A/N: Happy(?) 3rd birthday, Infinity!
Omg where did the time go? *ugly cry*
§ x § x §
§ x § x §
§ x § x §
FÜNFUNDSECHZIG
TIMELINE X + N + 1
To say that Homura was out of her depth would be a gross understatement. Faced with a bawling, traumatized child, her mind completely shut down. All she could do was stand and stare uncertainly at Nagisa as the girl wailed her little heart out in a pothole. She should do something, but drew a complete blank. Madoka would know what to do.
"Oh, sweetheart," Mami cooed as she swept past Homura, opened her arms, and descended on Nagisa with an embrace. "I know it was hard and scary, but you did so well!"
Nagisa was beyond words, but threw herself into Mami's arms. Mami didn't seem to mind being knocked onto her rear with her lap full of bawling child; Homura knew she would not have handled that well. Homura stared as her once-upon-a-time mentor rocked the girl, rubbed her back, and made quiet, soothing sounds into Nagisa's hair. Yoruichi trotted over from her lookout post and paced circles around the two magical girls as though anxious to lend comfort, but remained silent. Homura startled slightly when Hitsugaya tapped her shoulder and held the Canine Witch's Grief Seed out to her. Homura silently took it and stored it in her shield, then turned back to the other girls morosely.
"We heard you shooting," Hitsugaya prompted her in a murmur.
Homura breathed deeply and centered herself, trying to unfreeze her mental gears. "She stumbled back onto a track in the middle of her attack. The dolls are not particularly dangerous, but still. She had a hard enough time as it was."
His eyes slid from her own to Nagisa and back again, evaluating. "She took it out herself?"
"Yes." Homura reached up and tiredly rubbed her brow. "It looked like a cute poodle, for the most part. So to her..." She trailed off and sighed. "She really is too innocent for this," she added in a whisper.
Hitsugaya gave her a long, piercing look that made her uncomfortable.
"What?" she snapped irritably.
The shinigami heaved his own sigh and scrubbed a hand through his hair as he let his ice armor dissolve. "Later," he said gruffly.
Homura narrowed her eyes at him and opened her mouth, but he stepped away from her and more loudly asked about what to do next.
Mami nudged the little magical girl's shoulder and gently said, "Nagisa, baby, is your daddy at home?"
Nagisa's words were unintelligible but the shake of her head was adequate. Mami looked up at them and raised her brows in inquiry. Homura and Hitsugaya traded glances and shrugged. Mami breathed out a little sigh and said, "My apartment is closer than the shop."
"Your apartment it is, then," Hitsugaya said with a nod. "Can you stand?"
Mami looked down at how Nagisa was sitting on her, then back up at him. "I might drop her," she said ruefully.
Hitsugaya looked at Nagisa with regret as though he was the one who had made the little girl fight, fueling the regret Homura was feeling herself, and stepped closer to the two girls on the ground. He knelt, lightly touched Nagisa's shoulder, and cajoled her into letting go of Mami. She eventually did so, but immediately threw herself at him and clung to him. After a moment of surprise, Hitsugaya's face eased and he lifted her; the little girl shifted her grip and wrapped her limbs around him while she cried into his neck. The boy looked deeply uncomfortable, but the weeping girl didn't notice. He rubbed her back hesitantly in a attempt to comfort her. Homura thought the two looked like siblings with their matching white hair.
Good. People would be less likely to question a teenage boy in a school uniform carrying his soaked, crying "sister" "home."
Mami stood and brushed dirty water from her skirt and Homura picked up Yoruichi. They hopped rooftops northeast until they were a few blocks from Mami's building, talked Nagisa into dismissing her battle costume, and went to Mami's building on foot. The evening commuters returning from work peered at the soaked quartet from under their umbrellas. Hitsugaya would make a vaguely apologetic face at them and the adults would look at him with fond approval and carry on with their business instead of thinking he was kidnapping a child.
Soon they were standing in the foyer of Mami's apartment with puddles of rainwater forming under them. Homura put Yoruichi down and flinched in annoyance when the cat immediately shook water out of her fur and sulkily licked her paws. They stood there for a moment as they processed what a mess they would make and listened to Nagisa, who had downshifted into tired, guttural, voiceless sobs.
