"So... Akino-san-"
"Please call me Kaede."
Seeing that Shiro is an adult whose older than her, she asked him to call him by her first name. Furthermore, she has a vague feeling that the reason why she's awake is all thanks to him.
"As in, autumn (Aki) and field (no)?" Shiro asked. He knows that each of their name are composed of different jukugos (combination of kanji), and that those meanings mean a lot for them.
"That's correct."
With the naming stuff gone out of their way, they can begin talking properly.
"Mn, Kaede-chan. How do you feel right now?"
"Feel? It's... strange." She replied.
Without her body, her soul had no choice but to reside in the gem. It felt very foreign for her to 'see', 'hear', and 'smell' using her magical energy.
This also explained why impurities kept piling up constantly; the energy that she consumed to sustain her current state and emulate her senses is far higher than maintaining the magic on her physical body.
If not for the fact that the white flames that surrounded her like a garland eliminated those black spots and infused her with mana every second, she would've reverted back to being a Grief Seed.
"That voice... it's somewhat familiar?" On his side, Mami murmured.
"Wait... The senior Magical Girl in Mitakihara?!"
While she became a Witch more than 2 years ago, she didn't have much memories of it. Though, her meeting with Mami and Kyoko is still fresh in her mind as if it happened just yesterday.
"You are the girl that controls plants? The one that came with her family?"
"Un."
"...I see."
A pitiful look appeared in Mami's face—no one knows if it's directed towards the girl or... her.
Seeing this, he immediately asked, "Mami-chan, do you know her?"
"That's right. This girl... she's reported missing few days after we met her. Factoring with her Magical Girl identity, we thought that she died in a labyrinth."
After saying this, she went into a long silence.
"Right! My parents! I NEED TO GO SEE THEM!"
Kaede shouted anxiously from the Soul Gem, agitating the impurities once more.
Fortunately, the stacked [Mental Placation] spells are still active and will last for more than 2 minutes, thus she quickly calmed down.
"My parents would be sad..."
While Shiro listened to Kaede, his extremely sharp senses heard something. It sounded more like a stifled sob.
'Mami?'
With his fully activated [Six Eyes], it didn't take him much trouble to see her expression in greater details. Tears silently flowed down from her eyes as she clenched her teeth.
"Mami-senpai, what's the matter?" Madoka asked with a heavy heart, clearly shocked about Shiro's revelation about Kyousuke's situation. She knew how much he matters for Sayaka, but if all she gets is a bitter rejection...
Madoka doesn't know what will happen.
Strangely enough, Mami didn't respond to her question and instead said while crying:
"I'm glad."
That is, before she summoned forth one of her muskets that pointed to her orange Soul Gem attached to her flower ornament.
"SHIT!"
Shiro didn't expect that Mami would suddenly attempt to commit suicide, thus he could only activate his [Six Eyes] to make his perception faster—he did so until he hit his utmost limit.
With it, time became very slow to him.
'What did just f*ck*ng happen?'
A day ago, he decided to share the bitter truth with Mami that Witches are former Magical Girls. He did it due to it being able to be used against Kyuubey against her. By knowing it in advance, she would be less prone to the corruption that might happen to her. Moreover, he told this since she trusted Kyuubey; the amount of disbelief and despair that she'll experience will be stronger than when he told it himself.
Since he saw through her sturdy mental state, he thought that she can handle it, more so when it's already been a day since she knew about it.
But it seems like...
'She's very fragile inside, but she hid it very well. Perhaps by fooling herself?'
Shiro is not an omniscient being, or at least not yet. But, he didn't think that she would react like this. He saw through her with his [Six Eyes] before and what he saw is her strong will. At the very least, it looks like she isn't pretending.
The sudden situation is one of the most difficult ones that he'd faced. It would only take Mami a split second to shoot the trigger, and he has to save her under that time.
'Infinity won't work since it takes under one second, other spells won't, too. Damn it!'
Usually, his fastest casting speed is 0.52 seconds. Although, it won't be enough to shield her properly. Moreover, she clearly targeted her Soul Gem, the most fragile part of a Magical Girl.
'It leaves me with that.'
While Shiro's perception is monstrous, his body couldn't move properly with it. Only his mind is free to think while his body is stagnant. It's similar to Temporal Distortion, whereas a person's perception of time gets skewed.
Except for a few means, each related to manipulation of time, he couldn't move.
'Time to go Kiritsugu.' He sighed inwardly as he used his S-rated ability [Time Control].
Shiro thought about his actions in the next second before he made himself determined on that one action.
[Time Skip]!
By the time his perception went back to normal, he found himself holding his black sword—while hugging Mami with his left arm from the back. Shiro brought her a few steps back from the musket, but it's not enough to fend the magical energy that was shot from it.
[Armament Convergence]!
Fortunately, he's also done using his signature move due to his physical distortion of time. The black light cut the magical energy in half, effectively dissipating it into nothingness.
