#⁘ ◊ ━ KYOUKO / there is always a single truth. )

[whentranslatorscry]

Chapter 3: Kakushidate Yakusuke Guiding (2/3)

The seven-story mixed-use building whose rooftop the middle school girl jumped from was actually the same one where I worked, at a secondhand bookstore named Truth Hall on the first floor. 

It was a very traditional shop specializing in mystery novels. The store, roughly thirteen square meters in size, was crammed full of used books, managed single-handedly by the owner—an epitome of a personal-run bookstore. I had a short spell working here.

It was just as I had gotten off work and left the bookstore to go home that the middle school girl fell on me. 

Every time I found a job, I would be embroiled in workplace disputes and accused without cause. I needed detectives to clear my name, but always ended up unable to stay, even getting fired—this inexplicable vicious cycle kept recurring, leaving me with virtually no freedom to choose my career. Truth Hall was a job I chose very proactively and positively.

Kondou-san might call it "having a foot in two boats", but to me, the key was the store's specialty in trading mystery novels. As a memorandum, I, who have been recording my experiences of incredible and baffling scandals, am eager to enhance my understanding of mystery and detective stories. I wanted to read not only bestsellers making the rounds but also more niche novels that are hard to find these days.

In other words, I was looking for a job that would balance my interests with a good work-life balance, but what was surprising was that this pipe dream actually came true on paper. Booksellers, like other people in the book trade, have to do physical labor (books are heavy), so when applying for this job, my large frame might have played to my advantage—since I could reach the top shelves close to the ceiling without a ladder, I must have been a godsend for the boss.

This was closer to reality than saying it was my passion that had moved him—but if really true, with my hand and foot broken, I would be of no use in this shop. 

Of course, once an employment contract is established, as long as I stubbornly cling on, regardless of my broken bones or the media casting suspicious glances at me, my boss cannot fire me. But I don't plan on doing that—I don't want to cause trouble for the workplace I've finally entered.

Just nearly dying at the store's entrance caused enough trouble. Even with all eyes suspecting me, the boss never accepted press interviews. I wished to respond to his attitude with sincerity.

Hence, when we arrived at the mixed-use high-rise three stops away from the hospital, Kyouko-san and I agreed to split up.

She went up to the rooftop first and I headed to the secondhand bookstore: Truth Hall.

"Can you walk on your own?" Kyouko-san expressed concern for me. I had thought it inappropriate to ask her assistance to announce my resignation—even if the keyword "specializing in the trade of mystery novels" had aroused her curiosity.

"Then let us meet on the rooftop."

Kyouko-san entered the elevatorless old building. Getting to the rooftop requires some stamina. If she had the energy to support my body all the way, walking up seven flights of stairs should be a piece of cake.

I made it sound grand, but part of me just wanted to get this nuisance over with. I went around to the other side of the building alone and headed to Truth Hall.

At first I thought the owner might not open due to the recent happening, but business seemed to be as usual. If it had been the day of the incident, police might have cordoned off the sidewalk at the scene, but this being a bustling main road, it couldn't be closed for long.

Well, if that's the case, then Kyouko-sam should be able to move freely to the rooftop without any hindrance.

I pushed open the manual sliding door of Truth Hall and stepped in.

It seemed business was as usual, and the owner, as he did when I was working here, was standing behind the cash register at the counter with the same stern face, flipping through what looked like used books for sale.

I got on with the resignation quietly. Even though I wasn't at fault, I did cause trouble for the store in practice. I was prepared to receive his complaints, but those expectations were betrayed.

On the other hand, I had faint hopes—that he might ask me to stay—but this hope too was dashed. 

No wonder, I hadn't been at it for long—I mentioned that I would bring back the apron and umbrella another day, but the boss said to consider them parting gifts. Wasn't it too casual as severance pay? Well, at least for mementos.

Leaving a word that I will come again as a customer next time, I didn't stay longer and my broken foot walked me out of the store. 

While the shop's name was, according to the boss, not smeared, the turnover had once increased as a result of the report, which made me feel a little better. Who knows, this might be just a kind lie from the hard-to-please boss—or should I say a lame lie.

"I'm glad that something like that happened to us. Because we're a mystery bookstore, you see…"

So that could be thought too.

Not to sound imprudent, I had to admire their unyielding entrepreneurial spirit—from the bottom of my heart, I hope that going forward, Truth Hall will continue to guard the bastion of culture known as mystery literature.

3

In conclusion, as I, now once more having effortlessly slipped back into the realm of the unemployed, lugging my broken right leg up several flights of stairs reached the rooftop. I was aghast to see Kyouko-san straddling a railing, for her skirt was hitched up as she clambered over the handrail. There couldn’t be any behavior more ill-bred than this.

Dangerous!

"K-Kyou—!"

I tried to call out unconsciously, but I choked. If my shout startled her there she might really tumble off. Even though the one genuinely petrified was I.

How I wished to dash over without a second thought, harness all my strength, and unceremoniously hoist up Kyouko-san from behind and drag her back to safety. But with a broken leg, I couldn’t dart over, and with a broken hand, I couldn’t hold her.

My recent unemployment only heightened my sense of powerlessness—By the time these thoughts had run their course, Kyouko-san had crossed the railing, turning to face me.

"Oh, Yakusuke-san, you're quite the trooper."

She flicked me a casual greeting.

I didn't need her greeting; I needed an explanation.

"Have your affairs been settled? Did you quit smoothly?"

"Uh huh, it went fine, very smoothly...”

What a weird exchange.

I mean, who has ever heard of quitting not going smoothly?...Yeah I guess you could.

A job isn't something you can just quit at your heart's desire, as I knew all too well first hand.

All things considered quitting was a success this time. 

Though battered and bruised, at least I hadn't had any disputes with the boss. 

Having explained this, I found myself still trembling, like a detective trying to coax a potential jumper off the ledge.

"So Kyouko-san, what might you be up to this time?"  

Kyouko-san stood nonchalantly on the other side of the railing, her footing no wider than the size of her own foot. A slight loss of balance, a gust of wind, and she could crash down.

In doing so, she might be seen as chasing the middle school girl to her death. I, who happened to be present on the scene, might indeed get slapped with suspicion serious enough to warrant the deployment of an investigative unit this time.

Right when my mind was brimming with a foreboding sense of being potentially framed for a great detective's murder, Kyouko-san—oblivious to my concerns—made a tangent.

"Chase, hmm... you could call it being influenced by the narrative nature of it."

It didn't seem that irrelevant actually?

"Whether it's for a reason or not, it appears humans inherently desire an end."

"An end…?"

"Should I call it a suicide wish? No matter adult or child, isn't there a present desire to 'die'?"

"......"

I couldn't bring myself to agree with her, though psychology does indeed recognize the term 'death instinct,' which refers to a self-destructive impulse—essentially, a desire to die.

Pessimistic.

Humans are fragile, not knowing for what reason they may lose their lives—this impulse may sometimes become uncontrollable and manifest.

If that were the case, for murderers who claim that their motive for committing grave crimes was to be sentenced to death, the impulse lurking in their hearts may not be dismissible with just a “for no reason”—because it is also one of the “common occurrences” that are annoyingly frequent.

Only calming down and looking closely, I found that Kyouko-san just stepped over the railing, and had not taken off her boots—this alone made it very clear that she (albeit presumptuously) did not mean to follow the middle school girl who had arranged her shoes before jumping.

In other words, this risky act was just part of the detective work—not to follow suit, but to recreate the scene. By actually standing in the same place the middle school girl did, she might discover something, which was Kyouko-san's usual "try it to know it."

Be that as it may, it still looked very dangerous—although I breathed a sigh of relief, in order not to startle Kyouko-san, I slowly approached her with my naturally slowed gait due to a broken leg.

"Any new discoveries while I was gone?"

I asked vaguely, and Kyouko-san, hand propped against her cheek, hummed thoughtfully, a contemplative expression on her face. This gesture was very cute, but I wished she'd keep both hands on the railing.

"Nothing that could be called a discovery at this stage... If I had to force it, there's just one thing I figured out—that Sakasezaka Masaka-chan really wished to die."

"...What do you mean?" 

Perhaps because we were alone on the rooftop, Kyouko-san mentioned the girl's name directly—adding 'chan' to it made the situation feel even more stark. It was a vivid reminder that this was real life, not a novel or a TV drama.

Sakasezaka Masaka.

Twelve years old.

This name contained a certain individuality that could not be summed up in a phrase such as "middle school girl."

"It's really something, standing here. You can feel just how tall seven-stories really is. Tumbling from this height, head over heels, would surely end in death."

Anyone could feel that without having to stand here, I thought...

"So, we can probably rule out the possibility that this was a staged performance to vent suicidal tendencies. This could be an essential clue."

"I see."

Not knowing what's so important, I'll nod along for now—asking the wrong thing could cause Kyouko-san to lose her footing. This was not the time to debate.

But with this, I really felt like a detective trying to stop a jumper

"You say falling means certain death, but Kyouko-san, Sakasezaka-chan survived, didn't she?"

"Only because you just happened to be passing under where she fell."

"Could there be a possibility that she staged it from the beginning, meaning to use someone to cushion the fall...?"

"No way! Even softer than asphalt, the human body is not a trampoline. Even if there was someone to cushion the fall, the chance of death is still high. In fact, Sakasezaka-chan is still in a critical condition, hardly what you'd call 'saved'."

I read too many detective stories and got into the habit of selling the plot. Well, it was a real miracle that I and she were saved.

To think of it, if I had been even shorter, I might not have had a chance to work at the bookstore, Truth Hall. If that was the case, I would not have met with such an accident on my way back.

So, everything may be more coincidental than a miracle.

Coincidence, but no conclusion.

"Indeed, we can't completely rule out the possibility that she waited for a tall, seemingly sturdy passerby before jumping—but from here, you can only see the top of people's heads."

Kyouko-san turned around 180 degrees on the narrow space at her feet, and looked down the road again.

"At the height of the seven-story building, it is impossible to see the height of the pedestrians—You are tall enough, but you're skinny."

For a meat cushion, you wouldn't be the best choice—Kyouko-san grasped the handrail with her left hand and tried to push her body out further from the building.

I'm glad you've finally grasped the handrail, but you're not doing gymnastics, so please don't lean your body forward at such a steep angle.

"I'd pick someone meatier if it were me! There's a high chance of failure still, that both of you will die anyway."

"Oh."

...I just threw out a hypothesis to start the conversation. A real scary thought. But this is what detective work is all about, looking at everything from every angle.

"With a meat cushion, twelve-year-old Sakasezaka Masaka might not have given a second thought to anything. Maybe she didn't even think about what would happen to the cushion when she crashed down like that."

This is so stupid that there is no need to discuss it at all.

But we can't rule it out, to say the least.

This is a common mistake of readers of detective stories, who assume that real-life events and real people do not plan or plot when they commit crimes.

Most of the incidents I have experienced are of no value whatsoever as literature; they are merely the result of a momentary lapse of attention.

From the sound of Kyouko-san's voice, it seems that she is not giving much thought to this possibility.

To be on the safe side, I'll say it.

Why not?

I'm the one who said that there is no possibility of it being staged. But at this point, I can't think of anything that would rule out the possibility. On the contrary, I think it is quite persuasive, and cannot even be sure that it is not true, that a child who read a comic book that glorified suicide and was influenced by it tried to play a "suicide game" and failed, and that the child's antics pulled a pedestrian (me) along.

"No, you see, there are a lot of low-rise six-story and five-story buildings in the neighborhood. If all you want is to play a game, you should jump off those buildings."

Is that how it is?

Of course, not all rooftops are open to the public, but if you want to stage suicide, it's human nature to jump from a lower floor—another strong clue that this may not have been self-staged. 

If this view was only accessible by crossing the handrail, then Kyouko-san's on site investigation today indeed had its worth. Ideally I would prefer her to wait until I joined her before crossing the railing. Though for a detective who places the highest value on speed, the concept of "waiting" may not even exist...

"Well. It's time we head to the publishing company."

Kyouko-san, abandoning her precarious 45-degree angle pose, prepared to cross the railing, meaning to rejoin me. It was really nice of her to retreat when she could have been in big trouble if she had been caught hanging around on the roof of the building. But her movements while crossing the railing were so unsteady it made my heart skip a beat. 

Reaching out to her was in danger of pushing her, so I had to content myself with watching. It was not at all a motion suitable while wearing a skirt—and she halted mid-step.

"Yakusuke-san, turn around please." She adjusted her disheveled long skirt back into place. 

"I, I'm sorry."

"No, thank you."

I couldn't just stand and stare.

Prev | Next

[maguro13-2]

Miku.EXE : The Resurrection Pt.3

[Crowd cheering]

Miku : Thank you! Thank you all so much! We hope you all that you enjoyed our show! And now it's time for us to go!

(cuts to Miku and her friends entering the dressing room)

Miku : Phew! Man, I am beat!

Rin : That was one heck of a performance.

Kaito : Tell me about it. We all needed to catch a break, we've been doing MMDs and music videos in the past years. This will be enough of everybody if no person from around the globe would eventually knocking Japan's doors off!

Rin : Well, it is a no sweat that I was in headlines today of breaking a world record! I've totally made my dance moves a little viral and it will eventually put it on the internet for free!

Luka : Yeah, you're just saying that you wanted to go out in style with those moves. Am I not correct?

Rin : I would have. If you would tell me that I have single questions for people asking me over to borrow someone's lunch money for a sandwich

Miku : That's definitely your way of speaking a short little memory you got there. I've always been Miku like this since the 16th birthday of Sonic the Hedgehog, and I am sure that we've first met at our first concert. It was the beginning of our friendship.

(Door knocking)

Miku : Oh! That must be my one of my fans. (Opens door) Hi, fans of Miku and I'm so glad to meet you in person...? (Miku sees Kyouko from Danganronpa, in front her)

Kyouko Kirigiri : Are you Hatsune Miku?

Miku : Uhh, that's me of course. What Seems the problem officer?

Kyouko : That's detective Kirigiri. We've known your dirty secret all along and you are responsible for a murder.

Miku : Murder? What murder? I didn't commit any murder!

Kyouko : Then how come your name "Miku.EXE" is written by your hands that are red with someone's blood on it?

Miku : "Miku.EXE"? Who is that?

Kyouko : Don't play dumb with me. I know you did it and I can smell the dirty lies from within you.

Miku : Hold on, you got the wrong girl here! I'm not this Miku.EXE person and there is no way I committed a crime! So why don't you just go back to your mystery-solving game and--

(WHACK!)

