The streets reflected orange. From the concrete, the the glass and steel of buildings, as the sun slowly began to sink more and more of it was colored in. The throngs of people in the streets heading to and from work, to get food, to unwind. Some people were looking to have fun, others were looking to desperately unwind from the stresses they dealt with throughout today. For some people, it was minor problems, like simply not getting in line when they wanted or worrying about a quiz. For others, they had to deal with an overly-harsh boss or even fellow students bullying them.

A cauldron of human emotions.

In one case, a particular salaryman's resentment for his boss was threatening to boil over and explode. He'd manage to calm down, and perhaps realize his situation wasn't quite as bad as it initially appeared, as the night wore on.

But those strong negative feelings wouldn't simply vanish.

They would go to join others, in dark places.

And some particularly powerful negative emotions had been building up for a little while now...

---

The ward of fashion and pleasures.

Shinjuku.

A prime spot to unwind for the day, but that didn't mean it was devoid of any negativity. That's just why it was so important, wasn't it? To make sure even somewhere like this was kept perfectly safe.

That's why they were magical girls, wasn't it?

Of course, given it was getting late, and the negative feelings for the day had to be piling up on top of any others. There was bound to be shades lurking in dark places somewhere in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo.

As it grew darker, the lights on the buildings would begin to look like stars.

@Ammokkx@RolePlayerRoxas@The Irish Tree@King Cosmos@Rune_Alchemist@Rin

---

There was no-where in Tokyo that could be called sedate, exactly. But compared to Shinjuku, the Nerima Ward was probably the closest you could get. Known for daikon and farming, at least in the past, it was a place that seemed like it might have less negative feelings then the most bustling places in the city.

But that wasn't necessarily the case. Negative feelings were simply part of human nature, but even the smallest ones could slowly build up over time.

It was only natural that such places would require just as much defense, no matter how it seemed a little more easygoing then Tokyo's center.

@Raineh Daze@FrogRFlowR@DDVicky@LuckyBlackCat@AzureKnight@Shiyonichi

---

The magical girls of Tokyo were certainly busy at night. She'd seen plenty of activity during her observation. It was curious.

She'd always found it curious. Why did these people choose to do such things? These young girls putting themselves at risk for the sake of others.

Her observation had at first simply been duty.

But could she deny her own curiosity?

It was to be another night of watching.

Perhaps tonight would bring understanding?

Or perhaps it would merely bring more questions.

Regardless, she would conduct her duty to the fullest.

She would not defy her lord.

It was funny how changing one's viewing angle could greatly alter the beauty of the sights before you. Shinjuku was always a bustling sea of lights and activity, and wandering the streets of that breath-taking environment was certainly a special moment. When you become able to freely navigate above that landscape, to see just how far that field of light can stretch... such an experience cannot be beaten.

Not even three minutes ago, a young woman had bought a cup of boba tea, slowly sipping it as she left the shop, walked down the street, and practically disappeared into an alleyway. And now, atop the towering buildings that made up Shinjuku, a totally-unrelated woman looked down at the streets, sipping from an identical cup. Her hakama billowing slightly in the breeze, the fox-eared woman was completely at ease as she surveyed the landscape. With her free hand, the fox woman raised a smartphone, casually tapping away without a care in the world.

[Magi☆Magic☆Fox]: Minor one on my end. Save me please!

Accompanying that message with a cheery, chibi sticker, the mysterious woman sent her message to a particular chat group. Then, stowing away her phone, she turned to face the creature she had practically ignored until now.

"Apologies for the wait. Shall we play, then~?"

Speaking to the creature, known as a Shade, was entirely pointless. To her knowledge, they possessed no real will, or at least had no desire to talk in any way. They were just mindless creatures, born from humanity's despair, sadness and general displeasure. And sadly, Tokyo had plenty of these things infesting the place, day after day. While certainly a little reckless, Yukimura Himeko had no reason to doubt she was truly in danger: This Shade was very recently formed, after all, and was so weak that even a single tail was enough to deal with it. Someone that worked within the building itself must have had a pretty crappy day, the poor guy.

Taking another sip of her drink, Himeko opened her empty hand, a small ball of blue flame forming, warping and lengthening, until it became a long tobacco pipe. With colourful smoke slowly billowing from that, the fluffy-tailed magical girl commenced extermination of the Shade.

"Hey. Been a while, huh?"

"Sorry, I've been out of town for... Ages, really."

"Yeah, I know, you probably think it was good for me to get out there and see the rest of Japan, maybe get a bit of perspective or something. You always said that's what you wanted to do when you graduated, didn't you?"

Naoko Hifumi let out a hollow laugh, hanging her head as she sighed.

"I wish you could've been there with me, Rena. You'd have loved it."

It never got easier. Even after three years, whenever she thought about it... It was like there was a gaping hole in her chest, like something vital had been carved right out of her. And there was nothing else she could be thinking about as she kneeled in front of the Katsuragi family grave. Still, she'd learned to keep at least some composure after all this time, even if it took a full year for her to not break into tears whenever she came here.

"Heh..." She knew Rena couldn't hear her. All there was here, all that was left of her, was a slab of stone and an urn full of ashes. She was gone, and that would never change no matter how hard she wished it would. But no matter how much she wished she could see her again, she knew Rena would've wanted her to keep going, to keep on walking and keep on fighting no matter how painful it was. So that was what she would do, and that was why she was back in Tokyo. Even if she couldn't find the closure she was looking for, even if she couldn't finally find out the truth of what happened that night, she still had to keep fighting even if it was just to ensure no-one else had to go through this.

Bowing respectfully to the slab of stone, Naoko left the cemetery, the pain in her chest only slightly numbed.

---

By the time Naoko got back from the cemetery, it was already dark. Convenient, really, as true to their name Shades mostly came out at night. It had been a while since she'd patrolled Shinjuku but it wasn't like much would've changed over the past year, so after grabbing a can of coffee she began following her old route.

"Wonder if anyone took care of this whilst I was away..."

She took a sip as she strolled the streets, idly checking her phone for any Shade sightings as she did.

"...Fox?" That sounded vaguely familiar. If it was who she thought it was, she wouldn't have much trouble with a minor Shade, but it was the first lead she'd actually gotten tonight so she may as well follow it. Ducking into a nearby alley, she prepared to change.


