Furuzeki Warzone IC

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Yuri looked at Miaka and nodded. She couldn't forget that place after all, even if she wanted to. There was little chance she'd ever go there though, not now that she wasn't who she use to be. Miaka didn't need to know that though. She just needed to know her little sister was always going to be safe. "Oh, don't be that way," Yuri said with a smile as she put her hand on Hotaru's. "It will be a lot of fun! That's what fashion SHOULD be. People forget that though. Besides you can look at other things too." That would give Hotaru the excuse she needed if she had to 'walk away' for a bit as they went around town.

Yuri kept up a running dialog somehow until lunch was over. "Now don't forget, at the gate after school. Don't make me eat your ice cream." She looked at both girls meaningfully before she skipped off to class. She could only hope they both showed up.

Three more teachers and a very odd joke from the baseball team's pitcher later Yuri was at the gate. She hadn't meant to, but she had rushed there, barely saying a word to any of her classmates as she did so. Would they show up? They had to! Still though Yuri worried as she stood at the gate, fidgeting with her uniform and checking her watch every five seconds. She looked like a girl that just told her crush to meet her at the gate if he liked her. As she waited she thought back to the past... many pasts!
 
Miaka hadn't spent the afternoon in class, she hadn't even been in school, or even Miaka. The witch knelt, hammer in it's side next to her as she watch the girl in yellow turn this way and that. "Wh-where are you?" The poor girl knew she was there but not who was there. "H-hello?"

She was new, painfully so... maybe she hadn't even met her team yet but that didn't matter. Miaka waited just out of sight, watching.

There was a crash and the girl turned, just the kind of distraction Miaka had been waiting for and she dashed out of cover, hammer in hand. The girl turned towards her suddenly, bow coming up. she was FAST and for a moment Miaka thought she was too fast but the arrow wizzed underneath her harmlessly as she lept high into the air and brought the hammer down.

The girl dodged backwards and notched another arrow but Miaka was faster this time...The bow clattered across the rooftop as she girl screamed, her hand suddenly clutched to her, the bones broken from a blow from Miaka's hammer. She was disarmed, the fight was over.

"You win..." the girl said with a pained smile and a nervous laugh as the witch stared at her impassively. "My first fight... well done."

She slowly offered a hand to her better, her good hand hand the witch responded by resting her hammer across both shoulders and extending her own. The two shook hands as a cautiously optimistic smile crept over the younger girl's face. "I'm Goldenro..."

"I cannot spare your life."

For the first time their eyes met and in the witch's no emotion showed. The were like hollow pools whose depths light hadn't touched in centuries. "But I will make it quick."

It came too face for human eyes to follow, right across her face sending a spray of blood shimmering through the air. She hit the ground like a sack of potatoes and a moment later there was a sound like a an overripe melon exploding and the fight reached it's gory conclusion. What was left of the girl would be found by her caretakers weather they were human or alien and they would see the evidence of the Witch's signature finishing move as well has her footprints leading towards the fire escape, quickly fading to nothing.

*​

Miaka almost walked into Yuri as she tried to reenter the school grounds through the front gate, she had a distracted look about her as she grabbed the younger girl's arm without warning. "You're early." she said the far away look being replaced by a smile before she looked away. Today's hunt while successful hadn't changed anything, the mascot as always had escaped which only proved that even using their precious girls as bait didn't draw them out and now Miaka's was missing again. "Are we ready to go are are we waiting for your friend?" Her name escaped Miaka but only because she didn't really care enough to remember it. Soon she would be gone again and today was about making sure Yuri would be safe. There was a war on and if Yuri was drays into it...

"Here I got you something." she reached into hr bag to pull out a glass horse, she had seen it in a shop on the way over and had remembered Yuri pointing out something similar once.
 
After the talk with Yuri and her aloof friend, Hotaru had gone down a random corridor from the roof back to the gym room. Hearing showers going she had quickly entered a locker room and found an open locker and then grabbed the clothes. She was then spotted by a boy, who was wearing nothing but a towel. Her eyes widen and then she bolted out.
There were a few screams coming from the locker room and that caught the attention of the gym teacher. Luckily for Hotaru, there was a stairway that no one was currently using.

