Chapter 12: Eruption
I do not own PMMM or Magia Record. PMMM is own by AniplexNA. Magia Record is owned by f4Samurai
Two days later
Never before had such a colorful building felt so grey and dull, Hanna realized as she trudged towards her home of the last year. To no surprise, a certain foul mouthed woman was waited for her.
"Where have you been?" The caretaker spat in her face.
Hanna remained silent as she shoved her way into the gates of the Azalea house.
Two hands gripped her shoulders and spun her around. The crass caretaker glared at her. "Answer the question Sarasa!"
Hanna rolled her eyes, "Places."
"Miss Sarasa, you will answer me properly and with respect!"
Hanna was too tired to put up with the woman's jabs. "Shut up."
"Excuse me?"
"I said SHUT UP!"
Hanna felt a sudden burst of magic flare from her and froze. She glanced around, hoping no one would notice and paused. That's when she looked up at her caretaker…who had stiffened and straightened to attention.
That was weird. Hanna titled her head in confusion. Had the old hag just…listened to her?
"Umm…raise your arm up."
The woman stiffly raised her arm.
Hanna's eyes widened as she considered the possibilities. Come to think of it, she hadn't really thought about Mikoto Sena's magic up to this point. The ability to influence and control others. Her prior scan had indicated that Mikoto mostly used it on familiars, making them attack their mother witch. But…what if…you weren't restricted to just witches? What if…you could use them on…people?
She glanced back at the Azalea house. Hadn't she just wished that she could burn the damn place to the ground?
Now, that, was an idea. And it was a pretty damn funny one.
She took one step towards the house when she noticed something. She pulled out her soul gem and noticed the ever growing darkness creeping over the purple gem. Ahh…and she didn't have a grief seed. Well that sucked. She was probably going to witch out if she didn't find one soon. But…like…who would care? No one would miss her. And she would get to enjoy the greatest joke in her life! What a way to go out!
Once more, Yachiyo had found Mikazuchi's living room filled with magical girls. On the loveseat, Kanae and Mifuyu were sitting close to each other awkwardly as a certain brunette had totally violated their personal space and crammed herself into the couch, turning the two person couch into a three seater. On the larger couch, Momoko and her squad sat comfortably. Momoko was calm, but Rena and Kaede were clearly nervous being in the presence of so many magical girls. Karin was slumped on an armchair, red circles around her eyes, probably from lack of sleep. Figures Karin would have a lack of sleep. All attempts she's made to reach out to Karin had been met with no response. But she'd keep trying to connect to the purple haired girl.
Meanwhile, Homura stood on the far side of the room, conversing with the new blunette, Meiyui Chun. Honestly, while Yachiyo found the girl cordial at best, she had no idea what Homura saw in her for them to hit it off so quickly. But somehow, the raven haired model and the Chinese martial artist had hit it off well and had been chatting nonstop for the last two days.
She glanced around but couldn't find any sign of Hanna. She turned to Kanae. "Where's Sarasa?"
Kanae shrugged, "We asked her to come, but she said she needed to head home."
"Apparently, she's been having some conflicts with her caretakers." Mifuyu chimed in, "Which is a pity, when I visited a few years ago, the Azalea house was a warm and cheerful place."
Kanae frowned, "Apparently that must have changed."
Mifuyu pondered for a moment, "Once we're done here, I'll check in on her."
Yachiyo nodded, "Thank you."
Mifuyu chuckled, but her smile wasn't in it, "Of course Yach-chan. I've been meaning to visit. I've heard some interesting rumors around Mizuna and…I've been meaning to check it out."
With that out of the way, Yachiyo turned to the larger group. "If I could have everyone's attention."
Conversations died down as Homura and Meiyui joined the group.
"I'm sure you've heard the rumors, but here's the truth." Yachiyo explained, "There is a witch that can make familiar clones of magical girls."
She rolled out a map of Kamihama onto the coffee table. Taking a pen, she began to circle places in Kamihama. "So far, we've have incidents where magical girls have reported being attacked by other magical girls here, here, and here."
