Puella Magi Troper Magica

Mari looked at her glowing ring.

Another Witch. She thought. It was convenient for the Witch to attack after school. Most other Witches chose the one time she can't go Witch Hunting... Well, one of two times, but she never really counted sleeping as a time where she can't Witch Hunt.

The question is where the Witch is coming from. The pulse is faint, so it must be pretty far, but where would it be? She'd waste her time if she just picked a direction and go with it. She could try the favored locals, like the Abandoned Warehouse District or find any weird acting people, but for all she knows, it could just be right at the hospital or somewhere down the street.

"Creeping along the shadows, her ears tuning to the cry of cicada, the keen-eyed assassin watches her target with anticipation!

Saya cleanly articulates, hugging a lamp post.

Nin nin nin~!"

At that moment, Saya couldn't help but hears the voiceover of her fondest memory, an ever cherished moment forever cast into the annual of times*

Junko-chan, let's follow Motoko-san! Sneaking stealthily, we'll be like operators operating operation Operations operationally! -deep breath- It'll be fun!

*Roughly thirty minutes ago.

edited 14th May '14 5:06:20 PM by Pblades

"Nngh, making friends is hard," Anna muttered to herself, as she walked along the sidewalk. She always wondered why people walked home, especially when it seemed so lonely. Papa had always had someone pick her up, but now she lived "close enough" to the school to not be "in danger".

She looked around, and spotted someone she recognized, a carrot-headed girl (the Japanese had such strange hair colors), who also seemed to be walking home.

Jogging up beside her, Anna turned to greet her hopefully-new friend, smiling broadly. "My name is Anna! What's yours?"

"Hmmm, another, huh..." thinks Natsumi as she checks her ring, looking around the street to make sure nobody was around before calling "Kyuubey! Are you here? There's a Witch around"

"Yes, I am present, Natsumi." came a response, before a small white cat-like creature walked out a darkened alley before leaping up to her shoulder, "It seems to be somewhat north of here, I saw several humans with Kisses in that direction."

edited 7th May '14 11:26:04 AM by Gladonost

It was another day in Ryuugo Middle School in Ryuugo City. Creative name, right? Seika passed casually from class to class, practically sleeping through the first two periods and moving on to the rest. Top student in her class not that she cared so much about it as she did it so easily, she spent most of the day configuring a program on her graphing calculator to solve her next math exam for her. The tricky part was getting the calculator to show the work for the problems it solved. Putting everything together made it take up a lot of space the calculator had precious little of so it made for an interesting challenge. Now at the end of the day, she walked automatically towards home.

Knowing the route and essentially if not literally alone, Seika's eyes unfocused as her mind started to explore the options she had today. Father was probably working late so she could sit on the computer at least. He always insisted that she'd hurt her eyes staring at the screen too long, but Seika already wore glasses, what more could be done? She'd also need to make dinner and some extra for father, probably Curry today unless something was missing.

As Seika walked home, suddenly the landscape around her began to distort and change into a pastel riot of twisting passages and rooms linked only by the omnipresent railroad tracks in the odd area. In the shadows, small shapes scurried about, metallic clattering sounds being released whenever they moved.

Katsumi walked home, this time reading a copy of Treasure Island. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to be the hero, to be something beyond a pretty face buried in a book ... But this was reality...

For a few moments, Seika didn't even realize the landscape was warping around her. Her mind was elsewhere, thinking about what games she wanted to play. She had some daily quests to keep up on World of Swordcraft... but she got back into focus as she started to hear strange sounds. What was that? Suddenly, to Seika's attention, everything around her was foreign and twisted. She squinted her eyes and tried taking off her glasses to clean the lenses with the sleeve of her shirt.

Seika felt a pang of fear, as her senses were assaulted by the unknown. She partially shook it off and started thinking about this logically. The last thing she knew, she was walking home. Did the rest of the day blur together? "Am I dreaming?" Seika twitched as she heard scuttling to her left, looking out in that direction but not catching the source.

edited 7th May '14 10:14:33 AM by StephanReiken

Mari was so focused on her ring that she didn't notice Anna until she spoke up to her.

