Wind rushed through your hair, that familiar feeling of weightlessness as you fell. A normal person would have died right then and there, but you weren't a normal person. And a normal person certainly wouldn't be fighting that.

A huge hulking shadow reared itself from the rubbles of the building, the tower that once stood tall over this city. Was it burning before?

There were others here, people you've met, people you were familiar with, people who called themselves the protectors of the city like you.

Magical Girls, as the modern lexicon labeled them. And a few Magical Boys as well. Between all of you, you shouldn't be afraid of any monster. But this...

The monster's mouth opened, letting out an explosive roar, and just for an instant, you saw its muscles flex, before you felt your ribs shatter.





-7.00am 12th December 2016-

It was a beautiful morning.

Tokyo never was a city that dealt in heavy snow fall, but today it seemed there was a light cover of white on everything. Busy even this early in the morning, the city seemed normal as it ever was. Except for the frozen bay, and one ominous gigantic red torii gate jutting out of it, that was.

Indeed it was hard for anyone to not notice it, especially with live broadcast on all tv channels and even some radio channels. Anyone who had awoken could see the gate, pulsing in pregnant anticipation, the very air that seemed to stretch within it. In one sudden shudder, the dreaded moment happened; what could only be called youkais started to spill out of the gate.

The 100 youkai march had begun, to spell doom upon the city.

But surely that was not to happen?

---

Had it not been for the strange appearance of the gate on the frozen bay, the magical girl of the sea would probably be enjoying what snow there was on her way to work. Alas, it would seem fate had other plans for. Atheni texted her supervisor just a bit earlier in the morning, claiming she was feeling ill from the sudden cold weather. Somehow, it didn't seem like the man in charge took her seriously, which was strange because she made sure to include mistakes like she was too sick to even type on her phone.

Oh well, it doesn't matter, right? This gate needed to be investigated. It was located close to a territory she remember was unprotected by any specific person. Will there be others looking into this strange appearance? That would be fun. If anything bad happens, it's her duty to make sure all is good and safe. For after all, she is the God of the Seas' incarnation! Even overlapping on another territory, the bay should be under her protection, for her command over water should make her the ruler of any bodies of water.

Atheni's home wasn't too far from the river, which was a fortunate blessing considering how much she relied on it for transport. Even frozen, it still remains water. Eyes would recognize the magical girl standing next to the river by her out-of-season beach-themed outfit. Early risers would cheer for her, some would try to call out to her, but all they would receive would be the wave of a hand before she was seen zooming across the surface of the river. She was standing on a thick platform of ice, propelled by a jet of water goin in the opposite direction.

It did not take long for the inheritor of Poseidon's powers to find herself at the bay. Already, she could see monstrous entities pouring out of the gate, some were already this far as traveling on the frozen bay to go to other territories. She'd pick up the stragglers at least.

Attention undivided to the youkai in front of her, Atheni pushed her platform to reach maximum speed. Trident in both ends, she basically bisected the monster when she rammed into it at full speed. It knocked her off the platform, but she was quick to brace herself by planting her golden weapon into the ice.

Enraged, another youkai came charging at her. Silhouette of a black lion with bat wings, it jumped high and tried to crash into Atheni while she was recovering. The magical girl had already planned on her defenses for this one. A thick layer of ice erupted from the bay to form a wall between her and her attacker. Cracks formed into the wall from the heavy impact of the beast. Spikes erupted from the wall of to thoroughly impale the monster as Atheni slammed the butt of her trident into the wall.

The third straggler on her way was easy picking. As soon as she saw it, she rose a hand towards it. People would take she's been shooting laser beams, but in reality the water around her shot into extremely high-pressurized streams to pierced the monster in various places. One last stream would have decapitated the monster entirely.

That took care of a few stragglers. Three down, way more to go. Let's see if she can get close enough to the gate to crash this whole party into the sea floor. Should be no small feat, but definitely something that could be done to stop this.

Atheni continued her march, heralding the fury of Poseidon with a vast array of ice sheets and water streams floating around her.

♫𝄞 𝄪 Amélie Renard 𝄪 𝄞♫

Somewhere on one of Taito's ward building stood Amélie, her gaze turned towards the giant Tori Gate that had appeared on the waters. The building in question was a theatre which had housed Amélie's latest performance, which unfortunately was cut short between two pieces when she received bad news and had to leave in emergency. The popular piano player Miss Renard was well known, and so was the Magical protector of the ward but the young prodigy never intended to have both identities become one and the same. More so out of convenience than fear. Fame...was not something Amélie desired. Her musical career and dream led her to own some of it, but it was a byproduct of her chosen passion - not something she set out to obtain.

Already changed into her Magical counterpart, Amélie slowly let herself fall forward from the building and began running down the wall until, in a long and graceful jump, she propelled herself to the next rooftop. Each of her steps was met with some ripple effect that also produced different musical notes that, somehow, fitted with one another into short but precise melodies. While she seemed to be able to launch herself great distances, when compared to a regular human, she still sometimes stepped on seemingly thin air. On these occasion, the ripple effect still appeared as some sort of platform, allowing her to gracefully skip through the air like a ballerina.

It was not long before she had reached the area around the bay. As soon as she landed on a nearby rooftop, Amélie paused. Down on the water's edge she spotted one of her 'peers', so to speak. She seemed under attack, be plenty able to handle herself. Surely, more were on their ways. More interestingly, some Monsters seemed to have been faster than the rest and already passed the front liner and were reaching the streets.



Down below, two Yokai found preys. They bore green, thick skin and messy hair as well as a shell on their back; Kappas. They had found human preys in the form of two children, whom they were now dragging towards the water where a third Kappa was trying to break the ice, or find an entry, to quite possibly drown their victims. A quick fall and a flip later, and two of the Kappas would look behind them as their companion could be heard letting out a loud screeching sound and fall the the ground. Or rather, it's headless body did.

Landing, slashing, body to the ground and, finally, head to the ground~ All of these produced a musical note that ended in a crescendo when the head finished rolling near the two others, Amélie standing between them and the two children.

The two monsters charged. Lunge, trust, jump, spin, trust, slash - the monsters died to some magical piano melody as their blood was wiped from Amélie's ebony blade, who was standing straight, regal. The woman turned to the two children, her long, white hair following her movement perfectly. "You are safe now. Take care and leave as far as you can for now, please."

There was glory and fame to be had in being a magical girl, but there was also lives to save. Down here, in this remote street far away from cameras and views, Amélie had long since made her choice.

