Magical Savior Shihoko
presents:
Boss, Bastard, Friend.

    “You ever notice just how much Sanderson looks like a drill sergeant?” Kintara asked over lunch one day. “I mean, that beard? And the hair. Even the attitude screams 'Straighten up or I’ll kick your butt!’.”
    “Didn’t he kick Yuji’s butt last week for lying to him about washing the bathrooms?” Maho asked, the straw for her soda hanging out of her mouth.
    “I don’t know about kicking his butt, but poor Yuji is totally traumatized.”
    “Really?”
    “Fer sure. If I didn’t need the money and could find anyplace else to work, I would so totally be there in a heartbeat.”
    “Parents cut off the allowance again?”
    “Ya. It’s such a total bummer to have my secondary income cut off.”
    “What did you do to deserve that?” Tsukiri asked, trying to get in on the conversation.
    “Nothing.”
    “We’ll believe that when you grow angel wings and fly away,” Tsukiri and Maho said in unison, “Girl, you’re not that innocent.”
    Tara pouted and looked to her friend Reiko for support. Backup. Female bonding. Unfortunately Reiko was talking with someone from the cheering squad, which threw Kintara for a loop. After falling off of the bench in surprise, she regained her seat, dusted herself off, and resumed eating.
    “So are you working today?” Maho asked.
    “Yeah, unfortunately,” Tara sighed, “and it’s one of those that kills the afternoon and gives me just enough time when I get home to finish homework and go to bed.”
    “Yuck,” Maho and Tsukiri said in unison.
    “Total suckage,” Tara grumbled. “And I have to work with mister stuck up ‘my way or the highway’, which is going to test my patience.”
    “I thought he got the idea after you shredded his tie and part of his shirt,” Maho said, recalling one of their first battles with the forces of Soi Lecithin and the Dark Kingdom.
    “He just learned not to piss me off on days where I growl a lot,” Tara sighed. “He has yet to learn just how difficult my life is. School, work, homework...”
    “Being a savior of the innocent, protector of love and justice, defender of all that is good,” Reiko added, rejoining the conversation already in progress.
    “If your job sucks so much why don’t you just quit and find somewhere else?” Tsukiri asked.
    “Easier said than done,” Tara sighed, rolling her eyes, “that store is one of the few places that hires people under the age of eighteen.”
    “Harshness,” Maho said, snagging some of Tara’s carrot sticks. “That sucks girl.”
    “What sucks is that lunch is almost over,” Tsukiri said, looking at his watch.
    “Well, whatever I don’t finish now I can devour on my break tonight,” Tara said, packing the remains of her lunch into her bag.
    “Only two periods left and then we’re home free,” Reiko beamed. She looked over at Tara, who was glaring at her. “Well, most of us anyway.”
    “This suh-ucks,” Tara groaned as they walked back into the school, the bell ringing to signal the end of their lunch period.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Two periods later the bell rang to announce the completion of yet another day of learning. Most students bounded out of the building, intent on catching buses and rides home or taking their bikes off of the rack for a more leisurely route. Those with after school activities made their way to the designated rooms and areas, some happy, some grouchy, some not caring either way. The remaining few with afternoon jobs that they loathed slunk from the building, their steps slow and heavy, since they’d rather be anywhere but where they were supposed to be.
    “Oh man,” Tara groaned, going through her duffel bag, “I thought I’d packed my pleated skirt before I left this morning.”
    She looked at the black mini she was wearing and sighed. “This is going to have to do for today,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I know it’s not exactly to dress code, but it’s the best I’ve got at the moment. I can’t exactly run home because it’d take me twice as long to get to work, and I’m already running a little behind right now.”
    She looked over her shoulder in the direction of her house, rolled her eyes, and started in the opposite direction, towards her job. It was going to be one of those days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Half an hour and a lot of gripeing later Tara punched in at the supermarket, her ears twitching slightly out of nervousness and irritation at the rest of the world. She could sense Sanderson was in the store, but had yet to lay eyes on him. With her stomach doing flips and cartwheels she was pretty sure that either she’d throw up or that she’d lose it.
    “Tara, nice to see you,” Tomiko said, bounding over from the office. She looked Tara over from head to toe and cocked her head. “There’s something different about you. Did you do something with your hair? New blouse?”
