A/N: To answer D's question, the main 4 boys' namesakes - and to an extent, character designs and traits - are based on 4 of the 5 heroines of the game Katawa Shoujo. Other characters are named as shout-outs to some of the shows I've watched and manga I've read.
During a quiet night in the Mitakihara cemetery, the light of the moon shone on the rows upon rows of gravestones that filled the area. Though the dead were meant to rest here in peace, those that were in charge of maintaining the cemetery had yet to notice the few urns that had been disturbed. The ashes of those that had already passed now plundered and brought to the abandoned opera-house on the other side of the street. Within the Warlocks' abode, the ashes were sent to the lower levels of the opera-house where the Warlock scientist, Kroenen, was now working on adding the finishing touches to his latest experiment.
Inside the dark, decrepit basement, Kroenen sat in front of a large desk with various stolen computers placed in front of him. The computers, alongside numerous rusty canisters, were attached through wires and tubes into an enormous cylinder that took up a quarter of the entire room. The canisters fed a sort of oil-like fluid into cylinder, like blood running through a vein, and as Kroenen typed away on his keyboard, jolts of electricity traveled through the wires and surged through the closed cylinder, causing it to violently vibrate as a faint voice could be heard from inside. A voice that Kroenen cared little for, as the scientist's fingers ran through his keyboard with the enthusiasm of a pianist in his natural workplace, each button press akin to a piano's key as steam hissed through the rear vents of the Warlock's metallic mask.
It was only when he heard a knock on the door did Kroenen take even a little bit attention away from his experiment.
"Do you require something, Lord Phantom?" Kroenen said in his accented voice without even turning to the door.
The door in which the smoke-like manifestation of the Warlock leader proceeded to phase through like a ghost as Kroenen's hands did not cease typing, "Has Jack reported anything about his task yet?" Phantom asked as the manifestation of the Warlock's mind walked towards the scientist's desk and leaned on the edge of the table with folded arms, "Ares has yet to see anyone arrive in the opera-house, and Clyde hasn't picked up any of his remains either."
With one hand still typing away on the keyboard in front of him, Kroenen's left hand typed onto a different keyboard farther from him and then opened up one of the unused computer monitors next to Phantom. There, Phantom noticed a message sent in binary, "He's quite fine, my lord. Jack has taken quite some damage and has failed to kill the Magi, but he has destroyed the Magi's files, as per your orders. He also added that he may be a little late, as he's, to put in his words, 'Very pissed-off that he didn't get to kill and/or rape someone tonight'."
Phantom scoffed, shaking his head at what he saw as nothing more than a barbaric act, "He's wasting his time and simply endangering himself if he intends to stay out there. The Puerum Magi would find him if he's not careful. Still, he's finished his task, so tell him to see Clyde for his reward when he gets back."
"Understood," an unconcerned Kroenen replied, steam hissing through the vents of his mask again.
Then, before Phantom could leave the room to continue his slumber, the computer with a built-in mic on Kroenen's right started up, a pop-up message indicating a call from none other than Mikuni Oriko herself. Phantom strode over to the other side of the table when Kroenen gestured the Warlock leader to the pop-up and the scientist handed the Warlock leader a microphone.
When Phantom held up the mic in one hand, he could hear Oriko as she got straight to the point of the call, "Have you completed what I requested?"
"Indeed, I have, Mikuni," Phantom answered politely despite Oriko's terse tone, "Though the boy had survived, I don't think you have to worry about him knowing what to expect now," he heard a small chuckle from the other side of the call, one that made the Warlock somewhat curious, "Was there something else you wanted?"
"Oh, it's quite nothing. For a second there, you almost sound as if I could rely on your Warlocks, for once."
"That's not very polite, Mikuni," Phantom replied in a faux-mocked tone before laughing to himself, "Still, my Warlocks have much more to offer. Tomorrow, we may be unveiling something that may give the Magi a little shock," turning to the giant cylinder in the room, electricity continued to surge through its metal casing as the faint painful moans coming from inside it brought a smile to Phantom's face, despite his smoke-like form, "Aside from that, I'll be sending you further files regarding us Warlocks. Do with it as you may. It's another token of our partnership."
"Of course, of course," said an almost apathetic Oriko who sounded like she was suppressing a yawn, "You do your part in taking down the Magi, and I shall tend to my own business. Have a pleasant night," with that, the call abruptly ended, and the Warlock leader placed down the mic back on the table.
Staring at the computer monitor, Phantom wondered if the girl could care a little more for his plans.
Then, Kroenen, who had been working this entire time, spoke up in a snide tone, "How curious, Lord Phantom. Years ago you had forgone the help of anything that wasn't a Warlock, and now you bark to the orders of none other than two Puella Magi," Kroenen said with a snicker, his mask's metallic filter giving it an uncanny reverb, "How the mighty have fallen, indeed."
"The deal is very much equal, Kroenen," Phantom insisted with a stern tone, turning to the working scientist who cared little about angering the leader of the Warlocks, "She gives us visions of where the Magi will be in place for a perfect strike, and in return, Clyde takes over their job of murdering any little Puella Magi outside the city to give a distraction for the Magi and that little whelp Kyubey. Do remember, we have worked alongside Puella Magi before, and I will not turn away help when it appears around the corner."
Kroenen snickered again, steam hissing through the back of his mask, "Ah yes, I very clearly remember being sold out by your 'trusted' Puella Magi before. It ended quite well, indeed," he added while gazing at Phantom's smoky form. If it were not for his mask, one could see the smirk growing beneath it for a few seconds before Kroenen turned back to his computer, acting almost as if the conversation had not even occurred, "Regardless of your deal, it appears that W-321 will be quite ready for combat tomorrow. I've hooked up its core to feed into your coffin, so you won't have to worry about gathering its remains to feed yourself. Do look forward to it."
