The instant Hikari voiced her agreement, Tokiko's eyes lit up with joy.

Not that she herself was aware of this; since she was too busy thinking things like ugh, why did I ask her that, she's obviously just going to be a pain in the ass later on, and trying her best to keep her expression serious and ignore how elated she actually felt.

Maybe that same feeling was why she didn't try to mock or tease as Hikari stumbled her way through another basic essential for magical girls. Turning back was easy, about as simple and painless as could be. Tokiko, though, hated it every time, that feeling of stepping out of her manic magical girl persona and turning back into that weird, awkward teenager who wasn't worth the air she breathed. But if she's turning back, and we're doing the phone thing, it might be weird if I stayed like this... fine, I'll get it over with.

She stretched out a hand to one side, and her Archetype dutifully handed back the twisted taser device she'd used in the fight before. As it dropped into Tokiko's palm, the strange machine came apart once again, reconstructing itself in its original, mundane form.

Hikari's bag had vanished as part of her magical girl transformation, but the same rule didn't apply to Tokiko— a quirk of her Concept, probably, since her power worked by enhancing non-magical devices. As it turned out, her backpack barely held anything for school, just a couple of notebooks, a calculator, and some pencils and pens. The rest was filled by a mismatched arsenal of junk: broken circuitboards, tangled charging cables, two battery packs, a handheld radio transmitter, a small flashlight, a cigarette lighter, a hot glue gun... All could be glimpsed for just a moment as she stashed the taser away.

"Aaaaah?" The monstergirl, who'd been standing patiently to one side throughout most of the conversation, seemed to sense what was coming next.

"Yeah." Tokiko sighed. "You did all right out there, Eve."

"Aaaaah!" The Archetype grinned. As green light began to crackle around her, she turned towards Hikari and cheerfully waved. Then, with a sudden flash, the light swallowed her up, and Eve was gone.

Tokiko transformed back in the same moment, her thin rectangular glasses shifting to wide, round frames, her flared white coat replaced by a rumpled school uniform. Her hair was still black, still messy, but where it had be a wild, electric kind of messy, now it just looked... tangled. Unbrushed. Uncared for.

"Yep." Fishing her phone out of a pocket, she tapped in Hikari's number with the frenetic speed of someone who clearly spent too much time online. Almost as soon as the number was in, Hikari's phone buzzed with a new text, a bright blue link popping up on her screen.

"It's a chatroom for magical girls," Tokiko explained, her voice quieter and more subdued now that she was in her civilian form. "You might need an app or something to open it... ahhh, you'll figure it out." She scratched her hair with one hand. "Lots of magical girls in Tokyo use this, so it could be useful to look, even if you don't post much. Though with Hex Night going on you might get some people posting misinformation to throw off their enemies, so be careful what you believe..."

Just two ordinary girls, standing opposite one another in ordinary clothes, talking, exchanging phone numbers. Tokiko's heart started to beat a little faster as she considered the situation. It's like we're friends, right? This is the kind of thing friends do. Almost as soon as the thought popped up, it was quashed. No. Honami Tokiko doesn't have friends. And even if she did, they'd only disappoint her in the end. She turned away, not sure where to look, not sure what to say.

"Ummm..." Hesitant, she pointed in the direction they'd been walking before the magical girl attack. "I'm going that way. Were you going that way?"

@VitaVitaAR

It wasn't hard to spot her targets and she landed lightly on a rooftop adjuvant to theirs. Sonya wanted no time with pointless banter and raised the Key to drive it into the rooftop. A wave of darkness crashed outwards to draw the trio into an apocalyptic city, inside the Gate of Abaddon.

Ash fell like snow from a roiled grey sky and red lightning lit the clouds from inside. It was cold enough for their breaths to condense in the air and silent aside from the muted rumbles above. The city mirrored the real world, but every building was damaged in some cataclysmic conflict and rubble was strewn across the streets.

Sonya leveled Apollyon at the pair, smiling down the length of the oversized axe towards them. “I don't suppose you want to surrender?

@VitaVitaAR

"I agree. Noriko and I grew up in a small mountain town, there's no atmosphere quite like that. I've noticed city life produces so many more shades... larger, stronger ones..."

