Choujo

"First, I believe introductions are in order." The shrine maiden who stood before Marina and Eimi placed a hand on her chest with a proud stance. "I'm Amane Hikari; a fellow Choujo. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Uh... Nice to meet you." Marina smiled bashfully. "But I ask again; just what is a Choujo?"

"Is it like a magical girl?" Eimi interjected enthusiastically.

"Magical girl?" Hikari looked puzzled as she looked up and placed a hand on her chin. "I'm not sure. You'll have to tell me about this so-called magical girl later."

Just as her answer left Eimi stunned by her lack of anime savvy, she turned her attention back to Marina.. "Now to answer your question... when you first transformed; gained that new sense of power; do you what was going on in your mind?"

"Um..." Marina thought back, though she wasn't sure how this would explain. She couldn't remember exactly what was she was thinking, but she did strongly recall the vibe...

"I just remember that, in that moment, I refused to run away." Marina said to Hikari. "I don't know where it came from... I've never had that kind of strength before in my life."

Hikari nodded and smiled. "That's not true at all. You've always had that that strength within you."

"Um, no offence, but you don't exactly know me." Marina said bluntly. "In fact, I don't know who you are. How can I believe anything you're saying? How do I know that any of that even happened, and that you're not just gaslighting me?"

"Now, wait just a minute..." Hikari tried to console Marina, but to no avail.

"I mean, it feels like my perception of reality has been shattered... Unless it was a dream. It has to be, but then what's your explanation? Do you need help? And for that matter, do I?" Marina spiraled in a state of anxiety. "Ahh, I'm so confused, and scared, and I just wanna go home and cry!"

Eimi turned her head between Marina and Hikari awkwardly. "Um, should I still be here?"

After letting Marina have a cry, Hikari approached the confused girl. "Let's just... Take a breather. Everything's okay, you're not crazy. And neither am I."

Marina heeded her words and took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm okay..." She exhaled. "But I still need some proof."

"Fair enough." Hikari nodded. "Then how about this?"

The shrine maiden girl stepped back from Marina and Eimi to make a clearing for what she was about to do; she closed her eyes, and in a zen state of meditation, focused solely on her ambitions.

Then suddenly, her feet lifted as she began to lightly hover above the ground before becoming enveloped in a shadowy void. Just as Marina began to freak out at the bizarre sight, the shadow aura began to morph Hikari's silhouette, starting with her arms forming into what appeared to be large crow-like wings that she spread out wide to both of her sides. Then, her hair changed shape, with the ponytail she once had unravelling as her perfectly cut locks began to flow freely as if to frame her body from behind.

Finally, the last of the shadow aura took its form as a black and red suit of samurai-esque armor covering the kimono peaking out underneath. When the transformation completed, she touched back down to the ground in her new form as she smiled triumphantly.

As she watched the whole thing, Marina stood wide-eyed, too stunned to speak. She was only brought out of her trance by what sounded like a boiling kettle by her side, only for her to turn her head and see it was just Eimi letting out a long squee.

"Ohmygosh, you're so cool!" She cried, letting out her excitement. "You're like a samurai crossed with a shrine maiden! Like, that goes so hard! You look so powerful, I bet you can wreck any bad guys that get in your way - ooh, I have to see what kind of powers you have, I bet they're..."

"That's enough, thanks." Hikari blushed. Then she turned her attention back to Marina. "Well, is this enough evidence for you?"

Marina let out a deep sigh. She had given up trying to make sense of it. "Well, either I've completely lost my mind, or all of this really is true. And personally, I'd much prefer the latter of the two."

Hikari smiled. "Well let me assure you, it's real."

Marina looked sheepish. "Hey, sorry for saying you need help before. I was just... Confused."

"It's okay, I understand it's a lot for a newcomer to take in all at once." Hikari sympathized. "I guess it just feels more natural to me after doing it for the past four years. In fact, it might clear things up if I tell you how I came to be like this..."

Marina and Eimi made themselves comfortable as Hikari explained to them.

"To make a long story short, around the time I was 16, tragedy struck me and my father. It was hard, but I tried my best to support both of us during that time." Hikari explained. "However, my father reached a point where he couldn't take the pain anymore. He fell into a deep state of depression, and in the end, I was the only one who could convince him to keep on going for both of us."

Marina had a particular question on her mind. Did he... mutate? She kept this thought to herself.

"Well, the good news is that in that moment, the higher beings seem to have recognized my unbreakable resolve, and so they deemed me worthy of carrying out the task of saving all those in need from despair, just like I did for my father." Hikari paused to show off her Choujo form for emphasis, since she was still transformed. "And so, they blessed me with this new form; a symbol of my determination."

"So cool..." Eimi muttered to herself, completely starstruck.

Then, as she absorbed the story, something clicked for Marina. She thought back to what she was thinking in the moments before she transformed, and suddenly she felt like she understood.

"So, the reason you and I transformed..." Marina enquired. "Was because of our determination?"

Hikari looked pleased. "Determination that far exceeds what most people in the world believe them to be capable of. Determination to hold onto your hope, and your courage, in the face of life's struggles. Determination to never give up."

Somehow, what Hikari was saying made perfect sense to Marina. However, she just had one other pressing question.

"Wait, does that mean..." Marina shrinked. "I'm supposed to help save other people from despair now?"

Hikari had a serious, yet gentle expression. "I understand it's a heavy burden." She said solemnly. "But I want you to know that this power you've been given is a true gift; it's the physical manifestation of the true strength that lies within, and with the right guidance, it can only grow stronger from here. And right now, our society needs that kind of strength more than ever in the ongoing war against the despair that's consuming far too many innocent lives."