Glaring at the scientist, Phantom then strode pass him as Kroenen continued typing away, leaving him with little more than a few words, "Just get it done."
A flock of birds could be heard chirping away as they flew over the rooftops of the Mitakihara Middle-School, the sun shining vibrantly during an early Thursday morning. The sound of the bell echoing through the halls of the school, Hakamichi Hideki, with one foot tapping on the floor, stood in the Student Council room as Council President Minami, and her sister Yuri, sat on the far end of the table that stretched across the sun-lit room. Numerous batches of files sat on the table, all lined up in a neat fashion by Yuri as Minami sipped a mug of coffee before speaking.
"So, do you understand know, Hakamichi?" Minami said as she pulled over some papers and started signing them with a pen, "Since Makoto won't be coming to school, practice for that upcoming tournament will be held off today. Surely you can go without just one day of practice, right?"
Hideki groaned, his tapping foot now ceasing, "Sure, sure. But can you at least tell me why he's not coming today? Takamatsu was pretty serious when it came to practice, so not coming all of a sudden with no explanation why is pretty weird of him," he looked at the two girls at the far end of the table, Yuri calmly sorting her papers and passing some to Minami for her to sign. For a second there, he felt like the two were hiding something from him, but he had a feeling that calling out the head of the Student Council would just get him in deep, proverbial shit.
"Just relax, Hakamichi," Minami clicked her pen closed and sipped her mug again, "If we get any news for Makoto, then the Gym Club, you and Ikezawa will be the first to hear it. No promises that it'll be quick, though. Now, was there anything else you came to see us for?"
A mild groan escaping him, Hideki turned to the door and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Nah. I have a feeling anything I'd ask will just get the same old 'we don't know'. Later, Pres'."
Yuri then tugged on her sister's sleeve and whispered something to her. Right as Hideki grabbed the doorknob, Minami spoke up again, "Before you leave, Hakamichi," she produced a small file from a drawer nearby and slid it across the long table until it reached the far end. Hideki walked up to it and gave it a curious glance, "That's for Tezuka," Minami explained as she got back to signing more papers, "It was a small favor he asked from me, so do pass it to him when you see him."
Looking at both sides of a rather uninteresting folder, Hideki pocketed the small file and walked back to the door. With half his body through the door, he leaned his head back into the room and left with one quip, "Right. I'll tell you later what he thinks of your love letter," closing the door shut behind him, he could hear the Council President bark at him from the other side of the door while her sister tried to calm her down. A cocky smirk on his face, Hideki then walked off in the direction of the Freelancer Club-room when he suddenly noticed Tateyama waiting for him up ahead.
Sunlight shining through the windows of the empty hallway, Tateyama leaned on a windowsill with his right hand carrying his laptop, the other hand tapping away on the keyboard. The corridor was quiet enough to hear his typing as Tateyama heard Hideki walking up to him, "No practice today?" Tateyama assumed in his usual curt tone as Hideki leaned on the wall next to him, shrugging mildly.
"Pretty much. Pres' isn't telling why Takamatsu's not at school today either, so we're shit outta luck on that part," heaving a heavy sigh, Hideki glanced aside and got a good look of Tateyama now that he was close enough: The dark spaces underneath Tateyama's visible eye had grown darker since yesterday, the boy's hand lazily typing away on his keyboard like a mindless automaton as Tateyama let out a long, drawn-out yawn, "Christ in a hand basket, you've slept through all our classes and you're still tired? You look like a zombie. More than usual, I mean."
Pressing the Enter key before closing his laptop, Tateyama let out another yawn and rubbed the eye hidden underneath his long bangs while placing his laptop underneath his arm, "Didn't sleep much. Too busy making gadgets. Surveillance bugs not detecting any Warlocks last night," Tateyama said in-between yawns. Shaking his head to keep himself awake, Tateyama took a step forward, only to trip out of nowhere right before Hideki caught him in his arms. His laptop still in his grip, Tateyama got back on his feet with his expression barely changing at this, "Ah. Thanks."
Hideki stared at the silver-haired boy while ruffling his hair in frustration, "Goddamn. You know tripping is Takuya's shtick, right? Get a hold of yourself," receiving a slow nod in response, Hideki felt like today was going to be one of those days again.
His hands in his pockets, the two then walked off in the direction of the club-room to eat before break could end. The entire walk back was in relative silence, Tateyama lazily following him from behind. But ever since a few days ago, Hideki couldn't help but notice that something was up with Tateyama. Ever since they had started training under Tomoe Mami, Tateyama had been a lot more open about how he felt around her. It was nice, but ever since this morning, he had started looking almost permanently exhausted, like he had some sort of fever or something. And that's not even mentioning that Tateyama's Soul Gem had started to look a bit different lately. Or was it just his imagination just trying to distract him from things like how he hasn't held a single slid conversation with Miki Sayaka yet? Now Hideki was wondering if he hasn't been himself lately.
"Oh, there you are," they heard a girl's voice behind them, one that got Tateyama to immediately perk up from the zombie-like daze he was in as they turned around to see Tomoe Mami with her lunchbox in hand. A pleasant smile on her face as usual, Hideki gave a quick wave while Tateyama gave a deep bow, one that nearly threw him off balance until Hideki nonchalantly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back onto his feet. Tomoe was quick to notice Tateyama's behavior, "Are you alright, Ikezawa?"
"I'm fine, Tomoe. Just tired," Tateyama insisted with a dismissive wave of the hand as Hideki coughed uncomfortably into his fist.
"We were just on the way to the club-room for lunch. You headin' there, too?" Hideki asked and the girl nodded with a smile.
