All In All

Kirito chuckled. "No, but like I said, I can help with certain things. I can train you to hit a moving target because I have at least some ranged capabilities. I can train you to shoot more rapidly by getting you more comfortable with firing your bow, increasing your stamina, and teaching you to harness your magic more quickly, so you can create arrows faster. And I can teach you to alter the nature of your magic in the arrows, or to alter your magic at a distance. Like causing one arrow to split into several."

Naoki seemed excited, but at the same time she wasn't sure how she was going to do all that. "So how would we do the conditioning then? Like running laps?" P.E. was her least favorite subject but she was going have to do a lot more then run a track once or twice. "I'm still learning how to use my magic..its hard to describe. I guess you could explain it more once you get a idea of how it is I guess since the place you comes from studies it."

That, and Kirito was a natural at the whole thing.

Kirito laughed a bit. "There will be a bit of running, yeah. As for the magic part, seeing it in use would help, so I'll need to set up magic-resistant targets for you to practice with."

"Morning you two." Junko was there, she still seemed tired but otherwise fine. It was rare for her to wake up around this time on her own which meant something had to have been on her mind. "What are you two up to?"

Naoki paused at her mother's voice. They had a talk last night about things but it still felt strange with her knowing, at the same time she was relieved but worried. Relieved for not hiding it anymore, and worried because it would give her mother something to stress about.

* *

As much as Emanulle enjoyed the company of everyone in his group, there were times he needed a bit to himself. These were one of these times, so he opted for his normal walk. Another reason was because he had been thinking on a number of things. About what he and Kirito had talked about, Kaori and even many of the events back at Perene. While his time there had some rough bumps, he couldn't say it was all bad. That Multiverse had potential, but there was something..amiss. As if some unseen force was meddling when things started to look up.

It could have him overthinking but over the time of seeing so many god-like and other beings, who was to really say? All he knew was he wouldn't go back. Besides Michru and the good friends he had made there, most if not all had moved to here so there would be no point.

Though if others had come along, her in particular, then he'd do his best to avoid them.

Kirito stretched a bit, loosening up after cutting his training short like he had. "Discussing Naoki's training a bit. Going to stick to physical conditioning to start. Endurance training, mostly. Will help a lot in the long run."

~~~~~

'Looking rather contemplative, aren't we?' A familiar, possibly frustratingly so, voice echoed in Emanulle's mind. The cat was back, walking alongside him.

Junko didn't have a problem with that, in fact it would help with keeping Naoki safe when she's out there fighting.

She turned to Kirito. "You mentione about findin a way to let me help Naoki?"

* *

Emanulle ignored the voice at first, though it did catch him off guard at first to make him look around until he saw the cat. Then he kept walking.

"I guess so. Just killing some time in the mean time." Emanulle 'said' back. He guessed the cat was telepathic so there was no need to talk out loud, plus people would wonder who he was taling to.

Kirito nodded. "Like I said, I'll need to look into it first, but shouldn't take long for me to find out about it. Whether or not I can pull it off or not is the question... anyway, we'll find out soon enough I guess."

~~~~~

'There is precious little time to spare, so killing it seems foolish, don't you think?' She sounded amused. 'So, tell me. What have you learned about the situation?'

Junko didn't have much to say to that, she'd have to wait she guessed. "Do you mind in the mean time I just watch you train? Unless its not starting yet?"

Naoki glanced at her sensei. "Um, that's up to him. I'm not really sure when we start."

* *

Emanulle wondered how he should break it, then decided to tell what he had learned so far. Kaori seemed to trust them, so that meant something--though he wasn't sure of anything more then that of how they met or anything of the sort.

Kirito smiled. "Well, we can start now. To start... best place would probably be at the school track. We can do the exercises needed there rather easily. If that's good for you, I guess change into your gym clothes or something. A t-shirt and shorts at the least. Junko, if you want to just watch then you're fine, but if you think you'll want to join us, should probably change as well.... thinking about it, maybe would be good. If I'm able to work out my idea for you, then you'll already be in shape for it. If not, well, then I can at least make you better able to defend yourself. Even normal humans can protect themselves from more powerful beings if they know what they are doing and catch them off guard."

~~~~~

The cat was silent for a moment. When she finally spoke, it was quiet. 'Well, you certainly pieced things together nicely. So, knowing what you know, Emanulle Santos, what are you thinking? What do you want to do with this knowledge?'

Junko didn't have a problem with that. "I think I have something, only thing is my son. They can't exactly be unsupervised even for a short time."

Naoki perked up a bit to that. "I could ask Mami."

"Only if they're really okay with it." Junko said after a moment. "And I mean sure."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Be right back." Naoki left to go back into the house to call Mami on the phone.

* *

The former prince took a moment before they responded. "Just do my best to look after Kaori and the rest of those involved. There's still a lot of things I don't know. "But I really do want to help Kaori, she seems to be the center of this along with Kyubey. Though I don't suspect he's a good actor in all this mess."

It didn't take long for Mami to rather happily agree to babysit. As in, she agreed immediately. She enjoyed helping her friends, after all. After that, Kirito decided to wait at the front door for Naoki and Junko to change and meet him there. Also for Mami to arrive, he supposed.

