Sitting in the living room couch with a cup of coffee in her hand, Miss Narita drummed her fingertips on her table in thought as a nearby lamp cast some light on her work. Writing down and signing some paperwork for the school in the middle of the night, Takuya and Tomura had already gone to bed while the school nurse had decided to stay up longer for the night. She had business to tend to and someone to meet as Narita did her work while she waited.

Narita brought her warm mug to her lips and paused when she heard the sound of a car parking outside, its headlights shining through her house's shut windows as the nurse placed down her mug and switched on a the ceiling lights for some extra brightness. Levering herself from her couch, she unlocked the front door and opened it up to see the last Warlock Hunter, Kai, parked in her driveway, "There you are," she said, arms folded, "I was wondering when you would show up."

The young Warlock Hunter's eyes were red with exhaustion when they met the school nurse's, grey spots under his eyes and his hair an absolute mess. The military fatigues she said had last seen him wear were replaced with a set of civilian clothing, but the young man still reeked of rations and sweat. He looked like he had not gotten any sleep for days as he quietly greeted the nurse and walked in. Dropping himself on the couch, he muttered a small "Thank you" when Narita passed him a small mug of coffee to pick himself up.

Narita sat down on a small armchair opposite of him and suppressed a yawn before speaking, "So, what did you want to talk about? I heard from Mirai that her father - your commander - went missing a few days ago. She's been worried sick, and I haven't heard anything from you or your other teammates either."

Kai took out a pack of cigarettes from his back-pocket, something the nurse gave up long ago and now resented, and gestured the nurse for permission to smoke. Narita simply nodded and he placed one between his lips to light with a little match stick, "Yeah, she's been asking me about him lately, too," he extinguished the match with a wave and threw it in the trash, puffing out some smoke, "But, I can't tell her where he went. Otherwise..."

Narita narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Don't tell me he's-"

"He's dead," Kai suddenly spat, not meaning to sound as angry as he did as the school nurse flinched, "Sorry. It's just - a few days ago, we tracked one of those things around the city. Then, at one point, the commander just disappeared without a trace; no bodies, the van they used was gone and no one knew where he had gone. The last person to see the commander was Mirai, on the very night they disappeared," Kai's shaking hand held his cigarette between his fingertips as he ran a hand through his shaggy hair, "I always think to myself that they're alive, but I just know that those things got to them."

Grimacing, Narita placed her mug on the table and leaned her chin on her hand, "So, what now? Nothing's happened since then, right? Can't you do anything?"

"I don't know. I just don't know," Kai lowered his head in defeat, "Right now, all we should do is stay low and stay out of trouble. We bit off more than we could chew already, and now my entire team is dead because we decided to hunt these things again. We never should have tried," finishing the coffee she gave him, Kai handed the empty mug to her and suddenly got up, rubbing his sore eyes, "I'm going. I still got some things to do; you're still carrying that thing we gave you, right?"

"Of course. I locked it in my safe," Narita gestured to the one behind her couch and Kai gave a satisfied nod.

"Good. Watch over it," placing his cigarette between his lips again, the young Warlock Hunter made his way to the door with Narita behind him, "I've locked up our old Hunter base in the outskirts; spent all day securing everything," he placed a hand on the doorknob and looked at Narita, "In the meantime, I guess I'll be taking care of Mirai and file a Missing Persons report instead for the commander. Stay safe. And stay out of trouble."

As quick as he came, the Warlock Hunter left the house and closed the door behind him on the way out. Frowning, Narita laid back in her chair and sighed as she heard his car engine start up. Hearing his car go, the school nurse wondered if they really were safe as Narita switched off the lights and went back to her work.

March 25th, Monday morning and a start of a new week for everyone. The stale air of the school gymnasium was filled with Makoto's instructional shouting and loud crashing from his Gym members tossing each other around as they trained for the upcoming local tournament. Being split into pairs to spar with each other, Tateyama and Hideki were among the trainees as Makoto watched from the bleachers with a clipboard in hand; he was the only one that wasn't dressed in a P.E outfit or covered in cold sweat as he monitored his trainees carefully.

The first practice session was basic hand-to-hand combat, Hideki's favorite as his fists eagerly swung through the air in an attempt to find an opening in Tateyama's guard. The white-haired boy's arms raised in defense, Tateyama blocked two more quick jabs before he ducked underneath a right hook and rammed his elbow his Hideki's stomach, causing Hideki to reel back coughing and groaning, "You're too open, Hideki," Tateyama pointed out, regaining the distance between him and Hideki.

"Y-Yeah. Ugh. I noticed," Hideki dryly murmured, rubbing his abdomen and remembering the pain that Zed had gave him when the Warlock did a similar blow to him. Fists back up, Hideki huffed and started pacing around the still and guarded Tateyama. He could see that their performance had at least been satisfactory for Captain Makoto so far, judging from the quick glances Hideki gave to the captain, "Right. Let's try that again."

Hideki then zipped around Tateyama, his quick fists pounding on Tateyama's defense like he did before. Throwing another right hook, Tateyama ducked underneath it and shot out his elbow to strike, only for the blow to slide pass Hideki as he side-stepped the attack and grabbed Tateyama's arm. Hideki shouted a loud battle-cry as he then threw Tateyama over his shoulder and slammed him down on the mat at their feet with a loud crash, "Gotcha!" Hideki smirked while he dusted his hands, "How was that-?"

