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# Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

- Thread starter Firnagzen
- Start date May 19, 2014
- Tags
    bad decisions dating mami tomoe diabolical laughter friendship is the best ship handholding identity crises microwaving tea gets you put in the bad place names are important puella magi adfligo systema puella magi madoka magica the body is the fursona of the soul this is not the baked goods thread we don't talk about rionna what could possibly go wrong? who in the world is azure sanfrancisco?

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Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 28
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 11, 2014

- #8,410

You run your fingers through your hair, combing it behind your ear. "So, I guess we'd better go and see Hitomi now. It's getting late."
"Yeah, tell her I said hi, and thanks," Sayaka says.
"Can do," you affirm. "And you should be getting back to your room, I think, before your parents think I stole you away to be my wife!" you finish with a perfectly straight face.
Sayaka flushes an instant, brilliant red. "Oh my god you heard that," she groans, covering her face.
You let your face crack into the biggest, most shit-eating grin you can manage. "Oh? Perhaps I should steal you away?"
Everyone is staring at you. Madoka, with her mouth agape, and a faint blush staining her cheeks, Mami with a look of... hope? Homura is just staring at you with an expression that conveys a flat 'what' as well as any word could. Sayaka's just emitting a high pitched 'gneeeeeeee' noise.
"I'm going back to my room now!" the bluenette declares, jumping to her feet. "And then I'm going to kill my dad."
"Don't make it too messy," you advise, letting the grin fade from your face. "And I'll help my dear waifu hide the body, of course," you say, deliberately lilting the word 'waifu'.
"I'm not talking to you anymore," Sayaka snaps, smacking you on the head as she marches past your chair.
"Awww," you say. "Guess I'm sleeping on the couch tonight," you call, raising your voice so that Sayaka can still hear you.
"Don't worry, you can sleep over at my place," Mami giggles.
Madoka is stifling her own giggles with a hand over her mouth, shaking her head at you.
"Yay, thanks Mami!" you say, glancing over at Homura, who seems unamused. You sigh, letting your mirth fade. "Anyway. Shall we go?"
"Yes," Homura says, rising from the chair.
The four of you troop out of the ward, heading over to Hitomi's building. The four of you walk in two pairs, Homura and Madoka following behind you and Mami. Madoka chatters at Homura about school, encouraged by the sparing responses that Homura volunteers from time to time.
You soon arrive at Hitomi's ward room, and knock on the closed door. "Come in!" Hitomi calls from within. Madoka opens the door, calling, "Hello!" cheerfully.
"Hello, Madoka," Hitomi replies with a smile. The green haired girl is sitting up on her bed, with the table pulled to her and papers spread on the table. Homework, it looks like, but she pushed it aside to look at all of you. "Mami, Homura. Hello again, Sabrina."
You all chorus your greetings, spreading about the room. Madoka moves to Hitomi's bedside, sitting in the chair and kicking her feet, Homura hovering beside her. You and Mami move to the other side of the bed.
"How are you, Hitomi?" Madoka asks.
"Ah... can't complain," Hitomi says. "The doctors say I can go home this week, maybe tomorrow or Saturday. I'll still need this cast, though."
"That's great!" Madoka says happily, though she darts a glance at you. The healing, you presume.
"Ah, that's right," you say, taking the opportunity to join the conversation. "Sayaka says thanks for... well, helping her out."
Hitomi smiles demurely. "It's nothing, really."
"Hah, no," you chuckle. "Right girl, in the right place, and you chose to do something instead of saying 'it's not my problem' and walking away. I'd say that makes you a regular, everyday hero."
"I agree," Mami says. "It can't be easy to just decide to do this kind of thing."
"I think so too!" Madoka adds.
Hitomi shakes her head. "Sayaka's my friend. I couldn't not do anything."
"Heh," you say. "Say, how long have you been friends, anyway? You, Madoka, Sayaka?" you ask curiously.
"Uhh..." Hitomi glances at Madoka. "Since we were seven?"
Madoka nods happily. "I've known Sayaka for longer, though!"
"Wow," you say, and conversation lapses for a bit. A thought occurs to you, though. "Hey, um."
"Yes?" Hitomi looks at you.
"Um... remember I said that I wanted to tell you something?" you ask, drawing a sharp look from Mami.
"Ah, yes?"
"Well..." you rub the back of your head sheepishly. "I... uh, it didn't quite work out today, so I need to push it back a bit. Hopefully soon, though!"
Hitomi looks puzzled, but accepts that. "Well, I have no idea what it's about..." She breaks off and giggles a little. "All this cloak and dagger stuff is quite exciting, though! I'm looking forward to finding out. But anyway... did anything happen at school today?"
Madoka beams, and answers. "Ah, yes..."
You chat for a while, though you and Mami don't have much to offer - Homura has more to say, here. Eventually, though, it's time to go.
"Bye Hitomi! See you tomorrow!" Madoka says. The rest of you say your goodbyes, too.
"Goodbye," Hitomi waves from her bed as the four of you leave the room.
"So, anyway," you draw the words out as you go. "Are we going Witch hunting tonight?"
Mami frowns, considering. "After last night, it would be nice to take a break... But no. We have our duty as magical girls, after all!"
Madoka claps her hands together. "So cool..." she whispers, drawing a look from Homura.
"OK," you say, before turning to the pinkette and waving a finger. "But you, Madoka, are going home. It's not safe, even if there are three of us."
"A-ah," Madoka says, face falling a little. "That makes sense."
The three of you stop talking as you step into the lift, crowded with people similarly finishing their visits for the day.
"How's this?" you suggest, picking up the conversation as you leave the lift. "Homura, or Mami, one of you could bring Madoka home, just in case, and then we all meet up again? I can go and look around for Witches."
"I'll stay with you," Mami volunteers, glancing sidelong at Homura with a slight smile. "And we can have a late dinner afterwards?"
Homura begins nodding, before apparently changing her mind and shaking her head. "I won't be joining you for dinner today."
"Alright," Mami says, accepting that. "Shall we split up here, then?"
'Here', as it turns out, is the bus stop outside the hospital, which you recall taking the bus from... yesterday. Just yesterday. It feels much longer than that, really.
"Yes," Homura says. "... see you later."
"Bye, Mami, Sabrina! See you tomorrow!" Madoka says, smiling brightly at you.
"Goodbye," Mami smiles. "See you later, Homura."
"See you," you say, waving as you and Mami turn to head off. The two of you walk into a nearby alley and bound up to the roof, both now resplendent in your puella magi costumes.
"I'll take the lead this time?" Mami says - half a suggestion, half a question. "I'll show you one of my usual patrol routes."
"Sure," you agree.
With that, Mami gives you a quick smile, and leaps for the far roof. You're not far behind as Mami leads you in a spiraling loop you realize is centered, distantly, around Mitakihara Middle School.
"Sabrin-" A telepathic voice intrudes on your thoughts - Oriko, suddenly cut off.
"Hello? Oriko?" you reply, frowning. Did something happen? She hardly sounded worried or anything, though.
A moment passes in silence, and a thought occurs to you - she expected to die, didn't she? Your pulse begins to speed up; even if you don't like her, you did go through all that trouble to keep her alive. "Oriko?"
"Ah, my apologies," Oriko replies, mental voice slightly breathless. "Kirika thought it would be a good idea to tic- never mind."
"Right," you say, unamused, and relaxing even as you soar across another gap between buildings. "So, I doubt this is a social call."
"Masami will contact you to request you go to see her in the morning," Oriko tells you. "I would recommend that you deny that request and go in the afternoon instead."
"And why is that?" you ask tartly.
"There is another puella magi coming tomorrow, part of a group from Sendai," Oriko replies. "It would be preferable if you met her."
"I'll take that under advisement," you say drily.
You can practically hear the shrug in the tone. "I shall remind you tomorrow." A beat laster, she adds, "In case you forget."
You narrow your eyes. Was that a joke about your amnesia?
"Where are you?" Homura's voice sounds inside your head. You frown at the suspiciously convenient timing - just as you were about the snap back at Oriko.
...
She wouldn't use her precog just to snark at you, would she?
"We're near the big DBJ building," Mami replies. "We'll wait for you there?"
"On my way," Homura says.
Stopping beside Mami on the roof of one of the buildings beside the DBJ building, you look at it - it's an artisically designed skyscraper, and one considerably taller than the surrounding buildings, with an antenna spire on top of that.
"Um," you say. "How do we...?"
Mami chuckles. "Follow me." With that enigmatic statement, the blonde takes a long leap off the side of the building, directly at the side of the skyscraper. There's no way she can make it to the top of the building...
She doesn't, instead landing on a jutting protrusion that's almost invisible from here. She half turns, and across the distance, you can see the sun glint off her smile before she makes another leap.
You grin, and bound after Mami to land neatly on the same protrusion, before pushing off again in Mami's wake. As you make the impossible leaps spiralling up to the top of the building, you notice that this route seems to have been carefully picked out - there's no point during the exhilarating ascent where the people inside can see you climbing the building.
When you reach the top, Mami's climbing the antenna spire, hand over hand, and you dart nimbly after her, swarming up the spire and swinging out to join her on the circular platform above. "Whoo," you exhale hard, and plump yourself down on the platform next to a parabolic antenna nearly as large as you are, lounging comfortably.
You stick your feet over the sides and kick them idly as Mami seats herself next to you, before leaning against you, a warm, comforting presence as the both of you watch the sun dip towards the horizon in the distance.
"We used to come up here," Mami says suddenly, voice soft and melancholic.
You have a few minutes to speak before Homura gets here, you figure.
[] Write-in response
- [] Continue with patrol
[] Dinner
[] Back home
[] Write-in
=====​
DBJ stands for Development Bank of Japan, by the by.
Also, you're probably ruining someone's reception, but who cares about that?
Last edited: Sep 11, 2014
Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 29
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 12, 2014

