#1:  The First Day

     Kintara stared at her math book and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She hated mathematics, and geometry was no exception to that hate. For some reason the numbers always danced across the page, taunting her. As she flipped the page she sighed, since time always seemed to stand still in this class.
     “And the root of the angle is equal to...” the teacher droned, drawing some complex figures on the blackboard. Kintara glanced over at Tsukiri and Reiko, both of whom were diligently taking notes.
     ‘Why don’t I get it?’ she wondered, doodling in her notebook while twisting some of her long hair around a finger on the opposite hand. When she looked down at what she had drawn she nearly dropped her pencil.
     ‘There’s that figure again,’ she said mentally as she looked at the small dragon she had just drawn. ‘That’s the figure from my dream last night. The one who fluttered near me as Sakura petals blew around me. The one who seemed at ease when I was wearing that... that outfit.’
     “Cute picture,” Tsukiri whispered in her ear, snapping her awake, “What is it?”
     “Don’t know,” Kintara replied.
     “Miss Shikoba, will you please answer the questions that I have written on the board?” Miss Sherina asked. Kintara looked up, a sweat drop forming on her head as the numbers on the board danced and taunted her.
     “I... I’ll try,” Kintara replied as she stood and smoothed out her skirt. She stepped to the front of the room and took the chalk from Miss Sherina before turning to the board. ‘Oh man.... why do I have to solve such hard problems. These are way too complex for me to solve.’
     As she stood there her right hand began to move over the chalkboard, scribbling in solutions here and there to the problems given her. A moment later she realized what was going on and stopped her hand, blushing when she realized that she looked foolish for fighting with herself.
     ‘Crud.... I’m going to look like such a fool for that one,’ she thought as she turned to face the class, who stared in open mouthed awe. She turned to face Miss Sherina, who was also staring in awe. “What... what’s wrong with everyone?? Did I do something wrong? Do I have a split in my skirt?”
     “Miss Shikoba... I think you should transfer to a more advanced math class,” Miss Sherina replied after a moment, “you solved problems that even I had trouble solving, even with the teacher’s manual... and you made it look so easy.”
     “I what?” Kintara asked as she turned to the board and nearly fell over with shock. The answers were in her writing.... and they were in the right places, and the answers looked right. But how the heck could she have figured out the math when she hadn’t even studied. The class broke into applause as she retook her seat, and she blushed, wanting to curl up and hide from the world.
     “Wow, Kintara, you really smoked it,” Tsukiri said as she crossed her arms on her desk and set her head on them. From that vantage point Tsukiri and Reiko looked sideways, as did the rest of the world. “Could you, maybe, tutor me in geometry?”
     “Tsukiri, I’m really not in the mood for this,” Kintara sighed.
     “She’s been holding out on us,” Kintara’s best friend Maho said from her other side, “the girl has a head for numbers.”
     “Maho, not you too?”
     “Well, maybe it’s just an off day,” Reiko said as she played with some of her silver blue hair, “I mean, normally she totally makes a butt of herself in front of the class.”
     The bell took that moment to ring, signaling it was lunch time. Most of the students left in a rush, with the exception of Maho, Reiko, and Tsukiri, who waited for Kintara to move. She slowly raised her head to glance at the clock, then grimaced. Still three hours left until classes ended for the day.
     ‘Kintara Shikoba, you are to become a magical heroine, a savior of the light, destined to fight the powers of darkness,’ a voice said in her head in a thick Brooklynite accent.
     “Wha.... what?” she asked, still half awake.
     “I was saying we need to go and get something to eat before we pass out,” Tsukiri replied, “Weren’t you listening Kintara?”
     “Yah.... I was.... sorta. And I have a tuna salad sandwich in my bag calling my name. C’mon,” she added as she stood and grabbed her bag, “we need to hurry before all the good spots on the green are taken, and I know that Tsukiri wants to sit under that big tree in the corner that doesn’t get much sun.”

     Out on the dining common the four found their usual sport free, and Tsukiri immediately took his usual seat against the tree, leaving Kintara, Reiko, and Maho to sit around him.
     “Ahh... my favorite time of the day,” Tsukiri was saying as he opened a soup thermos and peered inside. “Ramen... with plenty of veggies. Mom comes through for me again. What did you guys bring?”
     “Sushi, squid puffs, assorted vegetables, soba, and tea,” Maho said as she opened her lunch bag. “My dad made lunch today, and his sushi is the coolest.”
