The Truth Behind the Project

---

A breeding ground for mystery and secrets in on itself. Ordinarily, the city was so elusive and enigmatic, that frankly, people didn’t care if it landed on the map or not. If the resident’s attitudes towards the place were anything to go by, then this was perhaps for the best. Nothing really happened in Miso City. It wasn’t too large, wasn’t too small, wasn’t too crowded, and wasn’t too clean.

It simply was.

The only thing setting the place apart from anything else was the high amounts of magical power practically leaking out of the city. Of course, normal humans couldn’t feel the presence of such arcane things. Only those gifted with special abilities beyond human belief and comprehension were granted access into the world of magic. They were blessed with wonders…and burdened by curses.

Even now, the sky was darkening in Miso City. Rain fell hard and heavy on this Monday afternoon. It was only a few blocks that separated Miso Junior High and Miso High School. A girl with dark hair and purple eyes stood at the rooftop of the latter.

She held out a matching gray umbrella before her to conceal her body from the rain’s drops. School had just gotten out and she was the first to arrive to the meeting spot; she was always the first to come and the last to leave. The girl mused on these thoughts as she looked up at the heavens above. The rain would not stop for some while.

Akame Natsuko was a Magical Girl. A being that sold away her life to enter the world of beyond. Today’s meeting would be alongside her fellow Magical Girls that encompassed those who sought to fight for truth and justice. The Hero Brigade. Yet that wasn’t always the case and Akame could remember a time when they were called something else, joined together by several others. With a heavy sigh, she forced herself to smile, even in spite of the rain.

The Contractor had arranged a meeting between the two factions, the Hero Brigade and the Order. For what reason, Akame did not know though she assumed it was to maybe mend the tension between the two groups. After all, they were all Magical Girls right? And the Contractor would never try to deceive her, right? This, she assured herself with silently, determined to use friendship in healing hearts and torn bonds. It was the least she could do before the real fighting started.

“Staring at the rain again?”

Akame didn’t have to turn as the familiar voice reached her ears. It was childish in nature, though she found out long ago that the owner of said voice was nothing conceived by human thought. Yet it held, in her eyes, infinite wisdom and she knew the Contractor had come to see the fruits of his labor in getting them all together in one location.

“Yes,” she answered back as a white creature resembling a cross between a cat and a rabbit landed on her shoulder, nudging her face with its cheek gently. “It’s been raining a lot lately…you’re here for the meeting, right Mister Contractor?”

“Yes, you are correct in assuming that, Akame Natsuko,” the creature replied happily-or what at least sounded like happiness to Akame-eyes never blinking and expression never wavering. “You doubted my appearance here?”

“No, no. Just making sure, that’s all,” Akame said with a small chuckle at her own rhetorical question. The senior Magical Girl glanced to her left, trying, and failing, to judge the Contractor’s thoughts before saying, “Um, will you be staying for tea?”

“No, that won’t do. I have some things to attend to.”

Akame said nothing more, giving up on trying to understand the Contractor’s ways; sometimes he acted too weird for her, but never malicious. After all, who didn’t like tea? Instead, she looked out at the wet city once more. She’d wait a few more minutes before contacting the others via thought through her Soul Gem. Worst case scenario was that they were caught in the middle of a Primordial attack, in which she’d depart to assist them. But for now she waited in silence, leaving the Contractor to its own thoughts as she shifted the umbrella.

“And so it goes,” Akame murmured to herself, hoping the peace cookies were still warm.

---

There are certain themes of which the interest is all-absorbing, but which are too entirely horrible for the purposes of legitimate fiction. These the mere romanticist must eschew, if he do not wish to offend or to disgust. They are with propriety handled only when the severity and majesty of Truth sanctify and sustain them.

---

Away from there, on Miso City High School's Student Council Room, Erika Natsuko, the Student President was flipping the pages of a pocket book in the relative silence of the dim lit room devoid of any other signs of human life. It seemed the night would fall early and be a cold one, fitting for the kind of event that was about to unfold, thus it was no surprise that the students were relieved of their club activities for the night, all except the dutiful Student President, that is.

"Staring at the rain, Erika Natsuko? You are indeed the sister of-" The Contractor (who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, once again) began to say, but was soon interrupted by Erika.

"There's no need to state the obvious, Contractor. May I ask what the objective of your visit is?"

"I just came to inquire about your intentions, Erika Natsuko. If you don't gather your allies and leave now, you'll be late for the meeting." The irresistibly adorable critter said as he hopped on Erika's shoulder and rub his face on her cheek like some sort of cat.