    “Oooooh, what a super cute skirt,” Tokiko, Tomiko’s equally bubbly identical twin sister said as she bounced over. “Tara, that look is so totally you.”
    “Keep it down,” Tara said through clenched teeth, “This skirt isn’t exactly regulation.”
    “Pleather,” Tomiko said, rubbing the hem, “very chic and very in.”
    “Latest fashion,” Tokiko grinned.
    “You gotta take us shopping with you next time you buy something like this,” the twins pleaded in unison.
    “Right, right, I will,” Tara said, a sweat drop forming on the side of her head. “Just tell me if Sanderson is behind me.”
    “I’m behind you,” Sanderson said, startling all three.
    “We’ll be getting back to work now,” Tomiko and Tokiko said in unison once again, returning to the service desk, where they hid around a corner to watch what was about to unfold.
    “Sanderson, hi. Nice day, isn’t it?” Tara said as she turned to look up at her boss. An anger mark replaced the sweat drop when she saw the look on his face. “Nice tie. Is it new?”
    “Shikoba, what are you wearing?” Sanderson asked, glaring.
    “Um.... isn’t that a little personal?” Tara asked sarcastically.
    “The skirt. What is it made of?”
    “The latest in fashion pleather,” Tara beamed, proud of her taste in clothing.
    “And why are you wearing it here?”
    “Because I forgot my other skirt at home.”
    “So why didn’t you go home to get it?”
    Sanderson was still glaring, and Tara was getting a little annoyed with his questioning of her motive. Yes, she had forgotten to pack the pleated skirt she usually wore at work. Yes, it was probably still sitting at home on the floor of her bedroom, near where she usually dropped her duffle bag. Yes, she was wearing a skirt that was super tight and a couple inches too high to be company regulation. It didn’t mean he had to make a federal case out of it.
    “If I went home to get it I would have been half an hour or more late for work,” she said, not meeting his eyes.
    “Well, I want you to punch out, go home, change, and come back,” Sanderson said.
    “What?!”
    “What?!” several voices asked from around Tara.
    “You heard me. Go home, change into the proper skirt, and come back. You’ll be staying extra to make up for the time you miss.”
    “But.... that’s an extra hour,” Tara said, her lip quivering.
    “It will teach you an important lesson,” Sanderson said coldly. “Company policy is in place for a reason. You can’t go against regulations.”
    “Regulate this,” Tara growled, slashing Sanderson’s tie before storming over to the punch clock. The clock beeped a couple of times in discomfort as she punched in her employee number before clearing her to leave. She then turned to Sanderson again, shot him a withering glare, and crashed through the exit door, slamming it shut behind her with enough force to shatter the glass.
    “Let that be a lesson to anybody who thinks of going against the dress code,” Sanderson said as he headed for his office.
    “Yeah, don’t piss off Kintara,” Tomiko and Tokiko said in unison. “Damn. Girl’s got power.”
    “And somebody clean up the glass before somebody gets hurt and we have a lawsuit,” Sanderson’s voice wafted from his office.
    “Oh Yuji-kun,” Tokiko sang to get the attention of their only other bagger, “cleanup by the exit door.”
    “And we’d better prepare for some emotional cleanup of our own,” Tomiko said, picking up the phone, “better call the Shikobas and make sure Tara got home O.K..”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “Tara, Tomiko from the store called this afternoon,” Mrs. Shikoba said as Kintara wandered into the kitchen. “She said you walked out today in a huff.”
    “Yeah, I did. Big deal,” Tara said, snagging a can of soda from the fridge. She tapped the top a couple of times before popping the tab and taking a couple of gulps.
    “Why don’t you join us for dinner and tell us all about it,” Mr. Shikoba said, motioning at Tara’s usual seat between the twins and Takana.
    “I’m not hungry,” she hissed as she headed for the hallway to the stairs.
    “That’s a first,” Takana said as Tara left. “The bottomless pit doesn’t want dinner. Must be serious.”
    “Taylor, you owe me five bucks,” Tanlynn said, causing their parents to look at them.
    “Explain,” Mrs. Shikoba said, bending over to look at the twins in a somewhat menacing manner. “Now.”
    “We made a little bet,” Taylor said, “Tanlynn said that Tara would never miss a meal, and I said that she would if something major happened.”
