Mahou Madness!

"Yeah... Luca here will have to hold her in place for a little while if we intend to hit her from range though".
Dulce declared, giving Luca a look over as if trying to see if she could do it, though her facial expression didn't give away if they thought it could be done by her.
"Yeah... They are about what I expected, though it never hurts to be sure, I just wish we had a chance to see the other magical girls... I hate going in blind..."
She mumbled, starting to walk away, her pace slowly increasing until she was running again.
 
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"Hmm...we'll see. I have...faith in Luca's abilities." Her hesitation came not out of doubt about Luca's skill but out of worry - this was, after all, a fairly dangerous magical girl. Of course, she would do everything in her power to prevent anything from happening. Magical girl or not, she trusted her aim, and especially trusted the power of a large bore rifle.

"I hate it too. Nothing to be done, though," she muttered, and followed after Dulce again, trying her best to keep up pace.
 
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"I'll do my best! That girl won't get past me!"
Luca declared, though behind the bravado was a little fear... She wasn't used to fighting other magical girls, and was scared that this veteran fighter might be too much for her...

"Well, if things go bad tomorrow we can just run away, this is an important mission but we don't gain anything by dying for no reason".
Dulce declared.
 
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Namiko heard the tinge of fear in Luca's voice even despite the whirl of wind in her ear. She made a mental note to talk to her later. It occurred to her that this was the first time she'd be fighting human beings and other magical girls. It had to happen eventually, but it was never without some misgivings.

Dulce's declaration made that clear, if nothing else. Someone has to die for other things to survive. But if there's one thing Namiko knows for sure, it's that it's never quite so simple.

And anyways there she was, running. You'd think she'd be more tired, but their reconnaissance woke her up, made her more aware. She was nipping at the heels of Luca and Sara now, close enough to hear what they would say.
 
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They were being oddly quiet but were getting along, though Luca looked oddly nervous for some reason.
"So this is your first time fighting real people right? Yeah it's pretty scary! But something I noticed is those girls are TOUGH! So don't worry about killing anyone... And anyway it can't be any scarier than your other problem..."
She commented before going quiet, Luca apparently needing to think over something they had been discussing.

There wasn't really any more conversation until they reached the city again and stopped, even with the enhancement helping, so much movement without transforming was exhausting, even Dulce showed signs of sweating and heavy breathing while Sara... Was oddly unaffected, perhaps her idol training was more intense than it seemed?
"Alright girls... Hahh, and boy too I guess, we are all set up in the same hotel, on different floors just to avoid suspicion... Here are your keys".
Dulce handed out keys to everyone.
 
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She listened in silence. Honestly Sara was right—they weren't magical girls for nothing—but the possibility always remained in the back of her head. Some could put it out. Others couldn't. It remained to be seen whether Luca would be one or the other.

Before she knew it they'd arrived at the hotel. She and the others, sans Sara, were all in a miserable state, sweating and panting in the semi-coolness of the air. They looked extremely out of place, looking like they'd run a marathon in front of the entrance to a hotel; but luckily few people were around at this time, and those that were were either too tired or too focused to notice them. Namiko, especially exhausted from the combination of jetlag, exertion, and time spent awake, stood with great difficulty and accepted the key that Dulce handed out.

And noticed that there was only one key between her and Luca.

...Oh, right. They were supposed to be a couple, weren't they. The thought would be more potent if she were in her right mind. For now, though, she was too tired to even correct Dulce on Luca's gender, so she just looked exhaustedly at Luca. "Let's go inside," she muttered. "We need some rest."
 
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Luca noticed the lack of a second key as well and realized they would be rooming together, she didn't mind, they had stayed over at her place before right? And even shared a bed, so how was this any different? It also helped that she was too tired to be embarrassed at all.

