R-DAY PLUS 2

"Battle"

Fun fact: the Japanese word "tori" means "bird." Kotori essentially translates to "little bird."

Is it a coincidence that Kotori's acting like one in a fight against armed mooks? Anyone could learn aikido, no doubt about it. But the high-jump kicks, one of which slamming into the ringed monster's face and freeing poor Hanayo, seemed a bit of a stretch. All of this happened as she bellowed "Tori!" from the top of her lungs.

As if the night couldn't get any weirder, the mook going after a stunned Honoka and Umi received a helping of green discs. Flying out of Kotori's sleeves, the discs pelted the mook enough to be knocked out cold. Falling short of Umi's shoes, this mook would be sitting—or sleeping—the rest of the fight out.

Hanayo picked up and took a closer look at one of the mystery green projectiles. "A leaf? Don't tell me…Kotori, was that Razor Leaf?"

"Razor Leaf?" asked a freaked-out Umi.

"It's a grass-type attack that uses sharp leaves," explained a dumbfounded Hanayo. "But I thought…"

"We'll save this mystery for later," Umi said. "We have to get out of here now!"

Not if the ringed monster with a Forty-Five has anything to say about it. "Bitches! You're not going anywhere! Now STAY PUT!"

"Woah!" exclaimed Honoka. "He said the 'B' word! What do we do?"

"That's what you're worried about, Honoka? He has a GUN!" replied Umi, shaking in fear.

"Well, there's that," Honoka replied. "But come on! This is a family-friendly show. We can only be as violent as slapping someone in the face."

"Not helping, Honoka!"

The man with a gun prepared a speech just for this scenario. Every man with a gun always does, no matter how short. "You cutesies should've just done what you were told. Now I lost my appetite for you. For that, I'll put one between each of your eyes, have a blast with your remains, and dump you in the river never to be seen or heard from again."

The itchy trigger finger wrapped itself on the first shot to be fired, intended for Kotori. Despite the oddity that possessed her, she could still feel fear but didn't help matters.

Only Hanayo held the unlikely key to safety. "Kotori, use Razor Leaf again!"

With another loud "Toriiiii," Kotori fired her literal ace in the sleeve just as the crack of the gun fired the first round. Two projectiles of differing velocities would decide who would get to live another day and who would meet their maker. Tense moments passed in slow motion. Everyone from the damsels in distress to the llamas who don't give a fluff watched the clash of the—

Of course the Razor Leaf won. This story wouldn't be THAT short.

The bullet split in half under the shear of a small, green buzz saw. One half took off to the moon and the other ricocheted close to Hanayo's feet (to her shock). Unopposed, the leaf proceeded to knock the gun off the man's hand with the precision of a neat freak. The girls were safe, but Hanayo wasn't done yet. "Follow it up with Tackle!"

Kotori delivered her whole weight upon the enemy (times 50 base power), knocking him down. A body-to-body blow wouldn't outright kill him, but it hit somewhere that made him squirm in pain.

"Yeah! Critical hit!" Hanayo shouted for joy.

The girls behind her could only watch in awe another unsung side of Hanayo manifesting itself. "She sure knows her stuff, doesn't she?" Umi said.

"More importantly," Honoka replied. "Is Kotori…okay?"

They turned their attention to Kotori jumping over her first victory. Her fainted opponent must've been worth at least a hundred experience points. After saying "Tori!" one too many times, it became hard for them not to take her seriously. For now, at least, all of them get a cuddle from a cheerful Kotori, starting with the trainer that handled her.

"Aww, stop it, Kotori. That tickles," Hanayo giggled.

"Toriii!" Kotori kept on cuddling.

Umi confronted the two immediately. "We're all gonna need answers after this. Why is Kotori acting like that? How did you know what to do? And what on earth is Razor Leaf?"

"I-I swear I don't know why she's acting this way," Hanayo explained. "I just happened to know a lot about Pokémon, that's all."

"Then why is something from a game happening in real life?"

"I-I-I don't know. Please don't get mad."

"Why shouldn't I be mad? Our friend's only turning into an animal, after all. No big deal, right?"

"Actually, it's Po—"

"WHAT DOES IT MATTER?"

Before the incident could spell the premature end of µ's, Honoka got in between them. "Let's all take a deep breath here. No one's to blame for this. Let's all just go home and talk about this with the rest of the group first thing in the morning. What do you say?"

Umi snapped out of her fear-induced rage, facing a teary-eyed Hanayo and Kotori saying "Tori" in a sad tone. Guilt hit her where it would hurt the most.

"Hanayo, I…I'm sorry," Umi said.

As any good friend would, Kotori moved by Umi's side and gave her a warm cuddle, too. "Toriiii…"

"Oh, come on, Kotori," Umi chuckled. "That tickles. Cut it out."

"We'll all get through this together," Honoka said. "We'll find a way to return Kotori back to normal before the live show. Believe it."

Confidence surged inside all of them, enough to turn their frowns upside down, just as the "Honoka effect" intended. They've done everything and more as a group. This would be no different. Leaving three unconscious mooks to whatever fate has in store for them, the girls headed home.

But a thought occurred to Umi. "I just realized. Who's gonna explain all this to Kotori's mom?"

R-Day Plus Two. Observation continues. Subject has demonstrated combat aptitude this early into the vaccine's maturation. Some properties exhibited include Razor Leaf and Tackle for now, but I believe its move pool would diversify in the coming days. Subject has also replaced human speech with that of the extracted specimen.