Unmei Tama looked like crud. Like, really, like crud. She was sitting at a table, drinking her eighth shake. It was fine, though. She had the money for it.
She'd broken an ATM and taken the money. Being a magical girl was awesome. No one would ever know.
But, really, she was eating food at a pace that might put usagi to shame. And she looked miserable. And had a few stains on her shirt. Her hair was frazzled and, altogether, she looked awful.
Turns out being the current embodiment of gluttony? IT FREAKING SUCKED!
People'd been avoiding her, for obvious reasons. She swore everything was coming apart around her. All of it. She'd even been avoiding Yuzu. A clear sign something was off.
But she could handle this. She was sure she could handle this. She HAD to handle this! It did leave her pretty noticable.
The Crown is not where Ami should be right now. After two weeks away from school, she should be making up tests and homework. But she's been doing that for a full week, now, and she's tired and mostly caught up already. Suitably, she's decided to reward herself with a short break--just a few hours of gaming and junkfood--before she goes back to finish the report due on monday.
Straight to the counter she goes, to order herself a razzmatazz milkshake and a cheeseburger. She turns around to find a table to wait for her food with, and spots Unmei stuffing her face with an unexpected pile of food on the table next to her. "Uh," she mumbles. Even for a magical girl there's a limit, as far as she knows.
Then again, she's never tested that theory.
But the poor girl looks miserable, so Ami quietly makes her way up behind Unmei and takes a seat beside her. "You look like your boyfriend just dumped you," she observes oh-so-tactfully. "Wanna talk about it?"
Unmei Tama yelped, then pointed a finger accusingly at her. "You're the--" And then, dread. She whimpered and pulled back as if Ami was a snake. She put her elbows on the table and gripped the side of her head.
"I-I'm so sorry I never meant to, it just happened, I-I didn't think I was a klepto, but it just, I-I didn't even remember doing it. I'm so so so sorry, it just happened, it just happened, just like... like everything else... it just..." And then she pulled out the bear ears and just kind of... flung them at her.
"I-I wanted to bring them back but then when I came back you weren't here and I... and I..." Oh gosh she looked like she might burst into tears. "A-and no... Yuzu didn't dump me..."
Confusion crosses Ami's face almost immediately as Unmei s tarts to freak out at her. She leans away just a little, unsure of herself, but doesn't get up to leave or try to run.
When the bear ears are thrown at her, Ami looks even more confused. She stares at them, and memories of being a bear rush back through her mind, and for a moment she finds herself incredibly irritable. But no, that's the bear feeling irritable. Ami is not irritable, she is confused. Not irritable. Not a bear. She is not a bear.
Ami shakes her head, breaking the power of the memory, then looks up at Unmei in confusion once again. The ears get set on the table, and Ami scoots forward to gently place a h and on Unmei's leg. "You didn't steal them from me," she says quietly. "I put them on your head while we were talking last time, in the hopes they would be silly enough to cheer you up. I'm sorry they've caused you so much trouble."
Unmei Tama blinked a few times. "I... I didn't? I thought I... I thought I took them and I just... I just couldn't remember and I was... I thought I was... I don't rob from people, you know? I don't... it's not right! Just companies, just businesses, they have insurance, they can afford it, but not people, no no no no," she moved in uncomfortably close to the girl. And then just HUGGED her. Her arms wrapped around her and she held on, panting into the other girl's neck. She sounded like she was dying. Considering the shakes she ate, though...
"I-I can't let... Yuzu... see me like this... I can't..." she whispered, clutching her tightly. "P-Pin won't tell me what's wrong, what's going on..."
Ami lets out a small yelp of surprise when Unmei attacks her with a need for affection. She hesitates only briefly, then reaches up to put a hand gently around Unmei, petting the back of her hair. "I don't even know who Yuzu is," she admits quietly. "What is wrong?" she asks uncertainly. "I've got ... I can maybe look into it. Or if not, I have a lot of friends who might be able to help."
Unmei Tama shakes her head, clutching the girl. "No no no. I know who you mean. the neutral, right? That place? No. They hate me. They all hate me. I can't blame them, though. I mean, I'd hate me. And... and I don't think I can... can stop it. Now. I might... might do something bad. something that gets me banned. Something that makes them... them say I can't go there anymore. Something that--"
And then she just went and kissed Ami. On the mouth. Hard. It wasn't sweet or romantic. It was... borderline desperate. As if unmei was dying of thirst and Ami was a bottle of gatorade that had been left just within reach.
