362/Shadow and Identity

Shadow and Identity
Date of Scene:	01 September 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Kikoku Street - South
Synopsis:	Cute Wolf Tsukiko and Black Fox fight some shadowy youma, and make an awkward discovery about each other.
Cast of Characters:	Ikiko Hisakata, Ayana

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Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
A late evening in early September, and a certain wolfgirl is leaping from rooftop to rooftop, making the most of the cool evening air. With the school term starting up come Thursday, there's only a few nights left before waking up early becomes an issue again.

That's why Cute Wolf Tsukiko is getting in another ranging patrol in tonight before she has to scale them down for the new term. So far it's been uneventful, but what's that movement on that roof over there...?

She bounds over, finding a pack of small, shadow youma. They don't seem to be organized, and they don't look very strong, but there are half a dozen of them, and they seem to be stealing trickles of energy. "I don't know why you're doing that, but I'm not going to allow you to get away with it!" Tsukiko growls as she launches feet-first towards the nearest youma. Her kick sends it sprawling across the rooftop, but it doesn't seem to be out of the fight. Worse, the others are turning towards her. This might be a tough fight...

Ayana has posed:
"Still Night," calls a feminine voice, not too far away, "set up!"

A robotic voice answers, "Stehen Bereit. Einrichten." Like the girl that called to it, Still Night sounds feminine, as well. There is a gleam of blue-white light, and a moment later, Black Fox flies towards the fight with Tsukiko. "Still Night, we need to protect anyone nearby. Form a Barrier around this building."

"Natuerlich," replies the device. A field of energy rapidly expands from Black Fox outward, engulfing Tsukiko and the shadows, ensuring they cannot run far, and that no nearby bystanders can be hurt.

"Hi, Cute Wolf!" calls Black Fox from above. "Need some help?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
The sudden appearance of the Barrier catches the shadowy youma by surprise, allowing Tsukiko to kick one of them into the others. The Barrier had almost caught the wolfgirl by surprise, but Black Fox's voice had given her just enough warning to be aware of what was going on.

"Sure!" she smiles gratefully at Black Fox. "They're not strong, but they're tough enough to not be pushovers." Indeed, the first one she had kicked was standing back up, and the other five were quickly getting themselves untangled.

Tsukiko leaps away from the shadows, landing near Black Fox. The style of the robotic voice seems familiar, but there's enough on the wolfgirl's mind that she doesn't pay it much attention right now. Instead, she starts circling around, trying to split the attention of the shadows between herself and Black Fox.

Ayana has posed:
"I'll set em up, you knock em down," suggests Black Fox. She whirls her wand in her hand and calls out, "Still Night, Foxfire Cage!" She levels her heart-shaped fox-eared wand at the shadows, and a stream of rainbow-coloured energy pours out, rapidly engulfing the Shadows and binding them together.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Right!" nods Tsukiko. The shadows are caught flat-footed by the Foxfire Cage, and the rainbow-colored energy immobilizes them, rending them unable to do much more than squirm futilely in place.

Meanwhile, Tsukiko dashes to build up speed. She can't quite hit the magical velocity needed for a Silver Wolf Tackle, but she does have enough to launch forward and deliver a powerful aura-boosted knee strike. She has enough momentum to crash through two shadows, turning them to mist on impact. A swift pivot allows her to use the last of the velocity from the attack to deliver a strong kick to a third shadow, shattering it as well.

"So far, so good!" the wolfgirl calls to Black Fox. "Want to take a swing at them?" It'll take a bit of time for Tsukiko to get back up to speed, but if Black Fox can finish them off, so much the better!

Ayana has posed:
"Yosh!" Black Fox agrees, then levitates back up higher in the air, floating by the wings on her boots. She whirls the wand over her head and builds up energy, declaring, "Foxfire Barrage!" The weapon's energy coallesces into six points of light, all of which lance outward like a gatling gun, striking the remaining shadows one after the other as little balls of rainbow energy explode. Two of the shadows simply vanish, and a third winds up littered with holes before it turns to mist. "I did it!" she calls excitedly, "I really did it on my own! I'm a magical girl!" Apparently she wasn't one before?

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Cute Wolf Tsukiko grins. "Good job!" she cheers to her friend. "Looks like you got some new tricks since the last time we met!"

Now that she's no longer being distracted by fighting shadows, the wolfgirl is able to figure out why the robotic voice's style seemed familiar: it's like what the Storm Knight used in the fight against Phantom. Apparently Black Fox now has a Device?

"You were doing pretty well before, but you're doing even better now!" Tsukiko notes as she waits for Black Fox to land. She wants to give her friend a big hug, but aiming a mid-air jump-hug is hard, and landing would be worse. Still, there's a big smile on her face; tonight's events seem significant enough to Black Fox to be worth celebrating!

