>Text back: "Thank you."
>Finish making our way to the access road and wait for her arrival. Try not to fall asleep outside.
>With Marissa informed and en route, you pocket your phone and pick your way down the remainder of the steps. You swear there weren't this many when you were coming up the last time, and someone seems to have widened them a bit while you were chatting with Kiku. But you've yet to be defeated by a flight of stairs yet! Apart from those stairs back on Wednesday, but that fight was a wash due to extraplanar shenanigans. You then congratulate yourself for being able to pronounce those words in your head.
>Eventually, after an hour or so (not really, of course, but it almost feels that way to you) you reach the bottom of the stairs, and rest your back against the concrete barrier separating the road from the woods. The cold air cuts across your face, carrying a dampness with the chill. It will definitely rain sometime before the night is over.
>You find yourself reflecting on your visits to the shrine of the Metal Tiger. Seeing Kiku again did you a world of good, as did hearing of her meeting with her God. And the warmth of the Sisters was genuine, both towards you and towards Kiku. Seeing their demonstration made you very happy for Kiku. But the knowledge that something there is wrong, something you can't as yet identify, weighs on your mind. The sooner you get to the bottom of it, the better, for all parties concerned. And yet, the thought that this could be some evil seperate from the Demons bothers you. You're not naive, you know that this world isn't perfect, but this could be something beyond you. You've proven yourself capable of besting the Demons and their weapons, but you can't be as confidant about something else.
>Shaking your head, you banish those thoughts from your mind. Doubt is meaningless, a form of self-defeat. Byakuren Hijiri never doubts herself. You have the power to help people, to set things right, and you will. That's all there is to it. Whether this evil is the Demons, if it is Satori, if it is a separate evil corrupting Satori, or something else entirely, the time will come when you and your comrades will confront it. And you will defeat it. And all will be well.
>While you've been musing, and trying to keep your back to the cold night wind, an ugly little brown car trundles up the road from town, one you recognize. It's an newer model Bracch, a Bonn-made car, and one owned by Marissa's neighbors, the Shinkirous. Nice people, those, willing to let Marissa borrow their car when the need arises, as the young girl only has a motorcycle, her old Master Spark. You know that people often laugh at Marissa when they see her driving that thing. It's a serviceable car, but it's rather ugly, drab and cheap. It clashes totally with Marissa flashy, bright, BIG personality, the idea that she'd be driving some Bonn made hulk. You of course know better. Marissa's well aware of her image, but she doesn't care a lick about it, especially when her friends are involved. Marissa is Marissa, no matter what she's driving.
>Truth to tell, you had been slightly concerned about contacting Marissa. More to the point, you were concerned as to how much she would inquire into the events of the day. The issue of whether or not to tell your friends about all this still hasn't been settled yet, in your mind, and while you hate lying as it is, the thought of lying to Marissa almost turns your stomach.
>Your blonde friend, however, does not ask why you were at the shrine as you set off for home. She does not ask what you were doing there. She mentions the rumors about an upcoming surprise concert to be held by Flandre Scarlet, and the rear brakes on her old Master Spark had gone 'squirrely' again, every day stuff, but she does not probe into your personal business. This puzzles you, until you recall the exchange you had with her via text in the forest. That would have been enough to tell her that, yes, something was going on, but it was something you could handle. Something you weren't quite ready to tell her about in detail. Marissa would respect that. She knows you enough that, she would think that if you felt the time was right to tell her, or that she needed to know, you would tell her. And that would content her. Marissa, for all her flippancy, respects her friends privacy. She seems to be able to sense these things, somehow. You find yourself smiling at her as your consciousness starts to drift. It feels like you've known her forever, even though it's only been a few years. Yet she still manages to surprise you, just as you surprise her now and then. As you have at times before, you find yourself wondering where the two of you would be now if things had gone differently that night...
>The next thing you know, you find that you've changed positions. Or rather, are in the middle of changing positions. You must have fallen asleep in the car. You are now being carried in Marissa's arms up a flight of stairs. It takes a moment for you to realize that they are the stairs leading up to your apartment. She is speaking with someone, and a glance to your right shows it is Reisen. Patchy had apparently banished her from their apartment for a little while. This is not uncommon, Patchouli sometimes needs her time to herself, and Reisen respects this. Evidently the young mistress has been in a touchier mood than normal, Reisen tells Marissa. She's been having bad dreams. She seems to want to blame Patchouli's parents, but won't. Knowing them, it's more like Reisen can't.
>Seeing you awake, Marissa grins at you. "Mornin', sleeping beauty." she says teasingly as Reisen knocks on your apartment door. Willing yourself not to flush, an act that succeeds but uses up what little energy you have left, you ask her to let you down, which she does. It feels much colder now, and not just because of the winter wind. Marissa is such a warm person.
>Rin opens the door a moment later, and practically pulls you inside. She frets over your condition, and you try to tell her that you're fine, that you're just tired, that she doesn't need to worry too much, but you get the impression she isn't listening to you all that closely. The role of a servant comes to her very naturally, and you've learned that one thing she takes very seriously is the health and safety of her mistress. You've wondered, now and then, how much of that is the result of her upbringing, and how much is Rin being Rin. The look in her eyes, though, is one of genuine concern. You decide it would be best to let her fuss, as she puts the cheesecake you brought home for her in the fridge. Which she thanks you for, of course. It would make her happy, you decide, to take care of you tonight, and that is what you let her do. She even tucks you in, and you can see in her face the simple joy of being of use. Of being able to help in some way not only her owner, but someone she cares for. Eagle asked you, earlier, if you would do it again. Fight an oni to give their slave a better life. One look at Rin's face reminds you that, yes, you probably would.
>Despite the warmth you felt from Marissa and Rin, your dreams this night are troubled. You find yourself in a circus of some sort, and your brother leads you out onto the center stage. The seats are vast, empty, black and formless, but you can see eyes glittering in the blackness beyond. One, two, three... Six sets of eyes watch you as you run up ramps, turn cartwheels, leap through hoops of fire at each snap of your brother's whip. You feel like an animal being controlled by its ringmaster. Yet you have no desire to escape, to flee, to run wild.
>When the show is over, you are led back to your cage by the crazed twin with the yellow stripe on her face, past the other animals, namely Rin, Utsuho, Anya and the three Manari, who glower at each other openly. You feel a sense of pride at performing well, at making the crowd happy. But something about your water bowl makes you shiver, and when you look into it, you see a pair of hideous, slitted serpentine eyes staring back at you from beneath the water's surface. Its sibilant hiss echoes throughout the room, which seems to be closing in on you,
"You know you can't hold me forever...">Magical Lotus, Mahou Shoujou Byakuren, Episode 2 - End.