"You don't need to come out of your way just to bother me with such questions. I gave my word that I would attend, that should suffice. I can't speak for the others, though, but I have already sent a message to them as a reminder of our appointment. That said", Erika said as she got back to her feet (causing the Contractor to hop to her desk) and set aside the small book about short horror stories from a known Western author, "I guess it's about time I should leave."

A few minutes later and Erika was already at the lone streets of Miso City, walking under the leaden clouds with only a discrete black umbrella to shelter her from the pouring rain. I just hope they have decent tea there, I really need something to warm myself... Erika wondered to herself as she idly gazed at the white puffs of vapor coming from her mouth every time she breathed.

Primordials, rain and now cold, even though there's still sometime before before the winter? Miso City was really a miserable place to live, was it not? Erika kept mulling these thoughts privately as she walked, trying to find the reason why, despite all this, she could never give up on liking this city.

The answer to this was quite a simple one, and right before her eyes too, "Good afternoon, Akame, it has been a long time we have seen each other on such circumstances by ht last time, has it not?" Erika said as, after a few more minutes on her own, she finally arrived on the presence of her sister.

---

In another part of town stood one Mitsuki Kitagawa. She had taken the opportunity to skip school for the day, to focus on other matters that were of particular importance to her. Not that she would have bothered explaining them to any of he girls she tended to spend her time with, for they would not have seemed all that important to them. But it was to her.

"There, that wasn't so hard was it," she mused to herself with a smile in her face, looking out on the night sky. She was acutely aware of the time, but it wouldn't be a problem. Honestly she didn't see the need for a meeting, but if they called for it then she wasn't going to argue. It was better to not rock the boat.

At the moment she was in her usual clothes, hiding her nature as a magical girl and also hiding any remnants of what she had been doing. Not that it was relevant, since she knew, and in this case she was the only person that mattered. Just one less thing to worry about.

A sigh escaped then as a hand came to rest on her hip. "I suppose we should be going." With that she set off, an umbrella raised overhead to keep the rain from landing upon her. Not that she minded the rain at all. It was refreshing, and provided some distraction from the banality of life. At least in her mind.

Walking along city streets, a chuckle escaped her lips as she glanced towards the horizon. "I wonder what sort of fun is going to happen today." She knew of the rivalry between the two group leaders, and knew how the groups were unlikely to get along even if they had to cooperate against an existential threat. It was sure to prove interesting, and more than a bit amusing as far as she was concerned. "Now quiet you. I need to concentrate."

With that said she moved towards the meeting spot. What would happen, she wondered? It would be quite amusing to find out.

Sakura gave out a sigh as she stared off into the horizon, sitting on the top of some old construction site that hasn't been worked on for a couple of weeks now. The rain soaking her outer clothes, she didn't care anymore. She hasn't come into contact with anyone she knew ever since that fateful night, changing her usual appearance ever so slightly to make people have to come up and ask her directly to confirm if they actually knew her or not; which nine times out of ten, her natural scowl and general cold vibe kept people from doing so. "If you are here to tell me go to that stupid meeting, you've only convinced me that I don't want anything to do with them." She didn't need to turn her gaze to know he was there. He was always there, watching her. She didn't like the look he gave, but the only thing she owed him was payment for her power that just seemed to make everything worse.

Not being able to take anymore of the silence, she stood up and stormed out on the contractor. "I'm Not going to the meeting. ... I'm just grabbing an ice cream." Not once did she actually confirm he was there, her mind more paranoid at the world she found herself in. So many things she didn't understand, but now didn't want to. She wanted out, to reverse her wish and go back to the life she had before. Reminding herself why she joined the Order. She bought her ice cream before showing up at the designated meeting spot.

"Come on..... 3..2..1.. B-Bye Teach!" The school bell rung; dismissing the class, or rather her, as she rushed out the door, skipping her duties without another thought. She had a place to be today and she didn't want to be late. This was just another chance for her to make a difference. She grabbed her plain white umbrella as she left the school and bumbled down the side of the road, her umbrella not doing much as she ran more into the rain than what would have fallen on her if she'd just walk, even without the umbrella.

She paused in front of the market, her umbrella finally doing its job, thinking that food would be a good way to ease the mood. Food was always a necessity for a gathering of people, right? Her father frequently held small parties for his friends, and there was always food. Though she'd have to think of an excuse to give him. He was always trying to see what was up with her and gave her plenty of money in case of emergencies, probably just being a normal dad, but it annoyed her to some extent at the amount of money and the effort at which he tried. None of the other kids were near as rich as she was, and she doubted their fathers knocked on the door to her life every chance they got; though to be fair, she loved her dad and was grateful that he was able to give her the privacy she requested when she needed it.

