Pathfinder

Click

After a quick flash of light, the unfamiliar whir of a dozen tiny gears emanated from right behind Arika. It was not out of the question for something to attack so publicly at this time. After all, she had just recently divined that something dark would appear within this region, yet no monster would simply wait for its victim to react, would it? She quickly turned around, ready to leap out of the way should anything come close, but was no wailing ghost or tortured spirit. It was a familiar face. An older girl wearing the same uniform she was wearing. Her dark and messy hair framing her thick, round glasses hiding sly eyes that matched the stupid grin on her face.

“Ms. Fujii…” Not exactly the most pleasant surprise on the way to uphold her priestly duties. Fumie Fujii was a new transfer to the school, and, unfortunately for her, was another troublesome student to look after. She was technically a year above her, but Arika had at least some sort of authority over her.

“What do you think you’re doing taking pictures of random people on the street?”

“Oh, don’t be like that, Ari-chan~ You just happen to be at the right place at the right time.” she said, not even bothering to inspect her shot. “Anyway, it’s not very ‘little-miss-responsible’ to go around wandering the alleyways so late into the evening. I would’ve expected you to be diligently studying by now, unless…” Fumie’s smile widening just a bit. “You’re expecting to meet someone here.”

“W-what the heck is wrong with you?! There’s just somewhere I need to be right now!” She wasn’t wrong. Arika needed to be wherever her damned patron needed her, and idle chitchat wasn’t going to help her get there.

“It’s nothing school related, that’s for sure.” This was far and away from most residential areas, and wouldn’t be the route most students would take to go to school. A wet market, maybe a few specialty shops? Too out of the way for a simple grocery pickup…

Arika took a deep breath followed by a long sigh. “May I remind you that you weren’t given permission to use the lab after school?” trying to brush aside the momentary distraction so that she could get back to finishing the job as soon as possible. Much to her dismay, Fumie trailed closely behind her.

“That? Don’t worry, oh venerable one, I’ll find a way through it somehow.”

Arika made a full stop at the branching path. She was running out of both time and patience. Thick clouds were already overhead, blocking out some moonlight. “Look, why don’t you just go home and talk to whatever friends still care? It’s not going to be safe here at night.”

The tone alone was enough to tell her that she had gone too far. Things weren’t adding up, but now wasn’t the time to be making friends. “Right… I’ve got errands of my own to do too, I guess.” Fumie made her way out of the alley and towards the busy sidewalk, but before she could turn the corner, she said one last thing. “Promise me that you’ll get home safely?”

Arika’s brows furrowed at the question, but before she could turn to respond, her senior had already left her sights.

Turn after turn, corner after corner. Whatever it was, it was different from most of the monsters she’s faced so far. There was no sign of anything going wrong at any of the heavily populated areas. No disturbances that would cause the most havoc, the most negative emotion at any given time. The voice didn’t bother telling her anything about it, of course. But maybe this time the voice didn’t know anything as well. Maybe he was toying with her and there was nothing to chase? No, Arika saw that something was going to be wrong. Some one–eyed beast in the alley would attack, but where?
Focus. What else was there in the vision…
A lantern, a dumpster?
Someone else was there.
That sign… It’s one of the local ramen places. She only knew one place that would serve fish stock soup, and it’s close to one of the apartment areas. That might not be where the fight started, but it’s going to end up there one way or another. Arika quickly made her way to the shop. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop like scattering moonlight. It was already in sight, but before she could take the final leap towards it, something latched on to her and dragged her back onto the ground. And there it was, the monster from the vision. An umbrella beast with its tongue wrapped around Arika’s ankle. She was too busy trying to find the thing that she forgot to preemptively transform. And now, all she had to rely on now was her own skills.

Arika quickly grabbed onto one of the nearby dumpsters as she continually kicked at the appendage wrapped around her leg. The monster itself kept thrashing and tugging around, swinging itself wildly in all sorts of directions. Her grip was loosening, but maybe she could use this situation to her advantage. As soon as it seemed that the cyclops was about to pull, Arika let go of the dumpster, making her fly towards it with a swift kick. It wasn’t enough to knock it out cold, but it was enough to loosen its grip on her. With only a bit of time left before the monster could regain its balance, she needed to get away as soon as possible to be able to transform. That was, if she was willing to risk it getting away and terrorizing anyone close by.

