Homura empathised with Suna's thought process, but she didn't agree with it. Magical girls were put in place to protect the natural balance of the world, to fight against the inhuman and protect the humans. They weren't put in place to act as the law. Even so, that thought remained buried among many other things, something Homura was starting to grow accustomed to.

She couldn't read the girl, neither her body language or her face betrayed any kind of worry or singular thought. There was always a hint of something deeper, something that the pinkette's eyes couldn't pierce. Instead, she sipped on the drink so graciously offered to her by Suna and recalled that school just so happened to be the next day and time wasn't on the girl's side.

The pinkette went about her goodbyes, doing her ritual "See you later"s and "I had fun!"s before she disappeared into the night as a pink flash, melting away into just another one of the many stars in the sky.

---

Idle chatter could be heard through the sun-lit hallway as Homura and a few friends conversed and chatted about mundane school-girl things, trifling matters like which way you should eat a choco-coronet or just how much they'd been glued to their tiny cell-phone screens like zombies. Their conversation ended briefly, within an instant, as Homura ended up walking into another student. It was her own fault for not looking but the yelp that followed made her seem like the victim in this unlikely vehicular accident.

The offer of the hand went accepted as Homura grabbed it with her soft hands, a contrast to the rougher hands that Rei had. Homura took a moment to bow in apology as she got to her feet, "S-sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." She commented, accepting the blame and hoping the other would forgive her. But as she looked up, as her bow ended and she finally caught a glimpse of the person she had just bumped into, she was confused.

She remembered the night before, remembered a girl stood upon a telephone pole or power line. The same imposing image was now before her, now at least dressed in the garments of the school. She hesitated for a moment before apologising once more, for the day before. "And about last night too, I also... Wasn't looking." It appeared she hadn't learned her lesson from the day before, but she wasn't ready to get involved with the detention club yet. She just hoped that Rei would spare some mercy on her, now that she's walked straight into the leader's grasp.

Ember continued to front and as such, today would be dedicated to the Shogi Club.

An assortment of eclectic individuals many would derisively call 'nerds', she found her true calling here in Hibusa and while she could have felt guilty for trouncing children with her smarts, these were tough opponents. Some had many times her experience, which meant intense showdowns between two members, such as the one she concentrated on right now. It was not that her position could not be won from, but she was at a severe disadvantage, not to mention that her time ran low. Her opponent, a boy named Sunohora, was one of the Shogi Club's best and while he could have challenged someone more of his size, there was a reason why he chose Ember.

She moved. Sunohara responded within seconds while Ember took another half a minute to think through her strategy, seemingly whittling away at her time for no reason. The advantage clearly belonged to Sunohara as the match continued, with the board shifting more and more within his favour. Time eventually ran out for Ember and she lost with a graceful smile.

"Excellent match," she told him with a formal bow. It hurt her pride a little, however, she only had so much to practice as opposed to Sunohara and she knew she did an admirable job of holding on. "You fixed the issue with your right flank, but there's still room for improvement. For example, at the start of the match..." And from there on, Ember launched into a detailed breakdown of their match move by move without as much as looking at the moves sheet. Indeed, while she could not best the Shogi Club's talents, her ability to analyze a match was nearly without equal. After all, having two others pay attention to what she did, even if not as interested as her in the actual game, proved very useful indeed.

A lively discussion followed, with Ember assuming a leading role as she pointed out various moves, going over the game move by move. By the end, every member of the Shogi Club understood the match thoroughly, Ember had drunk two tall glasses of water and she felt a bit of a haze descend on her mind. It did not exhaust her nearly as much as yesterday, but thinking along so many lines had her wishing for a bit of fresh air... Not to mention that there were her unofficial club duties to consider, as a member of the Detention Club. She would likely be late.

Thanking the Shogi Club for a stimulating conversation - not quite a lie, yet also not quite the truth - she left with the promise that they would help her out in return. Business as usual.

Stretching her limbs, she headed towards the usual room of her true kin, however...

"Roche?" she asked as she spotted the tanned girl, whose head seemed to be on a metaphorical swivel. "May I help with whatever... or whoever you are looking for?" Having missed the party last night in favour of ensuring Kiyo's well-being and eating out, she had no knowledge of the previous day's incident with Suki.

