Lonewolf685

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

Kanbaru Otoko

---

The icy magical girl blinked owlishly at her phone, as within moments of her text being sent did a ballistic missile strike the rooftop and carry off the very threat she'd messaged about. Kanbaru full well there wasn't anything psychic in Touka's head full of wires, but sometimes coincidence just smacked you in the face and left one stunned.

Ponderously rousing herself she pocketed the phone and settled herself back into the seat of her motorcycle, finding no reason to scale the building to chastise Kiru-Kiru and company when the Angel was already sent flying away. A smirk played out beneath her mask as she envisioned Touka's full fury set loose once more, and a shiver tore down her spine as it prickled recollection. "If only that were the worst of it."

The smirk fell, and with it her gaze drew to the streets and a sudden flare of Darkness to match the Angel's horrid radiance. Instantly she knew what it would entail, and sans a Touka-shaped-missile there was little to be done that would amount to much. Kanbaru was confidant in her skills, but between the sudden emergence of an Angel and a Demon, she was liable to wind up a corpse then a hero if she went off half-cocked.

Caught amidst indecision, she waited on the rooftops as two battles played out across the city. Between the Demon and unknown Magical Girls, and Touka's own duel with the Angel. Kanbaru focused upon the warring magics, and wasn't surprised to feel the Demon finish first. The sudden absence of a Light Girl presence made her consider another murder took place, were it not for the feeling of newly kindled darkness in its place.

Perhaps that was just her being confused by the surge of newly empowered Nightmare's, running wild through the streets. The sights and sounds from below were alarming enough to move her into action and Kanbaru grasped the throttle intent to get into the thick of things, were it not for a scream that resonated across distance and magic.

"Touka!" She cried out in turn, and without thinking, shot off the roof and drove as the crow flies upon a hastily formed tunnel of ice. Uncaring of its eventual thaw, she shot off at high speed and left the Nightmare's to her feast. Dimly she was aware of Chie and her madness at work, no doubt making the situation hellish for the Light girls without a thought for their mutual prey, but there wasn't a moment to spare.

A sharp turn and a moment to angle down to street level brought her to a dust choked alley near a now leveled construction site- Dear god this was a trend in her partners now- brought Fortuna to a sadly familiar sight...and one startling for its proximity to the former.

"Oi, are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Kanbaru growled, grasping Yui by the shoulder and throwing her roughly backwards into a wall before a flailing wire struck the ground she stood upon. "Getting near any of this is a bad idea on a good day. You want to poke a wounded one now?"

She didn't have the chance to talk more before Touka's flailing wire's struck for her too, but Kanbaru's eyes shone with a calmed surety. After all, the only one who knew Touka better then Allanah was Kanbaru...and maybe Chiaki.

Ice sheathed her arm with a thought and she reached out with an armored palm, sending a solid pillar to be cut deeply and refreeze around the cords, trapping them in place. Each wild strike, fueling by directionless anger and thus lacking the finesse and strategy of Touka's usual style, were easily neutralized in short order till the alley carried the chill of a dozen new ice sculptures stabbed into the walls and ground beneath their feet.

"Hey, it's going to be alright now. Kanbaru's got you." She said, dropping down to one knee before the wild eyed Magical Girl, pressing her armored hand to Touka's stump and freezing the hole over to contain her. Given Touka's nature, a little more pain wasn't going to make a difference to her. "Though we should really stop meeting like this. It's not even the tenth time I've had you frozen to a dingy alley wall, Touka~"

Kanbaru forced her daytime cheer past her Magical Girl facade, trying to bring down her ex-partner's fury least she have to be more thorough in her restraint.

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

Zero Hour - Miso City

It took the death of one girl in a moonlit alley to increase the rate of Nightmare attacks to the points even the daylight hours weren't safe.

Three days later the very same murderer unleashed a hitherto unseen paired strain of Nightmares, and within minutes the once calm streets filled with ignorant masses trundling through snow and salt would find themselves slain without sight nor sound of their murderers. One second they were fine, and in the next their flesh was ripped by five sets of teeth set as though upon the petals of a flower, slick with gore and bright arterial spurts.

Yet still no one sees. Ignorance persists as the first bodies drop, only to be met with the stupor of confusion as eyes take in the fallen and people stop in their tracks. Murmurs break out, soon followed by shrieks as those closest are borne to the ground under the weight of invisible predators who leave neither footprint nor wafting plume of breath in their wake.

