---

Chill air wafted from the barrels of her guns like one's first breath stepping out into a winter's morning. Her aim was still set upon the site of a pointlessly catastrophic battle which brought forth a simmering anger her eyes didn't betray beneath hood and mask. Rather, it was the roar of her engine as she dismissed her weapons and gunned it towards the two magical girls battling without a care for the grimm harvest of Nightmares out and about.

Now Kanbaru would be missing out on the lion's share of it because her partner was somehow more of an idealistic dunce then the Light Side magical girls but with a casual disregard for collateral even the Detention Club wouldn't endorse.

Launching off the rooftops atop a ramp of ice she came hurtling down through the dust and debris. The air filtration mask of her attire proved it's worth among the fallen construction site till she came up the pair of dueling magical girls. A lesser person may have begone to scream their incoherent rage at them, or a more compassionate sort would have directed them to fight the nightmares and not each other. Someone more malevolent would have joined Black Shot in overwhelming her nemesis.

Fortuna found a happy middle ground for herself. Coming up from behind Black Shot's position she whipped out and empty hand and dragged the edgy destroyer of construction sites off her feet and across the bike's seat like one would an animal carcass. That her hand was chilled to temperatures an industrial freezer would find abysmally cold was just happenstance and that she kept this hand wrapped around the back of Black Shot's neck while speeding away from Getsuga was purely coincidence.

"You have got to be the most scatter brained partner I could ever have found." Kanbaru declared over her shoulder, keeping one ahead to weave around the frozen debris. "I don't care who you flirt with, but when the tension starts collapsing builds you have gone too far."

Wither finally managed to catch up with the Light girl, having skewered several nightmares along the way. It took her a second to place the other girl's face, but she eventually was able to come up with a name. "The Hag, I take it. The way I see it, you have several options. You can help us deal with the nightmares. Take the power or leave it for us, I really don't give a damn either way. You can get out of the way and leave us to the hunt. Personally, I wouldn't blame you. Or... You can interfere, and get your ass kicked. I strongly suggest against that particular course of action."

The Hag clenched her teeth as she kept herding the amount of Nightmares towards what she had designated her killing zone. However, no plan survives contact with the enemy, that much was true. The number of nightmares was off, probably due to the presence of another Magical Girl splitting the horde in two. It had to be one of those maniacs who had brought a building down. Probably civilians needed rescue there, but she had her hands tied metaphorically.

There's way too few on them on this place and too many interlopers to unleash a definitive attack and call it a day. And they are decreasing. I loathe empowering corrupted maniacs with a tenuous grasp on sanity, but sometimes it cannot be helped. The Hag clenched her fist, as she was about to climb her designated sniping spot, near an open space full of reflective surfaces, when one of the Dark ones beckoned.Good grief, their gluttony far surpasses their ability to make sound judgement. The Hag just let a long, elongated sigh, the words of coercion from the other girl. She needed not to put herself at her level.

"There are flaws in your reasoning. I urge you to think again and find them." She just monotonally droned, as she climbed one of the construction cranes deftly, giving her an overview of the industrial site. A vast, open space where Nightmares had few places to hide and lots of reflective surfaces. If she left... those Nightmares would eventually become much harder to track down as they dispersed. "Let me tell you something useful." She added, as she pulled her orb once again, intent on resuming her sniping. "Greed is the undoing of any Dark Magical Girl, for what they gain in accursed power, they lose in sanity. Cherish what you have and do not crave for more." She finished, as she resumed her tactical shooting, now in a much favorable place, with the Nighmares being sitting ducks in the open, as she had intended.

And yet,that same greed is what it will prevent the Nightmares from overruning me. She grimaced. You won't fight me, as long as there are more Nightmares to kill within reach. Afterwards... well, I already know how to cover my escape.