    “And apparently something happened,” Takana sighed as he pushed his chair away from the table. “I’ll go and talk to her, see if she wants to give me the details.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Upstairs Kintara had since slogged her way to her room and locked herself in. Her work and school clothes littered the floor, and she was laying on her bed in a loose pair of black shorts and a pink tank top.
    “What a mega creep,” she said to the ceiling, which had little stars glowing on it. “I totally can’t believe his head up the butt attitude.”
    A loud knock sounded at the door, and Takana asked, “Kintara, are you O.K.?”
    “Go away,” she replied without sitting up.
    “But Tara....”
    “I said leave me a lone.”
    “Tara...”
    “I’ll come out when I’m good and ready. No sooner, no later.”
    “Should I have mom save you some dinner?”
    The catgirl was on her feet, and a moment later the door swung open and Tara stormed out. As she marched past her brother she pulled a sweatshirt on and threw her purse on over her shoulder. “I don’t care,” she growled. “I really could care less,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “I’m going out!”
    Takana stopped following her, and winced as two doors slammed shut behind his sister. She was obviously quite upset about something, but what had ticked her off remained a mystery to her family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “That no good... irritating... stuck up son of a....” Tara grumbled as she walked. The slightly chilly night air did nothing to chill her temper, which was still fire hot.
    “You know, he might have a reason for being like that,” Albarsis said as he appeared several inches above Tara’s shoulder.
    “O.K., so now you’re taking his side,” she growled, stopping in the middle of a dark place. “That is so typical!”
    “Woah, hold on there. I’m not taking sides here. Where are you going?!”
    Tara had since resumed her power walk into the night, leaving the dragon floating by himself. “I’m hoping to find some reason to hang around here,” Tara huffed as the darkness of the night swallowed her. A split second later her scream echoed through the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “Hello, Kitokori residence, Maho speaking. No, Tara’s not here Mister Shikoba. Sorry. She what? Oh gods. I’ll call some of her friends to organize a search party. Buh-bye.”
    Maho hung up the phone and dashed into her room, where she began a frantic search for her communication bracelet. After several seconds she emerged from under her bed with the bracelet in her teeth.
    “There you are, you naughty thing,” she said, clipping it around her wrist. She clicked the gem, which flipped back to reveal the communicator inside. “Xander, Tsukiri, you guys there?”
    “Yeah,” Tsukiri’s tired voice said, “I’m here. What’s up Maho?”
    “Tara stormed out of the store today,” Xander replied over the same frequency band. “Sanderson pushed her buttons, she didn’t like it, stormed out, and shattered the exit door in the process.”
    Maho sat back on her bed and sighed. “Our leader is under a lot of stress, and with all the tourists in the area for cherry blossom festivals it’s a wonder the store is still standing.”
    “You think we should go and look for her?” Tsukiri asked.
    “If we want the city to remain standing, we’d better,” Xander said, “The question is this - where do we begin searching?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “Kintara, can you hear me?!” Albarsis called into the darkness. ‘I really don’t like how this feels. It’s too convenient.’
    A flash of light came from the darkness, and a moment later Tara back flipped in for a landing. Her sweatshirt had a couple of tears in it and her hair was a mess, but she was all right.
    “You ass hole!” she screamed at whatever had attacked her. “Idiot! Pervert! LEACH!”
    She rushed back into the darkness, and Albarsis cringed at some of the gut wrenching sounds coming from within. A couple of seconds later she dashed from the shadows with a large tentacle monster right behind her.
    “Tara, transform!” Albarsis instructed.
    “What do you think that first flash of light was?!” Tara cried as she dashed past, “It didn’t give me time to finish, and I can’t stop running to take the time to try again.
    She tripped over a stick in the dark and fell forward, skidding a couple of feet on her face. The monster continued to advance until it was towering over her, blocking most of the light from a nearby street lamp.
    “Bloody hell!” she hissed under her breath, “I’m screwed.”
    A silver arrow sailed through the air, striking the monster and exploding in a flash of light. From the treetops a male voice spoke.
    “Where there’s a beautiful woman in distress, I will be there. Appearing from the shadows, Mystical Archer Koushiro!”