The stillness is shattered at last, the ignorant run in every direction, and the Nightmare's feast anew. These ravenous monsters were made to do what the common Nightmare couldn't and, spoiled for choice, they followed the crowds as they funneled themselves down the avenues. Perhaps it was a blessing by some twisted benefactor of Magical Girls, that at least with the mounting deaths these Nightmare's were yet still condensed and had yet to scatter far and wide.

However fortunes would soon turn against Miso City, for the fleeing citizens where passing a rather well appointed cinema, the sort of mega theater to parallel the American AMC with a grand lobby and two dozen theaters spread across two wings therein. Christmas had passed, but seasonal films both new and re-released were quite profitable.

One screening had ended, and the patrons casually ambled outside to be met with the curious sight of panic and disorder. Missing the corpses left in the snow, their lingering presence split the attention of the Nightmares. The newly formed horde split, half continuing the running slaughter through the street pulling down civilian after civilian, while the rest rushed for the darkness of the cinema.

Hundreds packed into dark, sound proofed theaters and limited exits. A massacre to shake Miso City to its very core was swiftly coming to pass, if neither Light nor Dark could intervene in time.

Zero hour. The beginning of a siblings conflict, and the darkness thrust upon the world by a Demon's disdain, staining the snow dark as pitch.

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

Kanbaru Otoko

---

It struck the motorcyclist how active Miso city was. Like the pervasive rumble of drainage pipes after a heavy rain, her trek was accompanied by the clash of distant powers and the shifting of Nightmare hordes. Flush with choices she took to her fight's without any great commitment, side swiping masses of Nightmare and decimating them with potent spears of ice or sprays of fragmenting bullets in passing before dashing off to bigger hordes.

The name of the game wasn't eradication. It was control, and breaking apart clusters before they built into an actual threat to their kind seemed a good approach for one on their own. With the benefit of speed beyond her peers, it suited the Code Keeper just fine.

"Though I hope Chie has the sense not to start another fight. Luna was accommodating, but the rest...not so much." Kanbaru exhaled into her mask, words lost to the roar of her stead as she road from street to roof top, unseen save to the magically inclined. In the course of such a broad, sweeping journey it was only natural to draw close to a threat eventually, one that had her choking the brakes hard and careening to a stop as she ogled a vacant office building whose side now sported an ugly gash that sent shattered glass raining to the streets below. Kanbaru idly hoped no one was walking beneath it or there was going to be a truly gruesome corpse perforated against the pavement in a few seconds.

The rest of her attention was on the energies coming from the top, one familiar enough to be labelled Kiru-Kiru's, while the other was the sort of Light one would call holy in its radiance. Kanbaru dug out her phone and shot a text to Touka. We've got trouble downtown, and Kiru is trying to punch it in the face. Help now.

---

Tsuruga Deishuu

---

She jolted in place, head snapping back with with alacrity as the door opened and Ami emerged at long last. Her cheek twitched as her partner pulled out her phone for a message Tsuruga knew she never sent and had deliberately done so. It put off this 'confrontation' just a little longer and she could take in the peace of the stoop without a care. That being why it's prompt shattering and even swifter hug left her wishing to crawl into her clothes and die of embarrassment for being caught. Caught doing what was never the question, just a matter of awareness in her mind.

"It's okay, I wasn't here long." She lied easily, despite nothing else coming so naturally when wrapped in an admittedly welcoming embrace. Tsuruga would curse their glorious leader for assigning her such a libertarian huger as Ami, even if a small part of her acknowledged she was in greater proximity to the brawler then she was her own mother. "Really I'm fine!"

Her protests were as limp as her physical struggles against Ami's crushing hugging. It was a small consolation that her face was already red as a tomato from the cold outside or her partner would get funny ideas. "C-Can we just go already? We don't need to bundle up when we're just going to transform anyway..."

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

Kanbaru Otoko

---

It was supposed to be the happiest time of the year. Savoring the fruits of Christmas generosity as one lounged in the interim between the final holiday of one year and the beginning of another. They should have been bowled over at home, stuffed on left overs and enjoying the quiet of snowy days with kin and company. At least, that was what Kanbaru would have liked. Truly, she'd love nothing more then to be home, hold her sister in her arms and refuse to let her go.