They did get some odd looks from reception when they signed in, but no one actually said anything as they went up the lift to their floor and entered their room, it was decent, nothing extravagant, though there was a TV and a large double bed... Looks like they were sharing after all.
Luca for her part kicked her shoes off and flopped right onto the bed, she really did need to shower, and maybe eat, but was feeling too lazy right then to get up.
 
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Ignoring the strange looks from reception and the easy-listening muzak in the elevator, Namiko was silent the whole time. When they got to their room she didn't even bother to observe it very closely - she came, she saw (bed), she plopped. Onto it, that is. She was so tired that she even forgot about dinner, which she'd normally never miss for anything.

Conscious of Luca, however, she took her time to brush her teeth and dress in nightclothes before clambering into bed beside Luca, pulling the blanket haphazardly over her so that one corner hung listlessly off her side of the bed and Luca would have to yank it back over. She snuggled in. "Good night, Luca," she muttered, and slept.
 
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By the time she finished with her preparations it seemed Luca had managed to get some energy together, and it seemed somehow, somewhere, she had acquired a frilled nightie! It seemed with the notably warmer climate she had decided to forgo the onesie this time around, and looked nervously comfortable.

Luca did yank the blanket back, moving closer to Namiko to avoid uncovering her at all.
"Nighty..."
She mumbled, and in the morning would be snuggling up against her as usual, since here there were none of her usual plushies that she seemed to draw desperately needed affection from.
 
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When she woke up the next morning Namiko was greeted by the very welcome sight of Luca's sleeping face as she snuggled up next to her. Little frilly jammies that she hadn't seen before peeked out from the top of the blanket as she slept. It was yet another night of more sleep than usual - a whole eight hours. Just in time for breakfast. Then, work.

She shook Luca, being unable to get out of bed with her latching on like this. The feeling, as tingly and heartwarming as it was and how much she wanted it to last forever, posed a very real threat to them getting to work on time. "Rise and shine, Luca," she said. "We gotta go soon."
 
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Luca looked as blissful in her sleep as usual, and seemed to be having a mostly good dream, she herself had been sleeping amazingly well for the last few days, Namiko was an amazingly comfortable bed mate in her opinion.
"Ehh... Where... My skirt..."
Luca mumbled as moved to the world of the waking, her dream fading away and her eyes fluttering open.

"Morning Nami~"
She greeted sleepily, releasing her to stretch with only a slight blush, she was getting used to waking up like it seemed!
"I wanna sleep all day... But I guess we gotta do stuff huh?"
She asked, climbing out of bed and setting her feet down on the soft plush carpet of the room.
"I think we need to go downstairs for food... There's no cooking equipment up here".
She commented, having at some point taken note of that, and began gathering up her uniform to change into.
 
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Namiko smiled. "Morning, Luca." She pulled herself out of bed and yawned comfortably. "Don't worry, I do too. But duty calls, as they say." She quickly got dressed, sneaking intermittent glances at Luca in between articles of clothing. A simple shirt and skirt. Perfectly civilian-like, so you'd have no idea she wasn't a tourist, that she, for all she knew, was going to save Brazil or whatever.

What? It was a possibility.

Afterwards they both went down the lift to the lobby and went to go get breakfast.
 
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Luca changed at a leisurely pace, seeming to have already become mostly comfortable changing around Namiko... Though she did try and discreetly glance every now and then... Only to blush and turn away, pretty convinced she was a pervert at this point, of course her uniform was the only feminine clothing she had brought so she wore it again, crumpled as it was, her hair also went undone and was a fluffy mess.

The food smelled amazing, the chefs were undoubtedly more skilled than Luca, and offered a huge range of food that seemed to be included in their stay.
"Wow... Everything smells so good..."
Luca declared, having ordered something with an incredible amount of bacon.
 
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Namiko chewed listlessly at her breakfast. She'd been hungry for a while now, having effectively skipped dinner, but somehow she also didn't feel like eating. The food was good, of course, but Luca's dishes had a little something that these lacked.

Well. At least she didn't vomit these out.

