CamiCat

Kurai Majokko

Still too lazy.
"I don't wanna die!"

"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."

Kurai Majokko

I'm too lazy to make an untransformed banner so you're going to deal with this message instead.
"This school is a maze... Where am I?"

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.

Kurai Majokko

I'm too lazy to make an untransformed banner so you're going to deal with this message instead.
"Wait, don't hurt Mr. Teddy!"

Kaeru and Suna seemed like good friends to the newcomer who only exchanged glances between the two as they exchanged words. She hardly fit in with this scenery and it showed as she jumped at every little noise and looked uncomfortable in this unfamiliar area. Even still, she did her best to remain and get to know her new companions, a hospitality the dark girl's didn't offer her before they began their chase.

"It's incredibly beautiful, there's so many things I want to protect in this town. No, in this world!" Homura reaches out and thanks Suna for the can, slowly cracking it open as if she's attempting to remain hidden, despite her bright pink clothing clearly screaming: 'I'm here!' She takes slow sips of the drink as the two explain their experiences with the Detention Club. Homura's brow furrows at the mention of 'for some reason'. It showed that the two held some disdain for the dark magical girls, especially Kaeru.

"There has to be some reason why. People don't just change because of nothing! Maybe something bad happened to the leader and they're really persuasive?" Homura pondered, taking another sip. "But still, the idea of letting the Miseria fester... Think about all the lives that they've ruined because of their selfishness!" She shouts. She quickly covers her mouth with a free hand and her cheeks flush a bright red in embarassment at her little moment. She bows to the two in apology before continuing on. "I guess I'll have to find out their side of the story... As long as they don't come after us like last time!" She states in her now shy-ish state, much quieter than before.

"Oh! I'm really not that interesting. I just come from another boring prefecture. Hibusa is a nice town to be! Aside from tonight... My parents moved here because the prospects were better than back 'home'." She pauses to enjoy her drink for a moment, pulling her sleeves up over her hand as the cold wind and can begin to freeze her skin. "We're somewhat well-off, so money was never a problem but we aren't super rich. I'm happy with my life and I became a magical girl so I can protect all of the beauty in this world, there's just so much you know?" She finishes.

"Why did you two choose to become magical girls? Especially ones that commit vandalism and theft for a cute little stuffed bear." She holds the stuffed animal close to her chest and her eyes bounce between the two, curious for their answers. It's not every day you get to meet someone similar to you, especially not in this town.

Kurai Majokko

I'm too lazy to make an untransformed banner so you're going to deal with this message instead.
"I'll show you the beauty that your hatred has blinded you to."

"Well technically, I shot the first arrow." She corrected Sayuri, she had indeed shot the first arrow and started the interaction. Just moments later Homura was like a shattered mirror opposite Suna, she cried out and heaved heavy breaths as they ran through the street, away from the 'crime' that Suna had committed and all with the evidence in Homura's hands. She almost tripped with every step, each crack in the concrete serving as it's own obstacle to overcome.

"S-Stop!" She shouts through those heavy breaths, but it appeared Suna had no intention of stopping as they cross by many of the now closed stores and plenty of folk walking to their night-shift jobs. Suna led them on a wild goose-chase through Hibusa, taking them to places Homura had no idea even existed. "I don't know... If I can run any longer!" Her pace begins to slow and she switches between jogging and stumbling all until she collapses against a wall and slides down next to Suna. The unique aromas and the sound nearby felt wholly unfamiliar to the new girl and the atmosphere felt entirely off to her. "So, where even are we? Is this your hideout, where you hide more of your crimes?" Homura mostly jests as she gasps for air and keeps herself from collapsing onto the ground and dirtying those clothes of hers, she still needed them for school after all.

"Of course I'd follow you, I couldn't stand there and get in trouble for your actions!" The naïve girl replies, eyeing the coin-purse and the less-than satisfactory vending machine stuck in this dingy back alley. She pondered on an answer for a moment before she nodded, "Red bean soup, sure! I'll pay you back another time. I don't want to owe you more than two favours! What would you prefer, Kaeru?"

