Mahou Madness!

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Okay, Lucas was distracted from his own worries now... Namiko had missed something? She always seemed so alert and put together! He would need to keep an eye on her... Especially if they had to fight later.
"Well umm... Your hair is kinda messy and I have a brush and comb... So... Could I like, brush it or something?"
Lucas asked as they reached their classroom with plenty of time till class started.

 

[twinkletide]

"o ok"

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

The simple response was worrying Lucas even more and he sat down next to Namiko, moving his chair to get behind her so he could start brushing, for reasons he didn't even want to start thinking about he blushed a little at taking hold of her hand to work out the knots and tangles and begin brushing it into something smooth... He kinda wished he had some more products to create some sorta style... He always did like playing around with people's hair after all.
Of course Lucas ignored the odd looks from other people, at least half the class assumed he was gay at this point so it didn't mean much for them to see that.
"Umm... Namiko... Are you okay?..."
He asked, clearly concerned.

 

[twinkletide]

"Never better."

Yawning maw.

Vision pitch. Yaw.

Hair strands like pisa overhead.

Lucas combing. He(?)re. He(?) is she(?) is he(?) is (s[?])he(?)re.

"Never better.

"Is there something wrong?"

(Namiko was tired. She felt it in her marrow, her skin, every movement feeling like being held underwater with styrofoam boots. When does it stop? The feeling that you're not doing anything right? That no matter what you'll ruin yourself and others, that fatalistic sense of determinism? Your failures pre-destined, your doom worth nothing but a skip to the final page?

(Last night Namiko played Earthbound and slept. She is tired and sad and this is the last thing she needs right now. How much would she want to have him always here, running that comb down her hair, free of pain and responsibility, like a suckling child.)

(Another part of her says: Is this not what you signed up for? What happened?)

"Don't leave the club," she muttered. "You're going to regret it."

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

"Ahh! No, nothing's wrong with me... I just umm... You look really tired and I was worried... Have you been sleeping okay?"
Lucas asked, making sure to be quiet to avoid attention, even though it just made it look like he was leaning in her ear and whispering sweet nothings while brushing her hair... Boy was the rumor mill going to have a field day!

Lucas was surprised by her telling him not to leave, but nodded his agreement.
"Yeah... You're probably right... Umm... Sorry in advance..."
Lucas suddenly hugged her, wrapping his arms tightly around Namiko, he didn't know why but it felt like the right thing to do.

 

[twinkletide]

"I'm not sleeping any worse."

Lucas's arms around.

Lucas's arms around...

Namiko blinked. Lucas's chest felt like a radiator, and she figured his face did as well. He hugged her like she did yesterday; the exact same way in sentiment. It took a moment, but Namiko put her arms around Lucas in turn, savoring the moment, feeling a new vitality well up in her.

"Thanks," she whispered. "Thanks."

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Eventually Lucas released the hug, red faced as a few class mates giggled, but soon shut up as the teacher arrived and started the lesson, making any further conversation impossible until later... Lunch to be specific.
When they were finally released from classes for now Lucas stuck near Namiko, as much as his own worries bothered him there was something clearly not right about his new friend!

"Hey... Umm, wanna go eat in an empty classroom or something?... I uhh... I brought food this time!"
He declared a little proudly, having figured out that he could indeed eat at school without ending up covered in whatever food was brought, he had gone all out to cook something to share.

 

[twinkletide]

Namiko sat through classes. She wasn't completely stable, but she was no longer in that semi-fugue state she was prior. Still, she felt a strange and aching melancholy, a yearning for something indelible, something almost oneiric, and her brain seemed intent on repressing it, Freud bless it.

Later she and Lucas walked out of class together for lunch. She noted his proximity to her as he asked her about eating lunch in an empty classroom. Namiko smiled and placed her hand on his hair again, as she loved to do so much. "I'm proud of you Lucas. Sure, let's do it."

