Episode 9 : Calamity Cross

"I didn't do it!" exclaimed Marisa as she saw the figures descending from above. "Really, I didn't, ze!"

"We believe you, Marisa," replied Alice with a look of deadly sarcasm. "They didn't come in shooting, so obviously they weren't here for you."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." Marisa crossed her arms and tried to pout, but failed miserably.

"Look, I don't care who wants to shoot at who, I just need the portal opened. Reimu, if you would please?" Sayaka was almost frantic as she looked about the wreckage of the courtyard. Madoka, Homura, as soon as the portal is open, I need you to go through, okay?

What's wrong, Sayaka-chan? Madoka turned a worried expression on Sayaka, which was enough to nearly make the blunette explode. After gnashing her teeth and stamping her feet, Sayaka was able to calm down enough to make a proper reply rather than exploding in anger in front of everyone.

The bad guys just killed my dad to try to get to me! Who do you think they're going to try for next, the Queen of England? The portal opened with a growl, even as Byakuren, Satori, and Sanae landed before Reimu. You need to make sure your parents are safe, okay? Madoka nodded in response to the unspoken words, and headed towards the portal, with Homura in tow. Alice glanced from the one Puella Magi to the other and made a quick calculation, then grabbed Marisa's sleeve and pulled her towards the portal as well.

"Where do you think you're going? (Hey, that's my line, ze!)" Sanae and Marisa both registered disapproval at Alice's heading for the portal, followed by a look of mutual irritation at the other for having spoken at the same time.

"They're going where they need to be. You got a problem with that?" replied Sayaka, hands on her hips.

"What if I do?" was Sanae's reply, and the shrine maiden adopted the hands-on-hips motion as well.

"Well, since I already punched out this chick who called herself Yukari Yakumo as though that was supposed to mean something, and I'm gonna have to use extra soap to wash all the stupid off my hands," Sayaka balled up her fists and took a fighting stance as she spoke. "I guess I'll just have to knock you down too!"

"Why, y-you, you fiend! How dare you speak of Yukari-sama that way!" Sanae balled her fists as well and leaned in, ready for battle. Reimu pinched the bridge of her nose and waited to see if either the headache would pass or the blue and green would manage not to get into a fight. When neither happened, Reimu waved the other girls through the portal and approached the would-be combatants. Sanae and Sayaka were both bristling and nearly growling with anger. First thing I do after getting the Shrine rebuilt, I'm gonna promote Mima to godhood. I need a patron deity who answers prayers and loves vengeance. Reimu tucked the thought away for later and settled for observing the situation with a placid expression on her face- right up until both girls got a little too into their confrontation, at which point the Hakurei shrine maiden cupped the back of both girls' heads and clonked their skulls together.

"Funny, I don't see Rin or Shou anywhere," said Reimu in a tone of voice as black as her mood. "So there shouldn't be any cat fights, now should there?" To make her point plain, the shrine maiden nodded her two captives' heads for them, rocking the girls up and down until they agreed, albeit sullenly. "Good. Now Sayaka, why don't you and your friends find Cirno and the missing girl, and Sanae, why don't you explain to me what in Shinki's name is going on here?"

"A moment, please," said Satori, hand held up to forestall any sudden departures. "I need to speak with my pet, and she plans on going with the Outside team." The ruler of the Former Hell of Blazing Fires turned to address Utsuho. "You wish to apologize for your rash actions at the Reactor and since coming to the Aboveground. While I cannot speak for the Scarlet Devil Mansion, I would suspect your actions there was not even the most outrageous outburst of the past month." Satori's deadpan assessment of goings-on in the Mansion drew a giggle from Utsuho, and Remilia herself. "I would accept your apology, Utsuho-san, but only if you will accept my apology as well. I have taken you for granted, and for that I feel ashamed. Will you forgive me?"

"Yeah! Of course! I just got a bit carried away by what that Incubator guy said to me, but I'm better now. Did you know the Incubators are evil?"

"I did indeed." Satori had a hint of a smile on her face as she replied.

"Oh, duh! Right! You can hear what people are thinking! I forgot." Utsuho smacked her Third Leg into the palm of her flesh hand as she remembered something else about the day, then winced slightly and shook out her stinging fingers. "Uh, I know I'm probably grounded for being bad and running off, but can I stay up here just a bit longer? I need to make sure somebody gets something she need."

"I will let you stay as long as you like, but only if you tell me what you have learned from this experience."

"Umm . . . sometimes even cute fluffy creatures are bad guys!"

"Indeed, and anything else?" Satori favored Utsuho with an indulgent smile.

"Oh! Don't run away from your friends, even when you're mad at them, because sometimes they're still the people you need."

"I see. You have learned well from this experience. Very well, go and do what you need to do, just promise that you will check in with me or Rin if you're going to be out overnight, and don't irradiate anyone unless they truly deserve it."

"Thanks, Satori!" And so saying, Utusho shot off on her errand, but she only got about ten meters before braking hard in the air and returning to the ground. "Oh yeah, I still need the Brief Seed thingy. May I borrow one?" the hell raven turned to Sayaka and Kyōko.

"Hell, why don't we come along? I'd be interested to see what Peachie got herself into this time." Sayaka looked on the verge of protesting, but Kyoko wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her over to Utsuho. C'mon Blueberry, I know it hurts, believe me. Sayaka felt a momentary twinge as she heard Kyoko's "voice" and remembered how the redhead had lost her own father. But if you grind your teeth any harder, you're gonna need dentures. Let's go find some small woodland creature to beat into a paste or something while we look for Peachie and the Icicle.

Isn't that a little, er, cruel and arbitrary? sent Sayaka in reply, to which a malicious grin spread across Kyoko's face. Not if they shoot first, then it's fair game! Sayaka cracked up, further confusing Utsuho, and Kyoko's spear suddenly snaked out in segments and wrapped around Nova, whose reply was best described as "!", then the girls set off in approximately the right direction. After a moment, Hitomi blanched and set off to follow them, feeling a bit annoyed and relieved both that Kyoko hadn't decided to forcibly enlist her in the search as she had Nova.

As the rescue party left, Satori turned back to Reimu and frowned. "I understand your concerns about Utsuho, given her past, but it is prejudicial of you to assume that permitting her to go out unchaperoned will lead to 'redrawing the maps to keep people out of the places which have been glassed' as you put it; furthermore, it is difficult not to read your mind when you are broadcasting your thoughts so strongly, and-" A flush of crimson crept up Satori's face as she parsed the images she was receiving. "While I understand that today has been most difficult, imagining me engaged in incestuous acts is an exceptionally low blow." And then a bit of a smile crept onto Satori's face, with just a hit of feline deviousness. "Besides, Koishi and I prefer things the other way around."

