I'm like really sorry for not updating in ages! I said I'd update over Easter and that was absolutely ages ago! I'm really sorry. I'm in the middle of exam season at the moment but I managed to scrape the time together to finish this chapter and while I doubt I'll be able to update over the next few weeks (especially over hell week) I promise that after my exams I should have enough free time to update this story at least weekly.
Umm, well this chapter didn't actually head were I wanted it to...but it's fine, just another character will be incorporated into the story line But this is a character we should all recognize...
Maisie's POV
Sunday passed peacefully and with Monday came a very different prospect. School. I wasn't doing very well at school. For several reasons. One, I didn't bother to pay attention or participate in any lessons as I saw no point. Two, I was constantly falling asleep during classes due to staying up late hunting all night. Three, because despite having been at school for several days I had made absolutely zero friends. Sure there was Jack and his mates, but being friendly outside of school is very different to being inside a school where a reputation is important. For the most popular guys in school to hang out with the school weirdo? Simply not done. It didn't really bother me that I knew that they would ignore me. After all that is how school works. The puella magi from the last town I had been in had actually had a really close friend that she had grown up with when she was younger, but due to different hobbies the two had grown apart during middle school and by the time it came to upper school they would barely acknowledge each other. Of course when they met up outside of school due to family events as the two families were close the two of them got along great. It is the way things work. There is no problem with that. You hear all sorts of fantastic stories and movies were the 'status quo' gets broken and the school heart throb goes out with the school geek and everybody suddenly starts getting along. It's a very nice fantasy. But that is all it is. This is reality. And in reality everything is going to be kept the same. It's not like they'll be openly horrible. They just won't acknowledge me. Of course in extreme situations sometimes things will shift. But many will succumb to peer pressure. Very few won't. After all that is what every student wants right? To fit in. Of course if your me, then fitting in is practically impossible and actually while a bit lonely I think that this is better. Once there is nothing left to be hurt, you can't be hurt right?
I pull on my uniform sadly, I'm fed up of being lonely. But loneliness is better than getting hurt. I know that much. I shake my head from side to side quickly, wanting to shake out all gloomy thoughts. All I succeed in though is messing up my hair. Yeesh, that's going to take ages to brush out I think looking at the mess of tangled green hair in the mirror. I sigh and reach for my tights resolving to resolve the bad hair issue after getting dressed. That's when I notice the rip.
"'Kyubey! Where you sleeping on my uniform! You've ripped my tights"' I yell telepathically.
Kyubey wanders through the open window and gazes over at me. "'Possibly. Were they on the chair?"'
"'Yes!"' I whine.
"'Then yes most likely I caused it"' Kyubey replies nonchantly.
"'Then apologize for it, or better fix it!"' I yell.
"'What's so bad about it?"' Kyubey asks, "'there just tights."'
"'But the school skirt is so short!"'
"'And… the issue is?"'
"'It's short!"'
We reach stalemate and Kyubey rolls his eyes and disappears out of the window.
"'Kyubey! Get back here!"' I yell running over to the window but he's already gone. "'mou, Kyubey you meanie"' I think hoping he can hear me. Sighing I pick up the skirt and blouse and tug my uniform as I stand in front of the mirror. It doesn't look so bad when I'm standing. So long as I don't bend over then I ought to be fine. I'll have to try and buy some thread and a needle somewhere after school.
There's a knock at the door that makes me turn around.
"Maisie, are you ready? Dad had to go to another meeting so he asked me to take Jamie to school so I need to leave early." Jack says.
I hurry over to the door and tug it open. "'I'll come too"' I say.
No way I am going to miss out on spending some time with Jamie. I love the little kid he's like a little brother to me. I always wanted a younger sibling.
Jack looks taken aback at my suddenness and a hastily tug my skirt wishing, yet again that it was longer.
"Sure lets go." He says, "I made some toast. Do you want to eat while we're walking?"
I nod happily and follow him out of the house, picking Jamie up on the way.
"'So another meeting, huh"' I say as we walk.
Jack nods "another" he says with a soft snort. "Dad's hardly been home the past month in the morning when these meetings run."
