Emma Sinclair was not used to leisurely breakfasts. She was used to waking up late for class, having unwisely ignored Anna's probing fingers and feet, and rushing off to try not to be yelled at by her instructor. Alternatively, she was used to scarfing down a meal with artillery in the background, before running off to a mission briefing or ducking for cover as enemy rounds got too close for comfort. She was not used to looking at her family's range at five in the morning and seriously considering the merits of frying up two eggs and four rashers of bacon, accompanied by two slices of toast and a mug of tea.

"Don't even think about it," said James Sinclair from his seat across the kitchen island. A mug of tea steamed quietly in front of him. Emma's mother, Catherine Sinclair, and sister, Anna Sinclair, nursed similar mugs, the latter still half asleep. "You never learned how to cook, and I like having the house smelling nice."

"Oh come off it," said Emma, rolling her eyes at her father, "It's not like I'd burn them that badly."

"Yes you would," said James blithely. He adjusted his tie. "We never taught you, and we all know those online courses are crap."

"The VR ones aren't bad."

"Yes, but you haven't spent any time this week learning how to cook," said Catherine. "So, no, neither your father, nor myself, trust you with the stove."

Emma snorted. While it was true that she'd spent the week either showing Mikoto around the city or hanging out with Anna and Ayumi, her parents didn't give her nearly enough credit. If nothing else, Emma could smell when something was about to burn and get it out of the fire and into the sink.

"Did you sleep at all, Emma?" asked Catherine.

"Nah, watched a few vids, chatted with some friends about random stuff." said Emma with a shrug. She turned around and leaned against the range, putting her hands in the pockets of a hoodie pulled from the closet in her bedroom. "You know how it is."

"I'm sure," said Catherine. She looked at her husband briefly, before turning back to Emma. "Well, it's good that you're keeping in contact. How is everyone doing?"

"They're alright," said Emma, shrugging again. "Most of them are busy dealing with some family stuff, but that's to be expected."

"Ah, yes," said James, nodding. "Well, it's not easy for us parents. I can see where they're coming from."

"Mm."

"Family stuff" was probably an understatement. James and Catherine had surprised Emma by being relatively restrained. Emma had expected some variety of melodrama, but she'd largely been left to her own devices. At the same time, many things that used to irritate Emma now held no meaning. Training and combat had made them seem irrelevant in the bigger scheme of things. Things were still quietly strained between Emma and her parents, if everybody was honest, but things were improving. Now that she didn't sleep, Emma had ended up finding herself around her parents a lot more. It was strange, since, in the past, they had always gone to work before Emma had woken up.

It was also strange seeing Anna in work clothes. The internship Anna had received was a sort of short-term thing that Anna's mentor had arranged for a bit of hands-on experience in certain concepts, and would be wrapping up in a few weeks. It was more of a job-shadow, in that respect, but everyone called it an internship since that was easier. It meant that Emma had the entertaining privilege of waking her sister up, occasionally with a zap of magic, and pushing her in the general direction of the closet.

"Emma, do you want my tea?" Anna asked as she nudged the mug in Emma's direction. "I'm going to have some coffee instead."

"It's getting late, Anna," said Catherine, "we need to be leaving soon."

"I know, I know," said Anna blearily. "I set the temperature lower."

The synthesizer beeped as Emma reached for the mug and took a sip. It was a bit sweeter than she liked.

"What were you doing to get this tired?" asked Emma.

"Work," Anna mumbled. "I have a report due today."

"Yeesh, they're working you pretty hard," said Emma. She waved a hand in the direction of the synthesizer and tugged the mug of coffee towards her with telekinesis. "Here."

"Thanks," said Anna, taking the coffee and drinking deeply.

"You know, caffeine tablets would work better," said James. "Absorb faster too."

Anna frowned at her father.

"That's a desperation move, Dad. I'm not that bad off yet."

"Uh huh. Says the girl who's about to fall out of her chair."

Anna made a displeased noise and drank the rest of her coffee, before standing up and swaying only slightly. "We should get going."

James chuckled as he straightened his tie again. "Emma, before we go, don't forget that we need to discuss the latest on the Shizuki situation later.

Emma sighed. "Do we have to?"

"Yes. I know it's not the most fun of conversations, but the sooner we come to a decision the better."

Emma sighed again. "Alright. After dinner?"

"That's probably the most convenient time for all of us," said Catherine. "Do you have a preference for some other time?"