After wandering about the market for some time, she finally made a decision on what to bring to the party. She settled on filing an unmarked box full of melon bread and bancha tea for about 10 people as well as a couple of cans of black coffee for any of those with grown-up tastes. Trying not to spend too much as she didn't want to raise too much suspicion from her dad. She also ended up loosing her umbrella along the way without her notice as she wobbled to where they were supposed to meet.. but wait, where was that again?

"Ugh, it's raining again," Ryuko muttered under her breath as she hopped on the roof of a bullet train, and let the speeding vehicle take her closer to her destination. It has been a couple of months since she arrived in Miso City, and it was far grander than she could have expected; being raised in the country like she was, she has never known what bustling city life would be like; there were people everywhere, and the buildings could reach quite high. But the best part was the never-ending flood of Primordials; back in her home village she was lucky if one showed up in a couple of weeks, but here they seem to be popping up regularly. This allowed Ryuko to really experiment with her powers, and really push herself to her limit. She enjoyed the feeling of adrenaline pumping through her heart when she smashed one of those monsters into paste.

Of course, it wasn't all flowers for her; there were also other girls with powers, and there were many of them. The first time she met one she was attacked and in her first night nonetheless. She managed to send her packing, but the experience made her wary and suspicious of any magical girl, no matter how nice they seemed. But eventually, she found herself joining forces with some of the local girls when a more dangerous Primordial showed up, though she never admitted to needing the help. And when she mingled with these girls, she quickly came to understand the power balance between two sides in the city; those who did the right thing and used their powers to slaughter the Primordials, and those who seemed to regret becoming one as they try to turn back to normal. Ryuko scoffed at the idea; who would in their right mind want to quit? And that's what made her especially interested in attending this taco party she's heard about. Maybe they come to a peaceful resolution, or maybe an all-out brawl breaks out. Either way, Ryuko's gonna be at the front lines securing her side, and the first to swing her weapon when the inevitable happens.

---

Across the city there where many young girls who were leaving school and going off to do any number of things with their lives. Perhaps they had families who cherished each other's presence. They could have plans to meet with the friends made inside the halls of academia. Maybe they were simply adventurous youths who couldn't help but be allured out into Miso City regardless of the inclement weather.

Yukino Okajima was separate from these groups, eagerly accepting a mantle meant only for girls such as herself and all the trial's and tribulations that entailed. One such responsibility, minor as it is, was answering the summons of her faction's leader even as the sky's opened up in opposition of her journey.

Gooseflesh rippled across her exposed flesh as rain fell into the shadowed alleys that she walked. A palm frond was held above her head, but it made a poor umbrella whenever the wind picked up and swept the frond to and fro. Regardless of the weather and her poor attire, Yukino drifted through Miso's forgotten pathways toward the meeting.

Being a Mahou Shoujo was her life, she had no other obligation beyond sustaining herself after this duty. There was no school for her to study and meet her peers on a level field. A family wasn't awaiting the verdant house she squatted in. And while she may have only recently became a Mahou Shoujo, she knew the city enough to know not to seek adventure outside of her duties. Yukino had a purpose to fulfill in order to reimburse the Contractor for coming to her with his deal, and she would do this with aplomb if need be.

She may have been cold, but she would never know hunger again. For a deal that good she'd get over her own shyness around others and be the hero Miso wanted. "Hmm, I should hurry. Don't want to be late..." Her voice came as a low whisper, if one had been beside her they'd have questioned if she spoke at all. It was how she liked it to be. The sound of water stiking a leaf and her sandals upon water where all that would trail her as she hastened her steps to the meeting of Mahou Shoujo.

---

“Big Sister! I knew you’d make it, I just knew!”

Akame had been dutifully checking her cookies with puffed cheeks when the voice of her sister made her turn. At once the younger girl jumped at her, practically glomping her sibling with a steel grip and an iron hug…before the smell of burning pastries got her scooting right back to the oven. She spent a few moments hastily looking for mittens before pulling the cookies out, thankful that the school alarm hadn’t gone off from her antics. Again.

“Oh no, they’re all burnt up! And the edges aren’t even cornered right,” Akame said with despair, setting the tray down gingerly onto one of the club room tables. She had attempted to make cookies with everyone’s face on them. But she had quickly realized at some point that she didn’t really know what everyone looked like. So instead she had made one batch of “Akame” cookies, one batch of “Erika” cookies, and one batch of “Contractor” ones.