Momoko frowned, "Looks like they're all over the place."
Rena shuddered, "I'd hate to fight that."
Yachiyo sighed, "We're going to find this witch and defeat it. And we're going to work together."
She gestured to Momoko. "I want you, Kaede, and Rena to scour Mizuna ward and ask the local girls about labyrinths and familiars in the area. Every time you find one, call me and I'll add it to the map. If it's a normal familiar, go ahead and defeat it. If it's part of this witch, then retreat ajd call for help."
She turned to Tsuruno, "You are going to do the same in Sankyou ward."
Tsuruno nodded, "Leave it to the mightiest tracker!"
Karin frowned, "Just her?"
Yachiyo nodded, "Tsuruno should easily be able to handle herself in her home turf."
"What if I fight a clone of myself?" Tsuruno pondered aloud. "That would be the ultimate test of my skills!"
Yachiyo sighed, "Please don't. Avoid getting into unnecessary fights until we find the actual witch."
Tsuruno pouted, "Fine."
Mifuyu giggled as Yachiyo continued on. "Kanae and Mifuyu will be searching Sakae ward."
"Hanna will be joining us as soon as we finish here." Mifuyu chirped.
Yachiyo agreed, "Thanks. And Karin, you and I will be here doing map work. If anyone needs assistance, I'll be counting on you for as our speed reinforcements."
She turned to Homura and Meiyui. "Which leaves you two. I want the two of you in Chuo ward coordinating with Hinano and Kanagi. If we can get an estimate locations of where they're being attacked, we might be able to pinpoint witch's location."
Yachiyo turned to the larger group, "I know there's a lot going on. Everything is tense and honestly, a lot of us are very riled up. But there is a much larger threat out there, one that if left unchecked, it could destroy the balance of power in Kamihama."
With the collection of nods and half nods, Yachiyo handed each often a copy of her map. "Then let's get to work."
Homura leaped back as a rubber mallet slammed into the ground where she once stood. Running off sheer instincts, she vaulted over the girl's head and leveled her shotgun. With a single shot, the false magical girl's head splattered. Homura landed on both feet before her senses gave warning.
She ducked and froze time. As she glanced around, she uncomfortably recognized the form of Mami Tomoe pointing her musket at where her head previously had been. She moved out of the gun's trajectory and looked the girl over. It was unsettling just how perfect a copy the witch had managed to create. However, this wouldn't be the first time she put down a Mami Tomoe. She leveled her shotgun at the false magical girl and pulled the trigger.
Only nothing happened. Her surprise was enough to lose focus, causing time to resume. The false blonde seemed confused at the lack of Homura in her sights, but she reacted quickly, creating another musket and pointing at the raven haired girl.
Homura cringed and prepared to take a hit when suddenly, a set of steel claws pierced through the fake's chest, shattering the girl's soul gem. As the corpse crumpled to the floor, Homura looked up to see the blunette walking up to her. "You alright?"
Homura nodded, checking her shotgun. Sure enough, the gauge was out of canisters. "Thanks, I seem to have…ummm…"
"You ran out of ammo?"
Homura blushed awkwardly. "This…normally doesn't happen."
"It must be rough depending on mortal munitions. How do you restock?"
Homura raised her brow. No one really had asked her those questions before. Everyone just assumed she had an unlimited stash of weapons and bullets, like it was some kind of video game. "I normally raid Yakuza hideouts and make an occasional trip to a JSDF base near Yokohama."
The duo left the labyrinth and continued their journey towards Chuo Ward, leaping from roof top to roof top.
As they made their way, the blunette paused to catch a breath.
"Which Yakuza gangs?"
"Hmmm?"
"Which yakuza groups do you raid?"
"Why?" Homura asked.
She shrugged, "I was just curious. If you can focus on going after the Black Cinder gang or the Golden Daggers, my family would greatly appreciate it."
Now that was interesting. "You're new to Kamihama, but you're familiar with the gangs in the area?"
"I'm the heiress of the Blue Seas Family." Meiyui answered matter of factly.