"No, after dinner is fine. Mikoto will probably want to go do something, but I can figure something out."

"Very well," said Catherine, nodding. "In that case, have a good day Emma. We'll see you later."

"See you later Emma," Anna said, pausing on the way out to give Emma a hug. "Have fun today, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll try," said Emma. "Have fun at work."

"Heh, hopefully," said Anna. "I wish I could just get my implants upgraded so I didn't have to sleep. Honestly-"

"Anna, let's go," called James.

Anna huffed, and hugged Emma one more time. "Right, bye then."

The door clicked as it shut, leaving Emma alone in the kitchen. She sighed, and sipped her tea.

"Oi, Mikoto," said Emma, poking her head into her room. "Wake up."

"Mnnhghh," moaned Mikoto, blinking blearily at Emma before pulling the blankets over her head. "Nuuuu…"

"C'mon, it's not like you actually need the sleep," said Emma, rolling her eyes as she opened the door fully. "I already let you sleep the entire night."

Mikoto mumbled something unintelligible and rolled herself off of Emma's bed. She hit the ground with a thunk, then transformed in a flicker of green. Still groaning, Mikoto clambered to her feet, squeezed her eyes shut, and pushed the sleep out of her body with another flicker of green. The blankets and sheets were rearranged on Emma's bed a moment later.

"It was only six hours," said Mikoto as she detransformed. "And I was having a nice dream!"

"Yeah yeah," said Emma, turning and heading for the front door. "Come on, we should try and get an early start on the day."

"Oh, that's right," said Mikoto. She jumped to her feet and hurried after. "I'm signing up for classes today!"

"Yup," said Emma. "I'll bet the place gets busy quick, so we'll-"

She paused. Mikoto had stopped walking. Emma turned around to see Mikoto standing in the hall, staring out the living room window at the sunrise-splashed view of transport pipes criss-crossing the airspace.

"Hey, come on," said Emma, poking Mikoto mentally. "Don't get distracted."

"Sorry," said Mikoto, flushing a little as she hurried over.

"Anyway, I was going to take you out for breakfast," said Emma, stepping into her shoes. "We've spent most of the week eating at home, and it's about time you experienced breakfast on a rooftop."

"Ooo, that sounds cool!" said Mikoto with a little bounce of excitement. "Where at?"

"It's out on the MSY Corridor," said Emma as Mikoto put on her shoes. "It's called Kitsetsu no Izakaya, and does this neat thing where they have these trays of produce growing out of the tables. The food is harvested and cooked for you right there."

Mikoto's eyes widened. "At your table, even?"

"Apparently."

"That sounds amazing!"

"It's what they say on their site at least," said Emma with a shrug. "Do you have everything you'll need?"

"Yeah!"

"Let's get going then."

"Oh wow, we're so high!" Mikoto said in awe. "And we're only halfway up?"

"Yup."

Emma couldn't help but grin as Mikoto pressed her nose against the elevator window. There were faster ways of getting to the restaurant, but Emma had thought it appropriate, given the audience, to take the "scenic elevator". It was something most people on Earth didn't bother with, since they were used to the views already.

"The skyscrapers in Helsinberg never got this high," said Mikoto. "I think the biggest is a hundred stories?"

"Yeah, we started on floor seven hundred-something," said Emma. "We've been this high before when we visited the Art Museum though, remember?"

"Yeah but there wasn't a view like this," said Mikoto. "I can see the entire MSY Corridor from this angle!"

"Well, yes, to be fair, this view is pretty rare," said Emma. "Most of the places in the city don't get views quite this spectacular."

"Really? That's too bad."

"Yeah, I know. Still, there's a reason why this place is unusually costly to go to. That and the crazy way they prepare the food."

"How much is it?"

"Ehhh, something like a hundred allocs a person," said Emma.

Mikoto blinked, then gasped. "That's, like, more than a thousand Samsaran credits!"

"Well, yes," said Emma, shrugging. She reached out and tousled Mikoto's hair as the younger girl stammered in shock. "But given that I currently have about a month's backpay sitting in my account, I thought I'd treat you."

"But you've already paid for everything I've been doing!"

"Sure, but we'll be getting busy soon," said Emma, sighing. "After you sign up for classes, you have to get your housing sorted, and not to mention I have my own classes I want to talk to the advisor about."

"Oh," said Mikoto. Her expression dimmed. "I forgot."

"Well, we'll try and make time," said Emma soothingly. She patted Mikoto on the head again. "Don't worry too much about it."