"WHAT?!" cried Reimu as she parsed the implications of what Satori had said.

"I believe the term is 'turnabout is fair play'. Now, shall we get down to business?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," replied Reimu, who was still looking a bit green. "What is the business, anyway?"

"That's my cue," stated Byakuren. "I was visited a little while ago by Yukari, who was in a frightful mood, and bringing a very abnormal proposal to my attention; she was looking for someone in whom to invest as the new Border guardian, claiming that you had abdicated your duties and needed to be removed."

"That bitch! I should have let Sayaka hit her a few more times before sending her packing!"

"Would you mind filling us in on what did happen?" Reimu sighed and began recounting the events of the afternoon.

". . . and so then I said if being mean to Outsiders is now the policy, let's kick the freaking Moriya crew out first-"

"Wh-a-a-t?! You bitch, how dare you!" Sanae practically exploded at Reimu, who began petting her Yin-Yang Orb and sizing up her rival's face for target practice.

"Hey, shut up for a minute! I don't want to kick you out, I don't have the time to waste, I just wanted to get Yukari to admit her double standard out loud so I could hang it over her head!" Reimu fired back, keeping her hands on the Yin-Yang Orb instead of wrapping them around the green-haired shrine maiden's throat. "Actually, why the hell are you here, anyway?"

"Yukari contacted me as well, about the border job, and I came here to see what's happening." Sanae didn't notice or didn't care about the angry twitch in Reimu's eye as she spoke. "I know we've never exactly been friends, but I have to say, are you in too deep on this one Reimu? I mean, your shrine got blown up, again, and that wasn't even from the main part of the problem-"

A shriek of anger cut Sanae off, and then the Moriya shrine maiden was diving for the pavement as Reimu hurled the Yin-Yang Orb at her head.

"You want my job? Well there, you can have it, and I hope you choke on it!" Reimu shot off into the air, leaving a trail of profanity behind. Moments later, when the shock wore off, Remilia took off like the proverbial bat out of hell after Reimu. Byakuren shook her head and picked up the Yin-Yang Orb for safe keeping.

"I swear, the nerve of that girl! Here I was trying to offer my help, and she throws her stupid magic marble at me!" Sanae stamped her foot in anger.

"You might have been better served by being a bit more diplomatic, Sanae-san." replied Byakuren. "Reimu has had a rather bad day, and reminding her of her recent misfortunes was not particularly soothing."

"Ahh! Not you too! Yukari and Reimu can both kiss my ass, I'm out!" And then Sanae suited actions to words, launching into the air and darting off in the direction of Youkai Mountain. However, Byakuren was not paying attention to the shrine maiden's departure; instead the monk was studying the Yin-Yang Orb, which had grown curiously warm in her hand. To Byakuren, it felt as if some bit of magic had been erased from the artifact.


Meanwhile, the Puella Magi party were making slow progress through the forest, on account of Utsuho's sense of direction; specifically, her total lack thereof. However, the party's wandering did turn up something else of significance: a very sticky Mami.

"Do I want to know what happened here?" asked Sayaka after she peeled enough of the hardened cream off to let Mami speak.

"Charlotte happened," replied Mami grumpily. Kyōko began to cackle while Sayaka rolled her eyes and sliced away more of the binding goo. "Either I'm going to give her extra dessert, or extra spankings, I haven't decided yet."

"What exactly did she do?"

"Well, she interrupted me as I was attempting to assassinate that Cirno girl, but she used a simulacrum of the Dessert Witch to do it." Mami shivered a bit at the memory.

"Wow, low blow. What did you do to set her off?" asked Kyōko, who was sampling some of the dried cream. Mami glared at Kyōko, either for the comment, or the atrocity of eating food off the forest floor, possibly both.

"I perhaps insinuated that she was not mature enough to comment on my decision."

"Ouch! That would definitely do it." Kyōko was then interrupted by a tug on the sleeve.

"Hey, Kyōko? I uh, don't really know how to say this nice, so I'm just gonna say it straight," Nova looked both bashful and yet determined as she addressed the red-haired Puella Magi. "Can you bugger off for a bit, maybe go find Charlotte? I need to talk to Sayaka, and I don't need you making this any harder than it already is, okay?" The redhead gave Nova a funny look, but when Sayaka shook her head, Kyōko shrugged and walked away. Just so ya' know, if Blueberry calls, I'm gonna come running, spear first, 'kay? Hey Mossy, let's go see what we can dig up! With an effort of will, Nova tuned out Kyōko, focusing solely on what she needed to say.

"Okay, what the hell?" Sayaka crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Nova as though an explanation might be tattooed upon the former Incubator's face.

"I can't make this make sense any other way, so here's how it's gonna go. I'm going to tell you something, then you're going to hit me, and then I'm going to explain what I mean, and maybe it will make sense."

"Oh come on, I'm not going to hit you, even if you deserve it." Nova just nodded.

"Okay, here it goes: I'm glad you're upset about your father's death-" pain blossomed seemingly simultaneously in Nova's face and the back of her head- the former from a solid right hook and the latter from her head bouncing off the ground. The sudden burst of emotion and pain brought Kyōko and Hitomi running, weapons in hand, but Sayaka waved them off as Nova scrambled back to her feet.

"Nothing to worry about, just Nova trying out her fortune-telling skills is all!" Kyōko and Hitomi both looked at the white-haired girl, or rather the blood streaming from her nose.

"Doesn't look like any fortune-telling method I've ever seen, what is she going to read the pattern of blood spatter?" said Kyōko with a smirk.

"Ibt's fine, really." replied Nova, pinching her nose to stop the blood flow. "It would help ib I had wished for some healing powers."

"See? Everything's just dandy, so shoo!" Sayaka got synchronized eye-rolls, but the girls went back to searching. "Now, you want to make that make sense? Today seems to be my day to hit people, got it?" Nova nodded.