"I was. Though, it seems Kaname and Miki will be a too busy with a class project to join us today. Shall we head off without them?" the two boys wondering if someone should keep an eye on Madoka as a precaution, the two ended up agreeing with her suggestion as the duo then continued on their way back to the club-room with Tomoe in tow. After all, it was their school, and any Warlock that would arrive would get picked up by their senses and detectors beforehand.
Hideki at the front as the two talked behind him, the boy ran a hand through his messy, blue hair and continued wondering to himself about Sayaka. He still hadn't done anything aside from talking to her during tea time in Tomoe's apartment, even though he had rehearsed a thousand lines or so in his head on what he could say to impress her. That embarrassing transformation video yesterday probably didn't improve his image on her either. Did she even have an image of him in the first place? She most likely knew of the rumor that he had often tried to confess to her back then, and with each year he felt like he was becoming little more than a stalker. Letting out a small groan, Hideki finally spotted the door to the Freelancer club-room up ahead and lazily pushed it open.
Inside the club-room, Mamoru was sitting in his personal chair right in front of the window, carving a piece of wood with a chisel as the afternoon light washed over the numerous wood-craft, books and electronics arranged on their shelves. Wood shavings falling to the floor in a pile with each shave, Hideki, Tomoe and Tateyama sat down around the large table where a plastic bag of lunch boxes was waiting. Takuya was nowhere to be seen, but he was most likely just picking up his little brother from school.
Hideki took out the small file the Council President had passed to him and slid it over to the Protector Servorum leader, the boy catching it before it slid of the table, "Love letter from the Pres'," Hideki casually remarked as he took his lunch from the plastic bag on the table.
"Hilarious," Mamoru replied in a dull tone before placing the small file aside, "I'm surprised you two aren't in your sports outfit, though. Don't you two have practice later?"
"Cancelled," Tateyama bluntly answered with a mouth full of food, "Takamatsu isn't here today."
"It's quite odd, really," Tomoe interjected as she picked up her chopsticks, "It's unlike of him to be absent for no reason. None of the other third-years know what's happened to him either."
Hideki sighed, placing his feet on the table with his chopsticks still in his mouth, "Whatever. A day without practice won't kill me anyway. But besides that-" he glanced over to Mamoru who was still carving a piece of wood and pointed his chopsticks at him, "You sure that Warlock you encountered last night is still out there? The surveillance bugs around the city and our energy detectors didn't pick up anything all night; it probably died of its wounds over in Kazamino."
His words got him a disapproving wag of the finger from Tomoe, "Careful, Hakamichi. The most dangerous thing you could do is assume things."
"So cocky," Tateyama added before biting into a hot dog as Hideki felt like he was being suddenly attacked on all sides.
Mamoru then placed the piece of wood in his hand on the table and nibbled on his thumb in thought, "Still, I suggest that all of you stay on your guard from here on out. With the Warlocks being more unpredictable the more frequently they attack, you three should stay in constant contact with Kaname and Miki. Keep them safe and have them notify you if they encounter a Witch or a Warlock. I've already told the same to Takuya."
Hideki gave a lazy salute while Tomoe and Tateyama simply nodded along.
"Besides that Warlock attacking, I heard they destroyed something you had, right?" Hideki asked and both Tateyama and Mamoru's expressions visibly twitched, something that got Tomoe curious as the Protector Servorum leader spun around in his chair to face the window, "What, was it something important?" Mamoru's unease made Hideki raise a brow.
Mamoru curled his fingers together and he stared out the window where he could see the city in the distance, "Indeed, it was. Though, I'd rather keep it to myself. It's quite personal, actually," he said with a small chuckle as in the next few seconds, the school bell echoed through the halls once more, signalling the starting of classes soon.
The leader's vagueness was a little annoying to Hideki, but just like with the Council President earlier, he had a feeling that he wouldn't get a straight answer if he asked. Mamoru always had this habit of hiding things from them, claiming it's things that they best not know. At this point, Hideki just finished up his lunch instead and made his way back to class with everyone else, trying to focus on other things at were gnawing at his mind today.
The mundane activity of classes having ended, Mamoru had headed over to the train station to head back over to Kazamino and meet up with Mikage. Among many other things, the boy wondered if the damage to his penthouse from last night's battle had been repaired in time, the chrome bullet train he rode in speeding pass the borders of Mitakihara. Inside, Mamoru had to bear with the almost non-existent amount of space as he stood, hanging onto a railing with one hand while the other held onto the small file he had requested from Minami. During the entire ride, Mamoru had been reading whatever information the school had on Kure Kirika, all the while trying to endure the constant shaking of the train and people bumping into him every passing minute.
After an hour-long hellish experience, Mamoru finally felt the bullet train slowly come to a stop and the view of the city was replaced by the hundreds of people waiting on the Kazamino station platform. When he heard the doors open, the boy was among the first to step out of the train and he hurriedly squeezed pass the hundreds of people that crowded the platform.
Managing to find an empty corner to catch his breath, Mamoru clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Bloody crowded trains. How do people even endure this?" looking at the crowds of people around him, he saw no signs of his family retainer, "Where the hell is she?"
"I'm right here, Young Master."
Mamoru nearly jumped in shock, almost dropping his schoolbag, and the boy turned around to see his bodyguard standing right behind him. Mikage had to stifle a chuckle at seeing the Puerum Magi leader react like a scared cat as Mamoru's cheeks turned red for a second, "Could you perhaps not do that? I'm not very comfortable with things sneaking up on me these days."
Mikage cleared her throat and nodded diligently, "Apologies, Young Master. You just seemed tired after your ride," Mikage said as she took Mamoru's bag off his hands and carried it for him while Mamoru simply sighed. Without another word, they made their way down the bustling train station, heading down a few escalators among crowds of people before walking out onto the streets where Mikage pointed to a parked car his father had lent them.