- #8,468

... oh.
She's talking about Kyouko, isn't she.
"It's a nice place to hang out," you say carefully.
"Mmm," Mami says, still leaning on you.
You remain quiet, surveying the city laid out beneath you - this building isn't quite the tallest in Mitakihara, but it's certainly one of the tallest. A tremendous, multilayered expressway interchange is practically at your feet, rivers of car lights flowing and crisscrossing below. One of the expressways is heavily congested, the angry red of brake lights glowing across its lanes.
Off to the east, you can see the darkened areas and stumpy, abandoned metal structures of the industrial district, and even further east, the great river separating Mitakihara and Kasamino, sparkling under the ruddy hues of the setting sun. Mami follows your gaze, and sighs, but doesn't say anything further.
It's not too much later when a burst of purple light catches your eye, far below in the vertigo-inducing distance. You lean forward a little, squinting. It appears again, and you relax, slouching backwards again.
Another burst of purple, and Homura appears over the edge of the roof, landing gracefully and shading her eyes as she squints up at the two of you, sitting on the antenna spar above her. "I'm here," she says redundantly.
Mami sighs and kicks her feet out, hopping off the platform and doing a graceful flip to land gracefully on the roof below. You follow suit, albeit less flashily, landing neatly beside her.
"I'm showing Sabrina one of my patrol routes," Mami says.
"I see," Homura says, turning to look at the cityscape. "East to the highway overpass?"
Mami nods, looking mildly surprised. "You're very astute," she comments. "Yes, that's where we're heading next."
Homura flips her hair, silky strands flowing through her fingers and streaming straight out to be caught in a sudden updraft from the streets below that sets her hair fluttering straight out, a midnight banner perfectly backlit by the setting sun.
... gods damn how does she do that.
Mami raises an eyebrow, seeming to pay the motion close attention, one of her hands seemingly unconsciously tugging at her own golden drills.
As Homura's hair settles, she steps to the edge of the roof and gestures in a generally easterly direction. "Shall we?"
"Yes," Mami nods, and takes a step forward to the side of the roof. You step up beside her, with Homura on your right, and the three of you launch yourself off the side of the roof.
...
This is a really long drop, you realize as the wind whistles past your ears and sets your coat flapping wildly behind you, a deep blue banner flowing in the wind.
"Oh, I just remembe-" you break off as you land on a roof, wincing as you leave a very obvious crack in the roof despite your roll to bleed off momentum. "Oops. I really need to learn how to fall properly."
Warm laughter from Mami fills your mind. "That will be our first lesson, I think!"
"Heh. Anyway," you say as you leap across another canyon seperating two buildings, "Oriko contacted me earlier."
"Oh?" Mami says cautiously, followed closely by a curt "And?" from Homura.
"Yeah, she said that there'll be girls from Sendai around tomorrow," you say, avoiding mentioning that Oriko directed you to contact them.
"Oh, is that all?" Mami says in relief. "Kyuubey told me that they would be passing through a while ago."
"Oh," you reply, taken aback. It... makes sense, you suppose, puella magi are fiercely territorial, and you probably have to negotiate clearances with established puella magi to travel about.
You vaguely wonder whether there exist magical girl immigration officers, demanding that you present your papers or denying you entry or something.
... probably not.
"Is there anything else I should know?" you ask.
"Hmm... no, not really. They shouldn't be here long," Mami tells you.
The rest of the journey is relatively quiet, and despite the long loop, you don't find any Witch Barriers. It's getting late, though and the sun is beginning to dip beneath the horizon now - you'd guess it's about 6:30PM, or thereabouts.
"Sometimes, it's just quiet," Mami observes, as the three of you stop on a rooftop near your original starting point, the hospital.
"Hmm. That's a good thing, really," you say. Homura glances sidelong at you.
"It is," Mami agrees.
"Anyway, a cleanse?" you suggest, looking at Mami and Homura both.
Mami smiles, reaching up for her hair pin to detach her Soul Gem and present it to you. Homura holds up her left hand, similarly displaying her Soul Gem.
With a careless wave of your hand, you cleanse their Soul Gems. Again, Homura's Soul Gem is a little darker than you'd expected, given the last time you'd cleansed her.
"Thank you," Mami smiles. A heartbeat later, Homura belatedly echoes a quiet 'thanks'.
Mami interlaces her fingers, and stretches her arms, palms out. "What shall we do now?" she asks, directing the question at no one in particular.
[] Dinner
- [] Eat out
- [] Cook
[] Another patrol after dinner
[] Write-in conversation
- [] Try to invite Homura along again
=====​
Homura can do this little air-step thing. She used it against Walpurplenot.
You have one thousand and thirty five Grief marbles in your sling bag, and two Grief Seeds in your pockets.
Last edited: Sep 12, 2014
Threadmarks Surface Tension pt. 30
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 13, 2014