    Tara and the monster looked up into the trees around them as a flash of light illuminated a young man wearing violet carapace armor. Clutched in one hand was a golden compound bow. His other hand had the bowstring drawn back, a silver arrow notched and ready to fly.
    “Miss, you had best run away while I defeat this being of evil,” Koushiro said, smiling at Kintara.
    “C’mon Tara, we need to get away,” Albarsis said, “let someone who’s wearing armor handle this.”
    Tara stood up and brushed herself off. “No,” she said in a low voice. “This is my fight. I started it, and I’ll finish it.”
    She flicked her left wrist, the gem in her bracelet glowing. She then flicked her right wrist, the gem in her comm bracelet glowing as well. A golden light surrounded her as she clasped her hands, prayer style, over her chest. Her clothes melted away, leaving her naked for a moment before her body suit formed and solidified. She arched her back, bending her left leg up behind her as golden light wrapped around he legs, hips, chest, and shoulders, forming her armor. She spun around and punched at the monster with both hands, her fighting gloves forming from her bracelets, the claws extending and glistening.
    When she finished her transformation she struck a fighter’s stance and smiled, her visor forming over her eyes. “I’m an angel of mercy,” she said, “and I shall make your defeat as quick and merciful as possible. I’m Magical Savior Shihoko.”
    The monster simply looked at her and laughed. “Bring it on, little girl,” it said between fits of laughter. “I’m not afraid of you.”
    “If you insist,” Shihoko said, still grinning. “It’s party time!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Halfway across town, in another park, the other three members of the Magical Heroes were in some trouble of their own, thanks to a small army of tentacle monsters, all similar to the one that had attacked Kintara. Sakura, Zandarius, and Sakura were more or less at a disadvantage due to the large number of the attacking forces to their three. Somehow in the chaos Zandarius had broken away from the other two, leaving them stranded in the middle.
    “Zandarius, where are you when we need you?!” Genrou asked, his Tsunami Wall protecting himself and Sakura from the army of evil.
    “A little busy at the moment,” Zandarius replied, moving in such a way that the monsters attacked his after images. However, the monsters began sending their tentacles through the ground, resulting in spires of sharp tendrils shooting through the pavement behind him.
    ‘Damn,’ he thought as the strikes came closer to their target, ‘They’re adapting to my speed almost as fast as I can blink away from them.’
    He nearly impaled himself on a spire that rose up in his path, and with some quick maneuvering vaulted into the air, where he executed several flips in rapid succession. Several beam boomerangs sailed through the air, striking some of the monsters and severing their tentacles before returning to their thrower. As he dove for the ground he summoned his no-datchi, slashing through one of the monsters and smiling as it disintegrated.
    “Don’t mess with the healer,” he grinned before flipping through the air onto a nearby lamppost. Unfortunately he missed his balance check and fell to the ground, landing on his back with a loud CLANG.
    Sakura felt the urge to panic when she saw the monsters begin to advance upon Zandarius. The gems in the head of her hammer began to glow, as well as those set in her bracelets. An aura of fire formed around her as she grew quite serious.
    “Leave Zandarius ALONE!” she cried, diving through the Tsunami Wall and flipping to her feet. She swung her hammer, which released a wave of flame when it found a target, and within a matter of seconds had cleared out a large number of monsters. When she reached the group around Zandarius she brought her hammer over her head, the gems in the hammerhead bursting into flames. “Fire Ocean!” she cried as she smashed the hammerhead into the ground, a wave of flames erupting from the ground. Zandarius quickly found higher ground as his attackers were roasted to ashes.
    “Hey!” he called from a nearby tree, “Watch the hardware!”
    “How many are left?” Genrou asked, flipping out of his Tsunami Wall as several of the monsters broke through. He swung his glaive, the water rising higher before crashing down upon the monsters.
    “Those would pretty much be the last of them,” Zandarius replied as he leapt down from the tree.
    “Not all of us were stupid enough to attack you at the same time,” a voice hissed from the shadows.
<music: Lunar 2 Boss Battle>
    From the darkness a large tree - trunk like leg emerged. Another leg like the first followed, as did the lower part of a body composed of plants and twisted vines. The monster took another step into the light, and the three magical heroes gasped when they saw Sanderson tied in to the monster’s torso.
    “They also weren’t smart enough to take a hostage,” the monster said, its head still hidden in the darkness. “Go on, I dare you to attack.”
