[IC] Urban Starlight Wonderland: A Magical Girl RP

[VitaVitaAR]

As the girls spoke and introduced one another, perhaps some of them would notice a certain feel in the air. A familiar, heavy sensation, seemingly coming from the east of their location, was beginning to grow. This was undeniably the feeling of a shade, and one that was somewhat higher grade then the batlike creature they had destroyed moments ago.

Indeed, perhaps anyone who chose to glance in that direction would see a strange, dark, slithering shape just on the edge of vision...

@FrogRFlowR@DDVicky@LuckyBlackCat@AzureKnight@Shiyonichi

---

"Hey! Have you seen anything strange around here?!"

A voice called to the girl and her dog. If she turned towards it, she would be greeted by a particularly surreal sight(at least as far as ordinary people were concerned).

A small, slender girl, seemingly no older then ten at the most, wearing pink furisode. Her pale face was framed with dark, bobbed hair, and she had rather bright pink eyes the same shade as her kimono. In one hand she held a bamboo broom.

Looking like some kind of lucky household spirit, the small girl rushed up to Abigail's side.

"I'm looking for-o-oh, you're a Foreigner..."

She trailed off, fidgeting awkwardly for a few moments.

"... [D-do... yu... su... suppeeku nihongo?]"

At least she made an attempt.

@Raineh Daze

---

Unfortunately, they were not clear.

A heavy sensation would strike all three magical girls, as another shade crawled along the wall, entering the alleyway. It resembled a huge frog, bright red and orange lights lining the sides of its body as it eyelessly regarded the magical girls.

When it opened its mouth, its black tongue suddenly lashed out towards the girls!

@RolePlayerRoxas@Rin@Rune_Alchemist

[RolePlayerRoxas]

"...Yep, all clear~" Himeko cheerfully assured Kokoha, once more sipping at her tea. Though sadly the flavour was somewhat overpowered by that rather unpleasant aura that a more readily-threatening Shade can emanate. Glancing over her shoulder, the frog-like creature hopped into view, lashing its tongue towards them in a sudden attack. Three against one, this wasn't likely to be much of a threat to the group, but at least it could totally justify Himeko's call for assistance!

"Ah, the real menace emerges at last~!" Leaping into the air to avoid the attack, Himeko twirled the pipe in her left hand, then aimed it towards the Shade. A small burst of blue flame shot towards the creature; a weak attack, but she didn't think of the creature as particularly nimble or intelligent, so her attack was meant more for distracting it, while Naoko and Kokoha could make quick work of it. Just enough time to finish off this boba drink.

@Rin @Rune_Alchemist

[VitaVitaAR]

As the chat on the phone continued, Nico would be struck with an odd sensation. It wasn't entirely different from the feeling of the presence of a shade, but somehow it felt somewhat less heavy. Or perhaps concentrated differently?

Regardless of what it was, it was definitely not the same feeling that the presence of a shade would produce. Perhaps it would warrant investigation?

@Ammokkx@King Cosmos

[Ammokkx]

~~Nico~~

---

Shinjuku was bustling- no surprise considering the location- but that lack of surprise didn't help Nico's current situation of barely having any room to breathe in the crowd. It was partially her own fault for heading in the direction of the railway, granted, especially at the hour when people left work. As much as all of these things are the consequences of her own actions, it didn't mean she particularly had to like it. All she could really do was keep her gaze turned slightly downwards, phone in hand. At least it served as a way to make sure she didn't have to make any eye-contact with people in the crowd. She still had the magical girl group chat open, briefly mulling over how to respond to the newest message in it.

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

Nico came to realize she didn't really... know this person, or any of the other ones beyond having seen a couple in passing. She certainly couldn't place a face to the nicknames- an issue she should've probably thought about before sharing her plans for the day. As much as she didn't really want to spend more money than she needed to, maybe this was actually a good opportunity to get to know someone- anyone, really. So, she replied with:

[Neko-2]: Sure thing! Where are you?

