It's early evening on a warm day, and people are starting to head home. Students are looking forward to the upcoming term break, and adults are sighing at the prospect of another week of work. The various shops are still open, serving those who spent the rest of the day busy with things or are taking advantage of the cooler evening air to go for a walk.
Up on the rooftops, another person is also taking advantage of the time, but for Cute Wolf Tsukiko the balance is between visibility and secrecy -- avoiding the main part of the day and the crowds that go with it, but not wanting to patrol during the darkest parts of the night.
The wolfgirl rests next to a rooftop ventilation unit, catching her breath after having jumped from rooftop to rooftop across most of the city. "Well, at least I'm feeling better than I expected," she says to herself, carefully rubbing her sides. The fight a few nights ago against that Shade definitely took its toll on her, but she seems to be recovering quickly enough. Maybe it's her werewolf heritage helping out?
Ayana emerges from the ice cream shop, dressed in a black summer dress with a pretty blue ribbon around the bust. In one hand she has an ice cream cone loaded with mint chocolate chip--in the other she has a pepperoni stick. She hums to herself as she wanders along the street, alternating bites of ice cream and meat.
Looks like the cat is up to his old tricks again. On the roof of a building (not the same one Ikiko is on, though she can probably see him from there), there he is, ears and tail already out, looking for a target. Yoru is with him, of course. He's checking for particularly strong heart's eggs, to continue this experiment of his. This mainly falls on Yoru, mind, since he can sense them and Ikuto can't.
Still, from the look on the little cat Character's face, he may not exactly think is the best idea. In fact? "...Ikuto? Are you... sure about this? You really want to keep doing this, nya?"
Ikuto nods. "I don't have a choice. As far as Easter knows, I'm looking for the Embryo for them. If they're smart, it won't take those magical girls long to figure out it's Easter." Since he's stealing EGGS and all.
Down below, there are a number of school-age kids exiting the ice cream parlor. Early teens probably. Two of them seem to be walking together, two boys in the same school uniform. One of the pair is carrying a simple vanilla cone; the other one is carrying a MASSIVE waffle cone filled with three flavors. And looks to be enjoying it immensely! The one with the vanilla cone looks over and frowns. "You really shouldn't eat so much ice cream. It's bad for your teeth," he states.
"Ah, I can wait 'till I grow up a little to worry about teeth. I'm good," replies the kid with the waffle cone.
Vanilla-cone frowns. "You'll still do damage to your teeth! I read it in the medical journals I'm reading. You know I study that, right?"
Yoru blinks, and then flies down. Hovering over the one with the vanilla cone, he waves back at Ikuto to indicate that's the one. Ikuto nods, and as Yoru starts heading back, Ikuto secures his violin between shoulder and chin, closes his eyes... and begins playing. It's a very sad melody. And more than that, it might be sensed that there's a very particular power in it. Something dark.
Right on cue, the young man with the vanilla cone stops, as if surprised. His friend seems absorbed in his waffle cone and doesn't seem to notice. "...That's right," the young fellow with the vanilla cone says. "I can't be a doctor. Nobody listens to me. They wouldn't listen even if I was. I can't..." And with each word, the sense of something very, sharply WRONG increases. His eyes start to unfocus, and he drops the cone in his hand as it falls lax at his side.
"...It's impossible..."
Those words almost sounded like two people speaking. And right there, he just... falls, as if he'd fainted. The eyes slightly more attuned to that which is not readily seen might see a black egg with a white X exiting his chest just before he fell. And that egg? It's floating up to where that violinist stands as the song comes to an abrupt end. Yoru grabs the egg while Ikuto puts his violin away. And then he hands the egg off to Ikuto.
The violin music startles Tsukiko, first by its unexpectedness, then bythe dark power behind it. The wolfgirl looks around, quickly spotting Ikuto as the source of the music. Well, that more or less explains /that/, but where's the smaller of the two catboys...?
She prowls to the edge of the roof, looking around and spotting Yoru just as the X-Egg emerges from its person -- and the young man collapses. Okay, that /really/ isn't good!