@Lonewolf685

---

Evil Eye untransformed as she landed, dropping Shuuko on her feet and playfully snatching the bucket of fried chicken out of her arms. "They're at Suki's place—but, Ember?" she said, recalling the name of the schemer. "I'm tired. Give a girl a break? Lemme crash." She sighed with a note of finality. Rei had arranged a place for Kiyo to stay, but she stayed over at Shuuko's about as often as she went to her own home. It was also very common for Kiyo to claim that she was tired, only to stay up giggling late into the night watching who knows what through her Mogalls. This was another such night; and Ember would join her, the two laughing together as they watched the other girls scatter about and do battle with Suki's food. In Kiyo's case, fun usually came at someone else's expense.

---

Kuroki Kiyo was a girl who, by all rights, shouldn't still be in high school. Yet, here she was. Make no mistake: She never failed a class—the education system failed her. Still, she must have been held back a year. Wasn't she a little over a year older than the graduates? Hardly. She was still the legal dependent of her parents, who live in Tokyo. That is, unless she needed to contact her parents to get their permission for something. Why don't you look her in the eyes and say that?

Kuroki Kiyo was a girl who, by any means, got her way in the end. At least, that's how it was supposed to be.

"Fuck," she remarked as she stepped outside to get on her motorcycle and drive her ass to school, fashionably late as always—only, it wasn't there. "that bitch," she added. Well, if she was going to be this late, she might as well skip class. With that decided, she made her way over to her favorite shop to do some window shopping. With those prices, she wasn't going to be affording a down payment for a new bike anytime soon. Irritated, she left the scene, amusing herself by breathing clouds of vapor into the cold air. Guess I'll do the usual, she decided.

On the way to school, there was a Red Cross place, where you could give blood plasma and get cash. They'd only let you do it so often, for your own safety—but Kiyo just so happened to be able to generate blood from her magic. Was it an ethical concern, giving magical blood of dubious origin to be used by the Red Cross? Maybe, maybe not. In the end, it didn't really matter. "No, this is my first time," she'd say in that sickeningly sweet, cutesy voice. "I'm a bit nervous... I hate needles," she rehearsed, over and over again. Gets them every time, she thought cynically.

Drop the resting bitch face for just a second and the coldest hearts melt. The sharpest minds become dull as rocks. In just over an hour, she'd made enough money to buy food for two weeks, thanks to her reliable "first time donator bonus." Of course, free meals were easy to come by for a girl like her, so all of that went straight into her pocket for the bike fund. Were there other ways she could get money, using Detention Club connections? Absolutely—but owe someone too many favors, and they start to think that they own you. And if that happens, betrayal is inevitable.

As she entered school grounds and began making her way to the Detention Club, she caught sight of a scene most schoolgirls hope to only see in manga: one of the shy, nerdier girls of Hibusa High was being held up against a brick wall by a couple of familiar-looking delinquents. Ironically, Kiyo herself was also dressed for the part. If anyone had seen her approach, they might have assumed that she was about to join the fun.

Pop.

The noise from Kiyo's bubblegum caused the bigger girls to turn and face her. "This is my turf, slugs. Beat it, or the next thing I'll pop will be your elbows," she threatened, before starting to blow another bubble. The message was clear enough. As the next bubble popped, the younger girl—now alone—flinched, retreating against the wall, sitting on the ground and tucking her knees in as she whimpered. "Welcome to highschool, kiddo," she said as she tossed a piece of hard candy into the girl's lap. Kiyo hated the blue raspberry ones. "Next time, stick to your group. Don't take a shortcut," she advised. She was keenly aware of her hypocrisy—she just didn't give a shit. Nor did she care what the girl mumbled in reply.

Her day was certainly shaping up to be very eventful already, she mused as she entered the club room. Suki and Tsubomi were there, along with the new blood. For once, she wasn't the last one to arrive. How had that happened? "Really? I happen to think Suki is quite talented," she replied to Nyxia. "I had fun watching your little cooking show. The kids enjoyed it, too," she added with a giggle. "The kids," of course, were eyeball monsters, but that was neither here nor there.

"Oh hey that's the girl we've been wanting for the last couple of days." Willow remarked nonchalantly, her walk with Rei to the dorm interrupted by the target of their ire, Homura. She had flopped in front of them with the grace of a beached whale, and appeared about to cry.

Willow was at Rei's side, not remembering much how she got here. A kitchen beset by monsters and loud noises with the relaxing evening turned into a long and complicated drama featuring many characters and storylines that she would be still cataloging and putting into timelines to this day. The sight of a distressed magical girl almost a welcome surprise, something easy and simple for her scatterbrain to focus on.