After finishing her scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages - the holy trinity of morning meals - Namiko sighed and stared at Luca for a moment before asking: "Are you ready, Luca?" She smiled wryly, as if to say it was a rhetorical question. "Anything you're worried about?"
 
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Luca ate quite heartily, her appetite seemingly endless, it was unfair that she could stay so small and thin while eating whatever she could get her hands on, though she always seemed hungry so maybe a fast metabolism and endless appetite were not all good.
By the time Luca was finished there was nothing left but a little sauce next to her mouth, the plate picked clean of any missed crumbs, at least she seemed satisfied...

"Yeah! I'm ready... And uhh, kinda worried about the fight, but I'm sure with everyone there I will be fine! And Sara said she has a secret weapon! Also did you she's li... Uhh, never mind, umm, are you feeling okay? You didn't seem to enjoy breakfast as much as usual..."
She changed the subject after catching whatever she was about to excitedly blurt out.
 
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She nodded. Good; at least she was feeling alright. "That's good. I was a little worried." She paused. "Though, I haven't heard anything about a secret weapon." Nor did she catch what Luca said, though she decided not to pursue it.

"Hm? Oh, yeah," she said in response to Luca's query about her eating, almost offhand. "Well...you remember what happened recently. I suppose I'm still a bit cautious. This has happened before, after all." Another pause. "But also...I don't enjoy this cooking as much as I do yours."
 
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"Oh, well she didn't tell me what it is... Just that she had one and it was really cool and powerful... I wonder if we should have a secret weapon... I mean, all the magical girls in anime have them right? Since I use a sword I should have something cool like galaxy slash... Though I don't have a space theme... Rainbow blast?..."
She was getting all excited now, maybe her drink had a bit too much sugar in it, or maybe she was just nervous.

"I do... Umm... I was just worried is all..."
She declared before going red, a smile on her face at the compliment, Namiko had basically said she could outperform specialist chefs! Or at least make more enjoyable food than them, which she took to mean something similar.
"Thanks!~ I work hard to make sure my food is filled with love!"
She declared, before going red at her outburst.

"Hehe! Spoken like a true magical idol!"
Sara declared as she walked over, A professional looking Dulce in street clothes right on her tail.
"Well you two look ready at least... Today is the day we strike a blow for Orphan and secure the prototype".
 
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Namiko smiled at Luca's cute outburst, tinged slightly with concern but mostly with love. Yes, never change. Keep on doing what you're doing.

But anyways, what they were doing would soon change, because Sara and Dulce walked in on them, each looking quite ready. Almost instantly Namiko's demeanor changed, became more rigid, businesslike, yet with an air of weariness about it. "And time to see exactly what this thing is," she muttered, standing up. "Anyways, no need to speak like the president. We're ready. Point and shoot. Same transportation as yesterday?"
 
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"Yeah, same as yesterday, we wanna keep away from the distraction team, and go in on my say so..."
Dulce declared as she led them outside and began to run, while technically the team didn't have a leader, there was no doubt that Dulce had taken a command role, as the highest ranked, most veteran girl there is only made sense, plus she seemed to have a line with command to get info and support, always helpful.

It didn't take them long to reach the place, though they stopped shorter than usual, one thing of note was the trucks that were approaching from the opposite direction of the pit, and the soldiers that got out carrying guns, it looked like they were preparing to fire on the guards, draw some of the fodder away for the girls.
 
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Namiko nodded and followed after them in silence. She thought of barely anything during the run. She found it better, in these extended offensive scenarios, to keep her mind blank, so as to leave the most space for the facts of the situation once they got there. But every so often she'd catch a glimpse of Luca and her thoughts would be momentarily misdirected.

They stopped just short of where they were yesterday, close enough to see the main force trickling in, all carrying military-grade rifles. The distraction force. If they did their job well, they'd get in relatively unbothered by mooks, and so could focus on the magical girls. Namiko waited on Dulce's signal to move forward, her brain noting all these facts dispassionately.