Hotaru slipped the black pants and jacket over her gym uniform. It was a tad short in the arms but other than that, it was a fairly good fit. "That was too close." She muttered to herself, as she adjusted her hair into a short ponytail in an attempt to make herself look a tad more masculine. If anyone asked, she was just a pretty boy. That was still a popular enough fad, wasn't it?

"Well, did you end up meeting your new teammate Higanbana?" Saru asked.

"Gah!" Hotaru shouted, not expecting the monkey to find her so quickly.

"I heard a lot of screams and figured that you were somehow involved with the trouble." Saru said.

"Yeah, yeah. I did meet Yuri." Hotaru said. "However, I am confused. She wasn't wearing the bracelet that we're all issued." Hotaru then pulled up her cuff to reveal a thin red bracelet that had cream colored jewels on it. "You said that if we didn't wear these things that our powers would be cut off."

"She didn't? Well that's odd!" Saru said cheerfully. "Sometimes there are exceptions to the rules!"

"You'd better not have just used this as a diversion for something else…No. I doubt ya did. I sensed some kind of connection with her. Even though I hated the team that Umi and I belonged to…It was that same kind of feeling…Gah, stupid emotions. Stop tryin' to mess with me monkey!"

Saru just continued to smile at Hotaru, with its ever present smile. "I see that you're finally using your secondary powers of changing your appearance to suit a situation. Though I am not sure being a male is suited for your current looks. You know with your old hair style before Umi's defeat, you could have easily passed for a boy! Do you intend on becoming Yuri's boyfriend? You humans are quite strange!" Saru said.

"Shut up." Hotaru said. "I have the feeling that you have no idea on what that girl can do and the only reason you're assigning her to my ward is because I don't go around killing other magical girls. She's an enigma. Fine, I'll keep an eye on her for now. Maybe she'll be useful in defeating the witch. If not, then it looks like I'll have to do that myself."

"Do you really think that you can defeat the witch by yourself?" Saru asked. "It seems that she has defeated another raw fish in battle."

"I did it once before. I can do it again." Hotaru said. "…What do you mean by another raw fish? You didn't…I told you not to hire any more girls in my territory. I don't want a new team!!!"

"Are you sure that wasn't just dumb luck. She didn't take you very seriously as an opponent." Saru said, ignoring Hotaru's latter statements.

"Even if it was, I have a good understandin' of how she fights. Just because you selectors are too stupid to actually make sure you warn new recruits about her raw powers, that's really none of my concern." Hotaru said.

She then gave Saru a nasty glance. "If you are waging a war like you say you are, then maybe it is about time you and whoever is in charge of ya'll take it more seriously Now go away. I don't want you bugging me again unless it is important."

Saru was just about to fade away before Hotaru gave him one last comment. "Also if I hear that you're trying to recruit more girls in my section of the city again. I will kill you. You're not human, so I don't care. I'm sure the one that was killed today was in your charge, anyway. I don't take it kindly when people value other humans as mere commodities, the same applies to you stupid monkey."

***

Hotaru had waited outside of the school for the remainder of the day. She had no intention of becoming a student at the public high school. She had more than enough dislike of it after attending the fancy private institution she was a student at before she became a magical girl. While she knew that she needed a higher education, Hotaru just saw no point in attending. Odds were high that she'd die young. At the rate the other magical girls were going in this city that was more than likely.

Police sirens were going off nearby. It seemed that there were a whole lot of them. She recalled that the evening beforehand one of the police had told her that there had been a strange amount of young women getting murdered in the city. "I guess I never thought about it being the Witch doing them…Oh well. I have other things to worry about tonight."

She was sitting on the branch of a cherry tree when she saw Miaka. That meant that she'd have to pretend to give a care about the clothing they were going to be looking at. Hotaru then jumped down and unbuttoned the uniform jacket she had been wearing and tied it around her waist. Now she had on a white shirt with the black trousers she had stolen. By this point she had taken off her glasses and hadn't bothered to put them back on.

Hotaru then waved at Yuri and Miaka. "Yo, Yuri-chan and friend." Just like Miaka, she hadn't bothered remembering the other young woman's name. "Hopefully you weren't waiting for too long. I got caught having to deal with a few things after class. Just let me know where in town you plan on going. I might have to let my housemate's parents know I'll be coming home kinda late."
 