And…well, at least they looked edible. The first batch was all Akame smiles while the second one just had Erika’s signature frown. And then there was that batch of the Contractor cookies where Akame had tried vanilla frosting and raisins for the eyes. She suspected those of the Order would like to tear into those anyway so she put them out first.

No sooner did she begin laying the treats out did members from both factions arrive. Given that there was really only one high school and middle school in Miso City, it wasn’t uncommon for the Magical Girls to cross paths with their normal personas at one point or another. Thus, Akame gave everyone a grin and offered them each cookies.

“Mako-chan, you brought snacks! Please hurry up and set them out. I don’t think people want to eat Big Sister’s face,” Akame said with an embarrassed sigh. It only now occurred to her that the Order probably wouldn’t like the idea of chewing their leader’s face off.

When everyone had settled down and each gotten a portion of snacks, Akame stood at the front of the gathered girls with hesitation in her step. The Contractor had only told her to make this meeting possible, and hadn’t actually informed her of what she was supposed to be saying. So while everyone was munching away at their snacks, Akame tried to fake a cough to get everyone’s focus on her.

“U-Um, excuse me? Can I have everyone’s attention? So, um, I’m sure you’re all wondering why we’ve been called to meet today. And to be honest, I’m not really sure myself,” she said with a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of her head in a comedic manner before suddenly gasping and pointing outside.

“Look everyone, it’s snowing!” she said in an attempt to gain some time in trying to fabricate an excuse for calling everyone out here. “Look it’s…oh. It really is snowing outside. Oh! That must mean…I have to go make another batch of cookies,” she said to herself, hoping Erika could handle the crowd while she did just that.

---

Mako somehow wobbled at her destination in time for the meeting despite getting lost. The rain had turned to snow, chilling her though her damp clothes, but not too cold for her to handle. She'd just have to take a warm bath when she got home. She set down her box as she received cookies from her faction leader, only to be ordered to pass out her own collection for the group. "R-right, glad to!" her excitement flowed through her words to be called to action so soon. She set down her cookies in her spot as she picked up her box and of goodies and wobbled to the other faction's leader, first offering her food to the beautiful high school student before going down the line. "U-umm, I have some melon bread and some bancha tea. ... If you were interested. Oh, or if you prefer I also have a couple of cans of black coffee i-if that was your preference." She continued serving the rest of the Order members before turning to her own boss and following up with her comrades.

Her box was nearly empty, so took out the remaining contents and set them aside before lining the inside with a plastic bag to be used as a trash can. She quickly ran back to her spot, picking up her cookies, melon bread, and tea while smiling to the other members trying to raise everyone's mood. She didn't know why exactly everyone was here, but that didn't mean they were enemies.

Sakura stood in the back, behind her leader, not really wanting to be apart of this meeting. She quite despised everyone there, and only got along with her leader in hopes she'd pull through. Though, by the looks of it there wasn't much support for her side. Should things turn into a brawl, she wouldn't mind skipping out and avoid the inevitable beat down. It didn't help that she couldn't really control her powers all that great. It'd bring disaster to everyone should it go off, of course they'd be fine as long as they stayed further than a couple of meters, but there was truly no way to tell how this would progress. Even now the Heroes' leader came to offer cookies, while normally she might accept due to formalities, she rejected the offer as politely as she could before she got to close. Then just to follow suit another little hero decided to share her food. What was this kindergarten? Sakura scowled at the approaching nervous looking girl, rejecting whatever she had to offer in no time flat. She stood there, finishing off her own strawberry ice cream, wondering when this meeting was going to actually get underway.

It didn't take long for Mitsuki Kitagawa to arrive at the school were they would be having their meeting, and she made it just before the transition from rain to snow. That was interesting to see, she supposed, but her mind was focused on more important matters. She had plenty to be concerned with, and as a magical girl the weather was much less of a problem than it ever had been for her as a normal girl.

"Hello everyone," she said with a smile as she stepped into the room, laying her umbrella off to the side so she wouldn't be hindered by it for the duration of the meeting. A quick survey of the room saw several members of the Order and the Hero Brigade arriving, with a few coming in after she had until everyone was there. Well then, this could not end badly at all.

She moved to join the others at that point, soon approached by one of the Hero Brigade members with the offer of food. "Thank you Mako," she replied with a smile and a nod, taking the offered food when it came around for her turn. "It looks delicious. And I suppose that is one way to get the frown off of Erika's face."

She punctuated the point by taking the Erika cookie, ignoring how burned it was, and simply eating a bite right where her mouth was. Admittedly it didn't taste good. At all. But for the sake of her own agenda, she could deal with it. It was hardly an enduring problem after all.

