you at least a text message, surely?"

"Not if she was dead," Amu mumbled. "She could be dead. Or captured."

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Mom cautioned, but her voice was worried. "Her phone could be dead, or the publicity might have scared her off. I doubt an organisation like Manticore would stage an attack in broad daylight, but all the same, I'd rather not have them notice us. Do you have a way to check on Kana from a distance?"

"No?" Amu said. "Wait... yes? What's 'distance'?"

"From the street, maybe?" her mother said.

"Probably," Amu admitted. "Um. If they're alive."

Her mother gave her a look.

"You've been a bit fatalistic, Amu," her father noted, his voice careful. "I've noticed. Is there a reason for that?"

"I just-" Amu hesitated. "No? Maybe? I just have a bad feeling, and it's getting worse by the hour. I can't see the future. I'm a terrible precog, but I..." She trailed off. "I just know something's wrong. Something's not right."

Mom squeezed her hand, and there was another momentary silence. Mom and Dad gave each other another of those looks, the ones that were almost telepathy, minus the telepathy. Amu wished she could peek, but… no, she'd told herself not to do that.

"They live in a normal neighbourhood, right?" Dad said.

"A bit rundown," Amu said. "There are some abandoned buildings nearby, and an old playground, and- well, the neighbourhood isn't great, but the house is all right. There's a few shops. And there's children in the playground. I stopped by there once." She smiled a little.

"So there's people on the streets, even if it's not bustling. We could just walk past and have a look."

Amu looked up. "So you'll let me go?" she said, her voice small.

"We weren't planning to stop you," her mother replied, her eyes sad. "We couldn't, could we?"

"But you told me I'm grounded?"

"Yes," her mother agreed. "But-" She trailed off. "I mean, you-"

"That's what being 'grounded' means?" Amu sat up, her face a question mark. "So didn't you already stop me?"

Her mother opened her mouth. Then closed it.

"I guess we did," Dad said, looking contemplative. "And I think I'm glad. That said, how would you like to take a walk with your father?"

"Now?"

"If you'd like," he agreed. "The weather is lovely, and we can have a leisurely stroll past your friends. See if anything is wrong. Or not. You seem awfully worried." One hand still stroking Miki, he let the other ruffle Amu's hair. "It'd make me feel better, and I'm sure it would make you feel better, too."

"You're not mad?"

"Well," Dad admitted, a touch sheepishly, "I can't pretend I'm pleased. You've kept some terrible secrets from us, Amu-chan. That said, we're family. I'd much rather we work through these problems together, wouldn't you?"

"Y-yeah," Amu mumbled, her cheeks red.

"What would you have done on your own?" he asked her. "Walked up and knocked on their door, maybe? I hope not."

She looked away, face once again red like a tomato. Her parents, thankfully, didn't comment.

"Then it's decided," her father said. "Time for a walk. Midori- you'll take care of Miki and Ami, won't you?"

"I would, but I think if you get up you'll wake her," Mom said, giving him a meaningful look. "You're both stuck here, at least for the time being. I'll take care of Amu."

"Fair enough," he conceded.

Miki yawned, hands coming up to rub at her eyes. She blinked blearily, staring up at the adults.

"What's going on?" she mumbled, her voice half-asleep.

"...or we could make it a family event," Dad suggested.

= = =

What sort of family has 'spy on a potentially evil potentially government organisation' as a family event? Oh, right, this one. It beats the alternatives.

I'll refrain from pretending like there's any chance you won't go. Midori has offered one way to explore the situation, but feel free to suggest another. In the meantime… task vote!

[ ][Party] Amu, Miki, Midori, Tsumugu and Ami
- A proper family outing.
- This is a lie. Miki and Ami would be in a cafe half a kilometre away, likely along with Midori; they're not going to bring Ami or Miki into that. Nor both parents, for that matter.
- It's still a family outing, and ideally Amu comes back to join them at the cafe.

[ ][Party] Amu and Midori
- Everyone else gets to stay at home.
- …is this actually safer? Well, it's an option.

[ ][Party] Amu, Miki, Midori, Tsumugu, Ami and Utau
- The biggest issue is Midori will most likely claim this is still a family outing.
- Also Utau is likely to be upset. At Amu's latest situation, not the claim. Probably.
-- …that's going to happen, sooner or later.
- There is zero chance that Utau would stay at any cafe, though Eru and Iru might.

[ ][Party] Write-in

[ ][Approach] A casual stroll past the Scavengers. Just some random passersby.
- What could possibly go wrong?
- Consider what you'll do if and when the situation is Not Perfectly Normal. Or even if it is.
- Probably it'll just be a quick update and interrupt.

[ ][Approach] Write-in

 

[Baughn]

"Ami's going to be very annoyed we left her behind," Amu warned.

"Ami's also going to be upset if we take her to a crime scene," Mom countered. "And you will be upset if she gets hurt."

"Fair," Amu admitted, adjusting her seatbelt. Mom pulled out of the driveway. There had been no reporters or anything; nothing to stop them simply walking away, but Mom had suggested taking the car. Which was okay, she supposed. It was faster than the bus.