The message was delivered and mere moments after, by some cosmic turn of fate, Nico felt a strange presence. Like a shade, but... not a shade. It was concerning enough to make Nico shift gears, in any case. She kept the chat updated:

[Neko-2]: Maybe not, actually. I think a shade formed near me.
[Neko-2]: Do you want to get some together, later? I'll give you the address:

Having included said address in the next text she'd sent, Nico looked up from her phone to see that... she was in a huge crowd of people. Further away from side-streets than when she started. Near one of the busiest spots in town. It was not exactly the best situation to be in when your intent is to patrol mysterious, magical happenings. Like a nervous habit, Nico brought a thumb to her lips and chewed on it a little, thinking of how to get around this dilemma. She couldn't transform, but couldn't let the lead go either. For now she just had to follow the trail, untransformed, and hope she got a good opportunity to do so en-route. Nico zig-zagged her way through the masses and had then picked up her pace. She had to make it to where the odd sensation came from as fast as she could on foot.

[Raineh Daze]

Abigail Hood

Curry bread finished, Abigail glanced at her phone before replying to the exceedingly pink magical girl. No reply? Well, maybe she had seen the message anyway; it would be hard to think why another magical girl would specifically be headed to this park entrance at this time on this day... independently searching for the same Shade was quite the long odds.

"I can speak Japanese, you need not worry about that," the blonde said with a smile, straightening up and looking around briefly for observers. One short phrase later--which, given the other girl's apparent poor grasp of English, was almost certainly going over her head--and a rather obnoxiously shiny transformation later, Abigail was a handful of inches shorter and carrying a good deal more metal. So, for that matter, was Lucy; who knew a dog could be armoured?

"You came here to help me?"

@VitaVitaAR

[Rune_Alchemist]

Keeper of the Arcana

@Rin@RolePlayerRoxas

---

"Wah, a frog!" Kokoha jumped slightly at the appearance of the new Shade, being mostly unprepared for the sudden appearance of something else. With its tongue lashing out towards her, thank goodness she already had Justices' sword out. Instead of avoiding the appendage altogether, Kokoha would instead use the opportunity to counter. Immediately, she'd use Deaths card to change fate, swapping to the 'Strength' card, immediately feeling her physical strength increasing. It was immediately followed with a vertical slash upwards, with the intent to sever the frogs tongue.

"This is for ruining my evening!" She'd shout, hoping to make quick work of this shade.

[FrogRFlowR]

@AzureKnight@LuckyBlackCat@Shiyonichi

"How cute." Yui thought as Quant introduced itself.

So these two, at least, were experienced Magical Girls then? And from Crimson's introduction, Yui could be forgiven to assume that she had at least a few weeks of experience also. As for the young girl herself, 'The Evergreen Magical Girl' only had a few days. Indeed, the fairy that visited Yui, Alette she said her name was, only came earlier this week. Which meant that between evenings hunts and school...Yui actually had a few hours of practice at best. Green indeed seemed to be her colour.

That being said, as Ukiko was talking and generally grabbing attention, Yui seemed to be the first one to notice or, at least, bring up the matter at hand. Feeling a sort of 'tingling' sensation, the girl's attention was brought to the slithering shape of a shade seemingly still hiding from them.

Taking a step towards her seniors, Yui tugged on Setsuko's robe lightly to draw the attention if the fiery girl "Hmm... Sorry, but; isn't that a Shade?" she said with all the innocence in the world, pointing over to the threat.

[LuckyBlackCat]

@Shiyonichi@FrogRFlowR@AzureKnight

"Hmm... Sorry, but isn't that a Shade?"

Catching Yui's heads-up to Setsuko, Ukiko stared in the direction the younger girl pointed. So, that shivery sensation wasn't just nerves. To the east, down the street, something black slithered almost out of sight - a much stronger one than the bat, by the feel of it. Swallowing down shock, Ukiko forced a chuckle.

"Heh, yep, and a terribly concealed shade at that. C'mon, let's go!" Right away, Ukiko was on it, flying towards the writhing form. "Don't think ya can hide from us! Ready or not, here we come!"

An angry glow flared at her side. "Waaaaaait-bura!" There was a note of alarm in Burabura's voice. "That thing's a doozy-bura! You can't just rush in without a plan-bura!"