- #8,517

"Well, it's getting late," you say. "Shall we head home for dinner?"
Mami beams. "Sounds good." She glances at Homura. "Would you like to come along, Homura? It's no trouble at all." You can't help but smirk to yourself - you were just about to ask, even if Homura had said no, earlier.
Homura shakes her head minutely. "No, it's OK."
"You sure, Homura?" you say. "Because I am pretty sure that you're going to go back home to instant noodles again. Or maybe not even that, hmm?" You raise your eyebrows, and gesture at her shield, where you know that she stores instant noodles, at least.
She shakes her head again. "I won't," she denies.
"Won't what?" you ask. You hold up a hand, though, and her next comment dies unspoken. "I won't force you... just, you promised to take care of yourself, remember?"
Homura sighs. "Yes. I'll... eat out."
"OK," you nod.
Mami's looking between the two of you, and smiles tentatively. "That's settled, then?"
"Yeah," you say. "I guess we part here, Homura?"
"Yes," the time traveller agrees. "... see you tomorrow, Sabrina, Mami."
"See ya," you reply.
"Tomorrow," Mami affirms with a nod.
You watch the time traveller take off over the rooftops, and sigh. "That girl desperately needs someone to take care of her."
Mami nods in agreement. "She does."
"Anyway," you say. "Home?"
"Yes, home," Mami says, a smile rising to her face. She turns, and leaps off, with you following closely behind her.
"Homura," you call as you follow behind the blonde.
"Yes?" the response is quick.
"I noticed your Gem was rather dark," you say.
"Ah." Homura says, pausing for a moment. "I... took the opportunity to kill a Witch. And checked on Madoka."
"Oh, I see," you say. You get the impression she's not telling you everything she did, though.
"I will be restocking my weapons tonight," she says.
"Ah, cool," you say. After a few awkward moments of silence pass, you add, "I guess that's it, then. See you."
You smile to yourself as you feel Homura disconnect, and you bound forward to catch up with Mami, just ahead of you. You can't help but compare your roofhopping styles - hers is a graceful, very traditionally magical girl running, touching down, sprinting a step or two, and then leaping again, leaving behind an untouched rooftop in flagrant defiance of Newton's laws, perhaps with a sprinkle of acrobatic flips here and there.
Yours, by contrast, is a minimal, simplistic style, making use of your entire body to absorb momentum to avoid shattering rooftops everywhere you go, a roll here to bleed off momentum, judicious usage of all your limbs to spread out the impacts. It doesn't always work, especially after the longer jumps. You wince as if, exactly on cue, a rooftop shatters underfoot. Thankfully it's mostly superficial damage.
People can probably trace your progress across the city by following the broken roofs.
"Mami?" you call.
"Yes, Sabrina?" she replies, glancing at you.
"How do you do that?" you ask. "Roofhop like that, I mean?"
She chuckles in response. "Practice! I've got some tips I definitely want to show you during our practice session!"
"Ah, I see," you smile. You guess she's really looking forward to that practice session. "Oh, speaking of that... there's something I want to show you when we get home."
"Oh?" Curiosity colours Mami's tone. "I look forward to it, then!"
It doesn't take too long for you to get back home. You remove your shoes and pad in behind Mami, meandering over to the shelf where Mami's left her schoolbag and dropping your slingbag with a thump and the muted clicking of a thousand marbles sliding against each other.
"We're cooking dinner tonight?" you ask rhetorically, seeing as Mami's already making a beeline for the kitchen.
"We are!" Mami calls back cheerfully, disappearing into the kitchen. You follow her, a few marbles of Grief poking their way out of your bag and reforming into your Grief orchestra.
It occurs to you that you can change the properties of Grief under your control. Perhaps that might be useful?
As you walk into the kitchen, you have the instruments fan out and hover silently near the roof, out of sight. Mami's looking into the fridge, evidently trying to decide what to cook. "Hmm... Sabrina, do you take seafood?" she asks absently.
"Uh, sure," you answer.
"OK, I meant to cook these prawns yesterday... does tempura prawns sound good to you?" the blonde asks, opening the freezer to retrieve a tray of peeled prawns.
"Yep," you say. Dredging a familiar tune from your memory, you begin playing softly, at the barest edge of your hearing as you walk around Mami and reach for the cupboard where you'd seen the deep fryer. "Rice?" you ask.
"Yes, I think so," Mami nods. She doesn't seem to have noticed the music yet, and you slowly increase the music. You retrieve the rice cooker too, as the blonde pulls out a bag of flour for the batter.
You set up the ricecooker, dumping enough rice and water for the two of you into the ricecooker before starting it up while Mami busies herself behind you, preparing the batter for the prawns. As she bustles past you, you catch Mami humming softly, a short, familiar strain, her head swaying to rhythm. "Hmm~hmmmm mmm hm~mmmm..."
You can't help but grin to yourself, making sure that she can't see said grin while you pour oil into the deep fryer.
"Hmm... Sabrina, do you hear something?" Mami asks.
"Hmmm?" you say, carefully schooling your face to impassiveness before you turn to look questioningly at her.
"Some music?" she's frowning, having paused from where she's battering the prawns.