"Miki's annoyed as well," Amu added, glancing backwards at the house.

"Miki was passing out," her mother pointed out. "She needed to sleep, and you said it yourself, she can't be any help right now."

That wasn't what Amu had said, but they both knew that. Couldn't use Miki as a chara if she wasn't a chara. And besides, there was that word. 'Use'.

They'd left when Miki had fallen asleep again. With Ami and Dad fussing over her the poor girl hadn't had much choice in the matter. Mom had said, with a straight face, that Miki seemed to be hibernating and that Ami shouldn't worry. Ami had immediately volunteered to guard her with stuffed toys. Dad had been trapped—again—which was why they'd escaped when they had.

It wasn't that they didn't want them, just-

Just what?

She wasn't quite sure what to say. She felt weird, sitting in the passenger seat of the car without Dad or Ami along. Her mom was driving. That wasn't new, exactly, but... she felt... she didn't know.

Tired, she supposed. Tired and relieved, and a little sick, and nervous. A mix of emotions, but most of all relieved. Mom and Dad weren't mad at her. She'd told them her secrets, and they'd accepted her, and-

-and everything would be fine. She wasn't sure when, exactly, she'd become so afraid.

"I don't really think it's a crime scene," Amu murmured, as Mom drove. "There's bound to be some simple explanation. Kana broke her phone, maybe. Or..."

"I'm sure there is," her mother agreed.

She fiddled with the radio. A pop song was playing, and she let it wash over her, not thinking too much about the lyrics.

"I'm sorry," she finally mumbled. "For keeping all this a secret. For not telling you about Kana, or Easter, or anything really. I thought- I didn't want you to worry. At first it was like a game. And then, once it wasn't-" She swallowed. "It was scary. And I didn't want you to be mad at me."

"Well, we are a bit mad," Mom said.

Amu flinched.

"Not about Kana," her mother clarified. "That was understandable, given the circumstances. But Amu, your father and I are always here for you. You don't have to go through the world alone. That's our job. Parents are supposed to take care of you. Amu, you're not a magical girl—except literally, maybe?" She shook her head. "Regardless, you're our daughter. It's not your job to protect us. Not like this."

"Sorry," Amu said.

"Don't apologise. It's not like we're all that mad, or even disappointed. We're just... concerned, about a lot of things. Your safety, your well-being, and the well-being of those around you." She took a hand off the steering wheel, reaching over to ruffle her daughter's brown hair. "You've grown up, haven't you. It's a parent's job to be proud of that, and to miss their child when she becomes an adult. You're doing it too early, and that's a shame, but we are proud. I'm not sure your father and I ever properly thanked you for taking care of Ami-chan."

"No need," Amu mumbled.

They drove in silence for a little while, and then Mom spoke up again.

"I'll be a hypocrite for saying this, but yes, there's need. Amu, your little sister can control minds. You can't imagine how terrifying that would be to most people, and to us it's... not as scary, maybe, but it's certainly disconcerting. Even knowing that Ami's a sweet child, a good girl who would never hurt a fly, I can't help but feel a bit afraid. What happens when she gets angry? If she makes a mistake? She's seven years old, and the things she could do-"

"She'd never," Amu interrupted, her voice soft.

"She wouldn't want to," her mother agreed. "But all the same I can't stop worrying. Amu, I can't guide her. I can't tell how she's doing. I don't have your abilities. You do. It's not your job, but you're the only one who can. Ami trusts you and so do we. It's hard to accept. We'll have to help you do it, but right now..." She took a deep breath. "Please, teach her. She trusts you to the end of the world. I can't imagine the pressure that puts on your shoulders, and it's an unfair thing to ask of you. So let me say this.

"Please, Amu," Mom said. "Trust us too. We're not the sort of people who run screaming at the slightest hint of danger. We'll be there for you and your sisters, whatever happens. Always. And that's not a promise, it's a fact. Believe in us."

Amu went silent. She studied her mother's face, but it might as well have been blank. What emotions were there, she couldn't read them. So she fell back to the words and her memories. This was her mother. She'd never, not even once, given Amu reason to doubt her.

"Okay," she finally said, and then, her voice very small. "Thank you."

Her mother said nothing, but ruffled her hair again, and that silence was as comforting as a hug.

The rest of the drive was spent in a quiet sort of peace. Utau was waiting outdoors when they got there—she could feel her at a distance—and the sight of the blonde teen had Amu smiling, her mood soon much lighter. Utau was dressed in her 'incognito' clothes, of course—a black hoodie and cap, a pair of sunglasses and pants instead of her usual skirt—but their minds meshed as soon as she arrived, Utau reaching out to her and Amu reaching back, and from there it was impossible not to smile.

Utau's eyes narrowed as the car approached, though her confusion faded as she connected the freckled brunette in the front seat with Amu.

"Utau-chan!" Amu called, cheeks going pink the moment she opened the door. She waved her friend over, her heart fluttering in her chest.

"Good evening, Amu," the older girl greeted her. "And Mrs Hinamori. Thank you for taking me along."

