"Hey Yuma," Kyoko said worryingly. "Maybe you should take a break."

"I… can… handle it," Yuma said between gasps as she continued to run on the treadmill.

When Yuma had suggested they start training afterschool Kyoko had assumed that the girl meant running around the field or something. So having Yuma drag her into the school's indoor gym and start trying to lift one of the weights had certainly come as a surprise. Thankfully Kyoko had convinced her to skip the weights and use the treadmill instead. Not that had made much difference apparently, considering how the girl was insistent on running herself on the highest speed she could muster.

"Don't just run yourself ragged," Kyoko lectured as she lowered the machine's speed despite Yuma's objections. "It's about getting into a steady pace that is tough, but something you can keep for a long time. That's how you build endurance."

"But it's not that bad." Yuma caught her breath as she lowered her speed to a brisk walk. "I can handle it."

"You ever hear the story of the tortoise and the hare?"

Yuma did not look amused. "Everyone's heard that one."

"The point still stands. Don't run yourself ragged before you reach the finish line."

"The hare was at least capable of finishing the race if it wanted. I'm not. Honestly, the tortoise was stupid for getting into that challenge in the first place."

Kyoko flicked Yuma's forehead.

"Ow!"

"Don't be cheeky with me. Just let your Big Sis take charge of your training. I know what I'm doing."

"Big surprise," Yuma grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Despite Kyoko's worries though Yuma was keeping a good pace now that she was being forced into a light jog. Months of Archer's food and care had helped to compensate for a lot of the growth that Yuma's body had been missing. Soon the girl would be as fit and healthy as an eleven-year-old could be.

Physically at least. Mentally… well Archer had much to say about that. Yuma worked hard though, that was the important part. And Archer was always an advocate of how hard work trumped natural talent.

Content that Yuma wasn't going to get herself thrown off a speeding treadmill, Kyoko went back to the weight rack and lifted her own set of weights. Doing it with a human body and without Reinforcement was rough but increasing her body's base capabilities would increase her overall strength when it was enhanced.

She continued lifting even as another person stepped into the room and stopped at the empty weight bench next to Kyoko.

"Huh didn't think to meet you here," a familiar voice commented.

"Momoko. Right?" Kyoko continued lifting her weights.

"Yea. Don't think I ever got your name though."

"Kyoko Emiya. The girl on the treadmill is Yuma Emiya."

"Oh sisters," Momoko looked at Yuma who continued to run on the treadmill. "You don't look alike."

"So I've been told."

Momoko laid down on the bench next to Kyoko and began to lift her own set of weights. Weights that were significantly larger than what Kyoko was currently lifting.

They went about their reps in silence and Kyoko did her best to at least match the pace of the Magical Girl. She was making good effort until Momoko asked a question.

"Are you a Magical Girl?"

Kyoko fumbled and nearly dropped the weight onto her chest. Thankfully, she recovered and was able to put it back on the rack before she sat up and turned to look at Momoko.

"You kept glancing at our rings before. Regular people can't see them," Momoko clarified nonchalantly as she continued lifting her weights.

Ah damn it. Kyoko had forgotten about that.

"I'm not a Magical Girl," Kyoko replied as she laid back down. No longer seeing any need to hide, she put a bit of Reinforcement into her arms. She then switched to using weights that matched the ones the Magical Girl was using.

"What are you then?" Momoko asked.

"A Magus."

"Magus?"

Kyoko gave her a brief summary of the existence of Magi, Magecraft, and its functions.

"Interesting," Momoko mused.

"Surprised that you Magical Girls aren't the only source of magic in this world?"

"Nah… ok kind of," Momoko admitted. "But I don't really mind. We can use all the help we can get here."

"Only in Kamihama," Kyoko grumbled.

"Yea. I heard it can get pretty rough outside the city. Not as many Witches to go around."

"Well yea, considering all the Witches are heading here."

"We kind of realized that too," Momoko replied. "Still haven't figured out why, though we do have some people investigating it."

"Really?"