The silence between them was palpable for that brief pause that came as she spoke of shades. She understood well what she spoke of as she was all too familiar with shades. Some might say that her and shades went hand in hand given the numbers and sizes she's had to handle in her past.

"Sorry if this conversation is getting depressing."

Sophia shook her head. "No need to apologize. I understand."

"At least there are more of us around here to keep the doom and gloom at bay! And yeah, places like this sure help."

She turned her attention to her sister Noriko for a moment but it returned to Fuyuko as she looked out across the forest to the city beyond, a look which spoke of a certain melancholy she could recognize. It drew her to wonder what it is that occupied her thoughts so, this lingering undertone of despair in her eyes.

"How are you finding Tokyo?" She asked Sophia.

"It is a fine city. Despite it's ultra modern veneer it's surprisingly humble once you leave the tourist trap circuit." Having said that she looked out in the direction where she had saw the battle take place, her eyes drawn past the forest towards the more suburban sectors.

"While I've seen little of shades as of yet it seems conflict is already stirring." She looked down, appearing to be deep in thought as she considered the events she's witnessed thus far.

"I fear such conflicts will only intensify with the progression of time."

---

@LuckyBlackCat

Hikari watched as Tokiko desummoned the monstergirl and transformed back to normal. Given some time to slow down and think, she now found herself thinking about the variation between magical girls. That one girl with the kanabo had horns, she'd actually seemed to physically transform... while Tokiko didn't. But Tokiko was able to summon someone, that monstergirl she called Eve. Were there other girls who could summon creatures or more human-like things? Just how much variety was there when it came to magical girls? It was something she was going to have to think about, wasn't it? After all, every magical girl in the city was now potentially an enemy.

... When she thought about it in that respect, it was actually... a little scary. But there was no way that Hikari would let something like that get to her. She just became a magical girl, and no-one was allowed to actually kill anyone else, so she wasn't going to let herself get scared about something like this! After all, what kind of magical girl would let herself get scared about something this important?! ... Not that she entirely understood why it was important, but the idea of preventing evil energy or whatever from building up made a lot of sense at least.

"Chat room...?"

A chat room for magical girls? For a moment, Hikari was certain she saw something kind of like that in an anime at some point, but she wasn't going to dwell on that fact.

"... Well, I guess I was going that way..." she added, glancing towards Tokiko. It was... weird just walking home after learning about all of this, but what else was there to do? She sort of wanted to check out that chat room, too...

@Anza

---

Perhaps most other magical girls would have been a bit more shocked when it came to something like a personal world being impressed on reality. But in Naoko's case, as she glanced across the ruined city, her response was to let out a low, long whistle.

"I heard there were some magical girls who could do this kinda thing," she began, still resting her kanabo on her shoulder, "But I never actually saw one! Awesome!"

She grinned, displaying a pair of fangs.

"Your own world, huh?!"

Still grinning, she raised her weapon off her shoulder. For the moment, it still seemed like Tsukimi was out of the fight, though if she was fully unconscious or just stunned, it was difficult to tell.

The kanabo was pointed squarely at Sonya.

"Like hell I'd surrender."

@TheFake

We're not walking home together, thought Tokiko, as she and Hikari walked home together. We just happen to be heading in the same direction, that's all. Which they technically were. Side by side. At the same pace. I-it's for protection, that's all! If more magical girls come and attack us, then we'll be able to fight together! Though magical girls wouldn't be able to find them easily while they were in civilian form. Well, it's not like I asked to walk together or anything. She just started following me! So irritating! Gritting her teeth and staring straight ahead, Tokiko urged herself to walk a little faster, and leave the other girl behind. To drag her feet, until Hikari ended up pulling ahead. Or just turn down some random corner and pretend that she was going a different way.

Each time she pictured it, though, there was a sinking in her stomach, a sadness in her eyes. I guess... it isn't so bad, when she's not trying to lecture me. She seized hold of the excuse. That's right! We're not really walking together, but so long as she keeps quiet there's no need to try and avoid her. In fact, I'm not even going to pay any attention to her at all!