"Hello Utau," her mother replied, her voice calm. "How are you doing today? It's been a while."

"It has," Utau agreed. "And I'm a little confused," she admitted. "Amu sent me a message, but I'm not sure I get it. I certainly don't mind helping out, if- You need me as a bodyguard? Did I get that right?"

Amu winced, because her text had probably not made much sense.

"Something like that," her mother agreed. "Why don't you get inside and she'll explain it while on the move? I'd prefer not to talk in the open." She motioned to the back seat.

"Of course," the girl agreed, not missing a beat.

Amu took a quick glance at Mom and then jumped out of the car, opening the back door for Utau. She'd been hoping to brush past her maybe, a hug ideally, but the blonde gave her an amused smile, her eyes glimmering behind the sunglasses, and stepped around her into the car. Amu quickly got in beside her, blushing and trying not to meet the eyes of her mother. Or Utau.

Mom, hiding a smile, started the car and began the short drive towards Kana's street.

"It's not a big deal, probably," Amu assured Utau, as her friend leaned back in her seat and Amu debated with herself whether or not to lean closer, and whether or not that was a weird thing to want. "You remember Kana, right? She might have gotten in trouble. I want to make sure she's okay."

"Define 'trouble'," Utau asked, her eyes narrowing.

So she did.

⁂

It was a big deal.

Telling Utau what had happened wasn't any easier than telling Mom and Dad, and by the end of it Amu felt very, very small. The two girls sat next to each other, Amu curled up on her seat, Utau leaning forward with her head resting on the driver's seat in front. They'd finished their arguing; Utau hadn't shouted at her, probably could never do that, but Amu could feel her emotions. Not as much upset about the secrecy, because there hadn't been as much. No, rather-

"How do you keep getting into these situations?" Utau sighed, shaking her head.

It wasn't quite an accusation, and not quite disappointment. Frustration, Amu thought. Worry. Concern. Fear. An ironic sense of resignation.

"Lulu claims I have bad taste in friends," Amu mumbled, her cheeks hot. "Herself included."

Utau laughed, leaning back. They fell back into silence for a few moments, Amu not sure what else to say. Utau was there, and that- that-

It made her happier than she could quite describe. It was almost like Kana. No questioning herself, no wondering if she'd said the wrong thing. She couldn't see Utau's thoughts, but she could feel her reactions. Anyone and everyone would, some just confused it for their own.

But there was that connection. A familiarity. A knowledge that Utau cared, and trusted, and liked her too.

Utau sighed, closing her eyes.

"This is why I worry," the blonde murmured, leaning against the window. "It's a mess," she decided.

"I know," Amu admitted.

"So... Manticore, huh."

Amu nodded. Utau sighed. "Maybe I should stay over," she said. "You know, so I can sit on you. You seem to need it sometimes."

Amu said nothing. She could tell that Utau didn't really mean it. At the same time she had trouble thinking of a proper comeback

"Speaking of staying over," Mom said. "Next week, maybe. It can't be this one. The guest room's booked."

Utau blinked.

"You've got visitors?"

"Of a sort," Mom said, turning down another road. She smiled slightly, Amu could see. "It's a girl Amu's age. Amu's size roughly. Blue eyes. Dark hair that's a little shorter than Amu's, so silky it nearly looks blue. A beret she carries around everywhere..." Amu was suddenly very aware that Mom made a habit of embarrassing her, as Utau's emotions spiked. "She spends a lot of time with Ami, she's very artistic, she's probably sleeping on the couch right now, and she's a cute, clever little thing."

Utau stared, her emotions blanking from Amu's touch

"You do wear your heart on your sleeve, don't you?" Mom continued.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about," Utau protested.

"Her name is Miki," Mom concluded, looking up at the rearview mirror. Her eyes met Utau's, who strained to meet them. "I expect she'd like it very much if you came to visit. I met her for the first time last week, and now we're shopping for a bunk bed so my twins can sleep in the same room again. Today has been..." She seemed to be searching for words. "A day. It's nice to have Utau-chan here, but Utau-chan, would you like to explain what you're doing with a little devil girl on your shoulder?"

"You can see her?" Amu and Utau said, simultaneously.

Midori sighed.

"Yes," she said, voice tired. "Yes I can. Now answer the question."

"It's- She's- Her name is Iru," Utau managed, her face flushing. "We're-"

"Friends," Iru interjected, sounding sleepy.

Utau twitched. "You're awake?"

"Barely," Iru yawned. "You talk very loudly. And this is very comfy." She was indeed still snuggling on Utau's shoulder, eyes bleary and body limp. She stretched her tiny arms, then looked at Midori. "I'm Utau's chara, that's why." She yawned again. "Nikaidou Iru, pleased to meet you. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to come back later. I'm taking a nap." She burrowed her head back against Utau's neck.

"How can she see you?" Utau hissed.

"Eyes," Iru mumbled. "She believes in us. Don't worry so much. Sleep."

"I wasn't planning to- and you're asleep," Utau sighed. She looked up, meeting Midori's gaze. "You just told me Miki's asleep in your house."