Because someone had broken the tenuous rules shared between Dark Magical Girls, and when that last vestige of right and wrong is crossed, no one is left unscathed. Kanbaru was the keeper of the rules, and while that may not make her the de facto executioner of rule breakers, it meant she had to enforce them where she could.

So there she was, roaring across Miso City astride her motor cycle, her rear aching from being perched astride the seat in full magical regalia so long, she'd have made overtime pay from hunting since the discovery of Luna's death till then. The city didn't know it, but it was absent a staunch champion now, one who infuriated Kanbaru in the same way her partner did with her cavalier attitude towards their nightly work. That Luna had the ability to back up her brash ways only made the situation more worrisome, but that was neither here not there.

Riding atop a sheet of ice, her path across the rooftops was smoothed over beneath a wave of her magic that would melt without issue in her passing. The city was starting to drown in Nightmares, and even a Dark Magical girl could claim to not want every street corner to not be an all you can eat buffet of power if it meant blanketing the city in it.

They were selfish, true, but the city was where they lived. One didn't ruin the home they slept in and expect good things as a result.

---

Tsuruga Deishuu

---

Paranoia was a constant companion for Tsuruga, but even she found it novel to have it validated. After all, it's not a delusion when someone is out to harm you. Or at least, out harming Light Magical Girls, but even if they killer never laid a hand on the Dark Girls, it was inevitable the spill over would splash them in the face one way or another. Either the surviving victims would conclude the Dark Girls were somehow culpable and attack wildly, or the city would grow ponderously darker in their absence.

This of course assumed there would be more killings, but Tsuruga wasn't optimistic enough to think otherwise. Least of which reasons why being that she had no alibi for the night in question. Misanthropic tendencies made such social gatherings rather daunting a prospect for her.

However solitude was something she could ill afford for both safety, security, and the simple face that there were more Shadows then could be easily handled alone. A good thing then, to have a partner for such occasions as she needed help.

"...."

Except she'd been standing on Ami's doorstep for ten minutes now, hand raised towards the doorbell yet unwilling to take the final step. With a heavy sigh she retracted her hand and sat down on the snow dusted stoop, ignoring the cold creeping up through the stone in order to wrap her arms across her chest. "I can wait for her to be ready."

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

---

Touka barely glanced away from her spot to the acknowledgement Rania gave her. Though she did nod as the older girl gave her blessings, leaving to go hunting for her Senpai. She too had wondered what was taking Chiaki so long but figured it was nothing to be concerned for; or to care for. As the other girls sifted about in their own activities, Touka found herself staring back outside where the snow was. Her gaze lingered on Rania's departing form through the frost and ice before she suddenly blinked away, turning her head around.

^-^

The large flashing symbol reflected an eerie light on her face, one that caused Touka to "tsk". Mascots were annoying in general, but having them sprout out of nowhere was doubly so. "You things have a good track record of shooting the mood," Touka mused lowly, knowing no one else was bothering to hear her. Though it was only a matter of time before everyone else would notice the cat with a television for a head lounging around. "So what do you want."

<.<

"Welcome!" Ayumu beamed at the new girl, who'd introduced herself as Elina. "Call me Phantasmagoria, or Ayumu if that's easier. Ooh, food isn't gonna go amiss, Ami here was just asking about it." In an attempt to ease Elina's nervousness - presumably at being the only one with a Christmas hat - Ayumu took off her headband. "And don't ya worry, I can whip up some fancy headwear of my own." She passed a white-gloved hand over the headband, an illusion of black, purple-outlined antlers sprouting next to the top hat, like those of her shadow jackalopes, right down to the raggedy bunny ears that rose up on either side. "Ehh, closest to reindeer horns I could manage." Donning the accessory, she glanced around at the group.

"So! Who's up for some games?" she asked. "Card games anyone? It's ok, I won't cheat... much. Though if any of you want to learn how..."

She trailed off as her attention settled first on Touka, then in the direction the green-haired girl stared. "Ah, another new arrival," she said, the cheer in her voice wavering, to the TV-headed cat curled on the floor. She wasn't sure she fully trusted the mascots, considering how the life one of them had promised her had turned out, but this one had to be here for a reason. "What's up kitty?"

Ami sipped her coffee with a cheerful grin, responding to Jin's taunt with a simple [color-crimson]"Nope~"[/color] As she poured even more sugar in. As Ayumu commented on Ami's use as a living heater, that cheerful grin turned mischevious when Ami batted her eyes at the dark magician girl. "If you really think I'm that hot, why not come closer. Get the chill out of your bones, if you know what I mean." She licked her lips, staring at Ayumu with her sultry eyes for a solid three seconds.