There was a suddenly an explosion of black smoke along an unoccupied street. A black and purple pillar of shadows rose from the clearing smoke. The pillar had risen far above the surrounding buildings before its form extended a long flight of steps to the street, and a slightly more purple carpet of shadows materialized and rolled down the steps. With the remaining smoke clearing around where the steps stopped at, a figure emerged already taking the first step onto the stairs. A well dressed suit, gold trimmed, with armored pauldrons and a ring on one of his gloved hands.

Masashi Yamada, the Fortunate Shadow, the self proclaimed prince of Arakawa. He had finally appeared on the scene, always one for his dramatic entrances. Due to the height of the stairs, he had them move and shuffle like an escalator to bring him to the top, stopping once he had reached the step below the top of his pillar. With a snap of his fingers and a stream of shadows from his ring, a throne formed itself out from the pillar's floor. Masashi had spent a great deal of practice to simulate a proper, comfortable seat made from his shadows. His real furniture at home were still more comfortable, but his current constructions was satisfactory nonetheless. Before he let himself sit, however, he turned to face the steps, to face the frozen bay and the gate of monsters.

"Hmph! It seems it was a waste to come here after all! An easy task such as this is better suited for my personal servant!" Masashi explained with dramatic flair. He was always one to play character whenever he was 'on the job.' Always to try and put on a show. The height of his throne left room for long ranged support should that somehow be required, though he had no intention of actually getting his hands dirty if he could help it, but more importantly it was to ensure a bubble of personal space, a luxury that was rare when dealing with her.

He raised his right towards the sky, facing the same direction upward as he began to shout.
"I beseech the powers of lord Hades! From the deepest depths of the underworld, the infernal pits of Tartarus! Again I call upon a monster worthy to serve under my power! Come fourth, the Witch of Shadows, the Weaver of Night! Dispatch of these pests!" He chanted loudly, sounding like some kind of spell. His ring had glowed with black light while he had spoke. It something he had rehearsed and practiced unlike most of his abilities. In reality, the words had no purpose in the spell, it was just to draw attention to himself and to buy time.

When he finished, the ring streamed a connection of shadows to an alleyway near where the steps he had summoned began. A predetermined spot he had planned with an accomplice. Another burst of smoke erupted through the streets from the desired point, this one lasting a bit longer to allow 'his servant' to get into position. The First few steps of the stairs had morphed completely within the smoke-formed shadows. Becoming something closer to a stage with steps on all three sides to the street. An archway standing at the center where the rug extended and continued to roll down the steps and off into the street to adjust the new structure. Two braziers simulating shadow-flames stood at either end of the front of this stage as the smoke started to clear. Before it fully cleared up, far above, Masashi had already taken his seat upon the throne with a devilish smirk.

---

Of all the times they had to bother her. Can't they just show up between work breaks at 12 to 1 pm, or after work at 6pm?

The roar of the motorcycle drowned the normal Tokyo noise as she sped down the road. Ryofu ate the bun in one hand angrily, her golden hair streaked with red and green streaming in the wind. She looked, for lack of other words, like a fresh corpse came to life, with stiches, scars and bandages all over her body, and the pallid colour of her skin. Perhaps a terrifying sight for some, had the road revenant rider not also been known as the Red Rider of Ginza.

"Get your ass in the fight, Shadow Boy!"

With a honk of the horn, and a swerve, the bike turned sharply, the sheer speeds kicking up snow straight at Masahi.

She could see there was already a few of them already fighting off the monsters streaming in from that gate, though even more still came in, threatening to overwhelm them by sheer numbers alone.

Ryofu wasn't as lucky as the others in the youkais that attacked them. Several tengus immediately swooped down upon her, blades swinging wildly. It was said that tengus were great martial artists, and had swordsmanship beyond the common man. Of course, Ryofu wasn't a common man.

Her weight shifted as the bike did a violent somersault, catching the blades on its undercarriage. If they had any thoughts of retreating out of the range of her attacks by flying away, it was swiftly cut short by the chains materializing from several magical circles around her, wrapping around their bodies like snakes.

"Sky Piercer!"

The bike slammed back onto the ground as she jumped upwards, pulling the chains towards her. There was an audible whirring noise as her arms manifested glowing blue lines, strengthening her body, before she slammed the bat into the chained up tengus. Each of them exploded violently into the parade of youkais, dotting the areas near the gate.

"Shit, gonna have to explode the gate or something! They're coming out of it faster!"

Pulling herself onto her still running bike with a chain, she jumped over the railings and into the frozen bay itself, one hand on her bat.

Jasmine Kotono

The sight of a girl sprinting at top speed with a piece of toast in her mouth would be a typical sight, if not for the fact that this was Jasmine Kotono, a punk witch magical girl with a bandolier full of hot sauce and a massive cleaver slung over her right shoulder.

Also, the toast was on fire.

Jasmine produced a bottle and poured a line of flaming red sauce along the edge of her cleaver as she dashed out onto the ice. Why did monsters have to attack so early in the morning? Hell if she knew. The lack of caffeine was pissing her off, but she was generally pissed off whenever she happened to be in a fight anyways. She could grab coffee after, though. Now, it was time for breakfast.

The witch inhaled her toast as she spotted her prey, which happened to be one of those weird hopping umbrella things. It’d do. Feeling an occult overflow of spice and the magical energy that fueled her powers, she dashed towards the yokai and sliced it in half before it had any chance to fight back. She reached out and grabbed the burning top half of the remains before it could hit the floor and melt a hole in the ice, chowing down on charred paper that somehow tasted like spicy heaven. Actually, she could probably take this one with-

Her thoughts were interrupted as she took a club to the back, tumbling to the ground as she spotted an oni looming overhead. Any sense of dread was immediately overcome by anger as she noticed she was no longer holding her meal.

“I was eating that, you piece of shit!” Jasmine roared, reaching for a bottle and spraying a burst of hellfire at the oni. She didn’t even bother to watch it die as she reached for her new half-eaten umbrella, rolling around on the ice. She gobbled down the less weird-looking parts for a few moments before stopping to stare at the gate. Her peers could probably take care of the hordes, but she was eager to burn that thing down and go home.

She broke into a sprint again, dodging, slicing, and burning her way through ever-increasing masses of yokai until she found herself surrounded. She made a rough estimate of their numbers. It was enough. She beckoned them closer before withdrawing a fresh bottle of sauce. They got ready to pounce…

And Jasmine leapt.

”Burn in hell!”

She tossed the bottle to the ground.



A massive burst of flame erupted behind her as she hit the ground, red hot sauce burning its way through both the yokai and the ice they stood on, seawater boiling as it engulfed fire that it could not smother. There were no survivors... and no surviving snacks either, to Jasmine's annoyance.

Well, that oughta thin ‘em out a bit, at least… Time to do that to the gate.