Mikoto nodded. The elevator dinged.

"So what was your favorite part about the week?" Emma asked as they exited onto the wide patio that served as the restaurant's entrance. The maitre'd's podium, complete with holographic maitre'd in a tuxedo, was off to one side. The waiting area was a small fountain, surrounded by vegetable plants in actual soil imported from a biological preserve. Emma's implants told her the plants were sweet pea and zucchini, growing along bamboo frames.

"Hmmm," mused Mikoto as the maitre'd led them to a table for two, out on the deck that suspended them over open air. "I would definitely say the aquarium. We don't have anything like that in Helsinberg, and it's so expensive to go out to the coast for vacation."

"Last night you said the magical opera was the best thing," said Emma, grinning as Mikoto nodded.

"It was!"

"Then which was better, the aquarium or the opera? Or maybe the theater and its VR vids?"

Mikoto pouted. "Stop making fun of me!"

The restaurant's existence, Emma decided, was purely because many people thought actually hand-grown vegetables were novel and interesting. The food was acceptable at best, despite the theatricality of a cook coming out to their table with a wheeled cooktop and harvesting their breakfast on the spot from a tray of plants growing in hydroponic jelly.

"So have you thought about your living arrangements?" Emma asked Mikoto.

Mikoto nodded and swallowed her mouthful of omelette. The eggs were also from actual hens, something that Emma found mildly disgusting, but which Mikoto assured was "perfectly normal, what are you talking about?"

"I think I'll try living in a suite," she said, cutting off another piece of omelette and speared it with her fork.

"What are you considering?"

"Well, there's this one where it's just a two bedroom with shared living space and kitchen," said Mikoto. She popped the piece of omelette into her mouth and continued, "which is nice because you get your own room. But-"

"Swallow, Mikoto."

Mikoto rolled her eyes at Emma and swallowed before continuing. "But the MSY says you should try living with more people, so I was thinking that maybe I should apply for a four-person?"

"What's the four-person arrangement like?" asked Emma. The tomato was deeply colored, the vibrant red juice soaking into the crumbly filling as Emma sliced half of the tomato into smaller pieces.

"There's two different kinds," said Mikoto. "You can either have four people with four different rooms or have two to a room and only two bedrooms. The living room and kitchen are basically the same, from what I can tell."

"Huh. That's interesting. Which one do you have a preference for?"

Mikoto made an indecisive noise. "Well, I do like having my own room, but the pamphlet says that the two-to-a-room arrangement is cheaper, which is nice."

"Well, it's good to practice being thrifty," said Emma. She scooped up a bite of tomato.

"You say while paying for breakfast," said Mikoto, rolling her eyes again. "I can't believe it costs that much."

Emma rolled her eyes back at Mikoto and continued in telepathy as she chewed. "You've got plenty of allocs, of course, but it's no good if you're used to blowing it all the time."

"Yeah, of course," said Mikoto, setting her cutlery down to stare thoughtfully into space. "And I guess it would be nice to make friends."

"Not to mention, training is done in two-a-room housing," said Emma. She scooped up a second piece of tomato. "If you got used to it now, that'd be helpful later. Four people is also the standard squad size in combat, and it'd be really helpful to get used to that sort of relationship dynamic early."

"Hmm," murmured Mikoto. She ate another piece of omelette and chewed in contemplative silence. Emma took the opportunity to demolish the remainder of her tomato and trick herself into thinking her eggs, over medium, came from a synthesizer.

"I think I'll go for the two-a-room arrangement," said Mikoto eventually. "It sounds like it'd be useful. Thanks for the help."

"No problem."

Apart from the novelty, Kisetsu no Izakaya was also just a few blocks, and twelve levels above, MSY Careers and Education. Other buildings in the area included MSY Housing, the MSY's War Memorial, and the Church of Hope, the last of which had a variety of multicolored tents in its gardens for some reason. The atrium window at MSY Careers and Education caught all of it within its view, making for a spectacular, if somewhat unsettling, sight as Emma sipped the complimentary coffee.

It was surreal, standing here, after everything that had happened on Samsara. She kept expecting the sound of rain hitting windows, or an explosion to shake the floor. She found herself instinctively scanning the buildings for snipers, or places to put snipers. But instead, the mid-morning sun glinted off of polyglas and metal, harmless beams bouncing and scattering through the air. The air was cool and refined, the floors polished and clean, and the people around her stressed only if they chose to be.