     “Chicken cacchatori with steamed broccoli and asparagus, cheesecake, and fresh melon balls,” Reiko replied while taking a sip from her soda. “What did you bring ‘Tara?”
     Kintara dumped her bag unceremoniously on her napkin, revealing her tuna salad sandwich, a bag of nacho chips, fresh vegetables, cookies, and a bottle of fruity water. “Guess I made out all right.”
     “You sure did,” a voice said from behind Kintara, a shadow falling over her. “You know the drill. Give me your lunch and I don’t pound ya flat.”
     “And I was looking forward to my sushi too,” Maho sighed as she dumped everything back into her bag.
     Kintara surprised all of them, including herself, as she stood up and faced Majorious Komen, her eyes flashing fire as she looked up at the larger girl, who towered a good head and shoulders above her. “You’re not getting our lunch today Marge, so just leave us alone.”
     “This is going to be fun Shikoba,” Marge said as she cracked her knuckles, “sending you to the ICU will make my day complete.”
     Kintara took a deep breath before taking on a fighter’s stance, her eyes looking like they were about to glow. Wind blew her long hair about as her fingernails extended to six inch claws. Marge made the first move by punching at her and putting her full weight into the swing. It was the larger girl’s mistake, since Kintara, with her martial arts training and smaller frame, was able to move under the swing, grab Marge’s arm, and use her momentum to throw her several feet away. Marge surprised them with her grace by landing on her feet in a crouch, steam blowing from her nose as she turned on Kintara.
     “Shikoba, you are so totally going to die for that!!!” Marge screamed as she charged, both fists flashing as she unleashed a lightning fast barrage of punches.
     “I can’t watch,” Reiko said as she leaned into Tsukiri, hiding her face in his shoulder. “Tell me when it’s over and we have to call 911.”
     Kintara dodged each of the punches like it was nothing, grasped a hold of Marge’s left hand, and flipped onto her extended arm. The catgirl then leapt into the air, executed a flip, and dove at the larger girl, her claws retracting as she brought her fists forward. For a moment it looked like her fists glowed as she reared both back and brought them forward again, the impact driving Marge into the ground up to her waist. Kintara flipped away, landing in a crouch, her hair slightly ruffled, a breeze blowing against her skirt. She turned her head to Marge, her eyes glowing blood red.
     “You will not bother us ever again,” she said in a voice that didn’t seem like it belonged to her, “and if you do, you’ll get a thrashing worse than the one I just gave you. Do you understand?”
     Marge nodded, her face growing pale, her dark hair paling in color as well as she dug herself out of the ground and crawled away, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I... I lost. I can’t believe I lost to Kintara Shikoba.”
     Kintara’s eyes returned to normal as she turned to her friends. “It’s O.K.... Marge won’t bother us any more.”
     Reiko looked up from Tsukiri’s shoulder, wondering if she needed to use her cell phone to call the emergency room. When she saw that Kintara was unharmed she released Tsukiri from her death grip and pushed him away before breathing a sigh of relief. Tsukiri stared blankly at Kintara for a moment, since he was shocked that his friend could kick the butt of somebody like Large Marge and still be alive. Maho smiled smugly at her.
     “You’re Magical Heroine Shikoba,” Maho said after a moment. “I can’t believe you wailed on her like that. You were awesome. You have to teach me those moves some day.”
     “What are you talking about Maho?” Kintara asked as she popped open her bottle of water and took a long drink from it.
     “You.... don’t remember anything about the fight?” Tsukiri asked as he opened his thermos again and dipped his chopsticks in to bring out some noodles.
     “I remember standing up, and I remember her swinging at me.... and then it was all a blur until I turned back to you guys,” Kintara replied. “But I have the worst pounding headache in the history of the world. I think I might skip fourth period to go and get some medicine from the school nurse.”
     “Well... let’s eat,” Reiko said as she popped open her cheesecake and broke some off for each of them, “I’m starving, and right now I need a cheesecake fix.”
     “Tell me about it,” Maho said as she took a sip of her tea before biting into the cheesecake, “I hope we don’t have a pop quiz in biology today.”
     “If we do I’m sure I’ll probably ace it,” Kintara said jokingly. The other three stared at her. “What? It’s a joke. You’re supposed to be laughing. You can’t still be angry with me for the whole math incident? I told you, I don’t know what’s going on.”