Tateyama's legs swiped him off his feet and caused him to land face-first on the mat, Tateyama getting up to dust himself off before helping Hideki back up. Taking his hand as Hideki stood back up, Tateyama gave him the faintest hint of a sly smile Hideki had ever seen and said, "You're too open," he repeated in a more teasing manner that made Hideki blow a raspberry in response.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I won, anyway."

After practice was done, the pair were the first to head to the locker room to change back into their uniforms for lunch break. The locker room reeked of sweat as always as the two took off their P.E uniforms, "I noticed something," Tateyama spoke up, Hideki looking back at him in response and noticing Tateyama's toned body in the process. It was a bit distracting considering how thin he looked when wearing clothing, "Takehito. He's avoiding us. Ever since we got in the team, he doesn't even get near you."

Not caring for the bully ever since he beat him and got them both on the team at the same time, Hideki gave a nonchalant shrug and started buttoning up his uniform, "Eh. I prefer it that way. Really, I kinda forgot about him ever since we started our training with Sanbey," he tossed his sweaty P.E clothes in his bag and zipped it up before rolling a sore shoulder, "We got better thing to focus on anyway," once he was done, he waited for Tateyama as he was still dressing up, "Still, it felt satisfying giving him a taste of his own medicine. Now here we are, on the team, just like we always wanted."

Tateyama slowly nodded in agreement and avoided showing him the smile that he had on his face as closed his locker door.

Now that lunch-break was here, the two picked up some food from the canteen and headed back to the Freelancer club-room to meet up with Takuya and Mamoru. The hallways were crowded with students eager to eager to get some lunch, so the two took a longer, but much more quieter route through the third-year's classroom section instead. Their footsteps echoing through the corridors, there was barely anyone in the classes as most students had gone out for lunch. Hideki and Tateyama bantered on who would win in a fight between Thor and Iron Man, until the latter's sharper senses noticed Tomoe Mami still sitting in her classroom.

Tateyama practically rushed off in the direction of her classroom and Hideki had to pick him the pace to catch up to him. Alone in by herself, Tomoe was quietly doing some paperwork when Tateyama knocked on the door, "Tomoe?" she looked up at him and gave a welcoming smile, "We're meeting up with Takuya and Mamoru lunch. Do you want to join us?" he quickly said, almost fumbling his words and forcing Hideki behind him to suppress a chuckle.

"Oh, of course," Tomoe was pleasantly surprised by the two's sudden offer and appearance as she clacked her files together on the table and put away her pen. Taking out her lunchbox from her bag, Tateyama wondered if she was going to eat here alone at first if they had not arrived. Whatever the answer was, he didn't want Tomoe to be all by herself, "Where are we eating, the roof?" she asked as she joined the two on their way back to the club-room.

"Our club-room," Hideki answered, "We always have lunch there, since it's a pretty quiet place. Well, usually."

Tomoe chuckled, "It certainly sounds nice."

Heading out of the third-year's classrooms, the three entered the hallways leading to the club-rooms, the annual passerby usually either some member of the Art Club with some paint supplies or a pair from the Book Club carrying stacks of books from the library. Hands in his pockets, Hideki couldn't help but smile cheekily as Tomoe and Tateyama talked back-and-forth between each other about things school, sweets and deserts; some teasing to kill some time sounded fun, "So, 'Teyama, you still wanna head back to the club-room, or do you wanna head off with Tomoe for some alone time?"

The two looked at him with red on their cheeks, "I-I just wanted to give Tomoe some company. It's n-nothing like that," Tateyama defensively claimed, getting a chuckle from both Tomoe and Hideki as the boy hid his face behind his large bangs out of embarrassment. Hideki would have gone further, but he instead chose to spare him some mercy. Seeing him act like this was gold, though, and looking at Tomoe, she didn't seem to mind the teasing at all.

Finally at the club-room, Tomoe gave a curious gaze at their shoddy-looking door which was still dirtied with dry paint, gum and other unmentionables, "We really need to get that fixed," Hideki said as he put a hand on the knob, "Well, welcome to the Freelancer club, Tomoe. I think you'll find it nice here," opening the door, the two let Tomoe in first and she appreciated the gesture. Following from her from behind, they closed the door behind them.

Inside the club-room, Takuya and Mamoru were oddly absent as the three placed their things on the table. The club-room also seemed to have been cleaned recently, to Tateyama's relief since he didn't want their place to look like a pigsty in front of Tomoe. The shelves were dusted clean, all plastic containers on the table were disposed off, and the air didn't smell like food. Takuya must have done some spring cleaning as usual.

Tomoe curiously eyed the shelves, the woodcraft displayed on them catching her gaze due to the wide variations of craft done by the Protector Servorum leader himself, "Tezuka crafted these?" she guessed while running her hand on the shelf, Tateyama answering her with a nod as he waited for her to sit down while Hideki had already dropped himself in his chair and started chowing down, "Very nice," Tomoe murmured, patting her hand on a piece that had been carved out into the shape of a doll.