"She is," Mom agreed, slowing the car to pull into a side-street. They'd almost reached Kana's home. Amu recognised the park, but kept quiet. This was important.

"You told me she's..." Utau frowned. "Bigger?"

"More her proper size, yes," Mom agreed. She pulled into a parking spot. "So now I have three daughters. Is that a problem?"

Amu let her head drop into her hands.

"No," said Utau. "But furthermore, you're having too much fun with this. And making assumptions. Iru and Eru aren't like Miki."

"Am I?" Mom stopped the car. "Well, it's been a stressful day. Humour an old woman."

The sudden lack of engine noise left a vacuum of sound, and for a few moments Amu just sat there, Utau silent beside her and her mother in the front. A couple houses down, she could see the familiar shape of the entrance to Kana's street, with the worn playground just beyond. A good three hundred metres; a safe distance to peek.

Mom turned to look straight at Utau. Or Iru, perhaps.

"Now," she said. "About that sleepover..."

Utau twitched again.

"Miki's most likely asleep," said Mom, derailing whatever Utau had been thinking. "She's safe and comfortable, and I'm certain she'll be very happy to see you once she does. She's borrowing the guest room until we have a bed for her, which might be just one day, unless she and Amu decide they want to share Amu's. And now I find myself questioning-" She looked at Iru, definitely this time. "If there's more girls like her running around, trapped in too-small bodies."

Iru ostentatiously yawned, snuggling deeper against Utau.

"Naah," the tiny chara supplied. "Miki's special." And then apparently went back to sleep.

"Like she said," Utau stressed. "Miki was always different, even I could tell that. Eru and Iru aren't-" She drew a breath, visibly calming down. "They're friends. I wouldn't want to be without them. They're as much a part of me as Ran and Su are part of Amu, and I would be able to tell-" She stressed her words again, reaching up to stroke Iru's hair; the supposedly sleeping devil chara moved out of the way. Amu tried not to chuckle. "I would be able to tell if she was in any way unsatisfied. Iru is fine with what she is. She always has been. Miki, on the other hand…"

Mom stared at her, then at Iru. Amu and Utau shared an uncomfortable moment, not sure if Iru's poker face would hold. And then, Mom's mask slipped, and Amu and Utau were confronted with a smile that, while wry, was definitely amused.

"I'll give you this," said Mom. "A shoulder devil is certainly one of the funnier secrets you could have had. Do you perhaps have a shoulder angel as well?"

Utau stalled.

"That-"

"She does!" said Amu, before Utau could stop her. "Her name is Eru, and she's a menace. She and Miki don't get along."

"Hey!" protested Utau.

Mom snorted, and then started laughing.

"Of course," she managed, as Utau sulked. "Why am I even surprised? Oh dear." She looked at Amu. "A shoulder devil and a shoulder angel. It's not even close to the strangest thing. I suppose you won't be a triplet in another month then?"

Now that would be hilarious, Amu decided. Big Eru and Iru? They'd tear Utau in half, and- and they wouldn't really fit on her shoulder anymore, would they? The mental image was both a bit sad, and a bit cute.

But probably not.

Amu was starting to wonder. What made Miki... Miki? Why had the others stayed small? Su, she thought, hadn't ever thought about it. Ran had, because being pint-sized made it hard to play football—but Ran was Amu, in the end. Amu was almost as much Ran as she was... Amu. They'd merged. Miki on the other hand had never been much like her. They'd acted the same way—sometimes, Amu spending too much time quietly doodling in class without talking—but it was for different reasons. Miki liked being that way. Amu didn't.

"Definitely not," Utau sighed. "Though..." She gave Amu a sharp look. "How's Miki doing? Has she really just been... napping?"

"Ask me tomorrow," said Amu. "It's been less than two hours."

"Miki and Iru need to talk," Utau concluded, reaching up to prod Iru's tiny side. "Eru too, but Iru is the one who summons instruments, so..."

Iru mumbled an affirmative, her voice incoherent.

"They might," Midori agreed, her expression thoughtful. "We're getting side-tracked, aren't we. What's the plan?"

"Plan?" Amu said.

"For Kana and Naomi," Utau prompted. "We're here, right?" She leaned forward, staring out the window. "You can feel that, can't you?"

"What?" Amu blurted.

"...can't you?" the blonde asked.

Amu focused. She felt a little foolish, actually.

"There's something," she muttered, feeling a little ashamed. "But it's not... I was trying not to look. If I open up I'll see Mom's emotions too. It's best not to listen."

There was a pause, as the other two looked at her.

"Define 'see my emotions'," Mom requested.

"Um. You told me not to read minds," Amu explained, giving her an awkward smile while Mom looked at her in mild disbelief. "So I wasn't paying attention, because—well, I wasn't supposed to, right? I was trying not to see your emotions, so I missed..."

She shook her head. Whatever was there, it was weak. And it wasn't giving her a bad feeling, not like staying home had. She couldn't tell what it was, though. Not at the same time she was trying not to see Mom.

"Something's a little bit off," said Utau. "I can't tell what it is, though… but Amu…" She gave Amu the same expression of mild disbelief as Mom. "What do you mean you're not looking?"