(Birds float around Miku's head)

[Out of Control - TAI-HEY]

Miku : (dazed) Wow! Thanks for noticing that! (Collapses on the floor)

Kaito : Miku! Why I oughta...

Kyouko : Nighty-night, friends of Miku. (Puts on on a gas and presses button to deploy sleeping gas)

Luka : Hey! What's with this gas!?

Rin : Oh no! Not like this! This is sleeping gas!

Ren : I know! I can't resist! It's the most powerful gas that is commonly used as a trap to lure anyone as bait!

Kaito : Whatever it is, (before passing out) but tomorrow on tuesday is Applesauce day.

(Miku's friends Passes out)

Kyouko : After this is over, victory for justice will be mine. There will be no one left to carry out the truth. And if anyone of those who must prove their innocence must seek the truth. You, my friend, will need to be explaining to do.

[Cuts to Miku that is shown in a Jail Cell at the police department]

Miku : Okay...maybe not. Looks like I'm gonna have to clear my name for this.

~ What will Miku's Innocence prove her next?"

[demonwield]

which mun inspires you a lot?

Unprompted || Always Accepting!

     Man. . .I don’t want to come out and say something that might make others feel HURT, but since I’m being asked, I’m going to be honest. In truth, there’s a LOT of people who inspire me, fuck I could pull out a follower list probably 100+ strong of people who motivate, or inspire me, for a lot of different reasons. So, let’s go down a SMALL list, those who are probably the STRONGEST inspirations for me. 

@zorkaya || Renata. Lord, I could talk about this absolute sweetheart so much. FIRST, Ren has been a dear friend of mine for years now. Really, it’s shocking how long, on and off sure, but unchangingly and unflinchingly, how long we’ve been friends. She’s seen me at my best, seen me at my worst, she’s fought for me in the past, she’s been there to help me through that DramaTM bullshit last year. She’s never let rumors, or false call outs, or the other bullshit fuck with our friendship. She’s been a darling, and I cherish her to death. Atop of that? She has one of the BEST OC’s around: seriously, Zarina is amazing, and always going to be in my top 3 favorite OC’s of all time. I love her writing. I love her...well, everything really. 

@exrhlab || Languid, this guy is amazing. He’s the one who dragged me down this rabbit hole of pain and torment that is Arknights, and is one of my most common people you’ll see on my blog. Because he’s a great friend, and we genuinely both like to cause PAIN and TORMENT to our muses, and write both twisted, but also fulfilling stories. We chat constantly, and he’s just a great person. 

@eraba-reta-unmei || Everi, this motherfucking girl. Man, she’s a total twerp sometimes. But I wouldn’t be here to this day if not for her. She’s gotten me through some DIFFICULT moments in my life, and is one of my closest friends I can ever ask for. We’ve been around together at this point for so long, and there’s days where we want to rip eachother apart (if you don’t hit that point with a friend, are you truly FRIENDS lets be real), but we always bounce back cause that’s our relationship. We suffer hell in League, we used to rp all the fucking time (which yknow we need to do more again hell yeah), we’re close. 

@ryusxnka || OH BOY, is it more Caleb Love Hours? Well if anyone has been around this blog long enough, you all know I love my brother. That’s all there is to it: I’d not be here today without him. I wouldn’t even  be able to show my FACE on this site ever again if not for him, and god I love him to death. He’s amazing, okay? He’s OBSESSED with Toshiro Hitsugaya, of course, but he’s also just the best with him okay? His writing is spectacular, god, Caleb is literally HITSUGAYA INCARNATE. He’s super good hearted, he’s smart, he’s funny. He’s just a great brother, and I love him t o death, okay? I probably sound like a broken record, but it’s true.

@pcrdiseseekers || OH BOY, it’s JAZZY love hours! So let’s take a long trip down Memory Lane, cause fuck me, Jazz here is one of my OLDEST friends at this point. Hard to believe it too, cause I remember Jazz when she was but a weeeee Naoto Shirogane blog back in the day, far before her love for Multi-muses, and her love for Kyouko Kirigiri. God, back in the day, I used to be SO terrified of her. And we all know, and I can hear it now, ‘Wolf, buddy, you’re ALWAYS terrified of people!’ Well, I’ve gotten a lot better: someone literally had to GO TO JAZZ HERSELF and tell her, for us to first interact, it was that bad. (No, I didn’t even plan that, and goddddd, I was a fucking mess when they did.) And lo and behold, ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS FOREVER now, always someone I come back to, and cling to like she’s my own flesh and blood. Jazz, I love you to death. I truly do. And you are just absolutely spectacular. It’s hilarious how long we’ve known one another, and I don’t regret a single day: you’ve given me some of the BEST rps over the years as we FULLY TORE DOWN poor Kyouko into Kaneki’s queen, how Homura fell for Centipede, Kyouko studied Ichigo, Yang and Adam had their forbidden, ESTRANGED relationship. God, we’ve done so much over the years, and I look back on it all so many days nowadays and go ‘jeez, to relive it all again.’ Here’s to more years of good times, huh? 

@shuanghe || Valkyrie. My big sister. My darling, sweet guardian practically. God...she’s my rock. My anchor. She’s so much to me, and another person I love with all my heart. Much like the people before me, she’s a great mix of Writing, and Personal feelings, who has been with me for many years now. And I truly am grateful to have her in my life. 

@sung56sun || Kianye, so little we’ve known one another now, and yet it feels like we’ve known eachother  for an eternity already. And it’s you, you specifically, who makes me feel it’s OKAY to gush about my darling muses. I won’t lie, even on my own blog, I feel I talk too much about my OWN characters, and it’s you who makes me think on that, and go ‘stop that, you’re being dumb’. Others have tried to tell me the same, but it’s the constant FERVENT LOVE and ATTENTION you throw us, that truly make it hit home. And for that, I’m forever grateful for how much you love Akame, and, incidentally, how well we get along. You’re dear to me, and you’re stuck with us~

@bonesugar || Asa, Asa Asa Asa, such a darling you are. Your writing, your descriptions of your replies, the way you make such a BEAUTIFUL girl like Sucrose so endearing, so amazing, I truly admire. Just like Kianye, I’ve known you for so little, and yet I have adored every moment we talk. And I look forward to more and more in the future of us chatting, rping, and gaming together. 

@erobret || Ferrrrrrgie. Oh man, much like Jazzy, I’ve known Fergie for fucking years. It’s hilarious how long we’ve known one another, and just like Jazzy, she’s always been a fantastic friend. We lost touch for a while because I had to vanish for a bit, but then I found her again, and well. Reliving old memories, and rping again, is amazing. Chatting with Fergie is great, and just. Fergie is great, okay? I really can’t formulate the words without just reusing at this point more of what I’ve already said. 

@jiingweii || Sophieeeeee. My dearest, my twisted friend. My soft and squishy marshmallow friend. My busy little friend. Even though we don’t talk as much anymore as life happens to the both of us, you are still DEAR to my heart, and I wish every day is wonderful to you. I love seeing you on my dash from all  your blogs, and you are a joy to see, and hear, from always. I truly would not have kept Akame all this time if not for you: it was you who put the most faith in my girl, who gave me the confidence to keep her going. And I am forever grateful for that. Because now she is my most loved, and used, muse, without a doubt. 

     Okay, this is going to get SUPER long if I don’t stop somewhere, so down below? Is a bunch of other people I could rant on about, but I don’t want to be typing a twenty five page ESSAY even though I could and flood the dash worse. 

@medinventive || @nulltune || @unhclyblood || @remunporium || @curiouskinetic || @lucernarosa || @luckuki || @ichigokurosaki || @destallo || @maljefe || @nosheath || @karmesinrot || @mamoriitai || @veroxins || @x-ame-x-damnee-x || @noircisaint || @retour || @shukuchiisms || @redhorncl || @zhuangshii || @babelmedicus || @amourise || @evelicious || @risingsol || @electric-ecclectic || @electricea || @dementedstatic || @pervicax || @lunaetis || @darksonofsparda || @capravulpes || @stahri-light || @charmerquilled || @rebelquilled || @batoushoujo || @phantarei || @hutaou || @popolaroleplayhub || @devotionobsessed || @amazingwcbs || @algizkali || @baizhuo || @nexarerum

[mistbornthefinal]

Madoka Magica Aniversary Analysis: Part 9

Can Love and Courage Still Triumph?

The beginning of this episode replays the end of the last, Sayaka’s transformation into a witch. As Oktavia von Seckendorff looms over her Kyouko is initially uncomprehending or perhaps in denial of what just happened happened. Kyouko grabs Sayaka’s body as it falls and is forced to dodge a barrage of Okatavia’s signature wheels. Homura arrives on the scene and sets off another flashbang and the offers Kyouko her hand.

Kyouko takes it and we get our first look and Homura’s timestop from an inside perspective. Within the stopped time Kyouko demands to know where that witch came from and what happened to Sayaka, Homura reiterates the truth that Kyouko is unwilling to internalize, Sayaka has become a witch. Homura then says that unless Kyouko is unwilling to discard Sayaka’s body then they will have to run. Kyouko can not do that so they exit the barrier. (cue connect)

We find Madoka walking morosely along the railroad tracks only to run into Kyouko and Homura walking in the opposite direction. Seeing Sayaka’s lifeless body Madoka tearfully asks what happened to her friend. Homura lays it out her Soul Gem shattered and became a Grief Seed, Sayaka is gone. That is the final secret of the Soul Gem when they fully darken they become Grief Seeds and a girl is reborn as a witch. This is the inescapable fate of those who become magical girls. In payment for the number of people Sayaka has saved Oktavia will curse and equal number of people.

Of course this sort of law karmic balancing that the girls have been claiming for the past few episodes doesn’t really hold up if you think about it. Mami saved a large number of people and cursed no one due to dying before she became a Witch. Heck Kyubey’s whole operation sort of requires a certain amount of unfair exchange to be possible given they use magic to extent the life of the universe and leave other species with the bill.  That said it’s easy to buy equivalent exchange as something the characters believe,(especially Homura who at this point want’s to resolve her wish as “a life for a life”) but it’s something that Madoka’s wish ultimately rejects. 

Kyouko is angered by Homura’s cold words in the face of Madoka’s grief grabbing her by the collar, but Homura simply continues her monologue telling Madoka that this is the truth of what she aspired to become. Homura then tell Kyouko that there will be trouble if she isn’t cautious about disposing of the body. Kyouko similar to Madoka in episode 7 asks Homura how she can call herself human.

“I can’t, of course. And neither can you.”

We find Madoka sitting on her bed when Kyubey come for a visit. Madoka is unsurprised to find him alive, and he confirms that nothing that Homura said is wrong enough to require further explanation. He then lays out the reasoning behind the system his kind have inflicted on humanity. When the Soul Gem undergoes phase change a tremendous amount of energy is released and that energy is their ultimate goal. It is a source of power unbounded by thermodynamics that they can use to stave off the heat death of the universe. 

While he implies that this is ultimately for the benefit of humanity as well (and that humanity will eventually join the interstellar community) the next episode proves he is full of shit. That they have a fixed quota of energy that they expect each planet to produce and express no regret at humanities immanent extinction strongly implies that the extinction of the client species is the expected end state of their operation. In which case the relationship is purely predatory regardless of what he might claim in episode 11. 

He also gives the fig leaf that the girls all consented but that’s a weak dodge. Like forget informed consent this is maliciously and deliberately misinformed consent, he may claim that his species doesn’t understand the concept of deception that doesn’t seem to stop him from doing it constantly. Also while it’s not brought up I can’t help but feel then need to point towards all the normal humans who never consented to anything and are being eaten by witches regardless. 

Kyubey then says that given that there are billions of human’s he doesn’t understand why the death of a single human has her bent out of shape. 

you tell ‘em Madoka

Kyubey gives yet another sales pitch this time stressing the vas amounts of delicious energy she will produce when she becomes a horrible monster. Leaving with.

“So, if you ever feel like dying for the sake of the universe, just let me know.”

We check in on Kyouko who is using her magic to stop Sayaka’s gem from decaying. Kyubey shows himself to ask why and Sayaka answers his question with another question. “Can Sayaka be brought back.” Kyubey uses ambiguous phrasing to give Kyouko false hope like the dick he is. We leave this scene with Kyouko stuffing her face making it pretty clear that her eating habits are less “endearing character quirk” and more “worrying coping mechanism.”

As Madoka is walking to school with Hitomi (who tragically unaware of what has happened), Kyouko calls out to her with telepathy asking her if she’s really just going to go to school after what happened yesterday? Realizing that the fate of her friends soul is probably more important than compulsory education Madoka ditches Hitomi runs off. 

Kyouko tells Madoka that she can’t abandon Sayaka so long as there hope she can be saved. (and potentially even if there isn’t) He friends voice might still be able to reach her, might bring her back to humanity. Madoka asks if that will really work to which Kyouko replies that she has no idea. She want’s to do this because she doesn’t know, because that uncertainty allows room for hope

“Maybe if we slice that witch in half, Sayaka’s Soul Gem will fall out instead of a Grief Seed. Wouldn’t that be something? It’d be like one of those stories where love and courage triumph over all. Come to think about it, I probably became a magical girl in the first place because I loved stories like that. I’d totally forgotten about it, but Sayaka reminded me again.”

You did it Kyouko, you boiled your character arc down to the bare essentials. Kyouko asks Madoka if she is willing to help even if Kyouko can’t promise her safety or success. Madoka cinnamon roll that she is accepts immediately offers  her hand into which Kyouko places a piece of candy in lieu of a handshake. 

Back at school Homura decides to dich as soon as it’s clear that Madoka isn’t coming. 

As the two of them search for Oktavia’s labyrinth, Madoka asks if Homura is going to help them. Kyouko says no and denies that Homura is her friend, they simply share a common goal, to defeat Walpurgisnact an enemy neither of them could face alone. 

Within the barrier Madoka asks Kyouko if she is a coward for always leaving the fighting to others. Kyouko flips the script her life is happy one, to abandon that, to become a Puella Magi for a mere whim is the height of stupidity. Kyouko won’t allow it, if Madoka did she would be the first to kick her ass. 

“The only people who should put their lives in danger are those who’ve got no other choice. Anyone else is just playing around.”

Kyouko then says there might be a time when Madoka has no choice but to fight, she should only consider the contract then.

We then arrive at the center of the labyrinth, or rather Oktavia realizes that she has intruders and they are pulled to the center. Oktavia’s familiars supply the background music as Madoka glimpses the remnant of her friend for the first time. She calls out to Sayaka but Oktavia’s only reply is to summon her wheels.

Kyouko raises her barrier and perpares herself to intercept the Witches attacks. As Madoka calls out to Sayaka Kyouko deflects a barrage of wheels with her spear. However Oktavia only steps up her attacks and Kyouko seems to be struggling to fight a purely defensive battle. 