Ukiko clenched her fists. "There's no time. People could get hurt if we don't act now." Images flashed through her mind. A dark shape in a forest, closing in. Her friend in a hospital bed, barely clinging to life. If that magical girl had reached Aika and the shade any later back then... Ukiko shook her head, focusing on the matter at hand. She flung a frosty wisp at the slithering creature, to lure it out into the open. "Show that ugly face of yours, you coward!"

[VitaVitaAR]

The enormous frog was distracted by the blue flame, shifting its head out of the way in a bid to avoid being struck directly. Of course, this meant it did not spot the flash of Kokoha's sword, and a strange gurgling sound erupted from it when the edge of the blade cut cleanly through its tongue. Spewing glowing orange and black, the remainder of the appendage rapidly snapped backwards into the shade's mouth, and it leaped back down off the wall in order to gain some distance from the magical girls.

It croaked once, a booming, rattling sound as its throat inflated with orange, swirling colors, and then again. The second time, its entire belly inflated rapidly, filling with air and ballooning its size considerably.

With a powerful leap, it sprang into the air, its shadow falling over the girls as it attempting to slam its bulk down upon them.

@RolePlayerRoxas@Rune_Alchemist@Rin

---

What Nico would discover when she reached the spot that seemed to be the source of the strange sensation was that it wasn't on the ground level. Rather, it was directly above her, atop a building.

The only way to reach it directly would be to find some way up.

Provided she did, the sight the magical girl would be greeted with was not that of a shade. At least not a visible one, perhaps.

A young girl, likely around Nico's age, stood at the edge of the rooftop.. Her short, messy white hair drifted slowly in the breeze, and she was still wearing her school uniform.

She did not initially respond to Nico's presence, instead staring at the back of her hand as she remained nearly motionless, as close as she could get to the edge without falling off.

Slowly, she looked back over her shoulder, expressionlessly, when she realized someone else was there.

She didn't move away from the edge.

This location was undeniably the source of the shade-like sensation.

@Ammokkx

---

"Oh, you're a magical girl!" relieved at both the fact that Abigail could speak Japanese and that she was talking to a fellow magical girl, the apparent child seemed to relax considerably. "And... so is your dog...?"

She appeared bewildered at the sight of the dog transforming as well, but after a moment she nodded.

"If you're the girl who sent the message about tracking a shade here, that's right," she continued, "It might be hiding, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous to innocent people."

A look of determination on her face, she nodded firmly to herself as she raised her bamboo broom. It sparkled slightly.

"Do you have any idea where to look? I'm pretty good at detecting evil, so even if you don't know I should be able to find it pretty quickly!"

@Raineh Daze

---

The writhing mass of darkness twisted in on itself for a few moments. Its entire shape rippled at the contact of the icy blast, but it stabilized after a few moments.

Extending from the upper surface of the rippling mass came two forelimbs, ending in scythe-like blades lined with orange lights, and using those forelimbs it dragged itself out of the darkness fully. Its shape was comparable to a praying mantis, an upright upper body equipped with two bladed forelimbs and a lengthy lower body supported by four more limbs.

The similarities ended, however, when its upper body split down the middle, revealing rows of jagged, sharp edges that resembled teeth and a pair of floating orange lights, which flashed before letting off a scattered hail of lasers.

@FrogRFlowR@DDVicky@LuckyBlackCat@AzureKnight@Shiyonichi

[Ammokkx]

~~Nico~~

---

"Where are you...?" Nico thought to herself as she (slightly nervously) worked her way to the source of her uneasy feeling. The girl's eyes checked out everybody she passed for any sign of attack or possession. Luckily, or maybe obviously, none of the people walking around on the main streets had anything wrong with them. It wasn't a shade, nor was it anyone possessed- those two things ruled themselves out pretty quickly. So then what was Nico feeling?

She fiddled with one of her hairstyle's tails. The magical girl had not just been searching, but also thinking. It wasn't really a secret she was still pretty green to this whole 'playing the hero' thing. The worst Nico's had to deal with were a few low ranking shades, nothing she couldn't handle by herself. It made her slightly anxious to not know what awaited her. The fairy never mentioned anything like this being able to happen, at the very least. Nico mused about it, mulled it over and stewed on the topic for her entire trek. She was no closer to an answer for all her pondering, but her instincts? Those told a different story. "Found you!" she reaffirmed to herself, looking up at the sky- or more accurately, to the rooftop of the building she'd found herself next to.