At least they all had a moment to reflect on the night's events and relax in each-other's presence. "So what's up with this town anyway? I had no idea there were so many girls that wanted to hunt us."

Kurai Majokko

I'm too lazy to make an untransformed banner so you're going to deal with this message instead.
"I'll show you the beauty that your hatred has blinded you to."

Homura, being the gullible and naïve girl she is, falls for Suna's trick and looks off to try and spot what the other magical girl was talking about. Naturally, she spots nothing but the empty space of disappointment lingering in the air left behind by those scammed by the arcade place. By the time she looked back, Suna had already smashed her fist into the claw machine, the shattering of glass that followed shocked Homura enough that she couldn't even scold the girl for doing something so silly.

She watched in horror as Suna pulled out the teddy she desired so much, half the glass still yet to touch the ground. She raised her hands in shock but instead of covering her face, they mat with the feeling of soft teddy-bear upon her hands. She was quickly snapped out of her stupor by the blaring alarms that came with the practical crime that the other girl had committed.

"What?" Homura asks as she looks down at the walking reminder of an act against God. The teddy bear stares lifelessly back into her eyes, begging for the sweet release from capitalism. The moment the girl looks up, she sees that Suna had already begun her grand escape. "Wait! You can't just do that!" The girl shouts after, stood there while she contemplates her next move. Her contemplation doesn't take long as she looks back and forth between Suna and the arcade machine.

Running after the girl, she was a bright contrast to Suna's completely uncaring attitude. In-fact, she almost cared a little too much. Homura was always about sticking to the rules, she never imagined herself breaking any rules and getting in trouble. When she was reprimanded as a child she'd always cry and that hasn't changed ever since she'd grown up.

"I appreciate the gesture, a lot! I think he's very cute. But that doesn't excuse property damage and vandalism!" Homura shouts after her, trying her hardest to not sound like a complete nerd even while she hugs the stolen toy close to her chest.

Kurai Majokko

I'm too lazy to make an untransformed banner so you're going to deal with this message instead.
"I'll show you the beauty that your hatred has blinded you to."

Honura almost wept for the poor soul trapped within it's glass cage. She imagined how lonely it felt, separated from the outside world where all it can do is helplessly watch with cold, dead eyes. She'd almost felt the same way when she moved all the way to Hibusa, it was a difficult time for the girl but she grew to love the town and all she wanted to do was offer the same ending to the bear. She rose to her feet as shew as about to try again, but-

She twisted on her feet as a voice startled her. What if it was another dark girl? What if someone had chased her down and stalked her until she was at her weakest?

Nope, it wasn't something that'd send Homura into a swirling mass of despair. In-fact, it was just an ordinary looking girl. She quickly adjusted herself and bowed towards the girl in apology, perhaps in greeting too. "Ah! Sorry, it's been a weird day." She states. As she rises, she noticed something familiar about the girl. Her memory took a moment to keep up with her thoughts as she realised that this was none other than one of the girls that fought back against the 'mean' ones.

"Uhmm..." She turns back around for a moment and gingerly places her finger upon the glass, a stark contrast to the fist so comfortably planted against it. Her gaze and finger point straight at that bear still holding that heart tight. She seemed a little embarrassed to point it out, a hint of red creeping upon her face. "That one, it looked lonely."

As it turns out, they still weren't quite alone as another girl made her appearance. Another familiar one that seemed to really like their frogs. She offered a bow and a wave in greeting as she approached and apologised for their separation, though Homura was mostly to blame for that.

"I- Just ran away. You shouldn't say sorry, I left you to fight them." Her eyes trail downwards as the sounds of arcade machines, ticket machines, falling coins and distant voices grew louder in her shame. Alas, everyone seemed to be fine and all conflict had ended for the night but Homura couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for the conflict in the first place, if she just hadn't investigated that vortex of negativity then it could've just been a normal night.

Kurai Majokko

"I'll show you the beauty that your hatred has blinded you to."

The forest grew silent as not just Oros but Homura finally left the safety of their leafy embrace, the new magical girl was shaken and her form dissipated as she roamed the streets of Hibusa town, she held her arms close to comfort herself as the cold night air did nothing to offer a moment of peace. She wasn't rushed, nor did she plan on going anywhere in particular as she allowed the roads to carry her to a destination of their choosing.