The clouds themselves would begin to part as laughter filled the sky. An antique ship pulled from the pages of history would make its descent from the heavens above, its golden-trimmed hull covered with a light frosting of snow. At the quarterdeck stood a young man in a dazzling officer's outfit, his hands confidently resting on his hips as he laughed heartily at the yokai below. Grand Admiral "J," as he was known to the general populace, or Chihaya Junnosuke to his true fans, has entered the battle fashionably late and with a wide grin on his face!

"Sorry for taking my time, ladies and gent! Most of my morning is dedicated to 'me time.'" Jun said, with a grin. Of course, he is referring mainly to the time between 6:30 - 7:00 AM, where he would stare at himself in the mirror to ensure there were no blemishes on his perfect face. Only true fans would know this, it's on his Wiki page. As his ship, the Argo, continued to make his descent, the ship's bow began to glow faintly.

"The monsters seem to be originating from the gate. Primary target identified." A voice spoke to Jun with a neutral tone from the ship, its voice androgynous. "Yup, could see that from a mile a way." Jun replied, his brow furrowed. "Calculating the best path towards primary target."

As the Argo's systems scanned through the hordes of monsters, Jun watched as the other magical children of Tokyo fought their way through the hordes of yokai, waves of fire and ice crashing through the frozen riverbank! It also looks like someone has... started their own concert in the middle of all this? Either way, it seems that most of Tokyo's eyes were on the ground, rather than the skies. The consequences of being late. Jun already knew just how to make up for all that lost time.

"Optimal path calculated. Proceed to-"

"Don't care, didn't ask!"

Jun grasped at the ship's wheel in front of him, spinning it dramatically as the ship made its nosedive towards the closest, biggest yokai in the horde; a giant hungry skeleton! Jun would cackle heroically as his ship's prow into the poor Gashadokuro, earning him another perfect strike on his bowling record before crashing into vast assortments of possessed furniture. Spinning the wheel into the opposite direction, the Argo would soon come to a screeching halt tearing through bits of the frozen bay and crushing any unfortunate yokai in its wake.

"Hop on, everyone! It's time to bring the fight to them!" Jun shouted to the magical children on the ground, giving a valorous salute to them all. Cue the title card.

Everything she needed for school was packed. Her uniform was clean and wrinkle-free. It was the start of a new week, which was when Umiko felt the most refreshed. The last thing she tended to do before heading out and trying to arrive early was check the television for any news that needed her attention. Most days there were mentions of small events like localized monster invasions that another "magical children" could handle in their ward, or single beasts that she could face off against and defeat before her day really got started.

Right, Umiko was a magical girl tasked with protecting the city.

Reports state that the torii materialized earlier this morning. As of yet nothing else has happen— wait a moment. Back to our live feed—

The picture swapped from the anchor commentating over a photo of the gate to a slightly wobbly video of it. Even in the video it was clear to see that the structure was pulsing with magical energy. Before the feed got to show the torrent of yōkai Umiko was out the door of her apartment, a brilliant shining light masking her transformation before she leapt up to the rooftop, and from building to building towards the bay.

She hadn't expected to be the first on the scene. There were other magical people who were stationed far closer to the bay, after all. Plus with this kind of attack, it was a given that many of them would make their way here. However, it looked like she'd lost some time on her way cleaning up the few flying monsters that had snuck by and tried making a move into the city proper. So she'd arrived a little later than she would have liked to - and after all of her neighbors, which was very annoying. Still, Umiko wasn't one to sulk for long (in public). She burst onto the scene from among the buildings lining the bay. There were a couple of magical people that hadn't yet advanced onto the ice. Umiko was quick to give her opinion out to those she saw, as was normal for the magical children that had worked alongside or adjacent to her before. That zombie delinquent rode by in a blaze, and though Umiko internally cringed at her vulgar language she did agree with the words themselves.

"Make yourself useful and help protect the civilians," she told the shadow user. With her head held high and her magical uniform, Umiko had the appearance of a general all but commanding the young man, though experience told her that he was loathe to do what he was told. Umiko glanced at the magical musician and gave her an approving nod and a smile.

Then she was off again, dashing onto the ice and thinking of her options while she moved forward following the wake of some of the others. Would her magic affect the torii? If she was able to sink it through the ice and into the bay, then what? She had to assume yōkai would still spill out of it, though hopefully the water would slow them significantly. The gate would most likely not be destroyed just by being submerged, so she would have to work on that with a few of the others. She noted that the water using... Calypso, was it? Was already on the scene.

Umiko's advance was slowed by one of her neighbors, the punk girl, melting the ice in her path. She jumped over the newly opened patch in the ice and was, again, slowed by another neighbor - this one sliding his huge ship into the area. Umiko nearly collided with it, pivoting just before she crashed to land on it's side and push off with her feet, jumping up onto the deck. The look she gave Jun was far from amused, but since he was offering...

"I'm not sure this ship will be swifter than going on foot," she greeted him with, "but we should hurry up regardless, we don't want this to go on for too long!" For multiple reasons, but the most pressing being she didn't want to suffer a tardy mark for being late to class.

Kotone's phone rumbled. And rumbled. And fell off of her table. That was finally when she couldn't ignore it further. She grumbled and crawled out of her futon, cursing the cold air of her dorm, and unlocked her phone.

It was a string of texts and even a missed call from a friend. One that she told to keep her updated on the happenings of magical girls, becuase Kotone was, "like, such a fan!" Of course, that was merely a cover; Kotone just needed to figure out the others in case they may have ever needed to work together. She quickly pieced together the story. Something big was happening. Big enough that it may be a good time to try and debut... Kotone gulped. She had mainly kept things in the night because she was still coming to terms with her new situation. She shouldn't go out in the broad daylight.

...But she had to. What kind of magical girl would refuse to go after something like this? Kotone ruffled her hair in annoyance. "Why couldn't I have gotten a role that wasn't so sickeningly dutiful?!" She complained aloud. It was already too late. She'd not be able to go back to sleep, or focus on anything else if she knew people could be in danger.

Saving people was what magical girls did.

Standing up, Kotone quickly peered out of her window. The street was clear, for now. She needed to get to the bay quickly, and she'd be a lot faster if she was transformed. She inhaled deeply, retrieving her bow. It was time.

"Hot heat heart~!" She called aloud. It was the activation phrase for her magical transformation. After all, every magical girl had one. She figured this one was fitting enough, for her "barely passing English class" vocabulary. She hoped she never had to do it in public.