"Hey, you know that a giant ice block in the middle of the city is way more conspicuous than a construction site accident, right?" Black Shot said in a nonchalant voice as her cold partner dragged her away from the fight just as things were about to get fun. "Anyway, she was the one that began it, with that talk about punishing evil and all that sappy nonsense. You wanted me to sit around and do nothing while a newbie like that tried to trash-talked me?"

Knowing that none of her words would dissuade Kanbaru from her course of action, plus they were way too far away to continue the fight now, Black Shot crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks in a sulky manner as she made herself comfortable on her partner's vehicle. "Anyway, are you here because of the Boss or something like that? You can't expect me to believe that you are worried about this bunch of small fish," she said while flinging more of her black daggers at a group of Nightmares that were right in their way.

Meanwhile, Getsuga was left alone to fend off against a wave of Nightmares crawling towards her like moths attracted to a flame. What would be of her fate was left to be seen. That is if anyone cared to look for her while thunder and moonlight danced through the abandoned city streets protecting the few people that were around the downtown streets at such a late hour.

---

Wither rolled her eyes at The Hag's overblown righteousness. Good and evil don't matter a damn, honey- and that's if they even exist in the first place. The only things that matter are power and superiority. Then, Alex called that they still had unfinished business to take care of. "Ah, it seems I've forgotten something, but at least you're smart enough to stay out of our hair. We'll continue this conversation another time."

Racing towards Alex, Wither elegantly impaled a Nightmare on her blade with a reverse thrust. "Sorry I forgot about you, but I can't stand those holier-than-thou Light girls. Better to make sure they don't interfere."

---

The appearance of two Light Magical Girls on the battlefield brought about the expected result. Whatever number of Nightmares there were before now clamored towards the two sources of pure magic. A good chunk of them threw themselves at Getsuga while the main pack continued to claw and scratch for the Hag. Then there were those lucky few available to the group of Dark Magical Girls who had claimed this hunt first and foremost. In the end, it didn’t seem like there was going to be enough to go around.

Indeed, the Nightmares were beginning to retire for the night. While the ones engaging Getsuga were slowly defeated one by one, those shadows still engaging the Hag would be shot through with her orb’s power. Dissipating from the world, all Nightmares purged would be useless to absorb for any Dark Magical Girl. Some teams were lucky in their endeavors, such as Roundtable, who would end up absorbing the most power out of this intruded hunt.

Others, like Freezerburn and Knightfall-in which case, Ami’s partner would have hell to pay for not even showing up-would be getting the short end of the metaphorical stick due to the battle’s turnout. Wilted Rose lay in a sort of middle ground between a night’s good hunt and a waste of their time. Such misfortune could have been avoided were it not for the Light Magical Girls. True, some were specifically at fault such as Black Shot’s reckless abandon, but there was no denying the Nightmares had been routed by the light.

The creatures were all gone now anyway, either slayed and purged, or having made a hasty retreat into the shadows. All that remained were the four teams of Dark Magical Girls and the two interlopers. Getsuga’s position was unknown now, but the Hag was in view for everyone to see. It was no surprise that bitter resentment would flair itself into heated words or even aggressive action. After all, the Mascot wasn’t going to stop them from taking it out on the enemy, merely watching from a distance with its tail curled around its paws.

Indeed, the Hag would find herself greatly outnumbered, but not lacking in power. Anything could happen now, be it a fight, an argument, or a muttered retreat. After all, it was getting late, the snow was falling harder, and school was just around the corner. Was it worth it to chew out the Light Magical Girl for her interference? Or was it more desirable to save this for another night? These decisions lay only for the Magical Girls to decide for themselves.

---

---

"Ice melts. Leaves less evidence then an entirely leveled construction site and the damaged properties surrounding it." Fortuna snorted, releasing her grasp upon her negligent partner's neck to put hands upon the throttles and sending them back to the rooftops with a sudden jolt of ice catapulting them upwards. "The Detention Club has few rules, but they are common sense to follow."

