The lower edge of the girl's spear hummed as she revved the engine built into the blade. Her long purple hair drifted in the wind as she skidded across the rooftop, swinging the weapon upwards. A brilliant beam of light streaked towards her in that moment, and slammed into the weapon. With a yelp, the girl staggered backwards, her frilled outfit ragged from the sheer impact of the beam, forcing her to brace herself on the edge of the roof using her weapon.

The girl gritted her teeth.

"Why did you attack me?" a voice said from above. It was soft, and nonthreatening. But there was no real intonation, and to any listener it would appear devoid of emotion. "I did not make any attempt to harm you."

"Like hell!" snapped the girl with the spear, raising it as she did. Her hair and eyes were purple, her outfit black and red. "I don't know what you're doing, but I won't accept it. There's no way it's anything good!"

Before she could raise her spear again, another beam blazed towards her and struck her square in the chest. With a pained gasp she staggered back and hurtled over the edge of the building, plummeting into the darkness.

She landed, far below, with a thud.

"... Ow..." slowly, she got to her feet, rubbing her back and wincing as she did. "... Grr... whatever she's doing...!"

Before she could complete that thought, however, something shifted in the darkness behind her. Turning swiftly, her eyes fell on the dark shape of a large, octopus-like creature, multicolored eyes surrounding its bulbous body as thick tentacles stretched towards her. One eyebrow raised, the girl rested her spear on one shoulder.

"Can't you give me a moment to catch my breath?" she complained. One of the tentacles raised, preparing to strike.

"Fine," the girl responded, with a sigh. But then, a rather vicious grin spread across her face. "I see how it is."

---

The sun began to sink low in the sky.

Class had long since ended for the day, and one particular girl, one with long red hair, was still on her way home. East Umitori High School was a fairly decent building. There was a higher class high school not terribly far away, but it wasn't like East Umitori was worst place Akane had ever been to. But there was something more exciting then simply having a nice high school on the girl's mind at the moment. The possibility of there being magical girls among the female students of East Umitori was far too exciting! The other day she'd noticed that the fansites had recorded a few girls having overlapping patrol routes around the high school so that meant that at least one of them probably lived nearby and attended classes there! It was hard to help being visibly excited about such a prospect... but then Akane realized that someone might see and swiftly tried to quell her excitement. There were people nearby and all... it'd be embarrassing if she looked so excited over nothing in front of people she'd never spoken to.

Still... had she already spoken to her? What if she'd already spoken to her? What if there was more then one?! Akane could at least dismiss Nadeshiko-sempai as one of the possible magical girls...

The redheaded girl's braid swished behind her as she walked. Her mind so engrossed in the thought of potentially going to the same school as a magical girl, it took a moment for her to remember what she was doing. That's right, she was picking up some drinks from the convenience store nearby. Hopefully there weren't too many people in there... after that, she'd head home. Her mom had wanted... what was it again? Ah, why was she having trouble remembering... Maybe she should have written it down. It wouldn't do if she had to bother her mother again.

Little did she know that making sure she remembered the right drink was about to become the least of her concerns.

---

"I'm home."

The words the young girl spoke upon opening the door of her parents' apartment were, of course, a formality. Kyōka knew full well that they wouldn't be answered, since, after all, nobody really lived here except her. Her aunt had driven into town to take her out grocery shopping and cook dinner for her two days prior, so, most likely, she wouldn't be having any more visitors for at least another week and a half. As such, it was obvious that nobody would greet her upon returning home, so the statement was really more for her own benefit than for anyone else's. At least, that's how it normally was, but now...

"Welcome back!" A cheerful voice greeted her as she finished kicking off her featureless white shoes. She felt something small alighting on her shoulder, and glanced over instinctively, only to find herself stared down by two large burgundy orbs. She hastily averted her gaze, her own violet eyes darting down to inspect the floorboards.

"G... good evening, Ariel-san," Kyōka stammered. She'd called the tiny woman "sensei" out of respect when they'd first met, but she'd almost immediately shot this down, asking to be addressed by just her name. Kyōka hadn't been entirely comfortable with that, so they'd decided on this particular compromise for the time being. But, even if Ariel said it was okay, wasn't she being entirely too blase about chatting with a magical being of tremendous power and wisdom? She couldn't help but worry that she was already getting a big head just because five days ago, she'd become...

"Ah!" Ariel exclaimed, evidently noticing the girl's discomfort, as she hastily sat down atop her shoulder and glanced away, looking only sidelong at her partner. Kyōka blinked a few times, her eyes refocusing as she shot a furtive glance back to the fairy, who dangled her legs idly from her shoulder, lounging comfortably on her new perch. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you like that." Ariel smiled apologetically.

"No, it's fine." Kyōka shook her head sheepishly, standing up and wandering through the entryway and into the living room and kitchen of her two-room abode. It was her fault for being so timid, so there was no reason for somebody like Ariel to apologize to her anyway... In any case, the fairy didn't seem inconvenienced by it, as she fluttered once more off her shoulder and circled absentmindedly around the room. Kyōka breathed a sigh, tossing her bag down on the table at the room's center and tracing the fairy's aimless flight.

It had been like this for the past five days. Ariel had shown her how to transform already, and had given her a few tips on using her powers, but the first time she'd so much as tried it out, Ariel had stopped her, saying that she was calling on too much energy. She'd tried again several times, but each time the fairy had called out for her to halt. It seemed like she had absolutely no control over her transformation's energy, which meant she couldn't use her powers without damaging her surroundings or hurting herself - at least, not without Ariel holding her output back. But now, even that her limiters were safely in place, she couldn't help but worry about what might happen if something went wrong. She hadn't even gone "on patrol" yet, as Ariel put it, and already, she was afraid? What good even was she?

And the worst part was that Ariel wasn't even nagging her about it. She'd always say things like "Take it at your own pace" or "It's dangerous to push yourself too hard," and then just wait around. She might have been trying to accommodate Kyōka's insecurity, but that only made it worse, since it became plainly obvious that she was just wasting Ariel's time.

She grimaced. She hadn't eaten since lunch, but right now, she felt too nervous to be hungry. She hadn't been assigned any homework beyond reading she'd already done a week in advance, so there really was nothing on her schedule that evening. If now wasn't the time, then when would it be? She couldn't just fret about this forever.

It didn't have to be anything major. She didn't even have to actively go looking for threats to fight against. Right now, it was just important to get a good idea of the ground she'd be covering, and to get used to moving in her Magical Girl form. Thinking about it that way, it wasn't so scary after all. Right, she'd just tell Ariel, and then-

"Erm, Miss Kyōka?" Ariel's voice came once more from her shoulder, snapping her back to the present. How long had she been standing there spacing out? "If you don't mind my asking, why are you pumping your first and glaring at the wall?"

"A-Ariel-san!" Kyōka blinked. She told herself she wasn't nervous, but the way her voice was coming out only in gasps and squeaks spoke a different story.

"Y-yes? Is there something wrong?" Ariel asked, blinking as if to ask "Me?"

The young girl took a moment to compose herself, clearing her throat and then trying again.

