Shihon creeped up silently into the alleyway, stooping as the muffled sounds became more clear.
"You know what I do to little girls like you who don't shut up as they're told?" threatened a gruff masculine voice, causing the Magical Beast Girl's hairs to stand up on her neck while she froze.
Only a sobbing whisper leaked out in reply, "P-Please…don't- hic, don't do this…"
Shihon cupped her left hand to her mouth, visibly shaken. She immediately had a grasp on the situation that was about to take place, and she had to act now.
However, she had to do it without showing off her beast-like abilities...
...Is what she thought, as she stepped forward without hesitation, forgetting to transform into her beast form due to her heightened sense of urgency mixed with fear.
And-
In a flash, she dropped her shopping bags at a good distance away from the trash site and skidded right behind a man who pinned a young woman to the floor behind the dumpster.
Before the man could react and pull the trigger, Shihon moved first with a right hook and punched him, sending his body flying back as the gun flew out of his grip and bounced away on the cold ground.
The man sputtered but acted quickly. Seeing Shihon dash forward to pin him and put him out of commission, he reached into his pocket and pulled out another gun, stopping her heart in an instant.
…Shit, the man thought as he pulled the trigger. I'll just have to shoot and make a run for it. Goodbye, bitch.
BANG!
And instantly, the bullet was shot and it penetrated into solid bone.
***
The world of Magical Beasts as we know it is changing.
All Magical Beasts, Common and Rare, are set with rules that make them who they are today.
For instance, they all come from Magical Beast eggs, and need to hatch in order to function.
They are all contracted by humans based on the strong mental link that they have with one another. It might take hours, days, even weeks for a human to gain a positive mental link with the unhatched Magical Beast in order to be contracted to them.
They are all required to undergo Special Orders from their Masters. Failure to do so could cause repercussions like a termination of contract as part of the mildest factors, or death as one of the harshest.
However, they also have the same physical abilities in terms of durability. Despite the increased ability to endure pain many times more than a human can take, they can still hurt badly when pushed to their limit.
No Magical Beast can regenerate instantly, after all. Most if not all heal after an extended period of time, and are required to take much needed rest. Even so, a Magical Beast's quick death by a factor that overrides durability can still occur…
…Like a brutal stabbing, decapitation, or by bullets shot from a gun.
No Magical Beast is able to survive these things even with their enhanced durability. Surprisingly enough, they are closer to humans than humans realize when it comes to things like these.
So, why am I stating all of this, you may ask?
Well, I told you, didn't I?
The world of Magical Beasts as we know it is changing.
And, the hatching of Shihon had greatly unbalanced the scale, kicking off the new era of power.
***
The bullet tore through bone, brain matter, blood, and more, cracking through Shihon's skull in an instant as her body leaned back from the shockwave.
And just as quickly as she had been shot was the process of the bone, brain matter, blood and more contorting, flowing, pumping and moving back into place, shaking her opponent to his core.
The bullet popped out of her demolished eye socket as the cornea, pupil, eyebrows, eyelashes and the skin surrounding it returned into its original place.
--Within three seconds, Shihon had healed from what was deemed instant death.
The man fell onto his knees, and his entire body convulsed in fear. In his own eyes, he had seen a human regenerate from a fatal bullet wound.
In a world where only magic in the form of Magical Beasts were the norm, he had seen the impossible, and before he could scream at the top of his lungs, Shihon pounced on him with murderous intent, and knocked him out clean with a powerful right hook to the neck.
The Magical Beast Girl paused for a few seconds, and then inhaled…
…And then exhaled, as she put her hand to her chest, feeling the adrenaline pulsating within her heart.
Did I just….survive….a gunshot?
One split second, everything went blank, and the next, she was standing still as if nothing happened.
No blood had been shed, and no parts of her skin or organs had flown out.
With deep breaths still circulating in and out of her body, she turned to face the young woman who looked on in terror.
Shihon's eyes widened as she realized the scope of the situation, but before she could open her mouth to explain-
"What….are you?"
The trembling voice of the spoke out first as she clasped her hands together.
"I-I'm not here to hurt you, I promise," Shihon stated. She held her hands up in resignation, trying her best to not make herself look like a threat, and edged closed as she outstretched her right hand towards her.
The woman reluctantly accepted her hand and was hoisted up, but immediately took a few steps away from her.
"There, you see?" Shihon continued, "I'm not going to hurt you."
"I saw you take a bullet to the face and live…"
"U-Um….it's a special ability from my Magical Beast! Y-Yeah, that's it!" she frantically lied, scratching her head.
Easily not buying it but realizing that she had been saved from a horrible predicament, the woman bowed slightly, but cautiously kept her eyes on her.
"Thank you…..for saving me."
"Oh…sure thing. I'm Shiho-"
"Uh, g-goodbye!"
"H-Hey, wait!"
Ignoring her, she sped off, but bowed again at the intersection that met the alleyway before continuing to sprint away.
Shihon, completely bewildered by the situation that she had gotten into, palmed her face in frustration.
What the fuck just happened…did I just expose myself really badly? N-No, I should be alright...right? Anyway, I better dump this guy somewhere and return home quickly.
--Unbeknownst to her, that one action of saving grace today had kicked off the biggest butterfly effect of Liohime Kitagami's life.