As she placed the small craft back in its position, Takuya then came bursting through the door with the grace of a rhino, making her nearly jump in fright while the other two barely reacted at all, "Hey Hideki! Tateyama! Tomoe! Good afternoon!" Takuya greeted them in his usual volume and placed his lunch box on the table before spinning around, "Watch my lunch for me, okay? I'm going to and pick up Tomura. See ya!" closing the door shut behind him, the place was now suddenly very quiet.

Hideki nonchalantly slurped on some noodles as Tomoe looked impressed by the amount of energy the brunette had, "He looks very happy today," Tomoe mused, sitting down with Tateyama and opening her lunchbox.

"He's always like that," Tateyama pointed out, having been used to the brunette's bustling enthusiasm. Unwrapping his lunch, the three then ate their lunch while discussing about the Witch hunting they will be doing later.

Meanwhile, in the Student Council room, the slow ceiling fan above Mamoru and Minami lazily spun above their heads as the two sat at the main table. Whilst Mamoru sat cross-legged and calmly glanced out the window beside him to see the city in the distance, Minami lied her head on the table, rubbing her forehead and letting out low groans of pain from the hangover, headaches and stomachaches she was suffering from. A horrible combination, Mamoru thought, as he looked at the loads of unfinished paperwork in front of Minami.

Unsure of whether to sympathize with the council president or not, Mamoru didn't expect Minami's tolerance for alcohol to be that weak. He had lost count on how much they had drank yesterday, so he couldn't remember if they drank that much, or if Minami just couldn't handle it. Maybe it was because of his Puerum Magi body that he wasn't suffering from the same symptoms Minami had right now? Their new body was much stronger than a normal human being after all.

Taking a pitcher of water from a nearby shelf and pouring some into a cup, Mamoru slid the glass over to Minami, "Here, drink up. This will help with the pain if you keep drinking some water," Mamoru advised, watching with a half-amused, half-wincing smirk as the council president grabbed the glass and downed it all in one go. He had left the pitcher on the table, so she refilled the glass with some more water.

"Jesus Christ in a hand-basket," Minami groaned, a hand clutching her head as she winced, "It's a school day and I look like an absolute mess. Heh. You must be enjoying yourself, seeing me of all people like this," she said dryly before she downed another glass.

"Perhaps. I would be lying if I said I didn't find this quite amusing," Mamoru chuckled to himself as Minami rolled her eyes and drank another glass of water. Clearing his throat, Mamoru looked at the mountains of paperwork in front of them and curiously picked up one to read, "Paperwork for the tournament?"

"Yeah. Everything you see on the table," Minami mumbled, looking disinterested with her work the more she looked at all the signing meant for her on the table. Sighing, Minami lazily refilled her glass while taking a pen out of a nearby cup of stationary, "School's been having problems with the budget lately. I swear, every year, it's the same goddamn problems I have to deal with," she grumbled, muttering something incoherent under her breath as her hand proceeded sign papers left and right like an autonomous machine.

Mamoru raised a brow, then said, "If you're having money problems, I could certainly help with that."

Minami paused, then gave him a curious gaze, as if he just said that he had saw a unicorn on the street, "Wait... you're doing a favor for me? You sure you're not drunk?"

He avoided getting offended by what she was trying to imply and simply got to the point, "I could ask my father to support the school as a sponsor; he loves watching the tournaments every year, so he'd be disappointed if our school doesn't join," Mamoru gave a smug smile, but it was more for show than it how it usually was before, "Think of it as a token of our... well- friendship," the word tasted awkward when saying it to Minami, as he suppressed the urge to cringe at his own words.

Minami silently brought a hand to her mouth, then started to laugh while Mamoru looked mock-offended and shook his head theatrically, "I offer you a favor and you laugh in my face? I'm quite disappointed with you, Morikawa. And here I thought we were getting along after all those months of arguing."

"N-No, no. I'm not trying to offend you," Minami waved a hand, her laughter slowing down as she heaved for some air and wiped a tear from her eye, "But really, that kind of help would be great. That would really take off a lot of weight of my shoulders."

"Hmph," Mamoru's smug smile returned, "You're quite welcome."

Taking up her pen again, Minami continued with her paperwork despite the lingering headaches while had Mamoru took out his chisel and a block of wood from his pockets to pass the time until lunch-break arrived, "By the way," Minami spoke up again, her eyes still glued to her papers, "You asked Fujimaki yet if his little brother could hang out with Yuri?"

"Of course. Takuya doesn't mind it at all," Mamoru answered, bits of wood shavings falling to the floor as he carved, "He told me that Tomura wanted someone to spend time with, so I'm sure your sister would be having some company from now on if she wants it."

Speak of the devil, Mamoru thought as there was knock on the door before it opened up to reveal Yuri in the doorway. The younger student stepped into the room with a clipboard and some paperwork in hand, walking up to the table before formally reporting her work, "Sis, the clubs already finished their budget reports. Here-" she said as she placed the paperwork on the table, her expression calm and collected to Mamoru's curiosity, "Teacher Kuragawa also wants to talk to you about the tournament in the staff room later after lunch break."

"Right. Thanks," Minami said as she continued with her paperwork, "Go get some lunch first, Yuri. I'll finish up my work first."

Mamoru watched as Yuri quietly left the room in a mature stride, closing the door shut as the Freelancer club leader tilted his head to one side, "She's certainly changed the last time I saw her. She's more... mature, than I remember her being."

