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Dani was beginning to think that this senshi business ought to be handed out to people with more experience in the art of combat. Bruised and battered, she was a sight to be seen as she meandered along the park path, hands shoved in her pockets to ward away the chill of the fading day. It wasn't that she didn't want to be a warrior of justice - come on, that was just her kind of thing - it was just that... well, she kept getting her a** kicked.

First the youma, then that a*****e Negaverse guy. Her brows drew together as she recalled the incident, her stomach dropping when she remembered the innocent civilian. She hadn't been able to do much to help him, and he'd died.

That wasn't how things were supposed to be.

Kicking at a rock, she felt helpless, weak. It wasn't something she was used to. Dani was used to being competent, challenging herself, always coming out on top. If she didn't, she just tried harder. No one's lives were ever at stake, the cost was never so high. Now, though...

Now she had to shape up, or more people would die. Worse, she didn't even have the support of her parents, something she was also all too used to. She wouldn't, couldn't tell them why she was sneaking out, where all her bruises were coming from. They wouldn't understand. They might even mistakenly think she was evil or something.

So she had to keep running around behind their backs, and it was driving them apart. That was normal for a teenager, right? So she shouldn't be too worried. After all, they were her parents, and they'd always be he parents.

She wondered what they'd think if they knew someone had died because she'd run.

The wind picked up, blowing her hair in her face, and she shook her head, irritated. It wasn't like her to sulk like she was. She would remember, always remember, that someone had died, but she had to work on getting stronger. She'd find a way to defeat youma and Negaverse creeps alike, and she'd take them down before they could kill anyone else. She'd devote everything she had to the cause.

She'd even try to find a partner if she had to. Someone who had attack based powers, or someone who could teach her how to fight more capably.

A jogger ran past her, skirting around her as he went, and she sighed again. She'd jogged once that day, but she'd refrained from her usual evening exercise because it hadn't been the most thrilling experience. She was still sore, especially in her shoulder, and she didn't want to overdo it.

Anyway, most of the light was gone for the day, so she ought to head home. She didn't need any more bruises decorating her face when she saw her parents again, after all.

She glanced up as a light winked on in a lamp post, and she decided it was time to go home. What startled her, however, was the appearance of... someone, in a tree. They appeared to be reading, or something.

How weird.

Brow furrowing, she considered asking them what they were doing, but decided she was too cranky. It would be best to just go home. Besides, no one else was around, so they'd probably take the hint from the lamp and head back home themselves soon.

So, ignoring them, she continued to walk, shoulders hunched inward slightly.

There was a bite to the air that couldn't be denied, and Dani was more than ready to go home. She rounded the corner, leaving the strange boy behind, and sighed a little. Her parents weren't going to be too impressed that she'd missed dinner, but they weren't too impressed with much of anything she did lately. She'd just have to make her excuses and head to bed, and deal with the looks that passed between them.

Turning a corner, she watched the retreating back of the jogged before, saw him stumble and fling his hands up as though startled by something. Her stomach dropped, and she curled her hand around the henshin pen in her pocket, quickening her pace to see what had startled him. He was already heading off, patting his pockets as though searching for something, and she saw them.

Sneakers. Sticking up along the side of the path. Someone's sneakers? Someone was hurt? There were - there were legs sticking out of them.

Her palms went ice cold and wet at the same time, panic gripping her. No, she thought, skidding to a halt next to what could only be a body. No, no, no.

Looking around wildly, seeing no one, she nevertheless took her henshin pen out with a hand that trembled slightly, muttered her henshin in a voice that didn't. She was tired, she was sore, she was aching, but there was something afoot here. She couldn't just leave.

But there was no one around.

Remembering the person in the tree, she started back that way, ribbons trailing behind her. Whoever they were, she couldn't just leave them there now. Not when it was obvious some agent of evil was at work.

Coming back on the scene, she saw them still there, looking at their book. She lifted one gloved hand, pointed dramatically, and shouted, "Get out of here!"

She didn't look very intimidating, sure, but her expression was fierce. "It's for your own good! Go home!"