Sitting across Shinju at a lavishly decorated table, Niko points her fork at her partner, some spaghetti coated in a rosy sauce still twirled around its business end.

Niko: — I bet you she thinks I’m a “capitalist drone” or whatever, just because I wanna spend some time with my girlfriend. God! (pouting, she takes a biter of the pasta)

Shinju: Yeah, I know. Some people think it makes them “cool” or “punk” to buck the system. Even if the “system” is just spending some quality time with your partner! Tradition is good sometimes! 

Niko: It’s not even that she hates tradition or whatever, she just hates everything I do or like or whatever, like by default. All while she’s all over her boy-toy.

Shinju: Yeeeah… surprised she went for him. She still gives Hanako a hard time over the Aoi thing. 

Niko: Can’t say no to love, I guess. Unless you’re Hanako.

Shinju: Hanako loves us! Just not, like, kissin’ love. 

Niko: Yeah, yeah, not this again.

Shinju: Anyways, today is about us! Not him or his relationships. 

Niko: R-Right… I mean, we have to celebrate because this isn’t just for granted, right? People are still getting on my ass left and right just because I like girls. Like hell it doesn’t matter!

Shinju: (She raises her fist) Yeah! Show ‘em how it is! 

Niko: … You’re not just telling me what I want to hear, right?

Shinju: Heck no. I mean, I’ll probably have to deal with that too before long. I think Kohaku’s goin’ along with it for now because it’s still better than me creeping around stealing stuff or getting into fights. … And she doesn’t wanna complain about any time with me since I had to be brought back once. 

Niko: Y-You think… Your sister’s not okay with this?

Shinju: I think she’s okay with it! I just wonder sometimes if she still would be if everything else hadn’t happened. You know? I mean, maybe that’d make her a totally different person, so I guess I shouldn’t wonder. 

Niko: Uh, yeah, now you’re just making my brain hurt…

Shinju: Yeah, see? (She takes a bite of her dish, a salmon meunière) I think it’ll be time I can see these guys in the ocean soon. Maybe they’re there already! 

Niko: (she sighs) You can be so careless… I-I like that about you, mind!

Shinju: I think “care-free” would be a li’l better to say than careless… 

Niko: W-What…? They’re not the same thing?

Shinju: Definitely! But, uh, I’m carin’ and thinking about stuff too much lately to be careless or carefree, honestly. 

Niko: Clearly, I’m not trying hard enough, then! (their empty plates disappear and are replaced by a lavish tableau of desserts, appearing in a puff of pink smoke)

Shinju: Whooooaaa! I always wanted to try cracking crème brûlée! It’s— do you know what it tastes like? 

Niko: … Like crème brûlée ice cream?

Shinju: Close enough, probably! I guess this will be Niko’s interpretation of what it’s like to crack crème brûlée, huh? 

Niko: We’re in the Dreamscape, you can have whatever you want!

Shinju: … Can you do some krill to take home for Sango? 

Niko: Sure! … Err, w-what is krill?

Shinju: (She busts out laughing) You don’t have to fill that order! They’re like a zillion tiny shrimp that whales eat. I don’t think Sango actually eats. 

Niko: (she blushes) O-Oh… I-I mean, I could’ve!

Shinju: I bet you could! (She puts down her fork) I don’t think you’ve gotta prove it to me. Or anyone else. Koharu and them aren’t judging us, and I think your dad will come around. 

Niko: W-What? No, they totally are! What are you talking about? All they ever do is make fun of me for taking this too seriously.

Shinju: D-did they make fun of you? I might have to have some words with them… 

Niko: Well, not to my face. But it’s obvious what they think…

Shinju: Wh-why are we so worried about what they think…? 

Niko: I— Well… Because, I mean, what I think doesn’t matter, right? I’m kinda stupid.

Shinju: Sheesh… (With a sad look) You’re not stupid, bunny. 

Niko: D-Don’t worry! I’m fine with being stupid.

