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As much as you don't really want to help the worthless meat sacks who infest this city, this presents an opportunity in its own right. You can score some brownie points with your love by helping the pitiful muggles!
This does mean you'll have to… To dirty your hands, though, helping the meat sacks. Which, again, is something you don't want to have to do!
… But it'd make Kaina happy! Possibly. And you'd do anything for your love, no matter how gross or demeaning it is!
There's one thing you absolutely have to do now that she's standing in front of you, looking depressed and afraid.
You smile for Kaina, lifting a hand to cradle her face. She shivers unconsciously at the affectionate contact; you don't think she's even aware of just how nervous she appears.
Terminus City's strongest Magical Girl has the most tender heart, huh?
It's a good thing you plan on safeguarding her tender heart. All for yourself~!
"It's okay, you know? Whatever it is you're so worried about, we can get through it together!" You say in an attempt to reassure Kaina. "You want to help these people, don't you?"
Kaina nods, her head twitching beneath your fingers.
"Then do whatever you've got to do. I'll be there for you, okay?"
"… Okay," Kaina closes her eyes, delicate eyelashes fluttering shut.
And you're treated to the wonderful sight of a Magical Girl donning her raiment. It's a holy thing, really. All the Magical Girl propaganda vids in the world can't capture how special Kaina's transformation is. Her white armor flows into existence over her clothes in a spark of rainbow light. A tiara alights on her head, perfectly framing her blonde hair. Sheer magical power rushes out from her form, so potent it actually generates warm gale-force winds that buffet your body. Electrostatic arcs crackle against your hand as you jerk your arm back reflexively.
You feel your heartbeat quicken as Infinity Princess – Kaina Shikinami – meets your gaze with her own. Still the same girl you love so desperately, just in a different change of clothes. A cooler change of clothes. Terminus City's perfect paragon, hope bringer to the hopeless.
… Gosh, seeing Kaina's Magical Girl form in the flesh is just taking your breath away. She's so pristine, so beautiful. The aura of power she's outputting is so blinding, just looking at Kaina's making your eyes water. It's like you're staring into the heart of a nuclear reactor or right at the sun! It's like she's an entirely different girl!
So cool~! So powerful~!
But then she moves, and you can see the earnest awkwardness flare in her eyes, in the way she moves, in the way her mouth turns down into a little frown, and you know this is the same girl you've gotten to know.
Infinity Princess is looking at you expectantly, silently. She's… Waiting for you to say something? To respond to what would otherwise be a shocking revelation? Right, because if you were anyone else the knowledge of Kaina's alter-ego would be a shocking revelation. The enchantment that protects a Magical Girl's identity only goes so far. It protects from most things, like cameras and hapless bystanders, but it's all moot if she transforms in front of somebody with the intent to reveal her identity to that person.
Kaina really trusts you this much, huh?
… It might be worth reciprocating that trust in your own way. Later. But for now…
"I'd love to look at you all day, but you transformed to do something, right?"
For now, you've got brownie points to earn with your love~!
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Kaina – No, Infinity Princess – Can feel her heart hammering in her chest even as she moves to triage the bystanders who got caught up in this terrible accident. Beneath her gauntlets, she can feel how clammy her fingers are. There's a sudden dryness in her mouth that… That…
Is this fear Kaina's feeling? Impossible. Infinity Princess doesn't feel fear. And yet…
And yet...
Enough. Infinity Princess closes her eyes, letting the world and her thoughts fall away as she sinks back into a more familiar state of mind. A state of mind where emotion and thought seem so very distant, where only action remains.
Victims trapped in car wreckage. Blood, oil, moaning. Apply sword to car wreckage, cut victims out of the wreckage.
Four patients, assessing. Three in stable condition. Responsive, airway clear, breathing good. Pulse good. Minor contusions. Miraculous. Set aside in recovery position for emergency services. One in more serious condition. Cybernetics mangled, biological components hemorrhaging. Bullet wounds, and contusions from the road accident. Probable spinal injuries. Unconscious, unresponsive.
Apply medical knowledge. Recommendation by Mitsuko to become a doctor continuing to pay dividends. Take out nanomedical kit. Steele's handiwork. Useful now. Apply kit's contents.