"I have a mop," Mami finally sighed in resignation.
"Wait," Hitsugaya said. "I can do something. It'll be cold, though."
The shinigami shifted Nagisa to one hip, lifted his freed hand, and muttered something with a frown of concentration. Blue-white light flickered over his palm and the air temperature dropped sharply. Moisture condensed and swirled toward the light. The girls shivered as the water in their clothes and hair chilled drastically before being caught in his magic and drawn away. It surprised Nagisa into blinking and looking up, then becoming entranced by the ice flower growing over Hitsugaya's hand. He moved it so she could see it better since it seemed to distract her, then took his shoes off using just his feet to draw water out of them. Homura and Mami followed suit and removed Nagisa's shoes for her. Yoruichi made a show of snarling as the water in her fur was pulled away as freezing mist. They were soon dry but shivering.
"Tha-that's use-useful," Mami said with interest as her teeth chattered.
Hitsugaya hummed agreement and handed Nagisa the completed ice flower. The girl didn't seem to notice how cold it must have been. Shock?
Mami chafed her hands up and down her arms trying to generate warmth. "Come on. I'll get us blankets and something hot to drink."
Yoruichi look off to wander the apartment, looking like she was just sniffing things curiously but probably making sure there wasn't an Incubator lurking around to eavesdrop. Homura joined Nagisa and Hitsugaya at the table, overriding her instinct to help fetch things in favor of watching Mami bustle about. She knew Mami's apartment like the back of her hand but couldn't reveal that. Instead, she conjured her shield, fetched Nagisa's things, and silently watched the shinigami awkwardly coax Nagisa into releasing him. He was unsuccessful at anything but prying the ice flower out of her hand and putting it on the table until Mami showed up with a thick blanket to wrap her in and a mug of hot cocoa for her to drink. Even then, she plopped right back into Hitsugaya's lap and leaned against him once bundled up, just facing the ice sculpture on the table instead of him while she sniffled between sips. Resigned to being Nagisa's chair, Hitsugaya just sighed, asked Mami for green tea instead of cocoa, and declined a blanket.
Mami smiled at him with something between affection and teasing. "You would make a good big brother."
Hitsugaya sputtered a denial and looked away. Mami and Homura shared small smiles.
Mami joined them at the table and they spent a good fifteen minutes just warming up in silence. Homura had no idea how to start and was grateful when Mami took the initiative.
"Nagisa," Mami said hesitantly, "I think... maybe you shouldn't fight in labyrinths."
The little girl jolted to attention in protest. "I want to be a strong magical girl like you and Miss Homura!"
Mami looked down at her cocoa and looked conflicted. Homura knew she was aware that her strength was partly faked, but wasn't sure if she'd admit it aloud.
"I'm... not as strong as you think I am," Mami said slowly.
"Few magical girls are," Homura added, quiet and somber. "Forcing it has become key to preserving our sanity, is all."
Mami startled and looked up at her with wide eyes. Hitsugaya looked at her sideways with a neutral expression. They had both noticed that she included herself in the statement.
"We are all damaged in some way," Homura continued. "Some of us are just better at pretending it away than others."
"That's not true!" Nagisa argued.
"It...," Mami said hesitantly, voice small, "It really is."
Nagisa's face looked like the two senior magical girls had just taken a jackhammer to the pedestal she had put them on.
"Once you become as jaded as I have to survive, you will never be the same," Homura said. "We would spare you from that if at all possible."
Fresh tears streamed down Nagisa's cheeks. "I'm— I'm not a b-baby. I can help. I'll be okay. I'll be b-better next time."
"Maybe so," Homura said as she looked at her mug. Then she raised her eyes to pin the little girl with a hard stare. "The issue is that we would prefer that you not. We do not want you to fight."
Nagisa flinched at the rejection. Mami looked miserable but didn't disagree, instead adding, "We will share our Grief Seeds with you. But we want to keep you out of labyrinths."
Yoruichi slunk out from under the table and curled up in Nagisa's lap as the girl shook her head in denial. "I'm a magical girl! I'm s'posed to protect people! You said so when I met you!"