"-good." Shiro muttered blankly before spewing out huge amounts of blood, staining Mami's Magical Girl outfit with it.
"C...ast. Shackles..."
"H-hai!"
While shocked and in a panic, Madoka employed a "Bind" rune, typing them both with invisible bindings.
Shiro: Keep this until the others come.
Once Shiro wrote it in the chat group, he really couldn't stop himself from losing consciousness anymore. If not for the bindings holding him and Mami together, he would've collapsed down to the ground.
Due to it, he couldn't see the concerned messages from the other two.
As blood continuously flowed down from his mouth, only the horrified Madoka and an extremely confused Mami is left.
"Shiro!"
"Savior-san!"
Madoka and Kaede yelled at the same time. The former started hyperventilating as her knees gave in to the ground while the latter is only being restrained by the [Mental Placation] spells; or else she would've turned back into a Witch this instant and finished off Mami.
While she couldn't comprehend what had happened just now, it was Mami's attack that caused her Savior to be like this.
The feeling of helplessness was reignited within her once more—it's a very unpleasant feeling, however,
"R-right..! Roman-san is a doctor!"
Thankfully, Madoka reorganized herself after a dozen seconds had passed, prompting her to message Roman and Touka on the chat group. While she did so, she casted "Heal" runes on him, though it only slowed down his internal bleeding.
Shiro did teach her a Noble Phantasm-class rune that originated from the Clocktower which can heal internal organs thoroughly, but she hasn't fully learned that yet.
Knowing that a failed spell is more lethal to an injured person, she didn't cast it despite learning more than 70% of it.
Madoka: Roman-san! Shiro is in danger! He's bleeding a lot and I can't stop it!
Roman: Danger?! What did just happen... Where are you?
Madoka sent a map along with their locations before she got a reply from Roman and Touka that they're coming.
At this moment, she could only hope that they can arrive faster...
*****
Fact #79: In the Puella Magi Madoka Magica Movie 1: The Beginnings, Kyuubey stated that: "Even Mami never knew until the end." Meaning, she didn't even know what's the truth behind what she's fighting for. She trusted Kyuubey blindly until the end. Then there's also it asking Homura how she got so many information. This could only mean that even Kyuubey didn't know about her Regression ability until some time had passed. As to why the Kyuubey here knew? It has something to do with the trio's intervention...
PS: Meguca Mami suffering within the next 2 chapters. I hope that what I did is enough to show her despair...
"So... Akino-san-"
"Please call me Kaede."
Seeing that Shiro is an adult whose older than her, she asked him to call him by her first name. Furthermore, she has a vague feeling that the reason why she's awake is all thanks to him.
"As in, autumn (Aki) and field (no)?" Shiro asked. He knows that each of their name are composed of different jukugos (combination of kanji), and that those meanings mean a lot for them.
"That's correct."
With the naming stuff gone out of their way, they can begin talking properly.
"Mn, Kaede-chan. How do you feel right now?"
"Feel? It's... strange." She replied.
Without her body, her soul had no choice but to reside in the gem. It felt very foreign for her to 'see', 'hear', and 'smell' using her magical energy.
This also explained why impurities kept piling up constantly; the energy that she consumed to sustain her current state and emulate her senses is far higher than maintaining the magic on her physical body.
If not for the fact that the white flames that surrounded her like a garland eliminated those black spots and infused her with mana every second, she would've reverted back to being a Grief Seed.
"That voice... it's somewhat familiar?" On his side, Mami murmured.
"Wait... The senior Magical Girl in Mitakihara?!"
While she became a Witch more than 2 years ago, she didn't have much memories of it. Though, her meeting with Mami and Kyoko is still fresh in her mind as if it happened just yesterday.
"You are the girl that controls plants? The one that came with her family?"
"Un."
"...I see."
A pitiful look appeared in Mami's face—no one knows if it's directed towards the girl or... her.
Seeing this, he immediately asked, "Mami-chan, do you know her?"
"That's right. This girl... she's reported missing few days after we met her. Factoring with her Magical Girl identity, we thought that she died in a labyrinth."
After saying this, she went into a long silence.
"Right! My parents! I NEED TO GO SEE THEM!"
Kaede shouted anxiously from the Soul Gem, agitating the impurities once more.
Fortunately, the stacked [Mental Placation] spells are still active and will last for more than 2 minutes, thus she quickly calmed down.
"My parents would be sad..."
While Shiro listened to Kaede, his extremely sharp senses heard something. It sounded more like a stifled sob.
'Mami?'
With his fully activated [Six Eyes], it didn't take him much trouble to see her expression in greater details. Tears silently flowed down from her eyes as she clenched her teeth.
"Mami-senpai, what's the matter?" Madoka asked with a heavy heart, clearly shocked about Shiro's revelation about Kyousuke's situation. She knew how much he matters for Sayaka, but if all she gets is a bitter rejection...