You bump up the volume into full audibility, and laugh when Mami's head jerks upwards to stare at the ceiling. You bring the instruments down to eye level, letting them fan out behind you as you grin at her.
"I said I wanted to show you something when we got back, right?" you grin as you weave in more instruments as the tune strikes its triumphant crescendo. "And... I thought you might like this tune."
Mami stares, jaw working wordlessly. "I... that's amazing, Sabrina," she says. "It's... you- it's perfect. How did you know?"
You shrug, a little self consciously.
"I..." Mami seems at a loss for words, a smile blossoming on her face. Finally, she laughs, shaking her head. "You keep finding new ways to amaze me. What's next?"
"I don't know," you smirk. "But if I did, I wouldn't tell you~" you tease.
"Aw," Mami pouts. "Not even for your dear Mami?" She clasps her hands, trying to looking cute, lower lip wobbling. The effect is rather ruined by her floury fingers and prawn still clutched in one hand, though.
You chuckle. "Sorry!"
"Awww," she says, but a smile belies the disappointed tone. "How did you know that tune, though? Do I... sleep-hum, or something?"
You shrug. "I'm... not sure, really? It just seems... perfect for you."
"It... maybe it's something to do with your powers?" Mami suggests thoughtfully.
"Maybe," you agree. "Uh, Mami." You point at the prawn still in her hand, an enormous drop of batter gathering beneath it.
"Oops!" Mami quickly returns the prawn to the dish, and begins battering the rest of the prawns. "Is the fryer ready?"
"Yep," you answer after a quick glance at the temperature readout. "Pass 'em over."
Mami slides the tray between you, and you quickly begin dropping prawns in with a hiss of boiling oil. "Umm, Sabrina?" Mami asks.
"Mmm?"
"Could you play it again?" she asks.
"Of course," you say, setting your musical instruments in motion again. "Hmm... miso soup?"
Dinner is quickly prepared, Mami humming along to the music with a happy smile on her face, and you soon find yourself sitting down before a gently steaming spread of food, your instruments packed away for now.
As you dig in, a thought strikes you. "Can I borrow the phone after dinner?"
Mami gives you a quizzical look. "You don't need to ask for permission."
Another shrug. "Ehhh," you answer, wiggling your hand aimlessly at her.
Mami sighs fondly. "Who do you want to call, anyway?"
"Nagisa," you answer. "Just to check on her, you know?"
"Ah, I see," Mami says with a soft smile. "Sabrina, friend to all she meets, huh?"
You chuckle, stirring your spoon in your bowl of miso soup. "I wouldn't say that," you deny, privately thinking of Kyuubey.
Mami shakes her head, clearly disagreeing, but returns to eating, as do you, and you soon finish. Cleanup is a little more laborious; cleaning out the deep fryer is tricky, but you finish in due time. Mami pulls out the day's homework, and begins working on it.
You meander over to the phone, and dial Momoe Shin's number. It rings a few times, before he picks up. "Hello, this is Momoe Shin. Who is this?" he asks.
"Hello, Mr. Momoe. This is Sabrina," you say, feeling a moment of curious deja vu - didn't he reply almost exactly the same way the last time you'd called him? Then again, you were using Mami's handphone last time, and now her landline phone. He wouldn't have this number in caller ID.
"Ah, Sabrina!" the businessman replies. "Busy day?"
"Yes, it was," you affirm with a chuckle. He has no idea.
"Alright, I'll pass the phone t-"
"BIG SIS!" Nagisa yells into the phone, loud enough that Mami hears, and looks up at you. You roll your eyes and mouth 'Nagisa' at her. The blonde giggles, and returns to her work. "You didn't call today! Are you OK? Did something happen?"
"I'm fine, Nagisa," you soothe as you sit down on the sofa. "Just had a busy day today. How are you?"
"Today was good! Uncle Shin had to bring me to some big offices!" Nagisa replies.
Big offices? Handling adoption, or something maybe? "Oh, how did that go?"
"There were some scary people there," Nagisa confides. "Uncle Shin made them go away!"
"That's good." You think. The man seems to know what he's doing, anyway.
"How was your day?" Nagisa asks cheerfully.
You grimace. Can't tell her about the hospital - that'd probably bring up bad memories. Well, you can fib a little. "I had to do some work," you say.
"Bleh, work!" You can imagine the pout on Nagisa's face. "Big sis did well?"
"Yes, I did," you smile. The conversation with Nagisa continues for a bit, but eventually, you're interrupted by a telepathic voice.
"Uh... Sabrina?" You've only heard the voice once before. Hiroko, the girl apparently living with Masami.
"One moment," you reply. "Hey, Nagisa? I'm sorry, but I have to go now." You could talk to the both of them at once... but it feels rude, really.
"Oh, OK," Nagisa says. "Call tomorrow?"
"Sure," you reply. "Bye."
"Bye!"
You end the call, and shake your head - she's bounced back quite well, it seems. Or perhaps she's simply repressing it.
"Yes?" you reply to Hiroko, putting the phone aside.
"Um... you said you could come over any time, right?" the girl asks.
Ah. This would be the request Oriko predicted, then. "Yes, I did."
"Could you come by in the morning tomorrow?" she asks tentatively.
[] Agree
[] Disagree
[] Write-in next morning's first activity
=====​
The next vote will carry you through to the morning. Vote appropriately.
Oh, and here ends Chapter 4: Surface Tension. The next chapter begins with the next update; Undue Alarm.
Last edited: Sep 13, 2014
Threadmarks Undue Alarm pt. 1
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 14, 2014