"Ariel-san, I want to go on patrol tonight!"

And just like that, it all began.

The sun was low in the horizon, coloring the sky in a deep orange-gold that was beautiful to gaze at. The sound of automobiles sounded in the distance, and every now and then a bird flew over head. The smell of the city was filled with a queer combination of the exhaust of vehicles and the smell of people just beginning to cook their dinners for the day. The restaurants on the side of the road, however, were the only thing that captivated Shiina, her mouth watering at all the options laid before her. Itamemono, Yakitori, Tempura, Takoyaki... Hell, with the money her mom gave her for dinner, she may be able to afford some expensive sushi! Ogata simply gazed at the various names of the restaurants, attempting to pick out the ones that had delicious sweets, until Shiina pushed her back into her bag. There was no way she was risking being discovered as a magical girl... Although, that would make her even more popular... No, the risk was too great! In the end, she settled on a smaller Udon shop that she heard her friend Kumiko talk about during lunch.

Several minutes and 500 Yen later, a steaming bowl of noodles was placed in front of the drooling pink-haired school girl, and she slowly slid the Higashi she bought for Ogata into her bag. Picking up and disconnecting her chopsticks, Shiina quickly began to devour the food as if she hadn't eaten in days. I have to remember to thank that guy taking mom out tonight!, Shiina thought to herself. She was glad that her mother was beginning to go out and look for somebody. After all, raising a child alone is difficult, and considering how Shiina acted, her mother must have been going through a tough time. These thoughts were disturbed when she realized that she hadn't used the bathroom the entire day. Embarrassed, she quickly devoured the rest of her bowl, wiped her face of noodles that missed her mouth, and quickly made her way to the bathroom.

The bathroom was very nice, considering she was in some random Udon shop. Her friend, Satoko, talked about them as if they were gas station restrooms... But then again, considering very few people were eating in the shop, it seemed as though not many people came to the shop. Not complaining about the unexpected cleanliness, Shiina, entered one of the stalls and did her business. Quickly leaving, she washed her hands and returned to the restaurant, realizing that she left Ogata all alone! She quickly checked her bag, thankful to see Ogata playing on Shiina's phone and breaking pieces off of the (relatively) large Higashi. Closing the bag, she turned towards the man behind the counter, realizing she now had more room in her stomach for dinner.

"Hey, Ojiisan! Another bowl this way!"

"It's Ojisan, brat! I'm only 45..."

Taking another 500 yen, the old looking shopkeeper began to prepare another bowl of Udon, allowing Shiina to have plenty of time to gaze around the shop. It had a wooden floor and was very traditional in style, with paper room dividers blocking off separate parts of the shop, and the only light being provided besides the outside sun were paper lamps. It seems as though while she was in the bathroom the dinner rush came in, as the number of customers seems to have more than tripled in the short time frame. In fact, the crowd was so large that Shiina decided to try and look for any of her classmates or friends, but before she could begin, she heard a voice close to her call out.

"Here ya go kid, thanks for the patronage"

A steaming bowl of Udon was deposited right in front of Shiina and, feeling a second wind overtake her, she began to eat, albeit significantly slower and more carefully than earlier. Despite this extra precaution though, it was still very messy. Numerous separate thoughts began to overtake her, such as what her mother's (possible) boyfriend was like, the types of clothes she planned on buying, if anyone she knew was in the shop, and what patrol was going to be like tonight.

Nakajima Hoshi

It was the evening.

It was most definitely the evening, for the sinking sun had painted the sky with a dazzling palette of red and gold.

It was most definitely the evening, for that soothing and warm light leaked in through the windows of one humble abode in a last gift of illumination, before the power of electricity would need to take its place.

It was most definitely the evening, for those red and gold rays cast themselves upon a blonde saboteur, a daring sneakster, and a swift-of-foot thief, crouched in front of an open pantry in near-complete silence. She primly, carefully, and ever so painstakingly slowly raised a piece of cured, smoked, and seasoned pork to her mouth...

"I knew it."

THWOCK.

"Gyaaah!"

And was brained by a foam dart travelling at speed, right in the temple. Caught and dealt with in the act of thievery, without warning, without arrest, and without trial. She had dared go against the man who was judge, jury, and executioner.

She was swift-of-feet, but not always so swift-of-mind.

With a weary sigh, the lights were flicked on and the earthy colors of the decor returned as the red-gold hues were outshone, revealing the peeved form of Kyotaro Nakajima, NERF pistol in hand, standing over the downed rapscallion.

"You're gonna eat me out of house and home, seriously." he grumbled, as the girl defiantly munched upon the strip of jerky and glared up from the floor (albeit with no real heat). "Hoshi, I bought that stuff yesterday, ate like three pieces, and I come back today and half the bag's gone! Seriously?"

"Well, maybe Kohaku could have taken it!" she hedged non-seriously. "You never know!"

The family cat could not have taken it. He was both napping on her bed right now, and lacked the opposable thumbs to have done so.

Not to mention, his training is coming along quite rapidly. I've made him far too well-mannered to do something so dishonest.

That was also true. Tendou would not have allowed the Maine Coon, her trusty around-the-house steed, to have acted so capriciously. No, it was obvious to anyone observing that Hoshi was the only possible culprit, not in the least because she was just caught doing so.

"How dumb do you think I am?" Kyotaro queried flatly.

"Dumb enough to get distracted enoUGH FOR A COUNTERATTACK!" Hoshi cried in response, whipping out a pistol of her own—

THWOCK!

Right between the eyes. A sure kill.

"Hgyah! How'd you know?"

"You had your hand behind your back the whole time."

Tendou, your plan didn't work!

The fairy that she, in becoming the Magical Girl Shooting Star, had become a contractual partner with, simply shook her head from within Hoshi's room, as Kohaku's fluffy tail brushed past her robes.

It is because you were far too hasty in its execution, Hoshi. To rush is to become sloppy, and to become sloppy is to leave yourself open at the crucial moment.

She frowned, less than pleased with the response, before her beloved cousin and guardian spoke up again.

"While we're in there, we aren't out of Peanut Butter, are we? I'm craving a PB&J right now."

"Actually, me too..." she murmured, springing back into her low squat and scanning the contents of the cabinet.

"Ugh, we are..." she grumbled.

"Dang... Would you mind going out and grabbing it for me?" he asked with a sigh, fishing through his pockets for his wallet before producing roughly 750 yen. "I'd do it, but..."

"Sure, no worries!" she chirped brightly, before his sentence could inevitably continue into "but work's got me real tired" or something along those lines.

After all, feeding two mouths was pretty hectic for one 25-year-old. Small errands were the least she could do to ease things up on him.

Tendou! We're headed out!

I know, came the fairy's response, as cool-headed as ever. I'll be ready as soon as you are.

Midori groaned as she made her way back to her parent's house. It had been a long day- being late for school, nearly flunking that math test and, oh yeah, a freaking magical fairy had popped up behind her on the way home from class. Her head was still spinning from that last one. She opened the door and plopped down in a chair. "Okay, Megumi. I've kept tabs on magical girl news and the like for the past couple of months, but I've never had a chance to speak to a fairy before. What exactly do you do for me?"