No vital areas hit, suspect spinal injuries, unwise to move the victim too much.
Pulse thready. Breathing stopped. Apply chest compressions...
"Hey, that lady's not looking so good. You need help?"
… Alice here now. Looking over shoulder. Check surroundings; other victims have been assisted. Bandages applied, improvised blankets laid out to keep victims warm. Alice's doing?
Alice awaits response. Reply.
"Chest compressions. CPR. Apply rescue breaths. Wait for emergency services."
"On it!" Alice cheers. "And yeah, I know how to give CPR. I've got this, go help the other people out!"
Curious. Observe briefly. Watch Alice apply chest compressions. Technique good, rhythm good. Uninterrupted compressions of 100 to 120 a minute. Victim's ribs probably cracked from the force. Unfortunate, but unavoidable.
Note Alice is also applying rescue breaths. Mouth-to-mouth with another girl. Unavoidable as well. Necessary medical procedure but…
Fingers clench involuntarily. Eyelid tics.
… Jealousy detected.
Odd.
Squash down feeling. Move on, triage rest of the crowd. Scanning. Most present with non-life-threatening injuries. Move to the back of the queue; emergency services can handle them. Three present with more serious injuries.
First victim. Shock, denial, clutching leg. Bleeding profusely from shrapnel in thigh. Probable nick to his femoral artery. Hold victim still, remove shrapnel, apply nanosutures to close the wound. Apply sterile bandages from nanomedical kit. Place victim in recovery position, apply improvised blanket to conserve victim's body heat. Move on.
Second victim. Multiple contusions, probable spinal injuries. Broken hip. Victim was struck by one of the cars that spun out of control. Triage. Apply improvised blanket to keep victim warm, apply nanosurgeons to help stabilize victim's injuries. Pack clothing around broken bones to prevent movement. Conscript another less-injured victim to watch over victim. Offer words of encouragement.
Move on.
Final victim. Not breathing, pulse weakening. Apply chest compressions. Emergency services inbound, one minute out. Apply chest compressions until then. Ribs crack and break under hands. Blood from injuries splatters onto raiment. Apply mana, vaporize stains. Have to keep raiment hygenic.
Continue applying chest compressions. Check scene. Other victims in stable state, laid out for emergency services to intake. Alice's presence helpful.
… Alice's presence remains concerning. Check own biometrics. Heart rate remains elevated. Breathing remains uneven. Skin clammy. Self-diagnosis. Results unclear.
What is this feeling? No physical injuries, but chest hurts. Sensation worsens when Alice Takanashi looks up to… To meet Infinity Princess' eyes.
… Avert gaze. Cannot meet Alice Takanashi's gaze. Conclusion – Infinity Princess is feeling guilt. Kaina Shikinami is feeling guilt. And fear.
Infinity Princess – Kaina Shikinami – Can feel her thoughts realign as she lets her combat processing power fall away. Involuntarily, her breath hitches, her hands shake even as she continues to apply emergency chest compressions to this car crash victim's chest with enough force to break ribs.
The motion's familiar for her at this point. Before Kaina became Infinity Princess, she wanted to be a doctor. Dreamed about it from the bottom of her heart. It was a career path Mitsuko suggested. Something about Kaina having excellent hand-eye coordination and a keen eye for detail.
So chest compressions, CPR? Kaina can do that in her sleep, even if she hadn't had on-the-job experience triaging victims as a Magical Girl. It's something as familiar as the guilt Kaina's feeling right now. The cold fear that's knotted through Kaina's guts is as chilling as an icy bucket of water thrown into her face.
Because this is the truth of Kaina's life, isn't it? This is the cold reality of the life Kaina's chosen to live. Being with Alice, being on dates with Alice was like a dream. So warm, so fluffy. Kaina could close her eyes and almost pretend like she wasn't Infinity Princess whenever she was with Alice. She could pretend like she didn't have to constantly patrol to prevent awful scenes like the one she's found herself in today from happening.
