634/Mami and Sayaka Do Not Get Along

Mami and Sayaka Do Not Get Along
Date of Scene:	23 October 2023
Location:	An open field
Synopsis:	Mami and Sayaka run into each other while they're out hunting. What starts out as teaming up turns into a fight with Sayaka trying to convince Mami of Kyubey's ill intent. Ultimately, Mami realizes it's all just a waste, so just abandons the fight.
Cast of Characters:	Sayaka Miki, Mami Tomoe

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Sayaka Miki has posed:
It's the darker hours of the afternoon, when people start holding their jackets tighter onto themselves and either hurry up towards their shopping center of choice, or speed up to go home as quick as they came. Yet there are some who seemingly wander aimlessly in search of who knows what. Sayaka is one of these people, a blue jewel held by her hand while the bluenette pays much more attention to it than their surroudings.

There are not many emotions on her face, besides the occasional tic of surprise when the Soul Gem flashes slightly. 'How far is this witch', she thinks impatiently. The slower the is, the more victims she is consuming after all.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami Tomoe is always out on patrol at this time of day. It's her duty. Every day she lives is a day she's hunting witches. That was the Contract she made. She just wishes she wasn't doing it alone. She walks along the streets with her yellow soul gem out in her palm, the light magically pulsing, helping guide her toward the Labyrinth of her quarry.

So it is that she finds herself approaching Sayaka from the opposite direction. Whereas the bluenette is wandering aimlessly, mostly focused on her soul gem, Mami is paying attention to all of her surroundings. So she notices the other girl before they get too close. She also senses a Labyrinth between them, but it's not particularly strong. It's a Familiar's labyrinth. The witch she was hunting down is somewhere else.

She lets her soul gem morph back into a ring on her finger, puts a smile on her face, and then speeds up her pace as she waves and calls out, "Sayaka-chan! Hi!" She sound so friendly.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Mami-senpai" is the more formal and wary reply the blonde girl receives from Sayaka once the latter raises her gaze from the Soul Gem. Considering the friendly relationship the older student has with the white cat, her appearance is enough to be bad news for Sayaka. "Out hunting too, right?" she inquires, examining her intently. Seems like she doesn't have Kyubey with her, good. Not right now, at least.

"I don't have time to talk, sorry, I am chasing a Witch, and I don't know how many victims it has gathered already, so I should hurry up", she makes for brushing past Mami, still looking intently at the Soul Gem. "If you want to come along, you can though. I am not going to stop you as long you don't try convincing me Kyubey is all that is good in this world", she comments, still annoyed over the previous meeting.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
"Always. It's what we do, right?" Mami beams and smiles. She's proud that she's a magical girl. It gives her such purpose to protect people.

Mami knows this girl needs her help, and tagging along seems like a great way to give it. She can watch how Sayaka fights and maybe give her some feedback. That is, if the bluenette doesn't exhaust her patience first, with all the comments about Kyubey. She just lets it slide. For now.

She smiles and nods. "I'd love to tag along. It'll be easier going with two of us, after all." Then she gestures toward the direction Sayaka had been walking, and says, "Lead the way."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"What powers do you have anyway, Mami-senpai?" Sayaka asks all of a sudden, breaking the silence that had been going on for a good few minutes now. "If we want to work together, I figure we should know that much about each other."

"In my case, I manipulate swords. I can call upon many of them, and control their positions, even." Of her healing ability, she makes no mention, being something that doesn't need to be coordinated, as well as a secret ace she can keep to herself in case the veteran tries something unexpected.

"You mention you have been doing this for years, right? How many Grief Seeds have you gained all this time?" And given to Kyubey, she doesn't mention, seeing Mami isn't being hostile for now.

Meanwhile the Soul Gem starts definitely picking the trace, though it's still not anywhere near.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
"Swords," Mami echoes back. "So, you work mostly at close range, then?" She smiles, her brain already working on strategy. "That is a good compliment to my magic. I manipulate ribbons. I can produce them and transform them. I can use them to bind. I can use them to cut. And I can transform them into flint-lock muskets and pistols. So, I'm most effective at medium or long range."

She glances down at Sayaka's Soul Gem and then back up to the bluenette. "I haven't kept a tally. But, I've found enough to keep my soul gem clean. Mitakihara seems to always have an abundance of witches," she says. She thinks about how she presently has two grief seeds: the one she got from the witch the other night, and the one Riventon gave her afterward. She'll be able to clean her soul gem at least three more times before she needs another. She doesn't mention it though. "It's always easier when I'm not alone, though. We use less magic, and so we can clean our soul gems less often, and don't need as many."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"I can do ranged too", the bluenette mentions as correction to the blond girl. "It is what I meant by manipulating swords. I can make them over around me, toss them with my thoughts, call more if needed, things like that. But it's not wrong to say my basic attacks are close range. Something good to keep in mind, given the artificial tax we are saddled with", she snides.

"Can you form only muskets and pistols, or something defensive like walls or shields? I think you could also use them to cover for yourself like my swords can do", Sayaka suggests.

Then there is the rather important matter of mixing close range and far range together. "Also, I would need to know how good is your aim. Do you work with other people a lot? I don't want to be caught in the crossfire if you happen to aim near me."

The Soul Gem is still going at its regular pace, no indication the Witch is close by.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
"Oh yes, I can do all sorts of things with my ribbons," Mami agrees. "It's just the guns are my go to for fighting witches. They're very effective, and let me stay at range most of the time. But I can absolutely create barriers and other things, too. I just tend to rely on agility and dodging attacks rather than blocking them. Uses up less magic that way." She can't help but try and teach in these moments.