With the meeting about to be called to order, she nodded then to Sakura, leaving the girl alone for the moment, as well as Erika, before turning her attention to Akane, to learn why it was that they had been called here. Yet she merely sighed as it got off to a flubbed start, and the leader of the Hero Brigade dismissed herself with an obvious excuse. Here was hoping that Erika could do better, and Mitsuki waited avidly for her to begin.

---

Entering the meeting room next was the shivering form of Yukino. The trip there had been unpleasant when it was only the rain pouring atop her, but the transition to snow and the cold it brought was a greater hazard then Yukino could have planned for. Her body shook terribly as she shuffled from the door over to the stove, pausing only to drag a chair along with her. Twice after this did members of the Hero Brigade circle the room with treats freshly baked cookies, snacks, and drinks, each time Yukino took whatever she could and devoured it greedily in the hopes of bringing just a few more degrees of heat to her body.

This may not have been such an issue if she had travelled in her Mahou Shoujo attire, as ironically enough it was more mundane and concealing then her usual attire barring the stalks which could have been concealed amidst her hair, but with present company being as it was she didn't want to risk being seen as confrontational. The cold may have been torturous, but being perceived as a threat could life threatening. Threats were always the first to be targeted and eliminated, and Yukino was certain to never let herself befall this fate.

The rattling of her teeth subsided as the stove's heat bled into the air and warmed her some, bringing back a measure of control to the botanical Mahou Shoujo's body. Her gaze slid to the girls not part of her faction, those of the Order as they called themselves. That someone could come to regret their wish and loath the Contractor wasn't an easy thing for Yukino to accept, and it wasn't helped by the reclusive and acidic nature of the Order's personage.

While she hadn't spent much time in the Contractor's company, she was rather fond of the distant creature. Distant emotionally, and physically, on account of their first encounter not being under the best of conditions. Her wish had brought her nothing but joy and valuable sustenance, her work as a Mahou Shoujo being an fair trade off for no longer having to scavenge her food. Did they waste their wish on something frivolous? Regret would understandable if they wasted their one wish on something like a giant birthday cake.

Ryuko escaped indoors from the sudden blizzard that she got caught up in on her way there, she sneezed loudly. What she then found at the party was pretty much what she expected; awkwardness. Most of the girls present seemed to be standing around in silence, waiting for the self-proclaimed "leader" to get back from baking her dumb cookies. But as much as she tried to look dignified while she stood at the center of the room, her eyes nailed on the Order girls, Ryuko's stomach growled; it's been a while since she's had something to eat, and her gaze lingered on the ice cream. Then Ryuko saw the white-haired girl serving up snacks to the enemy first before her own group, and she became angry.

Irritated at the gluttonous girl who made a mess of herself, she finally raised her voice: "How long do we have to wait for those damn cookies? This isn't a stupid tea party! And where's the rodent, anyway? Isn't that thing the reason we're here? Why do we even care what it has to say?" Ryuko liked disrupting the dead air that previously occupied the place, not minding the fact she caught the attention of the attendees. "Besides, we all know how this is going to end. Why even bother with the fake smiles?"

"Hmm... erm, it's good to see you again, Akame! I- hmm..." To say that Erika was overwhelmed by Akame's way too warm greeting was an understatement. It had been long since the two of them had gathered as magical girls and even longer since they talked about it. Akame couldn't see the waste she made of her life, Erika vowed to save her, no matter the cost, things happened and that's why they are here tonight. Or so the taciturn leader of the Order thought.

While the other girls gathered, Erika remained quiet, reading upon her book and observing as the rain gradually transitioned to snow, given the discrepancy in relation to today's weather forecast (despite the fact that Winter was coming), there could be only one cause. Erika also contemplated on the choice of cookies Akame laid before her and how most of the other girls seemed to be frowning at the, obviously burnt, desserts her sister tried to treat them with.

After a long moment of thinking that she couldn't get herself to chomp at Akame's head (though, Erika hid one of Akame's face cookies on her pocket while no one was looking) and that she couldn't even begin to think on eating Contractor's cookies, Erika threw a glare at Mitsuki, "Perhaps, we she bake some with your face for the next time? You know, to take out this smile that never seems to fade." Then, she followed Mitsuki and bit off the mouth of one of her own faces.

"Get us some properly hot tea as well, using that one your friend brought, Akame. One can't eat in a civilized manner without tea, especially since a certain someone is coming back to city." Erika said just as Akame stepped out to get another batch of cookies done, before closing her book in a way that it produced a dramatic dry thud, to call for everyone's attention, before taking a central position on the meeting room.