Her bow seemed to unfurl, flickering and waving like fire. It spread from her hand to her arm, to across her shoulders. seemingly dousing her entire body in a mysterious white flame. The flame danced around her limbs, giving way to reveal her hands first, then her wrists clad in ornamental strips of cloth, and eventually her arms. The flame dulled from a bright white to a deep red as it reached her body, calming to a low smolder, and eventually solidifying into a dress. Peaking out from the flame like burnt coals were Kotone's cat ears and tail; the sleeves and skirt of her dress were cut to look like tongues of flame, dancing slightly with every movement. And in that instant, she became... Well, she didn't have a magical girl name yet. She really needed to think of one.

Kotone exhaled sharply, curling her hands into a fist as she watched her magical claws fade in and out of existence. It was always a little embarrassing to transform. She had tweaked the costume to have less overdone frills, and be slightly more grown up, but it was still a work in progress. She was just glad that her hair was shorter and she overall looked different enough while transformed to probably avoid suspicion. Though she wondered what would happen to her transformed version's hair if she bleached her hair...

That could wait. She had to get to the source of the disturbance. She bolstered her limbs with magical energy, and leaped out the window without a second thought.

~~

Kotone's claws dug into the roof of a building just along the outskirts of the incident. She was close enough to jump into the fray now; but she had to take stock. There were already... way more out there than she expected. She wasn't the closest to the incident, but she was still amazed how many magical girls (magical people?) showed up already. Maybe things would turn out fine after all? She didn't want to step on any toes, but this was also her time to let everyone know that she was here to help too.

A scream broke out from below, on the street level. Entrances could wait. A straggler must have made it to the streets. Kotone bounded downwards, deftly jumping to street level. A group of oni had began tearing at a shop's door, most likely to get to the people inside. Kotone had to get their attention off of the innocents.

"Stop! In the name of justice!" Kotone wasn't actual sure if she was supposed to be fighting for love, or justice, or some other ideal, but as of right now justice seemed like the right thing. If she was saving her brothers, maybe that would be love. Random people got justice. "I will not allow you to hurt any others!" Kotone didn't actually bother getting a response to her challenge. They were beasts, after all, that would see no reason. The natural enemy of a magical girl. Taking a single step, she launched herself at the pack, her magical claws wide and ready to strike.

Two of them had abandoned their clubs to begin prying at the metal shutters; she would take out the ones that were still armed first. Her claws took one out before it could even react; cut right through the chest, it quickly dropped. The others reeled, baring their tusk-like fangs at her. Kotone's own fangs flashed as she gave them a look of disgust. The three remaining ones began to move to surround her; she wouldn't allow that.

She grunted with exertion as she heaved the impaled body of her first oni victim at one. It bowled its target over, its club clattering on the ground. The remaining two charged her from two different angles, trying to grapple her. She crouched down and bounded into the air, high enough that the two missed her entirely. As they stumbled from their missed maneuver, she came back down, landing on them both, claws first.

The one she had knocked down had scrambled back up and managed to scramble to retrieve its club. Pulling her claws from the two freshly dispatched oni, she readied for its attack. It directly charged her, the club swung overhand to come down on her. Apparently, it didn't have a sense of self-preservation.

Kotone blocked the swing with ease, her claws stopping the club, then curling around it, with crackling fire sparking around it, before the club shattered into smoldering pieces. The oni turned, maybe to run, maybe to retrieve another club, but Kotone was too quick. Her claws cut the monster in two before it could get away.

Kotone grimaced as she flicked her wrist, with a tiny shower of oni blood spraying from her arms. It was messy work, using claws, though she did find them effective. Her arms were still covered, and there was enough of a spray to stain the various parts of her dress that weren't red already. She was just glad that she didn't have to use her fangs for that fight. She wiped her face. These people were safe, but who knows what other stragglers would be doing right now. "Stay indoors until this is all sorted out!" She shouted to the people, before quickly dashing to help others.

RIM MIKAGURA

---

The driver turned the radio up, rousing the strawberry blonde passenger from an unpleasant dream.

“More o’ that magic nonsense, eh? On the…” The driver – Ta…Tamura? Murata? – dug at his ear with a pinkie. “On the river! Say, ain’t that too close to the airport?”

Despite the biting cold this morning, Rim had his window cracked slightly open, the wind helping to wake him up a little more. Tamu- Murata, like many in his line of work, reeked of smoke, and while today’s job wouldn’t have had him turning down a pack or two, Rim wasn’t looking to get any ambient scent into the fabric of his suit. His borrowed suit. A little frostbite was a worthy sacrifice to avoid the earful Grandfather would lay into him otherwise.

“I dunno,” he said, peering out at the skyline as the car sped along the highway. No magical children on the horizon yet. “Maybe Kim will appreciate the welcoming party.”

“Yeah, yeahh, nothing says Tokyo like a— shit!”

A resounding ‘BOOM!’ shook the car, sending it fishtailing into the roadside barrier. Shattered glass rained on Rim, only marginally blocked by the airbags that shoved a rough grunt from him. Then a monstrous laugh. No, not a laugh, more like… chittering. Rim finally opened his eyes to see a giant lantern bouncing on the car’s crushed hood. A cartoonishly large tongue flailed from it, bordered by enormous teeth.

“Shit!” Tamura screamed again, floundering his way out the door. Rim moved to do the same but unfortunately for him, the lantern must have sensed a good challenge. The tongue wrapped around his arm and yanked him out for a bite. Rim cried out too, and it was only in the nick of time that its teeth, underlit by a blue glow, could find no purchase. Letting out a confused noise, it bit down once more and, again, failed to pierce flesh. Rim took this chance to plant a fist into its face and send it spiraling down the road.

“What the… fuck,” Rim muttered. Blue light shone gently from between the ravaged cuts on his sleeve. The sleeve of the suit that he’d borrowed. Motherfucker. So much for avoiding that earful. A glance in the crooked rearview showed Tamura vaulting off the road, out of eyeshot, allowing Rim to kick the door off its hinges and step out with no issues. Of all the places for a monster to appear…

Another yelp escaped him as a second lantern latched on from behind, tearing his outfit up even more. He fell onto the freezing ground, grabbing at his back, dread clutching his heart as the first lantern locked eyes with him. That terrifying chittering filled his ears once more, and he began to grasp the situation he was in. His own human abilities wouldn’t save him for long.

He was gonna die unless…

He had no choice but to…

…

Ugh, and it was so cold too!

“God…dammit!” he grunted, a plumb bob materializing in his hand, a glowing card flashing into reality below it, before gold overtook blue in an eruption of light.

* ~ S F A V I L L A ~ *

It felt just like the first time, as if every atom of his being was torn apart and reconstructed, every miniscule prick of light in the universe converging into the magical being that was Rim Mikagura. The two lanterns were thrown by the blast that radiated from his transformation.