     “If anything does happen, you’ll be sure to tell us, right ‘Tara?” Reiko said, taking Kintara’s hand.
     “Yeah... sure, anything. But I’m starved, so let’s dig in before lunch ends.”
     “Agreed!” the other three said as they dug in and ate.

     In a pocket dimension someplace near the south pole sat a woman. This was no ordinary woman, for she was the queen of the dark legions of a long lost race of people. She had long wavy burgundy hair and emerald green eyes. She wore a tight fitting gown of a sparkly shade of royal blue, with an intricate armlet around her right bicep of gold. Bracelets of gold, some with jewels, others without, adorned each delicate wrist, and rings glittered on each finger. Her ears were slightly pointy, like those belonging to half elves, and opals glittered from each delicate lobe. She held a large scepter in the shape of a key, with a green jewel in the shape of a six pointed star set in the head. Her name was Soi Lecithin.
     Soi gazed into the jewel in her staff, smiling as it shimmered and revealed the battle of Kintara and Marge, with a play by play performed by a woman’s voice with a thick Kanzai accent. She smiled even more when she saw Kintara defeat her opponent with a minimum of violence and physical injury, then grinned and chuckled when she saw the red glow in the catgirl’s eyes.
     “Yes,” she said to nobody in particular, “she is the chosen one. I know she is. She must be. Nobody else in this world possesses that type of power and skill and grace.... not without the aid of a transformation wand or other item from that has been dragon.”
     “Madam Soi, that dragon has defeated us multiple times in the past,” a male voice said from the shadows, “and if he has indeed chosen this young woman to be his next savior of the world, then we must fear her.”
     “Never! The dark legion will never fear a girl, especially when she has yet to be visited by Albarsis. Carry on your mission, Mordred, and strike when the time is right.”
     “Yes my queen,” the voice said as it echoed off into silence. Soi looked back into her crystal and sighed, unsure of what to make of the latest chain of events.
     ‘If she is indeed the chosen one, then she will be a force to be reckoned with. But I will be ready for her this time. I will be ready and waiting.’

     3:30 in the afternoon. A good time for most students to go home and relax a little bit before beginning their homework and studies. However, for the handful of students who happen to have after school jobs relaxation must wait.
     “Man ‘Tara, we’ll never get to see that new movie at the cineplex,” Tsukiri said as he walked with Kintara, Maho, and Reiko with his hands behind his head. “Between you working and me helping out at dad’s dojo we never have the time.”
     “I have my day off coming up,” Kintara replied as she adjusted the scrunchie in her hair, “hopefully that’ll coincide with your day off and we can go together.”
     “Say Tara, what type of work will you be doing today?” Maho asked without looking up from her book.
     “Bagging, carriages, and the worst task of all.... being chief sanitation manager,” Kintara said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
     “Chief sanitation manager?” Reiko asked, clue less as usual.
     “It means she has to pick up trash and clean the bathrooms before she can go home,” Maho replied.
     “Oh. Poor Kintara.”
     “Yeah, poor me. The stench from that dumpster is enough to peel paint and make it burst into flames.”
     “How.... eloquent,” Maho said, unsure of what to make of the description.
     “On a scale of one to ten it rates a twenty,” Kintara sighed, “I am sooooo not impressed by it.”
     “Who are you working with tonight?” Reiko asked as they reached the edge of the parking lot.
     “Xander and Lyssa, which makes my day easier since Xander moves faster than the speed of light and Lyssa helps out now and then with everything.”
     As Kintara left her friends to go to work Tsukiri called, “Are we still on for the RP tonight?”
     “Hell yeah,” Kintara replied, “I wouldn’t miss tonight for all the tea in China.”
     “Mmmmm.... tea,” Reiko said, becoming lost in a daydream of her and Mikel, the captain of the football team.
     “There she goes again,” Maho sighed as she waved to Kintara.
     “Who? Kintara or Reiko?” Tsukiri asked.
     “Who do you think, lug nuts for brains?!”
     Tsukiri looked at Reiko and sighed as well. “Oh. Man, she really needs to stop spacing like that.”
     “Which arm are you taking today?”
     “I’ll get the left. You take the right. We’ll get her home somehow.”
     “Oh Mikel, would you like cream or sugar?” Reiko asked as her friends picked her up and carried her off for home, sweat drops forming on their heads.