Her and Mikoto's appointment came up. They were ushered through a series of hallways to one of the many academic advisors the MSY had on staff. MSY Careers and Education had started long, long ago, when the MSY had finally started being more than just some girls banding together for mutual support. Now it was its own entire bureaucracy, and had the staffing to match.

The advisor they spoke to was named Kim Young-mi. An older magical girl, she wore a pair of wire-rimmed glasses and had her hair tied in a severe-looking bun. Being part of MSY Careers and Education exempted her, technically, from combat, but according to Emma's surreptitious look-up, Young-mi had also been part of the earliest fighting against the squid. Impressive.

"Given the current situation, it's recommended that you go through the pre-war training sequence," Young-mi told Mikoto. "The focus is on demon hunting and power development, as well as basic self-repair and soul gem management. The purpose of the course is to allow you to slot well into a demon hunting team on a long term basis. Information important for combat will be covered in your basic training, after you turn thirteen."

"Okay," said Mikoto. "But, what if I've been on a few demon hunts already?"

"Then you'll have a small advantage in the class," said Young-mi, shrugging. "Most girls who manage to contract in the middle of combat, if they survive, end up in a similar situation. You should still take the coursework in order to formalize what you already know and fill in any gaps you didn't know you needed filled. If it really is mostly just a rehash of things you already know, then you can also work with tutors on specific gaps and get course completion credit."

"Oh. Okay."

"This aside, you should also be thinking about specialized coursework," continued Young-mi. "As a summoner, you have many future options for growth and development. I have sent you a list of possible specializations within your magical girl class."

Mikoto nodded. "Can I work on my, um, civilian coursework while attending magic classes? I was studying graphic design before I contracted and I'd like to continue doing so."

"It's possible, but requires discipline," said Young-mi. "It is also debatably useful for you. As a magical girl, your conscription lasts thirty years. Many girls are able to maintain their pre-contract interests, but just as many drift away."

"What are your, um, personal opinions?"

"Well, speaking strictly off the record," said Young-mi as she took off her glasses. "Due to our immortality, my view is that we have plenty of time to further our mundane education later, but only so long as we survive combat. Personally, I would focus on magical studies first, get through my conscription, and then return to civilian pursuits."

She put her glasses back on and leaned back in her chair. "Of course, it's all up to you in the end."

Mikoto bit her lip indecisively for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. I think I'll start that basic training you mentioned, and see how that goes for now?"

Young-mi nodded. "We'll have your information processed and class assignment ready in a day or two. You'll be jumping in a few weeks into the trimester, but you should be up to speed relatively quickly. A lot of the beginning of class is getting a grasp of your instincts, and if you were part of the garrison at Samsara you'll have at least some of that already. Sound good?"

"Yes!"

"As for you, Miss Sinclair," said the Advisor. "Your situation is also fairly common. A lot of veterans in your position focus on extending their understanding of topics related to their powers, but for you specifically I would recommend looking into broadening your skillset."

"Er, okay," said Emma. "Why?"

"In general, the MSY likes their magical girls to have a certain amount of breadth," said Young-mi. "Your combat experiences have forced you to focus on high damage throughput, which is fine in the short run. However, your career will be better served if you can learn some more rudimentary skills, as a jumping point for later development. And of course, there's plenty to learn in terms of combat specializations."

"Ah, okay," said Emma, nodding. It made sense. "How should I select my classes?"

"Well, it's generally considered a good idea to begin by following a curriculum slanted towards a certain career track," said Young-mi. "I've forwarded you a list of tracks the MSY's servers think make sense for you. You could also do a more generalized survey curriculum, which is useful for getting a feel of what's available. If you don't really have any idea what you want to do in the future, that would be your best option. For all the options, however, you'll want to take several course on the sorts of physics which compliment your powers. I've taken the liberty of forwarding a list of those to you as well."

Emma nodded. "Alright, that sounds good."

"Are there any other questions I can answer for you two?" asked Young-mi. Emma and Mikoto shook their heads. "Very good. In the future, if you have any questions, you can contact me directly, or any of the other advisors here in MSY Careers and Education."

MSY Housing was a few levels down and got Mikoto's housing application sorted relatively quickly. The Church of Hope was the other housing option in Mitakihara, as a matter of course, and the rooms there were open to secular girls just as much as they were to the religious. They were, however, still affiliated with the Cult, and Mikoto was leery of associating herself with anything religious. It was what it was, Emma supposed, though she'd have preferred it if Mikoto were to live on Church premises.