"I don't suppose she told you, but Madoka wished that none of her friends would ever suffer 'true despair', which I have been trying to puzzle out ever since she said it. But the important thing is, if you're not okay with the situation, then there are still steps that can and will be taken to make the situation right. And I don't think there is anything which can stand in the way of that wish." Nova shivered as she recalled the dread words. "She scares me sometimes, Madoka that is. Keep in mind that who I was, that person would have gladly let this world burn in order to fulfill the mission. And surely here was a trap that no one could escape: Madoka had just confessed to Homura, and that bloody-minded black-haired pest totally misread what Madoka was saying, ran straight into a Witch, and was about two minutes from being dinner. Madoka would have to wish to save that girl, and in that situation her wish would have to be a thoughtless, weak, and dangerous wish.

"But no, instead, she makes a beautiful, powerful wish, one that had drastic consequences for all of you. I mean, can any of you even be killed now? That would cause a lot of despair, wouldn't it?"

"Well, obviously we can, y'know . . ." Sayaka gestured to herself.

"And you were dead, what, one whole day? Not even quite that much? They kicked Death itself in the teeth to get you back!" Nova put her hands to her temples, and it was like she was trying to hold her mind in. "Why can I still even grant wishes? I've been named Public Enemy #1 by my people, and the whole point of the system in the first place was to grind down little girls until they break so we can harvest the energy, and even if I wanted to still do that, you've pretty much ruined that gig. So what am I even still doing here?! Ahhh!" Sayaka darted forward and grabbed Nova's wrists before the ex-Incubator could begin tearing at her hair. Why the hell is everybody else losing their shit? Today should be MY day to have a breakdown!

"I'm sorry," replied Nova, hanging her head, and for a moment Sayaka was confused as the white-haired girl stopped struggling. Oh yeah, you're extra-sensitive, you can probably hear me like I'm speaking. Nova nodded. "Yeah."

"So, then, why are you here?" asked Sayaka, and Nova was surprised by the lack of sarcasm in her voice. "Why do you keep getting up and doing every day? You could have just let your Soul Gem go dark and Witched out, hell, I bet if you chuck it off a tall-enough building, that'd be the end of that."

"Uhhh . . . " Nova eyed Sayaka with worry at the cheerfully offhand way in which she described how to go about becoming an ex-Puella Magi. "Well, we've been fighting these badguys, and before that was school, and, well, just seeing the world through Human eyes, I guess."

"There ya go! Just do that in reverse! Oh, don't give me that look, you know what I mean! Kill the badguys, then finish up this year of school and then . . . go find something. Your heart will find its' way, but only if you let it, y'know?"

"Huh. Thank you, Sayaka." instead of a reply, Sayaka gave Nova a hug.

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right? Uh, sorry about the nose." Nova poked at her nose and winced- thanks to the supernatural constitution of a Puella Magi, it wasn't broken any more, but her nose was still tender to the touch.

"Apologies accepted, but ow! Where did you learn to punch like that?"

"Aw, well, when I was little, I promised to make Madoka my bride, and so I made it my duty to see off anybody who made her feel bad. You can take the tomboy out of the brawl . . ."

". . . but you can't make her drink? Is that how it goes?" Sayaka rolled her eyes and ruffled Nova's hair.

"Yeaaah no. You need remedial Human lessons, starting just as soon as we get home!" A twinge in the empathic link from Hitomi interrupted any further conversation. Everyone, come here quickly. We have a problem!


"Well, this is a problem," mused Homura. She and Madoka and the two Gensokyans were hovering over the office building where Junko Kaname worked. "There is a Witch in the building."

"This would be one of those 'scary nightmare monster' Witches, right, not a simple innocent little spellcaster like myself?" asked Marisa.

"For sufficient values of simple and innocent, yes." Homura favored the building with a frightful scowl. "The first Witch we've seen in months, and it happens to be in this building, directly after the Purifiers began striking at our loved ones to get at us."

"Yeah, Remi or Tewi might be able to string together something like that, but only on a good day and with lots of brain sweat."

"Here is the plan: We mask ourselves as best as possible, enter the building, secure Junko Kaname, remove her from the premises-"

"But what about the Witch? We can't just let it eat Mom's coworkers!" Homura just sighed, quietly, and buried her first response deep inside where Madoka couldn't find it.

"Okay, look, this is a trap. I do not wish to watch innocent people die, but rescuing your mother is more important. If we're lucky, they'll give up and go away once we've stolen the bait, but also, we are only four, and that has been poor odds against the Purifiers. If one of their kind is actually here . . . " Homura turned and took hold of Madoka by the shoulders. "I don't want to see you at your mother's funeral, but I would like it even less if Junko had to come to our funerals, do you understand?"

". . . yeah." Madoka nodded along, and with an act of will she brought up her resolve and stared down at the building. "Let's go!"


Junko Kaname stepped out of the bathroom, stopped dead in her tracks, and stared uncomprehendingly at the cubicles before her. None of the workers who normally staffed the section were there, but that wasn't what had shocked her. Noisy little bumblebees, always buzzing at somebody else's desk! was Junko's opinion of this particular section.

No, the surprising bit was the fact the office had gone all . . . stop-motion, twitchy and glitchy and unreal. Even worse, the desks began opening their drawers one-by-one, an action which drew beachball-sized bees. The buzzing masses were clad in pinstriped suits rather than their customary black-and-yellow warnings, but they were bees nonetheless, and the insects landed at this or that drawer, guzzling coffee nectar from within and gathering spreadsheets, powerpoint slides, and other data like pollen on their legs before bobbling off to another workstation.

"Okay, that's it. I don't care if Kazuya-san is buying, no more Scotch!" said Junko as she observed the bizarre workings.


"Hey, Alice, remind me never to take a swig from Suika's gourd, okay?" quipped Marisa as the group made their way through the insanity within the Barrier.

"I wasn't aware you drank?" was the puppeteer's reply.

"Oh, I don't, but I just want to make sure I don't ever end up in a place like this again! Is this normal for a Witch?"

"More or less," replied Homura with a shrug. The world hiccuped for a moment and then a drone which had become a little too interested in the party exploded. Homura sheathed the Desert Eagle which hadn't been in her hand a second ago, and motioned for the group to continue on. "At least it's no one we know. Those cycles in which Sayaka went over the edge, Oktavia was a nightmare to fight, because she knew our tricks and was as devoted to hurting us as Sayaka is devoted to protection."

"And I thought growing up under the Vengeful Ghostess was tough," muttered Marisa. "Let's get our lady and get out while the gettin's good!" Greasy laughter slid along the air in response to the magician's plea.

Dear me, I thought you girls were intelligent. That is not one, but two grievous mistakes in a row! You see, this poor, agonized creature that you so callously call "Witch" does know you . . . and I assure you, you will not be escaping here!