As Kyouko starts to take hits she reminisces about her first encounter with Sayaka. She had dismissed the girl a first but she kept getting up no matter what. As she recalls that day red and blue flows across the screen froming the silhouette of Kyouko and Sayaka before resolving as flowing blood. Several wheels hit Kyouko and she is thrown backward. As Madoka moves to help Kyouko to her feet Oktavia seizes her in a massive armored gauntlet and begins to squeeze. 

Kyouko finally strikes severing the Witches limb and berating Sayaka. Oktavia brings her sword down shattering the floor and reveling an inverse of the concert hall they were in presided over by a familiar that resembles a certain boy.

Homura is there to catch Madoka. Kyouko apologises to Homura for dragging Madoka into her idiocy and the creates another of her barriers between her and Homura. The message there is clear. Kyouko acknowledges Homura’s mission focusing on the one thing she wants to protect above all else, Kyouko used to think that was what she was doing as well. She undoes her ponytail to reveal the symbol of her fathers faith that she had hidden in her hair, she never truly stopped believing. 

As Homura flees Kyouko summons spears from the earth in massive numbers including on large enough for her to ride. From her clasped hand she draws her Soul Gem that she has fused with the symbol of old faith.

“Don’t worry, Sayaka I know you don’t what to be alone. It’s ok. I’ll be here with you Sayaka.”

She then unleashes a massive attack through her own Soul Gem killing both her and Oktavia.

Back at the Homu-home Homura asks an interloping Kyubey if there was any chance for Kyouko’s plan to succeed. Kyubey admits that it was impossible and that he basically manipulated Kyouko to her death so Homura would have to face Walpurgisnact alone, and thus Madoka has no choice but to contract in order to save the city. Homura says that she will never let that happen.

For this episode Magia does not make it’s usual appearance instead replaced by “and I’m home” sing by Ai Nonaka and Eri Kitamura (VA’s for Kyouko and Sayaka respectively.)

And that’s Episode 9, when you get down to this Kyouko’s episode as much as Episode 10 is Homura’s episode. Kyouko what had come into the narrative preaching selfishness stakes it all on trying to save the girl who remined her of her old ideals. Now that the full weight of Kyubey’s system is reveled Kyouko tries to find a way out and in bittersweet way she does, choosing to expend her Soul Gem in a heroic sacrifice rather than fall into despair and become a Witch.

That said now there’s only one person standing in the way of Kyubey’s plans, though to a certain extent that’s how it’s always been.

[medea10]

My Review of In/Spectre

How did I get into this anime? Let’s see what my check-list was back when I picked this up during the winter time. Does Crunchyroll have immediate rights to play it? Yes! Do I have one more slot open for weekly showings? Yes! Are you in the mood to hear Mamoru Miyano right now? Always! Let’s do it!

Kotoko Iwanaga is used to the abnormal and out of place situations. When she was 11 years old, she went missing for two weeks. During that time, demons asked her to become their “God of Wisdom”. However, Iwanaga lost her right eye and left leg as a result of this power. Fast-forward approximately 7 years later when she meets a college-aged male named Kuro Sakuragawa. She found a fascination with him, but kept her distance due to him being engaged to another woman named Saki.

But Kuro’s life changed when he and his girlfriend were on vacation and saw a kappa and the situation turned near-deadly. Due to an abnormality with Kuro, whenever it looks like he’s on the verge of death, he comes back to life. Thing is, his girlfriend Saki was absolutely set aback by this development and they wound up breaking up. With the news of Kuro and Saki splitting up, Iwanaga seizes this opportunity to spend more time with this young man as she asks for his assistance with dealing with the supernatural…

And to be her boyfriend!

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: At the moment, Crunchyroll is the only one with authority to this anime and several weeks after the premier, they gave us an English dub. So far, so good! I’m getting a chance to hear a few of the newer voice actors and even some veterans like Cristina Vee. Now that some time has passed, all of the episodes are finally dubbed after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As you already know from sentence one Kuro spoke, yes, that is Mamoru Miyano playing another main lead role. Luckily for me, he isn’t spazzy and he isn’t a holy asshole. Next to him, we have Akari Kitou who I’m hearing quite a bit of as of recent. I really enjoyed her performance as this insightful little lady. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE: *Iwanaga is played by Akari Kitou (known for Aru on Hitoribocchi, Nene on Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, and Kaho on Blend S)

*Kuro is played by Mamoru Miyano (known for Cilan on Pokemon BW, Light on Death Note, Tamaki on Ouran HSHC, Koutaro on Zombieland Saga, Rin on Free!, Death the Kid on Soul Eater, and Tsukiyama on Tokyo Ghoul)

*Saki is played by Misato Fukuen (known for Georgia on Pokemon BW, Chibiusa on Sailor Moon: Crystal, Iggy on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Pt. 3, Eruka on Soul Eater, Yami on To Love Ru, and Yin on Darker Than Black)

ENGLISH CAST: *Iwanaga is played by Lizzie Freeman (known for Cardinal on SAO: Alicization and Trish on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Pt. 5)

*Kuro is played by Brandon Winckler (known for Eugeo on SAO: Alicization and Dale on If It’s for My Daughter…)

*Saki is played by Lauren Landa (known for Kyouko on Madoka Magica, Michiru/Sailor Neptune on Sailor Moon [redub], Annie on Attack on Titan, Juno on Beastars, Xenovia on High School DxD, and Sakuya on SAO)

SHIPPING: Well, let’s see if I can make any sense out of this.

*Iwanaga x Kuro: I guess it was love at first sight for Iwanaga as she seemed to have developed a crush when she first met him at the hospital. And you could tell how disappointed she was when Kuro’s relationship with Saki was growing. Even when Kuro is still in the post-breakup mode, Iwanaga has the balls to ask him to enter a relationship with her in the span of a single episode. And even after the two-year time-skip…I guess they are in a relationship. At least according to Iwanaga they are! It’s just that Kuro is so damned uninterested it’s so hard to tell. I’m not sure if I’m fully on board with this ship. Mostly because of Kuro’s disinterested attitude whenever he’s around his “girlfriend”! Iwanaga is very controlling in this relationship and prone to jealousy when Saki re-enters the picture later in the Steel Lady Nanase arc.

*Kuro x Saki: Yes, Saki was Kuro’s former girlfriend. Actually, it was more than that! They were freakin’ engaged! But because Saki got freaked out by the fact that Kuro could regenerate his body if he gets severely injured, she ended the relationship. Yeah, I can totally see how that would be shocking for anyone to go through. Due to the mystery that Iwanaga and Saki were trying to solve, the romance talks kinda had to be put to the side. It seems as though near the end that Saki has put her feelings of Kuro in the past and seems to have moved on for the most part. Plus when Saki was engaged to Kuro, she felt inferior to ANOTHER past love of Kuro’s. And now we gotta talk about…

*Kuro x Rikka: They’re cousins! BLOOD COUSINS! But Kuro has a special place in his heart for his sickly cousin! I mean, his thoughts of being greeted by Rikka at home compared to his real girlfriend are freakin’ damning. Plus both of these people have the same anomolie courtesy of their fucked up family. I’m not sure after the whole Steel Lady Nanase mess if Kuro’s perception of Rikka has changed for the worse. I just know that there was definitely something between those two. Kuro brings all his girlfriends to meet Rikka only for Rikka to say something like, “she’s not your type”.

ENDING: For the majority of the series, Iwanaga and Kuro have found themselves in the midst of a mystery involving the death of a famous actress. Seems simple enough in an anime like this, an idol (Karin Nanase) dies suddenly by a steel beam to the face and comes back to haunt the world of the living as a ghost (later named Steel Lady Nanase). But it can’t be that simple! There’s gotta be reasons for Steel Lady Nanase’s existence and Iwanaga is gonna figure it out one way or another.

I mean, she knows the real truth. It’s just that someone is pulling the strings behind Steel Lady Nanase still causing havoc. She’s still running amok due to a fan website dedicated to the ghost. And that site has A LOT of traction with fans of all sorts. Add to this mind-fuck, Kuro’s “lovely” cousin Rikka is the administrator for the website. As I’ve mentioned before, she has that immortality power that her cousin possesses as well. And Rikka uses that power to keep things going with Steel Lady Nanase.

Iwanaga went through several scenarios to disprove Steel Lady Nanase’s existence. And all but one of those theories were poked by skeptics and even Rikka who was stalking the forums. It wasn’t until Iwanaga came up with the theory of Nanase meeting a woman who looks exactly like her and that her doppleganger was the one that died at the construction site. Somehow that was the theory millions of fans took as truth and this was how Iwanaga was able to take down Rikka and her fansite.

So everything is gonna go back to somewhat normal. Karin Nanase can rest in peace, the spirits around the area can rest easy without being tormented by a crazy bitch swinging a steel beam, Saki goes back to work as a police officer, Rikka is still lurking around, and we get a cute moment between Iwanaga and Kuro.

This anime started out strong, but once you realize that this Steel Lady Nanase arc was going to be covered in 10 episodes out of a 12 episode series, it kinda leaves this series a little underwhelming. The idea of having one character with the ability to communicate with spirits and another character with an anomolie in his body preventing him from dying seemed really interesting. Especially when you have someone like Iwanaga trying to solve mysteries and coming up with the best case scenario in every case! But that’s just it, we only got two cases in this 12 episode series. The manga still seems pretty new and so I’m hoping to see more development with Iwanaga and Kuro. It’s an okay series, it’s just that I give a hesitant recommendation with the warning that this will drag a bit when we’re stuck in Steel Lady Nanase hell for 10 episodes. In an anime season that was filled to the brim with mystery animes, I actually found myself a little more invested in Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun. But that’s just me! You guys make your own judgments on which mystery anime of 2020 wins your vote.

Final note: The OP is a banger and as for the ED, it’s always a treat whenever Mamoru Miyano is singing!

If you would like to watch In/Spectre, Crunchyroll has all 12 episodes available for streaming in both sub and dub.

[kokichi-and-co-imagine-blog]

How about the two original mods and Hanahaki disease; you can choose who has it!

There may be a huge divide in how you wanted this handled, but we did our best anyways. I hope you enjoy it…..

Hanahaki Disease and the Despair That it Brings

-Nagito had been coughing up petals for months now

-He’d hid it well from Kokichi so far

-Nagito knew he was running out of time

-Only today had he finally coughed up a whole flower

-One of royal purple

-As he held it in his hand, his entire world seemed to collapse and shrink around him

-His days have been numbered

-Single digits now

-His luck cycle has turned on him

-He was able to escape death for so long

-and yet

-He couldn’t escape the one thing that could bring a giant down to their knees

-The thing you can’t see with your eyes

-The thing you can’t feel in your hands

-But like the wind

-it spreads across the land

-Love.

-His gravitation to Kokichi would be his downfall

-The small man who is so much larger than he lets on

-It all started when Nagito first met him

-Everything about him screamed that there was so much more behind those eyes

-Those gorgeous eyes

-Nagito would melt a little every time he looked into them

-Sometimes he’d feel like the sentiment was mutual between him and Kokichi

-But far too often he felt as though it was just himself giving out his love

-It drove Nagito crazy

-Whenever Kokichi would speak to someone like Shuichi or Kiibo

-In his sweet and soft way

-Nagito felt like withdrawing into his own hideaway

-Sometimes he would do so

-It was then that it started

-It had been a few years now

-And it’s only gotten worse

-”Maybe I should just let it choke me, it’s not like I’ll be missed by anyone…. Kokichi doesn’t seem to care about me much at all….. It’s probably all just been in my head, the way I thought he felt about me….how could he love me? I’m a mess of a person…. He deserves better than me…..”

-Nagito choked out another flower

-It was spackled in blood here and there

-Suddenly, another fell to the floor in front of him

-But this one…

-It was a pale off white that faded into a very soft reddish orange

-”I hope you don’t plan on leaving me behind now.”

-Nagito stood up slowly

-His usually placid face broke into an expression seldom ever expressed outwardly

-Sadness

-Though it was just tears pressing through tight eyes

-Kokichi could feel it too

-They practically fell into each other

-Sobs of pain and sorrow turning to tears and smiles of pure joy

-”Nagito you idiot, I care about you so much…. Don’t hide anything from me ever again, okay?”

-Nagito sat back and looked into Kokichi’s wondrous eyes

-”You too my little horse….”

(Mod Kokichi will add in her’s when she’s feeling better, i hope you all understand!)

Don’t worry everyone, your toooooootally favorite mod is here now.

Sorry for not being here sooner, life tries to kill gods like myself, so I think I’ll give you my fresh take with some Naegiri. Hopefully Mod Kirigiri isn’t coming for my head after this. She doesn’t know if she chose the good or bad ending, so I think it’s high time you find out.

There were some pretty crazy situations where falling in love happened. While, yes, it happened in restaurants everyday or in libraries or even an English class that no one was awake enough to really participate in, there were some wilder places that have an amazing amount of potential for falling in love with someone.

For instance, a killing game.

Yes, the killing game that fifteen students had been gathered for originally, excluding one other person that would only be revealed to them later, ended up being a surprising candidate for lovers to be born in. There were some people more susceptible to romance, which was why Kyouko Kirigiri did her best to avoid talking to people as much as possible. The problem was, with the rule of proximity factoring into how easy infatuation could strike, love became a harder obstacle to avoid.

She found herself constantly being brought face to face with a certain boy who didn’t seem to have much going for him. For someone with the title of Super Duper High School Luckster, his luck seemed to be nonexistent at times. However, he always kept a positive attitude and put his trust in the people around him. The way he smiled and listened to everyone so thoroughly drifted itself into her head when she went off investigating on her own.

“Friends tell each other what they’re thinking, you know?” He asked her one day during one of the assorted times he decided to hang out with her. She was taken aback by the sudden question, remembering how willing Naegi was to tell her everything. There would be only one time where he uncharacteristically hid the truth from her, but with good intentions as not to hurt someone else’s reputation. She put her hand to her chin as she thought about the question in silence for a little bit, a patient Makoto Naegi waiting for her to respond.

“With this statement, you’re implying we’re… friends, right?” Kirigiri finally said with a small smile, turning her head to face him. His eyes connected with hers and he gave a bright smile as he nodded.

“Of course I am! Why wouldn’t we be? After all, with the things we’ve been through and how much you’ve been explaining things to us, it’s only natural to assume we’re friends.”