"At people's emotions?" Amu's expression was guilty. "It's just- you get used to it and after a while it's hard to stop? So I thought it's best not to start. And because Mom told me not to," she added, a touch sheepishly.

"I told you not to read minds," her mother corrected.

"Right?" Amu said, a little lost. "That's why Utau noticed it first." Whatever it was.

Utau blinked. Mom stared at her. Amu felt, abruptly, as though she'd said the wrong thing.

Was this going to be another mistake? It was, wasn't it? Amu bit her lip. Utau gave Midori a slow, uncertain sort of look, something in her expression becoming guarded, and Amu wasn't sure where this was going.

Mom sighed.

"You two really don't think much about that sort of thing, do you," she commented.

"About what?" Amu asked, as Utau, to Amu's confusion, blushed.

"I can't just not see people's emotions," Utau defended. "I try, but I can't. How would you turn off your ears? It's the same thing."

Mom was giving them a Look.

"What?" Utau frowned, feeling defensive. "It's not that bad, right?"

"Just when I thought your life couldn't get any stranger," Midori sighed, reaching up to rub her temples. "No, I suppose it might not be. Amu-chan," Mom clarified. "I said to not invade other people's privacy. Not to walk around deaf. I'm going to make a blind guess here, and- stop me if I'm wrong, but you're saying you can't just turn it off? You're always feeling people's emotions, all of the time?"

"It's... well, I can try?" Amu felt awkward. "It kinda works."

"It doesn't, for me." Utau shook her head. "I've been trying not to do it since leaving Easter, but I can't. It's just always there."

"And that's your normal life," Mom said, tapping the driver's wheel. "Then, I suppose..." her mother mused, her face doing something funny, "-hold on for a second. Is this why you were so unusually... tone-deaf, earlier today?"

"Uh," Amu mumbled, her face red.

"No, not like that," her mother sighed, her eyes closing. "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to understand. This is... let me test something. What does it look like I'm feeling, right now? Just look at my face."

She was smiling, so Amu was reasonably confident the answer was 'happy'.

"Happiness?" she said.

"All right, then. How about Utau-chan?"

Utau looked over. "False cheer," she said, her voice flat. "That's the worst fake smile I think I've ever seen. You're nervous. Scared. Worried, maybe, too."

"Not bad," Mom admitted, giving the girl a small nod.

"You're also a bit impressed, and a bit amused," Utau added. "But just so you know, I would have seen that with my back turned. Plus I've practised on photographs."

"And I bet Amu never had to," said Mom, giving another small sigh. "This isn't how I thought the evening would go, honestly."

"Sorry," Amu mumbled.

"Still not your fault," her mother commented.

"It's a lot like trying not to hear," Utau suggested, leaning back in her seat. "You could try learning to lip-read, but so long as your ears are working, there's little chance you'll do it by accident. I should have guessed something like this might be happening. She doesn't like movies, you know."

"I like anime," Amu objected.

"Yes, but that's a different thing entirely," Utau pointed out. "You said it's hard to follow the story. I bet..."

Utau radiated nothing but concern and affection.

"I can tell what Mom's feeling," Amu muttered, crossing her arms and looking out the window. "If I let myself."

Which she wasn't doing, and- yeah, faces were hard. Harder than she remembered actually. She'd slowly stopped watching for people's expressions over the past year or two. Not because she didn't want to, exactly, but… well… no-one seemed to mind. If she was chatting with her classmates, no-one really cared.

She tried it now, and there was Mom's smile—not as happy as it seemed, apparently. She peeked a little bit, and there was a whole lot of concern. Utau, she noted, was largely just perplexed. Amu shifted, leaning her head against the older girl's shoulder. That was a comfort. She tried not to think about it too much.

"And you can't, if you don't," Mom murmured, her voice contemplative. She looked at Amu. "I think I see. So that's why you were missing so much today. I'm sorry, Amu-chan. I should have clarified. Most people spot emotions on faces, not minds, but they aren't secret. It's not wrong of you to look for them."

"So," Utau said, leaning forward, "in other words?"

"Stop deafening yourself," her mother ordered. "I'd rather you didn't read minds, but emotions are fine. I'd like to see you become more sensitive, not less. You shouldn't have to struggle. I want you to understand how people are feeling, Amu-chan." She sighed. "And to learn how to read faces as well, but we'll take that one day at a time."

Amu blinked.

"Really?"

"Really," Mom confirmed, looking at her with a sore sort of affection. "It's probably better, isn't it. Your powers are what they are, and- well, I want to understand them as well. I'll help you learn how to deal with this. It's no good, you talking to people and missing half their emotional cues."

"Huh," Amu managed. Then, because she could—and because she could tell, because Mom needed this—she crawled forward and gave her mother a hug, burying her head in the woman's neck. She hadn't done that since- well, less than an hour, and Mom tensed up at first. But then she relaxed, returning the hug, and Amu squeezed her tight.

"Thanks, Mom," she mumbled.

