"We're back," Iroha said as she opened the front door and began to take off her shoes. As she expected, everyone had returned home. Even Tsuruno, though for some reason she looked a bit guilty sitting at the counter. Felicia too for that matter.
"Tamaki. Welc-…" Yachiyo blinked, paused, then blinked again, before moving her head up and down as she looked at Iroha's entirety. She clicked her mouth before finally speaking again. "What are you wearing?"
"It's cute, isn't it?" Iroha asked excitedly as she moved her waist and showed off her new outfit. She had been so excited to show this off to everyone. "I didn't think I'd find such a cool hoodie at a thrift store. And it's so comfy!"
"It's… interesting," Madoka commented from the living room. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before."
"I like it too," Sana commented.
"Uh… yes. It's very unique. Nothing that I'd ever think to buy," Yachiyo said carefully before shooting a look at Kyoko.
Kyoko shrugged. "She liked it. A lot."
"You can borrow it if you'd like," Iroha said excitedly. "It's a bit big for me so I think it'd fit you a little better."
"Thank you but I think it… suits you better," Yachiyo replied.
Once she had finished showing off her new hoodie to everyone, Iroha made her way toward the kitchen. "I'll start prepping dinner."
"About that…"
"We had a problem," Sana said.
Iroha opened the fridge and reached inside only to grab nothing but cold air. In fact the entire thing was empty.
"What happened?" She peeked her head inside for signs of anything that she could use to cook. There was nothing. Not even a bit of sauce. "Didn't we go grocery shopping yesterday? How could all the food disappear?"
Yuma and Archer both immediately looked at Kyoko.
"I was with you guys all day, it wasn't me," Kyoko defended herself.
"It was them," Yachiyo gestured toward Tsuruno and Felicia.
Well, that explained why they looked so guilty.
"Tsuruno wanted to practice cooking and I thought I'd help her out," Felicia admitted.
"How'd you use up the entire fridge?" Archer asked.
"… It didn't go well," Tsuruno admitted.
"They wanted to make a big meal for all of us," Madoka explained from the living room. "But then Felicia added some baking soda instead of powder and it kind of all… exploded."
"Exploded," Kyoko said in disbelief. "You wasted all that food?" Kyoko shouted at them.
"Don't be mad at them, they were just trying to do something nice," Madoka tried to placate Kyoko.
"Do they even realize the worth of all that food they just wasted?" Kyoko said angrily.
"I was hungry a lot before I started living here," Felicia grunted. "Then you guys started cooking so much food for me… I just wanted to repay you for that. Ya know?"
"You've also had accidents in the kitchen before," Yuma reminded Kyoko.
Kyoko's snarl gradually became a frown until all she could do was huff in annoyance. "… Fine. Don't do that again. And if you really want to cook make sure Archer is supervising you."
Felicia nodded. "I will. He'll make a much better teacher than Tsuruno."
"Hey!" Tsuruno shouted.
"Just don't make another mess," Yachiyo replied before looking at Iroha. "We barely had it cleaned up by the time you got here. We'll have to go shopping again tonight… but then we won't have time to make dinner."
Archer walked to the kitchen and began to dig through the cabinets. "Seems they only emptied out the fridge. I can make us a quick meal with what we have here."
"What are you going to do with flour, canned tomatoes, and chicken broth?" Yachiyo asked.
"Homemade pasta. And we have the seasonings for the sauce."
"Normally I'd say that's a lot of work… but it's you," Yachiyo concluded. "Doesn't change the fact that we still have to get groceries though."
"I'll head to the market," Iroha said as she began to put on her shoes again. "Yachiyo, you can help Archer with dinner?"
"Are you sure?" Yachiyo asked. "You just got back."
"It's fine," Iroha said as she opened the front door. "Yuma do you want to help out?"
"Sure," Yuma replied as she quickly joined Iroha. She looked at Kyoko as she put on her shoes. "Is that okay? Or do you still need to come with me?"
Kyoko rolled her eyes. "Just don't get into any trouble."
"That's what I should be telling you."
"Yuma, Kyoko. Stop fighting," Archer demanded.
"Yes Archer," they both said.
Even after the sun had set, many of the stores in the shopping district were still open, their bright lights illuminating the night and providing guidance to the many customers that still wandered the paved road. It was a familiar place at his point, one that she had learned to navigate entirely by memory. Trying to get directions on her never particularly ended well.
"Eggs, milk, vegetables, meat…" Iroha began to mentally cross off the shopping list that she had written down on a notepad. Trying to use her phone to take notes never went well either. "Now for the bread."