Homura had encountered the Blue Seas family before. They had a decent amount of influence in Sankyou and Chuo wards. But…
"They're not really Yakuza though."
Meiyui chuckled, "We used to be, but the Kamihama branch has turned legit and only do protection services now. We're little more than just a neighborhood association."
She flashed a slight smirk to Homura, "But if you weaken some of the other groups, I'm sure the Blue Seas family would be very grateful. And generous."
"What are you suggesting?"
Homura was finding herself increasingly more intrigued with this blunette. Unlike some other blunettes she knew, Meiyui was pragmatic, street smart, and familiar with the world's darkness.
"Let's just say, the Blue Seas family of Kamihama may be nothing more than a neighborhood association, but our resources are still quite extensive, which may give us access to hardware…that your average Yakuza group doesn't have access to."
Homura returned the grin. She liked this girl. She liked her a lot.
"Hey…Yachiyo?"
Yachiyo put down her phone. "Yes Karin?"
Karin gazed uncomfortably at the floor. "Can..we talk?"
Yachiyo, recognizing the urgency, put down her pen and notepad as well. "Of course Karin. Actually I was hoping to talk to you."
Karin's shoulders jerked up in surprised, "Really?"
Yachiyo smiled, "You've been ignoring all of Homura and I's texts for the last two days. Honestly, we were getting worried."
"Oh…" Karin shifted nervously, "Sorry. I had…a lot of thinking to do."
"I know. That's why I was willing to wait until you were ready."
"Well…" Karin sighed, "We're strong aren't we?"
"I'm not sure how to respond to that. But we do work hard and have an impressive set of abilities."
Karin nodded, "So…that's how we're able to survive for so long."
Yachiyo's brow furrowed, "Where are you going with this?"
"It's just," Karin started, "We're so strong. We have training, good teammates, and a large territory. We can defeat witches. Collect grief seeds, and remove impurities from our soul gems."
Yachiyo frowned but nodded, "I suppose so. You've most certainly grown a lot in the year you've been with us."
"I know. Thanks. But what about all the other magical girls? They're barely making it by. They can't defeat witches, and even when they do, they never have enough grief seeds."
"It must be very difficult for them. It's why I try to manage our territory to ensure everyone has enough witches to hunt and defeat."
"But…that's not enough isn't it?"
Yachiyo frowned, "Karin…what are you implying?"
Karin was on a roll now, "There are plenty of magical girls who can't fight, who can't defeat Kamihama witches, and then they turn into witches themselves. It's a terrible cycle and continues to bring grief and despair!"
Yachiyo nodded, "I don't disagree with you, but-"
"But what?" Karin demanded, "There are girls who need our help! Girls who can't fend for themselves. We need to help them. To prevent them from turning into witches!"
"I understand that Karin, but what are you suggesting? We give them grief seeds?"
Karin nodded. "That would be a start!"
Yachiyo's face turned cold. "Karin. Are you suggesting that we become some grief seed distributing charity?"
Karin frowned, "Well just a few to help the weaker girls."
Yachiyo sighed, "Look Karin. I sorta understand where you're coming from. But the reality is, we don't have the resources to do that. It takes a lot of energy, time, and resources to hunt witches and we barely gather enough grief seeds to keep ourselves topped off."
She put her hand on the purple haired girl's shoulders. "We can't just give grief seeds away. We just can't afford to. But I promise. I'll do everything I can to help our girls survive."
She smiled softly, "You know, why don't we offer some training courses? Training some of the girls to be able to hunt their own witches."
Karin frowned, "But that doesn't solve the problem."
"Karin, the problem is much bigger than a couple of grief seeds." Yachiyo smiled, "I understand how you feel. But there's only so much we can do. And honestly, all of our plans will be ruined if this copies witch keeps thriving."
Karin sighed but nodded, "Ok."
Yachiyo moved over to the purple haired girl and pulled her into a hug. "After we defeat the copies witch, why don't we pick up this conversation again? We can bring everyone else in as well. And together, we can find a new solution."