"Hey, you!" Tsukiko snarls as she bounds closer. "First koi, and now eggs? I'm not going to let you get away with this, you... you magical crook!"
Ayana arches a brow at the conversation between the two children, but she doesn't interject. Instead, she just follows along idly, enjoying her treat ... right until Yoru floats down over the boy. /That/ certainly gets the familiar's attention, so she steps up just a little closer, but still she doesn't say anything. When the brainier of the boys starts to drop his ice cream, Ayana's priorities all fall into line. In one sudden movement, the fox-girl puts her pepperoni stick between her teeth and dives for the ice cream cone, narrowly catching it with her newly freed hand. Ice cream in each hand, and meat stick in mouth, she stares at the boys confusedly, then watches as the dream egg floats up and away. "Mff?" she asks the over-eager boy, but of course he doesn't speak pepperonimouth, and he probably doesn't even see the thing. So with a huff, Ayana stares at her fully hands and hesitates. What should she do?
The boy who dropped his cone has fainted, and he's sort of lying there. To the credit of the normals in the area, they do appear to be tending to the fainted boy. It's hot, maybe he just cooled off too quick thanks to that ice cream. Ice cream headache gone too far, maybe?
Those who can see what just happened, though, will need to follow Ikuto. He smirks in Ikiko's direction. "Too late, mine now," he states. "Do you want me to give it back?" He suddenly turns, and then leaps off the building, into an alley. He hits the ground without hurting himself somehow. Then he turns in the direction Ayana and Ikiko are in. The egg floats above his hand, and he starts to speak.
"Ore no kokoro: UNLOCK!"
The egg seems to merge with Ikuto's chest. His body glows, and then a white doctor's coat appears! A stethoscope around his neck! And a doctor's head-mirror, at a weird but jaunty angle due to his cat-ears!
X-CHARA TRANSFORMATION: DOCTOR KURONEKO
Cute Wolf Tsukiko quickly bounds after the catboys, growling as she goes. She lands in the alleyway just as Ikuto henshins into... some sort of doctor?
The wolfgirl blinks, then darts forward. She heads right towards Ikuto, but pivots outside of his reach, then leaps towards the wall, using her momentum from banking off of the wall to launch a kick at the catboy!
A small part of her is worried, though: it was hard enough fighting him normally with Prism Keeper Orange on her side. But by herself, with him transformed even further...?
This could be tough.
Ayana stares at the ice cream in both hands, then makes a huff and shoves the vanilla cone into waffle-cone's hand. Grabbing her pepperoni stick again, she says, "Make sure he gets that back." Then she rushes away towards where she last saw Ikuto disappear towards. Finding herself in an empty alleyway, Ayana spins around to make sure she's alone, then draws on her master's magic.
Purple-black energy swiftly engulfs Ayana, as she declares, "Magical Girl, Black Fox! Illusionary Henshin!" Her dress and sandals melt away within the dark energy. A forged steel chestpiece fades into existence, and a barrier jacket of blue and gold sprouts from the chestpiece. Her legs are quickly enshrouded in a skrit of black and gold with matching thigh-high stockings. A pair of blue boots form on her feet, and black ribbons wrap her hands. As her normally wild hair is pulled into a pair of matching puffy twintails by red ribbons, her natural ears and tail appear, bushy and brilliant and twitching with excitement. That excitement is briefly mollified as she discards her ice cream in the trash, but the pepperoni stick transforms into a long golden wand with a fox-eared heart ornament at one end, glowing with mystical blue energy.
Transformed, Ayana bounds into the air. She leaps to the rooftops, then hastily rushes after Ikuto and Ikiko.
Yoru stays out of the way of the battle for now, but he does call out, "Look out, nya!" as Tsukiko kicks at Ikuto. The warning is heard, but Tsukiko is too fast for it to be too much good. Even with his catlike reflexes, there's not much he can do to stop FLYING WOLF-GIRL! Ikuto leaps, twists, but Tsukiko still catches him and throws him into the opposite wall. Here in an alley there's not much room to maneuver!