Normally she'd expect the rebreather to give her voice a suitably cold and menacing tone, but she knew already that Black Shot would respond with her chipper enthusiasm undisturbed by reprimand or the reality of the situation. It wasn't even malevolence or calculation that drove her, which would have been something Kanbaru could work with at least, but a frustrating personality that was almost innocent in its bluntness. Almost.

Alas, her night was wasted with little to show for it as what few shadows still littered the city shrank away into the shadows, and with them went any hope of advancing this snowy night. With that dreary realization she swung the bike around and turned towards home. To late to sleep, but she could enjoy a lazy morning breakfast before heading out to school.

"I'm not stopping for you. Just jump off when your closest wherever you want to go." Left unsaid was the possibility she would have taken Black Shot wherever if she hadn't been a collateral damage Queen. I swear if there was ever a Dark Magical Girl by circumstance, it would be this one....

A frustrated scream rang through the construction site as Ami smashed a pile of frozen debris into a puddle of what used to be a Nightmare over and over, venting her frustrations on her pitiful take this night. "I can't believe I wasted my time on this! I should rip your head off for this!" She screamed as she turned to the hag, looking almost like a crazed animal in her rage. First her partner doesn't bother to show up, then these two light Magical Girls steal most of her prey for no fucking reason! They don't even use the energy, they just purify it and throw it into the wind or some bullshit! Ami stomped towards The Hag, trembling as she pushed past one of the other Magical Girls and stared into the light Magical Girl's eyes with a burning fury radiating off of her. "You're going to pay. YOU'RE GOING TO PAY!" With that being said she screamed, lifted her sword into the air... and jammed it straight into the ground as she began counting on her fingers, mumbling random numbers to herself as she did some form of math.

"Three hundred dollars. If I had spent tonight making money for rent instead of killing Nightmares, I would have made three hundred dollars minimum. So that's how much you owe me." And with that Ami wrenched her sword out of the ground and walked away, leaning against an ice covered piece of debris as she pulled out her phone and called Kanbaru with a cheery smile on her face. If she answered Ami would immediately go on the attack, letting Kanbaru greet her before shooting off rapid fire questions. "You said you were doing movie night right? Is that still happening, because I can bring sweets if you want! I would just have to swing by the store on my way, I ate all my donuts before our little get together that just happened ya know?" All traces of the inferno like rage that had just plagued her were gone now. Now all that was on her mind was sweets. Delicious delicious sweets.

The Hag eyed the two confrontational magical girls who had approached her by turns with some sort of neutral, yet detached expression. She did only blink minimally at the exaggerated gesticulation of the fire sword wielder, her eyebrow raising at how quickly she had declared a grievance, only to ignore her. A little better than the other one, the so called Wither, who had flatly given her a veiled threat. The Hag resisted the temptation to sigh, and slump her shoulders. The posturing... it was always that. Of course when a cosmic force tries to choose you to do a hero's job, your ego raises above the clouds... even if you crash down and suffer a burnout severe enough to turn into desperate measures.

It was a fortunate thing then, that the Hag had understood what being a Magical Girl was about well before she was disappointed, broken and embittered, and decided to stoically take it upon herself. Nobody was going to give her compliments. She would never attain fame. With luck, she would die with her body in one piece, without luck, nothing of her would remain but a vague memory of a mysterious girl. She eyed the construction site, the wind carrying no voice other than its own whisper. Silence that was proof that the battle was over for the night. She closed her eyes for a moment, savouring the briefest moment of solace and peace well before another of these so called Dark Magical girls tried to position themselves against her.

Although a lesson learned today was it that she had not been alone. The maths on the Nightmares seemed to indicate another warrior of light existed. A small consolation. But questions could wait until tomorrow. She raised her hand to her mouth, the ring glistening under the pale lights of the construction site, and kissed it. The magical transformation that powered her garbs and weapon became undone, revealing her civilian clothes. A gray hoodie with a faded inscription that covered a baggy white t-shirt and shorts, alongside rather worn but thick boots and striped socks all the way to the knee.