"'How come? You make it sound like they're not this common." I ask.
"They weren't" Jack replies, "once." He gives a deep sigh, "They used to be only one meeting a month but their have been so many issues lately, it all really started getting busy after that mass suicide."
"'Mass suicide?"' I gulp. I couldn't ever imagine committing suicide but I'd met people who had.
"Yeah, no one was even sure why, some of them had been struggling or had lead a hard life but most of them were just ordinary people. After that there was a lot of talk that some of the family members had then committed suicide. Add that to the sharp increase in traffic accidents and your missing friends and that's a hell of a lot of problems that have been getting worse for the town council.
I pull to a sharp stop. Unexplained suicide. Traffic accidents. One month. The missing puella magi. Everything adds up.
Jack's POV
"'Shit"'
"Maisie!" I gasp. Because Maisie never swears, or at least I've never heard her swear.
"' It's because my friends are missing"' she says looking up at me earnestly with her serious looking green eyes.
"huh?" Brilliant that's all I can think of to say.
"'Phantoms cause the unexplained suicides. Phantoms cause increased traffic accidents. Phantoms are responsible for all those unexplainable deaths. And because my friends aren't here to defeat them…"' Maisie trailed off, but I understood.
"'Mass Suicide"' she mumbled.
"'When and where did that happen?" Maisie says urgently.
"Um, South district, in an old warehouse" I say wondering where this is going.
"'I'm visiting there after dropping Jamie off"' Maisie says setting off at a run, with a tight grip on Jamie.
"Hey wait" I call running to catch up to her, "What about school?"
"School isn't that big of an issue for me." Maisie states, refusing to slow down.
We reach Jamie's school quickly and give him a rushed goodbye. He gives us an odd look but follows his teacher indoors readily enough.
"'Goodbye then"' Maisie calls, sprinting off down the street.
"I'm coming to!" I call back, following her. Maisie pulls to a screeching halt.
"'Are you crazy? With all the negative feelings associated with that place it will be thriving with Phantoms!"' Maisie yells.
I wince, her voice in my head causes an ache when she yells.
Maisie's eyes widen, "'I'm sorry, but go to school ok?"' A small smile appears on her face, "'The teachers will be disappointed if their 'star' student doesn't turn up right?"'
I frown, "Now I'm defiantly coming!"
"'I take it back! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Don't come! I might not be able to protect you!"' She blurts out in a rush.
"Protect… me?"
Maisie flushes, "'Like I protect everybody. It's my duty to make sure all humans are safe"'
"Stop saying you're not human" I yell. More and more often she keeps on reminding me about what exactly she is. But even so how can she not see herself as human! She has feelings, emotions, a personality. She's caring, kind and has a sweet smile. How on earth is she not human!
"It's my turn to protect you!"
"'You've done that already. You gave me a home Jack! Do you have any idea how much that means to me?"' Maisie replies
"It shouldn't be something that I need to give you! Why are you even a Puella Magi! What did you wish for! Why isn't your record in that book!" I yell back.
Maisie quietness, her eyes which have softened and become a vibrant green over the past few days harden, the guarded expression lurks there again, casting dark shadows so that her now moss green eyes stare at me. I crossed the line. Whatever she wished for, it's something I don't think she's ever told anybody. Her most important secret.
"'I'm leaving"' Maisie says stiffly turning around so that her back is facing me.
"Wait! Do you even know where you're headed?" I shout after her as she heads round the corner of the street.
Maisie stops. An expression of annoyance crosses her face and she turns back towards me.
"'Where is the warehouse?"' Maisie asks, refusing to meet my eyes.
"I'll show you the way" I say.
"'You are not coming! How many times do have to tell you!"'
"How are you going to get there then?"
Maisie grits her teeth, her hands clenched into tight fists. She draws in a deep breath, and slowly exhales, ungritting her teeth as her fists loosen. "'Fine. You can come."'
I smile and run to catch up to her, "It's this way" I tell I her and she follows without hesitation as I head round the corner. The opposite one Maisie had been about to go round.
Maisie's POV
"Why do you need to go there anyway?" Jack asks as we race through street after street.