Mami cringed. "I was... at least partly wrong."
Hitsugaya interrupted the magical girl business for the first time, gently but firmly saying, "Their duty to protect is what drives them to protect you, Mo— Nagisa."
"We would have prevented you from becoming a magical girl had we known the Incubator made you the offer," said Homura.
"Like... how Miss Akemi kept Miss Kaname and Miss Miki from contracting," Mami said slowly, seeming to understand Homura's actions more completely. As if she had factually understood her reasoning but the depth of feeling hadn't fully hit her.
Well, at least dealing with Nagisa would have some kind of positive impact despite it falling apart.
Shaking with anger, Nagisa shouted, "I'm coming with you! We'll fight together! I'll be safe with you!"
"No," Homura said flatly.
"I— What if I just fight Familiars? I can do that!"
Mami closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as she sat ramrod straight. She opened her eyes and gave Nagisa a stern look. "No. If you do show up, I will bind you in ribbons and shield you to keep you safe. End of discussion."
Nagisa's face crumpled. She threw her empty mug at Mami, jumped to her feet, and shouted, "You're mean!" as Yoruichi scrambled and yowled at her sudden eviction from Nagisa's lap. Mami's battle instincts kicked in and she caught the mug before it could hit her in the face. Nagisa grabbed her things and ran for the door sobbing, doubled back for her shoes, and hurried out into the hall. Mami half-stood to follow her but Homura barred her with her arm.
"Let her go."
"But—"
Hitsugaya stood with a sigh. "I'll follow her on the rooftops and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid on her way home."
Turning to him, Homura said, "Take Yoruichi. Drop her by Momoe's apartment. She thinks Momoe belongs to her by now and will at least protect her from the Incubator."
The shinigami gave her a businesslike nod, looked at Mami and said, "I'll be back in a bit," picked up Yoruichi, and hesitated before exiting by the front door instead of the balcony.
Once he was gone, Mami's eyes teared up. "We were cruel."
"Mm." Homura sipped her cocoa then said, "I am... glad you are capable of it." She needed to shore up the bridge she was building with Mami, so she haltingly continued, "I... initially had difficulty steeling myself like that to protect other girls. Even if it hurt them."
Mami didn't say anything, but she stared at Homura for a long time. Homura bore the scrutiny patiently. At long last, Mami quietly said, "All of this—" she waved her hand vaguely— "has been harder on you than you let on. On your attitude, I mean. I knew the rest was hard. But... the way you behave with other girls... " She paused for a long moment, thoughtful. "You... didn't used to be like this, did you?"
Homura couldn't decide whether or not to be glad Mami could be very insightful when in her right mind. "Correct."
"What... did you used to be like? Before all this?"
Ah, how to answer that question? "Shy. Soft. Naive. Passive. Timid. Optimistic, to a degree. If I was with my best friend, anyway."
The look on Mami's face said, you are none of those things now and that is tragic, but she remained silent.
"What were you like?" Homura asked distantly.
Mami smiled bitterly. "Happy. And whatever the opposite of lonely is."
Homura merely nodded. They sat without speaking for a long time, simply keeping one another company and listening to the pattering of the rain while they shared cocoa. Homura didn't know what this Mami was thinking, but she wished she could ask a Mami of dozens of timelines past if training Madoka, Sayaka, and Homura— even Kyōko, in the time before Homura's reset point— to overcome fear and gentleness in favor of battle readiness had been as depressing as trying to teach Nagisa. It probably had been, since it seemed to involve breaking girls of that which was warm and soft to make room for cold and hard and that Mami had done it for at least four girls in that timeline. Upon reflection, Homura understood Mami's homicidal madness then far better now that she felt the guilt from her guidance of Nagisa backfiring. She sifted through old memories with new understanding.
"If Soul Gems give birth to Witches, then we have no choice but to die!"
Sayaka reduced to a Grief Seed by Homura's bombs in too many timelines to count.
"I thought Sayaka was a lost cause and that the only thing we could do for her was put her out of her misery."
Kyōko, burying grief in anger, slamming a fist against the nearest object in the train station as she failed to restrain tears. "Sayaka—!" Miserable.