Hikari's paused as her smile faded completely. "It doesn't have to be this way. And you can help make sure of that."

Marina felt the full weight of Hikari's words. Especially because... She thought to herself. I know how true despair feels like...

Then, she stood up tall, with a look of unshakeable resolve. "I'll do it."

Eimi and Hikari's eyes widened in response.

"To be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing... In fact, I can't promise I won't regret this later." Marina shrinked momentarily, before shaking her head as if to clear it of her doubts. "But I know I'd probably regret it even more if I didn't try the one opportunity I have to give my life any meaning... So that maybe I won't have to feel like a waste of space anymore."

As Eimi looked up at Marina, her eyes glistened with awe. "Marina..." She began to squee once more as she jumped up on her feet. "You're so cool~!"

Eimi grabbed Marina by the arms and started to jump up and down estacially, however the pink-haired Choujo struggled to match her level of enthusiasm.

"I don't quite know if I'd call myself cool..." She muttered, still unsure about all this.

"Well, in that case..." Hikari clapped her hands together. "You'll need someone to show you the ropes of being a Choujo, and I'd be more than happy to be that someone." She said enthusiastically. "I'll just have to make some preparations... Come back tomorrow, and we will commence our training."

"Training? Like, what kind of training?" Marina tilted her head.

Hikari let out a little giggle. "Don't worry. I won't throw you into the deep end. But everyone has to start somewhere, and I'll make sure to give you a spirited beginning."

Marina chuckled nervously. "Well, I guess I'll just have to take your word for it."

"Good. Glad to have you on board, Amiette." The shrine maiden extended her hand out to Marina as if to offer her her invitation.

Just as Marina extended her hand to meet Hikari's, she noticed the time on her wristwatch, and only then did she realize how much she had lost track of the time.

"Oh no!" She gasped. "Mum will be worried about me!" And so she hightailed out of the shrine, as if it were midnight and she was Cinderella.

"Wait! Let me walk home with you! Or at least, walk part of the way!" Eimi called out as she ran after her date, as Hikari watched with a smile.

This is gonna be interesting. She thought to herself.

"Sorry today took such a weird turn." Marina said to Eimi as they walked down the neighborhood together. "Even though it was kinda out of my hands... Then again, I'm used to things not going the way I'd hoped..."

"What are you apologizing for? Today was awesome!" Eimi grinned. "And so are you. In fact, I was kinda hoping I'd get to hang out with you more and..."

Eimi trailed off towards the end as she started to shrink. Marina turned around and saw Eimi looking away bashfully, and got the memo.

"Are you trying to ask if we can go out again?" Marina asked.

"Uhh..." Eimi's eyes peeled open as she started blushing hard. "T-that is... Only if you want to! I get it if you find me too annoying and feel uncomfortable around me, but I just got over excited... I'll try harder next time, I promise, I know I probably sound really clingy and weird right now and I'm really sorry, but..."

The more Eimi spoke, the more she worked herself up into a state of panic. Finally, Marina decided she had to be the one to put a stop to it.

"Eimi!" She interrupted. "You need to breathe."

Eimi remembered how Marina worked herself up moments before, so clearly she knew what it was like. She allowed herself a moment to cool her head before she said another word.

"Marina... I think I really do love you." Eimi confessed. "I tried really hard today to be a good girlfriend, and I wanna keep hanging out with you..."

Marina paused for a moment before giving her reply. "I think... I do too." She admitted. "I'm sorry, I know I wasn't a very good date today... But I don't wanna just give up without giving it another try."

Eimi felt grateful. "No, that's not true... The fact that you didn't give up on me right away makes you the best date I could have asked for."

Marina chuckled bashfully. "Well, I'll try and be a little bit better."

The two stared into each other's eyes for a brief moment before Marina remembered what she was doing. "Um... I'm sorry, but I really should be getting home now."

"Oh, yeah, that's okay. Well I'll be alright to make my way home from here... Don't worry, I know my way back to my own house, at least." Eimi blushed.

"Okay... I'll let you know when I'm ready for our next date." Marina said gently as she waved goodbye and the two went their separate ways for the time being.

Eimi was daydreaming about Marina the whole way home. She's really something... She thought to herself.

Maybe... She can save me.

Later that night

After finishing up her shrine maiden duties for the day, Hikari headed back home where her roommate was waiting for her, reading one of her psychological horror novels in the living room.

"Oh, there you are." Said the short-haired girl in a flat tone. "You were so late, I was afraid you might be dead."

"And yet you kept on reading your book anyway?" Hikari chuckled as she went to dress out of her Miko uniform. "Glad to know you care about me so much." She said sarcastically, yet in good humour.

The roommate let out a little "Hm" in amusement. "So, anything in particular keep you working overtime?"

"Oh, yeah!" She clapped her hands together with a force that startled the roommate a little. "I've got some good news! You know how I was looking for more Choujo, right?"

The roommate hesitated for a bit. "Yeah...?" She said cautiously.

"Well, I think we might have found our newest member!" Hikari announced gleefully. "Trust me, from what I've seen, she's super sweet. I think you might actually like her if you give her a chance."

The roommate sighed. "Are you sure about this, though? I mean, I know we need more help fighting despair, but can we really trust her if you barely know her?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say barely." Hikari said as she put on her oversized PJ shirt. "We talked for a bit and I got a good vibe off of her. Her name is Marina, and she's coming to the shrine tomorrow to start training with m--"

"Marina?" The roommate shot up.

"Hm?" Hikari turned around. "What's up?"

The roommate slowly sat back down. "Nothing." She said quietly. "I just thought... That name rang a bell. But I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

Hikari curiously titled her head. She's as strange as ever, that girl...