... five seconds later, she glanced sideways at Hikari, then immediately looked back towards the road ahead, her cheeks reddening a little from the sheer audacity of the gesture. Was she looking at me? I don't think she was looking at me... It had been hard to tell, but the shorter girl had looked contemplative, as if she had a lot on her mind. Which made sense, given that she'd just been introduced to the world of magical girls with only the briefest of crash-courses to orient her. Good! If she's wrapped up in her own thoughts, then I don't have to worry about her annoying me or anything. All I have to do is keep quiet.

... twenty seconds later, she cleared her throat. "So..."

They'd reached the end of the secluded alleyway now, and were back on a larger street. Not too busy, but there were people walking around here and there, so she kept her voice low. "Um. I've seen better, but... you weren't bad with that hammer back there." Her hands silently clenched into fists, her fingernails digging into her palms as she struggled to find the right words. There were plenty that came to mind, like 'Hah, of course an idiot like you would use such a brutish weapon,' or 'But I was the one who actually did all the work in that fight!' Except... she'd seen enough of Hikari in the past half an hour to know that cruel words wouldn't scare her away. It'd just make her fight back, and then they'd be hissing and growling at each other all over again. Which wouldn't be a very magical girl way to act at all.

So she bit her tongue, and forced herself to keep her tone level. "Do... you do any martial arts or stuff like that?" Tokiko wasn't sure if there were any fighting styles involving hammers. Hammer-fu? Hammer Kenpo? "Or, um... sports?"

No, I'm definitely not trying to start a conversation. This is strictly information gathering!

@VitaVitaAR

---

"Even if it was hard to resist, you still..." Nico trailed off as she muttered to herself, a light blush on her cheeks from being tricked. Her being flustered didn't last incredibly long, however, as Hanako explained her current situation. Nico gasped and partially covered her mouth with one hand, shocked from the revelation.

"It Exploded?! What a dangerous accident! I honestly hope nobody got hurt from that..."

Nico breathed out a sigh and crossed her arms, staring off to the side as she regained her composure. Having something that terrifying happen to poor Hanako was worrisome. Nico felt like it might've been the work of a monster she had failed to eliminate. If that was the case, the girl had failed at her duties, even if she was still new to all of this. With the Hex Night so soon, she couldn't afford to have any slip-ups like that anymore. While Nico didn't know the story was entirely fabricated, it nonetheless made her gain some resolve to push through and do her duty no matter the cost.

"What a surprise, though... I had no idea something like that happened to you. Himeko-san, you have to help her!" she begged, looking up towards the shrine maiden with a glint in her eyes. Nico wanted to help Hanako herself, but her parents were much too strict to allow such a thing. The only thing she could do was rely on the shrine maiden to listen to Hanako's request.

"It exploded?" Himeko raised an eyebrow, "sounds rough. Hope no one got hurt."

Presumably there wasn't any major injuries incurred by any party, or else Himeko was terrible at reading the atmosphere. And at the very least, she'd probably would've overheard some gossip about it. Even in Tokyo, word got around like it was a small, tight-knit community. Given Hanako's disposition however, the shrine maiden hadn't expected her to awkwardly imply she was looking for a sleepover, on account of her own bedroom missing a pathway to it.

Himeko had no problem with helping her out, of course. The spare room was pretty much a place to store old trinkets and unfit for habitation, but her room was plenty big enough to store an additional, adorable girl for a few nights. The main issue, naturally, was that having a guest over made it substantially more difficult to do magical girl stuff, especially at night. Unless Hanako was willing to believe and comply with the idea that she had to perform secret rituals during the night that no one should witness, the shrine maiden was going to be inactive for a bit. And it wasn't the best time to be taking a holiday, unfortunately.

Still, with Nico earnestly begging the miko to take her in, Himeko figured she couldn't refuse either way. Even the most cold-hearted of villains would struggle to resist the pleas of two cute girls!
"Well, it's no issue for me," Himeko shrugged, her lips curling into another playful grin, "but you'll have to bunk with me in my room, Hanako-chan~ I hope that's okay for you?"