"Of course, Amu-chan," Mom murmured, gently patting her head. "What sort of mother would I be, if I didn't help out when you needed it?"

Amu had an answer to that, which she thought but didn't say. It was 'a normal one', and Mom had never been normal, had she.

Instead she just hugged her mother tight, not moving. The seatbelt kept her from hugging her properly, and after a short while Mom pushed her off, smiling.

"As for now, Utau-chan?"

Amu crawled back. Utau nodded.

"It wasn't wasted, but we've spent enough time. Let's get to rescuing Kana."

⁂

Their plan had been a simple one.

Drive towards Kana, check at a distance for anything off, then drive slowly past the house while Amu and Utau did their best to scan for anything that might be wrong. Then, if need be, stop the car and have Amu break the door down and they could rescue anyone who needed rescuing

That had been the plan. It worked great, up to a point. Amu was already fairly certain nobody was watching, at least outside the house. Nobody in that direction felt like government agents, and she had Mom's blessing to mind-read all she needed if that was what it took to keep her safe, not that she could do so at this distance. But nobody felt particularly concentrated, or alarmed, or aggressive.

There was a girl walking a dog, who felt curious at their approach but no more, and the girl disappeared around the corner. A boy and girl walked past. They had skateboards under their arms, and one wore a blue-tipped black hoodie and the other a red t-shirt, and Amu felt a pang of worry for Ikuto—Utau squeezed her hand—but there wasn't any need for alarm. Just a pair of strangers who, for all Amu knew, were headed home from school or the skate park. They vanished in the opposite direction.

Lots of people inside their homes.

A couple making out. Amu blushed and stopped looking, her feelings conflicted.

Children playing, or watching television, or eating dinner.

There wasn't anyone who felt scary, or even concerned, just the general hum of the world.

"Drive us a little closer," Amu asked. "Not too close. Just to the playground at the end of the street, maybe?"

Mom obligingly drove the last hundred metres, rolling towards Kana's neighbourhood. Amu closed her eyes, focusing.

There was definitely something. She was more or less sure it was abnormal. But if no-one felt alarmed, then how bad could it be? Maybe it was Yui playing with her powers; Kana had already told her, or at least thought it, that Yui's abilities made a weird sort of funhouse mess of the room when she used them deliberately. She just usually didn't, because they scared her. That might explain the weird sense of something that Amu was getting.

The car rolled into Kana's street, Amu opening her eyes and squinting ahead.

Nothing. She looked at Mom.

"Anything?" Mom asked.

Amu shrugged.

Utau glanced between them, frowning.

"So... do we knock on their door, then?"

"Maybe," Amu said, looking ahead. "I have an idea. Utau, did you bring the Dumpty Key?"

"The Dumpty Key? Why?" Utau reached into her hoodie pocket. "What do you have in mind?"

"Let Mom park us by the playground first," Amu requested.

Mom obliged, pulling into an empty spot just a few houses from Kana's home, the playground itself not two metres away. Amu peered up at the rooftops as they approached the building Kana lived in, eyes narrowing. If Manticore was hiding, it was possible they'd set up some sort of anti-psychic machinery. She'd have believed it of the two idiots in Easter, and Manticore was supposed to be their better, scarier cousin, so-

There was no machinery she could sense. Just that slight, prickly funhouse labyrinth feeling. It got a lot more obvious as they got closer, but not in the sense that she could actually tell what it was. Feeling out reality through her psionic senses was like staring through mist at the best of times, and whatever was inside Kana's house was a lot harder to figure out. Like staring into a fog bank, she guessed, only with her eyes closed.

Amu hummed under her breath. Mom parked the car and Utau stepped out, stretching as she stood up. The sun was setting, but the sky was still bright with the dying rays of light, casting long shadows across the ground. Utau looked around, taking in the houses and the occasional person walking nearby, and gave a small nod.

"Nice enough place," she said. "Reminds me of my old neighbourhood."

Amu hopped out of the car as well and turned around, stepping towards Utau. Mom got out too and together the three of them stood on the edge of the sidewalk. Amu opened up, for real this time—not just looking, but reaching out as best she could. They- Mom felt like Mom, which was to say a confusing mish-mash of parental emotions that Amu only half-understood. Love, concern, a bit of fear. Utau was Utau; her emotions were easy to identify, even if they were a bit odd. Worry, a faint hint of affection, a bit of anticipation, and...

Utau's mind interlaced with hers, affectionate warmth bleeding through Amu's senses. It wasn't a word, or a feeling, exactly. Just- a sensation that felt almost like a hug. Amu flushed.

"Let's not dally," Utau said, her voice casual, her gaze calm. "I'd prefer to find your friend before dinner, wouldn't you?"

"Y-yeah," Amu agreed, cheeks red. "You've had the Dumpty Key for years," she told Utau. "Have you ever used it?"

"Ikuto was the one who had it, not me," reminded Utau. "But- no." She looked a bit guilty. "It's a keepsake from Dad. My real father, not-" She faltered.

"I get it," Amu assured her. "Um, I think. That said- Ikuto gave it to you, didn't he? After he left. That's- I mean, you're both really important to me, but you're the most important person to him."