Every corner she turned. every step she took, she was terrified that a magical girl would pop out and harm her. She had no quarrel with either group, no place in their violent affairs so why was she attacked? She'd even apologised for blindly shooting her arrow and almost hitting Rei! She thought in the few months she'd lived here that she'd have some sort of understanding of the town and it's magical girl culture, but nothing came to mind.

Each passing vehicle could be the same one that pursued her earlier, each headlight an opportunity to be spotted. She no longer felt that warmth that her fire had always brought her as the still air gripped her instead. She felt naked and alone, with nothing to comfort her besides the far-off neon signs of an old arcade, a relic of a building still harbouring ancient technology and prizes of wonder.

It didn't take long for her to decide to step inside, the automatic door slid out of her way and the warm, bright building offered her a place of solace. She was finally somewhere her weary mind could rest, but her wallet could yet not.

Homura perused the aisles of ancient arcade machines, claw machines and coin pushers until her eyes landed on a particular box, one containing a teddy bear, a pink heart stitched between it's arms. Slowly, she approached with curiosity gripping her as paternal instinct kicked in. This cute little thing had nobody to love, nobody to share that love with. She would make sure to change that. Her coin purse opened with a struggle, as if attempting to change the mind of the naïve girl, but her hands continued to work as she finally managed to pull out a 100 yen coin. The machine readily accepted her offering and whirred to life.

"Don't worry little guy," Homura said to the inanimate stuffed toy, "I'll get you out of there." The claw accepted her input and moved mechanically, contrasting to the gentle movements of the girl behind the controls. She worked to position the claw perfectly above the bear, no millimetre off the precise location the claw needed to be and so her index shyly touched the button to lower the claw.

It shook as it descended, all of her preparation wasted in just a single wire that was all too loose. Sweat dripped from her forehead as the claw lowered itself further and further until it met the body of the teddy bear. Each finger wrapped around it's soft, fluffy form and gripped it as tight as the thin rods could. They did their best to hold the bear still, ascending with it in their grip. Homura breathed a sigh of relief, but far too early. One claw slid out from under the stuffed toy, then another. As if an action star, the bear plummeted toward the floor of the crane, entirely in slow motion.

Homura's hand reached for the glass and her face contorted into one of despair. Her knees gave in from under her and as the bear hit the floor of it's unrelenting cage, Homura fell to the ground. Her hand still rested upon the metal carcass of the machine, she promised to save the bear, and yet failed in her task. She sat there in silence, grieving the loss of one that needed her help the most. "I'm so sorry."

Kurai Majokko

"I'll show you the beauty that your hatred has blinded you to."

"So why are you chasing me?" Homura shouts at the one chasing after her. She looked back for just a moment to see the euphoric state of Oros' face. The look of pure thoughtlessness like a predator on the hunt, tunnel visioning as they give chase to their delicious looking prey. Homura almost admired the dedication of this magical girl to continue chasing her through the forest, let alone through her flames.

For a moment, Homura thought she was free, safe from whatever hazards had awaited her should Oros catch up to her. Alas, it didn't take long for that brief moment of respite to change as she eyed a crimson tendril pass over her head. "What even are you? Spiderman?" Homura asked with a look of confusion so palpable you could mistake her for a child learning how to fill in their tax forms.

"Jill's so outdated!" Homura responds with her pop-culture knowledge filling the tears that almost dared to attempt to escape her eyes. She just wanted to be left alone, why were the other magical girls so hostile to each-other. To her? Two tendrils attached themselves to trees upon either side of the light magical girl, only to launch Oros far enough ahead that Homura had the chance to stop and ready her bow in-case a fight were to break out.

As the debris settled and Homura's eyes adjusted, she spotted an Oros face-down on the ground, presumably hurt from the blistering speeds she'd hurtled herself at in an attempt to wrangle the poor innocent girl and bring her to her big bad evil boss.