Heck, unmei didn't even seem as if she enjoyed it. Much. She calmed down, once she pulled away(possibly might have slipped ami the tongue, too.) And she looked a little, tiny bit better. Calmed down a bit.
"I can just... stop it. For a bit. When I do... things. But then it comes back. And it gets... and it gets worse. Kyouko would... would kill me if I went near there now. No no no. Can't... can't go near them. Have to... I... I just have to.... I-I don't know..."
"The Neutral? No, I m--" Ami starts to explain who she means, and thus is caught entirely off guard by having lips pressed against hers. And given they're already mostly entangled, Ami is in no position to run way, though she does squirm and try to push Unmei from her.
And of course this is right when her food is delivered, which means Motoki gets an eyefull of Ami's first snog. Very quietly, he places her food and drink down on the table, then backs away, eyes widened at what he's seen. Oh how the gossip will fly.
"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-" Ami seems to have no words, when Unmei leans away from her. Her eyes are wide and unfocused, and she's just sitting there, utterly incapable of speach.
Unmei Tama just laid against her, panting for breath. "It... it stopped hurting for a bit there. I don't feel... hungry now. But I will. S-soon I will. And... please... I just can't..." She held onto the girl and closed her eyes. "I-I just want it to go over. I-I think I'm sick and... and... I just... I need to keep eating. To burn it all away. I just..."
And then she started eating Ami's food. That brat! First steals her first tongue kiss, then steals her fries!
After a moment, she sighs and leans back, looking.... much calmer. "Y-you know. You're a really good kisser. Have you practiced? Oh. Wait. Do you have a boyfriend? Well, if you do, he can kiss my girl friend. That's fair, right? Oh, if you don't, my girl friend says it's okay if I do that. Well, with boys. But you're cute. So I'm sure it'll be fine." THIS IS NOT HOW PEOPLE MAKE FRIENDS!
"B-b-b-b-," Nope she's still not got any words, as U nmei explains her sickness and her need to just keep eating.
It's not until Unmei accuses her of being a good kisser that any semblance of order seems to return to Ami's life. Unfortunately, that order takes the form of her cheeks turning embarassingly bright scarlet as her reasoning center starts to pull itself out of the morass it's been tied up in.
Ami squeaks.
It's a quiet, terrified little squeak, like a mouse that's lost and hungry and alone and has no idea which way to turn for food.
Carefully, she slides backwards away from Unmei, taking her bear ears with her firmly in hand. Then she mumbles something that sounds like an apology, and bolts up from the chair, turning as if to run.
Unmei Tama suddenly latched out and grabbed her arm, yanking her back. There was anger in her eyes. "Don't you dare run away from me," she growled. Her eyes had turned blue. "I will--"
Then she blinked. And let go, scooting quickly away from Ami as if she'd just been bitten. She shook her head. "N-no. G-get out of here. I-I'm sorry, I was just... I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry sorry sorry sorry..." And then buried her face in her arms, mumbling her sorries with each second.
Ami's whimper of terror is all the louder as Unmei grabs her and threatens her. But it's actually the threat that seems to drag her back down from that freaking out. Ami has never let bullies boss her around; never allowed anyone to tell her what to do or what not to do.
Having found some of her backbone, Ami starts to jerk her hand away, and almost to turn around and walk away with what few shreds of her dignity she can muster. Except Unmei's next reaction is so wildly piteable that she pauses, hand jerked away as if she's about to slap the poor girl, and stares in uncertainty. Slowly, Ami lowers her arm back to her side, staring at the creature before her. The kiss was so terrifically embarassing that Ami's cheeks are still bright red. She has no chance of restoring her dignity and she's pretty sure if she turns to look she will find dozens of eyes on them.
No matter how embarassed she is, Ami can't bring herself to make Unmei's life more miserable. So instead she just stands there in indecision, then takes a deep breath, swallows all of her pride deep down inside, and slowly, shakily, lowers herself back to her seat. "Please ... please don't just kiss mme like that," she begs quietly. "It's inappropriate ... in public. And ... and we don't know one another well enough for such closeness. And ... and please don't cry."