"Is this the part where we kill her? That'd be kind of boring...do we sing like disney villains and let her on onto our big schemes and promise her a life of lavish luxury in exchange for villainy? That sounds much more fun, but honestly I hadn't planned much for this."

A million ideas emerged in her mind but none of them felt satisfying. She'd instead offer a hand and help the light magical girl up to her feet, or so she would try before a sharp pain flared on the right side of her head. She stumbled back, clearly troubled by a sudden and awful migraine slipping over her.

"What are you feeling? A song or murder?" She'd keep her smile up, but keep a hand on her head and swearing she saw two Homuras standing before her now.

@The World@Ponn@Emeth

As soon as Tsubomi hit "send," a pair of crimson eyes poked up from the windowsill. Her head was tipped back as to reveal as little of herself as possible while being able to look into the room. Once she was satisfied, her head sunk below the window. Then "normal" Suki crawled into the room with all the grace of a certain drowned spirit that comes out of TV screens.

“Wew! Thanks, Tsubomi!” Suki liked cute nicknames, but she made an effort to not use her allies magical girl nickname when she was untransformed. She recalled a time when she had used one magical girl's "Dark Wolf" moniker when they weren't transformed. It wasn't something she wanted a repeat of. Otherwise, it was hard to come up with a nickname for Tsubomi that didn't sound really try hard or disrespectful. “I was worried about being at the club room by myself too! But since you're here, we have nothing to worry about!” She held her chin. “Kinda weird that Boss Baby isn't here yet.” Rei was an exception. She would always be boss baby. That and she wasn't exactly shy about hanging out with the other magical girls while untransformed. If she didn't care about keeping her identity a secret, Suki wasn't going to either. “But uh, since it's just you and me here, I've been meaning to ask you something about your um. You know, your condition?” She rubbed her arm. “So if you can't feel emotions very well, then does that mean-”

That thought was interrupted when Nyx entered the room. It was unusual that she would be transformed, but given how things went last night, she wasn't surprised to see her like this. “Hello Nyxia Torrentia, Neon Tempest of the Ultraviolet Rainbow!” She was probably just going to call her Nyx from now on. She didn't have a chance to respond before Kiyo swooped in with a nice complement. Maybe? “H-hey, Trendsetter! Glad you're okay! Or are you? You're awfully early.” She chuckled before addressing Nyx. “Yea, I think between 'the kids' and 'baby' there wasn't much left for leftovers. I did bring some for lunch. If someone wants to share we can, but there just wasn't a lot there.” She would have corrected Nyx's assumption about Tsubomi being a mascot, but figured she could do that herself.

Suki tapped her foot. Roche was probably looking for her, but it was weird that she and Rei were both absent. They must have lost track of time while making out in the girl's bathroom. Suki was only mildly annoyed that she wasn't part of it. Then again, Roche was probably there. Yea, she was fine with her present company. Though Suki wasn't sure what to do without anyone in power around. It would be weird to just take the reigns and start discussing important topics. Especially if Rei or Roche walked in just a few seconds later.

“Sooooooooo...” She turned back to Kiyo. “Trendsetter? What did you do yesterday? Those were some pretty cryptic texts.”

---

“….when did you get here?”

Actual confusion tinged Rei’s voice as Willow saddled up beside her. The blonde perplexed her more than anything else, though she felt the others often found Willow’s antics infuriating. Regardless, she had long since come to be comfortable about her partner’s sudden appearances and the bizarre things she’d say. She didn’t bother correcting her that it wasn’t a few days, that they only just discovered Homura last night. Rei accepted Willow just said weird shit sometimes.

Her actions were even stranger, always feeling off-second in timing. Willow’s hand remained in the air, grasping nothing for a while until Rei finished her intent and helped the pink girl up. Maybe she was seeing things differently in her head, again. Rei wouldn’t put it past her from how her partner winced.

“We do nothing to her. This is our newest sisters in arms! We should give her a good greeting and a welcome clarification to what we actually do around here,” she told Willow after lightly bonking the blonde's head. "No death involved."

Rei smiled at Homura and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She guided the girl away from the classroom and past her friends whose attention spans probably singed, moving on from the novelty of a new girl to some broader, more boring topic like. Boys. Rei motioned for Willow to take up Homrua from the other side as if they were long last companions guiding the girl back to sanctuary.