Getting inside the car, Mikage started up the engine while Mamoru relaxed in the backseat, grateful to be free of that cramped train as the car drove out onto the streets, "Have you discovered anything on the Warlocks and Oriko, yet?" Mamoru asked, taking out the file on Kirika from his schoolbag and flipping through its pages, "The school files don't say much on Oriko's friend Kirika, and at best the most useful thing I could find was that she hasn't gone to school for quite a while now. No mentions of her parents either."
"I haven't been able to find anything useful yet, either. There's quite a lot of data in your father's company to look through," Mikage replied, the car slowly coming to a stop at a red light before stopping entirely, "Though, I have already looked up on Oriko's school: Shirome Middle-School. Oriko's stated to be a diligent student through and through, until she too disappeared entirely. Aside from that, whatever information on Oriko's family business that your father's company knows have all been normal," the green light flashed and the car continued it's way back to the penthouse, "It may take some time before I find anything. Sakura Kyouko has yet to gain any leads, as well."
Closing the file, Mamoru tossed it onto the seat next to his and bit his thumb in thought, all the while gazing at the shops and restaurants they drove by. Ever since Kyouko had started living at their place last night, the girl had pretty much made herself at home. The first thing she did this morning was chow down on breakfast before proceeding to head out for some Witch hunting. He had given her a spare cell phone in case she found anything worth telling him, but Mamoru's phone had received zero calls from her. It made him wonder just what she was doing while he was at school.
The sudden ringing of the Warlock detector in Mikage's pockets caught her off-guard and the retainer slammed her foot on the breaks, throwing the boy behind off his seat and into the chair in front of him as Mikage fished out the device, "A-Apologies, Young Master," Mikage sputtered while fumbling with the detector in her hand and parking the car on the side of the road. While the Puerum Magi rubbed his sore nose, Mikage flipped open the device, and on the energy radar was a single reading that was 60 meters away and growing from their current location, "A Warlock?"
Noticing the violet color of the blip, Mamoru shook his head, "No. It's a Witch, or at least a Witch's Familiar," he took the device into his own hands and pointed in the direction of the blip's location, "Either way, we shouldn't let it get away. Pursue it!"
Nodding, Mikage shifted gears without hesitation and the car sped off into a separate street leading towards the borders of Kazamino city, far from where their penthouse was. The Puerum Magi reading the distance and location to his retainer out loud, Mikage sped pass and took over every single car in their path, the borrowed vehicle stopping only at red lights and zebra crossings due to Mikage's insistence to abide by the law. Thankfully, despite their speeding, they had need not worry about getting in trouble with the police due to Kazamino's much less persistent law-enforcement.
After a lengthy pursuit across town, the car screeched to a stop on the side of the street and the two stepped out of the car to gaze into the darkness of the alleyway in front of them. It looked very much like one that was inhabited by stereotypical shady doctors and muggers, but it did not deter either of the two.
With only bits of sun peeking into alley, Mamoru materialized his Soul Key into his hand, "How much farther is it?"
"5 meters ahead. It seems to have stopped," Mikage read out the device in her hands before handing the device back to him, "Would you like me to watch the car or assist you?"
Mamoru gave a dramatic flick of the wrist while a smug grin appeared on his face, "Keep the car safe. If it's a Familiar, then this won't take long at all," he lifted his Soul Key over his collarbone where his Soul Gem hid under his uniform, "Soul Change!" stabbing the tip of the blade-like key into his chest, Mamoru sprinted straight into the dark alley as his armored tuxedo, top hat and domino mask formed around his body in a flash of emerald light. The very moment his foot had stepped into the alley, Mamoru's body suddenly shimmered, the Puerum Magi's body glimmering in several different colors before disappearing into the invisible dimension.
Inside the realm of the Barrier, Mamoru summoned his axe and held onto his buckler shield tight as he finally found himself in the domain of monsters once again. The alleyway he had entered disappeared, replaced by an ever-expanding landscape with the ground beneath him resembling the bizarre drawings of men, women and children, all mashed together and clearly drawn by someone who was not in the right mind. The skies above were a swirling blanket of red and white vortexes, and no matter how many times Mamoru entered a Barrier, he could not help but be fascinated by just how alien - or even Lovecraftian - the Witches were; something the Warlocks did not radiate.
Focusing back to the task at hand, the Puerum Magi spotted a figure moving in the distance and saw what could only be described as a messily-drawn humanoid, staggering its way through the landscape in search for innocent victims to prey on.
Target in sight, Mamoru sprinted in the direction of the enemy. With it simply being a Familiar, he expected to this take no more than several minutes. The sound of his heels on the marble ground though had attracted the attention of the Familiar itself, and upon spotting the Magi, the Familiar ran away in a panic, but Mamoru was quick and leaped into the air.
He flung his shield at the creature and it bounced off a pillar before it crashed straight into the Familiar's legs. Crashing onto the floor, the Familiar shrieked as Mamoru caught his returning shield and landed back on the ground, knees bent, "This is far too easy," grinning to himself, the third arm around his waist carried his shield for him as he held his axe in his right hand and took aim of the vulnerable Familiar. He took in a deep breath, locked his wrist, and in one single throw his axe spun through the air, straight towards the Familiar.
The creature looked back at the incoming weapon and let out a loud cry, unable to react in time, right before the tip of a red spear suddenly swatted the axe out of the air.
His axe clattering to the ground before vanishing into green particles, Mamoru clicked his tongue and spun around to see none other than Sakura Kyouko. She was munching on a piece of taiyaki while nonchalantly holding onto the spear that had interrupted his attack, "What is the meaning of this, Sakura Kyouko?" the Puerum Magi demanded an answer as almost immediately, the barrier around them began to fade, the Familiar finally getting up to its feet and retreating into the distance.