     The clock read 3:45 as Kintara stopped to smooth out her skirt and her shirt. She adjusted her tie and name badge before punching in.
     ‘Just barely made it,’ she thought before turning to the store. She face faulted when she saw the lines of customers going down aisles and Xander and Lyssa left alone on register with no bagger in sight.
     “Tara, great to see you,” a voice said from her left. She turned and bowed to the voice. “Nice to see you too L-sama. I see that we’re busy today. Where are the others?”
     “Tokiko is on break right now,” Kintara’s boss, Larissa, replied.
     “And...”
     “And what? That’s it... well, there’s also Tomiko, but she’s running the office today.”
     “Great, the wonder twins are helping to run the store,” she sighed before taking a deep breath. She took three running steps before she leapt over two carriages, flipping forward as she went to land. She grabbed the edge of a third, using her momentum to give her the lift needed so that she wouldn’t crash to the floor on her head. She landed in front of Lyssa’s register and immediately began to bag the order that was rapidly piling up there.
     The time passed quickly, and after a short while the front end was more or less empty of customers. Kintara, Lyssa, and Xander all took a much needed breather, since it was bound to get busier later on or could become busy at any given moment. Tokiko had since returned from her break, and was also taking a small breather, since she arrived near the end of the monster rush.
     “I’m just about burned out,” Xander sighed before taking a sip of water. Once he closed his bottle he sighed and added, “Tara, you’re something else.”
     “What do you mean?” she asked as she tucked some of her hair back into place.
     “Well... you do such a wonderful job of bagging and whatnot you almost make me look bad.”
     Kintara blushed, since she sort of had a crush on Xander. Yet he was a full four years older than she was and a junior in college. How could they possibly date without getting into trouble or something like that. As she pondered this she felt a presence behind her, and heard Lyssa and Xander cease their conversation. A shadow fell over her, blotting out her own, and at that moment she knew that S-sama was right behind her.
     “Shikoba, you haven’t done carts yet,” a low male voice said with enough prissy, pissy attitude to make Kintara want to tear off the face it belonged to.
     She took a deep breath before saying, “I haven’t had the time until just recently to do anything about them because we’ve been so busy and I’m the only bagger on until heaven knows when.”
     “Don’t go blaming this on Yuji.”
     “I didn’t name any names,” she growled, “but since it’s Yuji....”
     Xander and Lyssa blinked in unison as they watched Kintara stand up to Sanderson, their boss and store manager, who was an ex-drill sergeant for the marines. Sanderson glared at the back of Kintara’s head, the patented ‘stare of imminent death’ it was called, and waited for her to turn around. Kintara made a fist with her right hand before flinging her fingers out, her fingernails growing into eight inch claws. She whipped around and slashed a few times with her nails, and a moment later Sanderson’s tie fell apart, the golden material fluttering to the ground, followed by bits of his tan shirt. He paled under his tan and took a step back.
     “Umm... carry on Shikoba,” he said before making a hasty retreat to his office.
     “Wow.... Tara, that was amazing,” Lyssa said after a moment of awkward silence. When Kintara didn’t respond she said, “Hello? Kintara.... are you feeling O.K.? You seem a bit tense.”
     “I’m.... fine,” Kintara forced through clenched teeth. She took several deep breaths as her claws retracted back to fingernails. She turned to Lyssa and Xander and smiled before saying, “So.... you guys hear about that new animated movie they have running at the cineplex? It features a magical girl who has to capture magical cards.”
     A moment later there was a scream from the parking lot, and Tokiko glanced out the windows since she was on the express lane closest to the door. She turned pale before turning to the others. “One of you has to do something. Tomoko is being attacked in the parking lot.”

     “Tomoko’s here?” Kintara gasped, since Tomoko Ryouji rarely stopped by the store since she had gone on leave for health reasons.
     “Yeah, and a nasty looking monster thing is attacking her with nasty tentacles,” Tokiko said. Xander and Lyssa face faulted. Kintara’s eyes flashed fire.
     “Tentacle monster attacking my friend?! Not on my watch,” she said as she took off her name badge and tossed it to Lyssa. “Keep an eye on that. I’m gonna need it when I get back.” she said as she rolled up her sleeves and stepped into the breezeway. When she saw the size of the monster a sweat drop formed on her head. ‘What did I get myself into?’