"I think we're done for the night. Good night, and thank you all." She said to no one in particular. But that posed another question. She had undone her transformation on top of a crane. How was she going to get down? While certainly many would've asked themselves their question, Mari did not. She vaulted down to the operator's ladder and started sliding down with expertise, all the way down. "I hope that ramen shop stills exists..." She grumbled mid descent. "I could use some food."

Magical Girl transformation aside, the way in which she had chosen to descend was far from normal for a seventeen year old...

As the Light girl left, Kelly shook her head at Hikari. "And you think there's something beyond power? You've drank from Nightmares, just as I have. You've felt the rush, and you know there's nothing better. Don't lie to yourself, honey- it doesn't work." She walked away from from Alex and Hikari, preferring to join Ami and company. "Mind if I stick with you for a little while? The doughnut shop's on my way home, so I might as well. Heck, I'll pay."

If the night is a child, bursting with energy, the morning that follows exists to remind all of the daily grind, be it at school or at work.

As school-aged children, the dark magical girls of Miso City were naturally required to take part in the daily educational activities held at Miso City High, whether they liked it or not was an afterthought next to the fact that they were required to take part into the oddly named Detention Club if they wish to remain on the Nightmare hunting business.

Thankfully, or not, the happenings of their schoolday were of little interest to the Club's president, as long as everyone showed their faces at the club room on time and without raising a ruckus, everything was alright.

In fact, one of the students that didn't even seem to have a place in an irregular group that called themselves the Detention Club was, as usual, the first one to arrive in their room. Chie Momogami, better known as Black Shot, between her dark magical girl peers, was a pretty normal student during the day—despite her unfettered behavior during nighttime.

Before anyone else arrived, even the so mysterious club president, Chie prepared enough fresh tea as well as well as snacks to sate the cravings of her fellow corrupted peers. Once she was done with her chores, Chie pulled a chair and began to work on today's homework. After all, if she didn't do it while there was time, there's no telling about whether or not she would have time for it later in the before the next morning.

---

---

Her night had concluded more icily then she would have liked, what with having to push Black Shot off a moving vehicle because she wouldn't stop clinging to her back and some magical girl- Because no one else would be awake at this forsaken hour and calling but one of their own- trying to call her while she was driving. Magic or no, she was far more comfortable shooting a gun and driving then she was holding up a conversation. One action kept her focused on what lay ahead while the other was a distraction.

And by the time she got home she didn't feel much like returning the call either. Returning home tired, annoyed, and with no small amount of frustration festering inside her, Kanbaru Otoko was the picture of dark and dreary.

Arriving at school the next day, she was smiling brighter then the sun and chatting amicably with the acquaintances of classes spread across room and year, seemingly undisturbed by prior grievances. After all, what was the point of power if you couldn't enjoy your life by having it. Being a planet buster sounded all well and good, right up until your sitting on a rock in space with no one to talk to. So, Kanbaru would be damned if she didn't live happily and selfishly, using her sunny disposition to borrow the notes and advice of her more studious class mates. It had long since occurred that with any Magical Girls powers it would be insultingly easy to steal the test answers from the desks and lounges of teachers, but it would be something of a disservice if she couldn't function in society because she cut too many corners.

So it was she arrived into the detention club with her shoulders unbent and her demeanor blissfully content, sliding into an unoccupied seat to get her mundane obligations out of the way before the President arrived. She spared a moment to rake her eyes across the room, only to pout in contrast to her mood.

"Darn. I keep hoping for some alone time with the mascot. He has such pretty fur." Kanbaru said, her hand moving to brush away her own feline's fur seemingly woven into the fabric of every article of clothing she owned.

Kelly slid into the classroom, almost unnoticed. She'd managed to get through the rest of the night, and the day as well, but it wasn't easy. Fighting Nightmares, adventuring with her clubmates, that was what she was born to do. It was almost as if Kelly was a mask, and Wither her true self. Something to think about, perhaps.