- #8,557

"My apologies, something unexpectedly came up, and I'll be meeting a visiting magical girl," you say. "Can we stick to the afternoon appointment?"
"Uh?" Hiroko asks blankly. "A visiting magical girl? Uh, could you wait a moment?" You get the impression she's checking with Masami.
As promised, she continues a minute later. "Afternoon should be fine." The black haired girl hesitates a moment, before asking, "Are you... ah, never mind."
"Uh?" you reply.
"It's nothing, just a passing thought," Hiroko says. "Good bye."
"Bye," you reply, disconnecting.
You wander over to where Mami's doing her homework, and lean over her shoulder, looking curiously at her work. "Missing power here," you note helpfully, pointing out the mistake.
She smacks your hand away playfully. "Let me do my homework! Go take a shower," she scolds, before smothering a yawn.
"Heh. Fine," you say, and head in to the shower as directed.
When you come out, dressed in the same set of old pajamas, she's setting aside her homework, presumably finished. She glances at you thoughtfully. "You know, we need to get you some clothes of your own," she says. "You can't keep wearing my old things forever. Maybe this weekend?"
You pluck sheepishly at the hem of your top, just barely reaching the top of the pajama pants. At a guess, this would have been comfortably loose on Mami - while it fits, it's barely long enough for you. "Yeah, I guess so," you say. "Is it OK, though? You can't keep spending your money on me."
"Don't be silly," Mami smiles. "It's not a bother at all."
"Well, thanks," you say gratefully.
You seat yourself at the couch as Mami heads off to shower herself, and you reach for the remote, idly flicking through the channels. More or less as expected, there's nothing of interest happening, and the news won't be for a while. It's probably better to check tomorrow, anyway.
Mami emerges from the shower, hair damp and hanging free from its usual drill shapes in a cascade of gold down her back. She towels it dry, and winks at you when she sees you looking. "Magic only goes so far, you know!" she says.
She sits beside you on the sofa. "Is there anything worth watching?"
"Not that I'd found, no," you say, passing her the remote.
She thumbs through the channels, but doesn't find much, either. It's a Thursday night, you suppose. She eventually settles on a rerun of some random anime that you hardly pay any attention to as you half-doze on the couch, letting your hair dry - longer hair is annoying.
Eventually, Mami leaves the couch, murmuring, "I'm going to go and brush my hair."
And finally, you judge your hair dry enough to go to sleep, and walk to Mami's room to say good night.
When you stick your head in to the room, you find Mami standing in front of her mirror, head tilted just so, hair settling on her back from a very familiar motion and her hand outstretched in an equally familiar, if abbreviated, pose. She lets out a tiny 'eep!' when she sees you.
You stare at her.
She stares back, reddening slightly.
"I'm going to sleep," you announce, a very tiny smirk tugging at your mouth. "Good night, Mami."
"I wasn't doing anything!" she says defensively.
"Mmm. Good night, Mami," you repeat patiently.
"I was just curious," Mami protests.
"Yes, and I'm sleepy now, and so are you, I'm sure," you say, covering a yawn that's only half faked. "Good night, Mami."
"... good night, Sabrina," she replies.
You close the door behind you, and walk over to your room. Again, you close the door and sit on the bed, before letting that tiny smirk blossom into a massive grin.
... you sort of wish you had a camera, you muse as you settle down to sleep.
=====​
The night is thankfully uneventful, but when you awaken at your usual time, it's to the endless drumming of a heavy rain storm. You give the weather a baleful glare through the window, before bumping out of the room in the darkness and fumbling your way through your morning ablutions.
You head in to the kitchen, setting the kettle to boil some water for tea, the first thing. You can hear Mami moving around, too, and she joins you in the kitchen a few minutes later, offering a sleepy "Good morning," and a yawn.
"Good morning," you echo.
"I think-" Mami yawns widely again "-we'll have some rice this morning? Looks like it's going to be a cold day."
"Sure," you shrug. "Hm... miso again?"
"Eh," Mami says, rubbing her eyes. "Why not? Some warm soup is good for this weather."
You shrug. "Mmmkay."
In the living room, a few of your marbles float out of your sling bag, folding out to form musical instruments. You twang a string to catch Mami's attention, and she looks up from the chopping board and smiles.
You soon find yourself sitting in front of a simple spread of rice, some miso soup, pickled vegetables, and so forth. A lunch box sits in front of both you and Mami. Idly, you fold your musical instruments back into marbles, and click on the television, hunting for a news channel.
Mami gives you a questioning look, which you shrug in response to. "Just curious if there's anything interesting happening."
Click. "-investigations are still ongoing in the blaze early Wednesday morning. Police reports state that no signs of arson have been found..."
"Of course not," you mutter sourly.
"Hmm?" Mami asks. You don't think she's quite paying attention to the news.
"Eh, never mind," you say. You suppose it's a bad idea to talk about Oriko to Mami.
"Mmm," the blonde says, eating some rice.
"... recent break through in medicine may lead to a cure for cancer..."
Again? You can't help but roll your eyes at that one.
"-heavy rain today over most of Mitakihara, lasting throughout the day..."
"Well, that's just great," you mutter, spooning up some soup and enjoying the warmth.
"Hmm?"
"Raining the whole day, apparently," you tell her.
"Oh," she says. "I should have a spare umbrella."
You shrug. "Eh. I'll figure something out."
"OK," Mami says.
You leave the house with Mami, locking the door behind you. She's holding two umbrellas, one slung over her elbow by the handle, and the other a foldable one which she passes to you. You've got your usual sling bag hanging across your shoulder, marbles all packed away neatly - there's just enough room to squeeze in your lunch box on top of that.
The two of you walk to the bus stop in companionable silence, rain bouncing off the umbrellas, rivulets running down the streets and into the drains, or pooling into puddles in depressions on the road. Thick, grey clouds cover the sky, blotting out the sun, and the street lights cast tiny cones of light highlighting every fat droplet of rain cascading past. Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be lightning.
"See you later, Mami," you say when you reach the bus stop, and Mami folds her umbrella. You keep yours open - you're not stopping here.
"Take care, Sabrina," she smiles. "I'll see you after school?"
"Of course," you say. Leaning the umbrella against your shoulder, you step out of the bus stop and rejoining the miserable, sodden herds of humanity thronging through the streets again, casually sliding into an out of sight alleyway.
You look upwards, twirling the umbrella idly to shed water. This is going to present a unique challenge, you muse, before sighing and folding the umbrella to stick into your bag - there's really no way to stay dry, is there? Almost instantly, the rain plasters your hair to your face, and you push it out of the way before you transform in a blaze of light.
To your surprise, you find that you're dry after your transformation - for an single moment, anyway, before the rain again soaks through your hair. Still, your coat seems to shed water with ease. Doesn't keep the rain out of your face, though.
Grief marbles billow out of your bag, warping and melding to form your Grief wings. You crouch, and jump hard, taking flight - cheating, and using your Grief manipulation to bring you straight up. You don't particularly fancy punching through brick walls by mistake.
"Oriko," you call.
"Yes?" the seer replies, sounding as unruffled as she usually is.
"Where do I find the Sendai girls?" you ask.
"One moment," she says, presumably focusing on her powers. "This is expensive, you know," she adds off handedly, and rattles off an address you vaguely recognize as being in the west side of the city. "You will find them... in a park between the flyover and the shopping center there."
"Right," you say, and disconnect. You bank in that general direction, cutting across the city at speed. The raindrops hitting your face are kind of annoying, though, and a little thought has some of the left over marbles forming a disc hovering over your head to shield off the rain.
Well.
Wings and a halo. Technically the halo isn't a halo and, well, a solid disc, but you'll take it.
Heh.
You spy the park you suspect is the one Oriko was referring to, and make a few loops over it. There's virtually no one there; just a pair of girls walking on a path winding beside a pond. A closer pass confirms that they're both magical girls, and they don't seem to have seen you - or at least, neither looked up.
You grin.
You tilt your body just so, and you fold the wings, letting yourself plummet.
You slam into the gravel path a few meters in front of the two girls, wings flaring wide just enough to prevent you from shattering your ankles. Chips of gravel go flying everywhere, and you straighten, smirking at the two girls, both of whom are flinching away from you.
The girl on your left has blonde hair, done up in a pony tail that falls to the middle of her back. Bright green eyes, behind a pair of glasses, are set in a pleasant, rounded face. Said eyes are widened in surprise, staring at you. She's shrouded in a blue raincoat that disguises her figure, though you can see that she's tall, almost as tall as you.
The girl on the right is whipcord thin and wiry - by contrast, she's not wearing a raincoat nor using an umbrella, allowing you to see the wiry muscles on her forearms tautened into tightly strung cable, presumably thanks to the shock. A shock of messy brown hair, almost black thanks to the rain, frames brown eyes and a nose that looks like it's been broken before. At a guess, she's older than you are, as is her companion.
"Welcome to Mitakihara, ladies. I'm Sabrina," you announce yourself with a wide smirk, spreading your arms, and wings, wide.
A single burst of light answers you, and it fades to reveal the girl on the right transformed, a short, heavy brown jacket falling only to her stomach area, worn open over a white blouse and skirt combination. White stockings start from well above her knees, and run down to join a pair of boots. A single katana is held in her left hand.
"And who the hell are you?" she snarls, sword held casually by her side, but there's a certain looseness of posture that suggests that that could change in a hurry. Her voice is a little coarse, roughened from hard use.
"Sakura, hold," the other girl says, frowning at you thoughtfully, and holding out her hand to stop the other girl - Sakura, apparently. And isn't that particular name annoying? And curiously ironic, judging from the way the girl acts. "Miss Masami, I presume? Or Miss Wakahisa? I thought we arranged to meet after lunch?"
Wait, what?
[] Write-in
=====​
Hmhmm. Yeah, I got nothing.
Last edited: Sep 14, 2014
Threadmarks Undue Alarm pt. 2
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 15, 2014