"Well, I give you advice, mostly. How to fight Negari, how to best you use your powers, things like that."

Midori looked the tiny girl over. "And what's the most important advice you can give me?"

"Fighting Negari and using your powers- well there's only one thing you need to know. Zap it until it stops moving, then zap it again to make sure."

"So, I've got the most belligerent fairy ever for a partner." Midori despondently buried her head in her hands. "Oh, joy."

"Think you can handle going on a patrol?"

"Sure, why not?" The pair headed out, to see what sort of Negari mischief they could stop.

Day in, day out, Noriko tended to follow the same approach after school: go back to her apartment, get changed into something more traditional than her school's western-style uniform, and then go out looking for something to eat. It had been a routine punctuated only by illness during her first year here and was now only interrupted by the need to make patrols at odd times. Today was no different and the white-haired girl couldn't resist bemoaning her routine to the fairy perched on a stack of magazines as she worked on tying the knot to stop her clothing from falling open.

"I wish that my peers would stay behind so that we might begin to know each other more. Considerations such as school work or parents that might wonder at a long absence might explain it, yet... how are we to operate together properly if we cannot even speak of our joint experiences?"

"The established girls are more likely to view this is a job or popularity contest. Meet the new ones."

"Ah... but I had hoped to meet those that I already know of. For this to be so much like the idol industry is disappointing."

With the pale blue kimono now held firmly in place, and a fairy firmly hiding in her bag, Noriko exited her apartment and started towards the nearby convenience store. Takoyaki sounded appealing right about now... but it wouldn't form a complete meal. Maybe she'd be able to get some later amidst looking around for Negari. That was a thought.

She was at the top of the world, queen of the forest and lord of the trees. Her hair rippled like waves lapping at the shore, navy standing strong against the fading oranges and pinks of the sky. Her wings were a blur, making a faint buzz as she hovered in place, looking over her dominion, the patch of trees and mess of bushes generously referred to as Umitori Forest.

Saeki Reiko took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and stretched happily. Life was good.

"I believe you are forgetting something, Young Mistress." A formal tone made a futile attempt to mask annoyance as the fairy Tsubame flitted in front of her charge's face for the umpteenth time.

"Eh...?" Keiko tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully, almost swatting the bird-winged fairy away in the process.

"Your mother and father are not coming home for the next few weeks, remember? They trusted you to stock the kitchen, and there is not much in the way of supper foods, currently." Tsubame sighed as she righted her wingbeat. She was used to this by now.

"There's plenty of cereal and milk, and even some ramen in the back of the pantry Keiko stashed away just in case." Keiko smiled, waving to a crow who veered off its flight course in the opposite direction.

Tsubame found herself wishing she'd actually been hit so she could satisfy the urge to facepalm in a slightly dignifiable manner. She envied the crow. "That is not a responsible course of action," she folded her arms as if she were explaining to a...well, she was explaining to a child, "not only are they unhealthy and unsuitable options, but you are close to running out of food in the house altogether." How had this child managed to to survive a year like this, much less eleven?

"If you say so, Tsubame-san. You're very smart about these things." With a resigned sigh, the blue-haired magical girl shifted her wings to a more conventional, soaring-bird form and flew off in the direction of urban Umitori before Tsubame could say another word.

"Wait a second!" Tsubame was rather quick for a fairy, but wings to rival an albatross and the energy of an elementary schooler were difficult to catch even for her. Luckily, Keiko took notice of her fairy's plight and halted before she'd cleared the forest. You're going out like that?"

"I've fought a Negari before, and some people saw. This isn't very different, right?" Keiko's large, innocent blue eyes betrayed no sarcasm or malice, and Tsubame once more reminded herself she was dealing with a child.

"Still, it's better to stay in your civilian--normal form as much as possible, especially in public." Saeki Reiko's parents had done a shoddy job of teaching her societal conventions, the avian fairy thought. Furthermore, had they taught her anything but how to care for herself and the house? The more Tsubame thought about it, the less Keiko's parents seemed like parents.

"Like a secret identity! I'm sorry, Tsubame-san, I forgot about that." Keiko's apology abruptly interrupted her fairy's musings. The elementary schooler's lip quivered, and for a moment Tsubame was terrified that she would have to comfort a crying child. Luckily, Keiko swallowed, nodded, and swooped down, alighting close to the dirt road that lead to town. "Is it alright to do this? Flying is nicer than walking, and makes Keiko less tired."

The girl's smile was so earnest, and practically shone when Tsubame nodded her approval. As the pair headed to town, the avian fairy found she too was grinning. Try as she might, her face would not return to an appropriate level of neutrality.

Somehow, she wasn't entirely upset.

Masako Imagawa

"You've met your match, foul beast!" She called out as she kicked it airborne.

"Take this!" She struck it three times on the chest. "And that!" She followed up by slapping it further into the air with the flat of her weapon.

"And now...for the finisher!" She then impaled it midair, piercing straight through her target, causing its innards to burst forth. "Victory is mine!"

"Are you quite done defeating harmless stuffed animals?" Her fairy companion asked. She was clearly unimpressed by the heroic visage of Masako Imagawa, standing there with her latest foe vanquished. Of course, anyone would probably be less than impressed by her defeat of the teddy bear she purchased just to smack around, but for Lutin, it marked yet another instance of Masako being a complete nutter.

"Well excusez-moi, but I have to practise my technique somehow, Lutin." Masako replied, lowering her stick and allowing the pierced teddy bear to fall to the floor. "The Negari aren't going to sit around and wait for me to preform my beautiful assault, are they?"

"No, Masako, they won't." Lutin answered irritably. "That's precisely why your practise is utterly worthless; Negari do not sit around and wait for indulgent wastrels to set themselves up to look good. It is far more sensible to simply-"

"-practise on a live one so I get a better experience! You're quite right, I'll never get it right without putting my neck out there. Let us find one post haste. Allons-y! En Avant!" Masako immediately made for the door, leaving Lutin to follow behind, muttering "Completely retarded..." under her breath. In any case, Masako was prepared to steal away into the night and scour the city for the foul Negari. With her parents constantly busy, they tended not to police her activities, so long as she maintained a high achievement in academics and similar fields. There was nothing stopping Masako Imagawa from donning her magical persona and making the city a better place with style and grace.

---

Kyōka stood as calmly as she could on the brink of the rooftop, her scarf flapping loudly in the wind. She gazed down, watching the tiny specks of people and little dots of moving cars on the street twenty three stories below. Even if a passerby were to look up, there was no way they'd be able to see her from so far off. Indeed, there was a certain sense of security that came with knowledge of one's own anonymity. Even with eyes on her, she didn't have to be afraid. Was this the sort of way a Magical Girl was supposed to feel? That thought put her a little bit at ease - or at least, as much "at ease" as she could possibly be with the wind threatening to rip her over the edge and send her plummeting downward to join those specks on the pavement. Another gust buffeted her, and she took a step back on instinct, not wanting to chance that her tiny form might be carried completely over the precipice. Kyōka breathed slowly inward and outward, doing her best to calm her racing nerves. In the first place, what reason even was there to be nervous? This was only a trial run. She'd just be mapping out an area she could keep track of in the future, not actually picking battles of life and death. She wasn't in any danger - not even from the height, now that she thought about it. Her powers could easily break her fall without even winding her. In the first place, there was no place for fear - that was just the ordinary, cowardly junior high school student trying to get the better of the thing she'd become - a Magical Girl.