Shinju: I said you’re not stupid, dang it! What’s the matter, that you keep thinking you are? 

Niko: I mean, I have access to all the knowledge in the world and I still can’t pass a single exam!

Shinju: (blinks, stunned) Um, it’s not like you can fall asleep in the middle of a test to check in here, right? Does this thing even have books on algebra or whatever? 

Niko: I’m sure it does. Thing is… It’s still a book. Like, I have access to all the knowledge, but I still have to progress it… p-process it.

Shinju:  Yeah… having a big ol’ thumpin’ dictionary doesn’t mean you know every word. I guess something like looking up that murderer that’s been goin’ around lately would take some time too.

Niko: Well, I’m trying, I guess, but I haven’t really got much to go on, aside from… y’know, he murders people. Apparently they’re not even sure it’s the same guy every time… 

Shinju: Huh? You think it’s more than one killer? 

Niko: I-I don’t think anything, I’m not a detective! There’s just some people online and I’m listening to a few podcasts and stuff… (the fancy restaurant around them slowly morphs into the Dreamscape’s library, the tables around them sinking into the floor and being replaced by rows upon rows of bookshelves) … but no matter what angle that gives me, whenever I look it up, it’s always the same mumbo-jumbo I end up with.

Shinju: (She dives to save the last of her plate of salmon from sinking into the floor) Mumbo-jumbo? About murderers? 

Niko: Yeah, it’s always like — Like, whatever you look up or whatever, like, way you try to follow to get to where you wanna be, you always end up just reading about this “Path” stuff that those people from the past were talking about.

Shinju: Path? What’s that, some kinda cult? Is the murderer a cultist? 

Niko: No, I think it’s like — You remember, right, when we tried to create this place with Miss Cecilia, and I had these visions of… I guess Kyubey’s past? Or even before him? They talked about this “Path” that is like… What they called this whole” being a Puella Magi” thing, I guess?

Shinju: Huh… I guess that means the killer is a Puella, maybe? This must be important if it keeps coming up even when you’re tryin’ to look up something else… 

Niko: That… makes sense. I guess Shirahara isn’t talking about her ass after all, then. But honestly, I’ve kind of left this whole “Path” business in eh, someone else’s hands. It’s too much for my pretty little head, I can tell you that.

Shinju: Want me to take a look around too? I know my Dewey Decimals and stuff. 

Niko: O-Oh, sure… If you’re okay with a little intermission on our date, I guess. (she smiles)

Shinju: (waves her hands around conspiratorially) Maybe I can find a tome on “Niko Segawa’s Perfect Date,” Volume Eleven! 

Niko: (she seems genuinely upset) H-Hey! No looking up spoilers!

Shinju: Haha, okay. Tome of “Kinu’s Secretest Favorite Snacks” it is. 

Niko: Oh… M-Maybe I could look that up while you deal with the heavy stuff…

Shinju: Make sure to cross-reference it with “Stuff that’s Actually Okay for Chinchillas to Eat” by Hobart S. Sanderson! (She wanders off to the closest shelf, scanning the books)

As Shinju passes row after row of books, the labyrinthine nature of Niko Segawa’s library makes itself known, the layout shifting. After a few minutes, footsteps can be heard from around the aisle over, and a familiar figure peeks from around the corner.

Mei: Oh, hey there, Shinju. Didn’t expect you here. Thought it was the Diva again.

Shinju: Okay, if I didn’t know that was her Conductor title I would really have thought you were takin’ a stab at her! Anyway, yeah, I decided to take a look. I ought’a know what’s up with Niko’s job. 

Mei: …I kinda was. The last Conductor I worked for didn’t run me half this ragged. …Okay, not with grunt work and homework. Man, I regret dying… (she sighs, looking at the books that have Shinju’s attention.) So what’d she rope you into looking up?