Kyouko felt something rising through her. A burning sensation took over, and she tried to swallow it away. She smiled, turning her back to Naegi. “Friends… I suppose that’s one way to look at us.” She walked away quickly, starting to dash when she figured she was out of sight of the boy. She rushed to her room and slammed the door, coughing violently. She had never felt such a horrid feeling rising through her throat. Vomit was one thing, but this felt entirely different. Finally, she felt something come out and onto her gloves. She looked down, only to regret ever checking it out.

A few dark petals emerged from her throat, an extremely dark purple color attached to them. Ignoring the blood, the fragrance reminded her of spices almost, and they had variegated coloring with a lighter color adorning the stripes. She examined them closer, finally coming to the conclusion that they were dianthus petals. she picked up her room key and went to the library silently, reading up on the flower itself.

What she found was that a dianthus is a kind of carnation, with a meaning roughly translating to “flower of the gods.” Dark colored carnations like this one carried the symbolism of deep love an affection. However, a variegated carnation like the one that was falling from her mouth symbolized a regret for a love that would be ultimately unable to be shared. She crushed the petals the had held onto in her hands, silently cursing herself for this foolishness. She knew falling in love was a horrible idea. she knew that getting close to anyone could trigger her downfall. She had spent far too long trying to push people away, but it had become a moot point.

She tried to conduct her business alone afterward, but it seemed inevitable that Naegi would come along and help her. The times that their hands accidentally touched made her flush, breaking whatever semblance of indifference that she had. He would smile and tell her how cute she was when she did so, and she would do her best to get rid of the blush so there wouldn’t be any indications.

It had been custom for people of the Kirigiri family to stay neutral to all things, swaying towards neither opinion presented. They were there to simply find truth and express the truth, yet… here Kirigiri was, failing to uphold that normal and understandable standard that her grandfather had taught her. She was falling for someone, and she was expressing her true feelings for him. She frowned at herself as she remembered this, cursing herself silently for being so susceptible to love.

—

Time passed, and Kirigiri had started coughing up more petals far more often. It became harder and harder to hide it, and eventually, someone found her coughing her lungs out in a bathroom. When they saw the petals falling, their heart stopped for a moment until Kirigiri silently wiped her mouth.

“I don’t suppose you plan on telling anyone, do you, Fukawa?” Kirigiri asked in a quiet, almost restrained manner. Fukawa wondered how she knew it was Fukawa, and was going to ask, but kept her mouth shut. Kirigiri turned to her, bearing an unreadable expression that contrasted the bit of blood that was now stuck to her face. She hadn’t caught all the petals in her hand, leaving a few of them on the ground. Fukawa thought rapidly before playing with a braid and feigning indifference.

“A-as long as it isn’t for my… my white knight, i-it means nothing to me!” She said, trying not to shout too loud as to give her away. She had also spent some of her nights coughing out purple irises herself, knowing well her own white knight wouldn’t love her back. Kirigiri chuckled a little as she walked past Fukawa, stopping for only a moment.

“I can only hope you won’t fall as far as I have only to realize your love is impossible. I hope Togami is easy on your soul, regardless of what you’ve done in the past.” Kirigiri walked out of the bathroom, leaving Fukawa to think about what idiot Kirigiri had possibly fallen for. It didn’t take long for her to figure it out. Makoto Naegi was the only person that Kirigiri seemed to constantly stand being around with, and Fukawa had often witnessed the way Kirigiri looked at him. She could equate them to a classic couple one would find in a romance novel, and began to gain the resolve to get Naegi to realize Kirigiri loved him. Maybe her white knight would even praise her for taking such actions.

She picked up a couple of the petals in her hand, rushing out of the bathroom and looking around quickly. Where would someone so boring and plain hang out in the middle of the day? She dashed to the cafeteria to see the Ahoge bouncing a little as he talked to Asahina. She took him by his hood and dragged him off, ignoring the protests from both him and the angry swimmer. She could deal with Asahina later.

“Did I… do something?” Naegi asked, looking at Fukawa with an apologetic smile. Wordlessly, she wrenched open his hand and let the flower petals fall into his hand, and she closed it, looking away.

“Y-you…she’s been s-suffering, w-waiting for you. Don’t let that g-go to waste, idiot!” She hissed before walking away. She didn’t expose who “she” was, expecting Naegi to come up with that on his own. She didn’t need to be a part of this love story anymore, and was more than content to just watch things fall into place.

Naegi stood there, looking at the now bruised petals. It took him a moment to realize that by suffering, Fukawa meant that someone had caught Hanahaki for him. While that thought was amazing on its own, he had a sinking feeling he knew who it was. He heard vigorous coughing coming from upstairs, and he dashed as fast as he could. The coughing got louder as he reached the library. He swung the door wide open only to see something that hurt him.

Kirigiri was clutching her chest as she coughed violently, looking as though she was becoming less and less able to even stand on her own. She was leaned up against the wall and slowly slid down, doing her best to cover who it was who was making such a ruckus. Naegi ran to her, crouching down to be eye level with her.

“Kir-no, Kyouko!” He said as he shook her shoulders to get her to look at him. She looked up, her eyes tired before she realized she was looking at who was causing this. She tried to protest, but just continued coughing. Naegi didn’t know what to do but talk to her.

“I… I didn’t know that I would mean this much to you.” He started once Kirigiri had a break in her coughing fit. She looked at him with confusion.

“I wish I hadn’t made you suffer, you know? I… there were times where I wondered, ‘what would it be like to hold her hand?’ or, ‘does she ever think about me randomly, and miss me at all?’“ He continued, stopping while Kirigiri coughed. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she did, and Naegi pounced at that moment to say what he felt.

“I really… I really love you, Kyouko.” He said quietly. Kirigiri froze, her coughing suddenly ceasing.

“Say it again.” She demanded, making Naegi confused.

“I-I really love you, Kyouko!” He almost yelled. Suddenly, the coughing became more violent until eventually, an entire flower fell from her mouth, seeming to have wilted. She looked up with a little triumphant smile.

“If you had taken any longer to tell me, I probably would’ve been dead in this library.” Kirigiri informed him, making Makoto look extremely worried.

“W-wait, what?!? I-I-I–WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY ANYTHING?” He questioned.Kirigiri would’ve normally tried to act annoyed with it, but she just smiled and threw her head back, laughing. Makoto stopped as he watched her laugh so heartily, wondering how often she had laughed like that before.

Oh god, he was in love.

I got you real good, didn’t I, Kirigiri.

[fainthefrog]

Black and Gold - Madohomu Coffee Shop AU

Words:  2298

Also on Ao3

Summary: 

Every day, Homura Akemi comes in, orders the blackest coffee, and does next to nothing but stare at the girl behind the counter. And every day, Madoka Kaname serves her, staring back whenever she gets the chance. Finally, the two work up the courage to finally face one another. But will it be all they dreamed it to be?

If Madoka didn’t know better, she’d say time was repeating itself. Day in and day out, the same thing seemed to happen. That girl would come in, order the blackest coffee possible, then sit in the corner for a few hours, doing nothing in particular. Occasionally Madoka thought she was looking over at her, but every time she tried to check, she was suddenly facing away.

By not it was becoming somewhat of a staple of her day at work. At one o clock, she’d arrive, order coffee as black as obsidian, then sit down in her corner. It had become somewhat of a game for Madoka, to try and spot if she did anything differently. If she maybe brought something with her, added sugar to her coffee, slightly experimented with her order, anything that fell out of her routine. And yet there was nothing, even her outfits were irritatingly similar.

She was getting fed up of it, drastic measures had to be taken. Well, if simply talking to a customer could be seen as drastic measures. Although over the last few days, her attempts had failed spectacularly, she didn’t manage to get a single word out. The girl had an intimidating presence about her. However that was only a small part of the problem for Madoka. The main issue was just how attractive she was. Madoka could hardly look at her without getting blushy and flustered. She was already ogling her from afar, admiring and studying every part of her, trying to figure out just what made her so appealing. So meeting her up close, seeing in terrifying detail the perfectly black hair, with colour that matched an eerily empty night sky, her contradictory purple eyes, somehow conveying both anger and sadness hidden behind a serene calm, simpler things too, like how she carried herself so gracefully, and the simple fact that she was taller than Madoka. Ultimately, she was perfect, everything she could ever want.

Unfortunately, in the face of such perfection, Madoka was useless.

Homura hadn’t slept for the last three days, the only thing keeping her awake was constantly drinking the blackest, most caffeine filled coffee she could find. She was overdue on several pieces of college work, her car needed repairs and she still owed two months of rent. The only thing making it okay was the possibility that eventually, if she could just work up the courage, she could talk to the cute pink haired girl behind the counter. She had made a few attempts over the last few days, but all she ended up saying was her usual order a little too forcefully.

She had first noticed her on campus at college, hanging around Sayaka Miki, a girl she only tolerated because her friend Kyouko was dating her. Despite how easy it could’ve been to just talk to her through their mutual friends, she ended up taking the infinitely more difficult route. Observing from afar and having to talk to her in private, without any social support to speak of.

It certainly wasn’t one of her smartest decisions, but it was one she was going to stick to.

Slowly and gradually, she made her way across the room, she had already ordered her coffee, so she couldn’t chicken out and just ask for a coffee. This time, she would say something, she had to.

“Excuse me-” Homura began.

“H-hello” Madoka said, cutting her off completely.

“N-no, you start.” they said all but simultaneously. Following that, there was utter silence. Awkwardness haunting the air between them. Both of them figured now was a good opportunity to look at the other, to gauge their reaction and figure out who should talk first.

They ended up checking eachother out instead, zoning out and focusing intently on one another, their mutual trance only being broken by an employee accidentally nudging Homura.

“I-I’m Homo-” she cut herself off, her eyes widening and her face reddening. “Oh my god, kill me.” she thought, “Just end me right now”. She took a second to recompose herself, her eyes closed, not wanting to face Madoka’s reaction. Unexpectedly, despite her colossal blunder, Madoka remained the same, hardly reacting to what she had said, just smiling at her, possibly a bit wider than before. “Akemi Homura. I’ve seen you around at college, what’s your name?”

“Madoka!” she said overly enthusiastically. “It’s nice to meet you.” she grinned, contrasting the internal guilt she was feeling. Homura had seen her before, but she had absolutely no idea who she was, aside from the extremely pretty girl who sat in the corner of the cafe and drank ungodly dark coffee.

The corner of her lips curved, it wasn’t a big smile, but it was one. Madoka was shocked she managed to get her to smile already, she figured it would have taken a while. “It’s nice to meet you too, Madoka.” she replied tersely, repeating her name simply because she enjoyed the sound of it.

“So uh, why do you always order that same coffee?” she asked, looking up at Homura curiously. There was a good few inches of difference between them.

Usually Homura wouldn’t open up to a stranger, but the adorable look Madoka was giving her, with wide pinkish eyes and her lips slightly pouted. It was impossible to resist. “To keep me awake.” she said bluntly, before elaborating further. “I’ve been having some trouble sleeping.” she admitted, “So I just don’t bother and stay awake all day.”

Homura fell silent, examining a few spots on the floor before finally adding an awkward laugh and looking back at Madoka.

“Have you ever tried chamomile tea?” she asked politely, her face one of smiling concern. “It’s good for sleep.” “Oh uh, no.” Homura responded, finding herself staring at Madoka once again, she couldn’t pull her gaze away from the pure and caring girl.

“Here, I’ll make you some.” she said, smiling. Quickly checking around for her boss before taking the tea. She took great care in preparing it, measuring out the water, milk, honey, every ingredient she could, precisely. She even counted the minutes under her breath as she let the tea steep. Homura merely sat back, watching and admiring as she worked.

“There!” Madoka announced, unveiling the finished tea. It was a bright, pretty, goldish colour. Bright enough to catch anyone’s eye, but subdued enough to not be garish. It caught the light, seeming to shimmer as it did. “Try it!”

“How much will it cost?” Homura asked, holding the cup up to her mouth. It didn’t smell great, but she would try it, for Madoka’s sake.

“It’s free.” she replied, eagrely eyeing the tea, excited for her reaction to it.

She sipped it, it was sweet and flavourful, a stark contrast to the black coffee she had been drinking, which only tasted of bitterness and suffering. As she pulled the tea away from her mouth and examined it more, she realised how different in appearance it was too. It was so transparent and colourful, unlike the opaque, bleak drink she was accustomed to.

“That’s really good.” she commented. “But I have to ask, just how much honey is in this?” she stirred it slightly, there was no trace of it, but it was clear she had added far more than what was reasonable.

“Not a lot.” she lied, deciding not to acknowledge that she had added far, far too much.

“Hm, interesting.” she noted, sipping the tea more. “Can I have another. Please?” she requested, having already downed the entire cup.

“Oh, sure. Just give me some time.” Madoka said, happily returning to her work.

A devilish plan formed in Homura’s mind, as Madoka was focusing, she walked away, returning to her seat and waiting. If all went according to plan, Madoka would come over, she would convince her to sit down, and from there, they would talk more. What about? She had no idea, she hadn’t planned far enough.

After a minute or two, her plan began falling into place. Madoka emerged from her tea making trance, spotted her back at her seat and walked over. “Care to take a seat, Madoka-San?” she asked, smiling confidently, it almost looked wrong on her, from her earlier awkwardness.

“Yeah, I would.” she returned, sitting across from her and placing the tea in front of her. “Is the tea helping? I know it tasted good, but do you feel any sleepier?”

“Hm, no. Maybe talking to someone could help soothe me to sleep.” she hinted, completely unsubtly. Although she hardly did anything, she still mentally patted herself on the back for flawlessly executing her plan.

Of course Madoka saw right through her, but she didn’t mind. She was just happy she could talk to her. “So, Homura-Chan. You said you go to my college?” she inquired, earning a nod from the black haired girl. “What do you study?”

“History.” she stated, her non talkative nature coming through in her quick, blunt answer.

“Wow, that’s cool!” Madoka’s eyes lit up with curiousity. She wasn’t usually very interested in history, but getting Homura to open up about something she liked intrigued her. “Can you tell me about it?”

“Well, currently we’re learning about the crusades.” she began, her tone picking up slightly, denoting her interest in the topic. “It’s so far in the past, which is what makes it intriguing. Everything was so different.” Madoka beamed, enjoying herself greatly as she listened to Homura speak. “It's kind of weird though, I went to a Christian school when I was younger, so it's really unusual, comparing what I learned back then to the history of the religion.”

In truth, a lot of what she had said went completely over Madoka’s head, she knew next to nothing about the crusades, so she couldn’t contribute to the conversation in any meaningful way. To counteract this, she decided to ask a more general question. “Are you Christian, Homura-Chan?”

She snickered at the thought of it, her Christian upbringing seemed so ridiculous to her now. There was so little connection between her and her past self, they were essentially two different people. “No, definitely not.” she said.

