Thread: For Your Smile ((Velvet Stars + Ecchi Kunoichi))

Quite willing to go at the pace the other set, Kaori trotted alongside Haruka. It wasn't until the amount and speed of the precipitation increased that she felt it the faintest of tingles, like a half-noticed itch at the base of her spine. In mid-stride, she twitched, and her expression slowly altered to something more contemplative. Something else? But...it's far away, I think. Or small. Or it's hiding itself... Letting her friend's hand lead her along, she scanned the area as best she could. Before spotting anything else, however, she got an eyeful of her shirt. W-what the...?! Where'd all these holes come from? Her top looked less like a shirt and more like a piece of unevenly woven netting by the second - especially over her chest, where more of the rain was falling than the area immediately below it. The edges of her skirt were also marked with holes in scattered places she could feel the wind blowing around her legs with each step she took. She glanced over at Haruka, wondering if the other girl was affected as well maybe it had something to do with herself and not with the weather. That idea was dashed the moment she saw what was happening to her friend's clothes. Oh wow, I can almost see right through it... Kaori's cheeks flushed red she was looking more at the sight of the many holes in the shirt and shorts of the person whose hand she held, rather than anything else around them. From the look of her skin, the effect that was damaging their clothes wasn't harming her in fact, it didn't seem like Haruka even knew what was happening yet. Kaori bit her tongue in an effort to keep from saying anything. The tingle that trooped its way up her spine was getting stronger as the rain did she wasn't sure what that meant, but she couldn't risk letting that slip if she blurted out something about the girl's top and bottoms. Do I look like that right now...? Her blush deepened at the thought. It was one thing to remember the past, or to tease someone about it if things went on like this, they'd be seeing more of each other than they ever had! When they finally found shelter, Kaori was relieved, and for more than one reason. Whatever she had sensed was coming closer to them, or they were nearing it...and she didn't think they would have much left in clothing if they kept going. One of her sleeves felt like it was held on only near the armpit, leaving her shoulder mostly bare her chest area was heavily exposed due to a number of small holes that had combined into large ones. Her skirt was far shorter than it had been when she left home, there were flashes of bare skin here and there all across it, and more than one patch of flower-printed underwear was visible below both pieces. A few larger droplets had plunked onto her as they ducked under cover, thanks to her being a bit slower than her friend, and where those had landed bits of her bra and panties had large holes as well. Her shoes were in even worse shape than her clothes, thanks to a puddle she stepped in while her attention was elsewhere her left foot was mostly open to the air, and a patch of her skirt on that side was nearly gone, leaving just loose hanging flaps of fabric to cover her. I...I really don't know, she admitted. But it didn't hurt, so I guess we're safe, even if our clothes aren't. As she spoke, a strange hum sounded in her ears. It was too low to be audible, but the vibration seemed to work its way through her feet all the way up to her head. At the same time, the odd sensation in her back spiked up not only did her hair stand up on her neck, but she jerked visibly, hands swatting at a non-existent bug on reflex. Wh-whoa! I've never felt that before! That...it's got to be something important. I'm gonna see if I can figure out what's up, Haru. I'll be back, don't go anywhere, okay? Instead of waiting for an answer, she dashed off - though not without feeling guilty about it. If there was going to be trouble, she had to get someone to stop it quickly, before people got hurt! Not long after that, beside a rooftop a block or so away, a curious figure could be seen perched upon a telephone pole. Tendrils of mist rose from the ground from that height, it was possible to see the lines that marked lanes and borders on the street dissolving in the rain. Paint on buildings ran as if freshly placed, and cloth items everywhere were little more than gaping holes between the objects that supported them. Fortunately, the disturbance only covered this block and one other, rather than the entire city...but all over, the few people who didn't make it indoors before the rain started to fall were huddled beneath metal overhangs and plastic umbrellas, and sounds of panic rang out sharply in her hearing. This has gone on long enough! Whatever's doing this needs to stop... The figure stretched out one arm, and in a burst of light, a wand appeared in a feminine hand. Unlike everyone else caught in the deluge, her garments remained whole, if not wholly dry. ...and I'll be the one to do it! It was the same strangely dressed girl from the lake, and her gaze was fixed on the clouds overhead. She twirled the wand between her fingers as if it were a baton, then flung it into the air. It flipped twice before she leaped up after it, only to be gripped tight in both hands in mid-fall. Capriccio Ostendi! The gem at the center flared into a dazzling light, one that became the starting point of an extending ray. This blue-white beam shot up into the sky, piercing the clouds from a distance, it would look like there was a spotlight mounted on the roof, but one that shone with much greater intensity than usual. Once she stood firmly upon that flat surface, the female swung the wand in slow, widening arcs, until finally the beam shifted from white to a deeper, richer blue. A look of triumph flashed in her eyes at the sight. Found it! The beam snapped in on itself, shrinking down until it touched the jewel and dissipated. Now to get that thing down here and... Her murmured words trailed off into silence at the sight of what was emerging from those clouds. If placed on one end, it would stretch at least five stories high, possibly more. It moved through the air in long, undulating shifts of its body, yet these propelled it from a distant shape in the sky to a large figure that took up nearly all that she could see. Yet it was getting bigger the closer it came. The head was appropriately huge from her position, the front of it was dominated by a broad snout and a massive maw. In contrast to the reptilian shape and texture of the main body, a long and flowing beard ringed the head and rippled back along what appeared to be the spine. Sparks of electricity arced and danced through this fringe, causing it to flare and settle as if it had a mind of its own. From their field of steel blue scales, eyes of a sharp golden yellow fixed themselves upon her pitch black pupils narrowed to slits as the enormous beast descended, stopping directly above the building where the female stood. Her voice came out as a mere squeak at the sight, her own eyes wide. This might be bad...