Returning to a deeper part of the dark alleyway, Kyouko munched again on her snack, both Magi undoing their transformations and returning to their regular clothes as the smell of car fumes and smoke permeated the air again, "You know, I can't have you attacking Familars like that will-nilly, rich boy," Kyouko said with a mouthful of food as she stuffed one hand in her jacket's pockets, "Take out a Familiar before it grows into another Witch and I won't be getting any Grief Seeds that way."
"Do I look like I care?" Mamoru spat back at her with a scowl, "Grief Seed or no, I'd rather prefer that a monster like that be exterminated before it could cause any more trouble," he took out his detector from his pockets and tightened his grip around the device when he saw that it had already gotten 20 meters away from them. He pocketed the device and glared back at the girl who was busy licking her fingers clean, "You don't care for civilian casualties, do you?"
She shrugged, pulling out a stick of Pocky from her pockets, "It's just how it works, you know? If I don't get my Grief Seeds, then I'm not gonna bother wasting my magic on some small fry."
"So you don't really care if it kills anyone, just so you can get your precious Seeds?" Mamoru folded his arms, kicking a rusty can at his feet, "Hmph. I'm not sure whether to call you callous or lazy."
"Sorry, but I don't got unlimited reserves like you, rich boy," Kyouko bit down on a Pocky stick and leaped into the air with ease, the Puella Magi landing on the rooftops where she stared down on the boy with a smirk, "Anyway, we made a deal, didn't we? Don't get in my way and I'd help you with tracking down that Oriko girl. Since you're not running off towards that Familiar right now, I'll fulfill my part of the bargain," she held her stick between two fingers, "Rumors say that a girl named 'Komaki Asako' lives around these parts, and she says she's seen Oriko before. You might wanna look for her if you wanna get any info. Anyways, like I said before, rich boy, don't get in my way. Otherwise, I'll give you another taste of my spear. Ciao."
The Puella Magi vanishing into the rooftops and out of sight, Mamoru turned his glare to the concrete beneath his feet and slammed his fist onto a steel pipe next to him, cracking it slightly enough that water began leaking from it. With the Familiar out of his grasp at this point, Mamoru headed back to the entrance of the alleyway where Mikage was waiting. One hand unbuttoning his collar for some air, the boy made a mental note to find this "Komaki Asako" and hoped that she could answer whatever questions he had for her.
With the mid-afternoon light shining between the clouds, Tateyama covered his mouth with one hand before letting out a long yawn, the silver-haired boy rubbing his eyes afterwards as he sat on a bench outside the Mitakihara Public Hospital. Hideki and Tateyama were waiting outside as Mami had gone inside to pick up Madoka and Sayaka, and since whatever the two girls were doing sounded personal, they didn't want to bother them by intruding.
The tall building casting a long shadow that acted as shade for the two boys, Hideki was browsing through a vending machine right next to the bench and popped in some cash. Two cans of coffee dropped into the dispenser and Hideki tossed the yawning Tateyama a can before opening up his own.
"Drink up," Hideki said to him as he leaned on the vending machine, "You've slept through all our afternoon classes and didn't even wake up until school ended. That's a new record, you know?"
Tateyama popped his can open and took a meager sip, "I didn't miss much. Class was boring. I'll just revise for tomorrow's test with Tomoe later. But besides that," he looked over to Hideki who was busy chugging down his drink in one go, "You still like Miki Sayaka, don't you?"
Though still in the middle of drinking, suddenly being asked a question like that out of the blue caused Hideki to choke on his coffee and stain the concrete floor beneath him with his regurgitated drink, "D-Do you have to ask stuff like that?! Christ!" Hideki barked while wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his uniform. His cheeks a small shade of red, Hideki groaned and flung his empty can into a nearby recycle bin, only for his enhanced strength to knock the bin over and collapse to the ground with a loud thud. Hideki ignored this, "... I still like her, alright? It's just... hunting Witches are taking up our time."
"You had plenty of chances to talk to her," Tateyama nonchalantly sipped his can and turned to the tall hospital behind them. Inside, Tateyama could tell that the reason Madoka and Sayaka had come here, and that was to pay a small visit to the violin prodigy, Kamijou Kyousuke, "You gave up on Miki. Then you chased her after becoming a Puerum Magi. Then you're hesitating again," his blunt words were like verbal daggers to his friend as Tateyama suppressed another yawn, "Kamijou isn't perfect, Hideki. Just ignore him and do what you want."
Hideki sneered at that name before putting his cocky smirk back on to mask his frustration, something Tateyama saw through easily, "It'd be easy to just blame him," Hideki chuckled, sitting down next to his best friend with his shoulders dropped, "But it's not just him, 'Teyama. It's just... just..."
They suddenly heard the voices of Tomoe Mami and Kaname Madoka calling to them and glanced behind to see the three girls already heading towards the hospital entrance. Despite their small talk having been interrupted, Hideki sprung up from the chair and immediately started walking towards them as if their conversation had never happened. Tateyama knew he was just trying to avoid this subject again, but kept quiet regardless and followed him from behind as they joined up with the girls. With their minor trip to the hospital done, the group continued their way back to Tomoe's apartment to have a completely normal study session for a test tomorrow.
That is, what the group had planned to do, until Tomoe's Soul Gem and the boys' detectors suddenly picked up the readings of a Witch.
The group came to a dead halt on the side of the street and Tomoe turned to Madoka and Sayaka behind them with a worried frown. She would've asked them to go ahead without them, but Mamoru's advice to watch over them took charge, "You two won't mind following us for a second, would you? I'm sure the Witch won't take long with Ikezawa and Hakamichi here," she said as both Puerum Magi nodded in agreement.