"'I believe that with an incident that big, I may find out what happened to my friends."' I reply stiffly. I'm still annoyed he's coming.
"'Have you forgiven me yet Maisie?"' a voice echoes in my head.
Kyubey.
"'Nope,"' I say "'But you might as well come along, this is important"'
In response Kyubey jumps down neatly from the building above us and lands with a soft thump on my head before wrapping himself round my shoulders.
Jack leads us through a set of back alleys so that we don't get caught skiving off school and soon enough the two of us are walking down a deserted street until we reach the warehouse. As soon as we come in within sight distance of the warehouse my ring starts glowing, reacting to the phantoms.
Jack's POV
When Maisie's ring starts to glow she stops running, giving me a chance to catch my breath. Maisie's a really fast runner, I thought she was going to leave me behind at points.
Maisie twists her hand round so that it's palm upright and has her soul gem balanced neatly on top. Instantly a now familiar green light envelops her and she's wearing her puella magi dress.
Maisie glances over at the warehouse and then at the alley way of to the right that's piled high with rubbish. She walks over and picks up an old steel pipe that's incredibly long and was probably used as a gutter or something. With carefree ease Maisie snaps the pipe and hands a smaller, weapon-sized piece to me. Her gem at her neck starts to glow as she taps the pipe now in my hands. The pipe glows briefly and when the light fades I'm no longer holding a pipe. A spear. She just gave me a spear.
Maisie looks over the weapon and gives a nod. "'use that if you need to. But as soon as you get attacked call for me."' She looks up suddenly, staring straight into my eyes with a determined gaze that still hides any true emotions from me "'You're my top priority here so we will be leaving if you get hurt."'
I gulp. She sounds pretty certain that we're going to be attacked.
Turning around briskly Maisie starts walking towards the warehouse with me following behind.
Maisie's POV
The warehouse is grim to say the least. Broken windows and a dull, rusty exterior with peeling grey paint are is the best way to describe this building. The only splash of colour is the large pile of bouquets haphazardly placed at the warehouses entrance, as if whenever someone came to place them they ran away immediately after.
There not that colourful anyway I can't help but think as I approach the pile. Nearly all of the flowers are wilting and pale as if their colour had been bleached away, the phantoms bleakness has probably sapped away at the only beautiful thing here. There is one bouquet though that stands out. A bouquet that still has bright flowers with fresh dew on the delicate petals of the white lilies and purple lavender.
A bouquet that couldn't have been here long.
"'Jack,"' I say, "'there's someone here"'
There's no reply.
"'Jack!"' I turn around in a hurry, expecting a phantom to have caught him but find him stood right behind me. Looking up.
I turn my gaze to follow Jack's and my mind starts turning overtime.
Stood at the edge of the tall warehouse's roof is a woman leaning over the edge and griping on to the rail behind her. A woman with dark green hair that blows in the breeze.
"No way"
It was Jack who said that. I realize that this must be the closest he's been to seeing someone die. Well closest it's going to remain. No one's going to be dying here today on my watch.
The woman slowly lets her grip on the railing loosen and she starts tumbling straight to her death. Leaping into the air I catch the woman and land back on the ground with a soft thump.
Jack lets out a deep breath and stumbles over to me, his legs wobbling like jelly.
I give him a relieved glance and turn my attention to the woman in front of me. She seems fine, just unconscious and quickly I push her sleeve over and flip her arm over. No cuts. I check the other arm. None there either. That's good, it means that it was most likely a spur of the moment thing encouraged by the phantoms lurking around this warehouse. These are the people we Puella Magi try to save. The people who really want to commit suicide, those who weren't influenced by phantoms, well lets just say you can end up saving a person like that several times and they'll never be thankful. I've met one of those before. How horrible life must be to do that. And I think my life is bad.
It's only when I actually turn to look at the woman's face properly that I recoil in shock.
"'Hitomi-san?"'
So Hitomi-san showed up! And I'll be completely honest - I had absolutely no intention of having her turn up in the story at all before this chapter. I swear these characters have a mind of their own. You were supposed to go to school Maisie! You were supposed to go to school and meet a very important character. But now that will have to be saved and is probably a couple of chapter away.
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