“I see.” Madoka grinned internally, that combined with her earlier blunder gave her hope. Although she didn’t know for certain, there was a possibility that she was gay, and Madoka was going to cling to it as much as possible. “Is college what’s stopping you from sleeping?” the question felt somewhat awkward and out of nowhere, but continuing the history talk would’ve just been one sided. As much as she would enjoy hearing her rant about her interests, her current mission was to get her interested in her.

Unbeknownst to Madoka, Homura was already immensely interested in her. The extra effort was utterly unnecessary. “Partially.” she answered.

“Partially? What else is there?” she tapped the desk lightly, watching Homura’s tea intently, she wondered if it was affecting her yet.

Homura yawned, putting an end to her pondering immediately. “Hm, there’s a lot.” she mused, not caring to elaborate. Frankly she didn’t want to talk about it, she wasn’t one to open up very much, even to a girl as cute as Madoka.

“Oh?” she pressed, curiously. Earning no response from Homura, who simply drank her tea. With a hum, she concluded that that line of questioning was done for. She struggled to think of a new conversation topic, her mouth awkwardly hanging open as she lost herself in thought.

Her thinking was cut short by a sudden reminder that she had a job she was supposed to be doing. Her co-worker calling to her. “Kaname-San, get back here! Your break’s over!”

“Ah!” she gasped, rapidly glancing between her co-worker and Homura. “I’ve gotta go, I’m sorry. I’ll talk to you again!” she waved, giggling to herself as she noticed how Homura’s eyelids began to drift shut. The tea had worked extremely well.

“Y-yeah, see you.” Homura managed, rubbing her eyes and blinking hard in an attempt to stave off sleep a little longer.

She failed miserably. Madoka noticed her head gradually droop, until she finally fell into a deep, deep sleep. With a smile, Madoka returned to her work, only getting distracted by Homura’s sleeping face a few times.

“Hey Homura-Chan, wake up.” Madoka prodded at her gently, bringing her softly and amicably out of her sleep. “The shop’s closing.”

Homura rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, looking her over. Her work clothes were gone, replaced by a grey coat that was a little too big for her, despite the size difference, she pulled it off well, the pink of her hair and the dull colour of her coat combining for a pleasant contrast. “Right.” Homura mumbled, rising to her feet and making her way towards the door.

“Hey, wait! I have something for you!” Madoka cried, expecting the tired girl to leave without a goodbye. “Here!” she placed a thermos in her hands, smiling warmly. “There’s more tea in there, it should help you sleep.”

She stared down at the thermos, a characteristic, small look of happiness forming on her face. “Thank you, Madoka.” she said, looking up at the girl. “Could I walk you home?” she looked at her expectantly, wanting not only to pay her back for her kindness, but also to spend some more time with her.

“I’d like that Homura-Chan.” she smiled, opening the door and holding it open for her. Together, they left the shop, walking away through the evening, the world dimming around them. They remained in utter silence for a short while, processing and appreciating the presence of the other. Just as Homura took a swig of her drink, Madoka piped up. “Hey, uh. Homura-Chan. Are you gay?”

Homura nearly choked on her tea.

[dyingrabbit]

Negated Universe Misadventures - Chapter Three

Humor/Dark

Subjective narrator (Homura Akemi)

Word count: 4554

“Fuck” count: 32

Proof of Concept: Part Two (Attempt #27)

Of paramount importance, probably, was ensuring my cohorts that I wasn't as frightening as my previous display may have suggested. Yeah, I 'd gone from zero to psychopathic demi-god over a very short span of time, but what needed to define me were my words and not my actions. That was likely too idealistic to execute properly with my limited time frame and resources. I was well aware of that, but let's get down to brass tacks here.

I had a notebook.

At the risk of contributing to society's broken record on the subject of technology, I'll assert once more that the most eminently exploitable feature of modern day communication is the ability to proofread one's sentiments prior transmission. That's not a tool you have when speaking face to face, generally speaking.

Of course, it would trigger a sociological collapse of some magnitude if we did away with the tactile immediacy of authentic human interaction. The hippies would go nuclear on us if we could all decide that we'd rather be texting the people in front of us. Which is why it's probably best that I'm the only one who gets to do that.

The psychologists could go ahead and name a neurological disorder after me for all I care. They could add me to the next edition of the Merck and I wouldn't bat an eye. Because if I wanted to forsake my humanity and stop time to carefully consider my next words then God damn it that's what I was gonna do.

So that's what I did. I looked present company dead in the eye and gave my shield a half turn, halting the current of time. It was out of necessity really. I had the potential to seriously flub this persuasion check if I wasn't on the ball, and for the record, I was not on the ball. The ball was gone. I'd lost it. Not to worry though. I had plenty of time to find it.

They say that American natives were known for using every bit of each buffalo they hunted, whereas the European settlers were prone to leaving everything but the hide. It disgusted the natives, for it was of the highest dishonor to the sacred animal to take its life and let so much of its body go to waste. I was no native. I wasn't really big on any sort of new age philosophy either. But what I saw before me was a fresh buffalo kill, and I intended to use every last hunk of it to my advantage.

That is to say, I realized I had an opportunity to closely scrutinize my companions' body language whilst planning my statement. They all bore a variety of brazenly confused visages for starters, but I didn't need a looking glass to tell me that.

Sayaka, in particular, had a very stern look on her face which read as somewhere between "This bitch is gettin on my nerves." And "Imma fuck this bitch up." I also noticed she was clutching her club, which rested on her shoulder, very tightly, as though she was preparing to act on the latter sentiment. Suffice to say, soothing Sayaka's concerns currently had top priority.

Moving on to Mami, I could see that her mild yellow eyes held no apparent animosity towards me, just genuine confusion. As plain as it gets, Mami was looking for answers. Because beyond the main thrust of what had just occurred she was simply befuddled by the preceding episode. I also noticed, with audible relief, that she had her finger off the trigger of her terminal rifle. Mami just needed the situation explained. That was easy enough.

Lastly, I observed that Madoka wasn't actually looking at me. I mean, she was looking at me but she wasn't focused on me. She was spacing out, as though deep in thought. Or, more likely, she was remembering something. It was quite probable that she was recalling the dream she'd had about me and was now formulating a more comprehensive image of me as a person. It was far and away a more accurate representation than anything she'd been working with before, but it wouldn't do for her to have such a spot on idea of who I was just yet. Out of everyone here, I still needed her trust if I was to convince her not to become a magical girl, so I needed to ground myself with this statement as well.

Tallying the score, I reckoned I needed to be conciliatory, explanatory, and down to earth when explaining that, yes, It was in fact I who blew Charlotte to fucking oblivion. I sat down with my notebook and started drafting a proper response.

When I was finished, it came out something like this:

"Oh, gee. You mean the big fiery explosions? Yeah, I guess I got super duper excited and wanted to show off a little, but I might have overdone it. Silly me!"

I finished by chortling and lightly rapping my knuckles against my skull, executing some form of self punishment.

All in all, it didn't play quite as well as I'd hoped. Actually, if we're being honest here, it didn't fucking play. They just kept staring at me like I'd made a joke about murdering their parents.

"Yeah... Okay." Said Sayaka as she loosened her grip on the club slightly.

Mami gave her musket a little twirl and deposited it in her boot where it seemed to disappear. She then transformed back to normal, turned to leave, and said "Alright. Gotcha."

Madoka looked at me and laughed nervously.

"That's okay, Akemi-san. I tend to overdo things all the time. Heh heh."

God damn it. Why was it so fucking difficult to regulate my deep character flaws without coming across as completely bonkers? I'm not even the crazy one. These bitches should see Sayaka when she gets upset. That's what a real basket case looks like.

In any event, I'd seemed to inadvertently create the moment which would define my relationship with these girls for the duration of the time loop, but at least they weren't dead this time. We all resolved to call it a day.

The next section of the timeline was relatively uncharted territory. Mami didn't often make it this far. It also signaled the beginning of a real crisis I needed to deal with. Mami wasn't dead, and I hadn't done a single fucking thing to make becoming a magical girl seem even remotely disadvantageous. These girls were primed to contract, and there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it. It was a like a game of hearts in which I'd suddenly realized I couldn't get rid of the queen of spades. The only way to pull this back was to shoot the moon.

Sayaka would contract. Couldn't do shit about that. She had both the aptitude and the drive. Having something to wish for in her back pocket helped too. Madoka was still very much on the fence about it. She wasn't built for this line of work. But eventually she was slated to come around to the idea. Especially with all this positive energy floating around. The next big events set to occur regarded Kyouko's arrival, Sayaka's contract, and possibly the discovery of the true nature of the soul gems.

Here was catch-22 part 2. If the group were to discover the truth, that our bodies were now just husks which were controlled by our soul gems, then Sayaka would just fucking lose it. That's how it always happens. Very rarely does she ever recover from that. At the same time, it serves as a beautiful deterrent for Madoka. With Mami still alive, the next biggest thing to stop Madoka from contracting was her best friend going suicidally nuclear. However, this was still a numbers game. I could hardly afford to lose Sayaka before the fight with Walpurgisnacht, if previous iterations held true, and thus, I needed a backup strat.

I had one. It was ridiculous but I did have one.

It was Kyouko, essentially. It was everything about Kyouko that was worth detesting.

My plan was to highlight for Madoka the cutthroat nature of the business, as well as the inescapable ennui of the endless battle with the witches. The reality being that she'd likely be living grief seed to grief seed, always on the hunt, always on the brink.

That was the sales pitch.

That was literally all I had in the way of halting the contract, short of sending Sayaka into a chaotic death spiral, or over facilitating Mami's ego to yield fatal decapitation. Kyouko was the name of the game. The biggest problem was that she wasn't even supposed to show up while Mami was still alive.

Mitakihara City is Mami's beat. Kyouko just subs when she dies. Mass action dictates that the void be filled quickly, and so it is. The trouble now is that Kyouko had no incentive to drop in. So I had to go and make one for her.

This worked out rather nicely, as it was becoming clear that my diplomatic efforts hadn't been received as well as I might have hoped. My scripted remarks hadn't worked, frankly. The gang seemed to be actively distancing themselves from me and opting to go witch hunting alone. That sucked a bit, but it was fine for now. We were in a lull where relatively little happened, and I had bigger fish to fry.

How does one earn Kyouko's favor? Perhaps that was a bit too ambitious. Instead, how does one get Kyouko to do you a favor? Was that the same thing? Etymologically speaking, yeah probably, but connotatively those were fucking pretty different. I needed to either threaten her with violence—say, the desecration of her family's burial site—or offer a reward in return for assisting me.

Now, modern psychology asserts that positive reinforcement yields more favorable results than punishment, so bribing her looked like a pretty attractive option. However, in the words of the illusive bastard, Al Capone, you can get much further with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone. Perhaps Teddy Roosevelt put it more eloquently with "Speak softly and carry a big stick." Either way, this episode of Sesame Street was clearly brought to us by the number ".50" and the letter "I'm not leaving my fucking Deagle at home for this one."

She was holed up in some derelict radio tower a mile from nowhere. She sat alone, devouring the remains of a convenience store rice ball before tossing the wrapping aside amongst numerous other nondescript empty packages. It was late evening, so her face was illuminated mostly by the dim red glow of the soul gem she idly fiddled with.

In a way, I felt for her. Yellow, blue, and pink were all bright colors. Mami and the others had no trouble using their soul gems as flashlights. But the longer your wavelengths get, the less energy per photon and all that shit. Suffice to say, Kyouko and I got fucking shafted when it came to extra utilities. I know it's not a Swiss army knife, but I think I'm justifiably upset that my soul is only barely bright enough to read by.

"How'd you find me?" Kyouko started in a convincingly menacing tone. "Who might you care to explain your—fuck." She muttered after fumbling her inquiry.

I got a bit excited, but my experience kept me level headed. Kyouko had merely hung a pawn, that was nothing to get ecstatic over.

"Kyubey told me where I might find you." I said coolly. It was a lie. Truth be told, this tower was something of a de facto domicile for the poor little street urchin. I'd met her here a few times before.

She huffed, clearly buying it, as it wasn't totally unreasonable.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Homura Akemi. You can call me whatever you want."

Kyouko rubbed her chin as she sized me up.

"You're a magical girl too, right? What do you want?"

I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work. My work consisted of pulling several boxes of pocky out of my shield, one at a time, and stacking them on the floor in front of her. I had many flavors, a keen observer might note.

To her credit, Kyouko looked on without a trace of bemusement, as though she'd seen this song and dance before. I was fairly certain she hadn't, because I wrote this song and choreographed this dance. The pocky routine was an original.

It took me a long ass time. I'd initially thought I could pack a box full of these packages and stuff the whole box into my storage unit, but it didn't even work theoretically. The dimensions were stubbornly unworkable. Even if I'd managed to shove it in, there was no way in hell it would come back out. So I resigned to carrying them in singles. Whatever. Here we were.

When I was finished, I knelt beside the appreciable array of biscuit sticks and said "I'd like a favor Sakura-san."

Kyouko looked at me, then at the pocky, then back at me.

"Are you fucking joking?"

"I've brought you dozens of boxes of frosted biscuit sticks in assorted flavors." I said, undeterred. "Who doesn't appreciate numerous biscuit sticks in assorted flavors?"

"No fucking shit. Why did you fucking do that?"

"As I said, I need a favor."

"And what would that be?" Kyouko demanded, exasperated.

I bit my lip in hesitation. I actually didn't have the most cogent job description prepared as of yet.

In essence, I wanted Kyouko to be like one of those recovering drug addicts, or alcoholics, or those dumb fucks who kill people while texting and driving, who then are made to give presentations to school children on why their behavior was bad. It was like community service but it was spiritually degrading, and in this case, entirely voluntary.

Actually that summed it up pretty well, so that's what I went with.

Imagine a look of wide eyed wonder, except it's actually disgust. That's what Kyouko was bearing when I finished my spiel.

I admired her restraint. At this stage "Are you fucking nuts?" Is practically obligatory, yet jaded and redundant. Instead she just said "No."

Alright. Diplomacy had broken down. It was time for a tactical push in the form of a veiled threat. Really, honestly, that's what the situation called for, and I knew that very well. That's why I'm confused as to how it escalated to me aiming my Deagle at her chest with one hand, holding multiple boxes of pocky out the window with the other, and shouting "I swear to fucking God, I will drop these fucking biscuit sticks if you don't do what I say!"

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!" Kyouko blasted, having already transformed. "I'll just fucking grab the boxes later! I don't care!" She held her spear like she was ready to throw it at my throat. It was just posturing. She knew as well as I that I held the high ground.