And, if she was a Magical Girl, then it would befit her to act like one. So, steeling her resolve, she braced herself against the featureless concrete of the rooftop, and stretched out her right hand ahead of her. The fairy that had accompanied her in silence thus far gingerly alighted from her shoulder, fluttering into the gusty air and spreading her violet wings. Ariel floated down before her, giving a re-assuring smile.

"Are you ready?" She asked gently. Kyōka nodded wordlessly in response, taking a deep breath as Ariel descended before her outstretched hand. Kyōka could feel the warmth of the tiny woman's palm pressing up against the center of her own, and with that warmth came an energy that made her hair stand momentarily on end. The electric heat spread outward in all directions from the two's joined hands, coalescing into a ring of purple light marked with countless unintelligible symbols.

"In accordance with the contract, the power that dwells within you shall now be released. I will be correspondent to command, and be as your right hand, as you are mine. I am Ariel. By this name, I bid you show yourself, defender of Humanity!" As Ariel spoke, the light of the circle began to crackle and gleam even more brightly than before. Slowly at first, then ever more quickly, it began to spin, and then at last moved forward, slowly traveling down Kyōka's extended arm and towards her body. She stared into the brilliant sigil as if it were a door opening before her, and, at last steeling herself, she stepped through. In an instant, every part of her it passed over was consumed, her clothes and body becoming indistinct as if melting within that radiant glow, taking on its luminescence themselves. Then, slowly, that light began to take on a new form, cycling around the borders of the sigil as it closed around her.

"I-In accordance with the contract," Kyōka stammered, very intent on getting every single part of the rather lengthy transformation ritual absolutely right. As she spoke, she could feel the power centering in her arms, her body fitting snugly within its shell just as perfectly as her hands fit themselves into their new gloves. It crawled next up her legs, billowing outward from black boots to form a skirt that fluttered violently about her. "I will humbly accept that which you have bestowed. I will watch over those who need protection, and shield those who are too weak to fight. I am... I am a Magical Girl! And I... have now arrived!"

A long white coat and a single long tail of fluffy purple hair billowed outward in the wind, and two violet eyes opened anew. Two voices spoke now as one as a big pink ribbon formed across her chest, tying itself as if in representation of the contract that had just been sealed.

"Magical Girl Aegis Violet!"

Light... She felt so light! It was like she could just hop into the air and float away. No, a better way to describe it would be to say that it felt like this was already happening. An unseen power, almost indistinguishable from the air itself, had wrapped itself around her, bursting forth with so much as the slightest movement she made. She raised a hand to brush her ponytail back over her shoulder, and could hear the wind howling in her wake. But it was too much. She heard her arm popping quite disconcertingly, and a twinge of pain ran up her stiff limb. It was like waking from a long sleep in an uncomfortable place - her movements were still groggy, and her body was sore.

Then, little by little, the feeling faded, until it was only lingering on the edge of her consciousness. Suddenly, she didn't feel all that different from how she had before, as if she hadn't transformed at all. "Limiters engaged," Ariel notified her, giving her the confirmation that it was safe to start moving around in earnest. Now that her power wasn't overflowing so rapidly, she could actually maintain this form, albeit in a much weaker state. But, since today was just for exploring, that didn't really matter too much.

"Alright," the now very magical Aegis Violet announced to nobody in particular. "Starting out, let's have a bit of a look around." She sized up the area, before motioning to a few city blocks close to the seaside that seemed, at first glance, to contain two large neighborhoods and one large shopping street. "That looks like a good place to start, doesn't it? It's easily within walking distance of my apartment, even in my normal form, so I should be able to patrol without having to transform every time and draw attention to myself."

"You make a good point. What's more, don't you pass through that area on your way back from school? It's right on your way home. I'd say that's a perfect place to start, especially since from up here, you could probably make it over to that street in just a couple of jumps with your powers. Go on, try it out!"

"If you say so, I guess I'll try it..." The violet Magical Girl was a bit less than convinced, but if that was what Ariel wanted, then she knew best. So, gulping down her breath, she stepped a little further back from the ledge, then took a running start towards the edge of the roof. Ariel crouched low in the hood of her coat, clinging to the fabric in preparation for what would come next.

"That's the way! Now, when you reach the edge, kick off of it with your right leg as hard as you can!" Ariel said encouragingly in her ear. But, Aegis didn't have time to process much more than that, because in the next instant, the ground beneath her was suddenly pushed violently away, sending her shooting upward like a rocket almost half again the height of the building she'd jumped from. Clouds of chilly vapor swirled about her, and for just a moment, Kyōka was living a dream she'd long thought impossible: she was flying.

Sure, she was probably at least a tenth of a mile up in the air now, but she couldn't help but laugh despite herself. She'd tried out her powers under much more limited circumstances, but never once had she ever done anything like this. The rush of air against her face took her breath away, and looking down, she could see most of Umitori City from quite literally a bird's eye view.

"Ariel!" Aegis called back, shutting her eyes against the wind. "How much power did I just use to do that?"

"Calculating," Replied the fairy methodically, hanging onto her charge's hood for dear life, yet still remaining as composed as ever. "About three percent," She answered at last. Aegis would have beamed, if the air slamming into her as she free fell hadn't prevented her from moving her face much at all.

"Then I can make a jump like that more than thirty times before I run out? That's amazing!"

"While I'm glad to see you enjoying yourself, I would recommend that you do something to break our fall," Interjected the fairy, bringing her metaphorically down to earth before gravity could do the same, only literally.

"Oh... Right. Umm... How... How do I do that, exactly?" Aegis asked sheepishly, the ground below her suddenly looking a lot less like a beautiful landscape and a lot more like imminent death.

"Just jump again!" Aegis blinked. But how could she do that when there was nothing to jump on? Just as she thought this, however, it suddenly felt like, despite the fact that she was currently in free fall, there really was something underneath her. So, she "jumped," and found herself rapidly slowing her fall, then vaulting a little further forward before beginning to plummet again. She was now only a few stories up, however, so repeating her earlier motion, she managed to break her fall rather quickly, and found herself descending without incident atop the roof of what looked to be a local diner of some sort. Stumbling out of her rather clumsy and awkward landing, she took a moment to catch her breath.

At this moment, Aegis Violet was sure of exactly two things. Firstly, she was going to be utterly terrified of doing anything until she figured out exactly how her powers could and could not be used. But secondly, this was going to be a lot more fun than she'd first imagined.

Midori headed out, Megumi hot on her heels. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending upon how one chose to look at it, the library and park were completely Negari-free. No sign of any more mundane trouble that the police couldn't handle, either. "Megumi, anything on your radar?"

"Nada. Seems like we had better just pack it up and head home."

