Of course her parents had been okay with her going out for a little longer, though her mother had cautioned her not to stay out for [i]too[/i] long. Hikari had assured her that she wouldn't, before following Tokiko to whatever destination the other magical girl had in mind. This all made sense... If she was going to participate in the Hex Night, that meant she needed to know everything about how a magical girl could fight, every single little thing a magical girl could do, right? She'd already seen enough to know they were all different, though, of course. But the point was that she needed to know what similarities they did share, and how to use them. And Tokiko could help her with that.

This place was kind of creepy, to be honest... but it also made some kind of sense. A warehouse seemed like it would be a good place to train, right? Out of sight, mostly open on the inside! That was the sort of place a magical girl could really test out her abilities? As long as they weren't so destructive they would take out the whole building.

Hikari transformed for the third time that night. At this point, the brunette was still sort of in awe of the feeling of magical power, the fact that she really was a magical girl. Her hair red, and eyes orange once more as she gripped her hammer.

"Eh? Of course I was paying attention, I'm no-"

Before she could complete that sentence, that fist came hurtling right towards her!

Thankfully, Hikari really had internalized the idea of using a barrier. Magical energy seemed to flow through her body, through her arms, and a circular barrier of crisscrossing symbols, encircled with kanji, materialized ahead of her! There was a distinct bell-ringing sound as the fist slammed into the shield!

[@Anza]

[hr]

"... Oh?"

Kagami, who had been listening to Himeko with an amused expression on her face, cocked her head slightly as she turned to face the approaching magical girl. Her mirrors turned in place, aiming towards the other girl, instead. They glinted in the steadily-setting sunlight. The fact was that simply being near her gave a feeling of pressure, as if she was somehow exuding some amount of power simply by existing.

"Another newcomer? Very well," she said with a grin, "I shall extend to you the same offer. Lay down your hex orb, or be crushed. Not even the both of you together can hope to overcome me. At best, you can expect to be crushed to the ground beneath my foot, trash."

But there wasn't any time to try and respond to the purple-haired girl's arrogant proposal. There was suddenly a that twisted feeling, the sensation of something evil coming to be... nearly on top of them! There was no question, it had to be another group of shades!

"Oh?" Kagami tilted her head the opposite way. Indeed, in the forest, strange four-legged, almost dog-like creatures were flitting between the trees, large orange eyes running across their flanks. Their heads appeared to be rounded and without mouths.

"... On second though... entertain your empress," said Kagami calmly, "And perhaps I shall allow you some time to contemplate my proposal."

[@RolePlayerRoxas][@Ammokkx]

[hr]

"Uwah!?" exclaimed Hina, eyes widening as she stared at the now-proven-to-be-older girl. Immediately she hurried towards her, looking her over closely, "You're really that old!? I thought you were our age!"

Chise simply sighed behind her, evidently picking up much more quickly on the fact that Hanako wasn't pleased by that fact. Instead, after a few moments, she approached. She had a considerably more serious expression on her face then Hina did.

"So, how do you know the miko-san that runs the shrine?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Oh yeah!" declared Hina, "We really want to talk to her a lot, so we want to know more!"

[@Raineh Daze]