Mami, seeing with sudden, horrifying clarity that she had cheerfully led her friends into inescapable condemnation to become that which they fought. "We have no choice but to die!" Miserable.
Kyōko's Soul Gem shattered by Mami's bullet.
"Put her out of her misery."
Mami's Soul Gem shattered by Madoka's arrow.
"Put her out of her misery."
Madoka, kneeling on the train platform, sobbing for her lost friends— three dead in one night. "I can't take it anymore!" Miserable.
Madoka laying in the rubble of Mitakihara, shakily holding up her blackened Soul Gem. "Could I ask you... for one more thing? I... don't want to become a Witch." Miserable.
"Put her out of her misery."
Homura, screaming in agony as she pulled the trigger and Madoka's Soul Gem shattered. Miserable.
Karin draped over Homura and rasping, "She was better off that way." Miserable.
Karin, staring at Yuzu's empty body, screaming screaming endlessly screaming. "I'D RATHER DIE!" Miserable.
Karin again, listlessly wandering Urahara Shop like a haunted ghost, scratching at ribs she now remembered as a cage for her sister's corpse. "I'm really sorry about this." Miserable.
Homura herself threatening to kill the Sayaka of the timeline before this one if the stubborn girl refused to use a Grief Seed. Miserable. Both of them.
When it came to her threats against the last Sayaka, Homura didn't even know whether she had been serious or bluffing anymore. If she had been serious... hadn't that been similar to what that one version of Mami had done?
"I thought Sayaka was a lost cause and that the only thing we could do for her was put her out of her misery."
Homura looked up at Mami through her bangs, took in the way her former mentor was silently crying into her cold cocoa, and wondered about the line between miserable and lost cause.
Perhaps they weren't so different. Perhaps Mami was no weaker than Homura. Perhaps the Mami of the time before had merely edged over the line into lost cause territory a hair's breadth before Homura herself. And Homura now realized she had been straddling that border for a long time— that she had cracked in the same instant, just more shallowly. That had been the timeline that broke the old her and left the current her to carry on, after all. She had thrown away nearly all sense of self and radically changed her very personality, vowed to never rely on anyone anymore, and spiraled down through more than time alone. Deeper and deeper, vision dimming and narrowing, only staving off completely drowning in despair by stubbornly holding her breath beyond reason. But no one could hold their breath forever.
How deep would she have sunken and how soon would she have drowned without that chance encounter with the Kurosaki girls? How soon would she have lost herself completely and become a Witch? Or worse?
"We have no choice but to die!"
"The only thing we could do for her was put her out of her misery."
If Mami noticed the teardrops falling in Homura's cocoa, she was polite enough to not comment.
§ x § x §
Nagisa was still shaking with shame and rejection when she got back to her shabby apartment building. Her hands refused to cooperate, fumbling with and dropping the keys. She gave up and plopped down on her hands and knees to just try to breathe.
"Meow."
Nagisa startled as Yoruichi threaded through her arms and purred. "H-how did you get here, Yo-yo?" Of course, the cat just leaned into her arms. Nagisa automatically pet her, then stopped and pushed her away. "You're Miss H-homura's kitty, Yo-yo. Go ho-ome."
The cat refused, doubling back with an annoyed meow to demand chin scratchies.
Pushing the cat away several times as she sniffled became pointless, so she picked up her keys and unlocked the door with a sigh. Yoruichi made to dart inside but Nagisa blocked her again. After a struggle of pushing the cat away with her foot and trying to pull her leg back in and close the door before the cat could slip through, the best Nagisa could do was getting only one paw stuck in the door so she couldn't close it without hurting Yo-yo. Fresh tears welled up in Nagisa's eyes as the cat meowed plaintively and she thought of the not-a-puppy's yelps. She held the door where it was with one hand, took a step back, and wiped her tears on her arm. Why should she think she had any business fighting Witches if she couldn't even manage a cat?
"What do I do?" she whimpered to herself.
That is your choice, Nagisa Momoe.
Nagisa's eyes went wide and she whipped her head around to look into the dim apartment. Sitting near the little shrine to her mother was Kyu— the Incubator.