"Got it," Yuma said as she walked up with two bags hanging off her arms. "The fruit looked good so I got us some apples, oranges, and bananas." She put the bags down, reached into one and pulled out… a watermelon. A very big one at that, though it wasn't much of an issue for a Magical Girl or a Magus to carry. "And this is for Kyoko."
Iroha nodded before crossing fruit, bread, and something big for Kyoko off the list. The last one had been an addition from Archer.
"Where to next?" Yuma asked as she immediately scanned the stores near them. She was an excellent helper and had an eye for quality ingredients. Likely due to Archer's influence. Compared to them he was an absolute savant at navigating this street, finding the best deals, and fighting off the many frightening housewives.
In some ways people were scarier than Witches or familiars.
"Alright now just the fish and we can head home," Iroha said as she looked at the last item on their list.
"Mr. Inagi's closed early today," Yuma informed her.
"Aw, his is the best," Iroha quickly took stock of what they had bought so far. "We can come back later this week. We should have enough now to last us a few days."
"Archer can always just do the shopping himself," Yuma suggested.
"He already does so much in the house though. I don't want to give him more to do." Between the cleaning, cooking, shopping, and pretty much all the other chores he did in the house, Iroha was worried that he was overworking himself.
"It's not really work. He likes doing those things," Yuma informed her. "Yea. It's fun for him and I think it helps him relax too, especially with all the fighting we've been doing."
So that explained why he seemed so eager to help out around the house. It was hard to see unless you worked closely with him, but his eyes did seem to light up a little anytime he was around a stove.
"Alright I think it's time we went home then," Iroha said as they made their way out of the market. After a long day, she was very much looking forward to one of Archer's meals.
"Hello Tamaki."
Iroha froze in place and barely acknowledged Yuma who looked at her in confusion.
Iroha knew that voice. She had it heard countless times in her memories and it was almost always associated with two others who were important to her.
She turned her head and sitting right there at a café table was one of the people she had spent so long trying to find. It was nothing short of a miracle.
"Touka?" Iroha couldn't believe her own eyes. All this time was spent trying to find even a single trace of them, and Touka was just sitting at this table. Drinking a cup of tea at a table with a young woman standing next to her.
Touka glanced up from her teacup. "I heard that you were looking for me."
"I was," Iroha was quick to run up to the table with Yuma behind her. "I was so worried about you. You, Nemu, and Ui just disappeared from the hospital."
"… Nemu and I were discharged from the hospital months ago. A clean bill of health." Touka gestured to a pair of empty chairs at the table. "Why don't you tell me about what you know."
As Iroha sat down at the table she was able to get a closer look at the woman standing nearby. She had long black hair and striking crimson eyes. Though her face was composed there seemed to be something hiding underneath it, some sort of… savagery that mixed with the woman's surprisingly regal presence.
She was honestly quite intimidating.
"Don't worry about her," Touka gestured to her companion. "This is Nobu. She's just keeping an eye on things while we talk."
"Would you like to take a seat with us?" Iroha asked Nobu.
"No. I'm fine with just watching from here," Nobu replied casually.
"See. She's fine," Touka said before calling over a waitress. "Two cups of tea. For them."
"Thank you," Iroha said.
Touka took another sip of her tea. "It's only polite. I invited you here after all."
"Is Touka a friend of yours, Iroha?" Yuma asked.
"Oh!" Iroha gestured to Yuma. "Touka, this is Yuma."
"Hi," Yuma greeted Touka before looking strangely at Nobu.
"Is something wrong?" Iroha asked.
Yuma shook her head. "Nah just… feeling a bit weird around her. No offense."
"You feel something around Nobu? You wouldn't happen to have Potential, would you?" Touka asked.
"I'm a Magus," Yuma replied.
"Ah, a Magus."
"You know about them?" Iroha asked.
"Those who practice Magecraft," Touka looked at Yuma approvingly. "Respectable, for a human. You didn't answer my question though.
"I do," Yuma admitted.
"Haven't you considered being a Magical Girl?"
"No. I won't be one," Yuma replied.
"Why not? Magical Girls have enhanced strength, agility, and endurance. Also, a Contract would make even your meager Magical powers a force to be reckoned with."
"I'm a Magus. Not a Magical Girl."
"But Magical Girls are superior to Magi and humans."
"But aren't we all human?" Iroha asked. "People, Magi, and Magical Girl?."
"And yet who are the ones who are constantly sacrificing themselves for the sake of the universe, for humanity," Touka replied. "Even then though it's still a waste to have a girl with Potential not make a Contract. Are you still thinking about your wish?"