Nico lowered her head and looked around. There were still a few passers-by around and, though none were making eye-contact with anything but the floor, Nico still couldn't afford to transform right then and there. There was a small alley next to the building, yes, but transforming there at the wrong moment could lead to her being seen anyway. She didn't have much choice other than to try and make her way up the building without her magical powers. Luckily, it didn't look to be that hard. There was a stairwell around the outside- probably a fire exit or something for maintenance, but whatever the case, it happened to work out. Nico acted like she belonged in the area and began climbing up the stairs. All that was left to do once she reached their top was to step on a vent sticking out the wall- it got Nico enough height to allow the girl to pull herself up just a smidge and get onto the rooftop.

One would be forgiven for thinking that Nico, finally, would have her opportunity to transform. After all, nobody seemed to have called out her Indiana Jonesing the wall, nor do people tend to look up at rooftops to spy for plain looking schoolgirls. Just a quick thought and, whoosh, Nico would become an ally of justice. It really would've been that easy, if a small quirk of the situation hadn't been dictating otherwise. Nico wasn't alone on this rooftop. Back turned to Nico, there was another girl- not much of any older than herself- standing at the opposite edge... dangerously close to stepping over it. All color drained from Nico's face and, in that brief moment, she'd forgotten all about her objective for coming here in the first place.

"No way... I need to stop her!" her mind started to wander, taking a very quick turn to a dark place.

Nico gently stepped forward. "Hey-!" she tried to call out, but couldn't find any words to follow up with. The other girl lazily turned her head back, seemingly undisturbed by Nico being there. The two of them stared at each-other. Nico's nerves were palpable when she spoke up again: "U-um... I don't, I don't really know what's going on. But! Uh, that's..." she awkwardly stumbled over her words. She didn't know what to say when confronted with this situation.

"If... if you need someone to talk to, or a friend, ah... I know we've only just met, but...! I- I'd like to help you in whatever way I can! So... please, step away from the edge?" Nico tried to nudge her, taking another careful step forward. She didn't want to move too suddenly and scare the other girl into doing something reckless.

[Shiyonichi]

”My other magic? If ya want to know badly, then I guess it can’t hurt to tell ya. It’s-“ Kana paused as she was interrupted by the others noticing that a new trouble maker had just appeared. ”Quant, get behind me.” With a simple “right” as a confirmation Quant took cover this time the fairy was going to avoid being caught and becoming the damsel.

The Shade fired lasers at the group, Kana immediately stepped forwards with a raised hand, in front of her manifested a clear, thick barrier made from water to meet the beam. The lasers would pass through the barrier, as they were traveling through water, they would distort and bend away from the the girls.

After the hail fire would pass away from them, Kana took the remaining mass off water from the barrier and shape it into three needle like javelin. Kana quickly fired the first water Javelin to try and hit the orbs to disable pierce through them to prevent the mantis like Shade from firing off anymore lasers at the group.

Kana would then bare her blade. “Kana, this is a higher level Shade then what you have been facing. Just be careful!” Quant warned Kana, though the white colored magical girl didn’t respond, despite this being a stronger shade, she didn’t show any sign of fear.

She had already met a Shade to be afraid of, a true monster she needed to overcome. If she let her fear take over for a Shade like this, then her blade would never be able to reach her hated enemy. Clear and crisp like her element, the swordswoman briefly studied her opponent, nothing the Shade’s features, before dashing into the fray. The two other water javelins followed besides her as she went into melee range.

@VitaVitaAR@LuckyBlackCat@FrogRFlowR@AzureKnight

[LuckyBlackCat]

@Shiyonichi@FrogRFlowR@AzureKnight@VitaVitaAR

At the sight of the shade, Ukiko’s confident look vanished. She’d expected it to be stronger than average, but what she hadn’t expected was the bug behemoth that emerged from the shadows, sporting wickedly sharp blades for arms. Her blood chilled as a fang-filled mouth opened up in its chest, revealing two orange flares that shot forth a volley of lasers.

And she’d just put herself and Burabura right in the line of fire.