"Not really," Yuri said in reply to Miaka's comment about being early. "I didn't have cleaning duty today, so I was able to come out here quickly from class. It was odd, she didn't think Miaka had come from the right direction. As proof, the older girl produced a most precious gift. It was a very nice gift however and it distracted Yuri from the fact that Miaka had not come from the school buildings. "You remembered!" Yuri was a bit surprised and would have likely given her friend a big hug after taking the gift and examining it in delight, but the third member of their afternoon arrived.

"Oh, Hotaru. No, no, you're not late at all." She smiled at the other girl. She hoped Hotaru didn't think of her as much of a flake, bringing her old friend with her, but a voice in her head whispered about the kindness and sweetness of the girl she was looking at. No, she would not think ill of Yuri for trying to reunite with a long lost friend.

"This is wonderful, one of my oldest friends, and one of my dearest new friends, for an afternoon of window shopping." She hoped her words would be true. "Hotaru I was thinking of going into the river distract. The shops there are a lot more, um, unique, you know. Not the big shopping centers. Ma & Pa shops. That sort of thing. And the music shop is great! So many things you won't hear anywhere else." Yuri liked the popular idols of course, but it was fun finding a group that was unrecognized, but good.

"Let's get going, all right?" She smiled at both the girl, the glass horse carefully being held in one hand against her chest.
 
The horse seemed to have worked as a distraction, the other girl still put Miaka on edge though. "So you're a boy now?" she greeted her coldly, managing to keep her expression neutral at Yuri's implication that this girlboy was her replacement Miaka. She was being stupid, she knew but it was just so obvious now how much her life had changed and how happy she had been at least some of the time. Now there was only this endless war...

She still remembered where the icecream shop was though and steered the group towards it,from the school gates going right and then cutting through an alley on the other side of the street, taking a slightly longer rout to avoid the place she had battled Golden... thing. Names no longer mattered. "I won't come to school again after today." she said suddenly. "Family business..." that was all the explanation she needed as she glanced at Yuri to test her reaction, even though she really didn't want to see it. "You'll be okay without me?"
 
Yuri looked over at Miaka with a frown. She wouldn't say anything, not in front of Hotaru, but the worry was on her face. Yuri knew how dangerous family business was, or at least she had a fairly good idea.

Despite this, or maybe because, Yuri took to going shopping with gusto. They got to the ice cream shop, where Yuri ordered everyones favorite and once they exited they headed to the nearby park, not to sit and chat, but it was the most scenic way to the river and the shops she wanted to go to. All the while she would point out things that she found nice, be it a particular flower, children playing, a fountain, or elderly men play chess (she compared them to the children from before).

Finally they reached the shops, their ice cream done, and the window shopping began. In the first store she insisted everyone try on hats. Some were elegant and some were ridiculous, but overall none were the type a normal school girl would wear even on a weekend.

The next shop had music and Yuri had to be careful there. She knew if she wasn't, she could spend the whole afternoon just there alone. Instead she'd pick out particular artist and try to get both Hotaru and Miaka to listen to various tracks. Because of the ghost she had a decent idea of which songs might be liked by Hotaru and she watched the girls reaction to try to get a better idea about her.
 
Miaka just looked at her ice cream for a minute, the frozen treat slowly liquifying as the brooded over what it meant. Yes, mint chocolate chip had once been her favorite but not it just looked like a colored ball of ice. She hadn't payed attention to what she had eaten in what felt like a long time and the notion of a treat seemed silly and whimsical now. When she pushed the small plastic spoon into the melting mass n the plastic bowl it was an empty motion, one without heart and when the small sample was deposited in her mouth it was equally mechanical routine and so it continued until the bowl was empty and disposed of.

She hardly spoke as they moved through the streets and hovered near Yuri's left shoulder, trying on whatever hats Yuri in her customary enthusiasm handed her but still seemed distant, in fact her eyes seemed to spend more time looking at the girl in drag than the old friend, narrowing slightly whenever they came to rest on Hotaru. Who was she? What was she here, she was definitely not an ordinary student, normal students didn't crossdress...

