While the gymnasium above had been officially reopened to the public, on this particular Tuesday afternoon, its owner was nowhere to be seen. In reality, she was downstairs, in the basement, which remained closed to the public. The Puella clinic she established with Aoi was something that ordinary gym-goers never knew about, thinking it merely a storage or something. 

Joining Yui immediately after the high school let out, her star pupil Seia Yamano and her newest personal student Hanako Sasaki, the trio sitting around one particular curtained off bed.

Yui: Okay, so… right. Two Balancers that we know of now. Diana kicked our asses, but fled when her “old friend” Melati showed up. Next day, Melati shows up with a fucking business card and goes on her little investigation. A bit different to the death squad that showed up last year, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re in the midst of a Balancing. …Or something.

Hanako: It’s not… um, you called it “Erasure” before, right, Yui? This isn’t that, but… you said there were possibly non-violent types?

Yui: Based on what I learned from Liu Fei in the Dreamscape, yeah. ‘Course, it’s rare for Kyubey to take a non-violent approach. Less Witches that way, no merit in mad science without a bit of violence. 

Hanako: But this… “Melati” doesn’t seem to be the violent type.

Yui: I didn’t get the best beat on her soul, outside of it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. That’s what makes me uneasy. I don’t think she was lying to me, per se. Diana, too. Neither of them ever told me a direct lie.

Aoi: (She has the business card in hand, holding it close to her face and squinting) Also says she’s not working for Kyubey. What is that, a fairy…? 

Yui: Maybe that’s Melati’s big weakness, if she drew that… but yeah, feels like she’s working for a different Incubator. No idea what its MO is. Kinda rather not find out the hard way.

Hanako: …She’s kind of cute, truth be told. Maybe she’s nicer…?

Aoi: Incubators go for cuteness to lure people in for contracts. Whether it’s a weird magic cat mascot or a fairy… 

Yui: Mhm. Whoever or whatever this… “Aisha” is, we can’t assume it has benevolent intentions. Incubators have one goal, after all. What’s worse is, because Kyubey is all we’ve ever known, so we have no frame of comparison.

Seia: Nobody’s seen Kyubey around lately, right? Did they send this one in to replace him because he didn’t succeed at his Balancing…? 

Yui: I’m not sure, to be honest. Besides figuring out what Melati’s investigating about Kyubey’s failed Balancing, I’m not sure what brought her here. She seemed weirdly calm and collected when she saw Diana, but Diana looked like she saw a ghost…

Seia: So they’re not together? Even though Diana said she was doing a Balancing? 

Yui: Diana was testing me. Her goal was a fight. I wouldn’t say she lied, though. If I’d just not shown up to fight her, she would’ve escalated to a Balancing. But… she wanted to fight me seriously. It’s hard to explain… but in all my conversations with her, she was pushing at me. I “sparked something” in her. 

Aoi: … You might be giving these people too much slack and credit. 

Yui: Maybe I am. But it’s different when I can see into their souls. S’not something I can ever just not do, y’know? Subconsciously, it’s constant. Side effect of my wish. I can consciously not dig deep, but I can’t turn off the subconscious part like ever. 

Aoi: Well… (She pauses while she decides whether or not to continue) It’s the same for me. I can always tell how much… misery a person has caused. With her, it’s a lot. 

Hanako: Um… do you mean Melati, or Diana? You’ve met both, right? Well… more that you were here when Melati arrived, anyway.

Aoi: Diana. Melati was… still a lot, but nowhere close. 

Yui: Make no mistake. No matter how civil my conversations were with her, Diana Caelum is not a good person. Fascinating, sure. But horrible.

Hanako: …So what can we do? What is our plan of attack…?

Yui: …I’m assuming you want my actual, honest opinion here.`

Seia: Are we taking them out, then? 

Yui: If we can, yeah.

Hanako: …We don’t have a plan, do we?

Instead of anger or a knee-jerk reaction, Yui simply glances at Hanako, speaking softly.

Yui: You were there, right? You fought with us against Diana.

Hanako: I-I was… occupied in trying to stabilize Kiwa-chan, then you. I didn’t… fight too much.

Yui: But you did fight her, even if only for a second. …What’d you think?

Hanako: …She’s… far stronger than I could ever hope to be. I stood no chance at all, and… if what you’re saying is true, it stands to reason that she is not fighting against us with all of her might.

Yui: I’mma be more blunt about it. Four of the strongest of Mitakihara’s Puellae Magi went up against Diana. We got our asses kicked. Only one of us that even stood a chance was Shinju. …I know how her power works now, more or less, but in terms of raw fighting ability, yeah, she outclasses us. So what, we get more girls? No, I don’t think that’d work, either. Unlike the Balancers that attacked us directly, Diana has a lot of experience under her belt. She just hates group fights since her power is harder to work with outside of one on one or even two on one fights. And when she saw Melati, she ran. Stands to reason that Melati, as a “Senior Balancer” is as strong, if not stronger.

Hanako: So… it’s hopeless?

Seia: It’s still lucky then that Melati hasn’t decided to attack anybody. 

Yui: More or less. But no, it’s not hopeless. While they’re both playing at not Balancing us— which I’m choosing to believe, because neither Diana nor Melati have any reason to tip their hands like this— we have time to prepare. My main priority is figuring out where Diana got to. Next time I see her, I plan on reading her soul completely. But otherwise, I don’t got a plan. I’m all ears, though, if anyone comes up with something.

Aoi: (She sets the business card back down onto a table) Does this phone number actually work? 

Yui: Haven’t tried it. Didn’t plan on it, but… hm, you think I should hang onto this? I was gonna toss it.

Seia: I don’t think I would toss it… if this Mrs. Melati is after Diana, maybe we could pit them against each other and save ourselves some trouble. 

Yui: I’m not sure. I wish she’d stuck around a while longer. But Melati didn’t seem… hostile, per se. Nor that she was looking specifically for Diana. …I think I oughta keep this after all. If I find a reason to contact her, I can read her a bit better. But… I dunno, I kinda don’t want to give Melati anything if I can avoid it. A Balancer is still a Balancer, after all.

Seia: So, as for what we should do if she comes by and tries to ask any of us questions… 

Yui: (She glances around the room) I’d prefer if none of us gave her anything to work with. But also, use your own judgment. I’m still not a leader. If you think she’s gonna start a fight or Balance the place if she doesn’t get anywhere, then… Well, obviously, living comes first. I trust your instincts, you should too.

Hanako: … I-I’ll do my best. And I’ll make sure to keep Koharu and the others in the loop as well. … You can count on me.

Yui: Thanks, Hanako. Everyone.