"Well mostly the rumors and Uwasa, but I'm sure they're connected somehow. At least that's what my gut is telling me."

"You're putting a lot of faith into a gut feeling."

"Yea… Rena tells me that all the time. We're still alive though, so I guess I'm doing something right."

"Whatever," Kyoko grunted before looking at the Magical Girl. "What's this about Uwasa anyway?"

"Dealt with one before actually. Caused a lot of trouble, moreso than a Witch and it didn't even drop a Grief seed."

"What are they?"

"Not too sure. Have some friends that are investigating it, but we still haven't figured why or how they got here. What we do know is that any rumors that you here spread among the people in this city likely has an Uwasa that matches it. So, if there's a rumor of a something or someone kidnapping little girls..."

Kyoko narrowed her eyes. "What are you implying?"

"Just keep an eye out for your little Sis over there," Momoko gestured her head toward Yuma who was still running on the treadmill. "Uwasa aren't exactly picky when it comes to targeting civilians, especially those aware of the existence of Magic. Even Magical Girls are vulnerable. Had a couple of friends get kidnapped and brainwashed by one before we were to beat it and freed them."

"I mean Magical Girls fall victim to a Witch's Kiss all the time."

"Only occasionally," Momoko argued. "And we at least have some resistance over a Witch's kiss. Uwasa though… they can mess with your head in an instant. Don't even realize what happened until it's too late."

"Sounds like Uwasa are trouble then."

"Definitely and they aren't even the only new thing that showed up. Apparently an old…"

"Acquaintance?" Kyoko finished, having noticed Momoko's hesitance.

"Yea… acquaintance," Momoko replied reluctantly before sighing. "She was my Senior at one point, but we had a falling out."

Kyoko could understand what that felt like. "So, what happened to this acquaintance of yours?"

"She was attacked by some shadowy figures."

"Shadowy figures?" Kyoko asked. "You sure it wasn't just a Witch or familiar?"

Momoko shook her head. "Nah. Yachiyo's been at this for a long time. If she says it's not Witch or Familiar… well it's best to listen to her. Apparently, they're shaped like people past the dark fog they emit and they fade away like shadows once you kill them."

Why did that sound so familiar? Kyoko would have to ask Archer about that.

"Tough too," Momoko continued. "Even she had trouble with one of them. Granted she was exhausted after fighting an Uwasa, but she is strong. If she's telling me to be careful about them-"

"Yea I think I get what you're saying," Kyoko admitted. No leaving Yuma alone now. They would have to make sure someone was watching her at all times.

"What's wrong with this place?" Kyoko asked. It was a good question considering the Witches on steroids, Uwasa, and now shadow people with Magical Girl strength that just happened to pop up in this city.

"Wish I could tell you," Momoko replied. "Keeps things interesting though."

Kyoko cracked a smirk. "Glad I'm not the only who can have some fun."

Momoko shrugged. "Gotta find what fun you can. If said enjoyment just happens to come from fighting deadly monsters on a regular basis, then who am I to judge. Although it is nice to have other hobbies."

"Really? What do you do?" Kyoko asked, now interested.

"Rena will take me along to autograph signings or concerts."

"That big breasted Tsundere!?" Kyoko couldn't help but blurt. ""What for? Heavy metal bands? Boy groups?"

"Female idols."

"Really?"

Momoko chuckled. "Yep. Rena is a nice person underneath all that though, just a bit rough. But, yea she's obsessed with idols. Drags Kaede along with us when she can. I enjoy them, big fan of Sayu Sayu actually, but Kaede… well not so much. Funnily enough even though Kaede complains she still comes anyway. Probably because she knows that it makes the two of us happy."

"Seems like you're taking advantage of the girl," Kyoko commented.

"Honestly, its Rena I'd be worried about when it comes to her and Kaede. Doesn't even realize that Kaede has her wrapped around her finger half the time."

"You got a weird group. Don't you?"

"Yea… I wouldn't trade it for the world though."