As the lunch bell could be heard ringing outside the door, a sort of wistful expression suddenly grew on Minami's face as she placed her pen down and smiled, "I guess you could say that it was Homura that inspired her to become like that," Mamoru's expression darkened as she said that, "Yeah, she really did look up to her," Minami chuckled. But upon realizing that things were slowly getting needlessly mellow, Minami changed the subject, "Anyway, you should get going. I gotta finish up my work here. Wanna meet up at the Hermit Purple for a drink?"

"No can do, Morikawa. I suggest you take it easy for a bit; you're already quite a mess," Mamoru smirked again, placing his chisel and block of wood back in his pockets. Dusting the shaving off his legs, Mamoru got off his seat and waved the Council President goodbye as he left the council room.

He closed the door on the way out and Mamoru joined the flow of students in the hallway as everyone were just getting out of their classes for lunch. Hands folded behind his back as he walked, Mamoru looked to the windows beside him and saw the light of Spring shine through the windows. He could see Mitakihara central in the distance and wondered of their battle with Zed hadn't caused too much damage to the building they were in. There were already a lot of civilian casualties that could have been avoided if they had been a lot more careful.

Covering his yawning with one hand, Mamoru rubbed his tired eyes, having stayed up all night researching about Oriko and Kirika. The two were certainly dangerous to his plans, despite not being Warlocks at all. And from what he had memorized, the two carried one mission: to kill Kaname Madoka. Reasons unknown, as most likely not even Homura knew why, but their persistence to do this made them a deadly pair to tangle with. With one carrying the ability to predict the future and the other one able to slow the pace of time, Mamoru was at least somewhat relieved he can count on Tateyama, Hideki and Takuya to watch over Madoka while he looked for these two. If they were to team with the Warlocks...

"Tezuka!"

Turning around upon hearing an unfamiliar voice call his name, Mamoru was surprised to see Kaname Madoka walking up to him, "Is there something you need of me?" he said with a hand on his chest.

Madoka, looking as perky as ever, nodded as she looked relieved to have found him, "Teacher Saotome says she wants to see you. She needs a small errand done, so she wants your Freelancers to help her out," she emphasized her request with a polite bow, "She really needs your help!"

Mamoru noted that they haven't really been taking any jobs as the Freelancers for a while now, since they were usually preoccupied with their Puerum Magi training. Smiling to himself, Mamoru obliged, "I guess I can't help it. Take me to her. The others are busy, so I'll be the one to help out instead," as Madoka beamed with joy, Mamoru followed the girl as they walked down the hallway to her classroom.

After school had ended, Mamoru and Takuya had stayed back to do an errand for the school. But since they had to go for patrol soon, Hideki and Tateyama left without them and went off with Tomoe to her apartment. Sanbey had stayed behind with Takuya and Mamoru, since they had wanted to get some extra training inside the Center, leaving Hideki and Tateyama alone with the veteran Puella Magi.

On the way back to Tomoe's apartment, her place was considerably farther than the way to the residential district. Her place was located nearer to the city instead and on the way there, they had made several stops at different cake shops, to Hideki's chagrin. The walk took about half an hour to her place, not including the time spent shopping, so when they finally reached the apartment complex, Hideki was relieved.

He placed the bags of cake on the floor and heaved a heavy sigh as they waited in the lobby for the elevator to arrive. The three had bags of sweets and cakes in hand, the two boys carrying most of the weight out of chivalry. Tomoe chuckled while looking apologetically at Hideki, "I'm really sorry about this. Would you two like me to take some load off your hands?"

Tateyama shook his head, unaffected by fatigue or exhaustion despite the fact that he was carrying more than what Hideki and Tomoe had combined, "It's fine, Tomoe. I can handle this."

"Yeah," Hideki panted, wringing his sore wrists, "We're almost there anyway. A few more minutes won't kill me and I've carried bigger things anyway," picking up the bags from the floor, they waited for the elevator doors to open. They waited, and waited, staring at the elevator doors that remained closed for an oddly long amount of time. The two boys shared an odd look as Tateyama noticed that the elevator lights were shut off unlike a few minutes ago.

Tomoe pressed the unresponsive elevator buttons, then cupped her cheek with worry, "Oh, I think the elevator's broken."

"You've got to be kidding me."

After a while of climbing up the stairs to the floor Tomoe lived on, they finally reached her apartment and entered the cool, relaxing living room as Tomoe switched on the lights. They placed their things on the three-sided glass table and sat down to relax for a few minutes, the large windows behind Tateyama giving a good view of the city nearby as it did yesterday. Sunlight streaming through the glass as a flock of birds flew by the window, Tomoe poured some tea for the three of them, passing them both a cup before she stored her cake boxes in her fridge.

Drinking his tea, Tateyama relaxed on the cushions and looked around the room, plain as it was yesterday.

But now that that he got a good look of it, the room had sort of a distinct feeling to it: An isolated, lonely feeling. He never realized this before, but the sparse decorations and minimal amount of furniture was not one what would on expect from a cultural girl like Tomoe. Unless, one would really know the loneliness she hid behind that smile because of her duties as a Puella Magi. Staring blankly at the walls in thought, Tateyama then felt Hideki nudge him in the elbow, the blue-haired boy casting a curious glance at him.

"Something on your mind?"

