Silence reigned in the room. Yuzu and Karin watched Ichigo and Isshin expectantly, waiting for their reaction. Both their reiastus gave off waves of guilt and sadness, but they both kept their faces blank.
Isshin suddenly started crying crocodile tears and ran straight to their poster.
"MASAAAKIIIIIIIII! I'VE FAILED TO PROTECT THEM AGAAAAAIIIINN! FIRST OUR SON AND NOW OUR TWO BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS!"
Yuzu smiled sympathetically at her father. Being able to hear his thoughts, she knew as well as he did that the man was practically dying inside; he was just trying to lighten the mood. Clearly, it didn't have that effect on Ichigo, however; he bashed him before wordlessly going upstairs and into his room. The sadness in his reiatsu had morphed into pure anger and bloodlust - obviously towards the Incubators - and he was clearly trying to contain himself, knowing it wouldn't be good to lash out at that precise moment.
It was safe to say he'd probably rant to at least one of his friends, but that wasn't a bad thing ; in fact, that'd work in their favor by automatically guaranteeing allies.
0.0
"RISE AND SHIIINE LAZYBUTTS! IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY! "
No one moved. Mao supposed that that was normal; everyone was exhausted from the day before (that had turned into a slumber party once all the serious talk had been taken care of and Madoka and Sayaka had called their parents).
Since there weren't enough beds for all of them (or space in Homura's room) they'd each taken a spot on the couches surrounding the small glass table of the living room. She never understood why her friend had so many, but hey! They came in handy... She was still gonna ask why the hell Homura needed a decoration that big swinging from the ceiling.
It was Saturday, ten in the morning, but none of them were really morning people (with the exception of Mao herself, obviously).
She pouted, before suddenly smirking. This would be hilarious.
0.0
Mami had a rather rude awakening. Instead of being woken up by a call, an alarm, shaken awake - or any other sane way of waking someone up really - she woke up freezing and coughing and sputtering, and to the sound of a camera snapping a picture.
Someone had just thrown icy water on her and the other girls, she realized, a little annoyed (and shivering).
"Your faces were priceless! Ahahahahaha!"
The blonde sat up looked to see Suzuki practically laughing to death, her phone in hand and the now empty bucket beside her. Akemi slowly got up, a dark expression on her face, clearly not amused in the least. Kaname groaned and curled herself more in the blanket, and both Kuchiki and Miki, snarling, immediately charged at the girl, yelling at her to delete the stupid (and embarrassing) photo.
The maroon-haired girl ran away, mocking the two with her prize, not noticing Akemi approaching her from behind until it was too late and thus receiving a bonk on the head along with a death glare from Akemi. This gave Kuchiki the opportunity to bash the girl with a flying kick to the head, as revenge for waking her up. Miki confiscated the phone and promptly erased the picture... Only to realize it was already on iCloud.
It was a little silly, watching all this play out, and Mami snorted at their show of immaturity and horseplay. Miki now had a flailing Suzuki in a noogie while Akemi just let her be and came to sit beside Mami, not concerned for her poor friend in the least, while Kuchiki was trying to coax Kaname out of bed (a.k.a trying to steal the blanket for herself by shaking it wildly in the air since hers was the driest as she'd been the farthest, while the pinkette literally hung onto it, crying comically as she sailed in the air).
Rubbing her head where she probably now had a few bruises, Suzuki let them know she had already made some waffles and set the table while they'd all been snoozing. Miki perked up at this, her anger suddenly gone, and turned to run to where she could smell the delicious breakfast.
She'd completely forgotten that she was still soaking wet, however, and slipped on the water all around, face-planting.
Akemi went ahead and offered some dry clothes for all of them.
The blonde smiled. It was nice to wake up with her newfound friends, even if made for a slightly hectic morning.
...
At about three in the afternoon, most of the girls decided to leave, not wanting to overstay their welcome. Mami practically skipped home, overjoyed. It had been too long since she'd been this happy.
Now she had not one, but five friends! Sure, she didn't know all of them that well, but that would easily be fixed with time. Plus, there really was an afterlife! Even though Soul Society was definitely far from perfect from what Suzuki and Kuchiki told her, she was sure her parents were okay.