She eyed her opponent up and down, She breathed heavily as adrenaline replaced her blood and time seemed to slow. It seemed to Homura that Oros had no intention to fight and so she lowered her weapon, responding in kind to any of Oros' interactions. "Hello?" Homura didn't quite match the cheeriness Oros exhibited so plainly, "Thank you? You looked quite scary hurtling towards that tree." She responded, taking a step back as Oros took one forward.

"I don't really want to get captured, or hurt! I just wanted to help people." It was true she had intended to run more, but it wouldn't hurt to share some sort of courtesy as two people that were *supposed* to work together to fight the Miseria. "You can call me Lycoris, or Homura." She took yet another step back, each of Oros' movements making her flinch and fear what was to come next. The last thing she wanted was a bloody tentacle lashing towards her face.

Homura could hear the sound of a notification ding on Oros' phone, "You should get that! I would answer more questions, but I really should be going. I hope that the next time we meet is under better circumstance." Homura bowed, offering a wave just a moment before hopping back into the trees, returning to where she set the forest debris on fire. "Sorry about that..." She said to nobody in particular, but perhaps a little amphibian would overhear her apology as the flames subsided, with no debris having actually burned, no fire spread. She simply stood there in silence, dumbfounded by the night's experience. At least she was away from the town, the dark magical girl's domain whilst completely unaware that she was in another's.

Kurai Majokko

Homura very soon.

Kurai Majokko

"I'll show you the beauty that your hatred has blinded you to."

The night was young and yet despite that very fact, the number of Miseria roaming the streets began to dwindle and rapidly at that. The challenge to eliminate the most Miseria had slowly turned from a test of endurance to a test of one's hunting skills. Despite this task, few chose to focus on actually fighting the amalgam that they call their enemies, instead they chose to stay and fight the light girls. Homura was no exception as she felt eyes upon her, too many eyes.

Questions raced within the girl's mind. Why were the other magical girls so hostile? Why had they attempted to capture rather than talk to her? Who was that leader, and why did they feel... off? Her mind wandered to the words that Nonsuch had spoken and her eyes fixed themselves upon the very thing filling her with a sense of unease. Homura looked at EvilEye's Mogall's with a furrow in her brow, she'd never seen something so ugly before, let alone something a magical girl possesses. She had to take them out, if she wanted any chance at escape.

An arrow shot true, aimed directly at the first Mogall that Homura had the chance to spot, another one nocked and primed to fire before she felt another set of magical girl eyes upon her. This time, a stare far lewder than that of the floating Miseria-like spy balloons. "Huh?" She looked down for just a moment as she passed above an alley and her eyes met with Oros', or so she thought. Her tiny legs worked to carry her as fast as she could, the moment she landed she was practically airborne once again with more Mogall's facing the potential of Homura's arrows.

The mountain was in sight, it was far too close to let go of, to get caught now. Against better judgement, her body twisted and she aimed straight at the approaching Oros, another dark girl followed behind her, doing quite a good job of hiding her tiny presence as she tailed Homura. Thankfully it seemed Evileye wouldn't be a problem for much longer as the loud sound of the speeding bike faded further into the distance, practically crawling to a stop. With this in mind, she deliberately shot the arrow too far to the right, she wasn't going to harm anyone. Not yet, not when they still had a small hint of the light within them.

All the arrow does is weakly burn a slab of concrete, fading just as quickly as the night lights bringing the city to life. Her desire to kill or harm another magical girl had only weakened her attack.

"I don't want to fight!" Homura shouts, hoping they were close enough to hear her voice. "Just let me go, I don't want to hurt anyone."

Finally, from rooftop after rooftop Homura had made it to the mountains with a few magical girls close enough to pursue her into the untouched woods. She dodged between trees and shrubbery. She fired shots at the ground, setting the forest debris alight in pink flame, in the hopes that chasing her would become more of a drag than it already is. It was a miracle the girl hadn't run out of stamina the longer the chase had gone on. Homura didn't know what Oros and Aciddrop were capable of, and that concerned her as the two tailed her into the forest, but the relief she felt as the cold wind between the trees was far greater than that worry.

"What's going on in this town..." She quietly questions to herself as she finally had an indefinite moment of respite.