Kanbaru and Alex were already there, engrossed in conversation. Kelly took a seat next to them, starting to actually perk up as the day went on. Magical girls tended not to be morning people, for obvious reasons. "Yes, we've got a quiz tomorrow. I'm not really worried, though- I'm already pretty good with the material. Could help you out, if you want it."

Chie was there as well, not surprising, considering that her last class of the day was next door. "Thank you, Chie." It might seem odd, politeness coming from a girl whose defining personality trait was arguably megalomania, but she did have a soft spot for her fellow club members, even if she'd never admit it.

---

A part of her still missed it, really.

The satisfying sensation of throwing someone over her shoulder every Monday and Wednesday, watching the air burst out of their lungs as a mixture of astonishment and respect bloomed over their expression.

The addictive pain that shook through her forearms on every Tuesday and Thursday, when a high speed serve was received perfectly and launched so high into the air that it would graze the lights, while her team assembled into a synchronized offensive.

As she passed by the gym, hearing the shouts of former classmates, Maiko turned in that direction, caught a glimpse of Miso City High’s yellow-and-white uniform through the faded glass. Green eyes lingered for just a moment, before she turned away once more, bobbing her head to the exquisite DnB track by DJ Miche. A part of her did, but another part knew that such clubs wouldn’t bring her anywhere special, anywhere new. For that, there was only one place for a battle junkie like her to go.

The Detention Club.

A quick stop at the vending machine for some red bean soup and she skipped up three flights of stairs to reach the westward classroom that served as the headquarters for Miso City’s edgy reboot of a Magical Girl team. Throwing the door to the side and causing loud bang, Maiko stepped into the room with a cheery “Sup!” before cracking open her lukewarm can and taking a swig. Cookies were provided as well, and the sporty girl took those three at a time, going through six of the much too small confections in three seconds.

Black Shot, the edgy two-faced weirdo.

Fortuna, the frigid bitch with a sweet ride.

Fallen Prince, the girl straight out of a chuuni’s wet dream.

Wither, the one who was even WORSE than the little prince in that regard.

“Not the cheeriest group today, eh?” Maiko remarked, plopping down on a seat in a particularly manly manner. “Little birdie told me that y’all cracked down on a horde of ants last night. How did that go? They didn’t fuse or nothing, right?”

She sure hoped the Nightmares didn’t. It’d been two goddamn weeks since she’s fought any Nightmare worth her time and if yesterday had been that sought-after big boy, she was seriously going to have to bully the fuck out of her manager for her shit shift management skills.

A small snore echoed through the classroom, the source being one tiny blonde girl who slept through class every day. Nobody bothered to wake her up, last time the teacher tried she "accidentally" broke their nose after they startled her awake. Nothing ever came of the incident, she looked like she was nearly on the verge of tears when it happened so everyone just pretended it never happened and moved on. But since then, nobody has been brave enough to try and wake her up from one of her infamous naps, not even the teacher. So the classroom was nice and empty when Ami finally woke up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she let out a cute little yawn. A few minutes later and she was on her way to the Detention Club with a stick of pocky in her mouth, strawberry flavored, and a pep in her step.

The door closed quietly after Maiko had opened it loudly, only for it to slam open once again which everyone would know meant the other loud girl of the Detention Club had arrived. And of course the first person her eyes landed on was Kanbaru, who never responded to her call last night. A small pout formed as Ami stomped over to Kanbaru with a new stick of pocky sticking out of her mouth. "Jeez Kanbaru, it's pretty rude to ignore someone when they call you ya know? What if I was having an emergency!?" Ami wildly gestured with her arms in the air, hopping backwards into a nearby chair with a surprising amount of accuracy despite her attention being solely on the icy girl in front of her. She landed with a solid thump, immediately regretting that as a small wince of pain showed itself. Landed right on her tailbone.