"I don't have a wish," Yuma replied.
"Everyone has a wish."
"Not at the price the Incubator asks for."
Deep down Iroha knew this price too. Ever since that day they had saved Sana and had nearly released her Doppel again, she knew what would happen to her eventually. Giovanna, her own Witch, frightened her. It… made her feel ashamed and it was why she couldn't find a way to tell the others at the Villa and instead left it to Archer to eventually tell them. He knew, he definitely knew, and he was kind enough not to force it out of her.
Touka smirked. "What if I told you that there was a way for all Magical Girls to be saved. That we would never have to worry about the price of our wishes. What would you think then?"
"That sounds like something the Magius would say," Yuma looked at Touka suspiciously. "Are you one of them?"
"I'm not one of the Feathers," Touka replied, before beginning to pout. "And you're still not answering my questions. It's annoying."
"I'm going to live my life as a Magus. That's it."
Touka shook her head. "That's a shame. You're choosing to remain as a lowly human practicing some third-rate magic."
Yuma glared. "Maybe I don't mind being third-rate."
"Touka please stop picking a fight with Yuma," Iroha pleaded. Honestly, she wasn't surprised it ended up like this. Even with Ui and Nemu, Touka always found a way to incense other people.
"How do you even know this girl?" Yuma asked and looked at Touka in annoyance.
"Touka and Nemu used to stay in the same hospital room as Ui. I used to visit them all the time," Iroha explained. "The three of them were best friends, so I thought that maybe they would've seen her."
Touka glanced at Nobu briefly before looking back at Iroha. "Nemu and I haven't… met Ui."
Iroha felt something stab into her heart as her biggest hope of finding Ui was crushed right in front of her. If Nemu and Touka hadn't seen Ui… then what other leads did she have?
"Is Ui really that important to you?" Touka asked.
"Of course. She's my little sister and I haven't seen her in so long. I'm so sorry that I didn't visit you and Nemu in the hospital either. After Ui disappeared I lost my memories of you three. I only got it back recently."
"When exactly did you get these memories?" Touka asked.
"It was after I touched Kyubi," Iroha explained.
"The baby Incubator we've been hearing about?"
"Yes! He's been helping me find Ui. He's at the villa I'm staying at. I can bring you there and show him to you."
"No thank you," Touka replied as the waitress returned and put down two cups in front of them. "So you visited Nemu and I in the hospital a lot?"
"Yes. I did. All the time," Iroha replied as Yuma took a cup in her hands and began to drink from it.
"Then what did we have in our room? You would know about that, wouldn't you?" Touka asked. Her voice was a bit condescending and smug for some reason.
"Well, Nemu kept a bookshelf next to her bed. A small one so it never fit all the books she wanted, though there was one - Brothers' Grimm - that she always kept under her pillow."
The smug look immediately fell off of Touka's face and her eyes gradually widened as Iroha spoke. "I knew she kept a book under there but… D-Do you know why she kept it there?"
"The nurses would take it away when they realized that she was reading at night instead of sleeping," Iroha explained. "It took me a while to get it back from them and I only gave it back to Nemu once she promised me that she would get some sleep."
"And you believed her?"
"Well, Ui was there to let me know if she did that or not. I didn't like having her tattle on you two, but I wanted to make sure that you guys were okay."
"And what exactly do you know about me?"
"Well you always had a bunch of gadgets and devices on your bed, whenever the nurses would allow you to bring them in. You tried to explain what they did to me, but I never understood most of it," Iroha admitted. "I do know that you always looked through those star charts your father got you for your birthday. You also like to watch a lot of astrophysics programs on your TV."
"That's enough," Touka replied. She looked annoyed as she set down her teacup. "Your tea is going to get cold."
"Oh, you're right." Iroha grabbed a cup and took a sip. It was good, sweet with a slight bitterness and a surprisingly pleasant aftertaste that she couldn't quite recognize.
"You clearly think that you know a lot about me," Touka said as Iroha put down her cup.
Iroha nodded. "I do. You, Nemu, and Ui are important to me."
"Tell me the truth then. Who told you all of this about us? The nurses? Did you have to bribe the hospital staff for information?"
"No!" Iroha shook her head, her eyes wide. "I would never do that. Why would you think that?"
"Because how else would you know about us? We've never met."
"But we did!" Iroha said. "I thought you remembered me?"
"I never said that. I just asked you questions that you were apparently prepared to answer," Touka crossed her arms and glared. "You are more dangerous than I had expected Tamaki."
