When you tell Audrey over the link that you wanted to take her to the batting cages, the response was immediate and… bubbly. Was she even capable of making a sound like that? You'd never heard her make anything similar to that before. Weird. After hashing out the details with her, you set out and… realise you actually have no idea where you're going. You ask around, but none of the people seem to have an idea of where you're going. Audrey contacts you a few minutes later asking where you are, to which you embarrassingly admit that you have no idea where you're going.
Her laughing echoes over the link for a solid minute before she agrees to pick you up. By the time she arrives it becomes apparent that you can technically hone in on other Magical Girls through the link, so you'll have to keep that in mind. On the way there, you practice flexing the mental muscle responsible for finding other Magical Girls nearby. You surprise yourself by pinpointing a few specks on the edge of your radar, but you can't quite tell who they are. Maybe with more practice you'll get better?
After a few minutes of walking, you arrive outside what you can only assume is a sporting complex. Ah, maybe if you'd known to ask about a complex rather than batting cages… oh well. As you enter, you pull out your card and make the necessary payments for the two of you. Audrey kind of giggles at that, to which you raise an eyebrow.
“Normally I'd object to someone paying for me, but that's technically my money to begin with,” Audrey winks at you. “So I'll let it slide this time.”
Ah, well, that explains where you got the credit card from. The two of you file into the complex itself, then hone in on the section where the batting cages are advertised. To your surprise, the place is totally empty – right up until you remember it's a school day. The only people who would be around are those who were skipping school.
Wait, no, there's one other person here-
There's a girl with pink hair, gripping her bat in such a fashion that you think she's going to take on the world cup. It's kind of… cute? Maybe? You're not really sure. Taking Audrey's hand in yours, you make your way over and call out to grab her attention. The pinkette turns to you just as the ball comes flying at her, to which she yelps and swings – letting go of the bat in the process. It goes flying out and hits the ball mid-air, causing it to go straight up and hit the home run button.
…
Amazing.
“Hey! My name's Haruna, Haruna Mochizuki,” the girl extends her hand to you, grinning.
Never mind that you'd caused her to nearly get hit by a speeding ball… Audrey, to your side, merely looks amused.
“I'm Morgana,” you smile, taking her hand in your eyes.
“And I'm Audrey, it's a pleasure,” your compatriot chimes in, giving you a knowing look. “Do you come here often?”
“Oh, no! I only just arrived in town today, actually,” the girl laughs, hefting her bat up to her shoulder as her hand detaches from yours. “Just thought I'd come and see the sights a bit before I have to start working.”
“How would you like to spend the rest of your free time with us, then?”
Audrey gives you a surprised look, but it's quickly replaced with a grateful one. Maybe she wasn't actually all that comfortable being alone with you? Huh, maybe you're bad at reading the mood. Haruna, to her credit, accepts graciously and suggests you take advantage of the batting cages for the moment. You'd never used one before, so the experience is… something. Through some miracle you manage to get more home runs than the other two girls, but they do pretty damn well themselves. All in all, it's good fun, but there's still time left in the day for something else.
So, of course, you invite them back to your place.
“Hey George, I'm bringing a couple of new friends back with me – do you mind?”
“… are they related to the Grail War in any way?” is his immediate response.
“No, but Audrey is the girl that wiped my memories.”
“Then that's fine.”
Well, great success! You fill up the gap back to your house with small talk and learn a bit about Haruna – namely that she's actually 19. She doesn't look it, but you aren't going to question a girl about her age if she gives it willingly. Audrey, you note, doesn't say anything relating to her own age. She's definitely older than the other girls in her group, but she doesn't seem to lord it over them like Mami does. Well… that's probably not the only thing Mami lords over her friends.
Lewd thoughts abound.
When you get back to the mansion you find the front door unlocked, but there's no sign of George nearby. After entering through the dining room towards the kitchen, however… there's smoke.
Uh oh.
“It's probably Marisa, I'll go and deal with it,” you sigh, moving through and into the kitchen yourself.
Inside is… a disaster zone.
There's a distinct lack of anything resembling order within the kitchen, not to mention the sheer amount of smoke. Standing in the centre of it all is…
Marisa?!
How does one person create such a disaster, anyway?
“Marisa! What on Earth are you doing?!”
The blonde turns to look at you, very much on fire. As is… the stove, the toaster, the microwave… even the sink is on fire. Through some miracle, the fridge isn't – but that's only because it's encased in a block of ice. All of it's magical in nature, you can tell that much. All originating from the flaming girl in front of you.
“Marisa, put this fire out, before it burns down the entire house!”
She cocks her head to the side before snapping her fingers, and just like that, everything reverts to normal. Minus the charred black burn marks, anyway.
“What were you thinking?” you exasperate, rubbing the bridge of your nose in frustration.
“Well, when you cook something, you use fire, right? So I was just cooking the food!” she exclaims, looking rather proud of herself.
“That's- that's not how it works.”
“… it isn't?”
Oh, wow, she looks really depressed now.
“I can teach you how to cook; I'm actually going to do something for my friends right now, if you wanted to watch?”
And just like that, her personality does an 180, transforming into something reminiscent of a puppy happy to see their master after a long day. You move over to the cupboard and pull out the bread, flipping the kettle on along your way. After removing enough slices of bread for the people involved, you make your way over to the fridge and pull out the necessary ingredients. Despite how freezing it must have been just a few moments prior, everything inside isn't even frozen.
It doesn't all that much effort to finish the sandwiches, make the tea, put it all on plates, saucers and bring it out to the other two girls. You'd rushed in case they felt left out, but they'd ended up talking to each other about something. Audrey actually looked kind of peeved that you'd been so fast, but the expression quickly shifts to a polite smile.
“So, everyone, this is Marisa,” you introduce your blonde friend, who's still grinning ear to ear.
“It's a pleasure to meet you,” Audrey nods.
“That's a cute outfit!” Haruna extends her hand. “Where'd you get it?”
“Alice gave it to me,” Marisa responds smoothly. You'd nearly had a heart attack thinking she'd give away that she was a puppet, but it looks like she was smarter than that. Barely.
Everyone settles in to eat, demolishing the sandwiches in a few bites each. Audrey looks kind of disappointed again, actually, but Haruna seems happy enough.
“You look cute in that dress by the way, Audrey,” you say offhandedly. “Y'know… it kinda makes you look like an Egyptian Pharaoh – just without the beard. I like it.”
Haruna and Marisa look at you confusedly, while Audrey just… blushes. Huh. Well.
Guess you can count that as a success!
Relationship gained! Relationship changed!
After you're all done with your tea, you bid everyone farewell and make sure to scold Marisa for trying to do something with no one else to supervise her. She seems a bit annoyed at that, but she acquiesces rather easily.
Now, onto figuring out what to do with your evening.
You have 4 Action Points to spend!
[] You need to teach Marisa about basic life skills… (2)
[] You need to get a good grasp on what the city is like – scout! (2)
[] Someone has showed up on your doorstep… (2)
[] Homura wants to talk to you. (2)
[] Audrey wants to talk to you. (2)
[] Interact with someone.
- [] Who?
[] Just stay home and rest… (4)
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