- #8,728

You frown, trying to decide whether to lie to them - this is perhaps an opportunity to find out if Masami's up to something unscrupulous. Ultimately, though, you decide not to do it. You'd rather stick to 'mostly honest', in the end.
"No, I'm not," you admit. "I go by Sabrina. Just Sabrina," you add, briefly debating on whether to add a random surname - Japanese modes of address tend to use surnames for people you don't know well, after all.
The girl in brown, Sakura, opens her mouth to begin speaking, but the other girl cuts her off with a simple, "Sakura." The raincoat shrouded blonde purses her lips, green eyes peering at you through her glasses, clearly trying to figure you out. You let her think, the soft patter of rain the only sound. Water sleets off the disc of Grief hovering over your head and your costume, disappearing into the gravel path beneath your feet.
Finally, she speaks. "I see," she says neutrally, pushing her glasses up. "And your reason for the show of force?"
You shrug. "I'm staying with Tomoe Mami - I presume you know who she is." The green eyed girl nods, while Sakura shrugs. "More pertinently, I'm meeting with Masami-san and Hiroko-san-" you use the slightly more formal mode of address, here "-later today. My power lets me control and cleanse Grief, you see, letting me spam magic, and other magical girls, the same. They thought it might be helpful for Masami's condition."
"You can what?" Sakura exclaims in surprise, while the blonde blinks in surprise, before quickly schooling her face back to impassiveness.
You nod. "I can cleanse Soul Gems," you confirm.
"Leaving that aside for now, that only partially explains why you're here," the green eyed girl notes, her tone remaining even and pleasant. "Sakura and I are merely passing through, and meeting with Masami on the way." She taps her chin thoughtfully. "I can understand Miss Tomoe sending an emissary to keep an eye on the foreign magical girls, of course, and perhaps even credit the claim that you're here to help. The latter is, of course, rather difficult to believe."
Sakura sighs theatrically, before spinning her katana and driving the tip into the gravel and leaning on it. You suppose that'd be a terrible thing to do to a real katana, but, well, magic. The girl grumbles. "Rin, you're always talking. Talking talking talking. Did you really need me for an escort? Could've gotte-" She stops talking, a frown growing on her face. A telepathic conversation, you recognize.
The green eyed girl, Rin, apparently, wearily removes her glasses, now splattered with water from the katana, folds it, and tucks it into an inner pocket. From the way her head is set, and the way Sakura's body language shifts to annoyed acceptance, she's probably remonstrating with the other girl.
"My apologies, Miss Sabrina," Rin says. "Continuing on. Assuming that we take your claims at face value, your entrance, and current appearance, was clearly a show of force intended to awe and cow. Why?" Sakura's stance shifts, weight shifting to the balls of her feet and muscles tautening. Rin's stance is similarly light, ready to jump back on a moment's notice.
How do you look?
To them, you suddenly dropped from the sky in front of them in the midst of pouring rain, enormous wings patterned after the same malevolent mold of a Witch Barrier at your back. White hair over a dark blue long coat, blowing in the wind - you probably cut a rather intimidating figure, if not an outright terror-inspiring figure to those less secure in themselves.
Huh.
[] Write-in
=====​
Jumpy, jumpy. I wonder why.
Threadmarks Undue Alarm pt. 3
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 16, 2014

- #8,793

"Ehm. So I seemed pretty intimidating just now, huh?" you ask.
Rin gives you a dry look, seeming to peer over glasses that she's not actually wearing at the moment. She remains light on her feet, weight balanced carefully on the balls of her feet. Sakura's reaction, by contrast, is simply to tighten her grip on her katana.
You'll take that as a yes, then. You stifle your gleeful grin - it won't help here. "Ah, well. My apologies for that - I was going for a badass entrance, and got carried away with it," you admit easily. You jab a thumb over your shoulder at your wings, and add, "I'll just put these away for now."
You decide to go with a touch of flair, here, and let the wings dissolve in ripples, waves of marbles accreting out of the fabric of the wings, starting from the wing tips and finishing at your shoulders. The marbles loop around you before they neatly pack themselves away into your slingbag.
Neither of the Sendai girls relax, Sakura looking even more perturbed, if anything. Rain slicked gravel shifts under her feet as she rocks a little from side to side.
"Those wings were made of Grief," you say, to fill the ballooning silence. "It's something I can do."
Silence, from the both of them. Guessing from their slight shifts in posture and little flickering movements of their eyes, they're talking telepathically, neither of them quite willing to make a first move.
"OK," you say, after a few tense minutes of staring at each other. "Look. As an apology for the scare, may I help to cleanse any spare Grief Seeds you happen to have? I can restore a Grief Seed to an unused state." You grope in your pocket for Aurora's Grief Seed, mindful of Hildegard's Seed in your other pocket. You demonstrate with the Grief Seed, drawing forth a small, bilious cloud of Grief and letting it hang in the air.
Both of the girls twitch when the Grief comes free of Aurora's Grief Seed - it probably lit up on their senses like a Christmas tree. Sakura's head jerks violently enough to send droplets of water flying, staring first at Rin, and then back at you, but they don't otherwise comment.
You replace the Grief in the Grief Seed, and said Grief Seed back into your pocket. "So, yes," you repeat. "This is something I can do, and something I'm willing to do for you as an apology for the scare."
"Do remember that you should see Masami this afternoon," Oriko's telepathic voice suddenly intrudes.
"Shut up, Oriko, I'm talking to the Sendai girls," you snap in irritation.
Silence, both telepathically and without, the rain continuing to wash off the disc forming your umbrella.
Finally, Rin speaks. "We are here on your sufferance," Rin states, formally. "We would not... presume upon you in such a manner, however, we would like to continue on our way. I presume that we will see each other again soon, in any case."
[] Let them go
- [] Follow them at a distance
[] Insist on sticking with them
- [] Write-in reasoning
[] Write-in
=====​
Tsk.
Last edited: Sep 16, 2014
Threadmarks Undue Alarm pt. 4
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 16, 2014