Karin didn't move, but let herself be enveloped into the hug. "Ok…"
Yachiyo smiled and reached into her purse. To Karin's wide eyes, it was a grief seed. "Now I've been saving this for the fight, but I think you could afford an adjustment with the coordinator."
Karin reluctantly accepted the seed. "Thanks…I'll be back soon."
"Take care. And we'll let you know when we find this witch."
Karin exited the room and closed the door. As she gathered her belongings, an odd thought occurred to her. Didn't the coordinator accept payments of grief seeds from all of Kamihama's magical girls? And wouldn't that mean, the coordinator was sitting on a literal stockpile of grief seeds?
Interesting…
Mifuyu pressed her face against her girlfriend's back as the wind whipped as her cheeks. The roar of the motorcycle's engine vibrated through her skull. But she felt safe. Kanae was driving and she wouldn't let anything happen to her.
"Say, Kanae," Mifuyu started, "Do you believe in rumors?"
She couldn't see her face, but the annoyed tone told her everything. "No. Rumors are destructive tools that only hurt others."
Mifuyu could relate. "Have you heard the rumors about Hanna before?"
"Can't say I have. Is it connected to her past?"
"Yes. Hanna gets bullied a lot at school about it."
Kanae's back bristled in what Mifuyu could easily interpret as anger. "Is that so?"
"Hanna came from an abusive childhood. But suddenly, her parents committed suicide. Both of them, all at the same time." Mifuyu continued, "It's only thanks to their influence that she was able to attend Mizuna girl's academy. But many are convinced she's cursed and destructive."
"What do you think?"
Mifuyu frowned, "I think it's part of her wish. I think her wish caused the loss of her parents. And now she's free…or at least she should be."
"What do you mean?"
"I've heard of the Azalea house before. Used to be a wonderful children's home with a great director. My parents used to donate funds to them. But a few years aback, something weird happened. The director passed away and a new director took over. But the director was nowhere near the quality of the previous director. Or so the rumor has it."
Kanae's back was stiff and hard as Mifuyu felt the tensing of muscles against her face. She continued, "I've heard rumors about abuse there and budget cuts. My parents were convinced to withdraw their own support of the place and many others did as well. So when I found out Hanna was there and with how she's been treated at school, I've become very worried."
Kanae nodded, "Then we'd better hurry and get to the bottom of this."
Kanae revved the engine and the two drove off towards Sankyou.
The white and colorful walls of the compound loomed ahead of them as the two approached the house. To their surprise, there was a herd of children and teens milling about the entrance.
Mifuyu felt a sense of dread wash over her. "Kanae!"
The blonde understood, yanking on the breaks causing the motorcycle to screech to a halt. Mifuyu didn't even wait for the bike to stop, sliding off the back and running towards the crowd.
"What's going on here?" She called to the group.
The teenagers and children didn't respond. They didn't even look up at her. They just stood stiffly around the entrance.
Mifuyu frowned. She tired again, walking up to the oldest of the boys. "Pardon me, can you explain what's going on?"
The boy just gazed ahead, a dazed expression across his face.
A pair of strong arms grabbed his arms and shook him. "Hey!" Kanae jerked him, "She asked you a question. What's going on here?"
The dazed boy's head rolled around but mumbled something under his breath.
"Huh?" Kanae frowned, "say it again."
"M-must leave…m-must leave."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Mifuyu understood immediately. "He's been brainwashed."
Without hesitation, she took off in a dash towards the building.
Kanae put down the boy before chasing after her, "Brainwahsed? Mifuyu what do you mean? Wait for me-"
Mifuyu barely made it one step into the compound when she felt her magic senses flared up. She paused, looking up at the building in confusion.
"MIFUYU!" A body slammed into her, pushing her against the ground.
"KABLOOM!"
Mifuyu felt a wave of heat pass over her as the explosion roared. As she looked upwards, her eyes widened.
The beautiful Azalea house had erupted into fire, the hot flames flying into the sky. Mifuyu tried to pull herself up but the body atop of her was still pinning her down.
"HANNA!"