I can lure the cat away if you like, it offered. Then we can talk. It seems you have had a break with the others. I am concerned.
Her eyelashes fluttered as she tried to blink away her surprise. Struggling to make her mind work right, the first thing she blurted out was, "Get away from my mommy."
Yoruichi's paw went still. Something nudged the door; Nagisa glanced down and saw Yoruichi's nose poking into the opening and sniffing.
The white creature stilled and looked at the shrine and urn as if just noticing it. Oh, I beg your pardon. It stood and walked to the other side of the room. I apologize. Human grief rituals can be somewhat beyond me.
Yo-yo's paw resumed scratching and struggling more desperately, but Nagisa held the door where it was. A question that had burned in Nagisa's heart since her mother died rose to her lips unbidden. "Could you have made Mommy's cancer go away?"
Red eyes blinked. Had you asked, yes.
Nagisa shook in disgusted rage. "Why didn't you say so?"
You did not ask. You knew your wish as soon as I offered you a contract. I have had other girls make wishes to make another human happy prior to death, so it was not unreasonable to me. It swished its tail and cocked its head thoughtfully. For example, a mere few months ago, a girl north of Mitakihara had a grandmother who was on her deathbed, unlikely to regain consciousness and likely to live at most a few days without artificial life support. The girl respected the process of life and death as taught by her grandmother enough that her wish was simply for her grandmother to "return to her normal self until her lifespan runs out." She was satisfied to acquire a day of normal domestic happiness with the woman before she died instead of watching her languish on her deathbed. The creature bowed its head. I thought you wanted something similar.
"I— I did, but— but I would've— if I knew— I w-would've—"
Kyubey sighed as Yoruichi snarled and thrashed at the door. I apologize. I was so certain you were firm in your choice. It perked up. Perhaps I could have you speak with other girls before I grant their wishes so you can make sure this does not happen to anyone else?
Nagisa went still and turned the idea over in her head. "But Miss... Miss Homura said you take our souls out to make us magical girls," she said slowly.
Correct. Before Nagisa could ask a follow-up question, Kyubey innocently asked, Would your soul becoming a physical object have been worth your mother's life?
It was like a punch to the gut. All the air fled her lungs and she felt ill. "Yes," she whispered. "But— but I— I messed up."
Kyubey blinked at her and reiterated, I cannot undo your choice, but if you like, you can try to educate other girls and help them in labyrinths.
Nagisa's face burned with shame again. "Miss Mami and Miss Homura said I sh-shouldn't fight."
They cannot give you orders, Kyubey said, sounding like it was frowning though its face was still.
"But— but I cried after the labyrinth this afternoon."
Many magical girls cry quite often when they are still beginners. Mami Tomoe cried after her battles for months when she first contracted.
"She did?" Nagisa asked in surprise. "But she's so strong."
You can be, too, given practice, Kyubey said encouragingly. You did well in the fight against Ayase and Luca Sōju, did you not?
"I di— um. Miss Homura got angry about it."
I suspect Homura Akemi has ulterior motives for discouraging girls from developing their talents. When Nagisa made a confused face, it said, I think she has a hidden reason for stopping me from helping other magical girls become strong.
Nagisa frowned hard and the words of others rang in her memory.
"Never do that again! We could have killed you by accident, thinking you were safe when you were behind the enemy. The enemy could have taken you hostage. Never do that ever again!"
"She has seen too many magical girls die."
"I need to know that you can protect yourself. I need you to not let your feelings get you killed. Please."
"Miss Homura is nice and sad and doesn't want magical girls to die," Nagisa said sharply. She stood straighter. "I don't want other girls to die."
All humans die eventually, Kyu— the Incubator said mildly. Most do not have the opportunity to die for a purpose— especially those as young as you. Given the choice, would you rather die in the course of saving lives that their existence be less fleeting, or in a meaningless automotive accident?
Nagisa hesitated uncertainly again, vaguely noting that it sounded like Yoruichi's free paw was clawing the wood of the door. The cat yowled more loudly than Nagisa had ever heard her. It brought to mind Mr. Urahara's words.