A figure appeared from the buzzing madness on humming steel wings. What landed before the girls was dressed in full samurai armor, but the armor itself was covered entirely in caution tape rather than lacquer, giving it a disturbing half-resemblance to a bee, augmented by the insectile menpo mask upon the wearer's face. Madoka made eye contact with the sorrowful brown eyes behind the mask, and the recognition made her gasp. "Akiko-chan!" cried Madoka, causing the Witch to flinch ever so slightly.

Oh, so you do know her? Tomohara-san confessed that she was certain you lot had forgotten her, when she made her wish. It is hard, you know, to be noticed when there are mean little "magical" girls flaunting their disobedience and superiority all over the place. It might just be hard enough to make a girl wish she could even the playing field . . .

"Monster! How could you do such an awful thing to her!" Madoka turned worried eyes to the Witch. "Akiko-chan, hold yourself together! We can save you!" The words reached the creature in the garish armor, but they did not have the effect that Madoka wanted.

BGM: Yuki Kajiura - Mai-HiME Soundtrack Vol. 1 - "Mezame"

With a shriek of pain and rage the Witch attacked, unleashing a storm of a thousand blade-strikes upon Madoka, who just stood wide-eyed in the face of destruction until the tiny forms of Alice's doll army surrounded her. Several Shanghais raised shields to blunt the assault while a team of Hourais wrapped enough string around Madoka that Alice could pull her free without cutting the Puella Magi to pieces. Homura stepped out of time and drew her Desert Eagle once more, emptying the remaining shots into the Witch point-blank, but to little effect- in the few places where bullets actually pierced the samurai armor, thick golden blood oozed out and sealed the wounds.

A searing bar of light caught the Witch sidelong and threw her out of position, then Marisa followed up by unleashing her Non-Directional Laser. As the Spellcard carved up the space around the blonde magician there came a series of pops and squeals as a handful of familiar drones exploded, but several more pressed in on Marisa, distracting her. Homura turned to look at Madoka and grimaced; the pink-haired girl's eyes were wide and tearful as she looked at the rampaging form of what had once been their classmate.

"Why . . . Why won't Akiko-chan listen?" mumbled Madoka, even as the battle swirled literally around where she sat- Marisa was forced to give ground by the furious flashing blades of the berserk Witch. Alice snarled as her opponent entered and left her reach without the puppeteer taking any attack- to draw the Witch's attention from this weakened position would be inviting a world of pain.

"Not every battle can be won," replied Alice.

"Sometimes, all you can do is finish the fight," added Homura, and a cold mask settled upon her face. "Madoka, I had hoped you would never have to learn this lesson. Foolishly I thought I could protect you from the worst of the world's cruelty."

"What are you going to do?"

"I am going to grant her peace, of one form or another. You would probably be best off averting your eyes." Madoka quailed in fright as she saw the expression upon Homura's face, a deadly hard set which hadn't been there . . . not since I first met her, when she was trying to kill, er, Nova to keep her away from me! The pink-haired girl closed her eyes but she couldn't avert her ears, so all Madoka could do was try not to look and hope everything was going okay, even when she heard Alice cry out in pain and the replying whip-tangle of wires and the awful sounds of metal being rent . . . even when she heard and felt through her eyelids the destroying light of the Master Spark and the accompanying sizzle of matter boiling away under the hellish touch . . . even when she heard the impact of a blade punching through meat and the soft sigh and grunt of life being lost.

"Madoka, come here. We need to leave." Madoka looked up to find Homura standing over her, haloed by the mundane glow of banked florescent lights, and in her hand was a katana, painted clear to the hilt with sticky amber fluid. Marisa worked up a spell, a copy of Nitori's Optical Camouflage that, while not as good as the original, would suffice to let the girls move through the building without attracting too much suspicion.

"You know, my mother- the woman who raised me at least- is the Queen of Hell," remarked Alice as they rushed through the offices looking for Junko. "After today, I would like nothing more than to hunt down the powers behind this madness and commend them to her burning embrace, because she owes me and I can ensure they get seating in the extra-inferno section."

My, my, such harsh words. I suppose I should be terrified? You lot are certainly adept when it comes to slaughtering broken, grief-stricken girls. No wonder my counterpart Units had difficulty handling this case. All light and hope seemed to dim as a new figure appeared. Like the other Purifiers, this one was made from solid shadow, but it was far more substantial- like a statue carved from onyx, and dressed in a midnight-blue pinstripe suit, tie the color of spilled blood, fedora, and mirror-polished wingtips. And yet, what stood before them was not the whole of the being; it was as though there was another standing just behind the statuesque figure, a being of such horror that it remained out of view so as not to drive the mind mad just by its' presence. Alas, you shall not be hearing from those miserable wretches any longer. Sacrifices had to be made, you know, if I am to erase the existence of this troublesome little world and overthrow our megalomaniacal Overseer. Not that megalomania itself is a bad thing, mind, but to borrow a turn of phrase from you Humans, one must "walk the walk as well as talk the talk." Of course, I suppose I should thank you, for without your continued pressure, he never would have released the codes required for me to become who I am. The figure swept his hat from his head and bowed low with a flourish. Allow me to introduce myself: I am the damnation of your world. You may call me Ragnarok. And with that, the being called Ragnarok faded away into shadow.

"Well, nothing like a challenge to keep things interesting, ze?"

"Marisa, shut up." replied Alice.


"Aha! Reimu, finally! For a lazy person, you can certainly fly fast when you want to." Remilia quipped as she fell into formation alongside the angry shrine maiden.

"Whatever. Look, Remilia, I'm really not in the mood for any more of your childish nonsense right now." The rebuke was enough to make Remilia stop dead in the air. Reimu took no notice of the little vampire falling behind, or her frustrated cry either. In fact, Reimu had already put Remilia out of her mind, and so was rather surprised when a barrage of bloody red danmaku exploded in front of her face.

"What the?!" Reimu whirled around, drawing a fistful of ofuda and reflexively calling for her Yin-Yang Orb . . . which wasn't there. What she found instead was Remilia, fangs bared, tears leaking from her eyes, Gungir raised to strike.

"You- you fiend! W-what if it wasn't nonsense? Ahh!" Gungir sailed out, trailing bloody lightning as it passed Reimu. The shrine maiden narrowed her eyes and slipped a hand into her Spellcard pouch. "Have at you!" cried Remilia, opening the duel with a fearsome barrage.