    “Where’s Tara when we need her?” Genrou asked, leaping back as a vine whip struck where he’d been standing seconds earlier. “Because I think we’re really going to need her help for this one.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Magical Savior Shihoko fought ruthlessly, harnessing her anger as she unleashed everything in her arsenal. Punches flew in rapid fire succession, each one connecting with a sickening thunk in the monster’s body. She flipped into a handstand and began a spinning style kick. When she grew bored with that she flipped to her feet, then onto the monster’s head, where she executed a handstand before flipping backwards, taking a handful of the monster’s shoulders as she fell. She kicked the monster’s legs out, using her momentum to pull them into a back flip. She landed on her feet, her body flipping into a back over bridge with the monster still firmly in her grasp. One sickening THUD later the monster’s head was in the pavement and Shihoko was cracking her knuckles.
    “C’mon you asshole,” she growled, kicking the unmoving body, “get up so I can kick your butt some more.”
    “Tara, I think it’s dead,” Albarsis said, a sweat drop forming on his head.
    “But I’m not done yet,” Shihoko sighed, “I’m still good and angry.”
    Her comm bracelet beeped, and she clicked the jewel back to answer the call. “Shihoko, it’s Genrou,” came over the speaker, “Sakura, Zandarius, and I think we’ve found the boss monster.”
    “That’s a good thing, right?” she asked, activating the tracking function on her bracelet.
    “Not if you’re still pissed at your boss,” Sakura interrupted. “The monster has him as a hostage.”
    Shihoko clenched her fist in anger. “That bastard got what he deserved,” she said in a low growl.
    “That’s not the Tara I know and call one of my best friends,” Zandarius said, “yes, he’s a jerk, but we’re getting our butts kicked trying to save his worthless hide.”
    “I... I’m on my way,” she said, clicking the comm bracelet shut. “Albarsis, you can sense the others, right?”
    “Yes, I can,” the dragon replied. “Why?”
    “You’ll be the monster locator,” she said, looking to the trees. “Yo, Koushiro or whatever your name is. I’ve got a pain in the neck boss to go and save, so I’ll catch you around.”
    As she ran off into the night Koushiro leapt down from the trees, cloaked in shadow. A dragonet appeared on his shoulder and blinked emerald green eyes.
    “Is she the one I’ve been dreaming about?” he asked. The dragon nodded. “So that’s Magical Savior Shihoko. Should we help them?”
    “No,” the dragon said in a melodic female voice, “they can handle themselves. We should return home, through, since your parents may be worried about you.”
    “I guess,” Koushiro sighed, melting back into the darkness of night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “Tsunami Wall!”
    A circle of water formed around Zandarius, Genrou, and Sakura. A split second later it rose into a seven foot tall wall of subsonic water that made a nice barrier.
    “You’ll never win like that,” the monster taunted, pounding against the wall. “To win, you must attack me, and to attack me you have to decide.”
    “We’re going to get whomped either way,” Zandarius said, “we can’t hit him without hitting the boss, and his punches really hurt.”
    “Waiting for Shihoko really isn’t an option,” Genrou said, dropping to one knee. “I’m still weak from the last wall casting, and he’s got the force of twenty punches in his one.
    “Then consider your own punching machine back in action,” a voice said from the end of the path. “A star of gold who shines in the darkest night, a star of gold who fights for right. So long as this star glitters in the sky, the evil spawned from darkness will surely die.”
    The light clicked on, revealing Shihoko standing in a thoughtful pose. She raised her eyes from the ground, a wry grin playing across her lips. “Defending the helpless and sometimes annoying, Magical Savior Shihoko makes the scene.”
    “Took you long enough to get here,” Sakura said, cart wheeling to a safer position next to Shihoko.
    “So what’s the sitch, aside from my jackass boss getting himself captured by one of Soi’s monsters?” Shihoko asked, her gloves glowing.
    “He’s really strong,” Genrou reported as he and Zandarius joined the other two. “And I’m really weak.”
    “And really fast,” Zandarius added, “plus with the boss tied to its chest we can’t attack.”
    Shihoko chewed her lip in thought as she worked to come up with some sort of a plan. “Zandarius, I need you to heal Genrou back to full strength. Sakura, your task is to distract that creep long enough for me to move in and cut the other creep free.”
