*
Arin was kind enough to be blunt, it didn't seem like it was something Sariel could convince her to reconsider about anyway.
"Haa~ fine. Don't say I didn't warn you~" (Sariel)
"Hmpf, recover faster and help me carry them!" (Arin)
"You do it, you're much less injured!" (Sariel)
She took on around two hits, and her body was pulverised to this extent. It was harder to find a bone on her that wasn't broken, the organs around her head and gut have ruptured. Blood was leaking from her nose, ears and mouth. The wounds have now closed up, but Taneda's magic persisted in the wounds, causing it to take longer to recover. After some silence, Arin spoke up.
"... How long do you need?" (Arin)
" Hahah... So ready to abandon me?" (Sariel)
Her bloodied cheeks wore a deprecating smile, her gaze lingered on her own body before turning up to Arin's countenance.
"While I would like to, I have the more urgent matter of finding a safe place to put Mrs. Sentinel down.
The streets aren't exactly rampant with crime, even without a job, housing, food and basic electricity are a given due to an abundance of resources.
Even so, I should be careful. " (Arin)
Her expression shifted as she clarified, her thoughts swam over countless waves, numerous images surfaced in her mind before being submerged into time once more. Seeing that she couldn't do much, Sariel had to relent. Arin must have been joking anyway, she wouldn't abandon Sariel at this time.
"... Be safe. That girl might have tried to kill us, but... It was my fault for letting Lastia go berserk.
She definitely has some enemies, even if she's powerful, I can't imagine how she lived. You should guard her from afar until she woke up, then go home. I'll take care of Lastia. Once I recover a bit more I'll bring her home. " (Sariel)
***(Arin)
Sariel... When did you start to suspect me? I thought I did really well to hide my feelings...
All of my doubts, my fears and anxieties, they coagulate into a big mess. However they were always in my mind, they were never something people could see. The vagueness of this relationship, the inauthenticity of our everyday life...
It's something that I have to keep moving forward with, even with all these worries in my heart. I am here with a purpose, unlike Lastia and you. I've always had something I had to hide, and Lastia was intertwined in it. I didn't think that after becoming a magical girl, she would be able make friends with someone else.
Lastia has been having that problem with her memories... For roughly a year now. It started somewhere in the first year of highschool, it was impossible to discern with how well she was hiding it. She hid it. She no longer knows the 'Arin' of yesterday, I wonder how scared she was?
I carried Taneda on my back, with superhuman speed I escaped the mini culture zone, and I was on my way to the school in the centre of residential zone 2A.
When Lastia began to hide her feelings, her fears, I inevitably followed suit. I was so afraid of how my words would hurt you, would remind you of how your curse robbed you of a normal life and what you could have had. I filtered my thoughts, sifted through what was appropriate to pass on to you. I couldn't do it. There is so much... That I want to tell you. About how our previous days went, how much we had fun in the past, how much I missed 'You'.
No, this is no good... I'm in public, I can't cry. I have a mission, I can't stop. Just because I feel bad, just because... I'm harming the world. That's right, it's too late to stop now. As long as there are magical girls, perhaps someone can save you.
When Sariel warned me about {Barter}, I fully understood what she meant. I'm worse off precisely because I understand. I get the implications of my consequences, yet I continue to trudge on ahead. What I hold most dear to me... Would be Lastia. To cure her curse with {Barter}, I'd have to exchange Lastia for Lastia without the curse... At the point, she wouldn't be the same person. Because the one I cared about, is the one affected by the curse. The original her... Who would never come back.
That's why, to sacrifice Lastia's memories of today... It was enough to break my heart, hammer it into shards and pulverise it. The tears have dripped down my cheeks, I was unable to stop them.
This time, a hand from an odd place reached down to wipe the tears away. Taneda, she woke up... Since when?
"... Why?" (Arin)
Why did you not attack me? Why did you not kill me whilst I was caught unawares? Dammit, now... I even had the shame of an enemy seeing this side. I haven't done anything that I truly regret, everything I've done... It was a neccessity. It was done to preserve what little I've left. Even without her memories, Lastia remains so reckless that I had to step in, introduce myself once more... Just to help her while not looking out of place.
Compared to me, a stranger like Sariel could still waltz in without resistance. It was impressive on her side, to put up with a perpetually forgetful friend, a person who would never be able to share yesterday or tomorrow with you. Maybe it's because I've experienced the normal Lastia without the curse holding her back, that I lament this much at the loss of her memories. They don't seem to mind it that much usually.
"... I'm not your enemy right now. I'm just Taneda. You're... Arin right? Did you erase my memories? Did we have a fight?" (Taneda)
"... Mrs. Sentinel could show this much mercy?" (Arin)
"... I now have the excuse of memory lost. Now my boss won't get angry when I tell them I got defeated.
There are other sentinels you know? I don't want to get hunted down by a bunch of them. The government is scary... " (Taneda)
" Ms Taneda... " (Arin)
But I AM your enemy.