She then started giggling with eyes closed, taking another sip of her coffee and waving her hand in Ayumu's general direction. "Kidding! You can't handle me at my hottest anyways~' Ami raised her glass as everyone cheered alongside Kanbaru, immediately proceeding to down the rest of it as she got ready for eggnog.

A newcomer arrived shortly afterward, finally bringing some real food for everyone to eat in a bento box. She was also dressed in full Christmas attire, making Ami wonder why she hadn't done that. What a wasted opportunity. "Alright, when we get together for New Year's Eve we all have to dress up! No exceptions!"

Some time passed, enough for Ami to stuff her face and consume even more sugar via all the sweets she had brought with her along with whatever everyone else had brought. The only time she had more fun was on Halloween, which this practically was considering the decor. She was right in the middle of bugging Kanbaru with the ever present prospect of sleepovers when she heard the magic words, those words that are sure to either kill or kickstart a party.

"No no no, we aren't doing some lame card games! Hold on now, I got something way better!" Ami rushed off to the kitchen, several loud crashes of metal against metal, along with glassware rattling as she searched for what she needed. "Aha!" And so it was found. A few seconds later a lot of liquid was emptied into the sink, with Ami strutting into the cafe with a smile and an empty bottle of sake in hand.

"A party classic. Truth or Dare! Or Spin the Bottle if you're feeling adventurous~"

The cheer wasn't as widely received as she would have liked, but there was enough that she could slam back her nog without a care and laugh with her cohorts. They were an odd bunch by nature, as being brought together by similar circumstance only would be bound to do, but there was still a warmth to be found that wasn't wholly formed by the tempermental nature of the season.

They ate, they laughed, and they did their level best to make fools of themselves without care for repercussions. It was the sort of carefree revelry that only existed in good company, and Kanbaru was delighted to take part in it. As the evening wound down Ami made the bold declaration of breaking out Truth or Dare, and Kanbaru masked a flinch behind a swig of her third glass of the evening. "Maybe next time."

She'd be a poor Oath Keeper to play along with that, and a kill joy to refuse mid-game. Feigning a case of the munchies she wandered off for more Takoyaki, determined to enjoy this party to the fullest. It wasn't often a Magical Girl got a quiet holiday, and the peace was well worth savoring while it lasted.

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

Posted next to Kanbaru.

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

@TheWindel@KoL@floodtalon

Deishuu, Tsuruga - Dark Magical Girl Tenshi

Casual Appearence

Pre-Corruption

Post-Corruption

• Name: Deishuu, Tsuruga
• Title: Tenshi
• Age: 16
• Emblem: The skeleton of wings stretching from the nape of her neck to her shoulders.

• Devil Arm: Before corruption Tsuruga only had one wing of peerless white feathers. With only the one she could fight but never fly, bound to the earth save the occasional glide. Post corruption, the flesh has given way to metal and the wing now has a twin. An infinitely more aggressive form, and one that brought the freedom of flight without restriction to her.

• Magic: Repulsion, the magic of expelling objects with greater force as they drew nearer to her Devil Arm and self. Pre-corruption it was a handy defense and could crush nightmare's if activated in close range. Post-corruption and Tsuruga can repel herself into the skies, rejecting the air beneath or around her to sharply change direction and maneuver, while her mechanized wings can utilize it to confer greater force behind blows. It functions consciously and can only be maintained for a second at peak force before rapidly diminishing, meaning it can't function as an automatic defense.

• Background: Paranoia. Anxiety. Mistrust. Characteristics held close to Tsuruga's chest, keeping her mind ill at ease and her heart roiling even as the moon hangs high. An irrational fear of the unknown and known has dominated her as long as she could recall, growing steadily with the passing years till the innocence of youth was left behind and she found her teenage years consumed by self doubt. Every perceived misstep lingered just beyond the forefront of her mind, waiting for a moment's carelessness to slip forward as fresh and clear as when they'd occurred. Tiny, inconsequential faux-pas that accumulated into chains upon her person.

Powerless against her own irrational mind she smiled and suffered with the same breaths, taking what she could even when it was ash upon her tongue. Hardly sleeping, hardly living, caught in a limbo of concern that overwrite any triumph with past failings like so many un-buried corpses whose stench has soiled the earth around her.