With gritted teeth, she turned back towards the weird umbrella-thing. She didn’t have her sword with her in her current state, but she could make do with the little that was available to her. She ran towards it hoping to catch it by surprise, grabbing a lantern on the way and hopping over the trash bin, gathering all the force she could muster to throw the lantern at it. But it was to no avail. The sticky appendage pierced through the fragile paper and wood, and narrowly missed Arika mid-jump, breaking off chunks of concrete and metal pipping right behind her. A single strike would be enough to end her right then and there, so why? She didn’t need to be there, in fact, there was no reason to seek this monster out. She wasn’t pestered by Tsukuyomi to go fight it, nor did some random magic being drag her to go hunt it down. It gnawed at her. There was no reason to go out of her way to keep the peace, but she knew a part of her wouldn’t allow her to do just the bare minimum. At least now she had something to fight with.

Arika grabbed one of the pipes that had gone loose and broke it off to use as a make shift weapon, and not a moment sooner it had leaped towards her. She managed to bat away its tongue, but had to swiftly jump away from the main body. The opportunity was at hand. Arika closed back in for another strike, this time aiming to disable its leg, but to her surprise it had grown a new pair of arms that tore through its own canopy. Black, spindly limbs strong enough to bend the metal weapon with only its grip. She struggled against it as it stood up. Its silhouette now imposing over the lone girl. A hundred different forms wriggled underneath the shadow of its disguise, and soon a vision had appeared in her mind. Not one like she had divined before, but a morbid thought that told her that at that very moment that she would die like her predecessor. Yet this was not the case because, unlike before, another magical girl had just stepped in at the right time. A pale yellow beam stood between her and the umbrella monster, burning away at its arm close to the base.

“As the Princess of Light, I won’t allow you to cause harm any longer!” the familiar voice echoed through the alley. Her savior had an arm outstretched towards her assailant still glowing from the magic used, before reaching back to wield a large metallic arrangement of shapes that acted as her weapon. It was unlike any other magical girl that she had seen before. Messy blonde hair framed her sharp eyes, but more importantly, her costume lacked the distinct frills one would expect of a magical girl. Yes, it was possible to have a non-standard costume like how the Elemental Princesses would usually wear something resembling Shinto priestess. Wait, Princess of Light? Had there actually been more Elemental Princesses than she had known? Whatever the case, at least there’ll be someone to cover her back for this fight.

“And what were you doing here Ari- er, young lady?” the Princess of Light said, still trying to show an overconfident smile towards the mortal caught between the crossfire. “This is no time to be playing the hero. Just promise me you’ll stay safe, I’ll be able to handle it all by myself.” the blonde girl said, prompting Arika to run away while she still can, or at least stay away long enough to come back transformed and fully equipped.

With the only casualty far and away from the battle, the light princess could now fully focus on the problem ahead of her. It was unstable and strange. Clearly corrupted with strong negative emotions, and twisted beyond recognition from its original form. Not only that, but the environment around it as well. The abandoned area felt narrower. The buildings growing way above the clouds, and the ground now covered in a dark red haze. It alone couldn’t have caused this, but whatever empowered it is likely long gone by now. With a deep breath and a self assuring grin, the magical girl spoke again, despite having no audience. “You wouldn’t mind if I took a picture, right?”

Without warning, the monster inverted itself. Twisting up to reveal the dark mass of a hundred red eyes now making its way towards her. The alleyway was probably one of the worst areas to start. With no open space and barely any cover, she had to find out what it was as soon as possible before it could mutate any further. Despite its mass, it quickly found its way on top of the Princess of Light. Crawling upon the walls and sticking upon the surface like some sort of malformed black goo. It would’ve been cute in a way. Its original umbrella body now acting as a weird little hat on top of a gaping maw that could swallow her whole. Y’know, cute in that ugly sort of way.

Click

With a flash of light, she took a photo. The perfect action shot. A bit grainy, but what can you do when it’s barreling right towards you? It wasn’t however a perfect dodge. With very little room, and needing to stay just a bit more to focus her camera, she could dodge the beast’s attacks but not the shrapnel it caused as it crashed onto the floor. One day that sort of arrogance would get her killed, but now she had all the information she needed for the fight.

It was a sorrowful spirit, more specifically some sort of yokai, born from loss and abandonment. To lash out so strongly, it had to have been well-loved before its owner disappeared from its life. But more importantly, it’s a spirit that can still be saved. The flash of light this time came from the light princess’ geometric weapon. A warm glow that betrayed its heavy looking frame. The monster’s movement had now changed. Less disorganized and now more attentive as the real fight was about to begin.