It was... Silly, really. When she first became a magical girl, her nerdy older brother somehow found out and insisted she use this phrase he knew from... Something-or-other she didn't really know... Whenever she transformed, and somehow it had stuck. If Naoko really cared about appearances, she would probably have worried that she sounded like a big old dork saying this edgy incantation as a black, almost militaristic uniform appeared on her in a flash of light. And like another flash of light, she headed straight towards where the Shade report had came from...

...And as soon as it was in her sights, with a wave of her arm the Shade suddenly resembled a giant pincushion, albeit one where all the pins were katanas.

"I'm here," she stated flatly, before noticing the fox-tailed magical girl who'd sent the call. "Yukimura, as I assumed. Been a while."

@RolePlayerRoxas

It was a dim highly with the full moon looking down at the earth below, before it was briefly covered by the splatter of inhuman blood. Kana, spun her sword back after slicing the enemy in two, her pure white clothes being dyed black and orange, before the split target dissipated into nothingness. Another enemy would attempt to charge at the white clad girl, an inhuman opponent in the approximation of a humanoid, shadow like skin, clad in orange eyes all over it’s body. It brandished it’s hands, which had claw like points on it’s fingers ready to slice it’s prey apart… only for it to be met with the pommel of the gunmetal blade that was held by the white clad girl, before being back kicked into an another charging enemy, causing it to be tangled in a mass of limbs.

Kana quickly put the blade behind her, to block the attack of the hand of the third humanoid being, before she stabbed the sword into the ground, vaulted over both her sword and the Shade, before sweeping it off it’s feet and then slamming it down with her elbow and stomping down on it’s chest with enough force to crack the stone path beneath, crushing it into paste and scattering orange and black.

Kana kicked her blade, causing it to be launched spinning from where it was planted and bisecting the first Shade, which decided it was a good idea to repeat it’s charge when it got back up. The white clad girl, then reached back for a single moment before unleashing a double palm strike at the first Shade’s partner, sending it flying away into tree. Kana then spun around and kicked her sword as it was falling back to the ground at one more Shade, causing the same black and orange liquid to be scattered along the grass as the now final shade charged at the currently disarmed opponent.

The white clad girl opened her palm, as a ball of water materialized out of nowhere. Clasping her hand around it, she turned around and made a slashing motion. The liquid flowed out and stretched from the opening of her fist, before slashing through the shadow like creature’s legs and then twisting around it’s neck, before acting like a tendril and launching it into a park bench before the water whip tightened around the creature’s neck and applying pressure around it, then decapitating it.

“That all of ‘em, Quant?” Kana asked, seemingly to nobody, but she got an answer. “I think so. Though you should be able to feel it if there was any left.” The respondent, was a small animal like being. Kana stretched her arms. ”Just double checking.” It had been only a week since Kaori’s funeral, while Kana was a very fast learner, that didn’t mean she mastered everything to the point of complete reliability, Kana was still extremely used to her own mundane senses, the addition of another “sense” was still a bit off putting, even if it was very specific.

Kana quietly walked over to her sword, which landed point down after it stabbed through her enemy. Once again kicking it and flipping it into the air and catching it in her other hand, before the great sword dissipated into particles. ”Gonna get something to drink, before we continue.” ”Oh, get a Calpico.” with a quick nod, Kana walked over to one of the park vending machines, before taking out some spare change and buying both what Quant wanted and a canned coffee for herself. Popping the can open, she leaned back to the bench that she had launched the shade into earlier as Quant sat next to her, handing over the white bottle they both cheered. Quant happily drank the sweeten drink… and Kana definitely didn’t snap a photo on her phone.

”Ahh… Kana.” The fairy paused, causing the delinquent to put her phone behind her back. The fairy pointed at the still white clad girl with it’s small paw, who gave a small oh as she realized she was still transformed. ”Keep forgetting to change bac- Kana was about to release her transformation, when a chill ran down her spine. Leaping to her feet and summoning her sword, the white clad girl looked around see where it was coming from.

Suddenly a shadow came over the fairy, rather than Kana and then it snatched him with it’s talons, spilling Calpico everywhere. “Kana! Help!” Quant screamed as he was carried away by a bat shaped shade. Kana hadn’t expected a flying enemy, she was still used to the grounded street fights of the mundane and not the fantastical. The white clad girl not wanting to hurt her companion, threw the canned coffee she was holding, hitting it where the left wing and back met. The blow caused the bat like creature to go into a temporary dive, preventing it from flying too far away as Kana chased after it.

@Rin@RolePlayerRoxas

---

"Aaah, I really should get my nails done by a professional more often..." She sighed, lazily stepping out of the beauty salon.
Shinjuku. Not an unpleasant place for her, and not somewhere she wasn't unused to spending a lot of time. Fashion, leisure activities. For a totally adorable and cute highschool student like herself, it was one of the places to be. Well, usually. Kokoha would glance down at her phone. "...I should have gotten them done earlier, too...ugh..."

Even late in the day, though for vastly different reasons.

[MagiGal]: If you have time to ask for help, do you really need saving?
[MagiGal]: Whatves, I'll be there in a moment. Need to blow off some steam.

Kokoha would sass back in response on the message, accompanying it with chibi sticker of her own. Seriously, that fairy really was pulling a long con on this dumb joke. Ugh, well, whatever. Well, ever since she had become one, dealing with shades had just become second nature...even if she, well, as some might say, desire a bit more aggression towards them then she wanted to admit. From her purse, she'd pull her favorite deck of Tarot cards...an heirloom from her father.

As always, she'd reach in, pulling a card.

'The fool' as always.

Seriously, the fairy had to have been pranking her hard.

"Tsk, I ever see that fairy again I'm gonna show it who the real 'fool' is." She'd hold the card in front of her, magical energy causing it to spin in her hand.



She hated reciting this dumb line. What was she, some lame anime protagonist for some dumb teenage girl? A flash of white, followed by a swirl of blue, starry magic would surround her until she was left wearing something right out of some cosplay shop. Immediately, she'd focus, drawing two more cards. The death card - wanting to be able to react properly if there was an ambush, followed by quickly drawing the 'Justice' card. A simple blade would form in her hand. Thin, but its edge sharp as any with a hilt of gold and blue, engraved with scales upon its hilt. And thus, the girl dressed like a somewhat stereotypical witch would run off down the road, towards where the sighting had been spotted.