The two girls shared a curious glance before Sayaka answered with a shrug, "Sure. I'm not looking forward to studying anyway."
"Sayaka, you're too carefree," Madoka gave her a mild scolding.
With that out of the way, Tomoe looked over to the Puerum Magi, their energy detectors already in hand, and with no time to waste, the group proceeded to run down the sidewalk in pursuit of the Witch's location. Tomoe was at the head of the group with Madoka and Sayaka at the back as the Witch's readings lead them in the direction of an abandoned part of town. In this area of Mitakihara, trees and greenery were left to freely grow, almost every building in sight left barren as vines slowly covered their surfaces. With barely anyone in this area of town, it was the perfect hiding place for a patient Witch to prey on civilians.
The group soon arrived in front of the tallest building in sight, towering over the others at a total of 8 floors high. The Witch's location now clear, the 3 Magi drew out their transformation trinkets, only for Sayaka to shout at them and point to a lone figure standing at the roof of the building.
There, a woman stood at the edge of the roof, her hands holding onto the railing behind her, and with little to no hesitation, she jumped, her body plummeting to the ground.
Tomoe took out her Soul Gem, "Hakamichi, Formation Salvare!"
Hideki's bag dropped to the floor and the boy stabbed his Soul Key into his chest. Jet verniers springing forth on his school uniform's back and his legs, the Puerum Magi sprinted forward before his verniers ignited and propelled him towards the plummeting civilian like a rocket, "I got her!" the woman dropped into his arms and Hideki held back a grunt at the weight of a person much heavier than him. Once the woman was secure in his arms, his verniers slowly descended him to the ground where a bed made out of Tomoe's ribbons had formed.
The Puerum Magi placed the woman on the makeshift bed and undid his transformation as the rest of the group caught up to them. Tateyama clapping Hideki on the shoulder, Tomoe knelt down next to the woman and examined her neck where she bore a strange black mark, "A Witch's Kiss," Tomoe noted before turning to the building with narrowed eyes, "Miki, Kaname, do watch over this woman while we head inside, okay?"
Sayaka and Madoka agreed and ran up to the unconscious woman to check up on her as the three Magi charged into the building to put an end to the Witch. Inside the dark building, 'Keep Out' tapes adorned the halls of the abandoned office, not a single light present aside from the sunlight peeking through the broken doors they ran through. Then, as if reacting to the presence of the three Magi, a circular portal made out of roses and red butterflies grew into view. Hovering at the top of the staircase in front of them, it was as though the Witch itself was inviting the Magi inside.
"Let's make this quick," Tomoe drew out her Soul Gem as Hideki did with his Soul Key.
Tateyama, still feeling a exhausted despite the coffee earlier, took in a deep breath and brought his own Soul Key to bare.
"Soul Change!" they all announced in unison before donning their uniforms and leaping straight into the entrance of the Witch's domain.
"Hakamichi, aerial enemies above you!"
"I see 'em, I see 'em!"
"Ikezawa, keep up the defense!"
"Roger!"
As the Magi blazed through the minions inside the Witch's labyrinth, the combined might of the trio made it as easy as every other Barrier they had encountered up until now. They battled in what could only be described as an abstract painting come to life, the Witch's army made up of cotton ball-like monsters with mustaches, flower stems for bodies and butterfly wings for legs. Tateyama recognized these Familiars from when he had saved Madoka and Sayaka, and judging by their numbers, he could tell that this was their main domain.
Ascending an immense stair-case that looked like it went on forever, Tomoe cleared the path as she fired round after round at the Familiars blocking their path, throwing away her empty muskets into the abyss below them while Hideki soared through the air on wings of fire. With his wrist blades, he rocketed past bell-like creatures flying in the air and sliced them apart, their corpses raining down on Tomoe as Tateyama in front her deployed his hover shields. Every single projectile the Familiars threw simply bounced off the phalanx-like formation Tateyama's hover shields formed with the shield in his hand, small gaps left in-between the formation for Tomoe's rifles to poke through and continue blasting away.
With Tateyama marching in front of her with his lance and shield at the ready, the boy couldn't help but feel as though his suit of armor weighed heavier than it normally did. Panting heavily underneath his helmet, he could feel the sweat gather on his face. But each time he would look back at Tomoe and see her in all of her glory, he would feel that same heavy sensation go away. He could not tell what this feeling was, but just seeing her made even his armor, lance and shield feel as though they weighed nothing.
Blasting apart the last two Familiars in their path with a single shot, Tomoe and Tateyama finally reached the top of the staircase and were greeted with the sight of a pit utterly swarming with the cotton-ball Familiars. Clanking their black shears at the sight of the Magi, Tomoe raised a hand to summon her rifles when a flying Hideki took the initiative and dove straight into the pit with reckless abandon. He formed his gigantic buster blade into hand, the back of it opening up to reveal a pair of flaring verniers, and with a loud cry, the Puerum Magi crashed into the pit with a thundering boom that echoed throughout the Barrier.
A cloud of dust had been kicked up by the Magi's crash-landing as Tomoe and Tateyama jumped down into the pit to check on him. Tomoe landed with grace while the ground cracked underneath the weight of Tateyama's armor, and when dust finally settled, Hideki stood smirking among the fading remains of the Witch's Familiars as his over-sized blade vanished into blue particles, "This gets easier every day," Hideki laughed and removed his glass face-guard for a breather as the two caught up to him.
"There's a difference between bravery and recklessness, Hakamichi, do remember that," Tomoe reminded him with a teasing smile and the boy gave a meager shrug.
With the Familiars eliminated, a panting Tateyama glanced over to a strange painting that the Familiars were protecting, and as the silver knight took a clunky step towards the thing, the Puerum Magi noticed that it was an actual door of all things, "Tomoe, Hideki, over here," Tateyama pointed the tip of his jousting lance at the Witch runes marked on the door, "The door to the Barrier's core."