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

At this point the touch was barely embarrassing anymore and made Lucas feel quite comfortable, thought her being proud confused him.
"Huh? Proud? What do you mean Namiko? All I did was bring food..."
He re-pied as they entered the room and sat down.

Lucas had packed a bento... Like an actual multiple layered Bento box... And it was full, the food was oddly perfect looking, almost like something out of an anime, with many little dishes within.
"So umm... I made a lot extra... So do you wanna share with me?"
He asked with a blush.

 

[twinkletide]

"Yes," she replied, "and who was it that rarely ate lunch at school before this? It's an improvement."

As they entered the room and settled into a pair of chairs, Namiko gaped as Lucas pulled out a huge bento. It smelled like heaven; multiple disparate smells wafted out of it so that her olfactory senses had no idea what to focus on, but they all smelled good, and blended perfectly together. It was like a meaty perfume. Suddenly she was lifted right out of her melancholia and plopped into a culinary reverie.

It was a while before Namiko noticed she was staring. "You...sure, but...you made all this yourself? What's in it?"

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Lucas nodded, a slightly proud grin on his face as he saw Namiko stare at the veritable feast he had prepared... Lucas took pride in cooking, it was something that always cheered him up, though he had never shared anything with his club mates before... So he was just a little nervous, what if it turned out he had just assumed his cooking was good? Or he had really weird tastes and everyone else would hate it? Of course that worrying was all for nothing, it was quite delicious.

"Yeah! And... That's quite a list... But it's all fresh, I ordered some groceries and put it all together this morning! Just let me know if you are allergic to anything so I can tell you if any of the dishes have it..."
He produced two pairs of chopsticks, handing one to Namiko.
"Umm, dig in!"

 

[twinkletide]

Namiko gladly obliged, snatching the chopsticks out of his hands. "Itadakimasu," she said with a slight bow, and began to dig in, placing a little chunk of meat and a wad of steaming rice into her mouth.

"Mmf!" she gasped. It was...great! How strange it was, she thought before, that human beings instinctively said 'mmf' when faced with something delicious; but now, feeling the juicy fat of the pork massage her tongue, the rice sighing against her teeth, the onomatopoeia was imbued with a new meaning, elevated to a new level of semantic expression. Mmf. She continued to heartily consume, silently wondering if she could go back to microwave meals (which was a rhetorical question; she must, ultimately, and would be more than glad to; but the taste!). Soon she placed the bento gently back onto the table. A few squishy grains of rice were all that survived from the carnage, bloodied with sauce. Namiko raised her head and smiled at Lucas. "That was great," she said with renewed enthusiasm. "Thank you."

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Lucas dig in as well, though much slower and ended up eating far less, he wasn't exactly that hungry to start with... Actually, as embarrassing as it was he had mostly made the bento for Namiko, and couldn't help but think of all the anime and manga where girls did that for their oblivious crushes... Of course he wasn't a girl...

He couldn't help but grin, and even giggle a little at her obvious enjoyment... That decided it, he was cooking for her everyday now! No arguments, Namiko clearly needed a more balanced diet anyway.
"No problem! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Ouch..."
He suddenly cried out as a tooth ache hit them both....

 

[twinkletide]

Namiko smiled back at him. She felt better now. Nothing could ruin her day now, she decided; she was going to enjoy her tim—

The toothache almost passed her by as a byproduct of the hearty meal. But she'd been a magical girl for over three years. There was no mistaking the feeling. Her hands drooped to her side. Here...? Now? At school?

Namiko stood up and shook the feeling off. No. This wasn't the time for self-pity. She had a responsibility to carry out. No—they had a responsibility. She stared gravely and somewhat apologetically at Lucas. "You know what that means." She transformed on the spot, dusting off her dress. "Ugh...this is a logistical pain...open school, hundreds of kids, hundreds of possible casualties...hopefully we can lure it away before it can do any damage..." She flashed back to the prior snafu with the horspion, so to speak, and smiled wrily to herself.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Lucas felt himself freeze up for a moment... A chimera? Here?! Did that mean he had to transform and fight it?... No way... That was way too embarrassing... Though... People hadn't paid attention before... Maybe the magic kept them hidden?
With a sigh he transformed, the usual dress appearing... And as usual he seemed to be smiling by the end of the transformation.
"All right... Let's go find it".
He sighed.