"Hi hi!~" She'd shout, a bit loudly upon approaching the spot where Naoko and Himeko were. "Someone called for backup? Magi-gal is here to save the day!"

@Shiyonichi


The old farmhouse, silhouetted against the dusk sky, looked unremarkable. Ukiko, however, knew better. As she passed right through the stone wall like it wasn't there, a shiver crawled across her pale green-grey skin, confirming the rumours. The place was, for want of a better word, haunted. Although not by a ghost.

Footsteps creaking across floorboards, Ukiko snickered. The rest of the occult club had called her a coward when she'd said she was too busy to explore the place later. If only they knew she'd beaten them to it. "Now to meet and greet this place's resident," she said, making filming motions like she was on some cheesy ghost hunting show.

Blue-green light danced across surfaces as a paper lantern floated by her side. A living, and rather annoyed paper lantern, ragged mouth set in a frown, single eye rolling. "Careful there-bura. Even in a sleepy old place like this, you'll find some forces to be reckoned with-bura."

Ukiko grinned, all while suppressing a shudder. "I know, I know. But there can't be anything scarier than us in here." For all her tough talk, she kept close by Burabura. Annoying as her familiar could be, Ukiko appreciated company in a place like this.

Right on cue, a door crashed down in a flurry of splinters and dust. Darting upwards, Ukiko coughed and stared down her foe - a large spider shade with orange eye markings all over its legs. "Oh? Rising to the challenge, huh?" What looked like a turquoise fireball formed in her hand, only as it grew, the temperature dropped. She flung it at the creature, sending it skittering back, a layer of frost shimmering across its carapace. "Pfff, do I look like I'm afraid of spiders?"

Black thread wrapped around her leg, dragging her down. "Eeehh!" She struggled and kicked. Ok, it would be really convenient if she could pass through shade attacks like she could through walls, but these creatures weren't made of the same matter as the rest of the world. Two more hitodama blazed from her hands, right as Burabura blew a stream of that same ghostly fire, blasting through the silk and taking two of the spider's legs with it. "Now's our chance!" As the shade stumbled, Ukiko flew to Burabura's side and reached out her hands. "Soulfiiiiiire Combo!!" Her flurry of wisps spiralled around Burabura's energy jet. In the burst of eerie light, Ukiko watched the shade dissipate into smoke.

"Whew..." Her breath misted in the now-cold air. Silence settled over the house, before rowdy chatter cut through it. A wry smile spreading over her face, Ukiko hid behind a wall as the door creaked open and the voices of the occult club filled the building. If they wanted an unusual sight, she'd give them one. Back turned so they wouldn't recognise her face, she edged from her hiding place, just enough that they'd glimpse ghostly frills and curls. Instantly, the chatting grew to a fever pitch of excitement. With an inward chuckle, Ukiko turned invisible and phased through the wall, drifting out into the night.

"What in the name of all things magical were you thinking-bura?" the ghost lantern scolded as both faded back into visibility. "Letting yourself be seen, and freaking people out in the process-bura? You're supposed to be getting rid of negativity, not causing it-bura."

Ukiko glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, they didn't sound freaked out to me. I just gave them what they came along for. After all, disappointment would've left some serious emotional residue." Even so, she did a quick patrol of the area, making sure the club could do their ghost hunting in peace.

No more shades - not around here, anyway. As Ukiko headed down the path, that telltale chill returned. Her gaze shot upwards at a nearing shadow. Overhead, a bat shade soared, a mouse-like creature in its grip. Right away, she rose up and gave chase. "Pick on someone your own size!" Careful not to hit the mouse, she flung a spectral energy ball at the bat's wing.

"Yui. Yui! Please, slow down, there is no rush, is there?" called the comforting voice of an old lady.

"Grandma, it's fine...I finished it, I swear." Yui said of her homework while still putting away her school books in her school bag. She then amde her way to the back door.

"This again... Yui, don't you want to go see your friends instead?" The Grandmother said from her rocking chair, putting down the knitting threads on her laps. Her voice held more worry and care for her adoptive daughter than judgement.

"Grandma..." the girl said as she pulled a chair closer to sit on and put her exterior shoes on, going on; "I told you, the garden is like a friend. It needs company too, you know - and I like the plants."

As she was about to open the door, Yui remembered something and ran over to her grandmother to give her a peck on the cheek, which immediately not only erased the old woman's doubts but gave her a smile. "Well, tell them hi for me then, alright?"

"Will do!" she said with a smile as she closed the door behind her. It was all true of course, Yui loved this garden and she loved taking care of it but tonight was not the reason why she left. Tonight, she was on duty with the others. Fortunately, she and her grandmother lived in the Nerima Ward. Yui loved it. In the heart of the big city, she would have very little greenery but here, on the edge of the ward, it was perfect. Their back yard, while small, was almost entirely covered in plants of all kind. There was a tall tree near the corner, and the rest were very healthy flowers and plants. Yui made herself a path that led behind the tree, hidden behind bushes and the fence. This was were it usually happened for it.

Let Life take Flight ~
and Darkness take Fright ~
Let Hope cast it's Light ~
On most Darkest Nights! ~

With this, Yui's appearance changed completely as a bright light engulfed her for a few seconds. Her hair grew and changed to an almost white color and her eyes turned a bright green. Her clothing became a beautiful dress and she was now holding a giant bellflower with a pure white bulb as a sort of staff. Yui loved saying those words as it filled her with jolly thoughts and reminded her of what she now was, even though it made her blush a little bit, still not being used to it. Yui jumped in the air and skipped through the air, a translucent daisy appearing three times under her feet like a ripple in water, until she reached the roof of her house where she let here Bellflower rest against her side to cup both hands on each side of her head to look ahead.



@Shiyonichi

Yui had made her way further away form her house now, but still had not find any Shades. It was a good thing, as it meant there wasn't too much negativity flying around. Until she...literally saw negativity flying around. In the form of a Bat. Carrying what seemed to be a little critter needing rescue. Yui, a determined look on her face, waited for the unaware Shade to fly closer before - but she stopped.