@Ammokkx @Raineh Daze

Admittedly, it was hard not to feel a little proud about the hammer thing. Hikari had never fought at all before, to be honest, but somehow that huge firework hammer had just felt right in her hands. Not that she knew exactly how to fight with it, but she knew she could swing it correctly in order to attack her opponent, and the result was the enemy magical girl being knocked clear through a wall. ... Would property damage just fix itself? It was like that in some magical girl series, wasn't it? Was it like that here, as well?

She couldn't help but be a little concerned, but since mass property damage wasn't being reported every day, maybe it was like that? Hikari sort of hoped so...

Before she could make a response to the compliment, however, Tokiko asked about martial arts and sports. What, was that important? There wasn't some kind of hammer sport! ... At least, Hikari didn't think so. But the point was it was a weird question! What kind of prying was this other girl planning on doing!?

"Why are you asking about that?" The tiny brunette asked, cocking her head to one side as she did, "... Hmph, whatever... I don't really do any sports, I guess, but I've never been bad at PE."

@Anza

Tokiko shrugged. "Ah, is that it? I was curious whether your strike before was influenced by some kind of life experience, but it seems it was just luck." How hard could it be to swing a hammer anyway? Tokiko could probably have done it better herself! If she had any physical strength whatsoever... Damn it, why did my Archetype have to get all the raw power?

"... and besides that," she continued, "I have a theory that the kind of person you are before you first transform can influence what kind of magical girl you become. So in your case, maybe something about you led to you being more of a brute-force type?" Her eyes drifted upwards, lost in thought. "Though I'd need more data to confirm. It's not that often I get to know another magical girl in her regular identity. Maybe if I put out a survey form..." She laughed a little at the thought. "Then again, I probably wouldn't get anywhere. Magic wouldn't be magic if you could break it down with rules and statistics, right?"

@VitaVitaAR

Hikari frowned. She'd just... swung, really. She was aiming for the girl who seemed like the biggest threat at the moment, and she wanted to hit her... and suddenly there'd been that sound like a firework as she swung the hammer, and she'd made contact. That was about it. Everything had just sort of come out of her as she wanted it, even though she'd certainly never attacked with a hammer before... As annoying as Tokiko was before, Hikari couldn't help but be a little curious about the subject, now. Did something influence the kind of powers you got as a magical girl? What even were her powers, anyway? She didn't have a clue. She'd gotten a hammer, fireworks, a really bright red and orange kimono, but aside from that she didn't really understand what any of it meant.

"... Do magical girls even know their powers when they first transform?" she asked, suddenly. She didn't like relying on Tokiko, but she was the only other magical girl around... and it was getting pretty late. "If they're supposed to, the fairy screwed up."

@Anza

"Hmmm?" Tokiko was snapped out of her train of thought by a seemingly obvious question. Oh, right, she's still new. Am I going to have to explain everything to her?

"Nah," she replied, her voice gradually becoming more comfortable as they spoke more. "Our magic responds to our thoughts and instincts, which makes it pretty intuitive once you get a grip on it, but nobody knows all their powers from the start. Sometimes a fairy will stick around and teach a newbie some of the basics, but in general it's like any other skill. You figure it out by trying it out, and get better with practice and experience."

She stopped briefly to yawn, still a little tired from the fight before. "Some of us have it easy... like Naoko. Her whole thing is just jumping around and smashing stuff, and superheating her body or whatever. And then you have girls like me, with weird or conditional powers that express themselves differently depending on the situation." She threw her hands up in exasperation. "It's been years for me, and there are still permutations I haven't gotten to try yet!" She'd gone through most cheap and ordinary machines she could find to figure out which ones could be upgraded into something useful, but endless possibilities still lay tantalizingly out of reach. What if I used my power on a fighter jet? Or a particle accelerator? Or a nuclear missile? And that wasn't even taking into account the possible combinations...

"Anyways," she continued with a frown, wondering why the heck she was giving away so much info for free, "that's why the situation is so bad for you right now. If you don't know your Concept and Archetype, then even if they're strong, you'll still be outclassed by more experienced magical girls who can properly use their powers. If I were you I'd find somewhere safe for the first night or two, and work on training yourself. Use a sparring partner, or find some weak shades you can beat up without putting yourself at risk."

