aiko's otter den

Many Days of Crimson - There are two odd creatures in their classroom. One is their new teacher. The other is a fail safe. The problem? Only a few people can see the second creature, and Nagisa wants as little to do with the thing as possible. Then someone else notices.

---

1.

Their school is a breeding ground for these things, so Nagisa isn’t surprised to see the white weasel on the grounds of the campus that morning.

They are surprised to find it following them. They would think, with the endless wish to stay as far away from this class as possible, it would stay over there. Perhaps there was a new student coming, new and still aching to prove themselves and rejoin the elite ranks, to not be marginalized.

Hopefully they get over that, or at least don’t ask the weasel near hir foot to get them out. They’ve seen what happens when they regret their wishes.

They kiss their ring without thinking and sit down.

‘Hello, Nagisa.’ Familiar, polite, detached. Just like an incubator ought to be.

Nagisa nods. Civil conversation isn’t bad. They have that all of the time.

‘There will be a lot of work to do at this school.’

There already is. Passing with your textbooks soiled in mud, when being looked down upon was enough pressure. There would be a class cull of Magi by the end of the semester if Kyubey was lucky. But they probably mean something else.

‘Have fun with your big assignment.’

This catches their interest.

As they lead the creature in, Nagisa feels for the white ribbon around their throat. The Goddess hums soothingly into their ear.

Someone has tried to play god again.

2.

It’s an octopus. A yellow octopus no less.

It smells like death to them. They’re supposed to kill it with a special rubber that is like mold. Nagisa has already held a real knife by now. They’ve already killed many creatures by now. This is nothing. For the others, though, it’s everything. So they have to be careful. Give nothing away.

Kyubey wanders from desk to desk, stopping at Kayano, dozing on one of the empty chairs. It looks at her sometimes, and Nagisa pretends not to notice. Whatever her wish is, they can have nothing to do with it. They can have nothing to influence it or encourage her. There is always the same end for magical girls after all. Revealing themselves would just cause more unneeded tension.

They just wish they were more prepared to go, so they could end it themselves.

They think Koro-sensei sees it, Kyubey. And it -he— may know the reason the weasel is still there.

The reason is actually rather obvious, come to think of it.

Someone’s going to make the easy wish out. The question is who, and when?

Well, Nagisa can’t do it. They’ve already paid for their broken, desperate impulse.

But perhaps Kyubey has merely expanded his menu. It wouldn’t be the first time.

3.

Assassin training. It takes all of their skill not to fall into patterns, into the old ways. It takes all of their skill not to strike too hard.

It doesn’t take much to get their ass kicked.

Nagisa picks themselves up again, grinning a little. They love Karasuma’s gym class. This is an assassin. He kicks the students around and teaches them at the same time. He doesn’t expect much, but it is hard to have high expectations on killing an octopus at Mach 20. And yet, Nagisa gets close. It’s frustrating and exhilarating just how close they get. They can smell it.

The wraith hunting is almost enjoyable, thanks to this. Chase, hunt, pretend it’s your teacher, pretend it’s cutting off tentacles he can’t move.

No wonder Karma-kun got suspended before. He got too out of hand. He couldn’t control themselves.

They wondered if their friend would come.

‘Can you afford to be distracted, Nagisa-kun?’ Kyubey asks

Nagisa changes grip on the knife. “I suppose not.” They lunge. The air shivers with a love for murder.

And like a dog to a treat, Karma-kun makes his appearance.

Nagisa tries not to smile. They’ve missed him.

4.

They dream of pink hair the night before Karma-kun arrives. It’s not his red but the Goddess and he are nothing alike in the first place. Except that they seem to keep Nagisa around for some reason. They don’t quite understand why.

“It’s okay, right?” they say to her, trying not to shake. “I’m still okay?”

The Goddess nods and smiles. Her eyes are wan, worn. She is here and not here, always visiting, always understanding.

“You need to save your friend soon,” they say thoughtfully. They want to help with the time comes, but they aren’t ready to disappear yet, not while Mother is still lurking, still wanting for much for them that they can’t give.

A gloved hand strokes their cheek, silent, but proud. Nagisa smiles.

This is the one thing they don’t mind about making their wish. Someday they will save the Goddess too.

---

Karma makes a fuss when he arrives. He always does. “Nice hair.” He tugs at one of the done up pigtails.