Where he was previously pinned, he now stood steadfast, naginata in hand and cloth floating gently. Icy wind swirled around him but there were no goosebumps along his exposed skin. The cold was an ambient, almost absent factor. His system was now surging with a vitality he could have never achieved before this. The adrenaline from a monster attack certainly wasn’t a drawback either. With a vengeful roar, Rim lunged at the two paper beasts, taking each of them out with a succinct series of slashes. No time to gloat however, as more monstrous sounds echoed down the road. Many more.

“No,” he said, looking around desperately and deciding to book it for now. Tamura mentioned a river, right? Time to get outta here. “Nope.”

Rim sprinted, bounding over storefronts with inhuman strength. Monster extermination was a magical girl’s job. There seemed to be an approximate fuckton in the area so where the hell was the cavalry—

"Hop on, everyone! It's time to bring the fight to them!"

That worked. The ship on the water was instantly recognizable. With the strength lent to him by his patron, Rim took a running leap. He tumbled onto the deck with a roll, immediately getting back to his feet and gauging the rest of the ship’s occupants. Chiyoda, male, late high school to early university age. Bunkyo, female… high school age.

…Boy, was it windier here than usual? It felt windier. Maybe it was the ship’s momentum that was really drawing his attention to the… swinging.

Clearing his throat and tearing his eyes from the two other magical people on the deck, Rim grabbed his cloth and methodically wrapped it around his crotch into what best resembled a sumo wrestler’s mawashi. Now what? What should he say? What could he possibly say here?

“Ah…” he cleared his throat again, “ 'scuse. Excuse me.”

There was something particularly miserable about waking up while the sun was hardly in the sky, a mind-numbing misery that made every step of hers feel just a little bit more shaky. Her breath escaped in cold puffs as she viewed Koto from atop a crest on the road, splitting apart her pork bun and chewing on it thoughtfully. The juicy meat and tender dough did a bit more to wake her up. At least she wouldn’t be heading to the scene empty-stomached. Others had already arrived upon the ice-glazed waters, slaying youkai by the dozens. Masashi was showboating as always, Jun was showing his boat, and the other magical girls were doing actual work. What did Haniwa call this again? The 100 Demon Parade? From her viewpoint, it was definitely more than a hundred, and definitely enough trouble to demand the attention of all magical girls in Tokyo.

Zen sighed. Even if her magical nature allowed her to live out her everyday life without any problems on only six hours of sleep a night, this certainly wasn’t doing her height any favours. All just belly-aching though. She finished the rest of her pork bun, already lukewarm from December’s cold, and turned. Parked on the side was a police vehicle, the speed redundant for a magical girl but the authority it granted very relevant. Officer Nadeshiko sat behind the wheel, the sharply-dressed woman enjoying a hot coffee within the confines of her vehicle. When eye contact was made though, the woman flashed Zen an ‘ok’ sign.

Preparations ready then. Time to meguca.

Twenty-seven beads rattled in the morning air as Zen brought her hands together in consternation.

“Sunrise burn bright! True Heart Zenshin!”

…



…

In the parking lot of a Lawson’s, a rudimentary field hospital was set up, large white tents blocking off parking spaces while a quartet of ambulances rumbled, stocked up with supplies and personnel. Police sergeants jabbered on their radios, coordinating with officers on the streets to assist in evacuations around Koto, clearing civilians out of the incursion area as the mahou shoujos did their work. With the flood of more than a hundred youkai and Chiyoda’s Artillery Guardian having passed away a year ago, there were bound to be monsters that slip past the net of magical massacre. The ship in the sky had no cannons after all, while the spice witch’s hot sauce bottles only came in reasonably sized containers.

Which was why Tokyo’s police had gotten so much better with search-and-rescue and evacuations over the last three years. Which was why when large incidents like this came up, Zen helmed the backline, rather than join the vanguard.

A lab coat cloaked her shoulders, and a sarashi masked the light of her golden heart as the flame-haired maiden strode past the men and women, the fabric of her over-long hakama trailing her movements. Despite the winter chill, a pleasant warmth emanated from her pale skin, and her thoughts, guided by mystical enlightenment, remained in-step with her purposeful stride. Nadeshiko followed behind, her main contact and assistant within the force, ready to explain to anyone else who this child was.

It’d been some time since Zen had begun her activities though. Explanations now on the power of her healing fist were unnecessary, and the authorities stepped aside as she seized the radio connected to Koto district’s public address system. She took a breath, organized her words, and spoke clearly, the soothing voice of a juvenile Arhat drifting through the districts.

“Good morning, citizens of Koto and mahou shoujos. This is Shine Heart speaking. We’ve established an aid station at the Lawson’s beside Shinonome Station. If any mahou shoujo sees someone injured, please deliver them to the closest officer or to this station directly. Grand Admiral J, you should see a darkly-dressed magical girl throwing bottles of sauce down on the ice. If you could pick her up, that would be lovely, as her bombardments should compliment your flight. Red Rider, please be on a look out for the Turbo Granny, as you’re the only one who’d be able to match her speed if she arrives. And Masashi, you’re look great today out there! I’ll trust you to make sure that no other yokai leaves the ice and enters the streets.”

She let out a breath. She could do with another pork bun, but inbound sirens wailed, bringing the first patients for the day.

“That’s all, comrades. Let’s have a good one and be done before school starts!”

Poor Midori had been late to the party. It wasn't necessarily her fault, after all- she hadn't even dealt with so much as a pickpocket on patrol, and now she was getting thrown into this? Anybody would be nervous as all hell if their first action was full-blown magical war.

Hey, Nut? I know you aren't exactly the most talkative of goddesses, but if you want to offer me some pointers, now's the time! As usual, however, there was no response. With a sigh, Midori was left to fight it out on her own.

A wave of small youkai came charging towards her, and the newbie magical girl swallowed her fear and stared them down. "Starlight Shot!" A glowing ball of white light erupted from her hands, Dragonball Z- style and wiped out a fair few of them, but there were still many more coming. Backing up down the street to buy herself some distance, she fired off a few more shots, picking off the closest targets. Honestly, I'm doing better than I thought I would at this point in time.

---

A white phantom passed through overcast skies, hardly more noticeable than the flakes of snow lazily drifting to the earth. Between the magical girls on the ground and the youkai spilling out of the gate, Yua didn't have to bother trying to be discrete about her movements. Eyes on the ground. Eyes on the monsters. Eyes on the heroes. She hardly even had to worry about youkai getting in her path.

The few still interested in trying to attack her weren't significant enough to give a second thought after their dispatch.

Soundlessly, the woman touched down on the stage created by one of her contractees, a sense of power still nestled in her veins. As usual, his specificity left much to be desired. For all the additional strength her aspect magic had given her to complete the appointed task, Yua hadn't been given any boons in speed to hasten her approach--not that she'd been in a rush to begin with. Taking the spotlight would have been easy, but being reckless about it would rob her of the flame she'd been stoking since Masashi's first contract.