Just then, there was a massive flash of purple light a ways off. "Magic, and a lot of it."

Midori wondered if she kept her powers if she strangled the life out of her fairy. "I can see that, baka. Mind telling me where?"

"Three hundred, three fifty meters off to the northwest. Doesn't come across like any Negari I've ever seen, so by process of elimination, I'd say it's another magical girl."

"Well, then. I think it's time I introduced myself. Shining Thunderbird!"

A massive lightning bolt ripped out of the clear evening sky, striking Midori. When it faded, the girl was in costume and ready to rock. She dashed off towards the location of the magical disturbance, trying to figure out plans to deal with either friend or foe.

@Feyblue

葛 馮虚 (コペンハーゲン・スター)

"Oi boss, can I borrow a thousand yen?"

A mechanical pencil (Staedtler Mars Fineline, 0.5mm lead) was placed down onto the table with a metallic ring. Indigo eyes glanced up from a page on differential calculus to gaze at the questioner with a hint of quiet exasperation. The aforementioned 'boss' reached into her pocket with a pale left hand, materialising the requested thousand yen bill from its dark depths. It was a scene one could expect to see in the backroom of a small business that was doomed to lose its customers to the supermarket chain that had just opened across the road, with a rough-and-tumble worker asking a favour from their employer in the form of a financial loan.

However, the setting for the scene was not some small business, but the bedroom of a high school girl on the second storey of a house.

The reality of the supposed 'worker' was even further from what had been expected, mostly because few workers (even in Japan, where the average female height was five foot two) were small enough to fit in the palm of a child's hand or moulted at regular intervals during the year. This miniscule fairy girl was also technically unemployed, meaning that she wouldn't have been working in a small business in the first place ... which was a really good explanation for why she was attempting to leech money off Katsura Hyoukyo, third-year at East Umitori High School and class representative of Class 3-G.

"Awright, thanks a bunch bos-"

The fairy had reached out to grab the note dangling towards her, only for her hands to grab empty air as the money disappeared from her sight.

Her outrage was instantaneous. "Oi, what was that for?!"

"Only if you explain why to me you want this money first," replied the purple-haired girl chidingly, tapping the note softly against the alloyed surface of her table. "Have you been hoarding funds for your peculiar little collection again, Kanaria?"

The fairy huffed, an action which Hyoukyo had to admit was rather adorable to observe, particularly given the presence of the cute little pigtails and googly goggles being worn by her accomplice. Unfortunately, any of the charms that Kanaria could have possessed had long degraded thanks to the unseemly personality she possessed, and not even the frilly dress nabbed from one of the high schooler's old dollhouses could bring it back.

"I wanna buy something from a vending machine," she muttered, crossing her arms. "It's not like you're even going out, so why I can't chill boss? And why are you ditching your patrol today anyway? That's pretty lazy of you!"

You may wish to speak for yourself.

Hyoukyo's expression didn't change, but she immediately reached for her smartphone, switching on the screen and opening up the Twitter application. Her own Twitter page was remarkably dearth of information, but that was not the goal of her foray onto social networks during what should have been her homework time (or her patrol time). What she was looking for was something different to her boring net footprint, and she immediately placed her phone down in front of her to show the fairy the page the very moment it had been found.

"You follow your own fan Twitter? Wow, talk about an ego."

"The fan Twitter for this district provides useful information for my purposes," she corrected, thumbing down to show a map of magical girl sightings in the local area. "Self-aggrandisement is something that would be more befitting your domain."

"That doesn't explain anything, boss," grumbled the fairy, Hyoukyo's insult having flown over her head. "What, so there's a shitton of magical girls around? That doesn't mean you can slack off all the time!"

"Of course not, but given the density of girls present in this district, there is little that a Negari can do before being immediately subdued," Hyoukyo replied smoothly as she handed over the thousand yen note (much to Kanaria's surprise). "It may even be possible that any girl whose routes intersect with mine could act with greater efficiency without my 'disruptive' presence in their 'territory'."

The stars in Kanaria's eyes flickered out as she looked up from the note she was hugging to her chest. "That just sounds like an excuse boss."

"Admittedly, there are scarcely any attempts at studying the magical girl subculture in any depth, but nevertheless my 'no-show' will likely change little today. The others are likely skilled enough to hold their own, and in the case that there is difficulty, I will answer the duty. Otherwise, I shall make use of this time to study for the upcoming maths test."

"You study a lot boss."

"Unfortunately, this final year of high school is a particularly taxing time, particularly as we close in on the university entrance exams. It is most essential that I succeed in those."

"To get into that Todai place, yeah? What difference is there anyway? It's not like Tokyo's gonna be too different from Umitori."

"You would be surprised," said the teenaged girl casually, drumming her pale fingers against the metal of her table. She glanced towards the clock hanging on the wall, noting the time. Over an hour of revising differential calculus had taken place. "Although, I do believe I could take a break now ... you wished to eat something, correct?"

Kanaria blinked in surprise. "Huh? Um, yeah?"

"A vending machine will not provide anything filling," said Hyoukyo as she stood up and stretched her arms out, taking care not to cut herself on the sharp desk. "I'll buy you something from the convenience store instead. Come along, Kanaria. Remember to grab your coat."

"Ooh, can we get those sausage things again? Fucking love those."

It was almost cute seeing the fairy's greed in action. Almost.

"We'll see, Kanaria."

"La da da!~" Keiko hummed happily as she strolled through the store, surveying the groceries like a seasoned housewife. She stared critically at meat, weighed vegetables to attain the best deal, and bought the milk with the latest due date. Tsubame watched amusedly as a few adults asked the elementary schooler if she knew where her parents were, if she needed help carrying those bags, if she would like that item on the top shelf? Only the last question was acknoledged, as four foot seven inches was not an ideal height for grocery-shopping.

"There now, it wasn't too hard, was it?" Tsubame allowed a rare smile to pass her lips as Keiko did her best to lay her items on the conveyer belt, standing on the tippiest of toes and carefully stacking the groceries one by one. Several customers rushed to her aid, but she refused. The sight was so cute that a sizable amount of customers stayed to gawk at her cuteness.

Heading out, the sun had sunk further in the sky, which by now was primarily violet and dark orange. Streetlights were starting to alight, moths and junebugs dancing around the soft yellow glow.

"Can I fly home? These are heavy and it's a long way away. And it's dark..." Keiko, shifting weight from one sore shoulder tot he other, looked with pleading eyes at Tsubame, who knew she would be unable to say no. Regardless, it wasn't a terrible idea, and she was feeling rather peckish.

"I don't see why not," the fairy conceded, "but let's find a less public area."

A few minutes and several wrong turns later, the pair found themselves in an isolated field. With a flash of blue, Reiko morphs into her magical girl form. Her scarf forms a pair of wings, and in the blink of an eye, she's airborne.

As Akane walked, things seemed... decidedly average. Any hopes of running into a magical girl spontaneously on her way home were largely quashed by a lethargic and uneventful stroll. Well, the shop wasn't exactly far at least... and a relaxing walk wasn't exactly bad, but it was just, well... Why couldn't she run into any magical girls?! At least it wasn't too crowded. Akane didn't like crowds. There were too many people who could bump into you or something, and that made the redheaded girl both flustered and annoyed. They were way too close, and they couldn't watch where they were going! It's not like she hated people like that but couldn't they be at least a bit more careful!?