This is how Kaina's life truly is. Knee-deep in blood, cracking a man's ribs with CPR to keep his heart beating, to keep him alive for the paramedics to take him in. The truth is that saving people is an ugly business. Even still, it's something Kaina decided to fight for with all the might of her little heart.
This is the part of Kaina's life that Alice didn't get to see. The real part of Kaina's life. Kaina's real identity. Because Kaina hasn't really lived as Kaina Shikinami for the last few years, hasn't she? She's always just been… Infinity Princess. Terminus City's paragon, the most powerful Magical Girl with all the power in the world at her fingertips.
For the first time in a long time, Kaina feels… Deathly terrified. Well and truly afraid. It's funny. Kaina's faced kaiju, demons, and monsters from the most arcane regions of the world. She's seen bloodier battlefields than this; she's weathered worse mass casualty events. She's seen all the evils humanity continually commits and still she remained unscathed. Blood and fire are familiar faces to Kaina at this point. A little carnage won't ever scare the invulnerable juggernaut she truly is.
No, what scares Kaina the most is the idea that Alice might not be able to accept this side of Kaina. The… The intimidating side of Kaina, the part that's dominated most of Kaina's life up to this point. Because Infinity Princess really is a daunting juggernaut, isn't she? A figure revered by the masses. Even now, Kaina can see the huddled bystanders and victims looking at her with awe. Reaching out, as if to touch Kaina's pristine raiment with their hands.
It makes Kaina feel deeply uncomfortable. It makes her feel deeply unsettled. Kaina doesn't… She doesn't like this much attention…
And this is the kind of thing that Alice will have to deal with if she… If she pursues a relationship with Kaina. Because as much as she'd like to, Kaina can't guarantee that she'll be able to act like she regularly does with Alice now. This incident's proof of that much. There will be times when Kaina will have to be called away to save the city, to slay monsters, to prevent a bombing, to keep the gangs in check.
Infinity Princess is a facet of Kaina's identity, and Infinity Princess has to create a world where everybody is happy, and nobody cries. As much as Kaina would like to just live with Alice and…
… No. That'd be a lie. And lies and secrets make relationships… Confusing. Complicated. Maybe too complicated for Alice's tastes. Even if she did take the revelation of Kaina's other identity well? Maybe too well…
Emergency services finally arrive, snapping Kaina out of her self-induced fugue. A swarm of ambulances wheels onto the scene. White-uniformed paramedics spring into action, carting away the triaged victims on stretchers. Infinity Princess flinches as a crowd begins to form around her, feeling her thoughts speed back up.
Crowd. Discomfort. Raise hands, placate masses. Scan surroundings.
Query: Where did Alice go?
Scanning. Pink hair, visible atop building across the street. Hand, waving. Alice located.
Query: When did Alice slip away?
Irrelevant. Reinforce legs, jump. Kick off wall, leap to opposite building. Tense legs, brace knees. Land in front of Alice...
"Hey, hey! That was pretty crazy, huh?" Alice chatters.
… Combat mode disengaged.
Infinity Princess, Kaina Shikinami, takes her… Her girlfriend's platitudes in. Her gauntlet-clad hands tremble as she sheathes her sword. She swallows, feeling that cold, clammy feeling overtake her again. Nervousness, guilt, fear… All in equal measure.
It's the same sickening cold feeling Kaina feels most of the time in her civilian identity, except heightened. Worse, even. It's a chilling, nauseous feeling that makes Infinity Princess almost want to throw up. She can feel her stomach churn, feel just how dry her mouth is when she swallows.
This fear… It's the fear that Alice's kind, warm eyes might be a front. Irrational, disquieting fear that… That…
That Alice might reject this part of Kaina that's kept hidden away. That Alice won't be able to understand all the parts of Kaina's life, even the most disquieting parts. That… That…
It's an irrational impulse that gets Kaina to reach out and actually grab Alice's wrist. The pink-haired girl looks startled as Kaina clings to her, almost desperately, her mouth working as she attempts to vocalize the tumultuous tempest of her thoughts.
"Please…"
Please what? Please understand? Please don't leave me? Please stay by my side even though I've lied to you? There's so much Kaina wants to vocalize right now, but…!
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