Wrapping her arms around Burabura, she twisted round to protect the lantern and flew up, but the lasers were too fast. She braced for the impact – which never came. A shimmering wall of water appeared, deflecting the lasers.

With a heavy sigh of relief, Ukiko looked over to see Kana, hand outstretched. Kana’s sword and white colour scheme hadn’t brought water magic to mind, but it was pretty impressive – and the barriers were much needed right now. “Whew, close one.” As Kana shaped the water into three spears, shooting one at an orb in the shade’s chest, Ukiko positioned herself by her side. “Bugs don’t scare me though!”

It took all her willpower to keep her hand from trembling as she raised it, sending a spectral blast towards the other orb. As the wisp hurtled forth alongside the javelin, the water froze into an ice shard, for extra impact. She and Kana made a good team already, she told herself, trying her best to keep her thoughts positive.

As Kana rushed the shade with her sword and javelins, Ukiko darted around to its side. “Quick, Burabura, let’s aim for the legs! Spectral Bullet Hell!” She launched wisp after wisp from both hands, trying to topple the shade, or at least draw its attention away from Kana’s attack.

Beside her, Burabura couldn’t speak for the ghostly flames spewing out of her mouth, but her groan told Ukiko exactly what she thought of the attack name.

[FrogRFlowR]

@AzureKnight@LuckyBlackCat@Shiyonichi

"Maybe we shouldn't get too close..." Yui began saying as Ukiko made her way to the shade as soon as Yui had pointed it out. Once again, she ended up agreeing more with Bura-Bura than her senior Mahou Shojo.

Her eyes were darting between the Shade and the Ghost Girl and couldn't help but notice her clenched fist, however brief. Yui was a very good Gardener, and once, some time ago, she told her granny she felt like she could feel the plants. She knew what they needed or how they felt. The plants were easier to read than the people to her. Yui's grandmother always said of her grand daughter that she was the most empathic person she knew. Ever since Yui had her powers, she felt like part of that 'gift' applied to people too, now. She couldn't be too sure, but ever since she met her new companions she couldn't help but feel like Ukiko, at least, was putting on a bigger façade than the others. No matter how hard she tried, some of it, at least to Yui, seeped out. She felt it.

While she was thinking and observing though, the others jumped into action. All Yui could do as the laser come towards them was was duck down since she was caught by surprise - however Kana's magic seemed to have saved them this time. Snapping out of it, Yui also went into action following Ukiko. She used her Happy Steps to get a bit higher, skipping on top of a slightly elevated rooftop. Seeing Kana charging in and Ukiko also launching attack after attack, Yui had an idea.

"Roses: Passion." she said, getting down on a knee so that both her hands touched the floor. From the wall beneath her first suddenly burst forth two roses bulb followed by their ever growing stem, looking like giant vines with thorns. Yui would direct those two vines towards the Shade's legs to try and wrap around them and prevent it from moving and dodging whatever attacks her companions would throw it's way.

[Rune_Alchemist]

Keeper of the Arcana

@RolePlayerRoxas@VitaVitaAR

---

"Aha, success!" Kokoha responded with a very brief cry of victory as her sword cleanly cut through the frogs tongue. Ugh, she'd have hated it if she had ended up like some dumb anime gag in that one anime...she forgot the name of. Whatever. "Huhu, of course I'd do well-" She didn't get long to gloat about her small victory before the frog in question leaped off the building into the air, starting to hurtle towards the group of magical girls to crush them with its impressive weight.

"Giant frogs are not the things I like being crushed by!" Kokoha shouted as she'd immediately start making a beeline away from the massive shade amphibian. Okay, strength was good and all but if it was just gonna crush her to death...hm...maybe she could just whack it with Judgement? No no, that'd leave her vulnerable and completely exhausted. Ugh, why did it take so damn long to swap cards!? Okay, breathe Kokoha, breathe...slowly, she'd banish the Strength card, feeling her physical might leaving as she'd draw another card - the Hermit. If she could draw it just before the impact from the frog, then hopefully she could maneuver to strike it where it could hurt the most.