     “Kintara, you must transform into a magical heroine and defeat it,” a voice said near her in a thick Brooklynite accent. She glanced around, since that was the same voice which had spoken with her in Geometry and at lunch.
     “What? Who are you? Where the heck are you?”
     A small cloud of smoke appeared near the ceiling, and from that came a tiny purple dragon with silvery wings and silver blue eyes. It smiled at her before floating down to her level. “You must transform yourself into Magical Savior Shihoko.”
     “What the hell are you talking about?! I can’t transform myself into anything.”
     The dragon sighed and blinked its eyes, its wings glowing. A moment later a large bracelet of gold formed around her left wrist, a large white gem glistening in it. “I am called Albarsis, and I will be your guide. Now, you must transform.”
     Tomoko’s scream filled the air, and Kintara glanced up to see the monster tearing her shirt off. She looked at Albarsis, then at the bracelet, then at Tomoko being tortured by the monster, and made a decision that would change her life forever. “How do I work this thing?” she asked as she kicked open the exit door and stepped outside, where people were running around in a panic.
     “Hold it aloft and picture yourself transforming. The gem and the strength of your determination will do the rest.”
     She raised her left wrist into the air and clutched the bracelet with her right hand. The gem in the bracelet glowed as a second bracelet formed around her right wrist. She crossed her arms before her face as her clothes melted away, a glow surrounding her body to hide her nudity. The glow solidified into a remarkably comfortable body suit of gold with black and crimson trim. Shoulder armor, feminine chest armor, and some hip armor of silver formed, as well as golden knee high boots with armor on the shins. A crown of some sort formed around her head, a visor of light blue forming over her eyes.
     Once she had transformed she looked at Albarsis and said, “So... now what do I do?”
     “Do what you feel you must do and fight,” Albarsis replied.
     Kintara turned towards the monster and shouted, “Stop right there villain, for I am the defender of the weak, protector of those I love, and part time goddess of death. I am Magical Savior Shihoko!”
     The monster looked at the armor clad catgirl and laughed. Kintara felt her blood boiling at this complete lack of respect for a super hero, especially one who stood for all the good things in the world and who wanted to protect her friends. She glared at the monster before taking a couple steps back in order to get a running start. She then leapt into the air, where she grabbed onto an overhanging streetlight and flipped up onto it. From there she had no idea what to do.
     “Kintara.... help me,” Tomoko cried as the monster began to have its way with her. “Do something. Please save me... or end this.”
     ‘What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?’ Kintara asked herself. After a moment she said, “I’ve got it,” before leaping high into the air. A magical glow surrounded her feet as she flipped a few times and dove at the monster feet first, her body spinning as she utilized a Cannon Drill technique. The monster simply laughed and smashed her into the pavement, where the impact left a crater.
     “Now I’m really pissed off,” she said as she crawled out of the crater and picked pavement from her hair. “I wasn’t expecting that first attack, but you won’t swat me like that again.”
     The youma swung a tentacle at her, which she dodged by flipping backward. The monster swung repeatedly, yet somehow she managed to dodge all but one. That fateful blow sent her careening through the air, through the store’s plate glass window, and onto the conveyor belt of register seven.
     “Owww....” she moaned as she struggled to sit up, every part of her body protesting the action. There was a dead sort of silence as all motion stopped.
     “Kintara, is that you?” Xander whispered as he lifted her off of the register and moved her to a nearby bench.
     “Yeah, it’s me,” Shihoko replied, pain wracking her body. “Damn. Some magical heroine I turned out to be. Now Tomoko’s going to be deflowered by that thing.”
     “I won’t let that happen,” Xander said as he rose and turned towards the door. As he moved a glow surrounded his left wrist, forming a bracer with a large black jewel in the center. Albarsis reappeared and looked at him.
     “What a turn of luck. We found Mystic Healer Zandarius the same day we found Magical Savior Shihoko.”
     “Just what do I do with this thing?” Xander asked, arching an eyebrow at the dragon, “throw it at the monster?”
     “Hold it aloft and envision your transformation. The bracer will do the rest.” Albarsis said, a little peeved at Xander’s reaction to being chosen.
     “All right.”
     Xander held his left arm up and braced it with his right. The jewel in the bracer glowed violet black as the transformation took effect. A secondary bracer formed around his right wrist as dark lightning crackled around his body. A globe of darkness enveloped him, and his body was visible outside the globe. When the globe shrank away Xander was wearing black boots, with black violet armor on the shins, tight black pants, black chest and hip armor with intricate gold detail, shoulder armor, and a crown of black with blood red gems and a dark purple visor.