"Oh! My name is Mokoto. Mokoto Mari." Mari said. She let out a sigh. She's gonna have to find the Witch soon, lest someone winds up dead. However, she would probably need to go as soon as possible, which would mean leaving Anna with just her name. Her other option would be to drag her with, but she didn't want to endanger her. Kyubey might say otherwise, though. She paused and awaited for Anna's response.

((OOC: I know revealing the driving skill is too sudden, but the imagery was too damn funny to not put it in))

"...fiveminsmore..." Emi groaned in a rather agonic voice as she stretched out of the sofa like an overgrown cat. Her blurry, sleepy gaze focused on the pulse that was being emitted from the ring of her hand.

"Daaaamn..." She lamented as her nap had been cut short by a Witch presence. She had decided to have a nice sleep after withstanding the whole talk with Fujika. Pretending to be her own descendant was tiring, and Fujika was somewhat exasperated with her errant nature. In her own words, she was like her own grandmother. Which was herself. Talk about complicated plays.

After being finally released and having some ramen for lunch, she decided to return to the club for a repairing nap. Due to her true nature, she had found out it had been in her advantadge to usually sleep during the day and patrol at night, using her idle times to manage her own den.

Yes, the club was comfy and the ideal place to crash in, as none of her employees dared to ask why she had such night habits or about her youthful appearance (Although some people believed she was a vampire of some sorts). She quickly arranged her clothes, as the coffee machine was warmed up. Emi had learned over time to linger a little before rushing to search for the Witch. While it was always a dire situation, coming ill prepared for a witch hunt was even worse. Plus, if it simply faded over time, it meant that there was a kouhai in the works. She sighed, sliding the pistol she had managed to smuggle in her back as she drank the coffee.

Downstairs there was the faint ambient noise of a club about to open, while the manager yelled orders. Ah, Yoshito, he was the reliable sort of guy. Had she been a normal woman she would have jumped his bones long ago, but she belonged to another world, where attachments always ended up badly.

"Afternoon" said Emi to the staff as she finished her coffee and oversaw the situation.

"uh, boss... awake already?" Yoshito added, his eyebrow raised. He was a creature of habit, a good trait in a manager, but the poor guy could barely conceal his surprise when his boss disappeared at random.

"I have a meeting somewhere." Emi added, not elaborating. It was fairly easy, ask no question and tell no lies. Yoshito simply nodded. "I'll be back later. Speaking of which, I have to borrow your bike..."

He groaned as he tossed the keys. As a bike maniac he was pretty annoyed that she was always asking for his bike... and not everytime being returned back in a good state, but he never denied the favor to his boss.

"Oh come on, I pay the repairs..." Emi chided as she grabbed the bike.

"I can't really stomach that my girly boss crashes my poor Sakura in random places." He pouted. "And besides if you end up dead I'd be without my cute boss. So be careful."

"Now now, the club would be yours in that case, so it's a fair deal, no?" Emi winked as she slipped past the door into the parking garage. She only really borrowed Yoshito's bike if she needed to go somewhere fast. But she couldn't let this witch fall prey to the battle prowess of the possible kouhais out there. Reminiscing about the past, her past with Fujika sensei had led to a peaceful, wonderful dream of her past, where she could still fool around with her parents and sister. A rare moment of solace in the harsh reality. And as such, her sleep being soundly interrupted by the very thing she had to fight had made her really crabby.

Putting the helmet on, she kickstarted the engine of the bike, as she promptly changed to her Mahou Shoujo dress while the lot was empty. Even if a magical girl riding a pink-painted motorbike with her crimson cape fluttering in the wind was bound to raise a few eyebrows, as long as she more or less respected the circulation signs they'd assume she was just a cosplayer who liked bikes arriving late to a convention.

Something she caught on her peripheral vision made her hit the brake abruptly and go back on her steps. A furry, white figure that was loathed by her. She wished she could slowly strangle the bastard, but unfortunately, she had to let other priorities occupy her time. Plus that creep was immortal, so she couldn't do anything.