Ayana has posed:
"I /did/," agrees Black Fox, as she drops from the sky straight into a hug that might well bowl Cute Wolf over if she isn't ready to catch. "I did it, Wolfie-chan! All the other spells you saw were just illusions; they couldn't do /anything/. But now I have a real magical device all my own, and I can do /real/ magic."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
The flying glomp doesn't exactly bowl Tsukiko over, but it does force her a few steps back before she falls on her tail. However, she's happy enough for her friend's happiness that she doesn't care! Besides, the only thing better than hugging a friend is hugging a happy friend. "They still made good distractions," she points out. "But being able to do *real* magic means you can do so much more! Congratulations on becoming a 'real' magical girl!"

Ayana has posed:
Black Fox grins and hugs Tsukiko a moment longer, then her eyes widen. "Oh! Right!" She steps away and raises the wand again, "Still Night, good job! Go ahead and release the barrier now," she asks the devi<span style="color:e.

"cwhite!#000044">Loesen der Sperre</span>," replies the device. The magical energy shifts back inwards towards Ayana, and soon the pair are once again standing in the evening light atop a building, all the sounds of the city around them. Ayana makes a little motion with her hand, and the black wand briefly glows and transforms into a multi-faceted gem with gleaming points of starlight trapped in its many faces. She hangs the gem from a silver chain around her neck, then smiles at Tsukiko, tail wagging excitedly. "Where do you suppose those Youma came from, anyways? They were so little. Do you think someone summoned them by accident?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Maybe," says Tsukiko uncertainly as she stands up, her tail briefly shaking off being sat upon. "They sure didn't look act they were being controlled by anything or anyone, so if they were summoned, the summoner hadn't given them any commands."

The wolfgirl shrugs slightly. "So, either they were summoned and effectively abandoned, or they showed up on their own. Not sure how to tell the difference between the two," she admits. "All I can do is keep my eye out to see if any others like them show up. If they do... then there might be something that needs dealt with, like a summoner or something creating them."

Ayana has posed:
"It's still weird,' Ayana replies, tilting her head. She kneels down to study the spot where the shadows vanished, ears twitching with her curiosity. "No residual magical energy. Hmm," she mumbles, then shrugs as well and spins back up to her full height, turning to regard Tsukiko. "How did you get your magic, anyways? You don't use a device, do you?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Not like yours, no," Tsukiko admits. "My locket basically amplifies the latent magic of my family, but that's about all it does. I become faster, more agile, somewhat stronger, and more wolf-like, but I don't get the more 'blast-y' forms of magic." She sighs. "Most of the time it's not a big deal, but there's some youma out there that are harder to defeat without energy magic."

Ayana has posed:
"Oh," Ayana replies, a little downcast at possibly upsetting the smaller girl. "Well, if it makes you feel better, all I /have/ are the blasts, and even with the device they're still pretty low-powered. I can't do any of the big super-laser stuff that some girls can do. Just my foxfire, amplified into something that can actuallya ffect Youma. I wouldn't dream of getting into a fight, though. I'd get my butt kicked if I got too close."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Cute Wolf Tsukiko gives Black Fox another hug. "I'm not bad in melee," she muses. "If we work together, I could keep the youma busy while you blast them from a distance. And that Foxfire Cage would help pin them down enough so they can't dodge outy of the way of my Silver Wolf Tackle!"

The wolfgirl giggles. "Actually, low-powered blasts aren't that bad if we're working together," she notes. "The less I have to worry about avoiding massive blasts, the longer I can keep an enemy busy!"

Ayana has posed:
"Sounds like we make a good team," says Black Fox with a grin. "Although we're relying on /happening/ to find one another if it gets rough. I don't even have a way to contact you if I get in trouble, or vice versa. We should fix that."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Good point," Tsukiko muses, a thoughtful expression on her face. Well, she *does* have a way she could keep in contact, as long as she doesn't mind mixing the magical with the everyday...

"How about cellphone numbers?" the wolfgirl suggests. "It might not be magical, but it should still be effective." She reaches into an inner pocket of her vest and fishes out her phone. It's a fairly common design, although the attached tan-and-white strap is a bit more distinctive. Not rare enough to be unique, but certainly uncommon.

Ayana has posed:
"Oh, that's a great idea!" agrees Ayana, utterly unconcerned for mixing magic and mundane. She reaches into a hidden pocket in her barrier jacket and pulls out a modern cell phone, with an orange case bearing little foxes dancing in dresses across the back, and a foxy charm on a chain. If Tsukiko's is distinctive, Ayana's is downright uniquely identifiable. "I'll put you on speed dial, because if I'm in trouble it's going to be /big/ trouble, since that means I'm probably way too close or something."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Cute Wolf Tsukiko blinks at the fox-laden cellphone. She's seen a cellphone decorated like this before; either this is a coincidence, or...

"How about if I give you my number first?" the wolfgirl offers. If her guess is correct, then entering her number into Black Fox's contacts list will bring up a message saying 'Contact already listed' and the entry for Ikiko.

For good measure, Tsukiko brings up the contact info for Ayana on her own cellphone. If the numbers match, then it's proof.