    “But Shihoko,” Zandarius protested, “I... don’t know how to heal people.”
    Shihoko and Sakura bowed their heads. “What type of Magical Healer are you if you can’t heal people?!” they bellowed in unison, knocking Zandarius back a little with the sheer volume.
    “Just think of something,” Shihoko added. “Sakura, we go on three.” Sakura nodded at her to acknowledge it. “Ready?” Sakura nodded again. “THREE!”
    Sakura dashed to the left, using her hammer to vault over vine whip lashes and jagged roots that broke through the ground in front of her. At the same time Shihoko broke to the right, pouring her all into the speed factor of her savior powers. After images formed in her wake as she dodged attack after attack, and these became the target of the monster’s rage until they lost form and vanished.
    “They’re going to get creamed,” Genrou said as he took a step forward. His vision went blurry and a moment later he collapsed backwards into Zandarius’ arms. “Woah,” he moaned, the throbbing in his head increasing in intensity. “Guess I’m a lot weaker than I thought.”
    Zandarius sighed and bowed his head in thought. A moment later inspiration struck, and he lifted Genrou’s head so that they were looking eye to eye. A light blush crept across his cheeks as he moved his face closer to Genrou’s.
    “Zandarius, what are you doing?” Genrou asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
    “Just be quiet and know that this means nothing,” Zandarius replied before pressing his lips to Genrou’s. A gentle glow encompassed them as energy was transferred from the healer to the warrior. The glow quickly died away as Zandarius broke the kiss, leaving Genrou to blink a few times in awe.
    “Do me a favor next time,” Genrou said, breaking the awkward silence.
    “Umm... sure,” Zandarius replied. “What?”
    “Give me some sort of warning before you do something like that!!”
    “Sure thing,” Zandarius replied as he helped Genrou to his feet. He turned his gaze back to the battle, watching Sakura’s graceful dodging and Shihoko’s rapid dodges. “They’re going to need our help soon.”
    Shihoko had since gone wide to the right, using the trees and shadows there to her advantage. Sakura was dancing up a storm to the left of the monster, drawing the attacks away from the others. She miscalculated one of the vine whips and caught it full force in the chest. She was sent sprawling across the pavement, coming to a rest against a tree.
    “Sakura!” Zandarius and Genrou cried, their weapons flying from the gems in their bracers to their hands. The healer and warrior charged towards the monster, who suddenly found two new targets.
    Shihoko saw Sakura go down and used her anger about that to propel her the remainder of the way around behind the monster. She flipped through the air and rebounded off of a tree, her claws increasing in size. “Lai Strike!” she cried, spinning her body as she sailed between the monster’s legs.
    The monster screamed in pain, thrashing its limbs and throwing out tendrils that struck Zandarius and Genrou, knocking them into trees. Shihoko went from a spin into a roll, flipping to her feet while upper cutting the monster’s torso. Sanderson fell forward into her arms, and she grunted under the large man’s weight.
    “You shall die for that!” the monster growled, backhanding Shihoko and Sanderson across the park and into a lamp post. Shihoko struck first, Sanderson’s weight making her impact harder. Her vision went black as the air was forced from her lungs.
    ‘I failed,’ ran through her mind as her vision slowly cleared. ‘I saved the idiot and I still failed.’
    “Hey, Miss Catgirl, you gonna let something like that beat you?” a gruff female voice said.
    “Marge?” she moaned as Sanderson was lifted off of her. “I don’t need this right now.”
    “Nothing looks broken,” another female voice said as Shihoko was moved from the lamp post and made more comfortable. “She’s a strong one Marge.”
    Shihoko sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Marge,” she said in a whisper, “What... what are you doing?”
    “Helping you out,” Marge said, setting her body like a football running back. “Zelda, Whitley, you with me?”
    “Sure thing boss,” the voice by Shihoko’s ear said. “C’mon Zelda, the boss needs our help.”
    Shihoko rubbed her head as the three girls who she would have considered to be her mortal enemies charged the plant monster.
    ‘They’re risking their lives to help me,’ she thought, struggling to get her feet under her.
    “Go get ‘em girls!” Marge called as Zelda and Whitley split off to strike from the right and left.
    ‘They know that you need help,’ a voice, much like her own, said in her mind. ‘They want to help you more than anything.’