Unmei Tama just shakes her head, laying it there and whimpering. "I can't take it. It hurts. It just hurts. I feel like I haven't eaten in months. I feel like I have this... this bottomless... no matter what I do. No matter what I try. It only stops for a moment..."
There were going to be SO MANY RUMORS after this about ami and her new 'girl friend'. She then grabbed onto the girl, buried her head in her bosom, and cried. Poor Ami, not only did the girl cried. She buried her head in places that they DEFINITELY didn't know each other well enough for.
"Is this my punishment? Is this what I deserve? I just... I just wanted to live. T-that's all. I didn't want to... I never wanted to hurt anyone. I-I didn't want to do anything but be me. Why can't I just... why can't it just... let me... be me?"
Ami's face contorts in discomfort, but at least Unmei isn't kissing her. Inappropriately crying into her bosom is something Ami can handle. That is just normal human comfort cycles. So she gently pets theback o Unmei's head and lets her talk, all the while trying to regain her sense of calm detachment and clinical observance.
Eventually she starts to understand what Unmei is trying to say. Constant need to eat. A feeling of being unfulfilled. Punishment? "Listen," Ami says quietly, "We really can't talk about this here, but ... can I take you somewhere more private so I can try and figure this out with you?"
Unmei Tama nods, sniffling again. "O-okay. But... but no one e-else can be there, okay? Just... just you and me... okay? A-and you can't... can't tell anyone... okay?" she said softly, holding onto her, and staring up at her.
She looked ready to jump her again, but fortunately, Ami's mouth remained un molested. This time. Barely.
Gods know, Ami wants absolutely no one else to be there, too. "Yeah, that's fine," she agrees hastily, then grabs Unmei's hand in her own. Sliding out of the embrace, she stands, pulling Unmei with her. Ami just leaves her milkshake and food behind, as she drags Unmei off towards the bathroom.
"Don't freak out," Ami says, as she opens a private stall and pushes Unmei in, then follows into the door. Except it's not a private stall. Just beyond the door, a hallway to nowhere appears, stretching out before Unmei. Ami slips in ahead of Unmei, beckoning her with a gentle tug of her hand, to follow into a netherspace of Ami's making.
"So you work for Eclipse, right?" Ami asks.
Unmei Tama nodded, holding the girls hand. Her palms were very sweaty. And... none of this looked good. Really. Poor Ami's reputation was probably getting clobbered right now as the girl just followed behind.
"Y-yeah. I am. I... I work for them. I'm a bad guy. An... and awful person," shem umbled softly. "Why are you helping me? Aren't you... I..." Then.... "I'm sorry I kissed you. I... I just... it hurt and I.... I guess I can't imagine why anyone would... want to kiss me..."
The portal back to reality closes, leaving Unmei and Ami trapped floating in a bubble of nowhere. "I'm helping you because I care," Ami says quietly, "about all people, regardless of their affiliations."
She lets Unmei go and takes a step back, then closes her eyes and extends her hands outwards to either side. There's a glow of blue as she overrides the local subspace. Suddenly they are in a room made of blue glowing energy, with a comfortable couch, and a comfortable chair. Ami claims the chair for herself, seated on the edge primly. "Have a seat," she motions to the energy couch.
"Anyways, what you're describing sounds like either a tapeworm," Ami says, "or some kind of magical interference with your ability to process food. I'd like to check you for both if you're okay with that. If it makes you feel any better, my boyfriend is Takashi Agera. You can look him up in the Eclipse Database; he's pretty easy to find, as I understand it. I don't agree with Eclipse, it's goals, or it's methods, but that doesn't mean I oppose every person who works for them."
Unmei Tama gasped, nodding, leaning back in the chair. "I-it hurts..." she whines. "I... I'm Clotho," she mumbled. "C-Clotho is my... my magic name..." Oh, nice. The girl who'd saved her that time she was unconscious. Sorta. Maybe. If she had been told.
She gulped and then... "D oyou have any snacks?" she asked softly. She chewed on her lower lips, eying the girl and staring and... she looked almost ready to pounce. Almost. She was pale, her hands shaking, gasping for air, sweating... she looked ill. Very, very ill.