"Pick on someone your own size!"

The voice came from a nearby girl that Yui had probably missed arriving on the scene. She looked like a Ghost, but even Yui knew she was a Magical Girl - just like herself. "Woah..." Yui was kind of impressed by the attack but also the assured way with which the girl threw herself in battle. Snapping out of it, Yui summoned forth her own attack.

"Rose: Passion!"

Two thorny roses sprouted out of the ground beside her, growing faster and faster until they launched themselves towards the shade. Yui's intension was to catch the Shade in a pincer attack between her plants and Ukiko's attack.

A girl with long black hair wearing a long gray dress, topped with a dark coat was walking down a bustling city street. It was early evening and the sun was slowly setting on the horizon. The young lady was happily humming to herself, but still made sure to walk with a poised posture. She was holding a plastic store bag that had the logo of a local game store, the way she caressed the bag would signify it as being the source of her high spirits. She reached into the bag for a moment and pulled out its contents. It was a box that was decorated with what could only be described as 'wacky' artwork. It depicted several characters standing together adorning various poses, some of the characters had animal, demonic, and angelic properties. The supposed title of the contents could be seen on top of the box and read 'Lazeria: Eternum of Souls - Royal Edition'. It apparently was the latest entry in a series of RPG titles. The royal edition was an exclusive pre-order version that came with extra goodies, most notably was a 1:7 scale figure of the main heroine of the game.

Indeed, Setsuko planned to ensure she set aside time to pick up the game and still make it to her daily patrol. She looked at the package with starry eyes and a wide grin, very pleased she was able to obtain it on launch day. However, after a moment her blissfulness faded and her smile was replaced by a melancholic expression. "You know, this was one of our favorite franchises. We played all the entries to completion, and were even part of forums that were dedicated to the series, official and fan made. We'd talk about plot theories and character ships for so long our parents yelled at us to go to bed! You know, it really sucks…" A tear began to run down from her eye and her hands trembled while still holding the box. "We promised we'd beat them all together, Wakaba, but now…"

She caught herself, remembering her new role. The danger of negative emotions was what she was to defend the innocent against!

"No, no need for that! Wakaba is always with me!" She said, holding her scarlet feather charm close to her chest. She remembered vividly when her fairy visited her, explaining the new power she'd be granted along with the responsibilities she'd take on. She'd lost something, but then gained something that gave her the strength to go on. Regaining herself, she reaffirmed her strengthened feelings with a nod and placed the package back in the bag.

"I'll beat it for the both of us, Wakaba. Count on it!"

---

The lush greenery of the countryside wasn't a new sight for Setsuko. She has family who lived in such areas that she visited from time to time. She much enjoyed walking on the dirt roads on moonlit nights, it reminded her of when she saw such areas in anime or video games. However, she also knew she couldn't let her guard down, taken in by the gentle night breeze or the gentle chirping of insects.

Shades.

The grotesque creatures born from the accumulation of negative energy. They reminded her of those shadowy things from the game that had a boy with a strange blade. What was the name of it again? Nevermind, she thought, now wasn't the time for that!

Speak of the Devil.

Ahead of her in the grass at 2:30, a shade had begun to form. This one had slowly taken on the form of a large lizard; it swayed its head about and hissed, revealing its long slimy tongue. When it finished forming it was roughly the size of a small car; it was complete with a long tail that it whipped across the grass, spraying little blades of it up everywhere. It rose up on its hind legs for a moment, briefly showing its sharpened claws.

Hmph, time to expose this scrub.







Enveloping herself in a bright vermilion glow, Setsuko's appearance took a drastic change. Now dawning her magical girl attire, she struck an extravagant pose while shining embers rippled around her. "Yes, I nailed it!", she mused to herself. "They'll make an anime of me in no time!"

It would seem during her self absorbed monologue, the creature was already charging at her. Its countless beady eyes had their sights set on the fiery magical girl. Had her foolishness gotten her killed, was Setsuko's story already over?

Hardly. The wheel of fate was turning in her favor this time around.

The creature would find itself blown away by a sudden burst of flame right to its face, it roared hideously as it tumbled back. It managed to get back up on its feet, but the attack was still quite effective. The creature had part of its face singed off, revealing its orange insides along with dripping black goo on the ground.

"Just rushing in and not expecting a counter hit? No wonder you're stuck in the lower ranks."

It was impossible to tell if the creature could understand the jab or not, but regardless it began its charge again. "You're seriously going to try the same tactic again? This is why fighting scrubs is no fun…"

Instead of blasting the shade, Setsuko gracefully leaped to the air to avoid its jaws. At this point her arms had become brilliant wings, allowing to remain airborne. "You really need to learn better mixups." She continued to taunt the lizard.

Not missing a beat, her leg turned into a fiery talon, which she used to deliver a powerful kick to the shade back. "Sparrow Kick!" She exclaimed, the creature made another yell at the searing pain. It rolled over on its side.

"You should stop rolling so much, makes it easier for me to oki!" Setsuko decided she had enough playing around, it was time to end this.

Not letting the shade get up for another time, Setsuko began channeling energy into her wings, their aura glowing more and more intensely. “Disappear with the flames! Incandescent Purification!” Setsuko pushed her wings out forward and let loose a large burst of combustive energy that completely engulfed the shade. The creature one last weak roar before being engulfed completely. After the attack had finished, all that remained of the shade were charred blobs and outlined cinders on the ground. Claiming victory, Setsuko slowly descended down to the ground and inspected her kill. Seemed like it was all over.

“Yes! Perfect EX Finish!” She exclaimed, quite pleased with herself.

Still, she wasn’t expected to run into one this large here. Usually the shades in this area were small fry, wonder what caused this one’s birth? A disgruntled couple, unhealthy household, a group of angry kids? No matter, it was over now, he wouldn’t be hurting anyone.

_{@Shiyonichi@LuckyBlackCat@FrogRFlowR}

Before she had more time to ponder, she sensed more magical energy stirring, not just another shade but more magical girls as well? She knew of others like her in her general vicinity, and it seems like they were engaging opponents of their own. She took one last look at the shade she defeated as its remains began to fully dissipate. She then promptly made her way to where the energies were gathered to assess the situation.

