[center][h1][color=skyblue]❅❄ Fuyuko Yamazaki ❄❅[/color][/h1][/center][hr]
[@A Lowly Wretch]

The casual chatting during the journey home wasn't enough to lighten the tension in the air. Fuyuko noted her mother's hunched posture over the steering wheel, as if the return from from a busy day teaching to an even more stressful home life weighed on her physically as well as mentally. Fuyuko wanted to tell her she wasn't alone in trying to help, but couldn't. Noriko was the only person she could talk to about certain things.

It was a few hours after the three had arrived home that the front door slammed. Fuyuko sat bolt upright at her desk, eyes shifting from her homework to the bedroom door. Footsteps plodded through the hall downstairs. Muffled voices grew louder, angrier. Her father's slurred words sounded like he'd had an after-work whisky or several. Fuyuko winced. Since he'd become unable to run the business, moving to the city in search of job opportunities that came and went, his drinking and demeanour had gotten worse. [i]No wonder,[/i] Fuyuko thought. The more he accused himself of failing the family, the more he struggled - and by extension, so did everyone around him. A vicious cycle. Had those shades been preying on him since day one, the robbery of his stock followed by that of his resilience and self-worth?

Sighing, she rose and shuffled along the hallway, knocking at Noriko's door. [color=skyblue]"This sounds like our cue to head out,"[/color] she whispered.

After scanning for monsters targeting the house and thankfully finding none, the two girls stuck close by each other as they headed up a hill to a nearby shrine. Despite her interest in folklore, Fuyuko had never been particularly religious, but if magic was real, who was to say gods weren't? Besides, all she could do was pray for the upcoming challenge, or for some other miracle if this proved too great for her.

[color=mediumseagreen]"I can't wait to hear all about this later!"[/color] Noriko bubbled, then stopped in her tracks, face suddenly serious. [color=mediumseagreen]"Whoop whoop, monster alert!"[/color] She pointed towards the forest, where something lurked in the shadows, as if concealing itself while preparing to attack.

A shade, in a peaceful place like this? Then again, people did travel here to ease their burdens, which were bound to leave a mark on the area... As an energy orb resembling a wolf's eye surrounded Noriko, snow whirled around Fuyuko's feet, spiralling upwards, obscuring her. The cold brought no stinging or shivers, only comfort, becoming part of her essence. The flurry dissipated, revealing her white-haired, kimono-clad self.

Noriko was the first to charge, lupine ears flattened, tail streaming. Before she could reach her target, her wolf companion gripped the hem of her dress in his jaws, pulling her back. [color=mediumseagreen]"Huh?"[/color] She turned her head, eyebrows furrowed. [color=mediumseagreen]"Kiyoshi, what's gotten into you?"[/color]

Kiyoshi let go, staring at the odd shadow, then up at his summoner. [color=slategray]"Look before you leap. This is no shade,"[/color] he told her.

Fuyuko stood stunned. If this wasn't a shade, then the figure could only be... Oh. Cringing, she bowed to the partially hidden form. [color=skyblue]"I-I'm sorry! We didn't know, I'm so sorry!"[/color]

Even so, she remained on her guard. After all, she didn't know this girl, or her intentions. With competition already growing fierce, no magical girl could be too careful.