"I've worked with others in the past, though lately I've been working alone," she says, turning her attention back to the path ahead of them, as they try to follow her trace. "But I haven't been able to find partners I really gel with. It never seems to work out."

She walks a few moments in silence before adding on, "It's not some artificial tax, Sayaka-chan. It's just how our magic works. Everybody's magic is different."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"That again, Mami-senpai?" she looks at the blonde girl unfavourably. "If everybody's magic is so different, why are we the only one to have this problem." Sayaka points the Soul Gem at her, so it is fully visible to Mami.

"If you know anyone else that carries around a meter that doubles as a weak point, please go ahead and tell me, but as far as I see, the only difference is Kyubey, so I don't know why he chose to use the method he picked, but in the end the responsibility of that choice falls on him", she says with a scathing tone.

"Nevermind that he seems to be aware of that, since he chose to conceal it instead of being upfront about it."

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami laughs lightly. "It's not that complicated. We're the ones with this 'problem' because we're the ones whose magic works like this. I've asked Kyubey so many questions, and I can tell you I am certain that he did not personally decide how any of this works. He does know more than he shares, I'm sure of that, but he doesn't completely understand how all of this works either. It's magic he can't."

She stops and turns to look at Sayaka, with a stern expression. "Some of those other magical girls don't get a choice. There's more than one of them who'd really rather not be doing this, but they have to. You didn't have to do this, Sayaka-chan. You signed up for it. It's not Kyubey's fault you didn't ask enough questions first."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"It's my fault I was kept away from my best friend? It's my fault Kyubey deliberately misled me?" the bluenette stops turning around to look at Mami.

This is it for her. No matter how many times she repeats her problem is with Kyubey's conduct, not with the opportunity to fight she got, Mami Tomoe just won't understand, all because he saved her life. Yet, in this case she actually should separate that single good deed from its doer, and she should take this chance at life away from him.

"Mami-senpai, you say you have no friends. Have you ever wondered if that was Kyubey"a fault? If that's what he did with me what is stopping him from doing the same with you?"

She scowls and looks at the Soul Gem on her palm. "If you think any of what he say is trustworthy, it's time someone woke you up of your daydream, Mami-san."

And in a flash she has transformed, holding a sword in her hand and summoning two to hover around her.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
"You keep saying misled, but all I hear is that you didn't know things, so whose fault is it? You didn't have to make a wish Sayaka. This whole situation is entirely of your own making," Mami says with a sigh and a shake of her head.

Then Sayaka transforms and draws her weapon.

Mami's soul gem is in her palm and there's a burst yellow light and she's transformed as well. She leaps back away doing a graceful backflip. A yellow ribbon shoots out from her hand as she soars through the air, wrapping itself around Sayaka's blade before Mami pulls it taught, yanking hard in an attempt to pull the weapon from the other Puella's hands.

She lands gracefully, six feet back, and raises up her other hand with a pistol in it, pointed at Sayaka. "Fighting me is just going to waste your magic, Sayaka. This is foolish. Especially because you can't win."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Stop believing in anything Kyubey says, Mami-san. Do you really want to keep doing his bidding with no friends?"

The swords hovering around Sayaka immediately swing down to take care of the ribbon blocking Sayaka's sword.

Sayaka just snorts at her comment. It doesn't matter how many times she has to keep going, she has no intention of quitting. "I will be glad to prove you wrong, Mami-san." She doesn't say anything more as the floating swords suddenly point at Mami and shoot themselves towards her.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Mami leaps out of the path of the flying swords with a graceful jete. She lands on one foot and does a pirouette, bringing her pistol around to aim at Sayaka's leg and pulling the trigger. She doesn't want to kill the girl, just hurt her enough that she'll stop this foolishness.

"Who do you expect me to believe, Sayaka-chan?" Mami asks, as ribbons shoot out from her hands again, this time aiming to capture Sayaka's ankles and pull them out from under her. "My best friend who saved my life and has helped me out for years, or some rookie who can't accept that she regrets her choice and so has to blame it on someone else?"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka doesn't react in time to move out of the bullet's way, so it manages to stride across the outer part of her leg, earning Mami a lament from Sayaka's mouth.

"I am asking you neither, because I am not that girl! I know what he has said, and what my best friend has said, so don't you dare look down on me and my convinction! I will do what's right, and that includes helping you get out out of Kyubey's grip!"

The small slash has closed itself by now, so Sayaka summons another cutlass and begins spinning around. Her incredibly fast movement creates a whirlwind, anything in a 15 feet radius destined to be caught within it. Even the ribbons created by Mami ended up shredded by it.

Mami Tomoe has posed:
Once again Mami does a backflip, leaping away from the force of the whirlwind, and finding her footing outside of that 15 foot radius. This is really getting tiresome. There are witches to hunt, and this foolish girl is just going to keep wasting her magic. Mami can't allow it to continue.

"I don't want to hurt you, Sayaka-chan, but this fighting is foolish. What happened to your concern for the people that witch might be killing right now? Stop wasting your magic on fighting me, and go kill that witch instead. I just hope you have enough magic left when you get there," she says into the whirlwind. Hopefully Sayaka hears her.

She leaps into the air, and a huge swirl of ribbons forms a giant spring underneath her and she uses that to give her a huge push as she does a graceful backflip even further away from Sayaka before turning to retreat further. She doesn't have time for this.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka does in fact not hear what Mami tried to tell her, what with the whirlwind and all, but she does notice Mami is nowhere to be seen after the whirlwind is over.

'That Mami...' she starts thinking indignated. 'First she acts like she has gotten this in the bag, then this is so beneath her that she doesn't even want to finish it and just goes away.'

'Whatever, I better track down that Witch fast. I am already late on it.'