~~~~~

The cat seemed to be thinking, before slinking off to a side alley. 'Follow me, please. It's time I told you a bit more about things.'

It wasn't too long before Junko came out with her son, sitting down on the porch as they waited. She was wearing a tank top and some shorts, it was what she found first and it fit so she tossed it on. Naoki on the other hand just got in her normal gym clothes for school.

As they waited for Mami, Junko talked to Kirito while playing with her son a bit. "I've been wondering something. Who taught you how to fight with swords?"

* *

Emanulle blinked, then throwing reservations aside followed. It was the only way he was going to get answers hopefully finally.

Kirito smiled a bit. "My grandfather, technically. He taught kendo to me and my younger sister. I didn't really like it though, so I stopped. My skill in LRO was mostly muscle memory, and even then it was sloppy. The whole 'life or death' aspect forced me to relearn everything. Dual Wielding even more so." He had to admit, this was... slightly awkward. The way Naoki and Junko were dressed wasn't exactly new to him; he'd trained with Asuna, Signum, his sister, and others. Here, it felt a bit different though. It was probably best not to dwell on it. He was distracted from his thoughts when Mami arrived, walking up as she waved.

"Good morning Naoki, Kirito, Junko!" She leaned down a bit, smiling at Tatsuya. "And good morning to you too, Tatsuya!" She glanced around a bit. "Hm, are you three going to work out?" That was a little strange to her, but she had no room to talk on that.

~~~~~

Once they were isolated from other people, the cat turned to him. '...First things first. My name is Syndra Rammus, and as I'm sure you have suspected, I am far more than a simple cat. This... form, is not my true form. It is a form that is a sort of prison, meant to punish me, humble me. I'm past the point of being bitter about it; I have accepted that I perhaps deserved it. I was not exactly the most warm and fuzzy of people. Quite cruel, actually. It's been a very long time since then, though. The last several years have been the hardest though. By which, I mean the time spent with Kaori. At first I simply observed her. Then I began to help her. I admit, it was at first because I thought that maybe helping her would break the curse on my body. As time passed, however, I.... suppose I came to care for her. Now, I just want her freed from her own self-imposed prison of time. Nothing either of us does seems to mean anything though. Except now. Now, there are new players in the game. You, that young man Kirito, the vampires.... it gives me hope that things can finally change. So, I will tell you what you don't know. About Kyubey. About The Incubators.'

Tatsuya went over and gave Mami a hug--though because he was so short it was more her leg then anything else. He really liked Mami.

Junko turned to answer Mami. "Pretty much, its more training to defend ourselves so a bit of both. How are you today sweetie? Things with Adell and his group still going well?" Mami was a nice girl, she was glad her and Naoki were friends.

* *

Emanulle wasn't sure what to say. There honestly wasn't a lot he could at the moment in his mind so he simply listened. "..All right, I'm listening."

Mami just smiled. "Really well, actually. We don't feel left out of anything like that. They've made us feel at home.... it's really nice. Kyouko and myself are spending a lot of time with Adell, though Kyouko's been acting a little... weird, I guess. Not sure what it is, but I think she's just still a bit overexcited." She knelt down, and pulled Tatsuya into her arms. "And you, you little cutie! We're gonna have a lot of fun today!"