Upon arriving at the scene, she saw that they were three other magical girls, two of them looked younger than her. The shade seemed to have gotten a hold of what appeared to be a fairy, probably belonging to one of the other girls. Two of the girls were already letting loose their attacks on the shade.

Not wanting to interfere with their tag team attack, Setsuko decided to remain on standby in case they needed more backup.

Elsewhere in Nerima, a large dog--presumably a Wolfhound, although it wasn't like many were around to identify the breed--sat patiently outside of a convenience store. A few minutes passed before its owner returned with a bag, the dog obediently falling in line as she started walking towards one of the ward's larger parks. The young woman was unusual for two reasons: one, being a physically distinctive foreigner, and two, being a magical girl who was not already transformed.

Abigail had been earlier, for a short stint in looking for any new Shades that had made an appearance, but no anonymous costumed figure was really going to buy some sort of snack. Not that she was sure exactly what it was... the packaging proclaimed bread of some sort, but it didn't look like bread? It was certainly coated in bread crumbs but it seemed distinctly more fried. Unwrapping and taking a bite confirmed that, yes, this was definitely a fried product. Filled with the sweet, slightly unfamiliar Japanese curry. So, not bread by any normal reckoning, how was it called that?

It was still somewhat amusing, the idea of magical girls using a chat group--though, obviously, with so many of them around there had to be some sort of communication--but Abigail had quickly gotten used to it and quickly sent a message that she was planning to hunt down a shade that had escaped into Musashiseki Park a few days ago. It would help if whoever had last seen it was available to make sure it was identified, but...

Hopefully, it wouldn't be too hard to find her, loitering at a park entrance near people's homes was quite awkward. It was only just down the road from Higashi-Fushimi station, though maybe staying there at the convenience store was a better idea. Too late to go back now.

Runaway Shades... maybe it was Abigail's prior experience biasing her, but too many of the magical girls she had met didn't regard hunting them down before they grew stronger with as much importance as stopping any new Shades that might be causing trouble. It could easily be a matter of perspective; back home, it was a lot more likely that the occasional Shade would give you the slip for several nights before it got pinned down. The countryside had lots of places to hide and far fewer shades overall, it wasn't surprising that more time was spent searching for them.

In a way, this park was a return to form. Even if it was mostly dominated by the pond and trees alongside carefully lined out paths, it was at least less concrete filled than her usual fights.

As the sun began to set over Shinjuku, a sense of unease overtook Shizuka. She'd been at this Magical Girl business for at least a week now, but it didn't make the shadows coming alive more palatable. Making her way to a rooftop, the girl would spread her arms out, a small flat-screen device coming to life in her pocket.

"All things are aligned: Stars, Planets, Cosmos, Infinity...Come! Magical Starlight Change!"

So she would say, pulling the screen-device out and holding it aloft, a thin beam of light reaching up from it towards the heavens above. In the busy streets of Shinjuku, lit up even at night, this light would be drowned out before the girl who caused it changed, hair taking on the shine of the sun with a sea of stars shining in her eyes. Right now, this ordinary high school girl was becoming someone capable of protecting this city.

Fully transformed into Magical Starlighter, Shizuka would connect her transformation-key-device-thing-a-ma-bob to the satellite that accompanied her Transformation: Big Dipper. With her eye-in-the-sky online, the girl would receive data of the air-to-ground visuals and relay them in the group chat.

[HoshiKuma]: OMW! {accompanied by a sticker of a bear running, and an image graph showing a satellite view of Shinjuku zoomed in to show the three Magical Girls already present for everyone else}

"Boost!" Shizuka would say before the undersides of her soles came alight with blue energy, sending her rocketing into the air before she angled her body to start heading in the direction of Himeko, starting the process to convert the Big Dipper into its cannon state.

@Rune_Alchemist@RolePlayerRoxas@Rin

The girl would arrive overhead, needing to slowly control her thrusters as she landed a distance behind the others, unceremoniously landing on her behind before getting up. "Ow, ow ow...S-Starlighter, here to provide backup!" she would say, just as her arm's state shifted, a large futuristic cannon forming on it, with her hand sheathed inside to hold the "handle" from within. Though admittedly, it looked like the situation was well-in-hand with three Magical Girls already here. ...Still, that wasn't going to stop her from raising her cannon, prepared to sneak a few shots in on the Shade from the air if they did need her help.

The orange glow coating Japan would not elude Tokyo, much less the ward of Shinjuku. Unlike most of the rest of its city, though, Shinjuku had something to buffer against the onset of night; giant electric billboards. Commercials playing on loop emitted dull LED lighting that, combined with the now active street lights, made for an illuminated blanket that mad it hard for an ordinary person to loop up and make out any kind of detail in the sky. The rooftops were a prime hiding spot at this hour. It was not only hard to see someone up on them, but even better, whomever chose to reside in the veil of light had a very clear view of everything below. This fact wouldn't go unnoticed by a young girl, precariously balanced on all fours atop a piece of lighting sticking out the side of one building. Her curious eyes darted all over the city, scanning the citizens to make sure were all safe and sound. Seeing that they were, the girl had only one thing to say:

---

She'd been at it for way too long already. Jumping rooftop to rooftop, looking down below for any signs of a shade or two and yet, nothing! Sure, the fairies told her slow nights like this could happen, but that didn't stave off the boredom any. The one time Nico doesn't have something to do with a friend or the other, explicitly on that night, nothing showed itself. In an excessive show of athleticism, Nico backflipped off of the lighting pole and back onto the building where she promptly let herself fall onto her back in exasperation.

"The fairy told me to go outside today... but there's nothing here!" she complained some more. Sure, maybe Nico hadn't exactly taken this whole 'magical girl' thing too seriously as of yet, slacking on her duties a little more than she ought to... and sure, maybe she was behind on her quota for shade-slaying... but still! There was nothing! Absolutely nothing! She pushed herself onto her rear-end, gazing forward at the setting sun with a blank expression. "God or Buddha... is this really my fate?" she lamented to herself, all the color draining from her palette. She became a blank, white slate looking out in despair at the horizon.