The Princess of Light pointed her weapon directly at the umbrella monster, and soon after the holy beam pierced through the corridor of the battlefield. She missed. She didn’t even directly aim at its center of mass to end the battle as soon as possible, and now the monster had the upper hand. The cannon, too cumbersome to react with in such a narrow space and still injured from the last attack, led her to be caught by the tongue of the shadowy mass. Bashing her against wall after wall to properly tenderize its meal. But before she could be pulled towards its mouth, she slipped her way out of its slimy grasp and readied another attack. Though her stance was still a bit shaky from the concussion, she managed to successfully split apart her weapon into a set of floating mirrors, each set orbiting around her and the monster. The barrage of lasers pelted at the monster’s hide, chipping away the darkness little by little, but more importantly, distracting it so that she could recuperate and recover for just a little while.

From behind the dumpster, she thought about her old home, her old streets. How the mountain breeze felt during long walks to the shrine. As old and dilapidated as it was, it still stood strong and weathered through each typhoon like it was nothing. She thought about the cicadas that buzzed throughout the trail. The long nights practicing stupid dances on sacred grounds. The few friends she had with what little free time she had left. And now in this town, why did she still have to fight alone?

“But you’re not alone.” a voice echoed through the chaos. A girl with long white hair stood before her. A silvery saber in one hand, and the other outstretched towards her.

The Princess of Light slowly stood up by herself. Another magical girl was now in front of her. Maybe a local of the area? “Let’s take care of this quickly.” the lunar princess said with very little formalities.

Arika pointed her blade towards the now embiggened beast. Like she had said previously, she aimed to end it where it stood as quickly as possible. Before the light princess could react, the lunar princess jumped towards it, cutting off chunks of flesh with squelching shrieks followed soon after every torn off piece. Her efficiency was harrowing. Swift with her work, she gave no time for the monster to fight back.

“Wait!” the light princess shouted, causing her to hesitate with her next swing. “We don’t have to kill it!” she continued.

We don’t have to kill it? What is wrong with her? If they don’t end this soon, it could hurt more people than it already has! The momentary lapse was just enough time for the monster to retaliate, biting down hard at the sword wielder. With both hands on the blade, she held it back. Just a bit. Just a bit more. She pushed it back with another blow and quickly retreated from its range. She must have her reasons for keeping whatever it is alive, right?

“Fine.” the lunar princess responded. If it means she’ll cooperate. They could at least work on disabling it together.

The lunar princess this time went for its numerous arms, reducing the number of limbs it could use to move around. Unluckily for her, the mirrors had also aimed for the same spots. Each blast from the light princess’ tools just narrowly missing her until she had barely deflected a beam away from her face.

“Watch where you’re shooting!” the lunar princess commanded.

“It’ll be safer if you just aimed for the tail, y’know!” the light princess returned. What good would cutting the stubby tail do?! It’s not even being used in the fight!

Before long, an argument would break out between the two. Each one trying their best to prove their point while struggling to show by example how their plan was the correct way to restrain the beast. Each high-flying maneuver blocking a perfectly well aimed shot, and each piercing blow misaligning the blade from a perfectly executed slash. At some point, they were being more careful of each other's attacks than the monsters, and such callousness could only end well for both of them. The umbrella monster had regained control of the situation, grabbing the lunar princess like it had before, but now tossing her towards her partner in the back lines and incapacitating both in a tangle of each other’s limbs.

Before they could push each other off, the black beast had disappeared. A few scant traces could still be used to track it, but what was more important was the trail of chaos that it would eventually leave in its wake. Despite good intentions, they had both failed their duty. If they really wanted to end this as quickly and as safely as they both wanted it to be, they needed to both work and trust one another to the best of their abilities.

“This isn’t really working out. I could easily track this thing down, so it’s best you leave this to me and-”

“Neither of us will be able to take it down if we keep trying to act independently of one another.” The lunar princess cut her off before she could even finish her suggestion. Things grew quiet for a while. The light princess knew that she could just chase after it without giving her a clue on where it currently was, but she wouldn’t be able to catch up to it in her current state.

“And you think sitting here and talking around is going to help any of that? We need to do something while we still can. Isn’t that the reason why we have these powers?”

Despite all the pains, all the sacrifices and hardships that come with the territory, she did agree somewhat with her. Being a magical girl is a responsibility she has to take, that all of them have to take. They give it their all to fight off the darkness, but they don’t have to act alone. “I’m not asking you to give up, I’m just asking you to trust me.”

With her hand outstretched again, she helped her up from the floor. This time, fighting the monster together in both mind and goal.