"Do you have any idea what this Momoko girl was talking about?" Kyoko asked Archer as the three of them, Yuma included walked along the sidewalks of Kamihama. They didn't have many chances to have an outing with the three of them, or at least one where Archer was actually physically standing next to them. Kind of hard for Yuma to talk to him when he Astralized due to a lack of a Servant/Master Contract.

"I have my suspicions… but I won't be able to confirm until I see them myself," Archer replied.

"What does your gut tell you then?"

"Shadow Servants."

"Shadow Servants?"

"Essentially weaker copies of Servants," Archer explained. "They're not as strong and don't even have access to Noble Phantasms. They can be much easier to mass produce and summon though and can threaten real Servants with sufficient numbers."

"So could there be a shadow copy of you Archer?" Yuma asked. They had already given her a brief overview of Servants in general. It had become a necessity that she be bit more informed about these things now that they were in Kamihama.

"Possibly, though there are countless other Servants they could make copies of. It can be quite random, though odds for certain Servants are influenced by the environment," Archer replied.

"Shadow Servants… along with Witches and Uwasa," Kyoko mumbled. "All of that and still no explanation of why or how they exist here in the first place."

"It could be the interference of another Servant. Possible, considering I'm here," Archer theorized. "Or it could just be something else altogether pulling the strings… The point is we don't necessarily have to stop it. Just figure out what it is and pass that information along to the Incubator."

"That was the plan in first place," Kyoko agreed. "The Magical Girls can deal with it… probably."

Her stomach suddenly growled. "Dang it. Let's-" She was interrupted by an ice cream stick that Archer held in front of her. "Thanks," she said as she grabbed it.

"I'm more or less prepared for your stomach at this point," Archer replied as he handed another stick to Yuma.

"Well hopefully you have something to drink," Kyoko replied as she devoured the ice cream. She caught sight of a peculiar looking store just as Archer began pulling out a bottle of water. "What's that?"

The owl sign was interesting, but it was selling… water? Seriously, just water? Not even packaged or bottled or anything, just water being served in cups from what she could see on the counter. There was already a pair of customers in front of it, Magical Girls actually judging by their rings. Normally Kyoko would've walked away but… there was something strange on one of their heads.

"Is that a… mini-Incubator?" Kyoko asked.

"I thought they couldn't enter this city?" Archer replied.

"Yea. They shouldn't. They can't."

"Maybe Ky- the Incubator lied to us?" Yuma asked.

"It doesn't lie. It's omits truth but it can't lie," Archer said. "I'm assuming you want to go inside and investigate?"

"Yea."

"It's fine then. Just don't pick a fight."

The three of them entered the store.

"Ah another customer," an old man behind the counter announced Kyoko's entrance. The two Magical Girls turned to her before their eyes ultimately widened and focused on Archer.

Yea he tended to do that. Tall, tan, white hair, and surprisingly handsome from an objective standpoint. And this was coming from a person who didn't care much for men.

"Would you three also like a cup? It's free," the old man said.

"Free? How do you stay in business?" Kyoko asked as she looked at the three new cups placed on the counter. She of course made sure to keep an eye on the Minicubator that had tilted its head and looked at Archer curiously.

"I do it out of the goodness of my heart," the old man replied.

Well, if an old man was going out of their way to be generous.

Kyoko walked up to the counter and looked inside the cups. Clear, looked like water. The short blonde with pigtails and the pink haired girl with that insanely long braid looked interested too. Actually, pinkie was oddly familiar for some reason.

"You wouldn't happen to have a sister or something, would you?" Kyoko asked.

"I do!" Pinkie shouted much to her surprise. "Do you know Ui?"

"Mokyu!" Minicubator commented.

Kyoko took a second to recover before shaking her head. "No, no one named Ui. Just someone that looked like you."

"What did she look like? Maybe she changed her name?"

"Little shorter than you… how old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Then I she's only a year younger. Has her hair tied into twin tails by two red ribbons."

"Oh," Pinkie looked disappointed. "Sorry, that doesn't sound like Ui. She's my little sister… I've been looking for her."

"Mokyu." The Minicubator was actually patting her head as if to comfort her. That was… weird.