“We got off on the wrong foot and I can’t begin to imagine some of the lies those other girls put in your head,” Rei said, referring to the two light thorns in their side. “The Detention Club isn’t evil. We’re not devils who want to blow up the town. We just see things differently. More common sense, I like to think.” Rei glanced at Homura, eagerly expecting a response.

Back in the club room, a Mascot crawled out from the darkness of a desk. Unmoved by Nyxia and Tsubomi’s presence, it rubbed along Suki’s leg before suddenly hopping onto Kiyo’s lap. Its tv screen flickered a :3 before it curled itself. The screen sifted once, twice with static, before cutting off completely into a black screen.

---

---

As soon as Suki explained herself, Tsubomi went straight back to her normal, unguarded state. And to match it was her slowed thinking. Taking a moment to do so, she looked over her shoulder to see if the three hangers-on were still there. Luckily, more so for the others who might care about appearances, it appeared they hadn't decided to stay around to see the club members talking to the air.

She didn't get to hear the end of Suki's question, and by the time it caught up with her, she had already started listening to Nyxia. It wasn't long before Kiyo joined in, just before Tsubomi finished processing Nyxia's question. Whether it was supposed to be insulting or not was irrelevant, she took it as literal as she normally did. The timing of her delayed response was perfect, however, as she looked over to see something on Kiyo's lap.

“And just who the fuck might you be? The club mascot?”

"Not really..." Tsubomi replied, not noticing that Nyxia apparently hadn't seen her at Suki's place the night before. The slow girl simply pointed to the creature(?) resting on Kiyo. "That is."

She'd probably just stand there until one of the leaders showed up. Chances were that they'd be there soon, anyway. And if not, at least she wouldn't get yelled at by Earthshaker if she stayed here.

“Talented at making soulless abominations for my baby to kill,” Nyxia snarked back at Kiyo after the crimson-eyed girl had made her entrance by praising Suki’s cooking. “And how the hell would you even know?” The Neon Tempest inquired, her eyes narrowing as she placed a hand on her hip. “I didn’t see you at last night’s pitiful excuse for a meal.” Then again, she hadn’t exactly been paying much attention to anyone outside of her immediate vicinity, but such facts were of little concern to the teal-haired girl. None of her “club mates” had been particularly cordial to her, so she saw no reason to extend any such courtesy to them, either.

Well, almost none. Suki was a notable exception, although the shamelessly flirty girl seemed to make passes at pretty much everyone, so did that really count? Heck, even the whole “dinner thing” seemed more like a pathetic attempt to get everyone to like her than anything else. Even now, the girl was talking about sharing the malign meal’s leftovers.

“My baby doesn’t really like to share, and neither do I,” Nyxia informed the sharp-toothed girl. “But I suppose I could make an attempt,” she added with an annoyed and overly dramatic sigh.

By this point, the dazed and quite possibly stoned out of her mind Tsubomi finally got around to answering Nyxia’s sarcastic question, pointing to the club’s actual mascot. “Well, for what it’s worth, I think a gloomy, dead-to-the-world girl like you is a far better embodiment of the suffocating, soulless nature of Rei’s little collection of sycophants than that thing,” The Neon Tempest replied with a smirk, even as she spared a glance at the tv-headed cat. It looked a lot like the strange being that had appeared in her room the night she’d gotten her powers, and she couldn’t help but idly wonder if it was the same creature.

@Villamvihar

---

In spite of the best efforts to ferret out the sharp toothed Magical Girl, Roche exhaled and abandoned the search when it seemed she'd dawdled too long. Her hands stiffened and she thrust them into her blazer pockets to ball them into tight fists as the strange mix of frustration and disappointment rose inside her. Suki had an uncanny talent for leaving Roche feeling dirty even when she wasn't violating her with tentacles.

"I'd need a bomb to clear this bad air between us at this rate." Roche grumbled, briskly turning on her heel with the intent to wait at the club room, yet again failing to have anything close to an honest conversation with the shark toothed girl. Only to stop just as quickly, her distraction not dampening the poise of a track star as she came face to face with Shatterscape.

That is to say, she couldn't tell at a glance which of the girl's face was presented to her, but the the split nature didn't prove a hinderance to interacting with her. They were, one and all, comrades and friends. Perhaps as well, it didn't hurt that they had an appreciation for teamwork that pleased Roche immensely.