They laugh through their surprise. “It’s been a while.” He was suspended before Nagisa came to class E, which was rather sad, thinking about it. Karma-kun was the smarter of them.

“Has, huh… where’s this teacher?” A nasty, mischief-filled smile, his default expression. “I’ve always wanted to kill one. Or many. Not sure yet.”

Nagisa knows he’s not joking, but rolls their eyes anyway. Everyone else looks uncomfortable. hard not to, with Karma’s reputation. “On his way, I think. He wanted breakfast from Taiwan.”

“Such an expensive teacher. Worth all the yen.” Karma’s grin widens.

“All twenty thousand of it.” Nagisa smiles a little, noting one of Karma’s hands remains in his pocket. The other reaches out and touches their head.

Karma’s voice drops. “Why is there a white ferret still following you around?”

Nagisa pretends their heart hasn’t dropped into their stomach.

5.

“Ferret?” They smile too quickly.

Karma grins. “You do know it’s there.”

They’ve just become an expert at hiding it,except from Karma-kun, of course. He always knows when something is wrong, if only to exploit it. “Mmhm.” ‘Did you know about this?’

‘It’s not impossible,’ Kyubey replied with a twitch of his tail. ‘After all, you saw me.’

’Yes but I’m—’ More than merely male, more than a simple biological sex.

‘We have never said boys are incapable of wishing. It’s just rare for them to be willing to pursue them from an external source. After all, most of their dreams are encouraged.’

‘But only most,’ Nagisa thinks with a smile.

Karma smirks at them, leaning closer again. Nagisa wishes he would stop doing that; they’re never been that close. “What else do you know?”

“That Koro-sensei is coming this way,” Nagisa offers, tilting their head. Karma turns and Nagisa slips away, into the background. Just like always.

Karma loses, of course. But he wins a teacher. Perhaps that’s enough.

The conversation isn’t over.

6.

Nagisa’s sure of it now: Kyubey is after Kayano.

Kayano is good, really good, at this acting thing. They can’t tell who she is for sure, but they can tell what she isn’t. They think she’s noticed the weasel by now. But she’s ignoring it. Has she found some other power to trust in?

Well, Nagisa can’t help her through that. They’re not even sure if they want to help her to begin with. Kyubey takes a lot of effort to work around.

“Looks like you found a girl you like~” breathes a voice in their ear.

Nagisa looked up at Karma’s toothy smirk and turned bright red. “I-I what?”

“You stare at Kayano every chance you get. Are you sure there’s nothing we need to talk about? Like how I’m going to make fun of you for picking out a girl before me?”

“There’s nothing to talk about!” Nagisa sighs, hears the mild jealousy. Towards the girl, of course, not Nagisa. “It’s not like that.”

It’s way too dangerous for them to think of her like that. Or Karma-kun for that matter.

It’s too painful to think of people like that anyway, with their time being more borrowed than usual.

7.

They say that, and here they are, as spring turns to summer. Nothing has happened yet. But Nagisa knows; they can smell it. They can feel it. The wraiths are flocking to the school more and more. They smell all the darkness in the human heart.

They find so many grief cubes, add more days to their dwindling total.

Nagisa wonders if wraiths can smell the hearts of Puella Magi. They might; no one knows. No one but the Incubators. Nagisa didn’t talk about that with Kyubey. The creatures didn’t speak in years, only in outcomes.

Kayano is slipping. She is slipping so far and fast and it’s only a matter of time. Will Nagisa kill her then? Koro-sensei does need to die though, but it needs to be a good kill, a worthy kill.

Hah. There are none.

Nagisa packs up their bags and lifts their head. They smell cherry blossoms. What does the goddess want?

The main building is cracked open and the cherry blossoms turn to vomit.

Be careful, Kaname Madoka whispers. So close.

Nagisa looks at the ring on their finger. It looks like Kayano is an afterthought now.

8.

Everywhere. The wraiths are everywhere.

Nagisa shoots another with the gun, calling another without thinking about it. They sweep the grief cubes greedily into their hands.

You’re supposed to be noble.

They aren’t. They have never been noble. They are greedy and selfish. They are a monster. That was why they had wished to begin with.

The guns change into daggers. They spin in midair, drawn by the magic.

Your magic is a killer’s magic.

Isn’t everyone’s?

Nagisa dodges with a flip, fabric ripping into their arms. Blood drips. They don’t care.