"Is that so?" I asked slyly. "Say, you ever shoot clay pigeons, Sakura-san?" I said this as I produced three green tea flavored pocky sticks from the package I held.

She looked on despairingly as I threw them in a haphazard arc, or thereabouts, and swung my shooting arm over to dispatch them all.

I'll admit I used a freebee on that one. It wasn't so much a demonstration of skill as it was a vulgar display of power. The effect left little to be desired. Kyouko actually shrieked when the airborne pockys burst into infinitesimal singed crumbs.

"Don't you fucking dare do that again, bitch!" She said, her voice quivering. "I'll fucking kill you if I ever see you wasting food again!"

I smiled coldly.

"Be my guest. I've got plenty of assorted flavors here. We can day this all do—fuck."

In the end, my overly aggressive midgame allowed for an unfortunately prolonged endgame. Which I won, for the record, but it was far too involved for my tastes. A lot of old scars brought into the daylight. A lot of soul baring I could have done without. But I had Kyouko now.

Upon my return to Mitakihara proper, I was greeted with the actualization of what was, at this point, a fairly resolute inevitability. Sayaka had contracted with Kyubey and was now traipsing through the city with Mami dispelling familiars at every turn. She'd also done the liberty of saving Hitomi's ass while she was at it.

Here's the thing about Sayaka.

Her big crush, Kyousuke, used to be a violinist before he fucked up his wrist. Now he can't play, and he's naturally a bit butthurt over it. Sayaka shares this sentiment. Her main plan of action is to bring Kyousuke CD's of various accomplished violin artists so they can listen together through a shared set of earbuds. Not bad. But at a certain point, Kyosuke starts acting like a bitch and accuses her of torturing him by forcing him to listen to shit he'll likely never perform again.

The implication that some entity out there gets their kicks by savoring the tears of young crippled musicians after they've forced them to listen to examples of their former specialties is unquestionably very rich. However, Sayaka sees the indictment as valid, and decides to grant the kid's wrist back with her wish. Honestly, I'm glad that works out for her, but I don't like the position it puts Madoka in.

Thankfully, Madoka had not succumbed quite yet. The beautiful thing about her is that she very rarely contracts unless there is a clear and present danger which cannot be averted in any other way. That's because, by default, she doesn't have anything worth risking her life to wish for. That was all well and good, but it wasn't the biggest thing I had on my plate.

Introducing Kyouko was logistically awkward. There wasn't any instance where it really made sense to suddenly add a member to the party. Oh well. The details could be ironed out later. This was just a proof of concept run anyway.

These girls seemed to like meeting on bridges. Specifically pedestrian overpasses. I couldn't figure why, but that's where we stood. Kyouko's red hair fluttered in the breeze as she leaned against the handrail. She seemed more interested in the half eaten taiyaki in her hand than in her audience as she spoke.

Her audience consisted of Mami, Madoka, Sayaka, and Kyubey. I stood by in attendance. I was sort of the emcee for this little get together as well.

"This contract thing may sound like all that. It certainly did to me, anyways." She started slowly. "You get a wish. Anything in the whole wide world if you asked for it, and damn it, I did."

I had to give her credit. She'd ostensibly had no time to prepare for this little speech but this was proving to be a fucking masterful lead-in.

She took a bite out of her taiyaki and chewed thoughtfully for several seconds.

"It ended up costing me my entire family. Worst part is there's nobody to blame but me." Fucking hell, that was heavy. Surgically precise in tone. This was going beautifully.

"I thought it was a decent wish at the time. I was stupid... So stupid." She popped the rest of the taiyaki into her mouth and swallowed it remarkably fast. "You know what I've got to show for it? Nothin'. No house, no parents, no fuckin' cable television. Just a rusty radio tower, a weird rabbit thing to keep me company, and an endless horde of witches to hunt just to stay alive." She busted open a box of strawberry pocky and jammed a couple into her mouth. "I could be here telling you how you should never, ever, waste your wishes on someone else, a lesson I know from experience, but today this bitch wanted me to tell you not to contract at all." She said, gesturing at me with a pocky stick. "Probably better advice anyway."

I had to stop myself from gaily applauding at the fantastic presentation. I wished the other viewers had the same problem, but the reactions were a bit mixed.

Forget how principally convoluted it is to introduce a new friend to your old ones. That's a thing in itself. In addition, this sure as hell wasn't a new friend, and these gals would be hesitant to call me an old one. Replace this 'new friend' with a 'guest speaker' you've invited for an unsolicited seminar. Everyone is familiar with the subject matter, but the stance you have this speaker take makes you out to be a massive hypocrite, and is an about-face with regards to your previous behavior.

The word is clunky.

If I was a writer, I would not have written the story this way. If I was real life, I would not play out in this fashion. On several occasions, I've made attempts to convey to my fellow transients that I am a time traveler and know what comes to pass in the near future. Hardly ever do they accept that claim on it's face, and that's reasonable to expect. What people need is proof. I can provide circumstantial evidence, like stopping time, or predicting a future event. That sometimes works, but it isn't definitive proof.

What I'd provided with this impromptu magical girl symposium was a determinately contrived situation. I'd confidently assert that anyone missing the signs that I wasn't operating on the same plane of reality clearly couldn't see the forest for the fucking objective lenses strapped to their faces.

Kyouko slowly chewed on her pocky while ostentatiously gazing over her shoulder to view the setting sun in the west.

She and Mami sort of knew each other, through various run ins and/or word of mouth. They didn't really like each other, the opposite scenario being an atrociously high energy configuration, so Mami didn't take kindly to the whole display, and remained tight lipped.

Madoka had questions, and had patiently waited for the Q&A segment to ask them.

"Sakura-san, is it?" She asked politely, receiving only a glance in reply. "What is it you wished for?" Not just an audacious advance in general, but a supremely audacious one when considering the parties involved.

"Jeez..." Kyouko muttered under her breath. "I made a wish for someone close to me. When he found out, he called me a witch, went crazy, and then killed himself." Storytelling at its most elegant.

"I just wanted you to know," Madoka said with Polaris sized stars in her eyes, "That I don't think it was your fault. You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened."

Kyouko's tone became stern and bitter.

"Listen here, miss pigtails, you don't know a damn thing about it. Never use a wish on somebody else. You'll only make things worse than they were. Better yet, don't make a wish at all. A softie like you wouldn't last a week."

This prompted some mild sabre rattling from Sayaka.

"Oh yeah? And what do you know about it, bitch? I oughta teach you a fuckin' lesson about caring for others!" All in attendance, Sayaka included, mused that the threat could have been worded more effectively.

"What did you wish for, huh?" Kyouko retorted cooly. "Probably something silly. You didn't wish for love, did you?"

Mami quite accurately assessed that the situation was rapidly approaching flash point and that swift intervention was required. Before another word could be uttered, she quickly tied Sayaka up with her yellow ribbon and said "We'll be leaving now." before dragging her away. Madoka meekly followed behind. Kyubey stared intently in my direction for a good deal of time before sauntering off to god knows where.

The Sayaka thing was probably gonna be a problem. If I wasn't careful it could actually be a critical issue. I internally shrugged. I'd probably bought myself a week.

Kazamino city was Mitakihara's neighbor. Kyouko grew up there, and it was where her family was buried. She and I happened to find ourselves there, in a graveyard, to pay respects I suppose. Her old house had burned down. At first there were some allegations regarding arson and thus murder, but the case had been promptly dropped as evidence was sparse and no one was left who cared to know.

Her father hadn't been a bad man. Not by a long shot. At the end, though, he was really bad. Really quite unforgivably bad.

There wasn't anything special about the gravestones. They were engraved with names and dates but nothing more. One of these cycles I swore I was gonna come here and etch something like "This deadbeat killed his wife and daughter and then himself because he was a bitch. Seriously, fuck this guy." Not only would that take an exorbitant amount of time, but Kyouko was here too, so that wasn't gonna happen today.

For her part, I don't think she knew what she was doing here. She stood there with her hands in her pockets, a lollipop in her mouth, and a disinterested look on her face. She was here for no other reason, it seemed, than that this is what people did. I hoped it was cathartic in some way, but it didn't fucking look like it was.

"I'm a time traveler." I said as the rain began to pick up.

"No shit." Kyouko replied, her clarity of speech somewhat obstructed by the lollipop. "Anyone with half a brain can see you use time manipulation magic. And what with all this hooey you're going on about, you're either a kook or you've been to the future."

"That's very sound reasoning." I said with no small amount of respect.

"Listen. I don't wanna hear about any of it." She said as she pulled up her hood. "I did my bit here. I'll help you take out that Walpurgisnacht thing, but then I'm done. Got it?"

She walked off without waiting for an answer. Kyouko Sakura was quite possibly the most jaded individual I knew of. And I was me.

Just as well, I suppose.

TO BE CONTINUED

[takerfoxx]

So, I had hoped to have a new Subconscious preview up last week on my birthday, but unfortunately the one I had planned ended up being really frustrating to write and, to be honest, kind of boring. So I scrapped all twenty pages of it at the last minute and threw this together instead. Enjoy!

We've all been there, in our dreams. There's something important to you: a valuable treasure, a prized memento, or just some odd object that the dream has arbitrarily decided that you must protect and you do so without questioning. Or there's someone: a parent, a child, a lover, a friend, someone that means the world to you and you are driven to defend with everything within you.

But no matter how hard you fight, no matter how carefully you watch over them, you fail, and they disappear. You turn away for one second, and they're gone. And no matter how hard you search you cannot find them again, and you awake feeling the weight of your failure.

It isn't your fault though. That's just the way dreams are. And many would say that you are experiencing a metaphorical manifestation of…something or another, such as feelings of inadequacy or lack of ability to provide for your loved ones. Maybe in some cases that is true, but the truth is that most of the time, that thing or person that you valued so highly did not vanish at all. Rather, they had had been stolen.

The Marauders had been plying their trade for a long, long time, and they had a lot to answer for.

It really was the perfect crime: sneak into the mind of some sleeping mark, creep around until something of valuable is found, and then take it. Authentic dreams were highly prized in the world of Nod, but the four Thrones jealously guarded any access to the Unconscious, which limited how many were available. Fortunately, the Marauders paid little heed to such things, and were more than happy to saturate the black market with the fruits of their expeditions. And so their way of life continued, as they lived in their tunnels, emerging only to steal fresh dreams to exchange for food and clothing and trinkets. Meanwhile, the four Thrones had been content to look the other way. After all, it wasn't as if the Marauders were doing any real harm, and it wasn't like they could be reached anyway. Let the shadow children have their fun.

Then one day, in one unimportant man's dream, all of that changed.

The cityscape was dreary and grey, devoid of color and life. Rain came down in a constant patter from the featureless black sky, shrouding the street in fog. The endless apartment buildings were high, rectangular, and adorned with nothing save for rows upon rows of light windows, staring out at the dismal metropolis. Steam hissed off the humming white florescent lights that hung over storefronts, on billboards, and on street corners, all of them advertising jumbled gibberish. There were no trees, no plants, no animals, nothing to bring life to the world of concrete, metal, and water.

The streets themselves were empty. No pedestrians wandered the sidewalks, no cars passed under the blinking traffic lights (white on top, white in the middle, white on the bottom), nothing moving whatsoever. Nothing moved at all save for a single, solitary grey pickup truck that moved slowly in the rain, slowly passing by address, street sign after street sign. On the top of the truck was a glowing plastic cartopper that, with some imagination, might have read, "Momma Mia's Pizzeria!" But then, it also might have read, "Mozziexr Deiaxooouz." And perhaps even, "Dominuplings." The letters shifted constantly whenever focused upon.

The lonely pizza delivery man seemed to be having trouble finding his destination. He continuously circled the blocks, slowing to read addresses that made no numerical sense, always certain that the place he was heading had to be just around the corner. If nothing else, one had to admire his dogged persistence, though he had to be growing frustrated. Still, rain or sleet, the pizza had to come through, so he continued on, praying that he would find where he was going before the pizzas grew too cold.

Then, just as he rounded a corner, something new appeared. A squared hatch appeared in the sidewalk just behind him. It slid open, and a group of children climbed out into the rain.

There were seven of them, the oldest, a dark-haired teenaged boy with a wiry frame and thick glasses, looking to be fifteen while the youngest, a nervous looking blonde girl wearing a pink hoodie, was probably still in the first or second grade. The others were everywhere in between: a curly-haired black boy of eleven; a tall and stocky Hispanic boy of nine; a slim redheaded and freckled white girl of thirteen; and a pair of Japanese siblings, one boy with hair dyed green and one girl with hair dyed orange, of nine and eleven respectively. Save for the small girl's hoodie, none of them were dressed for the weather, and the first thing they did upon emerging was to look up into the sky and groan.

"Aw man, are you kidding me with this?" said Carl, the black boy, as they retreated beneath the awning of some kind of café. "It's pissing all over the place!"

"Man, we should just ditch this one, try to find another dream that isn't going to soak us through," agreed Leslie, the redhead. She looked over to Daniel, the "older" boy with glasses.

Sighing, Daniel took off his glasses and wiped them with a napkin from a nearby table. For some reason every time he went along on a raid the others always looked to him for leadership, despite him actually being the youngest member of whatever party he happened to join at the time. Well, second youngest in this case. Regardless, he was getting used to it, but it was still annoying. "Last time I was on one of these things and we tried that, we ended up in a haunted graveyard. Look, let's just look around a bit, see if these stores have anything. If it's crap, we'll bail." Then he glanced down to the small girl in the hoodie. "Hey, you all right?"

One of the most tempting reasons to join the Marauders was the eternal life and youth that came with it. Daniel might have been younger than most of the others, but he was still a good five years older than he looked. Hideo and Kyouko, the Japanese siblings, were actually well past sixty, if one were to count from their dates of birth to the present. Which wasn't to say that they were elderly people with young bodies. Marauders were frozen in time. Age had no real meaning to them, with one day meaning no more or less than the next. In upland, the world of Nod, time passed, people grew old and died, countries rose and fell, and the Marauders stayed the same.

It wasn't quite the case with little Anya though. Unlike the others, she really was seven years old, having only joined the Marauders a few months ago. She hadn't spoken much of her life in upland, but Daniel had managed to glean enough to know that it hadn't been pretty. At the very least she had been homeless, like so many Marauders were. In fact, the majority of their population started out that way. They were the unwanted children of Nod, the orphaned and the abandoned, the abused and the neglected, all of them having found their way down into the network of tunnels and lairs known as the Warrens to trade in their miserable and hopeless lives above for the freedom and acceptance the Marauders offered. Others had simply been the rebellious types, or had found their mundane lives at home to be boring. Many had just thought that being a kid forever sounded like a swell deal and had run away from home. It made no difference. The only qualifications to join the Marauders was being under the age limit, of which Anya most certainly was.