She blinked suddenly. "Wait, you don't know what shades are, do you?" Then slapped one hand against her forehead. "Gaaah! Those damn fairies should just write an instruction manual!"

@VitaVitaAR

For the most part, all of that made sense. Hikari had sort of expected it was like that, that you'd learn all about how to use your powers from experience. The fairy had something to do, so obviously she felt like it was something that could work out even if she left, right? And hey, at least Tokiko was being helpful at the moment. So the more she used her powers, the more that she'd learn how they worked. Did she have special attacks with names and everything? Thinking back to the fight, the other magical girls had shown off different named attacks, hadn't they? That Naoko had used one to superheat her body or something like that.

But then... then Tokiko mentioned a few different things that instantly stood out to the short brunette. Concept? Archetype? Shades? She'd heard shades mentioned before, but the other two terms were completely new to her. At least, in this context. Damn it, just how much had that fairy left out?! It wasn't as if Hikari wasn't happy to be a magical girl, but couldn't the fairy have stuck around to explain a little bit more?!

"Shades? Concept? Archetype?" she asked, having no other choice but to rely on Tokiko at the moment. At least the taller girl had stopped being annoying...

@Anza

Tokiko couldn't help but look a little smug as Hikari kept on asking questions. "You do realize I don't have to tell you any of this, right?" Then she sighed. "Fiiiine. I guess it wasn't your fault that fairy left you in the dark like that. But you better pay me back for this, okay? Buy me lunch tomorrow... or something." She turned a little red. "Ah, whatever."

With that, she launched onward into more exposition. "So shades are the reason we have magical girls in the first place, see? They're what happens when you take all the bad juju, the negative emotions and stuff that humans produce everyday, and clump them together until they manifest a physical form." Her hands waved in the air, gesturing to accompany her words. "They're kind of like these creepy... black... things. You could think of them as monsters, I guess, even if that's not exactly right. Most of the smaller ones act kind of like ghosts, haunting a specific place and making people feel gloomy or angry, sometimes stealing and breaking things. The bigger ones act more aggressive, though. They'll start stalking humans and even attacking them, and people can get seriously hurt." She shuddered. "Thankfully they mostly only come out at night, but even so... The strong ones can be really scary, and since they're just clumps of emotions, you can't kill them even if you shoot them with a gun."

Her voice had lowered slightly as she spoke, as if she were telling a spooky story. Which, in a way, she was. Tokiko figured that a lot of the old legends, about ghouls and monsters and man-eating giant spiders and stuff, were probably a result of ancient humans interacting with shades. Maybe there were fewer magical girls back then...

"But!" She suddenly brightened up, pointing one index finger at herself and the other at Hikari. "Shades are super weak against magic! So the fairies choose pure-hearted girls to become magical girls, so we can hunt them down and get rid of them before they grow too big and dangerous. We're like guardians, protecting our home towns against the monsters in the night and keeping everyone safe and happy! Though Tokyo is a big town, so you obviously need a lot of magical girls here."

She fell quiet for a moment as they passed an older couple on the street, then went on. "I could honestly go on all day about the details, but that's not so important for Hex Night, so... Archtypes and Concepts, then." She scratched her head, trying to figure out how best to explain.

"An Archetype is simple: every magical girl has a weapon, and that weapon is their Archetype. For you that's probably your hammer, and Tsukimi had her spear... but it can be a wand, a book, a machine gun, or even a living creature." She gestured at herself with that last part. "What your Archetype is depends on your Concept, which is like the general 'theme' of your power. See, every magical girl gets a power and costume based around an idea." She waved her hands vaguely in the air. "So, uh... Naoko's Concept would probably be 'Oni,' and mine is 'Mad Scientist.' I'm not sure about you or Tsukimi, though, or Sonya... A Concept can be almost anything, but I think the requirements are that it has to be 'something specific enough to crystallize as a unique idea,' and 'something existing in the public consciousness of humans.' For instance, a fictional story could become a Concept, but only if it's been published and read by enough people."