    Marge, Whitley, and Zelda all let out battle cries as they attacked the monster. All three struck, and were immediately thrown back, skidding across the pavement on their backs.
    “I have to... I have to help them,” she said, taking one shaky step forward. “My friends, give me the strength I need to overcome this evil!”
    Her armor glowed, bathing her in golden light. Her armor then disintegrated into angel feathers, then reformed a moment later in a stronger form. Bracers with three sets of adamantium claws, full plate chest armor with wings on the back, shoulder armor with silvery jewels set into them, and a stronger set of boots were the upgrades she gained.
    “Born from the fires in the hearts of the just, I am Super Savior Shihoko,” she said, brushing her hair back from her face, “and you, my dear enemy, are about to get thrashed.”
    She clasped her hands together, a golden glow surrounding them. As she spread her arms to the sides with her palms up she said, “Angel Cure,” a circle of golden light forming around her feet. This ring spread out, restoring energy to Zandarius, Sakura, and Genrou, as well as to Marge, Zelda, and Whitley.
    “What a rush,” Genrou said as he regained his feet, “I feel like a million bucks.”
    “New player’s up,” Zandarius said, leaning on his no datchi for support. “Time for round two.”
    “We’ll get ‘em this time for sure,” Sakura said, bracing herself against her hammer. “Sailor Moon, eat your heart out. There’s a new magical girl in town.”
    The monster did a double take as four very battered but determined magical heroes stood their ground. All four struck battle stances, their weapons at the ready.
    Off to the side Marge, Zelda, and Whitley were struggling to get Sanderson to safety. He moaned and blinked a couple of times, his gaze falling on Shihoko as his vision struggled to clear.
    “Shikoba?” he asked faintly.
    “Close,” Zelda replied, “That’s Magical Savior Shihoko.”
    “Who’s a friend of Kintara Shikoba,” Sakura continued, “and she knows all about what happened at the store today, but decided to save your sorry butt anyway.”
    Sanderson watched as Shihoko charged at the monster, her fists glowing with raw power. A quick flurry of punches; a somersault kick; a spinning drop kick which released a waterspout; she then picked the monster up around the waist and executed a reverse pile driver into the pavement; a powerful uppercut followed, and he saw the ghostly image of a dolphin leaping from the water; Shihoko then lifted the monster up and leapt high into the air, where she flipped forward and drove the monster into the ground head first. He watched her flip through the air, landing gracefully on her feet before the glow around her hands increased.
    “This is the finisher,” Whitley commented, “Final Heaven.”
    Sanderson watched in awe as the silver armor clad angel reared her hand back before dashing at the monster and striking, an explosion engulfing the target. Shihoko cart wheeled away from the blast site before striking a victory pose.
    “Toasted!” she cheered, “Another victory for...”
    “The forces of darkness,” came from within the dust cloud. The only thing was that the voice was feminine and somewhat familiar. “You defeated my lovely monster,” the voice continued, “but I shall have victory against you!”
    “Dream on girlfriend,” Marge growled, rising to her feet. “If anybody’s going down, it’s going to be you!”
    “What she said,” Zandarius said, holding his sword at the ready. He glanced at Genrou, who nodded. He then glanced at Sakura, who also nodded.
    Genrou leapt into the air, curling his body into as compact a ball as possible. A glowing mist formed in front of his crossed arms, and as he flung his arms outward glowing gems formed out of the mist. “Diamond Storm!” he cried, the gems hovering in the air for a moment before homing in on Yuiren.
    “Gotta be faster than that,” Yuiren said, dashing away as the gems struck the ground where she’d been standing. “Ya missed me!”
    “Feel the hammer of justice!” Sakura said, swinging her hammer. Yuiren, who had been paying attention to Genrou and where she’d been and not where she was going, turned her head in time to meet the flat side of Sakura’s hammer face first. A loud and resounding CLANG echoed through the air as the blue haired general stumbled backwards.
    Zandarius leapt forward and struck Yuiren with his sword. He slashed up to the right, then crossed down and slashed up and to the left. As the two slashes created an X shaped blade of energy he stabbed forward and said, “Die!”, sending the two blades at Yuiren. As they struck he stepped back, posing with his sword down behind his leg. “More and More!” he proclaimed, ending the attack.