~~~~~

Syndra paused. "Kyubey is an Incubator. The Incubator's are a race, and a being. A hive mind. Their goal is unknown, aside from the one they claim to have. They are hidden... nobody know's about them, even the Myriad Crusader's. They are seen only when they want to be. And if their stated goal is true, I don't really care. They claim to be fighting to stop the universe from falling to entropy. Their methods, however, are the problem. They harvest energy for their goal, that much is certain. How they do this in other places is unknown, but at least here on Earth, they harvest the energy in a very specific way. They form contracts with young girls, making them into Puella Magi. These girl's fight and kill the creatures known as Witches. When Witches are killed, they drop a Grief Seed. The Incubator then takes the Grief Seed into their body. When a Puella Magi overuses their powers, or fall to despair, they transform into a Witch. It's a cycle that the Incubators have used for countless years. And when needed, the Incubators will force a new Puella Magi. For example, the girl Mami. I did some digging. Kyubey used a Grief Seed to cause the car wreck that killed her parents, and nearly her. The wishes always backfire in some way as well, causing more grief for the girls. No matter the situation, a Puella Magi will eventually be overwhelmed. So far as I can tell, Kaori is the only Puella Magi to last as long as she has, and she won't last much longer. She has watched her friends die or turn into Witches, over and over again, with no signs of success in stopping it. The few times she kept them all alive to the end of the month, it didn't matter anyway, because of Walpurgis Night. A Witch of massive size and power. It can literally rip up and throw skyscrapers at people, without touching them. It sends swarms of smaller enemies after opponents as well. There was only one time that they managed to defeat it. Kaori and Naoki were the only one's to survive the fight, and even then, both of them were going to turn into Witches themselves. Naoki used her last Grief Seed to save Kaori, and begged her to stop them all from being tricked by Kyubey."

Syndra sighed. "Kyubey and the Incubator's are monsters, manipulating the emotions and lives of young girls, purposefully causing them emotional pain and turning them into monsters to be killed by other girls being manipulated in the same way. They need to be stopped, but doing so is the problem. Killing Kyubey causes another one to show up near instantly and consume the body. Killing one is pointless, but nobody even knows where to find them, or what other powers they have.... the point is, Emanulle Santos, that if nothing is done, this cycle will continue endlessly, and your adopted daughter may be another victim one day. Assuming that Kaori doesn't turn into a Witch of unimaginable power and destroys the planet. The Witch Naoki turned into had the power to destroy the earth, and by now, Kaori has gained even more power."

Junko became a bit curious. "Strange how? If you don't mind me asking." She didn't know the girl too well compared to others but it wasn't like she was a new face.

* *

Emanulle didn't want to imagine that happening. Not only because he didn't want Kaori to have a fate worse then death but the amount of potential destruction that could cause. He didn't want to imagine how powerful a witch Kaori would be, considering the time jumps. It would likely take a extremely powerful cosmic being to stop her.

He definitely needed to talk to Kirito later to compare notes.

"It doesn't make sense.." The former prince mumbled. The whole situation made even his teeth itch. "Why go through this cruel method when they can make wishes? Never mind the horrible breach in ethics, emotions have never been the best way for a long lasting power source. Incubators wouldn't be the first one, and given the greed and short sightedness of some others I doubt it'll be the last. It always imploded onto itself sooner or later. Infinite energy, at least in a smaller scale has been done already. Magic, or techology that can alter reality that way, that can't be the best they can come up with.."

He shook his head. "Never mind, I suppose I'm rambling and it doesn't matter. I'll do whatever I can to help."

Mami blinked. "Well... she just acts odd around Adell, is all. She's always talked about wanting to meet him, and stuck to him like glue at first, but she's started... I don't know, avoiding being close to him lately. Well, too close. They had a talk recently due to an... um, incident, and apparently they are going to spar soon. Hopefully they can talk some more and clear things up a bit."

~~~~~

Syndra nodded. 'Good. We'll need all the help we can get. As for the Incubator's reasoning... they don't seem to really comprehend the concept of emotion very well. From what Kyubey has been saying, they don't have emotions themselves, and find the way emotional beings act to be 'odd'. They have noticed, however, the power they can harvest in this way from young girls, who's emotions are rather potent. In that last time loop, Kyubey mentioned that power seemed to have accumulated around Naoki and the others, along with a few other people. All people that seem almost fated to die in this month, as often as they have been doing so... it seems to be because of the time loops. Each time Kaori reverses time, the people she's trying to save seem to have more of this energy around them. The worse what happens to them is, and the more desperate Kaori is, the more energy there is. Naoki, for example... Kyubey suggested that her powers could be godlike. They certainly seemed to be in the last loop, but she seems... weaker, this time. I'm not sure why. The other girls are stronger than they were before as well. Myself... I am, at least in this form, immortal, so I have little to worry about. Aside from being trapped in the form of a cat for eternity, of course.'

Junko wasn't sure what it could have been exactly, not without further details but decided to let it go for now.

"I'm sure it'll work out. We have to get going for now." Junko crouched down and gave her son a hug before pulling away.[color=purple "Be good for Mami and the others, okay?"[/color]

She stood up, turning to Kirito. "Ready when you are."

* *

"I see.."

Emanulle was silent a bit longer, then said. "Where is Kaori now?"

Kirito nodded, having been watching the exchange with a slight smile... he missed being able to hug Yui anytime he wanted, really. He really hoped her new body was completed before too long. "Alright, let's go then."