"How long have you lost her?" Kyoko asked carefully.

"Months now. I've been doing all I can to find her."

Kyoko let out a deep breath. "Damn… I'm sorry about that." It wasn't like her to apologize like that but… well missing little sister. It was enough for Kyoko look back and make sure that Mo- Yuma was still with them.

"It's not your fault," the pinkie reassured with a smile that couldn't be classified as smile at all. It was just… sad. Not very sincere. "It's mine for getting my hopes up."

Kyoko scratched the back of her head. "What does your sister, Ui, look like?"

"She has pink hair that's a bit lighter than mine. It reaches a bit past her shoulders. She's also eleven and a very sweet girl. She's been in the hospital most of her life so she might be a little weak moving around."

"What for?"

"She was sick… very sick," Iroha perked. "But she got better after I… uh she got better."

Kyoko glanced at Pinkie's ring.

Yea not hard to figure out how that wish was used...

"Look if I happen to run into your sister… I'll let you know. Also let her know that she's looking for you." Kyoko wasn't going to make any more promises than that, but if these two sisters could just happen to be reunited while they still had the chance to… "What's your number?"

"T-thank you," Pinkie said as she took out her phone. It actually took much longer than was neccesary to add the girl to her contacts because she was apparently completely incompetent with her phone. Like seriously how does a teenage girl not know how to use a damn flip phone? Even Yuma had a smartphone that they used to stay in touch with her.

"I'm Iroha Tamaki," Pinkie introduced herself after she finally worked things out with her phone. "And my sister is Ui Tamaki. I'd be really thankful if you did find her."

"Mokyu! Mokyu!"

"Kyoko Emiya. And don't get your hopes up alright? We'll see what happens."

"Well, I'm Felicia," the blonde girl huffed, apparently somewhat annoyed at being ignored.

"Yea uh sure," Kyoko replied before turning to Iroha. "You two friends or something?"

"No… we just met here, a few seconds before you three came in," Iroha replied as she looked at Archer and Yuma. "Are they your family?"

"Yea… sure that's pretty much it," Kyoko replied.

"Your dad looks weird," Felicia commented.

"Felicia! That's rude," Iroha said, shocked.

"Nah that's true," Kyoko said.

"You'd think my daughter would listen to me more often," Archer said with a smirk.

"Oh, screw it Archer."

"And your little sister is so well behaved," Archer moaned. "The apple really does fall far from the tree."

"Anyway," Kyoko decided to focus her attention on the water and on the old man on the counter who had been waiting patiently behind it. "Let's just grab our free water."

"Are you sure that you should be drinking something from a random stranger?" Archer asked.

"Why not?" Felicia asked. "It's free stuff!"

"I mean… I am a little thirsty," Iroha replied. "And he seems nice enough."

It's not like you're sensing anything weird from those cups, Kyoko mused.

Everything in this city feels weird, and as a Servant I'm even more sensitive to it, Archer argued. It's messing with finer senses. For all we know-

Yuma immediately grabbed a cup from the counter and drinking from it before either of them could stop her. The girl's eyes immediately lit up.

"It's tasty!" Yuma said happily before gulping the entire thing down.

Felicia grabbed a cup of her own and drank it messily. "It is."

Iroha succumbed to peer pressure and grabbed a cup of her own.

Kyoko watched the three of them carefully. Once she saw that they hadn't fallen or starting choking from some sort of poison, she took a cup of her own.

Well, in for a penny, Kyoko mused to Archer before gulping down her own cup. It was… sort of sweet actually. And incredibly refreshing. By all rights it had to be the tastiest water she ever drank.

"What about you, old man?" blondie asked Archer. "You getting a drink?"

"Isn't a rude to call him old?" Iroha commented.

"But he's got white hair… and that old grumpy man face!" blondie argued.

"I think I'll pass," Archer replied.

"Then I'll take your cup!" Felicia replied.

"Sorry only one per person," the man at the stand said.

