Tokiko didn’t bother trying to keep her weapon trained on Hikari. With that firework move she was flying too quickly to track, and the purpose of the exercise had been fulfilled anyway. Over the course of that last exchange, the newbie had clearly demonstrated her battlefield awareness, sharp reactions, and high mobility, all on a high enough level that Tokiko was actually kind of impressed.

Not that she was going to [i]show[/i] it, of course.

“Hmph. I suppose that’s just about adequate,” she said, folding her arms and nodding stiffly. “You’re starting to figure it out, right? Not just the basic magical girl stuff, but your Concept and Archetype as well.”

She peered through her glasses at Hikari, as if staring at her might somehow reveal her secrets. By now, Tokiko herself was a little curious to find out the true limits of those newfound powers. [i]With some proper battle experience, she could even be a threat to me…[/i] The thought sent a quiet chill down her spine, and a flicker of doubt flashed across her features. 

[i]Should I really be doing this?[/i] She… yeah, she definitely enjoyed being around Hikari, but they were still competitors in the Hex Night. What if, at some point in some possible future, they ended up pitted against each other? It could be that Tokiko was playing with fire right now…

[i]But I don’t care![/i] The moment of doubt passed, replaced by a mischievous smile. Wasn’t it the role of a mad scientist to experiment with the most dangerous things?

“All right!” she exclaimed, “Let’s turn the difficulty up a level!” With a flash of green lightning, the Tesla Cannon returned to its original taser form, and she tucked it away. Then, with a grin and a flourish, she produced a cigarette lighter, channeling her power through it. Its gleaming outer casing warped, then expanded, as the inside components were adapted to use Tokiko’s magical energy as fuel. With a flick of her finger, a huge gout of flame spurted out from the tiny machine. “This time, I’ll be using an area attack.” She gestured with her other hand, and her Archetype settled into a fighting stance. 

“Hoshino Hikari, test two… begin!”

[center]***[/center]

It lasted about an hour. One of the most hectic, danger-filled hours of Hikari’s life.

First Tokiko came at her with the miniature flamethrower device, unleashing attacks too wide to easily dodge. Then, after a few minutes of that, she switched to some kind of spray cannon made from a hot glue gun, which squirted scalding bursts of sticky goo that covered patches of the floor and walls, forcing Hikari to mind her footing. Then came the modified flashlight, blinding its target whenever she was caught in its beam and leaving her vulnerable to the monstergirl’s attacks. On top of that, the mad scientist had her minion switch tactics, mixing in kicks and grapples with her punches and even tearing chunks out of the floor to throw at long range. Tokiko was clearly holding back, doing her best not to actually hurt Hikari, but even so, the assault was relentless. Trick after trick, combination upon combination, each one pushing Hikari a little further past her limits.

At last, Tokiko lowered her arms. “That’s… enough… for now.” Breathing heavily, the thin girl toppled over backwards, landing on her butt with a yelp. “Damn it! I don’t have the stamina for this…”

With a small burst of green light, her white coat and black gloves vanished, leaving a pale and messy-haired girl lying on her back on the concrete floor. A moment later, her Archetype disappeared as well.

“Guuuuuh,” she groaned, staring up at the ceiling. [i]This mentor stuff is way too much work![/i]

[@VitaVitaAR]