BGM: Syrufit - Rectia - "Arc of Dream"

"Okay, what the hell are you on about!" Reimu hurled fans of ofuda at the darting vampire, in what was oddly a sign of respect; even if Remilia wasn't trying to hit the shrine maiden at first, just standing there and ignoring her attacks would be an insult, a declaration that the opponent wasn't even worth engaging. That being said, Reimu was ready to start shooting for real- between Yukari, Sanae, and the Outsiders, today had been plenty annoying, and she had no patience left to deal with whatever the hell Remilia's problem was.

It appeared Remilia was willing to give as good as she got and then some- she blew through the ofuda spread as a cloud of bats and then reformed in time to crack out a Spellcard.

"If you don't know, you don't deserve to know! Critical ~ Heart Break!" Another streak of bloody red shot out at Reimu, this time with much better aim, so the shrine maiden was obliged to dive out of the way or get skewered. Reimu pulled into a tight spiral to evade the followup barrage of danmaku and then ripped out a Spellcard of her own, and then it was Remilia's turn for some fancy wingwork as the Dream Sign ~ Evil-Sealing Circle formed around her. This set the vampire's blood to boiling- although the dueling rules were in effect and so nothing could inflict lethal damage, the Evil-Sealing spell was based off a shrine maiden's traditional arsenal and would be exceptionally painful for Remilia.

"Why you! I'll get you for that!" Remilia punctuated her every word with blasts of danmaku, substituting brute force instead of any sort of strategy or plan. Reimu triggered an amulet to buy herself a moment of freedom and then she was shouting back at her opponent.

"Hey, you started it! I've had enough shit today to last me another year, so if you want to be coy, don't expect me to play nice, got it?!"

"Coy? Coy?! Oh, you thoughtless, heartless jerk! How could I ever have fallen for you?" That was certainly answer enough for Reimu's question, but the revelation did the shrine maiden no good- in fact, Reimu was so shocked by the confession that she stopped moving altogether. Unfortunately, Remilia hadn't stopped firing shots as she blurted out her thoughts, and so the full force of her anger-fuelled barrage slammed into the shrine maiden, knocking her senseless, and while the bullets weren't lethal, the fall most certainly would be.

"R-reimu? That's not funny!" Remilia watched as Reimu plummeted from the sky as a stone, twirling as the wind buffeted her, and the vampire knew this was no semi-controlled descent for the sake of playing a trick on her. Just by speed alone Remilia had no chance of arresting the shrine maiden's fall, the ground was already so close, but that didn't stop the Scarlet Devil from rushing toward Reimu as fast as she could. As she dived for her target, however, Remilia stretched out with the one ability she possessed which might make a difference. Reimu, I won't let you die because of my mistake! I WILL NOT let that be your destiny! Reimu's form disappeared into the treeline, and Remilia shot in after her.

Descending through the hole punched in the canopy, it appeared that Reimu had hit an unusually springy green tree first, then fallen down and got caught upon the branches of a second tree, tearing a bit of her shrine maiden's dress, but it swung her around so that she had only one more short fall, whereupon Reimu had landed upon a forest fairy. The unfortunate fairy would reincarnate eventually, but at least Reimu looked more-or-less whole when Remilia got to her.

"Come on, Reimu, wake up! Ohh, please don't be dead I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't mean to get angry, you can't be dead . . . wahhh!" Remilia trailed off into a long howling cry.

"Owieee . . ." groaned Reimu a minute later, which was sufficient to cause Remilia to pounce on the shrine maiden and hug her tight, which in turn wrenched an ear-splitting squeal of pain from Reimu. "Ribs . . . hah . . . cracked one on the tree . . ." Remilia let out a squeak of her own as she scrambled to get off the shrine maiden before causing any further pain. "It's taking longer to heal than usual since I didn't bring the Yin-Yang Orb with me."

"What?!" Remilia let out a shout of dumbfounded shock. "The Yin-Yang Orb is keyed to your healing and you threw it at Sanae? Reimu Hakurei, what is wrong with you? That was like the third thing I learned upon becoming a vampire, never let anything tied to your essence out of your sight! I was going to ask if you switched brains with Marisa when I wasn't watching, but even she always keeps her toys with her! Honestly, what is wrong with you?" Reimu scowled fiercely as the little vampire huffed.

"Alright, alright, I get it, I was dumb. Wait, what were the first two things you learned then?"

"Um, sunlight hurts and peasants taste horrible." Reimu palmed her face, and then hissed in pain.

"Let's head back before anything else goes wrong. And I might need a hand."

"Oh, sure, and next I suppose you'll be wanting tea and breakfast in bed!" replied Remilia, giving a fang-filled grin as she spoke to show that she meant no harm.

"I thought you had staff for that?"

"Oh, sure, I do . . . when they remember that they work for me and not the other way around!"


Kyōko burst into the clearing, spear up and ready to do some damage, with Sayaka and Mami following close behind. At first glance, however, there didn't exactly happen to be any threat; the only other people present were Hitomi, Cirno, and Charlotte, who was sitting on the ground, her teeth chattering.

"Uh, okay, where's the fire?" asked Kyōko, planting the butt of her spear in the ground clutter and leaning upon it. (F-f-f-fire s-s-sounds good right about n-n-n-now!) muttered Charlotte in response.

"It's Cirno! She has been connected to the empathic link!" replied Hitomi, managing to pack worry and indignation into every syllable.

"M-m-m-my f-fault," added Charlotte. "S-s-she was g-going dark, I had to s-s-save her." Kyōko looked first at Charlotte then at Cirno, probing the ice fairy to confirm that yes, she was linked, and then back to Charlotte.

"Hey, she's even the right color! Way to go Peachie!" At this, Charlotte stared at Kyōko in confusion until she was able to tune in and draw out the redhead's meaning, at which point the peach-haired girl went crimson from collarbones to hairline.

"It's n-n-not like that! (Huh? Eye don't get it?)" was Charlotte's reply, while the rapid fire empathic byplay left the newest Puella Magi highly confused.

"Wait! You can't just let her in, she's dangerous!" Hitomi stomped her foot, trying to make her fellow Puella Magi see her point.

"Uh, why not?"

"Because, she doesn't understand what she gotten herself into! This girl made the contract just to grab for power!"

"You mean, like you did?" Sayaka interjected with an acid tongue. "Funny, we seemed to let you stick around."

"!" was all Hitomi could manage for a reply, and then she turned and marched away from the gathering.

"Oh, now what the hell?" asked Kyōko as she watched the green-haired girl storm off.