Akemi had warned Kaname and Miki against making a contract because it was too dangerous and that she and Mami - and sometimes Suzuki and Kuchiki, if they were around - could handle the witches just fine. The blonde wasn't too happy about that, but what the ravenette had said was true, so she kept her mouth shut. No need to ruin the mood.
She merrily entered her apartment, locking the door behind her. She immediately greeted Kyubey, who was seated on her glass coffee table.
'I see you are allied with Homura Akemi now.'
"Yes! She's a really good friend, Kyubey...albeit a little quiet, but very polite!"
'She is very dangerous ; she has shown herself to be very aggressive towards me. If she is friendlier to you, she may be planning something... '
"No... I'm pretty sure that isn't the case. And I would appreciate it if you would stop badmouthing her.", she concluded, clearly ending any debate on the subject.
She'd failed Sakura, but it wouldn't happen again. She'd be there for her new friends, whether Kyubey liked it or not. She liked him, but sometimes the cat-like creature went too far.
Shaking her head, the teen then took off her shoes, went to turn on the tea kettle and started to look for a teabag in her usual supply.
...
She had none left...?
Mami checked one more time, even took out the box she kept them in. Indeed, there wasn't a single one left. How did she fail to notice?
Sighing, she turned off the kettle, took her phone, purse and some money, and put her shoes back on. Just before leaving, she gave Kyubey the most recent used-up grief seed she had.
The blonde didn't pay attention to the fact that he kept it and left, rather than eating it like usual.
0.0
Sado Yasutora made his way towards the grocery store. His footsteps were more mechanical than anything, as his mind was occupied.
The Puella Magi system... Cruel, to say the least. To think Ichigo's sisters got involved...he truly felt sorry for his friend, but because there was no immediate danger, he couldn't just abandon his studies.
Unlike Ichigo, who decided to stay in Karakura for university, he'd chosen to go to one in Mitakihara. The price ran pretty high, so he only managed to get where he was thanks to a scholarship. The man wasn't sure he'd ever get used to how technologically advanced the city was, though. Seriously, even Tokyo couldn't compare!
Taking a shortcut through a narrow alley to the store, he wondered how well his friend was coping; the only other person of their little friend group who also stayed in Karakura was Orihime. He knew the young man wouldn't want to stress her though...
His thought process was cut short when he didn't recognize where he was. In fact, he was quite sure the area as a whole looked surreal.
The paint on the walls were peeling off, the air was quite stale...his surroundings looked like he was in an alley of a literal ghost town, somewhere old and abandoned.
Frowning, he turned around and went back in the direction he was sure he'd come, hoping he just made a wrong turn and not wanting to think of the alternative.
It was useless.
The walls around him only became more narrow, mold appeared everywhere, and the dread he felt only increased with every step.
Crap, he was definitely in a labyrinth.
Sado summoned his fullbring. If this was the way things were going to be, then getting caught off-guard wouldn't be good. It was a bad sign that no familiars had appeared; Ichigo let him know that his sisters informed him that that often meant he'd be facing the witch with all it's familiars at the same time, which would usually force Puella Magi with any sense of self-preservation to flee as they'd otherwise be overwhelmed.
The man set off on a light jog, knowing that what he would face was now inevitable, so he might as well get it over with as soon as possible.
His footsteps echoed painfully loudly in the never ending maze of alleys. He would frequently run into forks and crossroads in the path, and could only choose randomly which way to go. Puella Magi knew instinctively where to go, but apparently that only applied to them. For all Sado knew, he could've gone the wrong way and would therefore probably be trapped there for the rest of his life.
His sense of time seemed to be warped in the labyrinth; he had no idea how much time had passed. Could've been minutes. Hours. With the endurance he'd needed during the time of the Winter War, it wouldn't even be surprising if he'd been running around for days. He had no connection to the outside world; his phone had no signal, and he didn't sense anyone when he spread his reiatsu.
Because of the lack of immediate danger, he eventually dispelled his fullbring ; carrying it around when he didn't need it was a waste of energy.