Then Nico jumped in surprise (and excitement!) as something in her hammerspace pocket buzzed. She hurriedly got out her smartphone but, in her excitement, had it slip out her hands. What followed was a desperate juggling act as the cattish girl tried and failed to get a grip on it, the plastic seemingly made out of rubber for this act of divine comedy. She just barely managed to grab onto it before it could've fell off the edge unto the concrete, or possibly and even worse, some poor sod below. The bullets Nico was sweating made her fearful it wouldn't just slip right out again anyway. Calming down a bit, she breathed a sigh of relief and muttered "Lessee here..." to herself. Nico unlocked her screen, and...

[Magi☆Magic☆Fox]: Minor one on my end. Save me please!
[MagiGal]: If you have time to ask for help, do you really need saving?
[MagiGal]: Whatves, I'll be there in a moment. Need to blow off some steam.
[HoshiKuma]: OMW!

...the deepest despair always hits right after a surge of hope. The image attached to the last message showed how dire the situation truly was- the weakest type of shade, stared down by three girls and another on the way for good measure. If this was not an indication everyone else was as bored as Nico was, nothing ever would be. As tempting as it was to just let the smartphone meet its and the passing stranger below's untimely end, Nico resisted the temptation and instead stared right back at the horizon. "Forgive me, Tokyo... I can no longer be the hero you need."

And, after that little bit of goofing off, Nico rooftop-hopped her way back down to street level, making sure to transform back into her regular self when back on the ground below. The eye-catching pink cat-girl was replaced with a plain, ordinary middle schooler. She brought up her smartphone again and typed in a message of her own:

[Neko-2]: I'm going out for croquette buns.

Appropriate subject material? No, not really, but at least now nobody will ask where she was for the greatest show of excessive force this world had ever seen. Nico's now-passive face stared back out at the street crowd she was about to merge into and, with a sigh, she casually strolled over to become a part of the faceless masses. She knew of a pretty good shop not far from the station, so that was her first order of business.

Himeko's eyebrows raised slightly when a rain of swords mercilessly tore through the pitiful Shade, pretty much destroying it outright. While that outcome was hardly a surprise, the assault quickly reminded her of someone, and her suspicion was confirmed a scant few seconds later. Naoko Hifume was her name, right? Himeko could hardly say she was close with this girl, but they had operated for a similar length of time... more or less.

She wasn't aware of the details, but the magical fox did know of Naoko's circumstances. She had offered her condolences back then, and assumed Naoko had either moves away from Tokyo, or given up the game altogether. To see her now, still lacking the bright, cheery tone that defined her... even Himeko was momentarily unsure of how to respond. It was almost fortunate that more than one magical girl responded to her "distress" signal to distract from Himeko's uncertainty.

With "Magi-gal's" arrival, Himeko let out an amused chuckle, raising the pipe to her lips, "...Indeed, it's been far too long. My donation box has missed your custom~"

Yet another magical girl dropped down nearby, eager to help out. Himeko had to wonder, was Shinjuku inexplicably peaceful for the first time in her career as a beautiful, mysterious foxlady, or...

"...Am I really seen as that unreliable...?" Himeko mused aloud, a look of worry on her face. Though it was hard to look too pitiful when holding a magical tobacco pipe in one hand, and a boba tea in the other. With a heavy sigh, she aimed a smile at Naoko, shrugging her shoulders, "well, you may have chosen the quietest night possible, but nice to see you again~ Have you met the newest generation of saviours? As you can tell, they're rather earnest and adorable!"

It was best to just act her usual self, right?

@Rin @The Irish Tree @Rune_Alchemist

@Rin@RolePlayerRoxas@The Irish Tree

---

"...Haaa..." Briefly, a frown would overcome Kokoha's visage. Seems like they didn't exactly need her help at all. This...fox woman? Somehow, she just didn't like her. Just as well, seemed like she really wasn't needed here. By the time she managed to arrive, not only had someone else beat her here, but seconds later a third magical girl showed up. Starlighter, Magifox. Oh great, she came all the way here to vent frustration and instead she found some sorta sword otaku, an old fox lady, and someone that looked like she could copy homework from.

Keep it together, Kokoha you adorable JK. Just a minor annoyance.

"A-ahem, sorry I don't think we've met!" MagiGal said with the totally friendliest smile anyone had ever seen. "A little sad I missed the action it looks like, but glad to see you're all safe!" Well, no she didn't really care honestly. She was hoping to bash something herself with some of her own admittedly meager repertoire. "MagiGal at your service!~" Kokoha would finish with a rather stereotypical magical-girly pose she had seen in an anime once that she totally hadn't completely watched on purpose. "If you need support, I'm your totally adorable gal!"

She'd quickly clear her throat, ugh, man that was embarrassing.

"A-anyways! Are we...clear here?"

Shun Nakano

High above the streets of Shinjuku, sitting on the edge of a building with her feet dangling a hundred feet above the ground, the very cool and professional Magical Girl Shun Nakano was in the middle of something vitally important. Her phone pinged as her fellow Magical Girls sent yet another message in their group chat; they were coordinating a combined attack on a Shade somewhere nearby but she couldn’t let herself get distracted. They could handle it without her input; they would have to, as her current task was far more urgent.

Her very future as a Magical Girl was at stake.

[Shun-Shun]: Hey, if my parents ask can you tell them I’m at your place?
[Ami-tan]: Uh, yeah sure
[Ami-tan]: What are you up to?

Letting out a sigh, Shun quickly typed back a response of ‘something shady’, because she was the type of terrible person who found puns funny, and closed the conversation. That would hopefully stop her parents from finding out what she was doing for another night, but she was quickly running out of excuses and friends to rely on so if she was going to continue to sneak out like this she would need to come up with something. How did all the other girls do it? The ones that were older probably didn’t have to worry about it as much, but surely the ones still in high school like herself had to be telling their parents something, right?

“Hmm, maybe I should just join another club.” Club activities, night time practice sessions, even just more people to cover for her with her parents. That would work, except for the fact that joining a club would end up eating into her time even more than the Magical Girl stuff did. “Too bad my school doesn’t have an archery club. I wouldn’t even need to practice.” Would that be cheating? That would probably be cheating. The fairies probably wouldn’t be too happy if she used her abilities to win a few trophies, even if it was in service of the greater good.