Ayana has posed:
"Okay," Ayana replies, dialing in the number with deft little fingers. She blinks in surprise at her phone's response, then looks up at Tsukiko, then down at her phone, then up at Tsukiko again. "Hey?" she asks, confused. "I already have your number in my phone."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
An odd little smile is starting to cross Tsukiko's face. "Really? Then in that case, I might already have yours," she remarks, then proceeds to read off Ayana's phone number.

The wolfgirl pauses for a moment. "Ayana?!" she says, her voice reflecting surprise more than disbelief.

Ayana has posed:
"Ikiko?" Ayana retorts, staring at the wolf-girl, sapphire eyes matching Cute Wolf's surprise. After a moment, she pounces on Ikiko again, pulling the smaller girl into another hug. "I never thought it would be you!" she says. "You're a magical girl, too! That's so amazing!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Cute Wolf Tsukiko hugs Black Fox right back! "Oh, wow! /That's/ why your teeth seemed familiar when we met in the park! They're kind of like mine!" she grins, fanglies plainly visible in a cheerful smile.

Of course, hugging with a cellphone out can get mildly awkward. She closes her cellphone and tucks it back into her vest, then grins at Ayana again. "And you'll be going to Seishou starting this Thursday," she notes. "Think you're ready for school to be back in session?"

Ayana has posed:
Ayana misses a step in the hug-spin-dance at the reminder of school, and she flails her arms a little to keep from falling over. "Uhhhh, right, school!" she agrees, then lets out a self-conscious little chuckle. "Ahehhhh. Um." She pauses, then glances around, then murmurs to Tsukiko, "I hope so."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"I can probably guide you around," Tsukiko offers. "Not sure how much help I can give you with your classes, since you're older than me, but having someone to talk about school with should make things easier!"

She does give Black Fox another hug. "I'm sure you'll do fine," the wolfgirl says reassuringly. "You're clever, and you're bound to make friends. As long as you try your best, everything will work out."

Ayana has posed:
"You think so?" Ayana asks with a frown. "I just hope I do not get hold back. M--err, my Big Brother would be very upset if I did. I don't want to disappoint him." She smiles at Ikiko, then tilts her head back and forth a moment before whirling around. Her barrier jacket fades just like that, leaving the girl in a black sundress with her hair tied up in long dark twintails. The fox ears and tail are still there, however. "I decided to go to Seishou beacuse of you, actually. My parents said I could go anywhere I wanted, and you are the only friend I've been able to make over the summer. I guess I make too much trouble for other girls to like me."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Maybe they didn't like lively, energetic people?" Tsukiko shrugs. "Or the ones you met just weren't friendly. Either way, their loss!" It's something she can sympathize with -- she's not that into fashion and things like that, while several of her classmates and others in her grade are. She's usually polite with them, and them with her, but there's no friendship there.

She does note that it's Ayana's big brother that would be upset if she had academic difficulties, and not her parents. It could just be a quirk of the family; it's not unheard of for children to take things more obviously seriously than their parents, after all. Still, it does hint that Ayana's parents aren't as involved in her life as others would be for their kids.

Ayana has posed:
"Well, there was one," Ayana says faintly, "but she's weird. And there was a boy, but he was mean." She shrugs a little, then smiles at Ikiko. "Just you and Reiko-chan have been nice to me. I guess I'll just have to hang out with the younger kids, but that will probably make everyone laugh at me." She lets out a soft sigh of disappointment, then says, "Oh well, at least I'll be able to hang out with you."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"Reiko's a good friend," Tsukiko nods. She doesn't mention that Reiko is also a magical girl; as far as she's concerned, sharing one's identity is something that should be up to the person whose identity it is. If they reveal their identity to each other, excellent; if they don't, she can keep it a secret for as long as needed.

"And if people laugh at you because of who your friends are, then they probably wouldn't make very good friends," she points out. "And why would you want to hang out with people that aren't friendly? Better to hang out with friends and be able to freely smile than to be stuck with grumpy people!"

Ayana has posed:
"Mmm, you're right," Ayana agrees with a nod of her head. Her vulpine ears twitch, and she turns to glance awayy from Tsukiko. "Ah, I think I should go," she says, and the tail and ears vanish quite suddenly. "Will you be okay the rest of tonight?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Cute Wolf Tsukiko nods and gives Ayana one more hug. "I should be. Thanks again for the help, and see you Thursday!" she smiles. The wolfgirl starts bounding across the rooftops, the rest of her patrol to complete.

As she continues on her way, Tsukiko giggles slightly. "First a koi-themed girl, now a foxgirl," she murmurs with a smile. "I wonder what animal my next animal-based magical friend will be based on?"

Ayana has posed:
Ayana smiles at Tsukiko rushes away. Unlike the other girl, though, Ayana doesn't continue any sort of patrol; instead, she merely slips off the edge of the building and falls down to the earth, dress shifting and flaring around her. As Tsukiko bounds away, Ayana's true form is revealed: the Shadow Familiar lands in a crouch, then bounds off towards her master, to report on the evening's events.