She shrugged. "That's getting into my theories, though. The important thing is that your power is based on some kind of idea, and your weapon is something related to that idea. Archetypes can have their own abilities as well, though it's usually easiest to use them if you know what they actually are. Like your hammer, maybe..." She stopped, shaking her head. "...never mind. It's probably best if you figured that part out for yourself."

She took a long breath. Aaaaah, that was a lot! She'd probably been a bit more long-winded than she needed to, as well, since she was kind of a nerd about these things. She turned to Hikari with a slight look of concern. "I... That all made sense, right?"

@VitaVitaAR

So shades were the sort of... standard bad guys in your average magical girl series? Represented negative thoughts or emotions, had to be defeated by magic, that sort of thing. It was sort of what Hikari had expected, given magical girls existed in the first place. There had to be something for them to fight, and so shades were that thing. Hikari couldn't help but wonder if shades were the youkai of old myths... or if those were something separate entirely. Or if it was some combination of both? It was hard to say, given that magical girls were real... well, what else was true in that case?

As for Concepts and Archetypes, well... That explained a lot. So they were things that captured the minds of humanity? Real or imaginary? That did make sense as the source of power for magical girls... for now, any lingering irritation she had towards Tokiko was mostly buried.

"... If my Concept is a general idea of my powers..." Hikari looked thoughtful for a moment as she considered what she knew. Her outfit was all bright colors and fire, and she was certain that there was a firework fired from the back of her hammer. The front of the hammer had looked something like a bell... and if her concept was Fireworks, why would she have a hammer?

"... Could something like 'Festivals' be a concept?" Hikari asked.

"I suppose it could."

That wasn't Tokiko!

Eyes widening, realizing that someone else was there, Hikari immediately turned towards the source of the voice. She was greeted with a figure that was unmistakably a magical girl... and one who was somehow familiar.

She had dark purple hair, pale skin, and eyes that matched her hair. Her outfit, flowing robes, was purple as well. On her face was a sharp, almost predatory grin.

"Greetings, inferior magical girls," she continued, "My my, how bold. On a stroll even though the Hex Night has already begun... well, it's not as if you had any chance of victory anyway."

@Anza

"Wha—" Tokiko glanced around in surprise, wondering who had interrupted their conversation, and found the street deserted. Empty asphalt stretched out beneath the gloom of a darkening sky, still and silent but for a single, violet-clad figure who was unmistakably a magical girl. Tokiko had been so caught up in explaining things that she hadn't noticed they'd walked into a quiet area... And opened themselves up to being ambushed all over again!

Even so, her eyes narrowed. This doesn't make sense. How had this person been able to identify them while they were still in their civilian identities? "You..." she grumbled, finally looking the intruder in the eye, "How long have you been eavesdropping? It's rude to listen in on a private conversation without announcing yourself, you know?" All the anger that had vanished from her voice while talking to Hikari now came surging back with a vengeance. "Stalker! Creep! Detestable public nuisance! Go find someone else to harass!"

She casually unslung one strap of her bag, putting the tools inside within reach if she needed them. If this girl was who Tokiko thought she was, then things could get hairy if it came to a fight. Geez, just how many more irritations am I going to have to deal with today?

@VitaVitaAR

"Oh, please," responded the purple-haired magical girl, "It's not as if I had to try to listen in on your conversation. You were being less and less subtle as you went, and this area is hardly crowded. It was easy to pick up on your conversation."

Hikari didn't like that sharp grin. She didn't like any of this. Where did that girl come from? She seemed so familiar, too... it bothered her. All of this bothered her. But that wasn't all. Something about this magical girl... she just radiated danger. As if every instinct in Hikari's body was fighting to try and make her run. But Hikari wasn't that kind of person. She wasn't an idiot that panicked just because she met someone who seemed like they might be strong. She wasn't just going to run off!

"Who are you!?" she snapped.

"Oh? A trash-tier magical girl like you should really be more polite," responded the purple-haired girl, cocking her head to the side as she did, "Who knows what could happen to you if you don't learn to hold your tongue... but of course, there's not a single magical girl who can be called anything but junk when compared to me."