    “I’ll... I’ll get you for this,” Yuiren cried as she vanished into thin air. “Mark my words,” her disembodied voice echoed, “I’ll be back!”
    “And we’ll be waiting,” Shihoko said, smiling. Her armor glowed and reverted to normal before she pitched backwards onto the ground.
    “That armor must have been something new,” Albarsis said, hovering over Shihoko, “something that tapped into a deeper energy source than her normal savior powers.”
    “Let’s get her home,” Sakura said as Genrou lifted the unconscious catgirl into his arms. She turned to Marge, Zelda, and Whitley and bowed to them. “Thank you for your help,” she said, “I’m sure Shihoko appreciated it. But may I ask one question?”
    “Sure,” Whitley replied, “ask away.”
    “How did you know we were in trouble, or that Shihoko needed help?”
    “Funny you should ask,” Marge said, “your friend with the purple armor said that you’d need backup. Called him Koushiro or something like that.”
    Genrou, Zandarius, and Sakura blinked in unison. “We don’t know a Koushiro,” Genrou said, “do we?”
    “Tall guy. Violet carapace armor. Has a silver bow and blue hair,” Zelda said, “kinda cute. Reminded me of that Volfield guy.”
    Genrou shrugged and the three walked off into the night. Marge lifted Sanderson onto her shoulders and carried him towards the supermarket, leaving the park as quiet as it had been before any of the night’s events.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    A short while later Tsukiri, Xander, and Maho stepped up to the front door of the Shikoba residence with Kintara still unconscious. Their biggest concern and question was how to explain everything to her parents.
    “So, what’s our story?” Tsukiri asked, shifting Tara’s weight a little bit.
    “We don’t have one,” Xander replied, “and that worries me.”
    “For goddess sake, someone ring the bell,” Maho sighed, pushing past the two men to push the doorbell. Chimes played a short tune within, and a couple of seconds later the door opened and Takana poked his head out.
    “Hey guys,” he said, not noticing the person that Tsukiri was holding, “Wassup?”
    “We found your sister,” Xander said as Tsukiri moved past him. “She’s asleep, which is a good thing.”
    “She saved her boss from some nasty thugs,” Maho said. It was a half truth, since Tara had saved her boss, and the battle had been rather rough.
    “Thanks for bringing her home,” Takana said, lifting Tara from Tsukiri’s arms and hefting her over his shoulder. “Mom and dad will be glad to know that she’s safe.”
    The other three smiled and nodded before backing away from the door. As soon as it closed they released a combined sigh of relief.
    “That was way too close,” Maho said. “I mean, if her parents knew what had really happened then we’d be toasted.”
    “Let’s just put this night behind us and get some sleep,” Xander said through a yawn. “I could use 60 winks or so after that.”
    “Catch ya later,” Tsukiri called as they went their separate ways.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    In a private room in the imperial palace of Queen Soi Yuiren was throwing a fit over her latest defeat.
    “It’s not fair!” she cried, banging her fists and feet against the floor. “I have them outclassed and yet they still defeat me! What am I doing wrong?!”
    “Lady Yuiren,” an aged servant said from her door. “Why for are you so upset?”
    Yuiren lobbed a pillow at his head, which the servant gracefully dodged. “Oh Maxis, those magical heroes are a thorn in my side. Especially that Magical Savior Shihoko! How can I defeat them?”
    Maxis sighed. “Lady Yuiren,” he said after a moment, “mayhaps you’re approaching this problem from the wrong angle.”
    Yuiren stopped her tantrum for a moment. “What do you mean?” she asked, blinking red rimmed eyes at him.
    “Well, what are the strengths and weaknesses of your enemies? And how can you exploit them?”
    Yuiren pondered for a moment, a plan forming in her mind. After a moment she hopped from her bed and crossed her room to her desk, where she turned on a lamp and set to work on her most devious plan yet.

To Be Continued...

    “Maximillion here. The next episode of Magical Savior Shihoko promises to be filled with twists and turns as Yuiren and Maxis take notes on our heroes to better learn their weaknesses and how to exploit them. Even I’m pulled into their tangled web. How will we escape? Stay tuned for ‘Yuiren’s evil master plan - a new hero emerges’. It’s bound to be magical.”

    -In Production Now
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