[AzureKnight]

_{@FrogRFlowR@LuckyBlackCat@Shiyonichi}

🐦

Setsuko listened intently as her peers introduced themselves, though it seemed that Kana wasn’t awfully impressed with her flashy intro. It made her heart sink a bit, she had to admit. She stayed up almost all night coming up with the words and practicing the posing. The least you could do is say cool or wow… She said to herself.

Before the pleasantries could continue, however, Setsuko received a tug at her cloth from Yui. Looking in the direction she was pointing, she quickly sensed a dark energy brewing. Erupting from the shadows was a massive shade, numerous yellow eyes covered its body and orange liquid dripped from its tendrils. Her fellow magical girls quickly began their attack, with Ukiko and Yui launching their spells at the creature. Kana also followed suit, sending sharp water javelins its way.

“Yes! Time for a combination super!” She exclaimed. Generating scarlet wings on her arms, Setsuko quickly took to the air overhead and began conjuring powerful flames.

“Fell creature born from the darkness of the heart, you will be judged by the flames of indignation! Repent and dissipate as you are enveloped by the vermillion light!” After her melodramatic speech, she let loose a large bird-shaped fire blast at the beast. “March of the Vermillion Sparrow!” She yelled.

[Raineh Daze]

Abigail

"Someone said a shade escaped into this park. As its destruction has yet to be confirmed, I imagine that it must still be in here; there have been no other assaults in the area since," Abigail explained, gesturing for the small girl to follow her and leading the way into the park. The transformed dog had her head down as well, searching for a scent of something... negative? Hard to say; it wasn't as if Abigail herself could smell shades or what that might possible by compared to. "I hope it stayed away from the pond; I lack the attacks to effectively engage on the water. What about yourself, miss...?"

@VitaVitaAR

[VitaVitaAR]

The white-haired girl quietly stared back at Nico, wordlessly, as she spoke. She didn't respond immediately, looking down at her hands, for a moment, then back to the other girl.

Finally, she spoke. Her voice was soft, without much tone or inflection. It was either with little emotion, or simply emotionally dead. Given the situation, either could have been accurate.

"... Someone came to stop me?"

She didn't move from the building's edge, but she didn't step off of it either. At the very least, if she had been planning to jump, she hadn't done so yet.

"How did you know I was up here?" the girl questioned again, this time her voice carrying the slightest hint of insistence as she did. It was strange, if Nico were to pay attention she'd be able to discern that the shade-like feeling was coming from the exact spot the girl stood in. As if it was coming from the girl herself. "I didn't tell anyone. No-one's supposed to know yet."

She glanced off the edge of the building again. She was mostly expressionless, still, but there was a deadness to her eyes that made the worst interpretation of the situation all the more likely.

"So how did you know...?"

It certainly seemed as if she was still planning on jumping.

At least, if that was really what was going on here.

@Ammokkx

---

At the attacks aimed towards it, the mantis-like shade shut its upper half, concealing the flame-like orbs as it leaned forward, preparing to scuttle away with a metallic, grating sound.

But it staggered when its legs were struck by the wisps, flames singing its body and causing it to stumble, unable to continue its attempt to escape. Soon, they were followed by the winding vines, locking it in place even as it struggled.

Its upper body bent backwards when the javelins of water struck it in the torso, blowing two holes through its shifting, shadowy body. And if that wasn't enough, the followup blast of flames washed over it, searing through its upper half. For a moment it was silhouetted in the flames, before slowly evaporating, wiped away by the intense heat.

And yet...

It was still standing. The dark, hazy remains of its torso swirled around a brilliant, blazing orange orb, which flashed once with a high-pitched whine, before erupting with negative energy. A beam of light exploded from its surface, sounding almost like a child's scream as it tore through the air. It burned through the street, tearing towards the nearest of the assembled magical girls...!

@Shiyonichi@LuckyBlackCat@FrogRFlowR@AzureKnight

---

"Hisako," the pink-clad magical girl replied, glancing around the park as she did. Thankfully, she didn't sense anything from the direction of the pond, but depending on where the shade was located that didn't necessarily mean it was somewhere they would be able to react easily, nor that it was necessarily not in the water.

But a natural space like this was marginally less likely to have active shades, especially at this time of day.

