Attacca Subito

Two cute little fangs.

That's the entire effect of Shini's bite. No aversion to garlic. Her reflection remains. Her cute silver accessories are just that. Crosses don't particularly bother her. And she can book as much beach time as she likes. Shini had said that she would probably have less classical vampire weaknesses but less isn't none. Granted she would (probably) die if she was lit on fire or decapitated or stabbed in the heart with a wooden stake, but so would anyone else. If anyone asked, Mahana could convincingly say that she wasn't a vampire. And it wouldn't even be a lie. Sanguina are not vampires. Sanguina are something… more.

And that's how Mahana feels. She feels like, more. Colors seem more saturated, sounds more vibrant, food more flavorful, and the music? Oh my heart the music. But then again. This could just be what Beeston is like. She's only just made it back but she doesn't remember anything about this realm. Daeon said this was her home and the fact that the fairy Celesin came to retrieve her from Royastella only reinforces that idea but still. She misses her friends. She misses hiding backstage for Rainbow Star concerts. She misses Kayre going absolutely manic with outfit concepts. She misses Wentea and her quiet gift giving. She even misses Riasa and the terror of almost dying because that girl is a menace in any vehicle land, air, or sea. Well actually she probably doesn't miss Riasa that much. She's a lot. But this is home now. And here come her future teammates, possibly friends?

Mahana stands up and extends a hand to the approaching group. Is that the right call? Do you do handshakes with magical girls? Maybe she should wave?

Not that it matters because in the blink of an eye the girl with the pink ponytail has plowed into her, knocked her down, picked her back up, and is currently spinning her around like a long lost love. Cheers to Sanguina constitution because that might have been a lot otherwise. Maybe she does miss Riasa a bit.

The indigo haired girl is having a complete emotional breakdown. Celesin did not prepare her for this big a reaction. And now ponytail is crying too. Actually, they look very similar. Twins?

There's also a girl who looks a lot like Mahana. Same charcoal and purple colored hair. She's not crying at least. Wait. Nope, she's glaring. Glaring hard. Even got a frown. This is going positively terrible.

The last two girls are the ones to come to Mahana's rescue. They actually introduce themselves: the punky blonde is Zafara and the redhead is Aran. Huh. They both have freckles. Do all nice girls have freckles? Wait no. Are all girls with freckles nice?

Okay. Mahana is clearly getting frazzled. Ponytail deffo spun her a few too many times.

Introductions are made. Mahana is called Pyara more than once. It's… uncomfortable. Oktusha aka pink ponytail and Zafara keep acting like she's just forgotten that she used to be Pyara and they do their best to make her remember. It's… unpleasant. Indigo haired Omba keeps bursting into tears unpredictably. It's much later that Celesin confesses that Omba had been tasked with holding Heart Melody together after Pyara's death.

Pyara. That's a name that is holding so much weight. Mahana is somehow supposed to fill the shoes of this fallen leader and she's not even sure she wants to be a magical girl. Apparently the others had some choice in it. Well, for a certain definition of choice. Kali hasn't stopped boring holes in her since they met. It's mildly terrifying. She must have really loved Pyara. It makes sense. Mahana can't imagine losing a sister.

But to be fair, Mahana can't imagine losing anything because she doesn't have anyone. Not like that. Well, there's Shini but she's much closer to Itami. Mahana wonders what it would be like to be so loved. Ah. Kali is staring again. It's… unsettling. She honestly doesn't know what to make of, well, all of this.

And then there's the part she's not talking about. She remembers things. She knows Kali is good at knife fighting. She knows that Oktusha consumes carbs like there's no tomorrow because her metabolism is always in overdrive. She knows if Aran and Zafara are huddled together and glancing at her, she should call Omba to stop whatever prank is about to occur. And she knows how liberating it is to destroy the Demons she's never met. Never seen. She knows precisely what weak points to target. She knows how to use physics with her magic to overwhelm foes. She knows how it feels to have a fairy fly into your heart.

And that's not something she can know. And the worst part? She knows she's never going to be the Pyara the team wants her to be. Maybe even needs.

She feels the pressure of the Demons' arrival far before the other Hearts.

She's already sprinting away towards the Demons. Well, where there will be demons. The team doesn't follow. They can't feel them coming. She can. This feels right. Tearing Etude is already in her hand. This is right. The song comes to her. A song of striking passion and rending. Her team isn't with her. Her team. She doesn't even know them. And she doesn't know if she wants to.

The air fractures as she arrives to the Demons' manifestation. With her speed, it will be some time before the rest of the team catches up, especially since they will only start moving now that the Demons have arrived. Good. She's not quite in the mood for a team up.

Tearing Etude hums with the low thrum of lightning magic. Three Star Iron Basic Demons emerge from the unnatural whirling smoke, their bodies shimmering with a spectral, cosmic durability that would normally stall a lone Heart. Symphony doesn't hesitate. She closes the distance with a directional flash step, her movement favoring direct engagement over any attempt at evasion.

She drives Tearing Etude into the neck joint of the leading Star Iron with a fury, channeling a concentrated burst of lightning to create a high-velocity cutting arc that shears through the cosmic alloy. As the first Demon shatters, her combat rhythm hits its stride. She treats the destruction as a tactical cue, pivoting mid-air with wind-assisted propulsion to apply that same lethal frequency to the remaining two. In a blurred crescendo, the Star Irons are dismantled before they can even raise defense for themselves.

Then the atmosphere grows heavy. The scent of ozone thickens as a Gold Demon Elite wreathed in elemental fury descends: a walking inferno of superior metal that the team has only ever managed to drive off. Symphony freezes, but not from fear. An impossible memory slices through her mind: the sight of a specific, jagged scar on the Demon's golden chest plate. She knows this mark. She knows the exact strike that caused it, despite this being her first time laying eyes on this Elite. She knows this Demon's name. This is Goldie Glow. And that was Oktusha's fault.

The unpleasant friction of being called Pyara all afternoon suddenly fuses with this phantom rage. Her power doesn't just spike; it detonates. Bright, jagged sparks erupt from her frame as her lightning resonance reaches dangerous levels. She ignores the vulnerable position her aggressive tempo creates, throwing herself into Goldie Glow's reach and smothering its elemental fire with her own relentless discharge.

Behind her, the voices of Rhythm, Verismo, Seria, Adagio, and Sonata drift in, spiking with panic as they recognize the Elite. They try to rush in but are held back by the rapid exchange of blows and pressure of the combat. But Symphony isn't listening. She is not Heart Aria. Mahana isn't their Pyara. She is Heart Symphony, and right now, she is a solo act of rending passion.

With an explosive burst of speed, she anchors the Goldie Glow in a reversed claw-hook grapple. Before the Demon can react, she executes a single, forceful horizontal slash. The Goldie Glow's head separates from its body in a spray of molten essence, and silence falls over the battlefield as the heavy metallic torso hits the ground, decapitated in a single, decisive stroke.

The Lovely Hearts are stunned. Symphony pays them no mind as she walks off. The Demon bodies crumble into stardust and sparkles.

Mahana is not Pyara. And she never will be.