Suddenly he heard another set of footsteps, running a little faster than him, from behind.
He didn't feel any reiatsu at all, so the sound caught him by surprise.
Sado stopped and turned around. No one was in sight, but he could still hear it, coming closer every time. Eventually, a young blonde teen rounded the corner, wearing what definitely looked like western cosplay. She didn't look tired by any means, but was clearly surprised when she saw him, skidding to a stop.
A Puella Magi? Most likely.
"Huh?... Err, we should get going. I know you're probably feeling a bit disoriented, but I can explain on the way. My apologies for being a bit rushed about this, but I can't let more people be caught here."
She sprinted, and he followed.
"I'm Mami Tomoe. What's your name?"
"...Sado Yasutora. You don't need to explain this. I'm aware of what's going on."
"Really? Uh, good. That will make things easier then. Get ready, we're almost there."
The twists and turns of the labyrinth increased drastically, and black fog started accumulating until he could barely see his hands in front of his face. The only thing guiding him was the girl's glowing yellow soul gem, since it was on her head. He wasn't worried; Tomoe seemed to know where she was going.
Gradually, the echoes of their running quieted down; it seemed that wherever they were, it wasn't anywhere near as narrow as before.
The girl suddenly stopped running; he could only tell because the yellow glow in front of him stopped moving, and he was hard-pressed to practically dig his feet into the ground in order to avoid crashing into her.
"...We're here."
Something warped, and as Tomoe made to make some kind of ribbon barrier around him, he stepped out of it and summoned his fullbring.
"I'll be fine."
Slightly confused but seemingly deciding to save the questions for later, the blonde summoned an array of muskets as a dozen glowing green humanoid silhouettes appeared, clawing their way out of the ground all around them. They screamed endlessly, almost like tortured souls still resided in them.
They were dealt with within seconds. Tomoe shot down the farther ones while Sado, carefully avoiding the crossfire, took out those that remained.
Seconds later, a hissing sound above them was their only warning before a gigantic object the size of an apartment building landed where they were, and if Sado hadn't had the reaction time he had, he wouldn't of been able to pick up the Puella Magi and flash-step out of the way fast enough. He thanked whatever gods there were above for there to have been no obstacles ; he could still barely see with the fog he was starting to seriously hate.
He looked to wherever the hell that thing had landed, and saw a giant rotting jack o' lantern, complete with an eerie green glow from the inside and a very sharp-toothed smile that really should've broken the pumpkin in two.
It's large eyes flared brightly, and small pores all over shot out acid. The liquid burned into the floor, and an entire crowd of familiars clawed their way out of the holes. With all the light emanating from the jack o' lantern and the thousands of familiars, he could clearly see their features.
They were hideous.
Zombie-like monsters scattered like angered bees as far as the eye could see, and they were rapidly approaching; they had chainsaws as arms, and some of them even spat acid.
It was a wonder how he didn't get injured when he faced some without seeing what he was doing.
The sky had become completely black as well, making the familiars and the witch the only things that were truly visible.
The situation really didn't look good.
"Ahem..."
He looked down and Tomoe beamed at him, a slight blush present.
"...Thank you, you can put me down now."
Ah, right. She was still in his arms. Oops. Feeling slightly awkward, he did as he was asked and pretended nothing ever happened.
The girl immediately summoned plenty of muskets in a flurry of ribbons.
"Try to kill as many as you can; I'll cover you. We need to make our way to the witch as fast as possible."
He nodded. He'd come to just about the same conclusion; they were going to have to plow through the familiars to get to the witch. The older teen really wished he hadn't flash-stepped so far now.
"El directo!"
The attack plowed through about a dozen, and a rain of bullets ensured that the small path they made didn't just refill with more of the creatures. Unfortunately, this also seemed to have angered the familiars, since they started swinging th chainsaws around more viciously, aiming for vital organs. As promised, Tomoe shot down the grand majority of those that got too close for comfort. Sado handled the few that managed to get past her gunshots.
Things seemed to be going well for the first few minutes, but the witch suddenly turned the tables when they got about a third of a way there.