Truth be told, Fumie had never really worked well with a group. It was always okay with her if she was the only one getting hurt in these battles, but to have them risk themselves due to her own mistakes just never seemed right. She had to adapt to being a priestess all by herself. To learn to fight these fantastical creatures with little to guide her towards the right path. But maybe this time she can start learning to work well with others again.

With the embedded shrapnel still inhibiting her movements, she had to rely on the Princess of the Moon to follow suit. She could carefully fly in between buildings without ever slowing down, while Fumie could follow closely behind to update her in any change in destination. Once there, the lunar princess would have to keep the thing occupied until she could finish what was started.

Left, then straight, then left, then right, and it was exactly where she told her it would be. Cutting it up more than she already had would only cause it to go into an even bigger frenzy. So once Arika had arrived, she focused her powers away from herself and towards the world around her. The space around her bent to her will and soon after, things started to float. Random little pebbles at first, then loose objects, then larger pieces. At one point, even things planted thoroughly to the ground had been uprooted from its place and used as projectiles against the monster ahead of her. Having a few lampposts act as makeshift javelins wasn’t really her forte, but it was the right call to catch its attention without causing too much damage. Soon the roar had begun again. Galloping legs that ran through the streets weren’t fast enough this time now that she had her costume on. She was crossing streets and pathways away from heavy traffic while a random assortment of pickups pelted at its face.

Meanwhile, Fumie had been carefully tracking the lunar princess’ direction as it crisscrossed the city. Utilizing every shortcut she could find to cut down the distance between them. Once she had closed in just enough, she pointed her cannon straight across the street and charged it up for one final push.

With the cannon’s light now growing in one of the branches off of the main street, the plan had gone under way. Arika’s killing blow, the Lunar Disaster, had to be prepared. She only had one shot at this, and where ever it was planted had to be exactly where the monster could be in sight for the light princess’ focused assault. Here and now she began the chant. Under cloudy moonlight, she was blessed with the gravitational powers of Tsukuyomi. The final rite being to plunge her blade into the ground, yet something stopped her. During her concentration, her constant barrage had stopped, and so the monster had stopped chasing her and had gone after a delivery driver passing by. Seeing it as the quickest way to stop its attack, she completed the ritual away from the light princess’ line of sight and crushed the monster where it stood. With no time to waste, she ran back to the intersection to call her partner’s attack. While Fumie couldn’t see the monster at the time, she had trusted her judgment to be correct despite hearing no signs of its movement. The blast had a pure white glow. She could not stop the shot even if she wanted to, and for a split second, she almost did. Arika had jumped directly into the path of the beam. And with her saber held high, she deflected the blast towards where the creature had been crush. The pure light burning away at the dark spiritual energy until it had returned to its umbrella yokai self.

As a final mercy, Fumie had laid her hands on the spirit’s physical body. Releasing its possession under a light that pierced the storm clouds above, and returning it to the perfectly normal umbrella that it once was. It wasn’t a perfect umbrella, with one of its arms crooked from some sort of impact or fall, but it was perfectly serviceable for a normal rainy day.

They had both untransformed at this point. Exhausted, sleepy, but alive. The two girls now back to their old uniforms.

“It seems that you’re an Elemental Princess too?” Arika asked. Her hair still retaining its strong white color even after she returned to normal

“Elemental Princess, huh? Is that what we’re called?” Fumie’s own hair returning to a natural black. “I never would’ve guessed that there’d be two of us.”

“Four, actually. As of right now, two other students in the same school we’re attending are upholding their duties under different patrons.”

“You’re dancing under Uzume as well?”

“No. Another, frankly, more irritating god called Tsukuyomi.” As she looked up to the night sky, the moon’s light could barely be seen under the thick gray clouds. The gentle pitter-patter drizzled the scene until it started to grow stronger and stronger like she had predicted.

“Here.” Fumie opened the slightly busted umbrella, handed the handle to her while continuing to seek shelter under it before both of them could get soaked.

“Why?” she asked. Looking up to her senior, who was slightly hunched over due to the umbrella’s position.

“You might need it more. Me? I’ll find my way back, no problem.”

“Can’t we share the umbrella?” A familiar memory plays as another fruitful day comes to a close. “It’ll be safer that way.”

“Sigh… Fine.” Her sigh less earnest than it had actually sounded. “Oh, I almost forgot!” the camera had rematerialized around her neck, and the monster’s photo was still hanging on from it. Quickly pocketing the square sheet of plastic without looking, she pointed the camera at both of them with the now familiar

Click

of the camera acting as a sign that she had saved this memory.