The chimera was... Mingling with students? It was odd, like it couldn't be seen... Until the source was finally seen, seeming surprised to see the two girls there, it was another humanoid chimera! And as they approached it moved into a crowd of students... Making any attempts at shooting extremely dangerous.

 

[twinkletide]

Oh, great. More surprises. Already, after seeing them twice, the humanoid chimeras were beginning to lose their novelty; she was half tempted to just shoot this one through its skull to get it over with, to punish it for ruining their lunch. But as it moved right into an undulating crowd of students, any attempts to straight-up assault it grew extremely dangerous, extremely difficult. Namiko groaned. Complications, complications. At least it didn't seem to be hostile towards the students...or even to them, yet, more intent on avoidance. Perhaps it was meant for recon?

Namiko looked at Lucas. "Crap. Lucas, I'm gonna follow it, look for an opening. You..." she paused. "...stay here. Look for some line of sight. Or something." She held her skull. Damn. Her brain really was not at peak condition today. "Just...do what you can to help. I trust you." And with that she walked casually up onto the walls and crouched along the ceiling as best as she could in her cumbersome skirt, stalking the chimera from above.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

Lucas was obviously still very freaked out by the thought of a human looking chimera... How many other humans were actually chimera in disguise?! Either way this one was here... And actively avoiding them... This was weird, they seemed more like the offensive type from what Lucas had seen so far, though admittedly he had very little experience with the matter.

"Okay... I'll see what I can do..."
He mumbled, heading into the crowd, Namiko on the roof had the advantage of doing something very much out of the ordinary and being completely ignored... While Lucas, well he was pushing past students, who started taking notice... He was just a gold mine for the gossipers today!
As he neared the chimera... It suddenly punched him in the gut before stepping away, hiding behind someone for a moment before delivering another hit to the back of the head, Lucas swung around to throw a punch but had to pull back to avoid hitting a student.

 

[twinkletide]

Ah, shoot, Namiko thought, seeing Lucas alert all the students to his presence and subsequently being struck in the gut and clouted on the back of the head. It looked like there was no being passive in this situation. Namiko pulled out an old Springfield rifle and detached the bayonet, subsequently dispelling the former. She watched closely, waiting for an opening until - finally - a small crevice opened up within the crowd, with the chimera right at the center of it. Namiko braced herself and leaped off the ceiling, knife in hand, right onto the chimera, attempting to slash it.

 

[Mahou-Shoujo]

The chimera had been mostly focused on hitting Lucas... Seemingly playing with him and shoving the poor boy into students, so it barely had time to react as Namiko jumped down, bringing up an arm to take the slash, dark blood escaping a new wound as the bell for the next class went off, and it took a chance to try and escape in the crowd, though Lucas managed to get a hit in! Flooring the chimera with a well placed punch to the face, actually seeming to stun the chimera, that was odd, normally a face hit wasn't that bad for them... Either way it ended up on it's ass for a moment... Before jumping up to sprint for the gym!

 

[twinkletide]

Namiko stumbled onto her feet on shaky knees as Lucas assaulted the chimera, sticking a brutal punch on its face, knocking it down in chorus with the bell. It seemed winded for a moment, before acting - surprise - as any human would: it ran away, hauling ass towards the gym.

The possibility of an ambush failed to occur to Namiko's winded brain - instead, in an adrenaline-fueled bout of energy, she shouted "Lucas! Let's go!" and rushed off after it. She wasn't about to let it get away again. Her sluggishness, along with her large dress, however, made it quite difficult to keep up pace, so she was mostly relying on Lucas to catch up to it.