"N-No. Just hungry," Tateyama's lie seemed to have convinced him, since Hideki merely shrugged as their blonde senior came back with a small tray of cakes they had bought earlier. The sight made Tateyama's stomach grumble like a motor engine as he swept his gaze across each cake, feeling his mouth water.

"So, what's the plan?" Hideki asked as he took a plate and a teaspoon, scooping a spoonful of cake before he continued, "I mean, do we just go out there and look around for a Witch or something?"

"You could say that," Tomoe said as she sat down and sipped her tea, refilling the boy's cups as well, "Us Puella Magi often need to go around every day to look for a Witch. We use our Soul Gems to guide us since they can detect the presence of nearby Witches and magical residue," opening her palm, her golden Soul Gem formed in her hand, a Puella's Soul Gem noticeably a lot more different than a Puerum's as it was in the shape of a porcelain egg.

"So yours already detects them for you? Convenient," Hideki laughed, tapping a finger on his Soul Gem below his collar bone, "Ours only really tells us where a Warlock is when they're nearby. And when they're afar, all we get is a little 'spider-sense-is-tingling' moment. It's not really helpful, so we had to make up something to fix that. Show them to her, 'Teyama."

Taking out his Warlock/Witch scanner from his pocket, Tateyama presented the clam-shaped device to their senior who took it in her hands. At first glance, it would look like a simple pocket mirror , until one would actually open it to see the scanner, the readings that looked intricate to build for a middle-schooler, "I made these," Tateyama said, trying not to sound like he was showing off at the same time, "These can detect Warlocks and Witches, so we can be ready for them before they arrive."

Tomoe smiled at his technological skills, curious on how Tateyama managed to make something like this detect magical energy, but she refrained from asking that as she handed the device back to them, "You Puerum Magi really are different from us. Better in different ways, but obviously weaker in others, of course. May I see your Soul Gems? I would like to take a look at them," her innocent question made the two suddenly fluster, to her confusion. It was like she just asked them to strip, "Oh, what's the matter?"

Hideki nearly choked on his tea. Clearing his throat, he put the cup down back on its saucer and scratched the back of his head while chuckling nervously, "Well... it's not really easy. It's kind of - well - hard to show it to someone without..."

Tateyama nodded in agreement, "Y-Yeah."

Noticing the low glimmers of light beneath their shirts, Tomoe then pouted as she puffed her cheeks, "Oh please, you both are boys, aren't you? Taking off your shirt - much less unbuttoning your collars - is hardly asking much," her sharp tone then turned into a more teasing one as she winked at both of them, "Or are you two just shy to show a girl what's underneath there?"

Sighing as he admitted defeat, Hideki obliged, "Okay, okay, fine. You win," he looked at Tateyama, who still had a spoonful of cake in his mouth, "Come on, you do it."

"W-Why me?" Tateyama's face turned a dark shade of red as he nearly dropped his spoon, to the amusement of both Hideki and Tomoe as he covered his chest protectively with one hand.

"Come on, 'Teyama. For the kind lady?"

"N-No...!"

Then, Tomoe seemingly burst into laughter as she could not hold it back any longer. Smiling ear-to-ear, seeing her this happy felt satisfying to Tateyama for some reason, "You don't have to show me, you two. I was just joking," she said once she had calmed down, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear before she dusted her lap and collected herself, "Well now, shall we head out? Those Witches won't be hunting themselves, you know."

Agreeing with their senior, the two finished up what was left in their plates, cups and then placed them in the kitchen sin. Tomoe had gone to her room to change into something more casual while Hideki and Tateyama washed their dishes. After they were done, the two waited at the front door, hearing another one open after a few minutes before Tomoe came out wearing a simple beige dress with high stockings, simple clothing for the Spring season. Tateyama couldn't help but stare until Hideki nudged him in the shoulder twice.

"So, where are we headed?" Hideki asked, school bag slung over his shoulder.

"The Mitakihara shopping district," Tomoe answered as she put on her shoes, "Witches tend to appear in public areas more often that others, so we should be able to find a Witch there," opening the door the two wondered if that was true or if she just wanted a place they could have fun in after they take down a Witch. Either way, there were no complaints from them as they followed their senior out the door.

After a short train ride into the city, the three finally arrived in the main city's shopping district and began their patrol. Walking alongside the empty roads, Hideki and Tateyama watched their scanners as the small devices annually emitted dull beeps. Meanwhile Tomoe observed as her Soul Gem dimly flickered, waiting for her Soul Gem to pick up any magical residue left behind by a Witch that could lead them to one. Pocketing one hand, Hideki look around and saw that the district was a lot more emptier than usual, since it was a school day after all. Even so, it didn't look like they were going to see much action today.

Still keeping an eye on the tracker, Hideki caressed his shoulder and waited for the small thing to react. Looking at his Witch/Warlock tracker again for the fourth time, Hideki sighed with boredom, "You know, why don't we split up? We'd cover more ground and finding a Witch would be much a lot easier that way."

The group stopped, and after a few more minutes of thinking, they agreed with him. From his laptop bag, Tateyama took out a spare earpiece and handed it to Tomoe, "Use this to call us when you find the Witch. We'll do the same."