It was something she reconciled herself, resigned to the function of her being with no recourse but to either carry on or collapse, and the later was far from appealing. She could make peace with the absence of peace, till a tv-headed mascot approached her with an offer even her rampant mind couldn't have worried her over. An offer so alien it drowned out all other concerns, stilled her heart, and brought a clarity that was wholly alien yet welcome.

A one winged angel of justice took to the streets, banishing literal Nightmare's that could be seen, grappled, and destroyed. The catharsis of a physical enemy that Tsuraga could engage with was refreshing and for a time, it was enough. Just enough, to silence her quivering heart and let her collapse into blissful exhaustion at the end of each night. Day to day life felt so inconsequential compared to her nightly pursuits they hardly bothered her for a time.

But familiarity is a funny thing. With repetition it comes and makes what was once exciting pedantic, and the constant grind of nightly battles with no conclusion robbed her of her fragile surety. Cracks splintered outwards, and she desperately tried to patch them with greater effort, throwing herself into the hunting of Nightmare's till she didn't care an iota for those she was supposed to be protected. To be faster, stronger, and better then she was before. To outrun her failings with little more then a wing and a prayer was impossible. Tsuruga Deishuu didn't know when she fell. When the feathers fell away and cold metal took their place.

She thought it happened in her sleep.

Sample Post

It's a well established notion that human's don't look up. It takes effort to encourage the neck to bend that far back.

Thus she could feel remarkably alone hanging amid the clouds over Miso city, the air frigid and thin this high up. Tsuruga knew being a magical girl gave her some added resilience to the elements so she didn't question her ability to linger even as the wind tore at her exposed skin. It was grounding to be ensconced in the physicality of it all, her fingers splayed wide at her sides as the air pressed against it with enough force to almost fool her into believing another hand had intertwined with her own.

She released a breath, a briefly lived wisp of cold air swiftly dashed against her cheek as she craned her head back. The moon was shrouded by even higher clouds, meaning there was no light to catch off her wings to be glimpsed down below. Not that anyone normal could even see her, but they were beneath her notice till the sun rises and she is forced to suffer beneath their gaze. Tsuruga's eyes snapped open as her spine followed her backwards tilt, turning her entire body till she suddenly plummeted fully inverted. Talons of air pierced her through and through, yet her wings were unerring and the most minute of twitches on their part kept her fall straight and true.

A mob of nightmare's grazed oblivious to this, bearing all the awareness of grazing cattle. The whistle of wind hadn't even reached them before a missile struck with force enough to fracture the earth and flatten the center of the horde in a broad circle. Tsuruga hovered a feet off the ground, her hair buffeting as a flap of her wings righted her to the earth's orientation and she landed softly upon the crater.

"Tch." Her teeth sank sharply into her tongue as her gaze flicked away in disgust, the nightmare's advancing without concern for the other's sudden eradication. "Too soon. Not enough force for the entire group."

Tsuruga could do better. She had to do better, if only for herself. Working her hand across her scalp she threw her hair back, radiating contempt as darkness crept across her boots and the Nightmare's slid close enough to subsume her...

A beat of her wings, the crater expanded, and she returned to her vigil amidst the clouds.

Denizens of the Madhouse

Deishuu, Tsuruga - Dark Magical Girl Tenshi

Casual Appearence

Pre-Corruption

Post-Corruption

• Name: Deishuu, Tsuruga
• Title: Tenshi
• Age: 16
• Emblem: The skeleton of wings stretching from the nape of her neck to her shoulders.

• Devil Arm: Before corruption Tsuruga only had one wing of peerless white feathers. With only the one she could fight but never fly, bound to the earth save the occasional glide. Post corruption, the flesh has given way to metal and the wing now has a twin. An infinitely more aggressive form, and one that brought the freedom of flight without restriction to her.

• Magic: Repulsion, the magic of expelling objects with greater force as they drew nearer to her Devil Arm and self. Pre-corruption it was a handy defense and could crush nightmare's if activated in close range. Post-corruption and Tsuruga can repel herself into the skies, rejecting the air beneath or around her to sharply change direction and maneuver, while her mechanized wings can utilize it to confer greater force behind blows. It functions consciously and can only be maintained for a second at peak force before rapidly diminishing, meaning it can't function as an automatic defense.