- #8,826

You sigh. "Very well. Again, my apologies for the scare."
Rin inclines her head, and begins walking away. A long moment later, Sakura similarly turns to walk away, footsteps crunching over the gravel.
A few marbles rise out of your bag, and you let them expand into billowing clouds of Grief. The cloud goes one direction, while you go another - heading into an alley and bounding up to the rooftops, following the pair of magical bonfires moving west at an unhurried, walking pace.
It's tricky, keeping them in sight with the rolling curtains of rain sleeting across the city. You can barely make them out, two distant, blurred figures, one calmly walking down the street and the other moving in jolting, scurrying bursts, outpacing and then waiting for the other - Rin and Sakura respectively. Still, you can track them unerringly using your Grief senses, even if they're out of range of your 'normal' puella magi senses.
As the Grief marbles reach the edge of your range of control, you crush them back down into marbles and recall them, the little spheres zooming back to you. You think that that'd be enough of a decoy, anyway - the marbles should have passed out of their sensing ranges long ago.
The Sendai duo amble into a nearby cafe. By the time you move to an angle where you can see them, they're sitting down at a table with what are presumably warm drinks in front of them.
Which sounds like an excellent idea, in this weather, even if your Grief umbrella and your coat are keeping you relatively warm and dry.
But that's for later. You put the thought aside as you look around for something on this rooftop to sit on, finally settling on an old air conditioning vent. To your annoyance, some water soaks through your longcoat and into your pants, but it offers you a good view of the the pair, who are, it seems, arguing quietly. Both of them are hunched forward over the table, and Sakura is gesticulating wildly. A quick estimation of directions tells you that she's waving in the general direction of the park your altercation had taken place in.
Hmm. They're talking about you, at a guess?
"Oriko," you snap.
"Because they will react differently to Masami," the seer returns instantly.
"And that is helpful because...?" you prompt tetchily. You'd swear Oriko is congenitally incapable of giving a straight answer.
"Masami will offer to join the Sendai group in return for healing," Oriko says. "If something isn't done, they turn her down. She will turn into a Witch shortly, and so will Hiroko."
"And I can't offer to heal her because..." you reply, still watching the duo argue down below. Sakura's crossed her arms over her chest and is leaning back in her chair, tight, knotted body posture radiating annoyance.
An audible sigh, transmitted telepathically. "I am not omniscient. I can only tell you what I see. I don't actually know what or why Masami needs healing, nor why you can't or won't do it."
"Ugh," you grunt back, and let the connection drop. Down below, Sakura finally seems to relent, grabbing her drink and draining it in one long pull before standing. She takes a few steps away, and then turns, jabbing a finger at the blonde, before stalking back out into the pouring rain. She turns a corner into an alley, and vanishes.
Between one heartbeat and the next, Sakura's body seems to distort in a direction other to reality and then simply vanishes - you can't sense her anymore, with your Grief senses nor puella magi senses.
... huh.
[] Write-in
=====​
Mmmm gravy.
Last edited: Sep 16, 2014
Threadmarks Undue Alarm pt. 5
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 17, 2014

- #8,937

Hmm... a teleporter, it looks like? Or maybe a phase shifter, or something.
"Oriko, can you tell me where Sakura's going to be?" you request, still keeping an eye on Rin. The ponytailed blonde seems disinclined to move, though, simply remaining in the cafe and sipping at her drink.
"Who's Sakura? Sakura Kyouko?" Oriko replies, a tone of vague confusion in her voice.
"One of the girls from Sendai. Brown hair, katana, some kind of teleporter?" you tell her.
"Ah. One moment," Oriko says. "She went... I don't know."
"Explain," you demand. "The feathers again?"
"No, I don't recognize the location," Oriko replies. "Oh. My apologies, it's somewhere in Sendai."
"Right," you say.
So Sakura went back to Sendai. Right.
For now... Rin's alone. You might as well try to see if you can get anything else out of her, when Sakura, the more jumpy one of the duo, isn't here.
You hop off the roof, descending behind the building, out of sight of the street. You pull out the collapsible umbrella and open it before dissolving your Grief umbrella, packing it away as marbles in your bag. A quick detransformation later, you stroll casually out onto the street, umbrella held in one hand and leaned against your shoulder.
... your shoes are getting wet.
You walk over to the cafe, a generically western one that serves coffee, tea, and other similar beverages, bright light shining cheerily out through the glass front. You immediately spy Rin, who's frozen with her cup halfway to her mouth. You give her a friendly wave, and then proceed into the cafe and up to the counter, where you order a cup of tea.
You wait patiently for the minute or so it takes the unreasonably cheerful man working the counter to prepare your drink, and then collect it and walk to Rin's table. The blonde looks resigned, and is clutching her mug tightly in both her hands.
"Hi again," you say pleasantly as you take the seat vacated by Sakura not so long ago.
"... hello," Rin replies at length, and then falls into silence again.
You take a sip of tea, enjoying the warmth that pools in your belly and spreads out to your chilled limbs. Bottle green eyes continue to watch you warily, Rin seeming content to let you make the first move.
"Where's your friend? Is everything alright?" you ask.
"She's fine," Rin replies, short and clipped. "I sent her on an errand."
You swirl your mug a little, watching the little bits of froth circle the tea. "Hmm," you say. "You know, I was, and still am, willing to help with... well, almost anything. My earlier offers still stand."
"So noted," Rin replies, again short and clipped. She hasn't drunken from her cup the entire time - too nervous?
You nod. "So if you don't mind my asking, why stop at Mitakihara? Why'd Masami want to meet you?"
The girl sighs, closing her eyes. "We were travelling to Ishinomaki. Mitakihara is on the way. Miss Gaikotsu caught wind of our passage through here, and asked to meet us. I believe she is intending to request membership to our group."
"I see," you nod.
"Hmm," Rin says. "I believe you mentioned that she has some manner of condition?"
You nod.
"Would you be willing to elucidate on that?" she asks.
[] Answer
- [] With what?
[] Don't answer
[] Stay
- [] Continue asking about...
[] Leave
- [] Continue watching from afar
[] Write-in
=====​
Wait, she doesn't know?
Last edited: Sep 17, 2014
Threadmarks Undue Alarm pt. 6
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 17, 2014