Taking the earpiece and putting it on, Tomoe nodded as Tateyama opened his laptop for a moment to sync their communicators. Once it was done, the three went to separate directions around the district, disappearing into the mild crowds quickly. Tomoe had went to patrol the shops and restaurants along the streets, Hideki had went into the shopping complex and Tateyama went to patrol the alleyways and roads.

Tateyama walked with one hand over his grumbling stomach and the other holding the tracker as the boy wandered around the relatively-empty areas of the shopping district by himself. Looking around, there was the occasional stray dog, the lovey-dovey couple or a group of students passing by as he waited for the tracker to pick up something. Letting out a small yawn, Tateyama then eyed a small onigiri stall in the distance and increased his walking pace towards it.

Paying for a small batch, Tateyama sat down on a nearby bench next to a vending machine and started eating with one hand still carrying the open tracker. All this walking had worked up an appetite and Tateyama watched the advertisements shining on almost every building-side in view while he ate. Putting away the small device for the meantime, Tateyama sat back as the late noon sunlight bathed on his back, his earpiece nor his tracker having yet to ring.

He tossed the empty onigiri containers into a nearby trash can and brought his legs to his chest while he licked his fingers clean. Tateyama wondered if they were really gonna find a Witch today, and as his thoughts drifted from tone to another, his previous encounter with one flashed before his eyes, making him shiver as he brought an open hand to his throat; that feeling of being unable to breathe as you choke on your own blood, seeing everything around you slowly turn to black, Tateyama immediately suppressed the thought and to calm himself down, he took out his mother's egg-shaped music box from his bag.

Tateyama clicked the tip and the ensuing melody ringing in his ears never failed to ease his nerves as Tateyama took in a deep breath and closed his eyes shut. He let the calm melody ring in his ears, before he heard someone call his name.

"Ikezawa?"

Slowly opening his eyes, the white-haired boy looked aside to see none other than Kaname Madoka and Miki Sayaka, a bunch of shopping bags and their schoolbags in hand. Last time he checked, the surveillance bugs watching her had yet to spot anything, and from what he could perceive right now, Madoka still looked like a normal girl. Both of them waited for him to respond as Tateyama gave a small wave with one hand and an acknowledging nod; he still was more used to most girls simply ignoring or outright avoiding him.

"Hello."

"Sup. Where's your buddy, Hakamichi?" Sayaka asked, "You two usually aren't seen without each other, you know?"

"Sayaka, I'm sure Ikezawa is just enjoying himself. Right?" Madoka gave a smile and Tateyama replied with a quiet nod, "See?"

Putting away the music box in his hand, Tateyama placed his feet back on the granite and stood up, "I've got to go somewhere right now. Take care," he said as he scratched his cheek, "The streets can be dangerous at this kind of time. Be careful."

"Huh? Oh, okay," Madoka looked confused by his warning, but seemed to appreciate it.

Walking away with one hand in his pocket, Tateyama waved the two goodbye and could hear them going off in their own direction. He didn't really know why he just left them like that. Madoka was a relatively friendly girl who never seemed to judge people, and her friend Sayaka didn't seem to mind him at all, despite the fact she was one of those girls that used to avoid him like the plague everyday. Knowing that Hideki had a crush on her, Tateyama wondered if those feelings for Sayaka would ever be returned in response.

The sudden beeping of his tracker snapped Tateyama out of his thoughts as he flipped the device open and drew in a sharp breath. A Witch's signal moved across the scanner's screen, the blip moving near his position as Tateyama tapped on his earpiece, "This is Tateyama! I found the Witch!" he heard nothing but static as he was most likely out of range from the others, "Damn it..."

Watching the blip move away, Tateyama grimaced before turning on his heel and following the indicator on the scanner. Running through the empty streets, Tateyama followed the directional arrow on his tracker, leading him to the Witch as Tateyama entered a small park. The indicator said that the Witch was now less than 30 meters away from him, but he still saw nothing in sight. Remaining cautious, Tateyama drew his Soul Key in one hand and as he entered a deserted playground, he skid to a stop and shivered as a gust of wind blew by.

He scanned his surroundings, looking for anything that might indicate the Witch's presence. Walking underneath a few rustling trees, Tateyama looked between a pair of bushes and spotted a large black mark etched into a nearby path with a symbol of a rose in the middle. He gulped, drawing closer to what was most likely the entrance to the Witch's Labyrinth. As his Soul Gem shimmered underneath his uniform, it provoked a reaction from the mark as the ground rippled like water the closer he got to the symbol. It was the right one.

"I should wait for the others," was what Tateyama thought as the boy played it safe. He had recklessly charged into a labyrinth last time to save his friends and nearly got killed for it. Right now, the best choice would be to wait for Tomoe and Hideki so- Tateyama caught something in the corner of his eye. Moving his gaze towards it, Tateyama gasped as he saw the schoolbags and items belonging to Madoka and Sayaka, lying on the floor a few feet from the labyrinth's entrance. Scattered among the ground haphazardly, Tateyama looked back at the entrance to the Witch's domain and shook his head in disbelief, "N-No way..."

Staring at the entrance with wide eyes, Tateyama gripped his Soul Key as his Gem pulsed brightly underneath his shirt.

If he stood here right now and waited for the others to arrive while those two could possibly be in there right now, then he would be breaking that promise to watch over and protect Madoka. Not only that, but he'd be letting the very girl his best friend had been in love with for years to her own fate. But if something like yesterday happened, and Tomoe wouldn't be there this time, then what was he supposed to do? Would he be that lucky to be saved twice in a row?