Hikari narrowed her eyes. She hated everything about the girl's attitude.

"I am Magical Empress Kagami, and the both of you have no hope. Be it now, or later, even if you defeat every other opponent you face, you will never, ever defeat me."

@Anza

"Magical Empress?" Tokiko covered her mouth with one hand, stifling a laugh. "Wow, okay. I get wanting to brag about your strength, but isn't that a bit much? Maybe 'arrogance' is your Concept?" She raised an eyebrow. "No, wait, wait— how about 'crippling insecurity?' Of course someone with a Concept like that would need to puff herself up with every other word!"

This 'magical empress' was pissing Tokiko off enough that a part of her wanted to start a fight there and then, but she held herself back. For all her overblown posturing, Kagami wasn't weak. Tokiko had heard bits and pieces about her from other magical girls both on the chatroom and offline, and what little she knew was enough to be sure that this was an opponent leagues above the pair she'd fought earlier. Maybe Tokiko could take her— raw power wasn't everything, after all —but it wouldn't be easy, and even if she won she'd be left weakened enough that another magical girl might show up to pick her off. It's too risky to go all-out so early in the Hex Night... Besides, I don't want to have to use 'that' until the last possible moment.

And then there was Hikari. Dumb, irritating, and totally-not-cute (okay maybe a little cute) Hikari. Given how she'd behaved earlier, there was a high chance she'd try to help if Tokiko took on Kagami, and in a battle of that level there was no way a newbie magical girl would avoid getting hurt. And... Fine, I'll admit it: I don't want her to get hurt! I- I mean, it'd be a waste if she got taken out now, after all that time I spent explaining things, right? Plus she owes me a free lunch!

So she bit down on her pride and rage, and turned away. "Come on, Hikari. If she's not going to attack us... we should just leave." Then, under her breath, "I'll beat her up some other time, when I'm ready."

@VitaVitaAR

“My own world?” She shook her head. “My nightmare.”

Sonya tightened the grip on her weapon.

“Have it your way.”

They refused her offer of surrender so anything that happened would be on them. She triggered Apollyon, letting loose with a beam of destruction. She aimed low, cutting across the roof and front wall, collapsing the structure beneath them. She walked to the edge of her own rooftop and aimed down at the debris while the dust settled.

@VitaVitaAR

"Um, no, nobody's hurt, just... the floor, the floor's hurt..." Hanako said, taking a deep breath and quite amazed that such a lie had fooled anyone. Washing machines didn't typically explode, and it made no sense that she might end up on her own without the rest of her family. The pale girl wasn't an adult, after all, and her general appearance didn't inspire confidence that she was exactly adept at looking after herself. Though she felt she made a pretty good job of it.

"Sh-Sharing's fine! I've shared rooms before!" she squeaked. She had to get the room now, before it was taken back, even if it meant having to sneak out of a shrine maiden's bedroom in the dead of night. That was still somewhere to sleep, and it definitely wasn't like she had any reason to be breaking out herself to give Hanako time to run off without being spotted--or justifying it as "I was just trying to find you". And that would be too clingy.

"Ah... do you live at the shrine or...?"

@RolePlayerRoxas@Ammokkx

---

@A Lowly Wretch

At Sophia's mention of conflict, Fuyuko noticed even Noriko's good cheer falter for a moment. Of course, the wolf girl quickly brightened back up. "Well, at least it's all for a good cause," she chirped. "Who knows, maybe after this there'll be no shades around for months! And from what I heard, anyone who takes part is meant to make sure nobody gets roughed up too much."

Fuyuko gave a slight nod and smile. "I suppose that's one way to think about it," she replied, then swept her gaze over the darkening city once more. She thought back to the magical girl shows she'd watched when she was younger, tales of hope, friendship, triumph of good over evil. Maybe the monsters would be driven back into the shadows just like in anime - at a heavy price. Dashed dreams. Friends turned enemies. Still, she had no choice but to take this chance.

Don't let on too much, she told herself before speaking again, a melancholy undertone to her voice. "You've got to wonder, though, what things will be like for magical girls around here after this."