The sky became even darker - clouds, probably - and it started to rain.
But of course it wouldn't rain water - that would be just too nice for the occasion.
It rained candycorn bombs. Phenomenal.
This forced Tomoe to summon dozens of guns at a time to shoot and set off any bombs far above them to avoid being bombarded, leaving Sado to fend for himself with the mass of creatures.
So... Constantly releasing reishi-based attacks and still be receiving nasty gashes all over while being blasted by the few candycorns here and there that got past Tomoe's defenses? He usually wouldn't be so sarcastic, but man, his day couldn't get any better! Seriously!
God knows what kind of excuse he'd have to make up for every scratch and bruise once he turned up at Orihime's since he wouldn't want her to worry too much.
And to top it off, he was sure the Puella Magi wouldn't be able to keep up her pace for much longer; who would keep up with candycorn falling at the pace of raindrops? He was impressed she'd lasted that long; had she have been a Shinigami, she probably would've been able to be in the second squad.
Sado was suddenly ensnared by a few yellow ribbons and yanked upwards.
It turned out the girl had managed to make a pretty large umbrella/net of sorts with her ribbons, and find a lamppost. The blonde was currently standing on it. She wasn't having trouble with his weight at all (which in hindsight shouldn't have been all too surprising).
"We're not making much progress like this. I'll swing you over there, so I hope you're used to rough landings!"
...that was the only warning he got before he felt himself being launched a few kilometers ahead, straight towards the witch. He landed just a few meters away from it, and immediately charged forward.
"...La Muerte!"
It exploded on impact...only for a grotesque excuse of a Frankenstein to take it's place. He flash-stepped away, surprised, before being forced to flash-step all over the place. He'd almost forgotten that the girl was no longer there to stop the bombs from landing.
It had two forms? So much for defeating it upon landing...
Tomoe landed nearby, having swung herself over there in a similar fashion she'd done for him.
The giant Frankenstein reject wound up and bashed the ground where the Puella Magi would've been if she hadn't seen it coming. A crater - much larger than what Sado's La Muerte punch would create - formed where it hit. It didn't unnerve Sado, but he wasn't seeing the girl anywhere. Did she abandon him without warning? It did seem to be a strong one, so it wouldn't surprise him.
His question was promptly answered when the ground around the grotesque creature glowed yellow for a fraction of a second before large, red versions of the ribbons he'd seen earlier ensnared it.
The acid the witch was oozing instantly started melting them away, but she'd been prepared for that.
He finally saw her, positioned above the monster with two large canons at her side.
"Tiro Doble!"
With an ear-splitting bang, its arms were destroyed, and acid poured from the wounds in generous amounts. It screamed.
"Yasutora-kun! Finish it off!"
Huh. The fight seemed to have worn her out. Maybe she lacked stamina?
Ignoring the acid - he'd deal with whatever wounds he received later - he charged in for the second time, and delivered three consecutive La Muerte punches.
Everything wobbled out of existence, returning them to the alley he'd been in on his way to the grocery store.
Clothes singed and a few noticeable burns here and there, Tomoe picked up the grief seed and purifies her soul gem. No wonder she started showing signs of exhaustion; apparently, that fight had costed her a generous amount of magic since he could clearly see a swirl of black in the yellow rock before she purified it.
Then again, she did summon what must have added up to a few thousand muskets just to fend off the bombs...
She lay against the wall, panting.
He decided to ask a couple of questions.
"...You're a veteran, right?"
"Huh? Uh, yes.."
"Are they usually this strong?"
Looking up at him, she shook her head.
"That... was by far the strongest I've faced since I contracted..."
She got back up, apparently having recovered.
"...In fact, it's almost like that was enhanced; there are strong witches, yes, but that wasn't normal..."
Having nothing to say, Sado didn't inquire any further. A feeling of dread niggled in the back of his mind, but he wasn't quite sure why.
The older teen decided to temporarily ignore it, hoping he wouldn't regret that decision.
0.0
Subject number three was successful. It would now be used as a beta for the completion of the experiment.
The Incubator terminal, having watched the battle and gathered the information needed, left.
Mission accomplished.