They think snow is falling. It’s falling. It’s not even Christmas. The wraiths just want the cold.

They put the grief cube to their mouth and press the ring to it. Then someone swears only a distance away.

Karma.

And then. Laughter, such loud laughter. Black tendrils cut through the air and stab into wraiths from behind.

‘Wish granted,’ Kyubey says in its usual detached amusement. ‘Help your comrade, or you’ll never be finished.’

They hear Kayano laugh. Nagisa wants to snap.

But they don’t. They’re too selfish.

They continue killing.

9.

Somehow, it’s fitting that Kayano’s weapon is a lot of tendrils, most by her feet. They’re almost like a malevolent, telekinetic spider web.

Shadow tendrils even. Hints of a liar. Hints of devouring her own eggs. Hints of manipulation and a dangerous game.

Nagisa laughs to themselves. They’re not much better, really. They are a serpent Still. They should stop her.

Magical girls shouldn’t fight!

They always are. That’s the thing. Everyone is fighting.

Things go quiet. For weeks, almost months. They would like to hope that whatever Kayano has wished for has come true, and that she will either fight here or fight something else. So long as the wraiths go down, Nagisa doesn’t want to worry.

But Kayano’s laughter that day… it betrays her. So, they’re going to have to fight.

Kayano is a manipulator, a planner.

Nagisa is a killer.

There’s no winning or losing this clash. After all, they all lose to despair in the end.

All except one.

That one is waiting to bring Nagisa home… and maybe Kayano too.

10.

Everyone is watching, their eyes rapt. It’s strange to have an audience.

Here in this field, where no one should see magic, they all are, watching Kayano and Nagisa. Nagisa lifts their blade. The tendrils swim from Kayano’s shoes. She is smiling. They are resigned.

Their Soul Gem is going dark.

Yet there is no reason to despair.

Fire your gun.

They fire and slip forward, then behind. They are a serpent, the grasslands are their territory. The target is helpless.

Except, they are not Kayano’s target.

Sensei is.

Nagisa moves, takes the tendril to the stomach. They groan and force their own recovery, shoving the tendril out and kissing her right on the mouth. They’ve kept an eye on Kayano all year. They can probably stop her with this.

When the pain erupts in their abdomen, all over their skin and blood, Nagisa realizes they’re wrong.

And Kayano’s Soul Gem is pitch-black.

Everything turns cold, but Nagisa does not let go.

11.

She is coming.

Nagisa knows her so well, knows her better than anything. So her arrival, so carefully timed, so quick to happen, means that they have to move. So they do. They have to hold her still. Then the transition can be quicker.

Kayano doesn’t notice, or even care. She simply keeps fighting, and this is no longer an assassination in that instant. It’s a battle, and if it weren’t for over two years of experience as a magical being that Kayano simply lacks, this would be a problem. Even so, the cold and wet grass evens the field, but just barely.

They slam the butt of a knife into their chin, the tendrils latch onto their feet. Nagisa snaps them, feels the drain and kicks out, knocking Kayano to skid to the edge of the crowd. They rush forward, rush, rush to stab, to incapacitate. They can’t let her be interfered with—

‘It’s okay.’

Nagisa freezes and grief cubes drop between them.

Kyubey smiles like always.

Nagisa stops, shakes.

‘Bring her to us,’ he says.

Nagisa runs and doesn’t look back.

12.

“Nagisa.”

“It’s not time yet. It’s not time.”

They repeat these words, body trembling, looking at the graying sea blue gem. Their body aches with the pain of tentacle swipes and knife cuts. It all hurts.

“Nagisa.”

Their head swims. The goddess has not come, why won’t she, why won’t she end this for them? End this failure, this nightmare?

Kayano’s laughter echoes in their ears. Her screams, her darkness. So much of it, so much of a killer’s life is drowning in Nagisa’s ears. They barely recognize Karma’s voice. It’s too heavy, too solemn.

“It’s the new year, Nagisa.”

Karma’s voice cuts through the water at those words. No others. They look up at him. He smirks. “That got your attention. We can’t find Kayano. Can you?”

Fear courses through them. Nagisa swallows sea water. They nod.

They have three months left.

Nagisa thinks they themselves have even less.

The Goddess touches their cheek. Nagisa smiles.

There is still blood to spill, regardless.