Her phone pinged again and Shun raised it up to read the latest message.

[Starry-Eyed]: Ooh, croquettes. Get me one.

@Ammokkx

Kana looked up to see several attacks flying towards the bat like Shade, as she used her super human physique to chase after it. ”Hey wait!” She yelled out in surprise as she saw them flying towards the Shade. The white clad girl was concerned about her companion, afraid that the Fairy would be hit by a miscalculated shot or be put in the way of the assault by a sudden movement of the bat shade.

Though luckily, the attacks did not hit the fairy, instead it ripped through the bat like Shade, the icy flames hit it’s wing and spread to it’s upper body, while the thorns impaled it’s chest and created a mid air kabob. The Shade dissipated… Dropping the mouse like fairy from the air. Though luckily the fairy had the ability to fly as it was a magical creature.

“Quant, are ya alright?” Kana voiced as the fairy flew back to her. Quant gave a nod confirm he was unhurt, though he was still shaken from the sudden and surprise flight and subsequent skydiving tour, though other than that the worst did not happen. Kana gave a sigh of relief, though that quickly gave way to a bubble of anger.

“Do you lot have any idea what kind of ri-“ Kana paused as when she was about to voice her displeasure, she had a sudden realization as it sunk in. She didn’t think much of it, rather she was more concerned over not wanting to lose another friend, but these weren’t just some random do gooders. They were like her, Magical Girls.

Kana only had appearances to go off on, but she could tell that there was three. The first girl was some sort of Victorian Era ghost girl complete with ghostly glow and followed by a phantasmal lantern. The next girl looked like an delicate elf princess from fantasy story, while the final girl dressed more in Eastern fashion compared to the other two. They definitely looked more magical compared to Kana own transformation form, which could just be summed up as spilling bucket of white paint on herself and then picking up a Zweihander.

Kana hadn’t met any other Magical Girls since Kaori, after all it hasn’t been that long since she started to prowl around at night. She didn’t really know to do other than just remaining somewhat cautious. While she didn’t feel that they would actively attack her, they were still strangers to her and it was just common sense to be cautious around meeting those who you don’t know at night. Especially ones that had magical powers. Kana pausing her previous statement, only asked a question. “Who the hell are ya lot?”

@AzureKnight@FrogRFlowR@LuckyBlackCat

@Shiyonichi@FrogRFlowR@AzureKnight

With a sick jolt, Ukiko realised she hadn't thought things through. What if the shade made a sudden movement and put the mouse in the attack's way? Or she failed to catch the creature if they fell? Luckily the fireball hit its mark, a thorn attack from another magical girl finishing off the shade. Ukiko swooped to catch the mouse, but to her relief, the creature was either a flying familiar like Burabura, or a fairy.

Exhaling, Ukiko floated down to where three other magical girls stood. One who looked like a forest nymph clad in green and white lace, one whose traditionally Eastern outfit blazed fiery red and gold, one who wielded an impressive sword and appeared to have conflicting feelings about her mouse friend's rescue. A strained smile spread across Ukiko's face as she fought the urge to recoil. She'd battled shades nightly for the past two months. Nothing should unnerve her after that, especially not meeting new people, but somehow it did. As always in such a situation, she hid her awkwardness behind a confident, goofy front.

She vanished, flying up to the swordswoman and reappearing in front of her, a crazed grin on her face, fingers outstretched and wiggling. "The scoooourge of the night, that's who I am!" Giggling, she flipped over in midair and landed. Hamming it up as much as possible helped her nerves, and would hopefully cheer up the other girl somewhat. "Well, to shades anyway. You can call me Magical Girl Ghostlight!" She raised her fist and did the cheesiest magical girl pose she could. "Or just Ukiko, and this here is Burabura."

She gestured to her familiar, who drifted over with a grumble. "Y'know, you might not want to startle someone who's holding a giant sword-bura," the lantern chided. "And you could've waited till you'd gotten closer to that shade before letting loose-bura. What if you'd hit the captive-bura?"

"Ehh, just trying to lighten the mood..." Ukiko's smile became a tense rictus again as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Don't mind Burabura, she's like this all the time." She stuck out her tongue at Burabura, who poked out her own tongue right back, classic chochin-obake style. In truth, Ukiko couldn't really blame the swordswoman for getting mad - her friend had been in danger, after all. But still, it had all turned out ok hadn't it? "And hey, all's well that ends well."

Burabura groaned. "Just saying-bura. One of these days you're going to get yourself, or someone else, in trouble-bura."

Shaking her head, Ukiko gave a tense laugh. Get in trouble? Yes it had been a close call, but wasn't the whole point of becoming a fearless fighter to keep people out of trouble? Like she'd failed to do all those years ago? "Anyway..." She glanced around the group. "What are your names?"

The magical girl wielding a large blade started freaking out as the other two fired their attacks, worried that they may inadvertently hit her fairy friend. Yeah, friendly fire was never fun, Setsuko recalls having lost many an online match due to such situations. Never play with randos , that’s for sure…

Hold up! There’s no time to think about that now, that poor little fairy’s in serious danger! Before Setsuko could react, however, it seemed that the attacks ended up hitting the shade as intended and the little fairy was safely freed. The girl holding the large sword, though relieved, was quite upset at the danger the other two posed to the little sprite. When Setsuko was asked who she was along with the others, she decided to follow suit with the magical girl who introduced herself as Ghostlight and give an extravagant preamble.

“I bid you all a pleasant evening, fellow magical girls! I’d first like to say that the tag team combo displayed earlier was most superb! I’d expect nothing less from my fellow shade bashers. As for who I am, allow me to properly introduce myself.”

She puts a hand to cover her face as small flames of different colors emit from her.

“I am the flames of indignation, guided by the light of the rising sun! I am the righteous light that guides the way to salvation and delivers swift judgment to the wicked! I am the wings of propriety that envelop the heavens with a hue of brilliant vermillion.”

The flames begin to sparkle more brilliantly and her hair begins to sway along with the show of force.

“I am none other than the magical girl Crimson Wing! I will burn away the shade and bathe the innocent in the light of justice!”