"I think I'll send Yoruichi home with you. She will protect you if the Incubator comes and tries to talk to you. It can say some tricky things."
"You're trying to trick me," Nagisa said stubbornly.
Why do you think it is I who am trying to trick you, when Homura Akemi is obviously pushing you away and not telling you something? It looked at its swishing tail and lowly said, What do you think Homura Akemi was doing when she was in seclusion at that shop this weekend? The inhabitants of that property are concealing something. The Sōju situation resolved rather well for all of you, so why would she hide? How did they so rapidly change Mami Tomoe after she moved in? Have they done something to her?
Furious, Nagisa opened her mouth to yell a defense about Miss Homura getting help, but she choked it back when Yoruichi gave another of her loud yowls and reminded her of Mr. Urahara's words again. Plus other words.
"Yo-yo hates the Incubator and will fight it off tooth and claw."
Too angry to speak, Nagisa countered the Incubator's accusation by stepping aside and swinging the door wide open.
Yo-yo stumbled as the door she had been pressing on gave way, but immediately recovered and rocketed at the Incubator in a flurry of teeth and claws. The Incubator dodged and flickered around the apartment faster than Nagisa had thought possible as the black cat chased it. The creature made a break for the open door, jumped to the street-facing second floor railing, and was about to kick off from it when Yo-yo caught up to it with a better jump. They tumbled over the edge and fell together as Nagisa gasped and ran to look down. Both creatures did that funny cat thing where they twisted midair and landed on their feet in the scraggly bushes below. Yoruichi attacked again, clamping her teeth down on the back of the Incubator's neck and shaking it. The Incubator writhed and made one long ear pry the cat's teeth off it and clubbed it away with the other ear. The black cat scored one last hit, biting the end of the Incubator's tail and being dragged halfway across the street before she lost her grip. Bloodied white fur disappeared in a blur as it fled. Yo-yo darted back and forth, hissing, spitting, and jumping with her hackles raised as she sought the enemy.
Nagisa didn't feel particularly bad about the Incubator's injuries, but that itself made her feel bad even though she was glad it was gone.
"Sacchan, what just happened?"
Nagisa turned to her left. Daddy was standing near the stairs, holding his worn briefcase and looking out at Yo-yo, who was still yowling around the street in blatant challenge. A tabby cat slunk out from underneath a car and ran in terror as Yo-yo locked onto it and charged just enough to scare it off.
"Wha-what do you mean, Daddy?"
Daddy looked from her to Yo-yo to her to Yo-yo and rubbed his eyes. "Did— was that— did something come out of our door?"
"What?" Nagisa blurted in surprise.
"What was Yo-yo chasing?" he asked.
"Uh. Uh." Nagisa looked back and forth between her father and the cat, who was so riled up she harried a dirty, tired construction worker who had just gotten off a bus. The man didn't have the energy to do more than irritably shove her away from his ankles with his work boots.
"What has her so angry?" Daddy asked as the construction worker shoved Yoruichi away and slammed his door in her face on his first try.
"Ummmm... there was a white kitty in the house when I opened the door and Yo-yo got mad."
"Huh. I didn't see anything. I must've just missed it." He pinched the bridge of his nose, then pressed on his closed eyes more firmly like he did when he got the headaches that made him see funny lights. "What was a strange cat doing in our apartment?"
Nagisa avoided his eyes and tried not to panic. "Um... I... I just got home and I dunno."
"You just got home now?" Daddy asked with his eyebrows scrunched together. "Where were you all afternoon?"
"I... I went to see Miss Mami and her f-friends." Tears welled in her eyes again. "We talked about... things."
Daddy's face fell and he quietly asked, "About Mommy?"
That was a good reason to cry. "Yeee-eahhh."
Daddy held out his arms and she ran to him. He patted her back and said, "We'll be okay, Sacchan. And I got some time off so we can be together. We'll figure things out. Mommy would want us to."
Nagisa cried. Mommy would want to be alive.
§ x § x §
Tōshirō scowled from his position on a rooftop nearby and watched the Incubator land on a billboard across the street from him to nurse its wounds. That had to be a deliberate choice— a dare for him to react or attack. A taunt. When it glanced back at him, Tōshirō crossed his arms over his chest and glared.