Tateyama wiped the cold sweat gathering on his face and looked around his empty surroundings. Seeing the sun in the distance hiding behind the clouds, Tateyama looked down on his Soul Key and stared at his own reflection.

He tightened his grip on the blade-like key and as he took a deep breath, Tateyama promptly closed his eyes before shoving the Key into his Soul Gem.

Having decided his choice, the Soul Key was assimilated by his white, ringing Soul Gem as Tateyama summoned his weapons. In his left hand, he wielded his long, white lance, and in the other, he held his door-sized shield that weighted down on him immensely. His training body glove replacing his uniform, the pauldron on his left shoulder carrying his shield drones manifested as Tateyama narrowed his eyes and stepped towards the entrance. He wasn't going to falter. He had already left his old self behind a long time ago.

In his ears, he heard his Soul Gem's A.I module declare, "Preparing and activating final defensive-measures."

Stepping on the black mark, everything around Tateyama began to shift and morph as the Puerum Magi entered the Witch's labyrinth in search of Madoka and Sayaka. The ground had been replaced with a bizarre floor of patterns and colors, replacing the park was a courtyard with a chain-link fence, and the yellow sky had turned into a dark blue with rotating ancient Roman architecture lining the horizon. The place looked like something out of an abstract painting as paper mache images could be seen everywhere with butterflies and roses present in all directions.

Hearing a cry for help in the distance, Tateyama followed the noise, rushing pass thick vines and butterflies until he finally saw the two in view, "Over here! Kaname! Miki!" he shouted to them, waving his lance in the air to get their attention.

The two immediately noticed him and rushed over to where he was, the two girls scared and confused beyond reason, "Ikezawa, what the Hell is going on?!" Sayaka screamed as they reached him, "Where are we?! And why are you carrying these?!" she pointed at his weaponry.

"Now's not the time to talk. I'm getting you both out. Follow me," Tateyama attempted to calm them down, but they started to hear something approach them as they saw multiple figures starting to come out of the thicket of vines, "Get behind me," he said as he shielded the two behind his giant slab of metal and held onto his lance tight, the three of them having just realized that they were surrounded.

The Witch's Familiars finally revealed themselves from their hiding positions, their heads looking like cotton balls with each having a mustache over their grinning mouths that looked both creepy and comedic at the same time. Their bodies were made out of flower stems and their 'feet' were shaped like butterfly wings. They surrounded the three, grinning and chanting in some alien language as they wielded large, black shears that clattered non-stop.

"S-Sayaka, what's going on?" Madoka asked, holding onto her friend tightly, "T-This is just a dream, right?"

"I-I don't know, Madoka..." Sayaka muttered, "I j-just..."

As the discs on Tateyama's left shoulder ejected themselves and hovered in the air, they enlarged themselves into metal round shields that then spun around the two girls to form a defensive circle, "Leave this to me," Tateyama said to them, his silver Soul Gem glowing brighter than usual as his lance started to spin like a drill. Walking up to the Familiars, the two girls protested against his actions.

"Wait! You're going to fight them?!"

"I-Ikezawa... wait!"

"Final locks released."

As the Puerum Magi stood unhesitatingly against the Witch's minions, Tateyama cleared his mind and let out a small exhale as a small force-field suddenly surrounded the boy and enveloped him in a bright light of Recicio energy that blinded the two girls and the Familiars. Tateyama felt the light's warm sensation touch him and in mere seconds, his Puerum Magi armor formed around him: Tateyama was encased in large, pure white armor that sealed his entire figure, his right shoulder covered by a large pauldron that dwarfed the one on his left as the large pieces of metal locked with one another. His shield arm more heavily armored than the one wielding his lance, a full helmet formed around his head, Tateyama's eyes now seeing through a black T-shaped visor that bore a glowing mono-eye in the middle that shimmered menacingly.

The force-field protecting Tateyama broke apart and revealed the Puerum Magi, now protected by a dense set of armor that heavily weighed down on his body. The two girls stared in awe, amazed by the silver knight standing in front of them as the Witch's minions then charged at him in a frenzy.

The spikes on the back of Tateyama's legs impaled the ground and as he stood perfectly still, a protective shroud of Recicio energy enveloped his body while his Soul Gem's A.I module announced, "Impact Absorption powers activated," the shroud surrounding him solidified and formed a golden dome of energy which then broke apart the Familiars' shears upon impact like glass.

Their weapons fell to the floor in pieces and as the unarmed Familiars stepped back, more of the Witch's minions began to spawn as small, bell-shaped creatures manifested in the air. These winged Familiars appeared in a swarm and rang bell-like noises before they charged at the Puerum Magi and pounded their small bodies non-stop on the surface of his energy dome. Relentless to break apart the field, Tateyama stayed completely calm despite his vision now completely shrouded by the swarm of Familiars swarming around his barrier like hornets around prey.

The force of their attacks sent rippling waves across his energy field and the more they attacked, the thicker the field became, "Converting all absorbed force into offensive measures. Would you like to release it now?" upon hearing that, Tateyama released the spikes on his feet from the ground and calmly answered.

"Do it."

