The day after the battle with General Veylak, Harwood City seemed almost too peaceful. Children played in the park, shop windows gleamed, and the faint hum of traffic carried on as if nothing had happened.
For Yuriko, the contrast felt surreal. She sat at the Rangers' base, fingers brushing over the small snowman keychain hanging from her belt. Its tiny smile reminded her of the power she had awakened—and the hope she was beginning to carry again.
Emma noticed her quietness. "Still thinking about yesterday?"
Yuriko nodded. "That keychain… gave me something I never expected. Maybe… if I found others like it…" She trailed off, uncertain, but Gia already caught the idea.
"You're saying you want to go shopping again, huh?" Gia smirked.
Emma grinned. "Then it's settled. Let's go."
---
The three of them returned to the same mall, wandering between shops until Yuriko's eyes caught on something new. At a small toy shop, a display glittered with colorful charms—merchandise inspired by a popular animated movie called Elemental.
Among the rows were tiny, shining elemental keychains.
Yuriko's gaze fixed on three in particular:
A glowing ember flame, shaped like a smiling fire spirit.
A shimmering water droplet with bright blue eyes.
A tiny clump of soil with a sprout, representing earth.
She lifted them carefully, her heart strangely drawn to each one.
Emma leaned closer. "You like those?"
"They… feel alive somehow," Yuriko whispered. "Like they're calling to me."
Gia raised an eyebrow. "Keychains calling to you? That's not creepy at all." But even she couldn't deny the way they seemed to shimmer faintly in Yuriko's hands.
Without hesitation, Yuriko paid for the three and clipped them beside her snowman charm. The set jingled softly as if resonating together.
---
On the way home, Emma glanced at the new keychains swinging from Yuriko's belt. "Snow, fire, water, earth… it's like you're collecting the elements themselves."
Yuriko smiled faintly. "Maybe… these will help me discover who I'm meant to be in this world."
Gia gave a small shrug, though her lips twitched in the hint of a smile. "Just don't expect me to carry your shopping bags next time."
The three of them laughed, and for that moment, Yuriko felt less like a stranger from another world and more like part of something—part of a team, part of a family.
And though the day ended peacefully again, the faint glow of her new keychains hinted that her journey with the elements was only just beginning.