The music shop had very little traditional style music and it was there that Miaka first broke off from her position next to Yuri to venture deeper into shop, leaving the other two alone as her eyes scanned the shelves. Pop, Kpop, western pop, rock... the only suitable music seemed to be tucked away in a corner of the shop, far from prying eyes. Miaka didn't miss a second, quickly slipping two diks cases off the shelf and pausing... she could slip them into her bag and in this old style market there wouldn't be any tags to trip alarms and it's not like anyone would miss them... but no... it wouldn't approve.
 
"Does it really matter, whom or what I am?" Hotaru retorted back to Miaka. "I'm allowed to dress the way that makes me feel the most comfortable; you know, like complex psychology stuff. I don't expect you to understand."

Hotaru wasn't a good liar in any shape or form. However, explaining that she stole the uniform from poor soul would have been too much for her and might have ruined her only chance to see what this Yuri girl was all cracked up to be. The sooner they ditched the sourpuss, the better.

They then walked through the alleys to reach the ice cream parlor. Hotaru knew that there was a shorter way to get there. It seemed odd that Miaka was leading them on a long route. She would have said something, but she heard something about never seeing each other again. Hotaru might not have been flattered by Miaka, but she respected that Yuri's friendship with her came first.

After they had reached the ice cream shop, they went hat shopping. Yuri placed all sorts of odd hats on her head. While most were to elegant looking for Hotaru's punk tastes, she found the experience somewhat pleasurable. Unlike her former team, Yuri acted like a normal high schooler. It made Hotaru somewhat regret not being a human any longer. Though that thought quickly faded away.

Their next stop was the music shop. Yuri had taken her hand and seemed to have great luck with finding the styles that she liked. It seemed almost supernatural. Yuri had selected music that was a blend of traditional Japanese instruments with some modern spins. It was songs like these that Hotaru really loved. They reminded her of home, away from this battlefield of a city. Maybe one day she'd just abandon this town altogether and go back home.

She then pulled out her watch, the time read "19:00."

"Shit…It's about that time of night that the Witch comes out and starts her rampagin'. I don't wanna stick around for too long. I think Yuri should be okay. I don't care about the rich girl…So, I think I'm gonna call it quits here." She thought to herself.

Hotaru then walked over towards to Yuri and tapped her on the shoulder.

"I'd hate to be a wet towel on your night of fun, but I really need to get goin'. It was nice seein' ya again today. Be back at school tomorrow." Hotaru said with a big grin and a peace sign.

With that she quickly rushed towards the door. Once outside, she let out a big sigh of relief. She was just about to leave, when she was blocked by Miaka.

"Eh, what's the big idea? I need to get goin'. I already told Yuri that I'd met her again tomorrow. Unless, you want me to say good-bye to you too. Which would be plain weird."
 
Miaka had her purchased music in her hands as she blocked Hatoru's way, a blank expression on her face as she seemed to look past the girl instead of directly at her. When Hatoru spoke she looked at her suddenly as if slightly surprised before her eyes narrowed. "Leaving so suddenly..." she commented. "Normal girls don't crossdress at school, normal girls..." she seemed to lose the thread of her own sentence for a moment as she closed her eyes and when she opened them they stayed downcast and shimmered with tears.

"I can't look after Yuri anymore." she said her fingers fidgeting along the edge of the CD case clutched to her chest. "I can't take care of her anymore... but you can." she looked as Hotaru, then past her at Yuri. "Please... keep my little sister safe. I don't care what you are... just keep her safe." She glanced out the door at the darkening sky, knowing what was really out there. Girls hunting each other down and killing each other...

Then before Hotaru had a chance to respond she turned back to look at her, her face now the expressionless mask of the witch unfeeling, determined. "If you don't... I will find you... And I will kill you."

A sentence many wouldn't be surprised to come from someone bearing Miaka's family name said as a calm, calculated promise. "Now I need to say goodbye to my oldest friend..." she pushed past Hotaru, shoving her aside like roughly before she stepped over to Yuri and slipping her hand around hers. "Your friend leaving? Then if you still have time before you need to be home we should sing Karaoke!"
 
Hotaru watched Miaka slowly. She was speaking in blabbles instead of any sort of connected sentences. If it weren't for Miaka's unemotional face, Hotaru would have felt some pity for the older teen.