There was an ear-piercing ring, before the protective dome surrounding Tateyama suddenly burst apart as a immense shock-wave that disintegrated all the Familiars surrounding him and sent every other Familiar flying away like weightless objects. Madoka and Sayaka covered their ears, watching in astonishment as the white knight then came charging out of the smoke with his helmet's mono-eye flashing red.

Tateyama was silent as the flying Familiars charging at him harmlessly bounced off his giant shield, the lumbering knight's footsteps echoing through the labyrinth as Tateyama then tackled a group of Familiars with his lance raised high. He impaled one on his jousting lance, then a second, and a third, charging through the helpless, dazed minions like an iron bull as he trampled on their bodies which faded away upon death.

"Ikezawa, over here!"

Skidding to a stop, Tateyama turned around to see the remaining Familiars surrounding the girls as his shields continued spinning around them in a defensive circle. Storing his lance's in the back of his giant shield, Tateyama then lifted his free hand and focused, the floating shields suddenly flying into the air and leaving the girls defenseless before they descended upon the Familiars like a horde of piranhas. They cut apart the minions as they flew through the air, bisecting them and blending the minions apart while harmlessly flying past Madoka and Sayaka like attack drones. And as one Familiar remained standing, it turned to the Puerum Magi manipulating the shield bits and charged at him.

Dropping control of his shields, the Familiar's thrust its shears at the white knight and it shattered as it barely scratched Tateyama's armor. And before it could react, Tateyama wielded his immense shield in the air with both hands and then silently crushed the cowering creature under its titanic weight with a sound akin to a gong ringing subsequently echoing through the labyrinth.

The Witch labyrinth faded away as the last Familiar finally died, Madoka and Sayaka sighing in relief as their surroundings finally returned to the park they were in before. The yellow sunlight reflecting off Tateyama's shining armor as they watched the floating shields retract and return to his left pauldron's hardpoints, the shields made an audible 'click' as they locked in and the two wondered what to say to him. The girls still shocked from just now and they wanted an explanation of what had just happened.

"Ummm... Thank you, Ikezawa," Madoka finally broke the silence.

"Y-Yeah. You really saved us from, well, whatever those things were," Sayaka let out a nervous laugh.

Looking at them, the two were visibly intimidated by the glare of his helmet's mono-eye as they reeled back slightly. Sighing under his helmet, Tateyama simply turned away and de-materialized his lance and shield, "You're welcome," his voice sounded louder over his helmet's mechanical filter.

"Tateyama!"

Finally came a relieving sight for sore eyes as Tateyama saw Tomoe and Hideki rushing towards him. The two caught up to him and noticed Madoka and Sayaka a few feet from them, "Thank goodness you're safe," Tomoe smiled with relief, wiping her sweaty forehead with one hand, "We tracked the Witch, but it got away," looking at the two girls, Tomoe curiously glanced at them, "Are these our schoolmates?"

"Kaname Madoka and Miki Sayaka," Tateyama answered, "They were being attacked by the Witch, so I went in and saved them," he got a proud smile from Tomoe who looked happy to hear what he did. Looking back at them, the two still looked confused about what was going on, so Tomoe then approached the two, hoping to clear things up. It would be easier for her to do so anyway.

Clapping his friend on the shoulder with an audible 'thunk', Hideki congratulated him, "Good work saving those two. Nice armor, by the way. A little bulky for my taste, but it suits you."

Smiling underneath his helmet, he tapped a button on the side of his headgear, causing his headgear to fold up many times and store itself in his torso gear before the entire suit of armor vanished altogether to reveal his school uniform. Hideki was then surprised to see that the scars on the left side of Tateyama's face were gone, his long bangs covering one side of his face having been pulled back underneath that helmet, "What?" Tateyama innocently asked as he noticed Hideki's surpised stare.

"Your scars, they're gone," Hideki said, scratching the back of his head, "Guess your wish did more than heal your heart, huh?"

Having forgotten about his scars due to all the focus on their training, Tateyama nodded and ran a hand through the left side of his face, "Yeah. It's a lot easier to see with both eyes now. I forgot how that was like for a long time."

"And you look pretty good, too," Hideki's off-handed comment got a flustered reaction from him as Hideki promptly placed his face in his palm, "I really should have worded that better."

Puerum Magi Stats Sheet

Name: Tateyama Ikezawa

Destructive Power: A

Speed: C

Range: D

Durability: A

Abilities: Impact Absorption - by standing still, Tateyama is virtually invulnerable as he absorbs all physical attacks and converts them into energy that powers his own. He can use this to power his lance strikes or simply release the energy as a shock-wave.

Weapons, Gadgets and Tools: A heavy 5-meter length lance that, while simple in design, uses electromagnetic acceleration to spin the tip, the spearhead itself being able to launch like a missile. He carries three discs on a small pauldron built into his left shoulder which can deploy and enlarge into floating shields, and on the back of his legs, are spikes that allow Tateyama to dig into the ground for a better defensive position.

P. Magi Uniform: Tateyama wears a large, pure-white armor that encases his entire body, the right arm and shoulder being more heavily armored than the left. The armor is capable of opening up in the back to eject its wearer in emergency situations, before closing back up as an empty suit of armor. Its unbelievably heavy, with only Tateyama's enhanced strength and stamina allowing him to even fight in it.