• Background: Paranoia. Anxiety. Mistrust. Characteristics held close to Tsuruga's chest, keeping her mind ill at ease and her heart roiling even as the moon hangs high. An irrational fear of the unknown and known has dominated her as long as she could recall, growing steadily with the passing years till the innocence of youth was left behind and she found her teenage years consumed by self doubt. Every perceived misstep lingered just beyond the forefront of her mind, waiting for a moment's carelessness to slip forward as fresh and clear as when they'd occurred. Tiny, inconsequential faux-pas that accumulated into chains upon her person.

Powerless against her own irrational mind she smiled and suffered with the same breaths, taking what she could even when it was ash upon her tongue. Hardly sleeping, hardly living, caught in a limbo of concern that overwrite any triumph with past failings like so many un-buried corpses whose stench has soiled the earth around her.

It was something she reconciled herself, resigned to the function of her being with no recourse but to either carry on or collapse, and the later was far from appealing. She could make peace with the absence of peace, till a tv-headed mascot approached her with an offer even her rampant mind couldn't have worried her over. An offer so alien it drowned out all other concerns, stilled her heart, and brought a clarity that was wholly alien yet welcome.

A one winged angel of justice took to the streets, banishing literal Nightmare's that could be seen, grappled, and destroyed. The catharsis of a physical enemy that Tsuraga could engage with was refreshing and for a time, it was enough. Just enough, to silence her quivering heart and let her collapse into blissful exhaustion at the end of each night. Day to day life felt so inconsequential compared to her nightly pursuits they hardly bothered her for a time.

But familiarity is a funny thing. With repetition it comes and makes what was once exciting pedantic, and the constant grind of nightly battles with no conclusion robbed her of her fragile surety. Cracks splintered outwards, and she desperately tried to patch them with greater effort, throwing herself into the hunting of Nightmare's till she didn't care an iota for those she was supposed to be protected. To be faster, stronger, and better then she was before. To outrun her failings with little more then a wing and a prayer was impossible. Tsuruga Deishuu didn't know when she fell. When the feathers fell away and cold metal took their place.

She thought it happened in her sleep.

Sample Post

It's a well established notion that human's don't look up. It takes effort to encourage the neck to bend that far back.

Thus she could feel remarkably alone hanging amid the clouds over Miso city, the air frigid and thin this high up. Tsuruga knew being a magical girl gave her some added resilience to the elements so she didn't question her ability to linger even as the wind tore at her exposed skin. It was grounding to be ensconced in the physicality of it all, her fingers splayed wide at her sides as the air pressed against it with enough force to almost fool her into believing another hand had intertwined with her own.

She released a breath, a briefly lived wisp of cold air swiftly dashed against her cheek as she craned her head back. The moon was shrouded by even higher clouds, meaning there was no light to catch off her wings to be glimpsed down below. Not that anyone normal could even see her, but they were beneath her notice till the sun rises and she is forced to suffer beneath their gaze. Tsuruga's eyes snapped open as her spine followed her backwards tilt, turning her entire body till she suddenly plummeted fully inverted. Talons of air pierced her through and through, yet her wings were unerring and the most minute of twitches on their part kept her fall straight and true.

A mob of nightmare's grazed oblivious to this, bearing all the awareness of grazing cattle. The whistle of wind hadn't even reached them before a missile struck with force enough to fracture the earth and flatten the center of the horde in a broad circle. Tsuruga hovered a feet off the ground, her hair buffeting as a flap of her wings righted her to the earth's orientation and she landed softly upon the crater.

"Tch." Her teeth sank sharply into her tongue as her gaze flicked away in disgust, the nightmare's advancing without concern for the other's sudden eradication. "Too soon. Not enough force for the entire group."

Tsuruga could do better. She had to do better, if only for herself. Working her hand across her scalp she threw her hair back, radiating contempt as darkness crept across her boots and the Nightmare's slid close enough to subsume her...

A beat of her wings, the crater expanded, and she returned to her vigil amidst the clouds.

Fate/Solipsistic Chaos

Richard Montag

That was certainly a corpse in front of them. Fresh and none too clean if Richard were to hazard an assessment of it. He could tell the sight was upsetting to his Servant, no doubt any innocent slaughtered in this war would upset the chivalrous fellow.

All Richard could see was a source of combustible gas if he needed a landmine at this master's feet.