As Akane made her perfectly average walk down that perfectly average street, she happened to catch sight of something that, decidedly, was precisely the opposite of average.

A girl. A girl was jumping from one building to another. The schoolgirl's heartbeat quickened, her eyes widening with realization at what she must have just saw. There was only one explanation for that, wasn't there? There was only one reason she could think of something like that happening!

She must have just seen a magical girl! Excitement swelled up through Akane's chest as she jittered slightly where she stood. It was just a quick glimpse, but that had to be it. It had to! What else could it possibly be in this circumstance, right?

As a result, the next view moments included Akane acting without particularly putting any thought into her actions. She raised one hand, pointing excitedly at the diner rooftop.

"Aaah?! Aaah! That was...!" she was having trouble articulating herself, but who wouldn't after catching a glimpse of a magical girl?!

@Feyblue

---

For any other magical girls out on patrol, they might have come across an unusual sight.

It wasn't as if the spear-wielding Shadowrender Mitsuko was unusual in and of herself. The magical girl was barely ever found doing anything but patrolling. But seeing her look exhausted and leaned up against the wall in an alleyway? That was a bit strange, to say the least.

"Haah... damn it," she complained to herself, eyes downcast as she rested her spear on her shoulder. "They just won't leave me alone today, huh...?"

Akane wasn't the only girl heading in that direction towards the shops--Noriko, too, often passed by the diner, even choosing to eat there occasionally. Realistically, she could have eaten out any day of the week but there was something about cheap convenience store food that she found appealing. Maybe it was still how unusual it all was to the rurally-raised young lady that gave it an air of mystery.

Regardless, the not-yet-a-magical-girl wasn't the only one to watch someone newly introduced to the fine art of jumping from rooftop to rooftop, ending on the same familiar diner just as she was walking past. Thinking about it, her outfit didn't seem familiar, so unless she was some fringe magical girl only reported on the internet...

"Oh my, a new magical girl," Noriko said, before remembering a far more pressing piece of advice to call out, "Miss, you should make sure not to stand on a roof too long! Not all are built to support you!"

@VitaVitaAR@Feyblue

Keiko yawned, tears forming at the edges of her eyes not from sadness, but mild fatigue. The 11-year-old was still adjusting to a later bedtime--even as a magical girl, who needed less sleep than normal humans, she was still very young and needed rest. But the world needed her service more, and so she swallowed, nodded, and kept herself airborne as she scouted the city for any potential Negari or folks otherwise in trouble.

After fifteen minutes or so of nothing but a few irate birds and a cutpurse (whom Keiko halted by tripping and simply allowed police to catch, not using any magic against him whatsoever!), the girl alighted atop the far-rising roof of an office building, resting her wings comfortably against her back and allowing them to return to scarf form as she flopped on her back.

"Is something the matter, Saeki-san?" Tsubame sighed, watching her charge wiggle about, trying to find the most comfortable position on the hard stone.

"'M taking a break. Tired." Keiko had finally settled into a position not unlike a cat curling in a ball.

"...alright. But only five minutes! You never know when a Negari could appear." That was enough sternness on her face, yes? Tsubame nodded, and closed her own eyes. She could afford a short rest...

"Five minutes!" ...wait, it had been exactly 300 seconds already? Tsubame's eyes snapped open as she realized with horror she'd fallen asleep. She righted herself immediately, turning her gaze to Keiko. The girl had planned the break to a T, and currently stood with her telescope to her left eye, surveying the surrounding area for any unusual activity.

"Good thinking, Saeki-san. Are there any readings out of the ordinary?" Tsubame was not expecting her charge to nod, and flew to join Keiko in her observations as the girl beckoned. Her eyes widened with surprise and alarm as she focused on Keiko's discovery--Magical Girl Shadowrender, a powerful girl who reveled in her duties, slumped against a wall, obviously injured. This was indicative of a larger problem indeed.

"She's strong, Tsubame-san, the colors are all over her, but they're all messed up. Should we go help her?" Tsubame ground her teeth as she pondered her charge's innocent words. She was not entirely certain going to assist Shadowrender was an optimal course of action--if something had run her down to this degree, Keiko would most likely be unable to deal with it. But was it not her duty as a fairy to encourage and assist the girl whose heart she ignited in defending humanity?

The decision was made for Tsubame. As she looked up from her musings, she found her charge was not beside her, but already winging toward the alleyway where the Shadowrender dwelled. The fairy swallowed her worry and made haste to follow. She should trust the magical girl, right? Right...? That's how it worked...

@VitaVitaAR

---

Kyōka was fairly sure she'd managed to regain her breath after a moment's rest on the rooftop, and so began looking around for some way to descend without drawing too much attention to herself. She was fairly certain she hadn't been spotted yet, since her initial jump had been from so high up that it would have been difficult to notice her from the street. But, then again, her landing was another matter entirely, as she'd been descending quite rapidly and landed only one story off the pavement. Well, hopefully, she hadn't bothered anyone, so at the very least there was that.

"Umm... Ariel?" She asked. Something had been bothering her ever since she'd transformed, and now that she thought about it, she couldn't help but want an answer.

"What is it?" The fairy asked, poking her purple-haired head curiously up out from within the magical girl's hood. Her two loops of hair wobbled a little bit in the wind, bringing a slight smile to Kyōka's face despite herself.

"Well, I was just thinking..." She stumbled awkwardly over her words. How could she phrase her question in a way that wasn't presumptuous? "That is, when I transformed... Was that whole routine really necessary?" Ariel winced slightly, signaling that she probably hadn't succeeded at phrasing her question politely. "I mean, if I were trying to fight, then wouldn't staying in one place so long while calling so much attention to myself be dangerous?"

"Well, strictly speaking, it isn't," The fairy said seriously, trying very hard to mask her disappointment. "The speech, posing, and the like aren't really very important. You could just as easily transform by standing still for a few seconds. However, right now, I can't do anything about the delay. It's necessary in order for me to limit the flow of power so that you'll be safe." She sighed, still seeming surprisingly crestfallen. Was the whole transformation routine really that important to her? Now Kyōka felt bad about questioning it... "But, if you really dislike it so much, you don't need to put on that whole show. I just thought you'd enjoy being more... heroine-like."

"No, no! It's not that I don't like it..." She backpedaled hastily. In truth, she thought it was more than a little tacky, but she couldn't bring herself to say that when Ariel already seemed so crestfallen. "It's just that it's a little embarrassing, saying all that stuff about how I'm the defender of the weak and such. It seems kind of like... Well, bragging, I guess."