Utau looked up at the sun, her expression conflicted. Amu gave her a moment.

"He was probably trying to annoy me," Utau finally said. "He'd say 'that way you'll match', or something along those lines." She snorted. "He's an idiot."

Amu wasn't sure Utau's emotions backed up the words, but she didn't protest. He often was.

"That said," the blonde continued, "I suppose it's fitting I'm using it to help you out."

"Maybe," Amu agreed, trying not to laugh. She stepped closer, taking the blonde girl's hand in her own. "That would be like him," Amu conceded.

"True," Utau murmured, meeting her eyes. She hesitated, before nodding. "Fine. What did you have in mind?"

"Oh, um." Amu hesitated, feeling her cheeks heat up. "It's a bit complicated, I'm not really sure, but basically I was thinking it's an amplifier. I mean, I used the Lock to- uh..."

"Play magical girl?" Mom suggested.

Amu blushed.

"Right," Utau said, laughing. "Complete with special attacks! So-" She glanced down at the Dumpty Key in her hand, spinning it on her finger. "You want to do that again?"

Amu thought.

"Um," she said. "No, I don't think I should. That one is yours, and... well, I already lent the Lock to Saaya. Using yours would feel like cheating. I was thinking something else?"

"Something else," Utau repeated, looking at the Dumpty Key in her hands. She tossed it once, caught it again.

"Utau," Amu began. She took a deep breath. Utau met her eyes. "Don't just hold on to the Key. Ikuto gave it to you to keep you safe." A beat. "So use it. Please."

"Use it," Utau repeated. Her emotions were conflicted. There was... doubt, and Amu knew her well enough to guess why. But there was also some excitement, and a hint of...

"Please," Amu repeated, her eyes not leaving Utau's.

"I don't think this is the best place for testing powers, girls," Mom spoke up.

"It's fine," Utau said, waving her off. "I think I know what it does. Amu's right, it's just an amplifier; all it'll do is make me stronger." She frowned. "I think."

"If you're sure," Mom said.

⁂

Utau closed her eyes, letting the Key rest in her palm. Her thoughts turned inwards, emotions conflicted. Ikuto had given it to her, then disappeared; that was the problem. But- it would make her stronger, maybe, and Amu needed that right now. So did Utau, if she was being honest with herself. Amu wouldn't use the Key herself, because Amu was Amu, but-

Utau could. It wouldn't hurt her.

"Here goes nothing," she decided, and took a deep breath.

She tried, for a moment, to feel Amu's emotions. Tried to draw strength from them, and- yes, that felt right, a warm fuzzy sensation of trust and care and- she wouldn't think about the last one.

The Dumpty Key shone. It didn't grow warm; it was already warm in her hands. Utau felt- light.

"You okay?" Amu asked.

Utau nodded. It wasn't power, she realised, but she could feel Amu in a way she hadn't before, and- Midori too. That knot of love, so carefully embracing Amu—that felt like her. Iru, on her shoulder, and half a dozen lines of power spreading out from her, tying her to-

To Eru and Miki, and Utau could feel them there too. She didn't understand it. Amu gave her a questioning look, and Utau gave her a tiny smile.

To Hikaru, who glanced up from where he lay curled around a comic book in her old stepfather's home, bored, then suddenly excited. She felt him look back along their connection, and Utau let him, not understanding but- okay? Yes, okay. Hikaru trusted her, if no-one else. She felt a questioning sort of sensation, a hint of worry, and Utau gave him a mental sort of pat. It would be fine. She thought.

She felt Ami. She hadn't meant to, but she could-

Ami was asleep, tucked against Miki's side in Amu's home—a father's embrace, and Utau was jealous in a way she refused to show, and- a doubling of sensation, as Ami stared back at her from underneath a bridge made from shadow, only she was taller, and blonde, so beautiful she almost hurt to look at. Ami's eyes were blazing gold, her expression-

Utau twitched.

Dad- Nikaidou- leant over a robot, the same egg-cooker—egg-smasher—he'd been playing with for weeks, and she felt a burst of warmth, but Dad wasn't her target.

"Utau?" Amu asked.

"-sorry, connection, not sure," she managed.

She felt Dia.

Dia's powers were-

The world glitched. She felt the sky shift above, the ground tremble underneath. Dia was-

Utau felt arms wrap around her.

A blazing white star hung in a midnight sky, a single point of light that denied the moon, illuminating every city on the planet- no, Utau wasn't-

Someone kissed her on the lips, soft and gentle and a shock in more ways than one.

The world shuddered, unravelling like torn parchment. A passenger plane disappeared mid-flight, turning into an image on a screen—a blonde girl and a boy with spiky hair, sharing a hug—and Utau thought- no, that couldn't be Ami-

A flight of angels swept overhead, feathers drifting to the ground beneath them. One angel fell, plummeting towards Utau with spear outstretched. It did not, could never reach her. It exploded into golden spheres of starlight, and the world rang like a gong as it submitted.

"Utau, snap out of it!"