He wasn't bereft of empathy, but he was a Magus. By matter of writ they accepted that their path was one lined with corpses and hardship, so rather then seeing the corpses as a loss of life, Richard analyzed it as a reflection of the Master.

Callous. Sloppy. Lacking in forethought. Traits ascribed to a rank amateur or someone with enough clout to afford such arrogance, and with the first words spilling from the golden Servant's lips, he knew it likely the latter. The figure before them was positively ancient, exuding a casual grace and power that was the stuff of legend. His Servant almost seemed a cosplayer in comparison, though he knew that was more a feeling from Saber's adaptation to the time's when compared to this Servant's bold faced rejection of it.

Idly he drew out a cigar, casually holding it pinched between two fingers unlit while moved towards Saber and clasped the tensed Servant's shoulder. "I thought it obvious you share the company of the most stalwart of Servants, the noble Saber. I'm sure you can understand him not waving his sword around in good company, even if makes discernment less then instantaneous."

"Perhaps you could summon your adviser so we can exchange proper greetings? A waste of precious time to repeat ourselves for the benefit of the absent."

---

Archer - Semiramis

Archer paused, eyeing the man before her with trepidation and something bordering on concern as lip twitched with uncertainty at the offered hand in the wake of his speech. Whatever image of the mysterious man from the mysterious conspiracy fighting in a mysterious war had promptly been shattered by his exuberance.

After a long minute of indecision, she decided expression trumped decorum and wrapped both arms around her gut as she laughed from the depth of her core into the office. It was a melodic sound, and if pressed she would deny there being an un-lady like snort when her humor got the best of her. When she finally righted herself and set her gaze upon Thompson, she took his hand and raised his knuckles to her lips in a mimicry of a knight to their favored lady.

"You are a singularly strange man, Omega. A child playing at adulthood, wrapped in sinister conspiracy with their ideals intact. I'd thought you made of stone, but instead you wear it like a coat and discard it haste in my confidence. You're either a good actor, or a desperate one, but that matters not. I'll be by your side from henceforth, so please continue to entertain me. Conquest and governance are dull tasks without passions to warm the dull nights of their tedium."

Kurai Majoko: Dark Magical Girls

Kanbaru Otoko

---

An overwhelming attack met an unstoppable defense, and Kanbaru's assault faltered as reality itself strained to strike out and shatter her arctic assault. Twin waves of ice utterly ceased to be as the impacted the barriers of Bastion and were destroyed with the collapse of the veritable minefield. Having ridden one herself, the Icy Magical Girl was flung forward and over, passing the maelstrom with no opportunity for a fancy landing and tumbling into the snow banks along the lake.

She unashamedly laid there a few seconds longer then would have been prudent if Luna were still gunning for her, before rising up and dusting the powder from her coat. Her gaze leveled itself firmly upon the untouched Light girl still unmoved amidst the ground ice and snow falling harmlessly around her, and she contemplated how keen Bastion would be to remain standing there if the ground were to swallow her up and make her an ice statue.

It was amidst the debate between a slow or fast freeze that the matter was pulled out of her hands entirely. The cavalry had stopped bludgeoning each other and put their violent tendencies to use on their attackers. Kanbaru could scarcely picture a more welcome sight, and seeing as she'd done her job in holding off the Light Girls for a bit, she opted to take Chie's role of 'Fight Supervisor.'

---

A crushed can of green tea struck the rim of a metal trash can and tumbled inside, it's departure into the waste receptacle almost as speedy as the Light Girls from the impromptu battlefield. Whether that spoke more to the speed of battle or Kanbaru's capacity to chug while thirsty was anyone's guess, but the fact of the matter was that the evening was FUBAR and she had no orders to stick around.

"Alright people, you all did good tonight. So keep on keeping on, and I'm going to use a cat as a pillow." Kanbaru declared to the scattered masses of violent but miraculously functioning members of society. In the calm following the storm of brief but energetic combat, Kanbaru almost felt a genuine kinship towards them that would have compelled her to lend a helping hand.

"Meh." She turned and trotted off towards with her hands in her pockets and her hood down, the evening wind whipping her hair back. As an after thought she flicked her arm back and snapped, causing her icy constructs from the battle to splinter, fracture, and fall apart into less conspicuous chunks. There. I helped.

That Chie was probably patrolling in the shadow of her Shatter Point shot was pure coincidence, a coincidence that warmed Kanbaru's heart for the walk home.