"You're doing yourself no favors," he said loudly, wondering if the thing could read lips or hear better than humans. "It's not like you to be this blatant."
I thought one such as you would be aware of the intersectional nature of blatancy and subtlety, it replied pleasantly before flickering away.
Ominous. What had it said to Nagisa?
§ x § x §
Kisuke was drowsily sipping tea and watching the sparse drizzle making rings in the koi pond that sparkled in the lantern light when Hitsugaya and Tomoe returned. Without Akemi. And it looked like Tomoe had been crying and Hitsugaya was concerned.
"Welcome home," Kisuke said softly. "It doesn't seem to have gone very well. Where is Miss Akemi?"
"Akemi wanted some quiet time to think alone in her apartment," Hitsugaya said disapprovingly. He heaved a sigh. "The labyrinth was easy. It was the aftermath that went sideways."
Tomoe sniffled. "Poor Nagisa."
Kisuke searched their faces, solemnly patted the boards and invited them to sit, then called out for Tessai to bring more tea. The two took turns describing the evening's events. When they were done, he sighed and said, "We'll have to figure something out for Miss Momoe once she calms down. At least Yoruichi won't let anything happen to her."
"What if Nagisa tries to go into a labyrinth by herself?" Tomoe asked quietly.
A lazy grin stole across Kisuke's mouth. "Oh, that kittycat has her ways. And remember that Miss Momoe has the charm bracelet. One of the little bells and whistles I put in it was a minute signal that trips an alarm here if it disappears— such as by going into a labyrinth." He sipped from his cup and said, "Let Miss Miki and Miss Kaname know you're unharmed. Tell them a rough summary of what happened, including that the Incubator made contact with Miss Momoe." After a pause, he added, "Ask Miss Kaname to check on Miss Akemi periodically through the night."
Tomoe stared dully into the courtyard and seemed to withdraw into her own mind as Hitsugaya tapped out text messages and discussed Kaname's replies, which were as Kisuke had expected. Hitsugaya raised a brow at his lack of surprise for some, but didn't directly comment. They sat in comfortable if morose silence for awhile as the scent of Tessai cooking dinner wafted out to them. Their meal was subdued. Tomoe looked lost afterward.
"Miss Tomoe, do you have anything you need to do tonight?"
The girl blinked owlishly and shook her head.
Kisuke smiled slightly. "Would you like to join Tessai as he finalizes ward design for Miss Kaname's house?"
Perking up in interest, Tomoe asked, "Wards?"
"Like those protecting this property," Kisuke said with a vague gesture around them. "Apparently, Miss Kaname's father is spiritually aware. We spoke in person yesterday and by phone while you were gone this evening. He requested wards and plans to speak with Miss Kaname tonight about some... family history she was unaware of."
"O-oh. That's... Is that good or bad?"
Kisuke chuckled. "Good, I think." He smiled at her and said, "So if you'd like something to do that may be mutually educational, Tessai said you would be welcome to join him."
"Mutually educational?"
Tessai hummed agreement. "I hope to see how our techniques may remind you of anything you are capable of so we can compare. And you may learn something in the process. I've given Miss Akemi some literature on theory, but she has initially focused more on studies in healing others."
"Has she?" Tomoe asked brightly. "It can be very difficult, especially at first."
"Perhaps you could work with her," Kisuke cheerfully suggested.
Tomoe smiled and chirped agreement, snatching the opportunity to do something constructive with both hands. She soon joined Tessai and Hitsugaya in cleaning up before their project. Kisuke smiled faintly at them bustling around with dishes before retreating to his labs.
He had Soul Gems to study.
§ x § x §
§ x § x §
§ x § x §
A/N: Thank you for sticking around with me through three years of writing this monster. Some of you reviewers have been with me since the beginning; special thanks to you, and I'm so happy I've managed to keep you interested this long hahaha. I would have lost steam long ago if not for everyone's continued feedback. You have helped me grow as a writer and overcome some very difficult times. I love you for it.
This chapter was replaced with an edited version on November 1, 2019. Reviews with timestamps before that date refer to a slightly different version of the chapter.