Himeko cheerfully waved away her two companions, who thankfully left without a fuss. It shouldn't take too long to close in on the source of discomfort, once she had a chance to transform. After ensuring the two were definitely out of sight, Himeko turned and proceeded towards her supposed destination. After finding a nice, empty side-street to duck into, and casting one more glance in front and behind, Himeko began her transformation.

A brilliant flash of light emanated from her body, clothing fading into apparent oblivion, instantly replaced by what appeared to be a modified shrine maiden's outfit. Her shoulder-length hair lengthened, cascading down to Himeko's knees in a beautiful mixture of orange and yellow, with two pointed, fluffy ears sprouting from her head. A thick, soft tail formed as well, and when the light faded as instantly as it had appeared, the shrine maiden had become a fox-eared magical girl, sleeves practically sailing majestically as she raised a hand.

What appeared to be a tobacco pipe formed in her open palm, quickly nestled between her fingers, the bespectacled fox smirking playfully. She had long since gotten used to the sensation of having such twitchy ears, and a fluffy tail to wave around at her leisure, not to mention the thrill of having such energy at her command.

With a little application of glamour magic, Himeko leaped to the nearest rooftop, unseen by normal folk. It was a basic cloaking spell that worked well enough to hide her from the public, but magical girls could easily see the distortion of air around Himeko, so it wasn't the best stealth tool. At least it meant she could travel, unhindered by prying eyes.

She could feel the nauseating pull of the Shade still. Himeko would have been very surprised if no one else had reached it first, but it never hurt to overkill these things a little, did it? The fox-eared miko leaped from her perch, sailing through the air towards that monster.