     “Presenting Mystic Healer Zandarius,” Albarsis said. Shihoko sighed when she heard this. A sweat drop formed on Xander’s head.
     “Hurry... and save Tomoko,” Shihoko moaned as she sat up.
     “All right,” Zandarius said as he dashed out of the store, a cloud of dust rising in his wake.
     Once he was outside he dashed at the monster, dodging and ducking all of the tentacles that came his way. The monster blinked in awe, since its strikes seemed to be two seconds late to the target point.
     “Hey you tub of protoplasm,” Zandarius called from behind the monster, “you couldn’t hit the broad side of a fat woman’s ass!!”
     As the monster lashed out behind, Zandarius appeared in front. The monster looked back, then looked to the front, where Zandarius was taking a couple of steps back. A moment later the mystic healer was airborne, a pair of boomerangs forming in his hands. These he lobbed at the tentacles holding Tomoko, the boomerangs glowing as blades of energy extended.
     ‘Gotta time this just right,’ he thought as he flipped backward to begin his descent. The boomerangs slashed the tentacles when he was part way to the ground, and Tomoko began to drop as he touched down. With a blur of speed he leapt up, caught the girl, used the monster’s body as a rebound point, and leapt to safety by the store.
     “You O.K.?” he asked Tomoko as he set her down.
     “Yeah... I’m fine. Just a little shaken,” she replied as she struggled to cover herself. He blushed and averted his gaze just as Lyssa and Shihoko stepped out.
     “Come inside Tomoko,” Lyssa said as she draped Xander’s flannel shirt over the girl’s shoulders. “We’ll get you cleaned up while these two beat that monster senseless.”
     “So just how exactly are we supposed to beat this thing?” Shihoko asked as the other two stepped inside. “This thing nearly put me out of commission with one shot.”
     “Your special strength is in your martial arts, just like how Xander’s is in his speed. Your transformations just kick those up a few notches,” Albarsis said as he reappeared. “Plus the color of your gems determines what sort of powers you have.”
     “What the hell are you talking about?!”
     As Shihoko said that the gem in her gauntlet glowed, a beam of energy flying to her right hand. The beam stretched and solidified into a really long sword with a nasty curved blade.
     “That is what I’m talking about,” Albarsis sighed, “your weapon is a no datchi, just as the weapon of choice for Zandarius is the boomerang.”
     “And a sword of my own,” Zandarius added as a katana formed in his hand.
     “But what about special attacks or magic? Every magical heroine in anime has some!” Shihoko shouted. A sweat drop formed on Albarsis’ head.
     The monster took that moment to release a cry that shattered glass and caused people to drop to their knees and clutch at their ears.
     “Looks like we wing it,” Zandarius said, “I’m sure that using my speed I can split my body into six and pull off Turbid Current.”
     “Isn’t that an attack from....?” Shihoko began to ask. Zandarius nodded. “Then you might want to use a larger sword.”
     She handed him the no datchi as claws formed out of her bracers. “I have a few attacks of my own that I want to try. Now let’s send that monster packing before it destroys everything!”
     They leapt back into action, Zandarius splitting into six identical copies, which circled around the monster and dashed forward, each one striking as it crossed paths with another. The six leapt back in unison, reforming into one that dropped back and gave a thumbs up to Shihoko.
     ‘How did that combo go again?’ she asked mentally as she dashed at the monster. The attack string came to her as she punched the youma, then grabbed hold and kicked up as she somersaulted backwards. ‘Beat rush and somersault.’ Next came a low kick with a water spell added, followed by her picking the youma up and smashing it into the ground with a back over bridge. ‘Water kick and meteodrive.’ That was quickly followed by a powerful uppercut, out of which a ghostly dolphin rose. ‘Dolphin Blow.’ Then came a move where she lifted the youma again above her head, then leapt high into the air and smashed it into the ground. ‘Meteor Strike.’ When she landed she reared back her right hand, energy flowing into her glove. She dashed forward and punched, an explosion rocking the area as the energy in her glove was released. ‘Final Heaven!’ She then dropped back to stand with Zandarius.
     “That was intense!” she said, a smile crossing her lips.