MSY Housing was more general, servicing the whole of Mitakihara City, as well as cross-service with Kasamino, Sendai, and the like. There were a few different ways of going about applying for housing, but ultimately Mikoto had decided to wait until she got a roommate match and move into whatever was available. She'd also decided to narrow the field to like-powers only on the salesperson's suggestion, the hope being that she could collaborate with others with similar powersets.

"Well, with that taken care of, do you want lunch first, or shopping?" asked Emma as they headed for the elevators. "We've got the rest of the day open either way, although we need to be back in time for dinner."

"I think lunch," said Mikoto, arms behind her back contemplatively. "I don't feel like shopping right now."

"Any preferences?" asked Emma.

"Not really."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, fair enough then."

Emma keyed the elevator and pulled up a list of nearby food options. It was a fairly typical list for Mitakihara: various multi-cultural places that fused everything into a flavorful mishmash, mixed with just as many hyper-traditional restaurants that frowned at you for not wearing a kimono to dinner. A few were flagged as being "magical girl friendly", something that Emma found vaguely demeaning. It wasn't as if her gem was going to go critical because she had some bad takoyaki or something.

There was one thing that caught her eye though.

"Say, it turns out the Church of Hope is holding some sort of festival," said Emma as their elevator arrived. "You want to check it out?"

Mikoto gave her a dubious look as they stepped into the elevator. "Like, a religious thing?"

"I don't think so," said Emma. She checked her calendar. "Yeah, no, there's no special events today. Besides, I promised you I wouldn't try and convert you."

"Well, fair enough I guess," said Mikoto, still giving Emma a mildly suspicious eye. "They have food there?"

"Apparently," said Emma, shrugging. "Probably just a bunch of stuff you can eat off a stick, but you never know."

"I guess," said Mikoto. "Well, if you promise it's not a religious thing-"

"Seriously Mikoto, I swear-"

"-then I guess we can check it out," said Mikoto. "But if someone tries to like, tell me about my lady and saviour, I'm getting the hell out."

Emma held back a laugh. "Yeah, fair enough."

"Okay, I have no idea how they managed to pull this off," said Mikoto later, "but I'm not going to question it because it's fucking delicious."

"Don't swear," said Emma, swatting Mikoto gently as they both tucked into what could only be described as the unholy love child of a sushi bar and a tempura stall. They each had a tower of tempura, served over wide bowls of sushi rice and slices of sashimi, then drizzled with some sort of soy-sauce based condiment.

Mikoto stuck her tongue out at Emma and bit into a piece of tempura shrimp. "You swear constantly though."

"Eat your food," Emma replied, poking Mikoto in the side and drawing a squeal from the younger girl. "Heh."

"Meanie," Mikoto pouted, before returning to her food.

The festival was apparently a secular event that the Church did entirely for PR. It was a big annual production, intended to make them seem accessible and not crazy. Unfortunately, the choice this year to have the volunteers and staff dress in shrine-maiden robes had something of the opposite effect. Mikoto had nearly turned away at the gates before the magical girl on duty had assured them that it was just a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, and no they weren't going to try and brainwash everyone into praising the Goddess.

Emma had been tempted to say a grandiose prayer over their lunches as a result, but decided not to push her luck.

"I can't believe that yakisoba-baguettes exist though," said Mikoto, now progressing onto the sashimi. "Like, really? Who thought that was a good idea?"

"Well judging by the line, a lot of people," said Emma. She gave the stall in question a considering look. "Do you think it's worth the line?"

"Ew, no," said Mikoto, scrunching her nose at the thought. "Just… ew. So much ew."

"Heh, fair enough," said Emma. She crunched into a mushroom. "So, the two-person rooms come with a bed already, so we don't have to buy that for you. What about-"

"Nyehhh, let's just go shopping tomorrow," said Mikoto, waving her hand dismissively. "Can we stay and see more things in the festival instead?"

Emma raised an eyebrow.

"You're not afraid of someone trying to convert you?"

"Well…" said Mikoto, looking awkward. "I mean, yes, but there's that stall over there selling hand-made mochi, and there's going to be an archery competition later too that I want to watch, and there's also that weird competitive juggling thing that I want to try, so could we stay for awhile please?"

Mikoto gave Emma her best doe eyes.