That, and she wasn't exactly fond of the little song and dance she'd rehearsed for the man's sake.

The instant she stepped into the darkness, it clung to her like ink. Shadows stained her black, almost suffocating in their insistence to recreate the devilish magical girl in a new image. Around her wrists, her arms, over all the pristine clothing that could have blended in with the fresh-fallen snow. It was like being trodden on. Muddied. Drowned.

Compared to the black ink she grew accustomed to in her near-decade of service, it was stifling.

Delicate digits swept over a still-shapeless mass of shadows, spreading it with two strokes into a thin veil hung from the forward curve of her horns. The world in her view became tinted with a layer of misplaced night. Suffocating. Stifling. It was a lot of work for a filthy little desire.

Yua fixed her posture, rising to the balls of her feet, the tips of her heels just barely off the floor. More sway, more show, more danger. That was how to approach this sham of a show put on in drab, monochrome magic. The steps came together like clockwork. Breathe in. Drop her voice a half pitch lower. Erase the lilt that beckoned and teased, replace it with something far grander than the innocent devil.

"It appears I've kept you waiting, o prince of shadows." Yua's voice split the air like a sharp blade as she stepped into view. Her back straight, shoulders back, chin held high. She cut the image of someone who knew her importance despite the shadows forming an outfit more reminiscent of a dancer than a ruler. Lace and ribbon were covered, all but replaced with a badlah. It wasn't entirely ornate, any embellishments lost within the absence of color, but it would do. The skirt billowed, the hem fading into a wispy smoke as it danced alongside Yua's feather light steps.

Mana unraveled from the magical girl, threads all escaping from their spool. As expected, they left only traces of their existence to the eye, a faint glimmer in the daylight here, a moment where her mana came into view as she looped it around a limb.

Flick. Twist. Pivot.

He wanted to be praised and adored.

Loved.

That part of him was easy to understand. Everyone deserved to be loved.

Yua's movements came to a stop only when she felt too much resistance against the strain of the countless threads she'd spread in her rampant little dance. The few youkai left in Masashi's immediate vicinity had long since been entangled and ensnared in the web that the devil had been leaving in her wake.

"Fall to pieces, curs."

She gave a sharp pull, acting as the nexus of her web. There was resistance. For a moment, snowfall gathered on the threads leading from Yua to her prey, and they shimmered as though even the stars had fallen into their intricate web. Then, the resistance and starlight disappeared as the devil's magic tore into its victims.

Behind the veil of darkness, delicate lips carved a cruel smile into place.

@banjoanjo@Yankee@Cu Chulainn

---

Sora should have taken a train instead riding their bike to the bay.

As everyone in Tokyo are enjoying their morning, Sora Bailong is tired, sweaty and their legs hurt while riding this tiny-ass bike off to battle! UGH! But Sora knows their job better well by now, transform, kick some monster butt, save the day and go to school before they are late, it kind of became a routine to them now.

Sora finally made it to the bay....Well frozen bay. Sora then run toward a hidden area where nobody can see them transform, sure Sora knows that every magical person is just ordinary people after this battle is over but they have to admit, it could be a tad awkward if everyone knows each other identity. It's like meeting people online, you can called them by their username but calling them by their real name is just flat out weird.

Sora can feel their clothes changing from something mundane, to something beautiful and meaningful. They can feel the wind transforming into clothes, it was like Sora is dancing with clouds and the two are hugging, it may seems odd but Sora think transform is the best part, no pressure or judgment from others, no distraction, no worries, just Sora and their cloud bro. Pulling their green sword out of thin air and with a smirk, Sora put on their yaksha mask "All right, Green Yaksha....Let's do this."

As Sora enter the frozen bay, they can see that the battle is already hectic! There a girl riding a motorcycle, other shooting fire balls, there is music player, other girl who is Sora pretty is satan and there a freaking shadow beast and a large-ass boat! Damn! Everyone is so ruthless! It kinda makes Sora stick out like a sore thumb who is just nervous ball while the others are fairies balls of fire.

As Sora thought they hear one of the magical people was doing a battle cry, they quickly realize it was the group of yokai charging right at Sora! With a blade in their hand, Sora hack and slash the monsters, one of them jump toward Sora but unfortunately for them, Sora feel a strong wind going on. Soon, few group of yokai are up in the air and with one swing, Sora unleash a wind slash and turn the yokais into slices!

“HAHA! Take that, you beasts!” Sora say out loud “Never underestimate the Green Yaksha! Protector of- OH SHIT!” Their voice of confidence quickly turn into fear as a giant green Yokai appear and ready to strike Sora!

Without Second thought or hesitation, Sora quickly block the yokai giant club, Sora thought they were safe……Then Sora was fling the cross the sky.

As Sora screaming and flinging their arms while falling, they need to find a way to land safely……That it! Sora can use wind manipulation! Trying to steady themself, Sora made a mini tornado below them. As Sora thought this may work, those thoughts were cut short when they landed face first on to the wooded floor……At least they are not dead.

It seems that Sora landed on a boat, er, magical boat Sora guess. Sora looks around and see that there are three people on board. There the fancy captain, a magical girl who is a unicorn and a half naked man……There got to be some context on the last one. But that has to wait, it seem that the army is coming from that gate over there.

“H-Hey…Captain? Does this s-s-s-Hang on, I need to catch some air…_{Man, that yokai knock me out}” Sora say as they gain their composure “……Ok, I am good now. _Woof! Anyway, does this boat got any cannons, I think we need to destroy the gate. If not, then we can crash in to it” Sora ask the captain.

It smelled like rot. Decayed, dead things. But it was comfortable enough, and it was getting better, and everything was going to be just fine. Sunny hummed to herself as she swept. But I’m Different. A battery powered lantern filled her sewer nook with soft yellow light. She had a bed and a couch; some shelving, plants, books, a table. It looked almost clean. It was almost homey, even.

She stopped and frowned. Gently, she knelt down to the floor. She picked up the rat trap. It was a tube; it was supposed to be neat and humane. The rat entered the enclosure, it tripped the spring, and the door shut behind it. It had air holes. She could’ve released it and let it go on its way.

The rat inside was face up, dead.

Were you sick? Did I do something wrong? Poor thing. I’m sorry. This must’ve been your home once too. The sigh on her breath was ragged and uneven. Gently again, she put it back down. The string lights she got didn’t even work, they had nothing to plug into. She walked to her couch and flopped heavily onto it. She felt sort of tired. It was too early to be up anyways.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

She grabbed her phone. 12%. Would be another coffee shop run to recharge it today. There was nothing to do, except… Torii Gate Appears In Tokyo Bay; Youkai March on City.

