The Qwaser of Stigmata

A schoolgirl from St. Mihailov's Academy being terrorized and murdered for data about the »Tsar Crowning« icon one night forms a stark contrast to Mafuyu Oribe and Tomo Yamanobe praying in the campus church after having bootstrapped themselves to beginning another school day; a »Wake up; your life's a-wasting!!!« tap on Tomo's noggin later, an encounter with Teresa Beria gives way to having demonstrated an example of the persecution directed at Tomo and Mafuyu along with their arch-nemeses Miyuri Tsujidou and Hana Katsuragi. An ordinary home commute later sets the stage for Tomo and Mafuyu to discover an infirm boy named Alexander »Sasha« Nikolaevich Hel who later intercedes for her when the Magnesium Qwaser Pax Romania igniting the paintings in an attempt to scare insight out of Mafuyu instigates a battle that serves as a tutorial for defining Qwasers and their soma-synthesizing Maria partners along with demonstrating the necessity of soma in driving their chemistry-based powers over their assigned element; if that is not confusing enough for Mafuyu, Sasha is ultimately far more austere than his playful-sounding nickname suggests as he sees no reason to adhere to Miyuri's student government nor the standard social protocols of civilization.

While Tomo sleeps to resolve the delirium from her fever, Mafuyu compares notes with the sympathetic Ayana Minase who offers her assistance upon request before the bell prompts the girls on their way to class as the priest Yūri Noda prosecutes a soliloquy about the »Tsar's Crowning«. Waylaid with no practical recourse, Sasha explains Mafuyu about the »Tsar's Crowning« icon along with the fanatical zeal driving the Adepts' pursuit thereof. Mafuyu's opprobrium of all Qwasers being murderers strikes a nerve within Sasha whose languishing into unconsciousness after holding her at bay sets the stage for a glimpse of Sasha's prologue in refining his iron-based Qwaser powers and gives way to a dexterously prepared apology pot of borscht from Mafuyu. Teresa admonishing caution of Mafuyu prior to departing with Sasha is the only warning of an innocuous bathtime session of girl talk becoming the preamble for Ayana showing her true colors as the Magnesium Qwaser as she wields Tomo in an obverse abduction; the ultimate irony of the whole confrontation is that even with her powers energized by Tomo's soma, Sasha successfully turns the tables on Ayana using an iconoclastic strategy in spite of his rage.

Resolving the aftermath of the subterfuge availed by the Magnesium Qwaser appears as child's play when Mafuyu challenges Sasha appraising Tomo's mammaries one night and rushes to his side when he wakes up from reliving the inception of his vendetta with the Qwaser of Gold. While Mafuyu bristles in frustration at Sasha's anti-social conduct and how he turned the tables on her that morning, Miyuri is shocked to have her overture rejected and her persecution perverted to her detriment yet again; later that evening, Mafuyu prepares a room for Sasha only to find that housing Sasha as per Father Yuri's volition is far easier said than done when he twice ignores her ground rules and nearly spears her with a »No spying!!!« projectile toss. Meanwhile, the Copper Qwaser Ekaterina Kurae is nearly finished with her voyage to Japan when a trio of gunmen charges her the relinquishment of her gynoid guardian Anastasia; a very violent »Leave me alone!!!« counterstrike on the three men gives way to Miyuri fawning over Ekaterina after her arrival in Japan prior to initiating the shopping spree whose ultimate irony is that it is the forum for Ekaterina to prove her hypothesis of Hana making an excellent Maria partner for her.