Touka didn't remember her? What about Nemu? What about- "You have to remember Ui. Right?" Iroha asked desperately.
"I don't. I've never heard of an Ui. And I've never met you."
Then Ui had been erased from their memories too. All that time that the four of them had spent together, everything, it was just all gone.
"Then how did you know my name when you called out to me?" Iroha asked.
"Because you and your group have been causing a lot of issues for my Magius." Touka suddenly smiled.
"Your… Magius?" Iroha asked as she felt everything crash around her. It couldn't be. Touka… she wouldn't do something like this. She was…
"I am not a Feather. I'm a founding member, the one that created this organization and you have become an enemy to our cause," Touka told her.
No… Apparently it was the truth. No matter how much Iroha tried to deny it. "Touka, the Magius are hurting people. How can you be okay with that?"
"A few human lives is a small price to pay for the salvation of all Magical Girls now, and in the future," Touka said dismissevely. "Even from a purely statistical standpoint it makes sense to do this."
"This isn't right though. These people are innocent, you can't just sacrifice them," Iroha pleaded.
"Then you'd rather just have me give up? Resign ourselves to our inevitable fate? By stopping us you are dooming all Magical Girls, is that something you are willing to take responsibility for?"
"Well…" Iroha was having a hard time figuring out an answer. She knew the Magius were wrong for what they did, but… she couldn't bring herself to find an adequate solution to their problem either. "We'll find another way. We have to."
Touks scoffed. "Naive… I have found the best path for us Magical Girls and I'll drag us all there whether they want it or not." She turned to Yuma. "We will of course put the Magi to use. Females will be encouraged to Contract if they can and even the Males could make good assistants for us."
"You… you…" Yuma blinked. "What… what's going… on?"
"How's the tea?" Touka asked
Iroha barely had time to process Touka's words before she heard something smash next to her. She turned her head and saw that Yuma had dropped her teacup and had begun to fall off her chair. Iroha shot forward and was barely able to catch the girl before she hit the ground.
"Yuma. Are you okay?" Iroha checked on the girl only to find that she was unconscious. "What?"
"Don't worry. The Magius will take care of her." Iroha turned to Touka who had stepped off her chair and looked down at her. "And we'll make sure you're dealt with accordingly."
The entire world began to tilt around Iroha as she was hit by a sudden wave of nausea. "Touka, what did… you-" Iroha couldn't even find the strength to finish her sentence. She fell and landed next to Yuma, helpless as her eyes slowly closed.
"Have a nice dream," Touka said. Her cheerful voice was the last thing Iroha heard before she blacked out.
"Well, that was interesting," Nobunaga said as she casually walked up to the comatose girl and casually tapped her with a foot. "Certainly not a boring meeting."
"She's annoying," Touka said as several Black Feathers stood behind her. They stood out in the market and everyone nearby could see them. It wouldn't be an issue if they acted quickly though. Besides, hiding among the humans wouldn't be necessary soon enough. "Take her."
The Black Feathers did as they were commanded and quickly vacated the area with the bodies. Touka herself simply took a leisurely walk away before the authorities arrived. Any attempts from the humans to recognize or track her would fail, so she took this walk as a chance to clear her head while her Servant followed her.
"I should just kill her," Touka said. "She's somehow even worse than I expected."
"Mikuni also said that you should keep her alive," Nobunaga reminded her.
"Just because some of her information is good, doesn't mean all of it is. I still don't trust her, especially with how much she's hiding."
"Fair enough. People like her are dangerous. But they can still be useful."
"What do you think I should do with Tamaki then?"
"Keep her alive. Interrogate her. Figure out where she got all this information from. Whether or not you get something or not or she's just delusional, you can still just use her as bait for her other friends or simply feed her to your pet project if it's too much trouble."
Now that her head was cleared, Touka could see the logic behind Nobunaga's words. It was hard to argue with her, the Great Uniter was an excellent Servant and Consultant. It was because of her advice that the Magius's influence had spread throughout all of Kamihama and a good portion of Japan.
"It is a good plan," Touka admitted. "We do need to deal with her friends and if we do find that someone was using her against me, then we'll hunt them down too. No one gets away with trying to mess with my head. As for the other Magus we captured, she can be used as a hostage or a bargaining chip against that Archer Servant Oriko seems so obsessed with."
"That group of theirs will find us eventually. It's now simply a matter of how well we can prepare for them."
"Oh, we'll be ready for them." Touka twirled on feet and smiled beautifully at Nobunaga. "And we'll destroy them and anyone else that dares to interfere with my work."