"But it's not," Ariel returned. "So long as you can do it, it's not 'bragging.' So long as you will do it, it's not a lie. If you keep those things in mind, then it's neither of those things. Rather, it's a promise - that you'll keep people safe." Kyōka hadn't really thought of it like that. Now that Ariel mentioned it, she supposed that made sense... She'd be re-assured too, if the person who came to save her took the time to tell her that everything was alright. Maybe the speech wasn't so bad after all. It was just... How could she say something like that without panicking when she knew everybody was looking at her? It was so embarrassing just to think about it! "Does that make it any better?" Ariel asked, cocking her head to the side. Seeing her so serious about this... Kyōka couldn't help but think it would be cruel to refuse, so she caved in almost immediately. Even if it was embarrassing, she didn't want to hurt Ariel's feelings, so she nodded and agreed. "I... guess so." She was at that moment about to jump off the rooftop and head down to the street to begin her patrol - anything for a change of subject. However, at that instant, two things happened.

"Huh? I'm sensing a magical presence all of a sudden... It's heading this way quite quickly, too!" Ariel observed, suddenly sounding... nervous? Kyōka definitely didn't like that tone of voice.

"Is it a Negari?" She asked worriedly. Ariel shook her head.

"I don't think so," She replied. "But stay on your guard. Even if it's another Magical Girl, some can be very violent about their territories. If she's already marked this area out as hers, it's possible that she'll try to attack you and drive you away. I don't think she'll seriously try to hurt you, but even so, a Magical Girl isn't an opponent we have the luxury of taking lightly."

"Umm... About that... I think we have another problem," Kyōka stammered sheepishly. Ariel's attention snapped back to her partner in an instant. "What is it?" She asked immediately.

"Well... umm... I think a person saw us." She pointed down into the diner's parking lot, where a girl who'd just run up had now stopped and was staring wide-eyed up at the pair on the roof. A couple of people getting out of their cars were beginning to look their way, too, trying to see what it was the frantic girl was pointing at. "That was...!" The girl gasped, panting for breath. Kyōka's legs turned to jelly in an instant. Thanks to that, everybody was looking at her! From somewhere else, another person shouted some kind of snide remark about not standing on roofs and she hadn't thought of that so she probably should have apologized but first another Magical Girl was coming and she was probably angry at her and why did this have to be so complicated?! She'd just wanted to take a look around without bothering anyone! Why had it turned out like this, of all things?!

"I... I'msosorryIhavetogonow!" Kyōka squeaked as she turned and scrambled away from the edge of the roof. First thing was first, if a fight was going to happen, she had to get away from here. This was a business establishment, so she couldn't afford to bring it into the line of fire - least of all when there were bystanders around. So, without really thinking about it, she sprinted to the other side of the roof and jumped off, only to realize mid-fall that she'd just jumped a whole story without any kind of plan for a landing. She landed on her feet, only to immediately flop awkwardly forward, trying and failing to break her fall by rolling, like she'd seen in some of her more action-packed manga. Instead, she quite disgracefully landed flat on her face on the sidewalk next to the diner after falling from a not inconsiderable height.

...So then why was it that apart from a residual shock running through the back of her head, she hardly felt it? Pulling herself to her feet, she was surprised to find that she hadn't sprained her ankle or otherwise injured any part of herself save for her dignity. This form was really something else, to be able to shrug off something like falling off of a building.

But anyway, there was no time for that! She needed to get going before... before...

Before a taller, older girl with long brown hair and bright green eyes came to a stop right in front of her, clad in a fanciful white and gold dress emblazoned with a prominent lightning bolt insignia. Kyōka stifled a gulp.

"Eh... umm... ah... I... er..." She stammered weakly, already so nervous she couldn't bring the words out. Fortunately for her, unlike how she had been before, she wasn't alone anymore.

"Good evening, Magical Girl." Ariel's cool, composed voice came to her rescue as the Fairy unfolded her wings, floating up from her perch in the hood of Kyōka's white coat and curtsying elegantly where she floated in mid-air. "My name is Ariel, and this is my partner, Aegis Violet. Is there something we can help you with?"

Kyōka merely nodded sheepishly and decided to leave the talking to Ariel. Now if only the fairy wasn't so tiny, so she could hide behind her and not be stared at... Her eyes dropped straight to the pavement. This was already bad enough, and if those people from before followed her...

@shagranoz@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR

Setting down the ornate bowl, Shiina slowly rose to her feet, and grabbed her bag. Turning on her heel, she began to leave the crowded shop, directly en route to her home. While having your mother be out for the night is a rather obvious sign that a girl should throw a party, Shiina knew that her mother would be home first thing tomorrow, and while she never cared how late Shiina stayed out, her mother might mind her house being trashed. So, Shiina spent the next 2 hours doing the standard activities a girl her age wold do - starting the homework that she was given, cleaning around the house, watching TV for a little while, just general things. Finally, Shiina rose from the old couch, and made her way over to the cramped bathroom. Taking a light shower and drying herself off, she turned to the window to see that the sun was just barely visible in the sky. Wrapping a towel around herself, Shiina walked up to the small fairy who had remained on the couch.

"C'mon Ogata, we're on patrol tonight."

"Ugh... Tonight? Really? Your mom isn't home tonight, so I can finally watch TV without hiding in your nasty schoolbag, and you want to go out tonight? You're too cruel, Shiina-chan."

"You know the rules Ogata - we go out 5 times a weak, and you chose today to go when you took Sunday and Monday off!"

Grumbling light complaints, Ogata slowly floated up into the air, landing with a small "pomf" onto Shiina's shoulder, as if they had done this song and dance hundreds of times already. Shiina slowly made her way to the back porch of their small home, before Shiina silently placed her hand over her heart. A look of concentration crossed over Ogata's face, before both of them were consumed by a cocoon of ribbons that had materialized out of thin air. Seconds later, the cocoon untied itself, revealing Shiina in a light pink dress and knee socks, with the towel nowhere in sight. Ogata remained in her place, looking slightly worse for wear.

"Worst part of the job..."

Ignoring her companion's complaints, Shiina slowly lowered herself to the ground, before escaping the backyard through a hole in the fence. Now she stood in the middle of a seemingly empty street, with the sun having finally set, leaving the world blanketed in darkness and artificial light. Night was always Shiina's least favorite time of day - Crimes happened at night, people disappeared, she was able to hear her mother cry herself to sleep...

Shiina shook her head, bringing her back to the task at hand - patrol the streets, keep them safe, and be sure not to cause property damage if she did ever manage to find a Negari... Which just caused Shiina to shake slightly. She had fought and killed several Negari, but they were obviously weak - not only were they smaller than your average human, but they also crumpled like paper when she attacked with her ribbons. The Negari on the news, the ones that magical girls have to fight tooth and nail just to defeat... those were the big ones...

Walking down the street for several minutes revealed nothing, which honestly, was what most of her patrols were like - wandering around the city at night, running when someone saw her in her magical girl form, and killing a Negari once in a blue moon. In the beginning, she created a method to explore the city easier, which she dubbed Striped Shuttle. But using it was always tiring, not worth it, and almost always left cracks and dents in the pavement when she launched and landed. In the end, Magical girl patrols for her were nowhere near as romanticized as the media made it seem to be, but Shiina was glad. For every small Negari killed, she ended a chance that it could grow, and put up a trouble for other magical girls... Ogata's head soon began to twitch, and she turned in a random direction, sniffing the air lightly.