"Eh, let her be. Everybody has days, and she'll scream if she needs help." Sayaka turned to look down at Cirno. "Understand this, there's still a lot you need to know about that curse you have on your hand. But for right now, let's just get the hell home. We can do all the hard talking over tea and cake."

"Everything is better with cake! (Especially Mami's cake!)" added Kyōko and Charlotte.


Remilia touched down at Hakurei Shrine and let Reimu get her footing before letting the shrine maiden out of her grasp. The Yin-Yang Orb was still present, accompanied by Satori and a bemused Byakuren.

"You have a message, it seems." said Byakuren. The monk held up an angry Shanghai. Reimu hobbled over and retrieved her Orb from Byakuren's care, then beckoned the doll forward.

"Hey, what gives, ze?" Reimu was startled to hear Marisa's voice pour from Shanghai, and with her well of human kindness running near dry, the shrine maiden nearly annihilated the doll. A spark of pain from her injuries changed Reimu's mind, and so Shanghai continued relaying the message, unawares of her narrowly-averted demise. "We've been waiting for a portal for a while now. What's goin' on over there?"

Oh, let's see . . . I managed to lose my temper, nearly picked a fight with Sanae, did pick a fight with Remilia, got my ribs busted, oh, and Remi just confessed she has a crush on me! Reimu fumed but she didn't shout any of those things at Marisa by way of the doll. Instead, the shrine maiden replied with "It's coming along, hold on," and took hold of the Yin-Yang Orb.

Nothing happened. Reimu shook her head in momentary disbelief and tried again, to no result. Muttering profanities which might have done actual harm to any relevant deities who happened to hear them, the shrine maiden tested the other functions of the Yin-Yang, and found them working as normal, especially the pointless-but-satisfying invocation of the Orb as a Spellcard which rendered some of the rubble of the Shrine into fine dust. Then Reimu remembered where the spell had originated, and she made a connection.

"Oh, that BITCH!" shouted Reimu, shaking her fist vaguely in the direction of the Yakumo residence.

"What's going on?!" came Marisa's anxious voice from Shanghai.

"Oh, nothing much, just Yukari revoked the portal spell!"

Marisa blinked, dumbfounded, as the news was relayed through the Hourai doll she was holding. The blonde magician felt the bashful-yet-cocky grin she used when trying to beg for something or worm her way out of trouble creep on to her face as she turned to where Alice and Homura were discussing ways of handling their mutual opponents.

"Uh, so Reimu says that Yukari cut her off. Umm, do you have a couch we could crash on for a little bit?"

"I should be able to arrange that, provided we can find some extra futons and blankets." replied Homura.

"I can get some, it's no problem!" added Madoka, who was considerably more cheerful now that she had something nice and helpful to focus upon. However, it turned out her prediction that there would be no trouble wasn't totally accurate- upon arriving at Madoka's house, the girls were intercepted by a Junko who was startlingly sober especially considering the empty sake flask in her hand.

"Something very strange happened at work today," said Junko. "And I'm quite certain I saw you girls there. And I think you knew what was going on. What I would like to know, is how you knew what was going on, and can I do anything to help you? I'll admit I was scared, scared enough this didn't even touch me," Junko waggled her empty bottle for emphasis. "So I bet you're probably scared too, huh?" Madoka shrank from her mother's gaze, unable to articulate what had happened with Akiko and how it had affected her, so Homura stepped to the fore. Junko sized up the black-haired girl, taking in her stance and the way she had interposed herself between mother and daughter. " (. . . I see, you did net a good one, Madoka-chan.)" she mumbled, just loud enough for Homura's ears.

"Please sit down, everyone. This will take some time to tell properly." And so, once everyone was as comfortable as the situation allowed, Homura began laying out the story of the Puella Magi, Walpurgisnacht, and the Purifiers, laying out only enough information to make a coherent narrative. But even this much would strain rational belief, thought Homura as she sifted through their history to make her explanation. To make sense of all that has happened, that would require . . . magic.

"Huh." was Junko's assessment of the tale. She then indicated Alice and Marisa with a wave of the hand that held her sake, this one a fresh bottle which was already somewhat depleted in order to help the story go down. "So what're you two then, space aliens?" The comment caused Madoka to crack and break out in slightly broken laughter.

"Actually, Mom, Nova's the space alien," said Madoka by way of explanation once she was under control once more.

"Hah! I knew it! Nobody could be that weird on purpose." Junko toasted her victory with another slug of the sake, which appeared to be kicking in.

"Indeed," replied Alice.

"So then, what are you two? You're obviously not, er, normal, considering the situation."

"We're just ordinary everyday witches, is all." said Marisa in a cheerful voice, but she failed to notice the sudden flinch and sharp breath from Madoka at the mention of the dread word. Marisa did not fail to notice the kick which impacted squarely into her shin from Alice, and tears welled in Marisa's eyes as she bit her lip to keep from screaming from the sudden pain.

"Oh, is everything alright dear? You look pained." came the question from Junko.

"Nah, I'm, ah, fine. (what the hell, ze?)" was Marisa's reply, with a snapped question for Alice.

"Oh! I didn't notice, I meant Madoka-chan. You seem upset."

"I- I'm alright, really. I just need a little rest."

"Sounds fine. Your father will be home from the stores in a bit, then we can see about dinner and finding a place for you two to bed down for the evening." Madoka and Junko got up and left for their respective rooms, and Homura whipped out her cellphone, but before she could dial, a hand restrained her.

"Go to her." Alice leveled her gaze upon Homura, but the Puella Magi simply ducked the hand and flicked out her hair as an air of contemptuous cold settled in upon her.

"I failed her once already this day. I need to-"

"You need to be by her side, or you shall be compounding your failure. Whatever other tasks you feel need to be done, let Marisa and I take care of them."

"You think you can acquit yourself with competence in this world?" Homura's face was white with pinched anger, and Shanghai stirred from the pocket in which she rode in response to Alice's fight-or-flight reflex coming to the fore.

"Do you think you can, as hard and brittle as you are right now? Or is that girl just an excuse for you to go and act as you please?"

"I!-" Alice readied herself for a scream, a slap, a Spellcard, anything which might come from Homura's sudden break, but instead the Puella Magi seemed to shrink as her facade broke down. "You are correct. I was acting to salve my ego and dressing it up as our best interests."

"Perhaps, and yet you are correct, this is your world. Tell me what your plan was, and I shall see if we can accomplish it." Homura nodded, and then began to tell another tale.