Hideki clipped his face-guard back on and smirked, "The main event already? Awesome."
"Don't get careless, you two," Tomoe told them with a wag of her finger as the three Magi stepped towards the door and prepared to take down the Witch itself, "Now, shall we?"
The door sprung open by itself, and in a sudden display of the Witch's control over its domain, the area around them transformed beneath their feet, bringing the three Magi through several different doors of several different realms until they were finally teleported straight onto the Witch's doorstep. There, the Witch was sitting on a gigantic couch in a bizarre garden of over-sized roses, vines and black leaves, surrounded by swirling walls decorated with butterflies and a thousand paintings. The Witch itself could only be described as a monstrous blob with butterfly wings, its head resembling a bush with several roses for 'eyes'.
Tateyama drew in a slow breath, Hideki cracked his knuckles, and as Tomoe's hand cut through the air, she declared her orders, "Hakamichi, Formation Fianco and Laccio. Ikezawa, take point."
His body moving to the will of her orders, Tateyama, still sweating nonstop under his helmet, jumped through the door of the Barrier's core without hesitation. The garden floor below cracked under his weight as he landed and got the attention of the Witch as it turned its 'head' to the armored knight. His door-sized shield in hand, Tateyama charged straight towards the Witch, his clunky footsteps roaring through the barrier as Tomoe and Hideki approached the Witch from the sidelines.
It's mobility contrasting with its size, the Witch jumped off its couch and sent the gigantic furniture tumbling towards the knight, Tateyama halting at this and aiming his lance at the object. His heels dug into the ground, he squeezed the trigger of his lance and the weapon's tip soared through the air like a missile. It tore apart the couch with ease and exploded into a cloud of smoke that spread throughout the garden, the Witch flying towards the ceiling to escape the thick cloud with Hideki rocketing straight towards it in pursuit.
"Crescent Slash!" Hideki blared as he materialized his buster blade into his hand, flew in front of the Witch and swatted his blade straight into its face with an immense 'clang'. Sending it falling back to the ground, its thundering crash dispersed the smoke cloud in an instant, leaving the dazed Witch open as a subsequent barrage of rifle fire pelted its back and tore apart its butterfly wings. The Witch roared an inhuman wail, and as it spun around to see Tomoe blasting at it from behind several giant roses, it scuttled blindly towards the Puella Magi, "'Teyama, you're up!"
Bursting from behind a makeshift cover of roses in-between Tomoe and the Witch's closing distance, spikes built into Tateyama's heels stabbed into the ground and the Puerum Magi's Soul Gem AI announced, "Impact Absorption Powers activated," the Witch's charge not ceasing, it slammed right into the golden dome solidifying around the Puerum Magi and Tateyama grimaced under his helmet as he halted the Witch to a slow, screeching crawl despite its stature being that of a small building, "Tomoe, now!"
With a smile on her face, the Puella Magi leaped into the air and fired several rounds into the floor around the Witch. As she landed back on the ground, ribbons sprung forth from the bullets embedded in the garden floor and snaked all around the Witch's giant form before snaring it to the ground in an instant. With Tateyama shutting down his protective field, he jumped backwards from the creature and the panting Magi coughed heavily underneath his helmet. He felt like he was going to collapse but insisted on seeing this to the end when he saw Hideki now hovering above the vulnerable Witch.
"Strength Amplification Powers activated. Directing all energy into arms. Time limit is 5 minutes."
Hideki's slammed a fist into an open palm as both hands flared with Recicio energy, a pair of burning, golden gauntlets encasing his arms, "Everyone ready?!"
"Converting absorbed force into offensive measures."
His heavy shield toppling to the ground like a heavy door, Tateyama raised the tip of his reformed lance and aimed it straight at the Witch using both hands. Energy harnessed from the impact of the Witch's previous attack then swirled from his Soul Gem and into his lance, the tip revolving madly like a drill, "Ready!"
At the far back, Tomoe chuckled as ribbons wrapped around the rifle in her hand and enlarged its barrel into that of an artillery cannon, several other ribbons impaling the ground to form a makeshift firing platform and base, "Altogether now!" Tomoe announced in a sing-song tone, closing one eye and aiming down the sights of her massive battle cannon, "Tiro...!"
"Terzetto!"
A duet of thundering bombardments deafening everyone's ears, a spinning drill tip and a shell of golden flames spiraled towards the entangled Witch and blew two clean holes straight into its body before the Puerum Magi above the Witch descended upon it with fists of flames. Crossing the line of sheer overkill, Hideki roared a battle-cry before plunging his burning fists into the Witch's body and causing it to explode into a swarm of butterflies, roses and leaves. Red roses showering Tateyama and Tomoe, the former let out a tired sigh as the Witch's remains promptly fizzled away, leaving only Hideki who was busy rolling his sore shoulders. The Witch now dead, reality started leaking back into their surroundings as the Witch hunt had concluded.
Returning to the abandoned office, a Grief Seed landed in the palm of Tomoe Mami, the Puella Magi pocketing it for her Soul Gem later as they all undid their transformations.
"Phew! I'm starving. How 'bout you, 'Teyama?" Hideki laughed and glanced aside to see his friend leaning on the wall for support, beads of sweat dripping down the side of his face, "'Teyama?"
Tomoe stepped up to the exhausted Magi, too worried to notice the Soul Gem ring around her finger beginning to glow, "Ikezawa, is there something wrong?"
Wiping his sweaty forehead with the sleeve of his uniform, Tateyama felt his eyelids go heavy and his vision becoming blur. But when he looked over to Tomoe, the sheer sight of her alone washed that sense of fatigue away ever so slightly, and with his legs moving all by themselves all of a sudden, Tateyama staggered towards her with his silver Soul Gem shining underneath his uniform, "Tomoe..." he drew in a sharp breath and clutched his chest tight.
