Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3, Part 4

[DracoOmega]

>"Why, hello there."

[Oldmansour]

>"Why, hello there."

>Minoriko gives you and your kasha a wave as you declare your presence. Marissa pauses in mid-throw, and smiles a broad smile. "There you are, girl! Been lookin' for ya since this morning!"

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Oh?"

>"Never saw ya around school, and you do kinda stand out in a crowd." Marissa remarks as she pitches the ball towards the back lot of the apartment complex, accompanied by a yell of, "Fetch!" Hyozan obliges her by giving quick chase.
>"You heard about what happened, didn't you?" Letty asks.

[DracoOmega]

>"Some of it. Though feel free to fill me in on the rest."

[Oldmansour]

>"Some of it. Though feel free to fill me in on the rest."

>"How could you miss it?" Letty blurts.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I didn't miss it, but I don't necessarily know all the details."

[Oldmansour]

>"I didn't miss it, but I don't necessarily know all the details."

>"That's true for us, too, unfortunately." Letty says with a small frown. "Vice-Principal Mima was as tight-lipped as usual, and the police didn't want to talk too much about it."
>"Said they had to run their own investigation." Marissa adds, giving Hyozan a muss around the ears. "You saw the fireworks, right?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Of course."

[Oldmansour]

>"Of course."

>"I managed to get little something out of one of the cops. The real cute one with the teal hair and those little ears-"
>"Marissa." Letty chides the blonde with a smile.
>"Right, right. Anyway, she's guessing that this was a conflict between two groups of rogue mages. Why they were fighting around the school, what the deal was with the weird animal shapes, she didn't know. No one knows, probably. That was some weird shit, like somethin' you'd see out in Muenzuka, instead of around here. And they didn't say squat about what the hell went on beforehand. With the breaking glass and that howling."
>"Mima made sure of that." Letty adds.
>"Couldn't see nothin', either, cops kept everyone pretty far off. I heard stun blasts, at least, and I think one of those mage groups was involved, but I think it was the good guys."

[DracoOmega]

>What's this about Muenzuka?

>"One of them were 'good guys'?"

[Oldmansour]

>What's this about Muenzuka?

>"One of them were 'good guys'?"

>Muenzuka is a large city to the northwest of here. It is essentially the magical capitol of Yamato, and one of the five largest cities in the nation. It is the sort of place one would expect to see people slinging spells on the streets, which really doesn't happen much at all here in Mayoiga. It also served as the nation's capitol several hundred years ago.

>"'course." Marissa grins. "There's always good guys and bad guys."

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, what made you decide which was which this time?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, what made you decide which was which this time?"

>"Are you sure you want to ask her that?" Letty asks wryly. "She might unleash her Marissa-logic on you."
>The blonde merely chuckles at the needling. "Might learn somethin', snowwoman." Marissa then returns her grinning eyes to you. "Wanna know how I knowed?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Sure."

[Oldmansour]

>"Sure."

>With complete sincerity, Marissa informs you, "Good always has the prettiest girls."

[DracoOmega]

>Laugh
>"But did you even seen either of them?"

[Oldmansour]

>Laugh
>"But did you even seen either of them?"

>Your laughter broadens Marissa's smile, while Letty and Rin have a chuckle.
>"Either?" Marrisa seems a touch surprised, before continuing, "Ah, ya must've missed one. There were three of 'em, 'mong the girls anyway. Two bad guys, three good guys."

[DracoOmega]

>How visible do we realistically think we ourselves would have been from outside the school, though? 'Fireworks' in the air aside? Weren't we mostly on the ground, surrounded by buildings and wall?

[Oldmansour]

>How visible do we realistically think we ourselves would have been from outside the school, though? 'Fireworks' in the air aside? Weren't we mostly on the ground, surrounded by buildings and wall?

>Most of your time was spent on the ground indeed, apart from when you lowered yourself to the ground on your Sapphire light. White Rose and Lily spent far more time off the ground than you. If Marissa caught a glimpse of you, chances are it was when you were descending to the ground yourself, unless she managed to steal a quick look at you when the crowd in front of the main gate was clear.

[DracoOmega]

>"How much did you manage to see, then?"

[Oldmansour]

>"How much did you manage to see, then?"

>"Well I didn't get there 'till the shooting started." Marissa sticks her tongue out slightly. "Got a bit sidetracked. Most of what I s-saw...." Marissa's statement is interrupted by a sharp sneeze. "Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, of course I couldn't see much from where I was. Job to see through a police van and all. They moved that in once the flaming fox showed up." She pauses again, wiping her nose. "Ya can't have missed that, did ya?"

[DracoOmega]

>Assuming we really did head on home from the school, as we looked to be doing at first, we would have long been there before that time, yes?
>Would we still have had a good view to see from our place?
>We never did encounter anyone around school after dropping our magical forms first, and then meeting Kiku, did we?

[Oldmansour]

>Assuming we really did head on home from the school, as we looked to be doing at first, we would have long been there before that time, yes?
>Would we still have had a good view to see from our place?
>We never did encounter anyone around school after dropping our magical forms first, and then meeting Kiku, did we?

>Yes, you would have arrived home before Fire and Ice appeared.
>You would have been able to see the  Fire Champion and the miko who confronted her on the roof, as well as Ice, but not much of what went on on the ground, except for maybe Lily and/or White Rose when they flew high enough.
>Correct.

[DracoOmega]

>"No."

[Oldmansour]

>"No."

>"Sweet Lord, Byakuren, that was like somethin' out of some kinds manga!" Marissa exults. "But I couldn't look at it too close myself, had too much on my hands."
>"Like what?" Rin asks her.
>"Like keepin' people's panic down, that's what." the blonde declares, placing her hands on her hips. Grinning, she adds, "Turns out folks at school pay more heed to me than most cops."

[DracoOmega]

>Lightly: "Well, at least you were using your powers of popularity for good."

[Oldmansour]

>Lightly: "Well, at least you were using your powers of popularity for good."

>"Only always. 'sides, better people have me to listen to than ol' Mima."
>"Can't argue that." Letty agrees, while Rin merely nods.

[DracoOmega]

>"I hope things were okay there, in the end?"

[Oldmansour]

>"I hope things were okay there, in the end?"

>"Peaches and cream." Marissa proclaims. "All that power and magic and shouting put a fear in folks, all right, but all they really needed was something to think about. Something to focus on. That's the trick when you're afraid of somethin', but, of course I don't need to tell you that, do I, Byakuren." she adds with that lopsided smile of hers.