"Good evening, everyone. As you all know, the the contents of tonight's meeting are known only to the Contractor, but it seems that he's out to meet with a certain person that might as well have information on what's happening. Until they arrive, make yourselves at home enjoying the treats from the hosts of this gathering and the sight of the early snow, which is a courtesy of our special guest." With those words Erika returned to her chair and resumed her reading, occasionally glancing at either the snow or Akame while wondering what this contrived rendezvous was truly about.



"Mmm..." A lone white haired girl groaned as she woke up thanks to the rumble of the bus she was in, she was wearing headphones, listening to some of her favorite songs and had fallen asleep without even noticing. Nevertheless, it all ended because the driver found a frozen road when he wasn't expecting any. Getting her phone, which was in her skirt's pocket, she looked at its screen and said, "I've slept for too long, the playlist is already past its half. It must be only a short while before I reach Miso City."

About an hour later...

"Yuna Yukino! It's been a long time since we had news of you. May I inquire what brought you back to Miso City? The Contractor said just as Yuna stepped out of the bus. The small creep must have been waiting for her at the station for hours, knowing that this was bound to happen eventually.

"You know the reason already, 'that thing' is coming to Miso City. I'm here to talk with the others about it." Yuna answered without much emotion behind her voice. "Anyway... It's snowing already, huh? Well, since Christmas is close, it's only natural. I hope Akame will have something hot ready for me, all this traveling is way too tiring." She thought.

"Yuna Yukino, the others are waiting for you, I believe you should hurry up. Or do you prefer for the meeting to be cancelled?"

"You don't need to bother about me being late. On this weather, is when I can do my best..." Yuna said just before transforming and leaving the station, storming the streets of Miso City like the blizzard that had suddenly hit it.

A few minutes later...

"I'm back, Akame. Is everyone here already?" Yuna asked as she entered the meeting room in her normal form, the very coldness of the wintry weather following her, despite them being indoors. At this very instant the Contractor jumped from Yuna's shoulder (where it was safely perched during the trip) and took a place in the middle of all the girls, taking the time to gobble down a cookie shaped like itself, before officially announcing the beginning of this meeting.

"Well then, Now that Yuna Yukino is finally here, shall we begin?"

---

---

Akame wasn’t sure to feel bad or glad at the success rate of her cookies. It seemed to be evenly split between those that genuinely enjoyed them, those who thought they were a waste of time and good will, and those who just didn’t care because free food was still free food. At least Erika seemed to appreciate her underhanded cooking and Akame did not ignore her sister pocketing off a cookie with her face on it.

Seems they would all have to wait for the Contractor to arrive since he was the one who had called this meeting. So while Erika gave her announcements, Akame devoted herself to being a busy body with the snacks and refreshments. At least, until an icy wind nearly made the oven freeze over. Akame wasn’t even upset because she knew only one girl could do such a thing.

“Yuna! Yuna’s back!” Akame said, practically letting the tray of fresh cookies drop to glomp her friend. Despite the coldness surrounding her, she hugged her friend and rubbed her cheek against Yuna’s in an effort to warm her up. Because of this, she didn’t notice the last shape to enter the room aside from the Contractor.

The second in command of the Order, Haku Asakura gave Erika just a glance before turning in the direction of the announcing Contractor. Adjusting her glasses, Haku’s gaze was as stoic and unreadable as ever. Had the Contractor not started the meeting, Akame would have offered her a cookie too.

“Hello everyone. As you know, I’ve come to gather all of the Magical Girls I could find in this city for the purpose of warning you for the dangers ahead of us all. It would seem there’s been a rapid influx of Primordial growth right here in Miso City. Because of that, I felt that it was best to have you all work together!”

Akame paled, already not liking where this was going. Not because she was against the notion, heavens no! But she felt that more than a few girls here would want to make their voices known against this notion. After all, they were on two different factions for a reason.

As if predicting this outcome, the Contractor was silent to let anyone raise objection to this, his tail curled over its paws in patience. Akame knew it meant well, but sometimes she couldn’t help but feel he enjoyed the bickering a little too much.

---

"My, such hostility," Mitsuki replied with a raised eyebrow, targeting Ryuko with that comment even as she finished off the cookie that she currently held. "We may have our ideological disagreements, but I don't see why that has to stop us from being friends if we want to." She certainly seemed to believe that particular fact. They were all magical girls, so even if they had their differing philosophies, they could still get along.

Moving on to a cookie of the Contractor himself, she flashed a specially bright smile to her fearless and dour leader Erika, even as she was accused and questioned. "Well, I would never be so vain as to request you make cookies of me, but if that happens I won't complain. Besides, is there something wrong with being in a good mood?"