"Ikezawa!" Tomoe took out her Soul Gem in its ornate egg-shape form and ran towards him with Hideki, only for both of them to halt when Tomoe's own Gem started to glow immensely in her hand like a miniature sun, "W-What's going on?"
Utterly confused at everything that was going on in front of him, Hideki could only guess that it was related to Tateyama's strange behavior the past few days, and before he could say anything, his assumptions were quickly proven right. Both Tateyama and Tomoe's Soul Gems glowed brighter than ever to the point that the entire room was flooded with silver and golden light, blinding everyone inside as a soft humming noise rang in the air. And as quick as it came, the light dimmed down, Hideki lowering his arms from his eyes to see both Tomoe and Tateyama both gasping for air where they stood.
Tomoe tightly grasped the side of her head, Tateyama's dropped onto his knees, and much to Hideki's dismay, both of his allies collapsed to floor. Tethering between unconscious and barely awake, the two Magi could hear a few words ringing in their ears.
"Soul-Link: Complete."
"Over there! I sensed that strange energy from over there!"
"Calm down, 'Bey, we're almost there!" Takuya tried to calm down the restless Incubator as the Puerum Magi swung through the abandoned buildings of the Mitakihara outskirts with his grappling hook. Sanbey held tightly underneath one arm, Takuya's eyes darted left and right, scanning the vine-covered buildings and offices behind his aviator goggles when his ears caught a few nearby voices. Landing on the top of the tallest building in the area, Takuya retracted his hook before back-flipping off of the roof and spinning around mid-air, performing a superhero landing on the ground with Sanbey still clinging to his leather armor.
In front of him, Takuya spotted Madoka, Sayaka and Hideki all standing around Tateyama and Tomoe as the two were sitting against the wall of the building. Hideki was the first to notice the archer's arrival, Takuya merrily skipping towards them with Sanbey in his arms as his Magi uniform faded away, "Takuya? What're you doing here?"
"Hi hi! I'm here cause Sanbey sensed something weird!"
The two girls turned away from the light-headed Tateyama and Tomoe they were tending to for a moment and noticed the cheery archer with the striped, three-tailed Incubator in his arms.
"Huh? That's... not Kyubey, is it?" Sayaka scratched her head while Madoka stared inquisitively at Sanbey.
Sanbey coughed into his paw, trying not to be shy under the curious eyes of the two girls nor grimace at the name of his dreaded cousin, "R-Right, my name is Sanbey. Pleased to meet you. I'd say a bit more, but I'm afraid we're here because I sensed a strange phenomenon occur around here," he looked at Tateyama and Tomoe, the two beginning to finally awaken from their state of near unconsciousness, "What happened to those two?"
"I have no freaking idea, 'Bey," Hideki groaned and crossed his arms, "I mean, it all started when Tateyama started acting weird. Then we saved this woman, killed this Witch, Tomoe and 'Teyama's Soul Gems started a light-show out of nowhere, they're barely awake, the woman we saved already went home and now you're here all of a sudden. You mind shedding some light on this?"
Sanbey hopped out of Takuya's arms and approached the two sitting Magi. Tomoe, her eyes beginning to clear up, noticed the Incubator in front of her and grasped the side of her head, "K-Kyubey, is that you?"
Leaving his introduction for later, Sanbey hopped onto the dizzy Tateyama's legs and placed a paw on the Soul Gem underneath his shirt. The stripes running through Sanbey's body shimmered brightly with gold and the ringed tassels attached to his ears hovered, "This... What is this...?" Sanbey whispered to himself and closed his beady eyes to focus. Then, his eyes shot back open in a panic and Sanbey retracted his paw, "I... I can't believe it..." he looked back at everyone, lost for words, "I can... only explain this phenomenon as a 'link' that had grown between Ikezawa Tateyama... and Tomoe Mami... an actual, physical link between their Soul Gems..." he looked back at the two, both of them unable to respond to this sudden revelation, "I can sense it: Recicio energy. The very energy that only the Puerum Magi could radiate... now grows within Tomoe Mami, too."
While Madoka and Sayaka were clueless about what he had even said, Hideki ran a hand through his hair, chuckling lowly at this out-of-left-field reveal, "Oh man, what a day..."
Takuya scratched his cheek as he felt the mood become a little too down for his tastes, "Well, why don't we get Tateyama and Tomoe back to her apartment first so they could rest?" he grabbed Hideki by the shoulder and tried lighting up the mood with a bright smile, "Then let's go eat something! A meal after some hard work is the best, after all!"
Sanbey hopped off Tateyama's legs as the Puerum Magi slowly pulled himself to his feet and helped Tomoe onto her own footing as well. Both of them barely able to stand, Hideki and Sayaka went ahead and let the dizzy two use them as crutches.
The Incubator's tails waved slowly through the air, his ears dropping, "Once again I'm useless to do anything," he said in a hush tone that everyone but Takuya had heard, "Anyhow, I agree with Takuya. We'll talk about the two have gathered their bearings, and maybe, I can try to do something to figure out what is this 'Soul-Link' exactly," hopping back into Takuya's arms, the archer heard the Incubator let out a pitiful sigh and the boy lifted a hand to pet the Incubator reassuringly on the head before everyone headed back to Tomoe's apartment.
The group finally leaving the abandoned part of town, the winds of Mitakihara blew through the city as the Incubator, Kyubey, watched them leave. As it had done nothing but observe the actions of the Puerum Magi and the Warlocks up until now, to Kyubey it seemed that it was finally the time to ask the boys and their artificial companion a few questions.