However, from her vantage point on the roof, Ayana can see The catboy not-doctor raise a hand. "Well now, you seem spry enough." Ikuto's voice is a little different; now it's that false chipper tone a doctor takes with a possibly nervous patient. "Let's check your reflexes, shall we~?"
A flash of magical energy later, Ikuto is holding an EXTREMELY LARGE mallet that resembles one a doctor would use to tap on a patient's knees. Except as Ikuto jumps into the air and swings the massive mallet straight down, it's obvious he's aiming for Tsukiko's HEAD! He hasn't noticed Ayana yet-- she's in perfect position to get the jump on him!
Cute Wolf Tsukiko leaps back with a yelp, then flattens herself against the wall as the mallet strikes the pavement of the alleyway, leaving a small (but noticeable) dent in the ground. The wolfgirl stares at the dent with a horrified expression -- that had been aimed at her head?!
She kicks the side of the mallet to give herself a bit more space, then wall-jumps her way upward and further down the alleyway, passing over the pseudo-doctor before landing on the ground again. This time, she leaps forward on a diagonal, trying to land close enough to kick Ikuto in the knees.
Ayana rushes along the rooftops at high speed, seeking to get behind Ikuto while he's still not paying close attention. She slides to a stop as the mallet barely misses Ikiko's head, then hisses and points her wand at the pair of combatants. "Foxfire!" she declares, loud enough to carry, and a brilliant beam of colourful lights emerges from the wand. The lights are little more than a bit of dazzling illumination--barely enough to even /distract/ Ikuto. But maybe a little distraction is all Ikiko will need.
Kicking the mallet makes it disappear completely, so Tsuikoko has the room she needs quickly. But the call of 'Foxfire!' from above does indeed distract Ikuto. Just one problem. When he leans his head up, the head-mirror he's wearing just might catch some of those lights and reflect them backat Ayano!
But regardless they /do/ accomplish their aim. Ikuto raises his hand to shield his face, fearing they'll hurt him (he doesn't know how strong they are, after all). And it's long enough that Tsukiko leaps over him without him noticing. The kick to his knees startles him too, and he gasps as his legs are suddenly going out from under him.
He lists sharply to one side, but at the last possible moment, gets his hand under him. He plants the hand on the ground and springs back, away from Tsukiko's range. Though he stumbles as he does, hitting the ground on his knees as he lands. His head's down. "Playing with light shows, hm? That's bad for your eyes."
A moment later he tilts his head back up sharply, and a bright light shines into the alley. It's not likely to cause any serious damage, but SUDDEN BRIGHT LIGHT is liable to be a good distraction tactic! All he's really doing, though, is looking to take stock of the situation, and he needs a breather for that.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko glances up at the call of 'Foxfire!', looking for the new arrival. Up there, on the roof -- hey, are those canine AUGH BRIGHT LIGHT OW! The wolfgirl rolls back, covering her eyes and blinking until the spots go away. She's pretty sure the newcomer had ears and a tail, though, and they certainly /looked/ canine, from what she was able to see!
"/You're/ the one that's bad for our eyes," Tsukiko growls at Ikuto while she tries to clear her vision enough to get a better look at the newcomer. Having additional help is a good thing, and who knows -- maybe she can talk to the other magical girl afterwards as well!
Ayana yelps in startled surprise as her foxfire is sent right back at her. She ducks down and covers her eyes, then exclaims, "That's not supposed to happen!" She glances at her wand as if it has betrayed her, then leaps over the edge of the building and allows herself to drop the several stories to the ground below. There, she lands and brandishes her fox-eared golden wand at Ikuto.