"Ah, I was caught up in my own head. Here I am trying to catch Suki and probably blocking traffic." The tanned athlete rubbed her palm against her brow, kneading some of the tension that roused itself just thinking of her troublesome former partner. Of all the ones she worked with, even Nyxia now, Suki was proving the most enduring in the headaches left for the Rule Keeper to suffer through. Her hand fell aside and she favored Ember with a smile, the levity only somewhat forced as her magical sense picked up on Nyxia's arrival in the school.

And by senses, she could hear her from down the hall. Good thing normal students couldn't or they'd be swamped with teacher complaints.

"We should head to the club...but can I ask you something?" Her eyes darted side to side, not catching a sign of anyone close enough to hear or any of Evil Eye's familiars out in the hall. "How do you talk to someone who doesn't want to be in the same room as you?"

Ember blinked at Roche's explanation. The food fiasco yesterday had certainly upset her along with Slyvia, but it should be no reason for someone to stop talking to either Suki or Roche. After all, weird things happened in Hibusa Town all the time. A dish coming alive was no different than the usual branch of strangeness their dark kin could see lurking within shadows, if perhaps a little less spooky. That one of their cooking could actually result in that... well... there were relevations even Ember found too unsettling to consider. This one, she would not touch with a fifty-foot pole unless it stared her in the eyes before demanding to be taken seriously.

"There are far too many solutions to the problem," she spoke after a moment's consideration, ignoring Nyxia's noises from down the hallway in favour of picking apart Roche's body language. She seemed anxious and on guard, so this was likely important and a private matter to her, which meant either a dear friend or someone whom she fancied. Tailoring her advice to that would not be difficult to Ember. "Write a letter if and leave it in a place where they could find it would be my first suggestion. Don't use the first draft in any case, think it through before you do something you regret." She dialed down her voice as she spoke, angling herself so that only Roche could hear her.

"You could also use me as an intermediary if I know them, or text them if you have their number," she suggested. "We could discuss the more complicated options too, but I am sure that this is not the best place and time for it, unless you want me to make a time and place for it?" She gave Roche a confident smile as she looked around from the corner of her eyes. Luckily, this particular hallway seemed abandoned and so they would have at least a couple of minutes until someone spotted them. However, the time for the Detention Club to assemble was also fast approaching. Ember did not mind being late to the party, so to speak, as it meant helping out Roche, so it depended on whether the other girl was willing to risk being tardy as well.

Knowing the Rulekeeper, she probably would not. If she did, that was a sign of itself.

@Lonewolf685

"Huh?" Willow's introduction was rough. Homura recoiled from the girl, shocked and scared like a cornered pink rat and what did she mean multiple days? They'd only just met the night before, What did they even want with her? Even Rei seemed surprised by Willow's appearance, but seemed to ignore the strange things that the girl was spouting. What was Disney? And why would she offer to kill the girl. Magical girls didn't kill! They never killed. Right?

Rei could easily see the mass of questions swirling through Homura's mind, even as she meekly and hesitantly accepted Rei's offer for help up. "Um," too scared to speak, she pauses. A thought left unfinished as Rei reprimands Willow. Something felt off about the blonde, everything was wrong.

Rei's arm wrapped around her shoulder roused the pinkette. Even if she had wanted to fight, she felt as if she were in the jaws of a predator. There was little chance to escape from whatever they had planned, so she weakly walked with the girls with her head low, the floor a comforting reminder of where they were and that they would do nothing to her while they were on school grounds. Or so she thought.

They had indeed gotten off on the wrong foot, but that wasn't the light girls' nor the dark girls' fault, that was Homura's. If she hadn't blindly fired that arrow at the swirling source of despair then it was likely the previous day's conflict could've been avoided. It was equally as likely it wouldn't have been avoided, but it was true that she hadn't a clue how the club operated, even with the words of advice given by Suna and Sayuri. "They- It's-" Homura still struggled to speak, unable to defend the light girls' even if she did believe in the words they said. She allowed Rei to finish before she continued, "It's really complicated..."

Her hands are pulled up to her chest, clasped together as if in prayer, though in reality she only did this when she was anxious, scared. "T-They told me how they think you see things, can you tell me?" She looked back up at the seaweed haired girl, offering a glance over to her other side as-well, at the strange blonde. "I'd like to know both sides, cause-" She finds it difficult to reason why, the detention club did try to apprehend her yesterday, instead of talk calmly. Though that Suki girl did let her go in exchange for her name. "I'd just like to, maybe you aren't so bad but," she continues, "I can't promise I'll agree."