"If it's in the water, Sweep Up should be able to get it out!" she declared, her eyes sparkling as she raised her bamboo broom. It glowed slightly brighter at the mention of what was presumably one of her attacks.

The vague negative presence of a shade could be detected, after a few moments of searching it seemed to be a short distance to the north.

@Raineh Daze

[RolePlayerRoxas]

Magi☆Magic☆Fox, Himeko

Showing a distinct lack of worry about the inflated frog creature looming above her location, Himeko was much more leisurely about her escape from the impact zone, lazily hopping back as she finished the last of her drink. This was hardly the fox's first battle against a large, straight-forward opponent, after all. And it's not like it had enough of a tongue left to be cautious of it! One good smack from Kokoha should end it, by her estimation. Not that Himeko wasn't going to pitch in - behind the mischievous fox, a blue ball of flame was forming in the air, quickly growing and extending towards the shrine maiden's lower back, meeting with the base of her fluffy, unruffled tail.

With the appearance of her second 'tail', came a minor boost to her abilities. Her power was hardly anything worth noting, still, but the appearance more than made up for it, at least! Now then, to ensure that whatever Kokoha had planned would go off without a hitch...
Himeko swung her arm, the tobacco pipe elongating and transforming into a shrine maiden's trusty tool, the gohei. As it did so, a stream of blue flame was unleashed, aimed right at the unfortunate shade. Much like before, there wasn't a whole lot of power behind Himeko's magic even with the second tail, but it should serve as a great distraction from Kokoha's own attack.

[LuckyBlackCat]

@Shiyonichi@FrogRFlowR@AzureKnight@VitaVitaAR

"Yes!!" Exhaling in relief as the shade went up in flames, Ukiko punched the air and grinned up at Setsuko. They'd done it. "Magical girl senshi 1, shade 0!"

She'd spoken too soon. The fire died down to reveal black mist, still forming a vague mantis shape. From inside the fog, an orange orb blazed. With an unearthly shriek, the sphere unleashed a burst of light - right at her. "Waugh!" Ukiko flew out of the way, avoiding a direct hit, but wasn't fast enough to evade it entirely. She yelped, clutching her right arm where the blast had singed her. "Ugh... You don't know when to quit do you?"

Burabura, with her single eye, stared in horror at the wound. "Are you alright-bura? That looks nasty-bura!"

"It's nothing," Ukiko hissed through clenched teeth, although it wasn't. Up until now, no shade had felt like such a threat as this one. "L-Let's show it what happens to those who get on our bad side! Soulfire Combo!" Raising her good arm, she sent wisps swirling around the stream of spectral energy Burabura breathed, directly at the orb. They'd all have to hit this shade with everything they had.

[FrogRFlowR]

@LuckyBlackCat

From her slightly elevated position, Yui watched on as they had seemingly won. The combined attacks seemed to, at first, have vanquished the shade...so why did this bad feeling not go away then?

That was when Yui realized it wasn't over with, as the shade came back into action and launched another attack. Even if she was not necessarily the target, Yui didn't take any chances and used her Cheerful Thoughts ability to make a transparent tulip appears around her and act as a shield as the enemy's beam barreled towards them. It barely touched Yui's shield, but the young girl heard Ukiko's yelp as she jumped out of the way.

"Happy Steps." she said to herself as she skipped yet again towards the phantom girl. She stopped for a second, Ukiko was pretty much in the open. Another attack could be coming...but after only a second of hesitation, Yui shook her head and ran to the wounded girl's side. Their companions could keep it busy, she had faith in them even fi she only just met them; they were all magical girls after all.

"Wait just a second please, Ukiko-senpai..." Yui grabbed her bellflower-staff and approached it to the wounded arm, cupping her other arm close to the wound also and closed her eyes.

It seemed that for a moment Yui's cheeked reddened slightly before she said; "Perfect Love...". Immediately, the stem of a flower began growing around Ukiko. Not tightly, but the stem grew until it reached the location of her wound, where the bulb matured into a beautiful pale pink Tulip. Any feelings of being hurt would starts to slowly fade as the flower emanated a feint glow and the wound would slowly heal.

When it was fully healed, Yui took a step back and seemed somewhat strained. "You should feel better now...I-I hope..."