That said, she turned to listen to the introduction itself, sampling her food and waiting for the good bits to arrive. For example, the knowledge that they would have a special guest, and the quick arrival of said special guest. A chill ran through the room as Yuna entered, a reminder of the power that she had which could be brought to bear with such visible force. It was interesting to have her back here, and surely that could only promise interesting things.

Mitsuki's smile tightened slightly, treading dangerously close to a smirk at the same time. Oh, she was always a fan of interesting times. They always provided such....juicy opportunities.

The arrival of the Contractor seemed to solidify that, even as he noted the surge in Primordial activity here in town, and explaining that he had brought them here to arrange a temporary cooperation between the two factions. She was more than willing to work along with the Hero Brigade, if only because of the opportunities it presented. But she imagined that some of her coworkers might not be so happy with that choice.

"Do we know why this is happening," she asked, leaving off deciding for fact finding. She could make her choice later.

Yukino set aside the cookies and brushed the crumbs from her dress. There were a few moments she felt compelled to look away in embarrassment at the antics of the Hero Brigade's senior members. The arrival of Yuna was dramatic enough, given she dragged in the cold, the incubator, and deadened whatever tension was building up by immediately being glomped by Akame. It was a rather fitting contrast to the Order's senior member's who entered solemnly or silently.

Honestly with the differences in temperament, Yukino would almost consider going to the Order, Erica seemed more her speed rather than the exuberant and affectionate Akame, but the differences in belief were too great for that. Beyond that, it wasn't like all the Hero Brigade was saccharine and it couldn't be said that all the Order was detached and reserved, Yukino looking at Ryuko and Yoshino in particular as exceptions to the rules.

Then the Contractor spoke the reason for their gathering in that succinct manner that could only be called typical of it. "Contractor, while we may all share a duty to hunt the Primordials, it seems that the two sides function best as...separate groups." Yukino's voice was soft, form seeming to shrink on itself amidst all the other magical girls of Miso city. "Not to say I wouldn't cooperate, most of the Hero Brigade would...It's that we all have done well as is. Is there really to be so many Primordials to require this?"

Yukino choose to focus her gaze on the Contractor, finding it easier to look at their benefactor then the others. Truthfully she wouldn't be against cooperation, but that would bring both sides into greater proximity and increase the chances for conflict amongst their members. While she wasn't an educated person, even Yukino could tell that people divided by an ideology could seldom come together for anything but bloodshed.

"Thank you, Akame. It's nice to be back." Yuna said with her characteristic emotionless way, not because wasn't feeling really glad to be back, just that Yuna was... frozen, not used to deal with human beings that very much. Akame was probably one of the few sole exceptions, and even Yuna had her difficulties to connect immediately. However, something got Yuna's attention, "Something smells nice, can I have some?" Yuna asked Akame, after all that traveling around and the cold weather, a nice and hot snack would be a god send.

Either way, when Mitsuki asked the reasons for the upcoming chaos and Yukino pointed their different mindsets would lead to a clash, Yuna spoke (even though Akame was still glomping her), "It's a hive, they appear in places with big concentration of negative energy, just like Miso City is right now. I've seen it before, to destroy it we need neutralize the Primordial Queen, but before that we have to find her." Indeed, that was not the first time that the magical girl wanderer had seen a thing like that, but usually hive only appear on bigger cities, during times of distress, on Miso City's case-

"Very well then", Erika, who was listening to everything in silence until now, spoke after closing her book with a dry thud, "this would explain the recent increase in primordial numbers. However, do you have an explanation for such an event happening right here and now, Yuna Yukino, this certainly seems quite a convenient timing for a crisis to hit Miso City."

"I'm not sure, no one knows the cause behind it, for sure, but..." Yuna said, turning her icy gaze to all the other girls in the room, before resting it on a certain Haku Asakura, her rival ever since the two groups split off. "My guess is that the source of the negative energy is right within this room. Our infighting. After all, we are supposed to be the guardians of hope, fighting the Primordials instead of ourselves."

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Erika said out of the blue, causing Yuna's stare to come back to the Order's leader. "Who guards the guardians, huh? I guess that it makes sense, your words. I have to consider it before doing anything else, but for the time being, you can consider ourselves your allies, until this crisis washes off, or new evidence surfaces. In the end, it's our job as the ones with power, to undo our own mistakes." Erika said calmly, before her eyes narrowed down to a slit and she turned to the city in the background with a vicious glare.