At any rate, new Marauders showed up all the time, but for whatever reason Anya had taken a shine to Daniel, and stayed close to him at all times. She had even taken to crawling into his bed at night. It had been a little weird at first, but he was getting used to it. And it felt nice to have someone actually look up to him without expecting him to be some kind of great leader. He almost didn't want to go on this raid, seeing how most Marauders stayed safe in the Warrens with their chosen clan at least a year or two before they started venturing out into dreams. But Anya had insisted, her curiosity overruling her fear, so he came along. Just their luck that her first foray into the Unconscious would be such a depressing one.

Anya peered out from under her jacket's hood at the black-and-white world around them. "It's wet," she said.

"Yup, and not in the fun way," Kyouko giggled.

"Shut up," Daniel said absently. "Carl, what's the numbers?"

Squinting, Carl peered down into the large, calculator-like instrument he held. "Uh, okay. I'm getting mostly Sahk and Kanon. Nightmare's sort of bouncing back and forth between 8 and 11%, while Desio is holding at an even 19%."

Dream levels were very important. Kanon dreams were those of the mundane variety, in which dreamers relived aspects of their day-to-day lives. Desio dreams were concerned with some kind of ambition, whether it be in terms of success, acquiring a coveted item, sexual, or literally anything else, and were thus the preferred kind for raiding. Sahk dreams were of the nonsensical variety, random places and memories jammed together in a manner that made sense only to themselves.

Nightmares were self-explanatory.

The readings that Carl reported meant that the dreamer was enacting repetitive, mundane activity in a weird world. That made sense. No doubt the dreamer's frustration accounted for the Nightmare levels going up and down. It wasn't preferable, but at least it wasn't a Nightmare. "Okay, we'll try that mall across the street," Daniel said, nodding to the wide picture windows lit with bright white light. "Carl, keep an eye on those readings. Holler if this guy decides to quit."

The gang bolted across the street, the rain soaking clothes and plastering hair to any uncovered head. The sliding doors failed to slide when they approached, but that wasn't a problem. Hideo and Kyouko slid on metal-knuckled gloves and made short work of the windows.

Inside was more of the same. It was a mall sure enough, with two stories of stores all lined up in rows. But everything was done in sterile whites, like a laboratory. White walls, white stores selling white products, a white carousel, and a white fountain that was as dry as the outside was wet.

That was disappointing. Lively, colorful artifacts stolen from dreams fetched better prices. But that didn't mean there was nothing to find. Stores were always worth investigating. If they got lucky, maybe they could find a jewelry store. Jewelry was always in demand, regardless of its color.

"This guy's life must be incredibly boring," observed Isaac, the Hispanic boy, as he surveyed their bleak surroundings.

"That or he's colorblind," Leslie said as she peered curiously into a store that sold nothing but lamps that looked to be made from white plastic. "Doesn't look like there's much worth taking here."

"Probably," Daniel said. "But we'll give it a quick sweep. Five minutes. See if we can't find a jewelry store." He glanced down to Anya, who was staring bug-eyed out at their pasty surroundings. "You okay?" he asked her.

Anya bit her lower lip. Then she looked up to him and offered a small smile.

"Don't worry," he said as he took her hand. "We'll stick together." That was one of the most important rules about dream raiding. Though dreams themselves weren't usually all that dangerous, one never knew when they might suddenly warp and change, separating the party. They were notoriously unstable. Some remained more-or-less consistent throughout their entire duration while others were in a constant state of flux, which meant that putting even one wall between one's self and the rest of the party could mean being suddenly snatched away. And unfortunately, Daniel had long learned that this was also the one rule that was the most forgotten. Marauders were nothing but curious, and more than once an entire raid had been stalled because someone had gone wandering off.

Fortunately, it seemed like this was a wheel dream, which trapped the dreamer in a perpetual loop of repetition. So long as he kept circulating the blocks they should be okay. Still, there was no point in taking chances. One never knew when a dream might morph into a Nightmare.

The seven of them passed quickly between the rows of stores, peeking in briefly before moving onto the next. Nothing they saw interested them. The furniture looked real enough, but it was too large to move. The books were probably all blank and would serve as little more than curiosities. The restaurants they ignored outright. Dream food never tasted right, if it tasted like anything at all.

"This is pointless," Isaac groused. "All the good stuff is probably up there." He nodded up, at the mall's second floor.

"If it is, then we'll just ditch this one and find some other dream," Daniel told him. If there was one rule of safety that all Marauders adhered to, it was to always stay on the ground floor whenever possible. So long as they were on the ground, they could always open a tunnel to the Warrens and escape. Any higher and they took their own lives into their hands.

"Maybe we should. I don't like this place," Isaac said with a shiver.

Carl frowned at the dream reader. "Nightmare levels are staying low."

"I don't care. Something's not right."

Hideo said something in Japanese.

"Yeah, dude. I have no idea what you just said," Daniel said. His sister spoke pretty good English, so she was the one that did the talking for them.

Scowling, Hideo looked back the way they came and pointed. He repeated what he had just said.

They looked. Then Daniel blinked. Save for Anya, who was still holding onto his hand, only the boys were around. "Hey, where'd the girls go?"

…

"This is so cool," Leslie said as she and Kyouko walked through the aisles. The two of them had found a clothing shop, which was a lucky find. Clothing in the Warrens was usually brought in secondhand from upland, so finding anything good was often left up to chance. And clothes found in dreams were, like everything that was raided, a crapshoot. As such, Marauder outfits tended to be a little slapped together, as Leslie's stonewashed jeans, black band shirt for a band that she had never even heard of, avocado blazer, and brown beanie with bear's ears attested to. Kyouko's outfit was little better, being a green-and-red plaid skirt, black stockings, a white shirt, studded bracelets and anklets, and a jeans vest. Not that either of them minded. But it was nice to find something new every once in a while, especially when one didn't have to pay for it.

Even better, the store they had discovered was downright fabulous. Fuzzy fur coats, rhinestone-studded hats, boas, glittering purses, shiny knee-high boots, designer shirts, and so on. For a people who favored eclectic fashion, it was a treasure trove.

"Hey, look at this," Kyouko said. She had put on a glittering trilby, thrown a black-spotted white boa around her neck, and slipped on a pair of elbow-length black gloves. Then, with one hand on her hip, she started strutting down the aisle like a model down the catwalk. Leslie laughed and whistled.

Leslie picked out a wide-brimmed black hat with a large white silk flower and tried it on. Then she pulled on a zebra-striped fur coat long enough to reach her ankles.

"Oooh, that looks good on you," Kyouko said appreciatively.

"You think so?" There were several full-length mirrors nearby, but Leslie ignored those, instead pulling a round makeup mirror out of her back pocket. Dream mirrors were unreliable at best.

"Of course!" Kyouko draped her arms around Leslie's shoulders and grinned into the mirror as Leslie held it out as far as her arm would allow. "You look hot!"

"Really?" The hat did look pretty cute, Leslie admitted. And the coat wasn't bad, in a Cruella di Ville sort of way. "Do you…Do you think it's something Daniel might like?"

Kyouko burst out laughing. "Daniel? Really?"

Leslie gave a sort of awkward shrug. "Well, I mean, he is cute, and…"

"I guess?" Kyouko shrugged. "But isn't he with that Anya girl?"

Leslie made a face. "Ew, no! She's like seven! I mean actually seven!"

"Is she?" Kyouko shrugged. "I do not know, I do not know them that good."

"Yeah, she's really new."

"Huh." Kyouko shrugged again. "Well, maybe?" She peered quizzically at Leslie, her head tilted to one side. "You really like him?"

Leslie blushed a bit. Then she smiled and nodded.

Giggling, Kyouko poked her with her elbow. "Then tell him!"

"I don't know," Leslie said as she fidgeted with a strand of fur.

"Oh, come on! You never know…" Then Kyouko's eyes lit up and she pointed to something behind Leslie. "Oooh, jackpot!"

It was a jewelry counter, with glittering black and white stones set into black and white metals. The two girls hurried over, and Kyouko smashed the display case with her metal knuckles.

"Oh, this is gooooood," Leslie breathed as she picked up a chain-link necklace set with a huge white stone. That alone was worth at least three full raids by itself. She and Kyouko immediately started pawing through necklaces, rings, bracelets, and pendants, filling their pockets with the loot.

Then, from far off, they heard Daniel call, "Leslie! Kyouko! Where'd you go?"

The two girls looked at each other and cringed. "Whoops," Kyouko said with a sheepish smile.

Leslie turned around and called back, "Over here! Come on, I found jewelry!"

"You found?" Kyouko mocked.

"Fine. We found jewelry!"

Kyouko gave her a look.

Sighing, Leslie rolled her eyes and called out, "All right, Kyouko found-"

Then she stopped and frowned. Her ears had just detected a very strange sound, like a high-pitched whine, one that was increasing in volume. "Hey, do you hear-"

Then there was a flash of yellow light, and she heard nothing at all.

…

Daniel, Carl, Anya, Hideo, and Isaac all froze in their tracks. "Hey, what was that?" Daniel said, his face twisting up in confusion. They had been heading over to where they had heard Leslie calling to them, and then there had been the strangest sound, like the hum of something charging up.

Before anyone could answer, a shrill, feminine shriek of terror sounded out. It was unmistakably Kyouko's.

Everyone froze for a moment, looking at each other with expressions of horror. Then they took off running toward the scream, Hideo quickly taking the lead.

He needn't have worried. Kyouko came rushing around the other way, appearing from around a corner so suddenly that the siblings practically collided.

"Kyouko, what happened?" Daniel demanded. "Where's Leslie?"

Kyouko was crying, tears streaming down her face as she clung tightly to Hideo. The pair babbled frantically at each other in Japanese.

Isaac had no patience. "Hey!" he snapped, clapping his hands in front of Kyouko's face. "Speak English! What happened to Leslie?"

Kyouko let out a choking sob. "G-Gone," she forced out.

"Gone?" Daniel pushed Isaac aside to get into Kyouko's face. "Whad'd'ya mean, gone?"

"I mean she is gone!" Kyouko wailed. "We found some jewelry, and we started grabbing it up, when there was this…this flash, and she was gone!" She started screaming. "There was nothing but dust, nothing but dust!"

There was a deathly pause in which it felt like the whole world was holding its breath. Then, without warning, Isaac bolted up the way Kyouko had fled.

"Isaac, wait!" Daniel called after him. He rushed around the corner. "You're just going to get yourself killed!"

Isaac didn't listen. He had been friends with Leslie for a very long time, Daniel knew. But if he didn't stop, he was going to join her.

"Isaac!" Daniel called again, his teeth gritting with frustration. Isaac just kept running, calling out Leslie's name.

Then, as he passed in front of one of the stores, Daniel heard that charging hum again. He briefly saw something like a golden beam of light, barely perceptible against their white surroundings, shooting right out the store and into Isaac.

What happened next was both horrible and quick. The sudden light made Daniel cringe back and shield his eyes, but in the half-second it took to do that, he saw Isaac standing in place, the beam piercing into his belly. Then it was as if his skin and clothes evaporated, as the moment there was nothing standing there save for a blackened skeleton.

Then the skeleton fell to pieces, turning to dust as it collapsed.

Kyouko screamed again, and this time Anya joined her. Daniel might have done so as well, but it was really hard to tell with all the blood pounding in his ears.

Then out of the store strode a monster. It was shaped like a tall man, but was covered with some sort of skintight black armor enforced with steel around the forearms, the shoulders, the waist, and the shins and feet. Its head was encased in some kind of black helmet, one with nothing but a blank, mirrored visor for eyes.

It peered down at the smear of dust that had been Isaac for a moment. Daniel's mouth went dry.

Then the monster looked up, turning its empty face toward the group.

Daniel snapped out of his trance. "Run!" he yelled, and the five of them did just that, fleeing before the black-clad monster that had murdered their friends.

…

They ran. And ran. And ran.

They ran and ran and ran as if the hounds of Hell were biting at their heels. They ran with a speed born of terror and grief. The white stores blurred together and seemed to have no end, the mall seemingly endless. It didn't matter. They weren't thinking of escaping the mall. They were fleeing the image of Isaac disintegrating before their eyes, as if distance alone could cancel it out. At one point, Daniel had to remember to pick up Anya and carry her on his back lest she be left behind.

Above all else, Marauders fear two things: death and imprisonment. Their dread of their lives ending was that of a child's, something that their eternal existences did nothing to blunt. And taking away their freedom was an unspeakable sin. The Marauder War had been started for that very reason, after all. As such, death was something that wasn't even joked about. And to watch one of their own perish triggered a deep, primal reaction, one of overpowering panic.

Once they had rounded the twelfth corner, they finally collapsed against the wall, crying and panting. Kyouko immediately went to her knees, slapping her palms against the ground to summon a portal into the Warrens while Hideo agitatedly paced back and forth. Anya curled up into a small ball against the wall and started mewling. Carl seemed to be in a state of shock. His mouth was hanging open, his eyes were practically popping right out of their sockets, and his hands were shaking as they clutched the dream reader.

As for Daniel, his hands were shaking as well. He licked his lips, trying to moisten them, but his tongue had gone dry as well.

What in the hell was that thing? Daniel had seen raw Nightmares before, had once been chased out of a dream by shrieking wraiths, but he had never, ever encountered anything remotely like that.

Then his trembling hands curled, and he straightened up. Turning, he focused his eyes on Carl, who was still fumbling with the dream reader.

Then his right fist lashed out, knocking Carl to the floor.

Everyone reacted immediately, with Hideo rushing over to grab Daniel and try to hold him back while Anya gasped. Carl gaped like a hooked fish tossed onto a dock. "Wha-What the hell, man?" he sputtered. "What the-"

"You were supposed to warn us!" Daniel shouted down at him as he shoved Hideo off. "You were supposed to warn us if the dream changed! Why didn't you say anything, huh? Why didn't you say anything?"

"The dream didn't change!" Carl snapped back. He straightened up and shoved the dream reader into Daniel's face.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Oh sure, and that black monster was just part of the scenery!"

"I'm serious! I don't know what that thing was, but it ain't no Nightmare!" Carl jabbed a finger at the readout of the dream's current levels. Sure enough, level of Nightmaric energies remained low.

That made Daniel's brow furrow. "Then what-"

"No."

Everyone turned to Kyouko, who was still pressing her palms against the ground. "No," she said again, lifting her hands up to slap them back down over and over. "No, no, no, no!" She looked up, terror written all over her face. "The portal, it won't open!"