"...Fine, we'll stay," sighed Emma. She rolled her eyes as Mikoto squealed and crushed Emma in an over-enthusiastic hug. "But we have to leave in time to meet my parents for dinner, so choose wisely, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem!" said Mikoto excitedly. She began scarfing down her lunch and switched over to telepathy. "I wanna try and catch one of those bee drones, it shouldn't be too hard since I'm a magical girl right?"

"Whoa, slow down," said Emma, putting a restraining hand on Mikoto's shoulder. "Look, yes, it'll be a bit of fun, and probably not too challenging, but we do still have six hours. Relax."

"But Emma-!"

"Yes, I know, but still, six hours, Mikoto."

"But-!"

"Six hours."

"Fine," sighed Mikoto dramatically, eating her food at a normal pace again. "Jeez, you're no fun."

It turned out that the bee drones were actually ladybugs. Very fast ladybugs that flew just out of easy jumping height, making you try and think of something clever to reach them. Of course, Emma was part of the group of girls who either had a powerset that made this sort of thing easy, or were old enough to know a few tricks. It was, however, prime entertainment for the spectators, and Emma had enough blackmail stills of Mikoto to last decades.

"Excuse me miss, but could I interest you in a pamphlet about the Cult?"

Emma turned as a shrine maiden, looking somewhat embarrassed, offered a digital pamphlet.

"Ah, sorry, I'm actually already part of the Cult," said Emma, smiling at the shrine maiden. Her name, it seemed, was Lin Ogino. "Thank you though."

"Oh, thank the Goddess," said Lin, looking very relieved. "I was afraid I would have to make the speech."

"Heh, not much for formal speaking?"

"No, not at all," said Lin. "I'd rather work quietly in the chapel, but Kyouko personally pushed me out the door. She said I should um, make some more friends, or something."

Emma chuckled. "Well, that's a pretty big push. Do you work here?"

"Yes! Well, volunteering, but same difference."

"Ah. I was wondering, could you tell me about some of the services you guys have here?"

"Oh, of course! The most important are Kyouko's sermons, of course, and are every Friday afternoon at one o'clock. You can always watch a recording when convenient for you."

Emma nodded, making a note on her calendar to visit the upcoming Friday if she could manage it.

"Then there's the counseling and teaching staff who lead theological studies," continued Lin. "They're really great if you want to learn more details about the Goddess. It's all based off of visions and what Homura left behind before she disappeared, which you can read about in the Church Archives. We also have a really big secular library, though that's just sort of there. The Church also serves as a sort of military base, so there's plenty of facilities for practice. We also have rooms in the Church Dormitories available for rent, if you want to live here."

"Heh, like a nunnery then?" asked Emma.

"Not at all," said Lin, going a little red. "The uh… well, let's just say the rumor mill here is very much in operation."

Emma blinked, then laughed awkwardly. "Ah, I uh, I see. A-anyway…"

"Yes, anyway," said Lin, hurrying along. "Um, the last thing I should mention is the Ribbon. It's sort of controversial, so I always save it for last, but it's the source of all the visions, and there's always a huge line to get in to see it. According to Homura, the Ribbon was a personal gift from the Goddess. If you believe the stories, of course, which you might not."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Is that a common thing, among members of the Cult?"

"Well, no," granted Lin. "But well, you're new, and um, I guess it's part of the standard spiel?"

"Er, alright, fair enough."

"Anyway, since you're already a member, I'd recommend giving the Ribbon a visit before you leave today," said Lin, smiling again. "Even if it doesn't grant you a vision, and the vast, vast majority of girls just see a piece of cloth, to be clear, it's still a big deal."

Emma checked her chronometer. "How long's the wait?"

"Er, something like an hour I think, last I checked."

"I better get going then," said Emma. "Thanks for the help, Lin."

"No problem, it was my pleasure!" said Lin with a smile. She immediately frowned again. "But now I have to go talk to more people…"

"Eh, you'll be fine," said Emma, giving Lin an encouraging slap on the shoulder. The other magical girl smiled and nodded.

"Thanks," she said, before wandering off in search of someone else to proselytize to. Emma turned back to the bug-catching game and found that Mikoto had disappeared.

"Hey, Mikoto, where'd you go?" asked Emma over telepathy.

"Ah, I made some new friends and we're playing a game," said Mikoto, her telepathy hurried. "It's kind of difficult."

"Cool, you going to be okay on your own then?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm going to go be crazy and religious, unless you want to come with?"

"Ew, no. See ya."

Emma snorted. Kids. "Yeah, see ya."