Then she started to speak about Yuri. Miaka said something about protecting her and keeping her safe. Hotaru's instincts started to kick in. Was this broken bird, a magical girl? No, Hotaru told herself. She would have sensed her powers or something else at least.

When Miaka said that she'd kill her if she failed to protect Yuri that very concept made Hotaru's blood boil. She had made a personal promise that she would never allow one of her friends to die in battle again, she meant it. Sure, she might not have known Yuri well yet but they were forced to be partners. Hotaru felt her flame powers starting to kick in. Miaka then shoved her out of the way, further pissing the young woman off. Luckily, Miaka went towards Yuri.

"Yeah, yeah." Hotaru said under her breath. She then began to shuffle away as quickly as possible.
***********************************************************************************

Yuko stood over the body of Goldenrod. She poked with a long stick that looked like a candy cane at what remained of the bloodied mess that remained of the magical girl. Yuko then lowered the stick towards the corpse's left hand. Around the wrist was a purple band. She raised an eyebrow, this wasn't the first time that she had seen the aftermath of the Witch's work.

"Another one of her own? This marks the fifth one on the Purple to have been killed by the Witch." Yuko said. "Oh well! That dumb witch leaves the bands behind, I collect them and I'm one step closer to becoming a continual level~ All's fair in love and war!"

yuko.jpg

"Though first things, first! Time to destroy the evidence. Few people like a scavenger but it's supppppppppppper easy to live this way and not always to come under attack." She thought to herself.

With a flash of a grin and her long ponytail fluttering in the wind, she used her candy cane staff to blast the corpse away with a bright pink ray. "Sorry gal, I know you'd probably prefer a proper burial but a gal's got to work, you know? Your bloodied mess would just attract the wrong crowd anyway! Teheheheh."

She then looked up to see what she thought was a boy staring at her with vile disgust. She raised both of her hands in concern, causing her to drop her magical staff. Yuko was going to reach for it but Hotaru was already standing on it, knowing that the staff was her weapon. Without it, she was useless.

"Eh???" Yuko squealed. "You didn't see anything, alright! I-I am just a cosplayer. Ayep! Could I have my staff back, pretty please. I know! Since you're a rather cute boy, how about I give you a kiss! All boys like being kissed by cute girls. Tehehehe."

Hotaru had come back through the same alleyway she and the others had just an hour beforehand, but decided to take the shorter way. She had no idea what the Witch had even been here before Yuko started to talk to herself aloud. This was something that she had always done. Hotaru then rubbed her temples.

"Yuko-chan, you are still a big old idiot. I'm a girl, not a boy." Hotaru said.

"Ohhhh...Um, I don't really like girls that much but I can still kiss you, if you are into that sort of stuff. How'd you know my name? I mean..." Yuko said.

"I always knew that you were a horrible person, Yuko-chan. This just takes the fuckin' cake. Not even allowing a fellow magical girl a chance for a proper burial. You know what? I'm glad I found you. I'm pissed. You'll make for a good punchin' bag." Hotaru said with a sadistic smile.

"Eheheheh?" Yuko's eyes widened in shock. "I'm the Magical Girl, Azalea! W-Who is this Yuko?"

"Cut the cutesy magical girl look. You and I both know it's just a cover." Hotaru said. "Besides, I am a rather informal type."

"H-How do you know me? I've never seen you before." Yuko said.

She then raised her hand in the air. Hotaru then muttered, "Honoo."

With that she changed back into her magical girl form. The punk look made her contrast greatly with Yuko's Lolita sailor form. Giving Yuko a dry look, Hotaru then pulled her MP3 player and quickly flicked through the music and found the song she thought would work the best for this occasion. She then placed her headphones onto her head.

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"I'm insulted that you don't remember me. I guess it doesn't matter. I don't look like anyone you've ever met before. I suppose that's fine. Let's get this party started." Hotaru said while a selection from Beethoven 9 began to play.

Focusing all of her kenetic energy into her fists, Hotaru charged at Yuko. The girl never was good at close quarters combat, much to Hotaru's pleasure. When her fist met Yuko's face, her old teammate was sent flying back into the wall of a building. She hit it with a force that was strong enough to send her flying through it. It was enough to hurt Yuko a lot but not enough to kill her. Veteran magical girls could survive a beat down. Yuko would be out for a while at least.