Madoka doesn't know what will happen.
Strangely enough, Mami didn't respond to her question and instead said while crying:
"I'm glad."
That is, before she summoned forth one of her muskets that pointed to her orange Soul Gem attached to her flower ornament.
"SHIT!"
Shiro didn't expect that Mami would suddenly attempt to commit suicide, thus he could only activate his [Six Eyes] to make his perception faster—he did so until he hit his utmost limit.
With it, time became very slow to him.
'What did just f*ck*ng happen?'
A day ago, he decided to share the bitter truth with Mami that Witches are former Magical Girls. He did it due to it being able to be used against Kyuubey against her. By knowing it in advance, she would be less prone to the corruption that might happen to her. Moreover, he told this since she trusted Kyuubey; the amount of disbelief and despair that she'll experience will be stronger than when he told it himself.
Since he saw through her sturdy mental state, he thought that she can handle it, more so when it's already been a day since she knew about it.
But it seems like...
'She's very fragile inside, but she hid it very well. Perhaps by fooling herself?'
Shiro is not an omniscient being, or at least not yet. But, he didn't think that she would react like this. He saw through her with his [Six Eyes] before and what he saw is her strong will. At the very least, it looks like she isn't pretending.
The sudden situation is one of the most difficult ones that he'd faced. It would only take Mami a split second to shoot the trigger, and he has to save her under that time.
'Infinity won't work since it takes under one second, other spells won't, too. Damn it!'
Usually, his fastest casting speed is 0.52 seconds. Although, it won't be enough to shield her properly. Moreover, she clearly targeted her Soul Gem, the most fragile part of a Magical Girl.
'It leaves me with that.'
While Shiro's perception is monstrous, his body couldn't move properly with it. Only his mind is free to think while his body is stagnant. It's similar to Temporal Distortion, whereas a person's perception of time gets skewed.
Except for a few means, each related to manipulation of time, he couldn't move.
'Time to go Kiritsugu.' He sighed inwardly as he used his S-rated ability [Time Control].
Shiro thought about his actions in the next second before he made himself determined on that one action.
[Time Skip]!
By the time his perception went back to normal, he found himself holding his black sword—while hugging Mami with his left arm from the back. Shiro brought her a few steps back from the musket, but it's not enough to fend the magical energy that was shot from it.
[Armament Convergence]!
Fortunately, he's also done using his signature move due to his physical distortion of time. The black light cut the magical energy in half, effectively dissipating it into nothingness.
"-good." Shiro muttered blankly before spewing out huge amounts of blood, staining Mami's Magical Girl outfit with it.
"C...ast. Shackles..."
"H-hai!"
While shocked and in a panic, Madoka employed a "Bind" rune, typing them both with invisible bindings.
Shiro: Keep this until the others come.
Once Shiro wrote it in the chat group, he really couldn't stop himself from losing consciousness anymore. If not for the bindings holding him and Mami together, he would've collapsed down to the ground.
Due to it, he couldn't see the concerned messages from the other two.
As blood continuously flowed down from his mouth, only the horrified Madoka and an extremely confused Mami is left.
"Shiro!"
"Savior-san!"
Madoka and Kaede yelled at the same time. The former started hyperventilating as her knees gave in to the ground while the latter is only being restrained by the [Mental Placation] spells; or else she would've turned back into a Witch this instant and finished off Mami.
While she couldn't comprehend what had happened just now, it was Mami's attack that caused her Savior to be like this.
The feeling of helplessness was reignited within her once more—it's a very unpleasant feeling, however,
"R-right..! Roman-san is a doctor!"
Thankfully, Madoka reorganized herself after a dozen seconds had passed, prompting her to message Roman and Touka on the chat group. While she did so, she casted "Heal" runes on him, though it only slowed down his internal bleeding.
Shiro did teach her a Noble Phantasm-class rune that originated from the Clocktower which can heal internal organs thoroughly, but she hasn't fully learned that yet.
Knowing that a failed spell is more lethal to an injured person, she didn't cast it despite learning more than 70% of it.
Madoka: Roman-san! Shiro is in danger! He's bleeding a lot and I can't stop it!
Roman: Danger?! What did just happen... Where are you?
Madoka sent a map along with their locations before she got a reply from Roman and Touka that they're coming.
At this moment, she could only hope that they can arrive faster...
*****
Fact #79: In the Puella Magi Madoka Magica Movie 1: The Beginnings, Kyuubey stated that: "Even Mami never knew until the end." Meaning, she didn't even know what's the truth behind what she's fighting for. She trusted Kyuubey blindly until the end. Then there's also it asking Homura how she got so many information. This could only mean that even Kyuubey didn't know about her Regression ability until some time had passed. As to why the Kyuubey here knew? It has something to do with the trio's intervention...
PS: Meguca Mami suffering within the next 2 chapters. I hope that what I did is enough to show her despair...