Yuna followed suit, before saying, "It seems they are already here, Akame. The Primordials are attacking the city, we should go now." Right now the other girls would most likely be able to feel it as well, three points of the city seemed to be attacked as of now. The Bridge, a Downtown crossing and the Train Station near to Miso City High. Yuna turned to Haku and said, "The two of us are going for the Bridge, since it's the farthest place and we are the fastest here, the rest divide in two teams along with Akame and Erika and choose where to go. We have no time to lose."

Yuna then summoned her Soulgem and transformed into her magical form, "What are you waiting, Haku?" Yuna said to her rival, in truth what she really wanted was to keep close tabs on the other lancer, despite her claims of working as a team, Haku was someone Yuna couldn't get herself to like. Before they departed, Yuna said to Akame "Save some of that tea for me, Akame. We will be back shortly."

---

@TheWindel, @Flamelord, @Unlucky0013, @Queue13, @Ariamis, @Lonewolf685.

Sakura was pretty chill throughout the meeting. There were a lot of annoyances. Ryuko Ishiniwa for starters staring at her made her uneasy, then when she erupted out of anger she only furthered the ill will she had against all magical girls. Next on her hate list was Mitsuki, which she didn't really hae a reason, just her gut told them that they'd clash hard against one another. Then again, Sakura clashed hard against probably everyone here, especially the contractor. Having receiving the needed infromation, she was the first one to leave. Frankly she wanted to go to the Bridge, not only would it be less embarrassing with fewer people, but less people in case her power started acting up again. She left the room and headed out aways before transforming. The god awful suit rode up on her in the most uncomfortable ways, as she neared her destination.

"Can anyone tell me the answer to number five?" The teacher asked the class, as she sat in her chair, looking among the students. A few of her pupils raised their hand to answer the question, but the teacher neglected them. She paused for a second before her eyes were set upon one of the students who weren't paying attention. "Angel." She called out.

The young girl jumped and she turned around, towards the teacher when her conversation was interrupted. "Sorry, what was the question again? " Angel asked sweetly as she shot the teacher a inicent smile to lighten the blow that was coming towards her.

The teacher shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Hmm... I wonder why. Maybe if you stop chitter chattering with your neighbors, you would know."

Angel spun around to her desk as she looked down at her empty paper. She didn't bother much about doing the actual task at hand. In her opinion it was pointless to learn about a bunch of dead people. She would say something about that, but she knew she would just get the same old lecture about how 'important'it was.

"If it helps, -" Her sentence was cut off in the middle by a ringing of the bell. She didn't continue talking after the bell rang, instead she and quickly stuffed the paper in her folder. She shoved the folder in her bag and zipped it up. Once this was done she stood up, and swung the backpack over her shoulder. Looking up at the teacher she said, "Oh, well that's the bell I should probly go."

The teacher shook her head as she heard the bell. "Everybody sit down! " She warned. The class was hesitant but did as the teacher had told them to and was listening with there full attention. "I did not dismiss you yet. You do not leave the class until I tell you to, it is disrespectful to do otherwise. I want everyone to do this paper for homework, no excuses. If you fail to do so, I will call your parents, and you will stay in for reecess and lunch for a week.' After this was said, there were a few moans and groans from the class. "You are dismissed." The teacher said. The class got up and rushed out the doors and into the halls of the school.

Angel rolled her eyes at the speech, half ignoring it. It was the same thing everyday. When the teacher said they were dismissed, she was one of the first ones to jump up and leave. After exiting the school, she was out in the rain. Angel pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head and ran to her house. Once she got there, she was already soaked and wet. She twisted the door knob, opening it and entered the small house.

"Dad, I'm home. " She called out as she closed the door. She entered the house as she looked at the grandfather clock that stood to the side. She could already tell that she was going to be late for the meeting, she hoped they wouldn't mind. When she didn't hear a response from her dad, she ran to the livingroom, where she saw that he was sleeping on the couch.

She half smiled at this fact. He was getting better, she could feel it. She grabbed a pen, clicked it, and a piece of paper. She wrote,' I have to do something, I'll be back soon. Love you dad!!! XOXOXOXOXO ~Angel' She placed the note on the table and left for the meeting. She didn't bother to change her clothing or anything. She didn't see the point in it, she was just going to get wet again anyways.

Once she made it to the meeting she took a seat by one of the Hero Bridge members, as she sent a disgusted glare at the Order members. 'What were they doing her?' She wondered. She looked around at the others as she shrugged. "Hey, so what's this meeting for? I forgot, and sorry if I'm slightly late." She said calmly trying to start a conversation of some kind.