"Gwaaaaaah!" Felicia out a scream of some sort of frustrated animal. "But he's not even taking it! And you're giving them out for free!"

"He already gave you a cup for free," Iroha tried to appease Felicia. "Wouldn't it be rude to ask for more? Maybe someone else would want a cup?"

"But they're not even here! I am! It's their loss!"

Wow… was it saying something that Yuma seemed to be more mature than this girl was?

"Let's not start something over a cup of water," Archer tried to intervene.

"It's really good water!" Felicia shouted.

"… It, kind of is," Yuma admitted and the pinkie nodded in agreement.

"What about we leave the poor man alone," Archer gestured to the man who ought to have the patience considering how he was still composed despite the commotion in front of him, "And get some water elsewhere."

"What, are you getting it for me?" Felicia asked.

"Sure," Archer agreed before pulling out the bottle of water originally meant for Kyoko and handing it to her.

What are yo-

Her clothes are old, and her shoes are frayed. She seems to be keeping herself fed… but it doesn't look like an easy life.

Kyoko looked at the blondie carefully and saw what Archer had pointed out. It didn't take her long to figure out why Archer acted the way he had.

"Why don't we leave the old man to his business," Archer suggested to them.

"Fine," Felicia conceded.

They all left the store and made their way back onto the street. They talked together for a bit until they were out of sight of the store.

"What exactly are you doing by the way?" Archer asked Felicia.

"I'm a Mercenary!" Felicia replied proudly.

"A… mercenary?" Archer asked.

"If you need to beat something up then I'll do it!" Felicia said confidently. "You just gotta pay me!"

"Uh…"

Felicia turned to Iroha as Archer hesitated. "What about you. You need a mercenary? I can help look for your sister. You just gotta pay now!"

"What's to stop you from just running off with her cash?" Kyoko asked.

"If you pay then I'll do the work. That's what a mercenary does!"

"Most mercenaries are only able to get payment upon proof of completion. Only the ones with a reputation are able to ask for the full amount or a partial amount up front," Archer explained.

"I got a reputation!" Felicia shouted.

"A good one?"

"…"

"Anyway, if you want to get paid maybe you should actually find something about her sister and then you, can negotiate with her," Kyoko suggested.

"Fine…" Felicia grumbled. "Make sure to get your cash ready once I find your sister," she said before finally walking away.

"… But how am I supposed to meet with her if we didn't even exchange phone numbers?" Iroha asked.

"Just, don't bother with it," Kyoko replied. "Well, we're heading off now. I'll shoot you a text if I find anything."

"Thank you," Iroha bowed her head. "I hope you three have a pleasant day."

"Mokyu!"

"Polite girl," Archer mused as the pinkie walked away for her Minicubator.

"Reminds you of Ribbons?"

"Yes… surprised they aren't siblings."

"What do you think about the Minicubator?"

"It's obviously infantile… and yet it doesn't seem to act like an Incubator whatsoever. The fact that it's able to express emotions and actually sympathize with something… it could be a mutation of its species." He shrugged. "My instincts are telling me it's not a threat."

"Maybe. Doesn't mean I'll trust anything that comes out of its mouth."

"There is certainly something sinister about the word Mokyu."

"Hah, hah. Still going to stab it if it approaches me," Kyoko replied when she felt something fall on her head. Before she had a chance to move Archer had already reached for her and Yuma's heads. He pulled out what looked like to be a piece of paper from each of them. His expression hardened as he looked at them.

"What is it?" Kyoko asked as she looked at Yuma. If it was just piece of paper carried by the wind that ended up in her hair, then it could just be attributed to a freak accident. For it to happen to Yuma at the same time though, and for those papers to have the same exact shape.

Archer turned the papers around for them.

24

"What does that mean?" Yuma asked.

"Text Iroha now," Archer demanded. "See if she had a piece of paper fall on her head."

Kyoko quickly texted the message as Archer requested.

Yes. I did. Iroha took an unnecessary amount of time to reply.

24?

Yes. What does that mean?

Kyoko turned to Archer.

"It means we have to revisit that water shop," he said.