"Hey hero, looks like you can make some friends. I smell some other girls to the west."

Despite Ogata's teasing tone, Shiina was positively brimming with excitement - Despite being a magical girl for 3 months already, not a single person has heard of her, probably because she has had such a low kill count. If she made some friends with other magical girls, maybe she could make some allies, possibly even share patrol routes... But then again, the news always depicted magical girls as being pretty brutal when it came to territory. Shiina never understood that, it wasn't like you were stronger for having more work to do, and Ogata shared that philosophy 100%. In the end though, trying was never hurtful, and the worst that would happen would be that they told her off. Magical girls fighting each other is extremely rare, no matter how aggressive they were over territory.

"Alright Ogata, Operation Friendship is a go!"

The small fairy made a small sneer, and together, they slowly made their way closer to the signal, which grew stronger with each passing step. By the time they were close to it, she came face to face with what appeared to be a stare down at first glance - A girl in a purple dress and white hooded cloak was almost hiding behind her small fairy, as the two were being looked at by a brown haired girl with a lightning bolt across her chest. While Shiina didn't consider herself a Magical Girl otaku, she had done her research ever since she became one, and had a large amount of information under her belt, with even a couple favorite girls. She couldn't recall either of these girls, however, meaning they were either newbies, or haven't had a lot of exposure like shiina. Deciding to break up the dispute, Shiina stepped forwards, Ogata gripping onto her shoulder.

"Alright, I'm not sure what's going on here, but I'm glad to meet the both of you, and I'm sure that we can work out whatever the problem is as maturely as teenage girls wearing dresses can."

Shiina grew slightly nervous, noticing that there were at least two girls watching the exchange. She always wanted to wear a mask in order to conceal her identity, but she would have to carry it with her since it wasn't part of the transformation, and would heavily impair her vision... Shiina just hoped that she wasn't recognized by either of the young girls, and focused her attention on the Magical girls in front of her.

@Feyblue@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR@shagranoz

Masako Imagawa

"Goodness, I really wish there were more Negari about." Masako muttered. So far, her patrol had been completely fruitless. Not a single Negari had appeared to be slain by Charging Cavalier's spear. This exercise had amounted to nothing more than a casual ride upon Chantilly.

"Please tell me you're not serious." Lutin replied harshly. "Negari are a blight on this world. You shouldn't wish for more of them."

"Oh, I know, I know..." Masako began. "But how else might a Magical Girl display her majesty than to defeat her mortal foe? At this rate, I'll be completely redundant."

"If only."

"Pardon?" Masako seemed quite irked by her fairy's reply.

"I said 'If only'." Lutin answered plainly, unashamed of her words. "Magical Girls are a response to a problem. If you weren't necessary, the world would be a better place for it. All this nonsense about 'popularity' and such is just a waste of time and energy."

"Well, I happen to think that the world could use some glamorous heroines regardless of the presence of the Negari, thank you very much." Masako replied petulantly. Even if Lutin had a point, Masako did not like to think that there might be a scenario in which she wouldn't be necessary anymore. She wanted to carry on being a Magical Girl to her dying days. "Alright, that's it; I'm doubling my efforts. I will find something to slay in this city if I have to turn over every pebble to find it!" She then ushered Chantilly forth, intent on widening her search area.

"Uh, aren't we going to stray into someone else's territory like this? You know the other girls can be territorial." Lutin inquired as she followed behind Masako. The last thing she wanted was for them to start a fight with some conceited girl more concerned with territory than getting the job done.

"Come now, surely they will welcome the assistance? It's as you say; we should have more care for keeping the city safe than petty squabbles." Masako's reply made Lutin roll her eyes. She knew that Masako more than anyone was wrapped up in petty concerns, yet she was quite expertly using her own words against her to justify straying into another girl's territory. She had a feeling it was unlikely another girl would be so understanding of this intrusion, but there was no arguing with Masako at this point.

---

It was not long after coming into the territory of Shadowrender that Masako chanced upon the eponymous Magical Girl. Of course, as far as Masako was concerned, what she found was a person in need of assistance, and not a rival to be cautious of. It seemed there was another arriving to help, a rather young girl with wings. For Masako, this was excellent tidings; the more people to assist, the better. Either way, Masako brought her horse to rest before the other spear-wielder. "Greetings, camarade. You seem quite beleaguered. Might I be of assistance?" She said to her. At the very least, Masako imagined she could offer her a ride to somewhere more comfortable to rest.

@VitaVitaAR @NightinGem

Keiko's eyes widened at the sight of the majestic stallion before her. The Shadowrender's worrying state and general aura of uncomfortableness forgotten, the young girl buried her face in the steed's flowing mane, still hovering in midair. Tsubame let out yet another beleaguered sigh as she cleared her throat and let out a small pulse of magical energy, bringing attention to herself in the most proper, commanding way she could think of.

"Attention, present magical girls and fairies. I believe we should turn our attention to Magical Girl Shadowrender, as this is her territory and plight." The matronly fairy turned her gaze to the injured spearhand, hoping this platform was satisfactory. At least Keiko had taken the time to peek out of the horse's hair.

@VitaVitaAR @Mercurial

@HereComesTheSnow

葛 馮虚 (コペンハーゲン・スター)

The static-y sounds of the convenience store's joyous-seeming jingle wafted through the aisles from the speakers hanging from the pure white ceiling, the vocalist expressing their enthusiasm for the cheap and convenient deals on offer. As expected of somebody who had already decided on what they were buying long before they had stepped past the automatic doors and into the air-conditioned store, Katsura Hyoukyo, third-year at East Umitori High and class representative of Class 3-G, completely ignored the singing, focusing instead on the different varieties of karinto that were present. She was not purchasing the sausages that her fairy companion greedily desired first, nor was she only going to buy them (lest Kanaria take it as a sign that complaining was a useful method of obtaining what she wanted), but instead was buying some snacks for herself. Her venture out into the streets was a break from her studies, after all, and she had thought of grabbing some karinto on the way over. Unfortunately, she had misjudged the sheer number of brands and varieties that were being sold, especially when the traditional recipe was so dominant. It was akin to the great amount of endemic species in the Galápagos, if one were to consider the islands to be karinto and the different species living upon them to be representative of all the brands and flavours.

She had narrowed her choices down to a single brand, selling in both the classic brown sugar coating and the peanut variant, but whether or not to go for one over the other was still something that the teenaged girl was inwardly debating. The classic was always nice, but she had never tried peanut before. It had never exactly caught her attention.

How long you gotta take, boss? Pick one and just grab the sausages!

Not as long as it takes for you to run out of patience.

Hyoukyo reached for the peanut variant Snackoos' karinto, grabbing hold of it in a single, fluid motion before turning away and heading for the counter. The "little sausage-things" that her fairy compatriot desired could only be found there, which was another reason for why she had chosen to grab a snack of her own first. There was, however, a small line present; it appeared that others were of a similar mind to her. Kanaria would simply have to be patient and wait.

Just push in!

An impossibility, for sure, but she ignored the complaints and settled down into the line, waiting for it to move forth.