[color=fdc68a][center][h1]RIM MIKAGURA[/h1][/center][/color]
[center]Interaction with [@Yankee] [@Cu Chulainn][/center]
[hr]
The driver turned the radio up, rousing the strawberry blonde passenger from an unpleasant dream.

“More o’ that magic nonsense, eh? On the…” The driver – Ta…Tamura? Murata? – dug at his ear with a pinkie. “On the river! Say, ain’t that too close to the airport?”

Despite the biting cold this morning, Rim had his window cracked slightly open, the wind helping to wake him up a little more. Tamu- Murata, like many in his line of work, reeked of smoke, and while today’s job wouldn’t have had him turning down a pack or two, Rim wasn’t looking to get any ambient scent into the fabric of his suit. His borrowed suit. A little frostbite was a worthy sacrifice to avoid the earful Grandfather would lay into him otherwise. 

[color=fdc68a]“I dunno,”[/color] he said, peering out at the skyline as the car sped along the highway. No magical children on the horizon yet. [color=fdc68a]“Maybe Kim will appreciate the welcoming party.”[/color]

“Yeah, yeahh, nothing says Tokyo like a— shit!”

A resounding ‘BOOM!’ shook the car, sending it fishtailing into the roadside barrier. Shattered glass rained on Rim, only marginally blocked by the airbags that shoved a rough grunt from him. Then a monstrous laugh. No, not a laugh, more like… chittering. Rim finally opened his eyes to see a giant lantern bouncing on the car’s crushed hood. A cartoonishly large tongue flailed from it, bordered by enormous teeth.

“Shit!” Tamura screamed again, floundering his way out the door. Rim moved to do the same but unfortunately for him, the lantern must have sensed a good challenge. The tongue wrapped around his arm and yanked him out for a bite. Rim cried out too, and it was only in the nick of time that its teeth, underlit by a blue glow, could find no purchase. Letting out a confused noise, it bit down once more and, again, failed to pierce flesh. Rim took this chance to plant a fist into its face and send it spiraling down the road.

[color=fdc68a]“What the… fuck,”[/color] Rim muttered. Blue light shone gently from between the ravaged cuts on his sleeve. The sleeve of the suit that he’d borrowed. Motherfucker. So much for avoiding that earful. A glance in the crooked rearview showed Tamura vaulting off the road, out of eyeshot, allowing Rim to kick the door off its hinges and step out with no issues. Of all the places for a monster to appear…

Another yelp escaped him as a second lantern latched on from behind, tearing his outfit up even more. He fell onto the freezing ground, grabbing at his back, dread clutching his heart as the first lantern locked eyes with him. That terrifying chittering filled his ears once more, and he began to grasp the situation he was in. His own human abilities wouldn’t save him for long.

He was gonna die unless…

He had no choice but to…

…

Ugh, and it was so cold too!

[color=fdc68a]“God…dammit!”[/color] he grunted, a plumb bob materializing in his hand, a glowing card flashing into reality below it, before gold overtook blue in an [i]eruption[/i] of light.

[i][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgBeZ6YFqLU][center]* ~ S F A V I L L A ~ *[/center][/url][/i]
It felt just like the first time, as if every atom of his being was torn apart and reconstructed, every miniscule prick of light in the universe converging into the magical being that was Rim Mikagura. The two lanterns were [i]thrown[/i] by the blast that radiated from his transformation. 

Where he was previously pinned, he now stood steadfast, naginata in hand and cloth floating gently. Icy wind swirled around him but there were no goosebumps along his exposed skin. The cold was an ambient, almost absent factor. His system was now surging with a vitality he could have never achieved before this. The adrenaline from a monster attack certainly wasn’t a drawback either. With a vengeful roar, Rim lunged at the two paper beasts, taking each of them out with a succinct series of slashes. No time to gloat however, as more monstrous sounds echoed down the road. Many more.

[color=fdc68a]“No,”[/color] he said, looking around desperately and deciding to book it for now. Tamura mentioned a river, right? Time to get outta here. [color=fdc68a]“Nope.” [/color]

Rim sprinted, bounding over storefronts with inhuman strength. Monster extermination was a magical girl’s job. There seemed to be an approximate fuckton in the area so where the hell was the cavalry—

[color=FFCC33]"[/color][color=0066FF]Hop on, everyone! It's time to bring the fight to them![/color][color=FFCC33]"[/color]

That worked. The ship on the water was instantly recognizable. With the strength lent to him by his patron, Rim took a running leap. He tumbled onto the deck with a roll, immediately getting back to his feet and gauging the rest of the ship’s occupants. Chiyoda, male, late high school to early university age. Bunkyo, female… high school age.

…Boy, was it windier here than usual? It felt windier. Maybe it was the ship’s momentum that was really drawing his attention to the… swinging.

Clearing his throat and tearing his eyes from the two other magical people on the deck, Rim grabbed his cloth and methodically wrapped it around his crotch into what best resembled a sumo wrestler’s [i]mawashi[/i]. Now what? What should he say? What could he [i]possibly[/i] say here?

[color=fdc68a]“Ah…”[/color] he cleared his throat again, [color=fdc68a]“ 'scuse. Excuse me.”[/color]