Utau shuddered. Reality- right. Dia. Too much. How did Amu cope? Utau reached out- no, that was- she grasped the Dumpty Key tighter, and Amu was there, she could feel her-

She told the overeager little key to tone it down, and couldn't quite muster the shock she felt she should probably feel when it obeyed.

⁂

Amu watched, wide-eyed, as Utau wavered on her feet. The blonde's eyes were closed, and she held the Dumpty Key tightly, her knuckles white. For a second Amu panicked, almost stepping forward to catch the girl, but- Utau wouldn't fall, would she?

She did not.

It took only a moment, then Utau was blinking her eyes open, giving Amu a shaky sort of smile. Her emotions felt... Amu hesitated to put a word to it. Strange wasn't right, it was- something else. Calmer than they had been before.

Utau stared down at her hands, at her Key.

"That went... weirdly," she offered.

Amu waited.

"Kana," Utau finally said, looking at Amu. Her gaze sharpened. "Right. Kana. I only met her once, but- give me a second."

She closed her eyes, Amu watching. Utau frowned. She turned on her heel, looking up at the houses- Kana's house, Amu guessed, and- there was something. A tug on a part of her mind that she rarely paid much attention, something like- like gravity, maybe? An attraction. Utau seemed to find what she was looking for. Amu could tell. The blonde smiled.

"Found her," Utau declared. "She's asleep... over there." Utau waved a hand vaguely towards Kana's house, then turned towards Amu and Mom. "I think she's okay. She doesn't feel hurt, but there's also-" Utau frowned. "You said there should be three others, right?"

"Four," Amu corrected.

"Well, I can only feel one," Utau decided. "And it isn't Naomi. It isn't someone I've met before. A young girl, I think?"

"That would be Yui," Amu agreed, and Utau nodded.

"She feels... scared," she summarised. "Not hurt, or- I can't quite tell? She's too distant." Utau paused. "She's- dreaming, but not dreaming. It feels-" Utau frowned. "Do dreams have a texture?"

Amu didn't know, and Utau didn't look as though she had the words.

"Do we knock on the door?" Mom asked, interrupting the pair.

Amu and Utau looked at her.

Mom shrugged.

"We came to help them, yes? That said," Midori continued, looking at Utau, "You don't sound like everything's okay."

"I don't think they're in any immediate danger," Utau allowed. "But this- I don't know."

"I think we knock on the door," Amu said.

⁂

They did. No-one answered, so Amu knocked again. Utau looked around, taking in the setting sun and the empty street. There were lights on in a few houses, but not many. Mom had parked the car where it couldn't be easily seen from Kana's home; it was a risk, but if anyone were photographing it then they'd only capture a woman and two unknown girls, and even Midori was in disguise. Utau hoped no-one was.

There was no-one paying attention, that she could tell. Everything looked completely normal.

Mom rang the bell. Amu looked back at her.

"Well?" Mom asked.

"...no reaction," Utau said, closing her eyes. "They can't hear us, and they still feel just as far away. Still inside the building..." She shrugged, a little helplessly. "Just still, somehow, far away."

Amu frowned, biting her lip. That didn't sound- well, normal. What was going on? She reached out- she could feel Yui, up this close. It felt like Yui, but the feeling was distorted somehow. She actually couldn't feel Kana, and that was scary in a league all of its own.

"I'm opening the door," she decided, reaching for the doorknob. She turned it, and nothing bad happened.

It was locked.

Amu looked at Utau.

Utau looked at Mom.

Amu turned it further, gripping the metal inside it with telekinesis- it stretched, and then there was a sharp, metallic snapping sound. Amu felt bad.

The door opened.

There was no-one in the entrance. They stepped inside, Utau pausing to glance both directions—the living room was a few metres down, kitchen the opposite way, but-

She paused, her gaze falling on the stairway leading to the second floor. Her eyes followed it up. And up, and up, and some more, until-

She pointed.

Amu blinked, following Utau's finger up the staircase. She'd seen it when they visited before, and- no, the stairway definitely shouldn't lead up into a blurry-edged, misty tunnel that looked like it led straight to the sky. She saw three or four landings, and the house only had two. She stared.

"What," she managed.

"I can feel them both upstairs," Utau concluded.

Midori let out a sigh.

= = =

Midori is fine. The structural integrity of the house is also, apparently, fine. It's all fine.

There is fog covering the stairway, but that is fine.

[ ] Explore the ground floor
- The ground floor seems fine. Nothing's off, but maybe there are clues?

[ ] Cautiously explore upwards
- The first landing has small mist-animals on it, grazing at the carpet.
- It isn't supposed to have carpet, and the corridor is in the wrong direction.
- The animals look fine.

[ ] Beeline for where you can feel Yui
- Currently that appears to be 'up'.
- Yui seems fine.

[ ] Try the second floor
- The second floor looks vaguely like the first floor should have looked, and this was a two-floor house.
- Except for a fine-looking tree, and the doorframes are framed in glass, from what you can see.
- It at least has the right geometry, which is fine.

[ ] Get out of there!
- None of this is fine!
- Call for help? Subvote required.

[ ] Write-in