Shinju: Anything about that murderer that’s been prowling around recently, but also stuff about this ancient “Path…” cult, or whatever it is. Since it comes up every time Niko tries to do research, it seems like. 

Mei: God, she got you on the Path talk, too? Her and Kotori, I swear, that’s all they talk about anymore… you’ll learn to tune it out eventually. Or get in on it, who knows? But those murders… (her tone is more serious now) That’s something worth looking up. …What do you think? Any ideas from the land of the living up there? 

Shinju: Other than that we think it’s maybe a Puella, not much to go on. Nobody’s run into this person yet. 

Mei: From what little I know, it has to be a Puella. I mean, same wound every time? (She pulls a book from high up on the shelf next to Shinju and flips through it) …Ah, here it is. Yeah, all little tiny gunshot wounds. Like, almost like a pinprick. 

Shinju: (She tries to peek at the book over Mei’s shoulder) Like, a dart gun? Or like one of those special teeny tiny guns that spies use? 

Mei: That’s the frustrating part. (She turns the book so Shinju can see) …Every time I look into it, I get into a section that… doesn’t exist. Like, this. One of the first homeless guys to drop. (She turns a few pages back) …That guy definitely died. But here he is in the book, alive and well. Information on him after his death out there. Every time I try and figure out what caused these wounds, I get this… misinformation. Which shouldn’t be possible, since this all came from Anisa Nobunaga’s wish. Her knowledge is like, absolute or whatever. …Aaaaand there’s a page on the Path again, fuck me… 

Shinju: … If they’re able to mess around with the library in here, does that mean it might be another one of those balancer freaks? They were in here before… 

Mei: I don’t think so. I don’t even think it’s messing with the library, per se… like, I think this was supposed to be the guy’s life, but our killer is messing with that instead. …Rewriting history or something, maybe.

Shinju: … Huh? I mean, of course he would’ve lived if the killer hadn’t come along… right? What do you mean, rewriting history? 

Mei: That’s what I mean! Anisa’s knowledge is like… the Oracle’s, kinda. Just, a pain in the ass to access. But absolute. This guy was absolutely meant to live, but he got killed. So our Puella killer can… circumvent fate somehow? Or something like that, that’s my guess.

Shinju: (Bluntly) I’m not sure to be more worried about that or more worried if fate exists and we’re predestined. 

Mei: (She taps the book) I may be stupid, but I know what I’m reading! That guy, and all the others, they weren’t meant to die. God… I sound like Yui now, fuck.

Shinju: Yui… Do you get to talk to her often? I bet she’s glad you’re still around down here, at least.

Mei: … (Mei sighs, putting the book back on the shelf, scanning the top row, though it seems she isn’t staring at anything in particular) …Maybe ducking her this long is the wrong move. But… 

Shinju: Ducking her? What, you’re not talking? Did something happen? 

Mei: …I’ve been avoiding her. I didn’t like how she took everything, had a hard time… facing her, y’know? But I think I’m making everything worse. Especially with the shit she’s been doing lately…

Shinju: Um… (She speaks slowly, obviously considering her words) Down here too? What kind of stuff has she been doing?

Mei: (She closes her eyes, taking a step back and a few deep, concentrated breaths) …You know more than I do, right? You’ve been digging into her, trying to find something. Same with that queen bee Diva. Maybe Master deserves it, maybe she doesn’t. Maybe she’s doing some shit beyond what I know. But man… if I just leave you two to it, someone’s gonna get hurt. …It’s gotta be me. I can’t run anymore.

Shinju: I don’t think I’m digging into her, I’m just… trying to make sure everything’s gonna be okay with all the new people that are around. If you two fight too, I dunno what will happen….

Mei: (She starts to walk away, only to glance back over her shoulder) …I’ll be fine, don’t worry. Just… don’t get too mixed up with Yui. Leave it to the people who’re already in too deep, okay? You have better things to do with your time. …I’ll see you around. (With a dismissive wave, she walks into the darkness of the library)