Yep, it was time to go.

---

The air was overly cold. If there was anything positive to say about living in the sewers, it was that it was warm. Sunny sucked in a breath, wrapping herself in her jacket. She was hungry. She should have toast – that was on genre, right? She entertained the thought with a smirk. As it was, she was running toastless. Luckily, or unluckily depending on perspective, her corner of the world was right on the bay. She’d studied the zoning maps for Tokyo’s sewers religiously since she set her sights on her new home; she’d come out just almost at the water. Just a corner to turn, and…

Morning light broke across the bay. Rays refracted into wave; soft white light dispersed. It didn’t match the scene around it. People ran madly. There was no shortage of those things; with backs of turtles, faces of dogs, plenty more things that Sunny did not have the vocabulary to describe, they rampaged across the street. A ship sailed into the bay. A stage dominated the street, with a boy sitting on a throne. Others like her were here to fight. The torii gate jutted into the sky above the bay, breaking through the ice.

She couldn’t just keep staring.

“Ut supra, sic Infra”

The pentagram on her neck burned; for a moment, always, it was too much. It was consumed by flame tipped with blue. It spread, catching her clothes, her hair, her arms, engulfing her. A bystander looked and saw a woman on fire. He recoiled. She looked like a nice girl – so young, and now casualty to the youkai.

Or so it had appeared.

Her clothing burned away. That which replaced it was forged in fire; as the flames cleared, a woman who did not look like Sunny Day emerged. Not so nice. Long leather boots; immodest clothing; overly individualistic makeup; a big sword. The only thing that truly could mark her as the woman she was before was her large grin. Still, she felt more like a girl in a costume than a hero.

But there was work to do. She pitched her heels into the street below, stabbing Joyeuse through the pavement, black ephemera wilting off of the sword onto the ground. Her hands pulled and her feet pushed, and all at once the kinetic energy came to head and she flung herself forward. She soared forward with magical speed, wind whooshing in her ears. The bystander that saw her transform watched in abject confusion as she flew right over his head. He whipped around to follow her movement; Sunny didn’t go much further, instead implanting her sword into the head of an inugami that had very nearly snuck up on the man. Stab and cut. She’d been practicing – it was not a natural motion, but the sword was perfectly balanced in her hand, supernatural strength helping her along. She cleaved down, splitting the demonic dog into two pieces.

“Sorry sir – excuse me, please keep running,” she said to the bystander. He did. She had to keep moving; onto the next – or, no. She repeated the maneuver she did before, flinging herself into the air again. This time, she went further. She closed the distance to the bay, and then hopped again onto the ship. As she suspected, there were other magical... people here.

She grinned at the others assembled, giving a short wave and her best “Howdy," in exaggerated English.

Was that guy naked?

---

Explosions rocked the ice, shifting them, cracking, destroying, but the seawater froze over almost as quickly. Even the undying flames of the witch themed fighter found itself soon encased in a dome of ice where the heat didn't reach as far to effectively fight against the chill from the Tori Gate, though the seawater it was boiling was letting off scalding hot steam in its vicinity.

So far the youkais were dispatched with ease, but the gate was still standing.

Indeed it was vibrating softly now, the thrumming could be faintly heard over the din of fighting. The chill from it now feels more pronounced, as if it was slowly expanding its reach. Even the number of the youkai didn't seem to dwindle, throwing out more mundane youkai like reanimated konbu, plates and some long haired ghosts, as well as more modern ones like the aforementioned motorbiking grannies. A few were truly dangerous on their own; large onis, daitengus, as well as a large flaming skeleton dragging itself out of the gate. Was it slowly gaining power from the territory it was claiming?

The few that was fighting them, the few in the boat, and those in the field hospital set up beyond the shore; the youkais finally seemed to start gravitating towards them.

Tsukumogamis and various other small youkais had started to stack on themselves like a true parade float, inching higher and higher towards the boat. At the very top a menacing looking almost cartoonish pot cannon appeared, before launching an entire multicolored ball at the boat.

The other ones on the ground were getting swarmed as well, especially for those solo, like Atheni.

As Zen had mentioned, Ryofu was the currently the only one able to keep up with the motorcycle grannies, but that also mean the motorcycle grannies were able to keep up with her. Trampling down lesser youkai under their wheels, Ryofu was forcibly led away from the gate, by the sheer tenacity of what seemed to be an entire granny biker gang.

The glint of metal caught her eye, held by one of the granny bikers. its length pointed straight at her. "Huh, when did-"

A noticable shot rang out, one made by a firearm instead of a spell or magic bullet. A second later, Ryofu's bike crashed into youkais near the gate, temporarily opening a gap in the horde of youkais pouring out.

♫𝄞 𝄪 Amélie Renard 𝄪 𝄞♫

It had not taken long before the rest of the city's defenders came onto the scene. From eccentric show givers to more down the earth individuals who, like herself, seemed to care more about the job than the show.

"Thank you ma'am!" said one kid not much older than ten, when Amélie dropped him off with an officer.

"Hurry up. Events seems to be evolving faster than anticipated..."

Just as the magical girl made her way atop another building to look on was when the giant Tori gate started acting up. The large flying ship she had seen earlier, which crashed into the ice, seemed to be a prime target as dozens of Yokais converged on it's location. So that would be her target as well, she thought as she began jumping from roof to roof until she came to the water's - or rather ice's - edge. There she launched herself into the coming yokais, mostly still small fries as the biggest and meanest came out the gate more recently and, therefore, were still some ways. She sliced and diced her way through the horde, more than once jumping above the enemies and skipping her way through the air until she landed on the tip of the ship's bow, where her attack's melody ended as she kicked a Yokai that had managed to reach this part of the ship, but of course more were coming all around.

However something else caught her attention - the red haired girl seemed to have met her match as the sound of a gunshot could be heard and her rider-less motorcycle was sent flying towards the gate.

Now, it was entirely possible that the magical girl had more aces up her sleeve or that someone else would swoop in and help, but Amélie would not - no, could not stand by with the slightest chance that none of the above happened. As the same Yokai who she had kicked before finally managed to climb his way up again, proud of itself, she used it as a stepping stone to throw herself down towards the ground, blade first. Fortunately, magic often times cared little for logic and her sword found cushion in the form of a Yokai head.

From there on out, since the enemies became tougher, Amélie focused on dodging and weaving through the horde looking like an ice skater zigzagging between her foes. Fortunately, she could take advantage of the gap the make her way to where the magical girl seemed to have been shot. She passed in between the Biker Grannys, kicking herself off of one of them to land between where she believed Ryofy might have landed and the Yokais, pointing her weapon at the Yokai.