     “You could have gotten seriously hurt by doing that,” Albarsis scolded, smoke coming from his nostrils. “You never get that close to an enemy, no matter what.”
     “So what do you expect us to do?” Shihoko asked, pouting. “You only explained half of our powers to us.”
     “As a mystic guardian your score is LOW,” Zandarius added. A sweat drop formed on Albarsis’ head.
     “Your elements are light and dark, if that’s what you want to know,” Albarsis said bluntly.
     “Thank you,” Shihoko said as she gathered energy into her fists. “You ready Zandarius?”
     “As long as it kills that thing, since this armor is beginning to chafe.”
     “OK. You go first. I’ll be right behind you.”
     Zandarius held the no datchi before his body, the blade glowing violet black as he dashed forward. Shihoko dashed behind him, their steps hitting the pavement in unison. They jumped in unison, the monster swatting at them. Zandarius’ jump peaked first, and he began to descend as Shihoko’s jump reached its peak. The magical savior shouted, “Aura Cannon!” as she punched forward, the energy in her fists releasing as a beam of raw astral power.
     As Zandarius landed he slashed the air twice, blades of darkness flying from his sword. He shouted, “More and More,” the blades slashing through the youma in an X shaped pattern.
     A split second following the attack the youma exploded, leaving a blast crater in the parking lot. As smoke poured through the area Shihoko’s and Zandarius’ transformations glowed and then vanished, leaving bracelets around their wrists.
     “So, was it as good for you as it was for me?” Xander asked jokingly. Kintara gave him the evil eye. “I’m just kidding with you ‘Tara.”
     “I know,” Kintara replied, hugging him, “there’s nobody I’d rather share these types of powers with than you.”
     “You two had better return to work before people start getting ideas,” Albarsis said as he poofed out.
     “Yes, let’s,” Xander said as he opened the door to the store and motioned for the cat girl to enter before him. Fire trucks pulled in as they entered, the firefighters jumping off and spraying the smoking parking lot with foam.

     “There are two new magical heroes in town today, and they showed the customers at the local Big Saver supermarket what they could do.”
     The tv screen flickered on images of Magical Savior Shihoko and Mystic Healer Zandarius. Taylor and Tanlynn Shikoba stopped their roughhousing to watch the segment, and Takana looked up from his notebook.
     ‘That looks like Tara,’ Taka thought as he watched the armor clad girl beat the snot out of a monster. ‘Only she would be a little *less* aggressive.'
     The front door opened and in stepped Kintara, who kicked her shoes off, dropped her bag, and dragged herself into the dining room. She pulled a chair out, plopped into it, and sighed.
     “Kana, is there anything left over from dinner?” she asked as she pulled her tie off.
     “Yeah, there’s some of dad’s casserole left, and I could make you some ramen if you want,” Takana said as he rose from the table.
     “Extra veggies and some chicken please,” she sighed, resting her elbows on the table, then resting her head on her hands.
     “Here ‘Tara,” Tanlynn said from her left as a glass of chocolate milk was pushed in front of her. “Taylor and I made this for you.”
     “What’s the catch?” she asked suspiciously.
     “No catch. You look like you needed it.”
     “No sedatives, laxatives, or unwanted substances?”
     Tanlynn shook his head. Taylor also shook his head. Kintara sighed and took a long sip before saying, “Thanks guys.”
     “Welcome ‘Tara,” Taylor said as he and Tanlynn scampered off to watch tv. As soon as they were out of the room Takana brought a steaming bowl of chicken vegetable ramen in and set it before her before taking his seat.
     “So how was your day?” he asked as he watched her wolf down her dinner.
     “Long. Tiring. The usual,” she replied, “Why?”
     “How can gaining magical powers be usual?” he whispered. She nearly spit out the mouthful of soup she had. “Don’t worry,” he said, “your secret is safe with me. I mean, who would believe my sister is Magical Savior Shihoko?”
     Kintara grumbled something before downing the rest of the ramen in one gulp and cracking Takana over the head with the empty bowl. She left the room in a huff, leaving her older brother to wonder if it was too early for that time of the month or if Kintara was like that naturally.
     As soon as she reached her room she slammed the door, collapsed across the bed, and screamed into her pillow. “I cannot believe this day!” she shouted before falling asleep.
     A mysterious voice saying, “Welcome home Shihoko, now you shall die!” woke her.

    NEXT: First Night, Second Day.