- #8,974

You exhale, a long breath out through your nose to buy a moment to think.
"I'm... honestly not sure abut the specifics," you admit slowly. A quick glance around at the other customers - but it's hardly crowded in here, what with the deluge of rain reducing outside movement. "OK. What I do know is that both Masami and her friend are burning a lot of magic on whatever it is. You'll have to ask her for anything more, I'm afraid."
A minor frown flits across her face, and green eyes flick to yours, then away. "I see," she says mildly, and takes a drink from her mug. You shrug.
"Do you have any idea why she might approach you, specifically?" you ask. "Maybe something related to your power, if you don't mind sharing?"
The blonde gives you an odd look, half puzzled and half chagrined. "... I am Mori Rin, magical healer. I would assume that Miss Gaikotsu has a problem along those lines," she says dryly, with a little twist on her lips. "And I thought I had a little more fame than that."
"... ah," you say. "Sorry, I'm a little ignorant of the news on the, ah, magical girl grapevine."
"Not surprising," Rin allows. "Tomoe Mami is..." The older girl seems to think better of what she's about to say, and presses her lips together and her gaze leaving yours again.
The conversation lapses again, Rin's ire seeming to have petered out. You take a long sip of your tea.
"You know," you break the silence again. "I'm trying to improve relations between all of the local magical girls, so me helping Masami if I possibly can can only help everyone in the long run."
"Noted," Rin says.
"And," you raise a finger to punctuate your statement. "If she wants to join up with your group, I'm fine with that, too. I'm just trying to be neighbourly. I don't mind extending the two of you the same courtesy, regardless."
The blonde regards you for a moment, before looking away again. "Noted," she repeats.
You sigh in exasperation. "I don't bite, you know," you say, with some ire. Again, that quick, judging look.
Your attention is captured by something happening nearby - a twist, an eversion into reality, resolving into the appearance of a magical presence. Two magical presences, in fact.
There's enough time for you to leave, before they get here, you think.
[] Leave
- [] Excuse yourself with...
[] Stay
[] Write-in
=====​
A new player has entered the field.
Threadmarks Undue Alarm pt. 7
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#### Firnagzen

Operator

- Sep 18, 2014

- #9,036

You decide to wait.
"Hey," you address Rin. "Your friend's back. Do you want some privacy, or may I stick around?"
The blonde looks at you, surprised, but shakes her head. "No need."
The two presences pause in the alleyway, and it's easy enough to sense the level of corruption built up by one of them. Minute movements of a familiar abyssal pinprick of Grief speak to what's happening - and indeed, the corruption in the Soul Gem whirls away down the endless abyss of a Grief Seed.
Cleansing after an expensive teleportation, then?
The two presences step into view soon enough. The first is the familiar, wiry figure of Sakura, as you'd suspected. The newcomer is a young looking bluenette, hair distinctly darker than Sayaka's and grown out long, falling to the middle of her back, and with a figure you can only compare to Mami's. She's dressed in an expensive looking white blouse and sky blue skirt combination, a deep blue umbrella held primly upright. Sakura, contrary to before, now also has an umbrella she seems to treat with cavalier disdain.
When Sakura spots you sitting in front of Rin, her expression flashes through surprise that quickly fades into anxiety, judging by the way her hands curl into fists. She shoots Rin a glare, and probably a telepathic 'I told you so,' judging from the sour look Rin suddenly develops.
Your presence apparently gives the newcomer pause, however, the surprise only seems to last for a split second. She gives you a pleasant nod, and you return the nod politely.
The duo from Sendai walk into the cafe and join you at your table, drawing a curious look from the man working the counter - he's seen Sakura come and go, at least, and is probably vaguely curious about the sudden congregation of roughly school aged girls. Regardless, he doesn't comment, another customer drawing his attention.
Rin jumps to her feet with a smile when the bluenette newcomer walks over to your table. "Akiko! I wasn't expecting you so soon."
"Rin," the now identified Akiko smiles. "I wasn't expecting to be needed so soon. I'm quite sure this isn't Ishinomaki."
"Special circumstances," Rin says. "Speaking of, we're being rude. Miss Sabrina, this is Hamasaki Akiko. Akiko, this is... um, Sabrina."
Akiko smiles and extends a hand to you in a western handshake, which you accept. Her grip is firm and sure. "I'm pleased to meet you," she says.
"Pleased to meet you, too," you say. "And yes, it's just Sabrina."
"Let me get you a drink, Akiko," Rin says.
"No need," she demurs, but the healer is already moving off to join the queue. The bluenette stares after Rin, eyebrow raised and look of confusion etched on her face.
Sakura slams herself grumpily down on to a seat, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at the ceiling, while Akiko recovers, and seats herself opposite to you. You take a long sip from your cup of tea, waiting for her to make the first move.
"Miss Sabrina," Akiko begins. "I understand from Sakura that you are able to clean Soul Gems directly?"
"Yeah, that's what she said," Sakura grunts, removing her gaze from the ceiling for a moment. "Feels like a damn Witch, too."
Akiko shoots her a quelling look, and Sakura subsides. The bluenette looks back at you.
"Yes, I am," you say.
"Interesting," Akiko says mildly. "And impossible. What do you charge for your services?"
You open your mouth to protest the 'impossible', before digesting the next bit. "Nothing," you shrug. "As I told Miss Mori, I'm simply trying to improve relations. And it's magic. Why should anything be impossible?"
The bluenette gives you a long, evaluating look. You suspect she's also conducting a telepathic conversation, judging from the small movements her eyes make - she's better at hiding it than the others. "You may wish to consider charging for it," she says, finally, before chuckling deprecatingly. "However, that's merely the advice of a nosy stranger."
"Either way," she rises smoothly to her feet, pushing the chair back. "I believe that we have business to see to with Miss Gaikotsu. Ah, Rin."
The blonde is, indeed, returning, this time bearing a takeway cup of gently steaming coffee. Sakura similarly rises to her feet, carefully not looking at you.
"Good day, Miss Sabrina," Akiko says, dipping her head to you politely.
"Aki-" Rin starts, before breaking off. "Ah. Well, good day, Miss Sabrina. It was nice meeting you," she says.
"Yeah, bye," Sakura grunts.
[] Ask to go with them
[] Let them go
- [] Follow at a distance
[] Write-in
=====​
Fun fact; this update was nearly half written before the previous one. Predictable.
Last edited: Sep 18, 2014
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- Dec 13, 2023
- Words: 1.7k

pmmm female protagonist kyubey

Replies
  9

Views
  159

Dec 14, 2023
Eternal_0bserver
Shadows of the mind [PMMM Quest]

- Azur Reality
- Sep 18, 2023
- Words: 11k

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pmmm puella magi madoka magica magical girls female protagonist another pmmm quest

Replies
  127

Views
  3K

Dec 26, 2023
DeclanDSI
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