"Yeah, no, that's about it. Anything else?" Sayaka smashed the 'end call' on her cell and then let out a sigh. "Never trust a smart girl, she'll just screw things up. I'll take a certified idiot any day!" So saying, the blunette draped an arm over Kyōko, who in turn gave Sayaka a sour look.

"Gee, thanks, I think. What the hell is Homerun up to this time?"

"She's got Alice and Marisa doing some kind of crazy job with the Yakuza and it's supposed to bring back my dad, or something." The pronouncement was accompanied by the sound of Kyōko's hand slapping her forehead in disbelief.

"For what it is worth, Alice is a capable and clever magician," said Sakuya as she approached the table at which the girls were seated. The various parties had retreated to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and then Reimu and Remilia had retreated to private quarters to freshen up, or so they said, which left Byakuren, Satori, and the Puella Magi hanging, minus Charlotte who had run off with Cirno to learn what sort of mischief was possible in the Land of Illusions. "And then there is Marisa, who has the most damnable luck of anyone who isn't Tewi Inaba."

"Yeah, well, I say it's better to be good than lucky. Also, overwhelming firepower helps a bunch."

"My, my, you are more like Marisa than you might think," Byakuren chimed in. "Your magic is dangerous, then, to encourage such an outlook?"

"You might say that," replied Sayaka. "Nothing like the promise of a painful suffering death followed by the knowledge that your dead soul will come back to haunt your friends in the worst possible way to make you sharp."

"Oh my!"


"Y'know, Remi, you keep treating me like this, I'll start thinking you weren't joking earlier." Reimu sighed as she sank deeper into the hot bath, letting the water soak away her aches, and her concerns. Remilia scowled at the shrine maiden's dismissive attitude, but she waited until Reimu was taking a sip of tea before whacking Reimu upside the head, causing a massive spit-take.

"Ack! What was that for?"

"I am serious you know, so why do you have to keep being so . . . unlikeable!" Remilia slipped into the bath, which caused Reimu to become very interested in the bottom of her teacup. There's a spell in the Yin-Yang Orb to fix everything else, why can't there be one for this situation!

"I guess I never really expected to be in love. If it hadn't been for this Outside situation scaring a tiny bit of sense into Marisa, I would've just kept going on with this slow-burning crush I had on her till I said or did something stupid and then we would've ended up blasting each other till we got bored and . . . I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"While I cannot claim to be an expert in the methodology of romance, I do believe carrying on about previous love interests is considered a faux pas."

"Uh, yeahhh . . . I'll take that as a 'yes', I suppose." Reimu sank into the bath, at war with her thoughts for a minute. "I guess it's hard to be interested in love when I know that I'm going to get bred like a prize ox sometime in the near future. Have to preserve the Sacred Bloodline and all. Sheesh!"

"Well, I could always fix that, you know." Remilia grinned so that her fangs were showing. "One little sip is all it takes."

"Huh? A sip?"

"You know, a sip of my blood? It's how we bring new blood into the fold, uh, pardon the expression."

"Oh. I thought you did the . . . " Reimu curled two fingers in front of her mouth and made a sharp stabbing motion.

"Oh dear me, no! That's strictly for dinnertime. And anyway, how would me drinking your blood transfer my powers to you? We're not lycanthropes, the filthy beasts, it's not a disease!"

"Either way, I think I'll pass, not that I don't appreciate the offer."

"You sure? I'll even release you so you're not my slave or anything!"

"Uhh, now I'm definitely passing!"

"Hah! No one is ever up for a little excitement in their life!" Remilia sipped her tea and became pensive. "You know, Sakuya turned me down too."

"Huh?" Reimu was caught unawares by the sudden change in the atmosphere.

"Sakuya Izayoi, although exceptionally talented and very long-lived, is still a mortal." The clipped, precise speech was a stark contrast to the jovial tones Reimu had come to expect from Remilia, and it tore at her heart to hear. "There are days, I can't even bear to look at her, it hurts too much. To know that one day, one day I will have to bury her."

"That's rough. How much longer does she have, do you know?"

"I'm not sure, but not a terribly long time, two, maybe three hundred years?"

"Bwah?! Uh, Remi, that's like forever and then some!"

"Oh, you would think that way!" Remilia went red in the face, but her expression was too cute for Reimu to take seriously.

"Well, yeah, I'm not even 20 years old yet and you're worried about two hundred? That's still a lot of time. The Mansion will likely fall apart before she does! I mean, you must have a lot you need to do with her if you're worried about running out of time!" Remilia blinked.

"I- I hadn't thought of things like that." admitted the Scarlet Devil.

"I can't imagine what it must be like, to know ahead of time that you will outlive those you care about. But I do know if you keep worrying overmuch about the future, you'll lose the now." Reimu watched Remilia's face fall, and realized she was pushing a bit too hard. "Hey, look, I'm not trying to be a total downer, promise."

"Well, then, you are being unintentionally successful," replied Remilia with a bit of her "haughtier-than-thou" personality coming back. "But it is something I needed to hear, it seems. I suppose now you will dictate terms, I shall have to make so much progress towards living in your now before you will return my affections or something of the like."

"Aw hell no! I try not to be any more foolish than the situation warrants. I can't promise I'll make a good catch, and I can't say 'forever' yet, but if you will still have me . . . "

"Well, I suppose I could accept," replied Remilia, slipping fully back into her overwrought persona with a grin on her face. "You will of course be obligated to battle the legions of my other suitors for my hand."

"Bah, with Yukari and the Purifiers and Sanae, tell 'em to get in line!"


"May I come in?" Homura asked at the closed door, but then she entered before waiting for an answer. Madoka was dressed in her pajamas, burrowed into the pile of stuffed animals which inhabited the corner between her bed and the wall.

"W-why couldn't we save her? Why did it have to happen?" Madoka looked up at Homura with teary red eyes.

"I don't know. I haven't been good at knowing things since Walpurgisnacht. It is the price of being human, I guess." Homura idly studied the ring containing her Soul Gem. "In this last cycle, I let you all destroy my perfection in order to maintain my humanity, and sometimes I wonder if it was worth it."