Yep, there he was, Kyuubei. On top of someone's else shoulder. And they seemed to be chatting. She probably was a Kouhai, judging by the ring she was wearing. How veteran? She had no idea. But she was rather cute, and well shaped, and not too young.

"I thought I had smelt rotten garbage in the alley, Hello Kyuubei." She said, dropping every sort of poison and animosity in her greeting. She then eyed the other magical girl. "Oh hello there,girl. I'm the Mahou Shoujo Rider." she said, with a great deal of sarcasm."Want to fight evil Witches together? Do not be shy, I can give you a ride if you want." she added.

edited 7th May '14 11:07:04 AM by AtomicNut

Well, talk about timing, Heidi thought, clasping her hands together to hide the ring from any curious eyes that would happen to observe her right now. She'll have to come up with some sort of an explanation why she was later than usual. Her guardians were already worried sick about her despite her multiple assumptions that everything is just fine and there's no need to worry about her, but this time a simple "I'm fine" might not cut it.

"Kyubey." She spoke up after making sure nobody can hear her. Thankfully this town wasn't particularly crowded. "Where does the beast have its lair? Does it have sacrifices for its defiled self?"

"Mari, huh?" Anna grinned, before catching herself, "Oh, I mean, Mokoto-san, right?"

"I'm sorry, I'm still trying to adapt to things here. I use your last name, right?" She shrugged, "Either way, you know what I mean. Do you live in this direction too? There didn't seem to be many people walking over here, so I thought I was the only one!"

"Yes. It's customary to use the family name." Mari said. She's a little amazed at how she's actually talking to a foreigner. "Using the first name of someone usually denotes closeness. Like family, close friends... Or even lovers." Mari walked a little further down.

"To tell you the truth, I'm actually trying to find something." Mari said. She decided to bring Kyubey into her search. "Kyubey, it's me, Mari. Have you located the Witch?" Mari thoughtspoke.

"Saya-chan... I don't think we should be following someone like this..."

Junko sighed, already aware that her words would be ignored. It was always like this. Saya got an idea and she pretty much following along with some reservation. "What if she gets angry at us?" She interjected, trying to get her friend to see reason. But of course it was futile...

Reaching out to the other girls and bringing them in on the 'conference call,' Kyubey replied, "Greetings, Emi, Heidi, Mari. The Witch appears to be somewhat to the north of you all, at least 3 people have already been drawn into its barrier."

"I guess that makes sense," the cheerful girl nodded. "It seems pretty formal, though. You can call me Anna, it's easier than my last name."

"Oh, can I help?" she asked eagerly. "They always say that no body or thing can hide from the Zemlyanikas for long!"

Despite the direness of the situation, Natsumi couldn't help but to smile at having the cute little creature jump to her shoulder. She took a moment to pet his big ears and then fish from her pockets a bit of candy she carried everywhere as a treat to her ally on her fight "There, there... Hmm... That's troublesome... Should I head for the witch kissed to put them to safety or not risk more people getting involved an go straight for the source?"

However, her reverie was interrupted by a voice saying some really rough words in her direction. Natsumi frowned and then turned to see Emi... A magical girl she still didn't know. She nudged Kyubey to move to the shoulder opposite of Emi and kept petting him with one hand as she let her gaze fall upon the other girl. Then her Foresight didn't catch up any danger... so far. Seems like she truly does wish to cooperate. Plus, she had a bike.

Natsumi let her frown drop and then smiled wide as she was used to, near instantly jumping on the back of the bike "Sure, Lemon Cakes! Lets go then! Time is of the essence!"

Emi rolled her eyes. "Lemon Cakes, he. The things I have to put up with." She said with a hint of annoyance. It wasn't the comment on itself, but that creep of Kyuubei had started talking again and it was within two meters of her.

"Be careful with my insurance, though..." Emi warned the magical girl who had jumped in the motorbike's back about her pistol. "...and hang on tightly." she added, before revving the motorbike up once again. She grimaced, and began using the QB express line to convey her thoughts.