"Prepare to become inspiration for my grand orchestra, Monsters. I won't let innocents nor defenders of this city be hurt by your kind if I still draw breath."

Yet, despite these words, Amélie was woefully aware that more of the horde might be converging to them now. All the same, she was ready ot hold her ground.

---

"Sorry Cap'n, as the Goddess of these waters, I must make sure as little of these guys make it past here. Would be bad if they start rampaging through the city and hurting people." Atheni replied to the crashed ship's admiral. Her words held a flair of grandeur as she spoke, somewhat theatrical as well. But no one could deny the confidence in her stance and voice. Nothing was lost yet. If anything, this whole situation was very exciting,

It felt somewhat jinxed. The youkai's onslaught grew larger, more overwhelming. While uninterested in boarding J's ship, she kept herself close to it. She fought off her fair deal of monsters with some ease, all things considered. She was in her element. A stab of trident there, a crushing blow of ice chunks right around the corner, a monster trapped in ice then shattered with a trident's swing, another youkai pierced from icicles erupting from the frozen floor, and the dance kept on until the odds felt against the water Magical Girl.

Considering how quick the ice was forming, Atheni judged trying to melt the ice under the gate would be a hard task. Submerging the portal would be less ideal than destroying it somehow. A task that could be done with the ship and the group of magical people aboard. She could join them in an attempt to destroy the gate, but as she said earlier, she got to make sure monsters don't reach the city. There would probably more fun to be had in blowing up legions of monsters anyway.

"You guys go on ahead and destroy that gate. I'll hold the fort."

A pillar of ice erupted from underneath, rising the inheritor of Poseidon's powers high above where she had a grand view of the battlefield. Wow, that sure was a lot of monsters. Those who tried to pursue her by climbing the pillar were quickly decimated as spikes would shoot out from the pillar as soon as they were holding on to it. In a show of spinning her trident all around her for a few seconds, Atheni then lifted her weapon above her head in a final spin before stabbing the pillar she was standing on with the shaft of the golden trident.

A shockwave of energy emerged from her position and spread around the bay. Seconds later, the frozen bay rumbled as if the epicenter of an earthquake had struck their location. A colossal wall of ice rose from the frozen waters, its shape as if a tidal wave was caught frozen in the middle of its tracks, blocked the straight path from the gate to the closest coast in a crescent shape around the portal's area.

Atheni wiped sweat off her forehead and sighed. Whew, that took a lot out of her. Glad this battle took place directly on the bay. She wouldn't have been able to do this much. Controlling an already-existing mass of water was way easier on her than both creating and manipulating it. No way she would have been able to create a tidal wave in the middle of the city anyway.

Now let them come, or not. Either way, she's more of a nuisance and a distraction to the monsters' path of chaos. The others will surely find a way to break this assault before she runs out of juice. For the moment, she'll be content enough to impale any monster trying to make it past her wall of ice, whether they try to climb it, go around it or fly overhead. This frozen tidal wave will serve both as the city's shield and its spear.

It was loud. It was cold. It was uncomfortable as hell. However, as Ayumi looked upon the salaryman in front of them- his face smashed against the other side of the metro car’s glass- it was hard to feel anything but contentment.

Rush hour Tokyo.

It’s true that Ayumi could have pushed their way inside of the train car with their magically enhanced strength and found a place among the unfortunate commuters-turned-sardines. Perhaps had they done that then they would have been able to hear themself think. At what cost though? On the other side of the glass, the salaryman seemed to come to turns with the absurd sight in front of him- Ayumi balanced casually on the couplers between the cars- and his eyes took on a far away look. His fate was to have himself smashed up against the side of the train until he reached his destination, and he let his mind be elsewhere.

“南に死にそうな人あれば 行ってこわがらなくてもいいといい”

The words were lost to the wind as Ayumi turned their face away from his.

And then came the cursing, also lost.

The gate itself was the first cause, and one could also say the primary cause. Without its figure looming over Tokyo Bay then it was entirely possible that Ayumi would have never known about the ongoing battle and could have gone about their day having missed the entire affair. The youkai, quite naturally, were the second cause. The gate was a curiosity of course, but was really only a supporting role to the very real danger of the swarm that was actually using it. A gate without the youkai might have meant that Ayumi could have still gone about their day while ignoring the entire affair, but that was hardly an option at this point.

And the third reason?

Even if Zen’s voice hadn’t echoed through the metro’s PA system…

Even if the “Admiral”s ship wasn’t breaking through the ice of the bay…

Even if the tell-tale explosion of Jasmine’s flames weren’t lighting up the distance…

Ayumi could feel them, could feel the presence of the others with power like theirs. Perhaps it was because they had been transformed for so long now, or perhaps it was pure intuition, but there was always something in the air when the others were around. It was a feeling that resembled dread more than anything else.

With a sigh, and no excuse not to get involved, Ayumi made their decision.

The salaryman never noticed.

Ayumi couldn’t fly, at least not in the traditional sense. As they discovered one day though, if they simply didn’t treat the air any different from the ground then it was easy enough to walk on. If anyone had bothered to look up at that moment they would have seen the increasingly annoyed form of Suginami’s guardian sprinting through the sky at an almost supernatural speed. However, Ayumi couldn’t blame them for not looking up at that moment, after all, their attention was focused on the same place.

Their journey was almost stopped short by the sight of a youkai ahead that managed to get past the others and reach some of the civilians that hadn’t yet fled, before a bright flash immediately preceded Sunny cutting it down. Ayumi wordlessly gave the girl a thumbs up from above- that she doubtlessly missed- before catching sight of something that did cut their journey short. Ryufu. The Bikers. Amélie skating through the gathering horde of youkai.

Ayumi had been running directly for the gate, but they slid to a stop above the magical musician. Was she… threatening the youkai? Above, Ayumi cracked her knuckles and hesitated for a second- aware of just how much this was about to hurt- before sighing.

“No, this what you tell them. Five words: Fuck around and find out.”

Then Ayumi leapt forward, as if jumping off a cliff, and fell through the air. As the ground rapidly approached they tried to dispel any regret over what was about to happen, but somehow Ayumi wasn’t suicidal enough to be totally okay with this course of action. Throughout the descent towards the bulk of the youkai Suginami’s guardian drew all of their magical power into their fist.

Ayumi was not powerful on paper. They were not granted any of the special tricks or enhancements from their worthless contract that the others were. However, it was true that they never became tired, and as their kilometers-long sprint moment before proved; That meant Ayumi could go all out all the time.

And so when Ayumi’s fist hit the ice below it was accompanied by an explosion of magic usually reserved for a last resort, introducing the youkai to the waters of Tokyo Bay.