"It is." The response came from Alice, who stood in the doorway. "Excuse me, I was simply going to return this," Hourai and Shanghai floated over to Homura, carrying her cellphone between them. "I did not mean to intrude, but you must know, you made the correct choice. I once chose perfection over humanity, and unlike you, I was not fortunate enough to be able to reverse my course." Alice entered the room and sat down on Madoka's desk chair. "When I say I am a 'magician', I do not mean as a vocation. I have become a youkai, a beast made of magic, not flesh. The transformation has rendered me immortal, but in the process I have given up a good deal of what makes life worth living. Indeed, it has taken a very special and rare kind of magic to keep me connected to this world at all." Homura cocked an eyebrow, and a smile crested Alice's lips. "Marisa, would you care to explain?"

"Uh, huh? Explain what, ze?" replied Marisa when Shanghai shoved her into the room.

"I was talking about love, you fool!" Alice gave a dismissive wave, which translated into Hourai shooting up to yank off Marisa's hat long enough for Shanghai to deliver a hard, if tiny punch to the top of the blonde's head. "True love is worth more than fame, fortune, immortality, or any other treasure you care to name. Even if it does come in a highly vexing package."

"Hey, back at you! At least I don't go letting my magic trinkets attack you!" Marisa stuck out her tongue.

"And good thing, too, your reputation for property destruction is bad enough as is." The byplay got giggles from Madoka and Homura both, but the black-haired Puella Magi flicked out her hair and reverted to her serious mien quickly.

"That is all well and good, but in what way does it help our current situation? Akiko Tomohara was irritating, but I did not relish having to bring about her end. Do you have any other magic words which can will away the hurt inflicted upon us?"

"Oh, sure. Just bring her back. That should fix everything, yeah?" Marisa weathered Homura's lethal glare with cheerful indifference, but Alice prepared a barrier spell in case the Puella Magi decided to try and end her then and there. "Hey, you guys cheat Death like Tewi cheats at cards, might as well use it, ze!"

"She might be right," replied Madoka, which startled Homura. "What's the harm in trying? At least w-we could bring Akiko-chan back so we can yell at her for being an idiot!"

"I suppose we could," was all that Homura could say. Alice stood up and ushered Marisa out.

"We shall go put your Yakuza in line. You should take this opportunity to rest and replenish your spirits for the coming battle. Perhaps even . . . make some magic happen."

"Yes. Yes, I think we shall," said Homura.


"Aha! The conquering heroine cometh! Or did she already take care of that?" snarked Koakuma when Reimu and Remilia descended from the top floor. There was quite an audience for the return of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden- Sakuya was there with Patchouli and Koakuma, summoned from the library on Remilia's orders, Byakuren and Satori were still present along with Utsuho and Rin, and Kyōko, Sayaka and Nova were there as well. There was a sparkle in Reimu's eyes and a set to her posture that the other Gensokyans knew well- it was the look that immediately preceded Reimu's delivery of a profound beating to whomever had been foolish enough to earn her ire.

"That would be none of your business, and no you may not 'help' in any way, shape, or form should anything happen." added Reimu to forestall the inevitable followup, which caused Koakuma to break out in a horrible pout. "Now, let's get down to business. Patchy, I need you to rig up a spell that can teleport people back and forth between here and outside the Barrier, and I need it working as soon as possible, or by lunch tomorrow, whichever comes first." The magician's first response to the request was something which sounded approximately like "gark?!".

"Uu, why me? This sounds stupid and dangerous, so why aren't you handing it off to that black-white bother?"

"Well, I would, but Marisa's the first person I need to retrieve with said spell."

"Muykuuu . . . " Patchouli shuffled back to the library with a put-upon air, but the wheels were already turning inside her head. Koakuma decided to earn her keep as a familiar for once and headed to the kitchen to get coffee and snacks going.

"Okay, next, Byakuren!" so named, the monk snapped to attention, an expression of curiosity on her face. "I need you to round up everybody, well excepting you-know-who and have them at the Temple tomorrow, by noonish. We're gonna have a troubleshooting meeting, by which I mean I'm going to pin down the troublemakers and shoot 'em till they decide to stop, and I want everything squared away before the bullets start flying."

"Um, pardon me, but who is 'everybody' you're thinking of?"

"I mean everybody. Your crew, Eientei, Moriya, Youkai Mountain, the Oni, Satori can handle the Underground; Human Village, the Nineballs, Makai, the Yama . . . if she exists and she's not a Yakumo, I want her here."

"I will try my best."


"Yamaguchi-kun, a moment of your time!" The call startled Oyabun Yamaguchi as he was approaching his car.

"Excuse me, what the hell did you just call me?" replied the Oyabun, a hand sliding into his coat, where he kept his "security measures".

"That is the manner of address for a subordinate, yes? I was not aware the language had been changed since this morning." Alice kept her tone polite and friendly, and the Yakuza was still too rattled to recognize the true depth of her tone.

"Hah! I don't recognize the authority of any little girls, so piss off!"

"You are willing to play fetch and carry for space aliens and monsters, so I don't see why you wouldn't talk to me."

"Y-you! I don't know what you're talking about! Begone!"

"Do not try my patience." replied Alice, dropping any pretense of warmth. "Remove your hand from your coat, empty, and we shall talk." When the Oyabun was not immediately forthcoming, Alice snapped her fingers once in the air. "Marisa! A demonstration please!" Silhouetted against the waxing moon, Marisa grinned and whipped out her Hakkero, and then Yamaguchi's car was bathed in the glare of the Master Spark until it was reduced to a pool of bubbling slag.

"W-who are you? What do you want?!"

"I represent what you might call a rival of these Purifiers who you have fallen in with. We require assistance to make their removal as clean and quick as possible. Where I come from, the Yakuza are as much a force for stability as they are a criminal enterprise. Now does that hold true here in Mitikahara, or are you simply the thugs-for-hire you appear to be?"

"It's not so simple! They are powerful in ways beyond comprehension, and-" Alice simply gestured to the cooling remains of the car, and the Oyabun stopped talking.

"I understand that power can be intimidating. However, you have bet against the very Humanity from which you were born. That is not merely a crime; it is a sin." Yamaguchi held Alice's gaze for a long minute, then his shoulders slumped, and he nodded.

"I- I understand. What would you have of me?"


I don't understand! Am I really so little to them? Can't they see how this is different? Hitomi wandered aimlessly between the trees, lost in her own sorrowful thoughts. She's an outsider! She's different! Why are they willing to accept her, when I still have to fight for my place? Why can't you accept me? On and on Hitomi wandered, until she finally noticed the darkness which had surrounded her, followed her, and listened to the despair which stained her soul, and by then it was much too late for her to act.

Why hello there. Shall I provide you an answer to all your worries?