"Stop! You have disrupted tasty ice cream /and/ a little boy's happy dreams!" She points towards Ikuto and warns him, "Give back what you took, or I'm going to have to punish you!"
ikuto takes the moment to recover, and get back on his feet. The bright light disappears quickly enough, not to worry. Tsukiko's growl gets a tilted head. "Now, I'm sure I don't know /what/ you mean. Doctors are supposed to make people feel better." Heavy on the smugness there. And then Ayana drops down and brandishes her wand at him! Her words get the same tilted-head look. "You heard him, didn't you? He can't do it. No one will listen."
"It's impossible..." His eyes glow white, just briefly, and he sounds like two people talking, just for a moment there. Just like the boy his current form had come from had done...
Either way, he looks at the pair. "My goodness, I think I know the problem." A clipboard suddenly appears in his hand, and he begins to write something. Then he tears the sheet off. "You need proper MEDICINE!" And then he throws the paper at the two of them. The paper flashes white, and then turns into little pill-shaped pellets... which then fire out at the two girls.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko looks at the other magical girl -- a foxgirl, if the ears and tail are any indication, and one with a pretty neat outfit! "That egg was that boy's dreams?" the wolfgirl gasps, then turns towards Doctor Cat. "That... that's horrible!"
She blinks as the voice goes polyphonic, then she frowns slightly. "He thinks his dream is impossible...?" Tsukiko wonders. Trying to become a doctor /is/ a difficult path, it's true...
She yelps as her train of thought is derailed by the barrage of pills. "What makes you so sure that your dream is impossilbe?" she calls to the voice trapped inside the catboy, even as she dances around the alley in an attempt to avoid the swarms of pills (to varying degrees of success). "You'll never know if you can or not unless you try!"
Ayana ducks behind cover as the pills come flying at her, narrowly avoiding being smacked in the face. "Whoa," she says to the air, then emerges again, "That little boy didn't think it was impossible until /you/ started making him doubt himself!" she yells at the doctor, then points her wand at him once more. "You're responsible for his doubts and his fears, but maybe we need to shed a little more light on the subject. Foxfire: Illumination!" Once again, a brilliant beam of dazzling lights emerges from her rod, but this time the energy is far more focused: like a laser made of rainbows, it lances towards Doctor Ikuto. "Give his dream back!" she yells.
It's very likely that Ikuto had been about to do something ELSE horrible-- given that he was reaching for that stethoscope around his neck-- but then Tsukiko's words reach him. And he utterly /freezes/. There is some obvious struggle as he tries to move and just... can't... seem to. From above Yoru calls out, "Ikuto!" And he looks up just in time to see the blast coming at him form Ayana. But he can't move in time...
The attack sends him tumbling over backwards, and he emits a surprised yelp. He tries to pull himself to his feet, but only half-manages-- the doubt in the X-Chara he's commandeered is too strong. 'Maybe I could...? Could I, maybe...?' No, Ikuto thinks. He has to reinforce it. Impossible... IMPOSSIBLE!
Though it's clear that his control over the X-Egg is visibly waning. The lab coat and doctorial accoutrements are flickering in and out of existence...
Cute Wolf Tsukiko smiles. When she had fought the Shade the other night, she had managed to reach it with a heartfelt hum; the night she had inadvertently stopped a nightmare-inflicting youma, it was her voice that seemed to do the trick. Perhaps once more...?
She takes a deep breath and howls, her voice carrying a wordless song of hope and encouragement -- the feelings of happiness when a doctor cures a sickness or heals an injury, the sense of triumph when you accomplish a challenging goal, the feeling of modest pride when you're a person people look up to. The howl is heartfelt, a sound made more from pure emotion than any particular form of music.
And it's being sung right at the trapped dream.
Ayana blinks in confusion as her attack seems to be far more effective than she'd intended. "Uh," she says, then mutters something under her breath. Her ears twitch as she considers the possibilities, and then she advances slowly towards the other two. "S...so are you defeated, now?" she asks Ikuto uncertainly. "Because I really don't want to have to hurt you anymore!"