Ami declines to provide her own magical identity. But then, Unmei might realize who she is when she reaches up to touch the trio of studded blue earings in her ear, and a visor of crystaline energy forms over her eyes. "I don't," Ami admits, "but just give me a few minutes to study you." She's not Sailor Mercury--not right now. But that visor looks a lot like the one Sailor Mercury used.
Could be.
Ami stares at Unmei for a minute, and then another, eyes flickering over the data her computer is gathering as time passes. "Just hold still," Ami reassures her, "this won't take long and may tell me a lot about what's wrong with you."
Eventually Ami squints through the visor, then banishes it away.
"Well, that's interesting," she mumbles quietly, then snaps her fingers, "Okay, well, in my professional opinion you need to be purified. You've got dark energy crawling all over you, driving you to negative behaviors. It's um ..." she trails off, then frowns in thought, "a bit like Pinochio's strings. I know a few people who can do it, but ... fair warning? It might hurt a little. Do you want me to try and find one of them? If not, I know someone who is a master of dark energy manipulation who might be able to help you control this until we can do a little more research into what's going on."
Unmei Tama blinked a few times. Then her eyes went wide. "N-no! Don't. I... I don't need to be... I just need to..." She took a slow, deep breath. "I... I can't be purified. I can't lose my powers. I can't... I won't..." she mumbled, rolling onto her side and hugging herself.
"I-I can't go back to that. I won't go backt othat. I-I'm unmei now. I'm unmei. Never going back. I-I don't care if it kills me. I-I don't care if it hurts. I-I'm Unmei now. I'm Unmei. Unmei Unmei Unmei," she whispered over and over again, rocking back and forth. "J-just... just take me... h-home," she whispered softly. "P-please..." she begged.
"I can't," Ami replies quietly to Unmei. "I can't just take you home. You're going to eat yourself to death," Ami assures Unmei quietly. "And I can't in good conscience let you do that. Purification won't kill you, and shouldn't steal your powers. It might change them, though. But let's just start with calling my boyfriend, okay? He can probably help you, and he works for Eclipse. Are you okay with that?"
Unmei Tama blinked a few times. Stared at her. "You won't... let me go?" Then her eyes narrowed. "That's just it, isn't it? You... you want to steal my wish too, don't you? J-just like everyone else." Her hands gripped the side of the chair.
"I-I don't... I don't need help! I don't... I don't want help... I... I JUST WANT TO BE ME!" she screamed, before she lunged at the girl, thankfully unhenshioned. And her feet got caught in the chair and she fell down, slamming into the ground, hard.
Finally, she just curled into the fetal position and started sobbing. "W-why can't... can't I be like you? Why does... it's so simple. To be... to be like that. Why does it have to be so hard for me? W-why... i-it's not... fair...."
Ami casually slides away, lengthening the distance between them with a thought and a little application of energy. She tilts her head aside as Unmei falls to the ground, then blows out a little puff of air.
"I won't let you kill yourself," Ami corrects her gently, as she rises from the chair she's been sitting on. SHe takes a few steps forward--or perhaps the terrain just shifts so that they're nearer one another--and kneels down to gently touch Unmei's shoulder. "It was hard for me, at first, too," she notes. "Very hard. If I didn't have friends to help me, I wouldn't have survived it. Please let me help you, like they helped me."
Unmei Tama shook her head. "W-what does it matter?" she asked softly, looking up at her. "I-I can't... I gave up everything for this. M-my life. Everything. S-so I could just... just be me. There's no... I don't..." She gave another whimper.
She then just laid still, oddly calm, and stared up at her. Slowly her hand reached out to touch the other girl's. It was soft, gentle, timid. As if she was afraid the other girl's hand would break. "Can... t-they help me... control this? Make it stop... make the hunger go away?" she asked weakly, staring and shaking.
"I think so," Ami replies quietly with a sigh. She grips Unmei gently and pulls her back to her feet. "I hope so," she reiterates. "He's good with these things. Let's just text him and I'll take you to wherever he wants to meet you. From there, we'll see what happens. Okay?"
With that, the tunnel extends forward into reality again, and Unmei and Ami reappear in an alleyway not far from the crown. Ami pulls out her phone and starts working on a text to Takashi.