Daniel felt his blood run cold. He dropped down as well, pressing his hands to the floor. Sure enough, no portal opened in response.

"What's going on?" Anya said. "Daniel, what's happening?"

"I don't know. It's like…" Then Daniel looked up at Carl, who was frowning down at the dream reader.

"Guys," Carl said slowly. "The dream's changing."

Daniel let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "Oh, it's changing? It's changing? Wow, Carl. I never would've guessed!"

"I don't mean that," Carl snapped back. "Kanon levels are going down, Sahk is shooting up!"

Daniel swallowed. Sahk wasn't nearly as bad as Nightmare, but it still wasn't good, since it meant that things were about to get weird. "We're not on the ground floor anymore," he said.

"No," Carl said, his voice shaking. "No, we're not."

A heavy silence fell over the group as everyone digested this. Then Daniel looked around. Sure enough, their surrounding were changing, the white walls darkening to brown, and the smooth, white floor developing cracks.

We're trapped, he thought. Trapped with that monster. If this had been a normal dream, they would be free to seek out a workable exit at their leisure. But with a nameless, faceless force actively hunting them, then…

Hideo was next. While they debated and tried to open a portal, he continued to pace back and forth, muttering to himself. Unfortunately, during one of his treks, his path carried him too far past the corner.

The next thing everyone knew, there was another flash of light, and then Hideo was gone. Kyouko, however, found herself covered with her brother's ash.

Still sitting on her knees, she stared at the grey soot that now covered her hands and screamed. She screamed and screamed as she clawed at her hair and back, trying to get it off of her.

"Run!" Daniel yelled again as he seized her by the wrist and yanked her up. The four remaining Marauders again fled through the mall, which was rapidly changing to something else entirely. Everywhere color was erupting, with leafy branches growing out of the stores while the linoleum floor morphed into wooden slats. Overhead, the roof was opening up into a canopy of leaves and branches. Within seconds they were no longer in a sterile white mall, but were instead running across a wooden bridge that stretched through the treetops of some kind of forest city at night. Doors and windows were set in the trunks, cable dishes rose above the leaves, while things like potted plants and children's toys lay on the side of the bridge, as if it were an everyday neighborhood sidewalk.

Daniel peered over the side of the bridge. Down below was an asphalt street that wound through the forest floor. When the pickup truck with the pizza delivery sign passed by underneath he almost laughed. It was the dreamer, still futilely trying to find the customer's address and blissfully unaware of the carnage happening just out of sight.

"Down," he said to the others. "There's the ground. We can-"

Suddenly Anya's fingers tightened around his arm while Kyouko drew back with a gasp and Carl muttered a curse. The black-and-silver monster was there, standing at the end of the bridge, staring at them.

Daniel felt his blood run cold. He had no idea if this was the same monster that had killed Leslie, Isaac, and Hideo or if there were several of them hunting the Marauders, nor did he care. He just knew that they were probably about to die.

Without making a sound, the monster started to advance on the group, the wooden slats creaking under the weight of its steps. It lifted its right arm, its fingers squeezed into a tight fist.

Carl, who was in the lead, held up his hands. "Wait," he pleaded. "Don't. P-Please."

For a moment, it looked like it was working. The monster hesitated, its raised fist wavering a little. It looked around, as if uncertain.

But the moment passed. The monster refocused on Carl, its fist suddenly glowing bright yellow, and a beam shot out. Carl's dream reader clattered to the bridge as the smell of ash and cooked meat filled Daniel's nostrils.

This time, he couldn't tell which one of them screamed. It might have been him. He was just seized with the sudden desire to get away.

Wrapping his arms around the girls' waists, Daniel bolted for the side of the bridge and threw himself over, taking Kyouko and Anya with him.

Now, like all Marauders, Daniel knew a thing or two about how to take long jumps and falls. Parkour was one of the first skills one learned when dream raiding. But he had never been taught how to take a sharp drop while holding onto two very terrified clanmates when he himself was likewise scared of his mind.

The forest floor rushed up to reach them. He landed on his feet, one in the dirt and the other right onto the hard asphalt of the road. This proved to be a very bad thing, as his legs gave way out from under him and he fell forward with a cry of pain, Kyouko and Anya rolling away into the underbrush.

Groaning, Daniel rolled over and grabbed at his leg, which was now bent at a very horrific angle. His shin had snapped in two.

Gotta…gotta open a portal, he thought numbly, trying to force the thoughts through the veil of agony. Gotta get into the Warrens. Warn the others.

He lifted his hand to slam onto the ground. Then he heard the choking gasp.

Looking up, he found himself staring at what looked to be a the heavy boots of a suit of armor made from shining steel, the knees of which would have reached past his bellybutton could he stand. He looked up further. The metal-encased legs went up and up, leading to a humanoid torso that managed to be both sleek and bulky, conveying both immense strength and incredible speed. A pair of powerful looking arms hung from wide shoulders, ones whose forearms were inside steel gauntlets with blades jutting from every joint. And on top of those shoulders sat a curious looking long, wedge-shaped head. A black screen stretched horizontally across the long side, from which maliciously glowed two scarlet eyes.

It was a robot, Daniel realized. A goddamned nine-foot robot was standing right in front of him and glowering down at the wounded Marauder with murder in its eyes.

And one of its metal hands was wrapped around Kyouko's throat.

The robot held the girl high in the air. She choked and gasped, grasping at the steel fingers that squeezed her neck, trying in vain to pull them apart. Her legs frantically kicked at its body, each blow clanging loudly while doing absolutely no damage. The robot glowered down at Daniel for a moment longer before turning its attention to her.

Then its fingers started to glow yellow.

"NO!" Daniel cried, but it was pointless. Kyouko had joined her brother.

As the ash tumbled to pine needle covered ground, the robot then looked back down at Daniel and Anya, who was sitting with her hands clutching her side next to him, staring up at the monstrous thing with tears streaming down her face.

Then, just when Daniel was convinced that it couldn't get any worse, it did. The robot spoke.

"And what's this?" it said through some unseen mouth, its mechanical voice deep and sinister. "A pair of rats, trying to run for their holes?"

Daniel tried to rise up, but his leg flared up and he collapsed with a cry. Then, gritting his teeth, he forced himself up onto his elbows so that he could at least look the thing in the eye.

"Who are you?" he said, he voice thick with pain and fear. "What are you? Why are you doing this?"

"Why? That is obvious. It is because you are vermin." The robot let out a rasping chuckle, the sound of which made the hair stand up on the back of Daniel's neck. "And we? Well." It held up its right hand, the ash from Kyouko's body still smearing the fingers. Those fingers closed into a fist, just as the black-and-silver monster had done before it killed Carl. "We are the pest control."

It swung its fist around to point at Daniel, and he realized that he was about to die. There was no getting away from this. He wasn't going to make it.

But maybe he could at least ensure that someone else did.

"You really ought to have seen this coming," the robot continued, its tone almost casual. "Too long your kind has been stealing from the minds of gods and robbing cradles." Its metal fist pointed right at Daniel's head. "Well, today that ends."

Again the fist started to glow yellow as the air filled with that charging hum, but before the beam could shoot out Daniel twisted around and slammed the palm of his hand into the dirt. Right in front of Anya.

This time it worked. A portal opened right beneath the girl and she fell in, finally reaching the safety of the Warrens. For one brief shining moment, Daniel felt a surge of relief, powerful enough to wash away the fear that seized his heart. Anya was going to be safe. She had made it.

Then there was light.

And then there was nothing.

…

"Look, I'm not saying that they can't beat Jacob Draco if they combine their clans," Jack Ketcher said as he half-walked, half-crawled his way through the Warren tunnels. He took a big bite of the long stick of Laffy Taffy in his hands and chewed noisily. "I'm jush shayin' dat dey wont."

"Why not?" Bear demanded. Like usual, the fat kid was dressed like Elvis, if Elvis so happened to be a cowboy. "The two of them together, they'll outnumber the Silver Dragons two to one."

"No they won't," Jack retorted as they rounded yet another turn. "But it don't matter. No way in hell those two will ever stop fighting long enough-"

Then something quite unexpected happened. Directly over them a portal opened, and someone fell in. That in itself wasn't all that unusual. Marauders came and went all the time, and you just had to learn to quickly get out of the way to avoid having someone jump onto your head. No, what was weird was that she didn't drop into the tunnels, she fell in, arms and legs flailing as a hail of dirt and leaves fell in around her.

The girl landed right on top of Jack and Bear, bowling them over. "What the-" Jack sputtered as the three of them scrambled to untangle themselves from each other. "What was-"

Then on instinct he looked up. On the other side of the portal, he saw an arm outstretched, palm down as if it had been the one to open the way. The arm was there for only a second before a sharp whining made him wince.

Then the arm exploded into a cloud of dust. It fell into the portal and hit him right in the face. Jack blinked several times, his stinging eyes tearing. When his vision cleared, he caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a metal giant, standing above them just outside the portal, looking down at them with glowing red eyes.

For the first time in a very long while, Jack felt genuine fear.

The giant tilted its head to one side. Then it lifted its right hand. Jack's body went stiff, convinced that it was about to kill them all.

Instead, the giant waved at the three of them in an almost friendly manner. Then it laughed, a horrible, hoarse sound that echoed down through the tunnel.

Then the portal closed shut and they were safe. The metal giant's laughter echoed for a few more seconds though.

The three Marauders remained frozen in place, none of them daring to move. Then Jack slowly became aware of the dry taste of ash on his tongue, ash that had come from a living person.

"Bleh!" he coughed. He started spitting while Bear frantically tried to wipe the grey smear off his face.

"Wha…Who…What was that?" Bear demanded as he yanked off his white cowboy hat and shook it off.

As for the girl, she looked completely beside herself. "Gone, gone, gone," she whimpered as she curled up into a ball on the floor of the tunnel. "Gone, gone, gone, gone…"

"Who's gone?" Bear said. "What was that thing?"

Suddenly the girl started wailing. "They GONE!" she shrieked. "All of them! It killed them all! They're gone!"

Jack and Bear looked at each other, the dead guy's ash still all over their faces. Then Jack inhaled deeply through his nose and reached up to run a hand down his face.

"We need to tell the clanmasters," he said.

…

The dead Marauder's dream reader in his hand, Agent Arlington of the Unconscious Security Special Police dropped down from the bridge to the forest below. There, Lord General Scoron was standing next to the road, his arms folded as his mechanical gaze focused on where the last Marauder girl had disappeared.

"Agent," Scoron said, his voice sending chills down Arlington's back as always. "Report."

Doing his best not to look at the two piles of ash by the road, Arlington saluted and said, "Almost a clean sweep, Lord General. Looks like it was a standard raiding party. Seven members, and we got them all." He glanced down to where the Marauder portal had closed. "Save for…um…"

His tongue faltered, as he had realized that pointing out the Lord General's failure to eliminate the final Marauder was probably not in his best interests. Fortunately, Scoron did not seem at all offended. "Very good," he said, giving the private a brief nod. He gestured down toward where the portal had been. "And don't worry. That one was let go deliberately. She will spread the word of what happened here, and soon the clans will realize that they have reason to worry."

"It's about time," remarked Agent Naitos. The Desio man strode down the road toward the pair. Reaching up, he tapped the side of his neck. His helmet retracted, sliding away from his face, revealing closely cropped electric-blue hair, a scarred face, a knife's-edge smile, and the coldest eyes Arlington had ever seen. "We should've done something like this a long time ago."

Scoron chuckled in a manner that conveyed agreement. Of course he would. He had been created specifically for this purpose, after all. "Well, better late than never." Then he turned his head to peer questioningly at Arlington. "Though perhaps you disagree, Agent?"

Arlington was staring down at the dream reader in his hand. Despite all the preparation he had done for this mission, he couldn't shake the memory of the Marauder boy's terrified face, pleading with Arlington for his life before he killed him.

"Arlington," Scoron said.

Arlington's head snapped up. "Sir?"

The Lord General's lack of a face made him difficult to read, but something in the way he was staring down at Agent Arlington conveyed disapproval. "They are not children, Agent," he said. "They merely appear to be. Remember that."

Though Arlington knew that it was in his best interests not to contradict the nine foot indestructible killer robot that could fire him or crush his neck, depending on his mood, he still found himself say, "They screamed like children."

Naitos let out a dry laugh. "Died like them too," he said, his scarred smile twisting up even further.

Maybe it was because it was their first outing, but fortunately Scoron looked to be in a tolerant mood. "Yes," he said. "Just as the wild coyote looks, sounds, and dies in the same manner as you family's loyal dog. They even share an ancestor. But one you love, care for, and protect. The other you exterminate before it does harm." He reached over and tapped Arlington in the shoulder with one pointed, metal finger. "Remember this, Agent. Ours is a grim business. But it is necessary."

Arlington saluted, raising his clenched fist in the air. "Yes, Lord General."

Scoron lightly tapped Arlington's fist with his own in acknowledgement. Then he looked up. Around them the forest was starting to fade. "The dream is ending," he observed. "We best be on our way."

He started down the road, the two agents of the USSP falling into step behind him. "Ready yourselves, gentlemen," Scoron said as he gestured. A ten-foot doorway opened in the air before him to take them from the Unconscious back to headquarters. "This war is only just beginning."

[fogclearer]

         —  ‶ YOU ARE IN LOVE. WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? ″ 

         —  ‶ LIKE EVERYTHING I’VE EVER LOST COME BACK TO ME. ″

                                                                                                               ( &. @tsuugen ) 

[fogclearer]

         — I’D CALL YOU ATLAS, BUT HE WASN’T GIVEN A CHOICE TO HOLD THE STARS. YOU WERE. 

                                                                                                   ( &. @tricksheart )

[fogclearer]

          — SO TELL ME, IS THIS YOUR DESTRUCTION OR YOUR REBIRTH? 

                                                                                           ( &. @wiithoutlove​ ) 

[fogclearer]

            — KEEP YOUR HEART TRUE AND YOUR TEETH SHARP AND MANY. 

                                                                                                  ( &. @musaeon / akira ) 

[fogclearer]

          — REMEMBER, HOPE IS A GOOD THING. MAYBE THE BEST THING. 

                                                                                                              ( &. @koagema ) 

[fogclearer]

         — PORCELAIN, IVORY, AND STEEL. SHE WAITS, SEETHING, BLOOMING. 

                                                                                                            ( &. @quickdeaths ) 

[fogclearer]

        �� — SHE WASN’T LOOKING FOR A KNIGHT. SHE WAS LOOKING FOR A SWORD. 

                                                                                                                   ( &. @healskies )