Hotaru then placed both of her hands in her pockets and walked away from the scene.

"That wasn't as fun as I'd hope it'd be. Oh well. At least I feel a little better now." Hotaru thought.
 
Yuri had not realized how quickly the time had passed and when Hotaru said she needed to get going, Yuri nodded. "Sorry, see you tomorrow." Sorry for keeping Hotaru out so late, no, but for the fact that their meeting didn't go as either of them would have wanted their first encounter. The ghost that knew Hotaru reassured Yuri that the other girl understood the importance of friendship and wouldn't hold it against her. Still, there was something important she should be doing.

But that would have to wait until tomorrow.

"Yeah, it was getting late for her,'' Yuri said to Miaka when she came over, then her usual smile turned into a big grin when Miaka mentioned karaoke. "That sounds great. At the place down the road?" Grabbing her selected CDs, she grabbed Miaka's hand to go to the counter and purchase her music before finally dragging Miaka outside.

Today was a great day!
 
"Sure!"

Miaka followed Yuri out into the cool of the evening and a chill ran up her spine like they were being watched. Her hand broke away from Yuri's as she spun to look around, only catching sight of her watcher before the mascot slipped back into an alley. It, for she refused to think of it as anything other than a it, was acting strangely.

Quickly taking Yuri's hand again she resolved to have a talk with it later as she pushed open the door into the small department store and stepped onto the rickety escalator that would take them up to the karaoke booths.
 
Miaka was acting spooked! At least that was the only way Yuri could describe it. Yuri wondered if something went bad, really bad, with her family. If that was the case, Yuri was amazed Miaka was even in town. Looking over at the older girl Yuri wondered if Miaka would be skipping town soon, that she had been gone and only just returned.

The speculations did her no good though so she tried to push them down. "I use to be so impatient on these things. Wanting to get to the next thing. Sometimes I still am!" Yuri patted the arm of the escalator before they stepped off. Miaka usually covered the bill for everything, but when they go to the counter Yuri pulled out her wallet to rent the room. Yuri couldn't help Miaka, but she could do this much!
 
Miaka placed her hand on Yuri's pushign her hand and the wallet it contained away from the counter before from her bag she pulled a roll of bills large even for someone with her family. Miaka didn't need to save for anything and her source of income was generous, if risky. "If not this then something more expensive on out way out." she said paying for their songs and giving Yuri a smile that did not spread to her eyes.

Inside she felt like this was a dream or like she was faking. Was this really the last time she was going to see Yuri? She could die any day and having a civilian around would increase the odds of that... she couldn't afford to keep Yuri in her life.
 
Yuri could have looked at Miaka in dismay. She was trying to be a good friend, but it seemed that Miaka was always going to be Miaka and try to take care of her instead. Instead a new idea emerged before she could even be disappointed. "Fine, I'll let you pay," she said to her friend, not really noticing how forced Miaka's smile was, "however you have to come over for dinner tomorrow at my place."

Yuri then held out her pinky finger so that Miaka couldn't get out of the deal. It was a good idea really. Miaka ought to have a nice dinner in a comfortable family setting. Her brother would be thrilled to see her old friend she was sure, and her parents always treated Miaka with such kindness, like she was part of the family. Yes, dinner at her home would be perfect, and even if Miaka had to leave again for a long while she'd know she had a second home to come back to!
 
Miaka looked down at the finger but instead of taking it put a hand on Yuri's shoulder. "You are still young..." she said. "I am not the person you used to know anymore." she offered another smile as she gently pushed Yuri's hand away from her. "It's dangerous for you to be seen with me, trust me on that."

All of that was true. Miaka was on a path she chose, a path that she didn't know if she could ever share. "To be honest hearing you call me Miaka is a little strange to me now..."
 
A small frown tugged on the corners of Yuri's mouth as she looked up at her onee-chan. She knew that convincing Miaka of anything when she was being stubborn was difficult. Of course Yuri learned from her example and could be equally as stubborn. Miaka's words made her more convinced that a dinner was something that would be good for her.