She removed her hand from her face and stuck an overly dramatic pose, red wings had also appeared behind her from the embers that were emitting from her earlier. She probably thought she looked cool, but honestly she looked kind of like a dork…

Nailed it! She thought to herself.

@AzureKnight@LuckyBlackCat@Shiyonichi

The attack of Yui's ghostly peer threw the shade off balance, causing her own attack to pierce it instead of entangling it like Yui initially wanted. This startled her and took her off guard as she did not like 'killing' shades. Yui would normally just...make them disappear, using her own powers for that. She was soon brought out of her saddened state by the sword-wielding girl who seemed startled herself as well as angry at them.

All of the present magical girls kind of walked, flew or ran closer together, so Yui skipped down to them as well, but made the last few steps closer a bit slower, out of hesitation, as well as holding her BellFlower wand tighter and closer to her. She, too, was not yet used to others like her.

Remaining silent and almost motionless for the time being, Yui's eyes were fixed on Ukiko as she disappeared and moved around, seemingly completely sure of herself. She even interiorly cheered with Ukiko when she raised her fist, not bringing herself to do it alongside her for real. Her familiar, Bura-Bura, as well as the whole scene between them made Yui smile and keep in a laugh with a hand before her mouth.

"Hm....I.."

“I bid you all a pleasant evening, fellow magical girls! I’d first like to say that the tag team combo displayed earlier was most superb! I’d expect nothing less from my fellow shade bashers. As for who I am, allow me to properly introduce myself.”

As Yui was about to introduce herself, an extremely energetic girl walked up and took the spotlight before anyone probably could even notice shy little Yui even attempted to say anything. She did not mind in the slightest though, as her eyes shined looking up at the newcomer, her face sporting a very invested look. She bought everything 'Crimson Wing' was selling. Yui had to take one or two step away to avoid the burning wings, though.

It was only then that she mustered what courage she could to take a step forward and clear her throat. All of these girls looked more experienced than her, without mentioning clearly older too, and Yui was at that stage where she would cross to the other sidewalk to avoid older teenagers. That being said, she planted her Bellflower wand in the ground and made a quick and polite bow.

"Hello everyone, my name's Yui !" she said smiling as she got back up...only to realize how short of an introduction that was. As it dawned on her that she may have come off as uninteresting, she scrambled to find other things to say

"...Hum...T-the Evergreen Magical Girl, that i-is..." avoiding their eyes, she turned to Kana and added "Sorry about your friend, we just wanted to help. Is she hurt? I, hum...I can help if that's the case."

Kana… Gave a flat stare at the group… she didn’t really outwardly react to Hotaru to attempt at spooking her out (Due to her being able to somewhat sense her as a magical girl.) nor did she really react to Himejima’s flamboyant introductions, there was only one thing racing through her mind… Do these people all have Chuunibyou? Though not all she supposed the forest girl seemed to be the sanest person here, besides the floating ghost lantern, though the fire girl was definitely terminal Chuuni, but even she gave out a Chuuni like Magical girl name. Was that normal for a magical girl and she was just the weird one or did was that just that what happened sooner or later? Was that was eventually going to happen to her? Shouting like a anime character? She didn’t really want to think about it.

“Yeah, he’s fine. Don’t worry about it, it was my fault for letting my guard down in the first place.” The colorful introductions at least managed to get the delinquent magical girl to abandon her original thoughts. Instead she was just left with a feeling of disappointment in herself about her own inexperience. “Um… Right, we should introduce ourselves as well.” Quant flew from behind Kana, floating next to Kana.

“… Right introductions.” Kana rubbed her back of her neck. ”The name’s Kana.” Quant tapped her on the side with an ahem. With a slight grumble, she reiterated. “ The name’s Kana, I’ve been fighting Shades for about 2 weeks now, so I don’t have an alias-“ “What about, White Girl?” “-Yeah, no, never in a million years am I using that name. Anyway nice to meet ya all.” Quant tapped her again. ”Kana, this is your chance, to learn from your seniors, so ask something. Quant whispered, to which Kana whispered back. “So what am I exactly supposed to ask?” The Fairy simply sighed at his contracted girl.

“My name is Quant, I’m acting as Kana’s fairy. Please take care of Kana, she’s a bit of a loner when it comes to new people, so help her out when she needs it.” Quant gave his own introduction, to which Kana interjected with. ”What are you, my mother?”

@FrogRFlowR@AzureKnight@LuckyBlackCat

@Shiyonichi@FrogRFlowR@AzureKnight

Well, Crimson Wing's display was quite something. Ukiko stared in awe at the dancing flames and burning wings. Now this was along the lines of what came to mind when she thought "magical girl" - she couldn't imagine this girl having any confidence issues, or being scared of anything. Yui, aka Evergreen, gave a much more sedate introduction, but her power was no less impressive judging by the thorn attack just now. Compared to them, Ukiko suddenly felt small and lesser. Not that she was about to let it show - magical girls put on a brave face no matter what.

The white-clad girl reacted rather less favourably, with a blank stare. It was only with much prompting from the mouse, Quant, that she introduced herself as Kana. At Kana's sassing of Quant, Ukiko chuckled. "Oh believe me, I feel your pain." She glanced at Burabura, then back. "Nice to meet you though! And yep, ask away if you want. I've been at this for two months, so I pretty much know what I'm doing." Or at least, she hoped she did. Her stomach clenched as she resolved to live up to her words.

As reassuring and fearless as Ukiko had meant to sound, Burabura wasn't impressed. That single green eye rolled. "Don't get overconfident-bura. While all magical girls have potential, even those with years of experience still have things to learn-bura."

Ukiko gave a mix of a laugh and a groan. "See what I mean?" Yeah it was all a learning curve, but as forces of positivity, magical girls were supposed to be cheerful and confident, weren't they? Boosting each other's morale was important, and the classic magical girl mannerisms from her and Crimson Wing had put a smile on Yui's face. She stood tall, head held high. "No need to worry though, nobody messes with Ghostlight! Or any of us, by the look of it!"

She studied Kana, trying to figure out her concept. The white colour scheme suggested ice or light, but she couldn't connect those with a huge sword. "So besides that awesome sword, what kind of magic do you use?"