~~~~~

Syndra cocked her head. 'In the apartment she set up a few blocks from here. It's a strange place. A bit like a Witch Barrier, at least in that it's pretty much hidden from the outside. Looks normal enough until you step inside. Then it's something you'd expect of a time manipulator, I suppose... you'll know it when you see it. It's the Violet Iris apartments, apartment B298. Go ahead and knock, but it's up to you to convince her to let you in, or to come out. I will not directly help you. It took this long to get her to trust me, and if this doesn't work out, I don't want her shutting me out. She cannot know I've told you anything, understand?'

It wasn't too long before they arrived where they neede too, Naoki was slightly bouncing off the heel of her feet as she waited eagerly while Junko just looked amused.

* *

"I understand. I won't say anything. I just have to figure something out." That was easier said then done. "..And it begs the question how I found her in the first place. No matter what I say, that's going to make me look suspcious from the off set. Though something I want to ask, why do you trust me? You have to at some level due to this and telling me what else you knew."

It was a valid question as any.

Kirito looked amused as well, smiling. "Well, it's good that you're eager, you'll need that energy. We will start with some stretches to get warmed up, and then use the track to do a couple laps. We'll go until you feel you need to stop, so I can get an idea of your level of endurance. Don't run yourself into the ground; stop when you feel you just can't safely continue, alright?"

~~~~~

Syndra paused. 'You're an anomaly. You are something new, something that wasn't here before, in the previous loops. You seem to like Kaori, at least enough to care about her... and honestly, I'm desperate. This could very well be the last chance, before Kaori finally can't take anymore.' She shook her head. 'As for how you found her... you forgot you have a keen sense of smell?' 

Naoki had much more energy, at least visible energy then her mother. Part of it because she wanted to impress Kirito, even if running was her least favorite thing to do. Junko merely began stretching as her daughter took off on the trac before going after her; she was in no hurry and had a measured pace about her. Junko despite working in a office job make a habit of keeping herself in shape.

* *

"I suppose I'm overthinking it. I'll talk to you later then." Emanulle decided to get this over with, he had no clue what he was going to say or do to convince her so he was going have to shoot from the hip when he got there. Before too long, he was at the door and knocked.

Kirito's brow furrowed a bit when Naoki took off, but said nothing. He'd tell her later. He just went through some stretches along with Junko, before heading out onto the track. Like Junko, he kept a measured pace. He'd need to tell Naoki the importance of warming up, and not pushing herself too hard too soon.

~~~~~

It was a long moment before anyone answered. To the point that it almost seemed nobody would. However, eventually, the door cracked open, and Emanulle would see a single eye peering out at him. "...Why are you here, Emanulle?"

"It's really cute how my daughter is pushing herself more because she likes you, but she really should slow down." Junko said casually as she kept her jog.

* *

Because of how long it took, Emanulle was wondering if she was going to answer before the door cracked a bit and he saw Kaori. "I just wanted to talk, would it be all right if I came in or is this a bad time?"

Kirito actually stumbled slightly at that, but managed to keep pace. "Well... I don't want to discourage her right now. I'll explain the need to pace herself, but for now, I'll let her burn off some of that energy." He chose not to comment on the part about Naoki liking him. He was fairly observant of other people, and was aware that Naoki seemed to have at least some interest in him. Still, having it confirmed was... well, what it was. He was just glad he was able to suppress a blush. It didn't help that Junko was jogging almost right next to him. She was an attractive woman in a tank-top and shorts, working up a sweat. He was a teenaged male. Of course it got his attention. He briefly wondered if he should alter his pace to keep up with Naoki, talk to her, but it wasn't like it would help; Naoki would have the same effect on him. Best to just... try to ignore it. And not allow himself to do a glance-check to see if Junko was wearing a bra. 'I think I've made some trouble for myself...'

~~~~~

Kaori eyed him briefly. "...What do you want to talk about?" She didn't open the door further, nor close it. Seemed she hadn't yet decided what to do about him.