"Well, seeing as we are multiple people we could be efficient about this. We can form one team as preemptive strikers, rushing to attack the witch, while the other team cleans the Witch Kissed. If the fight drags on enough, the second team will act as the second wave to finish it off." she conveyed, her voice oddly sounding more mature in her thoughts than in her person. "I can drop one of you in either location since we're on a vehicle, but I can't attend to both things at once. Choose wisely. Although I'm in for tearing that rude Witch who waked me up from my sleep a new one! Kuhuhuhu!." She added in the end, while speeding up and dodging traffic.

"Emi's my name. You're a funny one, people this optimistic in this sort of deal end up badly." she said to the girl on her back. "Who of my juniors are you supposed to be?"

edited 7th May '14 12:24:50 PM by AtomicNut

Multiple Magical Girls? Heidi was aware of Natsumi, but the other two were news to her. A fair enough plan. She concurred with Emi's idea. I am eager to engage the Witch in question and seeing as you, Emi-san, feel the same, that would make Morisato-san and Mari-san the team to clean the stain off those who were bewitched, unless either of you has any objections to that. Picking up her pace she could feel the ring glowing brighter with each step. Slowly, but surely, she was getting near the realm of the insolent Witch.

edited 7th May '14 12:46:36 PM by FergardStratoavis

"Oh, wow! Conference call? In my head? Can you all hear this? Hello, hello, hello? Test, test, I just want to stretch Heidi's cheeks when she's all serious and surly... Think I'll do it actually... Wait, that's Heidi? Hi there! Wow, didn't know we could talk like this... Oh though on to business, Natsumi has an objection! I'm best place where there is lots of danger so it may be advantageous to place me there. However if you girls are really set on going after the Witchm, there's no way this ally of justice will just leave the civilians to their own luck" Natsumi says in one single telepathic breath. Then she focused on the now and answered with her own voice "Oh, and I'm Morisato Natsumi! Facing harshness with a smile and doing good is my motto! Nice to meet you senpai"

edited 7th May '14 1:02:36 PM by daltar

Emi just winced. Ah the naivety, it hurts so much. She thought, not conveying her thoughts throught the channel. "Nice to meet you." She curtly said. She then focused the conference that was at hand. "While I normally would agree with Natsumi-Kouhai, one cannot fight well with a divided heart, so it would be best if she focused in saving the civilians while I pick up Heidi." She paused. "Would that be agreeable by all of you? Oh and one last thing. My rules for playing team are fairly simple, but for me they're important. One: You shall never betray your sisters in battle, Two: You shall split the kill with your fellow Witch hunters, and Three: If you do not agree with me, you can take me head on. No hard feelings. Likewise if you find this excessive, we can part ways, and I'll not harbor any ill will, but I won't help you if you fall either." Emi conveyed as she changed directions through the traffic.

edited 7th May '14 1:48:06 PM by AtomicNut

"Hmm?Sound good by me. Actually, wouldn't all of that be kind of obvious? We're all fighting to save people from the Witches" says Natsumi before nodding her head "And alright, I'll go for the civilians if you girls are so set up for a fight! Leave them to me. Kyuubey, you'll help me find them, right?''"

Fair enough. Seeing as there will be two of us engaging the Witch, it shouldn't be a problem. Heidi decided to not comment on stretching cheeks thing lest she'd say something unpleasant. For now, this temporary alliance had to hold until the Witch has been slain. Let us let loose the dogs of carnage upon the evil of the unknown. With those words "said", the black-haired girl sped up her pace. She could find a secluded place and transform right away, but that would mean attracting some curious eyes and the last thing she needed was a crowd of observers like lemmings making their way near the Witch.

"I will accompany you Natsumi, I noticed a girl with potential wander into the labyrinth, we will attempt to save her and the others within the barrier while Mari goes to cleanse the Kissed. Mari, they are in an abandoned warehouse 400 meters northwest of your location as of the last time I saw them."