"Then you need to hear it more often Miaka. I'm not a little kid anymore either you know. I'm not so foolish not to know..." No, she wasn't going to bring up Miaka's family. "Know that you're very important to me, and no matter what road you need to take that won't change. Come to dinner! I won't ask anything else of you while you're here this time, but please. I'm going to miss you horribly enough as is!" Yuri might have needed Miaka to come to dinner as much as she was convinced that Miaka need to come for her own benefit. It would be like a good bye party to the life before the path that was chosen for her... no the path she chose!
 
Yuri's choice of words made a chill run down Miaka's, she knew? Miaka's hands was instantly clutching her crystal in her bag as she stared at Yuri, a looks of shock and fear passing over her features. If she had to kill Yuri...

She let out a slow breath, her face down and eyes closed to calm her nerves.

"I'm going to miss you too..." what part of her still could. She held out her hand with a small smile, pinky extended outwards. "I'll meet you at your place when you get back from school." if Yuri wanted this then Miaka would do it her way.
 
Yuri flopped on her bed. It had been a long day. Not only did she reconnect with her oldest and dearest friend (and might have sung herself to a hoarse throat), she also met her new partner, though she might have liked to have had more one on one time with her, at least one of her little tenants in her mind knew Hotaru so the meeting went better then it would have having to juggle Miaka in the mix.

Speaking of tenants, Yuri now had a new one. She'd showed up when she parted ways from Miaka at the end of the night. Yuri could have sworn she had not seen the last of Miaka's locks when suddenly she was confronted with a translucent specter in an outrageous outfit. She didn't even need to ask, she knew what the ghost was, a Magical Girl. She only asked two questions. "Was it the Witch?" and "What color are you?" The former was a most common yes. Not that the Witch was the only one that killed Magical Girls she had gathered, but she had been very busy lately. The color didn't matter so much, but it seemed to put the ghosts at ease to be able to state who they were.

There were conversations in the back of Yuri's mind now. They were not all directed at her and the constant buzzing made the thought of trying to do any homework before sleep an impossible idea. Yuri was decently sure she didn't have anything due in the morning. At least she hoped not! If there was, she'd have to just live with the consequences. Now if only the ghosts would be a little quieter so she could sleep...

... sleep that brought dreams that were a manifestation of all the girls' experiences since they were chosen.
 
The witch had done her work for the day so there was no need for a hunt tonight, besides the witch wasn't in the mood. Her shadow trotting at her heels she walked along the street under the shimmering street lamps. "You're very skittish lately." she said without looking at the thing.

"That was one of ours you killed today... one I chose..."

"And if you keep choosing more I'll keep killing them." she cut the creature off.

"What do you want?" the creature asked yet again.

"To win the war. Everything I do is an mean towards that goal and I have shed every part of me not needed." her words were cold, emotionless.

"If you keep killing your own side..."

"They are worthless to me. You indoctrinate them into your rules of standing and trinket collection that have nothing to do with winning..."

"The side that collect the most..."

"I know how you do things. Arranging fights and forming teams just to watch each other die. You knew it would come to this once the killing started of did you think it would be fun forever, losers giving up their standing...? I am the culmination of everything your war has become and if you ask me... it scared you." she turned to tilt her head and smile, a sickeningly sweet widening of her mouth and closing of her eyes.

"Emotions are beyond my understanding... but I will continue to observe." they had stopped outside of the door into an apartment building and stood facing each other. "Until tomorrow, witch..." the creature, for that was all Miaka could think of it as turned to leave and Miaka pushed open the door, her keys jingling in her hand...

*​

She entered the apartment and kicked off her shoes, her toes curling in the sift hair of the carpet as she dropped her bag and took a deep breath.

"I'm early... I know..."

She crouched down to pull the CDs she had bought and a small packet from her bag and stepped over the detritus littering the rich, but messy room. Kneeling in front of a hifi system she pushed the tray eject and inserted the first disk, the room filling with centuries old music before she reached over for a bowl and upended the packet over it, hot boiled rice spilling into the vessel before she stood and looked around. The room was empty but she knew it could hear and see her. It never showed itself anymore but every morning the rice was gone and there was nothing else living in her apartment... it made sure of that.

Stretching she yawned and looked out the window over the rooftops. "I think I'll sit on the balcony a while..."

Hours later, that where she woke up...
 
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