Day 189

[from StarLight]

It didn't take White Star very long at all to reach the industrial district. "There it is," she said, as the cluster of factories and warehouses drew close. "Alright, let's see what we're up against. Considering the last one was a fifty-foot-long sea monster, I imagine this one's going to be some giant land monster, or a… tiny dot?"

White Star halted in mid-air, confused, as she spotted a monster down below that was much smaller than she had been expecting. She could tell it was a monster, and not a regular animal, from its pitch-black colouration and sinister aura. Slowly hovering down to street level, she found herself confronted - in a manner of speaking - by something that resembled an ordinary pug, albeit with pitch-black fur, two sharp fangs, and a crimson-eyed stare.

White Star was extremely underwhelmed by this new adversary. "A dog?" she said in disbelief. "I have to fight a dog? It's barely a foot tall! I mean, yeah, it's got vicious fangs and glowing red eyes, but come on! How is this thing possibly any threat to-" White Star's rant was cut off mid-sentence as the pug monster suddenly leapt at her with a vicious bark, clawing and biting at her leg. "Kyaah! That's how! Get off me!" White Star frantically shook her leg to try and shake the dog off, but it clung on, trying to align its jaws for a savage bite.

"Careful, White Star!" said Kousen. "If that monster gets even a single paw on the White Star Emblem-"

"I know, I know!" said White Star, holding the wand aloft. "It'll absorb the chi and grow stupidly large and strong! Heck, maybe I should let it, so I actually have an - ow - worthy opponent!"

"It's clawing your leg to shreds," Kousen observed drily, noting the scratches running all the way up White Star's shin.

"I am… aware… of that!" said White Star, swinging her leg wildly to try and dislodge the monster. Finally, with a tremendous swing, she sent it flying about twenty feet away; it skidded a little across the asphalt before scrabbling to its feet again and growling silently.

White Star conjured a strip of bandages out of thin air and began to wrap up her injured leg. "I'm really gonna have to practice coming up with excuses," she said. "It feels like I'm going to need that skill. I mean, now I'm going to have to explain to my friends why my leg is all bandaged."

"You could just heal it with magic," Kousen suggested.

"Oh yeah, didn’t think of that," said White Star. "Well, I'll do that later. Right now, I should probably take out this monster before it attacks me mid-sentence again. Seriously, I had enough of that with Black Star last week."

"Maybe it's a sign that you should talk less and fight more?" said Kousen pointedly.

"Maybe," admitted White Star. Turning her attention back to the job at hand, she readied her wand for attack. "Although I still have one more thing to say: let the light of justice shine! Star Shower!"

A volley of star-shaped projectiles burst forth from the tip of the White Star Wand and obliterated the ground around the pug monster, sending it flying backwards. White Star flew forwards to get a closer shot, but found that the pug had injured its own leg, and could seemingly no longer stand. Looking at it now, it almost seemed like just an ordinary wounded dog, and although she knew it was a dangerous demon that had to be destroyed, White Star felt that she could not bring herself to do so. With a sigh, she lowered her wand.

"What are you doing, White Star?" asked Kousen. "Hurry up and destroy it!"

"I can't!" protested White Star. "Look at it! It's a hurt little doggy!" Kousen groaned and facepalmed. "I'm sorry, I know I should kill it," White Star continued, "but I just… can't! Oh gosh! I'm getting flashbacks to every anime I ever watched with a dog, because in every one, the dog dies! And it's always sad! Especially that one time in-"

White Star fell silent as Kousen suddenly rested a hand on her shoulder. The youkai, sensing that her usual impatient approach would get her nowhere, had decided to try a different approach. She had seen this in one of the TV shows Sanae had shown her: it was something called "tact". "Sanae," she said gently, "while I can't say that I understand your feelings, being an emotionless being, I can tell that this is causing you great distress. But you have to snap out of it. Despite its appearance, this creature is a vicious demon bent on destruction, and it must be put out of its misery."

Kousen then had a sudden idea. "Think of it this way," she said. "It's not actually a dog, it only looks like one. It's no more a dog than a wood carving would be. If it helps, try to picture it as something other than a dog. Picture it as something that you hate. Picture it as the embodiment of evil that it truly is, rather than just a pitiable creature."

White Star nodded. "You know, that actually makes a lot of sense," she said. "I'll try that." She looked down at the wounded monster, still trying in vain to climb to its feet, all the while growling sinisterly. She used her imagination, and slowly its face began to change into a human one.

"Kirino was best girl!" said the monster.

"YOU LIE, DEMON!" The trick had worked perfectly, and a riled-up Sanae pointed the White Star Wand at the wounded monster once more. "To hell with your blasphemy! Finishing Move: White Star Beam!"

A blinding beam of light shot out of the White Star Wand and struck the asphalt at almost point-blank range, obliterating the monster in an instant. When the beam faded away, all that was left was a smoking crater in the middle of the road, and a Black Heart lying at the very bottom. White Star scooped it up off the ground and stared at it wistfully. "Alas, poor Yorick," she remarked. "I knew him well." With a jaunty shrug, the enthusiastic smile returned to her face. "Ah well. Let's go home," she said.

"You got over that surprisingly quickly," said Kousen, as they flew off back to the centre of town.

"Well, what can I say?" said White Star. "Your trick really worked. Thanks for snapping me out of that, Kousen."

"No problem," said Kousen. "I was just doing my job… which is making sure that you do your job."

White nodded, giving Kousen a confident smile. "And I'm going to do that job to the best of my abili-" THWACK. The magical girl, not looking where she was flying, had flown headlong into the side of a warehouse, and slowly slid down the corrugated iron wall before coming unstuck and falling backwards to the floor with a thump.

Kousen leaned nervously over her charge. "Are you alright, White Star?" she asked.

White Star groaned, looking up at Kousen with dazed, unfocused eyes. "Kyon, the phone's ringing…" she mumbled.