Hope. Encouragement. Triumph. It floods the area like an actual flood. And the X-Chara picks up on it. Ikuto clutches his chest as the howl echoes throughout the alley, emitting a choked sound. Apparently yes, he is indeed defeated. Because in the next moment he shudders, and the area just in front of his chest ripples as the egg exits. The blackness flakes away, leaving a pristine white egg. And the doctor stylings disappear, leaving Ikuto without even his ears and tail!
The egg zooms away, to re-enter the still-unconscious boy's chest again. Then his eyes open and he blinks. "...What happened?" he asks.
"You just passed out from the heat, son," a bystander says. "I'm afraid your ice cream cone melted..." the bystander displays the melted cone.
The boy smiles, inexplicably happy for some reason. "That's okay," he says with a smile as he stands up. "I should be eating healthier things anyway."
Back in the alley, Ikuto finally gets to his feet again, and in a moment his ears and tail reappear, in a flash of sparkles. Despite having lost, he has a smirk on his face. "You did well, both of you." And that said, he leaps up, onto the roof of the build he just left. Ow... OK that hurts. Yoru winces too. "You need to be careful, Ikuto... you're gonna get hurt seriously doing this, nya..."
Cute Wolf Tsukiko watches Ikuto briefly to make sure he leaves, then looks over at the foxgirl. "Thanks for your help in rescuing that boy's dream!" the wolfgirl smiles, relaxing now that the threat has gone. "I don't think I've met you before -- my name's Cute Wolf Tsukiko; pleased to meet you!"
Ayana tilts her head curiously as the little egg returns to the boy it came from. "You really are! Nice to meet you," she agrees, but then hops paste Tsukiko towards the end of the alley, following the egg as it disappears. She peers around the corner and watches as the egg reenters the boy. Both of her ears perk up, and her tail wags excitedly as she watches him recover.
"We actually saved him," she says happily, then smiles and turns back to the wolf-girl. "We did it!" she says, hopping once excitedly in her direction. "And I got to meet another magical girl!" She pauses, then asks, "You are a magical girl, right? Oh, I'm so excited! I haven't met any other girls like me, yet. I'm Black Fox," she introduces herself at last.
Cute Wolf Tsukiko giggles slightly. "Not used to being a magical girl, huh?" she smiles. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Well... /more/ used to it; it /still/ surprises me at times!"
She can't help it; the fact that she actually helped save a person makes /her/ tail wag slightly, as well! Bounding over, she gives the slightly taller girl a big hug, the smile on her face growing wider. Defeating a badguy, saving a person, meeting another magical girl (and a *canine* magical girl at that!)... this has been a very good evening!
"Nice to meet you, Black Fox!" Tsukiko beams. "Maybe we should work together more often?"
Ayana squeaks just a little as she's hugged, but she does return the favor. "It's my first time!" she says to the wolf-girl. "I mean, since I first found out I was a magical girl, anyways. I'd love to work with you more often. This was amazing!"
"Yay!" Tsukiko grins. She looks towards the setting sun, and her smile fades slightly. "I should probably head home," she sighs, then she looks at the foxgirl again and her smile brightens slightly. "It was nice meeting you, Black Fox, and I look forward to seeing you again! Take care!"
And with that, the wolfgirl waves and starts bounding away, making her way back up to the rooftops and across the city. As she travels, a realization slowly dawns: unlike Prism Keeper Orange, she doesn't have a known way to contact Black Fox outside of happenstance.
Huh. Well, maybe Tsukiko can figure out a way of staying in contact by the time she next meets Black Fox.
"Yeah, me too," agrees the fox-girl with a smile. "It was great to meet you!" she says, then watches as the wolf bounds away. Ayana frowns just faintly, then glances towards where Ikuto disappeared. "Hmm," she murmurs, then sticks her wand--suddenly a pepperoni stick--back in her mouth. The illusionary magical girl costume fades instantly, leaving her back in her pretty black dress. She reaches up to squeeze her foxy ears once, then sighs and hides them as well. "Well, at least Takashi should be proud of me," she says. "I think." Then she strolls out of the alleyway and wanders towards home.