Puella Magi Midori ☆ Magica - Deceit

Chapter 2 | Grave Digging

Mature content warning for this chapter:
None

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             The strange girl walked up to Haruka and looked her dead in the eyes. Though she didn't intend for it, the fact that she was a bit taller than Haruka made her seem slightly threatening.

             "Alright," the stranger said, crossing her arms over her chest. "What do you want to talk about?"

             Already, Haruka felt like she was failing at asserting dominance. The way the other girl walked and talked gave her the feeling that this stranger was stronger and more experienced. "Before I begin, may I know your name?" she asked. "Mine's Haruka."

             "Name's Imogen Knight," the pigtailed girl replied with a playful grin on her face. "Pleased to meetcha'."

             "Alright, Imogen..." Haruka began. "About what you said earlier, when you were leaving our restaurant. I don't wish to fight you either, but there's a problem with you being here."

             Imogen laughed under her breath and replied, "What's the big problem? Magical girls fight witches, and occasionally bump into each other. It's the way of our world."

             "I've only been a magical girl for six months, and I've never met another one," Haruka admitted. "But that's not the issue here. The problem is that this is a very small town. Even on my own, there's usually only enough witches for me to hunt once a week. I don't need as much magic this way, so it works out just fine for me, but there aren't enough witches here to sustain two magical girls."

             Imogen tapped her chin a few times and said, "So how're we gonna do this, then? I'm here with my family on an adventure, and you're a resident." She walked behind Haruka and added with a chuckle; "I believe the saying goes, 'guests first?' Dunno if that's a thing here in America, though."

             "Normally it is, but survival comes first. Can't be polite when you're dead," Haruka half chuckled. "How long are you staying for? Maybe we could try to work out some kind of system-?"

             Imogen broke out into laughter at Haruka's last sentence. "'System?'" she repeated out loud. "That's bloody adorable. And I dunno how long I'll be hanging around this town. Frankly, my mom got a job offer a few weeks back... that's why we came over here. The job's just outside a' this town, but it's cheaper to stay here than inside the city limits." She pulled another boomerang out of thin air, launching it over her shoulder to hit another skeletal familiar dead in the face. She let out a sigh as the weapon flew back to her, despawning once it made contact with her hand.

             "How 'bout this," she said to Haruka. "I don't like chatting inside labyrinths. 'Specially one where tombstones decorate the walls like paintings. So how about we take down this witch together, both take a use out of the grief seed, and discuss this 'system' tomorrow morning. Take a nice walk through the woods around this place and hash things out. How does that sound?" Imogen didn't even stop to think how much like a trap her offer had sounded.

             Haruka couldn't help but glare slightly, thoroughly irritated by Imogen's attitude. She didn't want to be lured into some kind of trap, so she said; "Make it at the small park by the fire station instead and you've got a deal." She held out her hand to shake.

             Imogen shrugged, shaking Haruka's hand. "That's fine too, I guess," she said before motioning for Haruka to follow her deeper into the labyrinth. Her face was lit up with anticipation. "C'mon! Let's take this monster out!"